Baby food tips {part 2}

Earlier this week I shared some easy, homemade baby food tips. I also want to share an alternative to baby cereal. I gave both my girls baby cereal when I first introduced them to solids. However, when they were capable of downing a whole box in under a week, I knew it was time to make a change!

A much more cost effective approach is to buy Cream of Wheat or Malt-O-Meal. You can price it out yourself but at my local grocery, a large box of Malt-O-Meal is cheapest. I used to cook it daily on the stovetop until I realized I could just make one large batch for the week! Both my girls (nine months old and three years old) eat this daily for breakfast.

Here's how I make mine. I don't follow the directions on the box but you could always try that out ;)

You'll need a can of fruit in 100% juice. I keep peaches and pears on stock and do a different fruit each week.

First, I pour the 100% juice from the canned fruit into a pot over high heat. When it comes to a boil, I add the cereal and whisk it all together.

I lower the heat and continue to whisk as I add more juice or cereal until I reach the right consistency and quantity. I make mine a little on the thick side so when I remove it from the heat, I can add a little milk to each girl's bowl to cool it down and thin it out. I add several chunks of fruit to their bowls and that is it! Very easy and inexpensive. It's also a lot healthier for my toddler to eat in place of sugary cereal or instant oatmeal. To reheat, I just microwave for 20 seconds or so and then stir in a little milk until the desired consistency is reached.

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A little inspiration * bear rabbit bear *Bubbly Nature Creations 

French Country Cottage *Home Stories A to Z * House of Hepworths 

I can teach my child *I {heart} naptime *It's Overflowing * Oopsey Daisy  

Positively Splendid *Ruby Jean  *Six Sisters Stuff * Tatertots and Jello  

The Delectable Home * The Girl Creative *The Grant Life 

The Southern Institute * Whipperberry

Easy Homemade Baby Food Tips

When Ellie was a baby, I was too busy juggling being a first time mommy and working full time to make homemade baby food. Basically, I was in survival mode! So many aspects of mothering have been easier the second time around. I'm more relaxed and I am blessed to be able to stay home with my girls. Here are some tips for making baby food that I have found helpful.

• If possible, use what you have on hand. I get frozen veggies out of my freezer and steam them or microwave them until they are tender. Next, I blend them with a small amount of the cooking liquid until the desired consistency is reached. I've used peas, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, and vegetable blends.

• Watch to see what is on sale at your supermarket. On sale, I can get sweet potatoes at about forty cents a pound. Sweet potatoes can be baked until tender in the oven. When HR was just starting on solids, I would blend the sweet potatoes with a little water to thin them out. Now that she is more accustomed to solids, I can just mash the sweet potato with a fork.

• After you make your puree, spoon it into ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen, empty ice cube tray into a clear container so you can easily see what food is being stored in the freezer. I try to keep at least two different choices in the freezer. To reheat, I just pull out 1-2 cubes and microwave them in a ramekin for about 20 seconds.

• Let me share with you how awesome applesauce is in the baby food making process. To make my baby food stretch farther, I stir in unsweetened natural applesauce. I can do one cube of frozen baby food with one large spoonful of applesauce and it equals about one jar of baby food! It also does a few other things - it can help thicken watered down baby food and it can help thin out baby food that is too thick. How does it do both? I don't know but it is my solution for both. Ha! It also provides a fruit component when the puree is a veggie.

• Eventually, I started adding in table food. HR has had pureed chicken and dumplings, macaroni and ham chowder, spaghetti, and chicken pasta bake to date. A few times HR has shown dislike for a flavor or texture blend. Can you guess what I did? Add applesauce! It works, really :)

This is getting longer than I thought. I better close for now and I'll share more soon. I hope you are still awake. You are still awake, aren't you?

***Here's a link to {part 2} which includes a recipe for homemade baby cereal



Sharing this with...
A little inspiration * bear rabbit bear *Bubbly Nature Creations 
French Country Cottage *Home Stories A to Z * House of Hepworths 
I can teach my child *I {heart} naptime *It's Overflowing * Oopsey Daisy  
Positively Splendid *Ruby Jean  *Six Sisters Stuff * Tatertots and Jello  
The Delectable Home * The Girl Creative *The Grant Life 
The Southern Institute * Whipperberry

Mediterranean Chicken Skewers

Ever since my last pregnancy, I have been craving all things Greek! One of my favorite dishes to make is Mediterranean chicken skewers with grilled pitas and tzatziki sauce.

You can get the chicken skewer recipe  at SimplyCook's website. I haven't tried their feta dipping sauce (though I'm sure it is delicious!). I like to skewer mine with lots of onion and serve it with this tzatziki sauce recipe:

3/4 cup Greek yogurt (or strained plain fat-free yogurt)
juice and zest of one lemon
1 t minced garlic
1 medium cucumber
1/2 t dried dill

1. In a medium bowl, add the yogurt. *If you are using plain instead of Greek yogurt, it needs to be strained. The easiest way for me to do this is to line a strainer with a paper towel and set it over a bowl for the liquid to collect.
2. Peel the cucumber and finely grate it over a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth. Then use the towel/cloth to wrap up the grated cucumber and squeeze out the extra liquid over the sink. Once you've removed the extra liquid from the cucumber, you can add it to the mixing bowl.
3. Add the remaining ingredients with a sprinkle of sea salt and black pepper to taste.

