Hungry Hungry Jacob

Pumpkin Krispies

2011-10-27T17:27:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Rice Krispies

I found these through a facebook friend and knew right away this was what Jake was going to bring to his Halloween party at school. Who doesn't love rice krispies?? Who doesn't love anything with a cute pumpkin face?? I'm hoping the kids at school feel the same way!

These were so incredibly easy to make. In the time it took me to boil pasta for our dinner tonight I was already done melting the marshmallows and shaping each pumpkin. I also love that Jake is already at that age where he can help in the kitchen. We had fun getting these together .. although his major contribution was stealing marshmallows! Then begging for more "krispie batter". Rice krispies before dinner? I don't see why not!

Ingredients
6 cups rice krispies
1 bag large marshmallows
1/2 stick butter, put into pieces
Non-Stick Spray
Red Food Coloring
Yellow Food Coloring
Pretzel Sticks
Green Frosting
Black Frosting

1. Melt butter and marshmallows in a microwave safe bowl for 45 seconds on high. Stir. Repeat cooking on high and stirring until marshmallows are melted.
2. Add approx. 8 drops of yellow food coloring and 4 drops of red food coloring to marshmallow mixture. Stir well. Adjust color until you come up with the perfect orange.
3. Spray your hands with Pam non-stick spray and roll each pumpkin into a 2-3 tablespoon ball (more or less for your liking). I also sprayed a 24 mini-muffin pan and placed each ball into that to cool. Try to work quickly before the rice krispies start to harden.
4. Cut the pretzel sticks into 2 pieces and place in the center of each pumpkin (for the stem).
5. Allow to cool and harden for at least 30 - 60 minutes. Resist your husband from eating to many during the cooling processes (AHEM!).
6. Decorate with green frosting around the stem to resemble the leaves of the pumpkin and black frosting to create fun and silly faces. I used Wilton Sparkle Gel for the green and black frosting.
7. I put in the fridge for 60 minutes for the frosting to harden, but take out in time to come back to room temperature before eating.

Enjoy! Happy Halloween from Hungry Hungry Jacob!!

Our Pumpkin Patch

Bran Raisin Muffins

2011-10-24T06:02:00.001-07:00

Don't knock the bran muffins till you trythem! They are a huge hit for breakfast with Jacob and such a quick, easy breakfastor snack in his lunch (and mine!). One muffin willfill you up for the morning. My originalrecipe had 1/3 cup molasses for the sweetener, but it needed to just be a tad sweeter. The molasses did give it an excellent flavor,so next time I’ll follow the instructions below for a sweeter muffin.

Dry Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1cup course bran flakes

1/2teaspoon salt

3teaspoons baking powder

1teaspoon cinnamon

1/2teaspoon allspice

1/2cup raisins

Wet Ingredients

1/4cup sugar, or to taste

1/3cup molasses

2eggs

1cup milk

3tablespoons melted butter

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 400°F. Grease a 12-cupmuffin tin with Pam Cooking Spray for Baking.

2. Mix together the dry ingredients in abowl. Beat together the wet ingredients another bowl. Make a well in the centerof the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into it. Using a largespoon or rubber spatula, combine the ingredients swiftly, stirring and foldingrather than beating and stopping as soon as all the dry ingredients aremoistened. The batter should be lumpy, not smooth, and thick but quite moist;add a little more milk or other liquid if necessary.

3. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins,filling them about two-thirds full and handling the batter as little aspossible. (If you prefer bigger muffins, fill 8 cups almost to the top; pour1/4 cup water into the empty cups.) Bake for about 20 -25 or until nicelybrowned and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before taking them out of thetin.

Spiced Pumpkin Muffins

2011-10-09T12:19:00.000-07:00

Tis the season! Well, not really since this October Sunday is current 85 DEGREES outside. I refuse to let the warm weather take me out of the fall / baking mode.

Trader Joe's now has their Organic Pumpkin Puree's available, so muffins/breads immeditaely popped into my mind. Such and easy thing to pack in a toddler lunch box for a nice healthy snack.

Recipe Note: Your house will smell AMAZING when these cook (even on a hot October day!)

Spiced Pumpkin Muffins

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3/4cups sugar
1/4 cup honey (alternatively you can just use 1.25 cups sugar)

Topping:
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven toe 350F. Spray muffin tin with Pam Cooking Spray for Baking.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and allspice in a small bowl.

Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, 3/4 cups sugar, and honey in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined.

For topping: Stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in another bowl.

Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about 3/4 full), then sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown and a wooden pick or skewer inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.

Lasagna AKA Pizza Noodles

2011-09-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

With the beautiful fall weather this weekend we wanted a hearty and warm dinner. Lasagna was the first thing that popped into my mind and knowing our Hungry Hungry Jacob, we knew it would be an instant hit (well, we at least thought).

We used the Simple Lasagna with Hearty Tomato sauce from Cooks Illustrated. It was DELICIOUS! However, Jacob was a little resistant to try it until he really studied it for a minute and then declared they were called Pizza Noodles. Once we all agreed we were eating Pizza Noodles, they were gone quicker then we could blink. Definitely on the rotation of weekend meals in this house!

