Classic Chicken Noodle Soup

This recipe was inspired by the greatest chef I know, my mother. It's simple yet scrumptious. Soup soothes the soul on a cold day, we love soup! Soups can be difficult for young children not only because of the broth but because of all the varying textures. However, I am happy to report both my epicuties loved this simple soup, even the texture adverse Little Asher!
Ingredients:
-4 medium carrots, finely diced
-4 celery stalks, finely diced
-1/2 to 1 medium sweet onion, finely diced
-2-4 tablespoons olive oil (could use butter instead or half butter, half olive oil)
-1/4 cup flour
-10 1/2 cups chicken stock (more or less depending how much broth you want; I used Knoors chicken stock concentrate and loved it)
-Store cooked Rotisserie chicken, per cooked (this was left over from dinner a few nights before)
-Wheat egg noodles (amount depends on how many noodles you like)
-Salt and Pepper to taste
-Frozen peas (amount it to your liking)
Steps:
1) Heat oil in large stock pot and add onions, carrots and celery. Sautée until all veggies are soft.
2) Add flour and cook for two more minutes.
3) Gradually add chicken stock until boiling.
4) Add coarsely chopped chicken and uncooked noodles, bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer until noodles are cooked to al dente
5) Add salt and pepper to taste.
6) Add frozen peas and cook for 3-5 more minutes.
Serve: We used kitchen scissors to coarsely chop the soup and removed the majority of the broth for Little Asher. We cut the noodles up slightly for little joy but gave her broth!
Yield: oh way too much. Like 10!!!!
Timing: 9 months. Everything was super set and easy to gum with very few teeth, especially if you coarsely chop it.
Difficulty: 3 out of 5; I only give it what high of a rating because the chopping can be time consuming. Minus the chopping this is a one. Tip: chop the day before or earlier in the day when kiddos are sleeping.
Epicutie Rating:
Little Joy: Yummy in the Tummy; "mmmm mommy thanks for dinner, I love it" followed by her cheese ball smile.
Little Asher: Yummy in the Tummy; He polished off two bowls, which totally surprised us!!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Apple Cinnamon Pork Roast

I love slow cooker recipes   LOVE them.  The time just leading into dinner is so crazy-Daddy getting home from work, Little Asher just getting up from nap, Little Joy finishing nap and video time, dinner getting finished-its like a giant chaotic convergence!  Slow cooker meals allow me to do all the cooking/prep during a quiet time and minimize the chaos.

This recipe is inspired by one from Parents Magazine.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2.5-3 lb pork loin roast (tenderloin if its on sale)
• 1-2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 medium sweet onion cut into thin slices
• 3/4 apple cider (or apple juice but cider is better)
• 2 Jonagold apples, cored and thinly sliced (save the core)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 16 oz bag coleslaw mix (half the bag is actually plenty)

Steps:

1. Trim edges of roast if it will not fit in your slow cooker.
2. Sprinkle roast with salt, pepper and thyme.
3. Heat oil in large pan.
4. Place roast in hot oil and sear on all sides (until slightly brown) .
5. Layer onion in bottom of slow cooker and place roast on top.
6. Pour apple cider over roast.
7. Cover and cook on high for 2-2.5 hours.
8. While the meat is cooking, core apples and thinnly slice.  Toss the cores in the slow cooker.
9. Place apples in a ziplock along with lemon juice and cinnamon.  Shake the bag well to coat the apples.  Place the apples in the fridge (this way everything is ready to serve).
10. After meat is cooked (2-2.5 hours), remove cores, add apples and add slaw mix.
11. Cover and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes.
12. Remove roast and place on a platter.  Allow to rest for ten minutes.
13. Using a slotted spoon transfer veggies to the platter and drizzle cooking juices over meat and veggies.

Timing:  Meat can be chewy, I would wait until one year.  Our pork was very tender though so depending on how experienced an eater you have, it could be offered earlier.

Storage:  Fridge 3-5 days.

Yield: 8 servings

Difficulty:  2 out of 5; Like I said, I love slow cooker meals and this one was different than the usual over cooked veggie slow cooker meals.  It cook about 15 minutes to prep everything and then a couple hours to cook---I would say that's easy!

Epicutie Ratings:

• Little Joy:  Yummy in the Tummy minus the slaw.  I figured the kids wouldnt be keen on the slaw, but she loved the apples, onions and meat!
• Little Asher:  Somewhat Yummy minus the slaw.  He liked the meat and apples ok...he doesnt LOVE anything thats not a fruit :/  He is my strong willed one, LOL!

