Operation Soup

As a toddler, Lucas loved soup. Now he doesn't. So I'm attempting a clandestine operation - serving him all the elements of the soup with just a little broth (this amount to be increased over time), throwing in a well-loved ingredient if necessary (this time - tomatoes) and sprinkling it generously with cheese. Last night it was pasta e fagioli.

*I like to cook the pasta on the side. It keeps it more firm for the soup when it's added one bowl at a time and makes it easier to construct a non-soup soup for Lucas.

From "Giada's Family Dinners"

4 sprigs fresh thyme (I omitted)
1 large fresh rosemary sprig
1 bay leaf
1T olive oil
1T unsalted butter
1c chopped onion
3oz pancetta or bacon, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 (14.5oz) cans red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
(I used more discreet Great Northern beans)

A few handfuls Fresh, chopped spinach
(my addition, not in the recipe)

3/4 cup elbow macaroni (I prefer shells)
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan (for sprinkling on top)

Wrap the herbs in a piece of cheesecloth and tie with kitchen twine. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large heavy saucepan over a medium flame. Add the onion, pancetta and garlic (I always wait to add the garlic a bit to make it doesn't burn.) Saute until the onion is tender, about 3 minutes. Add the broth, beans, and herb sachet. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then decrease the heat to medium and simmer til vegetables are very tender, about 10 min, Discard the sachet.

In a blender, puree 1 cup of the bean mixture til smooth then return the puree to the saucepan. (At this point, I threw in some fresh, chopped spinach.) Cover and return the soup to a boil over high heat. Add the macaroni, cover, and boil stirring occasionally until the macaroni is tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Season the soup with pepper. Ladle the coup into bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and drizzle with evoo.

Kick-Start

Okay. It's time I try to give this blog a kick-start and attempt to get some things posted in a more timely manner. It's been a busy summer, but now as the pool time and vacations wind down (now if only the heat would!) as we head toward fall, I know my desire to cook is going to go in the opposite direction and I will finally want to consider standing in front of that stove a bit more often.

To try to start things off, I have had a request for ideas for kids' school lunches. After awhile, the usual sandwich, fruit, and drink combo just does not cut it anymore. Kids desire variety just as much as we do, if not more. So if anyone out there with school-age children has some healthy, creative ideas for lunches, please do share!

There are two blogs I would like to share that both have really cute and appetizing ideas for the little ones: Vegan Lunch Box and Cooking for Monkeys. Though the creations on Vegan Lunch Box are, well, vegan, they could still be interspersed or taken piecemeal to adapt to an omnivore's diet. I especially recommend going back into her archives and reading some of her earlier posts. I have followed this blog for years at the advice of my dear friend, Kate. This blog alone made me want to have a kid just so I could pack lunches! Of course, now that I do have a kid, I am not sure how she finds the time to come up with all of these fantastic ideas, but it must be possible. The woman from Cooking for Monkeys has two children and goes to our church. She is a fantastic cook and also has some really great, healthy, super-cute lunchbox art.

Tex-Mex Quinoa Macaroni and Cheese

I have yet to write a blog post about the positive and negative aspects of eating gluten-free (not to mention trying to avoid chicken eggs and soy as well), but one of the challenges I have encountered is trying to come up with good, easy meals that we can cook while on our three-and-a-half week camping/hiking trip out in California next month -- specifically, meals that can be reduced to one or two cooking pots. And, on top of that, finding meals that Elsa will also find enticing. So we have been testing out quite a few ideas around the house and on camping trips closer to home. We found a definite winner that Elsa seemed to love on our last camping trip to Vogel State Park over Mother's Day weekend -- tex-mex quinoa macaroni and cheese. It is easy, it is tasty, it is fairly healthy, and you can cook it in two pots (really, you could probably do with one if you really had to). We are sold. It came out slightly spicy, but Elsa did not seem to have a problem with it. She finished her portion and had seconds.

Tex-Mex Quinoa Macaroni and Cheese
(Makes 4 to 6 servings)

1 box quinoa elbow macaroni

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pound ground meat (I used grass-fed ground sirloin)

1 package taco seasoning (I used Bearitos brand, as the ingredients seemed safe for me to use)

Water (however much your package of seasoning says to add)

1 can diced tomatoes with chilies

8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

8 oz. monterey jack cheese, shredded

Bring a pot of water to boil, add quinoa macaroni, and boil until al dente.

