Recipes for New and Expecting Moms: Breakfast

Freezer Breakfasts:

There are lots of things you are already making that can be frozen and microwaved on the go. One of my favorites is the breakfast sandwich. These little guys are easy, yummy and filling but they get expensive to buy every morning and who really has that kind of time to make one every day. Not me!
So the next Sunday that you are hanging out having a chill day and you have to make breakfast anyway why not make a big batch.

Grab some english muffins, cheddar cheese, bacon and eggs (and any other toppings you may be fond of just make sure they freeze and reheat well.) First cook the bacon and toast the english muffins. I scramble my eggs with a little water and pepper, not sure how milk will do in the freezer, and cook it in a skillet just like an omelet. Once the sides are set flip it and turn off the heat. I use a cookie cutter to create the perfect size egg serving for the sandwich. Assemble your sandwiches in parchment paper then in foil.

When you are ready to eat you can remove the foil, pop the paper wrapped sandwich in the microwave and in about 2 minutes or so you are ready to walk out the door. Or plop back on the couch.

This same method can be done with breakfast bowls, these are yummy if you add some fried potatoes to it and bell peppers too. Throw the ingredients in a tupperware bowl and stack in the freezer.

Since I already have a toddler that will need to be fed as well I make french toast sticks in large batches. I suggest double battering them so they will stand up to the thawing. Again, I can toss em in the microwave for a few moments and breakfast is ready. Throw some berries on the plate and an apple sauce packet and my kiddo is good to go.

I also have some wonderful lunches that are a snap to make and you can make a weeks worth at a time. That post coming up soon!

Recipes For New and Expecting Moms: Dinner

Everyone knows bringing home baby is a crazy time. Even the few months before, carrying the extra weight around, is exhausting and most of the time I, personally, opted for junk food or agonized over having to cook over the giant belly.

Well ladies and gentlemen, I have compiled a list of recipe ideas that were a life saver when we got home.

Freezer Bags:

Freezer casseroles are always the standard but I, for one, am not a fan. I really don't feel like eating leftovers every day so I found a neat twist on it.
Directions: Cut up a red and green bell pepper. Slice up a pound of chicken and get yourself two of those big plastic freezer bags. Split up all the ingredients between two bags keeping the chicken on one side and the veggies on the other. Lay flat in the freezer stacked.

When you're just not feeling all the cooking take one of these bad boys out of the freezer and toss it in hot water. Should be sufficiently thawed in about 15 to 20 minutes. Toss that in a hot skillet in some oil for like 25 or 30 minutes. Right before it's done toss in that Fajita Seasoning and get your tortillas out. Pop one or two in the microwave for a few seconds.

If you're feeling even lazier all these recipes can be used in the crock pot. Set it to low in the morning and it is ready to eat when you get home.

Load em up on your plate and add your toppings and enjoy.

This recipe is inter-changeable with other ingredients so you can  make a few weeks worth of meals in just an hour. Here is a few variations I have had success with. chicken, terriyaki sauce and pineapple, steak, peppers, onions and mushrooms, chicken, sezchuan sauce, broccoli, red peppers.

You can do the same thing with your breakfast and save yourself some time. That post to come later.

Buttery Roasted Garlic

One of my favorite appetizers is roasted garlic. Chowing down on big pieces of garlic might not seem super appetizing but I assure you these bad boys are a huge hit!

These are fairly easy to make and you probably have everything that you need,

Head or two of Garlic (you can use jumbo but those cloves a pretty big.)
Half a stick or so of butter cut into pads
1-2 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 400 F
Break apart you garlic heads and brush off all the papery wrappings but do NOT peel it. You can chop off the stem of the garlic but it's not always necessary. Pile the cloves onto a long sheet of foil and top with the butter and salt. (note: It really does look like a lot of salt but I assure you it will taste just awesome.)
Fold the foil around the pile and roll up the sides into a packet and bake for about 30 to 45 minutes turning after about 25 minutes.

I recommend you use heavy duty foil if you are going to place the packet on the rack directly as the foil can sometimes tear and leak butter into your oven. Otherwise you can just place a cookie sheet in your oven while it is preheating.

The wonderful thing about this recipe is you can make it anywhere, oven, grill, fire pit and it will be delicious every time. Make sure you stick near it toward the end because you can smell when it is done.

Once the garlic has cooled you can open the packet and pick up the cloves by the tail and use your teeth to squeeze the super soft garlic out of the skin. If cooked properly it will be almost mushy and the salt almost has a grainy quality on the skin.

So chow down on these little bad boys but make sure you have a napkin and a breath mint for when you are done and it will surely be a crowd pleaser. Let me know how it turns out in the comments below.

