Quick and Easy Cobbler
Have you ever found yourself wanting something homemade, but with virtually no ingredients in your cabinets or refrigerator? For some reason (poor planning on my part, perhaps), this seems to happen fairly often in my house.
Well, not anymore. I have stumbled upon a great, super easy dessert recipe that contains only ingredients I almost always have on hand. As an added bonus, with the exception of pulling the finished cobbler out of the oven, all the steps could be handled be even a very small child. So far, we’ve tried both peach and cherry cobblers. Enjoy!
- 1/2 stick butter
- 1 cup sugar (or granulated Splenda)
- 1 cup flour
- 1 1/2 tsps baking powder
- 1 cup milk
- 1 can canned fruit, undrained
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Melt butter in an 8×8 baking dish (can be done in the oven or microwave).
- In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, flour, baking powder, and milk.
- Pour batter over melted butter in baking dish. The batter is fairly thick, so do your best to spread evenly.
- Pour fruit over the batter.
- Optional: For added crunch, crumble a crunchy granola bar on top.
- Bake for 45 minutes.
Recipe adapted from Oregon Fruits.
Vegetable Heaven
Like most other parents, I struggle from time to time with my children and vegetables. While there is that part of me that realizes their palates are still growing and learning, there is also that part of me that wants them to enjoy everything they eat right away. As we’ve been enjoying our own home-grown produce lately, that desire grows even deeper. Why on earth wouldn’t my children want to devour a bowl of garlic-wilted rainbow chard, or a bowl of kale and white bean stew? Unfortunately, my ideas of my children experiencing ecstasy over mere garden produce may be a bit optimistic.
Yet, they’re trying. I have to give them kudos for that, they are always willing to give each vegetable a try. The other day as I snipped jumbo kale leaves to blanch and freeze, my daughter watched carefully before asking how it tasted. I offered her a giant leaf, and she spent the next ten minutes on a swing, nibbling that kale into oblivion. When I asked her how she enjoyed it, she told me it was “all right — kind of like cabbage.” Every day as I walk the garden, looking for new delights, both children accompany, pointing out this and that and enjoying the entire growing process themselves. They rem
ember those cold April days when I pressed those tomato seeds into soil, and now they’re getting their first taste of that labor.
Perhaps the biggest hit of the summer would be our pole beans. My children love green beans fresh out of the garden. Cook them in any way and they both turn up their noses, but freshly picked, crisp green beans will beat any bowl of ice cream, hands down. On any given day, either child can be found amongst the beans, picking and nibbling like little rabbits. The first time I caught them doing that, I wanted to scold them — those beans had been planned for dinner! I started out of the house to confront them on this when I caught myself and laughed at what I had almost done. I was going to scold my children? For eating vegetables? Every since then, we have done the exact opposite. We grow green beans for the kids. At any time they may pick the ripened vegetables and eat them to their heart’s content. And while this year it’s the beans, maybe next year they’ll add that rainbow chard to their repertoire.
Luring Your Kids into Eating Healthy School Lunches
Our fishing expedition on Flathead Lake this summer was comical. Despite our best efforts, we were unable to catch anything, even though the boat next to us was reeling in fish every time we looked! Clearly, there was something we weren’t doing right. As a man from the next boat yelled over to us, “What kind of bait are you using?” a crazy thought entered into my mind: Feeding children is a lot like fishing – you have to have the right lure, or they won’t bite! Packing desirable school lunches is a lot like the fine art of selecting an appealing lure while fishing. Try some of these stress-free strategies for packing lunches that are healthy for your kids and the environment. They’ll be sure to bite!
- Ask your kids what they will enjoy. Remember that if they don’t like certain foods at home, they won’t like them at school either!
- Ask for their input before loading their lunch box. Just because they liked something today doesn’t mean that they will like it again tomorrow.
- Keep in mind that your children don’t have much time to eat — pack foods in small portions that are easy to eat, so they have time left to play.
- Don’t be lured into buying prepackaged lunches, which are high in fat, sugar, salt, and calories, are much more expensive, and produce tons of unnecessary garbage.
- Let your child help you select a cool lead-free and reusable lunch bag or lunch box. Pick up a few reusable containers that will fit inside – this will prevent food from leaking and getting smashed, and will help you avoid using disposable items like plastic bags and foil.
- Pack a reusable drink container instead of juice boxes, juice pouches, cans, and disposable plastic bottles.
- Instead of packing a paper napkin, use a cloth one (baby wash cloths, or cut up old t-shirts work great for this!)
- Pack stainless-steel utensils instead of using disposable plastics.
- Buy in bulk instead of purchasing pre-packaged items. This will save you money, and you can reuse or recycle the containers at home.
- Whenever possible, pack lunches the night before. Why add more stress to your morning routine?
Here are a variety of ideas for some fun and interesting lunches. Don’t forget to include fruits or vegetables, protein, and whole grains every day.
Making Salads Fun to Eat
Kids and veggies… what a difficult pair to match. How do you get children to dive in? Add a green leafy salad to the mix? A little creativity goes a long way.
When you think about eating out, a salad choice comes before the entrée. Some restaurants include salad with the entrée. The “house” salad is considerably smaller than those ordered as a meal, drastically decreasing the intimidation factor for young, picky eaters. So, why not serve a home cooked dinner as if you were sitting in the corner booth in your favorite eatery?
This Honey-Lime Tortilla Salad is not only quick to prepare, but it’s also subtly delicious and healthy, and just enough to get a meal going without fuss. Of course, adding cheese on top is always a crowd pleaser! All you need is a bag of salad fixin’s, some tortillas, and a batch of honey-lime dressing.
Cover three tortillas (6-inch round) with a moistened paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds – until flexible. One at a time, fit the tortillas in a non-stick large cup muffin pan by gently pressing the tortilla against the cup. (If the pan is not non-stick, be sure to spray with cooking spray.
When all three are placed in the pan, bake the tortillas in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, are until they are light golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes then remove place the tortilla cups on plates.
While the tortillas are in the oven, prepare the dressing by whisking together
- the juice of 1 lime
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
- a pinch of salt.
Pour over salad fixin’s of choice and mix. I used mixed greens with veggies, black beans, olives, and cheddar cheese. Eat up!
Summer Snacking Made Simple
With summer being so busy, it’s nice to have some quick and easy snacks that the kids can make themselves and enjoy with their friends. This cute Graham Cracker Bruschetta will make any afternoon brighter! The nice thing is you can top them with whatever you have on hand. Any cookies, fruit, nuts, or candy work great. Enjoy!
Graham Cracker Bruschetta
graham cracker squares
4 oz softened low-fat cream cheese
2 Tablespoons sugar
Berries, fruit, cookies, nuts, or candy
Place graham crackers onto a serving plate. Combine cream cheese and sugar in a bowl until combined. Spread onto graham crackers and top with desired toppings.
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