On President's Day both my parents were home from work- so I took advantage of free babysitting and went in to work kid-free. Before I left, my dad taught Jack his secret grits recipe. You might recall that Jack LOVES grits, so this was a special treat.
"Wook, Mama, I'm making GWITS!"
"See, I can stir it all by myself!"
Later that day- yes, he's still in his pj's- he wanted to help my mom with dinner. This was his method for steaming the veggies.
"Ta-da!"
This month two blogs that I frequent (in the button above) are hosting an eat from the pantry challenge for the month of January. Our pantry and freezer are overflowing, and since my inlaws gave us a deep freeze for Christmas, (wahoo!) I thought I'd take stock, eat everything, and start fresh. As a matter of fact, after seeing just how much we have, I'm wondering if we'll be able to extend the challenge in our house into February! In any case, our usual grocery budget is $50 per week, or roughly $200 a month. I'm going to attempt to spend just $50 total in January, mostly on produce and dairy. So far, we've bought 2 gallons of milk, a dozen eggs, and a head of romaine lettuce. Seriously, we have so much food that I actually think this will be doable.
I'm late getting my post up this week (sigh), but here's how we're doing...
What we've eaten this week:
Blue Cheese Stuffed Pork Loin
Veggie Beef Stew with Homemade Artisan Bread
PF Chang's Knock-Off Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Healthy "Fried" Rice and Glazed Carrots
Italian Pear Pork with Mac n' Cheese and Apple/Pear Sauce
Overnight French Toast from leftover homemade bread
Banana Bread
I'll admit to not being a strict meal planner. I usually just make a list and pick and choose depending on what I feel like that morning. So I just made a list of meals we have the ingredients for/ have in the freezer and then we'll get creative when we run out!
Future Meal Choices:
Mexican Chicken
Asian Lemon Chicken
Sweet Potato Manicotti (loosely based on this recipe)
BBQ Pork Sandwiches
Chicken and Dumplings
Lasagna
Top-Your-Own Flatbread Pizza
BBQ Feta Flatbreads
Cheesy Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes
White Chili with Corn Bread
Breakfasts and Snacks (mostly from the freezer):
Chocolate Banana Muffins
Sweet Potato, Zucchini and/or Pumpkin Bread
Allison, our friend R, and I had a baking Saturday sans (big) kids a few weeks ago.
On the agenda:
R's Super-Yummy Pecan Truffle Brownies
Pioneer Woman's Sugar Cookies
Blueberry Bars
Mini Bagels
Soft Pretzels
We got everything ready to go, and prepared to bake up a storm!
I had to take a few breaks to tend to this guy:
but overall he was pretty easy.
This little chica showed up half way through and was a big help, too- free babysitting! :-)
After a while my other two best guys showed up as well!
R finished her brownies, I got the cookie dough mixed up, the bagel dough in the machine, and Allison made the pretzel dough. After the first batch of cookies, though, we noticed that the cookies were taking a LONG time to bake...
Uh oh! Could it be?
Yes, sadly baking day was interrupted by a BROKEN OVEN!
(Allison calling around for help.)
The mini bagels boiled and basking in the sun (maybe that will bake them?).
Luckily, the oven just turned out to have a blown fuse, and they were able to fix it pretty quickly. We split up the remaining doughs, etc. and met up later in the week to exchange baked goods. Everyone eventually got to try everything. Well, except for the pretzels, which I took home to bake and ended up eating all of didn't taste good at all! Yep, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
We had this the other night for dinner and it was yummy. Then we had it again today for lunch, and it was still yummy. Except, I'm pretty sure I accidentally added 1 t of chili powder instead of paprika, 'cause it was pretty spicy. So, you might not want to do that!
1 quart chicken stock
About 4 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced (I used 2 cans from my pantry and about half of a 5 lb bag)
1/2 an onion, diced into tiny pieces
3 cloves minced garlic
1 t seasoned salt
1 t pepper
1 t paprika
8 oz cream cheese brick
shredded cheddar cheese
bacon, for topping
Place potatoes, onions, and garlic in the crockpot. Sprinkle over the spices, then add stock. Cook on low for 8 hours. Remove the cover and mash or blend to desired consistence (I like mine still fairly chunky). Crumble in cream cheese and a handful of shredded cheddar, and cook on high (covered) for an additional 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Garnish with bacon and a bit of cheddar. I can only imagine that serving it in a bread bowl would be nothing short of amazing.
