I’m always looking for ways to sneak veggies into our diet, and I can’t think of a better way to do that than with CHEESE! This was a recipe I adapted from Better Homes and Gardens. Their recipe called for making your own white sauce…and well, that sounded hard. So, I used my handy dandy jarred Alfredo sauce that I got on BOGO, and it was delish! While Brady was a big “help” cooking this meal, I did do a little prep before he came in the kitchen. I boiled a family sized package of cheese tortellini, drained them, and set them aside to cool off. I also did a quick saute on some asparagus, squash and mushrooms and let them cool off a bit. Here’s how the rest of the recipe went down…

Ingredients:

1 large pkg. of cheese tortellini
1 jar of Alfredo sauce
1 yellow squash
1 small bunch of asparagus
pint of grape tomatoes
1 cup of mushrooms
1 pkg. mozzarella cheese

After preparing the tortellini, and sauteing all veggies (not tomatoes) set them aside to cool off. Then layer as follows- Tortellini, half of alfredo sauce, sautéed veggies, tomatoes, other half of alfredo sauce, and top with mozzerella cheese. Then bake at 350* for approximately 30 minutes (or until it’s bubbly on top.)

**Note: I let the pasta and veggies cool off because I had little toddler hands putting this meal together. If I were making this by myself, I would not have needed to let them cool before assembling the dish.

Even though this was packed with veggies, when you eat it, all you can think is, Mmmmm….cheese….

Today’s meal was less about my kid cooking, and more about my kids eating something new. I’ve made veggie lo mein quite a bit, but I added a little different flavor this time around. I’ve noticed that Nolan prefers his food with lots of flavor (who can blame him?) It seems as though the more spice or seasonings in a meal, the better for him. When I first gave him squash I was afraid he wouldn’t like it because I had cooked it with garlic and onions and then quickly realized he loved it WAY more than plain squash. So, today we made veggie lo mein with lots of garlic and ground ginger. It was so fun to see Nolan’s faces as he took bites with different textures and flavors! Here’s how this quick and easy meal came together…

Ingredients:

Onion
Garlic
Broccoli Slaw
Green and Yellow Squash
Mushrooms
Whole Wheat Spaghetti
2 tsp. Ground Ginger
2 Tbs. Soy Sauce

I sauteed all the veggies together in olive oil adding each one in order of what takes the longest to cook…(onions, squash, garlic, slaw, mushrooms.) Once the noodles were cooked I tossed them in with the veggies and continued to cook for a few more minutes, adding the ginger and soy sauce.  SO easy! And way healthier than anything you could get from take-out!

I usually serve this meal with a veggie egg roll. “Chungs” brand is the best frozen egg roll ever!! It makes for a good scooper when you get to the bottom of the bowl.

My little guys are pretty adventurous eaters but don’t always eat their vegetables like I’d like them to, so this is an easy way to sneak a ton of veggies into what looks like a bowl of spaghetti!

Who doesn’t like breakfast for dinner? I was trying to think of a way to mix up the normal breakfast for dinner routine and also keep it meatless for Meatless Monday PLUS have it be something Brady would enjoy helping me cook…Breakfast Pizza! It’s super simple and came out delish! (For the record, this would be great for a brunch and a meat version would be fantastic with crumbled bacon or sausage.)

Ingredients:
Refrigerated Pizza Dough
Scrambled Eggs (6-8 eggs)
2 cups of Shredded Mozzerella
About a half a container of Chive Cream Cheese
Chopped veggies to top

We started by squishing our dough out on a pan…Brady really enjoyed this part. I scrambled up my eggs while my pizza dough was “pre-baking” for about 5 minutes. I left the eggs just a little softer than I normally like them because they will firm up a bit in the oven. After the pizza crust was pre-baked I spread out some of the softened cream cheese for the “sauce.” I then spread out the scrambled eggs. Brady helped me put on the cheese and veggies on top of the eggs. I then baked the pizza at 400* for about 15 minutes (or until the crust looks golden brown.)

