buy local — Ma Whats For Dinner?

Girls Night Zucchini & Corn Pancakes

September 26, 2012 by Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner 1 Comment

I love Girls Night Out.

You really need it from time to time.

Recently we’ve switched girls night out…

To Girls Night In.

We gather at someone’s house…

Everyone brings a dish.

And a bottle…

And then we really dish.

And you know me…being Ma and all.

I have to try and make the best offering.

This is my latest…

It was a hit!

Had to take advantage of all that zucchini in the garden…

Not to mention the boys gobbled these up…

And didn’t even know they were loaded with veggies!

WHAT YOU NEED:

2 medium to large zucchini grated

2 T grated red onion

1 cup corn off the cob (I slice mine from leftover grilled corn)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

6 – 8 T flour

1 t baking powder

S&P

1 T butter

Olive oil

Toppings:

Smoked Salmon

Creme Fraiche

Chopped Scallions or chives

Capers

WHAT TO DO:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

In a large bowl combine zucchini, onion, and corn.

Stir in your eggs.

Add about 5-6 tablespoons of flour, the baking powder, and S&P. (If the batter gets too thin from the zucchini liquid, add the remaining flour.)

Heat a large pan over medium heat and melt 1/2 tablespoon butter and 1/2 tablespoon oil together in the pan. When it’s hot lower the heat to medium-low and drop heaping soup spoons of the zucchini batter into the pan.

Cook the pancakes until browned on each side…about 2 minutes apiece.

Remove from pan and set aside on a sheet pan…you can keep warm in the oven. They’ll stay warm in the oven for up to 30 minutes.

Serve hot.

Top with a dollop of creme fraiche, a bit of smoked salmon, some scallions and a caper.

Filed Under: Dinners on a Dime, Featured, Healthy Side Dish Recipes For Kids, Kid Favorite Recipes, Lunch Ideas For Kids, Mommyville, Snacks Tagged With: appetizers, buy local, farm to table, girls night, moms night, pancakes, pot luck, veggies, zucchini

Grillin’ & Chillin’ Week – Cedar Plank Salmon with Jack Daniels Sauce

June 28, 2012 by Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner 11 Comments

Happy August!!!

It’s hot hot hot.

Great time to get out on the back porch and fire up the ol’ grill.

And cool down in the sweltering summertime.

So we’re paying homage during

Grillin’ & Chillin’ Week

First up.

One of our faves…

Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon with a Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey sauce.

Oh yeah…it’s good!

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 large cedar grilling plank

1 large wild caught salmon fillet

olive oil

S&P

1/2 T extra virgin olive oil

1/2 sweet onion, chopped

1 jalapeno seeded and chopped

1 cup mango chutney

1/2 cup Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey

3 T whole grain mustard

WHAT TO DO:

Fill your sink with water and soak your cedar plank for at least 3o minutes.

Preheat your grill to medium high.

Season your salmon with olive oil and sprinkle with S&P.

In a small saucepan heat olive oil over medium high heat. Toss your onions into the pan and allow to sweat for a few minutes. Add in your jalapeno and allow to cook for 4 minutes. Season veggies with S&P.

When the veggies are soft, deglaze with Jack Daniels. Scrape up all the good browned bit on the bottom of the pan. Stir in mango chutney and mustard. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until your salmon is ready.

When your grill is hot, place salmon, skin side down, on the cedar plank. Place plank on the hot grill and shut the grill cover.

Grill until cooked through, about 12 minutes.

Top with Jack Daniels sauce.

Filed Under: Dinner Recipes For Kids, Featured, Healthy Recipes For Kids, Kid Favorite Recipes Tagged With: buy local, eat local fish, eat more fish, fish, fish dishes, grilling, jack daniels, salmon, summertime recipes, whiskey

Doesn’t get more local!

June 20, 2012 by Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner 10 Comments

You hear me say it ALL. THE. TIME.

Buy Local!

Eat Local!

Well it doesn’t get any more local than this!

We’ve taken to our back deck to make our own herb garden!

Now if you’ve been following along for a while now…

You know that I have green thumb issues.

But since the nice folks at my CSA keep giving me herbs I decided to get on it.

With my special helpers of course!

So we are on our way to super local grown herbs.

5 steps away local.

We’ve got

Basil…

Dill…

Oregano…

Thyme…

Chives…

and Sage.

Here’s to hoping I don’t kill ‘em too fast.

Filed Under: Cooking Tips, Featured, Getting Kids To Eat Tagged With: basil, buy local, csa, herbs, oregano, parsley, sage, thyme

SRC – Reveal Day Fusilli with Chicken and Basil

June 18, 2012 by Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner 8 Comments

I can’t believe it’s here already.

It’s time to reveal my next installment in the

Secret Recipe Club

I love this club.

What can I say.

I’m a joiner…

Thanks to Angela for hosting our group.

So this month I was so excited to check out who I was assigned to.

I got Gloria’s blog entitled

Canela Kitchen

Gloria cooks out of Santiago, Chile and I enjoyed reading both her English and Spanish takes on all her recipes.

Gave me a chance to check on all that Espanol I learned in high school! Thanks Senora Pozzi!

I decided to try her Fusilli with prawns and basil

a beautiful little dish that is simple and lovely.

I adore that!

But I couldn’t find any USA shrimp that was priced reasonably.

You know how I’m a Buy Local nut!

So I decided to go with the ol’ standy.

Chicken from the local farm.

I changed a few things about the recipe.

If you know me, you know I have recipe OCD.

