The great baby food making begins. I loaded up le bebe and le hubby in the family carrier ("Brownie" the Tahoe) and we were off to Babies R Us in search of what I would need to begin this great adventure. After much discussion...should I get the mini food processor-esque thingy? No - we have a mini food processor and a full size (which I haven't used once, but I digress). Do I get the magic bullet thigy? Nope - looks like a mini blender - pointless as I have a blender that is LA BAMBA! Should I get the steamer thingy? Nope - why get that when you can steam things on the stove and in the microwave? I do have to say that the glitz and glam of these items did their work in confusing me and I get all "may be I SHOULD buy that! You know.....just in case???" That's why I brought le hubby - he says things like "Just in case what? The stove AND microwave magically stop working?" or he says his favorite term that he got from Alton Brown "We don't need a 'unitasker', babe". After picking up all of the boxes and asking "do I need this?" "What's the diff between this and this??" (and for those of you interested, I DO use the word "diff"), I finally settled on this gem Let me just tell you that this is chock full of good EASY information. It's not all confusing and it doesn't make my eyes cross like when I google "baby food recipes" or "what to feed baby" I have yet to demo the dvd, but I read the first part of the book. It seemed to sum up my other research and didn't go rogue on me about the order of foods recommended by the pediatrics association. Plus it comes with a handy dandy laminated food "tip" card. I'll be referring to this kit plenty as I go forward.
So I started it. Thank goodness for mommies because I needed mine to walk me through making applesauce. She makes applesauce all of the time and has had her own snaffus so she could help me avoid them on my first attempt and thus avoid giving up after the first attempt of making baby food. According to the book you just steam, mush and voila! applesause! Not so, people! Not.so! I mean - I guess it's that easy, but...it required a little more finesse!
First there is the big debate on what kind of apple to use. Braeburn? Fugi? Red Delicious? Granny Smith? Granny Smith was immediately out. Too tart. I imagined sticking a lemon into his mouth would get the same reaction as a Granny Smith. I wanted to go with Braeburn, but my mommy was in town and bought us some Red Delicious. Good nuff for me.
Next debate. To peel or not to peel? According to the wise great grandmother, it all gets blended up so it doesn't matter, but according to grandma (my mom), the peel adds a lot of fiber which can be hard on a little tummy, right? According to Daddy, the peel is where the vitamins are! According to my thoughts.... I change lots of diapers each day. No peel it is this time.
I cored and peeled 2 Red Delicious. Sidenote....I used this exciting apple corer tool (a unitasker as mentioned above). It was a total crock. It doesn't really work unless you have a perfect apple with a perfect core. It basically left me with like 1/3 of what I would have been left with had I NOT used said utensil. In the trash it went leaving me with that much more space in an already jammed up utensil drawer (1 of 2 I might add)
After I cored and peeled the apples, I quartered them - note that you can dice them, quarter them, whatever you want. It makes really no difference but in my now extreme knowledge of applesauce, I think it would probably cook a little more quickly if they were cut into eighths. Next, I put the apples in my pot on the stove - I used a small pot. I also have to say that I used the stove instead of the microwave option because I've decided that I'm a total fah-reak (as sissy calls it) show and I don't want radiation waves going into my kid's food. Totally fine with them in mine though! The book also "suggests" picking the either the stove or microwave method and sticking to either or so that it becomes easier as a routine. Whatever to that - I think it's easy to switch back and forth if you want, but that's because I'm SuperMommy.
Here's where the applesauce making becomes more of a science. You add just a little water. I didn't bother measuring out because MY mommy said just to add enough to cover the bottom of the pan. She also suggested that since I'm being a fah-reak (and she said it just like that and rolled her eyes, but not in a mean way - in a funny way)about everything, I shouldn't use tap water haha. I should use my Brita water. Good call Granny JoAnn. Good.Call. So what I did was pour enough apples to come up about 1/4" onto the bottom of the apples. You can leave the lid on or off. Doesn't matter. I put the stove on medium low. If it were numbered 1-10 on my dial, I'd venture to guess I would have been about at 3. We stood around and yukked it up, she holding a wooden spoon, and me wondering if it was too early to pour a glass of wine. Then about 5 minutes in, we peered over the edge of the pot and poked the spoon at the apples. At this point, the apples still had plenty of water in the pot with them.
"You have to remember" she tells me "the apples have a lot of water in themselves already, so that's why you don't want to add too much to begin with"
A few minutes later, we pushed at the apples again. According to the book, once they're soft enough to pierce with a fork, they're done. They're soft enough to do that, but Granny JoAnn says to wait longer. She's the expert. We look in about 2 minutes later and see the water is almost completely gone! So I pour enough in to cover the bottom of the pot again - not to cover the apples. Just a little for the bottom of the pot. We start pushing at the apples again. Almost trying to mush them up in the pot. I had to add a little more water once again, but they were almost mushy enough to remove. This is far mushier than just piercing with a fork, in case you all were wondering. In the mean time I have prepared the mini food processor - it's something similar to this Black & Decker
Once the apples were mushy, we put them in the food processor and added water to try and make it a smooth texture - like applesauce. But it wasn't cutting the mustard, people. We had to break out my la bamba blender. We scooped out what was in the mini food processor and put it in the blender. Took the top off and started streaming a slow, thin stream of water (from the Brita, of course). It did NOT take much water. I put the setting on "liquefy" and HOLY APPLESAUCE BATMAN! I DID IT!! It looked like honest to goodness applesauce! We made it a thinner in consistency than what you'd get out of a Mott's jar, but not soup-esque. Follow me? Dang it people! I didn't have time to take pictures (or may be I forgot), but cut SuperMommy some slack, would-ya!?!? I'll take pictures next time!
