Nom, Nom!!!

Isn't this the most ridiculous...and awesome bib ever?! It's true. It is ridulously awesome! Not only does it velcro around his neck, but also around his legs. There ain't no food gettin' on the Ky man. hehe. Thanks, Jen, for this contraption. It's a new fave. 

Ky loves to eat, man! He  gets upset if he sees someone else eating something and he has nothing to shovel into his mouth! There's a reason why he's seriously close to Keshlyn's weight! He had mashed potatoes for the first time today. I thought he was never going to stop grunting for more. His chubby little cheeks and grin just make me want to bite his face they look so edible! :)

So Ky and I have a couple of things in common. 1. Kyden- He wears a bib. Me- I should wear a bib. I'm messy.

2. Kyden- He loves food so much that he grunts. When he gets it, he pounds it. Me- I love food so much that I also make weird noises. Grunts of desire aren't so cute once you're not a chubby little baby anymore. Hmmm.... When I get my food, something in my brain tells me I will never eat again and so I scarf. Really too fast. I just think the whole "mom" thing is the reason I eat so fast now. Or. Maybe I'm just a pig.

So what am I cooking up in this kitchen while being healthy? A couple of ideas:

1. Cabbage Casserole. Ok, so don't turn up your noses yet. Shannon would have never eaten cabbage before and I coaxed him into trying this the first time I made it. It is on our menu board and we both request it often. It's from the chefs of The Biggest Loser. There is some serious magic in this recipe because if you look at the ingredient list there's nothing to it! Somehow the flavor is incredible. There is a little prep work involved. What we do to speed up the process is to only skillet fry up a couple pieces of bacon to yield the grease. The rest of the bacon we'll do in the oven ahead of time.

Ingredients


6 cups Cabbage Shredded


8 slices center cut bacon


1 cup quick brown rice


1 to 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken Chicken


2 cans (8 oz) tomato sauce


1/2 cup water


1 onion


salt & pepper to taste


hot sauce to taste (optional)


Directions


cook bacon in skillet, set aside. Use 1 tbs of bacon greese to cook up rice and onion. Place 3 cups of cabbage in 8x8 baking dish. Place rice mixture on top. Cook Chicken in skillet, add salt and pepper. Place in dish. Add rest of cabbage.


In the skillet add tomato sauce and water, bring to a boil. Use a ladel to pour tomato sauce evenly over dish. Place tinfoil on top and bake in oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Take foil off and cook for another 10 minutes.


Add hot sauce if desired.

2. Tomato Pesto "Pasta": This stuff is seriously the bomb. New favorite meal that I'm raving about. Again, not much to it but the flavor is so delicious. If you've never used zuchinni, squash, or even carrots before as "noodles" in dishes, you should try it. I love doing that. Gets more veggies in and it still has a thinness to eat like noodles.

For the Pesto


◦3 oz sundried tomatoes


◦1 cup walnuts


◦1-1.5 cup olive oil


◦1/2 cup basil leaves


◦juice of 1 lemon


◦2 garlic cloves


◦1/2 teaspoon salt


For the pasta


◦3 zucchini, julienne cut or sliced into fettuccine noodles


◦1 bundle of asparagus


◦1lb chicken, diced (I omit this for a vegetarian meal!)


◦1/3 cup chicken broth or water


◦2-4 tablespoons olive oil


◦1 teaspoon dried basil


◦1 teaspoon dried tarragon


◦1 teaspoon dried thyme


◦salt and pepper, to taste


Instructions


1.Place your sundried tomatoes in a bowl with 1-2 cups of water or until the sundried tomatoes are covered to soften.


2.Now heat up a medium sized skillet under medium heat with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and throw in your diced chicken to begin to cook down, tossing the chicken randomly to help cook on all sides.


3.Add your basil, tarragon, and thyme to the chicken.


4.Once your sundried tomatoes are soft, pull out your food processor, place sundried tomatoes along with your walnuts and puree. Then add the rest of the pesto ingredients and slowly pour in the olive oil in while it’s turned on so you can see how much olive oil you will really need. Add until you find your preferred consistency.


5.Now heat up a large skillet under medium heat with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and toss in your zucchini noodles and asparagus.


6.Add your chicken broth or water to the noodles and asparagus to help cook the noodles down.


7.After about 3-5 minutes, add your sundried tomato pesto to the zucchini noodles along with the chicken.


8.Cover and let cook for 3-5 minutes.


9.Serve with some leftover sundried tomatoes on top! (I also topped mine off with avocado.)

The latest blogs I'm following and addicted to about food that you should definitely check out are

1. paleomg.com (origin of the Pesto Pasta recipe above and such a fun read!)
2.100daysofrealfood.com (This one is AWESOME!)

Feel free to share recipes with me! I feel like I talk to myself on these types of posts. Oh well; what else is new? Keshlyn often asks me, "Why you talk to yourself, mommy?" haha. Why stop now, right?