This isn’t so much a recipe. It’s just what I threw together today. And it was so good!!! Justin loved it…although he loves anything remotely close to spaghetti with meat sauce 😛 
I made meatballs this morning using 1 lb. of Voogt ground beef, some grated zucchini, some whole wheat bread crumbs, some grated parmesan cheese and seasoning (not a lot of any particular add-in…Justin likes to taste the meat :). I got 21 meatballs out of it. I browned them first. Then I put them in the crockpot with 1 pt. of my homemade sauce and let it cook on high for a bit to get going and then on low while we were at church…about 6 hours of cooking total. The meatballs were so flavorful and moist! 
Then I made whole wheat spaghetti noodles (organic). I peeled a small zucchini (from our garden) into ribbons and added it to the cooking pasta during the last few minutes. I didn’t use much zucchini since this was an experiment and Justin isn’t a huge zucchini fan. But he said he couldn’t even taste it…in the pasta or the meatballs. So I think I’ll be trying it again…with a little more zucchini and/or squash. Sneak a few more veggies into the meal 🙂 Maybe sometime I’ll trying serving the sauce over just zucchini…replace the pasta. But we’ll take baby steps 😛 This was a great meal, and now we have leftovers for Justin’s lunch, leftovers for another dinner (serving the meatballs on their own…not over pasta) and leftovers for Rebecca. She LOVES ground beef. A definite keeper for a yummy summer meal…and no oven 🙂
Category: Kid-friendly Recipes
It is so important to cook homemade, healthy food. But it’s not always easy to find kid-friendly recipes.
That’s where I come in. I’ve got hundreds of kid-tested and approved recipes that won’t keep you in the kitchen for hours or stretch your budget too thin.
I focus on allergy-friendly, whole foods. But I always cook with kids in mind. I take all sorts of feeding challenges into account too.
We’ve dealt with every allergy possible, so I’ve created recipes that are gluten free, nut free, dairy free, egg free, soy free, corn free, coconut free and more!
Kid-friendly recipes don’t have to be boring. And they are certainly not limited to chicken nuggets and pizza every night.
A nourished child will enjoy a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Get your kids in the kitchen with you and start cooking! Have fun with food and your kids will learn to love eating.
Blueberry Buckle
It’s blueberry season. Time to post some blueberry recipes. My SIL asked for this recipe a few weeks ago. 
I got it from my mom. We’ve had it many times. And it’s always great.
Blueberry Buckle
3/4 cups sugar (rapadura/cane sugar)
1/4 cup palm shortening shortening
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups flour (whole wheat is fine)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups blueberries
Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup soft butter
Mix sugar, shortening and egg. Stir in milk. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Sprinkle in blueberries. Put in 8×10 pan and top with crumb mixture.
Topping:
Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter.
Bake at 375 for 25-35 min.
Cashew Avocado Chicken Salad
I tried another chicken salad recipe last night. I came across it a bit ago on All Recipes and it sounded really good…chicken, avocado, cashews…what’s not to like? 🙂 It was super easy and so yummy!!! (Plus it was filling and full of healthy fat for me:) All 3 of us loved it. In Rebecca’s words, “mmm…mun dee.” I didn’t actually measure anything when I made it. I just eyeballed everything and tasted as I went. I’m not a huge ranch dressing fan, so I did half dressing and half mayonnaise. This recipe is for a sandwich. I just served mine over a bed of spinach and tomatoes. Justin had his on a bun (homemade). Maybe sometime I’ll try it with the bacon and swiss. I didn’t make a full recipe. What I made was enough for our dinner and Justin’s lunch tomorrow.
**Recipe update 6/17/11
Cashew Avocado Chicken Salad
4 cooked, boneless chicken breast halves, shredded (I used 1 large breast, roasted w/ EVOO, salt and pepper, then cubed)
1/3 cup homemade mayo or combo of mayo and sour cream
1 1/2 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill or 1 tsp. dill weed
1 cup cashews
1 avocado – peeled, pitted and diced
salt and pepper to taste
12 slices bacon
6 slices Swiss cheese
12 slices bread, toasted (serve it on spinach or GF bread to make it GF)
1/3 cup homemade mayo or combo of mayo and sour cream
1 1/2 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill or 1 tsp. dill weed
1 cup cashews
1 avocado – peeled, pitted and diced
salt and pepper to taste
12 slices bacon
6 slices Swiss cheese
12 slices bread, toasted (serve it on spinach or GF bread to make it GF)
In a large bowl, mix the cooked chicken, mayo, dill, cashews, and avocado. Season with salt and pepper. Cover, and chill in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes. (This is where I stopped. I chilled it for 1 hour and served it.)
Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown; drain.
Spread even amounts of the chicken mixture on 6 slices of toasted bread. Top each with 2 slices bacon and 1 slice Swiss cheese. Top with remaining bread slices to make sandwiches.
Spread even amounts of the chicken mixture on 6 slices of toasted bread. Top each with 2 slices bacon and 1 slice Swiss cheese. Top with remaining bread slices to make sandwiches.
**Edited 3/4/10
We made the full sandwich version last night on homemade whole wheat bread with bacon and muenster cheese. This is soooooo good!
Cherry Crisp
I wanted to use up my last few cherries, so I made a cherry crisp yesterday. I got the recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod. She used ranier cherries. I just had sweet cherries. It was really good! But not something I’d want to eat all the time. It was very cherry 😛 I bet it would be good with some tart cherries added. I made 2 small crisps. Justin ate half of one. I ate the other one…the whole thing :)…after a soccer game…I needed to make up for lost calories. Fresh cherry crisp with french vanilla Hudsonville ice cream…mmm:)
crisp with ranier cherries
*Edited 6/27/10 – I made this again last week. But I used sliced ranier cherries this time and a few black cherries. So good! It’s better with the ranier cherries added. I also used whole wheat flour instead of AP flour. Worked fine. I also made this a larger crisp in an 8×8 pan. I modified the recipe accordingly to use about 2 1/2 cups cherries.
Cherry Crisp
Makes 3 individual crisps in small ramekins or 2 crisps in small casserole dishes. You can double or triple it for one large crisp or more individual ones.
1 1/2 cups Rainer cherries, pitted and halved
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. flour
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Pinch of salt
2 Tbsp. flour (whole wheat works fine)
1/2 cup brown sugar (organic brown evaporated cane sugar)
2 Tbsp. cold butter-cut in small pieces
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray ramekins with cooking spray. In a small bowl sprinkle the cherries with the 2 Tbsp. of sugar and flour. Mix well. Let sit while you make the oat topping. In a small bowl add the oats, cinnamon, salt, flour, and brown sugar. Stir. Add the butter to the oat mix. Mix with your hands until you have a crumbly mixture. Pour sugared cherries into the sprayed ramekins. Make sure each one is even. Add the oat topping. Place ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes (or 30-40 for an 8×8 crisp), until they are bubbling. Cool for a minute and serve. (We used french vanilla ice cream on top).
Cherry Chicken Salad
Last night I made a cherry chicken salad for dinner. I came up with this after going to the Cherry Festival in Traverse City, MI.
This salad is very forgiving. You can adjust all of the quantities to your taste
Cherry chicken salad is so good!!! It is also a fun way to use cherries. Serve it on bread, on lettuce or with crackers. You really can’t go wrong.
Cherry Chicken Salad
2 chicken breasts, roasted w/ salt and pepper, cut into chunks
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup celery, sliced thinly
1/2 cup sweet cherries, chopped
1/4 cup dried cherries (I used tart), chopped
1/4 cup nuts, roughly chopped (I used pecans and walnuts)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
Mix all of the ingredients. Chill until ready to serve.
I served it in a bowl with romaine lettuce leaves and sprinkled with a few dried cherries and pecan pieces. We used the lettuce like a wrap and also ate the chicken salad plain.
Strawberry Topping
With my last quart of strawberries I made a batch of strawberry topping this morning. The recipe is from Justin’s mom…just a basic fruit topping recipe…for pancakes, waffles, ice cream, etc. You could use it with any kind of fruit. Maybe I’ll make some blueberry topping to freeze when I get more blueberries. This is very good and very simple. Although it is on the sweet side. I’ll use less sugar next time. And you could probably add a little lemon juice to brighten up the flavor a bit.
Strawberry (fruit) Topping
1/3 cup organic cane sugar, sucanat or coconut sugar (adjust to taste)
2 Tbsp. all purpose flour OR 1 Tbsp. tapioca flour OR 2 Tbsp. arrowroot
1/2 cup water
3 cups strawberries, chopped (or any fresh fruit)
Mix sugar and flour in medium sauce pan. Add water. Mix. Turn on heat. Stir in strawberries. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute.
Serve on pancakes, waffles, shortcake or ice cream. You can also mix it into plain yogurt.
**You can also just mix fresh strawberries and honey (to taste). Let them sit until the strawberries start to soften. Then mash with a fork or potato masher. No cooking required. You can heat the topping before serving if desired.