Next, we filled up one of those cute little ice cube trays and put the lid on. The next morning I had a helluva time getting the cubes out and without SuperDaddy around with his super muscles, I probably would have had to put the bottom of the tray in warm water or something, but SuperDaddy got the cubes out for us. Supposedly, each cube is 2 servings. I put them in a baggy, wrote on it "APPLESAUCE 5/31/2010" and put it back in the freezer.
I have since tried it my own self and I must say it's delish - I would (and will) make applesauce again for the whole SuperFamily. Le bebe likes it mixed in with his disgusting rice cereal. Meal time is nice and messy, but it makes it more fun that way, right?!
Stay tuned....I think I might get crazy and try squash next!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Mother's Week
This week I decided is Mother's Day week which means I barely have to do anything. I don't think hubby knows about my evil plan, but so far he's falling right into my little trap MUAAAHAHAHAHA!!!
For my very first Mother's Day, I got French toast for breakfast and it was truly yum city. Hubby hasn't ever made it for me and he I think accidentally used my fancy little shaker filled with cinnamon sugar that I use for snickerdoodles and late night snacks of cinnamon sugar toast on English muffin bread (do yourself a favor and try it) instead of using plain ol cinnamon, but it was heaven on a plate anyway. Then I got an honest to goodness Mother's Day present.
Hubby and I had a few arguments regarding Mother's Day that began before I was ever pregnant. I tried to nicely inform him of the "rule" that he has to get me something on behalf of any bebes and he did NOT agree. The fights got violent. I mean - not VIOLENT, but there were some raised voices and may be a few hurt feelings, but the man of steel swore he'd never break down. Even when I kindly brought our disagreement up in front of others (rude, I know) to put him on the spot just so I could get more people to agree with me....he wouldn't break down. Damn him. So I thought I was in store for a giftless Mother's Day. I know, I'm sorry - I'm so greedy - but who doesn't love PRESENTS!?!?! So this year, he didn't disappoint (as usual) and le bebe and hubby got me a vase from Color Me Mine and the plan was for hubby and bebe to paint it together, but hubby wasn't aware of the time constraints, so we get to go do it all together. I'm for reallys THRILLED about this gift. We're going to put bebe's handprints on it and everything! It's way better than diamonds if you ask me (I don't want to say that part too loudly though!)
So in honor of my Mother's Day week, dinner's have been made easy on me.
Monday night is too far back y'all. Need I remind you I have mommy brain?? Let me digress for a moment to prove to you the power of mommy brain. My bff texted me last night to tell me she forgot 3 gallons of milk on the bottom part of the cart last night....at Target...in the parking lot. Knowing that, I will tssk tssk all of you who think I should remember what I had for dinner on Monday night!
Tuesday night we took a
omg - I have to interrupt to tell you. I just remembered that we had salmon and veggies on Monday night! I just sang the super hero DUNDUNDUNNNNN announcement in my head. The salmon was pre-marinaded from Trader Joe's (or as I like to call that place - Heaven). I am going to have to try Sara's fish recipe at a later date. Just toss the salmon in the (new) oven along with some quickly sliced and diced veggies tossed with EVOO and whatever seasonings you have on hand and voila - you pull dinner out 30 minutes later.
Tuesday night we took a walk to the market for chocolate chips so I could make cookies in my (new) oven. While I was preparing the cookies, I tossed fries in the (new) oven while hubby grilled up some burgers. He also grilled the buns, prepped the avocado, cleaned the lettuce, sliced the onions (that I didn't eat) and took out the rest of the fixins. I always forget what an easy yet DELICIOUS dinner burgers are!
Last night was easy dinner night #3! I put fish sticks and fries in the (new) oven. I bought these super de duper yummy breaded halibut sticks from heaven (Trader Joe's) and while I adore the taste of these, I've decided they aren't the most economical. You only get "6-8" sticks and last night there were 7, one of which was a teeny tiny itty bitty chunk of fish. The cod sticks from heaven are a better buy and just as yummy.
Tonight we will be having either chili cheese dogs (sans cheese for me since le bebe is still boycotting dairy) or orange chicken - either way it's another easy night for me!
Don't know if you noticed, but I have a NEW OVEN!!!!!!!!! *happy dance! happy dance!* The fries cooked in said oven have turned out amazingly crispy both nights. Therefore, hubby and I have decided the chicken nuggies need another chance to see if the crispy factor will change.
Sorry for the incredibly long post, but that's what happens when you cram 4 nights into one post :P
OH - P.S. I started watching Julie & Julia and I think it's a true story, right? I'm only a few minutes in, but I wonder if I should do something like that. But with baby food....the wheels are churning, people! The wheels are churning! It might be from the coffee hubby made this morning. He's the best like that.
For my very first Mother's Day, I got French toast for breakfast and it was truly yum city. Hubby hasn't ever made it for me and he I think accidentally used my fancy little shaker filled with cinnamon sugar that I use for snickerdoodles and late night snacks of cinnamon sugar toast on English muffin bread (do yourself a favor and try it) instead of using plain ol cinnamon, but it was heaven on a plate anyway. Then I got an honest to goodness Mother's Day present.
