Favorite Recipes from Deceptively Delicious?

[goodcents]

I just picked up this book on sale and I would love to hear about what your favorite recipes are. Lots of stuff looks interesting but I would like to hear what worked for you (and what didn't!).

[flminivanmama]

a lot of the book just served as an idea for me, since I don't like a lot of the ingredients she uses (pancake mix, margarine, etc. plus I don't mix milk and meat and a ton of her meat recipes called for dairy ingredients.... )

what worked for me -
adding purees to french toast, pancakes, soups, meatballs, and baked goods

what did not work (my kids gave these things thumbs down ) -
adding purees to scrambled eggs, chicken nuggets, quesadillas

[kate~mom]

we've done the cauliflower and beets in homemade mac and cheese - and it was great.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

adding cauliflower, squash, and white beans to mac and cheese

surprisingly, the chickpea chocolate chip cookies (although not for ds because he doesn't get to have cookies yet)

[flminivanmama]

Originally Posted by tbone_kneegrabber

surprisingly, the chickpea chocolate chip cookies (although not for ds because he doesn't get to have cookies yet)

Oh em gee - we love these!

[wanderinggypsy]

the chickpea chocolate chip cookies

My kids picked out the chickpeas. But a friend of mine pureed them and the result was wonderful.

[Nate'sMama]

I have a guy that doesn't eat ANY veggies or meat so this book and any other ideas along these lines are perfect for him.

Everyone loved the chocolate chick cookies. (except for me)

I am just now waiting for the brownies with carrot and spinach to cool!

Peanut butter banana muffins - use less pb more banana

mozzarella sticks - a definite hit

egg puff thingy was awesome - not sure a kid would love it tho.

all for now...

[flminivanmama]

Originally Posted by wanderinggypsy

My kids picked out the chickpeas. But a friend of mine pureed them and the result was wonderful.

oh that;s funny - mine thought they were either peanuts or peanut butter chips till I told them what they were.

[Cekimon]

I'm going to try some of these this week more for me because DS is not a picky eater but I want to try adding some of the puree's to the desserts and stuff and plus I'm the picky eater so I'm hoping some of these will add some more nutrition to my diet, lol.

[goodcents]

I made the cauliflower mac and cheese tonight and the kids didn't notice any difference. I do feel a bit deceptive, but HAPPY, to know they are getting their veggies.

i want to make the PB and jelly muffins next. Maybe tomorrow, it is likely to be a snow day.

[flminivanmama]

how old are your kids? a few years ago I had to hide when I added veggies (or flax or whatever) but now they know all the stuff I put in and they think it's kind of cool. they know it's good for them and they know it doesn't change the taste much

my twins are almost 9 and my other ds is 7.... I think that makes a difference

[leximom]

nothing was ever a huge hit with my kids, but they did eat the rice balls and the creamy potato soup. Adding cauliflower to scrambled eggs was a great idea and my kids never noticed that.

I wish I could say that I had more successes than that...

[kay4]

The meatloaf is a BIG hit here, it is so yummy and we all love it
The brownies were super good too and the kids loved them. I was very surprised at how good they were. The chili is good too. I've had the book awhile and there are many more recipes I have been meaning to try but haven't gotten around to doing yet

[jimblejamble]

I've only tried a few things made from recipes in this book (made by a friend, so I don't know the names or page numbers for the recipes) and my husband and I loooooved the corn muffin & cranberry muffins and brownies with spinach and carrot purees. She also made pizzas on quesadillas with pinto bean & spinach purees with pesto sauce. And now I'm making myself hungry.

BTW, for adding squash to macaroni & cheese--be VERY careful. I used a baked butternut squash in mac & cheese a couple months ago and you could not taste anything but the squash. Chris loathes squash and I only somewhat like it. So if you're not a HUGE fan of it, I'd only use half a squash instead of a whole squash. The recipe I used said to mix the squash and cheese sauce (cheese, onion, garlic, rice milk, and pepper) in with the noodles separately. I think adding the squash to the sauce & stirring together would help take the edge off the squashy taste.

Have I said "squash" enough yet?!

[akmeg]

I've had that book for about a year now and I just barely made something from it this week, so I'm glad to see all these ideas. I tried the chicken nuggets, and they weren't fabulous, but not bad. We used broccoli puree and I found it just a bit too thick to nicely coat the chicken before dipping in the crumbs. It just didn't stick very well, and kept falling off in clumps. Maybe I just needed to thin it a bit, but it was kind of weird. Dh didn't mind it, dd liked it okay but didn't rave (I hardly ever make chicken nuggets so she was really excited), ds didn't eat a thing but that's pretty normal for him at dinner time. I really want to try the brownies, glad to hear they were yummy!

[goodcents]

i think the pb&j muffins with the carrot purree were awesome but my kids didn't like them! now i am bummed because i can't make that many muffins if i am the only person in the house that likes them.

i made broccilli puree the other day and i decided that i didn't cook it long enough. the puree is pretty clumpy and its going to be hard to hide it anywhere. i might just mix it in with pasta and pesto. my kids love pesto and i often put in pureed kale.

[Natsuki]

French Toast
Oatmeal - probably our favorite breakfast recipe! I add blackstrap molasses to it and halve the sugar. I sometimes double the pumpkin too.

I use my own recipes (or a seasoning packet) for the tacos and sloppy joes - but follow her recipes for what kind and how much purees to add.

Love the purees in spaghetti sauce and macaroni and cheese (I much prefer butternut squash in the mac n cheese to the beans - i have to add more milk to the cheese sauce to get the right texture but otherwise it adds a really nice depth of flavor).

[sinsaratea]

I just tried my first recipe tonight, the chicken nuggets with broccoli puree. DD was all excited, took one bite, made the face, and I ended up eating them on my own. There was certainly a strong veggie taste, which i am sure she picked up on. won't give up though. made a few more purees tonight and will try again!

[Nate'sMama]

It seems to me that many of the recipes need to be tweaked to your own tastes.

Perhaps using a little less of the puree helps a bit too . I found that especially with cauliflower.