Toddler food stock up

Ever since T was born I've been OBSESSED with her eating and nutrition.  We aren't super healthy eaters, so I wasn't expecting to stress about every detail from day 1.  Remember when I cut dairy for 8 months in a bid to get her to stop screaming for hours at a time from gas?  Or when I spent months buying organic produce and blending all her baby food?  Well I've relaxed a tad, what with daycare giving them things like goldfish crackers and go gurt for snacks (ugh is that really food??).  But as a busy working mom I like to maximize dinner time and have some fast things on hand that I know are good for her.  Days go way too fast, between getting up at the crack of dark, long commutes, packed days, and never-enough time with my sweet toddler.  Add to that I have a work trip coming up and suddenly my anxiety over leaving her with enough ready-to-eat food returned.  

So this week I pulled up some of my favorites from my blog and from Pinterest, and set to work stocking the freezer.  It definitely takes planning and time, but its so worth dedicating a few hours to have a freezer full to last a couple of months.  On the docket: multiple types of her favorite meatballs, toddler muffins, and frozen steamed cauliflower.  The girl CANNOT get enough cauliflower (I know, right?).  Tuesday night I whipped together the muffins.  While she hasn't touched them yet (such a picky eater and slow to warm up to new things) they smell and look amazing, and I might just eat them myself!  Recipe and pics to come later.  

Meatballs are a staple for her.  I make a big batch every couple of months to store in the freezer.  They are super convenient to pull out on weekends or evenings that we get stuck in traffic or delayed, or have a doctor appointment.  We have had our fair share of those this winter!!!  Lately she has been eating up to 5 in a sitting, so I was flat out.  Earlier this week I make some baked squash and chopped it up for meatballs, storing it in the fridge.  Tonight I de-stemmed a bunch of spinach and used the baby bullet to purée it.  Flashback!  I split the meat into two portions and used two packets of rice, so I could make two types of meatballs.  I'm a little nervous about her reaction to the squash, because it hasn't been something she's loved in the past.  So I took small portions and tested different seasonings.  We shall see how that goes!  

Finally tonight I chopped a head of cauliflower and steamed it, freezing it in ice cube trays.  There's nothing nicer than pulling that out when she refuses everything else for dinner.  The pieces are perfect sized for her to eat, and it only takes 30 seconds to heat up.  

Hopefully after all that work my hubby and spitfire can survive 4 days alone!  

Grilled Hawaiian chicken

Wow it's been a while since I posted.  The past several months have been a whirlwind. We moved (twice!), survived the coldest winter in 30 years, and did our best to keep miss T healthy.  Throughout it all I failed miserably at taking pictures of stuff I made.  There are a few tidbits to share later, but this is my "get back on the bike" post.

A couple of years ago I was in the grilling department at my company.  A grill vendor came in and made us a full on meal using different grill attachments.  One of the dishes had chicken, pineapple, and some other yummy stuff.  Well as soon as it got warm I pulled the grill out and started getting creative. Cub had a new Hawaiian marinade, and while the hubby and kid played in the gorgeous outdoors I chopped, marinaded, and grilled.  All you need is some chicken, part of a pineapple chopped into small cubes, and red and green peppers chopped into cubes.  The chicken marinaded overnight while I tossed the veggies and pineapple right before putting it on the grill.  Our trusty grill pan did the trick, and 10 min later dinner was served!  It was delicious.  

Two of my signs of a good meal: 

1. My husband eats it even if it has veggies in it (ESPECIALLY peppers)

2. It heats up well as leftovers 

The pineapple was just as juicy and tender a few days later for my lunch, and this turned out way better than I had imagined.  It's definitely going into the rotation this summer!