kid-approved – Urban Suburban Mommy

Apple Cheddar Chicken Muffins

Posted on November 21, 2017 by Urban Suburban Mommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

You need to read 10 Questions With Voula Halliday to really understand how much this recipe will help with healthy school lunches, but these savoury and oh-so-yummy muffins will become a favourite. Soooo good!

What you need:

– 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
– 2 1⁄2 tsp baking powder
– 1 tsp dried thyme
– 1 tsp salt
– 1⁄2 tsp ground black pepper
– 1 1⁄2–2 cups finely chopped cooked  chicken
– 1 cup shredded  cheddar cheese
– 2 green onions,  thinly sliced
– 1 cup peeled and finely  diced green apple
– 1 cup finely chopped baby spinach
– 2 large eggs
– 1 cup milk or unsweetened non-dairy milk
– 1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil

What you do:

1 Heat oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray or coat a 12-cup muffin pan with oil.

2 In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, thyme, salt, and pepper. Using a wooden spoon, stir in chicken, 3/4 cup cheddar, green onions, apple, and spinach.

3 In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and oil. Add to flour mixture and stir until evenly combined.

4 Divide batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle each muffin with remaining cheese. Bake until golden and a cake tester inserted in the centre of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

MAKES 12 MUFFINS

You can swap out the chicken for ham or smoked salmon, or you can omit the chicken and make these vegetarian muffins instead.

Just one of the amazing recipes from Voula Halliday’s must-have cook-book EAT AT HOME contains over 150 recipes that show how easy it is to cook fresh, healthy, tasty meals every day of the week, including how to buy only what you will use, use everything you have on hand, swap ingredients without sweating it, and transform extras into Loveable Leftovers so you waste nothing.

About Voula:

Voula Halliday is a chef, writer, and artist with diverse and extensive experience in the food industry. A proud graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, she has presented her work on morning television and radio shows, and was one of the chef experts on CBC Television’s award-winning daytime show Steven and Chris. Most recently, she appeared on CTV’s Your Morning to whip up her yummy Apple Cheddar Chicken Muffins and Bacon and Cheddar Quinoa Fritters. You can view the segment here:

Voula’s first appearance on Steven and Chris came about after she was discovered by one of the producers who was volunteering at a Public School where Voula served as the executive chef and program coordinator. She brought Voula onto the show after being taken by her warm personality and the way in which she transformed the usually mundane and unhealthy school lunches into fresh, nutritious and delicious meals for the students and faculty. Voula’s work has appeared in print and digital formats in a variety of publications, including Chatelaine, National Post, Reader’s Digest, and Bon Appétit.

Oooey gooey chewy chocolate chip cookies

Posted on February 23, 2016 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

For years my cookies were light and fluffy – and either undercooked or crunchy. Every time I’d try someone else’s soft little flat cookies I’d die a little inside. That’s all I wanted from my chocolate chip cookie – maybe a little flat, maybe a little crispy around the edges.

Then I discovered that it was time to step away from the stand mixer and get into it by hand. Yup, good old fashioned hand mixing with a spatula. Turns out I had a serious case of overmixing. The secret to soft, flat melt-in-yer-mouth, ohhhhhh-so-good, oooey, gooey, chewy chocolate chip cookies is no electric beating and minimal cooking time.

What you need:

-2 1/2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
–1 teaspoon of baking soda
-big pinch of salt
-1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
-1 cup packed brown or golden sugar
-1 cup white sugar
-1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
-2 eggs
-2 cups semisweet or milk chocolate chips

What you do:

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a bowl and set aside. Put the room-temperature soft butter in a bow and mush it around with your spatula. Now add sugars and keep mixing. add vanilla and eggs and again, keep mixing and mushing. You want it to be well mixed – but you’ll still see little lumps of butter. By the time you’re done mixing they’re the size of coarse bread crumbs in your mixture. Now add the dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together. Throw in the chocolate chips and give a final mixing until everything is even.

Drop one-inch balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and keep them about an inch and a half apart.

Bake for 11-13 minutes, making sure to take them out just as they brown. If you’re a fan of crunchy, let them cook a little longer and the edges will crisp up.

These won’t rise. They may be a bit puffy, but basically flat. And gooey. And delicious. Grab a glass of milk and enjoy some before the kids eat every last one, you deserve it.

