My kids are mad for pomegranate seeds. Kenya and Chloe will sit and eat spoonful after spoonful of this vitamin and antioxidant rich fruit until they’re blue in the face. The first time Kenya tried pomegranate seeds he was just over a year old and my husband and I watched intently as his little fingers eagerly picked up the ruby red seeds one by one and guided them into his mouth, staining both his digits and lips in the process a bright red. Four years later Kenya, still loves pomegranate seeds and would eat them at every meal if given the opportunity. Chloe is no different, she actually had a full on tantrum once when she spotted a bowl of them in our fridge that I was saving for later.

The sweet seeds add great texture and flavor to all sorts of recipes. As you know, I adore “one-pot dishes” for their ease and convenience they offer busy moms and this Chicken, Orzo & Pomegranate Salad is no exception. This dish can be served at lunch or dinner but looks special no matter when you serve it, the bright flecks of crimson pomegranate punctuating each bite. Healthy and light, it’s great to keep in the fridge for a night you have no time to prepare dinner or when guests pop by for an unexpected visit!

Chicken, Orzo & Pomegranate Salad (Serves 4-6)

1 Lb Chicken Breast, bone-in*
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 Tsp Kosher Salt
2 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary
4 Garlic Cloves
1 Small Onion, diced
4 Cups Water
1 16 oz Box Orzo
1 Cup or Seeds of 1 Pomegranate
1/4 Cup Fresh Cilantro, Mint OR Basil, chopped

Sherry Vinaigrette

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Sherry Vinegar
1 Tsp Kosher Salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Place chicken breast on a foil-covered baking sheet, bone side down.
3. Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tsp of salt , 1 rosemary sprig and 2 sliced garlic cloves on each breast.
4. Roast for 45 minutes or until the internal temperature is at 160-165.
5. Allow the chicken to rest for 15 minutes then shred into pieces. Top chicken with remaining juices for added flavor.
6. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a medium size pot over medium heat and sauté onions for 4 minutes.
7. Add the water and 1 tsp salt and bring to a boil.
8. Add the orzo, cover and cook according to package directions over medium-high heat stirring occasionally to prevent orzo from sticking to the pot.
9. Strain any excess water and pour orzo into a bowl.
10. Add the pomegranate seeds, mint, shredded chicken and vinaigrette.
11. Chill and serve.

*You can also use store bough rotisserie chicken, shred into bite size pieces and skip directly to step #6

Want an easy recipe to make for your New Year’s Celebration (or really any time of the year)? Stuffed Mushrooms are a healthy way to ring in 2012!

It’s the last weekday of 2011 (ahhhh!) and so I have compiled for you my top 10 personal favorite weelicious recipes from this year (ok, so I included 16 recipes, but who’s counting?). My simple criterion was: what was most popular with my own family. Some of these recipes, like the Grilled Cheese Pickle Panini and Chocolate Chip Granola Bars for school lunch, I made so many times this year that I lost count. I hope that this list inspires you to get in the kitchen in the New Year to make simple recipes that both you and your family will love!

Raspberry Cream Cheese Heart Tartsand how to make them!

Broccoli & Cheese Patties

Vanilla Wafers

Baked Pumpkin Donuts and how to make them!

Crock Pot Mexican Tortilla Lasagna

Very Berry Muffins

Grilled Cheese & Pickle Panini

Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Peach Fruit Leather

Chocolate Banana Ice Cream

Strawberry & Cream “Elves” and how to make them!

Beet Pancakes and how to make them!

Pizza Balls and how to make them!

Roast Carrot Coins

Carrot Broccoli & Cheese Orzo

Banana Dogs Bites and how to make them!

You were probably expecting to find a list of weelicious recipes, but believe it or not, I love cooking from other peoples’ inspiring pictures, recipes and ideas. Here’s a few of my favorites from 2011!

*Click on the pic for the recipes!

