I've been making a lot of my own baby food lately. There are several reasons (healthier, fresher, easier to store, fun to make...) but I'm doing it mainly because...well, I'm cheap. I got the idea one day when I was cleaning out the freezer. We were almost out of peas, E's favorite, so I decided to try my hand with my new blender.
I did a few quick online searches and basically they said to steam your veggies, mash them up and freeze them in ice cube trays. So, that's basically what I do!
So far, we've tried Peas, Mixed Veggies, Sweet Potatoes (I bake those, then peel them and mash them up), and lately been venturing into different combos.
Over the weekend, I made Cauliflower and Carrots, these were a little thicker, so I added some breast-milk into them, like I do with the sweet potatoes. I've read you can also use formula, and sometimes I add extra of the water I steamed them in, depending on the veggie--sometimes though, the steamed water can make it bitter, or so I've read.
In addition to the cauliflower-carrots, I made a couple fruit combos. Before this weekend, the only fruit I'd done was peaches (I would literally buy the frozen non-sweetened ones, thaw them out, mix them up and re-freeze them) so I was curious to see what he'd like. The first combo was an idea I had gotten from Chanda, a fellow baby-food maker. She said that her daughter loves fruit and yogurt so I thought, might as well! I took out my bag of mixed berries, added a banana and some yogurt, just like a smoothie, put in some breast-milk and blended away. I let E try it as I was filling the trays and ended up saving a bowl for him, he LOVED it.
I then decided I would try apples, So I cored one, skinned it, chopped it and steamed it in the microwave. I have a giant glad-ware container that works great for steaming since I don't have a steamer and well...probably wouldn't use if even if I did. While they were steaming I chunked up a kiwi and a banana, and grabbed a few of the berries he loved so much. After the apples were mostly soft, I dumped them and the tiny bit of juice/water that was in the container, mixed in the other fruit and blended it. I thought this one was a little bitter, but E loved it. (I think the problem was there wasn't the yogurt or any sugar that I'm used to, so it just wasn't as sweet.)
Overall, I'm pretty happy I decided to go on my baby-food making adventures, and will probably continue to do it, at least until he decides that he doesn't have to gag with texture...This weekend, I'm going to try chicken and pasta. I bought some Pastini, the itty bitty stars to try.
Tips:
I use my blender, usually on puree.
I blend the fruits/veggies both cold and hot, not really a difference as long as they are cooked.
When it's time to eat them, I usually set them out as I start cooking dinner, so they are softened by the time he's ready to eat. I have microwaved them for 30 sec at a time or so though when needed, stirring lots and usually letting it sit on the counter to come back to room temp.
If you're not sure how to cook something, look it up! I've used here a few times and here. I'm sure there are plenty of other great resources. If you know of one, please let me know!
Any combos you think I should try?
Monday, June 28, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
mmmm...meatloaf...
Yesterday was one of those icky kinda days. It was raining, chilly (inside anyway) and just seemed like a day for comfort food. I didn't have anything much thawed out, just a couple of pounds of ground pork that needed to be used or frozen...I didn't have some of things I normally have on hand and was stumped.
Then I found a meatloaf mix from Elsie's Kitchen the last time they were in town. (I normally DO make my own meatloaf, however, I was out of breadcrumbs...plus this is delicious and super easy.) I just started using ground pork recently, so this was new but I thought it certainly couldn't hurt any...and if all else failed, we could order pizza.
Mix was simple--called for 2 eggs, 1/2 cup water and 2 lbs of meat. Mix and bake at 350 for around 1/2 hour. I added some ketchup to the mix (I just squirted some in there, but I would guess less than 1/4 cup. I normally add mushrooms, some shredded cheese and once in a while bacon, buuut I was out of all of that, so just ketchup it was.)
Once that was mixed and in the oven, I whipped up a couple boxes of au gratin potatoes and then Spenny picked the veggies, so we had peas.
