Easy | My Little Gourmet

Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole

Jun 222013

These last days have been pretty hectic for us here. We went to a 4 day wedding, celebrated Arik’s 2nd birthday and my husband’s cell phone was stolen right from under his nose at his office. Even though we’ve been somewhat stressed I still wanted Arik’s day to be about him and filled with his favorite things. For breakfast he had some blueberry lemon whole-wheat pancakes, I baked him a strawberry roll cake (recipe to come soon) and for dinner I made one of his favorite meals, this enchilada casserole.

The enchilada sauce can be easily made from scratch and that way you are able to control the spiciness. I’ve noticed that different chili powder brands have different amounts of spicy so I would start with just a 1/4 teaspoon and then increase after tasting. I usually end up keeping the casserole fairly mild and then add some chipotle hot sauce to mine at the end. If you have a family of meatlovers, you could of course add some chicken or ground beef to keep them happy. Enjoy and happy birthday my sweet boy! Thank you for 2 amazing fun-filled years and here’s to many more to come!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Enchilada Casserole

Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

Enchilada Sauce:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
½ teaspoon salt
½-1 teaspoon chili powder depending on the spiciness of your powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon honey
1 14oz/400g can of diced tomatoes, unsalted
¼ cup/60 ml water

Filling:

½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon cumin powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup/150g sour cream plus some for garnish
1 large egg
1 cup/250g frozen or canned corn kernels
1 14oz/400g can black beans, drained
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
2½ cups/ 250g shredded cheese, I used gouda, but cheddar or mexican blend would be great too
6 corn or flour tortillas

Instructions

Heat olive oil up in a medium saucepan and saute onions for 4 minutes. Add garlic, salt, cumin and chili powder and saute another minute.
Add honey, tomatoes and water and stir. Bring to a boil, cover, turn down heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Allow sauce to cool for 10 minutes, puree/blend, and set aside.
While sauce is cooling, preheat oven to 350℉/175℃ and start to prepare filling.
In a large bowl, whisk together onion, garlic, cumin, salt, sour cream and egg.
Stir in corn, beans, bell pepper, cilantro and 2 cups/200g of the cheese.
To make the casserole pour ½ cup/125ml of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 7x11 baking dish. Cover with 2 corn tortillas, tearing them to fill in the empty spaces.
Spread half of the veggie and cheese mixure on top of the tortillas and top with another ½ cup/125ml of sauce followed by 2 more tortillas.
Spread the remaining mixture on top and top with the last 2 tortillas, sauce and cheese.
Bake uncovered for 40 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.
Serve with sour cream and fresh cilantro on top.

Notes

*Prepared casserole can be frozen and then baked in a 350℉/175℃ oven for 45-50 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Weelicious.

Easy Moroccan Chicken

Main Dishes 4 Responses »

May 172013

This chicken recipe is really easy to make and a little different than what we are used to. Arik loves pine nuts and raisins, so he was loving this combination. It isn’t at all spicy, and due to the raisins it has a somewhat sweet taste, which is popular with the kiddies.

I served this with some steamed broccoli and a cucumber salad. It tastes great served over couscous, but I could imagine it also pairing well with rice or quinoa. It’s a great dish if you want to start your kids on trying some new tastes and flavors. I hope your little ones like this moroccan chicken as much as mine did!

Easy Moroccan Chicken

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

35 mins

Total time

45 mins

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

3 tablespoons pine nuts
2 large (400g) chicken breasts, diced into small chunks
3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
1 teaspoon cumin, ground
1 teaspoon mild paprika, ground
1 teaspoon coriander, ground
4 tablespoons raisins
1 cup/240ml chicken broth
3 tablespoons cilantro or flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 lemon, juiced
salt and pepper

Instructions

Heat a large pan over medium-high heat and add pine nuts. Cook, stirring regularly, until they give off an aroma and start to color. Transfer pine nuts to a plate.
Meanwhile, place chicken in a bowl and add flour, salt, and pepper and toss to coat.
Add one tablespoon of oil to the pan and cook half of the chicken until golden. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate and repeat with another tablespoon of oil and remaining chicken.
Heat remaining tablespoon of oil in the pan and add sliced onions. Reduce heat a little and cook, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes or until golden and softened.
Add the cooked chicken, as well as the spices, raisins and broth to the onions and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5-10 minutes or until heated through and thickened.
Just before serving stir in pine nuts, cilantro or parsley and lemon juice (to taste).
Serve over couscous.

