Teeny Tea Time

Hello Readers! A few weeks ago, my Little and I had tea at this wonderful tea house that's here in our hometown. On top of all the wonderful costumes, my Little just LOVED the mini sandwiches which were served with our tea. This got me to thinking about what kinds of little quartered sandwiches we could make here at home so as to emulate the tea house atmosphere and I started experimenting in the kitchen.

The wonderful thing about tea sandwiches is that the fillings are basically endless! My Little enjoyed the tiny size  of the sandwiches (easy for little fingers) as well as the variety of fillings, salty and sweet alike, all of them decently healthy. This snack makes for a fun afternoon for boys and girls--little snacks with tea makes them feel very grown up! Below are a few suggestions (with tea pairings, of course!)

Cucumber Minis with Refreshing Cucumber Mint Tea:


Sandwiches:
2 slices very soft bread (Sara Lee whole grain white is a lovely option)
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced thinly
1 slice peppered turkey
2 tbsp. chive cream cheese (plain or other flavor is fine as well)

1.) Spread both sides of the bread with cream cheese
2.) Place four slices of cucumber on four quarters of one side of bread
3.) Lay turkey on other side of bread
4.) Put sides of bread together and cut into quarters (makes four mini-sandwiches) and serve

Mint Tea:
4 cups water
2 bags mint tea (peppermint or spearmint work best)
Ice
3 sprigs fresh mint (optional)
2 slices cucumber (leftover from sandwiches--optional)

1.) Bring water to boil
2.) Steep mint teabags in water 3-5 minutes or until lightly colored
3.) Pour tea over ice and stir until cool
4.) Add springs of mint and cucumbers to tea (optional) and serve

Strawberry Lemonade Minis with Sweet Berry Iced Tea


Sandwiches:
2 slices very soft bread (again, Sara Lee is a great option)
2 tbsp lemon curd (available at any grocery store in the jams or baking aisle)
2 strawberries sliced
Sprinkle of powdered sugar

1.) Spread both slices of bread with lemon curd
2.) Place slices of strawberries on both sides of bread
3.) Sprinkle LIGHTLY with powdered sugar
4.) Cut into quarters and serve

Sweet Berry Tea:
4 cups water
2 bags berry tea (wildberry or strawberry are suggested)
1/3 cup honey or 4 tbsp. sugar (optional)
Slices of strawberries for garnish (also optional)
Ice

1.) Bring water to boil
2.) Steep teabags for 5-7 minutes or until tea is a deep purple/red color
3.) Add honey or sugar and stir in thoroughly (optional)
4.) Pour over ice and stir until cool
5.) Add slices of strawberries (again, optional) and serve

These are just two of the delicious options that we came up with in our kitchen but you should definitely experiment with all types of your favorite ingredients. You like cheese and bacon? Maybe try grilled sandwich with bacon, cheddar and pickles or green olives. Loving some old fashioned pb&j? Make it with a bit of clotted cream for a European twist. Try these sandwiches with different teas, grab some costumes and make a fun, imaginative afternoon with your Littles. Have fun and enjoy!

Cheers!

Fudgie Peanut Butter Bars

Good afternoon Readers! Summer is just around the corner and with that comes parties, picnics and day trips. When I was a kid, I remember going out during the day with my best friend on a hike and bringing along a picnic which my grandma would help put together for us. Every time we would go, she would include some sort of bar that wouldn't melt but would give us a sweet finish to our lunch. Lemon, peanut butter, berry, the bars were endless and delicious to the last crumb.

Since then, many of the recipes have been lost or changed so I ended up creating one of my own which embraces my Little's and my favorite combo: peanut butter and chocolate. These fudgie peanut butter bars are cheap, easy to make, require NO BAKING and are delicious!


Bars:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup peanut butter

Topping:
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons peanut butter


Bars:
1.) In a large bowl, melt the butter until very soft but not quite liquid.
2.) Mix graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter with melted butter until well mixed. It should be a paste consistency.
3.) Press mixture evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.

Topping:
1.) Melt the chocolate chips with the peanut butter in a medium sized, microwave safe bowl, stirring occasionally until smooth.
2.) Spread over the prepared crust. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares.