Hubby and I had a few arguments regarding Mother's Day that began before I was ever pregnant. I tried to nicely inform him of the "rule" that he has to get me something on behalf of any bebes and he did NOT agree. The fights got violent. I mean - not VIOLENT, but there were some raised voices and may be a few hurt feelings, but the man of steel swore he'd never break down. Even when I kindly brought our disagreement up in front of others (rude, I know) to put him on the spot just so I could get more people to agree with me....he wouldn't break down. Damn him. So I thought I was in store for a giftless Mother's Day. I know, I'm sorry - I'm so greedy - but who doesn't love PRESENTS!?!?! So this year, he didn't disappoint (as usual) and le bebe and hubby got me a vase from Color Me Mine and the plan was for hubby and bebe to paint it together, but hubby wasn't aware of the time constraints, so we get to go do it all together. I'm for reallys THRILLED about this gift. We're going to put bebe's handprints on it and everything! It's way better than diamonds if you ask me (I don't want to say that part too loudly though!)
So in honor of my Mother's Day week, dinner's have been made easy on me.
Monday night is too far back y'all. Need I remind you I have mommy brain?? Let me digress for a moment to prove to you the power of mommy brain. My bff texted me last night to tell me she forgot 3 gallons of milk on the bottom part of the cart last night....at Target...in the parking lot. Knowing that, I will tssk tssk all of you who think I should remember what I had for dinner on Monday night!
Tuesday night we took a
omg - I have to interrupt to tell you. I just remembered that we had salmon and veggies on Monday night! I just sang the super hero DUNDUNDUNNNNN announcement in my head. The salmon was pre-marinaded from Trader Joe's (or as I like to call that place - Heaven). I am going to have to try Sara's fish recipe at a later date. Just toss the salmon in the (new) oven along with some quickly sliced and diced veggies tossed with EVOO and whatever seasonings you have on hand and voila - you pull dinner out 30 minutes later.
Tuesday night we took a walk to the market for chocolate chips so I could make cookies in my (new) oven. While I was preparing the cookies, I tossed fries in the (new) oven while hubby grilled up some burgers. He also grilled the buns, prepped the avocado, cleaned the lettuce, sliced the onions (that I didn't eat) and took out the rest of the fixins. I always forget what an easy yet DELICIOUS dinner burgers are!
Last night was easy dinner night #3! I put fish sticks and fries in the (new) oven. I bought these super de duper yummy breaded halibut sticks from heaven (Trader Joe's) and while I adore the taste of these, I've decided they aren't the most economical. You only get "6-8" sticks and last night there were 7, one of which was a teeny tiny itty bitty chunk of fish. The cod sticks from heaven are a better buy and just as yummy.
Tonight we will be having either chili cheese dogs (sans cheese for me since le bebe is still boycotting dairy) or orange chicken - either way it's another easy night for me!
Don't know if you noticed, but I have a NEW OVEN!!!!!!!!! *happy dance! happy dance!* The fries cooked in said oven have turned out amazingly crispy both nights. Therefore, hubby and I have decided the chicken nuggies need another chance to see if the crispy factor will change.
Sorry for the incredibly long post, but that's what happens when you cram 4 nights into one post :P
OH - P.S. I started watching Julie & Julia and I think it's a true story, right? I'm only a few minutes in, but I wonder if I should do something like that. But with baby food....the wheels are churning, people! The wheels are churning! It might be from the coffee hubby made this morning. He's the best like that.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Chicken nuggies
I sometimes feel like hubby thinks I make the same ol, same ol food week in and week out, so this week I decided to try some new recipes. Recently I've been following http://blahtota-daa.blogspot.com/ They have some really great recipes and I would try all of them, but I have to be sort of choosey since hubby won't eat just anything, you know!? I mean...he will, but you should see the look on his face when "whole wheat" and "pasta" come out of my mouth in the same sentence. He lets me know that is SOOO not Italian! I'm dying to try that veggie pasta, but I have to wait until I can eat dairy again because I know I'm going to have to hide the veggies under a bunch of cheese in order to get a bite past hubby's lips!
Tuesday night I decided to try out a chicken nugget recipe found on From Blah to Ta-Daa. My plan was foiled right from the start. Somehow my mommy brain pulled through to block the fact that we have NO OVEN! Back up plan: I'd use the toaster oven. I would just have to either make a small batch of fries and nuggets followed by another small batch of both, or I could make the fries first, then the nuggets. Hubby decided I should go with the latter plan.
First, I pulled up the recipe
http://blahtota-daa.blogspot.com/2010/04/healthy-homemade-chicken-nuggets.html
Second, I started the toaster oven, sprinkled out some waffle fries, and gave them an extra kick by tossing some seasonings on them.
Next, I began to cut up the chicken which was really no big deal as everyone likes to tell me I dissect chicken breasts so much that all that is left are nuggets...Instead of using 6-8 breasts, I only used 4. I tossed some apple sauce in one bowl and did the seasonings with bread crumbs in another. Not sure if my bread crumbs were "dry" but aren't they all dry? I'm so naive. I changed up the breadcrumb to seasoning ratio also, using a little more on the seasoning side. Coating the nuggets with applesauce then the crumbs was pretty messy, but the pain didn't last long. Only 15-20 minutes (exactly how long the fries needed to cook thankyouverymuch!)
