I just got done with a whirlwind assignment for 7, yes, SEVEN, monkey bread recipes for the good folks over at Momtastic. What’s funny is I never had monkey bread before I was asked to write a few recipes for it. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of eating some monkey bread then I don’t have to tell you the research was beyond delicious. Apparently Monkey bread recipes are a huge hit over on Momtastic and it was such a blast taking a popular recipe and playing around with both sweet and savory flavors. I think I came up with some real winners and whether you are looking for brunch, lunch a side dish or dessert, there will definitely be something for you. Think; Parmesan & Garlic, Pepperoni Pizza and even Chai Spiced Flavored Monkey bread. But if you are a purist, then the first recipe is for you and the recipe for Cinnamon Sugar Monkey Bread can be had by hoping on over to Momtastic now. I’ll keep you posted as the other recipes go live but, until then, rock this recipe!

Get the Cinnamon & Sugar Monkey Bread Recipe here!

I love creating holiday recipes that have an element of crafti-ness to them. It’s fun to stretch your creative wings and come up with a totally fun and festive idea. The kids love it and who am I kidding, I will use any excuse to give my food a “theme”. The other day my kids and i made these crazy easy, super adorable cupcake pops using store-bought mini cupcakes. We popped them on a pretty red and white straw and had Cupcake Pops in a flash. How adorable would these be for the class bake sale or even to hand out as edible Valentine’s?

Hop on over to Momtastic for the recipe and make yourselves up a batch today!

Valentine’s Day Cupcake Pops Recipe

Part of the reason I love writing recipes is because of the research process. Reading, watching and yes, eating are all part of the job. It’s fascinating to learn about a family and their culture through their recipes. The process makes me feel like part historian and part detective. Sometimes you have to dig deep because, as many of us have discovered, retrieving an old recipe doesn’t always come easy. Many recipes exist only in the memory and can only be translated via demonstration. How many of us have had a relative tell us “I don’t have it written down, but I can show you.”?  Those moments are priceless because they are the very essence of family and tradition. What really connects us through food are the memories attributed to a certain dish and the person we remember making it. Smell, taste and touch are all sense that can instantly remind us of a time, place, or person and nothing does that better than food.

Whenever I set out to create a new recipe I do everything I can to learn about the way it’s traditionally made and then I set out to make it my own. Sometimes the changes are minor and other times more drastic. Reading this you might be saying “I do the same thing with my recipes”, and that’s probably true. The wonderful world of cooking is this amazing mix of traditional and new ideas. Each recipe has a history and a story all it’s own, making it as unique and special as it’s creator.

These stuffed peppers are a great example of re-working a classic— a slight spin on a family favorite. I took our family stuffed pepper recipe and decided to bump up the flavor a bit by adding fresh herbs and swapping out traditionally used white rice for super fragrant jasmine rice. The change may not *seem* all that drastic but I assure you they took this dish from simple to special. The flavor is unique all the while preserving the traditional recipe. I think my Grandma would be proud.

Note: this recipe can easily be made vegetarian by omitting the sausage. You can even add in beans to bump up the protein. If using beans, stir pre-cooked beans into the rice mixture before filling peppers. Bake as indicated below.

If you’re anything like me, by this time of year you are all partied out. Well, almost because New Years Eve is still on it’s way. We have a new house so this year I’ve hosted a lot of soirees and it’s been awesome. Seeing family and friends and enjoying each others company over delicious food and bev is definitely a plus, but it can be a bit of a struggle to entertain when you have little ones. Truth be told, I’ve been able to keep the pace with party season by striking a balance between casual and more formal entertaining ie; some cocktail parties and some sit-downs.

Puff Pastry Wrapped Asparagus With Lemon Mayonnaise Dipping Sauce

Becoming a parent has changed the way I entertain, but it hasn’t changed my love or desire to celebrate with family and friends. My time and budget may be limited but I figured out early on, I can still entertain like a rockstar  without breaking my back or the bank. Cocktail parties are one of my favorite way to entertain casually and on a budget. One or two signature cocktails (fancy description for a mixed drink) and some bite sized noshes and you are all set to paaar-taay!

Hop on over to Momtastic for some of my favorite appetizer recipes.

