Banana Fruit Custard Cubes - Infant/Toddler/Child recipe

Hi from the UK! Today I thought I'd share the recipe I used for my son for his breakfast. It must have been delicious, as he ate every last bit of it! This recipe does require a bit of cooking time, but not much prep. It may not be suitable for a busy morning when you need to get out the door fast, but it's great for a lazy lie in kind of day.

One of the best things about this is (yes, you know what I'm about to say) it's customizable. You can use whatever fruit you want (in my case, it's what I had in the house). Be creative!

Here's what you need:
1 egg (or 2, depending on how much your child eats)
1/2 a banana, mushed well (or a whole one, again depending on how much your child eats
Additional fruit (I used 1 strawberry, mushed well, I think I could have used 2 though)

For serving (as it can be a bit savory) you can use maple syrup, honey, or apple sauce. As my son is only 8 months and it's not recommended to have honey before the age of one, I just cut up a quarter of a dessert apple and quickly boiled it to make a quick applesauce.

Beat the egg well, and add in the mushed fruit. Grease a ramekin or small dish, and then add in the egg mixture. You can then place in a steamer for 30 minutes, or for those like me who do not have a steamer, boil a pot of water, place the ramekin in a heat proof sieve over the water, then put a large lid over so the steam is trapped. Voila! Instant steamer!

It will look a bit like a muffin when it is done. You can check for done-ness by sticking a knife in and checking if it comes out clean. If it does, you're good to go! Remove it from the steamer, run a knife along the edge to loosen it, then you should be able to plop it out whole on a plate, ready to chop into cubes. Mine didn't go to cubes as I just half-hazardly chopped it up.

Here's mine, with the applesauce. Every last bit was gone when he finished! I think next time we will do banana and blueberry, like the original recipe I found that I modified this from. (It can be found at http://blog.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/banana-custard-cubes-a-unique-breakfast-idea-for-baby/)

Easy no-knead rustic bread

I found this recipe one day piddling around on Facebook.  I really wish I could link to where I got this recipe originally, but when I went to look it up today, the page where I found it didn't seem to be there anymore.  So for now I will just tell you the name of the page, which was The Witch's Ranch & Homestead.  It was run by a very nice lady with several children of her own and she is just one of those people who feels like an old friend even though I've only talked to her once.  

Anyway, whilst browsing her public photos, I found a recipe she'd posted for a rustic bread.  According to her, it was from the Private Collection:  Recipes from the Junior League of Palo Alto.

Since the page didn't seem to be there anymore, I had to try to recall the ingredients and cooking times/temps, but I think I was successful, as the bread came out beautifully.  

***UPDATE*** I actually found this again on Pinterest, where I found the original source.  Apparently the lady I mentioned above got the recipe from this site as well.

To make this super-easy bread, you will need:

4 cups bread flour

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

2 cups water

2-1/4 tsp yeast ***

*** I used instant yeast, which can be added directly to the dry ingredients.  If you use active dry yeast (one 0.25 oz package for this recipe), you will want to proof it first.  To do this mix the yeast and sugar in with the water and let sit for about 10 minutes.  This activates it.

Mix all your ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.  Once they are all combined, let sit in a warm location (the microwave is good for this) for 90 minutes or till doubled in bulk.  

Once risen, stir down the dough.  Grease (don't be shy; use a lot or you'll be sorry!!!) a 1-1/2 quart ovenproof glass dish.  I have a 1-1/2 quart round dish that I use for this.  If you have a similarly-sized ovenproof bowl, you could use it.  I believe a 9x13 casserole would probably work too.  You don't want to go any smaller or you'll need to use multiple dishes.  

Once you've got it into a baking vessel, let rise for about 45 minutes or until it's risen over the top of the dish.  

Heat your oven to 425 F or 220 C.  Once heated, insert bread and bake 15 minutes.  After the first 15 minutes, reduce heat to 375 F or 190 C.  Bake an additional 25 minutes.

Before removing from the pan, give it a good shake to loosen the bottom.  If you greased it well enough, then it will come right out onto a cooling rack no problem.

OK, so mine stuck a little bit on the very bottom, but it certainly won't affect the taste :)

New Features!

I've added a few new features to the site in hopes of adding more utility.  I am including instructions here for using these new features for those of you who may not be as technologically-advanced (love you, Mom!).

The first is a print function to more easily print the recipes you find here.  If you would like to print from our page, you can now click the little "Print" button below each post.  It will bring up a little pop-up box that will show you a printer-friendly version of the post.  Click "Print" and it will bring up a print dialog, where you can select your printer or, if you have a PDF creator installed, you can print to PDF. 

I also went through and labelled all the posts Stacey and I have done thus far so you can find them more easily.  You will see a list of labels below the blog archive (on the right side of the screen).  Clicking on a label will take you to other posts with that label.  Also, below each post is a list of labels that correspond to that post.  You can click on one of the labels there also and be taken to a list of posts with that label.

The last feature that I'm currently working on but haven't finalized is a search utility.  Blogger has a Search Box gadget but it isn't worth the bytes it's printed on (hahaha, a little bad programming humor :P).  I am trying to find a better search box or else perhaps my wonderful husband can script me one (he doesn't know it, but he's being volunteered for this task!).

