♥ top toddler recipe #3: easy chicken nuggets ♥

1 pound chicken breasts, boneless & skinless cut into chunks

1/4 cup old fashioned oats (also known as 5 minute oats)

1/4 teaspoon dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup panko bread crumbs

1 tablespoon parmesan cheese, grated

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.

2. Place the first 6 ingredients in a food processor until chicken is finely chopped and ingredients are combined.

3. Place the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese in a shallow bowl or on a plate and stir to combine.

4. With moistened hands, roll 1 tablespoon of chicken mixture between your palms and flatten it into a “nugget” shape.

5. Gently press nuggets into bread crumbs to evenly coat them.*

6. Place nuggets on a cooling rack. Place cooling rack over a foil-lined baking sheet.

7. Lightly spray nuggets with cooking spray.

8. Bake for 15 minutes and serve.**

* To freeze, place nuggets on a sheet tray after this step and freeze for one hour. Place nuggets in labeled freezer bags for up to 3 months. When ready to cook, follow the directions starting with step #6.

** If you want your nuggets to be golden brown, place under the broiler for 2 minutes after cooking.

♥ top toddler recipe #4: no work chicken ♥

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons dijon mustard (mild)

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/4 cup chopped scallions

4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.

2.. In a 9 x 13 baking dish, whisk the honey, soy sauce, dijon mustard, curry powder and scallions.

3. Place chicken on top of sauce and turn to coat.

4. Cover and marinate 30 minutes to overnight, flipping halfway through to coat with sauce.

5. Cover with foil and bake chicken 30-40 minutes, depending on size of chicken breasts. Baste chicken with the sauce half way through cooking.

6. Serve over rice or pasta.

♥ top toddler recipe #5: pizza balls ♥

1 16 oz pkg white or whole wheat pizza dough

3/4 cup broccoli florets, cooked & chopped*

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 cup pizza sauce

olive oil

parmesan cheese, grated

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.

2. Bring pizza dough to room temperature and divide into 16 even pieces.

3. In a separate bowl combine the broccoli (or whatever addition you choose), mozzarella and pizza sauce.

4. Roll out each piece of dough into a round, about 3 inches wide, and place 1 tbsp of the cheese mixture in the center.

5. Take the edges of the dough and bring them to the center, pinching along the edges to make sure they stick together, then roll into a ball.

6. Place the ball, sealed side down, in a greased pie plate and repeat these steps making the rest of the balls.

7. Brush each ball with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

8. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden.

9. Serve.

* You can substitute the broccoli for any additions you desire.

♥ top toddler recipe #6: mini hot dog miffins ♥

Makes 48 mini muffins

Corn bread recipe adapted from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients:

1/2 cup melted butter (or 1/4 cup butter + 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce)

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

8-10 all-beef hot dogs, cut into 1″ bites

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine butter and sugar in a bowl, and whisk to combine. Add eggs and whisk to incorporate. Add buttermilk and whisk to incorporate.

2. In a separate bowl, combine baking soda, cornmeal, flour, and salt, and stir to combine. Whisk into wet ingredients in two batches.

3. Spray a mini muffin tin with non-stick spray, and spoon 1 Tablespoon of batter into each mini muffin cup. Place one hot dog bite into the middle of each cup.

4. Bake for 8-12 minutes (oven temperatures vary), or until cornbread is golden brown. Cool in mini muffin tin for 5 minutes before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator, and re-heat for 20-30 seconds before serving.

♥ top toddler recipe #7: fish fingers ♥

always a favourite! no need to elaborate! nom nom :)

♥ top toddler recipe #8: broccoli and carrot biscuits ♥

I don’t want to mis-lead children of the world!  This is not a “hidden veggie” recipe.  In fact, these biscuits do in every way taste like broccoli! Which is good for those kids that like broccoli.  And it may even be good for those kids who CLAIM they don’t like broccoli, but have never really given it a chance. 