I’m a sucker for all things “mulled” come winter holiday time. There’s something just so comforting and festive about the combination of aromas that make up mulling spices. Warm a sachet of fragrant mulling spices into some warming cider or wine and you are will be in beverage heaven.  And just the smell of mulling spices simmering on the stove brings an instant holiday atmosphere to your home. I cannot think of a better drink to serve to guests as they come into your home from the cold.

Mulling spices are easily found in many stores this time of year but you can easily put together a sachet of your own and while your at it, make a big batch and give it out as hostess gifts. You will not regret it.

So, Thanksgiving has come and gone and probably so have the leftovers, right? You may even be sick of the flavors of Thanksgiving or you might be like me, obsessed with them! In fact, I love to create recipes using Thanksgiving flavors that are easy enough to do any night of the week, any time of year. If you get creative, you definitely don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving to enjoy the flavors of turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce. No, ma’am!

If you’re still obsessing over those flavors too, check out my recipe for these Turkey Meatball Sandwiches. They are super easy to make and pretty darned good for you too thanks to the addition of shredded sweet potatoes and the fact that they are baked, not fried. I know these will be a new favorite around your house. I mean, who doesn’t love a meatball sammie?  Get ready to bookmark this recipe and add the flavors of Thanksgiving all year long.

Get the recipe HERE!

Sweet Potato Pie With Sticky Pecan Sauce via Make Your House Work For The Holidays

I realize it’s been a while since I posted here and for that I am very sorry. You should know that it’s not for my lack of love for this site and all of you, but rather because, well, you know, life got in the way. Moving to a new state, raising two little boys and dealing with a crazy girl named Sandy. All of that, plus work has had me running around like a turkey without it’s head (bad Thanksgiving humor coming from an ex-vegetarian —for shame!).

I know it’s very close to T-day. My plan was to hit you with many delicious recipes way in advance to the big day but I have been so busy writing tasty recipes for other sites, I left myself zero time to post them here. I’m guessing many of you are still on the hunt for delicious recipes  and if you are, these are for you. I have lost of tasty recipes to share via all of the wonderful partners I’m working with, including Samsung’s Make Your House Work For the Holidays Facebook page. We have apps, sides, drinks and even a delicious roast turkey breast that’s so simple and flavorful you’ll want to bookmark this recipe for other days of the year, not just Thanksgiving.  Give ‘em a try and let me know what you think.

Thank you for reading, commenting and the every day love you give me. I will continue to create recipes with the family in mind in the hopes that you’ll share it with them. After-all, food made with love is meant to be shared.

Happy Thanksgiving.

 Beverage

Cranberry Mulled Wine

Appetizers

 Baked Brie with Cranberry

Salad

Crispy Brussels Sprout Salad with Ricotta Salad and Honey Vinaigrette

 Sides

Stuffing Pie via Samsung Make Your House Work For The Holidays

Easy Orange Cranberry Sauce

Main

Super Moist Herbed Mayonnaise Turkey Breast

Dessert

Easier Than Pie Sweet Potato Crostata

 Sweet Potato Pie With Ginger

I live in NJ and right now we are preparing for Hurricane Sandy to arrive. I had to stop watching TV because it is really making me nervous. Of course we should all be as prepared and informed as possible, but sometimes you just gotta turn the media off, ya know?

I’m Italian and that means you cook when your happy, sad, nervous or indifferent. Basically, I’m cooking all the time. My type of hurricane prep means cooking and eating A LOT! Cooking has a way of calming me so I know that my nervous energy is best spent doing something constructive like filling my family’s bellies. That being said, I decided to ignore the TV for a while and bake up something delicious while we still have power. YIKES! I figured this was a great opportunity to bake up a pie and fill my home with the delicious smells of sweet potato and cinnamon. At the last minute I decided to toss in some fresh ginger to add a little zip and it was such a good move! This pie is definitely a recipe you’ll want to bookmark for the upcoming holidays. it’s got that classic smooth and creamy sweet potato pie texture with a nice perk from the spiciness of ginger. Perfect.

Now go and bake up this pie while the electricity is still on. And most importantly, if you are in the path of the hurricane, stay safe and warm and dry.

