Halloween Fare

Just wanted to share the treats we feasted on today.
We started the morning with Pumpkin Pancake Sandwiches. I had leftover pumpkin pancakes from yesterday so I smeared them with a little peanut butter and served them up as sandwiches. They were a hit :)

We always have chili for dinner on Halloween and this year I tried to dress it up a bit for the girls. I added sour cream spider webs and black olive spiders on top. The webs didn't turn out quite how I imagined, and yes I know spiders have eight legs but they just didn't look right that way. I still thought they turned out pretty cute though!

Pizza Friday - Pumpkin Pizzas (and a special Halloween lunch)

I tried out a new lunch idea today and it turned out really cute. I've been seeing "Muffin Tin" lunches on some other blogs so while I was out at the store today I picked up two new muffin tins and gave it a whirl. I went with a Halloween theme today. Here's what we had:

(clockwise from top left) pumpkin shaped turkey & cheese on multi grain bread, frog eyes (olives), goblin fingers (organic baby carrots), leaf shaped turkey & cheese on multi grain bread, ghost eyes (wagon wheel pasta with butter & parmesan cheese), and witch's fingers (english cucumber sticks)

Leyna ate every last bit and Cora did pretty well except for the cucumbers, which I'm still holding out hope that she'll develop a taste for :)

And for Pizza Friday I took the easy way out since we were planning to make pumpkin pie from scratch after dinner (we did, by the way, and it's fantastic!). I used Sandwich Thins and topped them with sauce, mozzarella, and orange pepper cut-outs. I baked them at 350 for about 10 minutes. They were really tasty and SO easy!!!

Pumpkin Granola - UPDATED!

I saw a recipe for pumpkin granola on someone's blog and it originated here. It sounded great and I had most of the ingredients so I decided to combine it with the slow cooker recipe for granola from a cookbook I have, also found here.

Here's how I did it:

Pumpkin Granola
5 C old fashioned oats
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t freshly grated nutmeg
¾ t salt
¾ C brown sugar
½ C organic pumpkin puree
¼ C natural applesauce
¼ C pure maple syrup
1 t vanilla extract
3/4 C dried cranberries
1/4 C flax seeds

Add all dry ingredients to slow cooker. Mix wet ingredients and stir into dry ingredients in slow cooker. Place lid on slow cooker but vent it with a chopstick. Cook on low, stirring every 30 minutes until nicely browned. I only let mine go for about 2 1/2 hours but I think it could have gone another thirty minutes. When finished spread the granola onto parchment paper to cool.

This recipe didn't turn out quite as well in the slow cooker as the original slow cooker recipe does. I'm thinking it has something to do with the lack of butter. It didn't get quite as crunchy as I like it but it still tastes good and the kids are loving it. I put half of it in the freezer so I think when I take it out I'll put it in the oven for a bit to give it some crunch.

*UPDATE - This morning I threw some of the granola into a dry frying pan to try to crisp it up a bit. It worked! I toasted it for a few minutes and then let it cool before I put it on my vanilla yogurt. Perfectly crunchy & delish!

What's For Lunch Wednesday

We had a bit of an unconventional lunch today but the girls gobbled it right up. This morning I made a batch of Pumpkin Granola (I'll post the recipe tomorrow) and I served it for lunch with yogurt and apple slices. Leyna had Stonyfield Yo Toddler Strawberry Banana yogurt and Cora had Yo Baby Sweet Potato and Apple yogurt. Very healthy and a welcome change from the usual lunch fare. And don't you love our pumpkin bowls? They were an engagement gift from Aunts Susie & Liz. Thanks again!!!

Organic yogurt with homemade pumpkin granola and organic apple slices

Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies

Kiddos enjoying their cookies

After our hard afternoon/evening yesterday we were all in need of some chocolate therapy. Daddy and Uncle Steve suggested these cookies and I was game because of  the whole "No Bake" aspect. If only there were "No Bake, No Dirty Dishes" cookies. I know they have a ton of sugar in them but I feel like the oatmeal and peanut butter redeem them a bit and make them a semi-healthy snack.
I'm sure there are a million recipes for these out there but I settled on the one I found here.


Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies

2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups oatmeal
Wax paper

In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Let boil for 1 minute and then add peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal. On a sheet of wax paper drop mixture by the teaspoonfuls. Let sit until cooled and hardened. Enjoy!!!

