Audrey's 2nd Birthday Party

Now that I have two children, and they are growing up at lightening speed before my very eyes, you may notice that my blog is becoming a little more toddler/baby/child focused. I still plan to focus heavily on baking and cooking, but will also include some crafts and other fun things. I am NOT crafty, but I am working on it, and enjoying every step of the journey with my little munchkins. :-)

My first baby girl turned two years old on Saturday, and we had a Sesame Street themed party with family on her birthday, and a party with her friends on Monday. I'm really happy with how everything turned out, and wanted to share in case any other moms need some ideas.

Food

Mini meatballs (TJ's precooked frozen mini meatballs, slow cooked in amazing sauce... recipe below)

Pigs in a blanket (TJ's nitrate-free cocktail pups wrapped in Pillsbury crescent dough)

Mac 'n' Cheese Balls (TJ's)

Crab artichoke dip (Whole Foods)

Black bean hummus dip (Whole Foods; this dip is amazing and probably easy to DIY)

Veggie tray....sliced up red, yellow, and green peppers and carrot sticks

Meatball Sauce Recipe

*For 3 bags of mini meatballs, I combined three jars of Trader Joe's organic marinara sauce, 1 cup of packed brown sugar, and 1 cup of blackberry preserves (I used a mixture of blackberry and raspberry this time, but usually just use blackberry; whatever you have on hand will work). Blend well, cover meatballs in crockpot, and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Other:

Sesame Street Cupcakes (boxed yellow cake mix, vanilla icing mixed with various food coloring, Oreos for the mouths, marshmallows and m&ms for the eyes)

I used this website for inspiration: http://itsallabouto.blogspot.com/2009/04/sesame-street-birthday.html

I bought a Wilton icing bag set at Michael's for about $8, and purchased the "grass" tip separately for about $3. I have NEVER even been to that section of Michael's before, and knew absolutely nothing about icing cupcakes (except just using a spatula and going to town). If I can do it, you can too.

Elmo/Oscar/Cookie Monster/Big Bird Goodie Bags (I used my friend, Missy Mellen's photos from her son's birthday party for inspiration)

I purchased the bags, in groups of 13, at Michaels for about $3 a bunch. Then I cut eyes, noses, and mouths out of construction paper. It was kind of fun, and took maybe a little over an hour while my wonderful mother-in-law played with the girls. :)

I think both parties turned out well, and Audrey loved seeing her favorite characters throughout our house. We still have a few Sesame Street balloons floating around the house, that I'm sure won't be going away anytime soon. ;-)

Super Quick, Healthy Side Dish

I was looking for something easy to serve as a side dish, and at the same time, wanted to use up some of my canned veggies that don't get a lot of attention. I realize summer isn't an ideal time to use canned veggies, but I was in pantry clean-out mode, so canned veggies it had to be. :)


Ingredients:

One bag of frozen organic brown rice from Trader Joe's, cooked (3 min in microwave)
One can Rotel tomatoes with chiles
One can black beans
One can sweet corn

1 t ground cumin

pinch of salt

pinch of black pepper
One cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup shredded cheese to sprinkle on top

Mix the first nine ingredients together, pour into a small baking dish (8x8 would work), and bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Sprinkle the cheese on top, and bake for the last five minutes. Yields about 4-6 servings. Enjoy!

One of My Favorite Dishes~~Enchiladas!

This is a recipe I have been making for years, and every time I make it I change it up a bit. I usually use ground turkey (which I did this time), but the enchiladas are also delicious with shredded or chopped chicken, or ground beef. I also sometimes saute the veggies in butter (this time onions, tomatoes, green chilies, and black beans), but I left out the butter this time.

The best tortillas I have found at the store are the handmade ones from Trader Joe's. They have flour ones and whole wheat ones. This time I used the flour ones. They are so so good!

Ingredients:

1-1.5 lb lean ground turkey

1/2 t ground cumin

1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t onion powder

Trader Joe's Flour Tortillas

Trader Joe's Enchilada Sauce

One can Trader Joe's Organic Black Beans (I often use dried beans, but they take more preparation)

One small can green chilies

One small/medium tomato, chopped (not too fine)

One small onion, chopped (not too fine)

1/2 cup salsa

1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

Brown the ground turkey. Drain if necessary.

Add the chopped onion and tomato to the ground turkey, and cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the can of black beans (if using dried black beans, add them when you add the onion), and the can of green chilies. Stir for another minute while cooking on medium heat.

