Dehydrator action

Dehydrated and freeze dried fruits are one of our favorite snacks in this household. But they can get super duper pricey!! I believe I posted previously about our favorite brand Just Tomatoes. So I started exploring options to make at home. 

I borrowed a relative's dehydrator to give it a shot and we loved it!! Problem was the one we borrowed was like a $300 machine. I did some research and ended up buying a more economical dehydrator off of Amazon. 

Here's the "real thing" sitting on my counter. 

It had good reviews, and was super nice on the wallet. Shoot, I figured if we ended up using it a lot we could always spring for a nicer one. Because I'm buying this so save money! 

I began dehydrating immediately. With Just Tomatoes fruits ranging from $6-$9 per bag, we recouped our initial investment in the first TWO times I used it (maybe even FIRST time). 

Best part: McKenna is a fan!! They aren't exact same as the "freeze dried" fruits, so they are a little firmer and stiffer. I'm not sure I would have started with them as snacks from the get go. But so far we have tried out Apples, Pears, Bananas, Pineapples, Kiwis, Blueberries, Peaches... Im sure I have forgotten something! 

So far banana is McKenna's absolute favorite!

 

So much so that whenever she sees the dehydrator machine she says NaNa! 

I often forget to overcompensate how much to put in it bc we "test" (read: snack) on half of it before it's all done. I guess I'll need to buy a few more screens so we can do even more at once! 

The manual that comes with the machine outlines pretty much everything you need to know, including approx dehydrating times, etc. 

The one thing that hasn't really worked for us so far was Spinach. I'm not sure how I anticipated it coming out, but it just kinda disintegrated as McKenna attempted to bite it! Needless to say it was a nightmare and it ended up in the trash. 

It has been fun testing out all of the varieties of fruits, and we haven't even scratched the surface. I can't wait to try veggies, and Kevin is excited to try for Beef Jerky! 

As far as the machine, it is more than sufficient for our use. I'm not sure what type of features other ones offer to be so expensive! I'm not super versed in dehydrators, but food has to be dehydrated at a certain temperature, so it's not they they could shorten dehydrating time by much! Here's a link to the one we have on Amazon: 

Nesco FD-80A Square-Shaped Dehydrator

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090WOCM6/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_u3FAvb0JS18ZT

We are extremely happy with ours. I don't see us purchasing another one until this one goes caput. I definitely encourage anyone and everyone that wants hassle free snacks on the go to give dehydrated foods a shot! 

Banana Oatmeal cookies/bars

These simple bars have been so awesome for us. You can whip them up in under a couple of minutes with TWO ingredients. That's right. TWO ingredients. It's up to you if you want anymore ingredients.

Banana Oatmeal "Cookies"/Bars

The first time I saw these they were prepared as cookies (here's where I found them). And sure, I think they'd be great as a cookie replacement. However, my child has never really had cookies, so even if these were healthy and delicious, why would I want to get her hooked on any type of cookie?? Doesn't make sense. Hence I decided to start shaping them into little handheld bars. 

Get ready for this super complex recipe. 

• 1 cup of oatmeal
• 2 very ripe bananas
• 1/4 add-on ingredient - so far we have only and always added chia seeds, but you can try whatever you like! Nuts, dried fruits, seeds. 

First set the oven to 350 degrees.

And get out your lengthy list of ingredients. 

As you can see I actually used Steel Cut oats. Previous times I've used traditional. McKenna really didn't seem to have a preference with one over the other. But let me say, unless you prep the Steel Cut first, they are rather tough.

There isn't a whole lot to tell you what to do... First, mush the ripe bananas. 

Then add in the oatmeal and additional ingredients (if you decided to). 

Form them onto a nonstick cookie sheet (make cookies or bars, however you want to). 

Pop them in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Cooking thoroughly really isn't an issue, so I just check the bottom or feel them to make sure they are firm. 

Here they are baked. Look about the exact same as they did before they went in the oven (minus a few taste testers).

As you can see there really isn't a difference in shape/size between cooked and "raw". 

Any toddler mama will attest to the ability to snap a picture of a toddler in "go-go" mode. So here's the best I got of McKenna noshing on one of our favorite snacks. 

Her snatching one out of my hand even with her hands full:

When a snack isn't her favorite, typically the dogs get a taste. Let me tell you they don't get to taste these! 

