Little's Lunches 14

Happy Monday!

We had such a busy fun weekend, I hope you did too! Here's what was packed last week for my little ones:

 Monday: Ham and Cheese mini cornbread muffins, trail mix, grapes and marinated cucumbers with olives in the yumbox

 Tuesday: Ham and Cheese mini cornbread muffins, Ants on a Log Dip and yogurt

 Wednesday: Pasta Salad (orzo pasta, olives, tomatoes, peas, carrot and cannellini beans in a creamy Italian dressing) with a yogurt

 Thursday: Pasta Salad (orzo pasta, olives, tomatoes, peas, carrot and cannellini beans in a creamy Italian dressing), hard boiled egg, strawberries, vanilla yogurt and pistachios with cashews in the yumbox

Friday: Egg Salad with crackers and dried apple slices



Waste Not, Want Not

After all the cabbage we caught at the parade on Sunday, I had to get really creative with new ways to use it all up! I'm not about to waste free food, but I also don't want to eat the same meal every day. To start, I made a potato salad, Salmon Potato Cakes and baked potatoes with the bag of potatoes we had. Then I made coleslaw and put it on top of shredded chicken tostadas. Super easy and really delicious!! Tostada shells, beans, chicken, cheese and slaw. Yum.

Next up was "Fat Burning Cabbage Tortilla Soup"

when I saw this on pinterest it looked perfect to me, since we indulged the entire trip this would be a good way to make up for that.

I changed it up a little to use what I had on hand and I loved how it came out!

Fat Burning Cabbage Tortilla Soup

(adapted from here)

1 Tablespoon olive oil

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

3 small onions, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

Sauté all ingredients in a large soup pot over medium heat until softened. Then add:

1 1/2 cup mild red salsa

1 1/2 cup mild green salsa

1/2 teaspoon EACH chili powder, oregano and coriander

1 teaspoon cumin

8 cups chicken stock

1 beef boullion cube

2 (11.5 ounce) cans tomato juice

Simmer over low heat for 45 minutes. Using an immersion blender, or a standard blender working in batches, puree the soup. Then add:

1 head of chopped cabbage

1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes

Simmer until cabbage is softened (about 30 minutes) and serve with lime wedges, cilantro and green onion. This could easily be made in the slow cooker as well!

Still in Spring Break Mode

I still feel like we're recovering from Spring break! We had such a busy trip and it flew by so quickly. Obviously, there was no school, so that means no lunchboxes. Instead I'll share a few highlights of our trip and what I've been cooking since we've been home

The visit home started and ended with seafood and that's just the way I like it! Boiled, in po-boys and in a cream sauce served over fried eggplant slices on pasta.....I ate it all!

On Sunday we went to the St Patrick's Day Parade and the kids had a blast! We knew we were home when at 10 am on a Sunday morning we were handed a gallon of daiquiris in the drive through before heading to the parade route.

All set and ready to go! Thanks to my mom who was our DD that day!

The kids had SO MUCH fun! They also filled 5 bags full of beads, trinkets and vegetables. Cabbages, carrots, potatoes, garlic, lemons......

This isn't even all of it...we gave some away to people around us and there was an entire bag of potatoes on the side. Even still, that's a lot of cabbage! I've made potato salad, coleslaw and a few new dishes to try to use up our loot. The deer even got the outer leaves to snack on!

 

 



Little's Lunches 13

Happy Spring Break Wednesday!

We were in New Orleans this past week visiting family for a wedding shower and I ate more than should be allowed while in town. I hope everyone is enjoying this time off! Here's what was in our lunchboxes last week: 

 Monday: sliced turkey, pie crust cut-outs and pretzels, cucumber slices with Ranch, trek trail mix and nectarines in the yumbox

 Tuesday: Turkey, Meunster and tomato on a whole wheat slider bun, triscuits, cucumber sticks with ranch, nectarine slices and strawberries

Wednesday: M had a field trip, so everything had to be disposable- turkey and hummus on garlic naan bread, carrots and red bell pepper slices and grapes. B had sliced turkey, sliced Meunster cheese, garlic naan bread wedges, hummus, baby carrots and red bell pepper slices, and nectarines in the yumbox

Thursday: Garlic Naan Bread wedges, spinach and artichoke hummus, baby carrots, grapes, raisins and vanilla yogurt in the yumbox

Friday we made the long drive from TX to LA and mainly ate snacks in the car, so no lunchboxes were packed. As soon as we got settled and unloaded the car we had boiled crabs, crawfish and shrimp waiting on us! Not a bad way to start our trip!

