Week SIX: Little Egg & Bacon Breakfast Pies, Rosemary Potatoes and Soynut Butter S'mores

LITTLE EGG & BACON BREAKFAST PIES
Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon butter for greasing 
• 2 sheets store-bought puff pastry
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 bacon “eyes” (the round part of bacon slice) cut into small cubes
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup of milk
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 pinches of black pepper
• 3 chives

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 
2. Grease 6 ramekins. 
3. Use a small bowl to cut out 6 pastry circles that fit the ramekins. 
4. Place pastry into each ramekin, bake for 15 minutes. (The pastry shells can be made ahead of time.)
5. Put onion in a food processor and blitz it to a paste. 
6. Scrape paste into mixing bowl with bacon. 
7. Combine eggs, milk, salt, and pepper into a mixing bowl and beat together well. 
8. Add to bacon and onion mixture. 
9. Use scissors to snip chives in and stir well. 
10. Divide the mixture evenly between 6 pastry ramekins and bake for 20 minutes.

ROSEMARY POTATOES
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds small new red potatoes (about 15), scrubbed and dried
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 to 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 
2. Pare a narrow strip of peel from the middle of each potato. 
3. In a large bowl mix the oil, garlic, and rosemary; add the potatoes and toss well.
4. Transfer the potatoes to a shallow baking pan and roast until potatoes are tender when tested with the tip of a knife.
5. Serve hot.

SOYNUT BUTTER S'MORES
from RecipeGirl.com  
Ingredients:

• 1 box puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
• 3 whole graham crackers, gently broken into fourths
• 9 small milk chocolate bars
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter or soynut butter
• small bowl of water
• 1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon water (to make egg wash)
• 1/2 cup jarred marshmallow creme

Directions:

1. Thaw out a box of puff pastry, and cut along the fold lines to make 6 large rectangles. Cut each rectangle in half lengthwise.
2. Layer 1/4 of a whole graham cracker, a piece of milk chocolate bar and a spoonful of peanut butter on one side of the puff pastry.
3. Wet the edges with water (dip your finger in water and gently touch along the edge), fold over the filling ingredients and press edges together. Use a fork to seal the edges. Repeat with remaining pieces.
4. Transfer filled turnovers to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and brush with egg wash.
5. Use a sharp knife to cut a couple of slits in the top of each turnover (to allow steam to escape while baking).
6. Bake at 400°F until golden (about 15 minutes).
7. Scoop marshmallow creme into a zip baggie and microwave it for about 8 seconds. Snip the tip of the bag, zip it and drizzle marshmallow on top of warm turnovers.

Boom Boom by Robbert Bobbert and the Bubble Machine

Week FIVE: Recap!

Peaches! Peaches! Peaches! Today was peach day in Taste Buddies! We made three delightful meals using this wonderful summer fruit. I enjoyed trying the peach dishes so much in class yesterday that I went home and made the same ones for dinner last night! 

PEACH-GLAZED CHICKEN:
We began class by chopping peaches for a peach-glazed chicken dish. We were chefs and artists today because we painted our chickens with peach glaze and a pastry brush. Once our chickens were nice and coated in the glaze, we covered them with peaches! We then sent them off to the oven to be baked, and they tasted wonderful. You can bake or grill this dish at home -- both ways taste great!

ARUGULA AND PEACH SALAD:
After glazing our chicken, we moved on to making a peach salad. This is a wonderful salad that you can use with any summer fruit. We added some blackberries and strawberries into ours, but any of your favorite fruits will taste great. What a sweet and seasonal way to enjoy a salad!

PEACH-CUCUMBER SALSA:
Who knew making salsa could be so easy?! This is a great appetizer to throw together for your friends and family. Plus, after doing the prep work your little one can help out by doing all of the mixing themselves. Next time you have a fiesta with loved ones, add some peach salsa!

Week FIVE: BBQ Peach chicken, Arugula and Peach salad, and Peach-Cucumber Salsa

Miss Meghean shows us how to prepare Peach-Glazed Chicken (recipe below) in her first Taste Buddies Cookbook video! Yummmy!

