Green day

With Roman asleep for his new trend of taking a morning 2 hour nap I find myself in the kitchen making flatbread. It is pretty good and pretty easy too.
Preheat the oven to 450 F and place the pan in the oven
Its just:
1 3/4 unbleached all pourpose flour
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup olive oil
(I added some onion powder and some sesame seeds too)

Mix the dry stuff make a well then mix the oil and water in with a wooden spoon. Hand knead 3-4 times. I divided to make 6 small balls. I rolled them out with both a rolling pin then I switched to my hand to flatten it out. I put some sea salt on top with some sprinkles, rosemary, and sesame seeds and even onion powder on some THEN top with olive oil and I pressed it all in with my fingers. Pop in the oven for 8 to 9 minutes. Keep an eye on it till it starts to get golden on the edges.

I used waxed paper to flatten my bread, but didnt put it in the oven as I didn't have parchment paper just wax which smokes. Not that I have done that before.
SOURCE

Why a greenday? I was saving some green using the inexpensive things I had on hand. We ate all the rosemarry crackers I got at the store so now we get to try these. I think they are pretty good. I liked the ones that are not too thin, they are a cross between a cracker and bread. Not as crunchy as cracker but still good.


ALSO I realized I had not posted anything about going green in a while. SO here is my tip today. Pay all your bills online. I read this post today that reminded me how this idea is good in so many ways. Saves on the postage and might save you from possible mail thieves who want your credit identity!

Homemade "clif" bars

I made some clif like peanut butter bars today. I have a ton of peanut butter and oats to use up. I altered this one up a little too because I cant follow it to the T. I will be making them again because I found some rice cereal to use.


I found the recipe here. I like that its no bake, but you do have to use the stove a little tiny bit.

1 cup Uncooked quick oats {I used old fashioned and did almost 2 cups to make up for lack of rice cereal}
1 1/4 cups Rice Krispies {I did not use them - I used 1/2 cup of corn flakes and crushed them in my hand to mkae them smaller}
1/4 cup Finely chopped roasted peanuts
3 Tbl Flaxseed meal (ground flaxseed) {I ground my own flaxseed - I dont think it was as fine}
1/4 cup Finely chopped dried dates {I used prunes}
1/4 cup Honey
Dark brown sugar {Used normal plus half splenda brown sugar}
1 tsp Vanilla
1/3 cup Peanut butter {I used crunchy}
1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon

grease an 8-inch square pan

1.) Combine oats, Rice Krispies, peanuts, flaxseed meal and dried dates in a large mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly.

2.) Heat ¼ cup of honey with 2 tbsp. dark brown sugar over medium-high heat in a small saucepan, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to boil. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in 1 tsp. of vanilla, 1/3 cup of peanut butter and ½ tsp. of ground cinnamon. Blend well.

3.) Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring well to coat everything thoroughly. {I used my hands at the end made sure to butter the pan ahead so you can just press it in} Firmly press the Cliff bar batter into the pan and cool it to room temperature on a wire rack

4.) Cut into 12 bars, and tightly wrap them individually in plastic wrap. Store the bars in the refrigerator. {I made 8 bars. I didn't wait till it cooled all the way and I pressed them together with my hand more in a mini zip lock.}

They are so good! I LOVE THEM> I am going to make more and double the recipe so I can use up all this peanut butter and cereal. I wonder if they will freeze?!

Upset baby new recipe.

This morning I made an overnight french toast with some left over cranberry walnut bread using the following recipe. Roman was just throwing a fit because he ate his breakfast first while it was in the oven, then I shared some with him but when it was gone he was VERY upset. Stomping his feet and pouting and yelling about it. It was pretty funny. I guess he likes this one too.

adapted from this website. I have made another pumpkin one before and it is SOOO GOOD! We topped both with whip cream and agave/maple syrup. I have yet to make the crust on either. I dont think it needs it, but I am sure it would only be that much better. I do like the cubes of bread in this one.

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• squirt of Agave nectar
  
• 1 tbl ground cinnamon
• 5 cups cubed crusty bread (I didn't measure.. it was just the rest of the loaf I think it was over 5 though)
  

Directions

Night before

• In a bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, yolk, salt, agave, and cinnamon.
• Add the bread cubes to the dish you will be using.
  
• Pour milk mixture on top
• Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate
  

Next morning

• Take out of fridge and let come to room temp while oven heats up
• Preheat oven to 350ºF
• Bake until custard is set 25 to 35 minutes, depending on bread
• I topped mine with some cinnamon and sugar before I put it in the oven. I had to mix around my bread crumbs in the mixture before I went to bed. I had so many they didn't all get soaked. When I put it in the top layer became pretty crusty, but it was still good.
  

Mango, Peas, and Pears Please.

