Foodie Baby: Chinese Food!

It's old news that Piper fell in love with zesty Italian, smokey BBQ, spicy Mexican, pungent liver and onion, and creamy Parmesan flavors, but there were still a couple of taste sensations we had yet to explore.  Tonight I tried baby food with an Asian flare!  As I was preparing the food it smelled INCREDIBLE, but in the back of my mind a little voice was telling me that these flavors were too foreign (no pun intended) for a baby's new taste buds to actually enjoy.  Wrong, again. I think the Chinese Five Spice created a sweetness that combined with the tang of soy sauce created an irresistible dynamic! This time, I managed to get a video of her reaction to the first bite!

~Ingredients~

1 large chicken breast, cut in small pieces
1 medium potato (not skinned), diced
1/2 cup diced white onion
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. of lite soy sauce
1/4 tsp. Chinese Five Spice
1 Tbsp. sweet and sour sauce
1 cup of water

~Instructions~
1.  Melt butter in a large, non-stick skillet.  Add soy sauce and stir over medium heat.
2.  When the mixture just begins to boil and form small bubbles, add chicken, potatoes, and onion.

3.  Stir until thoroughly coated.
4.  When it comes to a high boil, stir and flip once, then reduce heat to med-low.

 5.  Pour into a bowl.  Add the 1 Tbsp. sweet and sour sauce and stir until well coated.

6.  Spoon into a blender.
7.  Pour in the 1 cup of water and stir.
8.  Puree to desired consistency.
Should make approximately 5 jars of baby food.

AND THE VERDICT!!!!

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What's For Dinner? - Chicken Puffs

A friend who shall remain nameless (I've always wanted to have a reason to say that!) contacted me earlier today asking me what I would suggest to cook for a hot date she has Wednesday night.  She really likes him and would like to make a good impression, he eats meat, she does not.  The first thought that came into my head:  CHICKEN PUFFS WITH *PROSCIUTTO-WRAPPED ASPARAGUS.  I know it sounds like a lot of meat going on, but both are easy enough to leave out. The chicken puffs are so cozy and comforting stacked on top of one another (innuendo intended) and pair very nicely with a glass of white wine (bow chicka bow-wow). Asparagus is a known aphrodisiac because of its powerful punch of Vitamin E which can really kick your hormones into gear.  The first cookbook I found in a search, and it undoubtedly has some sexy asparagus recipes while "Intercourses" I actually own, and have cooked from many times:


~Ingredients~

2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into pieces  (leave this out if making a vegetarian version)
3 Tbsp. chopped onion
3 cloves minced garlic
3/4 of an 8oz package of softened cream cheese (or the whole thing...hey, I've done it, and it's delicious)
6 Tbsp. butter
3 (10 oz) cans of refrigerated Pillsbury crescent roll dough (DO NOT use the store brand to try and save money. There is a huge difference in quality. Not in taste, but in the actual separation of the unbaked dough.)
Add 1/8 cups of your favorite veggies until desired amount to make up for the lack of chicken if you're making a vegetarian version
pepper
celery salt
1 egg, beaten (this is key in order to make them very pretty)

~Instructions~

1.  In a medium saucepan slowly stir the chicken chunks with the onion and garlic over medium heat.  Cook until onions are tender and chicken is lightly browned. Simply saute the onions, garlic and added vegetables until the onions are tender if making the vegetarian version.

2.  In a medium bowl, mix the chicken (or vegetable) mixture, cream cheese, desired amount of pepper, desired amount of celery salt, and butter until creamy.

3.  Preheat oven to 325.

4.  Unroll crescent rolls and place approximately 1 Tbsp. of the mixture onto each and fold.

5.  Arrange the balls onto a large baking sheet.

6.  Brush the tops of the rolls generously with the egg washing using a basting brush.

7.  Sprinkle with pepper.

8.  Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.

