mmmm Cake!
Lil Angels Fan
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
I"m cranky
No particular reason. Just thought I'd share. Things are bugging me. I am looking into things - people on facebook are bugging me - not even with things they are saying to ME! Just their comments. I can hear their tone. Their fakeness (I know that's not a real word) Their...agendas
The only thing I want to go is go home and snuggle up with my hubby and baby. I don't want to hang out with anyone else.
Thank you and good night
oh and P.S. hubby asked me earlier if I was in a bad mood and I lied. I'm going to call him back now to inform him people on facebook have driven me to crankville. He'll understand.
The only thing I want to go is go home and snuggle up with my hubby and baby. I don't want to hang out with anyone else.
Thank you and good night
oh and P.S. hubby asked me earlier if I was in a bad mood and I lied. I'm going to call him back now to inform him people on facebook have driven me to crankville. He'll understand.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Weaning from the bottle
So I know it's been a long time since I last posted. I don't understand how these mommy bloggers can do it! Work full time, take care of the family AND blog! They're super mommies.
So after having gone through about a month of le bebe being sick constantly and one week with 4 doctor visits - the last one resulting in a double ear infection diagnosis - I have been informed by the doctor covering for our regular pediatrician that we are to lose the paci and lose the bottle. I can understand....however, this momma decided she's smarter than the average doctah and has decided to do things our own way. We'll lose the paci. When we're ready. Not when we're told. Sorry substitute female doctor with a mustache that made me cry when le bebe was just a weeks old....I digress....... So this week I decided to try and lose the bottle - at least for the most part. He still gets it during naps (or all day at grandma's house even though I tell her explicitly NOT to give it to him except for at nap time- which is another story we'll dive into another time) and as of last night......that's it.....no mas.... It's hard on mommy and daddy to do this. Daddy suggested we may be wait until this weekend to try taking the bottle away, but then quickly followed up with telling me he's all for it if I decide now is as good of a time as any. This comment was made about 5 minutes into the screaming from le bebe.
We took turns going upstairs to make sure he had his paci and to lay him down to tell him "It's bedtime, love. I love you, night night". That did NOT go over well. We were quickly reminded of the days when we decided we couldn't rock him to sleep every single night before carefully placing him in his crib so we put him down awake. At that time, daddy was the strong one. He told me I could leave the house so that I didn't have to hear my angel cry. I didn't, though. I stayed in the kitchen with daddy and he just hugged me until the most wretched seven minutes of my post baby life had ended. Seven minutes the first night, six minutes the second night, eleven the third, four minutes for the fourth night and voila. The crying stopped.
Now, however, the baby is almost a year and a half. He can stand. He can tell us he's mad. He has more stamina. He is more stubborn. Tuesday night, he and daddy were out to dinner with Great Granny and didn't make it home before falling asleep so the bottle was a non-issue. Monday night, I gave him the bottle while reading before bed and while Daddy was out at the store, I decided to start the no bottle in bed routine. He cried for about 10 minutes on and off, but just decided to hit the hay. Last night was a completely different story. I offered him milk while we were reading books from a sippy cup. NOTHANKYOUVERYMUCH. He didn't want really anything to do with it! So I tried to make him drink a little, but he didn't want to. I put him to bed after 5 books. His highness was not impressed with the new routine. It took 35 minutes of intermittent sobbing, yelling, throwing the paci, coughing, and one giant glass of vino for mommy before I won the battle. It was hard. I didn't like it. It made my heart hurt. I didn't like going in there and laying him down and having him reach for me ("MOMMY! PLEASE PICK ME UP" is what I imagine him saying) I wanted to pick him up and take him right to my bed and lay down with him in my arms until he drifted off to la la land. For me, I know this was the right way to do it. Some people will poo-poo that and say we shouldn't have gone in at all or some would say the cry it out method is vicious (and it sort of is for both baby and parent) but it was the best way for our family to make this change. I can only hope tonight is an easier night and that Daddy follows the rules while I'm off at my new workout class. I'm sure he will. He's the best Daddy around.
So after having gone through about a month of le bebe being sick constantly and one week with 4 doctor visits - the last one resulting in a double ear infection diagnosis - I have been informed by the doctor covering for our regular pediatrician that we are to lose the paci and lose the bottle. I can understand....however, this momma decided she's smarter than the average doctah and has decided to do things our own way. We'll lose the paci. When we're ready. Not when we're told. Sorry substitute female doctor with a mustache that made me cry when le bebe was just a weeks old....I digress....... So this week I decided to try and lose the bottle - at least for the most part. He still gets it during naps (or all day at grandma's house even though I tell her explicitly NOT to give it to him except for at nap time- which is another story we'll dive into another time) and as of last night......that's it.....no mas.... It's hard on mommy and daddy to do this. Daddy suggested we may be wait until this weekend to try taking the bottle away, but then quickly followed up with telling me he's all for it if I decide now is as good of a time as any. This comment was made about 5 minutes into the screaming from le bebe.
We took turns going upstairs to make sure he had his paci and to lay him down to tell him "It's bedtime, love. I love you, night night". That did NOT go over well. We were quickly reminded of the days when we decided we couldn't rock him to sleep every single night before carefully placing him in his crib so we put him down awake. At that time, daddy was the strong one. He told me I could leave the house so that I didn't have to hear my angel cry. I didn't, though. I stayed in the kitchen with daddy and he just hugged me until the most wretched seven minutes of my post baby life had ended. Seven minutes the first night, six minutes the second night, eleven the third, four minutes for the fourth night and voila. The crying stopped.
Now, however, the baby is almost a year and a half. He can stand. He can tell us he's mad. He has more stamina. He is more stubborn. Tuesday night, he and daddy were out to dinner with Great Granny and didn't make it home before falling asleep so the bottle was a non-issue. Monday night, I gave him the bottle while reading before bed and while Daddy was out at the store, I decided to start the no bottle in bed routine. He cried for about 10 minutes on and off, but just decided to hit the hay. Last night was a completely different story. I offered him milk while we were reading books from a sippy cup. NOTHANKYOUVERYMUCH. He didn't want really anything to do with it! So I tried to make him drink a little, but he didn't want to. I put him to bed after 5 books. His highness was not impressed with the new routine. It took 35 minutes of intermittent sobbing, yelling, throwing the paci, coughing, and one giant glass of vino for mommy before I won the battle. It was hard. I didn't like it. It made my heart hurt. I didn't like going in there and laying him down and having him reach for me ("MOMMY! PLEASE PICK ME UP" is what I imagine him saying) I wanted to pick him up and take him right to my bed and lay down with him in my arms until he drifted off to la la land. For me, I know this was the right way to do it. Some people will poo-poo that and say we shouldn't have gone in at all or some would say the cry it out method is vicious (and it sort of is for both baby and parent) but it was the best way for our family to make this change. I can only hope tonight is an easier night and that Daddy follows the rules while I'm off at my new workout class. I'm sure he will. He's the best Daddy around.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Holy applesauce, Batman!
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!
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, 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!!!
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