Welcome Back Summer!

Memorial Day Weekend is considered the official kickoff to the summer season and this one went by in a whirlwind of activities.  We spent the weekend with family and friends and enjoyed tons of good food and gorgeous weather. 

We started our weekend Thursday with our middle daughter's graduation from Preschool.  She's getting so big now!  

Friday night we re-instated our  "Family Fun Nights". Now that summer is here and our Friday nights are finally free again it's time to relax and get back to spending some quality time as a family.    We usually have some sort of homemade pizza- Stromboli, pizza, or bagel pizzas. This week we tried something new: Pizza bake. My oldest daughter wanted to help make dinner so Daddy helped her cut the veggies (onion and green pepper) and I had her put all the toppings on.  This came out like a deep dish pizza and  I will share the recipe soon.  

Saturday morning dawned beautiful, sunny, and warm so we headed out to our Farmers Market on the River.  This was our first  weekend being able to go to this market and we were excited to see what goodies we could find. 

All of our favorite vendors were there again this year, including the flower vendor I love. She grows the most beautiful flowers, and you can either buy a premade bouquet, or put together your own.  Cat and I decided to put together a bouquet for our dining room.  She has a really good eye for color!

When we got home we checked out our own garden and harvested some of our own homegrown broccoli, which we included in our dinner.  I have never seen two little girls so excited about broccoli before!

The kids played on the patio with the Little One's new water table while my husband and I sat near them and relaxed.  Oh, and we tried out a new beer, which was quite good.  It may be my new summer favorite.  

I was playing with my instagram too.  

 My husband had gone down to our local fish market in the morning and picked up some fresh salmon to grill.  When I say local, I mean the building is practically IN the water! It's a small, hole-in-the-wall place but they have the best fish we've ever had.  We tried a new method of grilling it: we put the fish on thin slices of lemon right on the grill.  It worked like a charm and was amazing!   To go along with the fish we grilled some squash I had marinated in some Merlot Vinegar and Olive Oil, and made up some rice pilaf.

Sunday the plan was to take the boat out for a while.  We got a sitter, and my husband and I were going to go float around on the river.  However, instead of this being our afternoon view:

View from the boat when we went out a couple weekends ago with friends

 This was our view instead:

The joys of boat ownership- sometimes they break.  So instead of spending the day on the water, we spent the day at the Marina working on the engine ( my husband is teaching me about boat repair and I am actually finding it interesting), and cleaning the boat inside and out.  We weren't too disappointed about the change in plans- at least we got to spend the day together, working side by side in the sun.   We ended the evening having an unplanned cookout with my best friend and her family (Since she had been the one to watch our girls for us all afternoon).  I made buffalo wings, burgers, pepperoni rolls, potato-less potato salad, baked beans, and oatmeal raisin cookies. The best part about dinner was I had made most of it that morning so when we got home all we had to do was fire up the grill.  Everything else was ready to go.  I'm pretty sure that's how dinner is going to be made all summer- in the morning!

What better way to  officially welcome summer than by spending it on the beach?  Memorial Day Monday we packed up the kiddos, picked up my best friend's daughters, and went down to our local beach for an afternoon in the sun and sand.

Enjoying a Capri Sun Water in the shade.  

She's not too sure of the water yet, we're still in the debating stages of getting in or not.  

We ended the weekend with a cookout with my parents, and roasting marshmallows.  

Now that summer is officially here ( and I have the sunburn to prove it!) we are going to be spending a lot more time outside and on the beach. 

 How was your Memorial Day Weekend?  

First Farmers Market of the Season

We have been CSA members for 2 years now but unfortunately ours is taking a break this year. The rising cost of fuel and farming supplies has hit them hard, along with some illnesses so it was time  for them to re-evaluate their business.  They are still growing their delicious fruits and veggies but are instead going to have Saturday Markets at the farm and Pick Your Own days.  I am excited to take the girls to see where our veggies have come from these past couple of years, and to let them pick some of their own foods.

Since I am a firm believer in supporting my local farmers and eating organic whenever possible, we researched a few other CSA's in the area.  We found one and almost signed up but changed out mind at the last minute.  The pickup location was at one of our local farmers markets and we thought if we had to be there every week anyway, we might as well pick and choose what we want then.  In May there will be 4 we can visit between Wednesday and Sunday. They all happen to be at our favorite locations around town and that will offer even more variety.  

Yesterday one of them opened up for the first time this season so my Mom, my oldest daughter, and I headed over there in the morning to see what goodies we could find.  

 Since it is still April there aren't a lot of vendors out there yet.  As we get into May there will be many more.