I used whole wheat pasta and added a bit more spices here and there…

So here is my ode to Gloria and the SRC

FUSILLI WITH CHICKEN AND BASIL

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 pound whole wheat pasta

2 chicken breasts, bone in

Extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 onion, diced

8 ounces chopped broccoli

crushed red pepper

1/2 cup white wine

chopped basil

chopped parsley

S&P

fresh grated parmesan cheese

WHAT TO DO:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Drizzle your chicken breasts with olive oil and season with S&P. Bake at 375 for about 25-30 minutes on until cooked through. Remove from oven and pull chicken off the bones and chop. Set aside.

Meanwhile, put a pot of water on to boil. When boiling, add a generous amount of salt and toss in pasta. Cook until al dente reserving a cup or two of cooking water.

In a large sauce pan, heat 1 – 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. Add onions and saute until soft. Toss in garlic, broccoli, and red pepper. Cook for an additional two minutes. Add in the chopped chicken and season with S&P. Deglaze the pan with your white wine being sure to scrape up all that yummy goodness on the bottom of the pan.

Toss in the cooked pasta with a cup of cooking water and stir together. Fold in parmesan cheese, and chopped herbs.

Serve it all up with a nice salad!

Filed Under: Dinner Recipes For Kids, Dinners on a Dime, Featured, Healthy Recipes For Kids, Kid Favorite Recipes Tagged With: basil, buy local, cheese, chicken, parsley, Secret Recipe Club, SRC, white wine

Pasta with turkey bacon, peas, and dandelion greens

April 30, 2012 by Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner 11 Comments

My lawn has exploded…

Exploded with dandelions…

And I couldn’t be more excited.

They may be seen as weeds…

But they’re actually delish!

I love to pair them up with a pasta.

Then my aunt mentioned her quick go to pasta was with turkey bacon and peas….

Hmmm, sounds like a match made in heaven!

This is a delicious and quick dish that’s good for you and tastes great!

The boys loved the sweetness of the peas and I love the smoky turkey bacon and whole wheat pasta.

Make a big batch and keep it in the fridge…

Makes a great quick lunch with a salad!

Super easy…

Super quick…

Super delicious!

kid favorite recipes side dishes healthy eating for kids featured dinner Pasta with turkey bacon, peas, and dandelion greens

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 box whole wheat pasta (I like fusilli)

1 t extra virgin olive oil

4 slices organic turkey bacon (We use Applewood Farms)

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup english peas (you could use frozen, I had fresh on hand)

1 bunch dandelion greens

S&P

1 cup of pasta water (if necessary)

parmesan cheese

WHAT TO DO:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with salt. Add your pasta and cook to al dente according to package instructions. When you have about 2 minutes left to cook grab a cup of the cooking water and set aside.

While the pasta cooks, heat a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add in your olive oil and then toss in your bacon. Cook til crisp, about 7-8 minutes. Toss in your garlic and let cook for another minute. Add in peas and dandelion greens, and season with S&P. Let the sauce simmer for a few minutes and then add in your pasta water.

Drain your pasta and toss in the sauce. Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese and serve.

YUM!!!

Filed Under: Dinner Recipes For Kids, Featured, Healthy Recipes For Kids, Healthy Side Dish Recipes For Kids, Kid Favorite Recipes Tagged With: bacon, buy local, cook with your kids, csa, dandelion greens, farm to table, pasta recipes, peas, Stone Garden Farms, turkey bacon, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat pasta recipes

Get your carrot on!

March 30, 2012 by Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner 27 Comments

You know what one of our favorite go to veggies of all time is around here?

Yup, it’s the carrot.

Who doesn’t love a carrot?

They’re perfect!

Perfect for snackin’

Perfect for dunkin’

Perfect for roastin’

Perfect for grabbing a big bag and eating on the go!

To show our appreciate for everything carrot I’m going to feature some of our favorite carrot recipes over the next few week.

Let’s give it up for our favorite orange fella!

Asian Glazed Roasted Carrots

What you need:

1 T extra virgin olive oil

1/2 t sesame oil

1/2 t minced ginger

1/2 t minced garlic

1 T soy sauce

1 T mirin

5 dashes chili oil

1 T honey

S&P

1 pound baby carrots

1 t toasted sesame seeds

cilantro for garnish

What to do:

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Place the first 10 ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Place the carrots in a 13×9 baking dish. Pour your mixture over the carrots. Mix well to coat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Roast at 425 for 3o minutes. Remove from oven and place on serving dish. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro for garnish. Enjoy!

Stay tuned for more exciting carrot recipes….

What’s your favorite way to eat carrots?

Filed Under: Featured, Healthy Side Dish Recipes For Kids, Recipes For Kids, Vegan Recipes For Kids, Vegetable Recipes For Kids, Vegetarian Recipes For Kids Tagged With: asian, buy local, carrots, eat the rainbow, eat your veggies, farm to table, kid food, picky eaters, roasted carrots, roasted root, side dishes, vegetables, veggies

Girls Night Zucchini & Corn Pancakes

Grillin’ & Chillin’ Week – Cedar Plank Salmon with Jack Daniels Sauce

Doesn’t get more local!

SRC – Reveal Day Fusilli with Chicken and Basil

Pasta with turkey bacon, peas, and dandelion greens

Get your carrot on!

Featured Cooking With Kids Videos

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Find A Local Farmer’s Market

Girls Night Zucchini & Corn Pancakes

Grillin’ & Chillin’ Week – Cedar Plank Salmon with Jack Daniels Sauce

Doesn’t get more local!

SRC – Reveal Day Fusilli with Chicken and Basil

Pasta with turkey bacon, peas, and dandelion greens

Get your carrot on!

Featured Cooking With Kids Videos

Join Our Mailing List

Find us on Facebook

Connect With Ma

Find A Local Farmer’s Market

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