Meanwhile, saute onion in olive oil until slightly softened. Add ground meat, and continue to cook until meat is no longer pink. Drain liquid from pan and add taco seasoning and water. Cook until liquid has reduced some and is slightly thickened. Add diced tomatoes with chilies and bring to a simmer. Add both cheeses and stir well until melted through.

Once the pasta is ready, drain it and add it to the meat/cheese sauce. Stir well to combine and serve immediately. If it seems to thick, add some milk or heavy cream to thin it a bit (we did not have to do this, though -- the consistency turned our perfectly).

Lovely Lentils

A friend of a friend posted this recipe (from Top 100 Baby Purees by Annabel Karmel) as a comment to one of my posts awhile back, and I thought it deserved a post of its own. I made this last week for Elsa, and even though she wasn't feeling well, she still ate a good portion of it. I went ahead and froze the rest in an ice cube tray for meals down the road.

One thing I have come to realize lately is that if the food I am trying to feed Elsa requires the use of a spoon or a fork, it helps tremendously if I give her a utensil to hold onto and attempt to use to feed herself. This skill is proving to take her some time (perhaps due to the fact that I am a neat freak and have had some trouble relinquishing total control over the food during mealtime in an attempt to avoid serious messes and, therefore, she has not had a ton of practice), but she does manage to get food into her mouth here and there. Regardless, I think it makes her feel a bit more involved in the process and more interested in her food. I am looking forward to when she is able to stand stably on a stepstool and actually help to prepare the food she eats.

Lovely Lentils

1/2 cup chopped onion
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 Tablespoons chopped celery
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup split red lentils
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 3/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth (you can also use water or half water/half broth)

Saute the onion, carrots, and celery in the vegetable oil for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the lentils and sweet potatoes and pour in the broth and/or water. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Puree in a blender. (You can also just mashed it with a potato masher and get a great consistency since the veggies and lentils are so soft after cooking.)

A Very Adaptable Mexican Casserole

Unlike many of my fellow posters, I do not love to cook. While I don't hate to cook either, I often find the process of planning, shopping, preparing, eating (well, that part I love), and cleaning kind of cumbersome, especially with an eight month strapped to me and a two year old lingering. However, I have found a few things make my life much easier. First, easy to remember recipes are helpful so that I don't have to constantly refer to the recipe. Second, I need adaptable recipes so that I am likely to have the ingredients in the house and it isn't the same every time. Next, it is preferable for me to able to prepare something earlier in the day while my children are napping. An ideal recipe should also have steps that my children can help with or snack on during the process. Leftovers are also a must as I try to cook only every other day. This Mexican Casserole fits all of the requirements and Finnan will eat it!

Adaptable Mexican Casserole

Tortilla chips

1lb ground meat

2 cups salsa

1 can of beans (drained and rinsed)

Veggie mix-ins (see below)

2 cups of sour cream

Veggie toppings (see below)

Shredded cheese

1. Crush a layer of tortilla chips on the bottom of a 13x9 casserole dish. (Good job for the kiddos- and easy snaking for them as well.)

2. Cook ground meat. After meat is cooked add salsa and beans. At this point, I throw in whatever veggies I have around that sound good- onions (I add when cooking meat), bell peppers (I add when cooking meat), corn, spinach, shredded carrots, etc. When cooked through, layer meat mixture on top of crushed tortilla chips. (My two year old, Finnan, has also started to help me chop. He can't get very far with the dinner knife I give him, but he enjoys being part of the process and will pop a few veggies in his mouth in the process.)

3. Layer sour cream on top of meat mixture.

4. Layer fresh veggies- I use tomatoes and green onions (if I have them).

5. Top with cheese.

6. Cook in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes.

You can make this dish as basic or complex as you want and as healthy or unhealthy as you want. And Natali's guacamole would make the perfect dip for the pre-meal tortilla snackers!

Mac N Cheese with Vegetables

Here is a healthy, tasty recipe for macaroni and cheese. It is from the Petit Appetite cookbook, which I love. The recipe calls for either broccoli or cauliflower, but I highly recommend the cauliflower. It doesn't really affect the taste and it blends in so that little ones don't even realize it's there.

I always stop after step two, divide the mac n cheese into four containers, and freeze three of them. I never bother to do step 3, although I would if I were serving this a dish for the whole family.

