His Mess: untested
My Stress: 5
Overall Success: untested

Don’t judge this by the name. One night I had vegetables that were in danger of hitting the garbage in a few days, and reheating them sometimes is so dull and not worthwhile. So I intergrated (aka hid) them in a household favorite.  I think it was quite good and intend to retry this for the little one to sneak those veggies in him.

White Cheese and Sausage Pasta (+ Garbage of your choosing)

This variation used rigatoni and leftover roasted cauliflower and sweet potato, and...my child's uneaten spinach souffle! I added some basil too from my fading plant.

1/2 lb Italian sausage
Cooking spray
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
2 cups 1% skim milk
pre-cooked vegetables leftover in fridge
6 cups hot cooked ziti or other tube pasta
3/4 cups fresh grated Parmesan
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup shredded mozzerella

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Remove sausage from casings. Place a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat, cook sasuage until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain well, set aside. Wipe dripping from pan with a paper towel.
3. Melt butter in pan over medium heat. Add flour: stir with a whisk. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Cook until thick (about 8 minutes); remove from heat. Take sauce and leftover vegetables and put in food processor or blender. Blend till pretty well blended.
4. Combine sausage, sauce, pasta, salt, and Parmesan in a large bowl. Spoon mixture into a 11×7 inch baking dish coated with spray. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Season them any way you'd like!

My distress: 4
His mess: 5
Overall success: 9

Mmmm…Mmmmm…Mmmmm!

I made these awhile back with less thrilling Italian Herbs on the parsnips and joked he ate them like Chili Cheese Fries.  So today, that’s how I made them.  (I threw in some carrots into the mix because I had them.)

I had to look up parsnips to see what nutritional value they had because they really tasted a lot like potato french fries.   They are a “potato with benefits”.  High in the carb category and potassium and vitamin C, but what these white roots vegetables have are fiber and the forever-precious and hard to find folate.

Parsnip Fries
Parsnips cut into similarly sized sticks
Olive oil
Chili powder
Garlic powder
Parmesan cheese
Combine all in a bowl and spread on baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees until looking somewhat golden and crisp. Toss once and put back in for a little extra golden crisp.

//

My distress: 4
His mess: 6
Overall success: 2

Our love of stews may be waning, but my love of the slow cooker is not.  I struggle to find vegetable recipes for this working mom’s BFF machine.  I didn’t chop up a ton of veggies, I used a lot of frozen to minimize my effort.  He wasn’t thrilled with the dish, but it was great leftovers for mom and dad.

Vegetable Stew with Cornmeal Dumplings
3 cups peeled butternut or acorn squash (I used frozen)
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes (no salt added)
1 15 oz can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup water
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried Italian spices
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp parsley
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp cooking oil
1 9 oz package frozen green beans

1. Add squash, mushrooms, undrained tomatoes, beans, water, garlic, seasoning and pepper to slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8-10 hours or high-heat for 4-5 hours.
3. For dumplings, stir together flour, cornmeal, cheese, parsley, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, whisk egg, milk, and oil. Add egg mixture to flour mixture; stir with a fork until combined.
4. If using low-heat, turn to high-heat. Stir frozen green beans and stir to mix. Drop dumpling dough into six mounds on top of stew. Sprinkle with paprika to taste. Cover and cook 50 minutes more.

My Distress: 1
His Mess: 4
Overall Success: 9

I remember my mom always having one of these in the freezer.  I never saw her use it.  We definitely never had it for dinner, and it definitely sounded disgusting.

Awhile ago, my girlfriends had an email pow-wow on ideas for toddler meals.  My friend, Linda, said her little G loves these Stouffer’s Spinach Souffles, and she mentioned how wholesome the ingredient list was.  I bought one a long time ago, and just like my mother, it sat in my freezer.  Today, when my shelves were bare for anything green, this is what my E got.

What do you think?  I’d say he likes it to!  I just wish it didn’t take 60 minutes in the oven.  (Only 13 minutes in the microwave).

//

My distress: 3
His mess: 2
Overall success: 6

So I sweetened the pot tonight. No big deal. I wanted some glazed carrots, so I figured E should luck out too. These are super simple, and if you use bagged carrots, there’s no prep! He ate some but not all, and it went well with our homemade chicken fingers.

Honey Glazed Carrots
2 cups carrots
1 Tbsp butter
2-3 Tbsp honey
1-2 tsp ginger (or other seasoning to taste)

Place about ~ 2 cups chopped carrots or bagged baby carrots in an inch of boiling water for 2-4 minutes. Drain carrots. Melt 1 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Throw carrots back in and add honey. Cook till tender preference. Add ginger towards the end.

