Vegetable Pizza: A Cool Snack for Kids

Last week I had the pleasure of making vegetable pizza snacks with the 2nd grade class where I volunteer with Chefs Move to Schools. 

The kids were skeptical at first about some of the raw vegetables I asked them to eat...mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, cauliflower.  However, I challenged each of them to try one tiny bite of something new or something they thought they wouldn't like.  And you know what?  They did it.  And they liked it. Sometimes just trying a new food is half the battle, so I was incredibly proud of these kids. 
  
How to involve kids in the kitchen:

• Chop a variety of vegetables, put them into bowls, and set up a "vegetable bar" where kids can decorate their own pizzas with the colors, flavors, and designs that appeal to them. 
• Shop together at the grocery store for vegetables that interest the children.  Look for a variety of colors, shapes, and textures to encourage their interest.
• Use this opportunity to introduce a new vegetable.  None of the individual flavors stand out in this recipe, so it is a chance to ease kids into the idea of trying new foods.
• Assemble the pizza on the weekend or in the evening when you have more time.  Cut it into squares and it will be ready to eat after school or added to your school lunch.

Vegetable Pizza
Ingredients
Crust: homemade pizza crust is preferred; alternatives: Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, refrigerated pizza dough, English muffins
16 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
2 T dry Ranch dressing mix (see recipe below to make your own)
2 1/2 cups chopped vegetables - choose the veggies you like the most!  I like to use carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, tomatoes, mushrooms, red bell pepper, and green onions

Directions
Bake and cool the crust according to recipe/package directions.  This is traditionally made on a cookie sheet, but it is also fun to make mini-pizzas but cutting the crust into squares or circles.

In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, sour cream, and dry Ranch dressing.

When the crust is cool, spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the crust.  Top with the vegetables and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

To make your own Ranch Dressing Mix:

Combine ingredients and store in an airtight container:

• 1 1/2 T dried parsley
• 1/2 T dried chives
• 1/4 T dried tarragon
• 1/2 T lemon pepper
• 1 T salt
• 1/4 T oregano
• 1/2 T garlic powder

Chefs Move to Schools is a program within Let's Move! and is part of the First Lady's initiative to end childhood obesity within one generation.  Chefs from all over the country are working with schools to provide education, counseling, and support.  We want our kids to have healthy meals at school and to make healthy decisions at home. 

 

To learn more about Let's Move! and Chefs Move to Schools, please visit www.letsmove.gov.

Cooking with Beau & Bella

I'm cooking weekly for a new client who appreciates fresh vegetables, fine food, and healthy living.  There are new recipes to try, fabulous grocery stores to frequent, and fishmongers to befriend.  I certainly can't do this alone.  Luckily, they even supply me with some trusty sous chefs to get the job done.  Meet Beau and Bella...

They love to snack on vegetables and they come running when they smell rice.  Their inquisitive little noses make me smile throughout the day. 

Each week, I develop a new menu drawn largely from the Canyon Ranch recipe collection.  This is proving to be a fun way to expand my "usual" recipes and continue exploring healthy food options.  We have agreed on three dinners and some snacks/lunch items.  This week's menu included:

• Turkey Medallions with Honey Chipotle Sauce, Sauteed Kale, and Potato Medley
• Maple Glazed Sea Bass with Root Vegetables; Couscous; Arugula Salad with Walnut Vinaigrette
• Japanese Stir-Fry Vegetables with Edamame; Mongolian BBQ Sauce
• Pumpkin Crunch (roasted pumpkin seeds with dried cranberries...amazing!)
• Granola
• Winter Fruit Salad

At the end of the day, all of the food was tucked in the refrigerator and labelled with heating/serving instructions:

It's great fun to start each week with a trip to Whole Foods (out of my way and yet incredibly worth the drive!) and a day cooking in a beautiful kitchen.  Oh, and don't forget my sous chefs, Beau and Bella...they make me smile all day long!

Life On The Go

They Smile and Nod Politely…

….but people don’t really understand what I do. Once I explain, they generally think it’s cool. So here it is in a nutshell: I go into people’s homes and cook them food.

Interested? Read on my friend, read on…

Usually I make about 20 meals, stocking them in the freezer. Imagine having a lot of convenience meals ready to heat & eat, except they aren’t full of preservatives and sodium; they are made with real food by a real person, and were cooked in your own kitchen instead of a factory. Sounds pretty nice, right?