It is best to let the sauce sit for at least an hour or more so that the flavors can really develop. Serve with grilled pita bread. I always have Chase (a.k.a. my personal grill master) grill extra pita bread so that I can eat the leftovers with my cannellini bean salad :)

Cannellini Bean Salad

It has been too incredibly HOT here that cooking is almost entirely out of the question! So, I've been resorting to quick and easy meals and this is one of my favorites. I originally got a recipe for cannellini bean salad from watching an episode of "Everyday Italian" on the Food Network. You see, when Chase and I got married my cooking skills were less than desirable. In an effort to become more domestic, I watched tons of cooking shows. It really did help me learn techniques and experiment with different recipes. Anyway, I can't find the original recipe anywhere on the internet so here is my variation:

1/2 can cannellini beans (or great northern white beans) drained and rinsed
1/2 lemon
1/2 cup of finely chopped onions (more or less based on your preference)
1 t dried parsley
2 t minced garlic
parmesan cheese
sea salt

1. In a small saucepan, saute onions in a small amount of olive oil until softened.
2. Add the garlic, beans, zest and juice of 1/2 of a lemon, parsley, a sprinkle of sea salt and pepper to taste.
3. Stir to coat beans evenly over low heat.

4. Top each serving with grated parmesan. This makes enough to serve as a side dish for four or a main dish for one...maybe one and a half but I just go ahead and eat the extra half ;-) You could double the recipe to use the whole can of beans.

So easy and yummy! I like to eat mine with pita bread. Just cut whole wheat pitas into triangles, brush with oil, sprinkle with sea salt and grill. This makes for a very filling and healthy meal.

*Disclaimer* I am the only one in my family that eats this dish. I'm lucky to get Chase to eat bean soup or refried beans so this is pretty much out of the question. I asked Ellie if she wanted to try some of mommy's beans and she said "No ma'am! No like beans. Mommy's beans scare me." So....maybe someone out there will appreciate this recipe :)



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Vanilla Sugar

After visiting a spice shop, I fell in love with all things vanilla :) I bought vanilla paste for the first time last December. I love using it in recipes for a more intense vanilla flavor. I use it for creme brulee, pudding, homemade ice cream, icing, and so on.

Another item I was tempted to buy was vanilla sugar. It sounded divine but the high price didn't! Instead, I bought a few vanilla beans to make my own at a fraction of the cost. 

I've found that one vanilla bean goes a long way. I just open the pod and scrape out the beans and stick all of it (pod and all) in a tupperware container with 2-3 cups of granulated sugar. 

Let it sit in the airtight container for 2 weeks and you'll have vanilla sugar! Chase enjoys using it to flavor his coffee. I usually can use the same pods for a second batch. After that, I use the leftover pods in creme brulee - just boil them in the heavy cream and, for added flavor, use your new vanilla sugar as a substitute for regular sugar. I think it would also be fun to make sugar cubes (see this post) using vanilla sugar. Yum!

Homemade Sugar Cubes

What is a tea party without sugar cubes? When I was planning my last tea party, I found it nearly impossible to find sugar cubes. The stores around here don't carry them and to order them online was too expensive. That is when I realized I could make my own. You can find lots of recipes online but this is the easiest recipe I know:

1. In a mixing bowl combine 2 cups of sugar with 2 tablespoons of hot water.

2. Stir until well blended. The sugar should be uniformly wet and resemble wet sand (it should not be so wet that it is dissolving in the water).

3. Spoon the sugar into an ice cube mold. Make sure that it is firmly packed into the mold by pushing it down with the back of a spoon.

4. Carefully turn the mold over and tap the sugar cubes out of the mold onto a paper towel. I let mine dry overnight before touching them but they should be dry within a couple hours. 

 These sugar cubes are so easy to make at virtually no cost. If you have different ice cube tray designs like I do, you can make sugar cubes in fun shapes.





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Chocolate Shortcake

Strawberries are finally back down to a reasonable price so I am sharing my favorite dessert recipe. I originally got this recipe from Family Circle magazine and it comes from their May 2004 issue but I can't find it anywhere on their website or elsewhere online. I don't normally eat shortcake but this reminds me of a chocolate lover's alternative to the summertime dessert. It is actually considered a chocolate biscuit and this recipe makes enough to share so be sure to invite your friends over for some dessert!

1 pint strawberries sliced
1/2 pint raspberries
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons of chilled unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1/2 to 3/4 cup of milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup of heavy cream whipped (add sugar and vanilla to taste)
chocolate shavings for garnish (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. My oven always seems to cook things faster so I heat mine only to 420.
2. Taste your strawberries and decide if they are sweet enough. Sometimes they are perfect just the way they are but if they are tart, sprinkle them with 1/4 cup of the sugar and stir them occasionally.
3. The easiest (and least messy) way for me to make this in the food processor but you could also do it by hand. Add the flour, 3/4 cup of sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Mix together and then add the chilled butter. I let my food processor run until the mixture looks like wet sand. I slowly add the milk and vanilla while the food processor is running and turn it off as soon as the mixture comes together. You don't want to overmix it or the dough will get tough.
4. Turn the dough out onto a floured surfaced and roll to 1/2 inch thickness. Depending on the occasion, I use different cookie cutters to cut mine out.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until set in the center. If you overbake these, they will get to brown on the bottom so keep an eye on them!
6. I serve mine with whatever fruit is on sale - strawberries, raspberries, blackberries or a combination of those three! Top with a healthy dollop of homemade whipped cream and chocolate shavings. The whipped cream is even better if you make it with vanilla paste. I love the taste of vanilla and the whipped cream looks really pretty with all the speckles of vanilla bean in it.
This should make about 8 servings but it really depends on the size of cookie cutters you use.
Enjoy!



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