Pho Down Friday

!!!!!

The rest of the week isn’t soooo bad…but there’s just something about Fridays, right?? Ms. White seems to think so. And they’re followed by two whole days of WEEKEND :D.

You may have noticed that I changed things up a bit theme-wise. I have this thing where I get bored really quickly. I’m always moving things around at home, my desk at work, wherever I can, really. When I was a kid, I’d decide to turn my room upside-down and completely reorganize it from top to bottom. I’m talking drag my 4-poster iron bed from one end of my room to the other, take every single teeny bopper magazine picture down and tape them up in new spots…seriously, not one thing would stay in it’s original spot. I totally get it from my mom. Every time I go to their house, everything is moved around.

Anyway, that explains the one of many theme changes you’ll notice on here. Obsessive-compulsive-change-things-up-disorder.

I also cannot stand clutter and am getting seriously pumped for spring cleaning, FYI.

All I want to eat these days is pho noodle soup. I’d have it for lunch and dinner everyday if I could, which is funny coming from someone who just rambled on about always changing things. But it’s SO good, especially during the cold, rainy January we’ve been having. We go to a little pho restaurant by our house once every week or two (it’s the BEST), but yesterday I decided to get adventurous and make my own. I don’t eat red meat and didn’t have any chicken on hand, so I made a veggie version and just added sausage to Duncan’s, because he doesn’t understand the concept of eating a meal without meat.

I used this recipe from Oh My Veggies, but omitted the mushrooms because I just loathe them. There’s not much I won’t eat, but of those few things, mushrooms are definitely at the top of the list.

I didn’t snap any pics, because I just didn’t think to, so I’ll just borrow a few from OMV to make your mouth water.

Mine basically looked the same, minus the you-know-whats of course. And it was really good! I was pleasantly surprised, especially because I used straight-from-the-carton broth instead of homemade stuff. Even Duncan who is annoyingly picky and critical was impressed. And he’s used to the authentic stuff that his mom makes so that’s saying a lot.

30 Minute Vegetarian Pho (copied & pasted from Oh My Veggies)

Ingredients

• 64 ounces homemade or low-sodium vegetable broth
• 6 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• Salt to taste
• 1 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, tough stems removed
• 1 1/2 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 14 ounces rice noodles, cooked according to package instructions
• 8 ounces bean sprouts
• 2 jalapeño peppers, thinly sliced
• Fresh cilantro, basil, lime wedges, hoisin sauce, and chili garlic sauce or sriracha for serving

Instructions

1. In a large pot, combine the vegetable broth, green onion, grated ginger, and salt. Bring to a full boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. While the broth is cooking, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté for about 6 minutes, or until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the hoisin and sesame oil and cook until the sauce thickens and coats the mushrooms, about 1 minute more. Remove from heat.
3. Divide the rice noodles between four to six large bowls, then fill each bowl with the ginger broth. Add bean sprouts, sliced jalapeños, shiitake mushrooms, fresh basil, and cilantro and serve with lime wedges, hoisin, and chili garlic sauce.

I left in all the mushroom talk in case you don’t despise them as much as I do ;).

Alrighty, time to put my Friday party pants on. But first:

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!!

How I Tricked My Toddler Into Eating Brussel Sprouts

Before anything else, I’d like to take a minute to address the horrific events that took place in Paris on Friday. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those that have been affected. It’s impossible to even try to understand how mankind can perform such unspeakable acts on one another. I truly hope that those who are broken and suffering during this time can find comfort in the arms of others. Pray For Paris, Pray For Peace.

* * * * *

I did it again. I deceivingly snuck veggies into Ryland’s dinner. How, you ask? In the form of Brussel Sprouts Grilled Cheese Sandwiches! We looove grilled cheese around here (who doesn’t?!) so it just made sense. I mean you can sneak just about anything into them. Little green bits were visible, but Ryland chowed down anyway. I also put a few whole Brussel sprouts on his tray which he sort of nibbled and poked at, but he didn’t toss them across the kitchen which is a win in my books. Hopefully he’ll take after his mama and decide that he loves them one of these days. Seriously, I. LOVE. BRUSSEL. SPROUTS. Weird, right? Anyway, it was a super quick and basic dinner, but they were good enough that I feel like I should share the recipe with you. Oh, and the healthy factor doesn’t stop at the added greens! Instead of smothering the bread with butter, I used cold-pressed coconut oil. Another win. The butter was not missed.