The meatloaf took right at 30 minutes to get done, so I took it out, cranked the oven to 450 to finish up the potatoes for another 5-10 minutes, then put the meatloaf back in for just a couple of minutes to let the ketchup bake on. It was pretty good! The color was different...it was lighter, the smell was a little off from the beef kind, but the best part of it was there was not a ton of grease in the bottom of the pan. Plus, the taste was pretty darn good! It was different of course, but not bad at all and I think that it would be pretty easy to get used to.
Then I found a meatloaf mix from Elsie's Kitchen the last time they were in town. (I normally DO make my own meatloaf, however, I was out of breadcrumbs...plus this is delicious and super easy.) I just started using ground pork recently, so this was new but I thought it certainly couldn't hurt any...and if all else failed, we could order pizza.
Mix was simple--called for 2 eggs, 1/2 cup water and 2 lbs of meat. Mix and bake at 350 for around 1/2 hour. I added some ketchup to the mix (I just squirted some in there, but I would guess less than 1/4 cup. I normally add mushrooms, some shredded cheese and once in a while bacon, buuut I was out of all of that, so just ketchup it was.)
Once that was mixed and in the oven, I whipped up a couple boxes of au gratin potatoes and then Spenny picked the veggies, so we had peas.
The meatloaf took right at 30 minutes to get done, so I took it out, cranked the oven to 450 to finish up the potatoes for another 5-10 minutes, then put the meatloaf back in for just a couple of minutes to let the ketchup bake on. It was pretty good! The color was different...it was lighter, the smell was a little off from the beef kind, but the best part of it was there was not a ton of grease in the bottom of the pan. Plus, the taste was pretty darn good! It was different of course, but not bad at all and I think that it would be pretty easy to get used to.
Friday, June 4, 2010
It's been FOREVER...
But I've still been cooking, just lazily!
Couple of recipes I've been wanting to share....
Pepsi Roast
1 roast (I've been using pork, but the original recipe was for beef)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 package of dry onion soup mix
Pepsi
(The soups/Pepsi may very, depending on the size of your roast, I think the last time I made it (we had company over) I used an 8 lb roast, 2 of the tall cans of cream of mushroom soup, 2 packages and about a 1/3 of a 2 liter bottle of Pepsi.)
If you do this in the crock pot, it's super easy, just mix up the soups with some pepsi, throw the roast in, and cook on low pretty much all day until it's done. The soups/Pepsi make a great yummy thick richy gravy, so all you need to finish the meal out is some mashed potatoes and some veggies, maybe some bread or a salad...or whatever your normally fix with your roasts. If you do it in the oven, I use my big roasting pan and cook for several hours, depending on the size of the roast.
This is one I stole from my MM girl Nikki...it's AMAZING!!!
1 box cook and serve chocolate pudding
1 box chocolate cake mix
1/2cup chocolate chips
1/2cup chopped nuts (optional- i'm not a huge fan of the nuts, so i bypass them)
prepare pudding and add dry cake mix into the pudding
pour into greased and floured 9 x 13 pan
sprinkle with chips and nuts
bake at 350 for 30 minutes
sprinkle powdered sugar if you want
(I never flour my pan tho...or use nuts...lol)
I've also tried a new variation of the cake, I used white cake, vanilla pudding and cherry chips on one half and chocolate on the other...it wasn't very pretty looking but as soon as I covered it in whipped topping, it was pretty darn delicious!! My mom also tried a similar one after I told her about it, she used strawberry cake, vanilla pudding and white chocolate chips and said that it was good as well.
Other than that, we've been doing pretty easy, throw together type stuff...or worse, eating out! lol Lazy much? :)
Happy Cooking!
Couple of recipes I've been wanting to share....