Recipe adapted from Kidspot

Strawberry Banana Milk

Drinks 7 Responses »

May 102013

Mother’s Day is coming up, so I’ve decided to share a recipe from my mother with you all. My mom used to make this milk for me when I got home from school and I always loved it. To this day I still enjoy drinking these fruit milks!

A while ago I decided to make one for Arik to see if he would like them as much I always did, and low and behold he drank both servings, leaving none for me… Now he has one at least once a week and always gets really excited when he sees me getting out the blender. I love that something so easy and delicious is healthy for us too. I also love the fact that something my mom and I used to enjoy together, I can now enjoy with my son. Happy Mother’s Day!

5.0 from 2 reviews

Strawberry Banana Milk

Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 2

Ingredients

1 ripe banana
4-5 strawberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1-2 tablespoons honey
1½ cups/ 375ml milk

Instructions

Toss all ingredients into a blender and blend well.
Serve over some ice cubes or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Bircher Muesli : The original overnight oats recipe

Breakfast 150 Responses »

May 032013

Bircher Muesli was developed around 1900 by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Brenner for his patients and is still a very popular breakfast throughout Switzerland and Germany. The original recipe called for much more fresh fruit than grain and soaked the raw oats overnight since they took some time to soften. Nowadays, a soak time of 30-60 minutes seems to suffice when using quick oats, although I still prefer to prepare it the night before so that we don’t have to wait for our breakfast in the mornings.

Arik likes to not only eat the muesli for breakfast, but also in the afternoon as a snack. As far as toppings go, you can use just about anything your heart desires for fruit and nuts. We like to alternate between blueberries, strawberries, nectarines, hazelnuts, sesame seeds, and toasted coconut. And of course, no muesli is complete for Arik, without raisins, which we add the night before so that they are nice and soft.

Keep in mind, when using rolled or old-fashioned oats, they will require a longer soak time than quick oats. I also like the texture to be quite mushy (sorry…), so this recipe uses quite a bit of liquid and yogurt. If you prefer a thicker texture just decrease the amount of milk and yogurt.

If you and your kids like oatmeal and yogurt, you will love bircher muesli. It’s the perfect summer-time breakfast, and not only really easy to make, but healthy too!

5.0 from 24 reviews

Bircher Muesli

Author: Laura

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

2 cups/150g rolled or quick oats
1¾ cups/420ml milk
¼ cup/60ml apple juice
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 apple, cored and grated with the peel
1-2 tablespoons honey
1½ cups/375g plain yogurt
A dash of cinnamon (optional)
Toppings : your favorite fresh and/or dried fruit, nuts, toasted coconut, etc.
Our favorites: blueberries, strawberries, raisins and hazelnuts

Instructions

Combine oats, milk, apple juice and lemon juice and let sit overnight in the refrigerator.
In the morning add the grated apple, honey (to taste), yogurt, and cinnamon, if desired, and mix well.
Top with your favorite fruits and nuts.

Notes

* If you are short on time in the mornings, you can add the grated apple the night before to save a few minutes.

Turkey and Apple Grilled Cheese

Lunches/Snacks Comments Off

Apr 192013

So apparently last week was National Grilled Cheese Day in the states and I missed it. How humiliating! 🙂 To make up for this mistake I decided to make us some grilled cheesies this week. But not just any grilled cheese, no, a turkey and gouda grilled cheese topped with some tart apple slices. Sooo good!