Brussel Sprouts Grilled Cheese Sandwiches ~ 2 sandwiches

Ingredients

• 4 slices bread of your choice
• cold-pressed coconut oil
• garlic powder
• slices of cheese of your choice ~ enough to fill sandwich
• 6 cooked Brussel Sprouts chopped into very small bits

Directions

1. Spread coconut oil on all four slices of bread and sprinkled with garlic powder.
2. Sprinkle chopped Brussel sprouts on bottom pieces of bread and cover with cheese slices and top pieces of bread.
3. Grill your sandwich!*

*Use whichever method you prefer for the last step. I usually alternate between a frying pan and sandwich maker but this time around, I used our Hamilton Beach grill. So you might even call it a panini :).

I steamed quite a few Brussel sprouts and decided to grill the rest along with the sandwiches. I tossed them in coconut oil and garlic powder and popped everything onto the grill at the same time. If you do decide to use a grill, I set mine at 375 and let everything cook for about 5 minutes. The results were cheesy, garlic-y, and deee-licious! I don’t use our grill often…honestly because it’s kind of a pain in the butt to clean, but it always makes the perfect sandwich…or panini…whatever. And I love the lines that get grilled into everything! It’s like bbq-ing for cheaters :D.

I also made a batch of my Blueberry Banana Oat Mini Muffins. They make the perfect addition to Ryland’s lunchbox for daycare and I snack on them here and there as well. With a little (LOT) of peanut butter…you know, just for the added protein ;).

We had our mini photo shoot yesterday and I can’t wait to see the pictures! I’ll be sure to share a few when I get them.

The usual Monday things are calling my name so off I go. Have a great day!

Cheesy Black Bean & Brown Rice Mini Muffins

I walked by a department store here in Downtown, Vancouver yesterday, and the Christmas decorations were already up! I mean, it shouldn’t be a surprise, but it always throws me off a little. Especially since we haven’t even gotten past Halloween yet. And then it makes me panic about Christmas shopping, which I always leave until the last minute. But honestly, I feel like I’m a much more efficient shopper that way. I was like this in college, writing all my big papers the night before they were due. It’s like I had writers block until the absolute last second, and then the words would just start flowing. Procrastination isn’t such a bad thing, is it??

Anyway, on my continuous journey to come up with healthy meals that my kid will eat and not throw across the room, I mixed a bunch of stuff together and came up with these guys:

I call them Cheesy Black Bean & Brown Rice Mini Muffins. Long name, but gets the point across. And seriously, they’re really good. And healthy! Fiber, protein, nutrients-a-plenty. We had some for dinner (I obviously doused mine in Frank’s Red Hot Sauce), I put some in Ryland’s lunchbox for daycare, and I froze the rest for future daycare lunches. When I first put one on Ryland’s tray, he got the usual look of absolute disgust on his face which happens whenever he sees something he’s not sure about. He poked at it a little and I could tell he was very conflicted. He really didn’t want the black beans, but he definitely wanted the cheesy goodness. Since they were in muffin form, it would be much harder to get around this little dilemma. He finally took a bite, and I guess the cheese did the trick because he finished the whole thing plus 3 more! Victory!! I think I’ll be making these A LOT.

Cheesy Black Bean & Brown Rice Mini Muffins

(makes about 24 mini muffins)

Ingredients
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• ½ cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 egg
• ½ cup mixed frozen veggies (I used a mix of peas, carrots and corn)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tbsp garlic powder

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 24 cup mini muffin tray (you can also make 12 regular sized muffins if you like)
2. Run frozen veggies under cold water for a few minutes until defrosted
3. Crack egg into a small bowl and whisk
4. Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix well
5. Drop spoonful’s into muffin tray until each cup is full, press down gently so that they bake in the shape of a muffin
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes on middle rack
7. Let cool for about 10 minutes before removing from tray
8. Serve!

Maybe next time I’ll swap the peas, carrots and corn for some broccoli or zucchini. I’d have to be pretty sneaky though…if my little dude sees broccoli, even the cheesiness might not be enough to persuade him. He did have to make some calls though to let everyone know how yummy they were ;).

Have a wonderful Wednesday!