Having an extra day off is both wonderful and horrible. I love having it, but it makes it that much harder to return to work.
You try to cram all these plans into one extra day!
This weekend my brother and his family came to town and now I am exhausted. The kids are exhausted. But I am sure we are not as exhausted as my brother is, since they had to travel.
Plus I get my days all confused, thus the reason I am posting this on a Tuesday.
My hubby is working late all week, so I have to pick up the kids and rush home to make dinner then feed them. And I mean literally put food in their mouths. Since I won’t have any help during this time, I am making simple food. Well, I have Wed. off so I can spend some time cooking during the day.
The best part about this weekend was having all the kids together. They were super adorable!
As we all know, last Sunday was Mother’s day and I just didn’t feel like sitting on the computer. I should have done the plan on Monday, but I thought I could just wing it.
The reasons I celebrate Mother’s Day
Which meant I would come home and stand in front of the open fridge trying to find inspiration for dinner. What a horrible experience, I can’t believe I used to do that all the time!
This weeks menu is short, with Memorial Day weekend coming up. My brother and his family are coming up for the weekend, so while I don’t know what we are doing, I know I won’t be cooking.
I am also getting stagnant with my side dishes. I need some new ones, but have not had time to look for them. As you can tell by this week I have planned lots of pasta, including a couple of casseroles…
If you have any wonderful ideas for side dishes please, please send them to me!
It is finally getting warm here in the Pacific NW.
I say that like it is summer time and we haven’t had any nice days.
Today I wanted my husband to blow up Ian’s little pool because it was getting really hot. He wanted to mow the lawn first. So Ian and I headed over to Bamma’s house.
Her pool is not up and running yet, since May just started. Although she did work on it this weekend. Which means the weather will probably go to crap now that we have a way to cool off.
Since we couldn’t cool off in either of the pools we improvised.
This upcoming weekend I plan on making some more baby food.
Not just plan veggies like green beans or sweet potatoes, but some things with more flavor. I plan on freezing each of these recipes. These recipes are suitable for babies over the age of 6 months.
Sweet Potato and Carrots
1 medium sweet potato (orange-fleshed ones are a good source of vit. C and beta carotene) peeled and chopped
2-3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
Steam vegetables for about 20 minutes, until tender. Try not to over cook. Transfer to blender and puree, using water from steamer. Breast milk or formula could be used instead of water to obtain desired constancy.
Saute onion in butter until soft, add carrots for 3-4 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for another 20 minutes, until carrots are soft. Transfer to blender adding orange juice and puree.
Sweet potato with spinach and peas
1/2 Tblsp unsalted butter
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas
3/4 cup fresh baby spinach, washed and tough stems removed
1 cup water
Melt butter in sauce pan and sweet potato, cooking for a minute. Add water and bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 7-8 minutes. Add the peas and spinach, cooking for another 3 minutes. Transfer vegetables to blender, puree until smooth, adding water from pan as needed.
2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (or a can of chopped tomatoes, drained & juices reserved)
2-3 fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
Put carrots in small saucepan, cover with boiling water and juices from tomatoes. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the cauliflower and cook for another 7-8 minutes, adding more water as needed.
Meanwhile, saute tomatoes in butter until mushy. Remove from heat and stir in basil and cheese until melted.
Puree carrots and cauliflower with tomato sauce adding cooking liquid as needed.
Vegetable puree with tomato and cheese
(also from Annabel Karmel)
3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped cauliflower florets
1/3 cup sliced zucchini
1 Tblsp Unsalted butter
2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
Put the carrots into a steamer and cook for 10 minutes. Add cauliflower and zucchini and steam for another 7-8 minutes.
Meanwhile, saute tomatoes in butter for about 2 minutes, until mushy. Remove from heat and stir in cheese, until melted.
Transfer all ingredients to blender and puree until smooth. If too thick add water from steamed vegetables or breast milk/formula.
Some other recipes from Annabel Karmel that I plan to make:
(You might need to create a free account to see the recipes)
There is no way Baby Sid can consume all this food before it goes bad. To avoid all this work going to waste, I plan on freezing most of it.
I will fill ice-cube trays with the puree and freeze. After which I can place frozen cubes in a labeled bag or container. Depending on the size of the ice-cube tray, each cube is about 1/2 a serving of food.
Place cubes for the day in the fridge to defrost, or to defrost quickly in the microwave or warm water. Just be sure to mix completely so there are no hot spots. If frozen puree are a little runny after defrosting just add some of your baby’s powdered cereal to thicken.
I Tri and Craft 