My helpful shopper was on a mission: She wanted to find the special dog treats we used to get for our beloved Golden Retriever, Fenway.  She thought that Bruin, our new dog, would love them too.  

Found what we were looking for!  We bought Bruin a box of peanut butter treats- and he loves them!

Our next stop was at the Virginia Gourmet booth.  We found some really interesting goodies here!  All of those pastas shown are flavored and totally dairy free!  Most of their sauces are dairy free too!  They really seem to cater to people with food allergies, or those that lead a Vegan lifestyle.  We spent quite a bit of time here taste-testing and chatting with the owners.

I found this new and interesting little treat there:

  I am going to make this into a dessert pasta salad with raspberries and chocolate sauce- yum!

I also found picked up this bottle of Merlot Vinegar:

We got to taste this and it is amazing!  I foresee some very tasty salads in our future!  They also have a Chardonnay vinegar that I will probably get next week.

Of course my little helper found a few goodies for herself too. She loved this carbonated fruit juice - Fruit 66, so much that the owners took a picture of her drinking it to put on their Facebook page.  They made her feel very grownup!  (We also walked away with more than one can of this- it's great for kids or adults)

We  hit up the produce vendors last.  I was very excited to see my favorite farm from last year's market.  They always such a great variety, and their produce is so fresh. 

We spent some time chatting with the owner about CSA's, his business, and other farmers markets he is helping to start up.

 

During our conversation he was chatting with Cat and she told him that tomatoes were her absolute favorite food.  So he gave her this pint of gorgeous tomatoes as a gift.  I've never seen a child so excited about free tomatoes before- but that's my girl!

And who could pass these beauties up?  They were picked that morning, still had the dirt on them from the field.  These babies are going into my strawberry pie very shortly!

After a very successful trip we walked away with: zucchini, tomatoes, white potatoes, 2 pints of strawberries, chocolate fettuccine, Merlot Vinegar, Fruit 66 drinks for the kids, and special treats for Bruin.   Not a whole lot this time around, but we didn't need any greens this time since I am growing my own.  

Do you visit your local farmer's market for get your summer fruits and veggies from a CSA?

Dairy Free Buffalo Chicken Dip

Yes, you read that right- DAIRY FREE Buffalo Chicken Dip. When I started my search for this dish, I came across a lot of variations. This recipe is the one that was the most like the original recipe. I found it at Adventures of a Minnesota Girl written by Melissa. This dip is cheesy, gooey, indulgent... everything a dairy free person misses. It tasted just like the original dairy full dish- just with a lot less grease and oil.

I first made this for our New Year's Eve party. The dip was a huge hit with everyone- and they were all dairy eaters except me. In fact, we finished off two of them! The ingredient list is short, the method is super easy, and it comes together beautifully.

Ingredients:
~Cooked and shredded *chicken. You can use leftover rotisserie or boil up a couple chicken breasts. I boil up two breasts for 1 dip.

~4 oz.of your favorite dairy free cheese plus a little more for the top. You can use cheddar or mozzarella- I used cheddar. I use Veggie Shreds because I do not have a casein allergy. I suggests using Daiya if you have an allergy instead of an intolerance.

~8 oz.dairy free cream cheese. I used Trader Joes brand.

~1/3 cup *mayo

~1/3 cup Franks Red Hot sauce. More if you want it hotter.

~1 Tablespoon lemon juice

~Salt and pepper to taste.


Directions:
1.If cooking the chicken, boil it until it is cooked through and easy to shred.

2.While the chicken is cooking mix up the Mayo, lemon juice, cheese, and salt and pepper.


Add the cream cheese, then the chicken and hot sauce.


3.I sprinkle the top with extra cheese as well.This is optional

4.Bake at 350F for about 15-20 minutes or until hot.


Melissa told me that you can also do this in a slow cooker. I have not tried it that way myself though. But I plan on trying it soon!

**You can make this Vegan by using tofu instead of chicken, and Veganese instead of mayo.

A HUGE thank you to Melissa at Adventures of a Minnesota Girl for sharing this recipe on her blog, and for allowing me to share it on mine. You should definitely head over to her blog and check it out!

An Old Family Recipe~Party Mix

For as long as I can remember my Mom has been making this party mix around the Christmas Holiday. This year I convinced her to share the recipe with me (probably because every time I was over there I ate quite a bit of hers!) I actually made this on Dec. 23rd, but with all chaos surrounding Christmas and New Years I am just now getting around to posting it. It's not that I haven't sat down to write this post, I just keep getting sidetracked (that tends to happen a lot with 3 kids!)

