Orange, Chicken, and Avocado Bulgur Salad

Citrus, feta, avocado, whole grain...this is my kind of salad!

I've been trying for some time to expand the wee ones' grain horizons beyond pasta, couscous, and rice. Sadly, quinoa is repeatedly met with staunch resistance. This summer, a deconstructed version of this farro salad was a hit with the KC kids so I'm trying my luck again, this time with bulgur.

Since the 6-and-unders here tend to be purists, I often resort to deconstructing whatever Mufasa and I are eating for them, like this.

Not bad, right? That's bulgur, grape tomatoes, feta, clementine wedges, avocado, and chicken. I only need to prep one set of ingredients and we all end up eating the same thing, just in a different guise.

The verdict is in. With a little help from my friend soy sauce, bulgur is a go with 2 out of 3 KC kids! And that Looly, well, she never likes something the first time, and even she managed a few bites. Victory is mine.

Orange, Chicken, and Avocado Bulgur Salad
adapted from Cooking Light, February 2013

1 cup bulgur wheat, uncooked
3 tbsp orange juice
zest of 1 orange
2 tbsp olive oil
1 & 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
8 ounces shredded, cooked chicken
1 medium avocado, diced
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
6 ounces feta cheese, 1/4-inch diced
2 oranges or 4 clementines, peeled and sectioned
fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)

1. Combine 1 cup bulgur and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer about 10-12 minutes (allow more time for larger, coarsely ground bulgur) until the grain is tender. If any water remains, drain it off. Fluff bulgur with a fork and cool to room temperature. You should have about 3 cups of cooked. Don't forget to set some aside if you're planning a deconstructed version!
2. Combine the juice, zest, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
3. In a large bowl, combine cooled bulgur with remaining ingredients. Toss everything with the dressing and sprinkle with fresh cilantro.

Ancho Pork Hominy Stew

The holiday whirlwind is upon us and we're expecting a full house this year. Three generations of grandparents, aunts, uncles, sisters, and cousins will descend upon us in less than 48 hours and I cannot wait. As far as I'm concerned it wouldn't be Christmas without a little chaos.

Mufasa must have been extra good this year because he is now the proud owner of a brand spanking new Big Green Egg. So while he's working out plans for several holiday roasts on his new toy, I'm turning my focus to what we're all going to eat in the days leading up to and in between the major celebrations.

Thanks to the chest freezer, I've been squirreling away banana bread, squash muffins, and countless freezer bags of soup for weeks now. Next on the list is one of my personal favorites, this spicy ancho chili spiced pork and hominy stew.

Ancho Pork Hominy Stew
Adapted from Cooking Light, December 2009

2 tbsp ancho chile powder
2 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped, or 2 tsp. dried oregano
1 & 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp ground cumin*
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 & 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces (about 1/2-ich cubes)
1 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 & 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 (28 ounce) can hominy, drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

For garnish
fresh lime slices
fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1/2 cup queso fresco, crumbled

1. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. Set aside 1 & 1/2 tsp of the spice mixture. Add pork to the remaining spice mixture and toss to coat.
2. Heat 2 tsp of the oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until browned on all sides, stirring occasionally (the pork does not need to cook through at this point). Remove the pork from the pot and set aside.
3. Add the remaining 1 tsp oil to the dutch oven. Add the onion, peppers, and garlic and saute for 5 minutes until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Return the pork to the pan. Add the remaining 1 & 1/2 tsp of spice mixture, broth, hominy, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover partially and simmer for about 30 minutes or until ready to serve. Garnish with fresh lime slices, cilantro, or queso fresco.

Makes 6 (1 & 1/3 cup) servings

*The original recipe calls for half as much cumin but can one go wrong with pork and a little extra cumin? I think not.

My advice is double the recipe. You'll need a huge pot but the payoff is so worth it. Eat round one for dinner tonight and pack away round 2 for some night in the coming weeks when you've eaten a few too many sugar cookies to turn on the oven. This freezes and reheats beautifully and is such a nice departure in flavor from the typical Christmas roasts and hams we'll be eating next week.

Lamb and Lentil Mini-Meatballs with Cumin Yogurt Dip

Meatballs are usually a hit with the Kid Cultivation crew, but since Roo is allergic to eggs, my go-to substitution is silken tofu. It works beautifully in these Asian-Style Pork Mini-Meatballs, but given Beans love for beans and Looly's hatred of them, I thought I'd try something new.

I was hoping lentils would bind the meatballs and keep them from drying out. Mission accomplished. What I hadn't anticipated was the nice little bite the lentils would give the lamb, such a pleasant snap with each mouthful. They're a little unexpected and boast great flavor with or without the tangy yogurt dip. Cocktail parties, Christmas, New Year's Eve, I'm keeping this one in my back pocket for the holiday party potluck scene.

So, like I said, Looly abhors beans. She possesses a particular vehemence for lentils. She loves a plump sauce-covered meatball, however, especially if it came from Noodles & Company, but I digress. Even at home, she'll eat a meatball with sauce on it most of the time. I was fully prepared to drizzle marinara over these bad boys in anticipation that she would complain about yogurt sauce but I never got a chance. All three kids took down the meatballs before I got any sauce on the table - cumin yogurt or marinara. That never happens!

Now aside from Mufasa's praises, there were no rave reviews, choruses of delight or requests for second helpings from the six and under set. But the important thing is that the meatballs disappeared - no prodding, arguments, threats or negotiations. Of course Looly has no idea she ingested lentils, but I'm already eying a can of chickpeas.

