Saturday, October 31, 2009

Fishy Mac 'N Cheese

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That box of mac 'n cheese with the little cheese packet, isn't very nutrient, although it's a toddler favorite and inexpensive and easy to make.

For years, I have added a handful of shredded cheese to add more nutrition.

After my Toddler Tuna Toss post, a friend pointed out that tuna could be added to mac 'n cheese. Of course! Why hadn't I thought of that?



I prepared the box of macaroni and cheese as normal. I added a handful of shredded Cheddar cheese and a pouch of tuna.

The toddlers gobbled it up :)




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Thursday, October 29, 2009

Make Ahead Winter Squash

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Finally, the yummy winter squash are on sale! We picked up a few.

I didn't really have a plan, so I went with the directions on the sticker on the squash.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds. Place cut-side down in a baking dish in about a half-inch of water. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until fork-tender.




I scooped out the insides and put in Ziploc containers, labeled and into the freezer for future meals.

My plan is to use these for meals by plopping into my mini crock pot a few hours before serving. They will be thawed and heated through by meal-time. I like to add a pat of butter and some Parmesan cheese.



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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Spiced Sweet Potatoes

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Again, I'm not too excited about sweet or maple flavored sweet potatoes. I'm also not thrilled about canned and I don't mind making them ahead. This recipe is based on Kalyn's recipe that I discovered last year. What attracted me to the recipe was that it is prepared in the crock pot.

Kalyn's recipe gave me the idea to come up with a spice mix I could make ahead and have ready for my big batches of potatoes. I tripled the recipe, omitted the pepper and store it in an old spice jar:

Sweet Potato Spice Mix

2 T ground coriander
1 T ground fennel
1 T dried oregano
1 T Aleppo Pepper (or use a smaller amount of cayenne pepper)
2 T kosher salt



I made a big batch of potatoes to last about six meals or so.

Drizzle a little olive oil in the bottom of crock pot (I used my big one). Roughly cube 4 large sweet potatoes. Drizzle a tad bit more of oil over the top of the potatoes. Sprinkle the Sweet Potato Spice Mix over the top. It doesn't take as much as you think, just a bit over the top. Cover and cook on low about 6 hours. I stirred it a few times during cooking. Done when tender.


I had a serving (yum!) and then put the rest in meal-sized containers, labeled, and in the freezer.

Sweet potatoes, no matter how prepared, are a toddler favorite--and my favorite, too!


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Monday, October 26, 2009

Tangy Sweet Potatoes

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I made a big batch of my tangy sweet potatoes. I'm not one for sweet or maple flavored sweet potatoes. I can't remember where I found this recipe, but I've changed it from the original anyway.



3 medium sweet potatoes
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons minced onions
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 Tablespoon garam masala (available in the spice aisle)
the juice from 14 oz. can mandarin oranges
  1. Peel and cut sweet potatoes into cubes.
  2. Heat olive oil in a large fry pan and add all ingredients.
  3. Saute until potatoes are tender.
As you can see, I used the juice from a mandarin orange can that I had drained a while ago and froze the juice. I didn't bother defrosting, as it melted fast.

This recipe is quick and easy. I served some to myself and some to the toddlers (they LOVED it). I had a lot left over, so I put them in Ziploc containers and into the freezer. For upcoming meals I will toss a container-full into a mini crock pot to thaw and heat.



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Sunday, October 25, 2009

Cheezy Rice Cakes

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I have some rice cakes that need to be eaten and I was trying to come up with a creative way to eat them.

I sprinkled Cheddar cheese on two rice cakes then baked in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes (just until the cheese melted).

It turned out yummy! I bet a mini-pizza would be yummy, too.




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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Fried Oatmeal

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Thanks to City Gal Moves to Oz Land, I tried fried oatmeal last week. It was really easy and I found it froze well, and reheated in my mini crock pot too.

