Veggie Outback Meal

With Joe being a vegetarian, I've had to be really creative when cooking. Although I could easily make pasta every night, I've really tried to branch out and experiment with all the veggie meat options out there...and at this point I would even dare to say I'm a little bit of an expert.

I've tried almost all of them and can honestly MOST of them are pretty damn good! Especially if you're creative in how you prepare them. Case in point:





The other night I experimented with some seasoned "chicken breasts" and "bacon" and remade an Outback classic - Alice Springs Chicken. Add a side of baked sweet potato fries and steamed broccoli and you've got a great meal!

Making Baby Food

I know I said I would post on this a million years ago, but this is the first really free moment I've had all week. Being back at work really slims down my free time, especially because I spend a good portion of the night before preparing for the next day so I don't forget anything or run late.

Anyway, here it is.

I decided to whip up some baby food for Nash's 2nd go at solid food. If you recall, we introduced him to some solid food at about 4 months, but quit soon after because he wasn't sleeping well and thought it might have been a digestive thing (it wasn't). Either way, we decided to wait to try again. I wanted to wait until his 5-month mark, but he seemed so interested in food, it was almost sad to deprive him. So I spent a few hours making him some yums (would have taken less time, but I dilly-dallied). I wanted to start him off with peas, since everyone said he should have green vegetables first.

I made all of the recipes using my favorite baby food book, The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet.

I got some frozen peas from Target.

I put them, along with a small amount of water, into the microwave for a few minutes.

While the peas cooked and cooled, I started on the apples.  I used fuji apples,

since they are supposed to be pretty sweet.

 (Note:  this is for the microwave version...I usually do the stovetop 

version and will explain why later).

I cut the apples into quarters and then laid them cut side down 

to be microwaved (not shown).

Once the peas were cooled, I put them in the food processor 

along with some of the cooking water and pureed until smooth.

For the apples, I waited for them to cool, then peeled them and pureed along 

with some formula.  This is where I prefer the stovetop method.  It was 

difficult and very sticky to peel the apples once they were cooked and soft.  

The other method involves cutting and peeling first, then cooking with a 

small amount of water on the stove (checking levels often) until soft.  

Much less messy.

And this is the final product!  I also made sweet potatoes (just clean, 

prick with a fork, microwave, and puree with formula - easy!) and 

bananas (saute sliced bananas with a lil unsalted butter, then puree), 

but didn't snap photos of those.

By the way, he loved the peas!

Cinnamon Baked French Toast

Yum!! I just made this (with some minor alterations), and it was delicious!!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/05/cinnamon-baked-french-toast/


So much to post about...later!

Chili-Lime Corn on the Cobs

This one is super simple, but I wanted a post to test out my new navigation bar, so here it is!

First, start with ears of corn (you can use frozen, fresh, small, large, whatever).  I used these:

Image via

Cook according to directions (I made two). 

In a bowl big enough to fit your ears (mine were small, so  regular salad/cereal bowl worked for me), mix together the following:

1/4 cup lime juice

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp chili powder

Mix thoroughly, then add corn one at a time to bowl.  Be sure you roll each ear around several times to ensure it gets all nice and covered in the mixture.

Plate and enjoy!

Catching Up

I realize I have not posted anything in a long time!  I think we have been so busy trying to get out and do things that I am neglecting my more inactive activities, like blogging.

Today, the DiPinto grandparents came over to sprinkle some fertilizer on our lawn, but little man had just fallen asleep.  So sad when this happens because I know they only have so much time here with him before they head back up north.  So we made plans to get together tonight. 

Warhol and Photobooth attacked the sleeping baby!

So little man and I are hanging out alone today while Daddy works.  I spent the morning playing with his new toys and whipping up some new baby food.  Although he is too little to eat said food, I want to play around a bit before the actual time comes, so I know all the little tricks and roadblocks I might run into.  So far I have made the following:

• Brown rice cereal.   I tried this a few weeks ago by simply grinding the rice in the blender before cooking it up with some water.  I thought this came out a little too grainy though, and I even cooked it with waaay more water and for way longer than the recipe said.  I think this is due to my blender not getting the rice quite fine enough.  So, I bought a coffee/spice grinder the other day.  I still feel like there are some harder bits in there (compared to the super mushy rice cereal you buy at the store), but it's looking pretty good.
• Oatmeal.  I used the spice grinder to grind some of this up, but I did not cook it up.
• Apples.  This is pretty straight forward.  Steam apples on the stove for a bit, then puree.  Easy peasy.
• Nectarines.  I bought a bunch at Wal-mart yesterday because they were on sale and thought they would make great baby food.  So I peeled it, removed the core, and microwaved for about a minute.  Then I pureed.  It was delicious!!
• Bananas.  This was an interesting recipe in my book The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet.  It said to saute a banana with a tablespoon on unsalted butter for two minutes, then mash or puree.  The smell, OMG...the taste, OMG.  I wish I was a baby so I could justify eating buttery bananas all day.

Photo from Amazon

 Can't wait to scout the farmer's market to find even more things for him (and me) to try!

Menu Planning Monday

Since I don't have much time before the baby wakes up (again), here is a quick rundown of what we ate last week:

Monday:  Chicken, rice, green beans
Tuesday:  Shrimp pasta with basil pesto
Wednesday:  Homemade Pizza
Thursday:  Chicken tacos
Friday:  Free
Saturday:  Chili's Take out
Sunday:  Breakfast for dinner (pancakes)

Here is my plan for this week:

Monday:  Pesto-crusted tilapia, risotto, corn on the cob
Tuesday:  Shrimp stirfry with brown rice
Wednesday:  Chicken, black bean, and corn enchiladas
Thursday:  Salmon, couscous, and broccoli
Friday:  Free
Saturday:  I have drill so think I will pick us up some takeout sushi on the way home
Sunday:  Drill again, so leftovers it is!

Menu Planning Monday

Like I mentioned in last week's post, we didn't really do much cooking.  Not sure why, but it was kind of a hectic week.  So without further ado, here is a breakdown of what we actually ate:

Monday:  Leftovers
Tuesday:  Leftovers
Wednesday:  Maple/brown sugar salmon, 4 cheese couscous, and yellow squash
Thursday:  Spaghetti squash with meatballs (him veggie, me turkey with spinach)
Friday:  Leftovers
Saturday:  Cream of chicken and orzo soup (veggie chicken)
Sunday:  Leftovers

This week is already turning out better...perhaps because we have begun our nightly routine with the little man, so everything is a little more organized.  Here's a breakdown of the plan:

Monday:  Grilled salmon and mahi (we split both), grilled eggplant and portabello mushrooms, and green beans
Tuesday:  Shrimp pasta with homemade basil pesto & tomatoes, asparagus, and an arugula and spinach salad with gorgonzola, pecans, and apples
Wednesday:  Homemade wheat crust pizza (four cheese with a tomato sauce)
Thursday:  Tacos
Friday: Free
Saturday: Unsure (have a wedding that night but only attending the ceremony, so....)

Just wanted to explain what "free" means on Fridays, in case any of you are wondering.  See, Joe always works on Friday nights and has to be in around 630 or so.  Combined with the fact that he has to get a delivery in the early afternoon and rarely eats lunch until he gets home around 330 or 4, means that he is never hungry for a regular dinner before work.  So I often just make myself something.  So, that's what "free" means...I'm free to make whatever!!