Baby Food! A Shameless Plug for a New Favorite Book.

So we’ve been making baby food for almost two months now and it just gets hard to come up with new combinations to make eating fun for my little Sweet Pea. Then I was introduced to this book.

First I must admit that I do not own this book yet. I have “borrowed”a recipe or two from my dear friend Stephanie and have fallen in love. Sweet Pea loved the first recipe and we’re trying the second tonight. The best part is that they were SOOO easy to make!! I even like them. In fact, the most recent one I made makes for a pretty nice soup for adults. Maybe we’ll have some for dinner tonight. (wait, is that like stealing food from a baby?)…. never mind.

The point is that the recipes in the book are fabulous and if you were looking for a new recipe book to pick up for your kids, this is definitely the one. Let me give you a sneak peak so that you will be more convinced:

The first recipe I tried with Sweet Pea was the Apple, Peach, Strawberry Compote. Sweet Pea was about done with peaches on their own and liked them ok, but not amazingly – then I introduced the compote and it was like a taste explosion in her mouth!… in a good way… She LOVED it! We’ve mixed it with Oatmeal for a yummy breakfast, yogurt for a yummy dessert, or just eaten it on its own. So how do you make this fabulous compote?

Step One: Ingredients

I used - 3 Organic Gala Apples (peeled, cored, and chopped), 1 carton of Organic strawberries (chopped), and 3 medium Organic Nectarines (peeled, and chopped).

Step Two: Cook

Dump the apples in a pot and just cover them with water – set to boil while you’re chopping the peaches and strawberries. When you’re done chopping the rest of the fruit the apples should be about half done, dump in the rest of the fruit and continue to boil for another 7-10 minutes.

Step Three: Puree

Spoon or Pour the compote into your favorite pureeing device (ood processor, blender, Magic Bullet) and puree until smooth.

The best part is that this is a great recipe for freezing! Yummy fruit compote for days to come!

The book has all the nutritional information, serving sizes, and other important tid-bits right next to the recipes AND its not just for babies!! There are recipes in the book that are great for older kids too. I can’t wait to buy it!

Happy Birthday to Nicole!!

Grace's very best bud Nicole turns 1 tomorrow! In honor of her awesomeness I thought it would be cool to share with youl this way awesome personalized card making tool on Shutterfly! Here's the card I made for Nicole:

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.



AND! if you order before June 9th you can get 5 of your cards free (you do have to pay shipping and tax which is a little over a $1 per card) Just use the code: DADCARD at check out.


Happy Birthday Nicole!

Sick Days 2

My sweet Pea has been pretty sick for the last two weeks (hence my absence) and just can’t seem to shake this thing! So I figured I would update and show you all the things that have helped make her more comfortable while' she’s been sick.

As much as she has always hated it, the Nosefrida is an AMAZING snot sucker that really helps her breathe better. We have to be careful when we use it thought b/c if we don’t get all the snot out at once she tends to choke on what’s left and has thrown up more than once as a result. She’s been choking on the snot when we aren’t using the Nosefrida so its definitely better that we use it than not. This go ‘round with the snot, my pediatrician even asked me if we had it to help with getting rid of the congestion.

When her fever popped up yesterday we started giving her Tylenol. I was actually surprised at how well baby Tylenol worked! Her fever came down within an hour, she wasn’t as letharic and she was back to her normal cheerful self. Definitely check with your doctor about the dosing for your baby because its based on weight and NOT age for infants.

Just before Sweet Pea got sick, my husband’s boss came in from the UK and brought with him these decongestant capsules. WOW, talk about amazing!! They’re safe for infants older than 3 months and they work instantly! You just squeeze the contents of a capsule onto a burpie or washcloth and tie it their crib or hang it somewhere out of reach. The Menthol in the capsule permeates the air and helps open up their airways. It even works for adults. I wish we could buy more in the US.

Other than that we’ve just been having Jammie days and snuggling lots. I promise more craft and recipe fun when my Sweet Pea is feeling better!

Swimsuit Giveaway on BHO!

