at home with ann

For the past few weeks, I've been doing the 21 Day Fix .  Let me tell you, those workouts are no joke, and they work. Along with the workouts is a clean eating plan. I personally found the portion controlling to be a little restrictive (I'm going to eat as many fruits and vegetables as I want), but I liked that it was a reminder to eat clean and avoid processed food.  I always love the opportunity to try new recipes, and everything we've been eating lately is going into our regular rotation.  I put together a little round-up of some of my favorites, because I assure you that my easy variation on tuna nicoise is far better than cold grilled cheese crusts for lunch. Breakfast Veggie Scramble - This has become one of my favorite dishes. I cook zucchini, kale, and tomatoes in olive oil. Mix with a scrambled egg and top with pesto. Avocado Toast - So simple, so filling, and so good.  A slice of Ezekial or other sprouted bread, topped with mashed avocado, an egg...

A few weeks ago we went into Boston for the day. After chasing little people up, down, and around the Children's Museum, watching Colin climb up three stories on a jungle gym and James' excitement at a room filled with golf balls, we went to Flour Bakery for lunch.  I had the Roasted Sweet Potato sandwich, and it was amazing. I just checked the menu , and it looks like they don't offer it right now, but lucky for you I made a salad that's just as good.  The original sandwich was roasted sweet potato, apple, walnut pesto, blue cheese and kale on wheat bread.  I took some liberties, changed up some ingredients, and made it into a salad. Roasted Sweet Potato Salad Romaine and Kale, shredded Olive oil Sweet potato rounds, roasted Apple, sliced Avocado Roasted tomatoes Goat cheese Balsamic Vinegar Drizzle kale and romaine with olive oil Sweet potatoes - coat slices or cubes with olive oil and roast at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. Tomatoes - toss with olive o...

This version of Sloppy Joes is lightened up with ground turkey, and packs a bunch of vegetables into the mix.  My brother-in-law, who might be my most loyal reader, lived with us a few years ago, and probably remembers the Sloppy Jane. It used lentils instead of meat and was even healthier than this version.  After the lentil taco incident, which some of you may recall, I've stayed away from those particular legumes for the time being. Turkey Sloppy Joes Ingredients: 1 lb. ground turkey 1 zucchini, shredded 1-2 carrots, shredded 1 onion, shredded or chopped 1 garlic clove, shredded or chopped Olive oil Salt and pepper 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 8 oz. tomato sauce 1/4-1/2 cup barbecue sauce Rolls, for serving In a medium saucepan, saute zucchini, carrots, onion and garlic until soft. I shredded everything in the food processor, but you could also use a box grater or just chop finely. When vegetables are cooked through, move them to the side of the pan and...

It's been pointed out to me by more than one person that I haven't been posting much lately.  I'm here to remedy that with an easy and healthy meal your whole family will enjoy, as long as you don't have a finicky 4-year-old. Truth be told, instead of writing down recipes and photographing meals, life is moving pretty quickly around here.  Many afternoons I make dinner in 5 minute increments running into the kitchen while I leave Colin "in charge" outside in the back yard. Someday this will likely result in James running Colin over with the mini John Deere (again...), or someone getting stuck in a tree. If you follow me on Facebook (please do! I share mini-recipes and awkward comments - link is on the sidebar), you know I have a serious addiction to my spiralizer.  There are zucchini noodles all over the place here.  Today, I set my beloved kitchen gadget aside for a y-shaped peeler to make these noodles.  This has all the cheesy, saucy goodness of your fa...

This has quickly become one of my new favorite meals.  Quick, easy, healthy, and the kids (usually) enjoy it, too.  That's pretty much all I ask for these days.  It's also great because you can stock all the ingredients in your pantry/freezer to have at the ready.  Long gone are the evenings of leisurely stirring risotto for forty minutes while sipping on a few glasses of wine.  Yesterday I put all the ingredients in the crock pot after lunch and dinner was ready to go at our early bird time of 5pm when we came in from playing a highly competitive game of outdoors Chutes and Ladders.  If you're wondering what that is, it's basically Colin directing me around the yard to most of the "chutes" and him winning the game.  The champion always seems to win ice cream. White Chicken Chili 1 lb. chicken breasts (fresh or frozen) 2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed 1 8 oz. jar salsa verde (I like the Trader Joe's brand) 2 teaspoons cumin 2-4 cups chic...

This was such an easy dinner, perfect for weeknights.  I turned on the oven at 4 and we were ready to eat at 5.  The early bird special works for the kids, otherwise they are demolishing snacks and getting sleepy at the table later.  Last weekend Jon and I went out to dinner for the first time in, oh, 8 months. We put the kids to bed first so we didn't eat until 9.  I was demolishing snacks and getting sleepy at the table, because apparently I'm 4.  Or 94. I made my own pesto, because bunches of basil were half the price of tiny containers of pesto, but either works here. Pesto Baked Chicken Ingredients: 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (depending on the thickness you may want to slice them horizontally or pound them) Pesto 1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes (or use fresh) 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour diced tomatoes into the bottom of a baking dish. Arrange chicken breasts on top. Spread with pesto. Sprin...