Roman on July 5th in the pool with his ducky

Same day

Roman eating the beets my mom made for him - Or not eating

He looks like he just killed something.. and put on lipstick.

I was laughing so hard when i took this because it really looked like he had on lipstick!

I love reading posts but I just hardly have much to say and plus sometimes I don't feel like anyone reads my blog. I know you do.. Since you are right now. BUT sometimes I don't know who YOU are. I will admit that sometimes I don't read a post if there are no photos. SOO I posted photos. :) Just for those like me.
Leave some love.

Well this post might not interest many but I made a second attempt at making foods for Roman.
To backtrack - So far I have pureed and froze (Organic) Carrots, sweet potatoes, and pears. All in individual little cubes. I was so excited because he had liked the sweet potatoes and carrots that I got at the store at that point and when I was making him the pears I let him taste it in his mesh teether and he LOVED them. But he seems to hate my food. I think its not as smooth as the jars. I had to mix it with jars to get him to eat most of it. Sometimes he ate mine alone, not its still not gone. I decided to buy jars in an effort to get him to eat more things and see what he likes because at almost 8 months he had had like 5 things. I tried to start him on Veggies. I think he had bananas, then avocados, sweet potatoes - Maybe? Did I post about this already? Why did I not write this down? OK well. He hates veggies now. He has had a handful of others now and its official that he does not like any and all veggies unless they are mixed with fruits and preferably pears. He LOVES pears. I think tonight he ate so many that he was stuffed and not happy. He also likes bananas but I found out they are binding we are trying to be unbinding so I am limiting his banana intake now. Poor little guy was having troubles with his output.

I recently found a new prodcut at BabiesRUS. Its food pouches. They have mixed fruits and veggies in fun combos. Like "sweet potatoes, pumpkin, apples, and blueberries" or "Broccoli, pears, and peas". The two companies are Ella's Kitchen and Plum Organics. They have many combos and I was told by two people in the isle that their kids LOVE them. SOO i had to try them for Roman. He of course loves them and he can suck on them like a little juice pack with a giant straw. Or you can squeeze it right into his mouth or onto a spoon. We love them they are so easy to use! PLUS I think I can upcycle Ella's Kitchen. See Terracycle for more info on upcycling. Get paid to save the earth! I think I might do a post on them. !?

Why am I talking about them when I am supposed to be talking about homemade foods? Because they inspired me to make my own veggie/fruit mix. I came up with drum roll.......... Mango, Peas, and Pears of course - Hint hint! Let me tell you I am so proud they tasted good! I did about 1 cup peas and used one small pear and one mango. I choose not to peal the pear since he should be able to digest them at his age easily (according to the internet). I used ice cube trays for the first half then had the brilliant idea of freezing them in my extra Medela bags. BRILLIANT Idea. Since the peal did not puree very well I decided to strain it in a pasta strainer to get some of the larger pieces out. I put them in the bags and was able to see how much it was. Since its in a larger portion for him now I plan to just take out the bag and thaw in the fridge or in warm water then serve! The cubes also were getting freezer burn in the bag and I hope this will prevent it. I plan to make something with apples, broccoli, carrots, blueberries and I think blackberries. Whats the difference with Yams and Sweet potatoes I have those to use too? I know people have different thoughts on berries, but he has had strawberries and raspberries with no reaction so as long as the internet doesn't freak me out I plan to use those soon too.

Roman liked it tonight, but I gave him the unstained version so I did have some food spit back out, but he ate most of it with some added pears and some bites he ate just fine with no added pears! (I have a ton of Organic Pears since it was the special of the day at BabiesRUs - 3.60 for 12 jars!) I think I will for sure make this again and maybe just use mango and pear? Or Peach instead? The possibilities are endless! Wish me luck!

Easy Meal - Risotto

Pretty simple and delicious risotto. I found a similar recipe and just changed and added a few things to make it my own. I thought we would have left overs, but we didn't. I guess that's a good thing?

Spinach, Shrimp, and Mushroom Risotto

Cook time from start to finish - about 35 minutes (depends on how fast you prep)
Servings - 6 as a side or 2-3 as a main dish.

Ingredients:
2 cans reduced-sodium chicken broth

pepper to taste in broth
Garlic powder to taste in rice

Nonstick cooking spray

1 cup uncooked arborio rice

1-1/2 to 2 cups chopped fresh spinach

1/2 cup fresh or frozen mushrooms

1/2 to 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups (or however much you want) Shrimp

Preparation:

1. Bring broth and pepper to boil in small saucepan and reduce heat to keep simmering.

2. Spray large saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until hot. Add rice and stir about 1 minute. Stir 2/3 cup hot chicken broth into saucepan; cook, stirring constantly, until broth is absorbed. Add garlic powder.

