12 Jul 2016

Kid-Friendly Ham & Cheese Rolls

by | posted in: food, The Charming South Kitchen | 0

Ham and Cheese Roll-Ups

I wouldn’t say my kids are picky, but they just aren’t the most well-rounded eaters.  They could eat fruit and most veggies all the time – but to get them to eat meat is another matter all together.  They eat breads and most pastas, and definitely baked goods, but anything outside of chicken nuggets (and those even occasionally) or maybe a cheeseburger (if they eat half of one) is harder to get them to eat.

What’s a Mom to do?

Look to other moms and try things that might or might not work, and hope they work.  My friend Jeni that I interviewed a few weeks ago has a great blog full of tasty and healthy recipes and she cooks for her 4 kids a lot.  So, this week when I have sworn off fast food I needed some quick go-to meals for them.

She recommended some crescent ham and cheese rolls that she makes for her daughter.  My kids will eat anything they can dip: broccoli in ranch dressing, fruit in just about anything including CFA sauce, and these they ate right up when I gave them some honey mustard to dip these rolls into.  Never underestimate the power of dipping sauce.

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Kid-Friendly Ham & Cheese Rolls
Author: 
Recipe type: Lunch
Cuisine: Kid Lunch
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8
 
Easy quick ham and cheese roll ups
Ingredients
  • 1 roll refrigerated crescent rolls
  • about 4 slices honey ham
  • ¼ cup shredded cheese
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven according to rolls pkg directions.
  2. Pull apart ham slices and put a little ham and cheese in each crescent roll.
  3. Roll up and place on ungreased baking pan.
  4. Top with a little salt and pepper for extra savory seasonings.
  5. Bake according to directions.
  6. Let cool. The inside filling will be too hot for most kids right out of the oven.
  7. Serve with their favorite fruits and vegetables and of course dipping sauce.
 

19 Dec 2015

Bread for the World

by | posted in: Books, food | 0

Who doesn’t like bread?  Ok – I know some people can’t eat it for health reasons or allergies, and some people don’t eat much of it because they don’t want to gain a lot of weight – but seriously – the smell of yeast in my kitchen mixed with melted butter, or garlic, or cheese – bread is a good things.

Blogging for Books gave me the book Hot Bread Kitchen – the new cookbook that not only teaches you how to make bread in many different forms, but also trains and helps women with skills that will improve their futures.

I love the philanthropic nature of Hot Bread Kitchen and what they have set out to accomplish.  And I can’t wait to try their breads.  The cookbook is not only a book full of recipes and pictures, but stories of women who make them and where they come from.

So, its a little bit of history, bread, photos, bread, women, bread, stories, bread.  Can’t go wrong?

15 Aug 2014

Pumpkin Butter Whole Wheat Millet Muffins

by | posted in: chocolate, food, The Charming South Kitchen | 0

Pumpkin Butter Muffins

Fall – I think for a lot of us kitchen people its one of our favorite seasons.  Pumpkin.  Cinnamon.  Sweet Potatoes.  Apples.

But, I don’t think I had ever experienced a Fall season until I moved to North Carolina in 2000.  See, I grew up in central Florida.  The only two seasons we had were Summer and Christmas Day (and some years we only had one season).  I loved it.  I was close to Disney World though I only remember going in high school and college when I would do Night of Joy with the youth groups.  I was close to the beach (though we had a pool, so my Dad couldn’t figure out why we needed to spend money going to the beach).

But, I remember moving to Wake Forest, North Carolina to start seminary right before a huge snow storm – rethinking the whole moving north thing.  But, then fall came around at the start of my second semester.  I adored the sound the leaves made as I walked through them on my way to class.  I loved wearing jackets with my jeans (even though I would sport some flipflops usually).  I loved sitting down with a warm cup of chai or steamed milk or hot chocolate to study out on the lawn.  The bright blue Fall sky against the browns and yellows and reds of the leaves.  Gorgeous.

