Food Friday: Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

So this recipe was recommended by some girls on the TB Aug 12 board and they were pretty good! I was able to make them dairy-free and they came out pretty delicious!

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter or Earth Balance to make them dairy-free
1/3 cup Frank's Red Hot sauce or any other favorite hot sauce
1 pound ground chicken, preferably thigh meat
1 large egg
1/2 celery stalk, minced
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon salt

Yields: 40 3/4-inch meatballs

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Drizzle the vegetable oil into a 9 x 13- inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface. Set aside.
Combine the butter and hot sauce in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat, whisking until the butter is melted and fully incorporated. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes.
Combine the ground chicken, hot sauce mixture, egg, celery, bread crumbs, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.
Roll the mixture into round, 3/4-inch balls, making sure to pack the meat firmly. Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. The meatballs should be touching one another.
Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165°F.
Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving.

New Food!

Last night my mom, sister, and Granma went to dinner at Red Lobster and we brought Tommy along. Bill HATES all seafood and can't even stand to be in Red Lobster because of the smell. Even though he hates seafood, he made it clear to me that he wants me to make sure to feed Tommy, and any subsequent children, seafood in hopes that they'll like it.

I ordered fresh Haddock and after double checking Wholesome Baby Food that it was ok to give him fish at this age, I broke off the tiniest of pieces of fish and fed it to Tommy. He chewed and made some funny faces before swallowing. It was hard to tell if he liked it or not so after a few minutes I gave him a tiny little piece again. After this piece, she started diving toward my fingers for more and yelled when I stopped. I think it's safe to say that, for now, he loves fish!

I wasn't really into the idea of Baby Led Weaning as a way to introduce solids but I think a few bites of whatever we're eating here and there along with purees might be the way that works best for us.

Food Saturday?

Oops, forgot to post my Food Friday post yesterday. I had a hellish week at work and it slipped my mind last night.

This recipe has been suggested by a few people on message boards and I pinned it on Pinterest as well. I finally gave it a shot and let me tell you, it's a keeper! We mixed it with rice and veggies, we put it in tacos, Bill made it into quesadillas, and I'm sure there's more we could have done too!

Crockpot Chicken

1 envelope Taco Seasoning
6 pieces Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 jar Salsa (16 oz)

Dump everything into a crock pot and stir to blend the seasoning with the salsa. Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours (I actually cooked it for almost 10 because I didn't get out of work as early as I wanted to, remember I had a hellish week, but it was fine! I really need to get a crockpot with an automatic shut-off!). When done, stir with a fork or wooden spoon and the chicken should shred easily.

3 in one day?

Last Saturday, Tommy really ate terribly, like only a couple ounces of formula in each bottle then only nursing for a short amount of time. He was super fussy and was chewing so hard on his hands, toys, toes, and anything else he could get in his mouth. He was eating his solids normally so I just assumed it was his teeth bothering him, that sucking on the bottles (or boobs) was hurting his teeth.

He ate terribly on Monday and Tuesday so on Wednesday, I called the nurses line at the pediatrician's office to see when I should start to be concerned. He was having plenty of wet diapers but I was worried about him getting the nutrients and calories he needs. The nurse suggested bring him in to have his ears checked. The doctor mentioned that if he ran a fever at the end of the cold he had a couple of weeks ago, to bring him in to have his ears checked. He never ran a fever and wasn't pulling on his ears or anything so I didn't really think it would be his ears.

Bill was off of work so he brought him in. Turns out he has an ear infection in his left ear and was wheezing again. He's on antibiotics (which he LOVES) and is now on oral steroids twice a day and the albuterol, both through the nebulizer. They said that they are pretty sure he has asthma now that he's had issues with wheezing so many times already. I know it's not a severe case of asthma and it should be pretty manageable, but it makes me sad that he has to deal with this.

At least we know how to help him and hopefully it's not a big part of his life.

Food Friday: Guinness Brownies (not dairy-free)

So I mentioned below that the dairy-free brownie recipe was not the best brownie recipe ever. This is. I make them around St. Patrick's Day and they are always a huge hit. They are VERY rich and almost more like fudge than brownies. OMG they are soooooo good.

Ingredients
4 eggs

3/4 C. superfine sugar

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

4 oz. white chocolate, chopped

6 T. unsalted butter

3/4 C. all-purpose flour

3/4 C. cocoa

1 1/4 C. Guinness stout

Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375° F.
Butter an 8-inch-square pan (I use a 9x9)
In an electric mixer, combine the eggs and sugar.
Beat until light and fluffy.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the bittersweet chocolate, white chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth.
Remove from heat and beat into the egg mixture.
Sift the flour and cocoa together and beat into the chocolate mixture.
Whisk in the Guinness.
Pour into the pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.
Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
To serve, dust the cake with confectioners' sugar and cut into squares.
Source: "The New Irish Table" by Margaret M. Johnson

Food Friday: Dairy-Free Brownies

Another dairy-free recipe. This one was really exciting to find because I was really craving some baked goods. These aren't the best brownies I've ever had but they are definitely tasty. I brought them into work (to keep myself from eating the whole pan...) and my coworkers raved.

