For our Hearts and Yours

Sharing good food is an act of love. During some particularly busy weeks, it is the only expression of love busy families have time to share.

This was one of those weeks at our house, and with my two little playmates occupying each other, I had plenty of time to prepare several lovely meals.

Here are two recipes that really stood out.

Cooking Light's Cranberry Muesli with Flaxseed
I realize this sounds intolerably healthy, but it is really incredible. The girls didn't have the nuts, and Maya picked out the cranberries (which essentially left them with yogurt and oatmeal smothered in syrup), but they loved it.

Ingredients

* 2 cups regular oats
* 1/2 cup dried cranberries
* 1/3 cup wheat germ
* 1/3 cup ground flaxseed
* 1/4 cup maple syrup
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 3 cups 1% low-fat milk
* 3 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted
* 3 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted
* 3 tablespoons pumpkinseed kernels, toasted
* 3 cups plain fat-free yogurt
* 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Preparation

1. Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl; pour milk over mixture, stirring to combine. Cover and chill 3 hours or overnight.

2. Combine nuts and pumpkinseed kernels in a small bowl. Spoon 3/4 cup oat mixture into each of 6 bowls. Top each serving with 1/2 cup yogurt; sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 tablespoons nut mixture, and drizzle with 1 teaspoon maple syrup.

Baked Chicken with Honey & Apples from Fresh Choices
I highly recommend this cookbook for anyone struggling to figure out which part of the grocery budget must be organic, when buying 100% is too spendy.For a really great wintery dinner option, especially for kids, try this lovely main course. I used a whole chicken and increased the rest of the ingredients by a little. It was very easy,and I'm hoping to use the left overs in a unique chicken soup. We'll see how that runs out.

Ingredients

* 6 pasture-raised or organic bone-in chicken breast halves, skin removed
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
* 1/2 sweet onion, sliced
* 2 organic Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
* 1 tablespoon margarine or extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 1/2 cups organic apple juice
* 2 tablespoons honey
* 1 tsp salt

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350. Put the chicken in a shallow baking dish and sprinkle with cinnamon and pepper.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 4 minutes. Add the apples and cook for about a minutes. Pour over the chicken.

3. Melt the margarine in the skillet. Stir in apple juice, honey and salt. Cook for 2 minutes, deglazing the pan. Pour over the apples and chicken.

4. Bake, spooning the liquid over the chicken occasionally until the chicken registers 170 degrees or for about 45 minutes.