Recipes I wish I’d written

Just thought I’d drop a quick line here before we head off to Houston for the weekend.

I found three recipes on the internet that I tried to great success with Simon, so I thought I’d share.

First, on a quest to make arancini last Friday night, I had to start with risotto.  I used Giada’s recipe, but left out the mushrooms and peas.  Simon loved it.  I froze it in cubes and mix in diced chicken, peas, carrots, etc. It looked really boring, so I took a photo of the arancini instead!  It was da bomb!!!

And why the hell have I never made black beans in a slow cooker before?  This was pretty much the easiest damn thing ever.  It easily took 10 hours to cook, as she says in the recipe. This is definitely a recipe for the whole family.  I made black bean tacos out of it.  Did you know that black beans and corn are a complete protein? Simon likes it in his grilled cheese.

Lastly, this morning I made blueberry and cream cheese french toast, and it was AWESOME…albeit a bit dry. I think next time if I press the aluminum foil right up against it while it’s baking and then seal in the edges it will be perfect.  I also made it with challah bread, since I had it on hand.  It worked out wonderfully!

Holla!  Or should I say, Challah!

God I’m cheesy…..

Speaking of which, I made homemade mac’n’cheese last night!  Blog post coming soon!

Self feeding 101

Hi everyone, it’s Simon, here to present my introductory course in self feeding.

So listen up…or else!

Step 1: Let Mommy know you’re ready to start feeding yourself!

When you’re in your high chair, try to pick up any bit of dropped food from the tray.  Things will get a little messy because you’ll be smearing purees everywhere, but it’s worth the mess! Look REALLY intense and ignore everything else around you (including the food Mommy is trying to feed you). This might seem simple, but Mommy can be a little dense.  Be persistent and eventually she’ll clue in.

Step 2: Pick up finger foods

OK guys, this part is really hard.  Nine month old babies have a tough time grabbing little things. So once Mommy has clued in and gone out and bought you some Cheerios, she’ll dump a bunch on your tray. You’ll need to somehow get those tiny Cheerios in your hand!  I know, I know, this is really tough stuff, but it helps if your hands are already covered in yogurt because the Cheerios will just stick to your fingers!

It’s ok, take your time…

Nice job!!

Step 3: Get the Cheerio from your hand and into your mouth.

The challenges are never ending! Once you’ve gotten it into your hand it’s STILL not in your mouth! Sometimes it get’s stuck between two fingers that aren’t even CLOSE to your mouth (see above photo).  But stay with it, my friends.  Smash that hand into your mouth!

If you get frustrated, you can take a break and let Mommy feed you one…

Or just take a few moments and wipe your hands…

Because eventually you will succeed!

Great job!

My new obsession….

I found this site today and am now completely obsessed! This woman puts me to shame!  And she’s GORGEOUS!!  I am so so SO SO SO excited about some of these recipes! I just don’t know where to start!

Enjoy….just promise you’ll come back to see me every once in a while….

M