This made a ton of food! Instead of packing it up for lunch or leftovers for the entire week, I reserved enough for one more family meal and then cut up toddler lunch portions for the rest. I froze the lunch portions on a baking sheet and once frozen wrapped in saran wrap, tin foil and then put in a freezer bag for 6 toddler lunch / dinners when needed in a pinch. Now Jake can have his Pizza Noodles anytime!

Individually Frozen Pieces

From Cooks Illustrated:

If you can’t find meatloaf mixture for the sauce, or if you choose not to eat veal, substitute 1/2 pound ground beef and 1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed, for the meatloaf mixture. The assembled, unbaked lasagna, if wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and then in foil, will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months. To bake, defrost it in the refrigerator for a day or two and bake as directed, extending the baking time by about 5 minutes.

Ingredients

Tomato-Meat Sauce

1tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion , chopped fine (about 1 cup)
6medium cloves garlic , pressed through garlic press or minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1pound meatloaf mix or 1/3 pound each ground beef chuck, ground veal, and ground pork (see note)
1/2teaspoon table salt
1/2teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4cup heavy cream
1 can (28 ounces) tomato puree
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes , draine

Ricotta, Mozzarella, and Pasta Layers

15ounces ricotta cheese (whole milk or part skim), 1 3/4 cups)
2 1/2ounces grated Parmesan cheese (1 1/4 cups)
1/2cup chopped fresh basil
1 large egg , lightly beaten
1/2teaspoon table salt
1/2teaspoon ground black pepper
12 no-boil lasagna noodles from one 8- or 9-ounce package
16ounces whole milk mozzarella , shredded (4 cups)

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.
Heat oil in large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking, about 2 minutes; add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add ground meats, salt, and pepper; cook, breaking meat into small pieces with wooden spoon, until meat loses its raw color but has not browned, about 4 minutes. Add cream and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates and only fat remains, about 4 minutes. Add pureed and drained diced tomatoes and bring to simmer; reduce heat to low and simmer slowly until flavors are blended, about 3 minutes; set sauce aside. (Sauce can be cooled, covered, and refrigerated for up to 2 days; reheat before assembling lasagna.)
Mix ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan, basil, egg, salt, and pepper in medium bowl with fork until well-combined and creamy; set aside.
Assemble first lasagna layer according to illustrations below. Repeat layering of noodles, ricotta, mozzarella, and sauce two more times. Place 3 remaining noodles on top of sauce, spread remaining sauce over noodles, sprinkle with remaining cup mozzarella, then with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan. Lightly spray a large sheet of foil with nonstick cooking spray and cover lasagna. Bake 15 minutes, then remove foil. Return lasagna to oven and continue to bake until cheese is spotty brown and sauce is bubbling, about 25 minutes longer. Cool lasagna about 10 minutes; cut into pieces and serve.

Jacob Approved!

Assembling Lasagna - From Cooks Illustrated:

1. Smear entire bottom of 9- by 13-inch baking dish with 1/4 cup meat sauce. Place 3 noodles on top of sauce.

2. Drop 3 tablespoons ricotta mixture down center of each noodle. Level by pressing flat with back of measuring spoon

3. Sprinkle evenly with 1 cup shredded mozzarella.

4. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce evenly over cheese.

Carrot Pineapple Muffins

2011-09-18T17:51:00.000-07:00

We made these this weekend, thanks to the recipe from Weelicious. They weren't to bad ... I got the thumbs up from Jake and Grandpa Johnny too!

Pineapple Carrot Muffins (Makes 14 Muffins)
1 1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
3/4 Cup Wheat Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Butter, melted
1/2 Cup Honey
2 Eggs
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Pineapple, chopped fine and drained well OR 1 8 oz Can Crushed Pineapple, drained well
1 Cup Shredded Carrot (about 2 Large Carrot)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees,
2. In a large bowl combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a separate bowl combine the butter and honey using a whisk.
4. Add the eggs and whisk to combine.
5. Add the vanilla, pineapple and carrots to the butter mixture.
6. Stir in the dry ingredients, making sure not to over mix.
7. Scoop the batter into regular size, paper lined muffin cups.
8. Bake for 22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
9. Cool and serve.

Peach Puree

2011-09-06T20:08:00.000-07:00

Super easy ... you won't buy a canned peach puree again.

1. Cut ripe peaches in half and take out the pit.
2. Place face down in a glass baking dish with 1/4 inch water, cover with saran wrap and microwave on high for 3 minutes.
3. Remove saran wrap, flip over each peach half, recover and microwave on high for 2 minutes.

4. Test peach for for softness (each should easily been mashed with a fork). If additional time is needed, recover and cook at minute increments (shouldn't take more than 6-7 minutes).
5. Remove outside skin (should easily be removed after they are steamed) and puree in a food processor. Add water (from steam container) as needed until reach desired consistency.

Here I added the peach puree to previously made applesauce for our very own apple peach sauce! YUM!

Applesauce

2011-09-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

I couldn't let a FULL year go by without posting, so here's a stab at bringing Hungry Hungry Jacob back to life! Now that fall is on it's way, I'll be headed back into the kitchen more often (also see: happy husband).

