Easy | My Little Gourmet

Pineapple and Coconut Smoothie

Mar 282014

Since it’s been raining here a lot lately, we decided to have a family movie day this week. I’ve been promising Arik this for a while now, so I was happy to finally get around to it. He picked out Ratatouille to watch, I popped popcorn, we stretched out on the couch and spent the afternoon there.

At halftime, I made this pineapple coconut smoothie to try and bring some summer feeling into the place. It totally worked! 🙂 If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend having a movie day. It really is fun and relaxing for everyone involved (which often times is not the case with toddler activities) and it is a great change-up to those busy weekday afternoons. Oh and the smoothie; I highly recommend that too. It just sweetened up the whole day! 🙂

Pineapple and Coconut Smoothie

Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

1 cup (about 2 handfuls) pineapple chunks
1 cup/240ml coconut milk
1 cup (about 2 handfuls) ice cubes
½ cup/120ml milk
1-2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
some shredded coconut, toasted, for garnish

Instructions

Combine all of the ingredients except for the shredded coconut in a blender and blend until smooth.
Pour into glasses, top with toasted coconut and serve immediately.

Notes

*To toast the shredded coconut, just dry-roast in a pan over medium heat until golden brown.
*Unfortunately, this smoothie cannot be made ahead of time and should be served immediately after mixing.

Recipe from My Colombian Recipes

This time last year: Lighter Sesame Chicken

Christmas Tree Egg In a Hole

Breakfast, Holidays 2 Responses »

Dec 202013

Egg in a Hole is something we eat quite often in our family, since it is so easy to make and delicious to eat. This christmas tree version though, is something new I tried and Arik absolutely loved it. He almost wanted to just keep the tree and not eat it…almost! 🙂

We will definitely be having this breakfast again on Christmas morning. This way no-one (aka me) has to spend the morning in the kitchen whipping up something fancy, yet we still get to have a festive breakfast. I hope you all have a very merry Christmas filled with lots of family, fun and food and I will see you all next year!! Muaah!

Christmas Tree Egg Nest

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

10 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 1

Ingredients

Butter for the pan
1 piece of bread; I used whole-wheat
1 egg
bell pepper for garnish

Instructions

Place a pan over medium heat and add some butter.
While the butter is melting, take a slice of bread and use a christmas tree cookie cutter to cut out a hole in the center of the bread.
Place the bread in the hot pan, break the egg into the hole, cover and allow to cook for a few minutes. Be sure to also cook the cut-out piece of toast (the tree) on the side.
Once the egg has set enough, flip the bread and cook for about 30-60 seconds more, depending on how done you want your egg.
While the egg is cooking, cut out a star and some strips using a yellow and a red bell pepper.
Place the bread and egg onto a plate and garnish with the bell pepper and serve with your cut-out piece of tree toast as a dipper.

Lemony Vegetable Quinoa Skillet with Feta Cheese

Main Dishes 1 Response »

Nov 292013

For all of my non-American readers out there, yesterday was the day to give thanks in the States! In other words, Americans spent the day with family, stuffing their faces with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberries, gravy and, of course, pumpkin pie. Oh, how I miss it! We didn’t celebrate here because my big gourmet is gone on a business trip and I didn’t really feel like preparing a gigantic feast for just Arik and myself. That would have been the saddest Thanksgiving of all time. 🙂

I’m thinking all of you that did partake in the face-stuffing could probably use something a little lighter and healthier today. This is where the vegetable quinoa skillet comes in. It’s got some good-for-you veggies, a deliciously tart/sweet lemon honey sauce, and, because we just can’t do without it, cheese! If you cook the quinoa ahead of time, this dish is done in a matter of minutes, which, I’m thinking, is just what you need if you were the one hosting Thanksgiving yesterday. 🙂

Enjoy and have a great 1. Advent!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Lemony Vegetable Quinoa with Feta Cheese

Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

35 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1¾ cup/420ml vegetable broth
1 cup/ 170g quinoa, rinsed very well and drained
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 medium zucchini, diced
2 ears of sweet corn, kernels cut off the cob or ½cup/150g canned or frozen sweet corn, drained
2 green onions, sliced
2-3 medium vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped
½ cup/100g feta, crumbled
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper

For The Honey Lemon Sauce:

Zest of 1 organic lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1½ tablespoons honey
1 clove of garlic, minced
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Instructions

In a saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil and add rinsed quinoa. Cover and let simmer until broth is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Fluff the quinoa with a fork and allow to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, combine all of the ingredients for the honey lemon sauce, whisk well and set aside.
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for about 30 seconds.
Add zucchini, sweet corn and green onions, season with salt and pepper and saute until tender, about 4-5 minutes.
Add the cooked quinoa and half of the honey lemon sauce and cook for 1 minute.
Add the remaining sauce, tomatoes, feta and basil to the skillet and stir well.

