Starting Solids!

We started solids with Finn around 5 and a half months after the green light from our pediatrician. He's a hungry, growing boy and took to them pretty much right away! He has been a little finicky about textures, and only likes the really smooth purees like bananas or sweet potatoes. He also really loves YoBaby yogurt which is what I first started Kenna on at around the same age. It comes in banana and vanilla flavors, and is a delicious organic whole milk yogurt. I even sneak one sometimes as a treat!

They also now make YoBaby yogurt "meals" which is the same delicious yogurt cup but with a veggie puree not on the bottom. I buy extras of these whenever they're on sale because Kenna loves them, and they're an easy way to sneak in an extra veggie!

The first few tastes (we started with applesauce) were very entertaining:
Some went in, some came right back out. An old trick: if you let him hold an extra spoon, he won't reach for the food and knock it over/hit the spoon/make a huge-er mess than it already is.

But it was not all bad!
And now, at six months, he is a great eater who will tear into some baby food! His favorites right now are squash, sweet potatoes, bananas, any kind of applesauce, and he completely hates peas. He won't even eat them if I try to disguise them with something else.

He does this hilarious gag face/shiver when he doesn't like something. This is the closest I could get to a picture of it, I'll have to try to get a video:
Such a happy, healthy eater!

Quick, Easy Dinner!

Now that Matt is working a job that he is consistently home for dinner, one of my family goals is to be better about meal planning. It seems like what works for most people, from what I've read on others' blogs, is having a list of regular meals that you all like and that are easy/inexpensive and rotating them so that no one gets tired of them. I'm still working on that one- I like to cook, but get overwhelmed sometimes when I don't know what to make.

One of our favorite 'regulars' that is quick/easy/cheap is a layered mexican style dip. Matt's sister Leanne brought this to us after my Mom died, and it has been a favorite ever since! I've even made it for company- it is a great, laid-back Saturday night in kind of meal (and who doesn't love dip for dinner?!)

Step 1:
Line a baking dish with 2 cans of refried beans. Smooth it out a little flat with a spatula. If I have a little leftover black beans or spanish rice from another meal, I will usually add it in here.
Step 2:
Brown about a pound (for 2-4 people) of ground beef in a pan with one packet of McCormick's Cheesy Taco powder. Taco night has never been better since we discovered this stuff! Cook according to directions on the packet, and spread in a layer over the beans.
Step 3:
Spread a large jar of picante sauce or THICK salsa evenly over the meat layer. You don't want liquid-y salsa or it will make your dip soupy (we like Pace picante).
Optional Step 4:
If it were just me, this is the part where I would spread an entire container of sour cream over the whole thing because I love it. Matt however, is an avid hater of SC and refuses to eat anything it has touched, so I leave it off and just add it later to my own serving. (Funny story- when Leanne originally brought it to us, she only put SC on one half because she knew Matt hated it!) Obviously, any of these steps are optional if you don't like or can't eat one of them, and you may want to add something extra I didn't mention here like guacamole!

Step 5:
Spread 1/2 to 3/4 of a package of shredded cheese smoothly over the salsa layer. I use Harris Teeter's Nacho & Taco Mexican blend because it's cheap and good. Yum.
Step 6:
Bake at 375 until it's hot through the middle and the cheese is nice and melty, usually about 25-30 minutes. Serve into bowls and enjoy with taco chips! We love Sanitas brand (also from HT)- a large bag is always only $2 regularly priced, and they are delicious! I even like them better than Tostitos.
And finally, enjoy feeding your family a delicious, home-cooked meal that didn't take you all day in the kitchen! We're enjoying this one for dinner tonight!

Quickie Summer Fro Yo

Since the weather has been so hot and summery this week (90 plus degrees!) we've been indulging in some cold treats on the back porch while dinner is cooking.

This is our favorite!

Ingredients:
-one delicious tiny yogurt cup (the raspberry ones of these are amazing!)
-one baby spoon
-one baby in need of a chilly treat (especially when teething!):
Cut a slit in the middle of the lid, stick the spoon in, and freeze solid for a few hours.
Pop the frozen yogurt pop out of the cup under warm running water. Eat and enjoy while Daddy cooks something yummy on the grill!
Delicious!
And finally, be sure to make a silly face when you see that Mommy is taking your picture. (We're fairly certain she had a brain freeze by this point).