Baby Food--Avocado

I was lucky enough to have been given this Kid Co. electric food mill to puree baby food at home. Of course a regular food processor would work but this little contraption is smaller and easier to clean up and use. I've experimented so far with sweet potatoes, bananas and now avocados which were a winner. Just ask Owen! There's no real recipe which is why I think it's a wonderful idea to make it at home. I just used two avocados and about 1/4 cup of water and blended it all together. I froze the leftovers in ice cube trays so we can have avocados in about 30 seconds! I do wonder why baby food companies don't make avocado...but I digress. So go ahead and try it! I think your baby (and your wallet) will thank you!

Pasta with Walnut Pesto

Fresh basil, mmm. Nothing like a good pesto. Unfortunately sometimes I just can't bring myself to pay the astronomical price of pine nuts, so this time I bought walnuts. I think it is just as fabulous.

Pesto:

2 cups basil leaves
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1 TBSP butter
1 garlic clove
3 TBSP parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes
olive oil ~1/4 cup

Cook rotini pasta according to the directions, reserving 1 ladle full of the cooking water to add to the pesto.
Combine all the pesto ingredients, except for the olive oil, in a food processor. Blend, pouring in the olive oil as it goes, creating a paste-like texture. Combine the pesto, pasta and pasta water in a large bowl and mix together.

Lentil Soup

I'm making a commitment to using my crock pot more. I love lentil soup and have always wanted to make it. When I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, I though it was perfect for me. After making it I realized that A. my crock pot I think only cooks on one setting--high and B. this was more like a lentil side dish than a soup--all the liquid was soaked up and had been cooked out. Still it is really good. I froze a bunch for the future and I also gave some to my mom and sister.

Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

We love buffalo anything in our house. I think my husband falls in love with me all over again when I make something buffalo style. When I saw this on Running Mama Cooks, I knew we would have to have it. I had to improvise with some of the ingredients but I can honestly say I think mine came out better than I've ever had in a restaurant. Here's my version... go ahead and try it. You won't be disappointed.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 bottle buffalo sauce ( I used Ken's)
1/2 cup hot sauce
1 small can tomato sauce (8 oz)
1/4 cup ranch dressing

Place the breasts in the crockpot and top with the remaining ingredients. Cook for about 3-4 hours on medium. About an hour before they are done, shred the chicken in the crockpot and mix it around so that it soaks up the sauce. Serve on fresh rolls topped with monterey jack cheese.

Caprese Salad

Caprese salad came onto my radar in the past 5 years or so. I love it but I find it's not always on the menu at restaurants. It's so easy to make but for some reason, I never tried. My Mom gave me some fresh basil from her garden yesterday though and it popped into my mind to have for dinner. I had just bought tomatoes at the Farmers Market and I knew I had some mozzarella cheese. I quickly made a balsamic reduction and voila, half of our dinner was ready. The balsamic reduction was the hardest--all that whisking! But well worth it.