Tonight I am going to make my favorite fall meal = Butternut squash soup. It is just perfect for a cool fall day or night. I found the recipe years ago on the food network website and have reworked it a little bit.
Butternut Squash Soup
This will feed 6-8 people. I usually make 1 + 1/2 recipe. I also add coriander and cumin and little extra sage and before I add in the tomatoes I add in extra balsamic to flavor the onions (enough to cover the bottom of the pot) and let it cook down.
From Food Network Kitchens
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 onion, thinly sliced 4 cloves garlic, smashed (I usually only use 2-3) 2 fresh sage leaves 2 teaspoons kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 2 medium canned plum tomatoes
1 medium butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled, halved, seeded, and diced 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth, veggie broth or water 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (I use about 3 – 4 Tbsp) 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan, optional
Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, sage, 1 teaspoon of the salt and season with pepper, to taste. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft and fragrant, about 15 minutes. Raise heat to medium-high, add the tomatoes, and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the tomatoes break up and the onions brown slightly, about 7 minutes. Add the squash and the remaining teaspoon salt, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender, about 12 minutes. Add the broth, bring to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, until the vegetables tender, about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender, or with an immersion blender. Return the soup to the pot and reheat over medium heat. Stir in the vinegar. Serve the soup in warm bowls with a touch of parmesan cheese if desired.
I made my own pastry dough the other day. It was so much easier than I thought it would be. Here is the recipe I used from Gourmet. I made a chicken pot pie with it. I used leftover chicken from a roast chicken I had made a couple days earlier and added it to a mixture of cream of chicken soup (I buy the low sodium, low fat), 1 cup of chicken broth, a handful of frozen petite onions (you could use 1/2 of a medium size white onion) and about 2 handfuls of frozen mixed vegetables (you can use whatever you have on hand, frozen or not). To flavor the mixture I added a dash of balsamic vinegar, dash of Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and a couple of sprigs of thyme and let it cook down.
Then I rolled out 1/2 of the pastry dough and placed it in the bottom of the pie plate. Then filled the pie plate with the chicken mixture and cover with the rest of the dough, pressing the edges to seal. Then I brushed it with a beaten egg (actually egg substitute because that is what I had in the fridge) and then made a couple of holes for the steam to escape. I baked it for about 45 minutes at 400 degrees (adjust based on your oven) until the crust was a golden brown. What a treat on a cold day. Karina liked it too.
Mac-n-cheese update and recipe:
I unfortunately didn’t even get a call from the Tillamook people about my mac-n-cheese recipe. I’m not too surprised though, I’ve made some much better ones since then (I sent them only my 3rd try). Here is the basic recipe I’ve tweaked and then I’ll write some additions at the bottom:
16 oz – dried campanelle pasta (you can use any time of noodles that you like)
¼ cup – unsalted butter
¼ cup – all purpose flour
2 ½ cups– fat free half and half (or any kind of milk you like)
¼ tsp – onion powder
½ tsp – ground coriander
1 1/2 – tsp – chili powder
1/4 tsp – cumin
1 Tbsp – yellow mustard powder
1 pinch – nutmeg
1 tsp – minced fresh garlic
¼ cup – minced shallots (you can use onions as well or just add more onion powder)
1/8 tsp– ground black pepper
1/2 tsp – kosher salt (separated)
zest of 1/2 a lime
3/4 cup – canned pureed pumpkin (or 1 large sweet potato that has been baked and then mashed without the skin)
8 oz – cream cheese (room temperature + cut into cubes) (I use neufchatel cream cheese that is lower in fat but still tastes good)
2 1/2 cups – cheddar cheese shredded (you could also use colby jack or any mixture of cheeses you like)1/2 cups – mozzarellacheese shredded
3 Tbsp – plain bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large pot bring water for pasta to a boil. Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to directions on package. Cook to the minimum time given on the package so that the noodles are al dente. Pour the noodles into a colander and drain. Set aside.