I recently joined a Fresh Box program here in my new town (still so weird saying “town”). The program is through the wonderful Alan’s Orchard in Westfield, NJ. It’s basically a store dedicated to local sustainably farmed and certified organic produce. They also sell free-range poultry, grassfed beef, dairy products and many, many other goodies. The Fresh Box program kind of works like a CSA in the sense that you pay a weekly fee and in exchange receive a box full of seasonal, local garden fresh fruits and veggies. It’s AMAZING!  It’s one of the many exciting new things I get to do here in New Jersey. We had many CSA’s in Brooklyn where I used to live, but none were near my little out of the way neighborhood of Gravesend. I had longed to join a program like this but it was never convenient for me and now it is!

Each week I look forward to my Fresh Box because I never know what’s going to be in it. It’s great to eat local for so many reasons and being a part of a program like this is a wonderful way to stretch my culinary muscles and expand my families palate with new and exciting tastes and textures. This week we were given some awesome tomatillos, jalapenos and cilantro along with many other delicious goodies (hello, plums and dandelion greens!).  Recipe ideas were swirling in my head as I looked over the beautiful bounty laid out before me and unpacking the box is literally like Christmas for someone like me. I wanted to eat everything that instant but it was dinnertime and I need to make something quick! I already defrosted some boneless, skinless chicken breasts so I knew that I needed something to jazz those boring babies up. Suddenly the tomatillos, jalapenos and cilantro I was eyeing earlier made total sense. Tomatillo sauce! Yes! It would be the perfect pairing for our ordinary chicken breasts. And what a fun and simple way to jazz it up. I grilled up the chicken, made the sauce and in 20 minutes, dinner was served.

This sauce is spicy, I’m not gonna lie. You can easily adjust the heat by adding more or less jalapenos. It has a bright, fresh flavor that really akes up the taste buds. Not only is the sauce  perfect as a topping for poultry, it’s equally delicious on fish, pork, beef or even as a salsa chips or a topping for tacos.

Thanks Alan’s Orchard! Can’t wait to see what you have for me next week!

Pssst.

I want to let you in on a little secret.

See those little grey seeds up there that look kinda like sesame seeds?  They’re my new obsession.

What are they you ask?

I’ll give you a little OK, a BIG hint.

Chi-Chi-Chi-Chia!

Did you guess it yet?

Oh, you guys are TOO good!

That’s right! They’re Chia Seeds and I. Cannot. Stop. Using. Them. They’ve sort of replaced my obsession with wheat germ and flax seeds, for the moment. I’ve been putting them in and on everything and anything since they started stocking them at my local Trader Joe’s. I have to admit that before trying them at a few weeks ago, I’d never had them before. My only experience with the word Chia came from the annoyingly addicting commercial that came on the scene in the 70′s. Now you can’t get the song out of your head either, right? You’re welcome. : )

Anyway, when I stumbled upon them and read about all of their health benefits, I knew they were right up my alley. I love finding little (easy) ways to boost the nutritional value of what my family and I eat and Chia seeds fit the bill perfectly. And shockingly enough, they were an easy sell to my 4 year old. After labeling them as Chia “Sprinkles”, he happily eats them on anything I decide to sprinkle them on.

What The Heck Are Chia Seeds Anyway?

Well I’m glad you asked. Chia seeds are an edible seed that comes from the desert plant Salvia hispanica which is a member of the mint family that grows throughout southern Mexico. While you may be more familiar with them as sprouts growing on your novelty Chia pet planters, these tiny seeds are anything but novel.

Chia seeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and are a better source than flax. it’s also rich in antioxidants and can be stored for a long time without becoming rancid like so many other fatty acide containing products. They can be eaten whole which means you don’t have to grind them up like you do flax seeds and are a good source of fiber, about 6.9 grams per serving.

What Do I do With Them?

Since Chia seeds don’t have to be ground to be eaten, you can feel free to sprinkle them onto anything you’d like. Eaten naked, they really don’t have much of a flavor but they have a little bit of a crunch. When mixed into a liquid, they soak it up and become softer and more gelatinous in texture which is quite enjoyable in beverages, yogurts and puddings. In fact, in mexico they mix it into different agua frescas and most commonly serve it in a lemonade that is just divine.  

Our Favorite Ways to Use Chia Seeds:

Sprinkled over greek yogurt with a drizzle of honey.

In Pudding (like tapioca style). Check out this recipe! OMG! 

Sprinkled over pancakes, waffles or french toast.

Mixed into smoothies or frozen inside popsicles (see recipe below).