The cheese seems to "settle" a bit in this dish, making it not the most attractive food to serve, but I think the health and taste make up for it. Christian loves it!

Mac N Cheese with Vegetables

8 oz whole wheat macaroni
1 1/2 c broccoli or cauliflower florets, cut into pieces
1 c whole milk
3 c (3/4 lb) sharp white cheddar cheese
Salt, to taste
1/4 t black pepper
3 T freshly grated parmesan cheese

1) Preheat oven to 350. Bring a pot of water to boil over high heat. Turn heat to medium and add pasta and vegetables. Simmer until pasta is tender and vegetables are cooked, 7-10 minutes. Drain and return to pot.

2) In a small saucepan, heat milk over low heat until hot. Add cheddar cheese and hot milk to veggies and pasta and toss. Season with salt and pepper.

3) Pour mixture into 8-inch square dish. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top and bake for 15 minutes, or until bubbling. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Chicken-Zucchini Casserole

I made this casserole from a recipe from the cooking magazine, Cuisine at Home (February 2010 issue), intending for it to serve Jarrett and myself multiple meals last week. We ended up being less than impressed with the dish, Jarrett more so than I, so the leftovers seemed much less than desirable. I am not a big fan of chicken thighs, I have found -- I prefer white meat -- so I think that was a big problem for me. And I think the actual casserole part of the casserole appeared, at least, too eggy for Jarrett (if you do not already know, Jarrett has a strong aversion to eggs). Jarrett struggled through it for one more meal, but I then ate it (sans chicken) for lunch nearly everyday last week, and I actually thought the flavor of the zucchini-rice mixture improved with age. I was pleased to find out that Elsa actually loved it, and we ended up sharing it all week. So if I were to make this again, I believe I would most likely use cut-up chicken breast (or leave the chicken out altogether), would probably used brown rice, and would make it more for Elsa than anyone else!

All-American Chicken-Zucchini Casserole
Makes 8 servings

For the zucchini mixture:
1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2/3 cup dry basmati rice
8 cups chopped zucchini (2 1/2 lb)
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced

For the Cheddar mixture:
3 large eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (5 oz)
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs, divided
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon Tabasco
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Kosher salt and black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Bring broth to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Add rice, cover, and reduce heat to low; simmer until liquid is absorbed, 20 minutes.

3. Combine zucchini, onion, water, and garlic in a large saucepan; cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until zucchini is tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and lightly mash zucchini mixture.

4. Stir together eggs, Cheddar, sour cream, milk, 1/4 cup Parmesan, 1/4 cup bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, Tabasco, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in large bowl.

5. Add the cooked rice along with the zucchini mixture to the Cheddar mixture in the bowl. Spoon the combined mixture into the prepared baking dish.

6. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to skillet; saute until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes on each side.

7. Arrange chicken on rice mixture in the baking dish. Combine the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan and the remaining 1/4 cup bread crumbs; sprinkle over the chicken and rice in the baking dish.

8. Bake chicken and rice until bubbly, about 30 minutes. Chicken is done when it reaches 165 degrees when tested with an instant-read thermometer.

Baked Chicken Nuggets

These are a hit at our house with all three little ones, ages 1-6; perfect for dipping in yummy sauces, if you're so inclined. Here's the basic recipe:

• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1/2 cup milk with 1/2 T. vinegar (ie., buttermilk)
  

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Cut chicken breasts into 1 1/2 inch size pieces. In a medium bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, thyme and basil. Mix well. Put milk and vinegar in a bowl.
3. Soak chicken pieces in milk mixture for a few minutes, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Place well coated chicken pieces on a lightly greased cookie sheet in a single layer, and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or so.

We have a dairy allergy in the house, so I leave out the cheese and they're still great. Also don't have Italian seasoned breadcrumbs. The original recipe called for butter instead of the milk mixture, but again, allergies, and that also seemed an unnecessary caloric addition. Beaten egg could also be used as the pre-breadcrumb step. Another trick if you like them crispy is to bake them on a cooling rack so the heat is distributed evenly.

Hope you enjoy!

ps- my husband just made fun of me about this picture because of the meager amount of food...so I'll clarify that this is the 12 month old's plate :)

Individual Pizzas

This is a relatively easy dinner and a great way to involve kids. I prepare the pizzas with sauce and cheese and let Lucas top it. This time I pressed a clove of garlic on top of the sauce and went easy on the cheese because Lucas has the sniffles.

