2013 Summer Bucket List

Last year we made our 2012 Summer Bucket list and it was a lot of fun to see the things we wanted to do and check them off when we accomplished them.  This year's list isn't quite as ambitious and all 4 family members who can speak contributed to the ideas on here.  I know we might not get to them all again but it's making me excited for school to be out so we can get started.
What's on your list?

1.  Go to Sea World
2.  Go to a Luau when we're in Hawaii
3.  See World of Color at Disneyland
4.  Roast marshmallows in the backyard
5.  Run a 10K
6.  Hollywood Bowl
7.  Take the girls to the Discovery Science Center
8.  Surprise my husband with an unexpected date
9.  Play tennis
10.  Keep reading chapter books out loud
11.  Go to the beach
12.  Go to Disneyland & see Tinkerbell
13.  Have friends over for a BBQ
14.  See a movie in a movie theater
15.  Call some "new" friends for playdates
16.  Go to Jumpin' Jammin'
17.  Go out for ice cream
18.  Have friends over for homemade ice cream
19.  Swim in our pool after dark

Inspired by the Happy Family Movement

And more strawberry ice cream

We had the first morning at home in a long time where Middle and I didn't have to go shopping, to the gym, or even to swim lessons.  She wanted to watch TV and I wanted to play.  This is how it went:

Me:  We could play Cinderella and I'll be the prince or the stepmother.
Her:  No.
Me:  We could play Rapunzel and I'll be Flynn Rider or Mother Gothel.
Her:  No.
Me:  We could play Candyland or Chutes and Ladders.
Her:  No.
Me:  We could do puzzles or read books.
Her:  No.
Me:  We could make ice cream or cookies.
Her:  Yes!

She loves to cook with me like Big does but when Big is home, the turn taking makes the process less magical for everyone involved.  I had a bunch of sliced strawberries from the weekend that needed to get used up so I suggested strawberry ice cream.  She wanted chocolate so we compromised and made up a new recipe for Strawberry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.  After tasting the mixture, Middle declared it "Sweet Deewishious."  Then, we played Rapunzel while we waited for it to freeze in the ice cream maker.  And, Rapunzel had ice cream at 10am.

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (makes 1.5 qt)

2 cups sliced strawberries
1.5 cups heavy cream
1.5 cups milk
1/2 - 2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 - 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Mash up the sliced strawberries (we used a potato masher).  Add 1/4 cup sugar and stir it well.  In another bowl, stir together the heavy cream, milk, and additional sugar (if desired - maybe 1/4 to 1/3 cup more).  Stir in the vanilla.  Stir in the strawberries.  Pour into your ice cream maker and freeze for as long as it needs to.  At the end, stir in the chocolate chips (or leave them out . . . it's a really good strawberry ice cream and doesn't really need them).

China Food for Dinner

I've been enjoying being home on maternity leave to take care of tiny baby, Big & Middle.  Don't get me wrong - I have a great job with a fantastic schedule for a mom - but who wouldn't love hanging out with these girls more??

One thing that's been nice about being home is getting to spend more time in the kitchen and getting our family back on track with healthy eating habits.  Those efforts aren't always appreciated by my kids. After many nights of complaining about the dinner I've made, I finally asked Big what she liked to eat besides cheeseburgers and mac & cheese.  She said "cereal."  Then thought about it for a few minutes and said "peanut butter and jelly."  I told her that we needed to come up with some meals that had meat and protein in them that we could all eat for dinner.  She replied, "Well, you know I like China food."  It's true - my girls love to go to Chinese food (mostly Americanized versions like PF Changs or Pei Wei) and I sometimes buy the bags of PF Changs stir fry in the freezer section when they have a babysitter.  

I adapted a recipe for broccoli beef to use chicken.  Personally, I'd like it spicier (we added Sriracha and red pepper flakes at the table), but it was finally a meal everyone would eat!  If you have picky eaters, I hope you have luck with this one as well.  A bonus is that you can get it on the table super fast - especially if you buy chicken and broccoli that are already cut up.  

Chinese Chicken Stir Fry (4 servings)

3 teaspoons of cornstarch 

6 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger (peeled)

2 garlic clove minced

2 green onions, chopped

1 tsp chili oil

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

About 2 cups broccoli florets

1.5 lb of chicken breast tenders or strips (our grocery store sells "stir fry strips" of raw chicken)

1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips (and then I cut the strips in half) 

Dissolve the cornstarch into 6 Tablespoons of water. In a separate small bowl, combine the soy sauce, ginger, garlic, onion, chili oil, and sesame oil and set aside. Drizzle a little vegetable oil in a wok or heavy skillet and heat it over high heat. Add the broccoli and stir fry for 1-2 minutes or until softened. Remove from pan.  

Cook the chicken until it's just done (in 2 batches if necessary).  Add the red bell pepper and stir fry until the red bell pepper is a little soft, about 1-2 minutes. Add the broccoli, the sauce, and the cornstarch to the pan. Stir fry until the sauce thickens, about 2-3 minutes.

Lemon Shiitake Pasta with fresh basil

Spring is here!  We started our garden earlier this year and have seen early results.  In addition to two often muddy kids, we have a bountiful supply of arugula and basil.  We're still waiting on our tomatoes, peppers, and strawberries but last week, I made recipes featuring fresh basil and arugula.  One was old and one was new.   If you've never made the Shaved Squash salad, you should definitely consider it - it's even better than I remembered and so healthy.  Our arugula was a little bitter so I added a teaspoon or two of sugar to the vinaigrette to offset the bitterness.

