Fruit Salad with Vanilla-Lime Dressing

School's out, summer is in full swing and the KC kitchen staff is more eager than ever to get to work.

I, on the other hand, am readjusting to the amped up summer house volume and the sheer exhaustion of fielding ceaseless requests to paint, set up the sprinkler, help practice piano, go to the park, walk to the library, recall the Spanish word for prairie (pradera, by the way), host a spelling bee, make popsicles, make worksheets, make popcorn, make playdough, put on a puppet show, demonstrate a proper cartwheel, and the dreaded...can we plug in the glue gun?

With the day spiraling into hot glue territory, it's time to act. Fast. So what's quick, simple, can be made from stuff you already have sitting on your kitchen counter and irresistibly enticing to a swarm of sunscreen-slathered, half-dressed ragamuffins armed with a glue gun?

Fruit freaking salad, baby.

Fruit Salad with Vanilla-Lime Dressing
inspired by The Pioneer Woman

For the dressing

1 cup granulated sugar
2 limes, zest and juice
1 cup water
1 & 1/2 tsp good vanilla extract (or the caviar of one fresh vanilla bean)

For the salad

1/2 medium peeled, pineapple, cored and chopped into chunks
1/2 small cantaloupe, rind removed, seeded and chopped into chunks
1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced
2 cups grapes, halved
1/2 pint blueberries
1/2 pint raspberries
1 handful fresh mint leaves

To make the dressing, combine the sugar, lime zest, juice, water and vanilla in a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil, stirring until all of the sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes until it starts to thicken. Remove from heat and let cool.

You'll be relieved to know that preparing a fruit salad requires no advanced training. Wash, peel, core, and slice fruit as necessary and put it all in a bowl. Use whatever fruit you have. Enlist your glue gun-wielding kitchen staff and go to it.

Pour the cooled dressing over the top of the fruit and toss everything together gently. Or if your staff has a case of the pickies, leave the dressing on the side and use it as a dip instead. Garnish the whole beautiful mess with mint leaves.

Don't forget to destroy the glue gun while their slurping the last of the juice from their bowls.

Green Pea Pasta with Feta

Last spring I introduced the KC kids to the idea of green pasta with Nut-Free Kale Pesto. Here's another healthy, veggie-packed green pasta sauce that comes together quickly for an easy week night supper. This time we're pairing fresh sweet peas, dill, and briny feta because, well, feta with spring vegetables is freaking delicious, that's why. 

Green Pea Pasta with Feta
adapted from Fine Cooking

1 pound green peas (fresh or frozen)
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar snap peas, trimmed, strings removed, and sliced on the diagonal
12 ounces short pasta, any shape
4-6 ounces feta cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the green peas and cook 2-4 minutes until crisp tender. Use a slotted spoon to remove the peas from the water and set aside.

Return the pot to a boil and cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve the cooking water.

Meanwhile, transfer all but 1 cup of the green peas to a blender. Add the olive oil, almost all of the dill (reserve a little for garnish), salt, pepper, and lemon juice and puree until smooth, adding the reserved cooking water from the pasta until you reach your desired consistency.

Drain the pasta and toss with the green pea sauce. Add the remaining whole green peas, sliced snap peas and feta, toss again. Garnish with lemon wedges and remaining dill. Dinner is served!

Auto Pilot Lemon Garlic White Fish

I've been making a concerted effort to incorporate more fish into the KC kids' diets. Sure, I want to broaden their palates and encourage a heart-healthy low-fat diet and the Omega-3s are super too. But realistically, the reason I want them to eat more fish is because it's just so freaking fast. And easy. Everyone needs a couple of good auto-pilot, ready in 10 minutes recipes. This, friends, is one of those.

Start with a few thin, mild white fish filets. I used tilapia because it was both inexpensive and available at my grocery store, but flounder, sea bass, sole...take your pick.

Okay, ready? Grab a lemon, some garlic, and a couple of your favorite herbs and spices. I happened to have Penzey's Trinidad Lemon-Garlic Marinade and a jar of Fines Herbes (I know. I'm fancy) on hand but simple lemon-pepper and parsley would work just as well. In fact, dill, oregano, chives, basil...it's all good. Use what you have and what you like.

