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Monday, December 28, 2009

Quick Dinner Idea

This worked really well for me the other day and I was surprised how quickly and well it all came together.


Menu

Mushroom Cream Chicken
Asparagus
Couscous
Sweat Potato Fries

Mushroom Cream Chicken – Chicken breast – cut in strips - seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. Sauté until cooked through, add cream of Chicken soup and water to thin out slightly.

Asparagus – lightly sautéed with garlic powder and olive oil

Couscous – follow package directions, but this only takes 5 mins to prepare (great rice substitute)

Sweet Potato Fries – bought frozen - 20mins in a preheated oven, start this when the chicken goes on and everything is done at once



It’s Colorful & Delicious. Very little prep time, very short cook time – this is my version of fast food ;)

Putamayo Music

I am keenly aware that there are many different cultures around the world and in an effort to embrace other cultures in general and Black cultures in particular me and Baby are listening to a Putamayo Music CD my Mom gave me a while back. Right now African Playground is Baby’s favorite CD. She smiles and claps and dances when ever it plays. Every track is an excuse to dance and for me to act silly - The songs originate from across the content and I hope will be a musical introduction for Baby to explore her ancestry.


African Playground

Thursday, November 5, 2009

My Mexican Night

This dish is a little labor intensive but completely worth it. There is enough to feed a small family for a few days or a large family for not much money. It’s also a good way to sneak in lots of veggies for funny eaters. Try it out and let me know what you think.



Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:
2 cooked chicken breasts
2 Tbls vegetable oil
½ a bell pepper
1 a large tomato
1 small onion
1 clove of garlic
1 Tsp cumin
1 Tsp cayanne pepper
1 package of Spanish rice
1 can of dark red beans
1 can of red enchilada sauce
10 large whole wheat tortillas
2 spring onions
1 small avacado
1 lb of Mexican blend cheeses

1.) Take cooked chicken breast and string it into little pieces – this is done by running a fork along the direction of the meat until it is shredded.

2.) Dice garlic, chop bell pepper, onion and tomato – put ½ of the diced tomato aside for later

3.) Heat vegetable oil in a deep skillet, add the ingredients through the cyan pepper

4.) In a separate saucepan cook the Spanish rice per the directions

5.) Add the Spanish rice and beans to the chicken and vegetables

6.) Add the beans and ½ of the enchilada sauce simmer for a few minutes.

7.) Line the center of the tortilla with cheese and fill with the enchilada mixture – make sure to save some cheese for later. Wrap and place in a lightly greased 9x13 baking pan with the seam facing down.

8.) Once all the enchiladas are in the pan pour the remaining enchilada sauce over them. Then chop the spring onions and avacado then add them to the pan along with the remaining cheese and tomatoes.

9.) Bake for 15 minutes at 350˚F degrees

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Home Made vs Store Bland


I decided long before the baby was born that along with breastfeeding, I would make her first foods myself. It was partly because of the nutrition but mostly because of the cost. It wasn’t difficult; we mashed up bananas and avocados and even blended our own oatmeal. Baby was eating everything under the sun having a ball. I only ran into trouble when we traveled and needed to keep the food fresh. So, on a recent trip to Jamaica that was going to last about a week I decided to buy jars of Gerber Organics and Earth's Best baby food.
Everything tasted the same. The pasta primavera, chicken and stars, and spring vegetables – no matter what she was eating it all tasted like salt and mush. No garlic, no thyme, no ginger or cinnamon – no flavor! I feel sorry for the poor babies that have to face jars of store bought baby food everyday. No one should go so far through life without any thing interesting to eat.



My favorite baby food websites are:

http://wholesomebabyfood.com/

http://weelicious.com/

Enjoy Tasty the Tasty Food :)

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Cornmeal Porridge

It’s getting colder outside and around this time I look forward to eating hot cereal in the morning instead of my usual milk and granola. Here in the US the popular choices are Oatmeal and Cream of Wheat. In Jamaica the favorite hot cereal is corn meal porridge and my husband makes it every weekend. Now that our little girl is eating table food she also enjoys a bowl of porridge on the days that Daddy makes breakfast. Banana is also good to mash up in the porridge for an extra boost of fruit. Here is a good recipe:






Jamaican Cornmeal Porridge

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup cornmeal

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla essence

1. Mix the cornmeal with 1/2 cup of the water

2. Bring the remaining 1 cup of water to the boil

3. Stir in the cornmeal mixture and salt

4. Continue cooking for 10 minutes

5. Add condensed milk and vanilla essence

6. Top with grated cinnamon and nutmeg

Makes 3-4 servings

Pampers Vs Huggies Vs Everyone Else

Let me start by saying that I lean towards the frugal side when it comes to spending money. While I was still pregnant I decided that I wouldn’t fall into the pricy diaper trap and bought a box of size 1 Luvs.
The hospital sent us home with a bag of Pampers Swaddlers and I was hooked. They were so soft and fit so well. I figured we would buy Pampers in the NB size and use the Luvs when she got bigger. When that happened every day she wore the Luvs there was a mess to clean up – and I’m not talking pee.
 
After that box of disasters I clipped coupons and went between Huggies and Pampers for the next 6 months, then on my last trip to Jamaica I ran out of diapers and had to bum a couple off another mom whose baby was the same age as mine. These no name, developing country diapers worked just as good as the Pampers Cruisers I was so completely devoted to. So now I have the confidence to jump straight to generic diapers without looking back.

Yay! No more spending a small fortune on something to catch poop :)



Thursday, October 22, 2009

Diaper Bag Essentials


What to pack before you leave the house?  Of course (3) diapers and (10) wipes, but what else? (1)Receiving blanket, (2) burp clothes, hand sanitizer, diaper cream, (1) hat, and a (2) change of clothes for the baby just in case (when) she messes herself.  I had to learn the hard way that there is something else that is essential to a diaper bag.

In the Montego Bay airport my husband and I were picking up some duty free items (no pun intended).  I was wearing the baby and felt an explosion in her diaper, actually it was a few explosions.  I went to the bath room to assess the damage and change her diaper right away. Sure enough there was poop every where - up her back up her stomach and all over me!  After ten minutes she was fresh and clean.  I on the other hand was a different story.  Horrified by the thought of setting in a poopy shirt for the next 5 hours I promply went to a gift shop and bought another shirt.

The last essential for your diaper bag... a (1) change of clothes for you!

Write What You Know

I am Ann, a mom (a new mom) of a beautiful little girl who is 10 months old. My family is an international one with Black-American and Jamaican influences. I have discovered a few things in my short time as a parent that I think would be helpful for others, so that is what this blog is about. Family. Women. Food. Babies. Travel. Hair. Beauty.

We are just starting our journey and look forward to sharing the lessons learned with you. If these topics interest you, please check back for more posts.

Thanks :)