Pepsi Roast
1 roast (I've been using pork, but the original recipe was for beef)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 package of dry onion soup mix
Pepsi
(The soups/Pepsi may very, depending on the size of your roast, I think the last time I made it (we had company over) I used an 8 lb roast, 2 of the tall cans of cream of mushroom soup, 2 packages and about a 1/3 of a 2 liter bottle of Pepsi.)
If you do this in the crock pot, it's super easy, just mix up the soups with some pepsi, throw the roast in, and cook on low pretty much all day until it's done. The soups/Pepsi make a great yummy thick richy gravy, so all you need to finish the meal out is some mashed potatoes and some veggies, maybe some bread or a salad...or whatever your normally fix with your roasts. If you do it in the oven, I use my big roasting pan and cook for several hours, depending on the size of the roast.
This is one I stole from my MM girl Nikki...it's AMAZING!!!
1 box cook and serve chocolate pudding
1 box chocolate cake mix
1/2cup chocolate chips
1/2cup chopped nuts (optional- i'm not a huge fan of the nuts, so i bypass them)
prepare pudding and add dry cake mix into the pudding
pour into greased and floured 9 x 13 pan
sprinkle with chips and nuts
bake at 350 for 30 minutes
sprinkle powdered sugar if you want
(I never flour my pan tho...or use nuts...lol)
I've also tried a new variation of the cake, I used white cake, vanilla pudding and cherry chips on one half and chocolate on the other...it wasn't very pretty looking but as soon as I covered it in whipped topping, it was pretty darn delicious!! My mom also tried a similar one after I told her about it, she used strawberry cake, vanilla pudding and white chocolate chips and said that it was good as well.
Other than that, we've been doing pretty easy, throw together type stuff...or worse, eating out! lol Lazy much? :)
Happy Cooking!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna
Apparently, I need to get more creative in my meatless meals, because I'm stuck in a rut of my ricotta-portabello-mushroom mix. However, I tried this as a lasagna and it was DELICIOUS!
I used the Barilla No-Boil Flat noodles, a couple cans of Hunts 4 cheese sauce, and the mixture, layered it up and baked. Served with some cheese bread and a salad and it was perfect.
Recipe:
Mixture:
1 15 oz package of ricotta
2 eggs
couple handfuls of fresh spinach, chopped
8 oz container of portabello mushrooms, chopped
Layers:
Box of No-Boil Flat noodles
Shredded Mozzarella
2 regular sized cans of sauce
I used a tinfoil cake pan, I think it might have been 9x13, but I'm not sure. I dumped about 1/2 a can of the sauce in the bottom, spread evenly then layered my noodles. I don't like my lasagna noodles to over lap, mostly because I think they get chewy, so I just put down three noodles across, then spooned on the ricotta mixture, sprinkled some cheese, poured some sauce, repeat. I did 3 layers, but stopped, mostly because I was afraid of the boiling over the back of the box on the noodles sugguested. I easily could have done another layer or two tho, as when it came out, it was pretty flat still. After the final layer of noodles, I covered it with lots of sauce then some mozarella and shredded parameasean, covered in foil and then baked for about 1/2 hour, then took the foil off and finished until the cheese was browning and bubbling. I had put the cheese bread in when I took the foil off, and I like to bake it for a bit then turn the broiler on to finish it up quicker.
Since I had done the lesser layers, I had all this extra stuff laying around. I decided to go ahead and make a small 8x8 to put in the freezer so that way some nigth we could have another but not have to make it all over agian. On this one, I layered it up to the top, since the noodles fit in nicer and i didn't want to waste any of it. I think in the future, I might just make 2 8x8s each time, but we'll see how that goes.
Other than that, we've been pretty basic here, bbq chicken and baked potatoes last week, this week we've had brown sugar pork chops, twice baked potatoes and a salad one night and the night before we had breaded chicken breasts, sweet potato fries (regular fries for J) and baked beans.
Once we get the propane in, we should be grilling quite a bit, guess we'll see where that leads us!