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Banana Cinnamon Waffles

I buy bananas a lot because my whole family loves them, but sometimes I buy a batch that seem to brown really fast.  That's when I want to have plenty of banana recipes in my arsenal. Furthermore, I am constantly looking for breakfast foods that will freeze well so that I can break up the week's breakfasts which are usually filled with cereals and oatmeals.  This recipe was inspired by one I found on a Cooking Light site.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (you could replace 1/4 of this flour for 1/4 cup buckwheat flour for a nutty flavor)
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups rice milk
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted (I used Earth Balance dairy free, soy free butter alternative)
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 large ripe banana, mashed
• Cooking spray

Steps:

1. Preheat waffle iron.
2. Combine Dry ingredients in a medium bowl (flours, flaxseed, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt) stirring with a whisk to combine.
3. In a separate bowl combine milk, butter, eggs and vanilla.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry stirring with a whisk; mix until combined but not too much!
5. Fold in mashed banana.
6. Coat iron with cooking spray
7. Spoon batter onto hot iron spreading the batter to edges.
8. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until steaming stops; repeat procedure with remaining batter.
9. Serve warm.

*Allergy Alert:  Contains Egg*

Timing:  One year due to the eggs however I would have given this as early as 9 months to my Epicuties because its soft and easy to chew; even my texture sensitive Little Asher thought they were soft and yummy.  Most pediatricians recommend avoiding whole eggs until one year.

Storage:  Fridge for 4 days and freezer for a month.  Wrap each waffle individually in plastic wrap and then place in a freezer bag.  Thaw in microwave or toaster oven.  Quick and healthy on hand breakfast!

Yield:  14 waffles (see photo below)

Difficulty: 2 out of 5; the only recipes I give a 1 to are those that require NO cooking.  This was quick to whip up; I even made it after I had both kids up and dressed and no one starved while waiting :)

Epicutie Rating:

• Little Joy:  Yummy in the Tummy; She proclaimed "Oh mommy, this is good" after this first bite.  She did not consume as much as she usually does of foods she loves but we are learning with a toddler---some days they cannot eat enough to be satisfied while others they require very little food.  
• Little Asher:  Yummy in the Tummy; after a liquid feeding and puree prunes he still ate an entire waffle.  He tends to be particular about textures, but this was soft enough for him to find YUMMY!

It made 14 of the smaller square so 7 of the big double squares

Signing MORE

Let me try one more to see if I like it

Signing MORE MORE

YUMMY IN THE TUMMY

I said "Give me your I like it smile if you like it" LOL!

Sage Scented Fettuccine and Butternut Squash and Chicken

I found this recipe on www.godariyfree.com and tweaked it to work with the ingredients I had on hand.  WE LOVED THIS!!!  And it felt so....FALL!

Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil, divided
• 1 Pound Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded and dice into 1/4-inch cubes
• Sea Salt
• 1 Cup Chicken Stock (mine was homemade using a variation of this recipe: Chicken Stock)
• 1 Yellow Onion, halved and cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1/4 Cup White Wine
• 1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup
• 1/2 Tablespoon Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar**
• 1/2 Tablespoon White Wine Vinegar**
• 2 Teaspoons Rubbed Sage
• 6 Ounces Fettuccine 
• 2 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast (I could not find this so I omitted it, but it is a great substitute for cheese, I plan on ordering some and trying this again)
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• Fresh Sage Leaves, optional
• 6 chicken tenderloins
• garlic powder

**Alternatively use 1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar instead of Raspberry Balsamic and White Winne Vinegar; the original recipe called for this but I had to improvise because I did no realize I was out!

Steps (fettuccine):

• Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add the squash, sprinkle with salt, and cook for 5 minutes. Don’t worry if the squash starts to break apart.
• Add the chicken stock and cook, still stirring gently until the liquid is almost evaporated, about 7 minutes.
• Add the onion and season with a little more salt. Cook until the onion begins to soften, 3 minutes.
• Add the wine, and cook until moisture is almost evaporated and mixture is caramelized.
• Stir in the maple syrup, vinegars, and sage. Keep warm.
• Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 10 minutes.
• Drain the pasta and return it to the hot pot.
• Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, the nutritional yeast, and salt and pepper to taste; toss to combine.
• Add the vegetable mixture to the pasta and toss again to combine.
• Serve hot garnished with fresh sage leaves, if using.

Steps (chicken):

• Cut chicken into bit size pieces.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of of oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.
• Place chicken in pan and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder--this is to taste.
• Flip chicken and sprinkle again.
• Remove from heat when cooked through.

Serve:  Serve the chicken and the pasta tossed together or the chicken on the side; we served it separate and just mixed some bites together and others not.  We did remove the larger pieces of onion before serving it to our 11 month old; our 2 year old did not notice the onions mixed in.

Yield: 4 servings

Timing:  Due to the wine and spices I would recommend around a year.  Little Asher was 11 months and is still cutting 6 teeth on top (not all the way in) and he ate it all fine.  He ate the chicken chunk-ed up just fine too!

Storage: 3-5 days in the fridge.  I am going to attempt to freeze the "sauce" to see if it reheats well; I would imagine so.