 

 



Bubbles at Brunch

I love brunch! I don't know if it's because I hate waking up super early or the fact that I prefer a big savory breakfast over a sweet one any day, but for me, it just works. So, last week I was talking with a friend that I hadn't seen in a while about how badly we needed to get together and we both realized we had nothing planned on Sunday. Done! Brunch was set. I was so excited since I love to try out new recipes and I had a few in mind immediately

We started with my new favorite way to serve Prosecco

With guava nectar! I had Strawberry too which is equally delicious, but I love how pretty and pink the guava is. Now, I've bought other brands and it's just not as good, so make sure it's the pink Kern's can. If it has a yellow guava on the pic it will be gross. You're welcome.

I made little tart shells from boxed pie crust and cut out little fleur-de-lis with the scraps. Right before my friend got there I just filled the shells with seedless black raspberry jam, topped them with whipped cream and then garnished them with raspberries and pie crust cutouts. Simple and delicious!

I also made the Pioneer Woman's Champagne Oranges the night before and we may or may not have eaten them all.....I'm not telling

These are delicious, easy and so perfect to bring to a brunch, shower or to share with friends!

For the main dish, I made this recipe which I had pinned a long time ago for Corn and Bacon Pie. I saved time and used a prepared pie crust, but other than that I followed the recipe exactly. By the time it came out of the oven, we were starving so I don't have an after pic but after tasting it I thought it was just ok. The thyme was really overpowering and as expensive as the cheese was, you couldn't really taste it. The work involved to put it together wasn't worth the taste, but I'm glad I tried it!

As usual, Roux and Beignet stole the show and were pretty annoyed we didn't drop any crumbs for them! Overall, it was a great day with a sweet friend!

Little's Lunches 13

Happy Monday! My kids are totally confused with the loss of an hour this weekend and were completely convinced I had brought them to the bus stop in the middle of the night! Here's what was in their lunches last week:

Monday: Breakfast for Lunch! Vanilla yogurt, frozen strawberries and blueberries, pistachios, trek trail mix, raisin bread and dried apple slices in the yumbox

 Tuesday: Goldfish, dried apple slices, pistachios, cubed sweet potato, whole wheat peanut butter sandwich swirls, red bell pepper slices in the yumbox

 Wednesday: Turkey Sandwich Sliders on whole wheat buns, Trek trail mix, dried apple slices, olives and red bell pepper slices with ranch

Thursday: on Wednesday evening I got an email, phone call and text message telling me that school was closed the next day due to "Inclement weather". Well, of course, we didn't have school so M woke up extra early at 5:15, and the sun was out all day long. No ice, no rain, no snow. Being home, we didn't pack lunchboxes and had leftover Stromboli! I will be sharing this recipe soon, it was absolute cheesy deliciousness!

 
Friday: B had a field trip so we literally had to brown bag hers, and I couldn't send an ice pack so we had PB&J on whole wheat bread, baby carrots and dried apple slices

Everything Bagel Oven Fries

Fries are my weakness. I can pass on dessert any day with no problem, but if there are fries in front of me, my self control is lost. It doesn't matter what kind they are either, my love has no bounds.
My kids know this about me and will find the really crispy almost burnt ones and pick them out to give to me before they even begin to eat their meal if we're out. Maybe it's their way of keeping my hands off their plate, I'm not sure, but I'm secretly happy they're so well trained. Since I would be the size of a rhino if I ate fries every day the way I'd like, I thought I'd come up with a healthy alternative to curb my cravings. Crispy baked oven fries coated in an Everything Bagel seasoning blend! I served them with a dill and green onion dip that is divine. I hope you love these as much as my family did!

