"Pork Chops and Applesauce"

That would be what my toddler had. As for me and my husband, we had pork chops and corn salsa. My local grocer had pork chops for sale so I began looking for a new recipe. I found a very promising "Parmesan-crusted Pork Chop" recipe at Delish. She suggested serving them with a lemon wedge so I thought my corn salsa would make a great side. They were a perfect match!

Here is my corn salsa recipe.

Corn Salsa

EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

1 small onion, diced

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced or grated (more if you like)

1 can diced tomatoes, drained partially

1-2 cups frozen corn kernels (add as much or as little as you like)

Salt and Pepper

Parsley

Cilantro, chopped

Lime

(to make it more Italian, omit the cilantro and lime and add oregano and nutmeg...this is equally as good)

Add 1-2 tbsp EVOO to a medium saute pan and heat to medium. Add onion and garlic to the pan and cook until onions are translucent, 3-4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and corn. Season with salt, pepper, and parsley. Let simmer about 10 minutes until corn and tomatoes are heated through. Mix in the juice of half a lime and cilantro before serving. Serve warm.

(For the Italian version add the oregano and dash of nutmeg when adding the salt, pepper and parsley.)

Hidden surprise!

I'm a big fan of hiding healthy foods...those that most kids won't even look at...in favorite foods. Therefore, I have to plug "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld. One of my family's favorites from this book are chicken nuggets. The hidden "jewel" is butternut squash. You can use other veggies like sweet potatoes, broccoli or spinich. The first attempt at these nuggets I made them with sweet potatoes and even my mom, who is the pickiest eater I know, tried and liked them. Since then I have changed some things and found that my family prefers the squash.

The key to this dish is making the butternut squash puree. As the cookbook suggested, I took a Sunday afternoon and made a bunch of purees, labeled and froze them.

Here is the directions for making the squash puree. Taken from "Deceptively Delicious."

Butternut Squash

Cut off the stem, cut squash in half lengthwise and scrape out seeds.

Roast the halves on a cookie sheet, flesh-side down, at 400 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

Scoop out the flesh and puree in a food processor or blender for about 2 minutes.

I froze it in freezer bags in 1/2 cup portions.

Chicken Nuggets

Source: Deceptively Delicious

1 cup whole-wheat, white or Panko breadcrumbs (I used Italian breadcrumbs)
1/2 cup flaxseed meal

1 tbsp grated Parmesan

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder (I used onion flakes because that's what I had)

1 cup butternut squash puree (you can substitute sweet potato, broccoli, spinach or beet puree)

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast or chicken tenders, rinsed, dried, and cut into small

chunks

1/2 tsp salt

Nonstick cooking spray

1 tbsp olive oil

In a bowl (I used a pie dish), combine the breadcrumbs, flaxseed meal, Parmesan, paprika, garlic, and onion powder and mix well with your fingers.

In a shallow bowl, mix the vegetable puree and egg with a fork and set the bowl next to the breadcrumb mixture.

Sprinkle the chicken chunks with the salt. Dip the chunks into the egg mixture and then toss them in the breadcrumbs until completely coated.

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat (I found that my skillet has to be over meduim heat or they will start to burn to quickly). When the skillet is hot, add the oil. Place the chicken nuggets in the skillet in a single layer, being careful not to crowd the pan, and cook until crisp and golden on one side, 3 to 4 minutes. Then turn and cook until the chicken is cooked through, golden brown and crisp all over, 4 to 5 minutes longer. (Cut into a piece to check that it's cooked through.) Serve warm.

They don't make the prettiest meal, but they sure are tasty!!!

Friday Night Pizza

Friday night pizza is a tradition in our house. Until now we chose whatever company could deliver it fastest. Tonight, our recent job loss forced me to figure out how to save money while keeping our pizza tradition. This sent me straight to my sister's site Burnt Toast to find the pizza dough recipe that she had been raving about. I'm so glad I did. Just like her husband, my husband likes traditional pizza...red sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. However I like to experiment with my toppings and sauces. We made individual pizzas so that we could each have what we liked. My son is visiting Nana tonight, but if he were here I'm sure he would have eaten a little of each!

Before adding to dough recipe I wanted to add a little warning...make the edges a little thicker than the rest of the pizza or your toppings will slide off!






Here is the recipe for the crust taken from EasyPizzaCrusts.com.

No Yeast Pizza Crust
Source: EasyPizzaCrusts.com

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup water
1 tbsp cooking oil


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare pizza pan by spraying with non-stick cooking spray. Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Add liquids and stir to incorporate dry ingredients. Knead dough by hand 6-8 times on a lightly floured surface. Roll dough thinly. Place rolled dough onto prepared pizza pan, add favorite sauce and toppings. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes, depending on crust thickness.

I added 1/2 tsp. garlic powder to the dough to flavor the crust a little. And we put some EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) on the crust to keep it from soaking up the sauce.

My husband's pizza was topped with pizza sauce (yes, I took some help from the store on that one), shredded mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. He said it was great.

To top my pizza I mixed 8 oz. cream cheese, softened, 1 large can shredded chicken, drained, and 2 cloves of finely grated garlic. I found out that this made way more than I needed for my small pizza. In fact, I would recommend spreading only a thin layer on the pizza...I put way too much on mine and it was overpowering. I also topped it with a mixture of shredded mozzarella, parmesan and swiss.

When it came out of the oven I added chopped cilantro that I have been growing!





My white pizza was good but not the best pizza I've had. I'll definately make it again trying new toppings!

Inspired

I was inspired to start this site by my sister's blogsite Burnt Toast. We both share a passion for cooking. I moved home from college and moved in with my sister in 2004 and she introduce me to the Food Network. We began to cook together and haven't stopped sharing meals and recipes since (although I do have to adapt how hot some of her recipes are)!

I love to cook but I was a little (ok, a lot) overwhelmed when I had my son in 2006. I thought I would never have the time or energy to cook a "real" meal again. After 6 months we had established a routine and I decided to try really cooking and experimenting again. It has been great! Only now, a year later, I have to make sure that I fix foods that my toddler can eat while exposing him to the wonderful flavors that food has to offer. That is where to title of my blog, Mommy Meals, came from. I will be posting many recipes, most of which can be eaten by a toddler without sacrificing the bold flavors that I love!!

~Erin