Cooking with Kids, Recipes, Dining Out with Kids, Takeout Food, Vegetables, Meal Planning

Enjoy a Fun Farm Brunch for the Family at Bloomfield Farms

September 19, 2012

Bloomfield Farms U-pickAt its next u-pick event, Bloomfield Farms is offering families more than just fresh certified organic veggies. This Sunday, September 23, the farm is partnering with Hardcore Farm To Face's Chef John Lyle for a Fun Farm Brunch from 10 am to 2 pm.

This gourmet brunch buffet features a delicious menu that will appeal to everyone in the family, and of course features Bloomfield Farm's fresh produce as well as items from other farmers in the area. The Fun Farm Brunch is a "pay what you can" brunch. No reservations are necessary, just come on over to the farm and enjoy!

This Sunday's Fun Farm Brunch menu includes mini pancakes with fruit toppings, homemade Gravenstein applesauce, fresh fruit, mini grilled cheese sandwiches, heirloom tomato soup, Bloomfield Farms veggie fritters, carrot bread, blackberry bread, apple bread, vegetable quiche, fresh fruit juice, lemonade, coffee, tea, and more.

Come to the farm and eat your veggies, then go pick some veggies to bring home. Bloomfield Farms offers families the opportunity to pick their own organic vegetables, including kale, squash, celery, lettuce, green beans, Swiss chard, potatoes, and more. Fill a box for only $25. U-pick at the farm takes place Sundays through November 4 from 10 am to 3 pm. Read more about the u-pick experience at Bloomfield Farms in our article here.

What's for Dinner? White Bean Chicken Chili

September 17, 2012

White bean chicken chiliHearty chili is a cool-weather favorite, but lighten it up with mild green chilis, white beans, and chicken, and it's something that satisfies year-round. It's a lot quicker to make than old-school beef chili, it's healthy, and the kids will eat it, too. Part of the fun is adding a variety of toppings to the finished dish. You can substitute ground turkey for the chicken if you want. It's good either way.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces (or lean ground turkey)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

How to Build Fun Lunch Boxes That Your Kids Will Love! For a Sweet Tooth…

September 17, 2012

lunchbox for the sweet toothMarin Mommies presents this week's guest recipe from Nicole Cibellis, Marin mom and author of the blog A Family that Eats Together, where she shares meal plans and recipes and family dining ideas that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear. Check out Nicole's meal plan for this week.

This week's featured lunchbox is for the kid who desires everything sweet and for the parent who wants to make their lunch healthy.

In this week's lunch box is the following:

  • Chicken, Swiss and BBQ Sauce Wraps
  • Strawberries
  • Yogurt Pretzels

Family Dining in Marin (with a View): The Mountain Home Inn

September 12, 2012

Mountain Home Inn on Mt. Tamalpais near Mill ValleyOur family loves to explore Mt. Tamalpais. Usually, we pack a picnic for lunch during our hikes, but on our last visit we decided to take the kids to the Mountain Home Inn, one of the few restaurants up on the mountain. It was a gorgeous, clear day, and we knew the views from the restaurant's deck would be amazing.

The Mountain Home Inn has been a fixture on Mt. Tam for a century, and it's a great place to stop for breakfast, lunch, or dinner before or after your Mt. Tam adventure. Of course we opted to sit outside on the deck, taking in the spectacular views of Marin County and relaxing in the shade of the patio umbrellas. Our friendly and attentive server brought us a bottle of water infused with mint as we perused the menu.

The Mountain home inn offers a variety of dishes, from bratwurst on a bun with house-made potato chips (a nod to the inn's beginnings as a Swiss/German roadhouse) and burgers to fresh pastas and a vegetable frittata. There's also a children's menu, which is offered up with crayons for coloring, that includes favorites like chicken fingers and fries, kids' pasta with butter and parmesan, french toast, and more.

