I love trying to figure out how to make recipes that would normally be considered “junk” food into nutritious snacks that you aren’t afraid to give your kids. I’m not big on totally depriving kids of junk food (I feel like that only leads to a slew of other problems in the long run) but if I can come up with a version of a cookie that doesn’t include all of the nasty fillers and preservatives found in store bought brands, I’m making it homemade for my kids.

These Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies will have your little ones’ eyes popping wide open when they see them coming out of the oven. These cookies have a healthy carbohydrate from the oatmeal and a protein punch from the peanut butter — great for kids who have been active running around all day. All they’re going to care about though is that they are delicious!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies (Makes about 60 cookies)

1/2 Cup Butter (1 Stick)
1/2 Cup Agave Nectar
1 Large Egg
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Peanut Butter
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Oats
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the butter and agave in a bowl or a standing mixer and beat for 1 minute.
3. Add the egg, vanilla and peanut butter and beat another minute on medium speed or until smooth.
4. In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix to combine.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix to incorporate.
6. Drop 1 tbsp of the cookie dough onto a Silpat or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Flatten down each ball of cookie dough with the back of your hand or with the back of a fork making a checkerboard pattern.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
8. Cool and serve.

Months ago I did a recipe for cheese wafers and so many parents emailed me afterwards to say they were a total hit. While testing recipes the other day, I was thinking about how much kids love cheese and bread (I mean, what’s not to love) and I thought it would be fun to try making my own cheese puffs. I can’t tell you how many of these we ate the day we made them. They seemed to just go from oven to mouth! I won’t say this is the most nutritious weelicious recipe of all time, but it you’re craving something cheesy, at least these puffs aren’t loaded with all the fillers and preservatives you’ll find in store bought brands.

In France, cheese puffs go by the fancier name of gougeres, but no matter what you decide to call them, they’re delicious.

Cheese Puffs (Makes 30-40 Puffs)

1 Cup Milk
1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese or Gruyere, shredded
1/4 Cup Parmesan
6 Large Eggs, divided (5 eggs for the cheese puffs and one for brushing on top of the cheese puffs)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Combine the first 3 ingredients in a pot and cook over low heat until the milk is warm to the touch (about 2 minutes).
3. Add the flour to the pot and continuously stir with a wooden spoon or a spatula until the mixture is thoroughly combined –about 3 minutes (the mixture will turn from white to a golden yellow and form into a dough).
4. Transfer the mixture to a food processor along with the cheese and blend until cheese melts and is combined.
5. Add 5 large eggs, one at a time until the dough is smooth and thick.
6. Scoop out 1 tbsp of the dough and drop on to a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet.
7. Whisk the remaining egg with 1 teaspoon of water in a bowl and brush the cheese puffs just to coat (this is not a necessary step, it just makes the puffs shiny).
8. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.
9. Cool and serve.

This is a really special week for us because it’s my hubby’s birthday AND Valentine’s Day. To celebrate, I wanted to come up with a recipe that Kenya and I could make together to both impress Daddy and be enjoyed by the whole family. Although it would be so much easier to break out a huge box of chocolates or cupcakes to celebrate, these Raspberr-Wee Pancakes seemed like a much more healthy and festive choice.

To get our ingredients, we went to our local farmer’s market where Kenya was so excited to be tasked with picking out a few baskets of fresh red raspberries especially for Daddy. It let him take ownership over the process right then and there. Then, we went home to test the recipe, pulling out heart shape cookie cutters, placing them in the pan, filling them with batter and berries and then cooking them up. Cooking with your kids is always a priceless experience, but doing it for a holiday or special occasion makes it all the more special. Suffice to say, the pancakes went over big with Daddy (which is a good thing since he’s getting them again on the 14th)!. I think you will agree that this is the kind of recipe will say, “I love you” all over your loved one’s face.

Raspberr-Wee Pancakes

1 1/3 Cup All Purpose Flour
2 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, melted (plus more for cooking)
1 1/4 Cup Buttermilk
2 Eggs, whisked
2 Tbsp Agave
6 Oz Package Raspberries (almost 1 cup)

1. Whisk the first 3 ingredients in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl combine the butter, buttermilk, eggs and agave until combined.
3. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined (it’s ok if there are a few lumps).
4. Heat a large pan or griddle on medium heat and grease with butter.
5. Pour about 1/4 cup of the pancake mixture onto the griddle and top with 3-4 raspberries (if using cookie cutters, place the cookie cutter in the pan after step 4, pour in several tablespoons of batter, add the raspberries and cook as directed in step 6).
6. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side.
7. Serve
* You can keep pancakes warm on a sheet tray in a 250 degree oven until all the pancakes are cooked.
* I also tested this batter in a waffle iron and they came out gorgeous, crispy and fluffy!