I proceeded to put the fries on a plate (pre warmed in the microwave) into the microwave to keep them warm. Then I started my first batch of nuggets. I suspect if I were using a regular baking sheet, I would have only had to do 1 round in the oven, but I was using the toaster oven and had to go with 3 different batches. S'ok...I think had I used any more breasts, I would have had to use 2 baking sheets for sure. The breading wasn't really crispy when they came out - it was still a little soggy, but I'll tell you what. We were starving. We had already walked the 2 dogs and the baby to the dry cleaners to pick up clothes, continued on to CVS for batteries, fed the baby...twice...gotten him back to sleep...twice...
We managed to gobble down the first batch in no time flat. Like I said, the outside wasn't crispy like I'd like and we even tried to hit it on broil for about 5 minutes but it didn't make any difference. Even with the sorta soggy exterior, hubby considered giving it 5 spoons (using Blah to Ta Daa's rating system) but gave it 4 instead. In the last batch, there was a small nugget that came out crispy.
The moral of the story is that we really liked the HEALTHY :) nuggets and will try them again - it may become a staple once le bebe can eat foods like this (may be when that happens, I'll have enough time to make homemade fries to make it even healthier). I feel this was a budget friendly meal as well. Chicken breasts are often on sale (so I hear - I've never noticed it though!), but I buy the mega pack for $10. The fries are often buy 2 for a bargain price, however it would be even less expensive-o to MAKE your fries, and I nixed any greens this time. Life got in the way of my salad endeavors. Next time I think we will make the nugget size smaller and may be using an oven instead of a toaster oven will make a difference. All in all, it was healthy and pretty delish. I used the leftovers on a big, fat, delicious salad for lunch yesterday to make up for my lack thereof Tuesday night.
One of these days, I'll post pictures of my steps like all of the other fancy people do, but for now just refer to the picture in the recipe link. Mine looked almost exactly like that! TA-DAA!!!
Tuesday night I decided to try out a chicken nugget recipe found on From Blah to Ta-Daa. My plan was foiled right from the start. Somehow my mommy brain pulled through to block the fact that we have NO OVEN! Back up plan: I'd use the toaster oven. I would just have to either make a small batch of fries and nuggets followed by another small batch of both, or I could make the fries first, then the nuggets. Hubby decided I should go with the latter plan.
First, I pulled up the recipe
http://blahtota-daa.blogspot.com/2010/04/healthy-homemade-chicken-nuggets.html
Second, I started the toaster oven, sprinkled out some waffle fries, and gave them an extra kick by tossing some seasonings on them.
Next, I began to cut up the chicken which was really no big deal as everyone likes to tell me I dissect chicken breasts so much that all that is left are nuggets...Instead of using 6-8 breasts, I only used 4. I tossed some apple sauce in one bowl and did the seasonings with bread crumbs in another. Not sure if my bread crumbs were "dry" but aren't they all dry? I'm so naive. I changed up the breadcrumb to seasoning ratio also, using a little more on the seasoning side. Coating the nuggets with applesauce then the crumbs was pretty messy, but the pain didn't last long. Only 15-20 minutes (exactly how long the fries needed to cook thankyouverymuch!)
I proceeded to put the fries on a plate (pre warmed in the microwave) into the microwave to keep them warm. Then I started my first batch of nuggets. I suspect if I were using a regular baking sheet, I would have only had to do 1 round in the oven, but I was using the toaster oven and had to go with 3 different batches. S'ok...I think had I used any more breasts, I would have had to use 2 baking sheets for sure. The breading wasn't really crispy when they came out - it was still a little soggy, but I'll tell you what. We were starving. We had already walked the 2 dogs and the baby to the dry cleaners to pick up clothes, continued on to CVS for batteries, fed the baby...twice...gotten him back to sleep...twice...
We managed to gobble down the first batch in no time flat. Like I said, the outside wasn't crispy like I'd like and we even tried to hit it on broil for about 5 minutes but it didn't make any difference. Even with the sorta soggy exterior, hubby considered giving it 5 spoons (using Blah to Ta Daa's rating system) but gave it 4 instead. In the last batch, there was a small nugget that came out crispy.
The moral of the story is that we really liked the HEALTHY :) nuggets and will try them again - it may become a staple once le bebe can eat foods like this (may be when that happens, I'll have enough time to make homemade fries to make it even healthier). I feel this was a budget friendly meal as well. Chicken breasts are often on sale (so I hear - I've never noticed it though!), but I buy the mega pack for $10. The fries are often buy 2 for a bargain price, however it would be even less expensive-o to MAKE your fries, and I nixed any greens this time. Life got in the way of my salad endeavors. Next time I think we will make the nugget size smaller and may be using an oven instead of a toaster oven will make a difference. All in all, it was healthy and pretty delish. I used the leftovers on a big, fat, delicious salad for lunch yesterday to make up for my lack thereof Tuesday night.
