Chickpea Tomato Soup with Rosemary →

Today I bring you a delicious soup that I have made twice in the past three weeks. This soup may come in handy next week when the temps drop back down to freezing and below...hello winter in March! This recipes, like the last, comes from skinnytaste.com If you haven't checked out that website yet, do it! It has some delicious and very healthy recipes.

The first time I made this, I forgot to put the spinach in at the end...it wasn't missed. It was LOVED by my oldest who also licked her bowl clean when I gave it to her for lunch the next day as leftovers.

The second time I made it, it was devoured by every single person in my family. Even the little three year old who is becoming more picky by the day ate it up! And again, my oldest enjoyed it for lunch the following day. I did remember the spinach the second time and the kids balked at it at first, but ended up eating it without a problem.

My oldest even said that this is her favorite soup ever! So, thanks skinnytaste.com!

Blueberry Lemon Breakfast Quinoa →

I made this wonderful breakfast a couple of weeks ago. I loved it! My husband liked it. My girls wouldn't touch it.

I'm sharing it anyway, because I thought it was that good! I was seriously shocked that my littles didn't care for it. I will definitely attempt to feed it to them again soon. Remember, their tastebuds change and develop quickly at a young age, so never give up on a food after just one or two tries.

I did turn this into three servings (and then split one into two for the girls) as the calorie and sugar count per serving as written is a little high for our needs.

Baked Zucchini Bites →

I am ALWAYS on the lookout for snack food recipes that contain veggies that I think my kids might eat. I found this one last week and added it to my meal planning menu for this week. I gave it a try yesterday and it was a huge success because it was a huge hit with both of my kids! These are so flavorful and are packed with good for you veggies such as zucchini, garlic and onion.

I did have to change it up a little bit. Since I can not eat gluten, I just used regular gluten-free bread crumbs. We didn't dip them in anything. They are good by themselves! I don't have a mini muffin tin, so I used a regular one and put about a tablespoon of "batter" into each one.

And even though I made these for the little ones, my husband and I both really like them too!

Slow-cooked Barbecue Chicken

Here is another super easy dinner idea for the crockpot.

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

½ cup chicken broth (or just water)

1 small bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce (mine is Stubb's Original)

Directions:

Place chicken in bottom of crockpot and pour liquid over top. Cook on high for three and a half hours. Drain liquid from crockpot and shred chicken. Return chicken to crockpot and stir in the BBQ sauce. Cook on low for 30 minutes. Serve however you desire.

I like mine on a bun with some Cole slaw, but it is also good by itself with a sweet potato and some greens on the side. It really doesn't get much more simple than this!

Yes, I know that Stubb's has a longer ingredient list than I recommend and it has a natural flavor added to it. I am a work in progress! I should make my own natural BBQ sauce, but I'm just not there yet. If any of you know of a better brand or a good recipe, let me know what it is! Maybe I will have to update this later next week after I do some research and present to you (and myself again) why we shouldn't be using natural favors.

Picadillo

I made this for dinner earlier in the week and promised to put the recipe up. So, here it is. Better late than never!

I love this recipe because it is a quick and easy weeknight meal that my whole family will eat. I usually serve it with a salad or steamed green vegetable on the side.

I got this recipe from a cookbook sold by my high school. It was submitted by a classmate's mom. Thanks Mrs. Jennings!

Picadillo

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef or turkey

1 lg onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 lg tomato, chopped

1 med Apple, chopped

⅓ cup raisins

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground cloves

6 servings hot, cooked rice

Directions:

Brown the ground meat in a skillet with chopped onion and minced garlic, stirring to crumble meat; drain well. Add chopped tomato, apple, raisins, salt, pepper, cinnamon and cloves; mix well. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Serve over hot rice.

Oatmeal Bake Squares

Here is another make ahead breakfast idea. Make those school day mornings run smoothly by having a heat-and-go breakfast that everyone will love. Give this baked oatmeal a try...and don't skip the cardamom, you will not regret it!

Ingredients:

2 cups old fashioned oats

2 grannysmith apples, grated

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups milk of choice (I use almond)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

Additions: craisins, dried apricots (diced), coconut flakes, chia seeds, flax seeds, sliced almonds, cocoa powder, instant coffee powder

Directions:

1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease an 8x8 pan with coconut oil.
3. In a bowl, grate the two apples down to the core. Then in the same bowl add the oats, vanilla, spices, and all the additions you choose.
4. Mix together and pour into the 8x8 pan. Level out evenly.
5. Pour in the milk last, once it's ready in the pan. Watch the level of liquid, add more if needed to bring the liquid just even to the top of the oats mixture.
6. Pop it in the oven for 30 minutes.
7. Done is done! Enjoy hot and cold, day after day.

I orginally found this recipe on coconutsandcardamom.com, but that website no longer exists.

Grab-n-Go Egg Muffins →

I love grab-n-go breakfast foods. However, I despise sweets disguised as quick and easy on-the-go breakfasts that are highly marketed and highly coveted by our young children (and many adults). So, I am going to give you a few healthy, make-ahead, grab-n-go breakfast ideas over the next few weeks. I hope that they help you stay healthy and sane in the back to school madness that is sure to ensue! Today's recipe is so simple! I made these just last night with a few pieces of bacon that I had left over, some green bell pepper and onion. Both of my girls ate them right up this morning. It always puts a smile on my face when I can start their day with some veggies in their breakfast! I use silicone bakeware, so I don't even need to use oil to coat my pans. The only thing that I don't like about the recipe in this linked post is that she uses something that says "egg product". I used whole eggs. One large egg per muffin to be exact. If you want to go with eggs in a carton, that's fine, but be sure to get the kind labeled 100% eggs or 100% egg whites.