Lamb and Lentil Meatballs

1 cup cooked lentils
1 pound ground lamb
3/4 cup Panko or other bread crumbs
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 small onion, grated or finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Put the lentils in a large bowl. Using your hands, mash the lentils a few times until about half of them are mashed into a paste and half are intact.
3. Add the lamb and all other ingredients to the bowl with the lentils. Mix well with your hands until everything is nicely combined.
4. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the meat mixture into small balls, about 1 & 1/2 inches in diameter. Place on baking sheet and cook approximately 15 minutes or until cooked through. Serve with Cumin Yogurt Dip (recipe below)

 Cumin Yogurt Dip

1 cup plain yogurt
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tbsp chopped, fresh mint
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp kosher salt

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Serve with Lamb and Lentil Meatballs.

Thai Steak (or Chicken) Salad

I'm always on the lookout for ways everyone get what they want out of a single meal. For the kids this means things they like, not too spicy, small colorful portions, followed by dessert. For Mufasa it entails big robust flavors, plenty of heat, and meat. I want something that tastes good and still allows me to button my pants in the morning. It can be tricky to manage, but this little ditty fits the bill.

Oddly enough, Looly adores cabbage, so the salad portion of this meal is right up her alley. Roo is all about meat and while we've just started venturing into beef territory with him due to his allergies, this recipe works just as well with chicken. Bean likes the meat, veggies, mint leaves, and most of all, using chopsticks.

The flavor is big, bright, bold and spicy which makes Mufasa very happy, and since the meat gets tossed in the sauce after cooking, it's easy to keep the heat turned down for the kids. To dial it up for the grown-ups add plenty of Sriracha after you've tossed some cabbage and meat for the spice averse.

Thai Steak (or Chicken) Salad
adapted from Cooking Light June 2012

1-1/2 pounds flank steak, trimmed or 1-1/2 pounds chicken breasts
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp garlic, minced
2 tsp Sriracha
1 cup red cabbage, sliced
1 cup green cabbage, sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded, and thinly sliced
1/4 cup cucumber, seeded and chopped
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves

1. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper. Cook about 6 minutes per side or until done. Remove meat from pan and let stand 5 minutes. Slice meat across grain into thin slices.
2. Combine lime juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, and Sriracha* in a bowl. Whisk to combine.
3. Combine both cabbages and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Dress the salad mixture with 6 tbsp of the juice mixture and toss to coat. Add meat to the remaining juice mixture and toss to coat. Distribute salad onto plates and top with meat.

*If you're serving kids, hold off on adding the Sriracha until after you've tossed some meat and salad in the dressing.

Serves 6

Bring on the Beets

As much as I want to be that mom that drives a hybrid and outfits my children in hemp and secondhand organic cotton, I spend a lot of time at Target. And Starbucks. And while I'm making confessions, sometimes I don't turn the engine off on the minivan while I'm waiting to pick up the kids. Yup. I idle.

But, I do buy organic as much as I can. Dairy and meat almost always, skincare most of the time, produce when it makes sense. I turn off the water while brushing my teeth. The kids color on recycled paper that goes back into the recycling bin. And we subscribe to a weekly CSA box from Angelic Organics. That's a whole share, people. No half-boxes here.

I adore our weekly CSA box. Opening the flaps of that waxy cardboard to a chorus of oohs and ahhs from dill-sniffing, lettuce munching munchkins is pure joy. But there is one problem. The beets.

That's one week's worth, people. There will be more to come in six days and counting. Another confession. I can't stand beets. Yes, I've tried them with goat cheese. I've tried them in salads, roasted, candied. And you know what? I still don't like beets.

But in all fairness I've been calling out the kids a lot lately claiming that they can't say they don't like something until they've tried it in every possible preparation we can find. So, I've got some work to do. Beet chips. It worked for the kids with kale chips. Let's go.

Okay, they are freakishly beautiful. If the chips don't go over well maybe I'll just use the next batch to make some natural dyes. I mean come on, look at those things.

Beet Chips with Curried Yogurt Dip*

4-6 beets, thinly and uniformly sliced on a mandolyn
Canola or vegetable oil for frying
1 tsp. salt
1 cup Greek yogurt (fat content of your choice)
1 tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. cilantro, finely chopped

1. Heat oil in a deep, heavy bottomed pot to 350 degrees. Add beet slices in small batches and fry until bubbling subsides and edges curl and brown. Interestingly I found different colored beats needed varying frying times with the dark purple beets taking the longest. I'm assuming this has to do with different water content but use your judgement. I recommend frying batches of one color at a time. Nobody likes soggy chips. Burned ones, I kind of dig, but the choice is yours. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt while still warm.

2. For the dip, combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and mix until well combined. Serve alongside the beet chips.

*My kids struggle to gain weight and I was really trying to sell these so I fried our chips. You could save yourself a heck of a lot of calories and oil by baking them instead. Just toss the beet slices in a little oil and place them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until crisp and nicely browned.

Verdict? They. Were. Awesome. I'm still not ready to dig into a bowl of borscht, but seriously, these were perhaps the most delicious chips I've ever eaten. The sweetness from the beets really enhances the salty crispiness we're used to in chips. Bean couldn't get enough. Roo, upon tasting his first chip, instructed me to make all of the rest exactly like the one in his mouth. High praise from a boy who fasts like a martyr much of the time. And Looly, well, she was the lone holdout but it's no surprise. She's a slow sell and she's finally coming around to kale chips so give us a few months.