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And of course, Fall brings pumpkin!  I could eat pumpkin goodies year round, but yesterday when I stepped outside for an early morning out, and felt the slightly cooler Atlanta air, I knew I was ready for Fall.  So, I whipped up these pumpkin butter muffins for my mister.  They were a winner. (This recipe was inspired by Joy the Baker)

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Pumpkin Butter Whole Wheat Millet Muffins
Author: 
Recipe type: Muffins
Cuisine: Breakfast
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 10
 
Hearty and healthy muffins, of course with some chocolate. Perfect for Fall mornings or evenings!
Ingredients
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 jar (10 oz) pumpkin butter (I used Trader Joe's)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1¾ cup whole wheat flour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ cup dry millet (I found in bulk aisle at Whole Foods)
  • ¾ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • ¼ cup milk
  • juice of ½ lemon
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Grease or line 10 muffin cups
  3. Mix wet ingredients (up through vanilla)
  4. Combine dry and add to the wet mixture
  5. Mix the milk and the lemon juice then add to muffin mixture.
  6. Fold in chocolate chips.
  7. Spoon into muffins tins.
  8. Bake for about 19 minutes or until muffins are done.
  9. Cool and eat. My husband ate one topped w some raw honey this morning.
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28 Nov 2010

Taste of Valle Crucis: The Ham Shoppe

by | posted in: food, Uncategorized | 0
Tucked in between Blowing Rock, Boone, and Linville Falls, is a quaint little cafe (restaurant is further down the road) and dessertery that serves big sandwiches, and big everything else.
My friend, Tracy, recommended this place to me, she didn’t even know if it was still there.
Friendly employees, well-packed on the weekends, and fast service. Fresh baked bread, too.

14 Jan 2010

Blueberry Orange Scones (2010.2)

by | posted in: Uncategorized | 0

My friend Sarah and I went to a bummer of a cooking show last year. Neither one of us were impressed. The two best parts of the evening were the free magazine subscription and eating out at Old Spaghetti Factory that night in dtown Ville.

One of the recipes I got from Healthy Cooking over the summer was this one. Here are my thoughts: healthier than most scones, easy, doesn’t look at all like the picture, not too muc orange flavor, love the picture that I took. Pretty with blueberry layers! I overcooked them a bit, but SBTS PhD students didn’t seem to mind and they are all gone.
2 cups flour
3 T sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp grated orange peel
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp soda
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 stick cold unsalted butter, chopped up
1/2 cup skim milk (I didn’t feel like making buttermilk, so this worked fine)
1/4 cup fresh squeezed naval orange juice
1/2 cup frozen blueberries (I picked these this summer)
Mix all dry. Cut in butter. Combine juice and milk. Fold in berries. Knead a little. Cut into 8 triangles and cook on greased cookie sheet for 12 minutes at 425. Take out and enjoy warm.
200 c, 6 fat, 1 fiber (use whole wheat flour if you want more).

1 Jan 2010

2010 New Year's Meal: Greens and Cornbread

by | posted in: Vegetables | 0

Happy New Year. This is my food post for the new year, the food blog goals for this year will be coming later today. But…had to post my lunch (sans pictures because I am away from my own kitchen).
I am definitely Southern. Most people would argue whether Florida is a southern state. I guess it all depends on your perspective and how you were raised. I was raised by a Dad who was born in AL and a Mom who is from (her family) S. GA. I was born and raised in the middle of the state in Polk County. I moved from there to St. Augustine for about 5 years, then moved to North Carolina. I do not consider my current place of residence (louisville, KY) a southern city. But, today, for my new years lunch – I cooked Southern.

Greens and Cornbread

2 bunches fresh mustard greens
6 slices ham or bacon
1 onion
evoo

Saute onion and pork product in olive oil. Tear greens away from inner light colored stem. Rinse very well. Cook in a big pot, cover greens with water, boil for about 25 minutes. Put the onions and bacon in there too. You can even drink the liquid.

Southern Cornbread (not sweet)

1 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 cup self-rising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
3 1/2 T unsalted butter, melted
1 T unsalted butter
8 in cast iron skillet (better to use 9, but I didn’t have it, so not all of batter would fit)

Mix dry. Combine wet, stir together. Take 1 T butter, heat skillet over medium heat – until butter is melted. Make sure all of bottom is covered.
Bake in 375 degree oven for about 28-30 minutes (if 8 inch).
Serves 8.

Take a bowl. Place cornbread in bottom. Take big scoop of greens and place on top. Eat. Yum!
Happy New Year!