Week 3: Apple Cinnamon Pork Tenderloin (original recipe adapted from the internet)

The boys have never had pork so I decided to incorporate some favorite flavors to help ease their anxiety!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 - 2 lbs. Pork Tenderloin
• 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon (or pumpkin-pie spice)
  
• 2 Tablespoons Packed Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Raisins and/or Dried Cranberries
  
• 3 Granny Smith Apples; Peeled, Cored, And Sliced
• 1/2 cup Apple Cider (or apple juice)
  
• 3-4 slices of Bacon (optional)
• Extra applesauce to serve on top (for extra picky eaters)

- Preheat oven to 400 F.

- Place the tenderloin in a baking dish & lay bacon over the top tucking ends under pork. Add apple cider to bottom of dish and cover with foil. Cook for 25 minutes.

- Meanwhile combine the remaining dry ingredients in a bowl and add apples & raisins. Fold everything together to coat apples.

- Remove foil from pork and spoon the apple mixture over and around the tenderloin. Bake an additional 15-20 minutes until tenderloin is browned and cooked through. If using a meat thermometer, it should register 155 to 160 F when done.

- Remove bacon and slice pork on the diagonal about 1/2" thick. Spoon apples & raisins over each slice to serve. You may also want to serve with cinnamon applesauce on the side.

Side suggestion: Serve over buttered egg noodles or with rice.

Parent Rating: Good easy meal that everyone enjoyed! 8
Hayden: Liked it. We squirted some apple-cinnamon "Gogo Squeeze" over the top and that did the trick! Also, loved getting bacon on the side...gives it an 8.
Sammy: Favorite meal so far.....10!
Anna: Was cranky and wouldn't sit in highchair to eat....picked at the raisins.
Overall Rating: 9

Week 2: Double-Cheese Meatloaf (Courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine)

The ingredients:

• cooking spray
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 6 tablespoons ketchup, divided
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, divided
• 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 pound lean ground pork
• 1/2 pound lean ground veal

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place a medium nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion, and saute for 3 minutes. Combine the onion, 1/4 cup ketchup, 1 tablespoon mustard, mozzarella, and next 6 ingredients (mozzarella through egg) in a large bowl. Crumble ground meats over cheese mixture; stir just until blended.
3. Pack mixture into an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Combine 2 tablespoons ketchup and 1 tablespoon mustard; spread over top of loaf. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour or until meat thermometer registers 160 degrees. Let meat loaf stand in pan 10 minutes.
4. Remove meat loaf from pan, and cut into 12 slices.

I've been a little delayed in posting new recipes but HAVE been abiding by my resolution to serve my kids a brand new recipe each week. I've been making this meatloaf recipe for years but never for the kids! Believe it or not this is a recipe from Cooking light magazine and I think in order to "keep it light" you have to slice the meatloaf pretty thin. A serving size is 1/12th of the loaf. That might work for the kids but my usual portion is more like 1/8th!

Parent Review: Has always been a fave comfort food! Easy to make...I often substitute the premixed meatloaf mixture but usually this doesn't come in a lean version. Serve with mashed or baked potatoes and salad (corn, raw carrots & french fries for the kids) 9
Hayden: Gives it a 7.5 esp. if visible onions are removed and served with ketchup! Ate 5 bites after 10 mins. of pushing food around the plate!
Sammy: Gives it an 8. Ate the entire thing happily.
Anna: Was in bed by the time dinner was served but ate it for lunch the next day.
Overall rating: 8

Homemade Microwave Popcorn

This is not a meal for picky eaters but a no-brainer cheap, easy & healthy snack when your kids are hungry and cupboards are bare. Never knew it could be this easy to make microwave popcorn!

You will need:

Brown paper lunch bag
1/4 cup Orville Redenbacher's popping corn

Instructions:

- Dump popcorn into bag & fold top down about 1".
- Continue to fold 3-4 more times & crease the folds to tighten seal.
- Place bag in microwave on it's side and cook on high for 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 mins. depending on microwave strength. My cooking time is 2 min. 20 secs.
- Bag will slowly unfold as popcorn pops & expands. Keep an eye on it and listen for pops to be 5 secs. apart & it's done.
- Remove from microwave & pour melted butter, salt & other seasonings right into the bag.