One of these days, I'll post pictures of my steps like all of the other fancy people do, but for now just refer to the picture in the recipe link. Mine looked almost exactly like that! TA-DAA!!!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Pulled Pork... not just a hobby
Yesterday we had company over and we haven't seen this couple for a while. I thought we were going to head out to the ol delish stand by of In N Out for lunch, but the pork roast I tossed in the crock pot was done just in time to satisfy our needs
I found a pork loin roast at the market for 50% off - my total cost was just about $3.75. I also had to send hubby to the store to get those fabulous deli rolls. $4 for a bag of 6. My recipe came out of the Betty Crocker cook book (the one with the pink cover that I was DYING to have and didn't tell anyone, but received it that very Christmas!) on page 392. I'd made this recipe before and left myself a few notes in the margin so that I could remember for the next time. Smarty pants, I know.
The recipe is as follows
1 3-pound boneless pork shoulder blade roast
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. ground coriander
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup beef broth
12 hamburger buns or kaiser rolls, split and toasted
Last time I made this I think I followed it pretty well to the T except, I had accidentally purchased a pork roast with a bone in (specifically because I ASKED for bone in, because I was trying to make a different kind of pork roast, but forgot that I had to ask for the LOIN, so then I had 2 bone in roasts - one loin and one 'roast') anyhooo....when looking back, that's all I could remember. My notes tell me it was a 3.5 pound roast and it made 11 large sandwiches
This time I had a 1.5 pounder and anticipated only feeding hubby and myself for dinner then lunch leftovers. Also this time? I had a baby....So, at the time I was trying to get this all together, I had JUST gotten le bebe to la la land, I wasn't dressed, I needed to pump, I had to swap laundry (which means folding whatever is in the dryer uuugh)and get a possible meal for 4 ready. It was 11:15 and the friends were scheduled to arrive at noon.
I put the roast in the crock pot, opened a bunch of garlic. No time to count. Tossed them in my handy dandy mini food processor and dumped the minced goodness onto the meat. I sprinkled on oregano (crushed?? ummm...looked crushed to me - going in as is!). It looked a little sparce, so I sprinkled more...I had cumin (turkish cumin..wtf is Turkish cumin and how is it different than regular cumin and WHY do I HAVE Turkish cumin??? I can only think I needed it for a recipe once upon a time and that was all I could find *sigh*) I did measure the cumin out. I also measured the onion powder. Both went right on top of the meat. I can't see much of the meat anymore, but that's alright. I found coriander. WHOLE coriander seeds - *SIGH*!! WHY do I have whole coriander seeds?? I have NEVER used these. I contemplated for a second trying to crush them and then thought NO. NO TIME! NO TIME!! Opened the fridge for the broth..Instantly I flash back to the previous day at the market and thinking to myself "self. don't forget some broth!" oy vey. I forgot the broth. I found chicken bouillon cubes in the cupboard. The recipe calls for 1 cup broth, but to use a cube, you have to use 2 cups boiling water. BAH. 1 1/2 cups should do....I mean, I'm already using chicken instead of beef for a pork roast for pete's sake. I also decided to toss on a little allspice I bought from my fave store ever. Trader Joe's.
Turn that puppy on high for 4 hours and voila! I had a perfectly succulent pork roast ready for my hubby to pull apart and dish up. I had to dig into our potato chips for a side, but I had bought those 2 for $3 the day before, so the moral of this story is: anything goes with the crock pot and you'll get a delicious meal -just use what you have. The roast produced 6 sandwiches. Total cost of the meal? $10.25 and my amazing math (calculator) skills tells me that is just over $2.50 a person. Not too shabby for a Sunday funday lunch!
Sidenote: I didn't even realize until I was typing this up that I had completely forgotten the black pepper and cayenne pepper. Didn't seem to make any difference - I got rave reviews and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Know what else made me feel warm and fuzzy? The fact that I pumped, picked up the living room, and swapped the laundry before our company arrived and before le bebe awoke.
Next time, if I'm really fancy, I'll take pictures. I had great intentions of doing so for this post, but the "NO TIME! NO TIME!!" kept running through my head - my camera was in the car and my phone was nowhere to be found. Therefore, no photos :P
I found a pork loin roast at the market for 50% off - my total cost was just about $3.75. I also had to send hubby to the store to get those fabulous deli rolls. $4 for a bag of 6. My recipe came out of the Betty Crocker cook book (the one with the pink cover that I was DYING to have and didn't tell anyone, but received it that very Christmas!) on page 392. I'd made this recipe before and left myself a few notes in the margin so that I could remember for the next time. Smarty pants, I know.
The recipe is as follows
1 3-pound boneless pork shoulder blade roast
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. ground coriander
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup beef broth
12 hamburger buns or kaiser rolls, split and toasted
Last time I made this I think I followed it pretty well to the T except, I had accidentally purchased a pork roast with a bone in (specifically because I ASKED for bone in, because I was trying to make a different kind of pork roast, but forgot that I had to ask for the LOIN, so then I had 2 bone in roasts - one loin and one 'roast') anyhooo....when looking back, that's all I could remember. My notes tell me it was a 3.5 pound roast and it made 11 large sandwiches
This time I had a 1.5 pounder and anticipated only feeding hubby and myself for dinner then lunch leftovers. Also this time? I had a baby....So, at the time I was trying to get this all together, I had JUST gotten le bebe to la la land, I wasn't dressed, I needed to pump, I had to swap laundry (which means folding whatever is in the dryer uuugh)and get a possible meal for 4 ready. It was 11:15 and the friends were scheduled to arrive at noon.