I hope you enjoy these new features and that they make this blog more useful to you!  If you have any problems with them or suggestions to improve them, please feel free to leave a comment below :)

Mongolian Beef

UK update! My husband and I love asian food, and one of our favorites is Mongolian beef. When I stumbled across a recipe on pinterest, I quickly sent him the link and we decided to give it a try. It was amazingly tasty, and the leftover sauce is DELICIOUS as a veggie dip (red peppers and broccoli, yum!). This will be repeated again and again, as it was fairly simple to create and quick to cook.

You'll need:

• 1 to 2 pounds flank or sirloin steak, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup corn starch
• 2 teaspoons oil 3 tablespoons oil for frying
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• ½ teaspoon ginger, grated
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup soy sauce
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (we didn't have any, so we used a small amount of a red chile for some heat)
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced for garnish
• 2 cups of rice
  

  
  

Mix the beef and cornstarch in a bowl, coating the beef well. In a small saucepan, heat up the 2 teaspoons of oil to medium high heat. Add in the garlic and ginger and cook for a few minutes. Add in the soysauce, brown sugar, water, and red pepper flakes/chile. Bring them to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a wok over medium high heat. Saute the beef until it is done but still tender (medium rare). Pour the sauce over the beef and continue to cook, stirring to combine. Reduce the heat to medium low and continue cooking until the sauce has thickened and most of the liquid has evaported. Serve over a bed of rice and garnish with the green onions.

It will come out looking and tasting like they serve in a fancy Asian restaurant! Yum!

Vegan Pancakes

My son and daughter both love pancakes.  When I say "love," I mean they would do just about anything for a pancake with real maple syrup.  I love pancakes too because, besides being absolutely scrumptious, they are a great way to get in some extra nutrition.  They are also very customizable.  Like fruit?  Add it in!  Prefer whole grains?  Go for it!  They can also be made as allergen-free as you need.  I've lately been on a vegan kick and so decided to find a good vegan pancake recipe.  This one is a great base recipe and if you read the comments you can find several additions and variations that people did.  There's even a gluten-free version (look for mauivegan's comment)!  Below is my own version, using whole wheat flour and blueberries :)

To make these, you will need:

2 cups flour (I used 1 cup all-purpose and 1 cup white whole wheat)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups soymilk (if you only have cow's milk, it should work too, but won't be vegan)
2 tbsp oil (I used olive, but use whatever you have)
1 cup wild blueberries (I used the little wild Maine blueberries as they work better than the larger cultivated variety)

Preheat a griddle or non-stick skillet on medium heat.  If your griddle is scratched or the non-stick coating has worn off, be sure to spray with cooking spray between pancakes.

Mix your dry ingredients and then add in the soymilk and oil.  Mix well.  Add in the blueberries and mix.

Pour 1/4 cup pancake batter onto the hot skillet or griddle and the edges start to look dry and bubbles start forming on top (may not be a lot of bubbles).  Flip over and cook an additional 2 minutes or so, till browned on the bottom.  Transfer to a plate and continue with remaining batter.

One note I will make about these pancakes is that if you use whole wheat flour, they probably will not rise as high as if you were using regular all-purpose flour only.  This just becuase whole wheat flour tends to be more dense and thus the higher amount of whole wheat the denser the end product.  That being said, they are just as yummy either way you choose to make them!

One other small note about these... They do not include any sugar.  I personally don't care if my pancakes have sugar in them because I like to eat them with syrup.  If you like yours sweeter, go ahead and add a tablespoon or two of sugar.

Appetizer Recipe: Cheesy Spinach Muffins

Another recipe I recently pinned is this one for cheesy spinach muffins.  I tried them and I really like them.  Husband didn't like them as much, but his opinion doesn't really count as he can be a bit picky.  The recipe is already in metric so I measured by weight.  I'll write out the volume equivalents here for those who prefer to use volume measurements.

You will need:

300 g (scant 2-1/2 cups) all-purpose flour

2-1/2 tsp baking powder

100 g (about 1 cup shredded) cheddar

150 g (6 oz package) crumbled feta (the 6-oz package is a little overkill, but who is going to say no to a little extra cheese?!)

130 g (about 1 cup packed) finely-chopped fresh spinach (the finer, the better)

1 egg

220 ml (about 1 cup) milk (you may need to add a little more if the batter is too stiff)

30 g (1/4 cup) butter

half an onion, chopped finely

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F or 170 degrees C.  

In a small skillet, melt the butter and cook the onion till tender.  While this is cooking, mix together your dry ingredients, spinach, and cheeses in a large mixing bowl.  Add in the milk and egg and mix.  Once the onion is done cooking, add it and the butter into the batter and mix well.  

Scoop into 16 greased muffin cups.  Bake in the preheated oven for 30 - 35 minutes or until golden brown on top.  

