Crepe-Style Waffles

Eating waffles and pancakes at our house has become routine. I never thought I would be that mom. The routine pancake mom. Just kidding. There is no such thing as a routine pancake mom. Just a robot who lives inside of me. Kidding again. I never imagined just how much children can love pancakes. I'm personally more of a french toast gal. Crispy on the outside, moist and chewy on the inside. Don't get me wrong, my kids like french toast, but pancakes and waffles are on another level. So to prevent kitchen boredom I'm always mixing up some new pancake recipe. Like this one I found in a church cookbook from the seventies.

Charred Tomato Sauce with Fennel

Don't leave me summer! NOOOOOOOOO.  Don't. Leave. Me. I will bottle you up and put you in wonton skins. I'll make you into cookies and bread. I'll blanch you. I'll char you into this sauce. But you'll still leave me. Does anyone want summer to leave when you live in the frozen tundra of Minnesota? Uh, no.

But let's stay positive! Tomatoes. On the grill. This is a perfect end of summer recipe. Grab a huge box of tomatoes when you head down to the farmer's market this weekend, some herbs, onion, garlic, and a carrot. You could leave the carrot out, I just threw it in because it looked lonely in the fridge. The recipe below is for only 20 ounces of sauce (about 2 batches of bolognese sauce), but you could easily triple or quadruple this baby!

Edamame and Pork Fried Brown Rice

Stir-fry is always one of my favorite meals to make. All those odds n' ends in the fridge get used up, its on the table in a flash, usually full of vegetables and clean-up is relatively quick. Unfortunately, stir-fry is too exotic for my 5 year old to eat, so I just deconstruct it for him. He gets rice, veggies and whatever protein is going into the wok - all not touching each other. I'm not a short order cook! Or am I? Sigh. 

Here is napa cabbage from my CSA which was still fresh after almost a month in the crisper. I love things that last a month in the fridge without rotting. Rotten food is so un-cool.

Ricotta Beet Green Ravioli

You never throw away the green tops that adorn beets, do you?? No, never! You should saute them and mix them with cheese and turn them into ravioli which you should top with butter and devour until you have to unbutton your pants. But seriously - don't throw them away, k? It's criminal. Beet greens taste amazing sauteed simply in garlic and olive oil. Add a fried egg and you've got yourself a delicious breakfast or lunch. Other than that cooking method, I'm stumped. So after a quick web search on "beet greens" I'm inspired to make ravioli.

Chicken and Dumplings

Who in their right mind makes a hot chicken stew when its 86 degrees outside? Me, that's who! Why? I know - WHY? Why did I whip this up in the middle of August? Because I had cold chicken that needed to be made into something yummier. Something edible. Something that didn't go into the trash, because I loathe wasting food. Two chicken thighs and 2 legs later you have...Chicken and Dumplings. So much more appealing than nawing on a cold chicken leg.

Kale, Sausage, & Potato Soup {Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Copy Cat}

Continuing on the Kale Saga I present to you ever so delicious soup with kale. And sausage. And potatoes. And beans. And fairy dust. And sparkles. Not really. I know - you're thinking potatoes and beans. Why the overkill? Well yes, in fact, I am putting both in the pot. And you must put both in your pot, too because the soup becomes more hearty and manly. Yeah, I'd call this man-food. And who doesn't need another man pleasing food recipe in their back pocket? Or just plain DEE-LISH-ISS food recipe in their back pocket, but it's not really in your back pocket because that would just be ridiculous to keep recipes in your back pocket, not to mention super unorganized so just keep it in your recipe binder or wherever you keep recipes. OK? Thanks. Uh-huh. Rock on! WORK IT. Well... now that I've got that out of my system. You're not still reading this are you? Because I would stop now if I were you.

Gazpacho

It's Monday -- the day I let my 2 year old zone out on the iPad all morning and the 5 year old take on the Star Wars Wii Empire. Umhmm, Mom of the Year Award. Back to the grind. But only for 3 more days because on Friday we're headed to Northern Wisconsin to go salmon fishing! Whoop. I guess the boat is wavy and vomit-inducing because the captain won't allow you on-board without taking Dramamine. OK. Just not the usual booze cruise I'm used to. Next Monday I'll need a vacation from my vacation. Next Monday I'll need a recipe like this Gazpacho recipe. One I can throw all ingredients into a blender, whiz, chill and have ready for supper after a mad session at the gym. A recipe my kids will eat. A recipe that my husband will eat. A recipe that says "go on with your bad self, girl."  Actually, this recipe is none of those things, but it is healthy!

Corn and Kale Fritters

Another confession. My other confession was here. Today's confession: My family eats dinner with a table half-full of legos. We have an 8-person table. One half Star Wars Empire, one half happy family complaining over corn and kale fritters. We just carry on as if the other side of the table isn't full of chaos. Does that bother you? Shock you? No? You must be a parent of small children. Good thing we're only a family of 4. Where else would anyone sit?

Chicken Stock

Have you ever felt you have a hoarding problem when it comes to chicken stock? I have. Weird? Probably. Half of my deep freeze is containers of stock. Homemade stock is...well...its my essence! Wierd, again? Look at the ingredient list of boxed stock. It's about 2 inches long. No thanks.

Blueberry Coconut Baked Oatmeal

Confession: I hate doing dishes. I could cook all day and be happy as a clam. But to do all those dishes is sheer torture. Job hazard, I guess.

Lavash Bread

Baking bread using yeast was something my mother never attempted. She baked frozen bread loaves and in my childhood memory they were a special treat. The bread pan would sit atop the fridge and wait. All afternoon. It would get bigger and bigger. Then we got to bake it. The smell. OH, the smell. And then the butter. OH, the butter. And my life was complete.

Minestrone Summer Soup

I love soup. I love making soup. I love chopping up the carrots, onions and celery that start most soup. I love eating soup. I love reheating soup in a huge coffee mug. I love using a gigantic spoon to eat soup. I want to marry soup.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've discovered the trick to making soft, light and fluffy cookies. Cookies that don't flatten into pancakes. Cookies that aren't crispy, like crackers. Flat and crispy cookies are sooo not my style. Refrigerate the dough! Ta-da! Are you totally blown away? I know. Everyone's been doing it for centuries - OK, maybe not that long, but I'm a late-adopter.

Monkey Muffins

Muffins are on my radar today. Muffins that are mini and incredibly easy and have a fun name. Monkey Muffins. I wonder how someone picked the name of these little morsels of deliciousness? Maybe because the people who eat them look and act like monkey's most of the time? Probably not.

Roasted Garlic and Chickpea Veggie Burgers

After a weekend of naughty eating and drinking my weight in beer (yuk!) I'm going on a veggie burger fast. Veggie burgers will make me feel better about my food choices, right? That little voice in my head will stop berating me for eating 3 bags of Australian licorice last week - RIGHT? Ahem. Yes. You are still here? The title of this recipe has roasted garlic as the first two words - so as to warn people. It's garlicky. Which, for me, I love. Especially when roasted to a sugary, mellowed-out garlic flavor. Others - maybe not so much. You might consider throwing half the head of garlic, instead of the whole head. 

Chocolate Pudding

Are you a mother of small children? Do your children devour pudding packaged in plastic cups with ingredients with the letter 'X' in them? Yeah? Me, too. But I loathe the idea of giving my kiddos hydrogenated oil of who-wha-where and maltodextrin-whaa-ja-say? Solution: Wholesome homemade pudding. Seriously yummy. Seriously simple. Oh, and you could easily put this in a baked pie shell, too!