Friday's Food: Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Mmmm Mmmmm Good. 

A new favorite even.

I made this last night for the first time:

 

Every time I try something new, I have my husband rate it on a scale of 1-10. 
1=NASTY and we're having cereal instead
10= WOW make it again and I can't wait for leftovers again tomorrow!!!!

My son never rates anything.  He's six.  He dislikes anything besides hotdogs and pizza.  But he's a good boy and eats whatever I give him anyway.  It's taken work, and sometimes bribery, and always patience.  But he's doing GREAT at eating what he's given.  I figure eventually his taste buds will appreciate variety.

Anyway, before I had a chance to ask my husband his rating he offered a 10+
My son (when he f.i.n.a.l.l.y tried his first bite) got all wide eyed and also gave it a thumbs up.
Now that's really saying something.
He ACTUALLY LIKED IT!!!!

So, here it is.  I hope it gets a 10+ in your home too.  If not, I apologize for getting your hopes up.  Kind of like when someone says a movie is the BEST movie EVER and will change your life,.....and you watch it and uh, fall asleep.


Chicken Pot Pie
1 can chicken chunks (or 2 chicken breasts chopped and cooked)
2 cans white potatoes (or 3-4 medium potatoes chopped and boiled until tender)
1 small package of frozen peas and carrots
1 can cream of chicken soup (or homemade cream of chicken soup)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder

Mix all ingredients together in large bowl and pour into pie crust. Seal mixture inside pie crust with pie crust top.  Cut design into top and bake at 350 degrees (fahrenheit) for about 55 minutes or until heated through and crust is done.  Should be lightly golden brown. 

1 recipe Double Pie crust (or ready-made from store)
* pie crust recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

2 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
2/3 C. shortening
8-10 Tbl. cold water

In medium bowl stir together flour and salt.  Using a pastry blender (or fork) cut in shortening until pieces are about pea-size.  Sprinkle 1 Tbl. of water over part of flour mixture and gently toss with fork  Push moistened dough to side of bowl.  Repeat 1 Tbl. at a time until all of the flour mixture is moistened.  Divide in half and form each half into a ball.  On  a lighly floured surface, roll dough out flat to about 12 inch diameter.  To transfer the dough, wrap it around the rolling pin and place over pie dish, gently pushing it down to fill in the pie dish so it won't break when you put the filling in.  Do the same with the other ball of dough, place over top of filled pie.  seal seam and cutt off excess dough.  Cut slits in top for steam to escape.

LET ME KNOW IF YOU LIKE IT AS MUCH AS WE DO

Thursday's Thing to Do: Cereal Necklace

Honestly, is there anyone out there that has never had a cereal necklace or bracelet?

(if so, today is YOUR day!!!!) 

 

They were my favorite as a little girl. 

However, in that transition time between little girl and mom, I forgot about them....until today. 

I'm thinking about how fun it will be to do.  I bet my son would even like it because it's food...

as long as every piece of cereal is either blue or green since he's realized that pink is "ewwwww girlie" and pink, if touched, will give him the plague. 

 

If you've had amnesia and forgot about this simple fun, here are the tips on what you need and how to do it:

 

 

Cereal Necklace: 

(a.k.a. The Wearable Snack)

 

Cereal (multi-colored is extra fun, and the cereal should have holes in the middle.  If you have older kids, you could use cereal without holes and have them use a thread and needle---if you trust them with such weapons while sitting in close proximity.)

 

Yarn (cut in 3 foot sections) OR thin licorice ropes

 

Development: This a a great activity for preschool age kids to practive their fine motor skills as they string the cereal on the yarn.  You can also use this as an activity with learning colors, or practicing their sorting skills. 

 

Tips: With young children it can help to tape one end of the yarn onto the table while they string the cereal onto the other end, this way it doesn't fall off constantly.  When they're done, help them tie the ends together. 

 

***And please remember, necklaces can be choking hazards if they're climbing trees, etc. etc.  So, be wise.

 

Friday's Food: Vegetable Pizza

That's right...a vegetable pizza.  You can hide all kind of nutrients in this sneaky pizza.  The smaller you chop the vegetables the less recognizable they are. :)

Vegetable Pizza

1 8-oz pkg refrigerated crescent rolls

1 8-oz pkg cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 tsp mayonnaise

1 garlic clove finely minced

1 tsp. dill seed (or dill weed)

salt

black pepper

1/4 Cup cheddar cheese, shredded

2 C. Assorted Fresh Vegetables of your choice (broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, tomato, green onion, mushrooms, carrot, zucchini, squash, etc.)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Unroll crescent dough; seperate into 8 triangles.  On a large pizza pan, arrange triangles in a circle with points in the center and wide ends toward the outside.  By pinching seams together and rolling flat, make a 12-inch circle.  Bake 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown.  Remove from oven and cool completely. 

