Peas Please!

I picked up this book the other day at Barnes and Noble. I wanted to find a book on baby food for Blake and thought this one was interesting with the sample schedules and what not. Plus it was written by an RD so that's also what made it a definite buy. This book is a good read whether or not you know a picky eater, I just have to find the time to read it all instead of skimming through it but so far so good. :)

Peas and Barley

During lunch time I tried to make peas for Blake. I was feeling adventurous needless to say... It didn't turn out too bad but I don't think he was up for trying something new but at the end of the night we stole a piece of banana that daddy was eating and he LOVED it! (My phone died so I couldn't get a picture of the banana eating but just picture mashed bananas and it being all over the baby's hands, face, clothes, table, my hands, yea.. fun! Needless to say we BOTH took a bath afterwards. Separately.)

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Lunch for the grown ups (mommy -me and daddy -Jim) consisted of Deviled Eggs, Ants on a Log, and leftover Reuben Sandwiches from St. Patty's Day.

Food: 90% Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie (90% Homemade)

Chicken Pot Pie
Photo By: Amara Ryder

Here was tonight's dinner: Chicken Pot Pie, yum! I think this dish is one that I always crave. It's just so good and definitely one of those comfort foods perfect for a cold rainy night like tonight. I have plenty more pictures that I'll post in an update in a little bit. I wanted to get in one post before the night is over and I'm not sure how much time I have to spare with the baby and just my never ending, on going "to-do" list.

Well a quick explanation on why I say it's 90% Homemade Chicken Pot Pie. It's because I made the crust from scratch, used fresh chicken, a mix of fresh and frozen veggies, but I used condensed cream of chicken soup.. 2 cans of it. I wanted to get rid of them so I had to use them, plus I didn't bother to look for a recipe for cream of chicken because it was one of those things where opening the can and pouring it in just was too easy not to do, haha. Well I will post more pictures later along with the step by step photos. Needless to say this turned out so good, my husband and I ate half the casserole ourselves! We were just talking about portion sizes too and how awful we could probably finish the whole thing that could serve about 6-8 ppl. We were hungry. 

St. Patrick's Day

IRISH SODA BREAD

Irish Soda Bread (Photo By: Amara Ryder)

So to continue my New Years Resolution of starting family traditions, this year for St. Patty's Day I'm making Irish Soda Bread and Irish Potatoes. Since Blake is little and won't remember this, I'm keeping it simple. I found so many cool activities and stuff to make with him when he gets older, so excited! I always search around for different ways to make the same recipe and pick which one seems best or just combine them all together some how. For this recipe I followed the directions right off of the site and it turned out really good! As you can see from the picture, it didn't last even for the photo, haha. It was too good not to share! Enjoy! :)

Here's the link to the Irish Soda Bread that I made:
Irish Soda Bread from All Recipes 

*I used Butter instead of Margarine
*I used Reduced Fat Buttermilk instead of the Regular Buttermilk (that's all they had in the store)

Here's the ingredients that I started out with and a little helper in the background :) 

Irish Soda Bread Ingredients

Irish Soda Bread Ingredients:

• 4 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 4 Tablespoons Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt

• 1/2 Cup Butter, Softened

• 1 Cup Buttermilk
• 1 Egg

• 1/4 Cup Butter, Melted
• 1/4 Cup Buttermilk

Photos Step By Step: 

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Oven Preheat: 375 degrees
Bake: 45 minutes

I put the bread in the oven for 20 minutes and then brushed on more of the buttermilk and butter mixture. Then put it back in the oven for 20 more minutes and brushed on more of the mixture and back in the oven for about 5 minutes.

I tapped the bottom of the bread for the hollow sound to check if it was done. Yum! It smelled so good cooking in the oven and tasted good too! :) Success!

Next I'm planning to make Irish Potatoes - Semi Homemade Mom Blog -- Yum! :) 

IRISH POTATOES

Irish Potatoes
Photo By: Amara Ryder

I found this recipe for Irish Potatoes from Semi Homemade Mom's Blog and they are so good! These didn't last long in this house, I was lucky to get a picture in time! Half of these are rolled in Cinnamon, the other in Chocolate and the middle are half Chocolate and Cinnamon. The winner combination for this recipe was being rolled in Cinnamon. This was my inspiration recipe and it was fun to make! So glad I found this recipe and blog on Pinterest! :)

Here's a link to the Irish Potatoes:

Irish Potatoes from Semi Homemade Mom's Blog

Irish Potatoes Ingredients
Photo By: Amara Ryder

Irish Potatoes Ingredients:

• 1/4 Cup Butter, softened
• 4 oz Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
• 7 oz Sweetened Shredded Coconut
   
• 3 Tablespoons Cinnamon 

*Will update with steps by step photos later