Although this is generally a Christmas treat for us, it is good all year long. And the best part- you can make a couple batches and freeze it! I still have a bag in my freezer and I plan to make another batch to get us through the winter months.

The original recipe is called Scramble and comes from the New Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook which was in it's 4th printing in 1971.

Party Mix~ AKA Scramble:

2lbs mixed salted nuts
11ounces spoon size shredded wheat
10 & 1/2 ounces Cheerios
6 ounces crispex or crisp rice squares
7 ounces small pretzel twists
5 & 3/4 ounces slim pretzel sticks



2 cups Canola oil
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon Garlic Salt
1 Tablespoon Seasoned Salt


These are the original measurements from the recipe. I basically eyeballed it. For example: I believe the shredded wheat comes in a 16 oz package, so use about 3/4 of the bag and so on with the rest of the ingredients.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250F.

Evenly distribute the cereal and nut mixture between two large baking pans. If you try to do it all in one pan it will not cook evenly.





Mix up your oil mixture. I do mine in a shaker to ensure it all gets mixed very well. Pour the mixture evenly over the cereal and nut mixture.

Bake at 250F for 2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes. Let cool completely before putting into either storage bags or containers. It will fill roughly 3 gallon storage bags. You can freeze the bags you are not going to eat right away.


This is such a good snack mix, especially if you find the premade kind too salty, or do not like sweet snack mixes, like me.

*This recipe is from my Mom and adapted from the New Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, c1971.

Enjoy!

Family Fun Night~ Homemade Stromboli

Every Friday night we like to have a Family Fun Night. We started this tradition back a couple of years ago, and we have stuck with it. We do eat dinner as a family every night, but some nights during the week we have somewhere to be- Theatre classes, Scouts, sports. So we set aside Friday nights to spend at home as a family. The girls get to choose dinner for that night, and we either watch a movie, play games, or work on some sort of project together.

Lately we've been on a pizza kick. We've done Bagel Pizzas, and Pepperoni Pizzas, and once we had a Pizza Night with friends. We have found that making our crust from scratch is so much better than buying a premade one. One night we decided to try something a little different and made Stromboli. It was an instant hit, and has become our Family Fun Night meal.

INGREDIENTS & DIRECTIONS:

We make the entire thing from scratch. It is a little time consuming but totally worth it!

Sauce:

1 can plain tomato sauce

1 small can tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon basil

pinch of sugar (to cut the acidity)

Let it simmer on the stove while you get the rest of you ingredients together.

Toppings:

While you are letting your sauce simmer for a few minutes, use this time to get your toppings together. For this we used:

Ham

Deli Pepperoni

Green Pepper

Onion

Mushrooms

Veggie Shreds cheese

You can put whatever you like. Since I am not allergic to Casein I can use Veggie Shreds, but if you have a milk protein allergy you could use Daiya cheese instead. I have heard it is a great vegan cheese alternative, but I have not yet been able to buy it where I live.

I like to get all my toppings chopped and ready to go before I start on the dough:
Dough:

1- 3/4 to 2- 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 envelope (or 2 & 1/4 teaspoons) pizza crust yeast (we use Fleischmann's- the recipe for the dough is on the package)

1 1/2 teaspoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup very warm water

3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 425F.
In your stand mixer combine the 1 cup flour, package of yeast,sugar, and salt. Add water and oil. Mix together using your dough hook attachment




Mix all the ingredients together until they are well blended. Gradually add 1/2 cup of flour until a dough ball is formed. If needed, add additional flour to form the ball.

On a floured surface, knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic- about 4 minutes.

Roll out onto a lightly greased baking sheet. (I also cover the pan in aluminum foil to save on cleanup time.)


Spread a thin layer of sauce on the dough and add your cheese alternative. Put your toppings on one side of the crust.
Fold one side of the crust over to cover the side with the toppings. Fold the edges over and pinch together. I like to brush mine with a little olive oil and sprinkle basil and oregano on top.
Cut 3 slits in the crust.
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.


*For Vegans or Vegetarians you can omit any meat and fill it with veggies instead. *

**I have found that dairy free cheese melts better when it is inside something or covered, which is why this stromboli works so well. **

What are some of your favorite pizza toppings?

Cooking with Cat- "Purple People Eater" Smoothie

I have been meaning to get Cat back in the kitchen but there hasn't been a good time to until last week. Since she does an online charter school now she's home all morning. She seems to be in a bit of a growth spurt again so she wants a mid morning snack by 10:30. The other day out of the blue, she asked me to make her a smoothie. She was feeling tired from her trip to Charlotte with my parents and needed something to help wake her up. She's turning into my little "health nut" (Just like her Mommy)so she knows that fruits and veggies are a necessary to feeling good, and she does eat a ton of both! I always keep frozen organic berries in the freezer so I had plenty of ingredients on hand to make just what she wanted.

