Yet another Deceptively Delicious recipe review - Macaroni and Cheese 1!

Try to control your excitement folks! But yes, it's yet another Deceptively Delicious recipe review!!! *and the crowd goes bananas*

Yesterday I tried the Macaroni and Cheese 1 recipe which has cauliflower puree in it. It was easy to prepare and I think it turned out really good! My husband, older daughter and I all enjoyed it. My little one, though...ya know, the one with the very discriminating palate...was not thrilled.

I would definitely say there is a texture difference. I'm, of course, comparing it to Kraft Macaroni and Cheese dinner, which is completely smooth. This was not. I'm half wondering if my puree wasn't smooth enough. That's something to work on for next time. I also think I'll add about a quarter of a cup of additional cheese.

Unfortunately, I did not low-fat cheese or cream cheese, both of which this recipe calls for. So our result wasn't quite as healthy as it could have been. Next time I try it, I may go with neufchatel cheese as I usually like it more than low-fat version of the original.

Good news! Another Deceptively Delicious recipe review!

Yesterday my older daughter started kindergarten, and let's all face it. Nothing helps the hurt of a baby girl going off to school like chocolate cupcakes. I thought it was just me until she went there during her Sunday afternoon "but I will miss you!" breakdown. That's when I realized, no matter the age of the woman, chocolate is the ultimate mood enhancer.

This is how it went.
Her: "I don't want to go to school."
Me: "Oh honey (really sympathetic), why?"
Her: "I am afraid I will miss you." eyes filling with tears
Me: "I will miss you too, but I feel really sure that you'll have so many fun things to do tomorrow that you won't be thinking about me very much."
Her: tears spilling out onto her curly hair framed cheeks "But I will miss you."
Me: "How about we plan to do something special when you get home. Sound good?"
Her: immediately perks up a bit. "Ummm, how about we make chocolate cupcakes?"

That's my girl! And what a perfect opportunity to break out my favorite cookbook, Deceptively Delicious. I knew there was a recipe in there that would be perfect!

After my princess got home, flushed from excitement from her first day, we broke out our food processor and stand mixer. I was in kitchen appliance heaven!

My girls watched me scoop out four avocados, dump them in the food processor, puree then dump a full cup of it in the stand mixer. They fought over who would put it in the bowl. They clearly knew it had green in it.

The rest of the ingredients were pretty healthy. Flour, cocoa powder, sugar, egg whites, vanilla...and balsamic vinegar. Yeah! What's up with that. Though like a good Jessica Seinfeld fan, I added it blindly trusting.

We licked the bowl, like the normal people we are, and it was good! We baked according to the directions, let the cupcakes cool and YUMMMMMY! They were delicious! I topped them with strawberry flavored Cool Whip and if I wasn't trying to eat like a good girl, I would have polished off the whole batch already!

And in case anyone is wondering...my tooth still hurts. Thankfully today we're just down to transient pain, which I learned is pain that results from stimulus provocation. Basically, it's sensitivity to hot and cold. Since about Thursday until last night I was in pain constantly with a dull aching. It's nerve related, though, as all teeth from the one filled (second from the back on my upper right side) to my front teeth on the top AND bottom hurt. I just had x-rays so I know, for fact, all of my teeth are not rotting. *sigh* Friggin' dental work.

...and it continues...

I promise tomorrow's post won't be yet another recipe review, but I can't stop myself today.

Last night for dinner I prepared the chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes from Deceptively Delicious and they fooled everyone! The chicken was coated in a broccoli puree and the potatoes were mixed with cauliflower. Everyone ate everything, including my parents! I'm still amazed! The food was really really good. And please believe me when I say they turn their noses up at a lot.

The one downfall of the book is that you've really got to plan what you're going to make for the week. There is a section in the book about freezing the purees, but I'm hesitant. Some recipes call for 1/2 a cup, others 1/4 a cup and others 2 tablespoons. I'm not sure in what quantity I should doing my freezing. So for now, I'm trying to use up what I have within a few days. I think as I get more experienced, I'll probably freeze in 1/4 cup quantities and just concede to occasionally having to trash a tablespoon or two every now and then.

