April Fools Food!!

We love April Fools Day around here - so many fun ways to make food fun!!

These 'cupcakes' are made from little meatballs with mashed sweet potatoes on top...
This 'sushi' is made out of rice krispy treats, gummy worms and fruit roll-ups...

French fries and ketchup? Breadsticks (cut down) sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and served with strawberry jelly. (The french fry bag is just an envelope cut to shape)

Serve it up with Jell-O in clear glasses as 'juice'

There are so many fun ideas for April Fool's Day Food - share your ideas with us!!

Lamb* Ragu with Rotini and Ricotta

I saw Rachael Ray make this and I was seriously drooling...
Since we don't eat lamb - I am going to substitute ground turkey - I'll let you know how it turns out!

Lamb* Ragu with Rotini and Ricotta
2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 pound ground lamb*
A pinch of ground cloves
Salt and pepper
1 small carrot, finely chopped or grated
1 onion, finely chopped
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine*
1 28-ounce can Italian tomatoes and their juice or purée
1 cup whole milk
1 pound whole wheat rigatoni or other short-cut pasta, semolina or whole wheat
1 cup fresh ricotta, fresh sheep milk ricotta, crumbled feta or ricotta salata
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, a handful, finely chopped
2 to 3 tablespoons mint leaves, a small handful, finely chopped

Heat a heavy pot over medium-high heat with EVOO, 2 turns of the pan. Add lamb and brown the meat, season with cloves, salt and pepper. When lamb is brown, add carrot, onions, garlic and rosemary. Cook 7-8 minutes to soften vegetables. Stir in tomato paste 1 minute, stir in wine a minute more, then add tomatoes and crush them with wooden spoon or potato masher. Thicken sauce a couple of minutes then stir in milk. Let simmer to thicken.
Bring a pot of water to a boil for pasta. Add salt then cook pasta to al dente. Drain and toss pasta with Ragu. Serve in shallow bowls topped with cheese to mix in as you eat. Garnish with parsley and mint*.

I am so silly! Originally, I didn't post the directions - oops - sorry!

*I used ground turkey instead of lamb and beef stock instead of white wine

Shredded Tex-Mex Salad with Creamy Lime Dressing

I found this recipe on the Food Network site - it's by Sunny Anderson - I've made it a bunch of times and it's a goodie...
Shredded Tex-Mex Salad with Creamy Lime Dressing
Butter, for preparing 8 by 8-inch glass pan
1 (8.5-ounce) box cornbread mix (recommended: Jiffy)
1 large egg
1/3 cup milk
1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 packet sazon seasoning (it tastes like taco seasoning - so you could use that as a sub)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup salsa
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 head romaine lettuce, cut into strips
Creamy Lime Dressing (recipe follows)
1 1/2 cups grated Monterey jack cheese
1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8 by 8-inch glass pan with butter. Stir together the cornbread mix with the egg and milk. Evenly spread into prepared pan and bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan to cool completely. Mix together the beans with the sazon and season with salt and pepper. Toss the salsa with the tomatoes. When ready to serve, cut the cornbread into 1/2-inch croutons. Toss the lettuce with 3/4 cups of the dressing. In a clear trifle dish, layer the Tex-Mex Salad beginning with the black beans followed by the Monterey jack cheese, the tomato salsa mixture, the Cheddar, the dressed romaine and top with the cornbread croutons. Serve the remaining dressing on the side.

Creamy Lime Dressing:
2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 cup sour cream
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Blend all the ingredients except the olive oil until smooth. While machine is running, slowly drizzle in the oil until incorporated. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Black Bean Salad

This is one of my FAVORITE FAT FREE SALADS!!! I love it!

Black Bean Salad – Guy Fieri
2 cans black beans, drained, about 30 ounces
1 (15-ounce) can corn, drained
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup diced green onions
1/4 cup diced pineapple
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
4 tablespoons sherry vinegar*
Juice of 1/2 lime
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Pinch ground cumin

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.