I would LOVE to win this give away:


 Baby Half Off is giving away a gift card to Hapari Swimwear and who wouldn't want to win this? (especially those of us with post-baby bodies :-)
Check out their swim wear yourself: http://www.hapari.com/modest-tankinis/

Not that I neeeeed a new swimsuit living in the Pacific NW... but if I won, I would surely find some amazing occassion to wear is... like maybe a vacation to the FL Keys or Hawaii... which I could plan and surprise my husband with. I think that would work don't you?

Meal of the Week 5: Rachel Ray's Chili Recipe

This week’s meal of the week is brought to us by my stand out favorite quick meals chef, Rachael Ray. Now I’m not really into talk shows, but if I wanted to watch one I would probably watch hers. It’s wholesome, focuses of food, occasionally shows fuzzy animals, and otherwise makes me chuckle. Really, I just think I like that she comes out of an elevator at the beginning. All that to say, this week’s recipe comes from yet another cook book that I have never made anything out of, Guy Food, One of RR’s Top 30 30 minute Meals books. So here goes:
Manly Manny’s Chili:
For this recipe you will need:
2 T vegetable oil
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 lbs ground sirloin 90% lean
Montreal Steak seasoning (or salt and pepper to taste)
1/2 bottle of beer (what are YOU going to do with the other half?)
14 oz Beef Broth
6 oz Tomato paste
1 1/2 T dark chili powder
1 T ground Cumin (yes! I have it this time!)
2 oz smoky BBQ sauce
2 oz hot sauce (about 3 T)
6 oz shredded smoked cheddar cheese
chopped raw onions optional
Start by heating the oil in a big pot over Med-Hi heat.
Sauté the onions and garlic for 3-5 min. 
Add Beef and brown it. (3-5 min)
Season with salt/pepper or Montreal steak seasoning. Add beer and let it reduce by half.
Stir in broth, paste, chili powder, cumin, BBQ sauce, and hot sauce. Reduce heat to Med-low and simmer for 10 min. Top with cheddar and onions. Serve with or over corn chips. (Although we really like corn bread and a pack of jiffy corn muffin mix is like $0.50 versus the $2 for a bag of cheap chips – pick your fave or what ever your budget can afford.)
The key to the amazing pictures is always keeping the baby busy while the food is cooking. I find I have better luck with great pictures when the whole house is about to erupt in chaos. So like right now: the baby is screaming and the dog needs to go out.. oh and my husband is calling on the phone. Time to take a quick snapshot of the boiling chili mmmmmm.

Ok, so really folks, the only Chili I’ve ever seen that has no beans in it is Wendy’s chili. (Although a pot of it did win the chili cook-off at a church picnic I was at years ago.) However, because my husband got really excited about the fact that there were no beans since he doesn’t care for beans, We had salad on the side, but if you’re more inclined to eat your veggies hot you can always chop a green pepper and put it into the chili. Which brings us to the rest of my substitutions. I didn’t feel like paying an arm and a leg for “smoked” cheddar cheese, so I bought what was on sale, sharp cheddar cheese. I know it won’t taste the same but it should be ok. I also used “honey BBq sauce” instead of “Smoky BBQ sauce” because that’s what we had. No substitutes for cumin this time because… drum roll please… I actually bought some!! Go ahead, send up a cheer. And that’s it! It was Oooooh so Yummy!
Happy Eats!

Meal of the Week 4: Spinach Quiche

Brinner! Everyone, at least in my house, LOVES brinner. I try not to fix it too often because then we get spoiled, but for the last two weeks brinner has just been on my mind. Last week it was french toast with a side of scrambled eggs and this week’s hankering for breakfast food in the pm is bringing us the meal of the week.
Crust-less Spinach Quiche

For this recipe you will need:

3 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup fat-free milk
4 eggs
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and well drained
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 package of presliced fresh mushrooms

This is so easy it makes me smiles just thinking about it!!

In a large mixing bowl beat together the cream cheese, milk, eggs and pepper until smooth.