Imagine if someone cooked food just for you – a menu developed for you based on the food you like to eat, your dietary preferences, your allergies, and even your little food quirks that you won’t admit to anyone except me. Does that make you feel like a celebrity? Cool – it should! Are my clients rich people who live extravagant lifestyles? Nope, not at all (although I would be happy to cook for them as well!). Most of my clients are regular people like you who don’t have the time or interest to cook. They are large families and single people; they are workaholics and stay at home moms.

I hire someone to clean my home. I am perfectly capable of cleaning my own home; I’ve even been known to clean it myself from time to time. However, I don’t want to clean it. Although I desire a clean home, I prefer to spend my time doing something else (cooking, crafts, playing with my kiddos, etc). This is pretty much the same concept for a personal chef: you could cook, you might even want to; but if someone else can do it for you, then why not? Go for it!

Life On The Go

How I Do It

My job is interesting and so much fun. That's just my humble opinion, but it's kind of true. In an attempt to demystify this little-known profession, I am starting a series called Life On The Go. I hope you will follow along with me to learn more about what I do, how I do it, and why I love it so much. Thanks for being part of my journey!


How do I do it? First of all, I bring it all with me. When I go to my clients' homes to cook, I pack everything I need from trash bags and dish soap to groceries and wooden spoons. This is a peek into the back of my car (before I get the groceries).

From left to right, here is some of what you are seeing:

• caddy with Pam, olive oil, canola oil & thermometers to keep next to the stove
• crate with pans, skillets, and lids
• bucket of cleaning supplies, trash bags, & paper towels
• bag full of really big mixing bowls, smaller prep bowls, and large liquid measuring cups
• 3-tier box that comes apart
• top: cooking utensils, lots of knives, and small tools
• middle: dry pantry items such as spices, grains, vinegar, etc.
• bottom: containers, bags, and boxes to package the food; dish towels, apron
• clip-board with my plans for the day
• binder with my recipes for the week
• sweet little Vera Bradley bag (a gift from a friend!) that holds my cell phone, business cards, pens, and other little items I might need

Hidden from view:

• bag with 2 cutting boards for vegetables, 2 boards for meat, and several sheet trays
• small cooler to transport perishable items
• lots of reusable grocery bags
• really big boxes of plastic wrap and foil

 

 When I arrive at my client's house, I set up several stations for cutting vegetables/meat, washing dishes, packaging food, and even a pantry. The pantry is a combination of the spices, grains and other things I brought with me plus the items I bought at the store that don't need to be refrigerated immediately. Here is a view of my pantry one day:

 

 I try to maximize every bit of space in the kitchen. In the picture below, you will find:

• pantry to the left of the stove
• several dishes cooking at the same time on the stove (and probably something in the oven too!)
• oils, thermometers, and utensils to the right of the stove

 

What's cooking today? There is a Mild Beef Curry simmering on the back burner and the start of a Bell Pepper Pasta Sauce on the front burner. Yummy!

 

Once all of the food is cooked, cooled, packaged, and labeled, it goes into the freezer. Check out all of the foil-wrapped packages - that is the food I am leaving behind for my client. Each box is labeled with the name of the dish, date it is frozen, and heating instructions.

 

  

It's also nice to leave something fresh in the refrigerator. This family will enjoy a spinach salad with strawberries, yellow bell pepper, and homemade poppy seed dressing. It's a great accompaniment to their dinners on a warm summer evening.

 I hope you enjoyed a little look at my day! Please come back to see more about how Dinner On The Go works!

 

Originally published June 19, 2010

 

The Starting Line

Welcome! I decided it was time to jump on the food blog bandwagon; I hope you enjoy the ride! This will be a way to share some tips, recipes, and stories from my life in the kitchen as a mom and personal chef. I’m not an expert and will never claim to be one, but I love to share the bits I do know.


In the coming months, you will see the beginning of several series including:


• A Big Bowl of…
• Like A Big Pizza Pie
• Life on the Go
• Ingredient Spotlight
• Don’t Make Me Bake!
• Try It, You’ll Like It (Big Flavors for Little Palates)


If you find that you like to read my ideas more than you like to implement them, no worries…you can always hire me to cook for you!


Thanks for visiting – please come back soon!


Originally published 5/17/10