Blueberry Crumble

I was excited when fellow blogger, InnerHOTmama asked me to write a guest post for her for Foodie Friday. Thanks so much, Angel for inviting me!

Blueberries are a fruit that I bake with alot. My boys love them and they are really good for you too.

Today, I’m sharing my Blueberry Crumble recipe.



Ingredients:

1/2 c. Butter
2 c. Flour
1 1/2 t. Baking Powder
1/2 t. Salt
3/4 c. Sugar
1 Egg
1 t. Vanilla
1/2 c. Milk
5 c. Blueberries, Fresh or Frozen
1 t. Cinnamon
2 t. Ground Nutmeg
1/4 t. Salt
1/4 c. Brown Sugar
1 c. Flour
6 T. Butter, at room temperature
Directions:

Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3-4 min. Add egg and vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and milk. Gently fold in berries. Pour batter into prepared square baking dish, sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.


Liz Latham
HME of http://hoosierhomemade.com/

Foodie Friday Guest Blogger: Hidden Pumpkin Cupcakes

From our friend Gretchen.  She is a busy working mom with both home-grown children and a lovely girl born in Ethiopia.  She is raising healthy/happy children and has a surprisingly healthy cupcake recipe that both kids and grown-ups will love.  I thought it would be perfect for Halloween!
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Hidden Pumpkin Cupcakes



1 cake mix (I like Devil's Food best)
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup water
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips


Mix together and pour into greased or papered cupcake pan. Bake @350 for about 20 minutes. Top with FF Cool Whip. I can usually get 24 medium cupcakes or 12 giant ones.

Medium cupcakes are 2 Weight Watcher pts.
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Experiment with this quick and easy recipe.  I think Spice cake mix with butterscotch chips instead of the chocolate chips would be fantastic.  Hmm, I might just have to make some this weekend. 
Happy Halloween everyone!

Foodie Friday Guest blogger: Angel Hair Pasta wth Shrimp

Many thanks to Liz for sending this recipe from Dreamfields! Please check out her blog for moms of older kids here You can always substitute Chicken or tofu for the shrimp! Happy Friday!

Ingredients:
1/2 of a box uncooked Dreamfields Angel Hair
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 can (28 ounces) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Chopped basil (optional)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1.Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and return to pan.
2.Meanwhile, heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp; cook 3 to 5 minutes, until cooked through. Add garlic and crushed red pepper flakes; cook until garlic is tender, about 1 minute, stirring constantly. (Do not let garlic burn.) Remove shrimp from skillet; set aside.

3.Stir tomatoes, wine, parsley and basil into skillet. Continue cooking until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add shrimp and pasta to skillet. Continue cooking just to heat through, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and additional chopped basil, if desired. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Nutrition information (1/4 of recipe): 461 calories; 33 g protein;
18 g digestible carbohydrates*; 13 g total fat; 2 g saturated fat; 225 mg cholesterol;
776 mg sodium; 6 g total dietary fiber.

*If traditional pasta is used in this recipe there is a total of 48 g carbohydrate. For more information go to http://www.dreamfieldsfoods.com/

Foodie Fridays Guest blogger: Butternut Squash Soup

This is a great fall recipe from our friend Seaweed Snacks.  It's quite low in fat and high in beta-carotene which = super healthy for you and your family.
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Butternut Squash Soup

1 large butternut squash skin and seeds removed, chopped into cubes
4 cups stock
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 onion chopped
5 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
juice of a lime
1 tbls. olive oil

I use an immersion blender to make this soup. If you don't have an immersion blender, then you can pour the soup into a blender after it has been cooking about 40 minutes. Make sure you put a dish towel on top of the blender lid to prevent burning yourself while blending.
Return to soup pot and cook for 30 minutes more.
This is a really basic recipe. You can add things....like vanilla seeds, roasted peppers or leeks. Crumble goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes on top. Oh that would be good.
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Wellness Wednesday Guest Blogger: The Exercise Game

