I try very very hard to be perfect...
but sometimes I slip...
we all do, right?
Well, I guess we all just dont admit it... ;)
Anyways, Im gunna put myself on the chopping block here for a minute...
in honor of my "wanting to blog more than just giveaways"
and tell you all a little story...
My house is crazy busy all the time...
though im VERY thankful...
the shop keeps be working 7 days a week...
and if Im not juggling toddlers and sewing...
im juggling toddlers and sending emails...
I finally cracked down on myself and said okay...
its summer... were going outside to play EVERY DAY...
just play... not run errands... or hit walmart... JUST PLAY.
And its been great, refreshing... but thats a different blog...
Monday & Friday is mommy time... after a healthy dinner.
I sew, email, etc. while daddy watches the boys.
We are really good about cooking almost all of our meals...
we sit together as a family... every night... every meal.
Im very proud of that... now heres what Im not proud of...
Daddy works usually 6 days a week... 2 of those nights (Tuesday & Thursday)
he has band practice... and isn't home till after 10pm.
So dinner is just me and the boys and its always whatever is in the cupboard...
Izzaq BEGGS for Ramen noodles... Zave loves Mac n Cheese...
Mommy loves.... whatever is quick. haha.
But this Thursday was different...
Earlier in the week I was grocery shopping and in passing...
the Kid Cuisine meals caught my eye...
They were on sale... so I asked the boys and they both chose one...
Chix Nuggets, Mac n cheese, corn and Vanilla Pudding...
I hung my head in shame while putting in the cart...
*Mom failed* the ultimately lowest lazy unhealthy dinner... bluh.
Izzaq was so excited about this... I started to regain my faith...
Good mommy! Make the babies happy!
Plus really, corn - vegi (worst vegi) but still a vegi!
Calcium in the cheese and pudding... Protein in the chicken... Grains...
there are worse things, right? Uhhhhh..... right...
So flash back to Thursday... there we were scouring the cupboards for dinner
when I remembered these meals...
the boys were super stoked and mommy was happy to get them a quick warm meal.
Even if it wasn't the perfect meal...
*Here is where my problems begin*
The box says they "each" take a total for 2 minutes and 45 seconds to cook...
Awesome... quick...
So two boxes... about 5 minutes...
I gotta say, they came out so scalding lava hot...
that not even Superman could eat these...
So I let them be for 2 minutes like the box said...
2 minutes later... still lava...
I put them in the freezer for 7 minutes before they were edible...
Edible? Yeah, that would mean they actually had to EAT them...
Izzaq ate two chicken nuggets... didnt touch anything else, not one bite...
Zavery ate the blue pudding... YES BLUE!!!
It came with a little pack of sprinkles.
What I didnt know is that it came with color changing ones in the pack as well...
and it was basically like blue food coloring in the form of vanilla GOO.
Zaverys face was tinged blue for 2 days.
Recap:
$5 down the drain... literally... the garbage disposal...
Almost 15 minutes of cook time before they could eat...
Had to RECOOK something that they WOULD eat...
feed them... then bath time...
so I could scrub the blue off Zave's face...
Note to self:
In that amount of effort I could have grilled chicken on the Forman...
Made some fast cook wild rice and boiled some vegis...
Id have felt alot better about the choice...
and the boys would have actually Eaten!
I need you:
Help me plan some quick, healthy meals...
that almost 2 and almost 3 year old boys will eat...
I need to come up with 2 a week.
What do you do when you in a pinch?
BBQ Chicken Pizza:
ReplyDeleteWhat you need:
1 pizza crust (homemade or store)
1/2 bottle BBQ sauce
1/2 whole shredded chicken
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced in 1/2 moons
Handful of Cashews
cilantro, chopped (optional)
2C shredded cheddar cheese
Finish with Basil
how you make it:
1.) Pre heat your oven according to your pizza crust directions. (450 degrees)
2.) On a pizza pan or a baking sheet, poke holes in pizza crust and then put it in the oven for about 3-4 minutes to pre-cook. I don’t precook when I do my homemade pizza crust on my pizza stone.
