Quinoa Pizza Bites

What does everyone think of Quinoa? I'm a new user and so far, I love it. I used this blog post to educate myself on the new grain in my life: Quinoa Users Guide!

My personal favorite food is and always will be pizza. I love trying new recipes that provide a healthy spin on my favorite meal. I adapted this recipe from the blog, So Very Blessed.

Ingrediants:

•  2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 large eggs
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• minced garlic
• basil
• seasoning salt
• oregano
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• 1/2 cup black olives
• 1/2banana peppers
• pizza sauce for dipping

What are your favorite toppings???

Choose whatever pizza toppings that you love! I enjoy veggies on my pizza but feel free to add meas, onion, peppers, and much more!Explore your topping options to the fullest.

            

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Mix together all ingredients, except pizza sauce.

3.  Distribute mixture into a greased muffin tin

4.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.



The recipe orginally calls for a mini muffin tin, I used the standard muffin tin and they worked. When serving children the smaller tin pan would be more efficiant.





dinner is served with a side of fresh tomato sauce





Vegetable Meatballs

A kitchen is a laboratory and recipes are experiments. 

There are some amazing blogs just  filled with healthy recipes and awesome fitness tips. Check them out and get inspired.This recipe was an adaptation of two recipes I collected from other blogs:

Blogilates- Super Healthy, Ultra-Clean Meatball Recipe! 

&

A Cozy Kitchen - Turkey Zucchinni Meatballs 

Ingredients:

2 cups carrots

1 cup frozen corn

2/3 cup almonds

1/2 cup flax seed

3 egg whites

2-3 lbs ground Turkey

1 cup oats (the recipe calls for quick oats but I used the old fashioned and they tasted great.)

1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese

salt/pepper/oregano/basil

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.

I combined the carrots, flax, and almonds in my food processor until they were finely minced. Next time, I will crush the flax up first so it can become a powder. I added them all together and the carrots and nuts ended up very tiny but the flax needed some extra time, I was nervous the carrots would puree so I stopped.

*The flax needs to be ground up in order to be absorbed into the body, otherwise it will just go through your system compared to putting clean oil through a dirty filter in your car. Next time :)

After that I added all of the ingredients together and formed them into larger balls that fit into my muffin pans.

Spray the pans with olive oil and cook them in your hot oven for about 25-30 minutes. 

Feel free to try out adding zucchini, squash, peas, onions, and peppers. I never cook with onions because I don't care for the taste. Let me know what works for you!!

Serve with whole wheat noodles and fresh sauce, in a tortilla, or eat it plain. 

Montana Foods List:

Carrots -163

Ground Turkey-54

Crock Pot Spaghetti

The plus side of making a huge supply of delicious sauce; you will have it all week to add to your meals. This recipe requires a crock pot. I have made Crock Pot Lasagna before, this is a variation of that recipe.

1. Ground meet;browned &drained with garlic.
2. Layer of meat then sauce.

3. Layered meet,sauce, cheeses, and noodles.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of your favorite ground meat (I used deer meat)
• *I browned my meat with a garlic clove (optional, but tasty)
• 5-6 cups of your favorite sauce. 
• 2-3 cups of Italian/Provolone/Mozzarella Cheese (Whatever your preference)
• Whole-Grain spaghetti noodles (I only used half of the box but it's up to you)
• *I added about 4 oz. of cream cheese to make the dish creamer (optional) you could add ricotta cheese instead.

After about a half hour I mixed the pasta very well and added a little more cheese.

Directions:

• Brown meat with garlic; drain
• Layer meat, noodles, sauce, cheese, noodles, sauce, cheese in the crock pot
• Set to low for 4 hours until noodles are tender

*Set on high if you want to speed up the cooking process, but be careful to keep stirring the pasta as it can burn to the side of the crock pot.

Tender noodles in a creamy, veggie sauce with meat. YUM.

Montana Foods List:
Tomato Sauce-263
Ground Meat- 120
Whole Grain Spaghetti Noodles: 52 
Mozzarella Cheese- 81



*I love this recipe because there is no right or wrong way of added properly measured ingredients. Just add what YOU think would win over your eaters and be the most tasty. We all have different food preferences and that is what this blog is all about. Let us know what you liked about this dish and how you made it perfect for you. Keep check out Child Care Connections! Thank you!!

Vegetable Sauce Recipe

The first recipe to share is a staple in my house and the variations are endless, so don't be afraid to experiment. I have red tomato sauce running through my veins, my mouth waters for the taste. I never, ever buy pre-made, brand name sauces. If you are serving a group of folks who are rather particular about chunky sauces, I have a basic sauce recipe to share; 1 12 oz can of crushed tomatoes, 1-2 cloves of fresh garlic, & a few bay leaves. I believe that nothing can come close to outdoing the succulent taste of those 3 ingredients. Just add them to a pot, turn on warm/low and let it simmer and enjoy the aroma in your home.

1 can of organic crushed tomatoes, fresh bay leaves, & Montana grown garlic

 *I use my hand mixer to give the sauce a smoother texture. If you are going to do that, you might want to do it before adding the bay leaves. Sometimes I forget and get a mouth full of leaves. I have used the already crushed bay leave seasonings, and I think they are easier to use in a sauce because they are nicely minced. I just love the smell of bay leaves simmering in tomato sauce!

Now, things can get interesting. I believe in vegetables. I recently discovered how easy it is to add veggies to this sauce recipe. As stated above, the possibilities are endless. I also feel this is a wonderful way to sneak veggies into the lives of children. I have used the veggie sauce with pasta, spaghetti squash, stromboli, and on pizza. First, choose your vegetables!! I chose to add banana peppers, mushrooms, carrots, celery, and frozen artichoke hearts. *The frozen artichoke hearts are awesome, I bought them at a local grocery store in Bozeman. They are a great price for what you get, compared to the canned/jarred artichokes.*

banana peppers, mushrooms, and chopped carrots

frozen artichoke hearts

First, I made the basic sauce from above then started chopping. When serving this in your child care program or home, be sure to cut the vegetables accordingly, in order to prevent choking.Then, just add the veggies to your sauce and stir. Super easy, right?? Just continue to let the sauce simmer until the veggies are soft.

1:The veggies added to the original red sauce. 2.&3: The sauce is mixed and simmering to perfection.

 This sauce will be a hit in your lives, we hope. It may not be a home-run the first go around, but don't give up! Simply change the variations of veggies to best fit your meal time. I would like to create a recipe for this using fresh tomatoes from the grocery store and to further explore healthier variations. Don't forget to visit the website for Child Care Connections! Enjoy!

A list of sauce friendly vegetables,                                          
but not limited to:                                                                              
Artichoke                                                                                              
Beans                                                                                                    
Carrots                                                                                                 
Cauliflower
Celery
Corn
Mushrooms 
Onions
Peas

Peppers
Zucchini



Montana Foods List:
Celery 165
Mushrooms 188
Carrots 163
Tomato Sauce 263

*Here is a printer friendly version of this recipe