Today's Wellness post is from Guest Blogger Marathon Mama. I met Marathon Mama in Ethiopia this summer.  Her dedication to herself and her family really impressed me.  She has, over the years FOUND that balance between her family and herself.  She is a HOTmama for herself, and her family. 
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Yes, You Do Have Time to Exercise!
Some of us love to exercise, some of us hate it, and some of us are just happy to get it done because we're supposed to. All of us are busy moms who are going to have to sacrifice/juggle/struggle to find time to take care of ourselves. I'm not going to spout statistics, but I think we all know (deep down, even if we don't want to admit it) that exercising will keep us alive and energetic longer than not exercising, and there are people counting on our energy for the long haul. Day to day, feeling stronger, more alert, and more energetic can only help.
My personal routine is a little crazy. I've been an avid distance runner for about 7 years. No, I'm not good--I just love doing it. My favorite races are road marathons, but I've also done some trail running and some shorter races. While I'm running, I meditate, decompress ,and problem-solve. It's become a very necessary part of my life... Which is why I wake up at 4 AM EVERY MORNING. Yes, even on the weekends. On 3 days during the week, I have a little breakfast, warm up, run for an hour, come home, get ready for work, spend some time with my men, and I'm at work by 7:30 so I can get my (13-month-old) son from school before 4. (My husband and I shift our work schedules to keep M in school less than 8 hours a day.) The 2 days I don't run during the week, I'll do calisthenics or cross-training during that early-morning hour. On the weekends, my husband and I alternate our long run days. On his long run day, I spend an hour doing strength work before waking M and spending quality time with him that includes an hour run in the jogging stroller. On my long run day, I leave right around when M wakes up, and the men have bonding time until I get home a few hours later. Sometimes my work requires me to work crazy hours, and then we have to juggle, but for the most part, this is how we do it.
Yes, I'm blessed with a supportive spouse. Yes, I'm probably harming my health somewhat by only sleeping 5-6 hours a night. And yes, I've been an athlete my whole life (gymnast for 20 years). So, for those of us who are just beginning a program, who really can't leave their children with someone else for any period of time, or who just aren't crazy about exercise, I offer...
The Exercise Game
Think of it like a drinking game. Every time you finish changing a diaper, drop and do 20 push-ups. You can start out with "little boy" push-ups with your knees down, but try to build up to the "womanly" version with flat back and head forward. Every time you feed a kid, do 25 sit-ups. Get the older kids to hold your feet (and/or sit on your chest to make it harder--hee hee). Every time you get a kid dressed, do 25 squats or 10 lunges on each side. You get the idea. Make up your own rules, mix it up, and have fun with it. If you're worried about bulking up, trust me: you won't. Most women do not do enough strength training because they are concerned about this. You will only firm up doing body-weight-type exercises. (Bulk only comes with lifting massive amounts of weight and/or taking extra testosterone.) For cardio, get the family out for a 30-45 minute walk 4-5 times a week. Walk to help digest your dinner or to go to a park for some fun. If you work, and you have a lunch hour, consider an extra walk then. To make sure you are exerting enough effort, keep in mind that you should just barely be able to carry on a conversation while walking.
Make sure you're stretching and drinking plenty of fluids. And, as always, be sure to consult a physician before beginning a new exercise program. If anyone tries this, keep me posted on your progress, and let me know how you change things up--I'm always looking for new ideas... Happy moving!
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I'm very inspired by Marathon Mama, and I'm going to try to get up at 5 am, 3 times a week to walk outside for 1 hour before work.
Has Marathon Mama inspired you?  Are you going to commit to taking time for exercise?  How?

Foodie Fridays Guest Blogger: Flagolet Beans with Kale & Roasted Tomatoes

From our guest foodie: Seaweed Snacks.  Its not a lightening fast recipe, but your efforts are well worth it!  Sam's Mom has made using the crock pot with great results (I didn't even soak the beans, just added extra liquid and did the whole bean process in the crock on low for 3 1/2 hours.) A great weekend treat!

Flageolet beans are are common in France. They are the bean in cassoulets, and popular due to their mellow flavor and ability to not fall apart while cooking. I like them because they are creamy and easy to cook. These beans tend to be light green to cream in color and are the size of a small navy bean. In fact, recipes that call for flageolet can be substituted with navy beans.
Like all dried beans, these are to be soaked over night. Of course I forget to soak beans overnight almost always, so I cheat and bring beans covered in water to a boil, rinse them, then cook them according to the directions.

You don't need a pressure cooker for this recipe. Cook the beans for 2 hrs. without a pressure cooker, or 1 hour with a pressure cooker. This is wonderful winter and fall food, as well as a great way to use up those end-of-summer tomatoes.

Beans
1 1/2 cups flageolet beans (or navy)
Enough water or stock just to cover beans (about 4 cups)
1 twig fresh rosemary
5 twigs fresh thyme
zest 1 lemon
glug of olive oil
2 med. carrots diced finely
1/2 large onion diced finely
1/2 cup dry white wine
bay leaf

After soaking or fast soaking (see above), sautee onions, carrots and olive oil in pot with drained beans. Sautee for 10 minutes, then add white wine and lemon zest.
Tie rosemary and thyme together with butcher twine. Add to pot along with bay leaf
Cook covered for two hours, stirring occasionally. Add more stock if it dries out. If it seems like it is too soupy, you will be able to reduce the liquid with lid off at the end of cooking.

Roasted Tomatoes
3 very ripe tomatoes
1 clove garlic
sea salt
olive oil

on a cookie sheet, set tomato slices (one inch thick) about 3 inches apart
slice garlic clove very thin and put a slice of the clove on top of each tomato.
Sprinkle with olive oil and salt.
Roast for 3o minutes at 400 degrees.
Take out of oven, let cool.
Use spatula to remove tomato slices. Coarsely chop and add to top of bean servings.

Kale
One large bunch Kale
glug olive oil
pinch salt

Remove stems from kale. I do this by just running my hand down the stalk while ripping the leaves away. Use a knife to chop kale into 2 inch pieces.
In a nonstick or castiron skillet, heat olive oil and add kale. Turn to coat olive oil and add pinch of salt. Cook until very wilted, about 10 minutes. Set aside in bowl.

When beans are cooked and the sauce in the beans looks thick like gravy, add the kale and any extra salt to taste.
Spoon into bowls and top with roasted tomatoes.