Stirred into a beverage like lemonade — Chia Fresca! (popular in Mexico).

So, tell me. How do you use your Chia seeds?

I do not know why it’s taken me so long to make homemade jam. The process couldn’t be easier or more gratifying. It takes 20 minutes and will keep in your fridge for up to one week which means you’ll have seven days of freshly made jam to jazz up your boring morning toast in the morning. And it’s a great way to use up berries that are so plentiful this time of year. Homemade jam is so incredibly delicious and it seriously puts to shame anything you can buy in the store so why not give it a try, right?

This past weekend I was throwing not one, but TWO birthday brunches and i figured some homemade blueberry jam would be a nice touch to the buffet table. I decided to combine it with a bit of fresh lemon juice and zest because i love the combination of blueberries and lemon zest and it turned out delicious! There really is no way to mess the recipe up, (unless you leave it bubbling on the stove too long) and you can use any berries you have hanging around. Now that I’ve made my first batch, I can’t wait to whip up some more and give them as gifts to friends and neighbors alongside some yummy scones!

Easiest Blueberry Jam

Makes 1 jar

Ingredients:

• 3 cups blueberries, stems removed, washed and dried
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• Juice and zest of one small lemon

Instructions:

1. In a medium saucepan stir together blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and zest. Set the saucepan over medium heat and  bring to a boil.

2. Lower the heat until the mixture is just bubbling gently. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickens, about 15-20 minutes.

3. Cool, place into a mason jar or airtight container and refrigerate for up to a week.

Is basil taking over your garden or window box? Now’s definitely the time to stockpile that freezer with the good stuff. And by “good stuff” I mean Pesto Sauce, people. Pesto is in the fast food category at our house. Stash a stockpile of it in the freezer and you have a wealth of easy but flavorful meals waiting to be made at a moments notice.

I’ve told you before just how much homemade pesto rocks! I’ve even given you five great uses for it besides as a pasta topping as well as a creamy variation on the classic pasta sauce. But today my friends, I give you yet another tasty recipe using pesto and quite possibly my favorite of the bunch: Pesto Roasted Chicken thighs. That’s right! Pesto makes an excellent chicken coating and the recipe couldn’t be simpler. Just make up a batch of your favorite pesto, slater it under the skin of some chicken thighs (or your favorite part of the chicken), bake and eat. That’s it. That’s all.

This dish is flavor packed and so gorgeous when it comes out of the oven. The chicken remains incredibly moist and the pesto is sort of a flavorful surprise hiding underneath that crispy skin. Best of all, it’s the kind of  recipe that is easy enough for a weeknight meal but gorgeous enough to entertain with—LOVE THAT!  Now go and hop on over to Baby Gizmo for the recipe and get started on stock piling that fridge with some pesto sauce.

Click here-–>Pesto Roasted Chicken Thighs recipe at BabyGizmo.com

I like to entertain and before I had kids I was a go-all-out kinda gal. You know, the weirdo who would spend weeks pouring over recipe ideas and table-scape plans. I’m not talking frou-frou or fussy , this is me we’re taking about, but let’s just say that BK (before kids) I took a lot of time with my party preparations. Now I’m lucky if I can even remember napkins but my love for entertaining still remains strong. I love being with people and sharing a good meal.

Entertaining does not have to go out the window after you have kids. Sure, you need to change your strategies and even though I always entertained casually, my definition of the word “casual” has gotten more loose since I had kids. And you know what? I sort of love keeping it loose and relaxed. I have more fun preparing because I’m not stressed and in turn, my guests get a more focused, less frazzled host. Everyone is happy and well fed regardless of how many days it took me to prepare or how many courses I serve.

In the interest of keeping things simple, my go-to meal plan goes like this:

Signature Cocktail/Mocktail

Small nibble or antipasti plate

Main Course

Dessert (ask guest to bring to make it even easier)

This plan is foolproof and so easy yet it still feels special and even luxurious. No matter how much time I have to spend on preparations, I always want my guests to feel special and welcome in my home and the above strategy always does the trick. It allows you to actually enjoy your guests, and after all, isn’t that what really matters?

