Rice Balls

This is a new idea for me, but I love it. This post is done by a guest author, my talented sister Heidi. She wanted to make this recipe and I hadn't yet. So we figured it would be a great opportunity for her to guest-blog! Enjoy her wonderful recipe!

~ Julie

Like many moms of young children (mine are 18 months and *almost* 3) I often struggle with what to make for lunch. I find myself in the same rut: mac & cheese, pb&j, grilled cheese, and quesadillas. I like chicken nuggets (as do my kids) but after watching an episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution where he shows how chicken nuggets are made (ewwww) I can't ever do that to my children again. So I set out on a mission, to find easy but healthy food to feed my kids. Of course, the first thing I turn to is Mrs. Jerry Seinfeld's book, Deceptively Delicious. I thought the Rice Balls looked easy and wondered if I made a double batch, would they freeze well. I called my baby sister Julie and discussed the possibilities. She invited me to try it and then do a guest post on her blog. And here I am.

The recipe is as follows:

1/2 cup short grain brown rice (or 1 cup leftover cooked rice) - I have come a long way in eating whole grains and whatnot, but when it comes to rice, I will never cross over to the dark side. It was long-grain, nutrient-lacking white rice for me, which was leftover from dinner a couple of nights before.
Nonstick cooking spray
3 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 pound chicken cutlets, rinsed and dried - I made boneless skinless chicken breasts for dinner the night before and just cooked up a couple of extra then.
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup sweet potato puree
1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese - Frankly, I think reduced fat cheese is almost as much of an insult to all that is yummy as american cheese is. Yuck.
1/4 low fat buttermilk - I didn't have buttermilk so I used plain whole milk.
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup spinach or broccoli or butternut squash puree - I used butternut squash
1 1/2 cup whole wheat cracker crumbs or breadcrumbs
*Her recipe didn't call for flax seed meal, but most of her breaded recipes do so I threw in a couple of tablespoons just for good measure

Instructions:

1 - Place the rice in a small saucepan with 1 cup of water; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to very low and cook until the rice is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. You can also use your rice steamer.

2 - Meanwhile, coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add 1 tsp oil. Sprinkle the chicken with 1/4 tsp salt and the pepper, and cook until no longer pink in the center, 4 to 5 minutes per side.

3 - Cut the chicken into chunks and place them in a food processor or blender. Add the sweet potato puree, cheese, 1 tsp salt, and the buttermilk, and blend until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the cooked rice.

Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls and place them on a sheet of waxed paper or aluminum foil.

4 - In a shallow bowl, beat the egg and vegetable puree with a fork. Put the crumbs (and flax seed) in the bowl. One at a time, dip the rice balls in the egg mixture, then roll them in the crumbs to make sure it has an even coating.

**This is where I deviated from the recipe. I stuck them in the freezer on cookie sheets until they were frozen. then I put them in freezer safe bags and waited for a few days to see how they would work as a frozen food.

5 - Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil. Add the rice balls and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, turning occasionally and spraying with cooking spray until browned and crisp all over. Serve warm.

I found that they did very well going straight from freezer to pan. You just need to make sure that when you cook them, the pan isn't so hot that you burn the outside before the inside is warm.

Now, for the purposes of full disclosure, when I put this in front of the kids, my younger one dug right in. She even picked them over the strawberries. My older one, on the other hand, ate a few strawberries then took a bite of the rice balls and immediately declared them "icky". Of course, at that point, the little one heard that big brother had called them icky, so the little monkey-do had to call them icky too and now neither kid will eat them now. But I would comfortably say that your standard kid is really going to like them.

Italian Baking Powder Biscuits

This was a variation on baking powder biscuits, and wow! So amazing! You have to try these! They are seriously my new favorite.

Ingredients
1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour - I'm all out of cake flour, so I used all regular flour

1/3 cup cake flour
½ tsp garlic salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
½ cup vegetable shortening
¾ cup milk

Preheat oven to 425. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk all at once and stir just until dough forms a ball. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead 12 times. Pat or roll ½ inch thick. Cut into rounds with 2 inch cutter. Bake on greased baking sheet for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and flaky.