Pizza Friday - What Pizza?

Okay, I'm really on a roll this week. First I forgot "What's for lunch Wednesday" and now I've forgotten to take a picture of our beloved Pizza Friday dinner. What's wrong with me??? Sorry.
You'll just have to envision a lovely Black Olive Pizza on Whole Wheat Garlic Herb Crust. It was quite tasty.
Hopefully I'll get back on track next week!

Oops.

So, it's Thursday. I completely forgot about What's for Lunch Wednesday. Oops. For what it's worth the three of us shared a slice of cheese pizza and a berry smoothie at Costco. That was after we had finished our shopping, during which we each tried about 4 different samples ranging from mini muffins to pretzel chips with spinach dip. It wasn't the healthiest lunch ever but it was cheap & tasty!

Joe

Sloppy Joes that is. But Leyna just called her dinner "Joe." I didn't think to take any pictures of these before they were totally wiped out but if you go here you can see a picture along with the original recipe. These Sloppy Joes were so good. Sweet, tangy, and just perfect. Both girls ate the meat and left the bread behind. Now thats good! This recipe is going into our bi-weekly rotation for sure!

1 lb organic ground beef
1/4 of a white onion, chopped
3/4 C organic ketchup
2 T brown sugar
1.5 T yellow mustard
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 T worcestershire sauce

Place onion and ground beef in a large frying pan and cook until meat is browned. Mix remaining ingredients and add to beef and onion mixture. Cook on low, stirring occasionally for about thirty minutes to allow sauce to thicken. I put a lid on the pan and kept it cracked during this time. Serve on hamburger buns and try not to eat more than 2 sandwiches ;) I served this with sweet potato fries and broccoli.

Pizza Friday - Pesto Ricotta Pizza

Today Cora decided that it was about time she be part of the pizza making and not just the pizza eating. She climbed up next to Leyna on the stool and stood her ground until the dough was done. She wasn't much help, but it was nice to include her nonetheless. I'm glad it was just us eating the pizza tonight because Cora licked every measuring spoon before we used it. Oops, now you all know our secret ingredient ;)

The pizza was good but not spectacular. We used our usual whole wheat crust and topped it with pesto, dollops of ricotta, and mozzarella. It was good but missing something. I was going to say tomatoes would have been good and then I remembered that I had every intention of putting tomatoes on it and somehow it must have slipped my mind. Gee, I can't imagine how that could have happened...

Slow Cooker White Chili

We had a breakthrough tonight and I'm so, so relieved. About a week ago Leyna began a new phase where night after night she looks at her dinner and says she doesn't like it. If it doesn't look like chicken nuggets, spaghetti, or a cheese quesadilla - she isn't touching it. She'll eat her veggies (go figure) but nothing else. Tonight, however, we had a winner. Such a winner, in fact, that Leyna had three helpings! And Cora had two! This is going into the rotation. Maybe twice a week! :)

I found the recipe in my "Make it fast, Cook it slow" cookbook. You can find the original recipe here. Below is the way I made it which was a bit different.

1 large frozen chicken breast (I added this but you could leave it out)

16 oz bag of frozen white corn

2 cans of white beans

1 4 oz can of green chilies

1/4 chopped white onion

1/2 t garlic powder (or use 2 garlic cloves)

1 C chicken broth

1 C carrot puree (I added this for extra veggies but you could leave it out)

juice from one lemon

1 1/2 t cumin

1/2 t Italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

Dump everything into the slow cooker and cook on low for 9 hours or high for about 4-6. We topped ours with monterey jack cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce for the adults.

Serve to your starving toddlers at least 2-3 days a week ;)

What's For Lunch Wednesday

Do you know what we had for lunch today? Disaster. That's what. Cora fell asleep while she was eating and Leyna had a total lapse of judgment and said some things that earned her an early nap time.
Anywho... lunch WAS delicious. They both ate some of it before disaster struck. I'll be making it again and hoping for better results next time :)

Whole wheat turkey, mozzarella, and homemade pesto quesadillas with mango and dried cranberries.

