Toddler Foods

I'm constantly looking for new foods for Em to try. She's at the age when  she eats everything, no food allergies. But she only has two teeth. She chews great, but with only those two little teeth she can only do so much!

Recently, I found a website, http://www.wholesometoddlerfood.com , it has so many resources! I've also begun a Pintrest board of toddler foods for all of you active pinners (http://www.pinterest.com/nfurlong11/toddler-meals-for-em/)

I've found making sure each meal is nutritious is hard! I can't give her jelly sandwiches and yogurt every day for lunch.

Here are a few things I've come up with to make meal time easier. Cook a large amount of pasta or rice and keep in the fridge. You can mix these with veggies, sauces, herbs, and fruits to create delicious meals. Pasta is easy to reheat, just put the cooked pasta in a pot of boiling water and in less than a minute it's perfect! You can add color to your water to make fun colors for your toddler!

I've also created what I call "Fruit or Veggie Pick Ups". I diced fruits and veggies into cubes, boil them until their soft enough for Emily to chew, drain, and add seasonings. I keep them in the fridge until meal times.

 Emily loves to try new things and feed herself. Next step, learning how to use a spoon and a napkin! While messy faces are adorable, I only have so much paper towel for clean ups!

Sticky Buns!

The title has so many meanings! From my kid having a sticky bum (she managed to stuff 1/2 her jelly sandwich under her legs at lunch) to this delicious batch of sticky buns I just made!

I'm a big Pintrest person, recently I've finally gotten around to making a few of these yummy looking pins!

I tried this recipe HERE.

It was supposed to look like this:














I knew mine wouldn't be as pretty - I only buy the tubes of 5 biscuits because it's just my husband and I, extras would inevitably be tossed. So, I didn't have enough to over lap the edges like in the original picture. They're more of a sticky bun than a cinnamon roll, super caramel-y! AND SO GOOD! The did "fall" after I flipped them onto my plate stand. The smell is to-die for! 

If you would like to follow me on Pintrest, you can do so here: FOLLOW ME

The Mother of all Caramel Apples

When I was young I lived in Traverse City, MI. Not too young, I was 14 when we moved.

Anyway - there was this little specialty shop, "The Silver Swan" and they sold these amazing caramel apples. My mom owned a private Montessori school, and one of the parents would bring her these caramel apples for special occasions. They were DELICIOUS.

Today, I recreated one of these apples! It's not as big, simply because it was a smaller apple. Still a good size. I double dipped the apple in caramel, two layers of chocolate, rolled it in butterscotch chips, and drizzled white chocolate on top...

Loaded Potato Soup...in the Crock Pot?

Yes! It's true! Look no further, I have found and perfected the ultimate loaded potato soup recipe. For the crock pot! YUM!


INGREDIENTS:

3 large potatoes, skins on, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can water (use the chicken soup can)
1 slice bacon (cut)
1 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 cups leftover mashed potatoes, or 1/2 cup potato flakes
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
4 ounces sour cream

4 ounces cream cheese

DIRECTIONS


Put potatoes, onion, garlic, broth, cream of chicken soup, water, bacon, basil, thyme, salt, and pepper into crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 5 hours.



Add mashed potatoes (or flakes). Stir. Cook additional 1 hour on low or 1/2 hour on high.

Add cheddar cheese, cream cheese, and sour cream. Stir well. At this point either serve or 'keep warm' until ready to serve.

Top with cheddar cheese, sour cream, bacon bit, chive, and/or with whatever creative ideas you have in mind.

A Little About Me...

Hello all -

I'm thinking a little bit about me would be helpful for those stumbling around the internet and may have come across this blog.

Personally, I don't think I'm super interesting, but things I do are interesting. Or activities I'm involved in - and my kid is the most interesting thing of all (we'll get to her eventually)!

So, this is me - I'm 26 married mom of a ten month old. This is all of us from this past Christmas:

I'm obviously on the left. My daughter was only two weeks old. Now she's a great big 23lb 29in long 10 month old! She cruises around, says "dada" (we're working on "mama") and she's learning to walk! Such a busy busy baby!

My husband and I think we're pretty hilarious. Occasionally we do things like put stick on mustaches on our child. We're awesome parents.




I'm also a pet mom to two dogs and a cat. They each have a very distinctive personality. Dakota is our mix, very smart but high anxiety. Jasper is out lovable lab, he lets the baby crawl all over him, but the poor guys is as dumb as rocks. Then there is Rosco Cat. He's special. Wild. High energy.

Finally, I'm a baker and aspiring pastry chef. I work for a very well known hotel chain and make all kinds of delicious things. I have culinary degree - before acquiring this degree I went to school for History, Business, and French. I guess I'm pretty well rounded. I also have my own at home cupcake business (Cupcaked. Check it out: www.facebook.com/cupcakedlansing )Here's a few of my delicious things:

Well. I guess that's about it...

OH! The whole point about the blog! Ha, I almost forgot. Well, I'm not sure if there really is a point. I really just want to share my experiences, what I've learned, and share some of my inspiration.  I'm also an amateur couponer, I'm huge fan of savings and try to get free stuff when and where I can. From time to time I'll probably post things that seem like ads or what not - but hey, you con't have to read those posts if you don't want to!  Hopefully someone will find this blog useful!