Main Dish Recipe: Rigatoni Pasta Pie

Hi, my name is Kathryn and I may be a Pinterest junkie.  OK, so I'm not at the junkie stage yet, but Pinterest has become more a part of my life than it used to be (thanks, Stacey!).  It is a great way to easily share recipes, ideas, crafts, etc. with your family and friends, as well as a fabulous way to put off doing your housework :)

One of the first things I pinned was a rigatoni pasta pie.  I know what you're thinking... "Pasta and pie?!  All in one dish?!  Heck yes!"  This recipe was definitely a winner in my book even before I tried it.

I decided to make it Sunday night because I had all the necessary ingredients and it sounded so yummy.  As always, I left out the meat to make it vegetarian.  My results were not quite like the recipe stated, but I think I know what I could have done differently to fix it, so I will include instructions for that.

For this deliciousness, you will need:

1 pound rigatoni pasta (they're the really wide tube noodles)
2 tbsp olive oil (didn't use the first time, but needed for sauteeing veggies)
2-3 cups chopped veggies (didn't use this when I made it but will next time)
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup parmesan, shredded
2 cups mozzarella, shredded

First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F or about 200 degrees C.  In a large pot of boiling water, cook your pasta till almost done, a few minutes less than they ought to be.  This will make it easier to stand them up.

While your pasta is cooking, sautee the veggies in the oil till tender.  Add the tomatoes and spices.  Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for about 20 minutes or until noticeably drier and thickened.  I did not take this step when I made it and had the liquid run out the bottom of my springform pan.  Cooking the tomato sauce should prevent a lot of this!

Once your pasta is cooked, drain it and toss with the parmesan and stand up your noodles in a greased 9" springform pan set onto a baking sheet with sides.  Do not be tempted to eat any of the noodles yet because you will most likely need all of them.

By this time, your sauce should be done.  Pour the sauce and veggies over the noodles and squish the veggies into the holes as best you can.

Pop into the preheated oven and bake 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle on the mozzarella.  Return to the oven and bake 15-20 minutes more or until cheese is browned to your liking (I like mine almost burnt!).

Let sit about 10 minutes in the pan.  When you take off the outside of the springform, you will have something like this:

This picture is sans veggies, but I will make it again soon and replace the picture.  Overall, my family liked it and my husband even said this was one of my better experiments!

Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits

Good evening from the US!  It's been a hectic few days here trying to get my house back to normal from last weekend's party, but I have a few recipes I'd like to share with you all.  The first one is for cinnamon raisin biscuits, a treat I have loved since childhood.  I can remember going with my dad to Hardee's (a fast food chain restaurant here in the southern United States) and getting an iced cinnamon raisin biscuit and hashbrowns.  Just thinking about it is making me hungry!  I just can't afford anymore to go out as often as I would like to be able to obtain my beloved cinnamon raisin biscuits, but I figured they shouldn't be too terribly difficult to make at home.  And I was right!

I had originally looked for a copycat recipe, but I have since decided that it is just as easy to simply modify my existing biscuit recipe, for which I need no recipe anymore.

This recipe is also very customizable to your own tastes and preferences.  If you would prefer a different dried fruit (blueberries would be good), go for it!  I have only used raisins myself, but I suppose any other similar fruits would work just as well.  You can also use as much or as little of the icing as you'd like.  If you want to make these whole wheat, I say why not!  It's totally up to you!

To make the biscuits as I make them, you will need:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 - 3/4 cup cold milk (soymilk will work beautifully as well)
1/2 - 1 cup raisins (depends on how heavily "raisined" you want it)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F or about 200 degrees C.  Lightly grease a 10" cast-iron skillet or a baking sheet.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl, mix together the melted butter and 1/2 cup cold milk.  This will cause the butter to harden again slightly into little pieces.  I sometimes use this as a shortcut to cutting in the butter.

Mix together the wet and dry ingredients, adding more milk if the dough is too dry.  You want it to be a little sticky, but not falling apart.  Fold in the raisins till they are evenly-distributed.

Turn out onto a well-floured surface and pat or roll into a round about 1/2-inch thick.  Using a 2" biscuit cutter, cut out your biscuits and place in the skillet or on the baking sheet, making sure the sides touch.  This will make them rise higher.

After you've cut and placed all your biscuits (I got about 13 plus a small portion of one), bake for about 15-20 minutes or till noticeably golden brown on top.

Now for the really good part... the frosting!  You will need:

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk or soymilk

Mix these two ingredients till well-combined and pour over all the biscuits while they are still hot.

I have a few more recipes to put up, but that will have to wait as it is way past my bedtime!  According to our Facebook poll, there seems to be a tie between Main Dish and Appetizer for next recipe (one vote did not count as it was my test vote!), so those will be put up tomorrow. Good night :)

Berry Buttercream Frosting

I (Kathryn) decided to make a nice berry buttercream for my daughter's butterfly cake.  I wanted to have something pink or purple, and I had some blueberry puree leftover from the Mickey Mouse cake.  Why not a blueberry buttercream?  I searched and searched and found a suitable recipe here (http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/strawberry-cupcakes-recipe/).  Again, I loosely followed the recipe, fudging some of the amounts according to my own whims.  Overall it turned out very well, and it was well-received at the party.