"For Anything" Jalapeno Popper Dip

I get rave reviews on this stuff, I make it every year around the holidays and the first cook out of the year. Since the first cookout is fast approaching I thought I would share this wonderful little tid bit.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

2 blocks Philadelphia Cream Cheese room temp.
approx. 1/4 cup Mayo
1/2 Jar Jalapenos roughly chopped
Dash Worcestershire sauce
          Parmesan cheese
          Crushed Ritz Crackers (optional)

That's it, I know, a lot right....
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Mix and mash the cream cheese, Worcestershire, jalapenos and a shake or two of the Parmesan cheese.
Press the mixture into a ceramic mini loaf pan or something oven safe that the mixture will fit into.   Sprinkle cheese and a few jalapeno slices on the top and cover with the crackers.
Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes.
Uncover and pop back in for about 10 minutes.

Once cooled slightly its ready to be served. You can dip crackers, chips, even veggies. Top your dinner roll with it for a little kick in the pants.
Enjoy!

My Famous Corn Chowder

As the wife of a picky husband choosing my meal plans can be a bit of a struggle. This, however, is sure to please even the pickiest of diners. How can you go wrong with bacon, potatoes, corn and cheese.

Famous Corn Chowder
Serves 4
4-6 Bacon strips
4-5 medium potatoes, chopped into bite sized pieces and rinsed
3 cups chicken broth, (or 2 bouillon cubes and 3 cups water.)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen onions
2 cans corn
2 cans creamed corn
1/4 cup heavy cream
couple cups of shredded cheddar cheese to taste
1/2 tsp Garlic salt
salt & pepper

You're going to need a big ol' pot. By that I mean one of those big metal pots that your Mom or Grandma made soup or chili out of, although, any 'large serving' pot will work. Heat the pot to med high heat and fry up all that yummy bacon. Once crispy and crumbly scoop it all out and set aside. Leave behind the fat and toss in the potatoes. Fry those up until slightly browned on the edges. Add the onions until smelling good and you can see through them.
Pour in the broth and bring to a light simmer until potatoes are cooked through. Dump in those cans of golden deliciousness and reduce the heat so the chowder stops boiling and shake in all those wonderful seasonings. Slowly add the cream, (go easy here, if the liquid in the pot is still boiling the cream will curdle and I can assure you that is NOT yummy.)
Sprinkle in the cheese, (go ahead, add a little more. No ones watching.)
Once all that yumminess is melted scoop and serve.
We usually use Vienna bread, toasted in the oven, but crustier breads, like french or italian, are great for scooping the cheesy goodness.
Garnish with shredded cheese and the bacon you made in the beginning.

I will let you know you can add more bacon if you like but the extra fat and bacon bits in the bottom of the pan will turn your chowder mixture brown. I can assure you it tastes just fine but as we, now, call it, it looks like poo soup.

That said give it a try and let me know how it comes out!

Simple Fried Egg Sandwich

This was really easy and really yummy!

You need: 

2 Eggs

Bread

2 Pepper Slices about 1/2 in rings.

Mozzarella Cheese

Salt and Pepper

I am a big butter fan but you can use Pam or what ever you want to use to grease the pan. 

Melt some butter in a pan until bubbly. Drop in your two rings and make sure the pan is hot or your eggs will leak out. 

Crack your eggs right into the rings and pop your bread in the toaster. Salt and pepper your eggs to taste. (I like my eggs less runny so I will flip them and turn off the heat while I ready my pan but sunny side up works just fine.) 

Most people will use a green pepper but I prefer the sweet peppers for breakfast and the green for dinner.

Sprinkle a little of that wonderful shredded Mozzarella cheese and slide onto your toast. (I butter the toast too but as you can imagine I am not the dieting type.)

All that's left is to chow down and I can assure you it is wonderful! For a more balanced breakfast you can add some fresh fruit and maybe some yogurt.

Food For Tiny Fingers

It's official, my daughter is 1 year old! 

We celebrated her birthday over the weekend followed by my husbands party and it went very well. This morning my husband asks me, as he is making her bottle, "Aren't we supposed to be weaning her off of these soon?" Crap, he's right. That means more finger food, relatively scheduled meals, make ahead breakfasts. (I am out of the house by 6am and home with the other little one but 7am so breakfast is already a pain.) Then I start wondering where am I going to put all these meals and tiny tupper ware containers. Well, I think I've got it.

So There are several things I pick up for my lil munchkin to eat. 
Cut up green beans, peas, carrots, broccoli chunks, any frozen or canned veggies really. Throw some in a cup and microwave or grab a small pot and toss in your veggies. Storage is simply your pantry or canned goods cabinet and they take seconds to make. Pair them with some fruit or pretzels.

I will hard boil some extra eggs and throw them back in the fridge for a pre-made breakfast or an afternoon snack.

Cook an extra chicken breast or meatballs when you make dinner. Bonus: split it with the kids and make some quesadillas for lunch or a salad and you got your lunch too with little work.