Here's her recipe:

Golden Oatmeal Slices
3 c. quick cooking oats
2-1/2 tsp salt (you can cut back on the salt if you want)
4-1/2 c. water
margarine or butter
maple syrup

Stir oats and salt into boiling water. Cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Cover pan and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Turn into greased loaf pan; I used a stick of butter to grease the pan (not the whole stick, c'mon, you know what I mean!) Cool, and then chill overnite. Turn out and cut into 1/2" thick slices. Brown in butter over medium heat. Serve with syrup.

So, here's how mine turned out:



After it was done, I cut it into squares and put it in Ziploc containers, then to the freezer.



On the day I served it, first thing in the morning, I dumped a Ziploc container of fried oatmeal into my mini crock pot. By lunch, it was defrosted and heated through.

Yummy! It was all gobbled up! I didn't serve it with syrup (toddlers + syrup = one big sticky - hyper mess!) but they loved it plain! I had it with a bit of butter on it and loved it!


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Monday, October 19, 2009

Family Food, Not Baby Food

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Baby food--what comes to mind? Little jars of pureed food? A box of dry cereal to be mixed with formula? Anything edible you can find down an infant aisle in a grocery store?


If you ask me, looking down that infant aisle in the grocery store represents big business. I'm not saying there is not a time and place for commercially made baby food, but I'm asking you to think about this differently.


Wikipedia says "The industrial revolution saw the beginning of the baby food market which promoted baby foods as convenience items." What did babies eat before baby food was available? What do babies eat in other countries? If we didn't have baby food available, what would we feed babies?





I bought into the pureed baby food belief, too. While feeding our own children baby food all those years ago, we asked ourselves after a while, "what is the purpose of this?" It wasn't long before our children grabbed the nearest green bean off the table or bread off the nearest plate. Not long after that, our babies were refusing the commercially made baby food and insisting on table food.


After several years of caring for infants and young toddlers, the progression is almost always the same and infants seem ready for table food long before parents are 'ready'.




I did some research and found some interesting facts:



IrishHealth.com: ". . . babies are capable of chewing at six months, and giving them pureed baby foods such as those widely available commercially could delay development of chewing ability. . . Ms Rapley says there is no reason young children need pureed food, as long as they are sitting up straight and supervised by an adult when eating."


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Culinate.com: "Around the globe, babies are started on solids with a variety of foods. In Oceania, babies are given pre-chewed fish, grubs, and liver. The Polynesians prefer a pudding-like mixture of breadfruit and coconut cream. Inuit babies are started on seaweed and seal blubber, while Japanese health-care providers recommend a thin rice porridge, eventually made thicker and topped with dried fish, tuna, tofu, and mashed pumpkin. . .


The point is to get baby prepared to eat with the rest of the family, not be a cause for purchasing special prepared food so baby can learn to expect high-priced separate meals.


. . . Feed them (babies) a little of what you’re eating, mashed up. And if you’re not eating fresh real food — whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, eggs — clean up your act."



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EcoChildsPlay.com: "The fact is, we have become so conditioned to believe that the usual method of beginning our infants with runny rice cereal, gradually progressing through smooth then lumpier purees, in defined quantities and on a defined schedule, keeping flavours bland and simple — is the right and indeed the only way to do things, that we don’t even think about even questioning why this is the way we do it. . . .


Anecdotal evidence suggests that babies who have been spoon-fed have more problems with gagging and ‘choking’ when they start to handle food… than those who have been allowed to experiment much earlier."


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For several years now, in cooperation with parents, I have been working with infants who are ready for table food, offering first smashed fruits and vegetables, then working in other foods as the baby is ready. Most of the time the baby is more ready than the adults are. I agree with the above research that says babies who have not been introduced to solid foods sooner have more problems later when solids are introduced.

So, I'm asking you to look at baby food in a different way: Family Food




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Homemade Baby Food Ideas on Foodista



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Saturday, October 17, 2009

Fudgy Muffins

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Fast, easy and yummy!

Fudgy Muffins

1 box devils food cake mix
1-15 oz. can pumpkin

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare 12 muffin tin cups (spray with cooking spray or use liners).

Mix cake mix and pumpkin. DO NOT use any other ingredients.

Divide mixture evenly among the 12 muffin cups.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.

Cool and serve.




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