Spaghetti and Meatballs

To the mother of a toddler spaghetti and meatballs sounds like an absolute mess!  I managed to come up with a No Daddy Dinner that takes out the work and the mess and adds tons of fun!

Again I failed in the measurement and picture taking department but just shoot me a question if you need help! 

Meatballs

- ground beef

- 1c panko bread cumbs

- 1/2c parmesan cheese

- egg

- fresh parsley (I just happened to have this but it made them nice and fresh)

Mix everything together and then form your meatballs.  Cover the bottom of your skillet with a thin layer of olive oil and heat on med-high. Brown meatballs on all sides and then set aside.  Remember they aren't completely cooked yet!  We will cook them the rest of the way in the sauce.

Sauce - use your own or store bought recipe if you like

- 1 onion chopped

- 2 cloves chopped garlic

- 2 big cans of tomato sauce

- 2 cans diced tomatoes (14.5oz I think)

- bay leaf

- red wine

I sauté the onion in a little olive oil until soft.  Then add the garlic and sauté a minute more. Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and heat through.  Add a splash of red wine and the bay leaf.  My grandmother's motto is, "When in doubt, add a bay leaf."  Then add the meatballs and let simmer for 20 min until the flavors meld and the meatballs are cooked all the way through.

Now here is the SUPER fun part! Ask your neighbors to join and eat outside!  One neighbor made the pasta, another did broccoli, and one brought cake with PINK icing! It all made a huge mess but it was no big deal because after dinner we just hosed everything down.. KIDS INCLUDED!

The kids had a blast and so did we!  I see a lot more outdoor dinners for our street!

Here's to great friends and No Daddy Dinners!

Burgers

So most kids will eat a regular burger. Every now and then I even crave a big burger but I wanted to work on a burger that would be a little lighter.  Salmon burgers.  No need to tell your kids there is anything different.  Just tell them it's a burger and see what happens!

Here are the ingredients I used. As some of you know I am terrible about measuring and doing things by the book.  I make it up as I go along so if you have any questions just let me know!  Ingredients...

I took the salmon and chopped is as finely as my patience would allow.  Then I added about a cup of panko bread crumbs, a 1/2 cup of feta, a couple mini red and yellow peppers chopped finely and an egg (not pictured). You want the consistency of regular burgers. Spray your nonstick skillet and turn your temp to med-high.  Sear your burgers in the pan for about 4min per side or until cooked through.  They will feel firm in the center.

While my burgers were cooking I made a yummy sauce for them.  I combined shredded cucumber, greek yogurt, a dash of lemon juice, garlic & pepper in a bowl.  Done!

Once your burgers are done you are free to make them how you like!  I made mine with tomato, avocado, and my sauce on sandwich thins. Oh yeah, I found some spinach in my fridge I threw on mine too!  My kiddo got half a burger, cherry tomatoes and sliced avocado.  Be free with your burger building and enjoy!

Here's to No Daddy Dinners!

Yum Yum Bowl!

So before you look at what I made for dinner and say, "There's no WAY my kid will eat that!" I just wanted to put out a disclaimer that I have an ulterior motive so stick with me.

So I started by telling Mary Ann that we were having Yum Yum bowls for dinner.  Just the name had her ready to go!  Now here is how I built my bowls!

I cook a few separate things. None of them take very long, or a lot of attention.  Very set it and forget it. :) So during naptime I stuck a sweet potato in the oven.  Cook at 350degrees until you can easily pierce it with a fork.  Time varies depending on your potato. If you are a newbie to cooking sweet potatoes make sure you put it on foil.  The leak sticky yummy stuff as they bake, but it makes a huge mess!

Cook some quinoa according to box directions.  Typically it is put water and quinoa in the pot, bring to a boil and simmer on low for 20-30min.  Very similar to cooking rice.

I made roasted chick peas.  Now you can use them uncooked, roasted or not at all.  If you want to roast them preheat your oven to 425. Drain and rinse the chick peas and pat dry. Add them to a little bowl with olive oil (1-2tbsp) and your favorite seasoning (Old Bay, garlic powder, parmesan, etc). Roast in the oven for about 20-30 min.  Keep a close eye in the last 10 because the burn quickly.

You can see I also have pita, avocado, shredded carrots and hummus.