How to Build Fun Lunch Boxes That Your Kids Will Love! Homemade Chicken Nuggets with Honey Mustard

September 10, 2012

homemade chicken nuggetsMarin Mommies presents this week's guest recipe from Nicole Cibellis, Marin mom and author of the blog A Family that Eats Together, where she shares meal plans and recipes and family dining ideas that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear. Check out Nicole's meal plan for this week.

Most kids love chicken nuggets. I am not preferential to store bought nuggets for a multitude of reasons but I think they are great when homemade. Here is a quick and easy recipe for chicken nuggets that your kids will love. My son couldn’t stop telling everyone at school how his mom made him chicken nuggets. He was so proud and I am sure yours will be too!

Quick tip: Make 2 dozen and keep them refrigerated to use them as you need to. These keep for 4–5 days.

Slow Cooker Monday: Crock Pot Lasagna

September 10, 2012

Slow cooker lasagnaSometimes it seems that people make things in slow cookers just to see if it can be done—and of course be edible, too. One of the slow cooker recipes I've always been skeptical of—untiil now—is lasagna. It's possible to create a tasty lasagna in the slow cooker with a minimum of work and mess, and the results are delicious.

You do sacrifice the crispy, bubbly top that you get from the oven-baked version, but then this version is something that you can quickly make for a weeknight meal. This recipe is for a meatless slow cooker lasagna that's packed with flavor from fresh herbs and garlic.

Make Your Own Easy and Delicious Applesauce!

September 9, 2012

Homemade applesauceIt's apple season, and after a couple apple-picking outings and receiving gifts from our neighbor's apple trees, we've realized that we have a real surplus of apples in our kitchen. What's an easy way to use up some of the fruit? Applesauce, of course.

Homemade applesauce is very easy to make, and really beats that stuff you get in a jar at the supermarket.

Serve it to the kids as a snack, or as a side dish with potato pancakes, pork roast, and more. You can also use it as an ingredient to make other tasty treats like applesauce muffins.

Ingredients

  • 4–5 large apples, peeled, cored, and cut up
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/4 cup sugar (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

How to Build a Fun Lunchbox that Your Kids Will Love! For the Savory Tooth…

September 3, 2012

Savory lunchboxMarin Mommies presents this week's guest recipe from Nicole Cibellis, Marin mom and author of the blog A Family that Eats Together, where she shares meal plans and recipes and family dining ideas that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear.

Dragging myself out of bed, it’s time for the daily rush out of the house while also having to make breakfast and lunch all at once. I am so thankful for all the creative products out there to help me make lunch for my son, which I know, will be fun to eat.

My favorite lunchbox tool is the bento box. It fits neatly into my son’s standard lunchbox and I can stuff it full of yummy treats for him to eat. I have found that the easiest way to make a sandwich for him is to make tortilla wraps. They are easy to hold and the combinations of things that you can wrap are endless. I also love silicon cupcake wrappers, which I fill with goodies that would otherwise go everywhere not to mention they cheer up a lunchbox just like that!

Pizza Night with Chef Daddy

September 3, 2012

Pizza!I know some people who say that pizza is one of those dishes that's always better when you dine out. I respectfully disagree however. While that might be true for topping-laden old-school American pizza, we've been successfully making some pretty wonderful Italian-style pizzas right here at home. Unfortunately, we lack a wood-burning pizza oven in the backyard (someday…), but we get some good results in a regular home oven with a little preparation.

Our latest home pizza night was inspired by the surplus of heirloom tomatoes from our vegetable garden. The tomato plants seem to be going full throttle now, and we have more tomatoes than we know what to do with. Pizza seemed a great way to help with the problem!

Pizza Dough

The refigerated pizza dough sold by Trader Joe's is actually very good, and we use it all the time, especially if we want to make pizza on the spur of the moment. Making your own pizza crust isn't all that challenging, though, so if you have the time, go for it! The results are usually quite good, and you can even freeze extra dough to use later.

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