I am a big fan of chunks of block cheese with some fruit and crackers or cheerios. All very easy things to put together.

With all these little finger foods filling up the fridge and pantry I decided to throw together some Martha Stewart and Betty Crocker and up-cycled some old formula containers to use as storage.

After you pull off the label you can spray paint it with plastic paint. Then I decorated it with some washi tape. The one on the left I use for storing crafts like beads, pom poms, washi tape rolls, etc.

Using small zipper bags and mini storage you can set these up for where ever you need them. For instance one will have small bags of cheerios, (instead of bulky boxes in the pantry.) pretzles, fruit snacks, snack pouches, really anything. 

For the refigerator snacks like fruits and veggies I have small storage boxes,

The white one you see here houses small tea boxes, instant coffee and all those rogue k-cups and kool-aid packets that make such clutter in your cabinets.

One of these little guys can slide out of one side of your fridge and all your toddler to-go bags remain contained in one place.

Last thing I am trying to do more of is making foods ahead, as I mentioned cooking a little extra the night before so you are all set for lunches and snacks the next day but I also like to load up the freezer. (Depending on space you can use those containers above to hold bags of freezer food.)

I like to make french toast sticks, mini pancakes, mini muffins etc. Its a good project for a lazy Sunday when I have an extra pair of hands for the baby. You can make up a ton of them in the time it would take to make a regular breakfast and on those busy mornings you toss 'em in the oven or microwave and the kids are happy. Not to mention all that breakfast stuff will make your house smell all yummy!

A new one I want to try is yogurt bites. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and use an icing bag (or a ziplock with a hole cut in the corner.) and make dots on the paper. Freeze them and pop them into a bag for a cool summer snack.

Anyway, off I go to start cooking then off to work so my husband can clean the kitchen. ;) 

What time saving tricks do you guys have?

Cooking my day away.

Time for food and fall!

Cooking has always been one of my favorite activities. The dishes, however, not so much. Today my little one and I have the day off, just the two of us and what does that mean? I get to cook something so we are making some home made sauce from the tomatoes from my mothers garden.

My garden didn't do so well, I was very excited to see my green beans taking over the garden and thought, wow, I finally got something to do well out here. Come to find out morning glories had somehow found their way into the garden boxes and choked out everything but the cauliflower. After much cursing and a slight tantrum I ripped them all out and got the beds ready for next year.

As an act of sympathy my Mom shared her abundant garden supply and hooked me up with all kinds of fresh goodies. So off I went, tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic all in my favorite green pot, (we all have a favorite pot) and cooking away on the stove.

Next will be those wonderful fresh cucumbers. They look a little funky but taste just fine. Those will be jarred with some vinegar and brine to make some lovely garlic pickles. I'm not sure when the change happened in me. Perhaps it was just having my daughter and getting married made me a little more domestic but it is kind of nice.

Well I'm off to do some meal planning, it honestly saves hours of, 

"What do you want for dinner?" 

"I dunno, what do you want?"

"I dunno."

etc etc etc

Makes grocery shopping much easier when you already know what your going to be making. There are less of those mid week store runs or getting halfway through a recipe and realizing your missing something vital. I'm seriously digging this whole mommy thing. Anyhoo off I go. To spend a whole weekend with my loves!

Make your whole house smell like fall.

That time of year again. Once we get sick of humid summer here comes the crisp breeze of fall. Leaf peepers clogging up our highways, beautiful colors, pulling out the boots and jackets, lets not forget the oh so wonderful scarves. Still, when the windows are closed up tight at night against the cold you can lose that fresh smell of seasons changing. I personally am I huge fan of that apple smell of fall. It brings up memories of holidays, family, the familiar smells of cooking and the ever present smell of fall scented candles.

If your anything like me, I always like that smell in my house. So after a little Pintresting, (yes I'm addicted) I found some lovely ways of getting the whole house to have that aroma of food and family. Right now apples are cheap and in season and most people are picking them up anyway to whip up some apple crisp or a flaky pie. So when you find some with a bruise or worm holes, don't throw them away. Make a simmering potpourri.

Simply put, cook up the scent on your own.
You will need:
Water
A Small pot
An apple or two
An orange or two
Dash of vanilla extract
(opt.) pinch of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg.. really anything that makes your house smell yummy when your baking. Your amounts don't need to be specific, it really all depends on how much you like certain spices.
For instance, I go a little heavier with cinnamon and vanilla and lighter on nutmeg and cloves.

 Really anything you like the smell of  can be made this way.
Place some water in the pot and drop in all the ingredients. Throw them on the stove and let simmer for a little while. You can turn it off when the scent reaches what your looking for and always turn it back on later.

It's the simplest of recipes and packs quite a punch.

Ah how I love fall. I'm sure there will be many more fall posts as the cool air rolls into the northeast.

Enjoy!