In a large deep sauce pan melt the butter over medium high heat. Once melted add the flour and whisk together. Keep whisking for about 3 minutes. Slowly add in the fat free half and half (or milk), about a ¼ cup at a time. Keep whisking and add in onion powder, coriander, chili powder, cumin, mustard powder, nutmeg, garlic, shallots, pepper, lime zest and 1/4 tsp of salt. Whisk continually for about 5 minutes.Then mix in the pumpkin.Once the pumpkin is mixed in, turn burner down to simmer. Add cream cheese and whisk until incorporated and sauce is smooth. Take the pan off of the heat and stir in the shredded cheeses. Whisk until cheeses are melted and sauce is smooth (only lumps should be the shallots).
Once sauce is smooth, taste for more salt and add the remaining ¼ tsp if needed.Pour in cooked pasta and stir.If your saucepan can go into the oven, smooth out top of casserole and sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top. If it cannot, pour into casserole dish and then sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.
50 minutes to prep
20-25 minutes to cook in oven
Serves 8 people.
For some additional toppings you could caramelize onions and sprinkle them over the top before baking and then put the breadcrumbs over the onions. If you like bacon, you can cook about 4 slices of bacon (I used turkey, you can use any kind you want) in a saute pan until crispy. After you remove the bacon from the pan, add about 1 Tbsp of butter and then caramelize the onions in the butter and bacon with some thyme. Add the onions to the top of the mac-n-cheese and then crumble bacon over as well. This was amazing!
I know it seems like a long list of dry spices to include, but this is just the best mixture I’ve found. It still tastes great without the lime or if you don’t have coriander or nutmeg, it’s ok to leave them out or use your own favorite mixture of spices.
Over the next few weeks you may see some more changes on my blog. I’m trying to make it look prettier 🙂
I’ve been experimenting more and making some good comfort meals now that the rain and cold weather has returned. I made pastry for the first time and experimenting with more mac-n-cheese recipes, all to come soon! But the template and photo changes are enough for me tonight.
This was an experiment that worked! I wasn’t sure if the Quinoa would get creamy enough to make risotto, but it did and mixed with roasted butternut squash = fall in a bowl 🙂
Quinoa Butternut Squash Risotto
1-2 cups water
1 med size butternut squash (cut in half) (or 2 pkgs already cut up from Trader Joes)
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 med onion minced
1 clove garlic minced
2 cups quinoa (or aborrio rice, brown rice or barley)
4-6 cups broth (vegetable broth or you can use water + add herbs, or chicken or beef broth. I use 1/2 chicken broth + 1/2 beef for best flavor)
2-3 sage leaves
2 tsp salt (may need more to your taste)
2 tsp pepper (more to your taste)
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese (you can leave this out if making the dish vegan)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pour water in baking dish (like a lasagna dish), enough to cover bottom. Place squash halves face down in water and prick the backs with a fork. Place in oven and roast for about 45 minutes.
Heat broth/water in a saucepan or glass bowl in microwave. In a saucepan melt butter then add onion and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes or until onions begin to become translucent. Add quinoa and stir to coat with butter, onions. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add about a cup of hot broth and stir until incorporated. Repeat until you taste the quinoa and its creamy, probably about 30 – 45 min. Then remove from heat and add sage, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and parmesan cheese (add more or less of any of these to your taste).
Take finished squash out of the oven and allow to cool enough for you scrape out the flesh and mix it into the quinoa mixture. Add more seasoning to taste. Then serve!
[You can also make this an easy way. I make it in the rice cooker with a little less liquid and its not as smooth and creamy, but still yummy and takes less time and effort]
Just got the computer back, so photos finally next time!
So we don’t have our laptop back yet, so I still can’t post the beautiful pictures of my tomatoes!! But I figured I would post to give you some ideas of what I’ve been doing with my cherry tomatoes and lemon tomatoes from the garden.
My new favorite breakfast is a tomatoes, herbs and an egg on toast. I’ve made a couple of versions, but basically you dice up tomatoes mix with a little salt, pepper, olive oil, white balsamic vinegar and whatever fresh herbs you have. Let that sit while you make a piece of toast in the toaster + make an egg either over medium or over hard or you can poach the egg (I’ve never been very good at it. Only one out of 8 tries does that come out right!) Put the toast on the plate, top with egg and then tomato mixture. Add a couple of slices of avocado if you have it.Yum. Karina doesn’t like it too much, but she doesn’t really eat tomatoes. More for me 🙂
I’ve also been grilling more pizzas with tomatoes and making bruschetta. I also made a Rachel Ray recipe with a tomato and cucumber salad. Her recipe is basically to make a meatloaf with ground turkey, greek seasoning (oregano, mint, salt, pepper, lemon zest), feta + spinach. Your own homemade gyros! One the side mix tomatoes, cucumber, salt, pepper and red wine vinegar.
