Unexpected

So I have always been someone who thought cheese and seafood just
didn't go together. But a friend of mine made this dish that was just
delicious. He is big on pasta And high protein seafood dishes and
lucky me he brings me samples.

He took whole wheat pasta and tossed it with shrimp, roasted red
peppers, roasted butternut squash, onion and goat cheese. It was
great! The sweetness of the squash and peppers with the tangy goat
cheese was brilliant, then the textures of the shrimp and pasta just
made the dish.

I am going to attempt to make this dish soon and see if I can get it
to be just as good, I will also post a picture. Just writing about it
is making me hungry.

Baby Food

While I was pregnant I decided that I was going to make my own baby food. I wanted to know what was going in the food. So since my son was born I have made all his food. It is so easy to do and I don't know why more people aren't doing it. I take one day out of the week, usually Sunday, and make a big batch.

About 2 months before he was actually able to eat solid foods I started preparing and freezing vegetables. The first foods that I started with were sweet potato, banana, peas, butternut squash and apple. I started feeding my son around 4 months, but check with your peditrician before starting solid foods.

I bake the potatoes and squash because it will keep more nutrients opposed to steaming or boiling. The peas and apple are steamed. I keep the skin on the apples while I steam them so the nutrients from the skin will stay in the mixture, just let the apples cool and then remove the skin. You can just use a spoon to scrape the flesh off the skin.

Once the food is cooked just puree in a food processor until the desired consistency. You can add formula or breast milk to thin it down if you need to. Keep in mind that the peas will not get real smooth because of the shell, you can always strain the peas to make them smoother.

The banana is the easiest, you don't need to cook at all, just mash or puree until the consistency you want. You can even squish the banana in the peel and squeeze it in to the bowl, this works great when traveling.

When it comes to the cereals, I wanted to make my own but while doing research it is recommended not to feed homemade cereals until at least 6 months. So I just use the pre-made, I started with the Gerber rice cereal and now my son loves the barley cereal.

Some resources that I use:

Wholesome Baby Foods
www.wholesomebabyfood.com

Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron
www.superbabyfood.com

{Updated} Mexican Fiesta

*Updated: April 23, 2013 Since Cinco de Mayo is coming soon I thought I would update my very first blog post updated to reflect gluten free options!  Enjoy!

So I have been craving Mexican for a while now and was just looking for an excuse to make a great meal from scratch. My mom bought me The Ultimate Mexican magazine so I decided since my in-laws were coming over I was going to go all out Mexican.

I made Enchilada Suiza with sides of seasoned black beans and Mexican rice, along with a Tres Leches cake for desert. It was wonderful, so I wanted to share.

Enchilada Suiza (Swiss Enchilada)

I made this recipe the night before so I was able to just put it in the oven, I found that the corn tortillas got a little soggy and the sauce thickened up quite a bit. The flavors were great, and if made the day of I am sure it would have been even better. I think next time I will use flour tortillas, it will change the texture, but because I am big on making meals ahead of time so they become quick weeknight meals, I think the flour tortillas would hold up better. *Update: I was informed that if you lightly fry the corn tortillas before hand they shouldn't get soggy when made ahead. 

Ingredients

1 purchased roasted chicken (2 to 2 ¼ pounds)
4 large tomatillos, husks removed
½ medium onion, cut into thin wedges
2 jalapeno peppers
2 cloves garlic
1 14.5-ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained
¾ cup packed fresh cilantro sprigs (I use less, because of the strong flavor)
1 cup Mexican crema or 8-oz sour cream
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour or rice flour
½ tsp. salt
12 6-inch corn tortillas
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 oz Chihuahua cheese or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (I use more, because I love cheese)

Preheat broiler. Carve or pull meat from the chicken. Using two forks, shred meat. Measure 2 ½ cups of the chicken for this recipe. (Save remaining for another use, like chicken pot pie.)

On a large baking sheet combine tomatillos, onion, peppers, and garlic. Broil 3 inches from heat for about 14 minutes or until tender, with black spots and pepper skin blisters, turning once during broiling. With gloved hands, use a pairing knife and peel as much of the skin off the peppers as possible; halve and seed peppers. Core tomatillos (I just squeeze as much out as I can). Reduce temperature to 350°; adjust oven rack to center of oven.

In a blender combine broiled vegetables, undrained tomatoes, and cilantro. Cover; blend until smooth. Add Mexican crema, flour and salt. Cover and blend until smooth. (I have used home made salsa instead of the vegetables and tomatoes listed and just added the sour cream, it may change the taste some but you can adjust per your tastes.)

In a medium bowl combine shredded chicken and ½ cup of the tomatillo mixture. Spread about ½ cup of remaining tomatillo mixture in a bottom of a 3-quart rectangular baking dish; set aside.

Lay tortillas on baking sheet. Brush both sides of each tortilla lightly with oil. Bake for 2 to 3 minutes or just until softened. Remove from oven; stack and wrap in foil.

Removing one tortilla at a time, divide chicken mixture among tortilla, spreading evenly over each. Arrange tortillas, seam side down in prepared dish. Pour the remaining tomatillo mixture of tortillas. Top with shredded cheese. Bake uncovered, about 25 minutes or until heated through and cheese starts to brown. Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.
Makes 12 enchiladas. (Can be frozen, just thaw in the refrigerator than bake as directed.)