Stir in the Greek yogurt and salsa and continue to cook on low heat.

Fill one tortilla at a time with a large spoonfull of the mixture, about 2/3 cup, and sprinkle cheese on top of the meat mixture. Wrap the tortilla closed, and place it on one end of a greased glass baking dish. Do the same 4-5 more times, depending on how full each tortilla is and how many will fit in the dish.

Pour the bottle of enchilada sauce over the enchiladas, and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. After 20 minutes, remove the enchiladas from the oven, sprinkle the remaining cheese over them, and bake for another 7-10 minutes.

Enjoy!

A Long Weekend of Turkey

Roasted Turkey and Turkey Chili

This year, we spent Thanksgiving with Dan's parents in Richmond. We had a wonderful traditional turkey dinner, complete with mashed potatoes, green beans, and stuffing. This was the first time in four years that we did not host Thanksgiving at our house. Therefore, I decided to roast a turkey today so we can have "leftovers." :-)

When I roast a turkey, I do two things to ensure that it comes out juicy and delicious. First, I brine the turkey. Clean the turkey, remove the insides (make sure you get them all!), and place the turkey in a big, black crab pot. Fill a large liquid measuring cup (4 cups) with about 1/2 cup of sugar and 3/4 cup of salt. Then fill it to the top with water. Mix the water, sugar and salt, and pour it over the turkey. Then continue to fill up the crab pot until the water is almost to the top. Place the lid on the pot and stick it in the fridge overnight to marinate.

Next, I plop the turkey (breast side up) into a roasting pan. I then use a knife to get under the skin just above the turkey breast. I use my fingers to slide pieces of butter and fresh garlic under the skin. I also stick a few cloves of garlic inside the bird.



Then, I pour a little olive oil over the entire bird (about 3/4 cup), and sprinkle seasonings on top . I used herbs de provence, garlic salt, salt, and pepper. Some people tie the legs back, but I usually skip this step as it is a pain and I don't really notice a difference.

Roasting the turkey (these directions are for a 22 lb bird)...


Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Place the roasting pan in the oven and roast for about 20 minutes. Then, lightly cover the bird with foil, lower the oven temperature to 390 degrees and continue to roast for a few more hours. You need to check the temperature of the thickest part of the bird to be sure that it is done. It should be about 165 degrees. You can also check to make sure that the juices run clear. I cooked my 22 lb turkey for 20 minutes at 500 degrees, then for another 3.5-4 hours at 390 degrees. About two hours into the last step, take it out of the oven, and baste the turkey using juices from the pan.

I will be serving the turkey this evening with cornbread stuffing (made using leftovers from a loaf of cornbread I made yesterday, sauteed with butter and peppers), mashed potatoes (skin on), green beans, cranberry sauce (what can I say, I love the canned stuff!), and rolls. This meal may not deserve to be in my "healthy" cooking blog, but it sure will taste good! And turkey is good for you. It's loaded with protein, and olive oil and garlic are good for your heart. :-)

Turkey Chili (Crockpot)

As if we didn't have enough turkey this weekend, I decided to make some turkey chili on Friday. It's extremely simple and pretty much impossible to mess up. I sometimes use canned black beans, but prefer to use dried black beans because they add a nice texture to the chili. Here's what you need:

One lb ground turkey
One bag of dried black beans (you need to boil them for five minutes, and then let them sit in the hot water for an hour before adding them to the crockpot)
One small yellow onion, diced
One head of garlic, minced
One can of corn (you can also use frozen)
One can of kidney beans
One can of stewed tomatoes
One can of diced tomatoes and green chiles



Soak the black beans one hour before you start the chili (or skip this step if you are using canned beans instead).

Brown one pound of ground turkey, and drain the grease. Return the turkey to the pan, add a bunch of spices (about a T of each of ground cumin and chili powder, a t of garlic powder, a t of crushed red pepper (omit if you don't want it too spicy), a t of salt, a t of pepper, and a splash of Tabasco sauce.) Pour 3/4 cup of water over the meat/seasoning mixture, and cook on low heat while stirring occasionally. Add the onions and garlic to the pan, and continue to simmer.

While the meat is cooking, add all of the veggies to the crockpot. Last, add the meat mixture to the crockpot, give it a good stir, and cover the pot. Cook the chili on high for 4-5 hours, or low for 8-10 hours.


I serve it with shredded cheddar, a dallop of sour cream or plain yogurt, and a side of cornbread.