So here it is!  My kiddo's Yum Yum bowl!  I put chick peas, sweet potato, avocado, carrots and pita in a bowl. Done!  She loved it AND ate it for lunch again the next day.

Now, for those of you who hate me since my kid will eat just about anything here is my take away for you!  When I saw this I thought that it wouldn't be right for the blog for picky eaters.  But then I thought about the concept.  Many things in a bowl!  It just fun!  Kids aren't as bound by conventional meal eating laws as adults so why don't we just throw their favorites in a bowl and let them have at it!  Maybe a Yum Yum bowl is cut up turkey, cheese, goldfish, apples and corn!  Hit the major food groups, throw it in a bowl and call it Yum Yum!

Now my bowl I took a little further.  I added a bed of spinach to start mine out. 

Here is my complete product with the quinoa and hummus that I didn't get in Mary Ann's (more for fear of mess than anything)! I made myself some pita too thinking there was no way this bowl of veggies and quinoa would fill me up. I was shocked!  Not only did it fill be up but everything in the bowl tasted better than the pita!  That is saying something coming from the queen of carbs!  I think next time I may add a little feta to the quinoa! 

Here's to No Daddy Dinners!

Adapted from: http://ohsheglows.com/2014/01/06/the-big-vegan-bowl/

Dinner by Color

So it doesn't happen often, but every now and then I have to be away while my hubby is out of town.  Luckily I live on the best street with the best neighbors who watch my girl for me!  Since we haven't had a No Daddy Dinner (NDD) in a while I wanted to make sure to get one on here even though I'm not eating at home. So I present, Dinner by Color!

I started with a paper plate and markers! I took stock of what was in my fridge (and what I wanted Mary Ann to eat) and came up with the following plate!

Then, with a little guidance I let her loose in the fridge!

Her goal was to choose a food that matched each color on the plate.  Her first color was green.  Now, as a disclaimer, my kiddo loves peas! I had them already cooked and knew she would choose them.  Other options for green could be cucumber, broccoli, kiwi, grapes, green apple, green pepper etc. If you're kiddo isn't feelin' the fruit and veggie route you could use key lime yogurt or grab some green food coloring and go for pancakes, green eggs or something like that!

Next up is orange.  My kiddo picked carrots.  I was ready to let her have carrots, a clementine, mango or canned peaches. 

Strawberries were the winner for red! I had strawberries, apples, grapes, and cherry tomatoes on hand. Watermelon would have been great!

For brown the winner was turkey!  I stuck two slices in a whole wheat pita. As you can see by my picture she didn't want to wait to eat it and threw down a half eaten carrot to get at it! Brown is where the sky is the limit.  For traditional kiddo food you can use chicken nuggets, hotdogs, fish sticks etc.  I wanted to stick with something a little healthier.  You could probably qualify any sandwich as brown!

Finally we get to blue!  I know there are not a lot of blue foods out there.  You could use this for dessert (popsicle, lollipop, candy etc).  Our choice was blueberry yogurt!

Ta-Da!

Other colors might be:

yellow - banana, squash, corn, peppers, pineapple

purple - potatoes, eggplant, blackberries, grapes

So even when Dad's away and Mom is out for the night a fun easy dinner is at your fingertips!

Here's to No Daddy Dinners!

Chicken Jenna

When I was a little girl I don't remember my dad cooking often. I do remember cooking with him occasionally and when we did we always cooked 'Chicken Jenna'.  It was nothing fancy but delish and easy!  I am delighted to share this tradition with my daughter.

So here is how we get started.  Collect your ingredients; chicken, butter, parmesan, mustard along with noodles and bread crumbs which I forgot to photograph. Forgive me but I didn't photograph a lot of these steps!  Clearly I was cooking like a mom... two year old attached at the leg!

Melt your butter and start cooking your noodles.  When your butter has melted add a little dijon mustard (or whatever mustard you have - a tsp is about right and just adds a little flavor).  Add the chicken and cook until golden brown and cooked all the way through.  Then add bread crumbs and parmesan so they create a crust on your chicken.  If it is too think add a little more butter or lemon juice!

See... YUMMY! Serve over noodles!

Mommy's plate!

Toddler plate!

Here's to No Daddy Dinners!

...it's been a while!

It's been a while since I posted but never fear I'm back in action!  More yummy recipes coming soon!