I'm always searching through cookbooks, food magazines and web sites to find meals that are:
1) Healthy
2) Jacob friendly - pasta and fruit are always good, but everything else is a mystery
3) Michael friendly - your typical meat and potatoes guy who likes to stick with his favorite veggies
4) Doesn't require ingredients that I can't find - doesn't mean I won't try something new, but I'm not going to waste time hunting it down
5) Somewhat easy to make - whatever prep time it says on the recipe I know I almost always have to double it to deal with cooking ability and the million other things going on while I'm making dinner, so I don't want anything too complex
Anyway, I've been pretty proud of our menus lately and thought I'd start sharing them in case there is anyone like me out there looking for weekly menus for the whole family.
This week I got my Food Network Magazine in the mail (love, love, love this magazine) and picked up a Rachael Ray magazine so many of the recipes come from the October 2011 issue of there. Plus I got back into my Deceptively Delicious cookbooks by Jessica Seinfeld to make sure there were some veggies consumed.
* This is a short week since I won't be home to cook Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Sunday
Mini Kicked Up Meatloaf - made in muffin pans with chopped sweet potato, chipolte pepper, cilantro and adobo sauce in them (I put Jacob's in the pan before adding spicy ingredients). For the topping I mixed ketchup and adobo sauce for the adult version and ketchup and agave nectar for the kid version. Spicier than I expected, but really good with mashed potatoes as a side.
Cauliflower Whipped Potatoes - similar to your usual potatoes, but I mixed in some cauliflower puree. Jacob has been on a no potato kick lately, but gobbled these up, and Michael didn't know there was cauliflower in them.
Tangerine Glazed Carrots - sauteed carrots in a little bit of vinegar and tangerine juice. I thought they were delicious and would fool Jacob since he loves oranges. Jacob thought they still looked like carrots and wouldn't touch them.
Yogurt and Fruit Popsicles - plain yogurt mixed with pureed strawberries and blueberries. Plus a splash of agave nectar. Big crowd pleaser.
Monday
Chicken Parmesan - nothing hidden or anything here. Since Jacob doesn't like meat lately I shredded the chicken and he liked what he thought was spaghetti
Side Salad - salad mix kit.
Tuesday
Chicken and Mushrooms - made in the crock pot with chicken broth, mushrooms, green onions, red wine (was supposed to be white, but since I drink red we made do with what was available). Very simple and tasted amazing. There is also a gravy you make to top it with the juice from when it was cooking, corn starch and evaporated milk.
Brown rice - to place the chicken on and tempt Jacob
Fruit salad - This is a regular side for us and I just use whatever fruit we have on hand mixed with a little powdered pudding mix
Wednesday
Sloppy Joes - the recipe called for bison, but I had turkey in the freezer. It was really good, all three of us liked it, but I think it would be better with red meat.
Macaroni and Cheese - This was a Deceptively Delicious recipe with the marking that it is one of Jerry's favorites, and after trying it I do believe he has no taste. You mix up any type of white beans (we used chick peas) with milk and add to the noodles with cheese. Jacob loved it and ate the huge portion I put on his plate, but neither Michael nor I ate much of it. At least Jacob liked it and got some beans in him.
Cherry Jubilee Brownies - Another Deceptively Delicious recipe with better results. Hidden in the brownies is pureed spinach. You can taste that brownies aren't as oohy gooey chocolaty and decadent as most, but I think that's because there really isn't much sugar in it. Nobody knew there was spinach in it, and Jacob loved the cherries in it
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Crac-ker
It's crazy the vocab Jacob is coming up with. I feel like every day there is something new, and since I've been working so much lately, having him home today brought tons of surprises.
1) When I get him up in the morning it's about the time that Scoot decides he urgently needs to go outside and there is no point waiting in Jacob's room for him to decide to stand up and stop playing with the stuffed animals in the crib. This morning Scoot was staring at me as I leaned over the crib and as Jacob stood up he saw Scoot and quickly called out and pointed...."Scoooooo."