Lay your fish filets in baking dish. Squeeze half a lemon over the top. Sprinkle and rub everything else on.

Broil the filets until the fish is opaque and flaky. If you want to get all fancy sprinkle some fresh chives on top and garnish with lemon slices.

 That. is. it. Grab a fork and dig in.

Auto Pilot Lemon Garlic White Fish

2 filets flaky, mild white fish (such as tilapia)
1 lemon
1  tbsp garlic, chopped
1 tsp dry lemon-garlic marinade or lemon pepper
1 tsp dried Fines Herbes or dried parsley
1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped (optional)

Preheat the broiler. Place the filets in an oven-safe dish. Squeeze half a lemon over the top. Sprinkle the fish with the garlic and whichever herb and spice combo you're using. Cook under the broiler until the fish is opaque, flaky, and cooked through (about 7 minutes for a 1/2-inch thick filet). Garnish with lemon slices and fresh chives. 

Super Easy Herb Roasted Potatoes

More nights than not, simplicity is key. 

It never fails. Just as I'm starting dinner someone pinches their finger in a drawer or can't find their leotard or is suddenly in dire need of help stapling 30 sheets of paper together. More than likely all three. That is why, my friends, recipes like these easy-enough-to-pull-off while applying band-aids and stapling through mountains of paper yet deeply satisfying and delicious roasted potatoes are absolutely essential. Your welcome.

Super Easy Herb Roasted Potatoes
adapted from Fine Cooking

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
2-3 pounds small red potatoes, washed and halved (quarter larger potatoes so they're all about the same size)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 handful fresh thyme sprigs (roughly 8-12 sprigs)
1 large onion, sliced
1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle a baking sheet with 2 tbsp oil. Use your fingers to spread the oil to coat the entire pan.

Put the potatoes in a large bowl. Pour the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil over the top. Season with salt and toss together.

Arrange the thyme on the bottom of the prepared baking sheet. Layer the onion slices on top of the thyme.

Arrange the potatoes on top of the onions, as many cut sides down as possible. If there's any olive oil still hanging out in the bottom of your bowl, pour that over the top of the potatoes.

Put the whole ensemble into the preheated oven and roast for about 35 minutes until the potatoes are soft and starting to brown.

Use a spatula to loosen the onions and potatoes. Sprinkle chives over the hot potatoes, adjust the seasoning with more salt and/or pepper as needed and toss again.

Not bad for 10 minutes of hands on time.

Spring on a Plate (Burrata with Simple Greens and Snap Peas)

The loveliest spring days call for the simplest of suppers.

The unseasonably mild winter was marvelous. The part where it lasted until May, less so. We're finally seeing the sun again. We're pulling out cushions for the patio furniture, scraping bird poop off the swing set, and wiping off the grimy window screens that never seem to make it down for winter. Spring, it's safe to say, has finally sprung here in the great Midwest.

Almost a year ago, the KC kids sampled Burrata for the first time in a mozzarella cheese-off. Despite a staunch vocal majority in favor of string cheese, Looly was swept off her feet by the Burrata. I have always liked that kid, so I've been keeping it in constant rotation strictly for her benefit. The fact that she never eats more than an ounce and I'm left to lick the plate has very little to do with it.

In celebration of Looly and Burrata enthusiasts everywhere, for the fans of chirping cardinals, lilac-scented breezes, humming lawn mowers in the distance and lazy days spent thumbing through cooking magazines outdoors on sun-warmed cushions, a most perfectly delightful spring supper.

So go ahead, pour yourself a cold glass of rosé. Let the kids sip spritzers of fruit juice and seltzer or agua fresca while they work. It'll only take a minute.

Fresh snap peas. A few greens. Slice a loaf of good bread and my friends, dinner is served. Because on days like this, you shouldn't part with the sunshine any longer than absolutely necessary.

Burrata with Simple Greens and Snap Peas
adapted from Bon Appetit

8 ounces sugar snap peas
4 cups baby greens (spinach, arugula, watercress, romaine, you name it)
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
zest of 1 medium lemon
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
kosher salt or sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 large ball burrata cheese (about 1 lb)

Arrange your children around a shady outdoor table and have them pull the strings off the snap peas and trim the ends. If you can't drum up some kids, you're going to have to do this part yourself. Sorry.