Either way- All I did was incorporate the processed and chopped carrots and vegetables, into a standard biscuit mix. here's a link for easy biscuit mix if you don't have one: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,2363,154180-239200,00.html

cut a handful of carrots and veggies to fit in a food processor

chop veggies in a food processor until they're all blended

incorporate veggies into biscuit mix

roll out biscuits and cut into shapes or circles

step 5: arrange biscuit dough onto a pan and sprinkle with parmesan (optional)

bake at the recommended temperature for your biscuits and ENJOY!  ♥

♥ scrumptious sweet potato croissant rolls ♥

I am TOTALLY on board with ADDING healthy ingredients to boost a foods vitamin and mineral profile!  And that is exactly what this recipes allows you to do!

add all ingredient with a bread mixer, or by hand

let rise till double in size

punch down
roll into a ball
roll into a circle with a rolling pin

slice into wedges

roll into crescent shapes

bake and eat!

for the full recipe, please click here: http://crave-capetown.blogspot.com/2012/09/sweet-potato-crescent-rolls-full-recipe.html

♥ top toddler recipe #9: sweet potato croissant rolls - full recipe ♥

combine the following in a large bowl:
1.5 cups whole wheat bread flour
1/4cups sugar
1 teaspoon dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

in a large sauce pan combine:
1 cup sweet potato - cooked and mashed
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter

cook over medium heat, stirring until butter is melted and mixture is warm. add to flour mixture. beat with mixer set on low speed, scraping bowl often, until mixture is all moistened - about 1 to 2 minutes.

add 1 beaten egg and mix at medium speed for 3 minutes

add 2 to 2.5 cups bread flour

stir in enough flour by hand to make dough easy to handle. turn onto floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 7-9 minutes. place in greased bowl, turn to grease both sides, cove with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in bulk. punch down dough and divide it in half. roll each half of dough on lightly floured surface into a circle - about 20-22cm wide

brush each circle with 1 teaspoon melted butter. but into 12 wedges and tightly roll up each wedge from the wide end to point. place rolls, point side down, on a greased baking sheet. cover and let rise until doubled. bake in a preheated oven until golden brown - about 12-15 minutes.

♥ top toddler recipe #10: bambino bread salad ♥

1.5 cups of cubed italian bread - crusts remove and cut into age appropriate bites
3/4 cups tomatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
1/4 cups perlini mozarella - cut each ball in half or quarters for safety
3 basil leaves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
pinch of salt



preheat oven to 180 degrees. scatter cubed bread on a baking sheet and place in oven until lightly toasted, about 5-8 minutes. set aside. put tomatoes, mozarella and basil in a mixing bowl. add lemon juice, olive oil and salt and stir. let the mixture sit for at least 15 minutes.

about 15 minutes before serving, add the bread. this recipe can be made in advance, but keep the bread separate until the end to make sure it doesn't get soggy.

* perlini mozzarella is pearl-sized mozzarella. if you can't find it, substitude regular fresh mozzarella and cut into bite sized pieces.

** perlini mozzarella are round and a little slippery, making them a potential choking hazard unless cut into smaller bites.  I cut them in half for my son, but use your judgment with your baby and consider quartering them if you are really concerned.

*** our children's diet is based on the advice of our paediatrician.  i suggest that you follow the advice of your own doctor.

♥ top toddler recipe #11: spaghetti and sausage sticks ♥

i just saw this recipe while browsing the internet earlier today and i think that it's just so, so, so clever! our little morgan LOVES sausages and pasta, but because she's only 1 year old still, she'll normally munch so much sausage that by the time she gets to the pasta, it either goes flying, sticking to basically everything around her...

this is the perfect way to combine the two! i can not wait to get home to make supper tonight, i'm sure that mixing the spaghetti-sausage-sticks with a nice sauce will defs make this recipe a keeper!

this is as easy as pie - simply chop up the sausage and before cooking the pasta - stick the spaghetti through the sausage. Boil until done and add a little sauce to it!

♥ top toddler recipe #12: bread sticks ♥

between morgan and i, i'm not too sure who the biggest fan of bread sticks are! these are great with any dip - morgy prefer hummus! luckily you don't have to make these yourself, most shops sell them. i'm a very big fan of the cheddar cheese sticks at woolies - amazeballs!

♥ Beautiful Morgan's First Birthday Party ♥

So last weekend we finally got to celebrate our little girls First Birthday party. Loads of family and friends came to celebrate this big milestone in our little girls life. I browsed the internet and read up on millions of ideas to make it as special as I possibly could.

the night before we were still wondering how to make some of the ideas i had in mind happen. as it goes, i had to give up on some of them but i could happily replace them with other ideas. a massive thanks to my amazing sister in law for helping me get everything done in time.

so here we go, just a few of my fav pics from the day :) hope you'll enjoy looking at them as much as i still do!