Cat wanted to try and make hers and the Little One's on her own, so I let her. She picked out raspberries, blueberries, banana, spinach (Yes- she picked the spinach), and Vanilla soy milk. I offered her coconut milk but she wanted the soy. I let her put all the ingredients in food processor and work the button until she thought it was pureed enough.(still working on getting a blender- every time we're out I forget to pick one up! I used to have 2 but both got lost in a move.)

She had a great time getting to make a treat for her little sister, and an even better time drinking her own smoothie!

She's nicknamed this the "Purple People Eater" Smoothie:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup organic raspberries
1/2 cup organic blueberries
1 half of a ripe banana
small handful of fresh spinach
Vanilla soymilk (or non-dairy milk)



Put all the fruits and spinach in a the blender (or in our case food processor).




Cover with soy milk. The less you use, the thicker it will be, use more and it will be thinner. It's all up to your (or your child's) taste. Cat liked hers like a milkshake.

Blend until all the fruits and veggies are pureed.


Pour into a glass, or a sippy cup for the Little One.


It's the perfect healthy snack for kids! And they love it!

"Pizza and a Movie" Night

Friday night we made plans to have a movie/pizza night with our dearest friends. Since this is what the day was shaping up to look like:

It was going to be the perfect night to stay in with friends. And, since it was forecast to be a dark and stormy night we decided to watch Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" (not with the little ones in the room, of course!)

Since we were feeding 4 adults, 2 teenagers, 4 elementary aged kids, and 1 toddler and I was the only dairy free person in the crowd, I had to come up with food that would please everyone.

The menu for the night looked like this:
Make-Your-Own Pizzas
Peanut Butter Cookies
Chocolate Brownies

And the usual "junk food":
(All of it is dairy free!)



We had our 13 year old nephew visiting us for a couple days, and his Dad is a professional chef, who has taught our nephew a lot of culinary tricks. I took him and our oldest daughter to the grocery store to get the much needed supplies for our pizzas and snacks. He convinced me to make the pizza dough from scratch rather than buying premade ones- and I am so glad I did! He also picked out some toppings I never would have- fresh pepperoni from the deli (I usually get the stuff in a bag but not anymore!), fresh ham, and jalapenos. I wanted green peppers and mushrooms as well. We also grabbed regular cheese for all the cheese eaters who were coming.

As the afternoon wore on and the rain came down harder, I got to work in the kitchen baking.
First up were the Peanut Butter Cookies (I will share the recipe soon)


Then came the double chocolate fudge brownies:



While I was busy in the kitchen, my girls spent some time painting rainy day pictures.


Meantime my husband and nephew spent some quality time playing video games.

About 45 minutes before everyone was set to arrive I got to work on the pizza dough. I will post this recipe at the end of this week. I did not take many pictures (mainly because I was covered in flour).


I made 4 crusts- 1 pizza for the kids, one for my husband and nephew, one for Aimee and Adam, and one for me.

We made sure to keep the cheese far away from my pizza- setting up two areas to assemble the pizzas.
This was the "Non-Stephanie-Friendly" area:



And here's the "Stephanie Friendly" Area:

If you have an allergy to Casein, do not use Veggie Shreds. I recommend using a completely Dairy Free cheese such as Dayia instead.

(I prefer to make my own sauce, but was lacking time to get that done so we opted for the easy way out and just bought the stuff in a jar. I had a bunch a homemade sauce in my freezer, but Hurricane Irene took care of that for me a few weeks ago.)

We all got to work building our pizzas, while Aimee put on a pot of "Pecan Pie" flavored coffee from The World Market. Between that and the pizzas baking my house smelled heavenly!

I put my pizza in last so I took my time building my masterpiece.
Sauce, mushroom, green pepper, red onions, fresh pepperoni. I will definitely be making this one again!

Once all our bellies were happily full of our homemade pizzas, we settled in with the rest of the snacks to watch our movie, while the younger kids got to watch a movie in their room.

We all had a great time, and we are looking forward to our next get together.

People always ask me what do I eat for "fun" food if I can't eat food with dairy in it. Well, this movie night was just one example. There are still a lot of options out there for the dairy free crowd, you just have to go searching and be creative. A lot of the time we have to bake our own goodies using dairy free subsitutes. But in the end most of us like to eat the same things everyone else does, we just have to be a little more creative.


When having people over, what do you serve that pleases a crowd but is still dairy free?