Baby Food - Pears

For those of you who want a more detailed set of instructions to apply for most foods (produce) if you're looking to make your own baby food, here's what I do:

1. Wash

Wash the food well, even if you're going to peel it - those germs can spread through the knife or peeler!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know what you're thinking: everyone knows how to bake chocolate chip cookies! Well, in case your batches are hit or miss (like mine usually are) here's my fool-proof cookie recipe! Seriously - perfectly soft, but not too mushy cookies every time! Without fail!

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons hot water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips1 cup chopped walnuts (optional - I omit this because I hate nuts)

Macaroni and Cheese

If you love mac 'n cheese but want something a little fancier, then this is the recipe for you! I have nothing against Kraft mac 'n cheese, but this one fills me up a little more. 

The original recipe doesn't call for it, but I usually add chopped hot dogs just so I can get some meat with my meal. You can also add frozen peas, which I have done many times with this recipe.

Oven Hamburgers

I don't know about you, but I hate watching things on the stove. That's what makes this recipe so easy! I love, love, love this recipe because I get to have delicious burgers without slaving over a stove and without having to scrub the pot afterwards! Hubby says even after reheating these burgers the next day, they still taste like restaurant-style!

Ingredients

1 lb of ground beef

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

half an onion

(if desired) lettuce leaves, cheese slices

Chicken and Gravy

Easy, easy, easy!! Aside from just putting chicken by itself into the slow cooker, this is the easiest recipe I've used.

Ingredients

1 pound boneless and skinless chicken breasts

2 packets dry chicken gravy mix

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 3/4 cups water

1 dash freshly ground black pepper

Baby Food - Broccoli

If you've read my first post about making baby food, you can pretty much apply it to any food you want to purée for your little one. But in case you like step-by-step instructions like I do, here's a recipe for making broccoli.

I don't have a specific measured amount of broccoli I use - I just keep a few florets leftover from a dinner recipe and purée it in the blender.

1. Steam broccoli

If your broccoli isn't already cooked, here's how I do it: Put about 1 cup of water (or 2, if using a lot of broccoli) in a small pot and bring to a boil with the broccoli in the steamer. Cover for 5-10 mins, depending on how much broccoli you use. Test with a fork. When it is soft enough to come apart with the fork, it's ready.

Microwave Fudge

When you've had as crappy a day as I have, you really don't want to slave over the stove to get your rich, delicious pick-me-up. Everything seemed to go wrong today, and I thought it was the perfect excuse to pull out this fudge recipe. A tasty treat for me, a valuable recipe for you! Everyone wins :)

I found this recipe in college when I was too lazy and tired to bake but too stressed to resist the urge of an unhealthy and delectable dessert. It's great for when you need something rich and chocolatey in the next five minutes and can't waste the energy watching the oven or stove. And, because it's so rich, it lasts a while, too! I keep the container in the fridge for days and just snack on the fudge throughout the week.

Ingredients

1 lb powdered sugar (I usually measure 4 cups and it works out perfectly)

2/3 cup cocoa (tip: use Hershey's special dark cocoa!!)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup nuts (optional - I hate nuts, so I always omit)

Alfredo Sauce

Hubby and I make homemade Alfredo sauce all the time. It is so easy and so much more delicious than the jarred kind that we can never go back! You can make it while your pasta cooks and they both should be done at the same time. Just top it off with bacon and you've got a simplified carbonara recipe! I've tried other Alfredo recipes, like some that call for condensed milk or heavy whipping cream, and they don't hold a candle to this one.

Ingredients

1/2 package cream cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup butter

3/4 cup milk

dash of pepper

dash of garlic powder

**Note: This is a halved recipe. Hubby and I use this for meals with just the two of us, and we usually have enough leftovers for another meal. I'd say this half-recipe yields 4 servings.

Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli

Another favorite of mine! Super easy, very delicious, and very healthy! This is a slow cooker recipe with very minimal prep. It's a great recipe to have because it includes ingredients you usually have on hand. On a regular basis, the only ingredient I need to go out of my way to buy is broccoli, but that's only if I don't have frozen florets somewhere in the depths of my freezer.

If you usually follow my link to the original recipe, you'll notice I altered it quite a bit. The original recipe says to add the broth a little at a time throughout the cooking duration, but who has time for that?? If I'm at work all day, I can't keep adding broth. So instead, I increased the quantity of rice to make sure it's thick enough for an entire container of chicken broth.

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1½ pounds chicken breasts, cut into large chunks

1 small onion, chopped (I never use an entire onion, just half or a quarter so I can save it for other recipes)

2 1/4 cup uncooked long grain rice (white or brown, your choice)

1 32 ounce box chicken broth

1¼ teaspoon salt

⅓ teaspoon pepper

2 cups of chopped broccoli

1¼ cheddar cheese

Chicken Teriyaki & Fried Rice

This one is a double feature! The fried rice is a good recipe to make by itself - just add bacon and some extra veggies. In this case, I'm using the teriyaki chicken as the meat, so I'm omitting the bacon.