We recently moved into a new home and have been entertaining family and friends and I’ve already managed to have two separate dinner parties in the midst of unpacking boxes and exploring our new town. ANyone whose ever moved knows it ain’t easy and entertaining while unpacking seems insane. And it kinda is, but we loved having people over to break us from the packing insanity and it made our house feel that much more homey. Best of all, I did it without feeling stressed or anxious. A good time was had by all and the food was delicious if I do say so myself.

Like good Italians, we schlepped our fig tree all the way from our previous home in Brooklyn to New Jersey Using our figs in an appetizer to serve to our first house guests seemed only natural. The sweet tender fig set atop a crusty piece of bread with melty cheddar is one of my favorite appetizers to make and it’s always a hit. I love how the salty sharpness of the cheddar pairs with the sweetness of the fig, top that off with a drizzle of flowery honey and you have yourself one divine appetizer in less time than it takes to bake up frozen ones out of a box. . It goes perfectly with any beverage and is a nice nibble before the main course.

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of exciting new experiences and I have been dying to share them with you!  A few months ago I was asked to serve as an Expert Cooking Panelist for Samsung’s new line of smart appliances alongside Patricia Heaton, Liz Pryor and Julie Morgenstern. I was super excited to be asked to participate in the event, but wanted to make sure the product line was something I could get behind before signing on. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I don’t promote anything that I don’t truly believe in. And in true Christina form, I dug into some serious Samsung research before saying “yes!” to the project.

Most importantly and right off the bat, I want you to know that even though I am in a paid partnership with Samsung, I was not in any was asked to write about their products or this program on my blog or anywhere else. I was hired for my experience as a home cook and a mom. As a part of my work with Samsung I was asked to sit on a panel with three amazingly smart, funny and talented mamas to offer real parenting experiences at their Make Your House Work event. On top of that I got to get to know the people behind Samsung’s Home Appliances and work with them to create some really useful tips videos to share with you via their awesome facebook page. This information is something I am sharing with you because I really think their products rock and I want you to benefit from my first hand experiences with the product line and the company itself.

I must admit that before this project when I thought of home appliances, Samsung was not one of the first names that popped into my head, technology was. I knew from personal experience with their electronics that they were at the forefront with technology but wasn’t really sure how that translated to their home appliance division. I’m not a techie by any stretch of the imagination and so I am not easily impressed by digital enhancements. It takes a lot more than a digital display or fancy TV screen to get this mama going in the appliance department but boy or boy was I pleasantly surprised with my Samsung research.

Samsung really thought of everything with their new line of smart appliances. They are attractive, innovative and really offer the home cook some fantastic technological advancements that really will help you be more efficient, organized and therefore enable you to send more time with the people you love most. Samsung is really mindful about not just using technology for technology sake and as a consumer who really expects a lot out of her appliances (like I’m sure most of you do), I really appreciate that. Every advancement is there to make your house work for you! Anyone can slap an LCD screen on a fridge but it takes a smart and thoughtful company like Samsung to use that technology to enhance your life in a very real and useful way.

As the Expert Cooking Panelist, one of my jobs was to get to know the Samsung Flex Duo Oven. OMG!! You guys! There is no other oven like this around and it was so cool to get to work with this beauty. It’s gorgeous, yes! But that’s just the outside. It’s everything you want esthetically—sleek, sexy and professional looking without looking too hard or industrial. But it’s truly so much more than that. What grabbed me right from the get-go was the fact that it is the first freestanding electric range (they offer a gas and induction range as well) to incorporate two ovens in one. A 5.9 inch cu. ft oven that has the ability to split into two seperate ovens—2.7 cu. ft and 3.0 cu. ft with the aid of a Smart Divider. This amazing feature gives you the option of preparing two entirely different dishes with two different cooking temperatures at once!!! Think: fish and chocolate cake. No mixing of aromas!

For reals!

Could you die?

I know!

I have to say that I have ALWAYS coveted those double wall ovens but like many people, my kitchen could never accommodate one so the fact that the Flex Duo oven can easily slip into most kitchen layouts is HUGE for me. Having the option of a double oven but still maintaining the flexibility to convert back to one large oven is truly genius!

One look at their facebook page and you can see just why I was so impressed with Samsung and their awesome new appliance line. Not only are these appliances great looking, what really made me want to work with them was their belief in helping families work “smarter, not harder” that really sold me.

