Lentil Burgers with Mint-Yogurt Sauce

     Our first family vacation to Maine was a success and now we are home enjoying summer.  Driving home I spent some time on Pinterest reading about good recipes for toddlers.  It's hard to believe our little girl will be turning one in just a couple of weeks!  I have already begun to think about what I will pack her for breakfast and lunch once I go back to school at the end of August.  She hasn't had any purees since  school ended in June.  She prefers to eat whatever we are eating or leftovers from the fridge.  Wren's meals usually consist of a lot of random things-something that may not be as easy to pull off in her lunchbox.  I pulled out my Cooking for Baby book again tonight to try and get inspired.  I had all of the ingredients for these lentil burgers so I gave them a try.  I thought they were good-Wren had her own opinions.  The burgers had a lot of flavor and they stuck together better than most veggies burgers I have attempted.  I also thought the yogurt dipping sauce would be a selling point for Wren-I read that toddlers like to dip.  Apparently, she is not a fan of dipping-maybe because she isn't technically a toddler yet.  She has this great new move where she uses her tongue to slowing spit things out and then uses her hands to swipe everything to the floor where our dogs are always waiting.  Luckily this recipe made six burgers so we will try again tomorrow!

Lentil Burgers with Mint-Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients
3/4 cup lentils
1/2 cup old fashion oats
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1 egg
salt and pepper
1 cup plain yogurt
2/3 fresh mint, minced
1 tbsp cooking oil (I used coconut)

Not happy about lentil burgers for dinner...

Method
1. Put lentils and 2 cups of water in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  Boil and then reduce to a simmer and cover.  Cook until tender- about 15 minutes.
2. Use a food processor to grind oats to a coarse meal.
3. In a large bowl, use a potato masher or fork to mash the lentils.  Stir in 3 tablespoons of the oats,the cumin and curry.  Add the egg, salt, and pepper and stir. 
4. Use your hands to form burgers approximately 4 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick.  Coat each burger with the remaining oats.
5. Place the burgers, uncovered, in the fridge for about 10 minutes.
6. When ready to cook, heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the burgers and cook for 3-4 minutes per side.  They should be brown and crispy.
7. Prepare the dipping sauce by stirring the mint into the yogurt.

Some of my vacation favorites:

Bulgur and Peach Salad

     This recipe was one that I pulled from the August issue of Cooking Light.  I just happened to have all of the ingredients on hand, with the exception of hazelnuts that I just omitted.  I'm hoping that the addition of fruit and strong flavors will entice my brand new picky eater.  Life was simpler when she ate everything!

Bulgur with Peaches and Mint

Ingredients
2 cups water
1 cup uncooked bulgur
2 tbsp champagne vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup diced peaches
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

*The recipe also called for 2 1/2 oz of toasted hazelnuts

Method
1. Bring the bulgur to a boil in a small saucepan.  Cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes and then let sit for 5 minutes.  Drain and rinse with cold water.
2. Combine the vinegar, olive oil, sugar, salt, and pepper.  Whisk together until the sugar dissolves.  Add the bulgur, peaches, and mint.  Toss together and serve.

Vacation Baby Muffins

     A friend sent me this recipe after I posted my first muffin recipe that I tested out for Wren.  We are leaving for Maine in the morning so I figured why not fire up the oven so we can have a tasty snack for the road-the temperature in our house is only 89 degrees!  Needless to say, I worked up a greater sweat baking than I do kickboxing.  As soon as Wren saw them on the counter she began clicking her tongue, her signal that she is hungry.  I cut her off at three mini muffins. 

Carrot, Apple, Coconut Muffins

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
2 carrots, peeled and grated (about 1 cup)
1 apple, peeled and grated (about 1/2 cup)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup honey

Method
Preheat oven 350 degrees
1. Combine first seven ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl. 
3. Stir the dry ingredients with the wet.
4. Prepare a mini muffin tin by placing liners or spraying with cooking spray.  Fill each with one tablespoon of batter.
5. Bake for 15 minutes.

Zucchini Quinoa

     Wren is getting picky with her eating.  She knows what she likes and very clearly what she doesn't.  She has a stubborn streak, just like her dad!  I'm trying to keep up with giving her a lot of variety while incorporating some of the fruits and veggies that are in season.  I consulted a baby food book today for some ideas and came up with this quinoa dish.  Hopefully it doesn't end up on the floor or in our dogs' bellies.

Zucchini Quinoa

 Ingredients
1/2 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
1-2 medium zucchini or summer squash grated
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin

Method
1. Heat a medium sauecpan over medium high heat.  Add the quinoa and one tablespoon of olive oil.  Stir to coat the quinoa.  Add the broth and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat and cover the pan.  Simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, add the remaining olive oil to a skillet.  Heat over medium high heat.  Add the zucchini and cumin to the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes.
4. When the quinoa is done, combine with the zucchini and serve.

Picnic Desserts

     Summer is in full swing and I couldn't be happier.  The 4th of July weekend is coming to a close and it was jam packed with sunshine, picnics, family, and a lot of sweat thanks to a lovely heatwave.  What's a better heatwave activity than turning the oven on to do some baking?  That's just what I did, which sent the temperature in our house soaring to 88 degrees.  Luckily my desserts were well received.

S'mores Brownies

The cookies pictured here are a recipe I've made before, Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Ingredients
2/3 Cup Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 Cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips
10 tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 1/4 Cup Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla
3 Eggs
9 Graham Crackers (enough to make a solid layer)
Enough marshmallows to make a single layer
1-2 Cups chocolate chips
Cooking Spray

Method
Preheat oven to 325.
1. Prepare an 8x8 baking pan by putting down a layer of parchment paper and then coat it with cooking spray.Leave extra paper on the sides to help you pull the brownies from the pan.
2. Mis the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Melt the semisweet chocolate chips, with the butter, cinnamon, and cocoa powder.  Stir until smooth.  Then remove from heat and whisk in the sugar and vanilla.  Next use the whisk to incorporate one egg at a time.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and stir just enough to incorporate everything together.
5. Pour about 1/3 of the batter into the prepared brownie pan.  Next lay a layer of graham crackers on top.  Follow the graham cracker layer with a layer of chocolate chips and then a layer of marshmallows.  Pour the remaining batter on top.
6. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out sort of clean.  The marshmallow layer will make the brownies bubbly so be careful not to over bake.
7. Cool for 10 minutes before removing the brownies from the pan using the extra parchment paper.  Let rest for 2 hours before attempting to cut...they are very gooey!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles

Ingredients
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 package of cream cheese

Method
1. In a medium saucepan, melt the chocolate and peanut butter together.  Stir until smooth.
2. Stir in the cream cheese and mix until smooth.
3. Put the saucepan in the fridge to chill.
4. Roll the chocolate mixture into 1 1/2 inch spheres.  You can get fancy by then rolling them in lots of different toppings such as cocoa powder, powdered sugar, chopped nuts, or sprinkles.