//

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Pea Pesto for a festive St. Patty's

My distress: 5
His mess: 5
Overall success: 6

It was moments before dinner, so I had no time to get to the computer, research and be creative.  I know I’ve seen this somewhere, so I was inspired yet with no recipe.  I was winging it, which is fun and at the same time potentially disastrous when dealing with a toddler.  (After the fact, if I google “Pea Pesto” tons of options pop up from Food Network, epicurious, etc.  Here’s one from Giada.)

Here’s my effort to make a small batch on the spot.  Pesto is pesto, and it’s strikingly similar to Giada’s.  My little one still has not had nuts, but if that were not an unknown, I’d definitely add pine nuts if I had them on hand.

Pea Pesto (measurements are approximate)
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed or somewhat so
2 garlic cloves
juice from half of a lemon
1/4 cup parmesan
3 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Food process.

I added some basil “from the squeeze tube” to give it the true pesto flavor.

var _kiq = [];
(function(s){
document.write(unescape(‘%3Cscript id=”ki_loader” defer=”defer” src=”‘+document.location.protocol+’//s3.amazonaws.com/j.kissinsights.com/2.0/sites/’+s+’.js?’+(5*Math.floor(new Date().getMinutes()/5))+'”%3E%3C/script%3E’));
})(‘veggietot.wordpress.com’);

My distress: 5
His mess: 4
Overall success: 7

I think dips are really an easy way to get veggies into E.  It’s easy to spread on some bread.  Thankfully he’s a carbo-vore, who will suck down anything if it’s on a cracker or bread.  I made tiny little sandwiches for his daycare lunch.  I ate this on pretzels for part of my lunch.  And most importantly, it’s so easy to throw 4-8 ingredients in the food processor and wipe my hands clean.

I got this from one of my new favorite sites, Simply Recipes.  Enjoy

Portabella Veggieballs

My distress: 1
His mess: 1
Overall success: 10

I raved about Veggie Patch Spinach Nuggets, but I saw these Portabella Veggiballs from Franklin Farms the other day in the produce section.  Comparing the two ingredient lists, I think these are the clear winner with far more wholesome (recognizable) ingredients.  E loved them with his medley of dips (mustard, ketchup, and ranch dressing), and it was the easiest prep for just 15 minutes in the toaster oven.

Ingredients we can pronounce!

My distress: 2
His mess: TBD
Overall success: TBD

My friend Heather asked on Facebook, “Does salsa count as a vegetable for my toddler?”  Overwhelmingly, the response was “Of course.”  Looking at the Tostito jar in my fridge, I’m surprised that I know what every single ingredient is and high corn fructose syrup is not one of them. Made me think, maybe it’s not a bad option, but here’s the rub. Serving size is 2 Tbsp and sodium is 250 mg(10% of DV)! A-ha!

My response since I’m OBSESSED with wholesome veggies for my tot was to buy the heartier package in the produce section rather than the ChiChi’s bottle.  OR could I make a salsa that required a bottle opener more than the sharp edge of a knife.  Answer: I SURE CAN.

Heather, I hope little M likes the salsa that you create. Use whatever is in your pantry and fridge. suggestions are below this evening’s recipe made in honor of Heather.

Heather’s Salsa
small handful of an onion/corn mixture leftover from two bean burgers
2 garlic cloves
a little lemon rind leftover
small amount of spinach
4 canned peach slices
little dash of salt
Food process till well minced.
1 tomato (quartered and rough parts removed)
It wasn’t tomato-y enough, so I drained and added a 16 oz jar of no-salt added diced tomatoes.
Food process till well chopped.  I would’ve loved to have a little jalepeno, but it’s a nice soft, sweet salsa for the kiddos.

Other ideas to add to your salsa: red pepper (fresh or jar of roasted), pineapple, black beans, cilantro, parsley, whole celery stalk, avocado, jalepeno, vinegar, and….(leave your comments for other fresh ideas).

Caveat: I didn’t follow the instructions, so I will one day re-make and update this post.  It was soupier than it should’ve been, so with much luck, the mess will go down a few points.  Even messing it up, great recipe!

My distress: 7

His mess: 7

Overall success: 8

Another messy one this week!  I guess winter will soon be over, and the stew-like recipes will be less frequent.  It was messy, but success more than made up for it.  I was really skeptical when I popped this one in the oven.  Mushrooms are slimy and I thought the lentils would throw him off.  For my little one, the stews are working their magic time and time again.  He laughed and spooned, as I motivated him to have more.

He liked it, I liked it, and the hubby liked it.  I’m beginning to think I need a hubby score 1-10!  Perhaps “Hubby Impressed”?  I’ll work on it.

Here is the recipe from Cooking Light.  And feel free to leave out the white truffle oil.  I’m not so fancy, schmancy to have that in my pantry and left it out.