momstown Victoria Chef Boyardee Junior Chef

momstown Victoria moms & kids made Chef Pizza-roni Skillet and Ravioli Lasagne at Junior Chef this month! Chef Boyardee makes meal time enjoyable for the whole family by providing quick and easy meal ideas! Yummy enriched pasta, cheese and meaty tomato sauce, Chef Boyardee is a hot and hearty meal or snack. It’s kid approved pasta, and has no preservatives! Combine with different protein options, veggies and cheese for a new take on your regular way to serve Chef Boyardee!

The kids helped to shred the cheese and cut the green pepper and pepperoni for the Chef Pizza-roni Skillet recipe.

The green pepper, pepperoni, Mozarella cheese and Italian seasoning were combined in a skillet with Chef Boyardee Beefaroni.

The skillet was folded into a healthy whole wheat tortilla for a satisfying meal!

Then the kids got busy layering Ravioli, Ricotta and Mozarella cheeses, spinach and Italian seasoning into their lasagne pans sprayed with Pam cooking spray. 

The Ravioli Lasagnes were covered for the moms to take home and bake for dinner!

Each kid received a kid-sized Chef Boyardee apron, and each family received a gift bag with Ravioli, Beefaroni, Pam Cooking spray and a recipe booklet! Thank you, Chef Boyardee!!!

How to Make Chef Boyardee Ravioli Lasagna

Ingredients

• 2 cans (2 x 425 g) Chef Boyardee® Mini Ravioli®, Beef Ravioli or Lasagna

• 1 cup (250 mL) finely chopped spinach

• 2 cups (500 mL) grated Mozzarella cheese, separated into 1 cup (250 mL) portions

• 1 cup (250 mL) 2% cottage cheese or Ricotta cheese

• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) Italian seasoning

Directions:

1. Spray 8" square or round baking pan with PAM®.
2. Spread 1 can of pasta on the bottom of the baking pan. Place chopped spinach in a glass bowl and microwave for 10 seconds; drain. Spread spinach over pasta and top with cottage or Ricotta cheese, 1 cup (250 mL) Mozzarella cheese and ½ teaspoon (2.5 mL) Italian seasoning.
3. Layer second can of pasta. Top with remaining Mozzarella and Italian seasoning.
4. Bake at 400°F for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Allow 10 minutes to stand before serving. 

Nutritional Benefits:

Adds calcium and protein.

Find Chef Boyardee on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chefboyardeecanada

You can find more recipe and meal ideas:

http://www.chefboyardee.ca/en/recipes/default.html

You can also learn about the Chef Boyardee history:

www.chefboyardee.ca/en/history.html 

momstown Victoria Junior Chef: Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

momstown.ca is celebrating its 6th birthday this month, so at this month's Junior Chef program, momstown Victoria moms and kids made these delicious egg and dairy-free chocolate cupcakes! I love doing this recipe with my kids because it only needs one bowl (or try mixing it right in an 8 x 8-inch cake pan instead of cupcakes!) And because it's egg-free, I can let the kids lick the spoon!

Ultra Easy Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Whisk together in a large bowl:

1 ½ cups flour

1 cup sugar*

¼ cup nonalkalized cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

Add:

1 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir with a rubber spatula just until smooth. Fill 12 muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the cakey part of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool completely on a rack before frosting or sprinkling with powdered sugar.

Variations: 

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes - very similar recipe, uses soymilk and substitutes balsamic vinegar instead of regular vinegar. Also adds in 3/4 cup frozen or fresh raspberries and 1/3 cup chocolate chips!

Black Bottom Cupcakes - makes 18 cupcakes instead of 12. In a separate bowl, cream together: 1 8-oz package of cream cheese, 1 egg, 1/3 cup sugar and
1 cup chocolate chips. Fill each muffin cup halfway, and top with a tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture. Bake 20-25 minutes and let cool completely. 

*Is white sugar vegan? Most white sugar from sugarcane goes through a purification process where it is filtered through bone charcoal (animal origin,) so some vegans avoid it. For a true vegan recipe, simply substitute another sweetener and it will be just as good! :)

momstown Victoria Enjoyed the Barilla Pasta PLUS at "On Top of Spaghetti" Junior Chef

This month we had an extra special Junior Chef sponsored by Barilla PLUS® Pasta! momstown Victoria moms and kids made a pasta necklace craft together, cooked Barilla PLUS® spaghetti and meatballs in the kitchen, and then took our spaghetti outside for a fun picnic event!