I put the roast in the crock pot, opened a bunch of garlic. No time to count. Tossed them in my handy dandy mini food processor and dumped the minced goodness onto the meat. I sprinkled on oregano (crushed?? ummm...looked crushed to me - going in as is!). It looked a little sparce, so I sprinkled more...I had cumin (turkish cumin..wtf is Turkish cumin and how is it different than regular cumin and WHY do I HAVE Turkish cumin??? I can only think I needed it for a recipe once upon a time and that was all I could find *sigh*) I did measure the cumin out. I also measured the onion powder. Both went right on top of the meat. I can't see much of the meat anymore, but that's alright. I found coriander. WHOLE coriander seeds - *SIGH*!! WHY do I have whole coriander seeds?? I have NEVER used these. I contemplated for a second trying to crush them and then thought NO. NO TIME! NO TIME!! Opened the fridge for the broth..Instantly I flash back to the previous day at the market and thinking to myself "self. don't forget some broth!" oy vey. I forgot the broth. I found chicken bouillon cubes in the cupboard. The recipe calls for 1 cup broth, but to use a cube, you have to use 2 cups boiling water. BAH. 1 1/2 cups should do....I mean, I'm already using chicken instead of beef for a pork roast for pete's sake. I also decided to toss on a little allspice I bought from my fave store ever. Trader Joe's.
Turn that puppy on high for 4 hours and voila! I had a perfectly succulent pork roast ready for my hubby to pull apart and dish up. I had to dig into our potato chips for a side, but I had bought those 2 for $3 the day before, so the moral of this story is: anything goes with the crock pot and you'll get a delicious meal -just use what you have. The roast produced 6 sandwiches. Total cost of the meal? $10.25 and my amazing math (calculator) skills tells me that is just over $2.50 a person. Not too shabby for a Sunday funday lunch!
Sidenote: I didn't even realize until I was typing this up that I had completely forgotten the black pepper and cayenne pepper. Didn't seem to make any difference - I got rave reviews and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Know what else made me feel warm and fuzzy? The fact that I pumped, picked up the living room, and swapped the laundry before our company arrived and before le bebe awoke.
Next time, if I'm really fancy, I'll take pictures. I had great intentions of doing so for this post, but the "NO TIME! NO TIME!!" kept running through my head - my camera was in the car and my phone was nowhere to be found. Therefore, no photos :P
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
oooh THIS is what they were talking about!
The hubby and I had one of our first baby insanity nights. It was an evening that ended with us talking about how grateful we are that our baby never had colic because if having colic was any indication of what last night was, but on a re-occurring basis, we have SERIOUS empathy for parents with babies with colic. Or single moms. I immediately thought of a girlfriend who has a husband who travels out of town for a week at a time and I felt badly for her. It was probably the first time that I really felt like I knew what people were talking about when they said "having a baby is hard work" because up until this moment, we'd of course had some stressful moments, but nothing that spanned an entire evening like last night.
Le bebe had a major meltdown last night. Scratch that. He had like 5 MAJOR meltdowns last night! I didn't think I'd be writing consistently about being a mommy or having a baby, but seeing as though that is practically the only thing my life involves these days (that and washing bottles and teeny tiny clothes) that is what you're gonna get. deal.
Being a first time parent brings all sorts of brand new territory. You fill your little head with ideas about how you will raise, discipline, teach, etc your new little person. Well....last night I told hubby during meltdown number 1 that "he can't be hungry! He just had 4 ounces not even an hour and a half ago!!" and hubby said he was going to warm some water on the stove "just in case". brilliant idea because we fed le bebe 1.5 ounces about 30 mins later (in reality, it was about 5 minutes, but felt like 30). Le bebe fell asleep and we said "phew!" to each other and I wisely said "I just know he's going to sleep until at LEAST 10 now! He's exhausted after that meltdown and eating that little bit extra"
Not so
Approximately an hour later, le bebe awoke from his slumber, and REFUSED to go to bed. Meltdown number 2 commenced. We tried teething tablets, changing his diaper, rocking, singing, pacing, ooh! the pacing is working! , NO! IT'S NOT!!!!!!!, bouncing, going outside...anything! Hubby asked - "should we feed him again??" and I, wise beyond my mothering years responded "I'm not going to let him force us to feed him when he JUST ate! He's just tired - I know it" I had just pumped liquid gold while he was snoozing, so we gave him another ounce and a half promptly 5 minutes after I had just declared my previous stance. and zzzzzzzzzzz away le bebe went to la la land. I immediately said "may be he's going through a growth spurt. D said Shea went through a MAJOR one at 4 months". We agreed. It's a major growth spurt. Even though that's our excuse for his excessive eating every other week. But he's a boy - and he's constantly growing, so may be he IS going through a growth spurt..a constant spurt..yaaaa that's it....
I sat there with the most precious angel in my arms and just stared at him. How could something so precious get SO MAD? I suppose it's because he can't talk yet to tell mommy just what he needs and he hasn't quite picked up the sign language that we've been working on either, but hey - it's only been a few months! haha! High expectations much?!?!
Anyway - I guess it wasn't FIVE meltdowns, but it sure felt like it. When I woke le bebe for his last feeding of the night, I said to the hubby - I think that exhausted me just as much as it did him! He concurred. The same was true for all of us. We all slept like babies until 5am.
Let's hope the same routine doesn't happen today.