Stir in remaining ingredients with a fork. Tip into a pan of your choice, my 8x13 Pyrex worked great – or you could put it into an actual quiche pan if you have one (I don’t….).

Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
My substitutions:
This recipe is SOOOOooooooooo awesome because you can put whatever you want into it! If you want to add bacon bits, do it! If you want to add ham, do it! If you want to add more veggies, do it! Just make sure that you really do squeeze the spinach dry and drain any water from the veggies you add. I might add a little fresh garlic next time and maybe a little more pepper, but that’s what I love about this basic quiche recipe, you can play with it however you want!
This was so yummy, I can’t wait to eat the leftovers!
Happy Brinner!!

Tea Towel Dress

Have I mentioned that my sewing machine is a piece o’ junk? It took me all day to figure out why the tension was messing up (a key to this AWESOME easy dress) but I finally figured it out!!! I’m so excited.
I used to have a dress like this, but I think mine was maroon, or maybe it was yellow? Anyways, I remember thinking it was soooo comfy. I can’t wait to see how Sweet Pea looks in this fabulous dress!
 
Note: The tutorial I’m linking doesn’t say to use normal thread for the top thread, but you do. ALSO, if you have issues with your bobbin tension the shirring will NOT work. I learned this the hard way. Luckily, I also found great tips for fixing my bobbin tension and I shouldn’t have that problem any more!!! Hooray!!
You will all LOVE THIS TUTORIAL.
Happy Dress Making!!

Organza Flowers

I take no credit for this craft idea. Actually I have no idea where it came from, but a friend of mine showed me how to make these a couple of months back and just this week my husband asked me if I would make some for our Sweet Pea. How cool that my husband is actually asking me to make something specific next!
<3. He’s awesome. I should make something for him next….

On to the craft!

For this activity you will need:
about an 1/8th of a yard of your choice color of organza.
A needle and thread
3-5 tiny beads.
Oh yeah… you need scissors too.

Start by cutting out 3-4 circles of different sizes from the organza. No need to be exact. We’ll smooth out the edges in a minute. In fact, sometimes a bumpy circle makes a cool flower. I just did circles because I didn’t feel like being overly interesting. If you try it with a bumpy circle, I’d love to hear how it turns out!

** This is NOT a kid friendly activity, so make your all your bitty ones are napping or playing elsewhere while you craft!!***

Light your favorite candle. I like one with a scent, but if your sensitive, the scent is only for pleasure and in no way related to the craft.

Carefully melt the edges of each piece of organza by moving it slowly in and out of the flame. You’ll start to see the edges curl up. Be careful that you don’t melt the edges too much. After you try it a couple of times you’ll start to see how much is too much and how much is just right. It all comes down to your personal preference.

Layer the the pieces together so that they create a flower.

Using the needle and thread, run a stitch through all the pieces of fabric. Run the needle through a bead to string it into the stitch.

When you finish your stitch, try to insert the needle as close to the thread as possible so that your stitches don’t show.

Repeat for 3 – 5 beads.

Sew onto your favorite hair band or a round of hosiery (they work great for baby headbands!) and voila!

Here’s hoping that April showers bring more May flowers your way. Happy Crafting!

Dessert 1!

This week’s meal of the week is actually dessert! I love dessert and certain desserts remind me so much of my childhood. This is one of the best memories and a super tasty treat that you could almost count as healthy! I had to ask my mom for this recipe because its not one in a cookbook that I own. Humorously, when she pulled out her recipe to email it to me she found that whatever marker she had originally written it down in had blurred over the years. The runny green marker recipe card didn’t yeild much help, but, because my mom is BRILLIANT, she found a similar recipe online for me. So, while I’d like to say this recipe is my mom’s… its actually from cooks.com (Read more about it at www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,186,158186-233200,00.html Content Copyright © 2011 Cooks.com - All rights reserved.) with my mom’s modifications. We found it quite tasty. I hope you enjoy it!
Butterscotch Apple Cake
Today’s ingredients: All the basics for cookies plus a few extras
Beat together: (I don’t have an electric mixer, but mixing with a fork worked just fine)
2 c. sugar (I only used 1 1/2 C)
1 c. cooking oil + 2 tbsp. oil 
3 eggs
1 tsp. each cinnamon and vanilla (could probably use a little more cinnamon. I found it a bit lacking on the spice)