Check out the Samsung Home Appliance page, it’s a great online resource where you can gather inspiration and ideas on how to Make Your House Work. Not only will you get recommendations and information on Samsung Home appliances, you will also have access to my exclusive Tips Videos, recipes and gain entry to an awesome Meal Planner Sweepstakes where you can win great prizes.

My three year old is really into fresh cucumbers tossed in red wine vinegar. I’m thrilled that he’s onto something new and any way I can get him to eat more veggies is alright with me so I offer them frequently. For some reason though, he still won’t try a pickle from a jar so I decided that I would try my hand at a quick pickling to see if he’d like a homemade version better.

Turns out, making homemade pickles is easier than you would think and so much fun! My son had a blast filling the jars with cucumbers and watching them transform into something salty and delicious. These bread and butter pickle chips have a slightly sweet and tangy taste that’s great for sammies or anytime snacking and definitely a new family favorite.

Hey guys! Sorry I’ve been MIA lately. We just moved house and life has been, well, NUTS! I promise that a whole new slew of TBYT recipes are on their way, now that my kitchen equipment is out of boxes but until then, you simply MUST give one of my Classic or Blueberry Mojito Mocktails a try over at the Baby Gizmo Blog. I have to admit, I’ve made a few this past week (the boozy kind) to get me through the insanity that is unpacking an entire house with two wee ones underfoot.

They’re so delicious you’ll want to share them with the whole family, and you can! Make up a giant batch of the mocktail version to and add a shot or two (I won’t tell) of the “good stuff” to each adult glass. No matter what version you choose to sip, these recipes will definitely keep you refreshed and in good spirits. Whether you’re doing hard labor or just kicking back poolside you’re sure to be sippin’ in style.

Cheers, guys!

Get my Classic and Blueberry Mojito Mocktil Recipes here. 

Recently I was asked by Zak Designs to contribute to their blog by offering some ideas on how to make mealtime more fun. This request couldn’t have come at a better time for me because I have been working hard to find ways to spice up our own mealtime routine.

You see, my oldest son is three and he’s a bit of a toughie when it comes to dinnertime. Despite me making all of his baby food from scratch, trying my hardest to foster good eating habits and blah, blah, blah, he’s three and he’s a hard sell on some foods. He’s fidgety and picky at times and on many night’s it can be a real challenge to get him to eat dinner. I realize that his behavior is age appropriate and I do everything I can to encourage him to eat well and sit down with the family because, after all, that’s how we roll. Still, I cannot lie, his unwillingness to sit still and eat an entire meal frustrates me to no end and I find myself feeling exhausted and helpless at times. I know he’ll grow out of it and can only hope he will one day become the ravenous teenager that my friends warm me about, eating me out of house and home. But for now it’s my job to find ways to make dinner  more fun and exciting so I keep his interest and minimize my stress.

Yup! That’s my picky eaters hand reaching for the manchego. He proclaimed that this meal was the best he ever had  and I even got a “thanks mommy” for it! Yeah, buddy!

One of my new favorite ways to serve a meal is tapas style. My three year old went bonkers for this idea and I think your family will too. It’s fun and festive and takes some of the pressure off a more structured meal. Everyone has something to choose from and you can all feel a little more at ease. Plus, it’s fun! Using leftovers and some easy store bought goodies, you can turn a regular meal into a passport meal of adventure. Check out my blog on the Zak Design website and try some of my ideas at home.

CONTEST

PRIZE PACKAGE:
Zak was so cool to work with and wanted to offer one lucky winner not one, but two sets from their Table Art Collection—the Bloom 7 piece White and Yellow set and the Petals 7 piece Table Art Assorted Rainbow set. They’re BPA, PVC, Phthalate and lead free and oh-so-adorable. I have a set and just love it for al kinds of entertaining but especially for outdoor entertaining.

TO ENTER:

To be eligible to win, leave a comment below telling me what you do to make Mealtime More Fun in your house?

THE RULES:

• Contest begins on Wednesday, June 20th @- 10pm EST and closes on Friday, June 22nd @ 10pm EST. One entry per participant, please.
• Contest is open to all US residents but prize cannot be shipped to PO Boxes (sorry!).
• Winner will need to provide email address and physical address so that prize may be shipped out.
• A winner will be selected by the Randomizer tool on Random.org and contacted via email. If winner does not respond within one week of being contacted, a second winner will be chosen.
• Prize will be shipped directly to winner by Zak.

