Week 9 recipe: spicey creamy chicken pasta

Recipe is HERE


This was really good. What I was looking for was a copy-cat recipe for the Cheesecake Factory's southwest chicken chipottle pasta. This was not it- but it was delicious. I loved that I hardly had to buy anything for this- just the half and half and cheese. But I had a ton of leftover veggies in my fridge so that was nice. Several things I will do next time:

1. Make less sauce. We had way too much and like most pasta dishes this just wasn't as good as a leftover.

2. Have more good stuff and less noodles

3. Make it spicier.

But yes- totally delicious and will be added to our meal rotation for sure. Enjoy!

Blanket Time

You may notice in the post about pipe cleaners that Reese is sitting on a blanket and there is a white timer next to her. Reese is doing Blanket Time.

My child is extremely active and will not sit still. But I felt it was important for her to begin learning how to sit and focus her energy and attention on one activity, instead of running from toy to toy. So at about a year old, we began blanket time.

On this particular day, she wanted to use my yoga mat instead of her blanket

 At first I always used the same blanket so that she knows what is going to happen when I get it out. I started with just one activity at a time, but usually something new so it would hold her attention. I would tell her "Ok, it's time for blanket time!" I spread out the blanket and put her on it and explain to her "we are going to play with this toy until the bell rings." I started just setting the timer for 2-3 minutes. I would stay and play with her to keep her engaged. When she would try to get up and leave, I would tell her "no- we are going to stay and play with this toy until the bell rings."

Eventually, she has learned. I can now do 4 activities, each for 5 minutes. We set the timer between each one and when it goes off, she has the choice to either keep playing for a few extra minutes or to help clean up for the next activity. My goal is for her eventually to be able to sit and do blanket time on her own, but for right now I'm still there interacting with her. But it's been so good for her to be able to focus on one thing, even if it's not her very favorite activity.

This is also where I try to do the more educational things like talking about letters and colors.

A couple of notes- if your child has not heard the timer before, it may startle them. Let them hear is go off a couple of times. Let them hold it and make it go off them self so they can get used to it.

Our earliest version- Reese in the laundry basket with some toys

Is your child a little too young for blanket time? Well before Reese was ready, we would do Pack and Play time. This one is a lot easier- I would set up her pack and play in her room and select a few toys and books to go in it (preferably ones that she has not been playing with recently so she will be more interested.) I would tell her "it's pack and play time!" and set her in there. I would set the timer and tell her "ok, have fun until the timer goes off."

And I would leave the room. It is important for your baby to not be able to see you- you are trying to teach them to sit and focus on their own and to be able to entertain them self without you. Reese cried a lot the first couple times. But as I was consistent with it, she learned what to expect and would do quite well. We started with just a couple minutes, but worked up to 20 minutes where she could sit in her pack and play and be quite happy and content.

Reese playing in her Pack and Play while we helped with a service project. We were able to help because she knew how to play by herself and keep herself entertained (at least for a little while.)

Anyway- just some ideas and a little explanation about how I did things. The concepts from this came from Babywise and Toddlerwise- my favorite series of parenting books (for this stage of life anyway.) Hope it helped! Leave a comment if you have any ideas, thoughts or questions. Thanks!

Week 8 Activity: pipe cleaners

 Ok, I'm cheating a little. This is not a brand new activity- we have been doing it since December. But it was new then, so it still counts :) Reese has really enjoyed this, and is getting so much better at it. It sounds so silly and simple- I just give her my plastic strainer and a pile of pipe cleaners. But we all know how much kids like to stick things in other things, so this is a perfect way to encourage that.

 This activity helps develop those fine motor skills by working the finger muscles as well as hand-eye coordination. Reese needed help the first couple times, but she got the hang of it. We also use this as yet another opportunity to talk about colors.

Other things we have done with pipe cleaners include- making bracelets, making glasses, and putting them in empty water bottles. I have a few more ideas of things to do with them, but I'll save it for another post.

Week 8 Recipe: Roasted Garlic-Parmesan Cauliflower

Recipe is HERE

Um, this was very tastey. I like broccoli a lot, but I don't really love cauliflower. This was a vary easy and delicious way to make it. Spence and Reese liked it to. However, I used thicker shredded Parmesan cheese and it did not work very well. It melts, but not really so you end up with big clumps of cheese and it doesn't mix in or coat. So I think next time I'll buy some powdered Parmesan cheese and try that. But this one is a winner!

Week 7 Activity: Heart Hunt

In honor of Valentine's Day Reese and I did a heart hunt. During her nap, I cut out a bunch of hearts from pink and red construction paper and taped them up around our apartment. When she woke up, I showed her one and gave her a bucket to collect them. She loved running around the house to find them. It was so cute. This is definitely one I will do again with a different spin: maybe Easter eggs, paper apples, a certain shape or letter. Really, you could do this with almost anything.

Here is a video of Reese hunting for hearts. Enjoy and Happy Valentine's Day!

Week 7 Recipes: Cilantro Thai Chicken and Ginger Sesame Broccoli

Chicken recipe is HERE

This chicken was ok. I went a little overboard on the cilantro (what!? is that even possible? yes it is.) I think it would have been really good with some rice but alas, Spence and I are doing phase 1 of South Beach so for the next 2 weeks we are carb free.

 

Broccoli recipe is HERE

This was tastey. I always wondered how Panda Express and other Asian restaurants got their broccoli to taste so good. This is how! It was a little too soy saucey for me, so may reduce that next time. But I ate a lot of broccoli tonight and it was delicious.

Week 7 Recipe: Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

Find the recipe HERE

So yeah- these are super good. My friend Beth made them at our book club last week and I think I ate like half the bowl. They are so easy AND healthy AND gluten free (which I am not, but still good to know) AND I can eat them on phase 1 of the South Beach Diet. For those of you who have done SB- it sucks but it works so well. Phase one is the hardest and I really miss the spicy crunchy that I get from potato chips and snacks like that. Bu this will TOTALLY be replacing that for me. DELICIOUS!

Actually- I think I'll try this same idea with some different flavors. Maybe use powdered Ranch dressing? Maybe like a taco flavored one? I'll let you know how it goes :)

Week 6: Pom pom fun

This has been a total hit. It was easy- just cut come holes in the top of an old cashew canister (obviously this picture is not mine.) Reese loves to push the pom poms through the holes. We try to say the colors as we go, we have been working on learning them.

Another thing we do with the pom poms is color sorting. I bought a cheap divided serving tray with three sections. I give her a bowl of pom poms with three different colors and she will separate them by color into the different tray sections.

Idea number three. We took an empty cardboard milk carton with the plastic spout. I cut a little door in the side. Reese likes to put them in the open spout and then open the door to take them back out.

Next time we play with the last one, I'll get a picture. But Reese loves the pom poms! 

Week 6 Recipe: Garlic Ginger Chicken

Actual recipe is HERE

So I loved the sound of this- garlic and ginger, can't go wrong! But when I pulled up the recipe it called for some ingredients I had never heard of. Apparently this website is a primal diet like the early humans- meat, legume, fruits etc. So I altered the recipe like- a lot.

It ended up like this- combine 1/4 soy sauce, 2-3 cloves of garlic minced, 1 Tbsp ground ginger, and a squirt of lime juice in a bowl. Melt a couple tablespoons of butter in a pan and throw in the chicken. Pour the sauce over it and keep flipping the chicken until it's done.

It was pretty good. I'm not going to make it every single week but easy enough to put together with stuff I had on hand. Enjoy!