Easy Recipes for a Mom and a Toddler

http://www.mealsmatter.org/RecipesAndMeals/QuickMeals/ind...

Try this site....it has a lot of different types of meals....there is even a kid friendly section!! Give it a try.

R., you can use any recipe and just cut it in half. Do you have a cookbook? Rachel Ray has several books, at least one of them is labeled easy. She also has a magazine, Cooking With Rachel. She also has a 30 min show on the Food Channel.

I've been cooking for 50 years and I still rely on cookbooks. Often I don't follow a recipe but the recipes give me ideas of something to cook.

The simplest way to cook is to cook what is now called whole foods: fresh fruits and veggies, chicken pieces, other meats. Yogurt is good.

A lot of kids like carrot sticks, broccoli "trees," potatoes cooked and cut in chunks, chunks of uncooked fresh fruit, cooked or canned fruit, cooked or canned fruit in Jello, whole grained breads and cereals (for fiber), cheese. Actually anything that you find in the produce as well as in the canned sections and freezer. If you eat meat and fish, just buy a small portion or buy more and put it in freezer. You can cook a small portion of frozen veggies and put rest back in the freezer.

Most meats and fish can be pan broiled, which means that you put a small amount of fat (I use olive oil) in the fry pan. When the fat sizzles as you sprinkle a drop of two of water on it, put the meat in. With thin cuts of meat and fish you turn the heat down to medium. If you're broiling a steak leave it on high and turn the meat over so that both sides are browned. Then turn the heat down.

If you want fried chicken dip the chicken in flour before putting it in the pan. You'll need more fat; perhaps an inch.

Use whatever seasonings you like. It's fun to experiment with different flavors. I discovered that I like celery seed powder on fried chicken. I also use onion and garlic powder on many different foods.

Most children love mac and cheese. It's made from a box which my grand kids like but I buy it frozen which to my tastes much better. You can "hide" some veggies in the mac and cheese. Yellow and orange pureed veggies would work even better than chunks.

Stew doesn't require a recipe. Brown chunks of meat or meatballs in a small amount of fat. Add water, potatoes, carrots, onions, celery and simmer until the veggies are tender. Seems like it's about an hour. If you want you can add more tender veggies at the end. Broccolli, tomatoes. and/or greens. I frequently make too much which I eat for several days or freeze for later. You may want to only use 1/2 potato, a small carrot, half of an onion to 1/4 lb. of meat. I make my stew richer by adding some beef, chicken, or vegetable boullion. You can buy it granulated so that it's easy to add a small amount to taste. With stew just use your imagination. It's also a good way to use up leftovers.

Omelets is another easy one. Beat the eggs to combine whites and yolks. Pour into an oiled pan
using very little oil or butter. Poor mixture into pan and lift the edges with a knife so that the uncooked part flows under. Then you can put whatever you want on top. Cheese, veggies, meats. I find it easier to put on the toppings and finish it off under the broiler. Then fold it in half. Cut your son's serving and you eat the rest.

My grandchildren weren't picky eaters during toddler years but they are now. Their mother's rule is take one bite. I don't know if that would work with a toddler. But I'd expose him to different foods by putting a small amount on his tray. If he eats them; fine. If not that's OK too.

You can make a small amount of spaghetti by using a small can of Italian style tomatoes. Shape the hamburger into meat balls and use larger noodles and it'll be easier for your son to eat.

Another one of my favorites is quesadillas. Heat a tortilla on a fry pan, flipping it over. Place on a plate keeping it warm by keeping the plate on the stove. Heat another tortilla and add cheese and anything else you want: tomatoes, mushrooms, veggies or make it a desert by using cheese and fruit.

You can make chicken salad by cutting cooked chicken into small chunks. Again, you can add whatever sounds good to you. I almost always use chopped onion. I mix garlic powder with mayonaise and then stir it all together. You can add grapes, olives, chopped celery, chopped apples,raisins. And you can flavor the mayo with other herbs and spices.

Make tuna sandwiches the same way. I sometimes add cheese slices and lettuce. I also make them grilled which means to butter the outside and brown in a skillet.

Perhaps you already cook this way and are wanting specific recipes. The library carries many cookbooks that you browse thru to find easy recipes. I bought a cook book called Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. The recipes include veggie and fruit puree in the recipes. My granddaughter's Brownie troup made muffins with none or very little oil by using applesauce to create moisture. They were delicious! One of the mothers said she makes brownies this way too.