To make this recipe, you'll need:

1 stick butter, softened
About 3 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tbsp pureed berries (blackberries, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries should all work fine for this)
2-3 tbsp heavy cream, or more as needed (you may not even need this, but have some handy, in case your frosting gets too thick)
2 tsp vanilla extract

Start by creaming the butter.  Add in the vanilla and the berries and beat to combine.  Begin adding the sugar a little at a time, beating well to incorporate.  As you add the sugar, add a little of the cream, if needed, to thin it out if it gets too stiff.

The consistency of this frosting should be like any other buttercream -- thin enough to spread easily but thick enough to hold its shape.  Frost your cake as usual and add any decorations you like.  If you use the blueberries, you may have a slightly speckled frosting resulting from little bits of the blueberry skins not getting completely pulverized.  This is perfectly fine and will not affect the taste negatively.

As with the other cake, I used fresh berries to decorate this cake and add some interest.  This is a great way to get your kids to eat fruit if they have an aversion! 

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

I would like to preface this by saying that I am by no means an expert at buttercream frosting.  I have only made buttercream a few times and lived to tell the tale.  That being said, I was thoroughly pleased with the chocolate buttercream that I made for my son's Mickey Mouse cake!  I found the recipe here (http://www.food.com/recipe/chocolate-buttercream-frosting-44126) and loosely followed it.  Usually, loosely following a recipe, for me, results in disaster, but this time it worked!

For this frosting you will need:

1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream
2-2/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

Start by creaming the butter.  Then add the cocoa powder.  If I were you, I'd stir in the cocoa by hand because it tends to fly everywhere when confronted with an electric mixer.  Add the vanilla, and beat to incorporate.

Now comes the fun part.  Add the sugar a little at a time, thinning with some of the cream if it gets too thick.  Keep adding the sugar till it is all incorporated, thinning with cream as needed.  You may need to add the full 1/2 cup of cream or you may not need all of it.  You want the frosting to be thin enough to spread easily but not so thin that it drips off the cake.

This recipe should make enough for a 2-layer cake or a couple dozen cupcakes.  I had plenty to frost my son's Mickey Mouse cake with some left over.

After I frosted the cake, I decided to add some strawberries for a little extra decoration (no artificial colors invited to this party!).

One final note, I had a mixer malfunction while making the berry buttercream and had to use my food processor to make the chocolate.  Food processors are very good for this task as they eliminate a lot of the mess!

Next time... Blueberry buttercream!

Baked Egg Goodies

Stacey here! Lunchtime was drawing nearer and nearer today, and I just couldn't think what to make my son. I needed to include protein, as he hadn't had any yet for the day, and all I really had for that was egg and some ham. He can be a bit fussy when it comes to eating just plain scrambled egg, so I wanted to try something different. I'd seen a recipe previously about doing mini quiches, so I thought I'd just do a spin of that with what I had in my fridge. They turned out fabulous! I loved mine, and I'm assuming my son did to too as he ate all of his! They're customizable as well - you can toss last night's leftover vegetables in, and whatever pieces of cheese you may have laying about. Next time I will try it with some fresh spring onion to add some veg-y crunch! I think bell peppers would be yummy in as well, or spinach - possibly watercress too!

Here's what you need:
1 egg for each person making for (I used 2)
1 tsp dried basil, or some fresh basil chopped (increase as you add eggs)
3 tbsp crumbled cheese (increase as you add eggs - you could try a wet cheese, like ricotta. I used fresh mozzarella, but cheddar or another hard cheese would work as well)
1 small clove of garlic, crushed and chopped (increase as you add eggs)
Whatever other filling you'd like! (I used about 2 tbsp ham, chopped fine)

Preheat the oven to 180c/360f. Grease whatever dish you will be cooking your egg goodies in with butter or a cooking spray. I used two ramekins - a muffin or cupcake tray could be used as well. In a bowl, beat the eggs and then add the basil and garlic, and stir. Pour the mixture into your cooking dish and add the rest of your toppings by dropping them in.

 Place in the oven, and bake for about 15-20 minutes - the top of the goodies will start to turn a light golden brown when ready. You can check that they are done in the middle by sticking a fork in the side of one and seeing if it comes out clean or sticky. These are great for a brunch item if you have friends coming over, or a good way to get in some extra veggies for a power breakfast when you've got a big day planned.

Berry Cake with no Jell-O!

It's been a few days since I (Kathryn) have posted anything. Saturday I was busy busy with cleaning the house for my parents' arrival and the kids' party. Sunday I was busy cooking for the party. I did make sure to take a picture of the food I served and will do a post on it in a bit.

The main attraction was, of course, the cake. I made one for each of my two kids, a blueberry cake with chocolate buttercream for my son and a strawberry cake with blueberry buttercream for my daughter.

It's been a long time since I've made a strawberry cake because most recipes call for strawberry jell-o (gelatin is not vegetarian) or artificial strawberry extract or "open one box of strawberry cake mix." I decided to try searching for a vegan strawberry cake and found this one (http://veganthyme.blogspot.com/2010/06/vegan-strawberry-cake-with-yummy-pink.html?m=1). The woman who posted it mentioned that it was not vegan to begin with, so I decided to switch back to some non-vegan ingredients (real eggs and sour cream). I was very pleased that this recipe used real berries and nothing artificial. Incidentally, berries are a great natural food coloring!