You Won't Miss the Meat by Dana Treat

Nutty Apple Tarts – Gluten Free & Vegan by Family Fresh Cooking

Easy Beef Enchiladas by Recipe Girl

Zucchini Fritters by Smitten Kitchen

Petite Vanilla Bean Scones by The Pioneer Woman

North African "Tandoori" Salmon by Aida Mollenkamp

Farro, Beet and Herb Salad by What's Gaby Cooking

Sauteed Kale with Tahini Sauce by Simply Recipes

10 Minute Thai Shrimp Curry by Steamy Kitchen

Valentine Bisque with Polenta by Georgia Pellegrini

Bite Sized Baked Brie by Joy the Baker

Carroty Mac & Cheese by Three Many Cooks

Baked Spinach Dip Mini Bread Bowls by Picky Palate

Gluten Free Ice Cream Sandwiches by Gluten Free Girl

Creamy Cardamom Pear Oatmeal by Food For My Family

Finding appetizers for your New Year’s celebration that both kids and adults will love isn’t always an easy task. There are my tried and true choices like little shots of soup (appears fancy for the grown ups and fun for little ones) or Mac, Chicken & Cheese Bites (who doesn’t like mac n cheese), and of course veggies and dip are reliable. But this New Year’s Eve, I’m going with Stuffed Mushrooms. I’ve already made them several times this year and everyone seems to love them.

Filled with spinach, parmesan and bread crumbs, they are little bites of yumminess and, dare I say, a perfect way for everyone, no matter what their age, to ring in the New Year!

Stuffed Mushrooms (Makes 20 Mushrooms)

1 8 oz Package White or Cremini Mushrooms, cleaned
1 10 oz Box Chopped Frozen Spinach, defrosted and drained well
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbsp Olive Oil, plus more for brushing onto mushrooms if desired
1 Tsp Dried Italian Herbs
1/4 Cup Plain Bread Crumbs
1/4 Tsp Salt
1 Small Garlic Clove, minced
Olive Oil, for drizzling

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Remove and discard stems from mushrooms and clean caps with a damp towel to remove any dirt.
3. Add the drained spinach to a bowl along with the parmesan, olive oil, Italian herbs, salt, garlic, and bread crumbs.
4. Mix to combine the ingredients.
5. Spoon filling evenly into mushroom caps, lightly brush each mushroom cap with olive oil and place them on a baking sheet.
6. Bake for 20 minutes until mushrooms are tender.
7. Serve.

This recipe was inspired by one of my biggest pet peeves, never wanting to waste a single ingredient sitting in my pantry! I have a bad habit when I am roaming the grocery aisles: getting overly enthusiastic about a certain ingredient and then buying way too much of it, deluding myself that I will have all the time in the world to whip up all sorts of recipes that I’ve had on my mind. Sadly, with two kids, a hubby and a busy life, I never seem to get around to all that.

I was going through my pantry today and found yet another can of pumpkin puree staring me in the face. Either canned pumpkin is procreating when I’m not looking or, more likely, those mysterious cans are the product of every time I have visited the grocery over the past few months and fantasized about coming home to make pumpkin donuts, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie and so on. Not surprisingly, I never had the time for all those recipes I really wanted to make but now here I am, days shy of the New Year, with a little bit of free time on my hands since school is out and the holidays are over. The kids and I decided to make these yummy Pumpkin Muffins, topped with a smear of luscious cream cheese icing. They came out great.

One little piece of advice for 2012: as long as the expiration date hasn’t passed, never toss out those foods which have been sitting around your pantry for months. Figure out a recipe based around that ingredient you were once inspired to buy and turn it into something. Good or bad, you’ll have fun and the results will always be magical.

Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Icing (Makes 12 Muffins)

1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 1/2 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, melted
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar, packed
1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
1 Large Egg
1/4 Cup Milk
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place the first 5 ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
3. In a separate bowl whisk the remaining ingredients.
4. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and whisk until just combined.
5. Pour into greased muffins cups 3/4 full.
6. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. Cool, frost and serve.

Cream Cheese Frosting (Makes about 1 Cup)

4 oz Cream Cheese, softened
4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, softened
1 Cup Confectioner’s Sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

1. Place the cream cheese and butter in a bowl and beat for 30 seconds on low to medium speed using a hand mixer.
2. Add the confectioner’s sugar and vanilla and continue to beat for 1 minute or until the frosting is smooth and creamy.
3. Frost the muffins and serve.

These Cinnamon Mexican Wedding Cookies are so much fun to eat with a crumbly, sweet, nutty texture. Topped with a sprinkle of powdered sugar they look like something my kids love calling Snowballs!

