Crock Pot Tuesdays

I'm a nurse. I work with a bunch of women. Seriously, no male nurses. :) I LOVE this about my job.

So, we talk about lots of womanly things. Shopping, our kids/family, and food. And on our unit, we will find any excuse to have a pot-luck party at work. Oh, the Mavs are in the playoffs? LUNCH PARTY. International Day? Mexican fiesta!! Father's Day? Sweets n' Treats! End of summer? BBQ!!!

So, with all these opportunities to bring in food, it brings about lots of discussion of recipes. One day (our Labor Day Soup and Salad luncheon day, in fact), while discussing recipes, a friend said to me, "Emily..have you joined Crock Pot Girls yet??" Interest piqued. "Crock pot girls?? No.. what's that?" She then proceeded to blow my mind with all that is Crock Pot Girls. They also have a Facebook. :)

This is an amazing website, started by girlfriends, with tons of recipes to be made in a crock pot. Now, I have a crock pot. And up until now, my extent of adventurousness with the crock pot has been: Chicken Taco Soup and French Dip Sandwiches. Yea... pretty boring.

You hereby have my vow, that I will try a new recipe in my crock pot every week. On Tuesdays, to be exact. The girls on the website coined the term Crock Pot Mondays. Monday's are just not good for us. Hector has Club for YoungLife and will usually be eating there. And I don't want to make a crock pot meal  for just me to eat. So, this past Tuesday, I started out with a meal recommended by my friend Laurie from work. She'd made it for her husband and daughter and said it turned out VERY well. I even went as far as to make the same sides as her. Thanks, Laurie! Great idea!

Creamy Italian Chicken (find it here)
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (frozen) ((I used 6 breast tenders)) (((it's what I had)))
1 package of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 packet dry Italian seasoning

Place chicken on bottom of crock pot. They recommend using a roasting bag. (I've never heard of such.) In a separate bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, soup and Italian seasoning. Pour over chicken. Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours. I also added a splash of white wine (probably about 1/2 a cup). I opened it up and lightly stirred it a couple times. I put it all in at 12:30, low setting, and we were eating by 6:30.

Chicken on the bottom.

Other three ingredients in a bowl.

Smear over chicken. 6 hours on low.

I served ours over steamed brown rice with steamed broccoli. 

This was amazing. The chicken was practically falling apart. So glad I went with something that was 1) easy and 2) recommended. I knew it should taste good, you can hardly mess it up. And the brown rice was so good! We definitely both made "happy plates."

Can't wait for next Tuesday!! 

Adventures in baby food making: Apricots with pear!

I like to try to make one fruit dish for each veggie dish I do. Babies need a variety, just like we do.

I will say, this recipe called for papaya, not pears, but 1) we'd just eaten papaya and 2) Central Market didn't have any papaya (!?). So, I decided on pear. Because I knew he'd liked pears several weeks ago.

So, I'll just list my edited recipe here.
ingredients:
1 C dried apricots, chopped
enough water to cover the apricots
2 Bosc pears
4 ounces firm tofu


Boil the apricots for about 5 minutes, covered, until tender. Roughly chop the pears then steam them in water for about 20-25 minutes. Peel them. Put pear chunks, apricots and chopped tofu into food processor. Puree until smooth. Add cooking liquid as needed.

Lens kept fogging up!

Ok. I don't regularly buy tofu.. the recipe really called for soft tofu. But this was the only organic one...so, I got firm. Apparently soft tofu is more like a cream, good for smoothies and such. Oh well.

Made a pretty parfait in the processor. Pears, apricots, tofu.

A perfect consistency.

And into the tray. (Look at that sweet baby on the floor!)

Hector was working on a project outside, so I didn't get any pictures of Coco trying this one. But he really liked it!

Tofu is rich in protein, calcium, iron and potassium. It can help protect against some types of heart disease and cancer. Dried apricots are a great high-energy snack. Note to self: don't feed to Cohen too close to bedtime. 

Adventures in baby food making: Carrot puree with lentils and cheese!