Ingredients
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
In a large bowl, stir together the cocoa and baking soda.
Add 1/3 cup vegetable oil and boiling water.
Mix until well blended and thickened.
Stir in the sugar, eggs, and remaining 1/3 cup oil.
Finally, add the flour, vanilla and salt; mix just until all of the flour is absorbed.
Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Allow to cool before cutting into squares.

I knew this day would come

The day when I would become envious of my daycare provider. Tommy gives kisses and they are so cute! At first he would give me one if I made kissy noises at him and asked for one. Now he gives them out from time to time. He'll grab my face and attack me! I love it :) Well today I dropped him at daycare and kissed him goodbye. I handed him over to Rosa, the lead teacher, and he immediately started kissing her over and over. It took all I had not to cry right then and there.

I love our daycare and I love that he loves his teachers. I just don't want him to love them more than me. I know I sound childish and ridiculous, of course he loves me, I'm his Mommy. But there is part of me that feels guilty about working. I feel guilty that given a choice, I'd probably still work. I love my job and I love going to work. I love being a mom, but I really don't think I could stay home full-time and feel fulfilled (please know that I don't judge stay-at-home moms, I truly give them so much credit, it's easier for me to work than be home all day).

I'm rambling now. Basically, I want Tommy to love me and this morning I felt replaced...

Breastfeeding Update

Who would have thought that I'd keep breastfeeding at 7 months? I had planned on breastfeeding but had no idea how it would go. After a few weeks, I hated it. After 2 months, I had to give up dairy and went back to work. Well now, at 7 months, I've decided to night-nurse.

I gave up my mid-day pumping session and I feel so much more free at work! I nurse Tommy when he wakes up in the morning, he drinks 3 bottles at daycare, then I nurse him around 6pm and again before bed. If he wants to eat overnight I nurse then as well. So far, it's going really well. I was really sore the first few days of not pumping but my body seems to have adjusted. It means that Tommy is getting full formula bottles while at daycare and during the day at home but it doesn't seem to bother him. It's expensive since we us Enfamil Nutramigen but this is way to keep breastfeeding at least some without being tied to my pump. I was starting to get really frustrated at work. I was losing my whole planning period to pump which meant staying later at work and getting less time with Tommy in the evening.

I hope to continue with this arrangement for as long as we can!

7 Months!

Tommy was 7 months old on March 7! I can't believe how fast the last month went! I know February is a short month but since it was a leap year, it really was only 1 or 2 days shorter.

• Tommy is now wearing size 3 diapers during the day but size 4, overnight diapers at night.
• He has outgrown most of his 6 month size clothes and is wearing some 6-9 months and a bunch of 9 month clothes.
  
• He still isn't rolling from back to front and rarely rolls from belly to back. He's typically content however we lay him.
  
• He sits up unassisted but we have to put him that way.
  
• He will stand and hold on to things for about 30 seconds on his own before he loses his balance.
  
• He has 2 teeth!
  
• His belly has decided to accept oatmeal and Tommy loves it!
  
• He's still drinking his milk and eating 2 solid meals each day.
  
• He laughs and gives big sloppy kisses!
  
• When he's not sick, he rarely eats overnight though he typically wakes up at least once for his binky.
  

I love him so much!

Food Friday!

So I know I haven't posted Tommy's 7 month update yet but I swear I will soon! Until then, here's my recipe for Food Friday! Another dairy-free idea, though I've been making this for years, long before I started my dairy-free diet!

Chinese Chicken Salad

1 bag prepared coleslaw, rinsed & drained
3 tbsp. sesame seeds
1 bag sliced almonds
2 pkgs. crushed top Ramen noodles (do not use seasoning)
4 to 6 split chicken breasts, cooked & shredded (I boil the chicken)
1/2 c. vegetable oil

In 1/2 cup of oil brown almonds, sesame seeds and crushed noodles. Let mixture cool. Mix with greens and toss with dressing. Add chicken and refrigerate.

DRESSING:

1/2 c. oil (1/4 c. sesame oil & 1/4 c. vegetable oil)
3 tbsp. rice vinegar (do not substitute)
Top Ramen season packets
3 tbsp. sugar

Wisk together and pour over salad. Toss and serve chilled.

Food Friday

I'm linking up with Lauren at Our Little All-American Family for Food Friday. I've done this once before but kind of slacked off when I started my non-dairy diet. I realized I really should post some things I've found that are dairy-free!

Crockpot BBQ Beef

3lbs beef cut into 2 inch cubes
8 ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
1 med. onion chopped
1/2 cup celery
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp mustard
1 tbsp Worcester sauce

Brown the beef then dump everything in the crockpot. Cook on low for 7-8 hours and serve over rice (or mashed potatoes but I did rice and it was great!). That's it! Super easy and delicious!