After making our sandwiches, I realized that this was Arik’s very first grilled cheese ever and right after eating it, he wanted his very first second grilled cheese ever. Go figure. For the cheese I used a mild gouda and the apple was a pink lady. These are nice and tart and paired perfectly with the melted gouda. Along with the sandwiches I made a roasted tomato soup, which according to Arik, who chose to have about 3 spoonfuls, paled in comparison to the grilled cheese. Oh well, more soup for me!

Turkey and Apple Grilled Cheese

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

7 mins

Total time

12 mins

Serves: 1

Ingredients

2 slices of whole wheat bread
1 slice of turkey
1-2 slices of cheese (we used Gouda)
a few slices of your favorite kind of apple (we used pink lady)
butter

Instructions

Heat a pan over medium heat.
Spread some butter on one side of each of the bread slices.
Put one bread slice in the pan buttered side down, top it with the turkey, cheese and apple slices, and cover it with the other slice of bread, buttered side up.
Once the cheese begins to melt and the bread turns golden brown, flip the sandwich and allow the other side to brown.

Easy Crispy Chicken Nuggets

Main Dishes 8 Responses »

Apr 122013

I’ve been searching for a delicious, yet easy chicken nuggets recipe for a long time. Chicken nuggets are a staple childhood food (at least they were for me) and I didn’t want to deny Arik of these delicious little things, but I also didn’t want to serve him some pre-made frozen version. Unfortunately, all the recipes I was finding required me to coat each little nugget in flour, egg, and breading and then fry them in a pan, which as most of you parents know, is pretty impossible to do when you’ve got a hungry toddler hanging out in the kitchen.

Then I found this little gem of a recipe. It requires only 4 ingredients and promised no elaborate breading of the chicken nuggets. I was sold, and tried it out immediately. It truly is a really easy recipe, which all three of us loved. You just simply put the cut up chicken and some red pesto in a bowl and mix. Then you toss that chicken in a freezer bag with crushed cornflakes and shake. Lastly, you place the nuggets on a cookie sheet and bake…so easy, and more importantly, a lot less messy than breading and frying. The other great thing about the recipe, is that you can easily freeze the uncooked breaded nuggets and save them for a busy weeknight.

I personally find, that the red pesto provides enough seasoning for the nuggets (especially since I am cooking for a 21 month old), but if you prefer a little kick to your nuggets you can season the crushed cornflake mixture however you desire. The original recipe calls for breadcrumbs instead of cornflakes. I went ahead and tried regular breadcrumbs, panko breading, and cornflakes and in the end cornflakes were a clear winner with all three of us. I served them with oven-baked potato wedges and green beans….and of course, ketchup.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Easy Crispy Chicken Nuggets

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

25 mins

Serves: 3

Ingredients

2 skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into small cubes
3 tablespoons red pesto
2-3 handfuls cornflakes, crushed into small pieces
2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400℉/200℃.
Place the cubed chicken pieces in a bowl, add the pesto, and mix together until all pieces are covered.
Pour the oil onto a shallow baking tray, just enough to cover it, and place in the oven for 5 minutes.
Put the cornflakes in a freezer bag, crush them into small pieces, and add the chicken in small batches. Shake each batch around until each piece is coated with cornflakes.
Place the chicken nuggets onto the heated greased baking tray so that no pieces are touching each other and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes

*Breadcrumbs or panko can be used in place of cornflakes. *If you are wanting to pre-make these and freeze them, then once the nuggets are coated, place them on a baking sheet (not touching each other) and put them in the freezer. When they are frozen solid, place them in a container or freezer bag and store in freezer until ready to bake.

Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food.

Lighter Sesame Chicken

Main Dishes 1 Response »

Mar 262013

My hubby and I used to cook and eat different kinds of asian food A LOT, and the spicier the better. Since Arik has started eating the same foods we eat, I rarely make asian recipes and I never cook spicy. I do really miss that kind of cooking though, so I’ve been searching for some kid-friendly asian-style recipes. I came across the Sweet Broiled Salmon, which we really love and make all the time, and recently I found this Sesame Chicken.