As I said, I made a strawberry cake and a blueberry one, and both turned out beautifully! This recipe will make enough for one 8 or 9 inch 2-layer cake. The pans I used were 9" and they seemed to work just fine.

To make this cake, you will need:

2-1/2 c cake flour (or a slightly-less amount of all-purpose flour)
1-1/2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 c vegan butter, softened (or can use real butter)
1-1/3 c organic sugar (I used the full amount but will probably cut it to 1 cup next time.)
2 eggs
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
4 oz sour cream
1-1/2 c berry puree (Any berry ought to work for this)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).

Cream together the butter and sugar till fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder. In another small bowl, mix the puree and sour cream.

Mix the dry and wet ingredients into the butter mixture, alternating between the two (start with some of the berries, then add some flour, then berries, etc).

Pour into 2 greased and floured cake pans. An 8 or 9 inch pan will work fine. Bake 30-35 minutes in preheated oven or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool in the pans for several minutes and then turn out onto racks to cool completely.

I will post the frosting recipes later (I have to find them again!) and put a link here.

Overall I was very happy how the cakes turned out! All the party guests seemed to like them, and I felt very good about serving cakes with no artificial ingredients :)

Chipotle Lime Pork with Vegetable Medley

Hi from the UK! One thing I miss from the US is good Mexican cuisine, so my husband and I decided we would have a week straight of this yummy goodness! The stand out so far has been the chipotle lime pork my husband made.. it is delicious! It's not too spicy (for those like me who can't stand the heat), it just has a nice afterburn. Here's how to make it!

For the pork and veg you will need:
2 thick boneless pork chops, butterfly cut in half  to make 4 chops
3 cloves of garlic, diced finely
1 chipotle pepper, chopped
1 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1 tsp oregano
2 limes, juiced (or 1 if you don't like overly lime-y food)
pinch of paprika
1 tsp-ish of olive oil (just go by your gut with how much you want)
half a red pepper, chopped
half a green pepper, chopped
corn cut from one cob
half a yellow onion, diced

First you need to marinade the pork. The LONGER you can marinade the BETTER! (you can go 24 hours with this, we did it for 5 hours and it was delicious!) Toss the pork, 2 cloves of the garlic, the lime juice, the chipotle pepper, the cilantro and oregano, the oil, and the paprika in a large bowl and swirl up over the chops. Seal it with cling film and pop it in the fridge. You can turn the chops over every half hour to make sure they really soak up the marinade.

Once you are happy with the marinade, preheat your oven to 175 c/350 f and saute the onion and last clove of garlic for 5 minutes in a non stick pan over medium heat. Add in the rest of the veg for a few minutes, then pour the veg in an oven proof dish.

Brown the chops on each side for a couple of minutes, just to get some color and extra flavor in them. (You can do this is the same pan you cooked the veg in) Place the chops on top of them and cover with aluminum foil. Put the dish in the oven for about 15 minutes, and your Mexican feast will be ready! You can go carb free, or you can cook some white rice to go with. Here's the end result!

It came out with an intense lime flavor, but it was so tasty!

Herbed Egg Crepes

Hi from the UK! I decided to try out a new breakfast recipe as my son is always eating weetabix or porridge for breakfast, and I wanted to mix it up!  I found this great herbed egg crepe recipe from smartbitesforbaby.wordpress.com that looked simple and quick, so I decided to give it a go. I pretty much did what the recipe called for spot on, but I think in the future I would change it a bit (I'll make notes in the recipe where!) This recipe is meant for babies and toddlers, but I think with some tweaking it would be great for anyone. If you reduce the sugar and add in a bit of cheese and tomato, (without the seed part - it would make the eggs too watery) I think it would be great!

Herbed Egg Crepes

You'll need:
2 eggs (use more or less - just adjust the recipe as needed)
2 tsp brown sugar (I would recommend cutting it down as ours came out quite sweet. The second time around I just used  1/2 a tsp and it was much nicer)
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh herb(s) (I used thyme in mine, but you could try dill, tarragon, rosemary, or even sage)

In a bowl, beat the eggs. Add the sugar and herbs, and mix well.

Heat a non stick pan to low/medium heat, and pour in the mixture, letting it cover the entire surface of the pan.Cook it slowly for 5-7 minutes (It took mine about 5) until it becomes pale. For mine, I only had pale places in patches. It didn't turn pale for the entire surface, but I just lifted the edge to check to see if the other side was done. Flip over to the other side and cook for another minute to make sure the part that was on top is cooked through as well.

When it's done, it will look a bit like this:

For babies and young children, cut into strips and then roll it up. For yourself, just go at it with a fork!

This is such a quick dish to make - I think all in all it took maybe 10 minutes for prep and cooking to plate. It's great for school mornings when you're running just a bit behind and need something fast to whip up for the kids!