I used the Barilla No-Boil Flat noodles, a couple cans of Hunts 4 cheese sauce, and the mixture, layered it up and baked. Served with some cheese bread and a salad and it was perfect.
Recipe:
Mixture:
1 15 oz package of ricotta
2 eggs
couple handfuls of fresh spinach, chopped
8 oz container of portabello mushrooms, chopped
Layers:
Box of No-Boil Flat noodles
Shredded Mozzarella
2 regular sized cans of sauce
I used a tinfoil cake pan, I think it might have been 9x13, but I'm not sure. I dumped about 1/2 a can of the sauce in the bottom, spread evenly then layered my noodles. I don't like my lasagna noodles to over lap, mostly because I think they get chewy, so I just put down three noodles across, then spooned on the ricotta mixture, sprinkled some cheese, poured some sauce, repeat. I did 3 layers, but stopped, mostly because I was afraid of the boiling over the back of the box on the noodles sugguested. I easily could have done another layer or two tho, as when it came out, it was pretty flat still. After the final layer of noodles, I covered it with lots of sauce then some mozarella and shredded parameasean, covered in foil and then baked for about 1/2 hour, then took the foil off and finished until the cheese was browning and bubbling. I had put the cheese bread in when I took the foil off, and I like to bake it for a bit then turn the broiler on to finish it up quicker.
Since I had done the lesser layers, I had all this extra stuff laying around. I decided to go ahead and make a small 8x8 to put in the freezer so that way some nigth we could have another but not have to make it all over agian. On this one, I layered it up to the top, since the noodles fit in nicer and i didn't want to waste any of it. I think in the future, I might just make 2 8x8s each time, but we'll see how that goes.
Other than that, we've been pretty basic here, bbq chicken and baked potatoes last week, this week we've had brown sugar pork chops, twice baked potatoes and a salad one night and the night before we had breaded chicken breasts, sweet potato fries (regular fries for J) and baked beans.
Once we get the propane in, we should be grilling quite a bit, guess we'll see where that leads us!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Breakfast Casserole
The other night Spencer had leftover spaghetti that he wanted (Sketti, Mom? pweeease?) so I needed to decide what to make for J and I. I wanted...NEEDED something quick, made of stuff we had on hand and yummy. After a quick survey of what we had around, I decided to make a breakfast casserole. Mom used to make these when I was younger and I refused to eat them, mostly because of the eggs. I'm slowly coming around to them tho, and this was a perfect start.
Ingredients:
Southern Style Hash-browns (I used the chunks, you could also use shreds, or even potatoes O'Brien)
6 eggs
Splash of Milk
The rest is really up to you. I made mushrooms and bacon and cheese in it, baked until mostly done, then sprinkled cheese on top.
However, you could add any omelet type toppings you would like:
Sausage, ham, mushrooms, onions, peppers, cheese, tomatoes, spinach, you name it.
Preheat the oven to about 350, pray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray, then fill the pan about 1/3 of the way with the hash-browns. Toss them in the oven and then stir them every once in a while, you basically want them cooked enough, they're not going to clump together in a little ball.
While those are cooking, mix your eggs, milk and fillings together, then pour over the potatoes when they are mostly done.
I usually bake around 15 minutes, give or take, depending on how thick the casserole is, the most important part is you want your eggs to be done. Once it is done, top with cheese and bake until melted and then serve.
It's also pretty easy to prepare the night before, just put in the fridge until time to bake, then just bake accordingly. This might take longer if you don't precook your hash browns first, but it's still yummy and also good to take to a breakfast or lunch potluck.
Ingredients:
Southern Style Hash-browns (I used the chunks, you could also use shreds, or even potatoes O'Brien)
6 eggs
Splash of Milk
The rest is really up to you. I made mushrooms and bacon and cheese in it, baked until mostly done, then sprinkled cheese on top.
However, you could add any omelet type toppings you would like:
Sausage, ham, mushrooms, onions, peppers, cheese, tomatoes, spinach, you name it.