 

And for the icing on the cake, Nana (for Banana) was one of McKenna's first words outside of Mama and Dada.  She's not even that big of a fan, she just loves saying (that and edamame!).

Another link to the original article can be found here.

Pinspiration: Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin Muffins, just in time for Fall.

This morning while watching College Football, I got the itch for something tasty and fall-inspired. So I decided to try a tempting Pinterest recipe.  Here's what they look like from Pinterest:

Pinterest: Pumpkin Muffins

Originally posted by Recipe Dutchess at Pumpkin Muffins.

This recipe looked relatively straightforward. Almost too easy. I was actually worried how they would turn out because it seemed too easy!  I've never made muffins from scratch (only boxed), so I had no idea what to expect. These not only looked delicious but also manageable for a muffin-newbie like me.

AND I've never made anything with canned pumpkin, so I was super excited.

When it comes to cooking, what can be better than "Add all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix"?? And that's pretty much what this recipe calls for. So here's what you need:

Looks like the battle of Target vs. Publix. I tend to be a "clean" baker.... I would probably drive "real" bakers nuts.  I like to put away ingredients as I go, so baking can take me a while. On the plus side, if you pull all of the ingredients out first like I did and put away as you go, you know if you forgot something!

Here's what the mixture looks like in stages:  Dry ingredients, then added Wet ingredients.

Then mix until ingredients are combined.... do not over mix (which I have a tendency to do, so I stopped much sooner than I wanted to). You want it lumpy.

I got concerned here. This is when I normally would have tasted it, but there was raw egg.*
I mentioned that I've never made muffins from scratch (only boxed), so I wasn't sure if this was the consistency the dough was supposed to be.  It was rather thick. But, what can ya do? Just keep swimming.

So as I was dividing into the muffin pan I was surprised that this recipe only made 12 muffins.  That's like one serving for a preggo's hearty appetite.

Do NOT forget to sprinkle the sugar on top before putting them in the oven.  I ended up using the 1/4 tsp per muffin it called for on 2 muffins, and it still seemed like a lot of sugar.  Adjust according to your taste.  Oh, and remember to have enough cups on hand..... I clearly ran out :-). Though, next time I'll likely bake them sans cups.

The recipe called for baking at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes.  My oven tends to be "hot" so I always set a timer a few minutes early.  After poking them with a toothpick, I ended up taking them out at 17 minutes.

I would have liked the tops to be a bit crispier (you know that sugar crunch), but they were fully cooked through and the bottoms were brown. So next time I will likely lower the temp to 375 to see if I can bring the baking length up a bit.

There is never a better time to eat your freshly baked treats than right out of the oven.... so get after it!

They were dense and moist. None of the flavors were overpowering, so they are dangerous to have just laying around. I ended up eating 3 while they were still warm.

I will definitely be making these again.  Kevin's not home so I don't know how he'll like them, but he's not carrying a baby! The serving size is perfect to linger for a couple days without the worries of needing to throw any out ;-).

*Now I've mentioned previously the difficulty of baking while pregnant due to raw eggs. I do know that in some recipes apple sauce can be substituted for egg. This has never sounded quite right for any recipes I've made, but this actually seems like a recipe that apple sauce would work well with.  Perhaps I'll try that the next time I make this (which will be very soon!)

Elyse's Philosophy of Cooking. On the menu: Chicken Mushroom Spinach Lemon Pasta

While I really enjoy cooking, I hate going to the grocery store (though we do love us some Publix down South).  I do not plan on what I'm going to cook throughout the week before I go to the store, and part of this is because I absolutely HATE wasting food (in the case that it ends up not getting cooked). So most nights I'm in the mood to cook consist of me scrambling to come up with a meal based on what's in the fridge.

This feat is even grander when you are married to an individual with an extremely small palette. Though, I will say that it has expanded drastically since we began dating!! I had warned him at the beginning of my pregnancy that I will need to cook more of a variety of healthy foods so he'd need to be prepared to have cereal for dinner from time to time :).

Typically, I take whatever main ingredients I have on hand that I'd like to use and generically Google for recipe ideas.  I rarely use just one recipe, but a compilation of several I find.  This has me following very few measurements, eyeballing a lot, and often has me never being able to cook the same thing more than once.

