I have a new food obsession lately. Not only is it super easy to make and fabulously easy on the eyes, it is also very versatile. What is it?

Well, on the very off chance that you didn’t deduce what this colorful food is from the title of my post, I’ll just tell you. It’s beet puree! Isn’t it fun to look at? “But, MckMama. Why on earth would I want to whip up such a concoction?” I’m so very glad you asked. And I’ll tell you in a minute. But first, here is how you can make beet puree:

Beet puree

Boil two peeled beets until soft.

Hunk the beets up before you boil them if they are large. If not, hunk them after you boil them.

In a food processor or blender, puree the beets in one cup of the water you boiled the beets in.

Blend until it looks like this:

Ain’t it pretty?

Yeah, I think so, too. And I’ve been really bored lately. You know, not juggling like ten bazillion balls or anything. So in my off time, when I’m lacking for things to keep me busy, I’ve been trying out a handful of things to with beet puree. Here are a few things you can try!

Beet Rice

Soak white rice. Use one part rice, one part water and one part beet puree.

Soak for at least an hour, then cook the rice as normal.

I added cooked chicken hunks (Yes, I like saying hunks instead of chunks.), broccoli and butter to my beet rice. We ate it as a complete meal and then as leftovers a different day. It was really good, and our MSC definitely loved it! It could even be a Valentine’s Day activity and meal for you and your children (not to mention a science project for homeschoolers), as the rice ends up pink!

Beet Soup

For this yummy, cold soup, you’ll need:

6 beets, boiled and pureed with 3 cups of the beet water

3 small apples, cored

1 cup chicken stock (I used the juices from the chicken breasts I cooked in a bit of water overnight in our crockpot.)

1/2 cup finely cut white onion

1 large cucumber, peeled and cored

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

butter

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

2 cups sour cream

pepper to taste

To make:

In a pan, cook the onion and celery in butter until browned.

Add the chicken stock and ginger and bring to a boil.

Chop cucumber and apples in a blender or food processor until blended to a chunky (hunky!) mixture.

Mix the blended cucumber and apples with the beet puree. Combine.

Add the sour cream to the above mixture and stir together well.

Add the chicken stock, onion and celery to the beet, apple, cucumber and sour cream mixture.

Pepper to taste.

Chill. Serve cold. Enjoy!

After you and your family have enjoyed beet rice, have sipped beet soup and are almost beeted out, there is still something else you can do with beet puree. If, and only if, you are willing to really go out on a MckLimb, go ahead and give this a try:

Beet Hair Dye

Soak your hair (Or, ahem, your son’s!) in beet juice. (Start with dry hair.)

Or “shampoo” your hair with beet puree.

Cover your hair with a shower cap (or old towel) while you let the puree soak into your hair.

Rinse hair well.

Repeat until a red tint is achieved.

This is a subtle, totally temporary, not toxic, fun way to add some zest to your hair!

So, there you have it. My new obsession. Join me, why don’t you? Yes, my friends, I want to encourage you to beet it. Just beet it!

The other day, our MSC and I returned home from an afternoon of something (probably stressing and sweating our way through Target or wandering through a pumpkin patch or something like that) to the delightful surprise that dinner was ready and waiting!

My husband had made MckTacos (Man, as annoying as the “Mck” thing sometimes is, it’s also so great as it alleviates the pressure on me to come up with cutesy, creative nicknames for stuff on my MckBlog.).

They were (according to my husband) very easy to make. And the MckTacos were (according to us all) a huge taste sensation. Here’s how you can make your own:

Gather the following ingredients:

corn tortillas

ground beef, browned

olive oil

fresh jalapeno and greek peppers (ours are from our straw bales), diced

avocado, cut into hunks

shredded cheese

onion, diced

green bell pepper, diced

cherry tomatoes (from our straw bales, also), quartered

spinach

salsa

To make the MckTacos:

lay the tortillas onto a hot griddle that you’ve drizzled with olive oil

sprinkle cheese on top while tortillas are still on the griddle

once the cheese is melted, put the tortillas on plates

scoop some (unseasoned) browned, ground beef onto the tortillas

serve immediately, topped with all of the fresh toppings

Enjoy! We sure did.

My pesto recipe is so easy, it almost makes itself! Trust me. I know. I created the recipe using a hybrid of a few others and made the pesto myself. And we all know what kind of a cook I, ahem, am.

