Baby food time- Peas!

Adam is now 7 months old. SEVEN MONTHS. ::sigh:: Hard to think hes already that old. Well, around 4 months I started to introduce solids (rice cereal) in high hopes that it would keep him full and help him sleep for a few hours at a time, if not all night.
At 4 months he really was not interested in the food at all. He would just spit it out. I was persistent and I offered it to him everyday, usually in the morning when he was happiest. It took about a month of this before he started to actually eat any of it. And once he got the hang of it, hes been on a roll eating! I cant honestly say that its helped any with his sleeping, like Ive said before, he just isn't a great sleeper.

One thing I really wanted to do with Adam was to make his baby food. This isn't something I really thought I  had the "time" to do when Savanna was a baby. Now that I'm making 95% of his food I realize that I DID have the time. It really takes such a minimal amount of time. Bummer. But really Savanna only ate "baby" food for 2 months, she had teeth early and really like to eat food she could chew.

Once Adam mastered rice cereal, I started introducing a new food every few days, At this time I did use store bought organic baby food. The main reason was that I didn't want to make a huge batch of something only to find out he was allergic. He tolerated everything like a champ! Then I started making small batches here and there, but this was the part that was really time consuming. So a few weeks ago I spent a day making several large batches of Adams favorites at the moment.

I made peas, apple/pears sauce, yellow squash, and carrots. It was really fun, and even though it seems like I spent the "whole day" making baby food I really didn't, I made it in between the normal goings on here. My children don't leave me large blocks of time to get anything done let alone an entire day! :)

My friend Marni is a baby-food maker too and she has great tutorials! Ive definitely been using her as a guide!


My first order of business this day was the peas. Adam really likes peas, and I had tried and *failed* at peas a few days earlier.


FAILED? At peas? YES! I had read online somewhere an easy way to make peas. I was so excited especially as it didn't involve shucking a 10 pound pile of fresh peas in order to get an ice cube tray full! and its not really pea season anyway! I won't link you to the post as I don't honestly think the *fail* was on me, it just wasn't something that worked in general.
But I will tell you what I did,
Take 1 bag split peas
grind to a fine powder
mix with boiling water to the desired consistency
place in trays.
freeze/serve/store

Sounded easy and almost effortless. I did everything and I even have a blender/emulsifier that is more than capable of grinding to fine powder. The end result of this was horrible, bland, dirt flavored, mealy, peas.

They went to the garbage. I could NOT serve them to Adam.

My next attempt, of similar process, just in a different order!

I started with about a pound and a half of organic split peas.

Make sure that you wash these very thoroughly  

Add them to your crock pot and cover with water. I wasn't sure how much water at first so I did equal amounts of water and peas but I ended up adding more and more water threw out the day. So next time I will just pretty much fill the crockpot. 

They soak up a lot of water

Let them cook for hours! I would say like 5 on high until they are tender enough that you can mash one in between your fingers.Mine cooked longer but I had them on low, and at one point on warm because I had to leave and didn't want them to soak up all the water in my absence and burn.

Once they reach the point of being done strain the peas and reserve the water. 

Place the peas in the blender/emulsifier  (my mom recently bought a vita mix so we have a very powerful blender) But this should work just as well in any blender or food processor, and if you are having trouble I would just try smaller batches. I was able to put my entire crock pot of peas in at once, as it mixed I added some of the reserved water to thin them a bit. ( you can also use breastmilk or formula to thin and for extra nutrients and calories, I use the water because I have been throwing some misc pureed veggies into our meals)

Once you reach your desired Constancy you can spoon the peas into ice cube trays and freeze. (these are the ice cube trays from IKEA. They are NOT ideal for a batch of this size, but they are cute! Once they are frozen I pop them out on a clean surface and bag them in quart size zip-locks, and place several of those into a larger zip-lock and store them in our large garage freezer. I keep 1 quart sized bag of each variety of food in my inside freezer, about a weeks worth give or take a few days.

This batch made about 6 regular size ice cube trays and 4 IKEA trays. I think I will add more water and make them a much thinner consistency resulting in a few more trays yielded out of that batch. During the freezing and reheating I think they loose a little too much moisture and I end up adding a tablespoon of water per 2 cubes when I make them for Adam.

