at home with ann

I know, it's been a while. Turns out wrangling three little boys doesn't leave a lot of time for recipe writing and food photos. We still eat, though, and pretty well! Mostly I share quick recipes and meals on my Facebook page At Home With Ann , so please follow me there! I love spaghetti squash as a substitute for pasta. It's healthy, way lower in carbs and higher in vitamins.  It's also easier to prep than zucchini noodles, and I think it stands up to hearty sauces better.  I simply stab it with a sharp knife a few times, and roast it in a 400 degree oven for an hour, or until a knife easily slides through the skin.  Let cool, cut open, discard seeds and shred with a fork.  Spaghetti squash with meatballs is in our regular dinner rotation, but there is often a lot of leftover squash.  This easy vegetarian dish is a perfect quick dinner or lunch, and if your kids don't go for the peanut sauce, there is plenty of cut veggies for them to eat. Peanut Sauce Spa...

We're rolling right along with our CSA share at Tangerini's Farm  and I'm happy to report nothing has gone to waste so far.  I usually misplace some bag of pickling cucumbers in the back of the refrigerator and find them again when they look really scary.  I confess that when faced with a bunch of vegetables, I often throw them in a stir fry with a peanut soy sauce and call it a day.  Today, I branched out a bit, and the result was a filling dinner salad that was refreshing in the midst of this hot and sticky weather. The dressing flavors were a bit strong for my tiny taste testers, so I simply portioned out the vegetables and some chicken before topping with sauce to make them mini plates. Thai Cabbage Salad with Chicken and Peanut Sauce recipe modified from My Kitchen Escapades Ingredients: About 4 chicken breasts, cooked (I used boneless skinless, but you could easily pick off a roaster or rotisserie chicken, or use shredded chicken cooked in the crock pot)...

Welcome new readers, I hope you like what you find!  Follow At Home With Ann on Facebook for even more photos and kitchen adventures. In the wonderful world of toddlerhood, you can be cruising along and then suddenly your three year old announces that everything you cook smells gross.  This does wonders for your confidence, and is only improved when he requests that flowers on the table be placed in front of him so he can't smell whatever you're eating.  Baked goods rarely disappoint, however, and this one has the benefit of being quick, easy, healthy and delicious.  We've been eating them for afternoon snack treats, but in a pinch I'd have a few for breakfast. Mix this up to suit your tastes and dietary needs.  Gluten free oats can be subbed for old fashioned, sunflower seed butter for peanut, or dried fruit for the chocolate. No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls recipe from Gimme Some Oven   Ingredients: 1 cup dry old fashioned oats 2/3 cup c...

Thank you so much for all your sweet comments and notes from my last post.  It really does help to know Sarah has so many people in her corner! These cookies are so healthy, you can eat them for breakfast.  Plus, they only have four ingredients and come together in less than five minutes, so you could even bake them in the morning.  I made them with the help of my trusty kitchen assistant one very cold morning last week who ate handfuls of batter straight from the bowl.  By lunchtime we had nearly finished off the batch, but it's ok, because they are good for you! Peanut Butter and Jelly Oatmeal Cookies recipe from Skinnytaste 2 ripe bananas, mashed 1 cup uncooked oats 2 Tablespoons peanut butter ~1 Tablespoon jam Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet, either  by spraying or lining with a baking mat or parchment paper. Mix banana, oats and peanut butter together. Drop heaping tablespoons (I like my little cookie scoop for this) onto ...

Kicking off Monday morning with cookies.  And not just any cookies, these old school cookies that have been gracing bake sales and parties forever.  There are times when I want to make fancy, multi-step, gourmet cookies, and there are times when 20 minutes and 1/2 a cup of peanut butter are all I can muster.  Perhaps since it's Christmas week you are attempting to keep things healthy in anticipation for the weekend.  If so, I apologize and promise that we'll be eating lentils later in the week.  Or, if you are like me and are 39 weeks pregnant (or just like cookies), you have declared this your final hurrah and are enjoying every last bite.  Reese's Peanut Butter Cookies recipe from Hershey's Ingredients: 1 package mini peanut butter cups 1/2 cup butter, room temperature 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup peanut butter 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon...

Normally, if I want to dip apples, you will find me with my hand in the peanut butter jar.  Literally.  The jars of peanut butter I get at BJ's are about the size of my head.  I saw the idea for this recipe in an ancient magazine in the waiting room at the mechanic's this week, and thought it sounded easy enough to try.  It was delicious, and would be a great dip to offer with not just fruit, but graham crackers, cookies, and maybe even carrots and celery.  The measurements don't matter much here.  I pretty much just used equal parts yogurt and peanut butter, with a little honey and cinnamon. Peanut Butter Yogurt Fruit Dip 2 Tablespoons plain or vanilla yogurt 2 Tablespoons peanut butter 1 teaspoon honey 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon Combine all ingredients and stir well.  Serve immediately or keep refrigerated.

Jon will frequently request food by lamenting out loud that I never make him __________ (fill in the blank with tacos, swedish meatballs, muffins, banana bread, cookies, pie, etc.).  In the case of peanut butter cookies, he was right.  I'm not sure I've ever made them, and given that peanut butter has been a major food group for me during the last 6 months, I can't imagine why.  There is no shortage of recipes out there and between my own cookbooks and the internet, I pieced together what I consider to be a pretty good one. Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies Ingredients: 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter (I used Skippy Natural, it worked well) 1 cup white sugar 1 cup brown sugar 2 eggs 2 1/2-3 cups flour (I used three and had a little extra flour in the bottom of my mixer) 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda In a mixer, or a bowl using a hand mixer, cream together butter, peanut but...

Green smoothies (or Green Monster s) are very trendy.  It's just adding spinach or kale to traditional smoothies to make a vitamin packed, super healthy drink.  In my experience, baby spinach is the best green to work with because it has a mild flavor and blends well.  You don't actually want to feel like you're drinking spinach.  I used peanut butter and banana in this recipe because they are both strong flavors, and that's really all you taste when you drink it.  Also, you get the nutrients from the banana and healthy, filling protein and fat from the peanut butter. Ingredients are simple enough, just banana, peanut butter, milk, spinach, and ice cubes. To start, I put a very ripe banana and a couple tablespoons of peanut butter in the blender along with a few handfuls of baby spinach leaves. Then I added about a cup of milk and blended well until completely combined and bright green!  Finally, I added in a handful of ice cubes and ran the blender ...