Dried Cherries and Strawberries
I picked up a bunch of strawberries and cherries at the farmer’s market this week and tried my deyhydrator. I never knew drying your own food was so easy! I have a basic dehydrator, so it takes a little longer than some. But really not too bad. The cherries took 20-48 hours. The strawberries took 10-24 hours. Just depends how thick you slice them. Now we have a jar of each dried fruit. They are so yummy!!! A great snack. We will be taking some on our vacation for sure. I’m excited to try drying other fruits…blueberries, apples, pineapple, bananas, peaches,…
I will try drying a few herbs after vacation. And sometime soon I’d like to try making beef jerky with some of our Voogt beef.
Oatmeal Cookies
I made a batch of oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies this morning. I got the recipe from Justin’s mom. Her recipe uses raisins and nuts. I did raisins and chocolate chips. Amazingly Justin said he’s never had those two together! His mom always made them with just raisins or just chocolate chips…but never together. That’s how we always had oatmeal cookies. And the way I love them 🙂 This recipe made quite a few cookies…around 50. Even though we haven’t tasted them yet I’m sure they’re good 🙂 I think I’ve made them once before, but I can’t remember. These will make a handy snack on our vacation.
Famous Oatmeal Cookies with Raisins and Chocolate Chips
3/4 cup shortening
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup water
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 cups quick oats
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
Beat shortening, sugars, egg, water and vanilla until creamy. In separate bowl sift flour, salt and soda. Add to creamed mixture and blend well. Stir in oats, nuts, chips and raisins. Drop by teaspoonfuls (I used a small cookie scoop) onto greased (I used silpat and parchment paper) cookie sheets. Flatten with fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 min (mine took about 14 min.).
Rhubarb Crunch
Last night I used up our fresh rhubarb and strawberries in a crisp. I got this recipe on All Recipes a long time ago. I’ve made it several times. Always very good!! The only change I made was to use a 1/2 cup butter instead of a full cup in the topping. That just seems like way too much to me. And I added strawberries. They pair so well with rhubarb. And add extra sweetness.
Rhubarb Crunch
3 cups diced rhubarb
(chopped strawberries)
1 cup white sugar
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup butter
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
In a large mixing bowl combine rhubarb (and strawberries), white sugar, and 3 tablespoons flour. Stir well and spread evenly into baking dish. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine brown sugar, oats, and 1 1/2 cups flour. Stir well then cut in butter or margarine until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle mixture over rhubarb layer. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Serve hot or cold.
In a large mixing bowl combine rhubarb (and strawberries), white sugar, and 3 tablespoons flour. Stir well and spread evenly into baking dish. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine brown sugar, oats, and 1 1/2 cups flour. Stir well then cut in butter or margarine until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle mixture over rhubarb layer. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Serve hot or cold.
Maple Pecan Scones
I had some buttermilk to use up, so I made a batch of scones this morning. It’s another recipe from Eggs On Sunday. There are quite a few more scone recipes on that blog that I’m anxious to try. These were super easy and very good! I only had a tiny nibble. But I let Justin have one fresh out of the oven for breakfast (they are meant to go with dinner) 🙂 He said they were great! I baked 4 this morning and froze 4 (froze before baking). I’ll make the frozen ones later in the week so they are fresh for another meal. These smelled amazing in the oven. I can’t wait to have a scone tonight!!
**Looking back at the recipe I wonder if you’re supposed to sprinkle the tops with sugar? I just put the 1/3 cup and the 2 Tbsp. in the mix. But I bet the 2 Tbsp. were supposed to be for topping…even though it doesn’t say that. I just wrote down the ingredients last night and made them w/o really looking at the directions this morning. So I didn’t realize it said 1/3 cup in the mix. Oh well. They’re still great. Maybe just a little sweeter 😛
Maple Pecan Scones
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp. organic cane sugar or sucanat
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
7 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, diced
3/4 cup chopped pecans, plus whole pecans for the tops of each scone (preferably soaked and dehydrated)
1/2 cup chilled buttermilk
2 1/2 Tbsp. real maple syrup
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Whisk 2 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until coarse meal forms. Mix in chopped pecans. Whisk buttermilk, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and maple syrup in small bowl to blend. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients; stir with fork until dough comes together in moist clumps. Gather dough into ball. Press out dough on lightly floured surface to 3/4-inch thick disk. Cut disk like a pie into 8 wedges. Place each wedge on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper, spacing evenly apart. Sprinkle with sugar. Press a whole pecan lightly into the top of each scone. (At this point, you can refrigerate the sheet, covered, overnight and bake the next morning if you’d like. Or you can freeze them and thaw/bake them later.)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake until scones are crusty on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 15 minutes (or up to 20 minutes if refrigerated). Serve warm or at room temperature.