Broccoli is one of Arik’s favorite vegetables, so I couldn’t go wrong with that, and he really seemed to like the sweet sauce. What I like about the recipe is the fact that you don’t bread and fry the chicken, which is how original sesame chicken is made. Instead you coat the chicken in egg whites and cornstarch, and cook it in a tablespoon of oil. This way the dish is much easier and faster to make and ten times healthier than deep-fried breaded chicken. Of course we (we being the adults) top ours with Sriracha to add some spice. Enjoy!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Lighter Sesame Chicken

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

40 mins

Author: Laura

Serves: 4

Ingredients

3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped or pressed
2 egg whites
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 lb./500g skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into small chunks
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 lb./500g broccoli, cut into small florets
4 scallions, thinly sliced
salt and ground pepper

Instructions

In a small bowl combine honey, sesame seeds, soy sauce, and garlic to make the sauce; set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together egg whites and cornstarch; add chicken, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat and add half the chicken. Cook, turning occasionally, until opaque throughout; about 6-8 minutes.
While chicken is cooking, steam broccoli until crisp tender, about 5-7 minutes.
When 1st batch of chicken is done, transfer to a plate, heat remaining tablespoon of oil, and cook the rest of the chicken.
Once done, return all the chicken to the skillet; add sauce and scallions, stir until chicken is coated and allow to simmer 30 seconds.
Add the steamed broccoli and toss to coat.
Serve over rice.

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Grilled Corn and Avocado Salad

Salads Comments Off

Mar 222013

I don’t know how many times I’ve found something great on Pinterest and then wondered why I didn’t think of doing that myself. Once again it’s happened…Bev from BevCooks introduced me to the idea of roasting corn under the broiler. As soon as I saw this pin I thought of one of my favorite summer salads and wondered if it would work for this as well.

Make roasted corn in minutes: Just toss frozen or canned corn with olive oil, salt and pepper, place on a lined cookie sheet, and broil in the oven for 5-7 minutes.

Every summer I look forward to finally being able to light up the grill, grill some corn and make this delicious salad. It’s so simple and easy to make and tastes incredibly refreshing. So, naturally, as soon as I saw this pin I immediately went to work and broiled some corn…and it worked. The salad was absolutely delicious (although, I must say, it definitely tastes best when using corn straight off of the grill). But this option is the perfect substitute when it is still snowing outside in March (yeah, that’s right, we STILL have snow) and you just want a little taste of summer.

For easy chopping just cube avocado in the peel and scoop out with a spoon

I ended up using canned corn because that is all I had on hand, but I imagine frozen would roast even better and get a little crispier. Once I’ve tried it out I will report back (*here now finally my report back: frozen definitely turned out better than canned, although both work just fine)…and now I’m going to grab myself a bowl of salad, crank up the heat and some Bob Marley, and wait for summer to come; or at least for it to stop snowing and temperatures to rise above freezing.

Grilled Corn and Avocado Salad

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

20 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

4 ears/10 oz/285 g of corn, fresh, frozen or canned
1 avocado, cubed
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

Grill 4 shucked ears of corn, rotating often, until lightly charred. Let cool slightly and carefully cut kernels from cob.
If using frozen or canned, toss with some olive oil, salt and pepper, place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and broil for 5-7 minutes or until lightly browned.
Toss corn, avocado and cilantro gently in a bowl.
Add lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and toss again.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Living

Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Cups

Breakfast 6 Responses »

Mar 152013

These oatmeal “muffins” can’t really be described as muffins. Their consistency is more of a combination between a muffin and baked oatmeal, so if you are expecting to bite into a light and fluffy muffin you could be disappointed. Their taste though, is just plain delicious! Since the preparation and baking does take a little longer than the usual cereal or toast breakfast, we like to make these cups for breakfast on the weekend when we have a little extra time. I let Arik help me in preparing the batter, so he is okay with having to wait a little before he gets his breakfast.