Anytime you want more specifics on the amounts, please let me know! I am trying harder to make note of how much I use, but don’t always write it down. I’m happy to tell you more details!
The new fall produce has arrived at the Ballard Farmer’s Market! Last week I bought a spaghetti squash and made a new take on spaghetti and meatballs. Here is the recipe I’ve given before that is my go to for spaghetti squash. Then in a crock pot put 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, 1 cup beef or chicken broth, 1 cup water + 1Tbsp Worcestershire sauce with a bag of frozen turkey meatballs from trader joes. Cook for 2-3 hours on low.
Fall is my favorite season so stay tune for some great fall comfort food recipes!!
Limiting myself trips to the grocery store is really helping our budget and my creativity 🙂 Life still happens when you’re on a budget however and I love to play hostess, so when we had a couple of evenings in one week where I was hosting a group of people for dinner, it was a challenge to stay in budget and still make good food, but I think I pulled it off! I based my menu around what was on sale.
One night I had the girls from my book club over and we wanted to enjoy the backyard, so I made grilled pizzas. I bought a veggie tray from Trader Joe’s as the appetizer so the girls could nibble while I grilled the pizzas. Here is the link to my blog about how to grill a pizza. First pizza was a caesar salad pizza, with chicken (marinated in caesar dressing and cooked in advance). Dough is topped with a thin layer of caesar dressing, light covering of mozzarella + chicken while on the grill. When you take it off of the grill, add the caesar salad and some shredded parmesan. Second pizza was a traditional magherita with fresh mozzarella tomatoes and basil. Third pizza was a caramelized onion and goat cheese pizza. Dough was topped with caramelized onions (made in advance) and goat cheese. This was the favorite!
Dessert was simple. 1 package sugar free white chocolate pudding, 1 package sugar free chocolate fudge pudding, chocolate chips, and sliced strawberries. Just layer ingredients and you have a trifle!
Another night we had a friends from PEPS over. I made a quinoa salad (thanks Jodi for the idea!!)and baked lemon chicken. I also was feeling very domestic and made oatmeal white chocolate chip craisin cookies. Cook the quinoa like you would rice. I used chicken stock in stead of water (you could also use veggie stock or water). Let the quinoa cool and prepare a vinagrette or use a salad dressing you like and have on hand and pour over quinoa (once cool). I used Paul Newman’s olive oil vinagrette and mixed in some pepper and lemon juice. Then add whatever you usually add to pasta salad. I used cubed colby jack, roasted zucchini and diced tomatoes. Chill and serve. [Another twist on pasta salad can be found at Family friendly food, a blog I follow.]
Baked Lemon chicken is something I have made for years and varies depending on what I have on hand. I cut the boneless chicken breasts into smaller pieces so they would cook faster and marinated them in lemon juice, white balsamic vinegar, thyme, salt, pepper, lemon zest and honey. Put the chicken into a baking pan, drizzle with honey, cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Then take the foil off and bake for another 30-45 minutes (depending on size of chicken pieces).
Some weekend mornings I actually have the urge to make a big breakfast. I really wanted eggs benedict but have never made hollandaise sauce and didn’t have the time or energy to look it up at 8:30 in the morning (it was my morning to sleep in. Tim and I switch off each weekend day). I decided to make a cheese sauce (which I just learned from all of my mac n cheese experiments). I made a lighter cheese sauce (2 Tbsp butter, 2 Tbsp flour, 1 ½ – 2 cups of milk, 3-4 sprigs thyme, salt, pepper, yellow mustard powder, garlic powder, onion powder and 1 ½ cups skim mozzarella) and put that over the poached egg and tomatoes (diced and mixed with garlic, basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar) on wheat toast. It was soooo good. I had enough cheese sauce leftover that I boiled some water while we were eating our breakfast and made pasta, mixed pureed pumpkin in with the cheese sauce, poured the cheese sauce over the pasta and baked it for 20 minutes. We spent the morning at home and then after Karina’s nap were able to go out for the rest of the afternoon and enjoy ourselves. We came home just before dinner. I reheated the mac-n-cheese and dinner was served in 10 minutes!
