Busy Mom, Author at Busy Mom Recipes

Homemade Mac and Cheese on the Stove

Posted on May 20, 2016May 14, 2016 by Busy Mom

The cheese sauce for this homemade mac and cheese turned out smooth and creamy. I love that you can eat mac and cheese with just about anything. I sauteed a chopped up jalapeno and added it to half this batch of macaroni and cheese. It added a little kick.

You can add green peas, ham, chicken, bacon, broccoli, etc. I had a huge container of arugula in our refrigerator, so I topped my macaroni and cheese with arugula. It was delicious and the contrast of the orange and green was lovely.

Homemade Mac and Cheese on the Stove

Ingredients:

1 lb. pasta (you can use macaroni or any other kind you like)
1 1/2 C. whole milk, separated
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2-3 C. medium or sharp cheddar cheese, grated (I grated my own… not sure if you’ll get the same smooth consistency if you use the pre-grated kind)
1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder

Instructions:

Cook pasta al dente, according to its package directions. Drain and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, add only 1 Cup of the milk over medium heat.
In a small cereal bowl, whisk together the flour and the last 1/2 C. of milk. Set aside. When you start to see bits of steam coming from the warm milk, whisk in the milk/flour mixture. Continue whisking until the milk thickens to about a heavy cream consistency.
Turn the heat to very low, and whisk in the grated cheese until smooth. Stir in the salt and turmeric powder. Add a little more salt if desired.
Pour cheese sauce over the cooked pasta, stir and serve warm!

*Inspired by THIS recipe.

Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Busy Mom

Almost every Saturday morning, my family and I make Whole Wheat Pancakes. This morning I noticed two bananas on the counter that were looking speckled. Of course my first thought was “We should make banana bread!”, but then banana pancakes popped into my head. Wanting to stick with whole wheat pancakes since we’ve been eating a lot of white flour breads lately, I found a simple and delicious recipe from 100 Days of Real Food. Whole wheat AND bananas 🙂 I made a few small changes to the recipe based on what sounded good, like a little less baking soda (for some reason I can always taste the baking soda a little too much in recipes), a touch of cinnamon and vanilla, and coconut oil in place of butter.

These banana pancakes turned out great, and I hope you enjoy them too!

Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes

Ingredients:

2 C. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 ripe bananas, mashed well
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. melted coconut oil, plus more for cooking (the “more” doesn’t have to be melted)
1 Tbsp. honey
1 3/4 C. milk

Instructions:

Turn on Jack Johnson’s Banana Pancakes song.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
Heat a pan to medium/low-medium heat.
In a smaller bowl, mash the bananas. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the melted coconut oil (if it’s not already melted, I usually melt it in a glass cereal bowl in the microwave for 10-2- seconds). Add honey. Pour into the banana mixture slowly, stirring as you pour.
Add the liquid mixture and the milk to the dry ingredients and mix together just until blended.
Add about a tsp. of coconut oil to the pan (I used a Calphalon pan). Swirl the oil around the pan. Then add 1/4 C. of batter for each pancake. Cook for about 2 minutes (or until golden on bottom), then flip and cook another minute or two until done.

Serve pancakes hot drizzled with Pure Maple Syrup and topped with fresh fruit.

*Inspired by THIS recipe.

Almond Butter Vegan Fudge

Posted on April 9, 2016May 16, 2018 by Busy Mom

Update: I’ve made this vegan fudge several times (because it’s just so good!), adjusting the measurements each time (and usually not measuring exactly). This way you don’t have to measure out a cup of almond butter. You just use the whole 16 oz jar of it. Here is roughly how much of each I use:

about 1/2 C. coconut oil, melted or softened
1 (16 oz) jar crunchy, salted almond butter
1 tsp. vanilla
about 1/8 tsp. ground pink Himalayan salt
between 1/3 and 1/2 C. unsweetened cocoa powder
about 1/2 C. pure Maple syrup

Follow the instructions below, but you may want to use an 8×8 or 9×9 inch dish instead of a pie pan since the above measurements will make a bit more fudge.