Cut the peapods in half lengthwise or use your fingers to pry them apart, which turns out to be another fine task for the shorties in your life.

Combine the peapods, greens, mint, and basil in a large salad bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice and zest. Season well with salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the greens and toss gently to coat the leaves.

Now the fun part. This is a job for your favorite child...you know the one that never rolls their eyes, puts their dirty clothes in the hamper without being reminded, never forgets to flush the toilet, and has yet to utter the phrase "that's not fair." Yeah, I don't have one of those either. Work with what you've got. In any event, somebody needs to tear open the ball of burrata onto a platter. Let them make a real mess of it, it's going to get all prettied up with greens anyway.

The other less fortunate helpers can use their clean hands to scoop salad onto the platter around and atop the cheese. Slice some bread and tuck in. Taste spring. On a plate.

Grampy's Magic Bars

Recognize these guys?

They were a welcome and familiar site on my grandmother's kitchen table back in the early 80's. Magic Bars. Could there be a more enticing treat for a gaggle of sweets-loving granddaughters? I think not. Grammyarta, as she was known, tended to agree.

Last week my dad, known as Grampy by many these days, celebrated his 76th birthday. Sadly, hundreds of miles away, we didn't get to spend the day with him, but we did whip him up a batch of Magic Bars. Happy birthday, Dad!

That's a good-looking 76, don't you think?!

Of course, the Magic Bars of yore were topped with chopped walnuts and sometimes, if we were really lucky, pecans. These days we avoid tree nuts here at Casa Kid Cultivation but guess what we don't avoid?

Pretzels. And pepitas. The two work together to deliver all the crunchy, salty, meaty flavor of nuts...without the nuts! So gather the troops and let the kids take the lead. This is the ultimate easy-peasy kid-friendly, grampy-approved recipe.

Grampy's Magic Bars
adapted from Eagle Brand

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 & 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
2 cups chocolate chips
1 & 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1/2 cup chopped pretzels
1/2 cup pepitas

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray a 9"x13" pan with cooking spray.

Put your graham crackers (I used about 7 ounces, or 1/2 a regular-sized 14.4 ounce box) in a large zip-top bag and let the kids bang the heck out of it with a rolling pin or baseball bat until you have crumbs.

Once you have crumbs, pour the melted butter directly into the zip-top bag, reseal, and mash the butter around into the crumbs until it's all combined.

Press the butter-crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Here's a trick. If you're careful, you can dump the crumbs into the pan, turn the plastic bag inside out and, placing your hand into what used to be the outside, use the messy, buttery inside of the bag to press down the crumbs like so. 

There. I just saved you a hand washing. You're welcome.

Pour the sweetened condensed milk in an even layer over the graham crackers.

Scatter the chocolate chips over the milk.

Add the pretzels and pepitas...

Then the coconut. Did I mention this is the perfect kid-driven recipe?

Pop them in the oven for 22-25 minutes until lightly browned. 

 Let them cool then cut into bars. Send them to your dad or grampy for his birthday.

 But make sure you save a few for yourselves.

Crispy Iberian Pork Bites

When all else fails, serve dinner on colorful toothpicks.

So easy, very little hands on time, relatively neat to eat one-handed while doing homework, and totally customizable with whatever you happen to have on hand in the spice cabinet, meet your new best friend on a busy school night.

No lemons? Use limes. Not feeling the cumin and paprika? How about lime juice, soy sauce, freshly grated ginger, and a splash of fish sauce for an Asian vibe instead? Use the Spanish-style version below as a jumping off point but then feel free to play around. The flavor profile possibilities are limitless. Try lime, chili powder, cumin, and fresh cilantro for a taco-like feel. Or how about lemon juice, red wine vinegar, thyme, and oregano for a Greek take? Ooh, serve those with some sliced tomatoes and cubes of good Feta cheese. Whatever you do, don't forget the cute toothpicks.