Luckily these meals provided leftovers again for lunch and dinners on the nights in between when I didn’t cook. Making cooking easier by giving yourself nights off is important. Those nights off don’t have to be about takeout (unless you want them to be). If you are trying to save money, make enough of one dish to have leftovers. If you don’t want to eat the same thing all week, freeze the food and then you can take different items out of the freezer and reheat on nights you don’t want to cook. But, like I have said from the beginning with this blog, everything in moderation. Not everyone is organized to cook every night and have freezer foods on hand, etc all the time. I know I’m not. Don’t beat yourself up about ordering pizza or going through the drivethru every once in a while. Taking the time to read this blog and other cooking sites shows you care about what you and your kids eat, even if you just think about trying the recipes. It’s the thought that counts J On that rogue day that you have some time and are in the mood to cook, you have an arsenal of recipes and methods in this blog, cookbooks (and more cookbooks)I mentioned and just by Googling. (Yes I think that is a verb now).
Happy cooking! Coming up…hopefully some recipes with food from my garden. My zucchini is not looking happy…
Sorry there are no pictures this week. The hard drive of our laptop died and our photos are on it! Luckily the Geeksquad was able to retrieve the info, but the computer I am working on now doesn’t have a dvd drive to read the info. Couple more weeks and the computer will be back and pictures of my garden will be up!
So after a couple of months of menu planning, I’ve realized that it hasn’t cut our grocery bills. Ugh. So, now I am trying to do more “repurpose” cooking with less expensive items. Here is what my menu looked like last week to give you an idea:
Sunday Mac-n-Cheese (Its good to make a big meal on Sunday that will work for lunches, and quick leftover meals for the first part of the week) I’m not sharing my recipe yet as I am entering the Tillamook Mac-n-Cheese contest. I’ll let you know when I win, or not 🙂
Monday Turkey chili with Zucchini corn bread (I bought a large zucchini, as mine from my garden are not ready yet, at the farmers market and had defrosted some ground turkey over the weekend. First sautee about 1/2 onion in soup pot with some olive oil. When onions are translucent, add 1stp of garlic, 3 palms full of chili powder, dash of cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Add ground turkey and cook through. Then add 2 small cans diced tomatoes and 1/2 can of tomato paste. Drain a can of black beans and add to pot. Add a handful of shredded zucchini. Let cook for about 15 minutes. If too thick add a little chicken stock until you reach desired consistency, if too thin, smash some of the beans up and then let cook until thick enough. Taste and add more seasonings as you need.
A friend of mine showed me the Zucchini corn bread recipe. It is so easy. I used the Jiffy corn bread mix and prepare as directed, but cut the liquid a little. Add 2 cups shredded zucchini, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese and some salt, pepper and chili powder. Bake about 30 min. Sorry this isn’t more precise, one day I’ll measure what I thrown in 🙂
With left over pot roast, I made a beef and brown rice soup. Pour left over gravy into a soup pot and add about 7 cups of beef broth (I use the boullion cubes as they are more cost effective) and bring to a boil. Either use 2 cups of left over rice or make some in the rice cooker while the broth is coming to a boil. I then added a handful of frozen carrots and chopped up the remaining pot roast. When the rice was done, added it in and let the soup cook for about 10 more minutes.
With the leftover chicken and corn I made soup. Similar to the recipe for beef above. Add the left over gravy to a soup pot and about 7 cups chicken stock. Bring to a boil and add about 1 1/4 cups orzo or other small pasta. Once the pasta is cooked (about 7 minutes) add leftover chicken (diced). I then added some more of the frozen carrots which I had diced and cut the corn off the cob that I had roasted. Add more seasonings as needed and you have soup!
