Last Week's Eating Adventures

Happy 4th of July!  A lot of food was eaten last week, as always.  My mom was in town, so we had to hit San Vito's the first night of her visit.

The Lamb Special (eaten by the Carnivore and my mom)



The Pasta special (delicious tortellini filled with cheese)

The next night was designated Burger Night, so the meat-eaters ate chicken and turkey burgers  and hot dogs, all from Trader Joe's, while I attempted to make homemade veggie burgers from a Parent's Magazine column.  
I haven't been able to find any veggie burgers that are free of genetically modified ingredients so I've been searching for an easy recipe to make my own. 


My failed attempt at homemade veggie burgers

Although I have lots of fun kitchen gadgets, I am currently lacking a food processor.  The recipe requires a few quick pulses in a food processor but I figured I could use the blender just as well.  Not true.  The mixture became extremely liquid-y, the patties wouldn't form properly, and were super flat.  But, miracles of miracles, even the Carnivore thought the resulting "burgers" had a nice flavor.

Next night, my mom made a tasty pasta salad with farfalle (bow-ties or literally "butterflies"), feta cheese, black olives, tomatoes, pepper, salt, and olive oil.  So simple, yet so delicious...Thanks, Mom!  I also attempted a follow-up to our ice-cream making adventure with some frozen yogurt.  Not a crowd favorite (the non-fat vanilla yogurt gave the dessert a weird flavor).

The LOs were not thrilled with the feta cheese but picked around it and enjoyed the rest of the ingredients.

A family favorite followed: Pizza Night!  When I was growing up, my mom made homemade pizza every Friday night.  Our next-door neighbor's daughter babysat my brother and me and one night brought some of her mom's delicious pizza.  My dad loved it and asked my mom to make some...a weekly tradition was born.  For our meal, we used pre-made dough from Trader Joe's to save some time.  The LOs love to roll out to the dough and add sauce, cheese and toppings.  Technically, they enjoy eating the cheese, sauce, and toppings more than they enjoy putting them on the dough but the photos confirm that these ingredients did actually make it on the pizzas.  You've got to love the crazy shapes, too.

Roll, roll, roll the dough!

The LOs made "sailboat" pizzas...we're working on our pizza cutter skills...

My mom left (sniff, sniff) and we tried Moroccan Chicken again.  This time, I accidentally picked up chicken thighs instead of breasts but the Carnivore and LOs gobbled it up nonetheless.  I even used the spices (cinnamon, cumin, and garlic salt) on tofu and had my own Moroccan feast.

My tofu version of Moroccan Chicken...the garlic salt was a nice touch

For our 4th of July party, we made chocolate bark with a festive touch.  I just discovered this fabulous blog called Grin and Bake It which illustrated the idea of adding red and blue ingredients to regular bark for the holiday.  Our version didn't look like hers but the kids LOVED hammering the pretzels and Oreos into bits. 

Eating while we work

Note yellow construction helmet--this was serious business

Ready to harden in the fridge

Finished product--yum!

I also made veggie burgers again, easing up on the blending a bit.  The mixture was still a bit loose but I think we're getting there...I couldn't put them on the grill for fear they'd fall apart so they went into the pan.

Second try at veggie burger recipe

I won't give up till I find the perfect homemade veggie burger recipe, so any suggestions are welcomed! 

I always forget about the 4th of July when I'm asked about my favorite holiday but whenever it sneaks up on me, I realize just how much I enjoy the food, the traditions (new and old), the celebration of this country and what makes it great.  Enjoy your holiday!