I loved how B and N were playing with fake produce as we waited for our Veggie Breakfast pizzas to bake!

Ta-da! It’s sloppy, colorful, and totally imperfect- it’s toddler food art!

It was hot, gooey, and tasty! We used Brady’s favorite veggies (tomatoes and green and red peppers) so he loved it and it was soft enough for Nolan to gobble up as well. Feel free to use any veggies you like if you give this recipe a try- onions and mushrooms would be yummy!

Today was a super cold, snowy day. The kind of day that you stay in your jammies and throw your dinner in the crock pot…so that’s exactly what we did. And lucky for me, toddlers are super good at dumping ingredients and stirring, so my little helper (B-Man) and I made a batch of chili. Mind you, it was a Vegetarian chili and had to be kid friendly (not too spicy.) So, here’s our recipe!

Sweet and Savory 3 Bean Chili

Here’s the “cast of characters”( said in my best Pioneer Woman voice)-

And not pictured is sugar- a tablespoon helps offset any acidity from canned tomatoes and gives it a little sweetness that’s so yummy!

I opened all the cans and drained the beans, corn, and tomatoes and Brady did the dumping. We added the sugar, half a purple onion, about a tablespoon of chili powder (put more in if you like it spicy!), a half a teaspoon of pepper, and a teaspoon of Cumin. Brady did some stirring and then we set the crockpot on low for about 5-6 hours.

To go along with our Chili and make it more fun for Brady, we made some cheesy cornbread dippers. Basically, you make up your cornbread mix and add a cup of shredded cheddar to the batter. Bake it in an 8×8 pan and let it cool. After it’s cooled completely, cut the bread into thin (about half inch) strips and put on a baking pan. Bake the strips at 350* for about 8 minutes on each side. OR, you can also put the strips on a grill pan with a little butter to give them a little char. Either method makes the cornbread have a nice dippable (is that a word?!) crust that’s perfect for dunking in chili. I actually tried both “crisping” methods and prefer the little bit of char on the ones we made on the grill pan.

Here’s our chili bowls with our favorite toppings- cheese, plain greek yogurt (or sour cream), and green onions. I shredded some pepper jack cheese on mine and Chris’s chili to give it a little extra spice since the chili was a little on the mild side.

Brady ate his chili like it was a dip. He used his cornbread, taco chips and even celery to scoop it up. I wasn’t sure what Nolan would think about it. It wasn’t overly spicy, but there was definitely a little warmth going on. But seriously, he TORE it up. Like, finished his little bowl before any of us did. I love that kid!

Hope everyone in my neck of the woods stayed warm and ate well today!

I noticed the other day that our jar of peanut butter has an expiration date on it. I joked to Chris about how unnecessary that seemed…who has a jar of peanut butter in their pantry long enough that it could expire? Doesn’t everyone finish off a jar every couple of weeks? Apparently not. So this Meatless Monday/ Kids Cook Monday meal is dedicated to our love of peanut butter.

Nolan has yet to try peanut butter- I’m waiting until he turns one to give that super allergen a try; however, Chris, Brady and I love it! It’s such a comfort food. It’s perfect for breakfast, lunch, dessert, and in this case, dinner. One of my favorite things to make when nothing else sounds good is a Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich. You can use creamy or crunchy PB, but I prefer creamy.

This is a fun meal to get your little one involved in the “cooking.” Even little guys as young as Brady (2 and a half) can use a plastic knife to slice up the bananas. They can also help out with the PB or butter spreading on the bread. If you’re really feeling naughty, throw in some chocolate chips or strawberry slices in between the bread- can you imagine how delish that would be?! Then, mommy or daddy flip the sandwiches on the griddle and “little helpers” can use the shaker to sprinkle on the cinnamon and sugar when the sandwiches are done.

While this meal sounds kinda dessert-ish, here’s the good news- you can use whole wheat bread, reduced fat PB, and any fruit you like! How bad can that be? (Said in my best Ina Garten voice.)