Preheat the oven to about 350, pray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray, then fill the pan about 1/3 of the way with the hash-browns. Toss them in the oven and then stir them every once in a while, you basically want them cooked enough, they're not going to clump together in a little ball.
While those are cooking, mix your eggs, milk and fillings together, then pour over the potatoes when they are mostly done.
I usually bake around 15 minutes, give or take, depending on how thick the casserole is, the most important part is you want your eggs to be done. Once it is done, top with cheese and bake until melted and then serve.
It's also pretty easy to prepare the night before, just put in the fridge until time to bake, then just bake accordingly. This might take longer if you don't precook your hash browns first, but it's still yummy and also good to take to a breakfast or lunch potluck.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Lazy much?
So, lately, due to several different reasons (sick kids, myself, J...) I've been lacking in the cooking department, but a quick summary of the meals we've enjoyed:
Chicken and Biscuits
1 can cream of chicken
1/2 large bag or 1 small bag of frozen mixed veggies
1/2 cup sour cream
Milk
1 large can of chicken breast, rinsed(I'm sure you can use cooked chicken breast chunks as well)
1 tube of biscuts (I like the non-flaky kinds for this)
I cook the veggies some, mostly to get them un-frozen and warm, then drain them.
In a large bowl I mix the cream of chicken, sour cream, veggies, drained/rinsed chicken (I always buy the stuff that's packed in water, but I drain it/rinse it then kinda...shred it up so the chunks aren't so huge) and the I add the milk. The amount of milk I use varies, it's supposed to be creamy, but not runny, and. A good general rule is about 1/2 cup, but it gets a little runnier as it cooks, so you will probably want it on the thicker side rather than the runnier side.
I then heat this up either in a microwave safe bowl for about 10 minutes or on the stove top until it's just starting to boil, then pour it in an 8x8 baking dish sprayed with Pam, of course. Then open the biscuits and toss them on top and bake until the biscuits are done, probably around 15-20 minutes. The recipe doubles nicely for a 9x13 pan.
Chicken and Biscuits
1 can cream of chicken
1/2 large bag or 1 small bag of frozen mixed veggies
1/2 cup sour cream
Milk
1 large can of chicken breast, rinsed(I'm sure you can use cooked chicken breast chunks as well)
1 tube of biscuts (I like the non-flaky kinds for this)
I cook the veggies some, mostly to get them un-frozen and warm, then drain them.
In a large bowl I mix the cream of chicken, sour cream, veggies, drained/rinsed chicken (I always buy the stuff that's packed in water, but I drain it/rinse it then kinda...shred it up so the chunks aren't so huge) and the I add the milk. The amount of milk I use varies, it's supposed to be creamy, but not runny, and. A good general rule is about 1/2 cup, but it gets a little runnier as it cooks, so you will probably want it on the thicker side rather than the runnier side.
I then heat this up either in a microwave safe bowl for about 10 minutes or on the stove top until it's just starting to boil, then pour it in an 8x8 baking dish sprayed with Pam, of course. Then open the biscuits and toss them on top and bake until the biscuits are done, probably around 15-20 minutes. The recipe doubles nicely for a 9x13 pan.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Spinach and Mushroom Mani..shell-i?
Ok, I know it's not Sunday, but I'm made something that is quickly becoming a new favorite tonight, and wanted to share. I'm slowly starting to take meat out of our diet, I started with removing red meat, and now I've started experimenting with some recipes that don't include meat. Since I'm a newb at it, it's mostly been pasta before, where it's heavy enough you don't miss the meat.
I got this recipe off of the back of the Barilla manicotti box (I actually copied it from the website to include it in here.) I made a few changes, of course, because I never seem to follow a recipe in full...(which might be why I can't bake...hmm...)