The blending and pouring into trays takes less than 10 minutes,I spent about 15 minutes threwout the day adding water and stirring, and then about another 10 to bag and label the frozen peas. 35 total minutes of my time is well worth the savings and nutritional value.  Adam will eat about 3-4 ounces of food at any givin sitting, 3-4 sittings a day.
Organic baby food is between $1-$1.50 per 3oz jar. I spent $2 on the bag of organic split peas. That is a HUGE savings.

One other thing, I do not like peas. I despise them. I will not eat them and pick them out of anything they may be in. As I was testing for the done-ness of them, and as I was blending them I did try them. I have to say the flavor of these vs. the flavor of canned or even fresh peas is amazing. They had a very rich, almost meaty flavor!

Monkey Bread

Monkey bread is my Christmas morning tradition. I prepare it the night before, stick it in the fridge and as soon as I get up in the morning I stick it in the oven. Then after the kids get up and we explore what Santa brought we enjoy this before moving on to stockings and gifts!

My friend Cassie makes this on Christmas morning too. Only hers is different. And I've even seen another blog or two that have ways that are different than hers! Who could have imagined that there were so many ways to make such a simple dish!

I love it cause its easy, cheap and delicious!!

First take 4 cans of "pop" biscuits and open them all up

 Next, cut them all into fours, like this....

 Prepair and bowl of cinnamon and sugar

 Coat the biscuit pieces in the the mixture 

 Once they are all coated put them into a bundt pan. I spray mine with pam.

I leave mine in the refrigerator over night on Christmas eve, just so its one last thing I have to do in the morning. So in the morning I take it out and give it a "fluff" so that the pieces are loose again, after being in the cold refrigerator they stick together. 

Once its been fluffed, I melt 1 stick of butter and drizzle it over the top, make sure to even distribute the butter so that you get a consistent texture threw out.

Pop it in a 350 degree oven for about 20 min. 

Then turn over on a platter and it should pop right out!

And Because mine started being attacked before I could get a picture of it, I will show you Cassies, and assure you that Mine looked the same :)

I like to make a sweetened cream cheese spread to put over the top of it. If you put it on top just after you place it on your tray it will melt down all over it and you will need 10 napkins.

This also makes a great Sunday morning treat or if you have guests over!

Recipie:

Bread

4 cans pop biscuits

1/2 Cup melted butter

1/2 Cup sugar and cinnamon mixture

Frosting

1 8oz package low fat cream cheese

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1tbsp Vanilla

Grandma Jean's Soda Cracker Toffee

My Grandma Jean was my most favorite person in the world. She was such an amazing woman. She was not perfect, but she was damn close! She was the most patient, loving, caring, understanding, stubborn, honest person Ive ever known. I get my middle name from her, as does my daughter. We also got a STRONG dose of her stubbornness! When ever my husband is losing in an argument he often calls me Jean! 

Growing up she made this toffee a lot. Mostly around the holidays and let me tell you it never lasted long in the Henney household!

Its a pretty simple recipe, hard to mess up and OH so easy to enjoy. 

Gather your ingredients. (Ive learned the hard way to do this before! Nothing worse than getting half way threw making something to realize your missing something crucial!)

And pre-heat your oven to 375*

 In a large saucepan, ( I used a 5qt) completely melt your (3 sticks) butter on low heat,

 While your butter is melting nicely, line your cookie sheet/jelly roll pan with foil and lay out the 35-40 crackers depending on the size of your pan, just fill it!

 once your butter is ready you can add the 1 1/2 cups brown sugar.

 

 Stir the brown sugar and butter mixture until boiling, continue to boil for 4 min. (not sure the temp on this, next time I make this I think I'm going to check it out) but 4 min seems to be what works!

 

 after boiling for 4 min, remove from heat and add a tablespoon of vanilla, then pour mixture SLOWLY over all of your crackers

 Place your cookie sheet into your pre-heated oven and bake for 5 min

 Your sugar mixture will get bubbly and smell delicious

 Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips all over and let sit for a min or so

 Your chips will be nice and melty ( is that a word) well they will be, and you will be able to spread them all over. Should you desire any additional toppings (nuts, coconut etc.) Now would be the time to sprinkle them on top of your melted chocolate

I let it sit for about 20-30 min and then put the tray in the freezer for about an hour. Then you can easily break your toffee apart into perfect pieces!

