Saturday, 23 February 2013

Quick and Easy Please!

Being a Mom, a Student, a Wife ( a Chef, a Maid, a Chauffeur, yeah, you get the point)  I love quick and easy recipes and help in the kitchen! I know that I am not the only one, so I am holding a cooking class for quick and easy recipes.  I will start my cooking classes, that I am teaching tomorrow.  It is a class for healthy quick and easy recipes for busy parents.  I will post those recipes soon.

I went onto the budget101.com website, which I really like.  My daughter wanted mac&cheese for lunch today, and because she fell face first on the ice yesterday coming home from school, and woke up this morning with her lip infected, I wanted her to eat something soft, so I thought I would try the Parmesan mac&cheese mix/recipe.  I really liked  how easily it came together!  My kids said that it needed more cheese, so you can always add a cup of cheddar or moz. cheese to the sauce.
Here is the recipe link:
  http://www.budget101.com/side-dish-mixes/Parmesan-macaroni-mix-1483.html

2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
1¾ cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup all purpose flour
1/2 Garlic Salt
½ teaspoon ground mustard (I did not use for my kids)
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 c Shredded cheese
Combine all ingredients in a ziploc bag, seal & shake until well blended. Label and store in Fridge.

Additional Ingredients:
1½ cups uncooked
 elbow macaroni
½ cup milk
½ cup water
¼ to ½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ T. Margarine
1 c. Sauce Mix


To USE: Cook macaroni according to package directions.
In a Med saucepan combine 1 c. of Sauce Mix, Milk, water, margarine, & salt (1cup of cheese if you want) over med heat, stirring constantly until sauce comes to a boil.


Drain macaroni(but save 1/2 cup of pasta water), stir into sauce, stirring until evenly coated.  You can add some of the reserved water to thin out the sauce if it gets to thick.


I also made up a couple of bags of the Chicken flavored rice mix, but I used brown minute rice.
http://www.budget101.com/side-dish-mixes/chicken-flavored-rice-mix-1470.html

4 c Uncooked brown instant Rice ~(The recipe calls for long grain rice)
4 T Instant Chicken Bouillon

  ~  I used 2 TB dried herb mix (This is different from the original recipe
1/4 t White Pepper 

Combine all ingredients in a ziploc bag. Shake until evenly distributed.
Put about 1 1/3 cups into three 1-pint containers and label as
Chicken-Flavored
 Rice Mix. Store in a cool, dry place.


Makes about 4 cups of mix. 


To Use: 
1 1/3 cups Rice Mix ~ which will make about 2 servings.
2 C. Cold water 
1 T butter or margarine in a medium saucepan. Bring
water to a boil over high heat. Cover and reduce the heat, cook for 5 minutes (cooking time depends on type of rice used)

I am going to try this Gummi candy recipe out with my daughter this weekend.
http://www.skiptomylou.org/2010/01/06/homemade-gummi-candy/

It calls for 1~ 3 oz box of any flavor Jello
2~ 1/4 oz pkg unflavored gelatin
Water
Candy molds
Place 1/3 cup water in a small sauce pan. Sprinkle the Jello and  unflavored gelatin over the water. Let sit 5 – 10 minutes. (If you like chewier gummi candy add in another packet of unflavored gelatin.)
Place sauce pan over medium heat and stir until gelatin is dissolved, about 2-5 minutes. When mixture is liquid and all gelatin has dissolved, remove from heat.  Let cool a minute and then pour into a container that is easy to pour from.  I use a small ceramic creamer pitcher. Fill molds. Allow to cool completely, about 20 minutes. They may be placed in a refrigerator for about 10 minutes if the kids are eager. Once cool, the backs can be lightly dusted with corn starch, if desired. 
This week I start my Health Science class, wish me luck! 

Take care and live, love and eat well!,

Alyssa

Sunday, 17 February 2013

So I haven't posted anything in a while, but life has been getting in the way.  I am busy with my classes and kids, as well as getting ready to start teaching cooking classes.  I am going to post links to many of the web sites that I find useful in my research for healthy living, recipes.  Canada ~ Protecting your children from Obesity http://www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/kids-enfants/index-eng.php  It has great tips and information.

These are some blogs that I find useful for healthy recipes:

http://wholefoodforthewholefamily.blogspot.ca/























http://www.adventuresofaglutenfreemom.com/

http://simplysugarandglutenfree.com/substitutions/#        for healthier substitutions

http://www.eatright.org/kids/

More to come!