Le bebe had a major meltdown last night. Scratch that. He had like 5 MAJOR meltdowns last night! I didn't think I'd be writing consistently about being a mommy or having a baby, but seeing as though that is practically the only thing my life involves these days (that and washing bottles and teeny tiny clothes) that is what you're gonna get. deal.
Being a first time parent brings all sorts of brand new territory. You fill your little head with ideas about how you will raise, discipline, teach, etc your new little person. Well....last night I told hubby during meltdown number 1 that "he can't be hungry! He just had 4 ounces not even an hour and a half ago!!" and hubby said he was going to warm some water on the stove "just in case". brilliant idea because we fed le bebe 1.5 ounces about 30 mins later (in reality, it was about 5 minutes, but felt like 30). Le bebe fell asleep and we said "phew!" to each other and I wisely said "I just know he's going to sleep until at LEAST 10 now! He's exhausted after that meltdown and eating that little bit extra"
Not so
Approximately an hour later, le bebe awoke from his slumber, and REFUSED to go to bed. Meltdown number 2 commenced. We tried teething tablets, changing his diaper, rocking, singing, pacing, ooh! the pacing is working! , NO! IT'S NOT!!!!!!!, bouncing, going outside...anything! Hubby asked - "should we feed him again??" and I, wise beyond my mothering years responded "I'm not going to let him force us to feed him when he JUST ate! He's just tired - I know it" I had just pumped liquid gold while he was snoozing, so we gave him another ounce and a half promptly 5 minutes after I had just declared my previous stance. and zzzzzzzzzzz away le bebe went to la la land. I immediately said "may be he's going through a growth spurt. D said Shea went through a MAJOR one at 4 months". We agreed. It's a major growth spurt. Even though that's our excuse for his excessive eating every other week. But he's a boy - and he's constantly growing, so may be he IS going through a growth spurt..a constant spurt..yaaaa that's it....
I sat there with the most precious angel in my arms and just stared at him. How could something so precious get SO MAD? I suppose it's because he can't talk yet to tell mommy just what he needs and he hasn't quite picked up the sign language that we've been working on either, but hey - it's only been a few months! haha! High expectations much?!?!
Anyway - I guess it wasn't FIVE meltdowns, but it sure felt like it. When I woke le bebe for his last feeding of the night, I said to the hubby - I think that exhausted me just as much as it did him! He concurred. The same was true for all of us. We all slept like babies until 5am.
Let's hope the same routine doesn't happen today.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
*sigh*
So I texted sister the other day (yesterday I think...my days sort of blur together!) to let her know that in case she ever finds herself leaving the house late on a consistent basis like I do, she should wake up 45-60 minutes early and this will allow her to leave 20 minutes earlier than usual (aka..on time)
I woke up yesterday and fed le bebe about 5:15 and he went back to sweet, sweet sleep about 5:25. I got out of bed because I decided it was definitely a day to shower. So hubby patiently informed me while I was standing neked in the bathroom with the shower running that "babe. It's only 5:30. You know that right?" and I say "yes, babe. I do know that." (meanwhile thinking to myself - "actually, dear - it's the ungodly hour of 5:25" not like it makes any difference, but...you know...) and he goes onto say "well..baby? Why are you up??" and I lost my cool just a teeeny bit and said "Because BABE! I've been running so late the past few days that I need to have some extra time!!" and he just said "ok! ok!" and sent me his love as he left for work. I remembered AFTER he left (which happens a lot these days) that the MAIN reason I got up so early is because I needed to bathe. Desperately. I'm embarrassed to say it had been 2 full days since I had done so. Usually I get in at least a little bird bath, but no. Not these 2 days.
Lately, I've been forced to make split second decisions in the morning when my hubby's alarm goes off. Do I just get up at 4:45 like he does and try to be megamom getting things done in the house before work: packing lunches, diaper bags, cleaning dishes, doing laundry, etc? or do I let him change the alarm for me to go off at 6:30 which is too late to get in a shower. I always choose the 6:30.
Anyhoo - while I was getting invigorated in the shower - I used an invigorating shampoo that momma bought me then I used an invigorating scrub on my face. Then I pondered why all of my stuff says it's invigorating and it's not really...I enjoyed a lengthy, quiet shower. It was really nice and it started my day off on the right foot.
Then while I was packing everything up explaining to le bebe what I was doing (which btw I feel like such a fool doing, but the books say it's a good idea to do)I discovered that my loverly hubby made coffee. For the first time in weeeeks. It was like heaven aaaaaaaaaaahhhh (said like angels singing)
When I got to work, Pops told me that he had woken up at 1:30 and thought it was 5:30 and almost took a shower. Then he woke up at 2:30 thinking it was 5:30 again, but this time he didn't realize it WASN'T 5:30 so he DID take a shower! HAHAHA!!! So my early morning wasn't that early after all.
It was a tough go the rest of the day because I suspect le bebe might be starting the teething process??? already??? is that even possible??