♥

the invitations

the food tags

breakfast for the birthday girl

i love these - the birthday cookies

frame on the gift table, asking everyone to write a birthday wish in her story book

some of the kind birthday wishes

we had 2 pieces of ribbon with photos of the birthday girl, taken every month 

some of the snackies

juice for the little people

yummy juice for the grown ups :)

crowns for the girls

stick on moustaches for the boys

opening some of my gifts

she was loving every second 

can i please open this one next mommy

sharing my birthday cake with my beautiful cousin, nina

nom nom!

special birthday hugs from mommy

passed out in dada's arms after a very long celebration weekend!

thank you fridge magnet mailed to all my family and friends the following week!

♥ Sneak Preview of Morgys 1st Birthday! ♥

the day FINALLY arrived! after spending many hours planning how to celebrate her arrival at my baby shower over a year ago - i got to spend the last few weeks planning my baby girls very first birthday. something that almost drove an amateur party planner like myself, over the brink of excited'ness! 

i've soooo badly wanted to post some of the pics i took while preparing for the festivities, but had to force myself to not do so and to reveal all in what is sure to be my most impressive blog post so far!

i have tonight and tomorrow left to get the last million things i still have to do done - so pleeeeaaase wish me luck! 

i obviously would never dream about leaving you without a little taster, so until we meet again next week, here's 3 of my fav pics so far! 

enjoy! ♥

the invitations

the food tags

birthday cookies

♥ Coq au Vin ♥

what you'll need:

♥ 24 to 30 pearl onions

• ♥ 4 chicken thighs and legs, or one 2.5kg stewing chicken, cut into serving pieces
• ♥ salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ♥ 1/4 to 1/2 cup flour
• ♥ 2 tablespoons water
• ♥ 170g bacon, shopped
• ♥ 230g button mushrooms, quartered
• ♥ 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• ♥ 750 ml pinot noir
• ♥ 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• ♥ 1 medium onion, quartered
• ♥ 2 stalks celery, quartered
• ♥ 2 medium carrots, quartered
• ♥ 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• ♥ 6 to 8 sprigs fresh thyme
• ♥ 1 bay leaf
• ♥ 2 cups chicken stock or broth

what you'll do:

1. cut off the root end of each pearl onion and make an "x" with your knife in its place. bring 2 to 3 cups of water to a boil and drop in the onions for 1 minute. remove the onions from the pot, allow them to cool, and then peel. you should be able to slide the onions right out of their skin. set aside.

2. sprinkle the chicken on all sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper. place the chicken pieces, a few at a time, into a large sealable plastic bag along with the flour. shake to coat all of the pieces of the chicken. remove the chicken from the bag to a metal rack.

3. add the 2 tablespoons of water to a large saute pan over medium heat along with the salt pork. cover and cook until the water is gone, and then continue to cook until the salt pork cubes are golden brown and crispy, approximately 8 to 10 minutes. remove the salt pork from the pan and set aside.

4. in the same pan, using the remaining fat, add the pearl onions, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and saute until lightly brown, approximately 8 to 10 minutes. remove the onions from the pan and set aside. next, brown the chicken pieces on each side until golden brown, working in batches if necessary to not overcrowd the pan. transfer the chicken into a stew pot.

5. add the mushrooms to the same saute pan, adding the 1 tablespoon of butter if needed, and saute until they give up their liquid, approximately 5 minutes. store the onions, mushrooms and pork in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

6. pour off any remaining fat and deglaze the pan with approximately 1 cup of the wine. Pour this into the pot along with the chicken stock, tomato paste, quartered onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. add all of the remaining wine. cover and refrigerate overnight.

7. the next day, preheat the oven to 160 degrees C.

8. place the chicken in the oven and cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until the chicken is tender. maintain a very gentle simmer and stir occasionally.

9. once the chicken is done, remove it to a heatproof container, cover, and place it in the oven to keep warm. strain the sauce in a colander and remove the carrots, onion, celery, thyme, garlic, and bay leaf. Return the sauce to the pot, place over medium heat, and reduce by 1/3. Depending on how much liquid you actually began with, this should take 20 to 45 minutes.

10. once the sauce has thickened, add the pearl onions, mushrooms, and pork and cook for another 15 minutes or until the heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, remove from the heat, add the chicken and serve. Serve over egg noodles, if desired.

Cook’s Note: If the sauce is not thick enough at the end of reducing, you may add a mixture of equal parts butter and flour kneaded together. Start with 1 tablespoon of each. whisk this into the sauce for 4 to 5 minutes and repeat, if necessary.

