Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day at Nanny and Grandpa's house this year!

Thanksgiving

I hosted Thanksgiving this year for the Davis Family.  My parents came and ate with us too, we had a great time and wonderful food!  I felt great until about 8pm that night so it was a good day to host.  The baby cooperated, yay!

Bread Making

This was an EASY and good recipe.  It’s Whole Wheat Honey bread made with our VERY local honey from Camp that we picked up with the eggs last week.  YUMMY!!!  The kids enjoyed it this week.

My new favorite drink

They serve it in spas, why not have it at home and feel like I’m in one, I don’t like cucumbers, but I love the slices in my water, sounds yucky, but I love it, Delaney eats them out of it, but I can use the same ones all day when refilling, can’t be bad, but I wonder if I’m getting nutrition from them at all?  Check out the counter tops, I sure will miss this cashmere white color when we move.

A messy dinner

Tonight Delaney refused to eat, I was trying to feed her because she had on a nice outfit.  The first bite she hit out of my hand and it went on it, we took it off, I tried again, she is turning her head, refusing to eat, but then pointing at it wanting it.  I gave it to her and she dug in as happy as can be.  Blake will still let me feed him if I let him, Delaney doesn't like it.

 We said our prayer...

 She had to be reminded to close her eyes, she really did try...

 And then finished the meal.  We went straight to the sink, I have a great picture of her naked head to toe covered in ABC's.  Blake was finding letters she dropped on her and the floor.  It was funny.

Notice in the back the garden inside is started over.  We are growing flowers this time.  Below is a picture of Blake eating and loving I might add, the carrots he helped pick and prepare from the outside garden.

A quick, healthy dinner

With local fruits and vegetables ready, all I had to do for a quick and easy dinner tonight was throw these (all fresh from the Farmer's Market) and some cheese in a frying pan for a delicious omlet.  The kids LOVED it! Fresh eggs are the best!

Homemade Popsicle time!

Homemade Popsicles!  Just strawberries, milk, and a touch of sweetener (Splenda, sugar, etc.)  I loves these little holders I found online, which is where I love to do all my shopping!  I have so much more time with my kids playing instead of "running errands".

Blake loves "special treats", but he also loves to rub them and the white shirt he had on would have lost the battle, this was much easier!

Delaney started on the floor and quickly had to be moved to her chair.

Delaney eating...Chicken Orzo

 This is one of our favorite meals right now...so easy!
I use a pound of precooked chicken, pull it apart, heat on stove with paprika, salt, pepper while cooking the 1/5 cups whole wheat orzo for 5 min.  I add 1/2 cup chicken broth, 1/2 cup pureed cauliflower, a shredded carrot, orzo, some frozen peas, chopped onion, 1/4 cup cream cheese, and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese to the chicken.  Cook a few min, then add lemon zest and juice from 1/2 a lemon, stir and serve!  The kids love it, but Kevin and I do too!  I usually have leftovers for a couple days after.

 Delaney will turn her head and even shake it no sometimes now.  She does this especially when we try to feed her from the spoon, however if we allow her to do it herself then she'll eat it right up.  Obviously it makes quite a mess, but a quick clean up in the kitchen sink makes clean up easy and fun.

When we eat meals we love to listen to music.  If it's not on Blake will usually ask for it, but lately Delaney turns around, since it's behind her seat, signs please and points to it.  She grins so big when we turn it on and Blake sings along.  A few favorites are, "If I had $1,000,000, If I had a Boat, Delaney Talks to Statues, I'm a Believer, Sweet Caroline, Bouncing Round the Room.  Random, I know...Kevin is the music guy, that is what has stuck with us.

 Showing off some more independence, Delaney tries to climb out of the chair.  Now, when we put her in, she hands the buckle to us.  We have to strap her in everything, I don't think I've ever strapped Blake in anything.  He's such calm child.  However, he does take MUCH longer to eat and won't chew meat.  She doesn't have back teeth yet and can still chew more than him.  In restaurants we double strap her down and she can still climb out of the straps.  Houdini!

Pam's birthday cake and party

The kids helped me make Pam's birthday cake, Pistachio chocolate chip!

We cook together a lot, they like to stand on the tower and help anyway they can. Delaney can now climb up by her self. She hasn't figured out how to get down. They both enjoy the ending! This was Delaney's first time licking a spatula, I didn't have to teach her at all, I have always had to remind Blake how to do it.

The first Williams kid's table! All 5 cousins eat without adults there with them! Ahhh, what an accomplishment!

We sang to Pam and everyone helped blow out the candles. I love Williams family dinner nights. This was a first in a long time, we don't get to do it with all of us often, but it's special and fun when we do!

Everyone loves the "birthday cupcakes". There weren't many crumbs to clean up.  Blake and Cousin Coalson are best buddies, they are enjoying their's together.

Meals this week

I made a great Chicken Ozzo last night.  I took one of Jessica Seinfeld's recipes and veggied it up a bit more.
1 lb chicken cooked, cooled and shredded
Cook the 1 cup ozzo (whole wheat) as directed minus 5 minutes
Shred and Cook in a Tablespoon olive oil an onion, carrot, bunch of broccoli, 2 cloves garlic, fresh dill (from my garden) til tender (6-7 min)
Add the ozzo, 1/2 cup of chicken broth, chicken, 1/2 cup Cauliflower puree, cook a min or two
Then add zest and juice from 1/2 a lemon, 1/4 cup fat free cream cheese, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, (cook a few minutes til melted)
Serve hot
It was so good!  The kids and Kevin and I loved it! It was full of so many veggies too!

Tonight I had leftovers and Kevin wasn't home, so I wanted to make something healthy and quick.  I had leftover ozzo I cooked, I chopped up the leftover veggies from Red Bowl the other night and heated them with some cream cheese and Parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup cauliflower puree, and some water for more liquidy consistency.  It was an ugly brown, but both kids ate it up!  Veggie packed!  And I loved it too.  Kevin would have laughed at it, doubt it's a leftover he'll eat.

Meals this week

This week's choice of vegetables to steam for sides and purees. Broccoli, spinach, avocados, sweet potato, cauliflower, carrots, and butternut squash.

I made an avocado dip to dip quesidillas in, a lasagna with sweet potato and cauliflower puree in it. Blake loved it! It was made with ground turkey, and Kevin loved it too! I'm going to make ice cream with the spinach in it (a review and picture will follow). The kids ate the carrots with Cinnamon on them for snack today. They dipped the cauliflower trees in a dill sauce (dill came from my garden) at lunch with their Peanut Butter and Jelly ("Ma mac jelly" as Blake says because he thinks it's funny). We're going to have fish on Thursday night with broccoli and cheese.

Here are the quesidillas we had on Valentine's Day. Blake loves to dip everything now, he had the avocado dip, salsa, and refried beans to choose from. He enjoyed it.

Dinners with the Davis family

I've had a hard time getting Blake (and now Delaney) to eat enough veggies until I discovered Jessica Seinfield's cookbooks.  Lots of yummy recipes in them, including our favorite Enchilada, Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, breakfast puffs, any many, many more!

They all have pureed veggies in them so they eat them without even knowing it.  I offer veggies with the meal too so they are used to trying some but I don't stress over trying to get them to eat them this way.  Plus, Kevin and I love them too and we eat more veggies!

I made Spinich, carrott, sweet potato, and apple puree today.  I steam them all in the microwave, then use my Beabe and Magic Bullett to puree them.  You can use a food processor though.  I make a bunch of them at a time.  I use this Pampered Chef Cinnamon mix and add it and a little sweet potato to the apples to make a wonerdul applesauce, the kids are testing it out below!  It's a keeper!