And It's Goooooooood!!

    It is Super Bowl Sunday! Pre-game stuff starts at 2 pm and kickoff isn't until 6:30 tonight. Alright, baby goes down for her morning nap and the work commences. -- I don't think 'work' is a good term. I love being in the kitchen and was happy to be there Saturday and Sunday. But until I can think up a better fitting word, 'work' will have to do.
    I actually went to bed after midnight last night because I was working on the piggie cookies. First order of business was to finish them up because I knew it wouldn't take long at all. This would definitely be the quickest thing I did all day. :)


    First thing to share are my cookie designs. 

The Green Bay Packers Piggie Player

The Pittsburgh Steelers Piggie Player

    How did they turn out? Did they look even close to what I had intended? Let's find out!


First up, the Green Bay Piggie!

Facing off against the Packers Piggie, is the Pittsburgh Steelers Piggie! 

    I realize that these are not perfect and there are some major technical flaws, but c'mon! This is the most time I've ever spent decorating so many cookies. And they really are cute! :)


    Alright, desserts? Touchdown!
    The next drive is going for the pierogies. Hut-Hut-Hike!

    I was excited to hear an offer of help come from the living room. I enthusiastically accepted.

Go Team!

    I pulled out all of the prepped ingredients, plus everything else we needed. The hubby and I made an assembly line for the pierogies. I worked the dough and cut out circles (using a small drinking glass) and Nate was in charge of stuffing and boiling. Once I finished cutting out all the circles, Nate started sauteeing the pierogies in batches in a pan with chopped onions and butter while I finished stuffing and boiling. (We really do make a good team.) 

Once all the pierogies had been sauteed and plated, we needed a dip. We took some Greek yogurt, stirred in the sauteed onions from the pan, and some garlic & onion powders. Then that went into the fridge to give it a chance for the flavors to develop a little more.

    
    Pierogies? Another touchdown!
    
    The final drive of the game is going for the brats in blankets.
    
    Rolled out and cut up the crescent rolls. One batch had mustard and one did not--at Nate's request. The cut up brats and cheese got wrapped up together and placed on a pan then tossed into the oven.

    The cheese kinda oozed out, but that's how you know there is plenty--when there is too much to be contained. :)


    Talk about a game-winning lineup!

 All together now!

Saturday Part2

    On Saturday, I went ahead and did some prep work to lessen what I had to do on Sunday before we left. First thing I wanted to do was get the dough made for the pierogies since those needed some time in the fridge. Once I got that done, I I got to work on the filling. I decided to go traditional since this is my first time ever making these. :) 

    I just had to take a picture of these pretty onions. I was so proud of myself chopping them all nice and small...they just looked so pretty! :)

    Alright, let's pull ourselves away from this prettiness and pay attention to the potatoes. Once they were finished boiling, it was time to mash 'em up. They got mashed with the sauteed onions, 8 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese, chopped fresh Italian parsley, salt, and pepper. 

Time to let the Potato, Onion and Cheese filling cool.


Let's move on to the Wisconsin dish.


I pulled the brats out of the fridge. I actually bought two packs of the Beer Brats and decided to just slice up both of them. I sliced them in half length-wise and then in half again lengthwise. From there I cut them into thirds. This way, they closely resemble the Lil' Smokies usually used in my Pigs in a Blanket.

    After cutting up the brats, I cut up the Wisconsin Aged Cheddar Cheese so it, too, would be ready for tomorrow. I shredded up some Hot Pepper cheese (cheese with jalapenos) with the intent of making a second batch of pierogi filling but ended up scratching that--ran out of time. :)
    Here is the lineup as it heads into the fridge.

Bring it on!!!

Super Food Friday: Greek Yogurt

   It's Friday again! I'm very glad for the end of another week. It's week 3 of the series Super Foods for Kids. This week is Greek yogurt. 
   Why is the Greek Yogurt a super food? Let's find out.

• Compared to regular yogurt, Greek yogurt has almost double the amount of protein. 
• Greek yogurt is also lower in carbs.
• Watching your kid's sodium intake? Greek yogurt is good for that too. It is lower in sodium than the regular yogurt. 
• Greek yogurt contains the healthy bacteria that is known to boost immunity and aid in digestions.
• Greek yogurt also has less sugar than other yogurts.

  Of course it is pretty easy to get kids to eat yogurts for snacks or as part of breakfast or lunch. However, I've grown increasingly concerned about the level of added sugars to the kids' yogurts. A nice plain greek yogurt with dried or fresh fruit, nut, or granola add-ins could help that. Also it could be thrown into a smoothie to up the nutritional value.
   When I sat down at the beginning of the week, I wanted to give more than just snack ideas. So I made it my dinner challenge this week to incorporate Greek Yogurt into the main dish.


   Spaghetti 
I love pasta and would eat it everyday if it weren't for needing to give my girls a variety of foods. This week I did want to make spaghetti...but I've been working to get a nice tomato cream sauce. I made combination of whole wheat spaghetti and regular spaghetti pasta and cooked according to package directions. While the pasta was cooking, I made up the sauce. One can tomato sauce, one small can Italian-style tomato paste, and 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt. I cooked that over medium-low heat and added some more spices to taste. Once the pasta was done cooking and drained, I returned it to the pot. Pour the sauce over the pasta and stir it up to fully coat the pasta. Cover and let sit over low heat for a few minutes. Serve with Parmesan cheese sprinkled over it. Yumm!

    Alfredo Sauce
The hubby loves my alfredo sauce and has been asking for it for a while now. Why not try to incorporate the Greek Yogurt? First things first, the pasta. I didn't have any fettuccine on hand, so I cooked up some ziti pasta according to package directions. Then, I heated 4 Tablespoons of butter in a pan to melt it down. Then added in about 2 cups of half & half creamer. Whisk to combine. Whisk in 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and garlic powder, onion powder, and basil to taste. Turn heat up to about medium/medium-high and once it starts boiling, whisk continuously for about 5 minutes. Take off the heat and stir in about 1 cup of Parmesan cheese and 1 cup of the Greek Yogurt. Once the pasta is finished cooking, has been drained and returned to the pot, pour the sauce over it. Stir to evenly coat the pasta. Serve with a nice sprinkle of some more Parmesan cheese over top!

     Lunch
  So those are both dinner choices. What about lunch for the kiddos? Every now and again, my daughter asks for the box macaroni and cheese. Since it's not everyday, I oblige when I can. So for lunch Thursday, that's what I made for the girls. I stirred in about 3/4 cup of Greek Yogurt with it. It was so good, I even ate it! 

  What have we learned? Basically that Greek Yogurt can replace sour cream in a lot of instances. What is even nicer, is that the yogurt has it's own flavor which adds an extra layer to whatever it is being added to. Kids hungry before dinner? Make an Avocado Greek Yogurt dip, with some basil, onion and garlic powder, for some raw carrots, broccoli, celery, cucumbers, or whatever fresh veggies you have on hand. Definitely a healthy appetizer for the kids.

  Just experiment to find what works for you! This is a very versatile ingredient that can be used in an array of dishes; from breakfast to dessert and everything in between!

Sources:

Parenting.com

HealthMad.com

LiveStrong.com