I hope this helps you and I haven't just told you what you already know.

Happy cooking! M.

Cook for 4 people and freeze half - then you only have to cook 1/2 as often! I'm a firm believer in having dinners in the freezer. Also - do you have a larger meal with your husband another part of the day? Do you eat a hot lunch with him? Feel free to have fun "snacky" dinners with your kid. I find I have so little energy at the end of the day (my husband works 10am-9 pm) that we often have breakfast for dinner - my kids love it - I think they think I'm breaking some sort of rule and they love the conspiracy of it! Or if your kiddo eats lots of little bites of many things at meals, you can too. Throw your little bites onto lettuce and make a chopped salad! Healthier for us grownups to eat a light dinner anyway! As long as you're both getting what you need over the course of the day, you can play around with what you eat when. Good luck!

I love to cook Chicken & Dumplings for our family. You throw all the ingredients, except the dumplings, in a crock pot in the morning on low. Our crock pot is programmable, so I set it to cook for so many hours and then it will automatically set to cook on low. You can control the portions by how much you put in. I use the following ingredients: Organic Free Range Chicken Stock, Chicken, Celery, Onion, Carrots and peas. The peas are added just before you add the Dumplings. The best Dumplings are made with Bisquick. I have tried making from scratch using our preferred Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour, but they turn out very dense. I hope this helps. It is a very easy meal and freezes well for leftovers.

He may be picky, but I think all kids love chicken. Try going to the store and get a small pack of boneless, skinless chicken (thighs - I prefer, because it stays moist). Throw into a pot, add 1 cup shoyu (soy sauce), 1 cup brown sugar, fresh ginger or powdered if you don't have any fresh, cover and cook on med. until done check & mix frequently). When it is close to being done, add chopped green onions for flavor. This is the easy (minimal ingredients) recipe. It is called Shoyu Chicken and very similar to BBQ Teriyaki Chicken flavor.

Crock pot stuff that can simmer all day works for us. First off, my toddler always mentions how good it smells when we return from playgroup or classes, etc and it peaks her appetite. We do black beans with Onion Soup mix, hot dogs and canned beans on low, vegetables with veggie broth, etc. You can add a pasta for the last hour. These can be picked at, kept warm for hubby to snack on a 3am and put in fridge to be heated again later. Lots of books on slow cooker recipes are available. Also cold snack food makes great dinners- hummus and veggies, lunch meat and cheese with soup. Left overs can be put up as well. Best luck, A.

Hi Ranae
My boys love to eat anything that has bread in it.
An easy one is to take a loaf of french bread slice it lenght wise. Then take 4 oz of cream cheese, 1/2 cup of mayo, some green onion (if they will eat it) some steamed broccoli, (chopped up really fine) melt it in the micro a little bit. Spread it on the bread probably only need to do 1 half of the bread. Grate some cheese and spinkle it over the spread (to hid the broccoli if needed) lol and then bake it on broil on a cookie sheet for @ 5 minutes until cheese starts to brown.
Cool, cut into peices. It is just like a healty quick pizza. I ushally serve a fruit such as apple slices or cut up fresh fruit salad with this and a glass of milk.

There is a wonderful book called "Sugar Free Toddlers" by Susan Watsun. Changed our lives! I googled it, and instantly came up with easy, cheap ways to buy it online. good luck!I got mine for just a few dollars.I had it with my oldest daughter, lost it, and then bought it agian eight years later for my second.

Easy Pigs in a Blanket:

1 roll of Refrigerator biscuits (I buy the cheap Wal-Mart brand)
1 pkg of Little Smokies

Preheat oven to 400

Remove biscuits from tube and stretch each one slightly.
Wrap each biscuit around 1 little smokie pinching seams to seal.

Place seam side down on greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 - 12 min until golden brown.
I usually serve with Mac & Cheese.

This is a great one because your son will be able to help make it.

I have found if my kids help make something they are more likely to eat it. :)

J.

Hi R.,

Cut and paste this into your browser to find a website that allows you to adjust the recipes for the number of people you're feeding.
http://allrecipes.com/Default.aspx

Good Luck,

D.