I used:
Mama Mary's pizza crusts (deli section of grocery store, near Boboli)
Greenwise organic tomato sauce (one little can makes about 5 pizzas)
Shredded Mozzarella

Toppings:
Broccoli (my new favorite pizza topping - and can you believe my phone text dictionary does not recognize this as a word?!)
Pepperoni
Sliced olives
Thinly sliced purple onion (the only topping Lucas avoided)

Guacamole Lunch

Last summer, Lucas and I had this for lunch about once a week. We took a break from it for a while and last Friday when I made it I remembered what a great toddler lunch this is! It is just a very basic recipe, but tasty. I like it because I can whip it up in less than 5 minutes.

I often break up the tortillas into bite-sized pre-dipped pieces and Lucas just picks them up. It is also on my list of allowable foods to hand-feed Lucas while he plays because it is green and has omega-3s.

This recipe makes a substantial snack for toddler and mommy and there are enough leftovers to make your husband happy with an appetizer when he gets home.

Recipe:

necessary:
2 avocados
1 small lime, juice of (I like it quite limey - you may want to reduce this)
salt, to taste

optional:
1-2 T onions, minced (I usually add as much as I think Lucas will tolerate)
chopped tomatoes
black pepper
dash of cumin

Half the avocados and remove the pit by striking it with a knife and wiggling it out. Score the avocado all the way to the skin into cubes. Scoop out and mash in a bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients and serve with soft pitas or tortilla chips.

Still a Favorite

As I mentioned in a comment on Alison's pot pie post, I believe Elsa is going through a phase of texture anxiety when it comes to food. She will put something in her mouth -- like a cannellini bean, for instance -- barely bite down on it (if she even gets that far), and then immediately thrusts the offending food out of her mouth with her tongue and into her fingers, where she then usually smashes it and examines it closely. She will not eat unmelted cheese as of late because of this issue, and basically anything of substance that is not in the form of -- or on -- a carbohydrate, she turns her nose up at before even really giving it a try. She will eat certain fresh, cut-up fruit, but it depends on the day. Right now bananas and apples have the green light. I am sure many toddlers share this aversion to various textures, but it is quite frustrating when I spend the time to cook something for her and then she either spits it out or throws it on the floor (will I ever break her of this?!?!).

With hopes of getting something slightly more nutritious than bread and crackers into her, I went back to a broccoli and cauliflower puree, also from the aforementioned Feeding Baby by Joachim and Christine Splichal, that she loved months ago. She still loves it. She will not for the life of her put a steamed broccoli floret into her mouth, but she loves this puree. Apparently I just need to puree everything. But, then again, should she not just get used to all of these new textures?

And here is something that threw me for a loop this evening. If I covered bites of the chicken pot pie in the broccoli and cauliflower puree, that was okay for the most part. Who would have thought that I would be hiding food with vegetables. Things could be worse, right? So, without further adieu, here is Elsa's beloved veggie puree.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Puree

Makes 2 cups

1/2 pound broccoli florets, cut into 3-inch pieces

1/2 pound cauliflower florets, cut into 3-inch pieces, core trimmed away

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth, plus extra for pureeing, warmed

1. In a medium saucepan with a steamer, bring 2 inches of water to a boil.

2. Add the broccoli to the steamer, cover, and steam for 3 to 5 minutes until the broccoli is bright green and tender. When done, refresh the broccoli in ice water. Remove broccoli and drain.

3. Repeat the steaming procedure with fresh water for the cauliflower. Steam 5 to 7 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender. Remove the cauliflower from the steamer and set aside. Do not refresh it in ice water.

4. Melt the butter in a saute pan and saute the broccoli and cauliflower for 1 minute.

5. Combine the broccoli and cauliflower in a blender or food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until smooth. Add the 1/2 cup broth to the mixture and pulse again until smooth. You may need to add a little more broth, depending upon the consistency of the puree.

6. Serve warm or at room temperature. Freeze leftover puree that won't be eaten the next day.

Lentils

Elsa seems to favor lentils, which is actually a good dietary discretion on her part. I made a spinach and lentil soup over the weekend, taken from Terry Blonder Golson's cookbook, 1,000 Lowfat Recipes. I intended this to be more for me and Jarrett, but wanted to attempt giving some to Elsa as well. She liked it okay, but not as much as another one of our standby recipes, which will follow this one below. Jarrett and I, however, thought it was quite good, so it might be something to try for the entire family. I pureed this soup with an immersion blender as a final step, as Jarrett and I tend to prefer most of our soups pureed. You could also easily substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth in this recipe to make it a vegetarian (vegan, even!) dish.