2) There is a little blue puppy in Jacob's crib that he's been favoring lately. Every now and then I'll take it out of the crib and let him carry it around. This morning I brought it out to him as we fought about him not using the pacifier and as soon as he saw it he said, "dog." Glad he realizes every dog is not a Scoooo
3) Scoot taught Jacob how to beg. He's so bad with it and loves when I'm making fruit salad to go with dinner. He does laps around the house and every 10 seconds shows ups at my knees pointing to the counter (and now grabbing if it's too close to the edge) grunting that he wants what I have. Tonight I passed him a grape and I swore he said, "thank you." It made me laugh and 10 seconds later he was back for some more and another, thank you. It's amazing! He even said it when I brought him his dinner. Better manners than most adults.
...and lastly the cutest of the night.
4) Jacob was getting ready for bed and we were having some relaxing time on the couch as I flipped through a magazine. He likes looking at anything with pictures and we go over the names of it all as he points. This page had what every house should have packed in case of an emergency: flash light, sleeping bag, passport, crackers, batteries... We went over everything and then I pointed out the small packet of crackers and he repeated it. We were so amazed that I kept pointing at it and he kept repeating it, but then he started pointing at everything and saying cracker, so although he can say it, it doesn't really have complete meaning yet. The best was when he pointed to the cat in the ad on the next page and called it, "cracker." However, that really may be the cats name, so I can't say he's wrong.
1) When I get him up in the morning it's about the time that Scoot decides he urgently needs to go outside and there is no point waiting in Jacob's room for him to decide to stand up and stop playing with the stuffed animals in the crib. This morning Scoot was staring at me as I leaned over the crib and as Jacob stood up he saw Scoot and quickly called out and pointed...."Scoooooo."
2) There is a little blue puppy in Jacob's crib that he's been favoring lately. Every now and then I'll take it out of the crib and let him carry it around. This morning I brought it out to him as we fought about him not using the pacifier and as soon as he saw it he said, "dog." Glad he realizes every dog is not a Scoooo
3) Scoot taught Jacob how to beg. He's so bad with it and loves when I'm making fruit salad to go with dinner. He does laps around the house and every 10 seconds shows ups at my knees pointing to the counter (and now grabbing if it's too close to the edge) grunting that he wants what I have. Tonight I passed him a grape and I swore he said, "thank you." It made me laugh and 10 seconds later he was back for some more and another, thank you. It's amazing! He even said it when I brought him his dinner. Better manners than most adults.
...and lastly the cutest of the night.
4) Jacob was getting ready for bed and we were having some relaxing time on the couch as I flipped through a magazine. He likes looking at anything with pictures and we go over the names of it all as he points. This page had what every house should have packed in case of an emergency: flash light, sleeping bag, passport, crackers, batteries... We went over everything and then I pointed out the small packet of crackers and he repeated it. We were so amazed that I kept pointing at it and he kept repeating it, but then he started pointing at everything and saying cracker, so although he can say it, it doesn't really have complete meaning yet. The best was when he pointed to the cat in the ad on the next page and called it, "cracker." However, that really may be the cats name, so I can't say he's wrong.
Chores
When Charlie, my step-dad, came to stay with us for a month after Jacob came it was the best possible present anyone could ask for. I was up every couple hours with Jacob and at 7AM when I heard Charlie walking down the hall past our room I'd quickly gather our tiny baby and pass him off so I could get a little rest. We knew it was a gift during it, but now when we look back it we realize it was a HUGE gift.
The other part of this amazing help included home cooked dinners. Every day I'd be asked what I wanted and that night we had it for dinner. We went through all of my favorites from when I was growing up, including Chinese Chicken (which is now one of Michael's favorites too).
At night we'd go plop into bed and joke about how we've never done so many dishes. We were doing a load of dishes every night. This was a giant change to our normal routine of running the dishwasher once, maybe twice a week.
Now that Jacob eats the same thing we eat for dinner I really cook now. No more opening a can of something and heating it up. I use several skillets, pots, pans, food processor (to puree veggies to hide in food), a million utensils, pretty much anything we have in the kitchen I'm suddenly using for one meal. Our meals our healthier, but that dishwasher is running on a daily basis.