This is what it looks like when you use Crunchy Almond Butter

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I’ve never been a huge fan of fudge. It was always too sweet and, well, not nutritious. I was a peanut butter ball type of girl.

The other day I branched out of the peanut butter world and into the almond butter world. And oh, that was a good choice to make 🙂 I still enjoy peanut butter, and am looking forward to trying peanut butter fudge some day, but this almond fudge sure was amazing. And it’s vegan! I’m not vegan, but it’s fun trying out vegan recipes sometimes, especially when we happen to already have the ingredients at home.

Almond Butter Vegan Fudge Recipe

Ingredients:

1 C. Almond Butter
1/4 C. plus 1 Tbsp. pure Maple Syrup
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp. melted coconut oil
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. coarsely ground Pink Himalayan Salt

Instructions:

In a smallish mixing bowl, stir all of the ingredients together with a spoon.
Line a dish (I used a glass pie pan) with wax paper or parchment paper. Evenly spread the delicious vegan fudge mixture onto the wax paper (you decide how thick you want the fudge to be). Place another piece of wax paper on top and stick it in the freezer for at least 1 hour.
Remove from freezer and turn the fudge upside-down onto a glass plate or cutting board. Slice the fudge into bite-sized pieces. Put the pieces into a freezer-safe container. You can put wax paper between the layers so they don’t stick together. Store in the freezer or refrigerator.

Enjoy every melt-in-your-mouth bite.

*Inspired by THIS recipe video and the Raw Food/Real World recipe book.

****Another high in protein and good-for-you fats snack to add to your repertoire is Avocado with Sunflower Seeds…definitely worth a try!

Vegetarian Meal: Pasta with Black Beans

Posted on April 1, 2016March 4, 2016 by Busy Mom

This recipe is one I threw together last minute before lunch. It’s one of those days where we really should go grocery shopping, but don’t desperately need to quite yet. I wanted to use up a few odds and ends before buying more food.

The pasta with black beans turned out so flavorful even though it was very simple. I did add the optional cheese and cilantro, so that may have contributed to the delicious taste. The rest of my family didn’t add those optional ingredients, and still enjoyed the meal (playing Don’t Eat Pete helped my kids try and finish their black beans, even though they refused to try them at first).

Vegetarian Meal: Pasta with Black Beans

Ingredients (serves 4):

about 4 C. cooked Barilla Protein Plus Elbow pasta, tossed with a little extra virgin olive oil and salt (we used leftover pasta from another night, so it was already made and we just warmed it up in the microwave)
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
a drizzle of light olive oil
1 small/medium yellow onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds discarded and the green part chopped
salt to taste
optional: chopped cilantro
optional: grated cheese

Instructions:

Heat a small/medium skillet to medium heat. Add the drizzle of light olive oil and swirl around the bottom of the skillet.
When the olive oil is hot, add the chopped onions and chopped jalapeno. Saute for about 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent.
Stir in the rinsed and drained black beans. Cook on low for a few minutes until the beans are heated through. Add salt to taste.
Serve this black bean mixture on top of the pasta. If desired, sprinkle some grated cheese and chopped cilantro on top.

We ate this pasta with black beans with a side of fresh bell pepper slices.

Scrambled Eggs and Ham

Posted on March 26, 2016April 2, 2016 by Busy Mom

Do you have leftover ham from Easter dinner? Or even sandwich ham slices you want to use up before they go bad? Just cut up that ham into bite-sized pieces and add to some scrambled eggs. This makes a hearty protein-rich breakfast. You can even make it for lunch or dinner if you want.