I often make this a week or 2 before Christmas because it freezes quite well. It also holds up well when shipped to Hawaii, fudge however does not.

Ingredients:

3 sticks of butter

1.5 cups of light brown sugar packed

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

1 sleeve saltine crackers 

Optional- nuts, coconut etc. for topping

Sourdough French Bread French Toast!

Living in Northern California sure does have its advantages! We have sourdough here that you just can't get ANYWHERE else.

One of my husbands accounts at work happens to be an AMAZING bakery, that specializes in bread! Every so often they bring Steven bread. They brought him several amazing loaves, the bad part is since it has no preservatives you have to eat it or do something with it right away!

So, I decided to make some french toast!

Sliced it perfectly thick

made a nice egg mixture to dredge it in, used about 12 eggs

 

Several tablespoons of Cinnamon, a little pumpkin pie spice, and for good measure I used Pumpkin creamer instead of milk!

Made sure to really let the bread soak up the mixture, I happen to like my french toast a little "eggy"! Is that a word?

then cook it up till its golden and done!

 I was purposely making this all to freeze for my girls for easy breakfasts! Its important to me that they eat a decent breakfast, and I'm all about easy these days! And learning to use my freezer for my convenience

So I lined the plastic container with foil, and started layering it with french toast

Till it was full and then put a lid on and stuck it in the freezer. useing the foil eliminated the need to flash freeze!

Now on mornings when I'm not feeling like 'super mom' my kids will never know! ;)

30 seconds in the microwave, a little syrup and some fruit! Viola!

Tortilla Soup Recipie

Southwestern Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipie

 I have been craving tortilla soup lately, which also happens to be my husbands favorite soup. He really should have been born south of the border because he would be a very happy man to have mexican food every day! I didnt have a recipie, and wasnt sure I had all the ingrediants for ones I was looking at online, So I just went to the kitchen and started gathering! 

What I used-

3 small yellow onions
4 large fresh tomatoes
5 or 6 cloves of garlic
1 can tomato paste
1 can corn
2 cans black beans
1/2 bag pre cooked schwans fajita chicken
Garlic salt
Garlic Powder
Taco Seasoning
hot sauce
oregano
olive oil
chicken broth bullion
and wondra (not pictured)

First things first, gather all your ingredients, and Turn on your crock pot.

Boil 6-8 cups water and make your chicken broth ( feel free to just use canned broth if you have it, I use this cause its WAY cheaper!) Pour that in your crock pot

Chop up your Onions and garlic, add to a pan of 2 tbls hot olive oil and saute for a few minutes, add to crock pot

Dice up your tomatos and add those as well

At this point you will want to add your tomato paste, as well as all of your spices. I used about a 1/4 cup of taco seasoning, but adjust that as well as all other spices to your liking. If you like your food spicy now would be a great time to add a little jalapeno!

 

Cover your crock pot and let cook for several hours.

After several hours of cooking, and about an hour or so before we were going to eat drained and rinsed the the 2 cans of beans, 1 can of corn and added 1/2 bag of Chicken. 

I used the pre-cooked chicken from Schwans, its already seasoned for fajitas, and went great with this soup. but feel free to use fresh chicken if you prefer. I am not a fan of pre-cooked meats, I have been trying out different convenience foods since Adam was born, simply because dinner time is usually his cranky time, And Im hooked. Its great flavor, great texture unlike some precooked chicken Ive tried. its also great to use on salads and in quesadillas and I love that I can just grab a handful and heat it up real quick!

I like my soups a little on the thicker side, so just before serving I added a few tablespoons of wondra to thicken it. You can also use flour to do this.

Here it is, ready to eat!

you can garnish with Avocado, sour cream, cheese and tortilla strips to your liking. I didnt put anything on top of mine and it was delicious! I did however make some of the "raw" tortillas from costco and dip them in it! 