*I don't use sherry vinegar regularly, so I substitute it with red wine vinegar - you could even use apple cider vinegar.

BLT Bowties

Rachael Ray has got my number this week! Her Taco Pasta Toss was a huge hit last night and when I saw her making her BLT Bowties on today's show - I just couldn't help myself!

How can you go wrong with bacon, lettuce and tomatoes? Seriously. De-lish.

BLT Pasta
EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling, plus 2 tablespoons
12 slices good quality smoky bacon, cut into half-inch dice
1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
A handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
A couple of generous handfuls grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 small red onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped or grated
A pinch crushed red pepper flakes
2 pints cherry tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1 pound bowtie pasta
4 cups arugula, a couple of bundles, coarsely chopped
1 cup basil leaves, about 20 leaves, torn or coarsely chopped

Heat a drizzle of EVOO in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add bacon and brown to crisp. Remove to plate to drain. Add Panko crumbs to the pan with the bacon drippings and toast to golden brown. Add parsley and a couple of handfuls of grated cheese. Toss to combine, turn off heat and reserve the crumbs.

Heat 2 tablespoons EVOO in a large skillet with tight-fitting lid over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, and cook to soften, 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add red pepper and cherry tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, and cover pan tightly with lid. Cook, shaking occasionally, until tomatoes begin to burst, about 8 minutes. Remove cover and gently mash up the tomatoes a bit with a wooden spoon.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil for pasta. Salt water and cook bowties to al dente. Just before draining, add a cup of the starchy liquid to the cherry tomato sauce. Drain pasta.
Add arugula and basil to the tomato sauce, along with the reserved bacon and drained bowties. Season with black pepper and salt, and toss to combine. Garnish bowls of pasta with the seasoned crumbs and serve.

My husband went to 2 grocery stores to find arugula with no luck, so we ended up using spinach instead. Also - we used BARILLA PLUS pasta which has protein, Omega3 and Fiber!!!

Taco Pasta Toss

I am a big fan of Rachael Ray. I was never a fan of her '30 minute meals' tv show - but she's won me over with her talk show/food fiesta as of late.
The only thing I don't like about her recipes is when she tries to combine 2 different meals that you would never serve together into one meal. It's a weird 'thing' I have.

Today on her talk show she made Taco Pasta Toss. As I watched, I realized I had everything needed to make this dinner and so - our dinner was born...
Taco Pasta Toss
Salt and pepper
1 pound penne rigate or whole grain penne rigate pasta (I used what I had - macaroni)
1 tablespoon EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 pound ground beef sirloin (I used ground turkey)
1 large onion, chopped, divided
1 large jalapeño halved, seeded and thinly sliced crosswise (eliminated b/c of the kiddos)
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder, about 2 palmfuls
1 tablespoon ground coriander, about a palmful
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin, about 1/2 palmful
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 12-ounce bottle beer or cups chicken stock
2 cups shredded cheddar, Monterey jack or any Mexican semisoft cheese (cheddar)
2 small plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped (sweeties - grape tomatoes)
1/4 head iceberg lettuce or 1/2 small heart romaine lettuce, chopped

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and return to the pot.
While the pasta is working, in a large skillet, heat the EVOO, 1 turn of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Add three-quarters of the onion, the jalapeño, garlic, chili powder, coriander and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook until the onion is softened, 6-7 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, cook for 1 minute then stir in the beer.
Add the sauce to the pasta and toss. Spoon into a serving dish, top with the cheese and tent with foil to melt the cheese, about 1 minute. Top with the remaining onion, the tomatoes and lettuce – just like tacos!

My kids flipped over this! Even Mr. Picky loved it. Huge hit!! The kids had it as RR intended - served over pasta - but since I am the crazy person aforementioned, instead of having it served over pasta, hubs and I had it served over a bed of romaine with our fav dressing - such an amazing taco salad!! Yum-O!!