The new dish was a pasta that originally I was a little skeptical of because it seemed like it could be really bland (and I'm not always a huge fan of mushroom centric main dishes).  It turned out light, flavorful, and delicious.  The lemon and basil really complimented each other well and the shiitakes were not slimy.  It would be a nice accompaniment to some grilled chicken for those of you who prefer a main dish with meat.  We ate it with Caprese Stacks and it was a perfect spring meal. 

Lemon Shiitake Pasta with fresh basil (4 servings)

originally from Eating Well

2 T olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 oz shiitake mushrooms, stemmed & sliced

2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest

2T lemon juice

salt & pepper to taste

8 oz pasta (pappardelle or fettuccine)

1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 c. chopped fresh basil, divided

Bringa large pot of lightly salted water to a boil for cooking the pasta.  Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over low heat.  Add garlic and stir until fragrant but not browned, about 1 minute.  Add mushrooms and increase heat to medium.  Saute until tender and lightly browned, about 4-5 minutes.  Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Remove from heat.  

Cook pasta, stirring occasionally until just al dente, following package directions.  Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.  

Add the pasta, the reserved cooking liquid, the parmesan cheese and half of the basil to the mushrooms in the skillet.  Serve immediately, garnished with remaining basil.

Strawberry Lime Ice Cream

It feels like summer already!  Last week we heated our pool and it made me so excited for summer nights watching the kids swim (and tiring themselves out).  I'm working on our 2013 bucket list and will post it in a few weeks.

We had friends over for dinner who eat primal / paleo diet and I was trying to think of a dessert to make for them.  I came up with this ice cream - it was a little icy (probably because I didn't have full fat coconut milk, just a "lite" version) and a little tart but pretty good!  This can accommodate a lot of lifestyles and dietary needs and tastes just like summer.

Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream (makes 1.5 qt)
Originally from www.delightedmama.com

20 strawberries (about 1lb), sliced
1 cup coconut cream (plain, unsweetened)
1 can coconut milk
Juice from 2 limes
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Depending on if you want strawberry chunks or not, you can either mash up the strawberries (I used a potato masher) or put them in a blender.  Add the other ingredients and stir until combined well.  Freeze in your ice cream maker per ice cream maker instructions.

*Trader Joe's has a canned coconut cream right now (right next to the canned coconut milk) but in the past I've had trouble finding it.  Some stores carry it with mix-ins (for pina coladas?) and I think that Whole Foods has carried a plain one in the past.  You could also just do 1 can + 1 cup of whole fat, unsweetened coconut milk.

BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad

Now that the weather has warmed up, I've traded soup dinners for salad dinners.  We usually have salad as a main course once or twice a week in the spring and summer.  This recipe isn't dramatically different from some other quinoa salad recipes here on the blog (click on the quinoa label on the list on the right to check them out) but it's becoming a favorite.  I love BBQ chicken pizza, BBQ chicken green salads and with a quinoa base, it's just as delicious and packs a big protein punch.  I bought already cooked shredded chicken in barbecue sauce from Trader Joe's.  You could also use leftover grilled chicken or cook some chicken in BBQ sauce in your slow cooker.  

It was great the first time around and I polished off the leftovers in a couple of days eating this for lunch.  If you think you're going to have extra, serve the avocado on the side - it gets a little grey and slimy if you leave it in the salad and put it in the refrigerator.

BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad (serves 4)

Original recipe here

2 cups cooked quinoa

1 cup corn

1 cup black beans

2 cups cooked barbecue chicken

1-2 avocados, chopped

2-4 T shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend)

1/4 cup barbecue sauce

4 scallions, chopped

2-4 T chopped cilantro

Combine everything except the avocados and cilantro together in a bowl and toss gently.  Serve the avocado on the side (see note above) and garnish with the cilantro.   I'd start with about half of the barbecue sauce and add more if the salad seems dry.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  You can serve it warm or make it ahead and  refrigerate it first.

Sausage & Kale Pasta

I've made this pasta a couple of times now and it is delicious.  My husband is a huge fan of pastas without a red sauce (less heartburn from all the acid) and I'm a fan of finding flavorful ways to use kale.  My kids still like red sauces so I made them a red sauce with the sausage  and then I could spice up ours even more. This basic recipe idea & method lends itself to different variations.

Any kind of noodle will do - I've used rotini & fusilli in the past.  I also usually buy chicken or turkey sausage (spicy Italian and uncooked) for this recipe.

Sausage & Kale Pasta (4 servings)

originally from Kalyn's Kitchen

3 links (12 oz) hot Italian sausage

8 oz kale leaves, thinly sliced

6 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

3 T (plus more for the pan) olive oil

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (more or less depending on your tastes)

2 cups chicken broth

3/4 lb pasta

1/2 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese (plus more for serving)

Heat a little olive oil in a large pot, squeeze the sausage out of the casings and cook until it's browned, breaking up larger pieces and so it's crumbled.  Remove the sausage from the pot and if there's a lot of grease from the sausage, pour or wipe it out.   Add 3 T olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes.  Cook over medium until you can barely start to smell garlic (don't let it brown) and then add the kale.  Saute the kale with the garlic and oil for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the kale is all wilted.  Add the chicken broth and the cooked sausage to the pot.  Lower to a gentle simmer.  Let it cook while you make the pasta.

Add the pasta to boiling water and follow the package directions for cooking time.  Save 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.  Gently mix the cooked pasta into the sausage & kale mixture.  I usually don't' add it all at once because I don't like there to be too many noodles proportionate to the sausage and kale.  Add a little pasta water until it's just moistened.  Then mix in the Parmesan cheese and serve pasta hot, with extra Parmesan cheese to add at the table.