*This will be shipped directly to the winner by Zak. I was paid for my participation in this program (recipe writing) and given some product samples for recipe development purposes, however, all opinions are strictly my own. I was not asked to review the products at all. If I didn’t like this product, I would not be writing about it. Trust.

Avocado, Radish and Pea Shoot Open Faced Sandwich

My love for cooking came from the experiences I had as a child in our family kitchen. I have fond memories of being a pint sized sous chef to my grandmother, mother and aunt as they prepared our family meals. It was that early exposure that I feel led me to my passion for cooking and love for the family meal. To this day it is cooking that is my solace during times of turmoil, my respite during distress and the one thing that always centers me. My mother always says that I look most at peace when I am cooking. She is right.

I started my blog TakeBackYourTable.com as a way to share my passion for cooking and the family meal. My goal was to use my culinary skills to offer up easy, healthy recipes to families everywhere. Growing up Italian American, food and family went hand-in-hand. The family meal means everything and after I had my own children, my passion for it solidified. Each day I get to see first hand just how meaningful it is to teach children the importance of food and nutrition at an early age. The old proverb “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” always rings in my head whenever I have my babies by my side in the kitchen. It’s so true!  Although my kids are only one and three years old, I know that the moments they spend with us in the kitchen and around the dinner table are invaluable both physically and emotionally.

My three year old son working at the ESNYC Garden.

Pulling the cart was one of his favorite parts!

Teaching kids about food, where it comes from and how it’s prepared is less about making them into little foodies and more about giving them the tools to help them sustain a healthy lifestyle. Getting them involved in the kitchen teaches them to be confident and self-sufficient (among many other things) and those are powerful traits to have. In a time where our kids are surrounded by fast food, poor school provided lunches and childhood obesity is at an all time high, it has never been more important to arm them with the tools they’ll need to lead healthy lives and that all starts in the kitchen.

Learning so much thanks to the amazing ESNYC teachers and garden staff.

My passion for family and food lead me to my work with the Edible Schoolyard of New York—the first Edible Schoolyard on the east coast and the first ever, four season one at that! If you aren’t familiar with the program, it’s creation of Chef Alice Waters that started over 16 years ago in Berkley California. Their mission is simple: “ to create and sustain an organic garden and landscape that is wholly integrated into the school’s curriculum, culture, and food program. ESY involves students in all aspects of farming the garden and preparing, serving, and eating food as a means of awakening their senses and encouraging awareness and appreciation of the trans-formative values of nourishment, community, and stewardship of the land.”

My dream come true! Teaching a cooking class at my alma mater, P.S. 216.

Showing the students how to make dressing using an empty jar. We all love to shake it (hence the blurry image)!

Before 2010, there was no Edible Schoolyard on the east coast. Lucky for me the first east coast school to receive an Edible Schoolyard was P.S. 216 in Brooklyn, my alma mater! I worked with Director Christiane Baker and her amazing team to start the first ever PS 216 Family Nights. They understood my attachment to the school and my love for the program and were extremely encouraging and welcoming. Christiane and her team are everything you would want surrounding your children, kind, inspiring, encouraging and passionate, a true testament to exactly how special the program is.

One work station all ready to go for a basic vinaigrette lesson.

Our goal with Family Night was to give the families of PS 216 a better sense of the program and what it entailed. As parents, we all know how hard it is to get an answer to “what did you do in school today?” from our kids so i wanted to show them first hand what their kids were doing. During these events, they were given the opportunity to explore the garden, meet the staff, get a greater sense of the program and it’s amazing facilities. Beyond checking out the garden, parents, caregivers and students were given the opportunity to participate in small cooking classes that I conducted using in-season ingredients fresh from the garden to create delicious recipes like this Opened Face Avocado and Cheddar Sandwich and a leafy green salad with homemade vinaigrette. At the end of each event, everyone sits down together to enjoy the fruit of their labor. It’s wonderful to see children so eager to try what they made, even if they have never tried it before—confirmation that getting your kids involved in the growing and preparation of their food will make them healthier eaters.

The beautifully set ESNYC table, ready for us to taste the fruits veggies of our labor. : )

Mise en place aka everything we need to make a rockin’ fig vinaigrette!

