Pinterest Round Up.

I love Pinterest. Love, love, love it. That being said, I don't necessarily end up loving everything I pin.

Since T (and I) have both been battling bugs over the last week and a half (baby ear infections suck.  So much.) I have had A LOT of time cooped up in the house to experiment with some pins. Part of my new years resolution was to try at least one new recipe a week, and so far, so good! 

Here is a bit of a review of my recent pin attempts (mostly so I remember which whens were craptastic)

Jello Play Dough

Source: playdoughrecipe.org via Caitey on Pinterest

I had a bit of a panic attack this week that I'm not stimulating my kid enough. I mean we read stories,  destroy have fun in the playroom and she gets to hang out with cows twice a day.  But as a stay at home mom I feel like I should be planning activities for her, challenging her development etc etc.

Ridiculous. She is 14 months old.

But, while she isn't quite ready for a full blown curriculum, I thought some sensory activities might be fun and a nice change. So during her nap one day I made this  play dough recipe, which uses jello for coloring. 

It turned out pretty awesome! (And smells delicious too.) The recipe omits that once you mix all the ingredients together you have to cook it over a medium low heat for approximately 10 minutes. You will know when it all comes together. I have stored ours in the fridge and it has kept well. It also didn't leave my hands, or Miss T's feeling like the Sahara Desert afterwards. (I HATE dry hands. Or skin.) And while T wasn't sculpting great works of art, she did have fun squishing it between her fingers (and eating it.)

(If anyone out there has good suggestions for fun activities for 14 month olds I am open to any and all suggestions.... we like getting messy.)

Dried Strawberries

Source: theworldwidegourmet.com via Caitey on Pinterest

These were a bit of a bust. The description under the pin said they are just like candy but healthy. Obviously too good to be true. Instead of coming out chewy and sweet as described, they ended up being dry on the outside and mushy on the inside. Edible, but not worth the 3 hours in the oven.

Roasted Tomato & Goat Cheese Pasta

This was amazing. So freaking delicious. We had it for dinner tonight and I wish I had made more! I followed this recipe. Sort of. I used cherry tomatoes and just tossed them in a glass baking dish with olive oil, salt and pepper. I roasted them in the oven for about an hour and a half. They came out with blackened edges but thats the way I like them! Next time I may roast a few cloves of garlic along with the tomatoes. I also cooked up some bacon and crumbled it up in the pasta too. I used linguini because thats all I had. And a TON of goat cheese.

It was also big hit with the under 2 crowd ( the kid is obsessed with goat cheese). And husband approved. 

Next up?

Source: blogchef.net via Caitey on Pinterest

Taco stuffed potato skins for the big game. Bring on the Superbowl! 

Baby Eats.

Lately, Miss T has been pretty opinionated about what she is eating. She used to eat anything I put in front of her (except peas, she has always despised peas).

But now?

Now, if it is a vegetable, or even resembles a vegetable it gets a disdainful look from her and immediately chucked halfway across the kitchen (much to the dog's delight).

I've tried everything I can think of. Smothering them in cheese, putting them in pasta sauce, eating them myself in front of her (since she seems to want everything else I'm eating these days), but to no avail.

Until I made these.

Chicken and Veggie Pockets. Like pizza pockets but way healthier and home made! And I was able to hide veggies in them... and she ate them! Gobbled it up! Little did she know, they were packed full of her sworn enemy.

My mom gave me The Baby and Toddler Cookbook for Mother's Day this year and it has been the best resource for homemade baby food, introducing various finger foods, and now, more adventurous toddler foods.

And while my pockets didn't look nearly as perfect as those in the book, they were definitely tasty and I felt really good about serving them to T. (And J thinks they are pretty yummy too!)

** BONUS: they freeze well! (up to 1 month, or 2 days in the fridge)**

Chicken & Veggie Pockets

• heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add 1 finely chopped leek (white and pale green parts only) and cook until softened, approx 5 - 8 minutes. Add in 2/3 cup of corn (I used frozen sweet corn, but you could use fresh too) and cook until tender, another 2 -3 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
• Once mixture has cooled down, add in a diced, cooked chicken breast (I used 1 large one, and it was just enough, recipe calls for 1 1/4 cup) and 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll out 2 sheets of thawed, puff pastry to a thickness of 3mm. Cut out 8 circles from each sheet using a 7.5 cm cookie cutter (I used a juice glass since I don't seem to own a cookie cutter, it worked pretty well!) 
• Put 1-2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture on one half of each circle and brush edges with a lightly beaten egg. Fold dough over and crimp edges with a fork, and pierce pockets all over with the fork as well. Brush tops with lightly beaten egg and put in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. 

• Transfer pockets directly from fridge to a 400 F oven and bake for 16 - 18 minutes. Pockets are ready when they are puffed and golden. 

Not as pretty, but really delicious!

Food for the Soul.

These are posts I am going to try to do fairly regularly in an attempt to build little Miss T a repertoire of recipes for when she has her own family to cook for (or when she want's to branch out from KD and hot dogs at university).

To me, these are more than just recipes though. These are the tastes and smells my childhood was made of, and I can only hope they become that for T.

I am going to start with an absolute staple in my family's home. My Mom's Macaroni and Cheese has always been the king of comfort foods in my eyes. It is the perfect ending to a blustery, fall day like today. And, as a side note, this freezes really well! Hurrah! (These are the things that excite me now that I am juggling a 10 month old with a 730pm bedtime and farm chores... yay for not eating at 10pm).

Mac & Cheese
(slightly adapted from my mom's version)

• 1 package elbow noodles (the amount varies on how saucy you want it)
• 1/4 cup butter 
• 1 clove garlic mashed or sliced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/4 cup flour
• ~ 1 cup milk 
• cheese... lots of shredded cheese(old cheddar works best but I generally add whatever I have laying around)
• chunks of ham
• salt, pepper, worcestershire sauce (or tabasco) to taste
• ritz crackers & extra shredded cheese for topping

1. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Add noodles and cook til done
2. In the meantime, melt butter in a sauce pan and add garlic and onions to sweat a bit. Ad flour, a little bit at a time until crumbly and cook for a few minutes. 
3. Slowly add milk to butter and flour until rice pudding consistency. Let thicken. 
4. Add cheese little bits at a time, stirring after each addition. 
5. Once sauce reaches desired consistency, throw in chunks of ham (if desired) and add salt, pepper  and worcestershire to taste.
6. Add noodles to sauce, mix thoroughly and pour into casserole dish.
7. Top with crumbled ritz crackers and shredded cheese and throw in the oven at 350F to brown. (If frozen, for approx 45 min - 1 hour). 

So Miss T, there it is! Your very first family recipe is in the books. I hope you learn to cherish these recipes and the memories that come along with them as much as I do.