And, just so you get your cookies to your version of perfection, LifeHacker.com has this handy dandy chart for tweaking your cookie recipe to your personal preference:

LifeHacker.com: Know what to tweak to get the best chocolate chip cookies

Baked butternut zig zag blackbean taquitos

Posted on February 16, 2016 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

My kids devoured these – and a fair amount of sour cream too. This makes A LOT and they are good for lunch the next day. If you use larger tortillas (which I did the first time) hubs dubbed them “man-sized” taquitos

What you need:

-1/2 bag of butternut zig zags (pick up a bag at SAM’s Club) or use good ol Butternut Squash strips/cubes
-1 can black beans, rinsed, drained
-1 cup of corn kernels
-1 cup old cheddar cheese, shredded
-4 ounces melted cream cheese
-2/3 cup salsa – go with the spice your kids can handle
-1 teaspoon chili powder
-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
-salt & pepper, to taste
-flour tortillas (small or “man-sized”)
-1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil, melted togehter
Garnish for serving: sour cream, guacamole, hot sauce

What you do:

Preheat oven to 375°. Grab a bowl and mix the butternut zig zags, beans and corn. Add the cheese and mix together. In a second bowl stir together melted cream cheese, salsa, spices, salt & pepper. Mix both bowls together.

Scoop up the mix and form a line about an inch wide in the lower half of the tortilla. Rolle the tortilla tightly and place seam down on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush taquitos with the oil/butter mixture. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Serve with sour cream, guacamole and/or hot sauce.

Half-time chili for Super Bowl Sunday

Posted on February 6, 2016 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

There are a few Super Bowl foods that we can’t go without. This year I’m not able to go to the party for game day, but my boys love my chili, so I’ve whipped up a pot. I started it on Friday so that it will be ready for half-time on Super Bowl Sunday. Not that it takes 3 days to make, but we all know chili is one of those foods that gets better the longer it simmers. So throw the ingredients in the pot and come back every once in a while and give it a stir. If you are going to the party, just double the recipe.

What you need:

-2 pounds ground beef (your choice of lean, extra lean or medium)
-6 tomatoes or 1 1/2 cans tomatoes or 1.5 jar of tomato sauce (more if you like your chili thinner – you gauge, you can always add more as you prefer)
-1 can of kidney beans (white or red – my boys like the white ones and call them ghost beans)
– 4 heaping tablespoons of chili powder
-2 heaping tablespoons of garlic powder or 3-5 cloves of pressed garlic
-1 1/2 tablespoons salt
-2 tablespoons vinegar
-1 teaspoon ground pepper (white pepper is less spicy, black pepper is fine)
-2 tablespoons cumin
-1 teaspoon paprika

Optional:

-1 large onion, diced ans sautéed
-1 cup corn kernels
-1 diced red and/or green pepper (two peppers are fine if you love peppers)
-cayenne or hot sauce to taste

To serve:

-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
-1 container sour cream
-nacho chips
-hot sauce to taste

What you do:

Put all chili ingredients except beans into a pot. Bring temperature up to medium high and stir, stir, stir. Once it’s really starting to cook, drop the temperature down to low – just above minimum. Stir in the beans, put a lid on it and let it simmer.

You can leave it simmering for hours and hours – just pop in to stir it every little while. Each day you may want to add half a cup of water. There is a fair bit of liquid that will cook off, just stir. Each day just put it on the stove and simmer if you’re around.

Chili is ready to serve after an hour, and is really really good, but it’s even better on day two, and on day three it’s perfect! Leftovers are just so good. Eat a bowl on its own, or sprinkle cheese or top with a dollop of sour cream – or both cheddar AND sour cream. You can stir in the hot sauce to your preference, I leave out the heat because my 7 year old hates spicy food, though my 5 year old can pretty much eat fire (like mama!).

Enjoy!

10 Questions with Child Entertainers Sonshine and Broccoli

Posted on January 8, 2016 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in 10 Questions With .

Your kids love to be entertained, but you can’t be the feature attraction 24/7. Birthday parties are an exceptionally good time to hire entertainment. Some entertainers are better than others. Some really know what will keep your child entranced – and how long they can hold that attention before that little body can’t contain it any longer. So what to look for in an entertainer? We caught up with professional child entertainers Sonshine and Broccoli to ask the questions you know you want to know.

1. Why are musical shows engaging for children?

I think we all remember our first concert. Mine ( Sonshine ) was the beach boys. Musical shows are extremely engaging for all kids, from the first clap, to the head bop, to the jump. Kids find music a freedom of their own expression.

2. What time of day is best for keeping kids interested in the performance?

I would say first thing in the morning or after nap time.

3. Where do you get the energy to entertain kids on a continual basis?

We could be having the worst day but the second we are on stage rockin’ out to an audience of kids, life is just great. The energy truly comes from them. Kids are excited , intrigued and engaged. We often feed off of their energy.

4. How do you know when you are losing the attention span of a child – are there signs?

Ohhh yes. Big signs.

We can plan a show one way and totally decide to change it part way through depending on the age and types of kids in the audience. Sonshine and Broccoli have been called “The Kid Whispers.” There is nothing better than getting their attention from the very first song. We have found that keeping the show very upbeat and interactive works great for us.