From a very early age, I always knew when my parents were going out and leaving us with a babysitter: I would hear the freezer door open, the sound of something solid dropping onto a cookie sheet and about 30 minutes later, the smell of pie crust would permeate the air. As with most kids, I hated being left at home while my mom and dad went out, but I sure did love chicken pot pie so things kind of evened out. To me, there are few meals more comforting than crisp, flaky pie crust covering a creamy blend of chicken and veggies. I wanted to recreate that great childhood food memory with this recipe, but I needed to make it healthier than the Swanson frozen variety pot pie I had as a kid.

On the whole Kenya is a pretty amazing eater, but the night that I took these individual pot pies out of the oven he took one look at them and said, “I don’t want it”. My feelings were totally hurt, but I also know how finicky and tempermantal toddlers can be, so I decided not to push him and see what happened. I let Kenya continue to play in the kitchen and about 15 minutes later I saw him wander over to where the pies were cooling, take a fork and investigate his little pie. He took one bite and said, “I love it”. No joke. He went from unwilling to try it to loving it in a matter of minutes and I didn’t have to do anything but be patient. If there is one thing that I’ve learned time and again when it comes to kids and eating, it’s that pushing things on them almost always makes them more resistant to try new foods. When you let kids discover things for themselves, it gives them an ownership over what they eat and a sense of discovery with food that just can’t be achieved by cajoling, sneaking, persuading or begging.

Just giving Kenya a bit of space allowed him to fall in love with chicken pot pie all by himself. Now, if I could only figure out how to get my husband to take me out on a date I could relive my entire childhood pot pie memory!

Chicken Pot Pie (Makes 4)

Crust:

4 Tbsp Butter, chilled and cubed
4 Tbsp Shortening or Lard, chilled and cubed
1 1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 Tsp Salt
2-3 Tbsp Ice Water

1. Place the first 4 ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it resembles coarse cornmeal.
2. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of the water in the food processor and pulse a few times until the dough starts to come together.
3. Place the dough of a piece of parchment or plastic wrap and gather the dough into a ball and flatten into a disk.
4. Refrigerate the pie crust dough for 30 minutes or until chilled.

Pie Filling:

2 Cups or 1 14 oz Can Chicken Broth (I use low sodium)
2 Chicken Breasts, boneless, skinless (about 1 Lb)
4 Tbsp Butter, divided
1 Small Onion, minced
2 Stalks of Celery, diced
2 Carrots, peeled and diced
1 Tsp Fresh or 1/2 Tsp Dried Thyme
3 Tbsp Butter
3 Tbsp Flour
1 Cup Milk
Salt
1 Cup Peas (I use frozen)

1. In a saucepan, bring chicken stock and chicken breasts to a boil, reduce to a simmer, partially covered for 12 minutes. Remove the chicken breasts to a plate, reserving the chicken broth, and when cool, cut the chicken into bite size chunks.
2. Heat 1 tbsp of the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and cook the onions for 4 minutes or until translucent.
3. Add the celery, carrots and thyme and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
4. Melt the remaining butter into the vegetables and sprinkle the flour over and stir to make a roux. Cook for 1-2 minutes stirring to coat the vegetables.
5. Add the milk, reserved chicken broth, chopped chicken and peas and simmer over low to medium for 10 minutes or until thick and creamy.
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
7. Place 1/4 of the mixture in 4 10 oz ramekins or 1 large ramekin.
8. Dust a flat surface with flour and roll out the dough 1/4 inch thick (about the size of a pie plate).
9. Place the ramekins on the dough upside-down and cut 1/2 inch wider around to make the top crust of the pot pie.
10. Place the cut-out dough on top of the ramekin and gently pinch the sides, pressing it to make it stick.
11. Using the tip of a knife, make 3 slits on top of the dough (to allow ventilation).
12. Place ramekins on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.
13. Cool and serve.

Someone in our family…you know who…is going through a serious macaroni and cheese phase. It’s funny how kids get something in their heads and just fixate on it. This has happened to Kenya with tons of foods such as pizza, pasta, yogurt, muffins, cheese, even string beans (seriously, he couldn’t get enough of them) and now he’s obsessed with mac & cheese.