 

Everything Bagel Oven Fries

1 ½ pounds russet potatoes

 

Scrub the potatoes under running water and slice into wedges. Place in a bowl with cold water and allow them to soak for 20 minutes. While the potatoes are soaking, pre-heat the oven to 450 and make the dipping sauce:

 

2 Tablespoons mayo

2 Tablespoons sliced green onion

¼ teaspoon dill

½ cup sour cream

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

 

Stir mayo, sliced green onion, dill, sour cream, salt and pepper together in a small bowl and place in the fridge to chill.

 
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons Poppy Seeds
1 ½ teaspoons Sesame Seeds
1 ½ teaspoon minced dried garlic
1 ½ teaspoon minced dried onion
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Once the potatoes have soaked, remove them from the water and pat them dry with a clean dish towel. Wipe the bowl dry, and place the potato wedges in the bowl with 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil, Poppy Seeds, Sesame Seeds, minced dried garlic, minced dried onion and kosher salt. Brush a large cookie sheet with the remaining oil and lay the potato wedges out evenly across the pan.

Cover the pan with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for 20 minutes. Flip the potato wedges over, return to the oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until they are browned and crisp.

Serve warm with the dipping sauce

 What is your food weakness? Do tell so I can feel better about stealing food from my kid's plates!

Little's Lunches 12

Good morning! I don't know about you, but I am SO glad it's Monday! My son was sick last week and ALL weekend and I am so glad he's back to school today! It's like my kids have a sensor and whenever my husband is away for the weekend, that's when they get sick. I feel like I should have received a medal just for holding it all together this weekend. While I wait for that, let me show you what was in the little's lunchboxes last week:

Monday: BLT on a whole wheat bun, baby carrots, cucumber and red bell pepper slices with blackberries and mini shortbread cookies

Tuesday: Pasta Salad, bacon, cucumber sticks and baby spinach with ranch, blackberries and strawberry yogurt in the yumbox

 Wednesday: Chicken Bacon Egg Salad on baby spinach, pretzels, blackberries and yogurt

 Thursday: Chicken Bacon Egg Salad, crackers, asparagus, blackberries, dried cranberries and key lime yogurt in the yumbox

Friday: Tomato and Havarti cheese sandwich, baby carrots, blackberries and chocolate Belvita cookie sticks

I sent this lunch on Friday with B and knew that M wouldn't be at school so I didn't pack him a lunch. Since it takes a year and a half to see the doctor, and the only appointment they could squeeze us in for was right at lunch time we were both starving once we got out. Knowing that it takes the same amount of time to get a prescription filled and taking into account that the prescription that they were giving my already ravenous 8 year old was for a steroid which has made him a hyped up bottomless pit, we stopped at our favorite taco shop for lunch. He got a bean and cheese taco the size of his head and I got the Skallywag:

Coconut-battered shrimp, bacon, green chiles, shredded Monterey Jack cheese & pickled onions, topped with homemade Habanero Peach Jam and cilantro. Holy mother of delicious taconess this was so amazingly good! I will definitely be re-creating this in my kitchen soon!

Tell me what fun things you did this weekend!

 



Uchi

For the past 2 1/2 months every single week or weekend we have either been out of town, had visitors staying with us or had at least one person sick in our house.

That's exhausting.

Somehow, miraculously, on Saturday night the stars aligned and we had no plans and our babysitter was available! Well, Louis and I jumped on the chance, hopped in the car and drove off before we really had settled on where we were going. After driving for a while he looked at me and said

"Want to go to Uchi?"

Ummmm......hell yes I do! There was no hesitation.

Uchi is, by far, one of my favorite places to eat EVER and it is totally not kid friendly so it's rare that we make it over there.

So we headed to South Lamar and put our name on the list. Because it was last minute for us, and they don't take reservations, the wait was 2 hours long. We stood in the bar area, and then we scored one chair (I sat and Louis stood while I felt guilty), then we got 2 stools in the corner and finally moved to the bar to sit for the remainder of our wait. The walls of the small bar area we waited in is covered in framed awards, foodie articles and accolades from al over, and once you're finally seated and start eating you totally realize why. Their food is mind blowing!  