You’ll need:

a whole bunch of fresh basil leaves (about 3 cups)

1 cup olive oil (I used rosemary infused)

5 cloves of garlic

a handful of toasted almonds (optional)

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

salt to taste

To make:

Wash a whole bunch of basil (from your straw bale garden, or elsewhere).

Put about 3 cups of it, and all of the other ingredients, into a food processor. Yes, I know I used my blender, but I shouldn’t have. Don’t follow in my footsteps. Use your food processor. It will be easier!

Process into a coarse paste.

And then what do you do with it? Freeze it into portions using breastmilk storage bags. (Seriously! That’s what I did; call me crazy if you want.) Use my friend Alyssa’s idea and use it in place of tomato sauce with some olives and artichoke hearts to make a pesto version of this yummy, easy stromboli) Or make a pasta dish like I did for small group at our house tonight.

I boiled a box of pasta shells, drained them and tossed them with butter. I diced up some grilled chicken breast and then mixed the whole thing with about a half cup of the pesto I made.

Nuggey had five bowls of it and Stellan had three, if that tells you anything.

Presto! Pesto that almost makes itself and is devoured by children. Success.

UPDATE:

Well, it’s not much of a recipe, per se, but I’m happy to share! I also thought it was so interesting that many of you mentioned eating Chinese food for lunch today. Oh, and my dinner tonight was not so healthy: I had a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios with whole milk.

So, the salad I made was a mixture of:

1 cup cooked wild rice

1 can of corn

1 can of garbanzo beans

1 can of kidney beans

walnuts

currants

cilantro

3-4 Tablespoons sugar

raspberry vinaigrette

the mandarin oranges are not something I normally like, but I added them at the last minute and they made the whole thing so yummy!

ORIGINAL POST:

This is what I made myself for lunch. Yum, yum, yum!

What’s in your bowl today?

It struck me (thankfully, not literally) the other day that it has been ages since I’ve posted an I hate to cook post! If you liked those and have been missing them, then forgive me! Please! (And if you didn’t like them to begin with, then shield your eyes now!)

I still hate to cook (in a traditional sense), but I’m still of course always making food for my family of six. And I’m almost as much into nutrition and woodland creature food as I’ve ever been (said as I hold a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos as they are on the short list of things I can keep down while pregnant). I say almost because as I mature (Ha, ha, ha! I wish!), I am slowly realizing that I am not in control.

I am not in control of my husband, my marriage, my children’s lives, their ultimate eating habits, etc.

Of course, I am a part of the equation, no doubt. A big part. Especially in our children’s lives. The foundation we form for them now is of utmost importance. But I’m just not quite so high strung about healthy food as I used to be. I try to model good eating the best I can, but I pretty often fail at that. And I still offer insanely healthy food options to our children. I still believe very strongly in nutrition and health and boy oh boy can I not wait until this “morning” sickness passes and I can go back to eating my favorite woodland creature breakfasts!

I’ve just stepped off my high nutritional horse a little. And back into reality. And the reality remains that I love to make healthy stuff for our family!

Well, this recipe idea I’m going to share with you isn’t exactly excessively healthy or woodland creaturish, but I’m going to share it with you anyway, because it is one of our MSC’s (and my husband’s!) favorite lunches.

Pizza Pockets

You’ll need:

premade pie crust

spaghetti sauce

fresh mozzarella cheese

pepperoni

egg white

To make:

Preheat your oven to 350.

Spread some pie crusts out. Use a platter or cookie sheet or cutting board if you want. I just use my countertops. I’m lazy. Oh, and if you want to photograph the pizza pockets, do me a favor and do it during a time of day when there is better light than when I did mine. Blech!

Use a pizza cutter to divide the crusts into six parts each.

Spread a little spaghetti sauce on each piece.

Put a hunk of fresh mozzarella cheese on half of the pieces.

Put some pepperoni on the other halves.

Lay the halves on top of each other.

Fold over the edges to make little pockets. Vent the tops with a knife. Coat each with a little bit of egg white.

Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown.

Enjoy,

enjoy,

enjoy!

The end.

When I was flying to New Jersey recently, I picked up a copy of People Magazine that was in the airplane. Imagine my thrill when I read in this week’s copy about a famous chef who “doesn’t use measurements” in his recipes. He has a cookbook and even a restaurant, I think.

