Immune System/Energy Veggie Burgers

My little man is sick. He has a mean cold and a couple ear infections, and he's just a little miserable lately.

See those dark red eyes? Rosy cheeks? Overall pitiful look? I haven't been able to get him to eat dinner in quite a few days. He just wants milk, milk, and milk (coconut milk! :)).

So tonight I wanted to make him something packed with veggies and good stuff, something he will like and eat, and also will be good for him.

I decided on veggie burgers, as I have a ton of cans of chick peas in the house.

Start with 2 cans of garbanzo beans (chick peas). Open up, drain, and rinse off in the sink.

Next, chop up one large onion. You don't have to chop it up too fine, as it's just going to go in the food processor anyway.

And then loosely chop 2 carrots

We're also going to need some garlic.

Did you know that garlic has HUGE healing properties? It is great for the immune system, and is great for you if you are sick. Ever wonder why your mom or grandma made chicken noodle soup with extra garlic every time you were sick? There's a reason for that! It is SO good for the body!

Because Caleb is sick, I added quite a few cloves (like 5....) but you don't need near that much if you prefer a more subtle taste. 2 or 3 should be good.

Add about half a can of diced tomatoes, drained. I didn't grab a picture of this one.. last minute decision. You can skip this step if you don't like tomatoes. We just like the flavor over here.

Mix it all together in a bowl and add in portions into the food processor.

You're not going to want it completely pureed, but blended very well. Once you have it all blended up real good, put it in a mixing bowl.

Add about 1/4 cup of vanilla Greek yogurt. This step can be skipped if you're going vegan, but we liked the extra flavor and nutrients.

After that is all nice and mixed in, add about 1 1/2- 2 cups flour.

This holds all the ingredients together so that you can roll it up in a ball and cook it without it falling apart.

You're going to want the texture to be like this:

It's going to be similar to the texture of gooey dough but thick and dry enough to roll into balls (will still stick to your hands, you can spoon it onto the pan also if you wish).

Heat oil in a pan over medium heat, add add the dough as so:

Doesn't look like anything special yet, but after a few minutes when you notice the bottoms browning and you turn it over you will get..

This.

Pretty, right? Nice and crunchy outsides.. warm and soft insides. Full of yummy healthy goodness.

Once both sides are nice and browned, remove and place on some paper towels to let the oil drain a bit.

We like these best served on a hamburger bun or bread, topped with lettuce and tomato, and a bit of ketchup.

Best part?

Kid approved. The sickest, pickiest 2 year old I have ever met, that hasn't eaten in days... is now eating greek yogurt, chick peas, carrots, tomatoes, and most importantly, garlic.

He'll be feeling better in no time :)

Official List of Ingredients


2 cans garbanzo beans (chick peas)
1/4 cup Vanilla greek yogurt
2 carrots
1 1/2- 2 cups flour
2-3 cloves garlic
Half a can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 large onion, chopped
Oil, for frying

One chicken, 2 meals

Chicken Pot Pie

As a mom, I have to say my favorite kind of recipe is one that is quick, easy, cheap AND tastes good.

Of course, a perfect recipe like that would come from no where else but from my mom.

I loved eating this as a kid, and now I love making it for my own two year old son...and still love eating it.

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

First, you need a pie pan.

No need to grease or spray it, just lay the first half of a pre-made pie crust into the bottom of the pan.

As for the chicken, I usually use this dinner as a 2-part meal plan.

The first night, I bake a whole chicken for dinner. Use the leftovers (about half the chicken) to shed and save for the chicken pot pie the next night.

Take those leftovers, and place them at the bottom of the dish, on top of the pie crust.

Next, add one can Cream Of Celery. You can use mushroom or chicken if you prefer, but my mom used celery, and you don't mess with mom's recipes.

Next, add some frozen, mixed vegetables.

Then smother those veggies in another can of celery.

After that is all spoon'ed on top, add on the other crust, and crimp the sides.

Next, take one egg

Beat it and brush the egg wash over the crust.