This is a recipe I've been making for a while, just in the fall time when we head up to our favorite apple orchard, Bolton Spring Farm in Bolton, MA. This past weekend we picked up 3 bags of great applesauce apples made up of Paul Red and Gravenstein apples.

Ingredients
12 - 14 apples cored and quartered
1/2 cup water (more if needed)
3 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 lemon, squeezed
1/4 teaspoon salt

Tip for cutting apples: I saw this tip on Food Network and it does save a lot of time. Since you want to keep the peels on the apples (for extra flavor), cut the apples in quarters:

Holding the apple quarter, slice off the core:

And voila... you have a cored, quartered apple!

1. Over medium heat, simmer all ingredients for 15 minutes.

Keep an eye on the water level, it the apples appear dry, add another 1/2 cup of water. Gravenstein and Paul Red apples break down quickly and expel a good amount of water, so only a 1/2 cup was need for this recipe.

Stir and mash the apples until each apples breaks down:

2. Once the apples are soft, take off the heat to cool.

3. Spoon the apple mixture into a ricer and squeeze the applesauce into a clean bowl. The ricer will leave the peels behind. Continue until you have processed all of the applesauce through the ricer.

4. Taste the applesauce for sweetness and cinnamon. Add additional brown sugar or cinnamon as needed.

5. This batch made A LOT of applesauce. I kept a portion in the fridge for us to eat during the week and froze in individual batches for Jacob's school lunches. I found the best way to freeze portions for my hungry toddler in muffin tins. Spray the muffin tin with Pam Non-Stick spray, spoon the applesauce into the muffin tin and cover (once cooled) with saran wrap and tin foil. Once froozen, pop out the individual portions to a freezer bag and defrost individually.

Babyfood Puree Tip: I easily did this recipe when I was making Jacob's fruit purees. I would omit the sugar, cinnamon and salt and cook as indicated above. I would continue to use the ricer to remove the apple peels, but then run the applesauce through a food processor until I reached the appropriate consistency. You can add additional water as needed.

Orzo Super Salad

2010-09-28T20:04:00.000-07:00

One of hungry hungry Jacob's favorite blogs, mish + mash homemade baby food just posted this recipe. I decided to try it tonight, and it was an instant hit.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups uncooked orzo pasta

1 cup grape tomatoes

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh baby spinach

2 tablespoons lemon juice

½ tablespoon Chia Seeds (optional, can be found at wholefoods)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup shredded chicken (optional - I used left overs from the previous nights dinner)

salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

2. Whisk together lemon juice and olive oil. Place all ingredients into a large bowl and toss with the dressing. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

Jacob approved!

Fig Spread

2010-09-28T19:49:00.000-07:00

I realized after I made the fresh fig puree for Jake's fig and cream cheese sandwich, it was good, but it wasn't exactly what I was trying to go for. I wanted a fresh fig spread that tasted like the inside of a fig newton. After some research on the internet I realized I needed to use dried figs and cook them to get a sweet fig spread. This fig spread turned out perfect and will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Ingredients

1 package (10 ounces) dried Calimyrna figs

3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 cups water

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1. Stem dried figs and cut into 1/4-inch pieces (about 1 3/4 cups)

2. In a medium saucepan, combine figs with sugar and 1 1/2 cups water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Remove lid and simmer until most of liquid has evaporated and figs are easily pierced with the tip of a sharp paring knife, about 15 - 20 minutes.

3. Transfer mixture to a food processor; add lemon juice. Puree until smooth. Store in refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Possible Ideas for uses for Fig Spread:

Fig & Cream Cheese Sandwich
Fig & Goat Cheese Sandwich
Spread on Toast, English Muffin or Waffle
Crackers and Cheddar Cheese

New England Apple Pie

2010-09-26T19:46:00.000-07:00

I love apple pie. Just love it. I have made this recipe about 30 times total, and not even exaggerating. My cousin Colleen gave me the cookbook, maybe 5 - 6 years ago, and we have only really tried the apple pie. I've made it so many times that the cook book automatically opens up to page 599, for the only apple pie recipe you'll ever need, Apple Pie with Cheddar-Brown Sugar Crumb Crust. Its really like a little piece of New England in your mouth ... apples, cheddar, apples .... mmmm, amazing.

I did learn a very good lesson over the past week. Last weekend Jacob and I went to our local apple orchard, Bolton Spring Farm for two bushels of apples, and of course a half dozen apple cider donuts. Side note, apple cider donuts are little gifts from God, they bring a tear of happiness to my eyes (and Jacob's too ... he was quite the fan!) I went strictly off of memory on how to make the pie, and thought it called for 6 lbs of apples. The pie was undercooked, watery and all around gross. (A gross apple pie? Yes, in deed ... it was horrible and went uneaten in our refrigerator until our Sunday afternoon clean-out). After I refused to admit defeat, I went to make the pie again this weekend trying to figure out what I did wrong. The recipe actually calls for 6 cups of apples, CUPS, which equals to about 2 lbs of apples. Big oops, on my part. But 'old faithful pulled through and we enjoyed a yummy apple pie just as we have 29 other times in the past.