I felt downright affirmed.

Today, when I was tossing together my lunch, I couldn’t help but think of that chef again. And how our anti recipe styles are so similar. Take, for instance, my “recipe” for southwest chicken salad with basil. I made it today on the spur of the moment with no measurements because I usually dislike formal recipes. It was delish!

Southwest Chicken Salad with Basil

a bunch of shredded chicken, left over from your husband’s Labor Day grill fest

the corn off two corn on the cobs, also left over from said grill fest

1 can of Ro-Tel with cilantro and lime

1 can of black beans

the juice of 1/2 lime

salt

lots of torn, fresh basil

1/4 cup sour cream, plus an extra dollop

Mix all ingredients together, except the dollop of sour cream. Chill. Serve with more torn basil and the sour cream dollop on top. Giggle at the repeated use of the word dollop. Fight your children or significant other off, because they will want some and you will not want to share.

Enjoy!

Naturally, cooking has been kept to a minimum at our new home since our recent move. We’ve been mostly eating peanut butter and jelly and cereal. But alas, that has gotten old, so upon returning home from New Jersey, I decided to crack open the kitchen boxes and get our eating in order.

What better day to try out some new flavors than Labor Day. Enjoy your day off, if you indeed get one, and if you want to venture into the kitchen, why not try this delicious meal:

Stromboli

I made this just the other day, but I cannot take credit for the recipe. It comes from my friend Nicole. It’s simple and easy and our whole family loved it!

You’ll need:

1 loaf of frozen white bread dough

1 package small pepperoni slices

1 package (2 cups) shredded cheese

oregano, marjoram, garlic, basil, etc.

1 can spaghetti sauce

To make:

Thaw the bread loaf in the fridge for 24 hours. Take bread out and let rest on countertop for 1/2 hour or so. Spray countertop with cooking spray. Pull bread apart (try not to get holes in it) into a 9 X 13 rectangle (or so).

Sprinkle with spices everywhere. Layer cheese and pepperoni into rows. Roll bread up, place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Slice and serve with warmed up spaghetti sauce.

Yum! It was so good.

You might also remember that in this post, I asked you to share your recipe ideas with me. What a bountiful harvest flowed in. Here are a few that jumped out to me. I just may be making these soon as well! Enjoy.

Courgette Crumble, by Mrs. Redboots

You’ll need (per person):

1/4 cup rice

1 egg

1 T grated cheese

1 slice wholemeal bread made into breadcrumbs

1/2 small zucchini, sliced very thinly

salt and pepper

To make:

Cook the rice. Stir in the egg, the zucchini slices and half the cheese. Season to taste. Transfer to oven-proof dish, top with breadcrumbs mixed with the rest of the cheese. Cook in moderate oven for about 30 minutes.

Serve with tomato salsa.

Watermelon Salsa, by Kara87

You’ll need:

2 cups watermelon, diced

2 scallions, diced

1 yellow pepper, diced

1/3 cup lime juice

cilantro to taste

hot sauce to taste

Capellini Caprese, by sweetandpetite92

You’ll need:

1/2 lb. capellini or spaghetti, uncooked

1/2 cup Italian Dressing and Marinade

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups halved grape or cherry tomatoes

1 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1/3 cup fresh basil, finely sliced

To make:

Cook pasta as directed on package. Meanwhile, heat dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes. Cook for 5 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Drain pasta. Add to tomato mixture. Mix lightly. Sprinkle with cheese and basil.

Baked Apples, by Cali M. Eddy

You’ll need:

1 apple

jam

granola

To make:

Peel the top third of the apple, core down leaving 1/4″ at the bottom and cook in a dish with 1/2 ” water on high for 12 minutes in the microwave. Fill with jam and granola (or similar) cereal. Rewarm if you wish.

Honey Granola Crunch, by Jennifer Spears

You’ll need:

4 cups old fashioned oats

2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans

1 cup golden raisins

Cook and bring to a boil for just one minute the following:

3/4 cup honey

1/2 cup butter

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

dash of salt

To make:

Mix everything together. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, stirring and flattening every 5 minutes. Cool and enjoy!

And now that my mouth is watering, excuse me as I make a trip to our kitchen.

Happy Labor Day!