Sum Smart Cookie Club

The Counting Chef not only enjoys farming and food, but he loves to learn too.

Join us "in town" visiting schools and businesses with the Sum Smart Cookie Club where parents and kids will find  learning delicious.  The club's focus is to have fun with food while promoting reading and vocabulary. 

The Counting Chef believes cooking is a lifelong skill for health, pleasure, and for sharing. The chef's product line provides great activities to value the art of cooking as a family tradition.

Pictured below are three of The Counting Chef's tasty foods for you to make using his Sum Smart Cookie Kits. Available soon at Wuollet Bakery.

Peanut Butter Dunk and Decorate Cookies, FriendChip Cookies, and Buttermilk Pancake Mix. 

Mon Amie Mardi: Pink-tober Salad {recipe}

I did it.

I completed the marathon. It was quite the journey, but well worth every step. I ran for so many reasons. Actually, I changed the automatic me, switched my eating habits, started to get healthier, and took my training seriously for 26 reasons. I posted these reasons on my Facebook page to thank some of my friends who have been extremely supportive. All of the reasons are personal to me, but I was very moved when friends began to tell me that my reasons were inspirational to them.

If you would like to read them, you can find them below (click Read More). I recommend reading “Mile 16” especially.

I have to apologize. My blog has taken a back seat to the training. I have been neglecting my posts these last few weeks. I have been cooking and experimenting though, and I promise to get back on track.

I’ll start with an easy salad in honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month. My mom is a survivor and I know she would LOVE this recipe.

Pink-tober Berry Chicken Salad:
  3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  2 c. orzo pasta
  ½ c. dried cranberries
  ¾ c. chopped celery
  ¾ c. crumbled feta
  Berry vinaigrette
  Sliced almonds for garnish

Bake the chicken (basted with some of the berry vinaigrette) until fully cooked. Prepare 2 c. orzo according to package. Drain and rinse orzo to prevent clumping and sticking. Chill chicken and orzo until cool to touch.

Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Combine chicken, orzo, cranberries, celery and feta in large mixing bowl. Add enough vinaigrette to coat mixture. Start with a little; you can always add more to taste. Top with sliced almonds.

Enjoy!

Next, I’ll be creating something a little less feminine for my oldest son, Trenton. When I was at the expo for the marathon I came across a table giving out information about an Airforce race in Dayton, OH next September. I picked up a flier and brought it home for Trenton. On September 13 he will have his golden birthday. 2 days later we will set off on Trenton’s new personal goal…a half-marathon. I am so excited to start training more with my number 1 fan. So, for his 13 years we run 13 miles side by side. We do this for motivation, determination, and togetherness…
And we do this for us.

Counting Chef's Crock-a-touille Sauce {recipe}

Getting more vegetables into your child’s diet is always a challenge. Try this kid tested recipe. This is a wonderful sauce which can be incorporated into your child’s favorite dish where spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce is used.

The Counting Chef’s Crock-a-touille Sauce™
Ingredients: 
  6 Roma tomatoes
  1 small eggplant -trim off top and bottom
  1 small zucchini
  1 small yellow summer squash
  1 green pepper seeded
  4 cloves garlic- chopped
  1 medium onion sliced
  4 tablespoons butter (melted)
  1 ½ tsp brown sugar
  5 tablespoons vegetable oil
  1 tsp. dried thyme
  1 tsp. dried basil

Chop first five ingredients into 1” by 1” cubes. Put into large mixing bowl. Add garlic. Put butter in a frying pan. Add brown sugar. Saute’ until translucent and caramelized. In small bowl put vegetable oil, thyme, and basil. Stir. Pour over mixture in large bowl. Stir to coat. Add caramelized onions.

Put this mixture into a crockpot and add ¼ cup water. Cover. Cook on high heat for 4-5 hours or low for 6 -7 hours.   When done, carefully drain mixture with metal strainer placed over a large bowl. Keep the juice!! Put veggies back in crockpot.

Take reserved juice, put it in a fry pan, cook on stovetop until mixture is reduced to half.  Pour reduced mixture over veggies in crockpot. Stir. Put in bowl to cool. Place in refrigerator until ready for use.

To make Crock-a-touille Sauce™, put in food processor. Process until well blended. This sauce is meant to add nutritional value to your favorite purchased pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce. For each cup of sauce required in your recipe, replace 1/3 of it with Crock-a-touille Sauce. Use this “new” sauce on pizza, noodle hot dish, lasagna, as a dunking sauce for breadsticks, or as sauce for spaghetti.