I use the Cooks Illustrated Vodka pie crust to make my pies. After getting frustrated with working with pie crusts that would be dry, bland and would crack when trying to roll it out, we tried the Vodka crust. It only takes 2 tablespoons of Vodka (which cooks out and has no flavor), this crust is the easiest pie crust you'll ever work with. The crust tends to sometimes be to wet, so you'll use up to 1/4 cup flour when rolling out the crust.

Pie Crust
Ingredients

1 1/4	cups unbleached all-purpose flour (6 1/4 ounces)
1/2	teaspoon table salt
1	tablespoon sugar
6	tablespoons cold unsalted butter (3/4 stick), cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/4	cup chilled solid vegetable shortening , cut into 2 pieces
2	tablespoons vodka , cold
2	tablespoons cold water

Instructions

Process 3/4 cups flour, salt, and sugar together in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 10 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds with some very small pieces of butter remaining, but there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining 1/2 cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Flatten dough into 4-inch disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.
Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out on generously floured (up to ¼ cup) work surface to 12-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll into pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhang on each side. Trim overhang to ½ inch beyond lip of pie plate. Fold overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of pie plate. Flute dough or press the tines of a fork against dough to flatten it against rim of pie plate. Freeze dough-lined plate until firm, about 30 minutes. I typically put this in the freezer when I'm preparing the apples.

Apple Pie
For the crumbs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
1/3 shredded sharp cheddar cheese (use real cheddar cheese here, that you shred yourself)

For the filling
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, preferable freshly grated
3 cups peeled, cored and thinly sliced tart crisp apples, such as Granny Smith (about 1 lb)
3 cups peeled, cored and thinly sliced sweet apples, such as McIntosh (about 1 lb)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1. To make the crumbs, pulse the flour and brown sugar in a food processor until no large lumps of sugar remain. Add the butter and pulse until it is the size of small peas. Add the cheese and pulse briefly, just until the entire mixture is the texture of rolled oats. Refridgerate in a covered container for up to 3 days

2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

3. Bake the frozen pie shell until pale golden brown, 14 minutes. If the pastry starts to puff up, press the bottom gently with a large spoon or oven-mittened hand to flatten. Cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes. (The crust can be baked 1 day ahead. Cover and store at room temperature). Reduce the oven temerature to 375 degrees.

4. To make the filling, whisk together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Add the apples and lemon juice, toss to combine, and let the mixture stand for 15 minutes, until the apples begin to soften.

5. Spoon the apples into the prebaked pie shell. Sprinkle with the crumb mixture, making sure to cover the apples thoroughly and filling up and gaps and holes where the apples have sunk. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is soft and bubbly, 50 to 60 minutes. Coll on a wire rack for at least 1 hour.

6. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Blueberry Sourcream Muffins

2010-09-24T19:05:00.000-07:00

Do you want your house to smell amazing?? Then you need to make these muffins. I made these blueberry muffins in hungry hungry jacob sized servings (mini-muffin tin). These are perfectly sweet, a bit tangy, light and all around delicious muffins!

adapted from Cooks Illustrated Classic Blueberry Muffins

2	cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces)
1	tablespoon baking powder
1/2	teaspoon table salt
1	large egg
1	cup granulated sugar (7 ounces) + more for dusting at end
4	tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly
1 1/4	cups sour cream (10 ounces)
1	cups fresh blueberries (frozen can be substituted if fresh aren't in season, just don't defrost them)

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick vegetable cooking spray. I use Pam for baking.
Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl until combined. Whisk egg in second medium bowl until well-combined and light-colored, about 20 seconds. Add sugar and whisk vigorously until thick and homogenous, about 30 seconds; add melted butter in 2 or 3 steps, whisking to combine after each addition. Add sour cream in 2 steps, whisking just to combine.
Add berries to dry ingredients and gently toss to combine. Add sour cream mixture and fold with rubber spatula until batter comes together and berries are evenly distributed, 25 to 30 seconds (small spots of flour may remain and batter will be thick). Do not overmix. Sprinkle sugar over each muffin (light dusting).
Use two spoons to drop batter into greased muffin tin. Bake until light golden brown and toothpick or skewer inserted into center of muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pan from front to back halfway through baking time. Invert muffins onto wire rack, stand muffins upright, and cool 5 minutes.

Fig & Cream Cheese Sandwich

2010-09-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite toddler food blogs weelicious posted a recipe of a fig and goat cheese sandwich. I thought the idea was interesting and have been wanting to try with with Jake. After finally finding ripe figs at Whole Foods tonight, I decided to whip it up. I also tried to go off of my memory to buy all the ingredients, but bought cream cheese instead of goat cheese .... which really wasn't an issue since it was still quite yummy and hungry hungry Jacob seemed to like it just fine.

Ingredients
3 tablespoon Fig Puree (see below for recipe)
1 tablespoon cream cheese
2 slices whole wheat bread (I used Jason's famous Light Whole Wheat)

1. Wash, steam and place figs in food processor. Puree until smooth.

2. Spread one slice of bread with fig puree and spread other slice of bread with cream cheese (or you can use goat cheese as the original recipe calls for).

