The Great Food Disguise

Becoming vegetarians has been especially hard for a couple of my kids. Giving up McDonald's (Sad) Meals and Cheetos that change color upon arrival in your mouth are apparently much more appealing than asparagus.

I get it. We had to totally change our mindset about the food we put into our body. When you think that you are actually consuming decomposing flesh, loaded with bacteria and sugar, and that poses a potential risk to your health through food born illness...I don't know, it's a little bit easier to say no to the hamburger and yes to the vegetable!

For the kids though, and even us adults to a certain extent, we have a preconceived mindset that we "don't like something" (why is it usually vegetables?) that makes us reluctant to try new things. I mentioned that I hated peas. I did buy some fresh sugar snap peas at the market because I wanted to give them a chance. Maybe I would like them. (I tried them. I hate them.) I thought I hated cauliflower, but it turns out, it is delicious.

Convincing the kids to be open minded has been a bit more challenging, so I took a cue from Jessica Seinfeld and disguised my veggies. I very lightly steamed several heads of cauliflower and a few pounds of carrots and then pureed them in my blender. I started adding them a little at a time to various recipes, and when I found that they did not change the flavor of the food in a negative way, I got more daring and started adding LOTS to whatever I could....scrambled eggs, macaroni and cheese, anything with a cream base got cauliflower added in. Any muffins or cake, anything sweet I baked, I added carrots. Funny thing, even though I knew people ate carrot cake, I never had, and I always ate my carrots with a lot of dip or dressing. When I pureed the carrot and tasted it, I discovered it was sweet! Now it goes in everything I bake.

When I made homemade macaroni and cheese the other day the kids all LOVED it, and as they were complimenting me on it, I just couldn't resist. I said "you probably like it so much because IT'S FULL OF CAULIFLOWER!!!" (Then I laughed maniacally!) If your kids, or you, think you don't like a vegetable, try this. Make a puree out of it, and add it to recipes wherever you can. Even if you aren't a vegetarian, vegetables are still good for you.

Homemade Mac-n-Cheese-n-Stuff-That's-Good-For-You
16 oz. macaroni noodles, preferably whole wheat (I actually used the noodles from the Kraft box, and Meghan watched in horror as I threw the packet of cheese sauce away. "That's the best part", she said. Now she likes mine better anyway).
2 T whole wheat flour
4 T butter
2 C milk
2 C pureed cauliflower
2 C (or more) shredded sharp cheddar (don't use a store brand, it needs to be good stuff or you won't have any flavor)
Salt and pepper

Boil the noodles until al dente. Meanwhile, melt butter in sauce pan and stir in flour, cooking a few minutes. Gradually add milk and then cauliflower, constantly stirring. Just before combining with noodles, add the cheese, and stir until just melted. Mix the noodles with the sauce and salt and pepper to taste. You can also top it with breadcrumbs and bake it but I am usually in a hurry and this is fast. Enjoy!

Baby Bella Mushroom Sauce

My friend Kelley called me last week and invited us over for dinner. I told her we would love to come. Then she said "I don't really know what to fix though, you know, since you guys stopped eating meat".

Oh yeah. I kind of forgot about that whole thing. I mean, we HAVE only been vegetarians for about two weeks, and at that point it was only a week and a half, so I guess I haven't been thinking of us as vegetarians for enough days to make it a habit yet.

I told her we would be happy to eat spaghetti with sauce, minus the meat. We could bring a salad. (We are much more interested in visiting, than the actual food anyway).

When we showed up Saturday, I brought that salad (and even remembered that Kelley did not like raw onions, so I used green onions instead). Michael did chop up some mushrooms for the salad, and I asked Kelley if she liked mushrooms. She said she did, and that she liked to saute them in butter with some garlic. Now, I love me some mushrooms, and that sounded a-m-a-z-i-n-g to me, so Monday I concocted this little treat.

If you like mushrooms, you will LOVE this.

Baby Bella Mushroom Sauce
Two Handfuls of Baby Bella Mushrooms (or other small mushroom), chopped
As much minced garlic as you like
Several tablespoons of butter
Two Tablespoons Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup of milk
Pecorino Romano cheese (or Parm, whatever you have on hand)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Chives
Yellow Pepper
Serve with Whole Wheat Pasta (I like Rotini)

Saute the mushrooms and garlic in butter for a few minutes. Add flour, and cook a few more minutes to eliminate the flour taste. Slowly add milk, and stir until thick and creamy. Add cheese and stir a few minutes more. Toss with the cooked pasta, and top with some chives and chunks of yellow pepper. Enjoy!

Green Beans for the Lady

I hate peas and green beans. Maybe it's the (generally) mushy texture, I don't know, but these two veggies seldom (meaning maybe twice in my life) cross my lips.

When talking to my friend Nichole the other day, she told me she had a green bean casserole that would "knock my socks off".

Huh.

Now, I know there are a million and one ways to make green beans more palatable, but those generally include the ever popular Cream of Mushroom soup, and while I am quite the fan of mushrooms, condensed soup does not make an already undesirable vegetable edible, at least not for this Momma.

I decided to give it a try though, (mostly because if I am going to constantly tell my kids they need to try foods with an open mind, I should probably put my money where my mouth is) and bought some beans at the market this weekend. I made it today, and lo and behold...it was good.

I'm proud to say, I even ate seconds!

Nichole's Green Bean Casserole

1 cup chopped onion

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat)

1 cup milk

¾ cup cheddar cheese

½ cup sour cream

1 tblsp white sugar (I omitted)

½ tsp salt

1 lb fresh cut green beans

1 cup french fried onions (add lots!)

1 cup bread crumbs (or crushed butter crackers) Watch out for high fructose corn syrup though!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Boil fresh green beans till tender (10-15 minutes).

Place green beans in a 9x13 baking dish.

Saute onions with butter in a large frying pan over medium heat until translucent. Add flour and stir to coat flour.

Gradually add milk and bring to a boil. Add cheese, sour cream, sugar, and salt. Cook till thickened and cheese is melted.

Pour mixture over green beans and top with fried onions and bread crumbs.

Bake for 25-20 minutes.