I’ve been having a blast coming up with fun pasta and cheese recipes and these Mac, Chicken & Cheese Bites are a tasty way to give your kids a double boost of protein. I especially love these bites because they fit beautifully in a lunch box and even little kids can easily hold them in their hands. When Kenya first saw these he asked, “What are those” and I said, “mac and cheese muffins”. “Macaroni”, “cheese” and “muffin” all in the same sentence? They were a winner before he even tried the first bite! I wonder if that means this phase will last three times as long?

Mac, Chicken & Cheese Bites (Makes 20 Mini Bites)

1/2 Lb. Macaroni
2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Flour
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 1/2 Cup Milk
1 Cup White Cheddar
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese, divided
1/4 Cup Bread Crumbs
1 Cup Cooked Chicken, diced

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cook pasta until al dente, according to package directions (the pasta I used said to cook for 9-12 minutes, so I cooked it for 10 minutes).
3. Drain the pasta and set aside.
4. In a small heavy bottomed saucepan melt 2 Tbsp of the butter.
5. Whisk in the flour and salt and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Add the milk in a slow stream and whisk to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 3 minutes stirring occasionally .
7. Add the white cheddar and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese and stir until melted.
8. Pour the cheese sauce and chicken over the pasta and stir to combine.
9. In a bowl, combine the 1/4 cup parmesan cheese and bread crumbs.
10. Grease mini muffin cups.
11. Pour about 1/4 cup of the macaroni mixture into the muffin cups, sprinkle the top with the bread and cheese mixture and bake for 15-20 minutes (I cooked mine for 20 mins) or until breadcrumbs are golden brown.
12. Cool in muffin cups, remove and serve.

When I come up with a new recipe for weelicious, it usually takes me some to test it, write the post and stage and edit the photos and so on before publishing it here. But, earlier this week I innocently posted a picture of Kenya’s lunch on my facebook and Twitter, and almost immediately I was barraged with emails and messages asking what it was that I made. So, by overwhelming demand, I bring you one of my favorite recipes, pumpkin waffles!

Over the holidays, I buy tons of canned pumpkin puree and inevitably it sits in the cabinet for months until I get around to using all of it. This recipe is for anyone who’s overstocked on pumpkin and wants to get rid of it in the yummiest way possible!

In our house, we’re all about serving these waffles for breakfast, but I decided to take them a step further. I like to make a big batch of waffles, enjoy half of them when I make them, freeze a few for future breakfasts (just pop them in the toaster oven when you need them) and make sandwiches with the remaining. Yes, sandwiches. How excited will your kids be when they open their lunch box to see cream cheese (and maybe some sliced fruit) between two fluffy pumpkin waffles? I guarantee you’ll win mom (or dad) of the year for that one!

Pumpkin Waffles (Makes 12 4 inch Waffles)

2 1/2 Cups Flour
1/3 Cup Light Brown Sugar
2 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 Tsp Ground Ginger
4 Eggs
1 Cup Milk (I used rice milk)
1 Cup Buttermilk (I used low fat)
1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
6 Tbsp Butter, melted

1. Preheat waffle iron.
2. Sift first 7 ingredients into a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl whisk the remaining ingredients.
4. Whisk the dry ingredients into the liquid mixture and whisk until smooth.
5. Pour about 1/2 cup of the pumpkin batter into a waffle iron that’s been buttered or greased and cook according to manufacturer’s directions.
6. Serve with maple syrup or make into sandwiches filling with cream cheese and whatever other fillings you desire.

We used these to make this recipe:

Proctor Silex 26000 Belgian Waffle Maker, White

Yes, you read it right, sugar cookies! At weelicious we try to create and promote recipes without refined sugar, but when the holidays and other special occasions roll around, I ease off some of my restrictions and pull out this favorite. After all, decorating sugar cookies with kids is just about as much fun as you can have in the kitchen and this version is really easy to make and even yummier to eat.

Last week I whipped out this recipe for Kenya and I and we had a blast cutting out the sugar cookies into all kinds of festive shapes. But it wasn’t until after they finished baking and had cooled that the real fun began. You should have seen Kenya’s eyes when I pulled out all the different colored sprinkles and other decorations. He’s not even 3 years old yet, but watching the precision and dedication with which he applied himself to adorning the cookies with icing and sprinkles was precious. After we were finished decorating, the family sat around and munched on Kenya’s gorgeous creation (even the ones covered with pounds of icing and sprinkles). He was so proud and we had a great time spreading our own sweet holiday cheer.