♥ chicken, courgette & lemon pasta ♥

what you'll need:
♥ 4 large portabella mushrooms
♥ 350g dried linguine
♥ 300g courgette, grated
♥ 300ml low fat crème fraiche
♥ 200ml low fat greek yoghurt
♥ 1 large free-range egg yolk
♥ 35g parmesan cheese
♥ zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
♥ sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
♥ 250g cold roast chicken, shredded
♥ small bunch of fresh chives, snipped

what you'll do:

1. heat a pan and spritz in a little olive oil. fry the mushrooms then remove from the pan and set aside. fry the grated courgette for a couple of minutes. bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet, but cook it for a minute or two less so it's a little underdone.

2. meanwhile mix together the crème fraiche, yoghurt, egg yolk, parmesan, lemon zest, salt and pepper.

3. drain the cooked pasta, leaving a few tablespoons of water in the bottom of the pan. return the pan to a low heat and pour in the sauce.

4. toss the pasta in the sauce, then add the roast chicken and chives, giving it all a good mix round until it's evenly incorporated.

♥ worlds easiest and best tasting chicken pie ever - fact ♥

there's absolutely NO DOUBT in my mind that this must be the world best tasting, easiest baking chicken pie in the world. fact!

if you're like me and not really a fan of chicken pies that's loaded with all kinds of other foods to make it bulkier and to help suppliers use the minimum amount of chicken to achieve the maximum amount of pies, then do yourself a fav and try this, pure chicken without the frills that so often spoil the end result!

  
what you'll need:
♥ 1 whole chicken
♥ 1 packet cream of mushroom soup powder
♥ pastry
♥ 1 egg
♥ salt
♥ pepper

what you'll do:
1. boil the chicken until cooked through - about 45mins to 1 hour.

2. when done, remove the chicken from the water. put the water aside as you'll use it again in the next step. remove all skin and bones and chop into pieces. i like to use scissors - much easier and way quicker.

3. add the packet of soup powder to the chicken and dissolve using the water you cooked the chicken in. add salt and pepper and stir until all the powder mixed in.

4. transfer the mixture to an oven proof dish - place the pastry on top and brush the egg on top.

5. bake until the pastry turns a gorgeous golden yellow

amazeballs :)

♥ stuffed pork tenderloin ♥

what you'll need:
♥ porcini mushrooms, cut into thick slices
♥ 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
♥ 2 tablespoons extra0virgin olive oil, divided
♥ 2 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground pepper, divided
♥ 2 teaspoons fresh sage, chopped, divided
♥ 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped, divided
♥ 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
♥ 2 pork tenderloins, trimmed

what you'll do:
1. preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius


2. toss mushrooms, garlic, 1 tbls oil, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon sage, 1 teaspoon thyme and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. transfer to a roasting pan and roast in the oven for 5 minutes. stir and continue roasting until the mushrooms are soft and fragrant - 5 to 10 minutes more. set aside and cool.


3. butterfly the tenderloins, lay one tenderloin on a large cutting board. holding the knife blade flat, parallel to the board, make a lengthwise cut through the centre of the meat, stopping short of the opposite edge so that the flaps remain attached. open up the flaps as you would open a book. cover with plastic wrap. with a meat pounder, rolling pin or heavy pan, pound the meat to even thickness. butterfly and pound the remaining tenderloin.


4. divide the mushroom mixture between the tenderloins, spreading evenly and leaving about 1.5cm border all round. starting with the long side, roll up each tenderloin to enclose the filling, then tie the roasts at 1.5cm intervals with kitchen string. combine the remaining 2 teaspoons pepper, 1 teaspoon sage, 1 teaspoon thyme and 1 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. rub the mixture all over the tenderloins.


5. heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large, heavy, ovenproof skillet over medium heat. add the roasts, bending to fit if necessary, and cook, turning often, until the outsides are browned - 3 to 5 minutes total.


6. transfer the pan to the oven and roast, checking often, until the internal temperature reaches about 220 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes. transfer the roasts to a cutting board, tent with foil and let rest for 5 minutes. remove the string, cut the pork into 2 cm thick slices. serve with tomato salsa. nom nom! 