Close your eyes so you can't see the toddler dropping bits of soup on your clean floor, and pretend you're at Panera. :-)
We served it with (I know, weird combination) Adobo Chicken with pickled cabbage and carrots, but only because Mike doesn't think soup is a main course. :-)
And so, for Jack's 2nd birthday party, we did!
Ants on a log, carrots, dinosaur PB&J's and chips...
grapes and butterfly egg salad sandwiches.
So pretty!
Dessert!
Ants on a log cupcakes...
and dirt cake with bees on top!
Jack got many wonderful gifts (I'm sure that amazing quilt will be featured in a post of it's own soon!)...
and had a wonderful time with friends and family.
Finally, a picture of baby Hunter!
And Charlie, of course, who was good as can be, and who turns two months old today!
Oh, wow. I'm known for my love of pumpkin, but this recipe takes the cake. Or the pancake if you will. :-)
2 c flour
4 T brown sugar
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
4 t pumpkin pie spice
1 t vanilla
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 c milk (I used evaporated milk in order to save Jack's "drinking" milk)
1 c pumpkin puree
2 eggs
2 T oil
2 T vinegar (or you can use buttermilk instead of regular milk, and skip the vinegar)
Mix the milk, pumpkin, vanilla, eggs, oil and vinegar in one bowl. In a second bowl combine the dry ingredients. Stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture to just combine. Pour onto hot skillet 1/4 c at a time.
For added pumpkin-ness heat 1 c syrup and 3/4 c of pumpkin puree in a saucepan. Add a little cinnamon and pour over pancakes. Make the syrup... it's worth it!
Then, on November 1st, a local radio station began playing all Christmas music, all the time.
Now don't get me wrong, I love Christmas. But today it's 76 degrees outside, so pardon me if I just can't get in the Christmas spirit quite yet! Plus, I'd like my kids to grow up knowing that there's an important holiday between the mass marketing celebrations that Halloween and Christmas seem to be these days!
That's why I was so glad to see that the blog carnival at Kelly's Korner has a theme today of favorite Thanksgiving recipes!
My recipe is one my mom's friend Carol made for us one time, and now we can't stop making it! Warning, it is NOT diet food! :-)
Coconut Sweet Potatoes
Preheat oven to 350. Spray casserole dish with cooking spray.
Combine the sweet potatoes, sugar, butter, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and coconut. Pour into casserole dish. Bake for 20 minutes. Take out of the oven and sprinkle marshmallows evenly on top, bake until marshmallows are melted.
Of course, I may be able to get into the holiday spirit a little more today since I've realize that Starbuck's is now serving this...
Ah, yes. The peppermint mocha. Suddenly I'm feeling very... jolly!
I've devised the most amazing recipe for my very favorite granola bar. I have some in the oven right now. Mmmmmm. I got the idea from this blog and tweaked it to my taste a bit. I have two versions. A healthy version, that tastes terrific, and a I'm-nursing-and-HUNGRY slightly less healthy one, that tastes ah-maz-ing. I'll share both, and it's your call which you try.
Healthy Pumpkin Granola Bars
2 C Rolled Oats
1 C Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 C Pumpkin Puree
1 Egg
1/2 C Ground Flax Seed
1/4 C Honey
2 T Brown Sugar
1 t Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2 t Cinnamon
1 T grated orange rind
2 t Vanilla
Mix it all together and pat down in a jelly-roll pan. I use my pampered chef stoneware, which is smaller, but makes thick and chewy bars. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Let cool, and cut into bars. Eat a bunch.
Melt in Your Mouth Coconut Pumpkin Granola Bars
2 C Rolled Oats
3/4 C Pumpkin Puree
1 Egg
3/4 C shredded coconut
1/4 C butter (room temp)
1/4 C Ground Flax Seed
2 T Brown Sugar
1 t Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2 t Cinnamon
1 T grated orange rind
2 t Vanilla
1/4 C Honey
Same directions as above. Hide from kids and husband so you can eat them all!
I've been waiting for Jack to be old enough for this fun and open-ended activity: sink play. Always a favorite of Kennison's, I finally felt like he was big/old/coordinated enough to stand on a chair at the sink (and not fall off!)while I work in the kitchen.
Sink play involves any variation of the following materials:
sink full of dishsoap bubbles
big spoons/spatulas, etc.
cups/measuring cups, etc. for pouring
plastic toys
plastic play food
scrub brushes/sponges/washcloths
Kennison has also always enjoyed some paintbrushes and colored liquid soap, to "paint" dishes. She's so good that I can give her some mildly dirty plastic dishes and she can wash and rinse them. Jack's not there yet. :-)
Yes, I ended up with water all over the floor under the sink. Yes, next time I will be prepared and put a BIG absorbent towel under his chair. And yes, it was totally worth all the work I got done in the kitchen while Jack spent time exploring and learning!