The only regret I have about our wedding is that I didn't agree to Jon's request that instead of wedding cake we have wedding pie.  Everyone loves pie, but instead I insisted on a lovely tiered lemon cake that we had to cut immediately because it was a million degrees and the buttercream was melting.  This would not have happened with wedding pie.   Pie is surprisingly easy to make.  The longest part is rolling the crust.  Then all that's left is to fill it up with sweetened fruit, pop it in the oven, and get ready with the ice cream.  My crimping skills are rustic at best, so cutting the top crust into cute hearts was not only seasonal, it was functional.   Cherry Pie Ingredients: 1 recipe pate brisee pie crust  (from the master herself, Martha Stewart) 2 pounds cherries (I used frozen) 1/2 cup sugar 2 Tablespoons cornstarch or flour 1/2 lemon juiced Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Make pie crust recipe in advance. I p...

Friday we had our first real snowstorm of the season. About a foot of heavy, wet snow came down, taking down trees and branches all over the place.  We lost power for the day, it came back for an exciting 45 minutes, and then I woke up at 2AM with the hall light blinding me.  We've certainly seen worse.  But then, this morning, another storm.  High winds and frigid temperatures make sledding and snow ball fights impossible, so we're inside for the day.  Again.  Fortunately, it's toasty warm and we have the wonder of the internet to keep us busy when pillow piles, couch forts, knee hockey and car races stop entertaining the crew. No snow day is complete without baking, of course, so we whipped up these carrot cake cookies.  Good thing they are full of healthy ingredients, because I'm pretty sure Colin just polished off the last one. Carrot Cake Cookies Ingredients: 1 cup rolled oats 3/4 cup whole wheat flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour) 1.5 ts...

Or maybe Sweet Potato Nachos.  In any case, these were a nice little change of pace.  I know better than to pass off alternate pizza crusts to Colin.  He is neither fooled nor amused.  Zucchini, eggplant and cauliflower pizzas have all been met with disapproval.  So, for the younger set, I made sweet potato, ham, and pineapple tasting plates.  The verdict was that round sweet potatoes don't taste as good as long sweet potatoes.  Live and learn. The grownups layered roasted sweet potato rounds with barbecue sauce or tomato sauce, pineapple, ham, and mozzarella.  Popped under the broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese, and they were delicious. I'd even make them as an appetizer.  They were the perfect combination of sweet, savory, and salty.   Hawaiian Sweet Potato Pizzas sweet potato, cut into rounds and roasted  ham, diced pineapple, chopped barbecue or tomato sauce mozzarella cheese Layer all ingre...

Last week we were invited to a birthday party play date for a friend.  Not one to arrive empty handed, and always one to use any excuse to make a sweet treat, it was the perfect reason to make blondies.  These are so quick and easy, a one dish treat that comes together in no time.  They have a whole lot of butter and sugar, so best to share them with friends as opposed to eating them all yourself.  I tortured my poor, deprived children by refusing to let them eat more than the ugly corner piece beforehand, so I think Colin had 4 at the party. These are delicious as-is, with or without frosting, and amazing with the addition of chocolate chips. Blondies From Smitten Kitchen 8 Tablespoons butter (1 stick), melted 1 cup light brown sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Pinch salt 1 cup all-purpose flour Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8x8 pan by lining with parchment or buttering. Beat melted butter and brown sugar until smooth.  A...

If I'm prepared for lunch, it's ready at the precise moment when the kids realize they are absolutely starving.  It's a healthy and delicious mix of foods that they eat in their entirety and give them energy for the rest of the day. Other days, we walk in late.  They both start rummaging through the pantry for snacks while I'm trying to get lunch ready.  James is hungry and tired and clings to me like a baby monkey, so I'm trying to do everything with one hand.  Lunch is a random assortment of things I pull out of the fridge and pantry.  We're all usually back in the kitchen hungry a few hours later. Not this week, though.  This week I'm on top of things.  Nothing groundbreaking, but we're trying a few things we haven't had in a while to avoid the boredom of getting into a rut, and I'm armed with plenty of fresh fruit to round it out. Mini Pizzas Whole wheat sandwich thins Tomato Sauce Mozzarella cheese Heat under the broiler until che...

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season, and ate all the cookies.  I'm not big on New Year's resolutions, but all the treats I've been eating for the past month have been making me feel a little sluggish.  When I saw a one day "cleanse" I thought I'd give it a try.  Loosely, it called for drinking hot lemon water first thing in the morning, a Glowing Green Smoothie for breakfast, Ginger Lemon Cayenne Detox tea and vegetables for lunch and dinner. My day went like this: First thing after my run: Hot Lemon water - This is a nice way to warm up.  I do this all the time. Breakfast: Glowing Green Smoothie - I liked it a lot.  Very refreshing and hydrating.  Wished I hadn't baked donuts the night before as they were staring me down on the kitchen counter. Lunch: Spicy Mulligatawny Soup - I'm pretty sure that's not what they meant by "salad," but I went with it. Snack: Ginger Lemon Cayenne Detox tea - Zingy and invigorat...