Recipe adapted from Iowa Girl Eats.

Easy Stuffed Pizza Muffins

Lunches/Snacks 4 Responses »

Nov 012013

Today’s recipe is once again something I found on Pinterest. I actually pinned these muffins a long time ago, and then, as I so often do, completely forgot about them. Then, recently, when I was searching for some inspiration from my pins, I came across these again and had to try them out right away. And they really are as easy to make and tasty as they look. 🙂

First you lay out your dough (I used store-bought because, well, I’m lazy) and spread pizza sauce on it.

Then you sprinkle the cheese and any toppings you and your kids like on top.

Cut the dough in half and roll both halves up.

Cut the rolls into slices, I did about 6 per half, and place them swirly-side up in a greased muffin pan.

Bake according to the dough instructions (I did about 20 minutes) and voila, delicious stuffed pizza muffins!

Easy Pizza Muffins

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 12 muffins

Ingredients

1 batch of pizza dough, store-bought or home-made
1 cup/250ml pizza sauce
1 cup/100g shredded mozzarella cheese
Handful of mini pepperoni slices, I just sliced up 5 mini Salamis
½ green bell pepper, chopped

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven following the directions for your pizza dough.
Spread out the dough and cover with the sauce, leaving about an inch (2.5cm) without sauce around the edges.
Cut the dough in half and cover each half with cheese and the desired toppings.
Roll up each half starting with the cut side.
Slice off pieces about 1.5 in or 4 cm in size (I got 6 slices per half), and place them into a greased muffin pan with swirled side up.
Top each muffin with some more cheese and pepperoni slices if you like.
Bake according to your pizza dough instructions, checking the muffins at about 14 minutes (mine baked for 20 minutes) and remove from oven when golden brown on top.
Allow to cool for a few minutes and then use a knife to separate the muffins from the pan.

Recipe adapted from Pennywise Cook.

Creamy 10-Minute Tomato Soup

Soups 2 Responses »

Oct 042013

Fall has definitely arrived here in Berlin and although I am not a big fan of being cold, I do look forward to hot chocolates, the coziness of being at home, and of course, home-made soups. Recently, Arik and I got home from a long and cold afternoon at the playground and I wanted nothing more than a hot bowl of soup. It was already pretty late and I had few ingredients so I made this creamy tomato soup in about 10 minutes. Best decision I have ever made. 🙂

This soup was exactly what we needed that night. So easy and quick to prepare, yet much healthier and tastier than a opening up a can of soup. I have tried making this with honey in place of sugar and personally found the taste to be better when sugar was used, but I will leave what sweetener you use up to you. We had this soup with some grilled cheese roll-ups…more on that, next week. 🙂

Creamy Homemade Tomato Soup in 10 Minutes

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

14oz./400g can chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
½cup/120ml vegetable broth
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons creme fraiche
fresh basil leaves for garnish

Instructions

Combine tomatoes, sugar, and broth in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat.
Bring to a boil, turn down heat, and simmer for about 5-10 minutes.
Blend (I use a hand-held blender) soup until fine.
Stir in creme fraiche and salt and pepper to taste before serving.
If desired, top with some chopped fresh basil leaves.

Oven-Baked Fish with Tomatoes and Caper Butter

Main Dishes 2 Responses »

Sep 132013

So, I found this recipe a while ago and have been reluctant to try it out. I just don’t see capers and kids going well together. It could be, that I think this because I myself am not a huge fan of capers and rarely cook with them. Regardless, I just couldn’t picture Arik liking this fish dish. I totally have you guys sold on this recipe now, huh? Just hear me out, ok?

Finally, when my parents were visiting and I was running out of meal ideas, I decided to give this one a chance. I am so happy I tried it out because everyone, including myself and Arik, really liked it. To top it off, it’s incredibly easy and quick to prepare. All you have to do is chop up your tomatoes, capers, and basil (I was feeling lazy and used frozen basil, so I didn’t even have to do this step), mix together your butter and top your fish with all the goodies. Grate some parmesan cheese over it all and stick it in the oven. Done!

