Oh, Oh, Spaghettios!

Actually, for this one I used tiny alphabet pasta but I couldn't resist a reference to the canned version. This fresh option is much better!

Curry Chicken Salad Sans Mayo

This is a super easy, healthy and tasty recipe that uses some of my favorite things- curry and Greek yogurt. You get some protein and no extra fat if you get the 0% Greek yogurt. Patrick and I don't really care for mayo, but love us some chicken salad, so this recipe really works well! I love to put this chicken salad on a sandwich or on top of some mixed greens.

Here is what you need(minus the tea kettle that weaseled its way in this picture!):

Makes 3 sandwiches

Ingredients:
6 oz shredded chicken
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup sliced almonds(I didn't add any to mine this time)
2 green onion, sliced
2 small ribs celery, chopped


Dressing:
1/2 cup plain Greek Yogurt
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
2 teaspoons soy sauce
squeeze of lemon juice
salt, to taste

Directions:
Combine chicken through celery in a bowl. Mix dressing ingredients and pour over chicken mixture. Toss to coat. Serve and enjoy!

Baby Polenta

This is a recipe from Lizzie Vann's book, Organic Baby and Toddler Food. C likes it and it's easy- big plus!

Whole-Wheat Banana Bread

Yummy!

 I love it when we have a couple of over ripe bananas... perfect excuse to make banana bread!  I have a couple of picky eaters, but this recipe is loved by all of us. 

Gather up your ingredients and mix it up in a large bowl. Too easy.

Pour batter in a bread pan coated with non-stick spray.

Bake, and enjoy!!

Recipe found at 100 Days of Real Food:

2 1/4 c whole-wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 c plain yogurt
1/4 c honey
2 eggs
1/3 c oil (I use coconut oil)
1 tsp vanilla

Homemade Granola

 This is so yummy... and easy!  I love to have this granola with plain yogurt, frozen berries and a spoonful of honey.  It makes a great fast breakfast.  I have it for lunch a lot, too!  My kids like to eat it as cold cereal with milk, and I pack it in their backpacks for school snacks as well.

gather all your ingredients!

add the dry ingredients in a large bowl

chop up your nuts and stir them in with the rest of the dry ingredients

melt butter in honey over med heat, and add vanilla extract

After mixing honey/butter in the dry ingredients, spread your mixture over a jelly roll pan lined with parchment paper.

When your granola is finished baking, break into pieces and store in an air tight container.

 

 

 Recipe found at 100 days of Real Food:

3 1/2 c rolled oats
1 c raw almonds
1 c raw cashews
1 c raw unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 c raw sunflower seeds
1/2 c raw pumpkin seeds
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
6 tbs unsalted butter
1/2 c honey
2 tsp vanilla extract

Fried Green Tomatos

The first time I made this classic treat was the summer I visited K in California. We had such a great time exploring the state! Visiting "you pick" farms was one of our favorite things, and on one trip we ended up with buckets of heirloom tomatoes - our zeal in the fields couldn't be repressed! As a result of our over-abundance if produce, we made fried green tomatoes with a simple corn meal crust for anyone and everyone we knew out there.

This weekend some good friends here in Atlanta shared their green heirloom harvest with us, and in their honor I spiced things up by using their recipe.

Everything But The Kitchen Sink

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> Last weekend I wasn't prepared with baby C recipe plans. So, what to feed her? For better or worse, I took the garbage disposal approach to cooking and tried random combinations of the vegetables in the fridge. I wasn't sure if she would like any of it, but at least I didn't let the vegetables go to waste!
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Mancino Meat Balls!

These are a serious favorite around here.  The recipe makes a TON of meatballs, so depending on your family size you have several meals to freeze for another night.  I love being able to grab a bag of frozen meatballs for a quick dinner.  My kids love them plain, or in spaghetti.

I like to gather all the ingredients in one spot before I start cooking...

recipe:
3 lbs ground hamburger
1/2 lb italian sausage
4 eggs
1 c italian seasoned breadcrumbs
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup grated permesan cheese
1 tsp oregeno
1tbs salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Chop up some parsley...

I like to throw all the ingredients in my Kitchen Aid mixer.  It whips it all together lickity split quick!

 Once everything is mixed nicely (it only takes a minute!), mold small meatballs with your hands.  Add the meatballs to a hot non-stick skillet (med heat) and cook away!