Last night as we finished the dishes and got ready to play for a bit before bedtime we reminisced on the amazing house guest we had. It's funny how such a boring chore can make you think of happy things.
The other part of this amazing help included home cooked dinners. Every day I'd be asked what I wanted and that night we had it for dinner. We went through all of my favorites from when I was growing up, including Chinese Chicken (which is now one of Michael's favorites too).
At night we'd go plop into bed and joke about how we've never done so many dishes. We were doing a load of dishes every night. This was a giant change to our normal routine of running the dishwasher once, maybe twice a week.
Now that Jacob eats the same thing we eat for dinner I really cook now. No more opening a can of something and heating it up. I use several skillets, pots, pans, food processor (to puree veggies to hide in food), a million utensils, pretty much anything we have in the kitchen I'm suddenly using for one meal. Our meals our healthier, but that dishwasher is running on a daily basis.
Last night as we finished the dishes and got ready to play for a bit before bedtime we reminisced on the amazing house guest we had. It's funny how such a boring chore can make you think of happy things.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Playgrounds
This past weekend was full of playgrounds. We invaded a neighborhood splash pad (which I felt kind of bad about with the complete lack of moisture in the area, but they still had it running), and later that day we went to our normal park mid-afternoon because of my mistake with the gym child care program's times and the equipment was way too hot to play on. On Sunday we kept the trend going and while Michael was tailgating Jacob and I met a couple grandparents at a county park before the sun got too hot. Later in the afternoon we went to watch the game at a friend's house with a few other kids and went to the neighborhood park after the game.
I can't wait for the weather to cool down a bit because he loves climbing around the equipment and knows how to go down the slide all by himself. He's getting so big. I love watching him explore at the park.
Getting used to the playground - hairstyle thanks to sunscreen
My little monkey climbing up the slide...with a helping hand
Water break
Shady spot to cool down and hide
The most handsome little man
Playing with his bowl after snack time in the pavillion
My gosh it's crazy to see how big he's gotten and all the personality that has come from that sleepy little baby we met just over a year ago.
I can't wait for the weather to cool down a bit because he loves climbing around the equipment and knows how to go down the slide all by himself. He's getting so big. I love watching him explore at the park.
Getting used to the playground - hairstyle thanks to sunscreen
My little monkey climbing up the slide...with a helping hand
Water break
Shady spot to cool down and hide
The most handsome little man
Playing with his bowl after snack time in the pavillion
My gosh it's crazy to see how big he's gotten and all the personality that has come from that sleepy little baby we met just over a year ago.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Classic Rock
His personality comes out every day, bu one thing is for sure...our little man loves to rock.
He does ok with the Top 40 stuff, but put on some classic rock and he can't sit still. His head starts to sway and then bounce with the beat. Then he drops whatever he's doing to get up, twirl, and do squats - his favorite dance moves.
My little boy loves to rock.
He does ok with the Top 40 stuff, but put on some classic rock and he can't sit still. His head starts to sway and then bounce with the beat. Then he drops whatever he's doing to get up, twirl, and do squats - his favorite dance moves.
My little boy loves to rock.
Wild Boy
This morning we made a last minute decision to go to the zoo. It's actually below 100 today and there was a great breeze and a cloudy sky, so we knew we had to do something outdoors with our crazy child.
He has a need to run and climb and cause trouble, which is just too much to deal with in the house.
As Jacob finished breakfast I packed our lunches, and soon we were ready to see the animals. He still doesn't really care for the animals, except for the Meerkats since they tackle each other and play, but he does enjoy riding in his wagon and watching the humans.
We skipped the birds, hoofed animals, and monkeys in hopes that the cooler weather had gotten the bears and cats to decide to play. No luck with the tigers and lions (which have been laying in the same spot every time we've gone this summer, so I'd like some proof they're alive), but the Andean Bear was rolling around and itching, and the smaller cats jumped around.
It felt like we circled around a million times, but we finally made it to the part Jacob knows means fun - the African Exhibit. It's the newest exhibit at the zoo and doesn't really host too much, but it's on the way to the children's section, and has a soft walk area with 3 Pygmy Huts for the kids to play in. That's seriously all it is and Jacob could spend hours there. When he first gets there he picks out a hut and stands in it watching everything while he gets comfortable with the situation, then he runs from hut to hut with a crazy scream while racing between them. In the large hut there were three older kids who I guess were pretending to be some sort of attack animal and they growled at Jacob, but he really couldn't care less.
