INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 - 1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 15-oz can tomato sauce
1 15-oz can petite diced tomatoes, drained
2/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vodka


INSTRUCTIONS:

In a medium saucepan, saute the onion in the oil until the onion begins to brown. Add the garlic and continue to cook for another 2 minutes, stirring often. Add the spices, cover the pot and cook for one minute. Pour in the sauce and diced tomatoes and bring to a boil. Cover the pot halfway and let simmer for half an hour, until the sauce is reduced. Add the heavy cream and bring to a boil. Add the vodka and let simmer for five minutes. Keep sauce warm until ready to use.

The sauce freezes well in an airtight container. Thaw before use.

Some recipes call for Parmesan cheese in the sauce but I found it has the ability to change the texture of the sauce and make it appear grainy. I don't find the sauce lacking that so I prepare it without the Parmesan and instead sprinkles some fresh grated Parmesan on the pasta, once plated.

HAMBURGERS:

2 lbs. ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
2 eggs
1/2 cup flavored bread crumbs
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 squirt bbq sauce
1 squirt spicy brown mustard
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp basil

BARBECUE DRESSING:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1 tsp sriracha
2 tbsp mustard
1 tsp garlic powder

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well using disposable gloves. Ensure that all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Line a container cover (approximately 4" diameter and 3/4" tall - I use the cover of Kirkland nuts) with a square of plastic wrap about 12" long. Cut parchment paper into 5-6" squares. You will need approximately 10-12 squares. Pack a handful of meat mixture into the lined cover and press down. Remove plastic wrap and place burger on parchment paper. Repeat until all the meat is used, totaling about 10-12 hamburgers. Freeze until ready to use. If using the same day, freeze until firm enough to handle.

Let frozen burgers thaw in the fridge overnight. You can grill them on an outdoor grill or on a grill pan. The following instructions are for a grill pan: Heat pan on high. Add burgers to pan and lay a piece of foil over the pan to keep the heat inside. Don't touch or move the burgers for 5 minutes. Flip over, recover and grill for an additional 5 minutes. If the burgers were quite frozen, you may want to cook an additional few minutes. I don't add barbecue sauce while grilling because it causes the pan to char and smoke so I add it later.

To assemble a sandwich: Spread the insides of the bun with barbecue dressing and add some greenery (I used kale in the picture above, but lettuce and spinach are great too), thinly sliced sour pickles and tomatoes, and potato chips for a fun crunch.

This pudding is by far the best chocolate dessert you will ever taste. That's because of the secret ingredient that turns yum into WOW! Kids can mix the ingredients together and an adult can cook it. Easy to make with ingredients you already have on hand, here you go:

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup dutch process cocoa
2 tbsp corn starch
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups whole milk
2 tbsp (1 oz.) chocolate liquor (I used Bicerin)
1 tsp vanilla extract




INSTRUCTIONS:

Mix the dry ingredients in a small saucepan. Add the milk and turn the heat on to medium-high, stirring often. Once you reach a simmer, add the liquor and bring to a full boil. Cook another minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add the vanilla extract. Immediately pour into portion-sized cups. Let cool until firm and enjoy! I like to cool at room temperature and eat the pudding while still warm, but you can refrigerate and eat it cold too!

So colorful and tasty! This is one easy dinner side dish that goes with almost anything. The potatoes are tasty and flavorful without any dominant flavor. You can use kale or spinach for this recipe, adding a hefty boost of antioxidants and nutrients as well as an appealing color!

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 lbs. colored baby potatoes (usually found in a sack)
1-2 tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
few leaves of kale or spinach, torn into 2" pieces



INSTRUCTIONS:

Scrub the potatoes with a hard-bristled brush under running water. Cut in half or quarters, depending on the size of the potatoes. Boil until tender but not too soft, about 10 minutes. Drain.

Heat the oil in a skillet large enough to hold the potatoes. Add the onion when the oil is hot. Once the onions are translucent, add the garlic. Cook for 1 minute, stirring well and scraping the sides of the pan. Add the potatoes and stir to combine. Add the kale or spinach leaves and let cook an additional 2-3 minutes until the leaves are wilted.

These muffins are so delightful because you can bake them with virtually any berries you have on hand. Fresh always works better but you may have success with some frozen berries as well. These muffins are moist and form beautiful peaks while baking so they come out picture-perfect each time!

The recipe is originally from an old Williams Sonoma cookbook but I've changed it a bit to make it easier and healthier.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup milk or soy milk (1 box drink)
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup of either blueberries, strawberries or cranberries* (or a combination)

*Blueberries and strawberries should only be used fresh. Frozen ones will bleed into and discolor your batter. When using larger berries such as cranberries or strawberries, chop them before adding to the batter.




INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat an oven to 400ºF. Grease 16 standard muffin cups or line with paper liners.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk  the milk, oil and eggs until smooth. Add to the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Add the blueberries and stir just until evenly incorporated.