This is a soup that will freeze well, with or with out the meat. Im planning on making a HUGE pot of this in the coming weeks and freezing in meal sized bags for lunches and easy dinners for the winter. You can also add an array of other veggies to it easily!


A small bowl of this along with a nice cheesy quesadilla-YUMMY!

Monthly Dinner Challenge- week 1

Since late in my pregnancy and during the last three months, dinner time has evolved into what ever is convenient. Convenience mostly equals unhealthy, overly processed, fast food of some sort. This is NOT OK with me. I know its mostly my fault, and I do own this completly, which makes this MY responsibility to change. Now dont get me wrong, I do cook. and we have NOT eaten fast or easy food every day by any means, but a couple times a week at least, and really that is just TOO much.

I have a friend who COOKS. EVERY. MEAL. except ONE. Every month, all year, for the past how ever many years. This is just what she does. I once asked her how she keeps up the motovation to this and how she keeps it from being repetiive, She gave me a better answer than I could have asked for, She wrote and entire blog post about it. You can read it HERE! -(Go read it, I promise its worth it, but don't forget to come back and finish reading this one!)

So Im challenging myself for the month of November to cook for the whole month. Now I do realize that Thanksgiving is this month, and so is my birthday, as well as my hubbie being on vacation, So there WILL be days were NOT home at dinner time, and well that is just life. So I might have picked a bad month to start this challenge, but with me its now or never. If I put things off too long I just dont end up doing them! And Im really hoping that I really enjoy the results and will want to just keep this going.

Ive made a list of my regular meals as well as meals Id like to incorporate into our regular rotation, and a few suggestions from friends! Im open to any and all suggestions anyone may have as well!

I started this on November 2nd-  
Tuesday-Pan Simmered Pork chops W/ Rice and veggies
Wednesday-Tostadas
Thursday-Talapia ( from schwans) with Rice and Veggies
Friday- Low Fat Chicken Tortilla Soup- my very own Recipe to come!!
Sat- LowFat Beef Stroganoff
Sunday- Rount tip roast, oven roasted baby potatoes and salad.

Nana's Happy Day Preperation-part 1- "Thing 2" cupcake toppers

Over the weekend my little itty bitty baby girl turned two. Ok, so I guess she really isnt itty bitty any more, but still!

As of late she has been really loving the new show on PBS called 'The Cat In The Hat Knows Alot About That", and loving all of the Dr. Seuss Books we have! So I thought I would take a shot at making her a "Hat" (as she calls it) themed party!

Here is my first project- Thing "2" Cupcake Toppers.One thing I really like to do is really "make" my childrens birthdays. I want my children to have wonderful memories and look back and know that I took my time to make sure that THEIR special day was the best it could be! I start thinking of themes months before, i start google-ing images, and Ideas and brainstorming cakes!

These are completely edible, they are made of Wiltons Melting Chocolate

Here is how I made them.

First you will want to line all of your baking sheets with wax paper and line them up on your counter

Next, get all of your chocolates and your candy decorating bags ready

Next melt your first color in a glass dish ( I use a measuring cup) untill its fully melted and then scoop it into your decorating bag

Squirt your border color in what ever shape you want, I started with squiggly circles, and eventually did some regular ones that resemble the "thing" border from there shirts in the cartoon.

for the center I did number 2's, what ever you put in the center, make sure you do it backwards! I for got a few times!

let that sit for a few min to start to harden and then cover with your center color, and spread it to the edges

Pop them in the freezer for just a few minutes, then flip them over to see your work! They will release very easy from the wax paper.

I was doing the "Seuss" theme, so perfection was not something I needed, which is another reason I LOVED this theme! Imperfection is almost KEY for the character of all of my projects!

Once I was done making all of my toppers, I placed them on layers of wax paper in a plastic container and froze them until the night before the party. Since I made them on Tuesday night it helped insure there survival until Sunday! :)

On Saturday Night I decorated the cake ( a whole other post!) and the cupcakes. I made simple chocolate cupcakes, and i did squiggly blue frosting, to kind of resemble the "things". and then I smushed on a topper!

These were so fun and easy to make, and they were a huge hit at the party!

*some of these photos have low quality because I was too lazy to walk up stairs to get my good camera and used my iPhone instead!