3. Add remaining broth 1/2 cup at a time making sure it's is absorbed before adding next. When last 1/2 cup chicken broth is added, stir in spinach, shrimp, and mushrooms. Cook, stirring gently until all broth is absorbed, everything is hot, and rice is done. (Total cooking time for chicken broth absorption is about 20 minutes.)

4. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in cheese and serve.

My Favorite Shake

I love this shake and would make it everyday if I had bananas.

Ingredients:
4 or 5 ice cubes
splash of milk (1/4 cup) - I like mine thick so add more milk if you want
Scoop of Peanut butter
1 Banana
1/2 cup frozen blue berries

Blend in Blender till smooth

Optional Extras -
Cinnamon
Ground oats (just put in blender before you make shake then add at end)
Honey
You can also use water instead of milk

Easy Apple Crisp

To make apple crisp you need the following

Insides:

• 1 unbaked pie shell, 9-inch
• 6 cups peeled apple slices (6-7 apples)
  
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Topping:

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons butter - close to room temp but not melted
  

Put the pre-made crust into the pie dish. You can cut the apples really really thin and overlap them or use bigger chunks. Fill the pie shell with the apple slices. Then combine the Insides and sprinkle over top. It all combines in the end, but I am sure it would be fine if you wanted to toss them all together. Combine toppings in small bowl until crumbly then sprinkle over top. I had only a tbsp left of the butter so I cut that into small peices and put it on too. Bake at 400 F for 45 to 50 minutes or untill apples are tender and topping is brown. I thought about adding some honey to it too but forgot.. but I put it on top of one of my slices and it was so good!

This takes the most time..

Tadaaa! Apple Crisp. Its so good.

No bake cookies

No bake cookies
1/2C peanut butter

3 tsp cocoa

2 C sugar

1/2 C butter

1/2 C milk

2 C or 3C of oats

1 tsp vanilla

Stir all ingredients except the oats and vanilla into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook till bubbly. Only a few minutes - keep an eye on it. Take off burner and stir in oats and vanilla. Line pan with wax paper to make drop cookies or line whole pan with foil and make one big pan to cut into bars later. I topped part of mine with dried cranberries and part with chocolate chips and left the last part topless. Let sit overnight then cut.

The recipe I found on my cousin in laws blog had called for 3 cups of oats but I only had 2. This is her blog http://deannasstuff.blogspot.com/ and she posted on July 10th. I looked at a few other recipes too and decided the world would not end without that last cup. I have a feeling they might end up falling apart easier but we will see. So after being in the fridge for an hour they were still too soft. SO I put them in the freezer to cut some of them and then I left them out on the counter overnight and they were so much better. So in the end I suggest leaving them alone overnight before you cut them.

Pizza!!!!!

I like to cook and more then cook I like to create things that are pretty simple and taste good. Last night I made some pizza from pizza dough in a bag. From the last time I used it I remembered there was more dough then I wanted to make it as thin as I like. On the bag was a recipe for Parmesan Bread sticks so I decided to use half to make the pizza and half the bread sticks.

For Pizza Heat oven to 475F/240C
Need half of pizza dough recipe
Rolling pin
Flour to make rolling out easier
Olive Oil
Crushed Tomatoes from can or pizza sauce
Toppings - Jalapenos, Green Onions, Basil, Ham (for mine)
Cheese - about 2 cups of Mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan

So I halved the dry ingredients and the water I added to it to make the pizza dough. I then used a rolling pin on a floured board to make it as thin as I could. I use aluminum pans because I my oven is so small I don't have a "real" one to fit. (Next time I am going to use a homemade recipe I found online.) So after I had it as thin as I wanted it I transferred it to the pan and I topped with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil then crushed tomatoes instead of pizza sauce I didn't use very much about a half cup to a cup of sauce. I used some green onions, jalapenos (from the jar not fresh), ham lunch meat, fresh basil, and some mozzarella and a little bit of Parmesan cheese. Bake in the oven ( 240 C/475 F) for 15 to 20 minutes till the cheese and crust is brown.


Bread sticks same oven temp
Half bread stick recipe from back of pizza dough recipe
Recipe includes Water, Sugar, Italian Seasoning, Parmesan cheese

The Bread was pretty simple too Following the directions on the package I used half the water 1/6 cup of water 1 tbs butter/margarine 1 tbs sugar, I used around 1 tsp of Italian Seasoning, but I added more Parmesan cheese then it called for and mixed and formed into a block and cut 4 instead of 8 bread sticks. Let rise for 10 minutes and top with melted butter and more cheese. It baked while the pizza was cooling for around 10 minutes. I am sure if your oven was bigger you could do it all together just be sure to watch it.