Each bag is 1-2 servings. Bag will get greasy with the butter so you can dump it into the bowl but why create more dishes to clean up!

(I researched this on the internet & some people add oil with the corn kernels but it's not necessary and just makes a mess.)

Caveat: Some people are worried the bag can catch on fire so if your microwave doesn't have a tray that turns around you want to watch it closely the first few times and be ready with a fire extinguisher!! (I've made this 5-6 times without incident.)

My mother (an avid environmentalist) will be happy with this snack choice as I'm avoiding exposing my kids (and myself) to the carcinogens in many microwave popcorn bags. According to the EPA, the chemical (PFOA) that coats the inside of the popcorn bags to prevent oils from seaping through & making the bag greasy are known carcinogens. When heated these chemicals leach into the popcorn that we consume. So, although your homemade bag may be a greasy mess you're avoiding exposure to carcinogens so why take the risk when you can make your own so easily!!

Week 1: Bobby's Baked Chicken with Dijon & Lime (courtesy of Paula Deen)

The ingredients:












BOBBY'S BAKED CHICKEN WITH DIJON & LIME:

1 (3 1/2 lb) chicken, cut into 8 pieces (skin removed on some so kids can try skinless)
4 Tbs Dijon Mustard
2 Tbs Mayo
1 Garlic Clove, minced
Finely grated zest and freshly squeezed juice of 1 Lime
3/4 Tsp pepper
Salt to taste
Chopped parsley to garnish (optional)("green things" don't go over well in my house!)

- Preheat the oven to 400. Rinse the chicken and pat dry. In a bowl, whisk together the mustard, mayo, garlic, lime zest and juice and pepper.
- Season the chicken generously with salt.
- Pour the mustard-mayo mixture over the chicken, tossing well to coat.
- In a large baking pan, arrange the chicken in a single layer.
- Bake until it is cooked through; breasts take about 30 minutes and legs will need 5 to 10 minutes more. Turn on broiler for last 2-3 mins. to crisp & brown the top of the chicken
- Serve the chicken with pan juices drizzled over top and garnished with chopped parsley. (Again parsley optional if your kid is afraid of anything green)

PARENT REVIEW: Quick & Easy, healthy meal....rating: 7.5
HAYDEN (9): "It's squeashy....I'll give it a 6." (it only took him 15 mins. to take the first bite and he ate half of it...major progress!
SAMMY (7): "I like it...but not the spicy bites....I'll give it an 8." An hour later he comes over to give me a hug and says... "thank you Mom for making dinner..I really liked it." (that will get you extra dessert everytime!!)
ANNA (2): Gobbled it up...to date not a picky eater! (fingers crossed)

OVERALL RATING: 7-7.5

Side note: The white rice on the side was a hit but the sweet potato fries were deemed a 1! (don't get that...how can you not like french fries?!)

My 2010 New Year's resolution may prove to be an insurmountable challenge as it involves not just changes to myself but also major changes in my children!! I pledge to try a new recipe each week (not frozen or out of a box)in an effort to expose my 3 children to new foods and expand their palate. The goal is that by the end of the year they will be eating what we eat (more or less) and I'll no longer be a short-order cook and on the fast-track to the Betty Ford Clinic!

I tried to convince my kids that trying new foods would be a good resolution for them this year but they weren't biting! (no pun intended)

This is also an experiment to determine what causes a picky eater? Is it genetic? Are some kids just not as adventurous as others when it comes to trying new foods? (Perhaps the frequent gagging at my dinner table is a sign that may be my answer!) Or is it that I've been lazy and haven't really forced the issue or exposed them to enough new foods on a consistent basis? Maybe it's karma because I was a picky eater myself as a child??

Getting my kids to eat new meals at dinnertime has been the greatest source of my parental frustrations and I'm hoping this little experiment might put an end to the insanity, chaos, gagging, whining and wine consumption that ensues in our household every night! Isn't mealtime supposed to be a time of family happiness? Please tell me there is light at the end of this 52 week tunnel??? I'll keep you posted.....