Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution

I have been following this show, and if you have not- watch it on Hulu.com.

Jaime Oliver, (also known as the Naked Chef) is on a mission to permanently change the food system in schools in America. Upon arrival at a school in Huntington, the most obese city in the United States, he discovered that all kids eat is processed or frozen foods. When asking the students what they had for dinner the night before, half said "pizza" and half said "chicken nuggets." Not only are the schools failing to help the future health of these children, but the parents are failing as well.

I fear for the future of my child, not only in school, but in my own hands. The amount of chicken nuggets, hot dogs and pizza that I have fed my child is disgusting. And now that I know what chicken nuggets that you buy frozen or the ones you get at McDonald's are made of.... I have no desire to ever put them on my kid's plate EVER again.

Jaime went into one of the classrooms and showed them a number of vegetables. These children couldn't identify them. Not even a potato. He expressed concern that if kids don't know what something is, they won't eat it.

I so bought the book, and I'm keeping up on his escapade in Huntington, West Virginia. I'm hoping to learn a lot, completely change the way myself and my family eat, and pass it on.

I will definitely be using some of his recipes to post up here.

Homemade Delicious Chili

This recipe came courtesy of my mother.

Homemade Chili

1 lb of ground beef, or ground turkey (I used turkey in my attempt to be healthier)

1 garlic clove, minced

1 small onion chopped

salt and pepper

1/2-1 tsp chili powder

Brown the meat with the onion, garlic and seasonings till fully cooked. Add to a large pot filled with:

1 can of kidney beans

1 can garbanzo beans

1 can black beans

1 can white beans

1 BIG fat can of stewed tomatoes

2 small cans of tomato sauce (I used Hunts "basil, garlic and oregano" flavored sauce)

1/2 c of Worchestershire sauce

a touch of red wine

1 small green pepper, chopped

Bring to a boil then simmer for a few hours for the best flavor.

Serve with toppings such as cheese, sour cream and frito's.

EASY. YUMMY. Makes GREAT leftovers.

Gourmet Pigs in a Blanket

I spruced these suckers up a few years ago and they are a family favorite. It's pretty easy- and if you want, you can spruce it up even more using the buttermilk rolls instead of refrigerated ready ones.

Gourmet Pigs in a Blanket

Hot Dogs

1 package crescent rolls (8 count)

Cheese

Topping:

1 egg

1 T Miracle Whip

1 T Mustard (it's BEST to use the nice mustard, the kind with the mustard seeds in it)

Salt

Dash of curry

Slice 4 hot dogs in half, then cut a slit in them lengthwise for cheese. Wrap them in the crescent rolls and then whisk together the topping, and baste the piggies.

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes on a GREASED or FOILED and greased pan.

Compost Cookies (You're just going to have to trust me)

I heard about this recipe during Valentine's Week on Regis and Kelly. Kelly would go from one funky little place to another in NYC learning how to make tasty treats, then bring the recipe back to the show and teach Regis how to make them. One of them was Compost Cookies from Momofuku, and it was very strange...but turned out pretty good. In fact, these are SO satisfying, that you want to eat nothing else- for quite a while afterwards because all your cravings have been met.

Compost Cookies

1 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Corn Syrup
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Large Eggs
1 3/4 cups AP Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 1/2 cups Your favorite baking ingredients!
(Kelly used mini chocolate chips, raisinettes, rollos & cocoa krispies)
1 1/2 cups Your favorite snack foods (chips, pretzels, etc)
(Kelly used goldfish, ritz, & fritos)*

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugars and corn syrup on medium high for 2-3 minutes until fluffy and pale yellow in color. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.

On a lower speed, add eggs and vanilla to incorporate. Increase mixing speed to medium-high and start a timer for 10 minutes. During this time the sugar granules will fully dissolve, the mixture will become an almost pale white color and your creamed mixture will double in size.

When time is up, on a lower speed, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix 45-60 sec just until your dough comes together and all remnants of dry ingredients have incorporated. Do not walk away from your mixer during this time or you will risk over mixing the dough. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.

On same low speed, add in the hodgepodge of your favorite baking ingredients and mix for 30-45 sec until they evenly mix into the dough. Add in your favorite snack foods last, paddling again on low speed until they are just incorporated.

Using a 6oz ice cream scoop, portion cookie dough onto a parchment lined sheetpan.

Wrap scooped cookie dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 1 week.

DO NOT BAKE your cookies from room temperature or they will not hold their shape.

Heat the conventional oven to 400F. (350F in a convection oven)

When the oven reads 400F, arrange your chilled cookie dough balls on a parchment or silpat-lined sheetpan a minimum of 4" apart in any direction.

Bake 9-11 min. While in the oven, the cookies will puff, crackle and spread.

At 9 min the cookies should be browned on the edges and just beginning to brown towards the center. Leave the cookies in the oven for the additional minutes if these colors don't match up and your cookies stills seem pale and doughy on the surface.

Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pan before transferring to a plate or an airtight container or tin for storage. At room temp, cookies will keep fresh 5 days. In the freezer, cookies will keep fresh 1 month.

Yield: 15 6oz cookies

*I used 1 1/2 c. of combined Frito's, Goldfish and Ritz, and 1 1/2 c. combined chocolate chips, raisinettes and rolo's.

Baking them is tricky, it says 400, but I ended up doing 350 for about 12-13 min. So do understand there will possible be a trial run. And make sure there are lots of people around to eat them.