While waiting I had a few of their special cocktail for the night- a Blueberry Green Tea Champagne Cocktail. I love anything bubbly so this was right up my alley, and the "blueberry" floating in the glass is actually a gummy bubble filled with the delicious Blueberry Green Tea syrup

While you're waiting for your table there are hosts that bring around little snacks every 30 minutes or so. While waiting, we tried Persian cucumber sticks dusted with togradashi, apple slices sautéed in ginger and thai basil, a sushi roll with avocado, cucumber and thai basil and sautéed apple slices in a yuzu chili pepper marmalade (these were by far my favorite)

Not knowing how long I would last on 2 apple slices and a cucumber stick, when we finally got seats at the bar we ordered the blistered shishito peppers. I love these little things! If you haven't tried them before I highly recommend them!

I was so excited when we finally got a spot at the sushi bar and we sat there mesmerize while watching them work!

 

 We started with something I insist on getting every visit to Uchi. The hama chili- baby yellow­tail, ponzu, thai chili, orange supreme. It's so light and fresh, the citrus and heat from the thai chili are amazing with the delicate fish. I could probably eat five plates of this and be perfectly happy.

Crispy Brussels sprouts with lemon and chili. I don't' know what it is about this sauce, but these fried Brussels sprouts soak it up and they become so freaking delicious you will want to order another bowl before you're done with these!

 

akami (tuna)

If Louis could live off one thing for the rest of his life, this would be it. I let him have it all and he loved every second of it!

 avobake-  krab, avocado, bonito, shrimp
I had never tried this before, but I'm so glad we did! It comes to your table and the bonito flakes are moving and curling up from the heat of the broiler so it looks wild.
Then you dig your spoon in and scoop out the creamy, molten hot seafood and fresh avocado. It's really rich, really decadent and totally worth every calorie!

 brie ringo tempura-fried brie, apple chutney, sweet potato crisp
Do I really need to say much more than tempura fried brie?!

foie nigiri - foie gras٠quinoa

Now, I know I had 2 hours of cocktails before dinner, but I also know that didn't change the fact that there was no quinoa on this dish like it claimed. This was one of the nightly specials and if there is foie gras on a menu, Louis has to get it, but I'm a little disappointed they didn't tell us there had been a change to the dish when we ordered it. The foie gras was perfectly seared and seasoned but since it's so silky and rich it could have used the texture that quinoa has to offer. 

For dessert we had the
jizake crème caramel with brown butter sorbet and ginger
The sorbet needs to be sold in stores, the ginger syrup on the plate totally made the dish and the crème caramel was dreamy creamy perfection.
If you ever have a chance to go, you must try Uchi!
A few dishes I highly recommend that we were too full to get are the Bond Roll, the Biendo Roll and the peanut butter semifreddo with apple-miso sorbet

Little's Lunches 11

Happy Monday y'all!

Last week my kids were off of school on Monday, so no lunchbox was needed. We had family in town visiting and stuffed ourselves at The Salt Lick! It was delicious, as usual. I got the turkey lunch plate (sliced smoked turkey breast, coleslaw, potato salad and beans) and the leftovers made awesome sandwiches! I was so hungry by the time we got our plates I didn't get a pic but I promise you it's delicious!

 Tuesday: Black bean and cheese tortilla rolls, key lime yogurt, mushrooms and carrots with Ranch and frozen blueberries in the yumbox

 Wednesday: Mozzarella, Tomato and Fresh Spinach on a whole wheat bun, slice of King Cake, potato salad and baby carrots

Thursday: Pretzels with Black Bean dip, shredded cheese, coleslaw, blackberries and jelly beans in the yumbox

Friday: my kids BEGGED for the Mozzarella, Tomato and Fresh Spinach on a whole wheat bun sandwich again, so that's what they got. Along with baby carrots, ranch and apple wedges

I am also super excited to have won a juicer!! Once the Fed Ex guy dropped it off it was thoroughly inspected by Beignet and I can't wait to use it! I don't even know where to begin, so I think I'll be scouring pinterest to get some ideas. Do you juice? If so, I'd love some recipe ideas!