Cream Cheese Bites (Toddler Recipe)

Hi from the UK! Today I experimented with a recipe for lunchtime. We usually just do sandwiches for the little one, but I wanted to be more adventurous and introduce some new food. It can be a struggle to make sure I get enough fruit and veg in his meals everyday (although it doesn't matter at much at this age, I still want to have good eating habits developed) so something like this seemed great to incorporate extra goodness. I came across the recipe at blog.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com, and then just tweaked it to what I need. I only wanted to make a small amount, so I didn't use anywhere near the amounts it stated on the recipe. If you want more, you can increase what I put here, although these are EXTREMELY easy to free hand, so there isn't much need for measuring. Also you can put what you want in these.. I think the apple/carrot/cucumber combo worked well, but I imagine you could use tomato and herb for a more savory bite.

You'll need:
Grated carrot (I used about 1tsp)
Grated apple (a sweet one works best, I used about 1tsp)
Finely diced cucumber (I used about 2 very thin slices)
Cream cheese (I used philedelphia lightest, about 1 tbsp)
Bread crumbs (totally optional, I used them for extra grip for Vega)

Once you've assembled the veg/fruit you want to incorporate, mix together with the cream cheese in a small bowl. I used a fork to mix as it was very sticky!

Pop the mixture into the freezer for about 5-10 minutes to get it set a bit firmer, then scoop out using a teaspoon into small balls and drop gently onto a plate of breadcrumbs. Roll them around carefully (mine were loose so I had to be gentle!) until coated, then pop back into the freezer until they are as firm as you like. Mine never really got too firm, but that's fine as my son loved squishing them through his fingers! You'll end up with something looking like this:

And your child's hand will end up looking a bit like this:

Quick, easy, and delicious! I will definitely be making these again and again for him. :)

Using Mini Loaf Pans

Good morning, all! Kathryn again :) Here in the US we have a thrift store called Goodwill. It is an invaluable resource for budget-conscious families like mine. I buy all the kids' clothes there as well as mine and my husband's. I have also found some otherwise expensive cooking gadgets there (e.g. a bread machine for $4, a brand new pasta machine with 5 attachments for $60). My most recent and one of my most favorite finds is a Kitchenaid silicone mini-loaf baking pan. It has 6 5.5x3" loaf cavities and would normally retail for $15 to 20. I got it for $2!
Needless to say, I am super excited about my new toy and have used it several times already.  You do not have to find recipes specifically for the mini loaf pan. It is quite simple to adapt your favorite bread recipe to the smaller loaf size :)
The basic rule of thumb I've found for adapting to the mini loaf pan is about 1 cup of flour per mini loaf. So if you have a recipe that calls for 4 cups flour, you should be able to get 4 mini loaves out of it. As for cooking times, you will need to shorten thee cooking time by about 5-10 minutes to account for the smaller loaf size.
The bread shown in the picture below is from the Land O' Lakes website ( http://www.landolakes.com/recipe/847/mini-white-loaves). I did not make any major changes to the recipe. I did double it so I could make 6 loaves.
These little loaves are just about the cutest loaves I've ever seen! They make very adorable little grilled cheese sandwiches and are the perfect size for little hands :)

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Hello all! Greetings from Virginia! My little girl turned 4 today, and I felt compelled to take lots of goodies to her school for a little birthday party. Along with some fresh fruit, cheese crackers, and juice, I took some homemade oatmeal raisin cookies. They were so yummy and Kandi's teacher even wanted the recipe! The recipe came from Allrecipes ( http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/10264/oatmeal-raisin-cookies-i). As always, I tweaked it a little to make it a bit healthier (e.g. decreasing sugar).
To make these you will need:
3/4 cup softened butter (I used Country Crock butter spread)
1 cup brown sugar (I used Zulka Morena unrefined cane sugar; any organic sugar would work as well)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour (can sub whole wheat)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon (I left it out this time, but will add it the next time)
2-3/4 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins (can probably sub another dried fruit like cranberries or blueberries)
Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C).
Cream together butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and then vanilla.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Stir into the butter mixture.
Add oats and stir to combine. Add raisins and mix well.
Drop by teaspoonful onto a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until browned on the bottom. Let cool for several minutes on the pan before moving to a rack as they will be very soft when fresh out of the oven.
This recipe makes about 4 dozen (more or less, depending on your definition of "teaspoonful"). You could probably make jumbo cookies using an ice cream scoop, but remember to increase the baking time.

Sweet Potato, Cauliflower, and Carrot Soup

Hi all, Stacey here! Today I'm  going to post a recipe for some delicious soup. It just happens to be vegan and gluten and free (stuff I normally don't pay attention to) so if that's what you're looking for, it will be right up your alley.

I love sweet potato. It's a super vegetable that is loaded with goodness, and it's tasty too. However, I never would have thought to make it into a soup! I came across a recipe at manifestvegan.com and modified it based on what I had in the fridge. I reduced the amount of sweet potato, onion, garlic, and water as it called for more but needed 3 sweet potatoes (I only had one). The end result was fantastic! I tossed in some carrot as well as I had that in the fridge, and it really brought the flavors together.