The original recipe calls for sweetened almond milk instead of milk and honey and for chocolate chips instead of blueberries. I think that sounds really good too, and definitely want to try it out sometime soon, but I just didn’t want to serve chocolate that early in the day… I know, my poor deprived child. 🙂 I imagine they would be really good with some chopped fresh strawberries, as well, which I will definitely have to make in the summer.

I used paper liners to bake these and even after 15 minutes of cooling, they still end up sticking to the paper like crazy. Others have said that it works well to just grease the muffin tray and place the batter in there directly. I haven’t tried this out myself, so I can’t really comment, but next time I will do it this way and let you guys know. Despite the sticking they still tasted great. After eating 4 of these oatmeal cups, Arik came up for air and said, “Mama mmmmh, mehr!” Translation: Mom mmmmh (yes, that’s right, it’s universal), more!

Blueberry Oatmeal Cups

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

35 mins

Serves: 15-17 muffins

Ingredients

3 bananas, ripened and mashed
1 cup/240ml milk
2 eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 cups/240g rolled or quick oats
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup/125g blueberries, fresh or frozen

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375℉/190℃.
Mix together all of the ingredients except for the blueberries and set aside.
Prepare muffin pan by greasing or lining with paper liners.
Fold blueberries into the batter and drop into the prepared cups. They should be almost completely full.
Bake 20-30 minutes, or until the edges turn golden brown and they become firm to the touch.
Allow oatmeal cups to cool before removing from the paper liners.

Recipe adapted from Green Lite Bites

The American Classic: Meatloaf

Main Dishes 3 Responses »

Mar 082013

I don’t know how well-known or popular meatloaf is here in Germany, but I do know (and I think most of my American readers would agree) that it is a classic family dinner in the states. This recipe is from an ancient copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook my mother gave me when I moved out here. I was recently thumbing through it to look for some inspiration when I cam across this meatloaf recipe I remembered from my childhood, and decided to test it out. It was WAY better than I remembered, but that could partly be due to the fact that we ate this meatloaf A LOT. 🙂

Making this is sooo easy…just combine all of the ingredients, press into a 5×9 in loaf pan and place in the oven. If you don’t have a loaf pan you can also just form it into a loaf and place it into a 9 x 13 in baking dish. Since the loaf pans here in Germany are a much different size, I made sure to use a meat thermometer (which I highly recommend you do as well) in order to determine when the meatloaf was done. As soon as the internal temperature reaches 160℉/71℃ you want to remove the meatloaf from the oven, top with the glaze and cook for another 10 minutes. If you keep the meatloaf in there for too long it will end up drying out. If you have children that aren’t too fond of vegetables you can easily add a grated carrot or zucchini, or both, to the meatloaf and they will never know. 🙂

My absolute favorite part about this recipe is the glaze. It takes just a minute to whip up and is the perfect addition to this meatloaf. If you want to use something different, I’ve been told barbecue sauce also makes a nice topping. Regardless of the topping, if you also have fond memories of meatloaf family dinners as a child, try this one out; it’ll take you back.

The Classic: Meatloaf

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

70 mins

Total time

1 hour 20 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the Meatloaf:

1½ lbs./500g ground beef
2 eggs, beaten
¾ cup/180ml milk
⅔ cup bread crumbs
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
½ teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

For the Glaze:

3 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon mustard

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350℉/175℃.
In a bowl combine all ingredients for the meatloaf and mix well. Lightly pat mixture into a greased loaf pan.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for 50-60 minutes or until internal temperature is at 160℉. While meatloaf is baking combine ingredients for the glaze.
Once meatloaf is to temperature or the juices run clear, remove from the oven and spoon or drain off the fat.
Spread the glaze over the meat, return to oven and bake for about 10 minutes more.
Allow meatloaf to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

If you've got picky eaters at home, then add some grated carrot or zucchini to the meat, so they get their veggies without even knowing it.

Adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook