Kid Friendly Meal Options

It can be tough to get kids to eat the right foods. Here are some tried and true recipes that work with the children of my clients. 


Crispy chicken tenders
1 pound(s) chicken tenderloin, cut into smaller pieces, if desired
1/4 and up to 1/3 cup(s) mayonnaise, low fat
1- 1 1/2 cup(s) panko crumbs, whole wheat bread crumbs, Italian style (your choice)
1/4 teaspoon(s) garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon(s) paprika
1/8 teaspoon(s) pepper

Preheat oven to 425°F.  Combine, garlic salt, salt, paprika and pepper (feel free to switch up seasoning to your child's preference). Brush* chicken tenders with seasoned mayonnaise
then dip in bread crumbs or panko crumbs. 

*I suggest using a silicon brush to add a thin layer to all sides of the tenders)

Cover baking sheet with foil. Spray with cooking spray. Arrange chicken tenders in a single
layer on baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, flip over and bake another 5 minutes.
-OR-
Freeze prepared chicken tenders (raw). Lay chicken tenders in a single layer on a parchment lined cooking sheet. Place in the freezer (uncovered) for 15-20 minutes. This will firm up the chicken tenders and make it easier to package them for longer term storage. Once firm, layer chicken tenders in between pieces of parchment paper and seal in tupperware.

To prepare frozen tenders. Bake from frozen (do not defrost). Preheat oven to 425°F. Prepare cooking sheet with foil, then treat with cooking spray. Arrange chicken on baking sheet.  Bake for 5-7 minutes, flip over and bake another 5 minutes. Cooked tenders will be slightly firm to the touch.

Easy Baked Fish Nuggets

1 1/2 pound(s) Haddock, Halibut, Sea bass, or other fish of choice (firm flesh fish works best)
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon(s) lemon zest
1 tablespoon(s) mayonnaise, light
1/8 teaspoon(s) onion powder
1/8 teaspoon(s) black pepper
1 1/2 cup(s) plain bread crumbs, panko, or whole wheat

Preheat oven to 425°.Place fish in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine lemon zest, mayonnaise, onion powder, and pepper in a small bowl, and brush a thin layer over fish. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs; . Bake at 425° for 5-7 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.
-OR-
Freeze prepared fish nuggets (raw). Lay fish nuggets in a single layer on a parchment lined cooking sheet. Place in the freezer (uncovered) for 10-15 minutes. This will firm up the nuggets and make it easier to package them for longer term storage. Once firm, layer nuggets in between pieces of parchment paper and seal in Tupperware.


To prepare frozen nuggets. Bake from frozen (do not defrost). Preheat oven to 425°F. Prepare cooking sheet with foil, then treat with cooking spray. Arrange fish nuggets on baking sheet. Bake for 5-7 minutes, flip over and bake another 5 minutes. Cooked nuggets will be slightly firm to the touch.

Pasta Bolognese
3/4 pound(s) pasta fettuccine ( I like Ronzoni Smart Taste)

1 tablespoon(s) olive oil
1 cup(s) onion finely chopped (about 1 small onion)*
1/2 cup(s) carrot finely chopped (about 2 carrots)*
1/2 cup(s) celery finely chopped (about 2 stalks)*
8 ounce(s) mushroom finely chopped
3 medium garlic clove minced
1 pound(s) ground turkey (1/2 dark and white meat) or chicken (1/2 dark and 1/2 white meat, or 1 pound of lean ground beef**
2 tablespoon(s) thyme leaves, fresh (1/2 teaspoon, if dried)
2 - 14 1/2 oz. tomatoes, no salt added, diced
1/2 cup(s) chicken broth, canned, low sodium
1/4 cup(s) evaporated milk, skim
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup(s) Parmesan cheese grated

* Use your Cuisinart mini chopper to process the vegetables into a fine chop
** It's important to use a combination of dark and white meat if using poultry because all white meat tends to come out too dry since white meat has much less fat. Using a combination of dark and white meats lends more flavor and a negligible amount of fat to this healthy recipe.


Set a large pot of water on the stove to boil, and cook the pasta according to the directions on the box.


In the meantime, heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, ground meat, thyme and cook until the meat is browned, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks, about 5 minutes.


Stir in the tomatoes and broth and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until sauce is thickened. Stir in the milk and cook for 1 minute more. Season with salt and pepper.


When the pasta is done, drain it, put it back in the pasta pot, add the sauce and stir the sauce and pasta together. Put into serving bowls and top with Parmesan cheese.


Mini Meatballs


Meatballs:

1 small onion peeled and cut into quarters, finely chopped
1 medium carrot finely chopped
1/2 of a large red, yellow or orange bell pepper, finely chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, minced (more or less to taste)
2 tablespoon(s) grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 pound ground beef, lean
28 oz jar of tomato pasta sauce, of your choice


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place onion, carrots, bell pepper, mushrooms in Cuisinart food processor and chop until finely chopped. Add chopped vegetable to bread crumbs, meat and egg. Mix together by hand. If mixture is too wet, add more bread crumbs. If the mixture is too dry, add another egg. Mix until the meat just comes together. Shape meat into golfball sized meatballs. If you are cooking these meatballs for toddlers, I suggest walnut sized meatballs.  Place meatballs on prepared (sprayed) cooking sheet covered with foil.

Bake in 350 degree oven until browned (turning halfway through) about 10-15 minutes.  If meatballs are smaller, reduce cooking time by half. Meatballs will finish cooking in the tomato sauce, cook for about 10-20 minutes more minutes.

To Freeze: Place sauce and meatballs (portioned) in a freezer friendly container, remember to leave ample space for the expansion (the sauce and meatballs will expand when frozen).


To use frozen sauce and meatballs: Defrost the portion you need overnight in the refrigerator. Add defrosted sauce and meatballs to a sauce pan, warm over medium-low heat, stirring to warm evenly. -OR- Microwave in microwave safe glass bowl covered at 50% power for 2-3 minutes increments. Serve over pasta or rice.

Dinner's on the Table

It's Friday and what's the perfect meal to make after a long crazy week of work and running around? Pizza, but forget about calling Domino's or Papa John's.

I picked up a ready made dough from Trader Joe's. They carry white and whole wheat. For this pizza I picked the white dough. Tonight I made a spicy turkey sausage, olive, and artichoke pizza. I used a combination of spicy and sweet turkey sausage links crumbled (from lasagna I made last week) and I always have olive and marinaded artichokes in the house (both are great additions to salads).

We are also having a mixed green salad with beets, tomatoes, candied spicy pecans (I made these, but you can buy candied nuts at most grocery stores), crumbled goat cheese, and cucumber with a homemade raspberry vinagrette.  Add a glass of red wine. Yum. Dinner is served and plenty of leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

McGuyvered Meals

Below you will find recipes reinvented from leftovers or revamped ways to improved "boxed" items and make them more nutritious and healthier options.

Trader Joe's Banana Bread-Reinvented

I adapted the recipe on the back of the Trader Joe's (boxed) Banana Bread

Instead of 1/3 c of oil (why add all that fat?), I substituted an equal amount of Trader Joe's low fat vanilla yogurt. I also mashed two large ripe bananas,  then follow the recipe as directed. Make sure you just fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients (egg, water, and yogurt), until it all just comes together (over mixing will cause the muffins/bread to be too dense and tough). The muffins were so moist and tasted just like the banana bread my parents used to make, in about a third of the time.

A note about saving money: A box of of this mix was less than $3.00 and the recipe made 18 muffins. I already had the low fat yogurt and egg. If you prefer a super-sized muffin. The recipe would probably make a dozen. I have to admit, I like the calorie and portion control of spreading the calories out over 18 muffins, instead of 12. This is a great alternative to purchasing that morning muffin from Starbuck's every morning at $3 or more each day.

A note about storage: These muffins contain no preservatives, so store in an airtight container, for 1-3 days (away from heat or direct light), if you live in a humid place, store in an airtight contain in the fridge, or place them in a bag and pop them into the freezer. When ready to eat (from freezer) either let them thaw overnight in the fridge or pop them in the microwave for 15-30 seconds (depends on strength of your microwave).

Local Publicity

A cook in the house, Chef Erin caters to her clients' culinary needs.
By Ryan McDonald
Staff Writer- Daily Breeze Business Section (Front Page)

Erin is used to getting questions while on the job, but not what you'd expect.
When she's working, she typically fields queries such as "What's that?" and "What are you doing now?" Such inquisitive words only could come from children, but Bell, 29, isn't in child care. She's a personal chef.

"I think it's important that I'm close with my clients," she said. "I want to know their kids' names." The Hermosa Beach resident is the pots and pans behind Let's Eat, an in-home chef service that prepares meals for people ahead of time.
With the tight-knit relationship that she seeks to develop with her clients, she finds that the job is more than just whipping up food; it's about interacting with the people she serves."I have one client who loves ethnic food, and he once asked for a Moroccan recipe," Bell said. "Now it's something else I know how to make."

What does your job entail?
I am a personal chef. I prepare meals for families, couples or singles. I also do small dinner parties and cooking lessons.

