Tag

peppers

Our Sunday Menu – Toddler Victories & Failures

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There are some things in parenthood that do not make sense to me. The most recent in a long line of things that puzzle me is this, you have all heard me cry & whine over what a difficult eater our daughter is, then how do you explain this…

Mai's daily reports from daycare. As you can see the daycare provider has no problem getting our picky girl to eat.
Mai’s daily reports from daycare… As you can see the daycare provider has no problem getting our picky girl to eat.

If the daily battle with my daughter at mealtime wasn’t frustrating enough, I now find out that she is capable of eating at each meal, just not for us. Siiiiggh! There are a few foods that I can count on that she will eat, pancakes, French toast & spaghetti. As you can see she likes her carbs. When possible we try to sneak in meat and our fruits & veggies, but it does not always work. Today’s menu had a couple of wins and a definite loss.

Breakfast: Banana & Nutella Pancakes

I had a couple of over-ripened bananas that needed to be used, so pancakes were a great place to use them.

Smash the bananas with a fork in a small mixing bowl. Add the egg & beat together & set aside. In a medium sized mixing bowl add 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1 tbsp of brown sugar, 2 tsp of baking powder, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp salt, 3/4 cup of milk & 2 tbsp vegetable oil & stir. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture & stir well. Stir in 1/3 cup of Nutella. Pour about 1/8 of a cup of batter into a griddle or in a frying pan set on medium heat. Cook until the pancake is bubbly & the edges are cooked. Flip the pancake & cook on the other side until cooked all the way through.

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Breakfast was a success. She ate 4 pancakes of her own & a few bites of mine too. Score one for mommy.

Lunch: Monte Cristo Roll Ups:

Preheat the oven to 375. Cut the crusts off of 6 slices of bread. With a rolling pin, roll out each slice off bread. Beat an egg in a medium sized bowl. Brush one side of each slice with the egg. Cut a slice of ham so that it fits inside the slice. Cut a slice of Swiss cheese so that it only covers half of the slice. Roll the bread started at the cheese end. Dip the whole roll into the egg mixture covering the entire roll-up. Place on a greased cookie sheet & dust with confectioner’s sugar. Bake for about 7-8 minutes until golden brown.

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While this was a big hit with mommy & daddy, Mai refused to try it. I tried bribery & pleading. “Just take one little bite.” Negative. This was a lunch time fail. The score now is 1-1.

Mexican Chicken Rice Bake

Ingredients:

1 cup of uncooked white rice

1 pound of chicken cut into strips

1 cup of water

1 cup of milk

1 can of regular tomato soup (10.75 oz)

1 can of corn drained (8.75 oz)

1/4 cup of diced red peppers

1/4 cup of diced orange peppers

1/4 cup of diced yellow peppers

1 packet of taco seasoning

1 cup of shredded Mexican cheese

Ingredients:

Preheat oven to 375. Dice your vegetables & cut your chicken into strips & set aside in a casserole dish (I used a 9×12) add the rice, water & taco seasoning, stir well until seasoning is broken up & evenly distributed. Stir in the tomato soup & milk. Pour the corn & peppers over the top. Place the chicken strips over the top. Cover with foil & bake for about 45 minutes (cook times may vary). Remove foil, add the cheese & bake for 5 more minutes. Remove & let sit for a few minutes to cool. The top may appear slightly watery. The sauce will thicken upon standing. Scoop & serve.

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After a little coaxing and bribery, I finally got her to take a bite & guess what she liked it.

It was a pretty good eating day other than lunch, but you win some & you lose some.

Chick Pea Burgers

ChickPeaBurger.jpgI have a love/hate relationship with food. I love food, but it hates me. If I have one day of bad of eating, my body pays for it for days. I am in the throes of body payback right now. I don’t know when I will learn my lesson. The funny thing is I enjoy eating healthy, sometimes it is just too fun to be bad. Today,I am back to being a good girl. I am a big fan of veggie burgers & bean burgers. They are a staple in my diet. The same thing is the case with chick peas. I was craving falafel today, but as I am trying to stay away from fried food I wanted to make a baked version of one of my favorite meals ala a burger patty.

Chick Pea Burgers

1 can of chick peas (drained)
1/4 cup of diced onions
1/2 cup of diced water chestnuts
1/2 cup of diced red peppers
1 tsp minced garlic
1 egg
1/3 cup of wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
2 tbsp of grated parmesan
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp sea salt
Pepper to taste
Additional wheat flour for dusting

Preheat oven at 350. In your food processor combine, chickpeas, onion, water chestnuts, red peppers, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper & egg. Blend ingredients leaving it somewhat slightly chunky. Add in the flour, parmesan & baking powder. Blend slightly on pulse. Dust your hands with some wheat flour to keep mixture from sticking to hands. Roll a plum sized ball between your palms. Place on a greased baking sheet & flatten the ball into a patty by pressing with your hand. Continue until all the mixture is gone. This will make about 6 patties. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Serve on a bun with lettuce & yogurt dressing or tzatziki sauce. https://thepinterestedparent.com/2013/11/06/greek-nachos/.

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These were wonderful. If you like chick peas, hummus and falafel, these are a must try. My husband even liked these.

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Sloppy Joe Cornbread Casserole

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Because sometimes you just need comfort food…

Ingredients:

1 lb of ground meat (for this recipe we used venison but any ground meat will work.)

2 Cups of chopped peppers (red,yellow & orange)

1 cup of shredded cheddar

1/2 tsp olive oil

1 packet of sloppy joe mix

1 can of tomato paste

1 1/4 cups of water

1 box of Jiffy corn muffin mix

1 egg

1/3 cup of milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brown the meat in a large skillet & drain. In a separate pan, add oil & peppers. Cook until tender. Add the peppers to the cooked meat. Stir in a packet of sloppy joe seasoning, can of tomato paste & water. Stir well, bring to a boil & then simmer for about 10 minutes. Mix Jiffy mix according to directions using the egg  & milk. Stir the cheese into the Jiffy mixture. Pour the meat mixture in a baking dish evenly. Spread out the cornbread mixture along the top of the meat & bake for 15-20 minutes. Let cool & serve.

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