OK moms, what do YOU really want for Christmas? You’ve all probably been consumed with everyone else’s needs this year, but what about your’s? Diamond earrings? A trip to Hawaii? A pair of new heels? Maybe just some sleep? I promise in the next few years I will work on getting those kinds of luxurious goodies for weelicious giveaways (except, sleep. I can’t do anything about that. Even in my own house), but this year I’m offering two excellent items that you may have long been in need of.

When my parents gave me a blender years ago, I actually squealed with excitement when I opened it — but then again, I’m admittedly that kooky gal who gets just as psyched about a new paring knife as I do a beautiful sweater. Anyway, the good folks at Walmart and Farberware are offering two weelicious moms the chance to win one of these incredible kitchen appliances, just in time for the holidays: a new stainless steel, 12-cup programmable food processor or a 10 speed blender. Unlike those fancy new heels you might wear once of twice a year, these awesome products will be your new best friends in the kitchen all year long, helping you easily whip up all of those insanely delicious meals you will be making (for the people who will hopefully be remembering mom this holiday as much as you always remember them!).

To enter, just leave a comment here telling me what your dream piece of kitchen equipment is. Winners will be chosen at random and announced next week! Good luck and happy holidays!

* Congratulations to Stacey Lampkin (the winner of the blender) and Courtney Hardin (the winner of the food processor)!

I have a habit of spending so much time making the dinner portion of our holiday meal that I often completely forget about dessert. And in our house, especially come this time of year, forgetting what most of my family considers the most important part of the meal is not advisable. If you’re in need of a yummy dessert you can make ahead of time and pop in the oven right before you sit down to dinner, than this Cinnamon Apple Crisp is for you.

I generally buy sweet Gala, Pink Lady or Fuji apples for the kids to munch on during the week, but this crisp begs to be made with a variety of apple a bit more tart, like Granny Smiths. A spoonful of cool vanilla ice cream or some fresh whipped cream is the perfect accompaniment to the crunchy sweet oat topping of this classic dessert. And even though I doubt I’ll ever break my habit of spending too much time on the dinner portion of our holiday meals, at least this easy to make crisp will always ensure I’ll still have enough time to whip up something delicious for my dessert-mad family — even when I forget!

Cinnamon Apple Crisp (Serves 4-6)

Filling:

3 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
5 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and cored
1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

Crisp:

3/4 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
3/4 Cup Flour
8 Tbsp Cold Unsalted Butter
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon

Accompaniments: Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Cut apples into quarters then slice each quarter lengthwise into 4 slices. Your apple slices should be about ¼ inch thick.
3. Melt the butter and sugar in a large sauté pan and cook for 30 seconds over medium heat.
4. Add the sliced apples to the pan, sprinkle in the cinnamon, combine and cook for 10-12 minutes until the apples are soft.
5. Place the remaining crisp ingredients in a bowl and gently crumble together with your fingers until the mixture forms pea-sized lumps.
6. Pour the apples into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate and cover with the crumble topping.
7. Bake for 25 minutes.
8. Cool and serve.

A few years ago one of my dearest friends gave me a popover pan. Unlike a muffin pan, popover pans are deeper and made specifically for making warm fluffy popovers. When I finally used it a few weeks ago to make Cheesy Popovers for the first time I called to tell my friend how delicious they turned out. She took a few moments to guilt me (the way that only a good friend can for taking years to use a gift she gave you) and then wanted to know all about my popovers. I told her that they were so good, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t been making them for years (she thankfully refrained from any further snarky comments).

Popovers are super easy to make and when I say they are “kid friendly”, I really mean it. My little guys have become obsessed by them. They love watching them puff up in the oven and then breaking them open when they are done to see the steam pour out of the big airy puffs.

With all that holiday cooking right around the corner, this is the kind of recipe that you can easily hand over to a relative while you are busy preparing the rest of the meal. Right before you are ready to sit down to dinner or brunch (or even breakfast) pull these extra special puffs out of the oven and I guarantee these will garner rave reviews from all. In my opinion, a popover pan is a great investment….just don’t wait years to use it.

Cheesy Popovers (Makes 9 Popovers)

3 Large Eggs
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 Cups Milk
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
3. Grease each popover tin with butter and fill ¾ up with batter.
4. Bake for 35 minutes and do not open the oven door while cooking.
5. Serve immediately.