You will need:
1 large head of cauliflower, chopped into bite sized pieces
Olive oil for drizzling
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1" pieces
1/3 sweet onion, diced (could use more if you so desired)
1 clove of garlic
4 cups of water
1/2 large carrot, peeled and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 200c/400f. Spread the cauliflower on a baking sheet and lightly drizzle with the oil. Place in the oven and let it roast until golden brown on top and tender, but not mushy. The recipe said 20-30 minutes, but I would say 15-25 minutes, probably somewhere in the middle. Let it cool while you continue making the rest of your soup.

In a large pot, bring the sweet potato, onion, garlic, carrot, and water to a boil. Add salt (about 3/4 tsp) and stir. Reduce the head and allow it to simmer until the sweet potatoes are tender. Add in the cauliflower. Now the next steps are based on whether you want your soup to be completely smooth or have chunks in it. If you want it smooth, then toss the whole lot in a food processor (or use a hand one in the pot) and blitz to smooth. If you want it chunkier, then divide the soup into 2 portions. Put one portion in a food processor and blitz to smooth (or use a hand one if you have it) and then combine the 2 portions back together. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve!

This will make quite a bit of soup. Both my husband and I had a full portion, and my son had a small one. There was enough leftover for another 3 adult portions, but I chose to freeze it in ice cube trays for my son to enjoy later as he really loved it!

And here's a photo of the end result. Yum!

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

When I was a child, I never liked mac and cheese. I was a very strange child in that regard. Stacey and her brother couldn't get enough of it but there was just something about it I couldn't stand.
As I got older, my tastes changed and I decided to give it another try. Loved it! So I had to figure out how to make some for myself. I will admit that for a very long time I only ate the boxed variety with the neon orange cheese. Was it tasty? Absolutely! Was it healthy? Not in the slightest!
So the quest began to find a good homemade sauce. I tried several recipes and after an exhaustive search, I finally found one I liked and my husband approved of. The recipe is from Carnation and was posted on Allrecipes ( http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/traditional-macaroni-and-cheese/detail.aspx). The recipe itself is for a baked mac and cheese, but you can absolutely skip the baking step and serve it as is.
To make this dish you will need:
1 pound pasta (a small shaped pasta of your choice)
1 cup water
1 12-oz can evaporated milk (can sub 1 cup whole milk)
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
3/4-1 tsp salt (depending on your taste)
1/4 tsp pepper
8 oz cheddar cheese, grated (I use white cheddar)
Boil pasta till it is as tender as you like. Drain really well and set aside.
Meanwhile, bring 2/3 cup of the water and all the milk to a simmer over medium heat. Add the mustard, salt, and pepper. Dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining 1/3 cup water and stir slowly into the simmering milk/water, stirring all the while. Cook 1-2 minutes, or till sauce is thickened. Turn heat to low and stir in the cheese.
In a large serving bowl, combine the sauce and the pasta, stirring to coat. Sprinkle with dried parsley and freshly-cracked pepper if you like.
I promise you this sauce is wonderful and very addictive! You can also add vegetables such as peppers, tomatoes, and broccoli to add extra nutrition. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Fresh pasta

Good afternoon, all!  Kathryn, here :)  One of my absolute favorite things to make is fresh pasta.  It can go with anything and everything and is great as a main dish or side.  Pasta is one of the first things I learned to make from scratch, and I very rarely buy a boxed pasta these days.  The pasta itself is so easy to customize.  You can make it regular, whole-wheat, gluten-free, multi-grain, or flavored just about any way you can imagine (great way to sneak in veggies!).  This recipe is also fun to do with your children.  My 4-year-old likes to help me turn the crank on the pasta roller to roll the dough and then cut it!

The method I'm going to show you uses a food processor to mix the dough.  You can, of course, do it by hand if you do not have a food processor or just don't feel like getting it out.  I have done it by hand enough to know that it is much easier done in the food processor.  As for rolling it out, you can also do this by hand, with a rolling pin.  Again, I've done it by hand enough to know that investing $35 in a pasta roller/cutter is money well-spent.

Without further ado, let's get started!

The ingredients you'll need for about 1 pound of pasta are:

3 cups whole-wheat flour (substitute all-purpose if you prefer)
4 eggs
a few tbsp water, as needed

First, put your flour in the food processor, fitted with a dough blade (steel blade will work, but dough blade is better).  Next, add the eggs.  Process till they are combined.  Most likely your dough will still be very dry, especially if using whole-wheat.  Add water a tablespoon at a time and process till your dough begins hold together.  You want it to be a smooth dough but not sticky.  Sometimes when you make it in the food processor, it doesn't look like it's coming together at all (it'll be in a million small pieces).  If it forms a nice ball when you pick up a handful and squish it together, then it's perfect.  See the picture on the top right below.

Once you've formed your dough in a nice ball, cut it into 6-8 even pieces.  Flatten these pieces and run them through the pasta roller on the thickest setting.  Run the pieces through the roller on each setting on down to the third thinnest (#3 on a Villaware roller).

At this point you'll want to bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Once at a boil add some salt if you like.

