I've been a busy bee in the kitchen this week. With Thanksgiving around the corner, I'm sure the trend will continue. After weeks of having take out and processed crap creep into our house and into our mouths, I'm finally getting my groove back in the kitchen. This whole mother thing is no joke. They'll be a separate blog post on that one. I'll do us all a favor and save the whining for now.
Not only have I made some delicious meals this week for myself and Mr. O, but our fridge is stocked full of yummy fresh ingredients, some of which will be used on Thanksgiving, and I've also made our little Nola girl some baby food! Yes, I'm high-fiving myself right now because I am that cool.
On the dinner front, I've made a pumpkin, barley and sausage soup, a classic pot roast cooked with potatoes, carrots, and celery with sautéed brussel sprouts on the side, eggplant ratatouille served with a fried egg on top and whole wheat French bread for dipping and spaghetti with the sauce I have spent years perfecting. Sometime in the midst of all the Thanksgiving feasting, I'll be making chicken breasts wrapped in prosciutto and sage with maple carrots and a salad on the side, a tamale pie, and whatever my hot husband wants for his birthday meal.
For Thanksgiving on the O side of the celebration, I'll be making roasted brussel sprouts with apples and bacon, cranberry salsa, and pumpkin bread with pecan filling. On my family's side, I'll be making the cranberry salsa, the same pumpkin bread and carrot souffle. Have I mentioned how much I love this holiday? I'll be working on the actual day of Thanksgiving, so think of me while your stuffing your faces and also keep these things in mind, if you are frying a turkey be very careful, watch your fingers while chopping any vegetables, be very careful and enlist help with lifting your turkey out of the oven with all of it's hot juices, and if you are outside playing with your family watch out for holes, hills, and other people because you do not want to be visiting me at work or any other ER employee on the day of feasting!
Finally, for my little love bug, I made three foods, sweet potatoes with a dash of cinnamon, sautéed zucchini with Yukon gold potatoes with a little cilantro mixed in (this one is a little slimy in consistency, so I'm not sure how it will go over. Better luck next time, $7.00 organic zucchinis) and puréed apples that I baked stuffed with prunes and sprinkled with cinnamon. I'm kind of hoping she won't like the apple one because that sh*t is delicious! Just upping my street cred by dropping words that need to be bleeped in a paragraph about baby food making. :)
Obviously, I'm tired. I should be sleeping with my snoring husband. Leave a comment if you want any of the recipes, I'd be happy to share. Ooh, and tell me about any fabulous things you are making for the holidays. My vault of recipes could always use more.
I know, I missed them too! That would be good, if we can go again before it gets too cold. There is a chance of snow next week though. Boo. Happy Thanksgiving to you too!
ReplyDeleteNee, you know I am ALL ABOUT making homemade baby food! Bananas and avocadoes (not together) are the easiest, even though they brown if you freeze them (it doesn't change it's nutritional integrity though, nor it's texture). Pears and peaches are also super easy, and I've done brown rice/broccoli together too. Oh and butternut and acorn squash turn out WAAAYYYY better than zuccini. During winter time, when produce is in it's off season, I'd by the organic frozen Cascade Farm fruits/veggies to use. Happy cooking!
ReplyDeleteI know you're all about it! I was going to ask you about avocados, so thanks for telling me. Did you puree them with anything else or just by themselves? I made broccoli with a little lemon zest and veg broth. It tastes very good, but I made it a little thin. I figured, I'd fix it with a batch that is thicker or just mix it with cereal. I'm picking up Cascadian Farm veggies and fruit this week. I'm already on top of it. I need to make peas. I did buy an acorn squash, but I let it go bad. Woops! I'm starting carrots with ginger today. We'll see how that goes. I may be asking for more tips from you. :)
ReplyDeleteI did avocado alone, but only because I didn't know what to pair it with. You should totally add cilantro, lime, and onion - half Mexican babies need guac! Haha! The broccoli needs something starchy (rice or cereal) to mix with it, otherwise it won't turn out right. Same goes with green beans, but not as much. I mixed all kinds of fruit together just because it was easy and because odds were that just about anything fruity would mix well together. If I was cooking a veggie for dinner, I'd either take some out before I seasoned them/used them in the recipe and just throw it in the food processor. Not that my babies were dogs or anything, but they really got all of the scraps! Oh and sweet potatoes are always easy! I never did meat, just bought the organic meat baby foods...wasn't sure about the texture. I swear to you, feeding your baby an assortment of foods helps them develop a better palette. My kids will eat just about anything, and Elijah has ALWAYS eaten spicy foods.
ReplyDelete