This was intended to be a quick post about a healthy and fun pre-Halloween lunch, but of course my six-year-old had other plans. Oh, he was amused enough by the first sandwich, but then he asked for a second. And then he said it wasn’t scary enough. So I told him the jack o’ lantern was saying “Boo!” — to which he replied that he needed to see the word bubble to believe it. You can see how that went below…

First, though, the recipe — though it’s pretty simple. Whole wheat sandwich bread, a touch of pumpkin butter, and a blend of shredded cheese. A large pumpkin cookie cutter shapes the sandwich, and small cookie cutters are used to cut out the face. The cheese does ooze through while cooking, though, so the face won’t look quite so perfect when you’re done. *I* think that adds to the charm, but it depends how tough your critics are…

Recipe: Jack O’Lantern Pumpkin Grilled Cheese
Makes 4 sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 8 slices wheat bread
• butter
• 1 cup shredded cheese (I used a blend of cheddar and gouda)
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin butter

Instructions:

1. Cut bread into pumpkin shape. Use small cookie cutters to cut out a face in four of the slices.
2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium low heat.
3. Spread 1/2 tablespoon pumpkin butter on the bottom slice of bread and place in pan. Cover with 1/4 cup shredded cheese and the face side of bread. Cook 1-2 minutes on each side until golden bread. Repeat with remaining slices of bread.

Note: Straight pumpkin puree can be substituted for the pumpkin butter — a good way to use up any leftover puree after baking.

And, as promised, here’s my first “Boo!”…

… but he said it had to be ON THE PUMPKIN to count. No pressure or anything.

Needless to say, next time he’ll be in charge of “carving” his own sandwich.

Hope all you mamas out there had a lovely Mother’s Day weekend!

I’m not sure if he heard about it somewhere or came up with it on his own, but around the start of the school year the boy declared that Tuesdays were for tacos, and so our Taco Tuesday tradition was born. Now we’re fortunate to have a great taco place in the neighborhood (District Taco for you locals), but I try to do it at home most weeks. The kids are really into bean and cheese “tacos” (they’re really more of a quesadilla or burrito, but no need to get technical) which makes it even easier as I can make a pot of beans ahead of time, and then quickly cook some chicken breasts or fish when we want a little more protein. For meatless nights, we just use a generous scoop of beans, fresh avocado and tomato and some queso fresco. Having recently conquered my fear of the slow cooker, it was high time to try beans in the crock pot.

I’ve read conflicting things about soaking dried beans and Rancho Gordo recommends cooking the beans in the soaking water to retain nutrients, so I took their advice. You can drain and fill with fresh water if you prefer. Rancho Gordo makes gorgeous heritage bean varieties unlike any beans you’ll find in the supermarket, so they’re worth seeking out if you can. Or, just use your favorite brand of dried beans. The Rio Zape beans I used here are like pinto beans, but bigger and very flavorful. I just added a few things to season the cooking water and let them go all day. They were perfect by dinner time.

Recipe: Slow Cooker Pinto Beans (or Rio Zape)
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 pound dried Rio Zape or pinto beans
• water
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 4-ounce can mild Hatch green chilies
• 1 bay leaf
• sea salt

Instructions:

1. The night before: Rinse and pick over beans. Place in slow cooker bowl and cover with water. Let soak overnight.

2. In the morning, add garlic, chilies and bay leaf. Add additional water to cover beans by one inch. Set slow cooker on low and cook for 8-10 hours, until desired tenderness.

3. Season with salt to taste and serve. Can freeze leftover beans; be sure to include some of the liquid to keep them from drying out when reheated.

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Do you have a themed dinner night at your house? If not, try it! It’s a fun way to get kids involved in planning the meal. Getting to have chips and salsa at dinner, just like at our favorite Mexican restaurant, makes our Taco Tuesday extra special.

