Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

- 1/2 cup Earth Balance butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 3/4 cup garbanzo bean flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cup carob chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cream butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla together. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. Slowly blend the flour mixture into the butter/sugar mixture. After the flour and butter/sugar mixture is combined, add the carob chips to the mixture. Drop two tablespoons of cookie mixture every three inches on the baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Yields: 1-2 dozen cookies
Prep/cook time: 30 minutes
Cost: about $10.00

The Best Way to Cook Bacon? In the oven!

When you prepare bacon in the oven every piece cooks evenly. The bacon turns out light, crispy and delicious. Cook bacon in the oven once and you'll never make it in a pan again. Guaranteed.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place wire racks on top of parchment paper. Place bacon on wire racks. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Roasted tomato and basil penne

-10 plum or roma tomatoes
-1/4 cup of chopped basil
-Box of penne pasta
-Parmesan cheese
-Sugar
-Salt
-Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the tomatoes in half. Spread them out on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the tomatoes with a little bit of sugar. Bake them for one hour. Meanwhile, cook the penne in boiling water.

After tomatoes have roasted, dice them into bite-sized pieces. Mix tomatoes, basil and penne together. Add parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Dinner is served.

Potato Pancakes

Last night was one of those nights... I did not get started cooking dinner until around 7 p.m. Then I received three major work phone calls while in the middle of preparing the meal all the while dealing with my very whiny three-year-old. Needless to say, we ate a very late meal (9 p.m.). So I apologize for the absence of food photos. I was so famished and wanted to feed my kid that I skipped plate decorations and food angling for that “perfect” photo. However, I will say that the recipe I used was really delicious. It was a recipe from Paula Deene and yes, I realize this is the second recipe I have used by her in one week. So you must know that I rarely cook recipes from the southern culinary belle because, well, the woman can clog your arteries just by watching her cook. The recipe I used for potato pancakes is not exactly healthy but it’s tasty and when paired with a side salad makes for a satisfying and filling meal. The recipe's main ingredients were mashed potatoes, cheddar cheese, green onion and bacon. It tasted like a crispy, stuffed baked potato. Yum. If you want to cut down on cost and fat, just omit the bacon. The potato pancakes with a salad or roasted veggies is a complete meal and will only cost you about ten bucks. Can’t beat that, ya’ll.

Serves: 4-6
Prep/Cook time: about 40 minutes
Cost: about $10.00

Meatball Subs

Tonight I made a recipe by Rachel Ray who, to be honest, I have a love/hate relationship with. The reason is because many of her recipes are flat-out gross. One in particular I call to mind…. penne pasta with canned tuna and cannellini beans. (Pause). I am sorry. I just finished dry heaving. GROSS RECIPE. However, when she has a GOOD recipe I cling to it for dear life because there is nothing better than a start to finish meal you can make in the time it takes Blue to solve that damn clue. Point in case, Rachel Ray’s recipe for meatball subs is a meal I made tonight and will make again. I am putting the meatball sub recipe in my go-to book of weeknight recipes. It’s satisfying, easy and took me less than thirty minutes to make. Love it.

Serves: 4
Prep/Cook time: about 22 minutes
Cost: about $10.00

Baked peaches with crumb topping

-2 peaches
-4 tablespoons brown sugar
-4 tablespoons chopped walnuts
-2 tablespoons butter


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice peaches in half and take out the seed. Mix together walnuts and brown sugar. Place peaches flesh side up on a baking sheet. Fill the cavity of each peach with the walnut and brown sugar. Top each peach with a half of a tablespoon of butter. Bake for ten minutes until the brown sugar starts to caramelize. Serves four. Prep and cook time is fifteen minutes.

Pumpkin and Banana Smoothie

Smoothies are the best way to get nutrients down a picky eater. I make “foothies” (as my son calls them) all the time. Here is one of my yummiest recipes that reminds me of my favorite season- fall. Serves two. Prep and cook time is ten minutes.

Pumpkin and Banana Smoothie

-1/2 cup pumpkin puree (unsweetened from the can, not pumpkin pie mix)

- 1 banana

- Handful of ice

- ¾ of a cup of nonfat or soy milk

- 1 ½ scoops of protein powder

- 1 tablespoon of honey

-1 tablespoon of flaxseed

Combine all the ingredients. Blend. Enjoy. You’re welcome.

**Note: Add a little bit of water if the smoothie won’t blend**

Salmon Croquettes With Baked Mac and Cheese

Bennett asked for mac and cheese tonight. He hasn't asked for mac and cheese in quite awhile so I conceded but added a fun twist to the ole' blue box blue. I whipped up a box of Annie's cheddar mac and cheese. Then after I finished cooking the mac and cheese (according to the directions on the box), I poured it into four ramekins and topped each ramekin with a tablespoon of grated cheddar and teaspoon of bread crumbs. Then I baked the mac and cheese at 350 degrees for 10 minutes (or until the breadcrumbs started to turn golden brown) and voila, simple, easy baked mac and cheese.

I accompanied the mac and cheese with Paula Deene's recipe for salmon croquette. This recipe was cheap, easy and so delicious. As a single mom, I am always on a hunt for affordable dishes that satisfy. With only four ingredients that cost under five dollars, you can't go wrong with this dish. In fact, Bennett finished his salmon croquettes before he touched his mac and cheese. Now that's sayin' something.

**Note: a mixed green salad pairs nicely with this meal**

Fearless Cooking for Kids (the intro)

Greetings. My name is Kathleen.  I am a single mom of a three-year-old wild beast little boy. I’m a special education teacher, runner, novice seamstress, history geek and foodie turned mama who, like most of you struggles to get her child to eat anything other than the go-to kid entrée of white flour, white sugar and processed cheese. Naively, I assumed my penchant for fine food and spirits would be passed down the gene pool to my little one. But oh boy, did I think wrong. At one point, I thought he was going to turn into a noodle and cheese. He never ate anything else! Then one day, I had an epiphany.  Sick and tired of making “special meals” for him I chopped up a serving from my dinner and just gave it to him. He promptly turned up his nose and spent the next hour or two groveling, whining, begging for Mac and cheese but I stood my ground. Then finally, (after an hour of painstaking whining and thus, wine drinking) he took the tiniest mouse sized bite and oh-my-dear-lord, can you believe he actually liked it! In fact, he ate the whole plate. And the rest, my friends, was food history.

Since then, I have been slowly introducing him to more foods filled with flavor and pizzazz because truthfully, it is not just about getting your kids to eat healthy. Yes, nutrition is important but you want your kids to be adventurous with food. You DO NOT want your 30-year-old son to still be ordering chicken tenders and fries at a restaurant. Mothers, listen closely. I have been on dates with men who have ordered corn dogs and chicken tenders and it is a major turn off. Hear me, MAJOR turn off. So instead, teach your children to explore food. Teach them to taste new dishes and appreciate the art of cooking.

The reason I started this blog is so that I could share my tips and techniques for getting my kid to actually E-A-T. There are not very many gritty, tell-it-like-it-is advice columns out there for parents of picky eaters. Also, I wanted to pass along the healthy but unique kid-friendly dishes I have found to you. In the end, it’s about turning the moans and groans of everyday cooking into something enjoyable- for the whole family to munch on.