My plan this weekend is to try a dessert - my favorite food group! Tonight for dinner we'll undo all the nutrition we've built up over the past two days as we're eating out to celebrate my parents' anniversary. Greasy, cheesy and fattening food...yummmmmm! :-)

The deception has begun!

Thank you, Jessica Seinfeld! I had heard about her cookbook Deceptively Delicious when it first came out. There was a huge buzz about it the mom circle. Imagine getting fruits and veggies in your kids in a delicious way that they don't pick up on. Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? To be very honest, I thought so too and didn't think twice about passing it up. That was, of course, until I saw Jessica pimping the book to the goddess of all talk show hosts, Oprah.

Jessica talked about being able to enjoy meals more because they were no longer filled with debate about how many more bites of veggies to eat. She knew the food her kiddos were gobbling up had great nutrition hidden inside. She felt really good about what she was serving. And as much as I thumbed my nose at this whole idea of pureeing veggies to sneak into food as being the next pet rock, she was starting to make sense to me.

As much as I try to provide really nutritious meals for my children, they eat like crap! The little one has a processed and cured meat addiction. Salami, bacon, pork roll (yes, we're originally from NJ. The rest of the world knows this as Taylor Ham, though anyone from NJ will quickly chime in that it's quite un-ham-like.). Both of my girls very rarely have vegetables despite offering them ALL the time. And trust me, we've fought the fight. There have been many meals that end up in time-outs and lonely kids ordered to sit there until they eat four bites of whatever green. When I was first married and dreamily let my mind wander into the future of our family, our dinner times were filled with happy and peaceful chatter about our day, our hopes and our dreams. There was a lot less correcting, demanding and yelling involved than in what actually materialized many years later.

So I thought about buying Deceptively Delicious for a few weeks, as is the standard waiting time for any cookbook I consider. I have about twenty, of which I only open a handful of them a handful of times a year. Did I really need another? We go through this same waiting period for new kitchen appliances as well. Finally I decided that yes, I did, indeed, need this book. As luck had it, a 20% off coupon from Barnes & Noble arrived the very next day. :-) The New Cookbook Gods were shining down upon me.

I took the gals to the dollar movie at the theater two doors down from the big B&N. (The Alvin and the Chipmunks movie was delightful, by the way!) After it was over, we walked down and my munchkins made an immediate break for the kids' section. We have like 80 Thomas trains, but there's just something about the train table they have there. I'll never understand, but whatever...

Flash forward through a tantrum over a Barbie ballet book to last night. I made the Hamburger recipe with cauliflower and a mac and cheese recipe with white beans. I was slightly skeptical, yet hopeful.

My kitchen has never been a bigger mess. And this comes from a chic who bakes all the time and hosts Thanksgivings. My sin, though, was making the purees just before I needed them. The devastation of my counter tops would have been less if I hadn't pureed and cooked at the same time. Regardless, the end result rocked! My husband and children ate both items without hesitation. Seriously, my children have never, NEVER had cauliflower in their little bodies. N-E-V-E-R! They ate it this time, happily. Even my darling, veggie-disliking, husband remarked, "These burgers are really good. What's in them?" He was none the wiser. Mwahahaha, my evil plan had worked!

I'll continue to review recipes from the book, but for now, Mrs. Jessica Seinfeld gets a huge momorable mention for this book! I'll shamelessly promote for her as long as my fam continues to enjoy the recipes. Tonight we'll be testing out the chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes. Fingers crossed the "veggies in children" result will be the same!

And while I'm at it, Jerry Seinfeld gets an momorable mention of his own. Loved the show, Jerry, and love your stand-up. We saw him perform a few years back and while the ticket price was a bit high, it was worth it! Between your wife's creative chef-ery and your comedic abilities, your children are going to be chock full of talent!

[photo courtesty of www.deceptivelydelicious.com]