I woke up yesterday and fed le bebe about 5:15 and he went back to sweet, sweet sleep about 5:25. I got out of bed because I decided it was definitely a day to shower. So hubby patiently informed me while I was standing neked in the bathroom with the shower running that "babe. It's only 5:30. You know that right?" and I say "yes, babe. I do know that." (meanwhile thinking to myself - "actually, dear - it's the ungodly hour of 5:25" not like it makes any difference, but...you know...) and he goes onto say "well..baby? Why are you up??" and I lost my cool just a teeeny bit and said "Because BABE! I've been running so late the past few days that I need to have some extra time!!" and he just said "ok! ok!" and sent me his love as he left for work. I remembered AFTER he left (which happens a lot these days) that the MAIN reason I got up so early is because I needed to bathe. Desperately. I'm embarrassed to say it had been 2 full days since I had done so. Usually I get in at least a little bird bath, but no. Not these 2 days.
Lately, I've been forced to make split second decisions in the morning when my hubby's alarm goes off. Do I just get up at 4:45 like he does and try to be megamom getting things done in the house before work: packing lunches, diaper bags, cleaning dishes, doing laundry, etc? or do I let him change the alarm for me to go off at 6:30 which is too late to get in a shower. I always choose the 6:30.
Anyhoo - while I was getting invigorated in the shower - I used an invigorating shampoo that momma bought me then I used an invigorating scrub on my face. Then I pondered why all of my stuff says it's invigorating and it's not really...I enjoyed a lengthy, quiet shower. It was really nice and it started my day off on the right foot.
Then while I was packing everything up explaining to le bebe what I was doing (which btw I feel like such a fool doing, but the books say it's a good idea to do)I discovered that my loverly hubby made coffee. For the first time in weeeeks. It was like heaven aaaaaaaaaaahhhh (said like angels singing)
When I got to work, Pops told me that he had woken up at 1:30 and thought it was 5:30 and almost took a shower. Then he woke up at 2:30 thinking it was 5:30 again, but this time he didn't realize it WASN'T 5:30 so he DID take a shower! HAHAHA!!! So my early morning wasn't that early after all.
It was a tough go the rest of the day because I suspect le bebe might be starting the teething process??? already??? is that even possible??
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
hrrrmm
Since I've had le bebe, it's been a little hectic (shocking, I know)..Actually I digress - I LITERALLY thought that after the baby was born while I was home on maternity leave, I'd be able to do things. Things like clean out the garage, bake cookies, go on lunches with my other friends with babies, go on walks at the beach, etc etc. I barely made it to the shower every OTHER day. I didn't know how much of a blessing it would be to have my mom come stay with me for a few days. Even when you don't always get along with your mom like the other siblings do, no one does it like your own mom. She waited on me hand and foot. Did my laundry. Made me breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. She practically had an iv of water going in my arm. She went grocery shopping for me, bought me diapers, made a Target run.. Geez... it was the good life!
Anyhoooooooo.... mom and sister and the tanker (stepdad) were back out for a few days and I was ready to get my bake on. I was going to try my hand (for a 2nd time) at cupcake pops, but the oven suddenly went on the fritz. It turned off and started flashing an F3 error. The oven is I'm sure circa 1972 but if you ask mom and tanker it's practically brand new. First words out of sister's mouth? "How OLD is that thing???" Well, the magic fingers of Tank made the oven turn back on and supposedly heat up to the proper temp. The cake looked ummmmmmmm......less than normal. We kept wondering if that thing was done (which I've never had to 'wonder' about before)so eventually we just took it out. It was really crispy on the edges. Not as a cake should be. But I forged ahead and completed the steps I followed on Bakerella http://www.bakerella.com/make-your-cupcakes-pop/ but I made a few adjustments to the baking instructions thanks to Sara over at Sweet Somethings http://skeddy.blogspot.com/
My cupcake pops did not turn out like they did on Bakerella. Here is a picture of sister and me and our disappointment.
I went on to try and make chocolate chip cookies for the hubby since it was his birthday. Tanker thought the CAKE was for the hubby's birthday, but noooooooo why would I make a CAKE for him? doy - my brain is seriously failing these days post bebe. The cookies turned out fine. They weren't delicious like the last time I made them and ate the whole batch though. Hopefully I can get the magical Sears man out to fix the oven so I can get back to being a baking fool.
Anyhoooooooo.... mom and sister and the tanker (stepdad) were back out for a few days and I was ready to get my bake on. I was going to try my hand (for a 2nd time) at cupcake pops, but the oven suddenly went on the fritz. It turned off and started flashing an F3 error. The oven is I'm sure circa 1972 but if you ask mom and tanker it's practically brand new. First words out of sister's mouth? "How OLD is that thing???" Well, the magic fingers of Tank made the oven turn back on and supposedly heat up to the proper temp. The cake looked ummmmmmmm......less than normal. We kept wondering if that thing was done (which I've never had to 'wonder' about before)so eventually we just took it out. It was really crispy on the edges. Not as a cake should be. But I forged ahead and completed the steps I followed on Bakerella http://www.bakerella.com/make-your-cupcakes-pop/ but I made a few adjustments to the baking instructions thanks to Sara over at Sweet Somethings http://skeddy.blogspot.com/
My cupcake pops did not turn out like they did on Bakerella. Here is a picture of sister and me and our disappointment.
I went on to try and make chocolate chip cookies for the hubby since it was his birthday. Tanker thought the CAKE was for the hubby's birthday, but noooooooo why would I make a CAKE for him? doy - my brain is seriously failing these days post bebe. The cookies turned out fine. They weren't delicious like the last time I made them and ate the whole batch though. Hopefully I can get the magical Sears man out to fix the oven so I can get back to being a baking fool.
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