Mix dry ingredients and add:
2 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt (scant)

And now for the best two ingredients:
APPLES

and Butterscotch chips… mmmmmm

Fold in 3 cups diced apples.
We had a little issue while cutting the apples… my chopper didn’t like the idea of tough apple skin…
But it turned out ok...
(Remember that I folded in the Apples AND the Butterscotch chips. so if you’re following my mods, skip the last step below)

Pour into greased and floured oblong pan.
Sprinkle 1 package (6 ounce) butterscotch chips over top of cake batter.
Bake at 350 degrees approximately 45 minutes.
My mom’s modifications:
I highly suggest using these mods as the result was basically awesome. I used only 1 1/2 cups of sugar – and I probably could have used less. Because of the butterscotch chips and the apples, the cake would be WAY too sweet if you actually used the whole 2 cups of sugar. Next time I’ll probably only use 1 cup and maybe use some apple sauce as well. I wish I had added more cinnamon – 1 tsp would have added more spice!! (I like spice). I also used whole wheat flour instead of white flour (mostly because I didn’t have any white flour… shhhhhhh! don’t tell anyone) but actually using whole wheat flour is exactly what my mom used to do! It would have also been fluffier (it was pretty dense on tast testing) if I has used more flour. Probably a 1/2 cup extra would have been nice. I also folded in the butterscotch chips instead of putting them on top (that’s the way momma always did it!) A 9x13 pan works perfectly.
Watch out for snacking kids with this one! Happy Eats!

P.S. Mom email me this morning. Said she probably peeled the apples. It tastes amazing either way, but peeling the apples definitely makes chopping easier... :-)

Thrifty Thursday!

You all know how much I love a good deal. Well, I wanted to brag. Last week we went out on a date (dinner AND a movie) for under $20. I know.

THAT’S CRAZY TALK!!!

You are now all asking,
<How did you do it???>

And if you weren’t, you are now. <Hah, I’ve got ya now!>

Well, as much as we all hate SPAM emails and advertisements that come in the mail. I went ahead and signed up for almost every deal site I could find. (Yes, that’s a lot of emails that I just delete every day) These deal sites can either help you have a good time and still make budget, OR they can very easily cause you to bust your budget wide open. I suggest signing up with caution, purchasing after much careful consideration with your spouse, and making sure that you use it before it expires.

So, the story begins:
A couple of weeks ago, livingsocial.com had a deal for 2 fandango tickets for $9 (that’s less than the price of one ticket here in Seattle).
Now. you can see where this is going…

Did I mention that the movie we went to see started AT 7pm…. which is also Bitty Bear’s bedtime goes to sleep? So how did we get dinner out, (for less than $11) without going drive through? Ok, and this is where I become criminal. We snuck food into the theater. A whole pizza. In plastic ware. And napkins. And soda. and we cooked it ourselves (ok, you caught me, it was a frozen pizza, but it doesn’t have to be!). It would have been even better if I’d remembered paper plates.And we were early!! I still can’t believe we made it in time. This is the part that takes planning and makes the date more fun. And if you have older kids, you can make the pizza with them before the babysitter arrives so that you will have spent some quality time with your kids and your spouse before you go stare at a huge screen for 2 hours.

3 key components to this date that may or may not be reproducible: my Bitty Bear skipped her nap that afternoon and was PASSED OUT at 6:15 pm. We have awesome friends who will babysit for free. This is essential for the $20 date. Otherwise, you’ll shell our $20 alone for the babysitter!! And lastly, I have a big purse. Don’t try sneaking food into the theater if you have a small purse. That’s just awkward.

So there you go. A thrifty date that was lots of fun, thrilling (come one, you know that sneaking food into the theater is something that you loved doing in college but can’t bring yourself to do now that you have a full time job), and didn’t break the budget.

What have you done this week to keep it cheap?