He cried when we took him away.
Our next stop was his first ride in he carousel. As we stood in line I decide the Baboon would be the best one for us to ride. There were cuter animals, but he was on the outer edge and Michael wanted to video us as we came around. Waiting for everyone to get on was ok, and Jacob like sitting on the back of his monkey, but then we started to move and he wasn't sure what to think. On the back side of the carousel it was nice, but once you it the front half the wind was blowing like crazy and a new ride, plus the wind blowing through his hair was too much. By the end of our 4 times around the kid in front of us was off his ride and crying, Jacob was off the monkey and in my arms, and the kid behind us wailing.
Finally we made it to the playground for, in Jacob's opinion, the whole reason you go to the zoo. It was crowded, but he didn't care and still did his laps through all the equipment, up and down the stairs and several trips down the slide. Luckily we were able to woo him away from the playground with the promise of lunch. We found an isolated bench near the mini lake and had our sandwiches, then he was ready to go again, but getting cranky.
As we left the zoo we decided to let him get a little more energy out by running around the park, and feeding the ducks. By the time we got in the car he was out.
I let Michael drive home since he drives faster and we'd have more of nap time at home instead of in the car. Good idea in theory.
For two hours Jacob sat in his crib and talked while all mommy and daddy wanted to do was nap. Guess 30 minutes of nap is all that a wild boy needs.
He has a need to run and climb and cause trouble, which is just too much to deal with in the house.
As Jacob finished breakfast I packed our lunches, and soon we were ready to see the animals. He still doesn't really care for the animals, except for the Meerkats since they tackle each other and play, but he does enjoy riding in his wagon and watching the humans.
We skipped the birds, hoofed animals, and monkeys in hopes that the cooler weather had gotten the bears and cats to decide to play. No luck with the tigers and lions (which have been laying in the same spot every time we've gone this summer, so I'd like some proof they're alive), but the Andean Bear was rolling around and itching, and the smaller cats jumped around.
It felt like we circled around a million times, but we finally made it to the part Jacob knows means fun - the African Exhibit. It's the newest exhibit at the zoo and doesn't really host too much, but it's on the way to the children's section, and has a soft walk area with 3 Pygmy Huts for the kids to play in. That's seriously all it is and Jacob could spend hours there. When he first gets there he picks out a hut and stands in it watching everything while he gets comfortable with the situation, then he runs from hut to hut with a crazy scream while racing between them. In the large hut there were three older kids who I guess were pretending to be some sort of attack animal and they growled at Jacob, but he really couldn't care less.
He cried when we took him away.
Our next stop was his first ride in he carousel. As we stood in line I decide the Baboon would be the best one for us to ride. There were cuter animals, but he was on the outer edge and Michael wanted to video us as we came around. Waiting for everyone to get on was ok, and Jacob like sitting on the back of his monkey, but then we started to move and he wasn't sure what to think. On the back side of the carousel it was nice, but once you it the front half the wind was blowing like crazy and a new ride, plus the wind blowing through his hair was too much. By the end of our 4 times around the kid in front of us was off his ride and crying, Jacob was off the monkey and in my arms, and the kid behind us wailing.
Finally we made it to the playground for, in Jacob's opinion, the whole reason you go to the zoo. It was crowded, but he didn't care and still did his laps through all the equipment, up and down the stairs and several trips down the slide. Luckily we were able to woo him away from the playground with the promise of lunch. We found an isolated bench near the mini lake and had our sandwiches, then he was ready to go again, but getting cranky.
As we left the zoo we decided to let him get a little more energy out by running around the park, and feeding the ducks. By the time we got in the car he was out.
I let Michael drive home since he drives faster and we'd have more of nap time at home instead of in the car. Good idea in theory.
For two hours Jacob sat in his crib and talked while all mommy and daddy wanted to do was nap. Guess 30 minutes of nap is all that a wild boy needs.