Why do your clients typically say they need your help?
It's cool because it gives them more time to spend with the kids. Also, the biggest thing is that they're not eating takeout. They're eating healthy, fresh food that is catered toward their needs.

Do you try to avoid clients with special requests?
I actually like that. I don't really have stock recipes.

Do the restrictions ever make it difficult to do your job?
Some diet restrictions make it harder. But I kind of like the challenge of different requests. I just like cooking.

What made you want to be a chef?
Basically I grew up in a house that cooked a lot. In my prior job, if I was stressed, I would bake and give things to my students. And now I like that, in some ways, I get to be a part of all of these different families.

What do you love about cooking?
I guess the act of doing it. I have fond memories of baking in the kitchen with my mom. Plus, it's something creative for me.

Do your clients ever ask you to change or update old recipes?
Sometimes they'll see something on the Food Network and they'll say, "I like that shrimp salad, but that chef uses a lot of butter."

How did you get into cooking professionally?
I just kind of fell into it. I didn't go to culinary school because I couldn't justify spending $50,000 to get an associate degree. I was told if you can work for a caterer, you can cook somewhere else. I spent four months with the caterer but I hated it. Why? The factory feel. The idea of mass producing food - that's not for me. Where did you go from there? One of the caterer's clients was a man with Alzheimer's that she made and delivered food for. She asked me if I wanted to do it one day because she was busy. I did it, and I loved that this was going to make his life a little easier. My boss came up with the personal chef suggestion.

How did you start the company?
I found this group that trains you how to start the business. They literally gave you everything you need to know. I moved down to Hermosa and launched in January 2006, and by the first week of February I had my first client.

How did you get the word out about your services?
The U.S. Personal Chef Association has a "Hire-a-Chef" service. Funny enough, my first client literally lived right down the street from me.

What's the best part of your job?
Making somebody's life easier.

Do you think that people in the South Bay are especially in need of your services?
The South Bay is a good area, but there are personal chefs everywhere. My thinking is just, why shouldn't families have someone to help? This is tailored specifically to them. If they never want to see a Brussels sprout, they don't have to.

Do you ever get your clients to try new things?
I'll say, "Let me try this recipe, and if you don't like it, I won't do it again." It's cool that we both are able to trust each other.

Do you do anything special to build trust with clients?
From that first meeting, once you become a client you're in my family. After all, I'm coming to make food at their home. Sometimes they are running errands, but sometimes they are sitting across the (kitchen) island talking with me.

Is it harder to cook when people are there?
I kind of like it. If they're not, that's fine, I just plug into my iPod. But if they're usually there and for some reason they miss me, they send me a little note. They enjoy the relationship.

How much food do you usually cook at once?
I have done as much as two weeks of breakfasts and dinners at once. But for the most part it's five meals, for Monday through Friday, and they just eat it when they're ready. I typically come once a week.

Would you ever want to cook for just one person every night?
Not really. I like that I have interaction with so many different people. I like the variety.

What's the worst part of your job?
Dishes. I'll wash the same bowl about six times.

About Your Blogger

My passion for cooking began as a child, spending time in the kitchen with my parents and my Sicilian grandmother. While other children were watching Sesame Street, I was watching the greats Julia Child and Graham Kerr.

After a lifetime of cooking, baking, and catering for events, friends, and family; I decided to start my own Personal Chef Service. In August 2005, I completed the Culinary Business Academy’s Personal Chef training program. I am also a member of the United States Personal Chef’s Association. Unlike some Chefs I know, I am not "classically" trained in the culinary arts. I am self taught, having learned on my own with my family and through recreational cooking classes.

My culinary education is not completely informal; I have completed recreational classes at the California Culinary Academy, in the Weekend Gourmet Program in San Francisco and locally in the Professional Chef Program at the New School of Cooking in Culver City.

I believe the kitchen is a great place for building memories as well as delicious meals. My style of cooking is all about making quick, healthy, easy meals for the everyday person. There is no reason even the busiest family or single can't enjoy a delicious meal. I am known to"McGuyver" meals in the kitchen. I keep this attitude in my own kitchen, not to say I never follow a recipe, but some of the best recipes I have ever created started with a pantry raid.

Today, I work hard to create meals for my clients with all the love and attention I give the meals I prepare for my friends and family, because as far as I am concerned, my clients are my family.

I grew up in Maryland, earned my Bachelors of Science in Psychology from High Point University, in North Carolina, and my Masters of Arts in Education, from Virginia Tech, in Virginia. I live in Redondo Beach, California and serve clients in the South Bay and surrounding communities.