2.  In a medium size bowl, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, garlic and dill weed.  Season with salt and pepper.  Mix well.  Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over top of crust.

3.  To prepare vegetables, slice, dice, or coarsely chop each vegetable.  (Remember, the smaller the pieces the less likely they'll recognize it.)

4.  Sprinkle vegetables over top of pizza.  Grate cheese evenly over top of vegetables.  Place plastic wrap over top of pizza and push vegetables into cream cheese mixture, (this helps them not fall off as it's being eaten).  Remove plastic wrap.  Cut into squares and serve.  Keep refrigerated.

*Variation: Ranch Cream Cheese mixture.  Mix 1 1/2 tsp. mayonnaise with about 1/2 envelope of dry ranch dressing until smooth, then mix with 8 oz. cream cheese.   

Friday's Food: Potato Wedges

Yummy! Yummy! Easy! Yummy!

POTATO WEDGES
Serves 4

4 medium potatoes, cut into large wedges
1 Tb. olive oil
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. garlic salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place cut potatoes in a large bowl, sprinkle with oil, pepper, and salt. With hands, toss gently to combine.
Arrange seasoned potatoes in single layer on greased baking sheet.
Bake 10-15 minutes, then turn potatoes with spatula and bake another 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with ketchup or other desired dipping sauce.

Thanks Katrina! 

(I stole this recipe from her here and my son asks for it EVERY day...he's extra happy on the days I cater to his craving. Healthier than french fries, but loved just as much!)

Friday Favorite: Snack Feeder

This is made by KidCo, Inc. 

It's called the Healthy Snack Feeder.

It's dishwasher safe, yes, even the little bags.

(You can buy a pack of bags seperately so you don't have a billion handles hanging around the house and can just switch our the bags for clean ones.)

You can put whole grapes in it, or carrot sticks, or peas, or apple slices, or frozen foods for teething time, or ......... you get the idea. 

Closes securely.

Reduces choking hazards because they only get the stuff they've mushed through the netting.

***Great for teething time-- they can gnaw on something that'll give 'em a little nutrition too.

I LOVE this.  If you have a little one, I highly suggest it.  I've seen different ones made my different companies and personally love this one best though others do the same basic thing. 

I bought it here: Cotton Babies I like that it's free shipping no matter the size of order.

(for some reason they don't sell the bag packs anymore though...hmmm...)

Kidco Products are also sold at MANY local and online stores...check out their website Kidco.com

Friday Food: Doggie Boats

DOGGIE BOATS

Ingredients:
*Hot Dogs
*Mashed Potatoes
*Grated Cheddar Cheese
*toothpicks and paper to make sails

1.  Lightly grease cookie sheet and preheat oven to 350 degrees
2.  Slice each hotdog length-wise, almost cutting into two seperate pieces
3.  Spread hotdogs flat on cookie sheet, flat (cut) side up.
4.  Top with mashed potatoes (great way to use those leftovers.)
5.  Sprinkle grated cheese on top
6.  Bake in oven for about 15-20 minutes or until heated through and cheese melts
7.  While baking, make sails by cutting triangles out of paper and taping to toothpicks
8.  After baking, place one sail in each "boat" and serve with ketchup if desired.

*Note... I used cheesey garlic mashed potatoes so they melted over the sides, but it was still tasty.  Try different kinds of potatoes.  Also, be careful with the pointy toothpicks with young children. 

My son loves these!!!

                                                             

Friday's Food: Mini Pizza's

This was my FAVORITE as a kid!!!

Ingredients:
- Pillsbury refrigerated biscuits (in the tube that *pops* and scares you when you open it)
- 8 oz. can tomato sauce (or ready pizza sauce or plain spaghetti sauce)
- Dried spices (oregano, garlic powder, basil, or italian seasoning mix)
- Grated cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, parmesan, etc.)
- Toppings of your choice
(ex: pepperoni, sliced black olives, pineapple chunks, lunch meat ham cut in small squares, green pepper strips, etc.)

Directions:
1.  Lightly grease a cookie sheet.   
2.  Have children help roll out individual biscuits, with their hands, rolling pin, or a plastic cup, then place individual pizzas on the cookie sheet
3.  Spoon tomato sauce (or other sauce) on each circle of biscuit dough
4.  If using plain tomato sauce, sprinkle spices on top.  (With young children, you'll want to do this part)
5.  Let kids top their own  pizza.  They can make faces, designs, flowers, etc. with their toppings if they want to.
6.  Bake in oven according to regular biscuit directions on package

This isn't a world famous tasty pizza recipe, but because kids can make it themselves and it's tiny just like them, they'll think it is amazing and will beg for more.

***Variations: use homemade biscuit dough, and divide into small balls for them to work with, or use english muffins. 

***Tip: line the cookie sheet with aluminum foil, then lightly grease it.  Makes for a super easy clean up after it bakes, especially if kids get messy with their ingredients.