2.) Take crust out of oven and spread BBQ sauce over the top. Next put on chicken, red onion, cilantro, cashews and cheese.
3.) Put pizza back in oven and bake 3-6 more minutes.
4.) Garnish with Basil and serve.
Enjoy! Hope this helps for one day!! It's quick and easy!
AHH! That sounds fantastic! AND the boys LOVE LOVE pizza... i bet they would LOVE this...
ReplyDeleteThanks!
mmm that does sound good. I'm all about stealing some ideas.
ReplyDeleteA couple more ideas that came via etsy :) thanks to...
ReplyDeletewww.3monkeysclothdiapers.etsy.com
Elmo Chicken Tenders: Martha Stewart had Elmo on as a guest about 8 yrs ago and this is my older sons absolute favorite thing on earth (followed by homemade chocolate chip cookies).
Chicken tenders (1 each for the twins, 3 each for Tyler, Mike and me)
1-2 cups flour (in individual bowl)
2 eggs w/ 3 Tbsp. water (beat together in bowl for an egg wash)
2+ cups of bread crumbs (in third bowl)
Rinse your chicken then go in order down the bowls: coat with flour, roll in egg, cover with bread crumbs. You can do them in the oven @ 350 for 15 - 20 minutes (depending on the thickness of the tenders) or as a special treat, fry them in a little oil on the stovetop (they are so much more healthy than McDonalds, I think it is OK to fry them every now and then). They go great with sweet potatoe fries :)
Quick easy meal everyone in my family eats (including the most picky man in the universe): chicken stir fry w/ brown rice. It takes less than 20 minutes to cook (I use minute rice) and it has fresh broccoli, peppers, mushrooms, and pea pods, plus chicken with teriyaki sauce. And it makes great leftovers for lunch the next day.
Those kiddie dinner trays are so gross, Gavin never eats them lol I instead buy devided dinner plates and just cut up chunks of Colby cheese, bake chicken nuggets, steam some veggies, grab a yogurt or half an apple or whatever and arrange it on a plate he never knows the difference lol
ReplyDeleteWe also do a lot of brown rice cause he doesn't really eat pasta, it takes a loooong time to cook but it tastes great and it's much better for you!
-babyboofelt
Dang, I had this long comment with a couple of ideas and it all disappeared when I hit the wrong button. ::bangs head:: Anyhow, I suggested turkey burgers with baked sweet potato fries and build your own burritos (my niece and nephew loved doing this!)
ReplyDeleteKudos for eating together as a family! I believe there is research that shows that families who eat together are associated with lower drug and alcohol abuse as teens as well as higher grades.
I'm such a dork--my original comment was in a diffrent window. Here it is in case you were wondering what I wrote:
ReplyDeleteI don't have toddlers, so I can't really say what will work for them--but here are some ideas that I use for my niece and nephew when I babysit:
Turkey Burgers and sweet potato fries--we buy sweet potatos that are already cut up into sticks. Just bake the fries and grill up some burgers on the foreman and you are golden.
Build your own burrito--I just get all the fixings--black beans, cheese, tomatoes, corn,lettuce, avocado, etc. along with whole wheat tortillas. My niece and nephew tended to eat things that they themselves had a hand in putting together.
Mexican Lasagna--similar to a burrito--but deconstructed to a lasagna shape. Line a casserole plate with tortillas. Then a layer of beans, layer of corn, layer of cheese, etc. Then repeat. Top with a layer of cheese. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees until it's warmed through.
Maybe check out Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals for more ideas? Oh, and I love the blog 5 dollar dinners for really stretching the buck!
I have tons of recipes on my blog. Also, Kid Cuisines....bake them don't microwave them. I use the toaster oven.
ReplyDelete