According to the ESYNYC website, plans are in effect to establish five showcase schools, one in each borough of New York City. Their goal is to provide New York City’s one million public school students with access to an Edible Education. If you live in or around the NYC area, find out how you can volunteer with the program. Check out the ESYNYC website for community events and open garden hours when you and your family can get your hands dirty and learn something while you work in the garden. If you don’t live in the NYC area, get in contact with your local community to see if there are similar programs available. It will truly be an experience you and your family will never forget.

I’m a big proponent of making your own baby food and I loved every minute of creating delicious meals for my babies. I felt like a total scientist in the kitchen when I was combining different flavors and textures to come up with exciting creations for my little ones to gobble up or spit out. Whatever. : )

Making my own baby food was a lot of fun and an experience I won’t ever forget. It definitely took time to make a stockpile of food, but I found the experience very rewarding.  Still, like every parent I definitely appreciated the convenience of pre-made organic baby food when I needed it.  Life as a parent is crazy busy and you are always running around and let’s face it, sometimes most of the time, we can use all the help we can get. There were definitely times when I relied upon organic baby food like Plum to get us through a plane ride, a rode trip or just as back up snacks in my diaper bag for emergencies. Trust me, those squeeze pouches are a godsend when you have a screaming toddler in the backseat of your car and you need food. Fast! I learned to pop those suckers open with one hand on the steering wheel. Saving grace, indeed.

When my first son was born, the organic baby food market was really beginning to explode and by the time I had my second son in 2011, Plum Organics had definitely proven to be one of the top companies on the market. Anyone can make a veggie or fruit puree, but it takes an extremely knowledgeable and thoughtful company to go beyond the basics to really make their product something special.  I have to say I am most impressed with their grain blends.  Being a big fan of millet and quinoa, I find it refreshing and super convenient to be able to find fruit and veggie purees that contain these super grains in an easy squeezable BPA-free pouch. Not only is plum giving people a change to explore new and exciting foods with their babies, their making it easy and delicious! Love. That!

The people at Plum make nutritious foods in order to inspire healthy eating habits. Not only are is their entire line certified organic, they never use artificial ingredients, trans fats or corn syrup in any of their foods and adhere to strict cooking methods that preserve both the nutrients and the flavor of the ingredients they use. From the BPA-free packaging to the flavor combos, every aspect of the Plum Organics line is well thought out and executed.

Plum organics obviously cares about the consumer and they truly believe that the product they make really matters and that’s something I can get behind. So, when I was asked to write a recipe for their Facebook Little Foodies Cookbox, I was more than happy to oblige. Using one of our favorite pouches—Strawberry Mish Mash—I created a Baked Strawberry Breakfast Pocket that easily rivals any store bought breakfast strudel and is nutritious enough to serve to your little eaters. Think mini pies filled with cream cheese and sweetened naturally thanks to the delicious Strawberry Mish Mash Pouch—the best excuse to eat pie for breakfast. Warning: you WILL want to eat the entire batch. Just remember to save some for the kids!

Find the Baked Strawberry Breakfast Pocket  recipe HERE!

 Recipe Link

As part of my participation in the Plum Organics Facebook Little Foodies Cookbox, Plum has generously donated a gift bag filled with lots of goodies for you to win!! Check out the contest details below. Good luck!

THE SWAG:

Prize package includes one Plum tote bag, 7 Plum Organic pouches, 3 Teensy Fruit packets, coupons, stickers and buttons.

TO ENTER:

To be eligible to win, leave a comment below telling me what you or your kids favorite breakfast food is. That’s it. That’s all!!

THE RULES:

• Contest begins on Wednesday, Tuesday, May 22nd at 10:30am EST and closes on Friday, May 25th @- 10pm EST. One entry per participant, please.
• Contest is open to all US residents but prize cannot be shipped to PO Boxes (sorry!).
• Winner will need to provide email address and physical address so that prize may be shipped out.
• A winner will be selected by the Randomizer tool on Random.org and contacted via email. If winner does not respond within one week of being contacted, a second winner will be chosen.

*This prize is valued at about $18.99 plus shipping and will be shipped directly to the winner by me. I was paid for my participation in this program (recipe writing) and given some samples for recipe development purposes, however, all opinions are strictly my own. If I didn’t like this product, I would not be writing about it. Trust.