I must input here that I don't plan to do thorough step-by-step cooking instructions (nor list ingredients with accurate measurements), but a general idea of recipes I used, the outcome, and whether I plan to cook it again.  I'm way too high-strung in the kitchen to worry about that! But we'll see how this evolves.

So tonight's Google Search:  Chicken Spinach Lemon Pasta
(I intended to use Mushrooms as well but am comfortable with just tossing them into pretty much any pasta dish)

Several recipes of interest popped up, including some that I intend to try in the future:

Lemon Spaghetti with Chicken and Spinach (tons of pictures and looks delish!)
Chicken & Spinach Lemon Angel Hair Pasta
Easy Lemon Pasta with Chicken

Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures during prep and cooking so only have of the final product (cut me some slack, I'm still learning!!).

Chicken, Mushroom, Spinach Lemon Pasta

Typically when I cook "one pan" pasta dishes I start with getting the pasta cooked and out of the way so there's one less thing going on (I'm an anxious cook). With this recipe, I used a little less than half a box of Angel Hair.

As the sliced mushrooms (roughly 2 handfuls) sautéed, I cut 2 chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces and seasoned with thyme, paprika, salt, and pepper.

I removed the mushrooms and cooked the chicken with the juice of half of a lemon. After the chicken cooked I removed it to start with a fresh pan and to remove the white goop that sometimes gets cooked out of chicken. Don't worry, I've researched this and it is protein that is more likely to occur with frozen chicken.

I returned the mushrooms and chicken to the pan with 2 tablespoons of butter and began to add the pasta.  I added some olive oil, the juice of 1 lemon, and the zest of 1 lemon. Once the pasta was well coated I added two heaping handfuls of fresh baby spinach.

I turned the heat to low and tossed from time to time until spinach was wilted.

I topped it with shredded parmesan and served with garlic toast.

I thoroughly enjoyed this dish. I was looking for something light but starchy, and this hit the spot perfectly. Just what Baby P ordered. I will definitely be making this again!

One thing I would change in the future is the type of pasta I used, perhaps Linguine or Penne.  The Angel Hair seemed just a bit too flimsy.  If I use long pasta in the future, I'll also plan to cut it shorter so it blends easier with the rest of the ingredients. I'd likely add more spinach next time too.

Kevin's not a big lemon fan, so his initial reaction after his first bite was: "it's citrus-y".  It wasn't overbearing, I was actually wanting it more lemony (remember his sensitive palette), so he'll have to live with it when I make it in the future.... because I definitely will be!

Pregnant Baking: a good idea, in theory

As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I for some reason thought that I would add baking to my list of hobbies. Perhaps it would come with the desire to nest? I mean, why NOT bake your own crave-quenching sweet treats from scratch?

I'll tell you why not.  One word:  BATTER.

You may not meet a more sugar-craving freak than myself.  My sugar intake scares me sometimes. But on this one afternoon, I wanted brownies.  Not only that, Kevin was going to be late from work and I knew he'd appreciate coming home to some freshly made brownies (so see, it wasn't just for me!).

Well, my whole baking hobby thing sounded good in theory.  Then as I began to read down the list of ingredients, I remembered one of the key ingredients to most baked goods: eggs. raw eggs.

The only thing that saved me from this venture was the powdered box mix.  Yes, I am one of those weirdos that enjoys coughing on the sweet powder mix that gets stuck in your throat (that is, however, assuming that there are other weirdos out there that do this as well).

As I stirred the 3 simple ingredients into the powdered mix, my mouth began to water.  "Can I make it through this???" I asked myself. This proved to be more difficult than first anticipated.

 

Yes, that is a Mickey Mouse hand stirring our brownie dough.  After stirring and pouring the batter into the pan, perhaps one of the most difficult moments of my pregnancy to date:

Even my poor quality iPhone picture makes this look finger lickin' good.  I sure do want to lick Mickey's glove right about now. I even got some batter on my hands.  But, I succeeded. I pushed through the desires to devour every last morsel of brownie batter. I am incredibly proud of myself, not a single lick.

Will I ever do this again?? Not too sure.  Depends on how badly I want some fresh baked goods. But until then, we have some gooey brownies waiting for me in the kitchen.