A Little Creativity in the Kitchen

I don't know if it's the power belting and screaming solos of Jesus Christ Superstar or our new embarking on the South Beach Diet again that has sparked this creativity. Perhaps it's the sudden influx of trappings from the recent deer season we've gotten. But I have the most DELICIOUS recipe for the best hamburger in the world, and a great resulting recipe for those of you who enjoy packing as much nutrition into your kids' diets as I do.

For the burgers, forgive my random portions. I make things the way I feel they should be, not according to recipes, etc. We used venison because we had it on hand. I'm sure beef or ground turkey would be fine. But for that fresh taste, try to find organic meat or better yet, try a local farm or co-op. I made the burgers with a pound of meat. Mix in a generous dose of dill weed (tablespoon?), 2 long squirts/tablespoonish of spicy mustard, brown mustard, dijon, something along those lines. We used spicy brown mustard. Add a teaspoon and a half of ground mustard powder, a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, a sprinkling of oregano, and a generous dash of salt (I use kosher salt, it just tastes different to me). We grilled them on the Foreman and WOW! Amazing.

As for the kids meal, brace yourselves. Every food group is covered, and my test is to go by how many colors you can see on the plate. Unless we're talking majorly pre-packaged red dye number 40 (or whatever) disasterpieces, you're safe judging this way.

Start some whole grain/wheat pasta boiling on the stove. Take about half a grilled burger patty and cut it up to small bite-size chunks. Mix the burger with cut up grape tomatoes, edamame, shredded/cut up cheddar, and mix in a dollop of mayonnaise (for that burger taste). Stir it all up and serve over the pasta. My 10 month old adored it. It's hard to get her to eat plain tomatoes--too much like her dad I guess. But she is already a healthy food eating machine, which I'm incredibly proud of. And if your kids are like mine, they require lots of options in their food and if they feel like they're eating "junk," you don't have to point out the veggies you snuck in!

Enjoy folks! I know we did!