If you're like me, then with every recipe that calls for chicken, you just put in one package of chicken, from Publix or Costco or wherever, without checking how many pounds it is, because you know that's what will feed your family. However, I tried that with this recipe, and it was way too sweet. So, if you don't often measure your amounts of chicken, make sure to put two packages of chicken in the slow cooker. You'll thank me later!

This combination of recipes may seem complicated, but I omit a lot of unnecessary ingredients. Often I have so many of the main ingredients on hand that I don't need to buy anything extra. Keep in mind, you will have to buy a bottle of soy sauce and a bottle of rice vinegar the first time you make this, but they last a long time!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

This is a great one to use if you have lots of potatoes to get rid of. I've modified the original recipe to make it a bit heartier - if you're anything like me, sometimes a baked potato (even a loaded one) just doesn't fill me up. The original recipe didn't call for corn, but I like having my main veggie in the slow cooker with everything else, so I literally don't have to do anything else with the meal once it's cooked.

Aside from the potatoes, this doesn't require a lot of prep (unless you want to cook the bacon beforehand, but you can also wait until the meal is done before you do that). I like to peel and cut the potatoes the night before and soak them in water in the fridge overnight so they don't brown.

Oreo Truffles

Here's my favorite... Oreo Truffles. Just three ingredients, and so easy to remember!

Ingredients

1 package Oreos (your choice of flavor)

1 package cream cheese

1 package chocolate chips

1. Crush Oreos

There are several ways you can do this. You can use a food chopper. You can put the Oreos in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and use a rolling pin over it.  You can use a large object, like a juice jug, to crush the Oreos in the bag. Or you can pour the Oreos into a bowl and use a potato masher (which is what I did).

Chicken Stew

This is definitely in my top 3 favorite meals. While it requires some prep, it's delicious and very healthy. It's also a great way to get rid of any extra veggies you have on hand. Regardless of what this recipe calls for, I just use whatever I have (sometimes, only onion and carrots).

Ingredients

1 - 1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast, chopped into chunks (I don't bother chopping it - it tears so easily once it's been cooked)

1 cup baby carrots, chopped

1 stalk of celery, chopped

3 medium sized red potatoes (or several baby red potatoes), chopped into chunks (I just use russet potatoes - the giant bags are so cheap)

½ onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced or pressed (I never have garlic on hand, so I omit this - or just use garlic powder instead)

1½ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

1 tsp dried parsley (also omitted)

1 cup water

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

½ cup milk (2% or whole preferably)

This recipe offers lots of flexibility. I don't think I've ever made it with every single ingredient, and it still turns out delicious every time.

Baby Food - Sweet Potatoes

I thought I'd shake things up and share how I make homemade baby food :)

Before Baby started eating solid foods, I wanted to make the food myself just in case funds got tight and we couldn't afford the fancy jarred stuff. And it's so easy! I generally use the produce we already have (with a few exceptions), so I don't have to spend any extra money. With most foods, all you have to do is cook it (I like to use a steamer) and purée it.

1. Wash and poke

Preheat oven to 400. Wash your sweet potatoes thoroughly and poke several holes in them with a fork (or, in my case, a fancy cheese utensil you never get to use). This keeps the potatoes from exploding in the oven.

Chicken Spaghetti

This recipe is so easy! Hubby and I like to use it on days we both work because you just throw ingredients into the crock pot, turn it on, and it's ready when you get home! Very little prep. Perfect for lazy chefs like me.

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law, so I can't take full credit for it. But we make this at least once a month because it's easy and so tasty!

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts

1 can cream of celery soup

1/4 cup onion

1 8 oz package cream cheese

1/4 cup butter

1 pack dry spaghetti sauce mix

1 box of spaghetti noodles

Given the cream cheese and the cream of celery soup, you can tell this recipe might be a little heavy for some. Here are some tips to make it a bit healthier:

• Add frozen peas, if you have some on hand. A great way to get extra veggies.
• Use "Healthy Requests" cream of celery soup instead of the normal stuff. Less fat!
• Try using Hidden Veggie or whole wheat spaghetti noodles instead of the normal kind. If I have toppings on my pasta, I really can't taste the difference.

Lasagna

I thought I'd start with a recipe that's not too easy but not too hard. Lasagna is a good recipe to know off-hand. It's great for families, potlucks, leftovers, or even just for yourself. As with most of my recipes, this one requires a slow cooker. I prefer recipes that don't require a lot of prep, since I have Baby to chase around, but it's hard to find recipes with ground beef that you don't need to brown first.

A lot of these ingredients I already have on hand, so the only things I need to buy unique for this recipe are: ground beef (unless you're using beef for another recipe as well - see below), cottage cheese, and lasagna noodles.

I prefer my meat-to-sauce ratio to be a little more even, so although this recipe calls for 1/2 to 1 lb of ground beef, I use about 1.25 lb. It also calls for 32 oz of sauce, but I only use one jar (about 23 oz). However, an important rule as a beginner is to trust trial and error! During my first time making this, I followed the recipe exactly, and I found it was a little too saucy for me. Plus, it's more convenient for me to use one jar of Ragu than to open up a second and have to find a way to use the rest of it before it expires.