Running Mama Cooks

These were a new addition to Christmas morning this year and they were really great! It makes a dense, cake-like waffle with great gingerbread flavor.

We also had Papa's breakfast casserole, fruit, monkey bread, coffee and mimosas.

Gingerbread Waffles
Recipe from Rachael Ray

Instructions:

3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, eyeball it
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter, plus some to butter the iron
Syrup, whipped cream or fresh fruits for topping, to pass at table

Directions:

Preheat waffle iron.

In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. In a medium bowl, beat eggs and brown sugar until fluffy, then beat in pumpkin, milk, molasses and melted butter. Stir the wet into dry until just moist. Do not overstir the waffle batter. Brush the iron with a little melted butter and cook 4 waffles, 4 sections each. Serve with toppings of choice.

Breakfast is served!

place settings

Santa came!!

I love having the chance to entertain during the holidays, especially having our great friends the Maizels and Lucianos over. This tradition started 3 years ago when the "big kids" were only 2 1/2. I cannot believe how much our families have grown! Next year there will be another place at our table since Allison is having another little girl in a little over a week!

This was the perfect excuse to take out my good china and crystal and set a beautiful table. I served baked chicken, mashed potatoes, baked acorn squash, and caramelized green beans. Everything came out great, if I do say so myself :)

Here is the acorn squash, the only new recipe I used. Really festive and delicious.
Baked Acorn Squash
Recipe from Paula Deen

Ingredients:


The Big kids, so grown up compared to last year!

Almost every year Zach and I host a small Halloween party for our friends. I love this holiday, its so much fun to dress up and decorate the house. This year we dressed up as our kids, Cecily and Finn. I love how our costumes turned out!

Here is a look at my decorations. I've collected quite a few halloween things throughout the years.

On Friday night we had our good friends the Maizel's and Luciano's over for a little BBQ. Since the Maizel's had to re-home their awesome grill due to a townhouse ordinance, and we benefited from this, we decided there was no better way to thank them then to have them over for dinner!

I made a simple Caprese Salad as an appetizer. So simple, and so pretty. I love the colors.

Caprese Salad

Ingredients:

Vine-Ripened Tomatoes
Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
Fresh Basil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Slice the tomatoes and the cheese. Arrange on a platter with fresh basil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil

For dinner I made Grilled Chicken Kabobs. The amounts below made plenty for 5 adults and 3 kids, which left overs.

Grilled Chicken Kabobs

Ingredients:

3 lbs boneless skinless chicken tenders, cut into uniform chunks
4 bell peppers (red, green or yellow)
2 onions
1 lb baby bella mushrooms
20 oz can chunk pineapple, drained
Italian Salad Dressing (I used Kraft Fat Free Zesty Italian)
Wooden Skewers

Directions:

Cut peppers and onions into large uniform chunks. Place vegetables and chicken into ziplock bags (I like to keep them separate) and marinade with Italian dressing

Soak skewers in water to help prevent burning. Arrange veggies, chicken, and pineapple on the skewers. Grill until chicken is cooked through

The Grill in Action:

We also had some shrimp on skewers that I marinated in the Italian dressing. On the side I served Roasted Potatoes, prepared using Lipton Onion Soup Mix and Olive Oil. The recipe is right on the back of the box of the soup mix, and these potatoes always come out awesome!!! We also had some bread and Allison's delicious Asian Noodle Salad, which I regrettably don't have a picture of!

The potatoes: It was a fun night! I am looking forward to many more BBQs now that the weather is nice!

Zach's Rating - ****

My baby girl turned 4 today. I cannot believe it!!! To celebrate, we had both sets of grandparents over for dinner. I decided to make a kid friendly meal that appealed to the adults as well.

Whenever we have company for dinner, I love serving something special. I feel like this meal fit the bill. I made my parmesan crusted tilapia but added a little twist. It came out great and I think it took an already tasty fish dish to another level.

The instructions are exactly the same as the link above, but the topping was a bit different. I put a handful of fresh basil, 5 sundried tomatoes, and 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts in the food processor and pulsed until finely chopped. Then I added a cup of parmesan cheese and 2 tbs of dried basil and pulsed to combine. This made enough topping for 9 tilapia filets. The flavor was amazing!!


My main side dish was Pioneer Woman's Sundried Tomato Risotto. Wow! Definitely make this if you love risotto. It was awesome

Sundried Tomato Risotto
from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

4 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
½ whole Large Yellow Onion, Diced
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
2 cups Arborio Rice, Uncooked
8 whole Sundried Tomatoes Packed In Oil, Drained And Minced
1 cup Dry White Wine (optional)
7 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth (I used low sodium vegetable broth)
Salt As Needed
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 cup Parmesan, Freshly Grated
¼ cups Heavy Whipping Cream
Fresh Basil, Chiffonade (I used dried basil)


Preparation Instructions

Heat broth (note: it’s important the broth be low sodium) in a saucepan or in a microwave safe pitcher. Set aside.

Heat butter and olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

Add dry rice. Stir to coat and cook for 3 minutes, stirring gently.

Pour in wine. Stir and cook over medium-low heat until most of the liquid is absorbed. Add in minced sundried tomatoes and stir.

Then begin adding broth, one cup at a time, stirring gently while the rice absorbs the liquid each time. Repeat this until the rice is done—it usually takes between 6 and 8 cups of broth. The rice should have a slight bite to it, but not be crunchy at all.

Remove from heat, then stir in Parmesan and heavy cream. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

I originally thought I was going to skip the heavy cream at the end, but decided what the heck, since it was a special dinner. I'm glad I went for it. And I'm really happy to have some leftovers today. Is 9am too early for risotto?

I also served roasted asparagus (425 for 15 mins with olive oil and salt) and a simple Caesar salad.

Big Thanks to Lynsey and John for coming to dinner!

Every year we have a few friends over for a casual Superbowl get together. Since we had so much fun making homemade pizza last weekend, I made a few tonight for dinner. My friend Ryan's mom sent him down with "chop meat and macaroni", one of our fav dishes that she makes. Thanks Mrs. S!

We started off with a few appetiser's of course. I made a Lighter Buffalo Chicken Dip in the crock pot from Gina's Weight Watcher's Blog. It was really delicious and I am not usually much of a blue cheese fan.

Here is the recipe:

Lighter Buffalo Chicken Dip
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes

Servings: 11 • Serving Size: 1/2 cup • Calories: 111 • Points: 2.75 ww points

•4 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened
•1 cup fat free sour cream
•1/2 cup Franks hot sauce (or whatever hot sauce you like)
•1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
•1 tsp white wine vinegar
•2 cups cooked shredded chicken*

Mix the first 5 ingredients together until smooth.
Add the chicken and put this in the crock pot on low for 3-4 hours.
Serve warm.
Makes 5 1/2 cups.

*I pouched a pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts in chicken stock and a few bay leafs for 15 minutes, then shredded


Zach put together a more indulgent dip, browning sausage and melting in velveta and rotel. YUM


For our Pizzas, I made a white pie and a meat lovers. Here I am stretching the dough. I got a few good tosses in too!

White pie (Ricotta with two minced garlic cloves, mozz, sliced vine ripened tomatos and fresh basil)

Tonight we had my parents and my in laws over for a casual dinner and we made homemade pizzas. My father worked in a pizza parlour back in the day, so he was in charge of stretching and flipping the dough. I made a big pot of homemade marinara sauce and got all the toppings ready to go.