Now, no more sugar till next year (fingers crossed)!

Sugar Cookies (Makes about 1 Dozen Large Cookies)

2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Butter, softened
1 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 1/2 Tsp Vanilla

1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl using electric beaters or in a standing mixer,
cream the butter and sugar for 3 minutes on medium to high speed until light and fluffy.
3. Add the egg and vanilla to the butter mixture and beat until incorporated.
4. Turn the speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture until the dough comes together.
5. Place the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, parchment paper or wax paper and flatten into a round shaped disk.
6. Wrap the dough disk and chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least one hour or overnight.
7. Once chilled, preheat oven to 325 degrees.
8. Let dough sit for about 10 minutes or until soft enough to roll out.
9. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface until 1/4 thick and even.
10. Use cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes (I like to start at one end of the dough placing the cookie cutters close together).
11. Using a spatula, transfer the cut-outs onto a cookie sheet (preferably a lined-silpat cookie sheet).
12. Bake for 10-15 minutes rotating halfway through until edges turn golden.
13. Cool cookies on a rack.
14. Ice and serve.

Icing

1 Cup Confectioners (Powdered) Sugar
1-2 Tbsp Milk

1. Combine the ingredients in a bowl.
2. Use to decorate the cookies.

Of all the new recipes I’ve made recently, these Mashed Potato Cakes are one of the biggest hits in our kitchen. I made them for family dinner, but they were equally perfect in Kenya’s lunch box for school the next day. I find most kids love to eat anything they can hold in their little hands, so these little cakes are a special treat. They’re delicious served on their own, but when I served them with a side of apple sauce, Kenya the fun of eating them seemed to double for Kenya.

Mashed Potato Cakes (Makes 12 Small Cakes)

2 Cups Mashed Potatoes
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
1 Egg, whisked
7 Tbsp All Purpose Flour, divided
Butter or Oil, for pan-searing
Accompaniments: Apple Sauce and/or Sour Cream

1. Place mashed potatoes, cheese, egg, and 3 tbsp flour in a bowl and stir to combine.
2. Take a scoop of the potato mixture and form into patties.
3. Place the remaining 4 tbsp of flour on a plate.
4. Lightly coat the potato patties in the flour.
5. Heat a thin layer of the oil or butter in a large saute pan over medium heat.
6. Cook the potato cakes for 3 minutes on each side for a total of 6 minutes.
7. Serve as is or with accompaniments.

What’s a calzone you ask? A delicious pizza pocket filled with all kinds of delicious treats. Making fresh Spinach and Prosciutto Calzones is so easy and you and your kids will love the surprise inside. If you’re vegetarian you can easily substitute the prosciutto for another vegetable or food you crave. You can make these for lunch or dinner and all of your family will think you’re a gourmet chef!

If there’s one fruit that we keep in the house year round, it’s bananas. Since they start to get spots and turn brown after only a few days, I’m constantly trying to come up with new recipes which use one of our favorite potassium filled fruits.

Since we can’t always have dinner as a family, as much as we may try, breakfast is our real family meal. We try to cook something together (including Kenya) every morning before the demands of work and school begin. This fritter recipe is a great one for getting your kids involved in because they can peel and mash the bananas while you’re measuring out the remaining ingredients. Within minutes you’ll have golden sweet cakes that we love to top with honey. They’re guaranteed to be a huge success with the entire family!

Banana Corn Fritters (Makes 20 Fritters)

3/4 Cup Cornmeal
1/2 Cup Flour
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Cinnamon
3 Medium Bananas
2 Tbsp Milk
1 Egg
1 Ear of Corn, kernels cut off the cob (or 1/2 cup frozen corn, defrosted)
Canola or Vegetable Oil, as needed
Honey, for serving

1. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
2. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas and add the milk and egg. Whisk to combine.
3. Add the cornmeal mixture to the wet ingredients with the corn kernels and whisk until smooth.
4. Place about 1 tbsp of oil in a large sautepan over medium heat.
5. Place 2 tbsp of the banana/corn mixture in the pan to make each fritter.
6. Cook the fritters for 3 minutes on each side until golden and cooked through.
7. Drizzle with honey and serve.