Roll each sheet through the desired cutter.  Most pasta machines come with a fettucine and spaghetti cutter.  In the photo below, I used the spaghetti cutter.

Drop the cut noodles into the boiling water and boil for about 4 minutes or until desired doneness is achieved. 

It's as simple as that!  Fresh, homemade pasta can be on the table in less than an hour (including the distractions from children asking questions!), and you know exactly what's gone in it :)

Customizable Broccoli Cheese Bites

Stacey here! I've come across a great recipe for broccoli cheese bites at Staceysnacksonline.com. (It's not me, I swear. Just a coincidence on the same name!) My son is at an age where I'm introducing finger foods, so I figured I'd give these a try as they looked simple enough for a beginner chef like me! While making them I realized you could use this recipe for other vegetables, and you can add in loads as well! I think next time I will try it with cauliflower, and maybe add some onion in too. For now though, I will share some photos, and of course the recipe! I modified it for myself to make 12 patties, rather than using the recipe on the website (it looked like it would make loads of them, and I didn't need that many!).EDIT: I do need that many, must make again!

Broccoli Cheese Bites

1 fresh head of broccoli, chopped small and boiled or steamed to tender
1/3 to 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs (I just tossed a piece of toast in the blender and got more than enough)
1 egg
2/3 cup of cheddar cheese (can use whatever cheese you'd like!)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 190c/375f. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, either by hand or with a fork. Form small patties in your hands, and then place onto the parchment paper. I topped mine with a bit more grated cheese, as I loooooooove some cheese. :)

Bake for about 25 minutes, turning them over after the first 15 minutes. They should end up looking something like this:

Delicious! When I opened the over door, I started drooling. They made the kitchen smell so good! I couldn't resist grabbing one before they cooled and cutting it open.

Crunchy from the cheese on the outside, and gooey on the inside. You can still taste the broccoli, but it's not overpowering so if you have kids who aren't so keen on the green, you should give this a try! I gave one to my 8 month old for dinner and he couldn't get enough! I was expecting him to just have a small nibble on the patty, but he ate the whole thing.

Small word of warning: They are addictive! Before I knew it I had already wolfed down five of them!

Introducing the Slightly Younger Cousin

Hi everyone! My name is Stacey and I'm 26 years old. I'm from the United States of America, but I'm currently living in England with my husband and 8 month old son, Vega. We have 1 cat (Menace) who we shipped from America. Yes, we love him that much (although he wasn't too pleased with being in a crate for over 9 hours!). Unlike my cousin, I'm a firm lover of all things meat. I couldn't live without bacon. I love animals, don't get me wrong, but just walking into the kitchen when there is bacon on the grill is probably one of the best experiences ever. I also am a fan of healthy meals, and I am experimenting with kid friendly ideas as well, so I will try to post a balance of recipes that hopefully everyone will find something they like out of.





I grew up in America with my cousin, Kathryn. We lived close together as children, but moved apart as teenagers and young adults. Even though there is a physical distance between us, I like to think that emotionally we are still as close as sisters. She recently mentioned how I used to firmly state I would never have children naturally, and I would adopt a five year old to skip the potty training stage. Obviously that statement turned out to be false, but I have to admit I'm not looking forward to the toilet stage!

I'll be up front: I'm not a great housewife. I'm still learning how to be a mother, but after 6 years of marriage I still have horrible house care-taking skills, so the mothering bit isn't looking too promising! I am making a huge effort in both areas though, and cooking is one thing I am focusing on. My previous cooking skills included making a pot of water explode, burning rice because I didn't know I needed to add water, and amazing cheesy scrambled eggs. I like to think I've improved my skills quite a bit  (my scrambled eggs are still amazing) but I have so much more I want to accomplish with cooking. This blog will document my cooking journey, provide you with some interesting ideas and recipes you'll try (hopefully), and bring me even closer to my amazing cousin Kathryn.

I'm looking forward to this!

Yours truly,
Stacey

Insert Standard Introductory Post Here

My name is Kathryn, and I am 26 years old.  I live in Virginia in the United States with my husband and two children.  My oldest is a very energetic, very inquisitive 4-year-old girl named Kandi.  My youngest is a very bold, very loving 2-year-old named Xander.  I also live with my 7 kitties and 1 bunny, who have teamed up with the children to take over the house.

When I was about 15 years old, I decided to start cutting meat out of my diet.  I just didn't care for it anymore and by the time I'd cut out everything I didn't like, I was only left with Chik-fil-A chicken nuggets and somehow it didn't seem worth it to continue eating those either.  I have been fully vegetarian for about 10 years now and have enjoyed the new culinary experiences I've had because of it.

When my husband and I moved into our first home, we decided that we wanted to try to make as many things from scratch as we could.  For the past 4 years we've slowly built up quite a collection of things that we no longer need to buy at the store.  This endeavor really fueled my desire to learn how to cook and do it well.  I am by no means an expert, but I can now stock up on just a few basic ingredients and cook just about anything I want.

I am so excited about starting this blog with my dear cousin and learning as we go, and I look forward to having all of you along for the ride :)