Common Cuisine |

This is one of those fun recipes that could serve as a breakfast or dessert. It’s also a great dish for kids to help with. Have them roll the apples in the dough for you, and they will feel as if they created the dish themselves.

• 2 medium Granny Smith apples
• 1 package (6 large or jumbo) refrigerated crescent roll dough
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 Tbsp butter
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup orange juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup very finely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 8” square baking dish. Peel and core apples. Cut each apple in 6 pieces.

Unroll crescent roll dough. Separate triangles, then cut each in half from the point to the wide end. Starting at wide end, wrap each apple section in a dough triangle and place in pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Combine butter, sugar and orange juice in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over dumplings. Sprinkle pecans over top.

Bake 30 minutes until golden and bubbly. Serve warm, spooning some of the syrup from the baking dish over dumplings. Serve with ice cream, if desired.

Serves 12.

This is a good afternoon snack to get the kids used to consuming less sugar, without trading flavor. Place it on a plate with some carrot sticks in the late afternoon, and it just might disappear!

3/4 cup plain yogurt
2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
2 small cucumbers, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
4 to 6 pieces of butter lettuce, for serving

Combine yogurt, mint, lemon juice and salt. Mix well. Add tomatoes and cucumbers. Toss. Chill 30 minutes for best flavor.

Spoon mixture into lettuce cups. Serves 4 to 6.

Are your kids picky eaters? Young children are notoriously finicky when it comes to eating stuff that’s good for them, but parents and caretakers are still in a position to influence the eating habits of the next generation. I read the other day that the primary vegetable consumed by the under-5 crowd is french fries. Don’t know about you, but that gives me a bit of a shudder as I think about the future.

Here are some ideas for how you can work together with your young ones to develop healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime.

1. Plant a garden. Even something as simple as a few potted herbs in your windowsill can be a source of fascination as kids experience the thrill of planting a seed, watering it, watching it grow, and then using bits of it in meal preparation.

2. Expose children to veggies frequently. A plate of cut up strips of bell pepper on the counter before dinner may be met with upturned noses; but if no other options are given, it just may disappear into young tummies wandering through the kitchen in search of snacks.

3. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Continue to expose your children to veggies and healthy choices over and over, and what was once a strange new food will eventually become familiar. Kids are not fans of new and strange, but may more readily attempt something they have seen on their plate several times before.

4. Set a good example. For some reason, my kids will scarf food off of my plate, when they have already rejected the exact same food on their own plate. When kids see you eating lots of veggies, whole grains, and plain yogurt, they are more likely to develop a taste for it themselves.

5. Build your meals around vegetables, instead of making them an afterthought. An appropriately built meal consists of half a plate of veggies, with the other half divided between protein and grain foods. Get out your spice box, and utilize that herb garden to vary the flavor and smell of your veggies.

With patience and persistence, your kids will expand their tastes and develop healthy eating habits that will benefit them throughout their lives.

When I first tried this, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It could easily serve as a main dish, but also makes a great choice for a potluck.

2 Tbsp butter
3 cups elbow macaroni
2 12 oz cans evaporated milk
1/3 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 lb (4 cups) shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 lb (2 cups) shredded jack cheese
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375. In a large pot, cook macaroni to al dente (barely done). Drain, and return to pot; toss with butter.

In a medium bowl, stir together milks and eggs. Add seasoned salt, garlic powder, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. In another medium bowl, combine cheeses.

Layer 1/3 of the noodles in a 13″ x 9″ baking dish, cover with 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat two more times with remaining noodles and cheese. Pour milk mixture over all. Sprinkle with paprika.

Bake 35-45 minutes until top is lightly browned. Let sit 10-15 minutes before serving. Serves

• 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
• 1 can condensed cheese soup (cheddar, fiesta nacho, southwestern jack, etc)
• ½ cup milk
• 2 cups shredded cheddar or jack cheese
• 1 (14 oz) can cut-up tomatoes, or 1 cup salsa

Preheat oven to 350°. Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain. Mix together soup and milk, then stir in cheese and tomatoes.

Stir macaroni into cheese mixture and pour into greased 9″ x 13″ glass baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes until lightly browned.

Serves 4 to 6.

This kid-friendly treat is a beautiful jewel on a plate of homemade cookies, and is so full of fruit and nuts it could practically count as a serving of fruit.

• 1 C dried dates
• 1 C golden raisins
• 1/2 C dried cranberries
• 1/2 C dried apricots
• 1 Tbsp Orange Juice
• 1/2 C white chocolate chips
• 1/2 C walnut pieces
• Granulated sugar

In a food processor, place dates, raisins, cranberries and apricots. Pulse several times until fruits are well chopped. Add Orange Juice to help with mixing.

Add white chocolate and nuts to mixture. Pulse a few more times until mixture has a slightly chunky consistency.

Roll mixture into 1″ balls. Roll balls in granulated sugar.

Serve in individual candy cups. Makes about 40 sugar plums.

When you can’t build a campfire, perhaps this is enough to satisfy the craving for this childhood treat.

• 1 pkg brownie mix plus ingredients listed on box.
• 12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
• 6 graham crackers, broken into small pieces
• 1 ½ C mini marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare brownie mix as directed for 13″ x 9″ pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

In medium bowl, gently mix chocolate chips, graham cracker bits, and marshmallows. Evenly spread over top of hot brownies. Bake 15 minutes more.

Cool completely (if possible) before cutting into bars. Makes about 2 dozen servings of childhood happiness.