5. Should entertainment be at the beginning, middle or end of a party?

Entertainment should be after the first half an hour of a party. Let your guest come in – leave some time for the stragglers – and within 30 to 40 min of the called time it’s great to bring out the entertainment.

6. What size party works best with entertainment?

It completely depends on the party. For more intimate parties, 20 kids is great. For larger parties or events we bring equipment, plug in and rock out to a huge crowd.

7. Can you customize a show to my child’s age group?

Yes of course. Recently we performed where we were given very little information about a show. The kids happened to be much older than our normal audience. We quickly adjusted our set list and the kids, all the way up to 15, had a blast. We always have tricks up our sleeve.

8. Do you need a large space to have performers at a child’s birthday party?

Not at all. Any performer should be able to accommodate your space. I always say whatever you are comfortable with.

9. What can parents do to make the entertainment part go over well? Should it be hyped on the invite? Part of a theme?

Yes to both. It’s always great to let your guest know who will be performing. It allows the parent and child to go online, check them out on YouTube, get excited about who they will be seeing. I have seen so many fabulous themed parties, from a Far East theme where all the kids were given kimonos to Princess Parties.

10. Why do children love your music?

We have been writing and singing kids’ music for 11 years. When we started writing, the process was so natural: Just put yourself into the mind of a child; the innocence of so many first things , silly things, scary things. We have just released our 3rd album and our music has grown over the years. We are growing with the kids. This new album is a pop rock album and is in the new genre of kindie music. Indie music for kids. We feel that parent and child should really rock out together!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3U0BHzK2Wo&w=420&h=315]

Sonshine & Broccoli, AKA Lisa Sonshine and Brock (Broccoli) Burford, have been entertaining parents and their children for over a decade. They’ve just released their third album “It’s A Beautiful Day.”

Music, always close to the heart and ongoing for Lisa and Brock, is the subject of a documentary, “Learning To Play” currently in post-production. Developed by the multi-talented duo, “Learning to Play” emerged from seven day collaboration with other musical artists. A Juno nominated artist, a film/ TV composer, vocal coach, Sonshine & Broccoli song writing students and others, came together in an all ages storytelling look on the power of music in our lives. The interviews and music from this moving collaboration can be seen on Sonshine & Broccoli’s website. The documentary explores how an early learned love of music can connect people to each other throughout their lives.

Over the past decade, Sonshine & Broccoli have entertained children across the GTA with their high energy interactive shows, sold out performances, In demand Corporate & private events, as well as a Pop Stars songwriting workshop for kids aged 7 to 12 as an after school, PD Day, and camp program. The camp has been recently added to the Toronto Public Library’s Culture Days programming.

Sonshine & Broccoli brings out the song in all of us.

@s_bmusic

Drunken pot roast

Posted on December 13, 2015 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

I love pot roasts. They’re easy and look after themselves. If you’ve got all day, you can cook it slow and low for hours and hours, and it just keeps getting more tender and flavourful. If you’ve only got two hours, raise the heat and get it done. Up to you, it’s still and amazing dish, and leftovers are the best part!

What you need:

Roast:
– 1 roast 3-5 pounds
– 3 cups red wine
– 1 large Spanish onion or 2-3 medium yellow onions, chopped
– 12 – 16 white muhsrooms, halved
– 3 cloves garlic, sliced up
– 2 tablespoons butter
– Salt and Pepper to taste

Gravy (optional)
– 3 tablespoons butter
– 1/4 cup of flour

What you do:

Preheat oven to 250°. In roasting pan add the wine, onions, mushrooms, garlic, salt and pepper. Put in oven without roast, covered.

On medium-high in a big grilling pan/frying pan, melt the butter, season the roast with salt and pepper, and then sear the roast on all sides. This helps to lock in the flavour and juices. Place seared roast in the oven in the pot and cover.

Let cook for 4 to 5 hours. You can remove the cover for the last half hour to reduce liquid.

Remove from oven. Carve the roast into thin slices and then return them to the pot to soak in the sauce.

My boys love this dish and really like when I make some of the jus into gravy to go with the roast.

Gravy: Melt butter in a sauce pan on medium-high. As the butter starts to fry, add flour by the tablespoon and blend quickly. When it becomes paste-like, start ladling the jus from the roast into the paste, whisking together. Keep adding jus until you reach your desired thickness. We like our gravy thick.

If you’re short on time, you can raise the oven temperature to 350° and cook for about 90 minutes. Rich, full-bodied red wines work best for this recipe. If you don’t have red on hand, you can substitute with beer – the darker the better. Guinness or dark ale is perfect, but it will even work with lighter beers.