Spinach and Lentil Soup

Serves 5

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup chopped onions

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon paprika

One 10-oz package fresh spinach, washed and trimmed of tough stems

1/8 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 cup lentils, rinsed and picked through

7 cups reduced-sodium, defatted chicken broth

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or more to taste

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1. Heat the oil in a soup pot over low heat. Saute the onions and garlic in the oil until the onions are soft and golden. Add the cumin, coriander, and paprika. Stir and cook until the aromas intensify.

2. Coarsely chop the spinach. Add it to the saute and cook until it wilts.

3. Add the Tabasco, oregano, lentils, and broth to the pot.

4. Bring the soup to a boil, then immediately reduce to a simmer. Cook, covered for about 50 minutes until the lentils become very soft.

5. Stir in the salt, pepper, lemon juice, and tomato paste. Simmer for 10 minutes more. Add more salt and pepper to taste, if desired.

Elsa's more preferred lentil dish comes from Joachim and Christine Splichal's cookbook, Feeding Baby. Several friends and family members who have witnessed Elsa eating this concoction have commented on how disgusting it looks. Forget how it appears -- I've tasted it myself, and it's actually quite good. And if I can get Elsa to eat something with lentils, carrots, and shallots, it can look as disgusting as it gets. The recipe makes quite a lot, so I usually scoop the remainder in serving-size portions onto a sheet pan lined with wax paper. I then simply cover it with another sheet of wax paper and freeze it. Once frozen, I simply transfer the frozen clumps to a freezer bag. It reheats easily either on the stovetop or the microwave.

Green or Brown Lentils with Carrot and Shallot Puree

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 cups lentils, rinsed and picked over

2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

1 teaspoon minced shallot or onion (optional)

1. In a large saucepan, combine the broth and lentils and bring to a boil. Add the carrots and shallot. Decrease the heat to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, until the lentils and vegetables are tender. Drain and reserve the liquid.

2. Transfer the lentil mixture to a blender (I used a handheld immersion blender) and pulse until smooth, slowly adding the reserved cooking liquid.

3. Serve immediately. Freeze leftover puree that won't be eaten the next day.

Pot Pie!

No, what you are seeing is not staged. That is indeed a two year old piling peas onto his spoon.

I have been serving pot pie to my little cowboy weekly for about a year. He has yet to grow tired of this creamy, crusty, vegetable and meat filled dish. "Pot pie" was his first two word combination. His love for pot pie has even extended goodwill to other vegetable filled dishes. This weekend he picked up a pea from his pasta and said, "Pot pie!" I conferred that yes pot pie had peas and he gobbled up all the peas in the dish.

My pot pie recipe is an adaptation of Chicken Pot Pie IX from the website allrecipes.com.

Pot Pie

1 lb. of chicken or turkey breast (cooked and cubed)

3-4 cups of vegetables (I use a mix of carrots, celery, frozen broccoli and frozen peas)

1/3 cup butter

1/2 onion, chopped

1/3 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 3/4 cup chicken broth

2/3 cup milk

2 9-inch pie crusts

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Add vegetables to a saucepan, cover with water and boil until cooked (abut 20-25 minutes)

3. Drain vegetables. Add chicken to vegetables.

4. In saucepan, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until in thickens.

5. Place vegetable-chicken mixture in the bottom pie crust. Pour liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several slits in top of pie.

6. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. (Note: When served hot the filling will ooze out of the slices.)

Enjoy!

Easy Whole Wheat Shells and White Cheddar with Broccoli

Last night I decided to cook a box of Annie's Homegrown Organic Whole Wheat Shells & White Cheddar that I had on hand. I made it according to the directions on the box, adding the optional two tablespoons unsalted butter for a richer flavor and simply for the addition of the good fat. In an attempt to get some vegetables into Elsa's little body as well, I also steamed some broccoli (about the equivalent of one broccoli crown) and then pureed it and mixed it in with the macaroni and cheese. The result? A decently healthy meal and a very happy Elsa. Whereas I cannot seem to get her to eat plain steamed broccoli as a fingerfood, she ate this without fuss and continued to sign for "more."