This gives the pot pie that beautiful brown tan.

And who doesn't love a nice tan?

Bake it in the oven for about 35-45 minutes, or until the crust is all nice and tan and crunchy, like above.

Mmmmm. Creamy, yummy vegetable and chicken goodness.

Official recipe:

Chicken Pot Pie

Shredded chicken

2 cans cream of celery

About 2 cups mixed vegetables

1 pckg of 2 refrigerated pie crusts (next to the butter and Pillsbury biscuits usually)

1 egg

Bake 35-45 minutes until golden brown at 350 degrees and enjoy!

Annddddd we're back! :)

So! After a long hiatus from posting, we are back! :) My photo lights broke, my son decided to turn into monster overnight, and things have been go go go ! But starting tomorrow things will be back to normal, so be sure to check back! Coming up I have some recipes for hummus, chicken pot pie, EASY lasagna and more. I am going to be focusing more on quick, easy, and cheap recipes to make at home because as all the moms out there know, we don't have time to cook 5 course meals with 5 million ingredients- easy recipes with little ingredients that are actually GOOD are the best kind there is! So keep checking back because there is more to come :D

-Smirks :)

Slow Cooked Herb Rubbed Ribs

There are two types of ribs.

The first kind, is the kind you don't want. You know what I'm talking about.

The kind that's dry, stiff, flavorless.

Then you have the other kind.

The moist, delicious, flavorful, fall of the bone type ribs.

The kind that makes you purposely over-stuff yourself because you just don't want it to end.

These ribs are those kinds of ribs.

First you need a rack of ribs.

A casserole dish or anything that holds all of it works fine.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees (or 275 if you have some extra time...and extra patience).

Add some Olive Oil to the top of the ribs. You want to cover that baby up real good ;)

Next add some onion powder

And some garlic pepper

Just sprinkle it all over the top of the ribs.

Next, I added some fresh herbs I picked the other day. I have some Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, and Oregano. If you don't have all these, don't sweat it- your ribs will still be nice and juicy ;)

If you have them, sprinkle your herbs on top of the ribs.

Mm. Doesn't it just look delicious?

Ohh yeah.

Pop it in the oven and wait a few hours. Mine cooked for 3 hours. The slower you cook it, the juicier it will be. If you have another hour or so to spare, turn the oven down lower and cook longer. You won't regret it.

The end result will look something like this:

YUM.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

I have this sort of obsession with Iron Chef.

But it's a healthy obsession, I swear.

Besides completely ignoring everyone and everything around to when it's on, its completely healthy.

So, I decided to have an Iron Chef inspired meal and dessert.

The secret ingredient? Lemons!

Something so simple, so fresh. Perfect for this time of the year.

So, let's start with dessert. Because we can.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

When it comes to dessert, I am a chocolate lover. Chocolate on top of chocolate dipped in chocolate.

Not a lemon lover. Lemons remind me of pine sol and my mothers sparkling water.

But these cookies bring a whole new light to lemon.

Trust me.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and grease a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Whip in vanilla, then be so proud of yourself for capturing yourself pouring the vanilla in the bowl with one hand on a camera on manual focus.

Or just pour it in like a normal person.

Add the zest of one lemon and the juice of half a lemon, and an egg.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add all the dry ingredients (except the powdered sugar) slowly until combined.

When it looks as amazing as this, you are done.

Take a quick taste of the batter when no one is looking, then move on to the next step.

This is the fun part. You could always let your kids do this, or if you are big kid like me kick them out and do it yourself.

Pour a small amount of powdered sugar on a plate (trust me...small amount. Or you will end up with a room full of powdered sugar) and roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll it in the powdered sugar. Place on greased baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 10-12 minutes till they look something like this.

The middles will still look under cooked, but trust me they are done.

Cool for 3 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Enjoy.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies Official List of Ingredients

1 stick of butter, softened

1 cup of granulated sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 whole egg

Zest of 1 lemon, juice of half a lemon

1-1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/3 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup powdered sugar