While whipping up the fig puree took all of 5 minutes to do, hungry hungry Jacob got mighty hungry (and very quiet too, so I knew he was up to no good!), I turned around to find this:

He craftily got down the Cheerios box and helped himself to a snack before dinner. He's a smart one!

And Jake did LOVE the sandwich ....

Accompanying the sandwich was a side of cheddar cheese and pea puree. Pea puree you ask? Yes. Jacob has turned his nose up to anything green. ANYTHING green. He will shutter in disgust if a whole pea so much touches his plate (and believe me, I try at almost every meal to offer him something green). Jacob however did love peas when he was eating purees and I put a tablespoon or so of his baby cereal in it (I used Organic Happy Bellies cereal for him). So I've figured why not just revert back to purees, but just left Jake feed them to himself? It worked!! I really worked!! Jake's been shoveling spoonfuls of pureed peas with cereal into his mouth as fast as possible I'm happy because he finally eats something green. I don't care if I have to send him pureed peas when he's a freshman in college just to get him to eat his veggies, believe me, I'll do it.

And while I'm at it posting pictures .... you have to check out Jakes new shoes. Whomever said dressing a little boy isn't as fun as a little girl if crazy. Look at these things, I just love them!

One last picture for the night .... this is how much Jake loves pureed peas .... he tries to lick them out of the container.

Penne Rigate with Chicken Sausage

2010-09-15T11:38:00.001-07:00

After making the Spinach Ricotta Bites this weekend, we were left with over half a container of ricotta left. My Italian senses started tingling and told me to make a pasta dish out of the remaining ricotta (a good Italian girl will never let ricotta go to waste!). I whipped this up last night for dinner while Jake played in his pay room, it was easy to put together for a week night option and leaves our family of 3 leftovers for tonight too. This dish was highly approved by Jacob, it was one of those dishes where he just puts his head down powers through it by shoving it in his mouth as fast as possible only to look back up when finished. Jake ate at least a cup of it. I’m pretty sure when it comes to pasta dinners, he stores it in his hollow leg because I’m amazed at how much he can actually eat. This dish is highly toddler approved (and again, mommy and daddy approved too!)

Ingredients List

1 lb Penne Rigate

1 28oz can whole tomatoes, we use Muir Glen Organic Whole Peeled Tomatoes

3 tablespoon Olive Oil (2 tablespoon for pasta, 1 tablespoon for sausage)

1 small yellow onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, put through garlic press, or minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1/2 teaspoon oregano or pasta sprinkle

3 Mild Italian Chicken Sausage, removed from casing. We used Nature’s Promise Chicken Sausage

1 cup Ricotta (low fat or full fat)

1. Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil in a large sauce pan until warm, add the onion and cook 5 -6 minutes on medium heat until the onions start to become translucent. Once the onions are done cooking, add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the whole tomatoes, salt, pepper, pepper flakes (if using) and oregano. Breakup the tomatoes by using a potato masher and press the tomatoes. Keep doing this frequently during the cooking process to break up the large tomato pieces. Simmer uncovered for 30 – 45 minutes.

2. While the tomatoes cook, place additional 1 tablespoon olive oil in pan until hot, then add chicken sausage. The sausage will be sticky at the beginning, so let it brown a little bit before staring to break it up and crumble the sausage. While the sausage cooks, continually smash it with a wooden spoon to break it into small pieces. Once the sausage is done cooking thoroughly, add it directly to the tomatoes sauce. The chicken sausage rendered little to no fat, so there was no need to drain it before adding it to the tomato sauce.

3. Once the sausage is added to the tomato sauce, bring water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente.

4. About 2 minutes before the pasta is done, take the tomato sauce off the heat and stir in the ricotta. Keep the sauce off the heat.

5. When pasta is done cooking, drain then stir in all of the tomato sauce. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!!

Broccoli Cheddar Nuggets

2010-09-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

I have made a vow not to serve Jacob chicken nuggets, ever. No processed miscellaneous chicken meat will ever enter our kitchen. I found this recipe from wholesomebabyfood.com and knew I wanted to try it as a nugget alternative. These were amazing, simply amazing. Jake gobbled them up, and Jason and I did too.

I put the leftovers in the freezer to take out for lunches or dinner.

Hope you enjoy them ... we did!

adapted from:

Broccoli & Cheddar Cheese Nuggets

1 16-oz Package frozen broccoli, cooked, drained, and chopped fine

1 cup bread crumbs

1 ½ cups Shredded cheddar cheese (use real cheddar cheese that you shred yourself)

3 Large eggs

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Pre-Heat oven to 375

2. Lightly coat a baking sheet with olive oil and set aside.

3. Combine all ingredients and mix well.

4. Shape mixture into nuggets or fun shapes such as squares or squigglies etc..and place on baking tray. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, turn nuggets over after 15 minutes.

5. Serve warm

Spinach Ricotta Bites

2010-09-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

I've been looking forward to making this recipe ever since it was posted on weelicious a month ago. I even ran out to buy a mini-muffin tin just for these (well a toddler mom should have one in the house anyways).

