Mommy FTW

If you happen to know that your little one has no egg allergies, then quiche is a great (and easy) way to get them to eat lots of different things (hello, hidden vegetables!) as well as clean out your fridge.  Here’s my simple recipe – but feel free to add anything you like to your quiche!

6 large eggs, beaten
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste
A dash of nutmeg (optional)
A dash of hot sauce (optional)
1 cup shredded cheese (swiss, cheddar, whatever you have on hand)
Options for fillings – choose as many as you want, or get creative!:
1/2 cup cut up ham
1/2 cup broccoli florets (steam first to soften)
1/2 cup cut up asparagus (steam first to soften)
1/2 cup defrosted frozen chopped spinach (squeeze as much water out of it as you can first)
1/4 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 (9-inch) frozen pie crust

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine the eggs, cream, milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and hot sauce in a food processor or blender. (FYI if you only have milk on hand, just use that). Layer the fillings and cheese in the bottom of the pie crust, then pour the egg mixture on top. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the egg mixture is set. You can really put anything you like in a quiche – get creative! You really can’t go wrong with all that cheesy goodness. The one I made had cheddar and emmentaler cheese, ham, green onions, and broccoli.

Cameron is a lot better at eating his vegetables than he used to be, but I still like to try to sneak in extra veggies whenever I can – it’s good for him and good for me and my hubby too!  So, when making spaghetti I like to pump up the vegetable content.  Here’s my how to guide for spaghetti with hidden vegetable tomato sauce:

I buy a jar of tomato sauce (I happen to like Trader Joe’s marinara).  Before putting it in the pot to warm up, I sautee some carrots, onions, green peppers, and garlic.  Don’t bother chopping them up too much.  You’ll see why soon.

I also sautee some ground beef (but you can keep it vegetarian if you like).  Then, add in your pasta sauce.

Here’s where it gets extra sneaky – if you’ve got some salad greens in your fridge, take a couple heaping handfuls, give it a rough chop, and toss it in the pot.  It might seem like a lot, but it will really wilt down.  Put the lid on and let it simmer.

Then, take the whole mixture and give it a whir in a food processor.  When it comes out, it looks and tastes like the regular sauce, but you’ve added tons of extra veggies.  No one will be the wiser – except you!

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.  I for one will be cooking up a storm – and I am really hoping Cameron will enjoy eating with the family.

A lot of Thanksgiving food is very baby / toddler friendly – Butternut squash soup is full of hidden vegetables, sometimes Cam can be convinced to eat green beans (green fries,) mashed potatoes and stuffing make good finger foods, and Cameron has rarely met a roast chicken (we don’t really do Turkey at my house) that he didn’t like.  And apple pie filling can make a great apple sauce, or perfect finger food.  YUM!  I can’t wait to dig in.

A new mom friend I’ve met in DC recently suggested I try giving Cam Quesadillas when I was lamenting his poor eating habits (particularly in the vegetable department).  She said her daughter Giulia loves eating them – and they are a great way to hide vegetables.  She also suggested using salsa or avocado as a dip – and I’m not sure about your toddler, but Cameron loves to dip his food!

Easy to make, easy to eat, and easy to hide things in!

So, the other day I gave Quesadillas a try – just a simple cheese and chicken one – and Cameron gobbled it up.  Next time I’ll get a little more advanced and try the hidden vegetables and dip route.  Fingers crossed for continued success!  Give it a try – and feel free to post your recipe ideas for the rest of us to try!

I’ve given Cameron pancakes before, but one day at the playground one of my mom friends whipped out some mini (silver dollar sized) ones in a container that she had kept for snack time.  What a brilliant idea!  It’s great for the kids because they can hold them in their hands and run around and play while they snack.

Pancakes, not just for breakfast!

I make my pancakes with the Arrowhead Mills Multigrain Pancake & Waffle Mix which is available on Fresh Direct.    The directions for the pancakes don’t call for an egg, but I add one anyways.  I also use melted butter instead of oil, and add a touch of honey for sweetness.  I haven’t gotten too advanced yet, but I am thinking adding strawberries, blueberries, or bananas would be good, or if you want to go the hidden vegetable route, perhaps some pumpkin puree.  So next time you make pancakes for breakfast, make a few extra little guys to tote around as snacks.  Yum!

Goodness knows I struggle to get Cameron to eat his fruits and veggies – so I have to get creative to try and keep his diet at least somewhat balanced.    Recently I had a brain storm – V8!  But, I was a little worried that classic V8 might be coming on a little strong – so I decided to try one of their fruit juice blends, V8 Fusion.  The Fusions have 1 serving of fruit and 1 serving of veggies in each 8oz glass.  Not too shabby!  There’s no high fructose corn syrup, and no added sugar.

Cameron likes it. Mom likes it!

Cameron took to it instantly!  I got him the Passion fruit Tangerine flavor – but I plan to explore other options (especially because Fresh Direct doesn’t have that one.)  So if you are looking for a way to sneak in some extra fruit and veggies into your picky eater’s diet, try V8 Fusion.  If you’d like to see more about the flavors available and what fruits and veggies are in them, check out the v8 Fusion FAQ.

Also pictured – Cameron’s Sippy version 4.0

I’ve been struggling to get Cameron to eat his vegtables lately, and I had a nice butternut squash my mom had brought me from her garden, so I thought I might as well use it and make some soup – I hoped Cameron would eat it.  But at least I knew I would enjoy it, if he didn’t. Well, it turned out to be a hit, so I thought I would share my recipe:

Tasty Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash cubed

1 apple (I didn’t bother to peel it) cubed

3 carrots cut in big chunks

2 onions cut in big chunks

2 cloves of garlic

Butter, Olive Oil

Low Sodium Chicken Stock

nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste

Here’s what it looked like before I pureed it

Saute the onions and garlic in 1 TB of olive oil and 1TB of butter on medium heat until translucent. Add the rest of the veggies and fruit, stir around and let cook another minute or so. Add enough chicken stock to cover all the veggies. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer untill everything is tender – 30 minutes or so.

Puree or use a food mill. Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste. I didn’t really add any salt to the soup, but instead added it to my portion as I heated that up. Also to mine I added some hot sauce.

I served Cameron his soup over some rice yesterday, and today I am going to serve it over some orzo (little pasta that looks like rice).

I’m pretty sure you could make this soup with any squash, and just throw in any veggies you have in the fridge!