Friday Leftovers
Saturday Dinner out – sushi..mmm (Have to splurge every once in a while)
My husband brought leftovers for lunch each day and Karina and I both had leftovers for lunch at home and we ate leftovers for lunch all this weekend. Tonight I’m making mac-n-cheese again (trying to perfect my recipe) and then will plan next week’s meals. I’m going to see if I can cook without going to the grocery store this week. We already have milk and diapers for Karina, so I think it should be possible. I’ll let you know.
I am searching for a good recipe using blackberries…We have a couple of pounds that we collected on a walk yesterday morning. Love fresh blackberries! If anyone has one, let me know!
I can’t believe it has been over a month since I blogged!! We have had a busy summer, traveling, working on the backyard and handling an almost 2 year toddler and her ever changing moods 🙂 The weather in Seattle has been a little warmer than usual, so I’ve been cooking on the grill rather than using the oven or stove. This week is going to be in the 90s all week, so I’m definitely not turning on the oven if I can help it!
Last week I grilled a pizza for the first time and I’m going to do it again tonight! It was a success. Here’s how I did it:
(1) Take the pizza dough out of the fridge about 20 minutes before you want to grill it. I used Trader Joe’s whole wheat pizza dough. Have the grill at about medium heat.
(2) Roll out the dough on a well floured cutting board and then brush one side with olive oil. Place the oil side down on the hot grill.
(3) Brush oil on other side of dough. After about 20 seconds, use 2 spatulas to flip the dough. After about 20-30 seconds flip the dough again. Do this 1 or 2 more times.
(4) With the least cooked side down, place toppings on pizza and close grill. Check every 20-30 seconds and make sure the bottom isn’t burning. After about a minute or two the cheese will melt and use the 2 spatulas to slide the pizza off onto a platter.
For toppings I used: fresh mozzarella, heirloom tomato (sliced) and roasted red pepper (which I roasted on the burner of the grill while the dough was coming up to temperature). I added some fresh basil, a little olive oil, salt and pepper once off the grill. Delicious!
Tonight I am going to use what I have in the house: cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and maybe some salami and fresh basil from my herb garden. Hopefully our umbrella will provide enough shade to sit outside.
A couple of months ago a lot of blogs were talking about “eating down the fridge” or the pantry. Specifically, two blogs I follow: (1) A Mighty Appetite, Kim O’Donnell and (2) family. friendly. food, Nurit. In line with how things seem to be going in my life right now, always a few months behind :), I am now going through and trying to use up all the food in our freezer, fridge and pantry. For example, last night we had some curry puffs made from leftover ground beef and pork curry that I rolled inside of Pilsbury crescent rolls and some bbq pork on the grill with vegetarian succotash (a frozen mixture of edamame, corn and red pepper). Karina had a great time dipping the curry puffs in some mango chutney.
Karina has been getting more picky and only wanting to eat what she can ask for. Luckily, this includes edamame (“mameh”), but mostly she wants craisins (“ay”), cheerios (“yeerios”), apple (“bopple”) and bananas (“namna”). At least she is still eating at each meal and asking for snacks though, so I cannot complain.
I love the summer! There is more to do with the kids outside and there are some great foods available like fresh fruits, corn and copper river salmon! There is nothing better on a warm summer night then sitting outside eating fresh grilled salmon and great glass of Riesling. Take last Saturday night for example. We went to a bbq at a friend’s house. Giant copper river salmon on the grill, cheese and crackers, veggie tray and lots of wine and beer. Kids running around. I brought a pasta salad (see recipe below) and the perfect summer fruit (in my opinion) = watermelon.
