sweet potato pancakes

I bought Jessica Seinfeld's book, Deceptively Delicious, almost 4 years ago (before Ryan made her grand entrance) and practiced for quite some time on Grant (my first child).  Grant can be slightly anti-veggie so in preparation for having kids, I would puree my veggies, freeze them and then sneak them into his food.  He would approach his eggs with the skill of a trained investigator and I was often asked "do these have cauliflower in them or not".... Fast forward 4 years and I got the book back out last week, bought an assortment of veggies and spent an afternoon pureeing.  This method is very much hit and miss.  Eggs mixed with pureed cauliflower worked fine for Reese (she gobbled them right up) but Ryan, with her keen sense of odor, could smell the difference and thus refused to eat them.  The other morning I thought I'd try her sweet potato pancake recipe:

Servings: Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup sweet potato puree (steam your sweet potatoes for about 40 minutes, the skin will pretty much fall off, put the potatoes in a food processor and blend till creamy, adding a little of the steamed water if needed, then divide into 1/2 cup portions and put in freezer bags and freeze)
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice (optional) - I used cinnamon
• 1 cup pancake mix
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
• Pure maple syrup , for serving

In a large bowl, mix the water, sweet potato puree, and cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice, if using. Add the pancake mix and stir just to combine—the batter should be lumpy.
Coat a griddle or large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the oil, and spoon the batter onto the griddle or pan, using 1/4 cup batter for each pancake.
Cook until bubbles form on top of the pancakes and the batter is set, 2 to 3 minutes. Then use a spatula to flip the pancakes and cook them until golden brown on the other side, 2 to 3 minutes.

The girls ate them up - Ryan even said "mmmmmmm" (her ringing endorsement).  Now, will you love them?  Probably not but let's be honest, we moms really only survive on coffee in the morning anyway. 

easy haystack dinner

I found this one on Pinterest and gave it a shot the other night.  It was surprisingly good (considering the picture leaves something to be desired and I like peas as much as I enjoy listening to two toddlers fight all-day-long).  Now don't go making this for some fancy schmancy dinner party you're hosting but do make it when the hubbie is working late one night and you want something relatively healthy for you and the people you birthed.  

Original recipe
4 cups water

2 cups rice 

2 lbs. ground turkey, or beef 

1 - 10¾ oz. can cream of mushroom soup - I used mushroom with roasted garlic soup

1 - 10¾ oz. can cream of celery soup 

2 Tbsp. milk

2 cups (16 oz) cooked peas

Shredded cheese for topping

A few notes:  I halved the entire recipe; I used whole grain rice: I used ground turkey and I didn't have a can of cream of celery so  I just used the whole can of cream of mushroom.

In a large pot combine water and rice; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until rice is tender.

Meanwhile, cook turkey in a large saucepan until thoroughly browned. Add both cans of soup and milk; stir until well combined and creamy. Cook until warm.

To serve Haystacks put some rice on a serving dish, top with meat mixture, then top with peas and finally top with shredded cheese. If your peas are warmed the cheese should melt over them, if not you can stick the plate in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

turkey sloppy joes

I found this recipe in my latest issue of Real Simple and gave it a try last week.  Delish!  Everyone in the fam ate their fair share, and that, my friends, is saying something.  It also made for great leftovers.  The original recipe from the magazine had it paired with coleslaw, but we skipped that little number and served it with salad and some homemade oven-baked french fries.
picture straight up stolen from Real Simple

Serves 4| Hands-On Time: 15m | Total Time: 15 m
Ingredients
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 pound ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
kosher salt and black pepper
Directions
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the turkey, onion, and garlic and cook, breaking the meat up with a spoon, until browned, 3 to 5 minutes.
Mix the tomato sauce, sugar, barbecue sauce, and Worcestershire into the turkey mixture; season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes.