The kiddos will eat anything with chocolate . So will their friends . That made me decide this year I was going to gift chocolates to my kiddo's friends . Jr always says ," everything comes with a catch ". The catch here is these are healthy chocolates . Luckily none of the kiddo's friends are allergic to anything . I had to make these when kiddos were at school as it gives me the best opportunity to sneak in many things . The truffles have dates ,almonds ,pistachios , raisins , walnuts ,peanuts ,cranbeeries and spices like cardamom ,nutmeg and saffron . The options are endless . Only thing to remember is dates and raisins help to bind all the dry fruit and add natural sweetness .
Ingredients :
1cup dates 1/2 cup raisins 1/4 cup cranberries 1/2 cup walnuts 1/2 cup almonds 1/4 cup peanuts 1/4 cup pistachios 1/4 tsp cardamom powder 1/8 tsp nutmeg powder a few strands of saffron 3 cups wilton candy melt wafers
To proceed :
1) Line a cookie sheet with wax paper . 2) Grind all the dry fruits in fruit processor till the mixture comes together . 3) Add the cardamom and nutmeg powder and saffropn and pulse for couple of times. 4) Shape the dry fruit mixture in desired sized balls . 5) Melt the candy melts according to the package direction . 6) Dip the dry fruit balls in melted chocolate and keep them on the wax paper to harden . 7) The chocolate hardens in less than 10 minutes . 8) Wrap them individually in candy wrapper or keep in an airtight container .
Jr's friends liked it so much they have requested the same gift on the friendship day ..Yay...
There are very few things my kiddos eat without any fuss . Paneer butter masala or orange gravy as Princess Pea calls it ,tops the list . Many times when I ask her what she would like to eat she asks for the ' orange gravy ' . Though I like to make the gravy using the freshest ingredients , sometimes the time is not in my favor . That's when this semi-homemade concept comes handy . I am a big fan of the show "Semi homemade with Sandra Lee" on food network . Store bought ingredients make this preparation super easy . Many new moms and the students in the dorm have been asking for the simple form of this recipe and that's the reason it made to my blog .
Ingredients :
1 tbsp + 2 tsp oil 1 tbsp butter 1 tbsp ginger -garlic paste ( I like to grate ginger and garlic freshly ) 1/2 tsp red chilli powder 1 tsp garam masala powder 1 tbsp kasoori methi 16 oz tomato sauce ( I prefer no sodium sauce and season it according to my taste) 1/8 cup heavy cream or whole milk 14 oz paneer 2 tsp chopped cilantro salt to taste 2 cups water
To proceed :
1)Cut the paneer into desired shape . I cut it in bite size cubes. 2) Place the cut paneer with 2 tsp oil in a ziplock bag . Give it a nice shake so all the paneer cubes are coated with oil . 3) Toast the paneer in a heavy bottom pan on medium low heat till golden brown . This is to eliminate frying the paneer . 4)Boil 2 cups of water and add a the toasted paneer to it . Let it sit for 5 minutes .This will make the paneer super soft . 5) Heat butter and oil in apan . 6) Add ginger garlic paste and a tsp of water and fry for 2 minutes . 7) Add the tomato sauce and let it boil for 5 minutes . 8) Add garam masala and red chilli powder . 9) Microwave kasoori methi for 30 sec and crush it between your palms to make a coarse powder . 10) Add kasoori methi to it . 11) Add salt according to your taste . 12) Add heavy cream . 13) Drain the water from paneer and add it to the gravy . 14) Let it simmer for couple of minutes . 15) Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves .
** If you want to make the makhani gravy using fresh tomatoes ,you can findthe recipe here.**
Serve the paneer butter masala with plain or jeera rice ,naan,roti or paratha .
Which kid does not like pasta and chocolate . One sunday morning when Princess Pea and I were enjoying our quiet time together in the wee hours , somehow the talks drifted to food . She started talking about how she had always dreamt about pasta in chocolate sauce . A thought flashed in my mind and I decided to make the recipe exactly the same way she was telling me . Belive me , I was not sure of the outcome but still decided to go ahead only to please Princess Pea . When we tasted this dish , it was absolutely divine . Let me not waste my time and tell you how this dish was created .
Ingredients :-
1 cup pasta of your choice ( we used penne) 1 cup white chocolate chips 1/2 cup heavy cream or whole milk 1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup freshly sqeezed orange juice 2 tbsp honey 1 tbsp butter 1/8 tsp vanilla strawberries ,banana sliced oranges wedges
To proceed :
1) Cook the pasta according to the pakage directions and drain the water . Refresh in cold water , drain and keep aside . 2) Melt heavy cream and white chocolate chips in a double boiler till the chocolate is melted and thickened to coat the back of the spoon . 3) Melt butter in a heavy bottom pan . Add orange juice and honey and cook till the sauce is thickened . 4) Melt the semi sweet chocolate chips . 5) Toss the pasta in white chocolate sauce . 6) Add sliced bananas ,strawberries and orange wedges. 7) Garnish with melted semi sweet chocolate .
Every day like many other moms , I wonder what to cook for afterschool snack that won't be too heavy nor too light to make the kiddos hungry within half hour . Both Jr and Princess Pea love munching on boondi and bhujia shev . And that definitely does not keep them full even for little time . So here is something both mom and kids compromised on this toast .
Ingredients :-
Potato toast :-
4 potatoes boiled and mashed 2 tsp ginger - garlic - green chilli paste 1 tbsp corn flour / all purpose flour 1 tsp black pepper powder 1 tbsp butter 1 tsp roasted cumin ,crushed 1 cup grated cheese 2 tbsp chopped cilantro salt to taste
Topping :
1/2 cup boondi 1/2 cup bhujia shev
To Proceed :-
1) Preheat the oven to 400 F . 2) Grease a 8 x 13 pan. 3) Mix all the ingredients for the potato toast . 4) Spread the toast base in the greased pan . 5) Spread the topping on the toast and press them gently in the toast . 6) Bake for 15 mins or till golden in color . 7) Cool for 5 minutes before cutting in desired shape and size . 8) Serve warm with ketchup or dip of your choice .
The kiddos at Kane's Coop are spoiled . They have such a long list of preferences while buying granola bars ,I have not yet found any single one available on the shelves that makes them happy . So the mommy in me decided to give it a try . Pinterest was there as usual to help me . I made the bars with all the good stuff I wanted to sneak in without kiddo's knowledge .They don't like crunchy bars so I thought of making no bake bars and the kids loved .... absolutely loved these .
Ingredients :
4 cups quick cooking oats 1/2 cup peanut butter 2 tbsp butter 1/4 cup raw honey 1/4 cup chopped dates 1/4 cup chopped cranberries 1/4 cup raisins 1/4 cup chopped almonds 1/8 cup chopped pecans 1/8 cup chopped peanuts 1/4 cup chopped walnuts 2 tbsp chia seeds 2 tbsp flax seeds 2 tbsp sesame seeds 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
To proceed :
1) Grease a pan . 2) Mix all the dry ingredients . 3) Melt butter on low heat . 4) Mix melted butter ,peanut butter and raw honey together. 4) Add it to the dry ingredients and mix well . 5) The mixture will be moist and sticky. 6) Press the mixture in the greased pan according to desired thickness . 7) Put it in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours . 8) Cut in desired sized bars . ( I used the pizza cutter ) 9) Wrap individual bar in plastic wrap or wax paper . 10) Store in the refrigerator .