*will be posted as a separate blog entry

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Foodie Baby: Chicken, Bacon, Avocado, Tomato, Cali-Style Yumminess

The combination of chicken, bacon, avocado, and tomato has to be one of the most refreshing and satisfying out there.  Smokey and fresh.  So different, yet couldn't be better suited for one another. They form an  ideal relationship, one being understated and subdued, the other bold and zesty. They'd be delicious and would stand well on their own, but together they compensate for what the other lacks forming the perfect marriage.  Someday, I will find the bacon to my avocado. The tomato to my chicken. But for now, I will live vicariously through my baby food...

~Ingredients~

2 medium chicken breasts, cooked through and browned in olive oil
4 slices of hickory smoked bacon, reserving 1 Tbsp. of grease
1 Tbsp. bacon grease (see above)
1 avocado
3 slices ripe tomato
pepper
1 cup of water

 ~Instructions~

1. Brown the two chicken breasts, sprinkling with pepper, in olive oil until cooked thoroughly and remove from skillet.
2.  Pan fry the four slices of bacon until cooked to medium. Too crispy and it will not blend well, as well as detract from flavor.  Reserve the 1 Tbsp. of bacon grease and keep separate in a ramekin.
3.  Cut the avocado in half, de-seed, and scoop into a separate bowl.
4.  Cut the three slices of ripe tomato and keep on a separate plate.
5.  Place all ingredients into a blender with the 1 cup of water and puree to desired consistency.

 6.  This should make approximately 6 jars of baby food.

 7.  Your baby should look like this as he/she is devouring its smokey-fresh goodness:

8.  Should your child not appreciate all of your hard work and does not care for your homemade baby food, this would be DELICIOUS if spread onto pita bread or crackers.  Go ahead and pour that glass of wine I know you're contemplating, too. You have to be frustrated.

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What's For Dinner? - African Chicken Stew

SPICY, HEAVY GOODNESS!! A really pleasant combination of peanuts, chicken, vegetables, and spice. Initially you taste the sweetness of the peanut butter, then the red pepper kicks in after a few seconds and really adds some zip! I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and the key to this one is keeping everything in one pan from start to finish (my dad and mom taught me that little trick). Deglazing the pan after browning the chicken and keeping all the yummys in the dish makes it that much better.

~Ingredients~

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1.75 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 large potato, diced
1 turnip, diced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. salt
1 cup of water (keep adding if it thickens too much)
1 cup peanut butter
1 (15 oz) can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

~Instructions~

1. In a large metal (not Teflon or non-stick) skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add chicken and brown quickly. Letting your infant think that she is orchestrating the whole ordeal is wise. No hurt feelings.

(That's some perfectly browned chicken!)

 2.  Chop up any other vegetables you wish to add.  I picked a turnip! Yum!  And it makes such a pretty picture!

3.  Remove chicken from the skillet. The bottom of the metal skillet should have brown crusty stuff that looks like it is stuck to the bottom of it.  These are the yummys.  Do not remove them.  Just go ahead and add a little more olive oil and add your garlic, onion, potato, and in my case, the turnip.  Saute for 2-3 minutes.

4.  Add the cumin, coriander, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and salt.

5.  Cut the browned chicken into bite-sized pieces.

6.  Mix in the water, but make sure you have a good scraping tool. Either a metal spatula or a pointed wooden spoon of some sort so that scraping the browned chicken off of the bottom of the pan is easier.

(It should be a warm brown color like this when the scrapings are in the mix)

7.  Add the browned chicken pieces.  Place the lid on the skillet and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

8.  Add the peanut butter and garbanzo beans and mix thoroughly.

9.  Let your infant experiment with radishes that you have prepared for a garnish. I was really prepared for her to spit them out and throw them across the room expressing that her mouth was on fire, but...

Radishes were a spicy success!!!

10.  Garnish your African Chicken Stew, serve with either rice or bread, and beverage of choice! After eating it with red wine, I would advise an ice cold beer instead.  But that's just my opinion.

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