These were delicious! Jason and I made lunch out of these too, and Jake ... well he liked them so much he clapped after each bite. I think they're a hit in this family. The leftovers will be going to daycare with Jake this week and the rest are frozen for future lunches as well.

Spinach Ricotta Bites (makes 16 - 20 bites)

2 Tbsp Butter
1 Small Yellow Onion, chopped
1 Garlic Clove, minced
2 Large Eggs, Beaten
1 Cup Ricotta Cheese (low or full fat ricotta will work)
1/2 Cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese, Grated
1 10 Oz Pkg Frozen Chopped Spinach, defrosted, drained WELL (I use my hands to squeeze as much liquid out of the spinach as possible), and chopped
1/4 Tsp Salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat and cook the onions for 4 minutes until tender.

Jason came into the kitchen to assist with this recipe

3. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute then set aside to cool.

4. Whisk eggs in a bowl and stir in ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.

5. Once combined, stir in spinach, salt and cooled onion and garlic mixture.

6. Pour the mixture into lightly greased mini muffin cups.

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the filling is set and golden on top.

8. Serve.

the clap of approval

Kid's lunches - why starting early is important

2010-08-30T12:57:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite blogs, mish-mash baby food just posted an article by a guest blogger that posted a great article on kids lunches (who in turn was on another blog that I follow, Fed Up with School Lunches --- a very interesting idea for a blog about a teacher that only eats what is served in the school cafeteria, its gross, and eye opening). This article sums up exactly why I choose to make Jake's food from scratch from the start and trying to only feed him organic, wholesome toddler food. Its a good read, and good food for thought (pun intended).

http://fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com/2010/08/guest-blogger-it-starts-so-young.html

Eggplant Parmesan

2010-08-25T19:44:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago we went to my sister-in-law's cousins house for a family BBQ. Jacob immediately feel in love with his new favorite food, Eggplant Parmesan. Jake seriously could not eat it fast enough, so I knew we needed to make it at home. We have tried light versions in the past (baking vs. frying the eggplant), so I wanted to go that route when making it for Jake (and for my husband and I as well). We used the Cooks Illustrated Light Recipe for Eggplant Parm. This was an instant hit in toddler land. Jake was already finished with his 1st serving before I even had a chance to sit down for dinner. 2 servings later, I had one very happy and no longer hungry toddler on my hands. We made the full version that fills up a 9 x 13 glass baking dish and I froze half of it in individual serving containers for lunch or dinner for Jacob in the upcoming weeks.

Note: It is somewhat time consuming, so having 2 in the kitchen to prepare this is defiantly recommended!

Eggplant 2 pounds globe eggplant (2 medium eggplants), cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rounds (I used a mandallon to cut the eggplant into perfect even rounds) Progressive International HGT-11 Folding Mandoline Slicer 1 tablespoon kosher salt 1.5 cups panko bread crumbs 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour 3 egg whites + tablespoon water Ground black pepper 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder Pam cooking spray 8 ounces reduced-fat mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 2 cups) 2 tablespoon minced fresh basil leaves Tomato Sauce 2 cans (28 ounces) diced tomatoes 4 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes ½ cup minced fresh basil leaves Salt and ground black pepper

Instructions:

Toss half of the eggplant with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, then place in a large colander set over a bowel. Repeat with the remaining eggplant and 1 more teaspoon kosher salt, and transfer to the colander with the first batch. Let sit until the eggplant releases about 2 tablespoons liquid, 30 to 40 minutes. Spread the eggplant slices on a triple thickness of paper towels and cover with another triple thickness of paper towels. Press firmly on each slice to remove as much liquid as possible, and wipe off the excess salt.
While the eggplant drains, prepare the tomato sauce. Process the tomatoes with their juices in a blender or food processor until mostly smooth; set aside. Cook the garlic, tomato paste, oil and pepper flakes in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the tomato paste begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in the pureed tomatoes and cook until the sauce is thickened, about 25 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the basil an season with the salt and pepper to taste. Cover and set aside until needed.
Adjust the oven racks to the lower-middle and upper-middle positions and heat the oven to 475 degrees. Combine the bread crumbs and oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet and toast over medium heat, stirring often, until golden, about 10 minutes. Spread the bread crumbs into a shallow dish and let cool slightly; when cool, stir in the ½ cup Parmesan. Combine the flower, garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon pepper together into a second shallow dish. In a third shallow dish, whisk the egg whites and water together.
Line 2 rimmed backing sheets with foil and coat with Pam cooking spray. Season the eggplant with pepper. Lightly dredge one side of each eggplant slice in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess. Dip the floured side of the eggplant into the egg whites, and then coat the same side with the bread crumbs. Press on the crumbs to make sure they adhere. Lay the eggplant breaded side up, on the baking sheets in a single layer.
Lightly spray the top of the eggplant slices with the Pam cooking spray. Bake until the op of the eggplant slices are crisp and golden, about 30 minutes, rotating and switching the baking sheets halfway through baking.
Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Layer in half of the eggplant slices, breaded side up, overlapping the slices to fit. Distribute ½ cup of the sauce over the eggplant; sprinkle with half of the mozzarella. Layer in the remaining eggplant, breaded side up, and spread with 1 cup of the sauce, leaving the majority of the eggplant exposed so it will remain crisp; sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella. Layer in the remaining eggplant, breaded side up, and spread 1 cup of the sauce, leaving the majority of the eggplant exposed so it will remain crisp; sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella. Bake until bubbling and the cheese is browned, about 10 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes, then sprinkle with basil and serve, passing the remaining sauce and extra Parmesan separately.