*Updated* Welcome URS Readers! This post and the one below it feature recipes I made this summer in preparation for my second baby! Be sure to check out Part One for a bunch more recipes! And check out URS for even more great ideas!
*Original Post* The other day I shared Part 1 of my freezer cooking extravaganza, which was mostly baked goods. This past weekend I got a TON of cooking done to stock the freezer with meals. I think I have enough for about a month of eating after Charlie gets here! All I'll have to do is pull something out in the morning and make a veggie as a side in the evening.
So here's what's waiting in our freezer for Charlie's arrival:
Stuffed Shells with Pumpkin- Except I made manicotti, not shells, and used sweet potatoes instead of pumpkin
Pizza Pockets/ Calzones- I made two batches, one with meats for Mike, and one with tons of veggies for me and Jack
Tomato Sauce (from our tomato plants!)
Stuffed Red Bell Peppers - I added sausage. Yummy!
The following recipes I made from the Homemade Gourmet website. Where it calls for a Homemade Gourmet seasoning, I make up my own since I've never bought Homemade Gourmet products.
Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings
Asian Pork and Chicken (I made both- Mikey loves Asian food!)
And then there are the dishes I made for which I have no recipe... I just make it up!
Crockpot Lasagna (I freeze lasagna in a foil lined dish that fits inside my crock. When the lasagna freezes, I take it out of the dish, still in the foil, and pop it in a freezer bag. Then I just stick it in the crockpot, frozen, whatever morning we'll be eating it for dinner and it fits perfectly!)
Squash Casserole
Potato Soup
Chili
Cheesy Chicken Casserole
Chicken Broth (from veggie scraps, and bones from the chicken I cooked)
That said, I think I'm done! That is, unless I find an amazing recipe that I can't help but try out!
I know I haven't posted a recipe in a long time, but I've been a busy gal trying to stock our freezer with yummy meals and treats for after the baby's born. I'm still working on the meals, but finished most of the baking over the course of the past week. Here's what I've made so far. Believe it or not, I was able to accomplish well over half of it in one day! Here's what Jack did while I cooked... don't ask me why, but he is infatuated with playing with ice cubes!
Oatmeal Cranberry Muffins- I subbed chocolate chips for the cranberries :-)
Banana Sour Cream Bread- You should make this!
Strawberry Nutrigrain Bars- so yummy!
1 Cup Butter or Margarine -- Softened
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 Cups Oats
16 Ounces Strawberry Preserves -- * See Note
1 Teaspoon Almond Extract
Cream margarine and sugar. Add dry ingredients. Mix well. Add almond extract. Press half of crumb mixture into greased 9 x 13 pan. Spread with preserves. (*Use Strawberry, raspberry, peach or other favorite).
Sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture. Bake at 350* for 20-25 min. Cool and cut into bars.
I finished up most of the baking today, but I'm still hoping to make these Soft Zucchini Cookies at some point.
From each of the recipes I pulled out a few items to sample/ taste test, and wrapped the rest up securely for our after-baby freezer stash. It will be so great to be able to pull out yummy, nutritious, and homemade baked goods!
When Jack first started eating solid foods, we tried yogurt as one of his first foods. To say he loved it can't quite explain what a success it was! He got to the point where he would see the Yo Baby container and begin squealing with delight. As a matter of fact, he recognized the container so well that we were able to put new and unpopular foods in an empty Yo Baby container to get him to eat them.
A few months ago, I got tired of paying $6.49, or whatever the Walmart sale price was, for 6 4 oz. containers, and driving across town to the only non membership grocery store who sells Yo Baby. I'm not opposed to using whole milk plain yogurt in a big tub at our regular grocery store, but have you ever looked for that? EVERYTHING is non-fat or low fat, and Jack's growing brain needs the fat from whole milk. So, I decided that I would try to make yogurt from my pumped milk. I used freeze dried live cultures, but it didn't work. And I was very upset that I had wasted a quart of milk- that's a lot to pump!
Anyhow, I recently decided to try it again... with plain old whole milk, since that's what the Yo Baby is made from, and since the American Academy of Pediatrics recently doubled the amount of Vitamin D a child needs daily. This time it worked fabulously, Jack loves it, and I get to control what goes in it... no more sugar or preservatives for Jack!