Difficulty:  3 out of 5; I ONLY give this a 3 because I had to stand over it and stir.  Anything that I have to stand over while I have a 1 and 2 year old running/crawling around automatically gets difficult.  However, no kids---this is a 2 easily.

Epicutie Rating (see left side of page for descriptions)

• Little Joy:  Somewhat Yummy; she joyfully ate it but like most two year olds she just acted difficult when she saw we were thrilled she loved it (because we loved it too).  She ate a big helping of noodles.
• Little Asher:  Yummy in the Tummy; Little Asher has been funny with finger foods.  Around 9 months he did not want anything to do with purees and then around 11 months he decided purees were preferred (we chalk it up to cutting 8 teeth the past month). BUT thats how we knew he loved this---he gobbled up a TON even after a full meal of purees.  SCORE!

Zucchini Muffins

I am always looking for quick and yummy breakfasts for my family.  When I make a batch of muffins, I wrap them individually in plastic wrap then place in a freezer bag and pull them out as we need them.  Currently we have whole wheat blue berry, pumpkin and zucchini muffins all stocked in the freezer.  This might not be THE healthiest muffin recipe, but I have not tried altering it too much yet.  It was too yummy not to share this version of it.  Next time I will try 1/3 oil and 1/3 applesauce as well as decrease the sugar some r replace some of the sugars for honey or maple syrup.  At this point, I will take just about anything that's dairy free though!

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flower
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups finely shredded unpeeled zucchini
• 1/2 cup finely shredded carrot

Steps:

1. Grease and flour or paper 12-16 muffin cups.
2. Heat oven to 375°.
3. In mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the oil with eggs, sugars, and vanilla extract.
4. In a seperate bowl, combine the flour, soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; add to the wet ingredients; mix on LOW until blended.
5. Fold in the shredded zucchini and carrots (the mixture was REALLY thick)
6. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full; sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.
7. Bake for 20 minutes.

**Allergy Alert** contains eggs

Yield:  12-16 muffins

Storage:  Serve immediately or at room temperature same day.  After the first day, refrigerate for several days or freeze for up to a month.

Difficulty:  2 out of 5; the most "difficult" part is shredding the carrots and zucchini.  It only took me about 15 minutes to get these mixed and in the oven so its pretty quick.

Timing:  One year due to the eggs, however I gave these to Little Asher at 11 months.  As always, ask your pediatrician before introducing ingredients that are common allergies.

Epicutie Rating:  (see left side of page for rating descriptions)

• Little Joy:  Yummy in the Tummy--she gobbled up 2 muffins and licked the platter clean!!!
• Little Asher:  Yummy in the Tummy--boy has a sweet tooth!!  

My husband and I both LOVED them as well!!!

Minestrone Soup

This recipe was adapted from one I found on foodnetwork.com.  I love soups, there is something so homey about this one.  I particularly enjoyed this one because 1) its easy, 2) its a crock pot recipe and 3) it made my house smell awesome.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups reduced-sodium vegetable or chicken broth or combination
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (15-ounce) can white (cannellini or navy) beans, drained
• 1 cup uncooked lentils (sorted first)
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 3 bay leaves
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 2 cups cooked pasta (ditalini or other small pasta)
• 1-2 medium zucchini, chopped
• 1-9 oz package chopped frozen spinach, defrosted
• 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (omit for dairy free)

Steps:

1. In a slow cooker, combine broth, tomatoes, beans, lentils, carrots, celery, onion, thyme, sage, bay leaves, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and black pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours.
2. Thirty minutes before the soup is done cooking, add pasta, zucchini and spinach.
3. Cover and cook 30 more minutes. Remove bay leaves and season, to taste, with salt and black pepper.
4. Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle Parmesan cheese over top (omit for dairy free)

Tip:  I chopped my onion, celery and carrots the night before cooking and placed them in an air tight container in the fridge.  This really expedited the cooking the next morning when my house was filled with the usual morning chaos!

Yield:  The original recipe says 4, but I say more like 6

Storage:  Fridge for close to a week or freezer for 1-2 months.

Timing:  10 months; This is mild and since it is a soup everything is very soft.  When we served it to our 10 month old, we just pulled everything out of the broth.  Assuming each ingredients has been tried individually on your little one, I would say 10 months is plenty old enough to try this.

Difficulty:  2 out of 5; its a dump and go recipe---easy and fast!!

Epicutie Rating:  (see left side of page for descriptions)

• Little Joy:  Somewhat yummy; we are at the fun age where Little Joy likes to exert her will.  She liked it, but did not want to admit she did.  My husband and I LOVED IT.  And when I eat it as leftovers for lunch, Little Joy is always asking for bites.
• Little Asher:  I refuse to comment on his ratings lately.  He is cutting eight teeth and only want purees.  So annoying!!!  I am ready to be DONE with teething!