All out of the beef stew, I hit the books (OK.. one book) to find a new, exciting recipe for the little. I try to pick new recipes based on two criteria: does it sound good to me? and, will it offer Cohen a new ingredient, that is also nutritional for him?

I landed on: Carrot puree with lentils and cheese.
ingredients:
1/2 C finely chopped onion
1 1/2 t vegetable oil
2 T red lentils
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1 1/2 C boiling water
1 T unsalted butter
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
1/2 C grated Cheddar cheese

**I did use three carrots, but only pictured two; somehow I missed the "red" in the lentil description and bought white(?) lentils

Saute onion in oil 3-4 minutes until softened. Rinse and drain lentils, add to onion. Add carrots and boiling water. Cover and cook for 25 minutes over medium heat.

Melt butter in separate sauce pan, saute tomato until mushy, add Cheddar cheese.

Drain carrot and lentil mixture and reserve cooking liquid. Combine carrot and lentil mixture with tomato and cheese mixture. Add 1/2 C cooking liquid. Puree.

He wasn't sure about the first couple bites...

But then he finished his serving with a smile! And I even gave him another serving! 

What really happened:

-I would use a bigger tomato next time.. like on-the-vine tomatoes. After I Hector seeded the tomato, there didn't seem to be much tomato left to cook with!

-White lentils worked fine... who knew there was more than one kind??

-I had to add nearly 2 more cups of water to the carrot/lentil mixture after 25 minutes AND cook for 20-25 minutes longer! The cooking fluid was completely absorbed by twenty-five minutes. And, I would've stopped here and started blending, but Hector tasted the lentils and said they were still very hard. So, back on the heat for another 25. 

All in all, a great recipe for Coco. And bonus! Lentils are a great source of protein and fiber. Also, they are a rich source of potassium, zinc and folic acid. I find myself doing diaper laundry a little more than usual, thanks to the fiber, I'm thinking. :)

CD buddies

This is another play date, that I haven't had time to post! But at least this one was only a couple weeks ago, for real. Right before we went on vacation. So, I have an excuse.

I have this friend, Amber, who I went to high school with. We became friends when we were on the drill team together. Yes, my friends, I was on drill team.. in case I haven't forgot to mention that at some point. It. Was. Fun. Anyways, I did that freshman and sophomore years, then decided to quit. I know, quitter. But I quit drill team to involve myself in something much more useful. Home Economics! I ran for office and was elected to [some office, I'd have to pull out the yearbooks to remember] and who else was an officer? Amber! She graduated a year before me, but we were friends all during high school. Then she went off to school somewhere...right? Anyways, I went to university a year later and guess who also lived in my town and went to the other university in town? Amber! So, we hung out a few times then. A few years go by and we are friends on Facebook. Well, I get pregnant right? And announce it on Facebook last summer. Then who do you think announced her pregnancy that fall? Amber! haha. I know this has entertained you, but I just wanted to explain how we know each other.

So, in April (right, Amber?) E was born! He's just adorable and so, so sweet. I hadn't gotten to meet him (or see Amber) so, we planned a visit. It was so great! Here is E, with Cohen on the couch.

He's obviously a lot smaller than Coco at this point. Still a newborn, practically! So sweet!

And here are there fluffy bums!! 

CD, in case you were wondering, is the abbreviation for cloth diaper. I am writing a whole post about cloth diapers... so, come back for that, I won't get into all the glorious details right now. 

I'm hoping to see Amber and E again in a few weeks! It will be fun when E can crawl and play with Cohen! But I don't want to rush his growth... I know I sure miss Cohen's newborn days! 

What a fun evening! Thanks for letting me come over, Amber!

A post I never got around to! Sorry, girlfriends!

I have two great friends at work, Sara and Denise. We all worked on nights and were all pregnant at the same time. So, naturally, we bonded over pregnancy, then deliveries, then newborn stages and now on the every day antics of our nearing-one-year-olds.

Denise delivered first, in November, a precious baby girl, E. Then Sara had M in the first week of December. Then, of course, Cohen came along the second week of January.