So good! Really. Delicious! I was extremely pleased with this change to the recipe. Definitely a keeper!

Stress Tip

So, this may be kinda silly, and mostly funny, but it really worked for me and ultimately made a veggie packed dinner!

The other day I was having a rough day with the kids and had started snacking. I didn't do bad, but got frustrated since I've been working real hard lately to lose a few pounds. So I wanted to find something to do that wasn't snacking. So I decided we were having stir fry and started chopping vegetables.

First it was carrots, then celery, bell peppers, and garlic. By that point I was so into the veggies, that I started to add canned veggies and other things we had around the house. Needless to say, the stir fry was a little heavy on the vegetable side. But it was really good for us and better that than cookies or candy, right?

Snack Tip

I love this new snack/storage tip. It works awesome! We started saving plastic and glass containers for reusing in an effort to use less plastic bags. These empty peanut butter containers are awesome. They've got a really wide mouth and are clear so you can see what's inside. This not only reminds you what you have in there, but you know when you're getting low. They're super handy. I often grab the cheese or carrot sticks when running out on a playdate so we'll have a nice snack while we're gone.

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Also known as "leftover Easter Ham".

Ingredients
6 medium potatoes - I think we only had 3, so ours might not have been as full as it calls for, and I'm pretty sure we didn't half the recipe. Although my husband started this and I finished it, so it's possible I'm just totally off base.
3 tbsp butter, separate, melted
3/4 cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 cup potato water (saved)
1 cup milk or light cream - We used whole milk, thank you Emery!
2 cups ham cooked and cubed - Thank you Easter!
4 ounces cheddar cheese

Cook potatoes, pared and sliced in boiling, salted water for 10-15 minutes or til tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Place potatoes in 9x13 baking dish. Melt 1 tbsp butter, toss with bread crumbs, paprika and thyme. Set aside. Melt 2 tbsp butter in sauce pan, then blend in flour, mustard, salt and pepper. Add reserved potato liquid and milk. Cook and stir til thickened and bubbly. Stir in ham and cheese, one cup at a time. Cook til cheese is melted. Pour sauce over potatoes. Sprinkle with crumbs. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

We did the potatoes the night before, then I pre-chopped everything that afternoon. It was really easy to put together an hour before dinner.

Flaxseed Tip

I know I've mentioned a bit before how flaxseed is an easy addition to punch up the health of your meal. In last month's Reader's Digest, there was an article all about the great benefits of flaxseed and they had some suggestions for using it. I used one, and it was so easy. I thought I'd share it with you as well some reminders of nice and simple ways to add flaxseed in your meals and snacks.

Sprinkle it on your peanut butter when making a pb&j. I put mine together and then remembered to take a picture, so it's on both sides. But I originally just covered my peanut butter in it and then closed it to eat. I couldn't taste any difference.

Other great and easy ways to use flaxseed:

breadings (for fish or chicken)

any red sauce (chili, spaghetti)

sprinkle it in yogurt

blend in a smoothie

add to muffins

I'm sure there are a million other ways to use it? Are there any that you've used that I didn't list?

Sheila Salad

This salad is named for our good friend Sheila who used to make this for us all the time in Missoula. After living in Kalispell for a while, she came up here to visit her sister and we all had lunch together and she made her classic salad. We realized how much we missed it and started making it for our family too!

Ingredients
Lettuce - I like using spinach and a spring mix. But you can use Romaine, or even Iceberg if that's your thing.
Tomatoes, chopped - If I could, I'd always use cherry tomatoes, quartered.
Cucumbers, chopped
Bell peppers, chopped
Colby Jack Cheese, cubed
Carrots, chopped
Optional: bacon bits, green onions, croutons, cubed ham, hard boiled eggs, etc.

This is a real, make it how you like it salad. What we love most about it is the variety of things to put in it, and we make it quite chunky. This way the flavors are a lot stronger. We're also fans of the colby cubes. We just had this for a birthday dinner with a medium-sized group of family and had everything in separate containers so everyone could literally create their own salad with the fixings they like best. This salad's a big hit with our family, and we just love it.