Basil Pesto Pizza

This picture does not do this pizza justice. I need to take photography lessons or something!

This pizza was so yum - really how can you go wrong with any of those ingredients?
For pizza night - I wanted to switch it up a bit. I looked in the fridge to see what I had on hand and what do you know? I had the makings for an amazing pizza!

Basil Pesto Pizza
Basil Pesto (Costco or whatever your fav brand)
Pizza Dough (from scratch or store bought)
Pine nuts (toasted)
Mozzerella
Red onions
tomatoes
Salt
Pepper

Pat out your pizza dough. Spread pesto in an even layer (as you would marinara), salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle mozzerella, onions and pine nuts over the pesto.

My husband and I like our tomatoes fresh and raw on top - but if you don't add your tomatoes too. Bake at 425 for 12 - 15 minutes.

Sweet Jasmine Rice Update

A month ago or so we had dinner with my friend Jenny's family. She asked me to bring a side - I brought my Sweet Jasmine Rice. Her boys are 13 and 10 and are pretty picky eaters. They absolutely LOVED this rice.
She called me last night to ask for the recipe - she said her boys had been begging her to make this rice. I called her a few hours later for something else and she told me that she made the rice with Splenda instead of sugar (her hubs is trying to watch what he eats) and said "we didn't even notice the difference" she also added green onions and red and green peppers.

Don't you just love variety?? Next time I make this rice I'll def try Splenda - hmmmm... and maybe brown rice to make it even healthier!

Challah Bread

My friend and I were talking about bread and eggs. My kids are allergic to eggs and I was telling her that most of my bread recipes don't call for eggs. Then she said "oh... but there is nothing like Challah Bread" and she went on and on about it.

I had never had Challah bread and was intrigued enough to make it myself. I found the recipe online - but I tweaked it so much that the original recipe is barely there.

It turned out so delish!! I took a loaf over to my friend - she called me a few minutes later to praise my work:)
Challah Bread
3 T yeast
4 eggs
2 c warm water
½ c sugar
1 T salt
½ c vegetable oil
6 - 7 c flour

Add water, yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl. Cover and let it proof for 5-10 minutes. It will be foamy and bubbly. Add oil, eggs and half of the flour. Mix to combine, then add the rest of the flour. Mix. Knead until soft and elastic. Cover and let rise at 1 hour. Separate into 3 large pieces. Divide each piece into three more pieces. Roll into snakes and braid together. Let rise for about 1-2 hours or until almost double in size.

Brush with egg wash (1 egg + 1 T water) over bread. Sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds.
Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until nice and golden on top.
Makes 3 loaves

Chickpea Salad with Creamy Dill Ranch Dressing

I saw this recipe on Delish - they also gave nutrition facts - 90 calories per serving 2 grams of fat and 14 grams of fiber - all that and...well...Delish!
Chickpea Salad

1 can(s) chickpeas, rinsed
3 cup(s) cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
2 cup(s) grape tomatoes, halved (or cherry tomatoes)
1/4 cup(s) crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
1/4 cup(s) red onion, diced
1/2 cup(s) Creamy Dill Ranch Dressing, recipe follows
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Place chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, cheese, onion, dressing and pepper in a medium bowl. Mix until coated.

Creamy Dill Ranch Dressing
1 small shallot, peeled
3/4 cup(s) nonfat cottage cheese
1/4 cup(s) reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoon(s) buttermilk powder
2 tablespoon(s) white-wine vinegar
1/4 cup(s) nonfat milk
1 tablespoon(s) fresh dill, chopped
1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
1/4 teaspoon(s) freshly ground pepper

With the food processor running, add shallot through the feed tube and process until finely chopped. Add cottage cheese, mayonnaise, buttermilk powder and vinegar. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary, about 3 minutes. Pour in milk while the processor is running. Scrape down the sides, add dill, salt and pepper and process until combined.

*I didn't have red onion, so I used yellow

**I also didn't have feta - wish I did!