Makes 6 servings. Cal 330; Fat 9 g; Sat fat 4 g; Chol 15 mg; Carb 40; Protein 22 g; Fiber 6 g

Light Whole Wheat

2010-08-25T18:50:00.000-07:00

I am a lucky woman who's husband loves to bake bread. Jake and I get to sit back and reap the benefits.
Jason uses this book all the time when baking bread for us:
The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread

Last night he made the Light Whole Wheat bread with honey. It was delicious and made the very perfect PB&J (well for us at least, not Jake since we haven't introduced peanuts yet). Tomorrow morning we're looking forward to a nice piece of toast with eggs.

Jason said it was easy (I'll take his word on it). Here's a link to the recipe.

Pictures of our final project:

Apples

2010-08-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

Jake LOVES apples, but we've hit the independence phase where he doesn't want to be fed purees, so applesauce is out of the picture. We have 9 teeth total so far, but none that will allow Jake to bit into a crunchy crisp apple, so I'm constantely looking for soft, toddler friendly foods. I tried steaming some apples for him to get them soft and easy to eat ... lets just say my first batch is almost gone so its time to already make some more. I batch freeze these and keep them in a ziploc bag that allows me to just pull out exactly how many I need for lunch, dinner or snack time.

I highly highly recommend a apple peeler, it will become your best friend and is a staple item if you are making your own baby food. My peeler slices and cores the apples so it makes for a quick chop to make them into bite sized pieces. Back To Basics Apple And Potato Peeler

For this batch, I used a dozen golden delicious apples.

You just place each apple on the peeler ...

Crank the handle, and voila ...

Perfectly peeled, cored and sliced apples. All you'll have to do it slice then in half, then cut individual pieces from that. Super east, and quick too!

Place all of the cut pieces in a steamer basket with about an inch of water in a large pot, cover and steam for approximately 5 - 10 minutes until you have reached desired texture. Start your cooking time once you have started to steam.

I will then Pam a baking sheet, place the apple pieces on the baking sheet and freeze for a minimum of 4 hours (up to 24 hours).

Once frozen, using a spatula remove the apples, place in a ziploc freezer bag and keep in your freezer for up to 3 months (if they last that long!). For an added treat, once defrosted (place in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 30 seconds - 1 minute) I sprinkle cinnamon and sugar, which Jake loves!

Sweet Potatoes

2010-08-08T19:55:00.000-07:00

Jake's favorite food has always been sweet potatoes, and now that he refuses to eat purees I have been trying to think about how to keep sweet potatoes in his diet while doing a big batch cooking. I tried roasted sweet potatoes tonight, which were a huge hit and I have a giant bag of potatoes in my freezer for future meals which is a huge bonus.

Ingrediants
3 medium sweet potatoes
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Pam cooking spray

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Wash and peel sweet potatoes
3. Dice sweet potatoes into small sqaures

4. Toss sweet potatoes with oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl

5. Spray baking sheet with Pam [Pam Original Cooking Spray, 6 oz] and lay sweet potatoes on baking sheet.

6. Cook for 40 - 50 minutes, stirring / tossing sweet potatoes every 10 minutes until tender.

For freezing:
7. Let sweet potatoes cool on the baking sheet completely, then place entire sheet in the freezer for at least 4 hours, but not to exceed 24 hours.
8. Using a spatula, remove sweet potatoes and place in a ziploc freezer bag.
To reheat:
9. I'll take approx. 1/4 cup per serving, place in a microwave safe bowl and book for 45 seconds - 1 minute on high until cooked completely.

Veggie Pasta

2010-08-05T19:21:00.000-07:00

I found this pasta when wandering the pasta aisle for dinner ideas. I thought it would make a great toddler food, and for 4oz. you get a full serving of veggies! (at least that's what the box says) I normally like tri-color rotini, but this one was different, it actually tasted like vegetables. The dish was very yummy, and best of all, Jake approved.

Ingredients
1 lb Ronzoni Garden Delight Rotini Pasta
1 bag frozen diced veggies (I used Cascadian Farms organic carrots, peas and corn)
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup fresh grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
Salt
Pepper

Directions
1. Cook pasta according to box, boil 9 minutes.
2. While the pasta cooks, place frozen veggies in a microwave safe bowl with 4 tablespoons of water, cover and cook on high for 6 minutes (I do 2 minutes over the maximum time on the instructions to ensure soft toddler friendly vegetables).
3. When pasta is done cooking, drain and place back in the pot and toss with olive oil, garlic powder, parmigiana cheese, cooked vegetables, salt and pepper to taste.


toddler = approved!