After painting pasta for our necklace beads and leaving them to dry, our momstown Victoria moms and kids headed to the kitchen and baked pre-made Italian style meatballs, heated up two jars of all-natural tomato sauce, and cooked the Barilla PLUS® spaghetti. It was the easiest meal in the world to make...but would the kids like it? We soon found out...the kids, moms AND dads LOVED it!

Our Victoria moms were impressed by how easy, tasty and nutritious this meal was. Each 85g serving of Barilla PLUS® spaghetti pasta has 14g of high quality protein, 6g grams of fibre and 0.3g of Omega-3 with ingredients like lentil and chickpea flour, flaxseed, egg whites and oat fibre. Barilla PLUS® is also available in four different varieties including penne, rotini, spaghetti and spaghettini. All of the moms who attended the event received a box of Barilla PLUS® spaghetti to take home! 

This multigrain pasta is perfect for my family of five, with three kids of different tastes and appetites, a mom who is vegetarian, and a dad who dislikes whole wheat pasta. When everyone started asking for seconds, I was hooked! My final verdict? Barilla PLUS® is a

• simple and easy meal solution for our busy life
• reliable source of protein, fibre, omega-3 and iron 
• delicious and a definite crowd pleaser!

Very little is needed to enhance this authentic Italian pasta, and you can find so many easy pasta recipes using fresh ingredients on the Barilla Canada website, such as Pasta Salad with Cherry Tomatoes, Fresh Mozzarella and Basil. 

momstown has a Junior Chef event every month which is included in your yearly membership of just $45/year. Click here to become a momstown Victoria member!

momstown Jr. Chef Recipe: Triple Hitter Muffins and Flaxseed and Sesame Crackers

Today at momstown Victoria Junior Chef we made two great toddler snack recipes, Triple Hitter Muffins and Flaxseed & Sesame Crackers!

TRIPLE HITTER MUFFINS

Our moms, dad and toddlers took turns helping to grate the zucchini and carrots, measuring the wet and dry ingredients, and whisking everything together. These healthy treats are also chock full of fruit and veggies.

Ingredients
¼ cup (50 mL) vegetable oil
½ cup (125 mL) brown sugar
1 egg
¾ cup (175 mL) applesauce
1 cup (250 mL) grated carrots
1 cup (250 mL) grated zucchini
1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose whole wheat flour
¾ cup (175 mL) all-purpose flour
2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder
1 tsp (5 mL) cinnamon
½ tsp (2 mL) nutmeg
½ tsp (2 mL) salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). In a large bowl, whisk together oil and sugar. Beat in egg, then applesauce. Stir in carrots and zucchini.
2. In another large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
3. Fold dry ingredients into wet, until just mixed. Grease 2 mini-muffin trays. Spoon batter to the very top of muffin cups and bake 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean when inserted in a muffin.

Recipe by Today's Parent.

FLAXSEED AND SESAME CRACKERS 

These are a cinch to make and are very high in fibre and omega-3 fatty acids. You can use whole flaxseeds to make the crackers look prettier, but ground flaxseeds are more nutritious.

Ingredients
1 ½ cups all-purpose whole wheat flour
¼ cup flaxseeds, ground

¼ cup sesame seeds

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 ½ tsp salt

1/3 cup melted unsalted butter

1/3 cup milk

¼ cup all-purpose whole wheat flour (for dusting)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, flaxseeds, sesame seeds, brown sugar and salt. Drizzle butter over and stir to combine. Drizzle over with milk and stir until a dough forms. Chill dough 20 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut dough in half. On a heavily dusted countertop, gently flatten the dough into a disk, turning it over several times to cover in flour and prevent sticking. Roll out each piece as thinly as possible. Using a pizza cutter or chef’s knife, cut into 1 inch squares, or use a juice cup and stamp into round crackers. It’s best to bake remnants rather than roll out again; this dough requires a light touch.
3. Arrange cut crackers on 2 ungreased baking sheets and put in the upper and middle racks of the oven. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, switching bottom and top baking sheets halfway through. Store in covered container for up to 2 weeks.

Recipe by Madeleine Greey.

Looking for a fun weekend activity for the whole family? Learn fun new ways to create snacks and meals in our hands-on momstown Junior Chef program. Our membership is only $45/year and includes many great programs like this one, plus enjoy a BONUS 1-year subscription to Today’s Parent Magazine when you join in 2013! Sign up for your FREE 4-week trial membership or email info.victoria@momstown.ca for more info!