Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Baby to Table Food

My heart is heavy as I write this post.  I plan to wean Miss B off the bottle by age 1.  I found it to be very easy with my first baby, but I just hope she does as well as he did. 

I sound like a broken record, but this is another sign that my baby is growing up.  I just have to remember that there are many, many wonderful memories and milestones to come!

Every parent is different.  Every doctor has a different opinion.  On what, you ask?  Well, almost everything...but today, I'm talking FOOD.  Dylan started eating many table foods at the age of 10 months.  When we were kids, I think our parents fed us anything and everything by age 3 months.  Haha, I'm kidding, but they did start much earlier!

Dylan was an easy baby.  Happy, great eater, great sleeper, intelligent, etc.  Braelyn is an easy baby.  Happy, great sleeper, intelligent, etc.  Did you see what I left out?  GREAT EATER.  Sure, she loves her BA-BA.  She is not so fond of some of the foods that we have introduced to her.  She does not like anything green.  She does not like most vegetables.  She likes most fruits, especially pears and applesauce.  She likes cookies.  She likes Baby Mum-Mums. (Teething wafers)
I have been worrying and worrying about weaning her off of the bottle because I do not want it to be difficult for her.  If she is not finding a lot of foods that she loves, this will be extremely hard.

Honestly...I'm starting to think she just does not like baby food.  I have given her tastes of my "big people" food and she seems to do really well.  This has only been over the past couple of days AND now that she has teeth...WHY NOT???

Gerber, I do not care if you have Gerber Graduates up to age 5.  Not doing it.

Now starts the transition to table food.  I have decided.  I don't care whose doctor says what.  She's 11 months old.  It's time. 

No more bottles when she wakes in the morning.  We will go straight to the kitchen and whip up a yummy breakfast.  This is our first step.  Wish us luck!

I ran across a couple of great table food recipes for baby:

Applesauce Muffins
2 oz (1/4 cup) softened butter
2 oz (1/4 cup) sugar
1 egg (if your baby is under 1 year, you may prefer to use egg substitute)
3 oz (3/8 cup) applesauce
4 oz (1 cup) flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 200 deg C, 390 deg F.
Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until light.
Beat in the egg until fluffy.
Beat in the applesauce.
Stir the dry ingredients together and add them to the bowl, blending just enough to moisten the dry ingredients.
Spoon into greased muffin tins and bake for around 15 mins, until golden.

Baby Chicken Fingers with Apple

8 oz (1 cup) ground chicken
1 medium carrot
1 medium apple
1/2 garlic clove
1/2 small onion
1 small egg yolk, beaten
1 oz (1/4 cup) fresh breadcrumbs
pinch crushed, dried thyme
pinch freshly ground black pepper

Peel and grate the carrot, apple, garlic and onion.
Place into a mixing bowl, along with the ground chicken.
Add the beaten egg yolk, breadcrumbs, thyme and black pepper. Mix well.
Take small balls of the mixture and roll into 8 little "sausages".
Place on a grill pan (broiler) and heat under the grill for 10 mins on each side.
Allow to cool.
Serve, or store some in the freezer for future use (if you haven't already eaten them!)

Butternut Squash Ravioli

Soft and 'squishy', this ravioli makes the perfect gummable finger food for tiny diners! You can, of course, substitute the butternut squash filling for another of your baby's favorite veggies - but I think butternut squash is so healthy and tasty!
 
2 oz (1/2 cup) flour (unbleached)
2 oz (1/2 cup) semolina flour
2-3 fl oz (1/3 cup) very warm water
1 tbsp olive oil
around 6 oz (3/4 cup) butternut squash, peeled, cooked and mashed
pinch of sweet paprika (optional)
 
Mix the flours together, then slowly add the oil and water, mixing well (this is easiest to achieve with a food processor set at the lowest speed).
The mixture should become a ball of dough - if it seems too dry, add a teaspoon of water at a time until a ball is formed.
Knead the dough thoroughly, then divide into two pieces.
Roll out each piece VERY thinly.
Stir the paprika into the butternut squash.
 
EITHER
Take heaped teaspoons of the butternut squash and place at intervals along 1 sheet of pasta.
Place the other sheet of pasta over the top and press down around the 'mounds' of butternut squash.
Next, cut around the butternut squash mounds with a very sharp knife.
Create a decorative edge for your ravioli by pressing all the way around the edge with the wet prongs of a fork.
 
OR
Splash out on some ravioli moulds.
They are inexpensive and make it much easier to create perfect ravioli shapes!
 
NEXT...
Bring a large pan of water to the boil, then carefully slide in your ravioli shapes (I find it best to cook just three or four at a time).
When the shapes rise to the surface of the water, they are ready. Carefully remove them with a slotted spoon.
Serve as they are - with a fresh tomato sauce - or even with a sauce of another veggie puree thinned with a little stock!

Do YOU have any baby recipes that you would like to share?  I would love to do a guest post on this topic!!!

Have a great day!

Jaime "Peanut's Mom"

Friday, March 25, 2011

11 Months Old!!!

Happy Friday Everyone!

The day has arrived...only one more month until we count our baby's age in YEAR format!  (Makes me want to cry!!!)

Happy 11 Months, Miss Braelyn!!!

She is crawling all over and pulling herself up on almost anything.   

She has 5 teeth, with 3 more making their way through. 

She loves cookies!  Calm down...BABY COOKIES, she doesn't eat sugary stuff yet.  (Well, maybe a little taste of Mama's mint chocolate chip ice cream!)

She says:  Mama, Dada, YAAAAY (while clapping her hands) and HI (the "hi" thing is new, but she will usually say HI to her brother when he gets home from school!)