I didn't take a picture of the finished product.  We were so excited to chow down, I totally forgot!

Whole Wheat Muffins

This is a favorite snack around our house, and a great quick breakfast.  These muffins are so versatile, and they freeze well!  I found the recipe on a great blog site, called 100 days of real food.

So, first gather all your ingredients!

Add all the dry ingredients together and whisk.

Make a well in the whisked dry ingredients and add everything else!  Easy Peasy.

I'm never short of helpers around here.  A certain little someone loves to stir the fruit in.  You can use any fruit you like, but our favorite has been a pureed banana and about 1 cup of blueberries.

Fill a 12 cup muffin tin.  Pop them in the oven and get ready for your kitchen to smell yummy!

Snack time!!

Recipe:
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour (king Arhur's white whole wheat works great)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
2 tbs honey
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 c oil (coconut oil is the best!)
3/4 c orange juice
about 1 cup of fruit

Sweet Potato & Mango

This one is really easy, and has great color while cooking.

Dice a small sweet potato, a mango, and a handful or two of spinach (or other tangy, leafy green). Put it in a small pot and add water until it is just almost to the top of the fruit & vegies, but not covering them.  Simmer this until the potatos are soft - about 15 minutes should do.

Pour everything together into the food processor, and blend away!

Yummy for now, and also freezes really well for future meals.  This recipe is a baby C favorite! Smooth and sweet, and full of goodness.  This is another recipe that I got from the Organic Baby and Toddler cook book.

Filet Mignon for Baby C

Vegetarians beware on this one...

When Mom was visiting, we also picked up fresh filet mignon at the farmers market.  The cuts were big, so before we seasoned them to go on the grill, we set aside a small cut for baby C.  Time for her first taste of beef...

I made up this recipe, and baby C seems to like it just fine. Saute the small bits of beef with diced onion in a bit of olive oil.

While the beef & onions cook, put a quarter cup of macaroni or other pasta into boiling water to cook.

When the beef is looking pretty much well done (you definitely want meats cooked all the way through before feeding baby), pour some plain tomato sauce into the skillet and let it simmer on low until the pasta is cooked.

Then, put the drained pasta together with the beef/onion/tomato sauce into the food processor and blend away!  This came out pretty thick, so I had to add a little bit of water to make it blend together.  It was good though, to leave some small chewy texture in the mix from the meat & pasta so that baby C can practice using her two chompers.  Just make sure all the chewy bits are small enough to easily slide down the throat without any choking hazards.

Ratatouille

 Baby C seems to like this one, and it does smell delicious while cooking!  I adapted this recipe from the Organic Baby & Toddler cookbook - simply leaving out the mushrooms, which aren't usually on hand in our house.

Chop up a bit of onion, carrot, red bell pepper and peeled zucchini - I did about a quarter cup of each, but the quantity really depends on how much you want to have on hand.  This made enough to freeze for about 5 meals (2 oz servings).

Saute the vegetables in a small amount of olive oil - about a tablespoon.  I also added some chopped rosemary in at this stage.

While the first round of vegies saute, chop up a bit of potato and chicken.  I like to dice the potato into small bits so that it doesn't take as long to cook (again, about a quarter cup here). Just 1 or 2 ounces of chicken will do - and remember, no salt! I used one "chicken finger."

Toss the potato and chicken in with the other vegetables, add a quarter cup or so of tomato sauce and then add a bit of water (until there is just enough liquid in the pot for everything to simmer but not be covered completely with liquid).  I also tossed in some frozen peas and baby lima beans at this point. 

Cover the pot and let it all simmer into goodness for about 15 minutes.

When the chicken and potatos are cooked through, pour the ratatouille into the food processor and blend into the texture that you want - adding a bit of water if it is too thick.

Quick Summer Salad

I made up this quick & delish dish after Mom and I visited the Buford Hwy Farmers Market.

4 ears fresh corn
1 red bell pepper
1 sweet onion
Small hand full of fresh basil

I did a quick sauté of the onions in olive oil, added the corn I cut off the ears with the chopped pepper and basil, and sauteed everything together for about 5 minutes.

Since I didn't use any salt, I set some aside and blended it so that baby C could also enjoy it with us.

It was a big hit with everyone, and the leftovers made a great lunch on fresh spinach with a little balsamic vinaigrette the next day. Yum!