Crispy Iberian Pork Bites
adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

2 pounds pork shoulder, trimmed of some, but not all fat
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup minced onion
1 tbsp olive or canola oil

Cut the meat into 1x1-inch cubes. Put the meat in a large, nonreactive bowl and toss with all of the remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to 2 days.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Scatter the meat on a rimmed roasting pan in a single layer. Roast for about an hour, stopping to stir the meat occasionally. You want it crisp and brown on all sides, but not burned. Remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon. Serve on toothpicks with lemon wedges and/or Cumin Yogurt Dip.

Broccoli Mac and Cheese

On my list of priorities, making homemade macaroni and cheese falls pretty far down the list somewhere between backing up old photos and ironing the duvet cover - not a euphoria-inducing endeavor, but not quite torture either.

The KC kids don't eat much boxed macaroni and cheese to begin with, unless we're traveling and need a safe, non-refrigerated option that won't make Roo break out in hives. In that case I'm all about a little Annie's or in a pinch, good old-fashioned toxic food dye-laced Kraft . It's not ideal, I know, but faced with a road trip choice of food dye versus anaphylaxis, I opt for the dye.

Anyway, the March issue of Cooking Light has a recipe for Cheesy Penne that looked relatively innocuous (and fast!) and being that it was 4:30 PM on gymnastics night and I happened to have everything on hand, I gave it a go. You should too.

Broccoli Mac and Cheese
adapted from Cooking Light

16 ounces short pasta (any shape)
6 cups broccoli florets
2 cups milk
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
3 tbsp cream cheese
1&1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup shredded 4 cheese Italian blend (or similar shredded, meltable cheese)
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese, for topping

Cook the pasta according to package instructions. During the last 3 minutes of cooking, throw in the broccoli. Drain the pasta and broccoli together in a colander and transfer to a large bowl.

Combine the milk and flour over medium heat in a saucepan. Whisk the mixture until it's nice and smooth, then continue to cook until it starts to thicken, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in all the remaining ingredients, except the Parmesan. Whisk until smooth.

Pour the cheese mixture over the pasta and broccoli and toss together. Distribute into individual bowls and top with freshly grated Parmesan.

Much better than the bright orange carcinogenic stuff, don't you think? In all fairness my masterpiece went over about as well as boxed mac and cheese with the KC kids. They asked me to leave the broccoli on the side next time. They didn't like it cheesy.

I, on the other hand, hate boxed macaroni and cheese with a passion, but this I can handle without a single grimace or whine. The Dijon and nutmeg do wonders to amp up the flavor a bit without overwhelming the more sensitive taste buds of preschoolers.

 

So, no carcinogenic food dyes were ingested, the pasta got eaten (along with sides of plain broccoli) and we made it to gymnastics on time. Really, I can't ask for more.

Chocolate Sunbutter Rice Krispies Treats

How do you cheer up a grumpy 6-year-old whose first grade concert got rescheduled because of this:

With these!

While Looly pouted off the cancelled concert, Bean and I got to work. 

Halfway through, Roo jumped in for a little chocolate therapy. 

Chocolate Sunbutter Rice Krispies Treats

2 tbsp butter

10 ounces marshmallows

3 tbsp Sunbutter

6 cups Rice Krispies or other puffed rice cereal

8 ounces chocolate (chopped, or use chocolate chips)

Spray a 9 x 13-inch (or similar size) pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a large pot over low heat. Stir in the marshmallows until melted. Remove the pot from heat and stir in the Sunbutter until it's runny and well integrated with the marshmallow. Finally, stir in the cereal until coated with sticky Sunbuttery marshmallow. Turn the mixture out into the prepared pan. Using a buttered spatula or a sheet of wax paper, press the the mixture into the pan. Let cool.

Microwave the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second intervals, stirring between heating until it's melted. Pour the chocolate over the Rice Krispie treats and spread into an even layer. Allow the chocolate to cool and set. If you're in a hurry and need to garner a smile from an unhappy child sooner rather than later, pop them in the freezer for 10 minutes to set the chocolate.

Use a sharp knife to cut into squares and serve with plenty of cold milk.

And sure enough, look who's smiling again.