Scrambled Eggs and Ham Recipe

Ingredients (4 adult servings):

about 1 Tbsp. extra light olive oil
about 1/2 of a green bell pepper, chopped
about 1 C. of bite-sized ham pieces (we used leftover Easter ham)
6 eggs plus 1 Tbsp. milk plus 1 Tbsp. water
kosher salt and pepper to taste
about 3/4 C. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Instructions:

Heat a skillet to medium heat. Add olive oil and swirl to coat bottom of skillet.
Add green bell peppers and ham pieces. Saute for 3-4 minutes, or until bell peppers get a little softer.
In a bowl, combine eggs, milk, water and a little pepper and kosher salt. Stir gently with a fork. Pour egg mixture over the peppers and ham Cook/scramble for 4-6 minutes, or until eggs are cooked. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top and let melt for a couple minutes (you can turn the heat to really low or just turn it off).
Serve immediately. Goes great with fresh fruit and toast or banana bread.

Strawberry Spinach Salad (Easter Salad)

Posted on March 18, 2016February 6, 2016 by Busy Mom

I don’t usually bother following salad recipes. Whatever we have goes in the salad and I rarely add any dressing. For Easter dinner, however, I wanted to make something special that would compliment the meal and add some color. It turned out great!

This salad is simple, light, beautiful and very berry tasty!

Strawberry Spinach Salad (Easter Salad)

Ingredients (about 8 servings as a side dish):

1 Tbsp. granulated sugar (honey could probably be a great substitute)
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. light olive oil
a dash of paprika
a dash of kosher salt
triple washed baby spinach and/or baby arugula salad mix
between 1/2-1 quart fresh strawberries, washed and sliced
about 1/2 C. chopped walnuts or pecans

Instructions:

In a small bowl, stir together sugar, apple cider vinegar, light olive oil, paprika and kosher salt to make the dressing. Set aside.
In a salad bowl, layer greens (spinach/arugula mix), strawberry slices, and walnuts about two times, but save most of the strawberries and walnuts for the very top of the salad to make it look pretty. They kind of fall down anyway once you start serving. Drizzle the homemade dressing over the top of the salad.
Serve immediately, or cover with foil and chill before serving.

This strawberry spinach salad goes great with HASHBROWN CASSEROLE and ham! Please let me know how you like it!

*Inspired by THIS recipe.

Easy Lemon Cheesecake Pie

Posted on March 10, 2016February 6, 2016 by Busy Mom

We enjoyed this lemon cheesecake as an Easter dessert. It was delicious and super easy to make, but I think lemon is not my favorite flavor in a cheesecake. We have a lemon tree right outside our door, so lemons are convenient and free, but next time I’ll replace the 1/3 cup of lemon juice with 1/3 cup of strawberry puree to make a strawberry cheesecake. Yummm 🙂

Easy Lemon Cheesecake Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

1 premade graham cracker pie crust
2 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, softened in the microwave (I used the regular Philadelphia kind)
1 C. granulated sugar (this sugar comes with a great container!)
1 C. plain Greek yogurt (I used the kind with no milkfat) or sour cream
2 eggs
1/3 C. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
whipped cream or Cool Whip for topping
extra lemon for zesting

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place pre-made graham cracker crust on top of a cookie sheet.
In a large bowl, combine softened cream cheese, sugar, Greek yogurt, eggs, lemon juice, vanilla and salt. Beat well with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into graham cracker crust.
Cover edges with foil so the crust doesn’t burn. I used the plastic top that came with the crust to measure the foil and cut a hole in the middle of the foil. Then place on top of the actual pie and tuck the edges of the foil around the pie tin.
Bake in preheated oven for 40-50 minutes (I baked for 45 minutes), or until the center is set but is also still a little wobbly. Remove from oven. Take off the foil carefully. Let the cheesecake cool for a few hours, then chill in refrigerator for about 5 hours or overnight.
Before serving, top with whipped cream or Cool Whip and some lemon zest.

If your looking for a no-bake lemon pie, THIS recipe is awesome (my husband’s favorite) and really easy to throw together.

*Inspired by THIS recipe.

Simple Greek Yogurt Banana Bread

Posted on March 4, 2016March 4, 2016 by Busy Mom

This recipe is so simple and comes together quickly. Really, you can use just one bowl to mix everything together.

There are two things I love about this Greek Yogurt Banana Bread recipe. One, the only sweeteners I used were Maple syrup and bananas (the yogurt I used was also sweetened with a little honey). No brown or granulated sugar. The other thing I love is that there is no butter or oil in this recipe (not even an applesauce substitute). I don’t mind having a little butter or coconut oil in my banana bread, but I just don’t like using an extra dish to melt the butter or coconut oil in the microwave before mixing it with the batter. Keeps things simple and easy 🙂

Simple Greek Yogurt Banana Bread

Ingredients (makes 1 loaf in a 9×5 inch loaf pan):

2 medium ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/2 C. vanilla or honey Greek yogurt
1/4 C. pure Maple syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 C. chopped walnuts (or dark chocolate chips)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease one 9×5 inch bread pan (I usually just grease it with a little coconut oil). Place the bread pan on a rimmed cookie sheet and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas. Add the eggs, Greek yogurt, Maple syrup, salt and baking soda. Stir together. Add the flour and stir just until moistened. Fold the walnuts into the batter.
Pour batter into greased bread pan and bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool about 15 or 20 minutes in the pan. Remove from pan and place on cutting board or plate. Slice.

Serve with a spread of butter, if desired.

*Inspired by THIS recipe.

Don’t Eat Pete with Green Peas

Posted on February 16, 2016February 20, 2016 by Busy Mom

Have you ever played Don’t Eat Pete with M&M’s?

All you need to do is spread out several M&M’s on a plate and then have one person go out of the room while the rest choose which M&M will be Pete. Once everyone in the room knows which one is Pete, then the other person can come back in the room. They begin eating the M&M’s, one at a time. If they try to eat Pete, everyone shouts “Don’t Eat Pete!” and that is the end of the turn. You can restock the plate with M&M’s if needed and have someone else take a turn.

HERE is a link to a fancier way to play (from theteacherwife), which actually looks pretty cute. We usually just use a plate as our game board, but if you want to print out or draw a game board, that could be fun too 🙂

One night we had chili, cornbread and green peas for dinner. My son would not even try his peas. Somehow we ended up playing Don’t Eat Pete with the peas (or you can call it “Don’t eat Pea!” haha). Guess what?!? He ate every single one of those peas on his plate by the end of dinner time (even got seconds so we could keep playing). And, our family had a great time playing together and interacting during the meal, which is SO important. We’ve done it a few times since. Sometimes the kids want to play with popcorn, corn kernels, carrots, canned black beans, broken up brownie pieces, french fries and all sorts of things.

Just for fun, I want to challenge you to think of a healthy food your child is very hesitant to eat, and try playing Don’t Eat Pete with that food. And if you do, please share your experience in the comments below! I’d love to hear about it 🙂

Jello Cake

Posted on February 8, 2016February 25, 2016 by Busy Mom

My brother and sister-in-law shared a delicious cake recipe with me, and it is such a cute cake! This would be perfect to make with your kids or special sweetheart the day before Valentine’s Day so you can enjoy it together on Valentine’s Day. It would also make a beautiful Easter dessert. It reminds me of Springtime due to it’s bright colors and the berry flavors 🙂

Jello Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

one white cake mix (I used a 16.25 oz box) and whatever ingredients you need to make the cake (look on the back of the box… you’ll probably need eggs, oil and some water)
one 6-oz package of strawberry Jello mix (and hot water)
one 8-oz container of Cool Whip
optional: berries as a garnish

Instructions:

Make and bake the cake according to package directions (I used a 13×9 inch glass baking dish to bake it in). Let cool for about 1 hour, or until it’s cool enough to put into the refrigerator. Poke it several times with a fork all over the cake.
In a bowl, combine the Jello with water (again, look on the Jello box to know how much hot water to mix it with). Then pour the liquid on top of the cooked cake with holes in it.
Place the cake/Jello in the refrigerator overnight.
Frost the cake with Cool Whip and serve garnished with berries.

Enjoy this cute, colorful cake!

*Inspired by Chanson & Kalena and THIS recipe.