Fill a gallon size Ziploc bag with the batter (you can support it over a quart size plastic container). Snip off a 3/4" tip and fill muffin cups until mostly full, leaving approximately 1/3" of space at the top. Fill any unused muffin cups with water halfway to preserve the shape of your muffins.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Then, remove the muffins from the pan.

NOTE: If you bake these in large parchment "tulips" you can fill them even higher and get a lesser amount of larger muffins.

This crumble recipe is a great base for any bake-able fruits, really. I've used apples, cranberries, strawberries, blueberries, pears, peaches, etc. and they always tasted delicious. If you use tart apples or tart berries like cranberries, you will need to add some sweetener. Otherwise, it's not really necessary but you can add some if you like.  What's great is that you can store the extra crumbs in a ziploc in the freezer and use it whenever you want! If you make an entire 9x13x2 pan, you will use most, if not all, of the crumbs.

CRUMBLE INGREDIENTS

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 scoop vanilla sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/2 cup oil

FRUIT MIXTURE

several baking apples, peeled and sliced thinly (I prefer Macintosh and Cortland)
fresh or frozen berries (if frozen, rinse first to remove the frost)
sugar or Splenda, to taste
cinnamon, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Mix the crumble ingredients in a bowl. Press some of the crumbs into the bottom of a baking dish or pan so you have a 1/4" layer.

In another bowl, combine the fruits with sugar or Splenda and cinnamon. If using very juicy fruits (such as ripe peaches, soft strawberries) you may want to add 1/4 tsp corn starch to thicken it while baking.

Layer on top of the pressed in crumbs. Pile the fruit till slightly over-filled because they will shrink while baking. Add more crumbs to cover the entire top of the pan. Cover the pan with foil and bake for approximately 45 minutes (or longer for larger pans). When the fruit is soft (pierce with a knife to check), remove the cover, raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees and continue baking for about 20 minutes until the top is crispy and tanned. Let cool and enjoy.

What's fun and easy to make, tastes delicious and is insanely healthy? Superpops! Today's pop is actually a frozen smoothie created yesterday by my toddler boy and I. Side tip: A great way to get picky kids to eat vegetables is by using this twofold tactic, which is comprised of (1) intelligently concealing it with state of the art blending, and (2) involving said child in the mission.

We use a Blendtec blender with the Wildside jar to make our smoothies and Superpops because it literally obliterates whatever you put inside it. Do you see any kale bits in the picture above? I don't either! And I promise I didn't use Photoshop to make it go away. Kale is dark green, in case you never saw it and with every other processor and blender I've tried, the kale still shows up. Not that that's a bad thing at all! I love proof of goodness, but with kids who have superhuman vision...

The best part of blending fruit is that you need to work very hard to completely mess up. There's almost always a way to remedy a nasty-tasting smoothie. I like to use a 2:1 ratio for fruits and vegetables if preparing for kids, but I've got no problem with 1:2 or 1:3 for myself . For best results, include only 1 very sweet fruit (e.g. pineapple, mango, orange, apple, banana) to prevent suger overload. Berries are fantastic because besides for all their health benefits, they are really sweet-tasting without containing much sugar.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup kale
2 cups fresh pineapple
2 cups strawberries
1 tsp probiotic powder (optional)
1-2 tsp superfood powder (optional)
1 tbsp hemp protein (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

If you're using frozen pineapple or strawberries, let them thaw for half an hour or microwave them for 1-2 minutes to soften. Blend the kale and pineapple until very fine. Add the strawberries and blend until smooth. Add the optional add-ins if using and pulse for a few seconds.

This makes about 4 cups of smoothie which you can either drink fresh (yum!) or freeze into popsicle molds for an already prepared smoothie when you don't have time to make one. We drank some at the time and then froze the rest for another day.

See more on Superpops Instagram page @eatsuperpops

I really love Chinese takeout food, even though I know it's mostly unhealthy, oily and fattening food. I always wished my homemade sesame chicken adventures would turn out like the local takeout's but that never happened, although I did get somewhere close. This one is a combination of a few different recipes I've tried and I've got to say, it definitely ranks close to theirs! Plus, it's way more healthy and nutritious.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb boneless chicken breast (cutlets), cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup corn starch
2-3 tbsp oil for stir-frying

SAUCE

3 tbsp duck sauce
2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp sriracha
1/4 tsp sesame oil (optional)
sesame seeds for garnish
broccoli florets and rice for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine the chicken pieces and corn starch in a resealable gallon-size bag. Shake to evenly coat all the chicken.

Heat a nonstick wok or deep skillet with the oil over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, add the chicken pieces (without any excess cornstarch). Stir to distribute the oil and chicken and cover the wok. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked (pure white insides), stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Once the chicken is cooked, pour the sauce into the wok and mix well to cover all the chicken. Cook for one more minute and serve with rice and broccoli.

Note: After cooking the chicken, I empty the wok and set aside the chicken. I then add the broccoli to the pot and steam for 5 minutes covered. Then I add the chicken back in and mix together.