REMINDER: This recipe is not suitable for children under one year of age because the peanut butter may (but not necessarily will) pose an allergy risk. For more information, check out http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-baby/PR00029




Let your kids help out on this one--mixing and stirring is fun for them, as is the part where you press the crust into the pan. It can be messy but provides a very good time for your Littles. So get messy, add them to summer activities, eat these bars in moderation (they're pretty fattening!) but enjoy!

Cheers to a gorgeous summer!

Recipe #8 - Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Good evening Readers! Since it's around dinner time today, I figured I could post about one of my favorite dinner side dishes: baked sweet potato fries! Sweet potatoes are a often ignored food until Thanksgiving comes around but they have some wonderful attributes which made them a year-round food for us. Packed with vitamin C and anti-inflammatory agents, sweet potatoes are a healthier and more beneficial food than are regular russet type potatoes. For more information on the nutritional value of sweet potatoes, check out this site.

French fries are the classic, go-to side for burgers, hot dogs and many other dinner time staples but with the amount of grease that they're fried in, a small (7oz) serving of "family style" fries (like those you'd get at a restaurant) have an incredible 607 calories and 30g of fat (check here for more nutritional info on french fries)! That's nearly than half of the recommended serving of fat per day (46%) for a side dish!

I don't like those numbers (for my Little OR for myself) so I started looking into baking fries for my family rather than deep or pan frying. After a few pans of burnt sweet potatoes and a little research, I've put together a recipe that my Little love and I think is pretty tasty as well:

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and washed and sliced into fries
2 tbsp olive oil or olive oil spray (either one works)
1 tsp Lawry's seasoned salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

1.) Preheat oven to 400°
2.) Coat sweet potato fries evenly with olive oil and spices
3.) Place fries on a cookie sheet, leaving space between all of the fries (make sure none of them are touching or they won't bake correctly)
4.) Bake for 30-40 minutes, turning once half way through bake time. Bake 30 minutes for softer fries, 40 for crispier fries.
5.) Allow to cool slightly before serving with your favorite sauce

Something fun we did the last time was to cut the sweet potatoes into different shapes. We sliced them very thinly first, then started making stars, squares, circles, and triangles. This was fun because our Little was identifying the shapes before cramming them into her mouth! Have fun, eat well and enjoy!

Cheers,
Jo Anna

Recipe #7 - Breakfast Pizza

Good morning Readers! Almost everyone likes a slice of leftover pizza straight from the fridge in the morning (I know I do!) but you're really not getting in the vitamins, minerals and healthy calories that you need to have a good jump start to your day. My Little LOVES pizza--morning, noon and night, the girl could eat pizza dipped ranch dressing (or in her case, ranch dressing with a side of pizza!) but I definitely don't want her eating it all the time. The other morning, she was begging for pizza (sad eyes and all--it was pitifully adorable) so I rummaged around in the kitchen till I found some ingredients for a childhood favorite of mine.

Breakfast pizza takes the crispy, cheesy deliciousness that is pizza and fortifies it with the healthful benefits of eggs (read more about the egg's nutritional info), cheese, and much more! Below is the basic recipe but feel free to add any additional toppings (there's also a suggested list of toppings but don't let that limit you!)

Breakfast Pizza
3 eggs, lightly scrambled
2 English muffins, sliced in half
2 slices of thin-sliced ham, cut in half
1 cup shredded cheese, separated into 1/4 cups
1 green onion, finely chopped

1.) Preheat oven to 375°
2.)In a skillet, lightly scramble the three eggs. This means they will be formed/cooked, but still have a glossy look.
3.) Slice English muffins in half, making 4 halves
4.) Top each muffin half with some egg, a slice of ham, green onion and grated cheese
5.) Wrap a cookie sheet with tin foil (this helps avoid a melted cheese mess on your bakeware) and place breakfast pizzas onto sheet.
6.) Place pizzas in preheated oven and bake 7-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and ham looks crispy.
7.) Allow to cool slightly before serving

This is a fun recipe for the kids because they can build their very own pizzas! Try some pizza sauce or other sauces (we like using green chile enchilada sauce on ours!) for a tasty twist. Other great toppings can include (but DEFINITELY aren't limited to!):
-Olives
-Bacon crumbles
-Sausage crumbles
-Mushrooms
-Red or white onion
-Tofu
-Spicy peppers
-Spinach
-Fresh tomatoes
-Etc., etc., etc....

Have fun, get your Littles involved, experiment and enjoy!