Here’s the proof, that my child does, in fact, like capers. 🙂 As you can see, the plate is empty and this is after his seconds. This recipe is definitely a keeper in our family!

Oven-Baked Fish with Tomatoes and Caper Butter

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

35 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 3

Ingredients

4-5 small filets/500g/17oz. of cod or any white fish you prefer
½ bundle of basil, chopped
2 tablespoons butter, softened, plus some for the baking dish
1 tablespoon concentrated tomato paste
1 tablespoon capers, chopped finely
4 small tomatoes on the vine, chopped
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Instructions

Wash and pat dry the fish filets and remove any bones. Season with salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 390℉/200℃.
Mix all but 1 tablespoon of the basil with butter, capers, tomato paste and some pepper until smooth.
Place the filets in a greased baking dish and spread the caper butter on top.
Top the buttered filets with chopped tomatoes, left-over basil, and parmesan cheese.
Bake for about 25 minutes until fish flakes easily.

Notes

*I either serve this fish with cous cous or fresh baguette and a green salad.

Recipe adapted from the GU Family Cookbook.

White Bean and Vegetable Pasta

Main Dishes 8 Responses »

Aug 302013

Arik is a little bean obsessed. Whether it be black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas or these giant white beans, he loves them all! I’m pretty sure he would just eat them straight out of the can if I let him, but since that’s not exactly the most balanced diet, I try to make a meal out of them. That’s why I was so excited when I found this really simple pasta recipe where the main ingredient is white beans.

This recipe is quick to make, healthy and all three of us really liked it. Any recipe that meets all of these requirements, gets two thumbs up from me and needs to immediately be shared with all of you! I hope your family takes to this one as much as mine did.

5.0 from 1 reviews

White Bean and Vegetable Pasta

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

35 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

½ lb./300g whole wheat pasta (I used penne)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced
½ teaspoon dried sage
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¾ cup/180ml vegetable stock
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 15oz./400g can chopped tomatoes
1 15oz./400g can white beans, drained and rinsed
parmesan cheese for topping

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package instructions; drain and set aside.
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes.
Add sage, oregano, salt, pepper, and stock, reduce heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add zucchini and tomatoes and cook until carrots are tender; about 7-8 minutes.
Add the beans and cook for another 3 minutes.
Toss with pasta and top each serving with parmesan cheese.

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Pomegranate Lassi

Drinks 4 Responses »

Jul 192013

Since my parents are in town right now visiting us, we’ve been doing a lot of eating out. The other day we went to a Vietnamese restaurant, where Arik, by the way, ate two large summer rolls with tofu and fish sauce…sometimes I am amazed at what that kid eats. Anyway, I ordered Arik and myself a mango lassi to share to see it it would be something he likes. My question was quickly answered when I gave him the glass, blinked, and the whole thing was basically gone. So much for sharing. 🙂 After getting such positive feedback from him, I decided to make him a lassi at home, with pomegranate instead of mango.

I already told you guys about our current pomegranate obsession in my Chicken Salad post, which is also where you can find easy step-by-step instructions on how to de-seed a pomegranate. So I thought, why not turn those delicious little seeds into a lassi! And I am so glad I did…it was sooo good. Since pomegranates can be a little on the sour side, I went ahead and added some honey. If that is still not sweet enough for your kids you could always toss some mango in there to sweeten things up. Alright, next mission: a homemade kid-friendly summer roll… 🙂

5.0 from 1 reviews

Pomegranate Lassi

Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 2

Ingredients

1 pomegranate
½ cup/120ml water
1¼ cup/300g plain yogurt
1-2 tablespoons honey

Instructions

De-seed the pomegranate and blend the seeds with the water. Strain the mixture in order to get the hard part of the seeds out.
Blend the pomegranate juice with yogurt and honey and serve cold.

Notes

*If just the pomegranate juice isn't sweet enough for your kids, then you can add some mango for sweetness.

Spaghetti Bolognese with Hidden Vegetables

Main Dishes 6 Responses »

Jul 122013

I don’t think I have ever met a kid, that didn’t like spaghetti with meat sauce. It’s an extremely popular kid’s dish here in Germany and you will seldomly find a kid’s menu at a restaurant that doesn’t have spaghetti bolognese on it. Arik is definitely not an exception. He loves this stuff and gets really excited when he sees that we are having pasta with meat sauce…of course, his serving has to come with an extra portion of parmesan cheese. 🙂

That’s why I decided last week, that no kid’s recipe blog is complete, without a recipe for spaghetti bolognese. So, I’m going to share with you our favorite version, which is stuffed with lots of veggies, of course. 🙂 Since Arik likes eating most vegetables, I leave the sauce chunky. If you’ve got a picky eater, just puree/blend the vegetables and tomatoes together into a fine sauce and they’ll never know. 😉 As far as, which vegetables you decide to use, it’s completely up to you and what you have in your fridge. I would however, always use an apple because this gives the sauce some sweetness, which the kids will enjoy.