I’m a firm believer that comfort food can also be healthy when made with wholesome ingredients and slight tweaks. Take this pumpkin and caramelized onion mac-and-cheese, which doesn’t hide the vegetable addition but celebrates it. Pumpkin or butternut squash puree is a natural addition to macaroni as its creaminess blends right in to a rich cheese sauce.

This recipe is part of the “30 Days 30 Ways with Macaroni and Cheese” series hosted by the Wisconsin cheese folks — hop on over to check it out and find other ways to get creative with this kid-favorite dish.

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This post was sponsored by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB) who compensated me for developing this recipe. I have a relationship with the WMMB through my cheese blog, through which I was able to travel to Wisconsin to visit some of the state’s finest cheesemakers in person — read more about it at Cheese and Champagne.

February is almost here and we’ve had just a couple of brief flirtations with snow thus far this winter, much to my kindergartener’s dismay. I keep reminding him that we tend to get our biggest snow storms in February, so there’s no need to completely give up hope just yet. In the meantime, we’re enjoying the unexpected bounty of sunny days, running around in the backyard and to the playground. And so quick and warming dinners are still very much in demand, like this hearty lentil stew. I’m sure Rachael Ray would classify this as “stoup,” thicker than soup but not quite a real stew. It hits the spot just fine on a chilly Meatless Monday, whatever you choose to call it.

Recipe: Carrot Lentil Stew
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 cups red lentils, rinsed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 4 cups water
• salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Soak lentils in cold water for 30 minutes. Drain, set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in soup pot over medium heat. Cook onion several minutes, until translucent. Add cumin and cook 1 minute. Add carrots, lentils and water, stir, and bring to a boil on medium high. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer 30-40 minutes, until lentils are falling apart. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Note: Red lentils, sadly, lose their color when cooked. So the carrots add an important element of color to what would otherwise be a bit dreary looking. You could swap in cubed, pre-cooked squash or sweet potatoes if you prefer.

Hopefully by now you’ve consumed the last of your Thanksgiving leftovers, and perhaps you’ve already plunged head first into holiday baking. Me, I need a little time to detox, especially as I’m still coming off the dairy binge that was my November visit to Wisconsin. And there’s no better way to cleanse your diet than with this super simple massaged kale salad. (Look for kale at the farmers markets — it’s one of the heartier greens that can be grown after weaker varieties have called it quits for the winter.)

I’d seen massaged kale salads around the web, and a similar marinated kale version, but it was my friend Jill’s kale with apple salad that finally prodded me to make it. I started simple with just the four basic ingredients — salt, olive oil, lemon juice, and Lacinato kale — and proceeded to devour the entire bowl. Well that’s not entirely true, I had some competition from the foodie bebe. I don’t know if it was the bright green color that drew her in, but each time I’ve made this now she slurps it down like pasta. (She even had three helpings while sick with a cold this past weekend — hooray vitamin C!) We haven’t even branched out yet to add fruit or cheese. We also haven’t shared with the boy or kale-and-tofu-fearing husband yet, so I don’t know if the kale-salad love is limited to those without a Y chromosome. Let me know if you’ve shared it with the men in your life. For now, it’s our little girls’ lunch secret.

Recipe: Four Ingredient Massaged Kale Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch kale, Lacinato or  curly preferred
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Rinse the kale and spin or pat dry. Cut the leaves off the stems and then into thin 1/4-inch ribbons.
2. Place in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. Massage the salt into the kale for two minutes.
3. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice.
4. Toss dressing with the massaged kale and let stand five minutes before serving.

Serves 1 to 4, depending on your family’s love for kale.

More kale salad variations from around the web:

• Massaged Kale Salad Three Ways at Frog Bottom Farm
• Jill’s Apple Kale Salad at Heavy Table
• Raw Tuscan Kale Salad at 101 Cookbooks
• Fully Loaded Kale Salad at Healthy. Happy. Life.
• Kale Salad with Fried Pear Chips at Food52