Friday's Food: Zucchini Oven Chips

I didn't take this beautiful picture...it's from myrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1/4  cup  dry breadcrumbs
• 1/4  cup  (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1/4  teaspoon  seasoned salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  garlic powder
• 1/8  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 2  tablespoons  fat-free milk
• 2 1/2  cups  (1/4-inch-thick) slices zucchini (about 2 small)
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Place milk in a shallow bowl. Dip zucchini slices in milk, and dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Place coated slices on an ovenproof wire rack coated with cooking spray; place rack on a baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until browned and crisp. Serve immediately.

~Recipe from www.myrecipes.com

Friday's Food: Octopus Lunch

What you'll need:
1 hotdog per child
ketchup
mustard
butter knife
boiling water

For each hotdog, hold it in your hand vertically so you can only see the end circle.  Be very careful and slice the circle like a pie, into eight sections, leave about two inches of the hotdog uncut.  This forms the long octopus legs.  Put the hotdog into boiling water.  As it cooks, the legs will curl out.  Serve with ketchup, and mustard. 

Friday's Food: Peanut Butter Quesadillas

Because of the survey....I've learned that several of you would like kid friendly food ideas.  I'm glad you thought of it!  What a great idea!  So, Friday's will now include Food, not only Favorites.  Our first recipe is very simple...but if you haven't tried this simple twist on two classics, you really should!

Peanut Butter Quesadillas (kind of...there's no queso)
1 tsp. butter
1 flour tortilla
2 Tbl. Peanut Butter
2 Tbl. Grape Jelly

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Spread one side of the tortilla with peanut butter.  Fold tortilla in half so that the peanut butter is on the inside.  Place folded tortilla in skillet, and heat until lightly browned on each side.  Slice into wedges, and dip in jelly to serve.
You can also serve this unfried, and spread the pb&j inside....a great alternative to bread. 

Tuesday's Tips: Picky Eaters

courtesy of
teachinghighschoolpsychology.blogspot.com

As a mom it's frustrating when a child won't eat the food you've prepared for them.  Sometimes it can even become worrisome if they aren't eating enough, or aren't eating a variety of foods to get the nutrients they need.  The number of possible solutions are endless....and there will be more posts on this topic.  But here are a few to try if you're at the point of throwing your hands up in the air at every meal time. 

*Think of your child's personality.  The same things don't work with every child.
*Also remember to be positive.  If you're nagging, getting mad, punishing, etc. it actually backfires worse than you have any idea.  It becomes a power struggle and that doesn't work.  The child will push back harder and harder
*Sprinkles.  Many kids will eat anything with sprinkles on it.  Broccoli, green beans, peaches, pasta, chicken.....  It sounds gross, but is true.  Just remember, you don't have to have it on your own food. 
*Shapes.  Do you have cookie cutters in the shape of hearts, stars, etc.  Use them on sandwiches and other food.  You can also use a butter knife to cut a shape.  Just be careful and don't make it too elaborate.  You'd regret your child requesting a detailed ferris wheel ham sandwich every day.
*Dipping.  Some kids believe Ranch dressing or Ketchup make everything wonderful.  And I do mean EVERYTHING.  While you don't want your child to be drinking ketchup and ranch because they're not very healthy, there are a lot of foods that if dipping will help them want to eat it, the nutrients in the food will outweigh the unhealthiness of the dips.  You could also try yogurt, hummus, or other things your child may like.
*Other kids.  My son will always eat what he sees other children eat.  He seems to trust their tastebuds more than mine or my husband's.  Have a lunch group, or occasional meal with cousins or neighbors and let your child sit with the other kids.  Then dish up the same food the others are eating.  Not just what you know they already like. 
*Making food.  If a child helps make a food it can be more exciting to them.  They feel like they have ownership of the food and will often times love it.
*Counting.  "At least one bite" is a good standard rule.  If you are consistent with this, they'll know they can stop after one bite and you won't bother them anymore.  So, they'll do it without a tantrum. 
Best case scenario: they love it and will eat more. 
Worst case scenario: they tried something new and got a few nutrients. 
You could try another way of counting besides "at least one bite".  You may tell them ten bites of food on their plate...but they can choose which foods, or can even ask them how many bites they will take and then hold them to it (in positive encouraging ways...not punishments).  There are many ways to implement counting into eating.  And children who are learning to count seem to repond well. 
If your child doesn't want to eat everything, it's okay.  Forcing them to eat everything can add to multiple problems like not recognizing when they're full and can 'turn off' their ability to recognize when they're full...which leads to overeating in the future.  It can also become a power struggle-which three year olds are especially excellent at.

If none of these things help, don't give up hope.  If you are seriously concerned, talk with your pediatrician.