Lunch by Daddy

Lunch was really hectic today. Cora was having a meltdown and I got as far as putting some leftovers on the counter before she made it clear that I was not allowed to do anything else. So, Daddy took over lunch for Leyna and asked her what she wanted. She said "A sandwich." I was just about to tell him a PB&J would be fine when he looked at the array of bowls on the counter and said "How about a macaroni and chicken sandwich?" Leyna said "Sure!" and I gave Daddy "the look" and told him there was NO WAY she would eat that. She barely eats macaroni, hardly ever eats meat these days unless it's dipped in ketchup, but hey - I had a screaming baby writhing in my arms so Whatever!
Would you believe that little stinker proved me totally wrong and ate every last bite. I'm still in disbelief.
Here's the Daddy Sandwich:

(Whole wheat bread, organic mac n cheese,  rotisserie chicken, & a touch of mayo. Aka weird.)

I'm not posting this because I think you should make it, but I think there's a lesson here. Sometimes a different cook in the kitchen is just novel enough to make the same old thing seem  more appealing :)

What's For Lunch Wednesday

I completely forgot about WFLW until I was putting Cora to bed tonight. Lucky for me we still have leftovers in the fridge so I snuck in and took a picture after the fact.
Today we had Nana's Beef and Macaroni for lunch. It may not look overly exciting but it is a never-ever-turned-down meal at our house. Every couple of weeks Pee Paw drops some off at Daddy's work and it always seems to coincide perfectly with a day I don't know what to make for dinner or the girls aren't going to like what I'm serving.
I don't know the exact recipe but it includes beef bouillon, canned beef, parsley, elbow macaroni, and probably some salt and pepper. Simple and satisfying.
I don't have an after picture but I can assure you they both licked their bowls clean. Thanks Nana & Pee Paw!

Daddy's Annual Birthday Slider Cookoff

We had our second annual Slider Cookoff today and it was a hit. We had SO many delicious sliders. Sure, many of them wouldn't have qualified as toddler food, but a few of them were quite popular. And I think sliders in general are a great idea for kids. What kid wouldn't love a mini sandwich that's just their size?
Here are a few of the ones I got pictures of. Maybe they'll inspire you to create your own!

Hoagie Salad Sliders

Philly Cheesesteak Sliders (Andy's creation)

Cuban Midnight Sliders (mine!)

Crabcake Sliders

Slurpin Turkey Sliders (My favorite! Thanksgiving on a sandwich)

Leyna's Birthday Cake

When I asked Leyna what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday she said "yellow." I told her I was already planning on making the icing yellow, but did she want the cake part to be chocolate, or strawberry? "No, yellow." Okay! I referred to my Betty Crocker cookbook and found the easiest cake recipe ever. And do you know what? It was SO GOOD! We had lots of compliments and requests for the recipe, seeing as kids who don't usually eat cake gobbled up a whole piece and asked for more! I filled the cake with homemade strawberry freezer jam and I used a Buttercream Icing, also from the Betty Crocker cookbook. I used all-natural vegetable dyes for the icing and the colors turned out nicely since I didn't need to mix them at all (I tried using vegetable dyes for Cora's green caterpillar cake and it just didn't work out. The particular shades of blue and yellow just don't make green.)
It was a cinch and I'm definitely gaining confidence in my birthday cake making abilities :) Here are the recipes:

Starlight Yellow Cake
(from Betty Crocker's Cookbook: Bridal Edition)
2 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 1/2 C sugar
1/2 C butter or stick margarine, softened
1 1/4 C milk
3 1/2 t. baking powder
1 t salt
1 t vanilla extract
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Grease bottom and sides of rectangular pan, 13 X 9 X 2 inches, 2 round pans 9 X 1 1/2 inches, or 3 round pans, 8 X 1 1/2 inches with shortening and lightly flour.*
Beat all ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly.
Beat on high speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally; pour into pan(s).
Bake rectangle 35 to 40 minutes, 9-inch rounds 25 to 30 minutes, 8-inch rounds 30 to 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center.
Cool rectangle in pan on wire rack; cool rounds 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire rack.
Cool completely, about 1 hour.
Frost as desired.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
(from Betty Crocker's Cookbook: Bridal Edition)
3 C powdered sugar
1/3 C butter or stick margarine, softened
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 to 2 T milk

Mix powdered sugar and butter in medium bowl with spoon or electric mixer on low speed. Stir in vanilla and 1 T of milk.
Gradually beat in just enough remaining milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time. If frosting becomes too thin, beat in a small amount of powdered sugar. Frosts 13 x 9-inch cake generously, or fills and frosts an 8 or 9 inch two-layer cake.