Chuggin' Right Along

 Baby girl is 16 months old today.

I know, I know...not exactly a landmark birthday. But my mind is blown when I think about how fast time has flown. Just in the past four months, it seems everything in Felicia's life has changed dramatically. 

She has gone from barely crawling to cruising the furniture...

  from eating simple finger foods and purees to eating family meals and using spoons...

 

  from stationary play in the yard to wrestling with Mom and conquering the land of bugs and leaves.

 

 

 It's almost sad to think about how fast life is moving right now. And what do I do when I'm feeling sad? 

Yep, I choose new meals to cook and include a comfort food or two. 

 9/26: Salmon w/Lemon-Dill Yogurt Sauce

We used plain Greek yogurt in this recipe. Delicious!

9/27: Avocado Egg Salad

Just mix up 4 hard-boiled eggs, 1 avocado, 2 tbsp plain Greek yogurt, and a pinch of curry powder, sea salt, and pepper. Need the perfect timing and tips for a non-smelly, perfectly hard-boiled eggs? This is it. Right there. Click it. Trust me. Enough two-word sentences now.

9/28: Steak w/Gorgonzola Cheese & Roasted Mushroom & Carrot Salad

9/29: Going out for my birthday! Even though it's really Sunday.

9/30: Homemade Whole-Wheat Margherita Pizza

10/1: Roast Beef Sandwiches w/Apple-Horseradish Sauce

Use up third steak for these sandwiches. Really looking forward to putting this on a yummy ciabatta roll.

10/2: Hand-breaded Crispy Fish Sticks w/Cucumber-Dill Sauce

Love anything I can put panko on! And this is a great food blog. This blogger is she of the Southwest Chopped Salad. Yes, the one I can't shut up about. Move on.

Happy cooking!

Weekly Yumminess

Whoever came up with Pinterest is a genius. 

• One website to help you find some of the most-hailed recipes on the Internet? 

•  One website to lead you to some the most inventive and creative teachers in the blogosphere?

• One website to lead you to recipes on how to make your own glitter and fingerpaint?

Genius.

Yep, it's a Pinterest kind of week, people. Dig in.

Wednesday: Cajun Chicken Pasta

Thursday: Caribbean Salmon Jerk Bowl

I plan on using some quinoa I have on hand instead of brown rice.

Friday: Football Weekend

Saturday: Football Weekend

Sunday: Couscous w/Spinach & Goat Cheese

I like to by the couscous that comes with pre-packed spices. One of my lazy moments, I suppose. I like Marrakesh brand from Tarjay.

Monday: Southwest Chicken Chop Salad

Dare me not to make it again. See what happens.

Tuesday: Mediterranean-Style Tuna Sandwiches

Toddler Bites

 We do a lot of eating in this house.

 A lot.

And it gets messy, my friends. Very. Messy.

 

I have learned to accept it.  A smear of peanut butter in the nostril. Roasted Plum-Applesauce crusted in the hair. (Everything crusted in the hair, really.) Crumbs down the back of her diaper. I really should start dressing her more when she eats. But don't worry, Auntie Erica, we still are encouraging use of a spoon, so table manner education is not going by the wayside. This gets better and better each week. We now use our spoon about 50% of the time. Maybe more when Mommy is looking. Less, a lot less, when Mommy is not. 

That all being said, I'm a big fan of finger foods for snacks and to accompany meals.  While I'm all for the occasional cookie or Ritz cracker (both which Feesh successfully vocalizes now- 'cracker' never sounded so cute), but I also appreciate when finger foods have some good nutritional value. The recipes I have linked you to below are some great snacks to share with your toddler- yes, with. I thoroughly enjoyed eating each of these, especially the Sweet Potato Biscuits, Quinoa Bites, and Zucchini Tots. Some of these recipes do ask for un-whole-grain flour, but sometimes that is just okay to splurge on. Of course, you can always swap in your favorite whole-grain flour! I swapped out on the batter for the Apple-Pancake Rings for King Arthur's Whole-Grain Buttermilk Pancake recipe, but left the biscuits and yogurt bread as is.  

Zucchini Tots

 Looking for a way to use of the end of the zucchini? This is a great way to do it! Very light and fluffy snack. The recipe asks for breadcrumbs- I would definitely use panko!

Quinoa Bites

To quote the Beatles... "Love, love, love........"

These are easily customizable! You can get creative with the add-ins. And again, panko breadcrumbs work well here.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

I've said it before, I'll say it again. I. Heart. Martha. These don't keep too well, so eat up within three days or so.

Apple Slices w/Pancake Batter

Tyler Florence's Sweet Potato Pancakes w/Blueberries

This guy put out a fantastic cookbook called Start Fresh.  A wonderful girlfriend told me about it, so I checked it out from the library and am HOOKED! A favorite recipe from that book is the Roasted Plum Applesauce. A bit of pure maple syrup adds the perfect touch of sweetness. We'll eat it as a snack or as a mix-in for Feesh's morning oatmeal.

Blueberry-Lemon Yogurt Bread

Finger foods aside, we will continue our journey to utensil mastery. 

However, the baby-meets-first-Drumstick-moment was not a time for such utensils. 

Enjoy!