I made the full batch of pasta and divided it up in Rubbermaid Take & Toss containers. Note - I really like these because of their twist lock feature. I'll pop them out of the freezer to the fridge the day I want to serve them to defrost, or just do right from freezer to the microwave. They also travel well to daycare if planning meals ahead at the beginning of the week.

Beans

2010-08-02T19:39:00.000-07:00

This toddler food turned into toddler food as my mistake. My husband started soaking the beans overnight to make baked beans the following day for our family that came up to visit for a bbq. They have to boil for an 1/2 hour to an hour (give or take) then get bbq'ized and baked. I was put in charge of watching the beans while he mowed the grass. I watched them all right, I watched them get really soft and start to break open (thus becoming to soft to then bake and make into baked beans). Instead of wasting an entire batch of beans, we came up with a bean recipe that Jake (and we) loved as a side dish. My husband and I ate them as a side dish to sandwich night, and Jake ate them (scrap that, devoured them) when I mixed in some fresh corn from the cob that I had made the night before.

We use Rancho Gordo yellow eyed beans. All the beans that we've ordered from these folks have been delicious!

www.ranchogordo.com

Ingredients
1 lb. beans
3 tablespoon table salt (or 6 tablespoons if using Kosher salt) + pinch for seasoning
2 sprigs of thyme
1 tablespoon oregano (dried)
1 small yellow onion, peeled and chopped into quarters
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
Olive oil

Directions
1. Soak beans overnight with 4 quarts of water and 3 tablespoon of table salt. Soak at least 8 hours but no longer than 12 hours.
2. Rinse beans thoroughly and place in pot with enough water to cover by an inch. Add thyme, oregano, black pepper, onion and garlic.
3. Bring to a gentle simmer and simmer until tender, approx. 45 minutes to an hour.
4. When beans are done cooking, remove thyme, onion and garlic, discard.
5. Drain beans and toss with drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt.

I found the best way to save them as toddler food to dish them in a muffin tin, freeze and when they are frozen, pop out each muffin tin into a freezer bag for single serving portions. To reheat, put in a microwave safe bowl, cover with a wet paper towel, and microwave on high, approximately 45 seconds - 1 minute.

Mix with your child's favorite diced veggies or a good side dish, or even main course for lunch or dinner.

Spinach Pancakes

2010-07-31T07:50:00.000-07:00

These were recommended to me from another mom as a good toddler food. I was skeptical at first ... spinach?? But after popping one in the microwave for 2 minutes, cutting it up and feeding to my toddler, I was sold. They are very tasty, made of real veggies, and Jake LOVES them. They will be a staple item in our house for a quick and easy lunch or dinner.


Todder, approved!

Pancakes

2010-07-31T07:32:00.000-07:00

Adapted from the Cooks Illustrated Featherweight Pancakes, these are by far the best homemade pancakes we've ever tried. Jacob agrees, each time we serve them they become part of the clean plate club. No crumb is left behind.

The original recipe calls for buttermilk, which I never have on hand, however a couple of years ago I discovered SaCo Buttermilk for cooking and baking. You can find it in the baking aisle of the grocery store and you just add the powder to your dry ingredients and the water to your wet ingredients (where it calls for buttermilk). Its delicious, and a tub lasts forever in your fridge. You won't ever know that you didn't use actual buttermilk.

Ingredients

cup unbleached all-purpose flour

teaspoons granulated sugar

1/2

teaspoon table salt

1/2

teaspoon baking powder

1/4

teaspoon baking soda

3/4

cup buttermilk*

1/4

cup milk (plus an extra tablespoon or so if batter is too thick)

large egg , separated

tablespoons unsalted butter , melted

vegetable oil (for brushing griddle)

Optional: Toddler Favorite! For fruit pancakes dice up 1/4 cup of your favorite fruit you have on hand (ex - blueberries, bananas, peaches, apples)

*if using SaCo Buttermilk, 3 tablespoon buttermilk powder + 3/4 cup water

Instructions

1. Mix dry ingredients in medium bowl (flour, sugar, baking soda, baking power, salt, buttermilk powder - if using this).

2. Pour buttermilk (or water if using buttermilk powder) and milk to a 2-cut measuring cup.

3. Mix yolk with melted butter, then stir into milk mixture.

4. Wisk egg white to stiff peaks.

5. Dump wet ingredients into dry ingredients all at once; whisk until just mixed. Quickly fold egg white into batter.

6. Meanwhile, heat griddle or large skillet over strong medium-high heat. Brush griddle generously with oil. When water splashed on surface confidently sizzles, spoon batter, about 1/4 cup at a time, onto griddle, making sure not to overcrowd.

If using fruit, place 1 tablespoon fruit directly in middle of pancake once poured on griddle.


I made blueberry and banana pancakes here - huge hit!

7. When pancake bottoms are brown and top surface starts to bubble, 2 to 3 minutes, flip cakes and cook until remaining side has browned, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Re-oil the skillet and repeat for the next batch of pancakes.

Toddler Serving

Enjoy!

Jake is hungry!

2010-07-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

Jake is my totally awesome 1 year old, and he sure is hungry! I have been making all his food from scratch and am creating this blog to document my adventures in the baby / toddler food world.