The Original:
1 box BARILLA Manicotti
1 jar BARILLA Italian Baking Sauce
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6 ounces mushrooms, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bag (6 ounces)fresh spinach, chopped (may substitute 10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained)
2 eggs
1 container (15 ounces) ricotta cheese
1/3 cup chopped basil leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
PREHEAT oven to 350°F.
COOK Manicotti for 7 minutes; drain and rinse in cool water. Set aside.
HEAT oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and garlic; sauté 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in spinach; continue cooking 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
BEAT eggs lightly in medium bowl. Stir in ricotta, basil and salt. Stir in mushroom mixture.
SPREAD ¾ cup Italian Baking Sauce over bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish. Fill Manicotti with mushroom mixture; place in dish. Pour remaining Sauce evenly over filled shells; sprinkle with cheese. Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover; continue baking 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
The changes I made are: Omit the basil (I like a little bit of basil, and of course I love the Bazals, however, I think this calls for waaaay too much, plus, I never have fresh basil.) I also omitted the salt.
I used button mushrooms the first time, tonight I'm used portabella, and they were equally nice.
Both times I've used the fresh spinach, the first time I was struggling to get it done quickly so I just shredded some up, and the chunks were too big for my liking, so this time I decided to drag out the trusty old food processor. I used it for the garlic, mushrooms AND spinach and it made the mixture look much prettier and much more evenly distributed.
The first time I made it I used the manicotti and thought it was too much work, so tonight I decided to use shells...Next time, we're going back to the manicotti! They took SO MUCH LONGER to stuff! We were also brain storming about ways to make it faster and I think that I'll put the mixture in a bag next time and squirt it into the noodles that way. Probably quicker and less messy...we shall see.
Other than that, I just used 4 cheese sauce, but kept everything else the same.
Tonight we ate it alone, but I think it would pair nicely with a side salad and some garlic bread. Enjoy!
I got this recipe off of the back of the Barilla manicotti box (I actually copied it from the website to include it in here.) I made a few changes, of course, because I never seem to follow a recipe in full...(which might be why I can't bake...hmm...)
The Original:
1 box BARILLA Manicotti
1 jar BARILLA Italian Baking Sauce
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6 ounces mushrooms, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bag (6 ounces)fresh spinach, chopped (may substitute 10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained)
2 eggs
1 container (15 ounces) ricotta cheese
1/3 cup chopped basil leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
PREHEAT oven to 350°F.
COOK Manicotti for 7 minutes; drain and rinse in cool water. Set aside.
HEAT oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and garlic; sauté 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in spinach; continue cooking 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
BEAT eggs lightly in medium bowl. Stir in ricotta, basil and salt. Stir in mushroom mixture.
SPREAD ¾ cup Italian Baking Sauce over bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish. Fill Manicotti with mushroom mixture; place in dish. Pour remaining Sauce evenly over filled shells; sprinkle with cheese. Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover; continue baking 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
The changes I made are: Omit the basil (I like a little bit of basil, and of course I love the Bazals, however, I think this calls for waaaay too much, plus, I never have fresh basil.) I also omitted the salt.
I used button mushrooms the first time, tonight I'm used portabella, and they were equally nice.
Both times I've used the fresh spinach, the first time I was struggling to get it done quickly so I just shredded some up, and the chunks were too big for my liking, so this time I decided to drag out the trusty old food processor. I used it for the garlic, mushrooms AND spinach and it made the mixture look much prettier and much more evenly distributed.
The first time I made it I used the manicotti and thought it was too much work, so tonight I decided to use shells...Next time, we're going back to the manicotti! They took SO MUCH LONGER to stuff! We were also brain storming about ways to make it faster and I think that I'll put the mixture in a bag next time and squirt it into the noodles that way. Probably quicker and less messy...we shall see.
Other than that, I just used 4 cheese sauce, but kept everything else the same.
Tonight we ate it alone, but I think it would pair nicely with a side salad and some garlic bread. Enjoy!
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