BBQ CHICKEN WITH PEACH GLAZE
from Free-Gourmet-Recipes.com
Ingredients:

• 1 cup peach preserves
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 split chicken breasts (or substitute for cooked chicken)
• 4 ripe peaches, pitted and halved

Directions:

1. Heat the grill to medium hot. 
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the preserves, garlic, olive oil, soy sauce, dry mustard, cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and mix well to combine.
3. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with additional salt and pepper, and place, skin-side down, on the grill. Cook the chicken about 10 minutes on each side before brushing the upturned side with glaze.
4. Continue cooking the chicken for another 10 to 12 minutes, turning it every 3 to 5 minutes and brushing each upturned side with glaze every time, until the chicken is cooked through. Move the chicken to the oven or a cooler part of grill if it gets too dark before it is cooked through.
5. Place the peach halves on the grill, cut-side down, and grill 2 minutes. Turn, and brush the tops with glaze. Grill 3 to 4 minutes more, until the peaches are soft and the cavities fill with juices.
6. Transfer the cooked chicken and peaches to a serving platter.

ARUGULA AND PEACH SALAD
from McCormickGourmet.com
Ingredients:

• 3 cups sliced ripe peaches and/or plums (4 to 5)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar or Champagne vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons dill weed
• 6 cups baby arugula leaves
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 2 tablespoons sesame seed, toasted

Directions:

1. Toss peaches, oil, vinegar, cilantro, basil, sugar and dill weed in medium bowl. Let stand 15 minutes.
2. Just before serving, toss arugula, peach mixture and green onion in large bowl. (Or divide among individual plates.) Sprinkle with blue cheese and sesame seed.
3. To toast sesame seed: Heat small skillet on medium heat. Add sesame seed; cook and stir 2 minutes or until golden brown and fragrant. Immediately pour out of hot pan to avoid over-toasting.

PEACH-CUCUMBER SALSA
from SeasonalChef.com
Ingredients:

• 2 cups diced peaches (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1 cup diced unpeeled English hothouse cucumber
• 3/4 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons apricot preserves
• 1 teaspoon chopped canned chipotle chiles

Directions:

1. Cut the peaches into half-inch cubes, peppers in a somewhat-smaller dice, chop cilantro and mince chipotles.
2. Blend lime juice and apricot preserves.
3. Stir together all ingredients.

NOTE: If you care to peel your peaches (a step that is not at all necessary), plunging them into boiling water for 15 or 20 seconds will make it easier to slip the skins off.
You should let the salsa sit for at least five minutes before tasting to see if you need to adjust the seasoning, for example by adding more lime juice, cilantro or salt. You should prepare the salsa at least an hour, or as much as day or two, before serving, to allow the flavors to fully meld.

Week FOUR: Recap!

Taste Buddies class was a snap today! We started off the class with sugar snap peas, listening to the sound they made as we snapped them in half. We used them for our snap pea salad. We also made calzones, which is one of my favorites. They were so good, I made them for dinner again tonight!

SUGAR SNAP SALAD:
This is a great summer salad! We really enjoyed the sound they made when you snap them in half today in class. They also make a great snack all by themselves.

CALZONES:
We used croissant rolls that you can find in your grocery aisle by the refrigerated biscuits. We used skim mozzerella cheese and pizza sauce to fill our croissant rolls. We chose skim mozarella cheese because it melts better. When making these at home, try adding other ingredients your family loves to make them more personalized. My favorite additions are cooked chicken, barbeque sauce and cheddar cheese... yum!

The Codfish Ball by John Lithgow

Simple Steps to an Eco-Friendly Family

It's hard to ignore the value of being "green" today. There are health benefits for you, your family, and for the environment. Turn your good intentions into action with these simple ways to integrate "green" into your everyday!

SHOP: We like the MightyNest and EcoMom online stores because they've done the research for you! Know that the items you are buying for your family are good for them, and for the environment.

HOME: The article "5 Easy Steps to Create a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home" from babycenter.com is quick, but comprehensive, and covers clean air, plastics and more.

RECYCLE: From DisneyFamily.com, read "Go Green! Your At-Home Recycling Plan" for some introductory ways that you can reduce, reuse, recycle!

EAT: Strategize your organic grocery shopping with this list of the "dirty dozen" from the Environmental Working Group. Next time, you'll know to splurge on the organic apples, and save on non-organic onions.