So here's how you do it!
It's that easy! Jack will eat it plain, but I usually make different fruit and veggie purees to mix in. This summer I made them from fresh, but right now I'm using frozen produce. Jack generally eats this for breakfast every morning. I mix about a tablespoon of baby oatmeal (already cooked so no need to heat), a tablespoon of puree, and three or four tablespoons of yogurt, and it makes a great meal. He's currently enjoying a rotation of the following purees: pears, peaches, mixed berries, pumpkin (his current favorite), and apples. Seriously, it looks so good sometimes I finish what he doesn't (which usually isn't much)!
Kennison and I get lots of fun things done during the boys' morning naps. Not too long ago we made popsicles. I figured I should get these pictures up since it's not longer popsicle weather. Here's a lesson in making them with a toddler.
Pour apple juice into popsicle mold.
Add one drop of food coloring to make them pretty.
Stir with a citrus peeler.
Replace sticks. Smile behind the finished, liquid-y product. Place in the freezer.
Chill while waiting for the popsicles to chill... well, freeze.
Enjoy popsicle outside in swimwear and a diaper.
Clean up by playing with water toys in old duck pool.
If you're too young to eat a popsicle, enjoy a bottle instead.
I also found cool new recipes... including DRIPLESS popsicles at this website so I'm sure we'll be trying these soon. The molds were a pain, though. I'm going to use Dixie Cups and wooden sticks next time.
Boy. You'd think this was turning into a cooking blog. I guess I'm having more fun cooking lately, now that Jack can amuse himself for more than 19 seconds at a time. Granted, most of my cooking still happens after Mike gets home, but I'm doing it more and more. Don't worry, I'll include a couple of completely unrelated pics of Jack at the bottom, too!
So by now you know I love my crockpot. There are so many perks. First, you can get everything ready the night before, and store it in the fridge. Next, if you're home all day like I am, you get to smell yummy dinner getting-ready smells all day long. And, if you happen to be away, you can literally walk in the door and sit down to the table- it's all ready!
So my new favorite blog had a crockpot tomato soup recipe that I wanted to try. I made Mike go to the produce guy on the corner and buy A LOT of tomatoes. I used the recipe from the aforementioned blog, and being myself, I made some tweaks. This is what I did.
Throw the following into the crockpot:
3 lbs of tomatoes, cubed (my favorite part of this recipe- you don't have to peel!)
2 c tomato juice
1 c dry white wine
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/2 an onion, chopped
2 tbsp splenda
1 chicken boullion cube
Cook on low for 8-10 hrs. I don't like my soup chunky, so I blended the soup smooth in batches after it was cooked. Be careful- it's HOT! Next add salt and pepper and 2 c half and half or milk (next time I would add a little more milk). Top with a slice of cheese (we had provolone) and garnish with basil. We ate it with toasted homemade rolls brought over by Mike's mom!
This was thick and yummy, and all-around great! It made so much that we refrigerated some for later in the week, and froze a huge glass jar for a rainy day!
And now for the feature presentation:
I was staring at the left over potatoes in our fruit bowl on the counter yesterday, and had a brainstorm. Jack is almost done with baby food, but in the meantime, I thought I'd spice up his life a little. I mean, how often do you eat a vegetable by itself, plain, all at once? So, I made him a little vegetable medley. I've been mildly obsessed with my crockpot lately, and got the idea for trying out Jack's food in the crockpot from this blog.
Basically, I took all the vegetable I could find leftover in our house, added some frozen ones, a little water, and cooked on low for about 8 hours- it basically turns to mush. Mike came home and thought it was what we were having for dinner... and was very relieved that it wasn't! Then I used a slotted spoon to spoon the veggies into the blender in batches. DON'T drain the water away- it has all the nutrients! Use it to think out the texture of the puree. I left Jack's pretty thick, because he's past the smooth phase. Then I poured into single serving containers and froze.
Here's what I used:
4 small red potatoes, peeled
1 large sweet potato, peeled
1 squash
1/2 a bag of frozen peas
1/4 a bag of frozen lima beans
1/4 a bag of frozen spinach
1/2 a bag of baby carrots
1/4 a bag of frozen broccoli
Jack ate one container that I left in the fridge for lunch today, and loved it. I tasted it, and it has a nice creamy texture (from the potatoes) and was mildly sweet (from the sweet potato and carrots). It made a ton, so I'm also planning to thin individual servings out a little and use as a pasta sauce for Jack.
Jack really enjoyed it!