She loves to watch Team Umizoomi, Bubble Guppies and Dora the Explorer. 

She loves music and DANCES all the time...Mama's girl!!!

She is just the sweetest, most beautiful little girl in the world and I love her with all my heart!

Have a great weekend!

Jaime "Peanut's Mom"

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Princess Party!!!

Good Morning Everyone!

Believe it or not, Miss B is turning 11 months old this Friday!  I will post her stats and 11 month info on Friday, btw. 

Makes me want to cry!  ONE YEAR OLD???  I am going to hide my sadness that my little girl is growing so fast, though, and plan a HUGE PRINCESS PARTY!!!

Princess Braelyn's cousin, Princess Savannah, is turning 4 years old just days before Princess Braelyn, so we are having a joint party for the two girls...on Easter Sunday.  I figured it makes sense, with family coming over already.

Who's making the cake???  Well...ME, OF COURSE!!!  I'm kicking a few ideas around...


Which one do you like the best???

Happy Spring! (Even though it's snowing here...yuck.)

Jaime "Peanut's Mom"

Thursday, March 17, 2011

WANTED: Mom Bloggers with 200+ Followers for GIVEAWAY!!!

Top O' the Morning to Ya! (Happy St. Patrick's Day!)

I am looking for 3 Mom Bloggers with 200+ Followers to help me out with a cool giveaway.  I am trying to market my new Braelyn's Boutique line of tutus, clothing and hair accessories and would love it if I could get a few cool Mom Bloggers to post a giveaway of a custom-made tutu. 

What's in it for you?  A custom-made tutu for your little princess!


Please comment on this post with your e-mail address and I will select a few bloggers to help me out.  You will hear from me by early next week if you're selected.

Thanks Everyone and Have a LUCKY Day!

Jaime "Peanut's Mom"

Friday, March 11, 2011

Etsy Shop is Open For Business!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Please check out my store at Etsy...I will be adding items all weekend.


http://www.etsy.com/shop/BraelynsBoutique

Speaking of weekend, HAVE A GREAT ONE!!!

Jaime "Peanut's Mom"

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Happy Belated Birthday, Daddy!

This post is shamefully late, but we want to wish Daddy (aka Da-Da) a very Happy Birthday!  We were out of town for a couple of days, but came home and had good food, birthday cake and ice cream.

Happy Birthday to the BEST Daddy in the World!
(Birthday Lunch @ Damon's...Braelyn was more interested in the ice cream, not pictures!)

Have a great day!

Jaime "Peanut's Mom"

Friday, March 4, 2011

Baby's First Swimsuits

Think Spring?  Nah...THINK SUMMER!

I ordered Miss B's very first swimsuits (yes, swimsuits...plural) already.  Kohl's had a great deal: 15% off and free shipping.  Here's what we got the pretty girl:

They are SO CUTE!  I was going for style AND comfort and think we got 2 really great options for her. 

I am currently in the market for a super cute kiddie pool with some type of canopy over the top.  I'll keep you posted as to what we get for her...

Happy Friday!

Jaime "Peanut's Mom"

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Chicken and Rice "Lasagna"

Mornin'!

It's been awhile since I did a recipe post, but I think this one is pretty darn tasty.  We had it last night for dinner.  I've made it in the past with ground beef (which is good too), but last night I tried it with chicken.  Super good!

Ingredients:
2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken
2 cups of uncooked instant rice (I used brown rice)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2-3 cups of shredded cheese (depending on how cheesy you like your lasagna...I used 2 1/2 cups total.)
1/2 cup of cottage cheese (optional...I actually didn't have any in our fridge, so I skipped the cottage cheese this time around.)
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce (I used Classico's Sweet Basil).
Black Pepper (I never add salt to anything...)

  • PREHEAT oven to 375°F. Coat 13 x 9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

  • PREPARE rice according to package directions. Cool slightly. Combine rice, eggs and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese in medium bowl. Mix well; set aside.

  • COMBINE 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, Mozzarella cheese and cottage cheese in separate bowl. Mix well; set aside. Spray large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray.

  • PUT chicken into pan and brown over medium heat.  Dice cooked/browned chicken into bite size pieces and return to pan.  Add spaghetti sauce; continue cooking until thoroughly heated.

  • SPOON one-half of rice mixture into baking dish. Cover with one-half of cheese mixture. Top with one-half of meat sauce. Repeat layers. Top with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and a 1/2-1 cup of shredded mozzarella or your favorite cheese.

  • BAKE 30 minutes or until golden brown and thoroughly heated.


  • Like I said above, SUPER GOOD and fairly healthy too!

    Have a great day and don't forget to enter my giveaway!!!

    Jaime "Peanut's Mom"

    Tuesday, March 1, 2011

    Tutu Giveaway!!!

    Good Morning!

    I have a really fun giveaway for you guys!  I am trying to build my Facebook Page, with lots of fans and I am hoping you will help me out.

    Up for grabs is this beautiful pink and white tutu made by me for my new business venture and hobby, Braelyn's Boutique.
    I can adjust the size to fit your little princess. 

    TO ENTER:  Please find Braelyn's Boutique on Facebook and like us.  (Add a comment, telling me you did below this post, please.)

    EXTRA ENTRY #1:  Follow this blog and be sure to comment that you are!

    EXTRA ENTRY #2:  Refer a friend to Facebook and my blog to receive 2 entries and again, please comment that you did so.

    Giveaway ends March 8th at 10pm.  Winner will be contacted on March 9th for details on sizing, address, etc.  Please be sure to leave your e-mail address too!  Good luck!!!

    Have a great day!

    Jaime "Peanut's Mom"