Alright, now this kid’s recipe blog has a recipe for pasta with meat sauce too…phew, made it just in the nick of time. 😉

4.0 from 1 reviews

Spaghetti Bolognese with Hidden Vegetables

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small leek, thinly sliced
1 small stalk of celery, finely diced
1 carrot, peeled and grated
½ red bell pepper, finely diced
½ apple, cored, peeled and grated
1 clove of garlic, pressed
1 14oz/400g can chopped tomatoes
1 lb./500g ground beef
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup/250ml beef or vegetable stock
½ teaspoon oregano, dried
1 handful fresh basil leaves, chopped finely
1-2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Instructions

Melt the butter in a large pan and add the onion. Saute until translucent and add the vegetables, apple and garlic. Saute for another 10 minutes or until soft.
Meanwhile, brown the ground beef in a separate pan breaking it up with a wooden spoon.
If you want the veggies completely hidden then transfer them to a blender, add tomatoes, and blend until smooth. If your child likes a really fine texture then you can also add the beef and blend as well.
If not blending, add the beef to vegetables and tomatoes and stir in tomato paste, stock and oregano.
Bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer for 40-45 minutes until sauce is thickened.
Add fresh basil and season to taste with balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper.
Serve over spaghetti and top with parmesan cheese.

Recipe adapted from Annabel Karmel on Baby Centre

Strawberry Roll Cake

Desserts 16 Responses »

Jul 052013

As I mentioned before, Arik’s Birthday was a couple of weeks ago and I made a Strawberry Roll Cake for the occasion. Since it was such a hit with everyone, I ended up baking it again a week later so I could take some pictures for a post. I want to share these pictures and the recipe with you today, since there are so many yummy strawberries for sale right now, so that you guys can get right to baking!

The first time I baked the cake I beat the eggs and sugar for a couple of minutes and it ended up pretty dense. So the next time around, I separated the eggs and folded in the stiffened egg whites. This cake was a complete disaster and ended up immediately breaking when rolled. For the third attempt, I beat the eggs and sugar for at least 5 minutes until they were really creamy and fluffy. This cake rolled beautifully and was incredibly light and airy. The only thing I will do differently next time is roll the cake a little tighter so that more rolls come out in the end.

I make the filling while the cake bakes and cools. Usually there is some filling left over, but no one seems to mind and I don’t have any issues getting rid of it. 😉 You should be able find quark as well as Whip It in larger grocery stores or specialty stores. If not, let me know and I will figure out a substitution for you. In my opinion the cake tasted even better after 1-2 days in the refrigerator so it’s a great idea to make it ahead of time. It really is a perfect cake for kid’s summer birthday parties. Kids seem to love strawberries and quark and if they don’t, there’s just more left over for the adults!

5.0 from 3 reviews

Strawberry Roll Cake

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

40 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

Cake:

4 Eggs
⅓ cup/70g sugar plus 1-2 tablespoons for rolling the cake
½ cup minus 1 tablespoon/50g flour
½ cup minus 1 tablespoon/50g cornstarch

Filling:

11 oz./300g strawberries
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¾ cup/200g quark
1-2 tablespoons powdered sugar
¾ cup/200g whipping cream
2 packets Whip It from Dr. Oetker or 2 tablespoons of whipping cream stabilizer

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 390℉/200℃.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and sugar for 5 minutes until creamy and fluffy.
Sift the flour and cornstarch on top and carefully mix in.
Pour the batter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
Take a clean dish towel, sprinkle with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar and dump the still hot cake onto it. Carefully use the towel to roll up the cake and set aside to cool.
Clean the strawberries and puree ⅓ of them along with the vanilla extract, sugar and lemon juice. Dice the remaining strawberries into small chunks.
In a medium bowl blend quark with powdered sugar and puree.
In another bowl, start to whip the cream. Add Whip It and continue to whip cream until stiff.
Fold cream and cut up strawberries into quark mixture.
Carefully unroll the cooled cake and spread the cream mixture onto it.
Roll the cake bake up and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
Sprinkle cake with powdered sugar before serving.

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