A couple weeks months ago, we got the kids together, finally(!) for a play date! We met at Sara's house and just played for a few hours! E and M were already crawling.. poor Cohen was stationary on the floor. He got trampled on a couple times. But he's tough. I only took a few pictures.. moving babies are even harder to capture in a picture!

M plowing over Cohen. To get into my lap..what a sweetie!

"Hey where is she going? And how...?"

Lots of new toys to choose from!

Miss E! She loves cameras!

Trying to get a couch picture.... E is claiming Cohen as hers, and M is pulling Coco's hair. :)

Doesn't she look like she's heading for trouble?? :)

Those baby blues! Precious!

Play dates are so fun! It's great for Cohen to interact with other babies, since he does not go to day care. And, after all, these are his girlfriends. :) At least E is, I think M has a bunch of boyfriends already. ;) Us moms can plan that out, right?

Can't wait until next time!

Drum roll please...

Ladies and Gentlemen......

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I think we may have a future drummer on our hands!

 Daddy let's him play with his sticks and the boy is a natural!

He rocked so hard, he threw a drumstick.. you know how it is.. 

But he's still my sweet, silly boy... He likes to roll under here and giggle at the underside of his jumper. :)

It must have been twilight in these next pictures... 

Yes, he crawls and tries to climb on things. It takes up most of our day now. :)

He came and attacked that camera once he realized the paparazzi was in the house!

Adventures in baby food making: Beef Stew!

This was a delicious meal for Cohen! He really loved this one. And it made me and Hector really want to eat better...like home cooked meals. :) It was so easy, just took a little time.

Braised beef with carrot, parsnip, and sweet potato, the real name given in the book
1 T olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 1/2 ounces lean beef, cut into pieces
2 T all-purpose flour
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1 small parsnip, peeled and chopped (what is a parsnip?? am I right??)
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 bay leaf
1 T chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 cups unsalted chicken broth

Heat olive oil in heavy-bottomed saucepan. Saute the onion and garlic for 3 to 4 minutes or until softened. Toss the beef in flour and saute until sealed. Add the carrots, parsnip, sweet potato, bay leaf and parsley to the pan and pour in the stock. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 1 hour 45 minutes or until the meat is tender. Blend, adding as much of the cooking liquid as necessary.

The ingredients. That white carrot? That's a parsnip. Who knew?

Even at Central Market, no unsalted chicken stock. So we found sodium free bouillon that I turned into a broth. :)

Here, the meat is added, after sauteing the onion and garlic. We got a good sirloin steak from CM.

Hector's awesome knife skills!

YUM. Pretty sure we ended up adding an extra cup or two of the chicken broth.

After the pureeing. And into the silicone trays.

Why the color variation between these two pics? I don't know. But it looked a lot like carrots. :)

Ignore me, I don't quite know how to edit me out yet. :) First bite!

"Ehhh... I've had better..."

Beef is a totally new taste for him.

We share some of the same facial expressions... :P

Maybe it's ok... 

"Aaaanndd... how do I get this thing open?"

So, this was a great dish and it accomplished it's purpose. Introducing Cohen to new flavors. And by the 11th time he had this.. he LIKED it. :)

Also this night, we tried pureed peaches. I just scored and "x" in the skin on the bottom of the fruit with a paring knife and dropped it in a pot of boiling water for a couple minutes.. to blanch it. Then peeled it and took out the seed and threw it in the food processor. I pureed it and tasted it... SOUR! So, I added a tablespoon of sugar. Better, but still a little tart. I just KNEW these peaches would be sweet.. nope. 

Couldn't care less about the peaches I prepared for him. :(

But look at those cheeks... :)

I am enjoying making Cohen's food so much. It brings me such peace knowing exactly what is in the food he eats. I highly recommend trying to make your own baby food. You will feel so accomplished when you spoon your own homemade, heartfelt meals into your little one's mouth--and they like it! I'd rather give him something fresh any day, than give him something vacuum-sealed that expires two years from now. Yuck. Our food doesn't last that long, why (how??) should his? 

Do you have any great baby food recipes? Please share!