A blog I follow called Family.Friendly.Food. had some great recipes for Copper River Salmon last week. The author is a local mom who also loves to cook. Check it out. Here is a link: http://www.familyfriendlyfood.com/
What Karina has been eating and I’ve been cooking:
In the heat, Karina has been eating a lot of berries and cantelope. She really loved the nectarine I gave her at breakfast this morning. For dinner we have been grilling quite a bit, especially with our new grill 🙂 I made turkey burgers last week (ground turkey, grated red onion, garlic, palmful of whole wheat breadcrumbs, 3 Tbsp of flaxseed meal, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper). I made a few too many, so I used the leftovers to make enchiladas last night and they were spectacular! I chopped up the leftover burgers and tossed them into a sauce I made. The sauce included 2 cans of diced tomatoes, 2 small can diced mild chiles, palmful of chili powder, tsp of cumin, tsp coriander, salt and pepper to taste, 2 Tbsp minced garlic, 1 diced red onion, 1/2 cup pureed canned pumpkin, 1/2 can of tomato paste, olive oil and 1/4 cup of chicken stock. Cook in saucepan until heated through. Spoon mixture into whole wheat tortillas, roll and top with extra sauce, shredded cheddar and colby jack cheeses. Cook for about 30-45 min at 425 (covered for first 15min). I served it with black beans and avocado, which Karina has decided she doesn’t like this week 🙂
Pasta salad Roasted Asparagus Asparagus – chopped (about 5-6 handfuls after chopped) Shallot – minced (1) Garlic – minced (1tsp) Salt – to taste Pepper- to taste Lemon zest – (1 lemon) Olive oil
Whole wheat pasta (1 3/4 boxes of rotini)
Cherry tomatoes (or grape tomatoes, about 1 1/2 cups diced)
Vinagrette Lemon juice (two lemons) Lemon zest (one lemon) White balsamic vinegar (about 1/4 cup) salt and pepper (to taste) fresh rosemary (2 springs chopped) fresh thyme (4 sprigs) garlic (1 tsp minced) Olive oil (to taste)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Clean and chop asparagus. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon zest, garlic and shallots and roast for about 12-15 minutes. While oven is preheating, boil water for pasta. Cook pasta until just a little past al dente. While waiting for water to boil, chop tomatoes and put aside. While pasta is cooking and asparagus is roasting, mix all the ingredients for vinagrette, except olive oil. While whisking ingredients, pour in enough olive oil that you don’t lose the sharpness of the lemon juice or balsamic vinegar. Once you have drained pasta, pour it into a large bowl. Add roasted asparagus and tomatoes. Then pour in the vinagrette and toss. Chill in the fridge until serving.
So, its been way too long since I posted, but I’m a mom and things don’t always happen when you want them to, right? 🙂 Anyway, now that summer seems to be here in Seattle (and we have a new backyard!), I have been trying to find ways to grill instead of cook. So recently my go to meals have included:
Grilled flank steak (good deal right now at Costco!) that I marinated in soy sauce (1/4 cup), bbq sauce (1/2 cup), garlic (1.4 Tbsp) and honey (to taste) with a corn, black bean and avocado salad. Soooo good! For the salad I just used canned corn (hadn’t gone to the store to buy the good ears of corn out now), canned black beans and some avocado and lightly dressed with lime juice, salt and pepper. Karina loved it!!!! She usually doesn’t want to eat meat on its own, but also loved this steak! Then S’mores for dessert 🙂
Grilled salmon (copper river season!) (cover with pesto and enclose in foil), mussels (cook with chicken broth or veggie broth, white balsamic vinegar, shallots, butter and garlic, then toss in fresh basil before serving), good bakery bread and caprese pasta salad (make some whole wheat pasta, after toss with olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella).
This past weekend we drove out to Harstene Island, WA off of the Olympic Peninsula and drove the through Grapeview, WA and by the Stretch Island Fruit Co. They are the ones who make these great fruit leathers that are 100% fruit (no sugar added) that Karina absolutely loves! I thought it was funny as she was eating one as we drove by it and didn’t even know they were there 🙂 That has been a great portable snack. She also has her snack cup, usually filled with whole grain goldfish and craisins or shredded wheat and craisins. I also have started buying some oatmeal raisin granola bars that she really likes. So easy when we are on the run. Why does it feel like you are always on the run when you have a 19 month old! ?
When we are at home, she loooooooooves her apple sauce and smoothies. I also have found a great timesaver for lunches! I went to Whole Foods the other day, which I don’t often do because it is across town (although soon I hear the new one will open on Interbay) and bought some organic frozen brown rice, to check it out. Karina loves brown rice, so this helps make lunch so easy. We come back from our morning activity and I put the rice with some frozen peas or edamame in the microwave for a minute and a half and poof = lunch! If she is starving because we were out way past her breaking point, I give her some ham or turkey lunch meat to snack on while I put the rice and veggies in the microwave. Sooooo easy! I tried the rice too. Its pretty good.
Happy grilling and happy eating!
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