♥ delicious lamb shank ♥

with winter creeping up on us a little more and more with every passing day, it's just about time that we start browsing our old recipe books for delicious, warm, filling dinner ideas.


let me help make the task a little easier by suggesting that you use this delicious recipe as your first winter treat!


what you'll need:
♥ 2 table spoons olive oil
♥ 8 lamb shanks
♥ 1 onion
♥ 2 carrots
♥ fresh rosemary
♥ 3 bay leaves
♥ 4 garlic cloves
♥ 2 table spoons plain flour

♥ 1 table spoon tomato puree
♥ 350ml white wine
♥ 500ml lamb or chicken stock
♥ peas
♥ mushrooms
♥ potatoes for mash to serve


what you'll do:
1. preheat oven to 200C
2. brown lamb, all round, in the olive oil for about 10 minutes
3. remove lamb, add onion, peas and carrots, cook for about 10 minutes
4. stir in herbs and garlic
5. stir in flour and tomato puree
6. season well
7. pour in wine and stock
8. return shanks
9. bring to simmer
10. cover and cook undisturbed for about 1.5 - 2 hrs or until lamb is tender


remove lamb from sauce and set aside. put pan back on heat and simmer down for about 15minutes until rich and glossy
pass through sieve and into a jug


nutritional values:
295 calories, 25g protein, 5g carbs and 18g fat 

♥ the best bobotie ever ♥

"hot coffee and cold winter mornings are two of the best soul mates who ever did find each other"

terri guillemets

winter has most certainly arrived in our beautiful cape town and other than a good red wine, you defs need a few amazingly scrumptious dinner recipes to make the cold nights just a little more bare able.

i found this recipe a few weeks ago while visiting my amazing mother in law - the page was covered with powders and notes she made while trying it out. she told me that it was amazing and although i haven't made it myself, i just had to share it - it looks amazeballs so i'm sure it'll taste even better! besides, i'm terrible at keeping track with where i write these recipes down, so what better way than to store it on my fav blog! :)

what you'll need:

♥ 30ml oil

♥ 3 onions, chopped

♥ 2 garlic cloves, crushed

♥ 15ml curry powder

♥ 5ml turmeric

♥ 5ml coriander seeds

♥ 5ml ginger

♥ 5ml ground cinnamon

♥ 1kg lean mince

♥ salt

♥ pepper

♥ 30ml lemon juice

♥ 30ml fine apricot jam

♥ 60ml chutney

♥ 30ml soft brown sugar

♥ 30ml worcestershire sauce

♥ 30ml tomato paste

♥ 2 slices white bread, soaked in water and mashed

♥ 250ml pip'less raisins 

♥ 250ml apple, grated

♥ 6 lemon or bay leaves

topping:

♥ 500ml milk

♥ 4 eggs, whisked

♥ salt

♥ pepper

what you'll do:

1. preheat the oven to 180C. Prepare a oven proof dish with either butter, margarine or cook-and-spray.

2. fry onion in a little oil, adding the garlic and ginger after a few minutes. 

3. add all the spices and fry for another minute.

4. add the mince - little by little and fry until just before it turns brown

5. add salt, pepper and the rest of the ingredients including the bread, raisins and apple.

6. reduce the heat and let simmer for 30 minutes

7. transfer to the prepared oven dish adding the lemon or bay leaves as you please

topping:

whisk the milk and eggs together and season with a little salt and pepper. Pour over the mince mixture and bake for about 40 minutes until the topping is cooked through. let stand for about 5 minutes before dishing.

serve immediately with rice, home made tomato salsa and sambals (recipe to follow) obviously adding a glass or two also can't hurt! :)

BON APPETIT!

♥ halibut with grapefruit, parsley, red onion & shiitake mushrooms ♥

this healthy and tasty recipe is courtesy of chef jimmy bradley and can be found in "the red cat cookbook."

what you'll need...
♥1 1/2 large pink grapefruits

♥3/4 cup torn flat-leaf parsley

♥1/4 medium red onion, very thinly sliced

♥1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

♥coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

♥1 tablespoon heavy cream

♥1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces, plus 1 tablespoon for fish

♥dash of hot sauce

♥1/2 cup grapeseed oil

♥10 ounces shiitake mushrooms, caps only, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)

♥4 skinless halibut fillets (6 ounces each)

what you'll do...

1. slice the top and bottom of grapefruits with a paring knife. set one of the flat sides on your work surface. from top to bottom, following the curve of the fruit, cut away peel and white pith. trim off any remaining pith. holding the grapefruit over a medium bowl, cut along both sides of 12 segments, staying close to the membrane, to release; discard any seeds.

2. squeeze juice from remaining sections into a small bowl, discarding any seeds. you should have about 1/2 cup juice.

3. add parsley, onion, and olive oil to bowl with grapefruit sections; season with salt and pepper and gently toss to combine. cover and set aside.

4. pour grapefruit juice into a small nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. continue boiling juice until reduced to a thick glaze, about 5 minutes. whisk in cream and let reduce for 1 minute. remove saucepan from heat and whisk in 1/2 cup butter, one piece at a time. whisk in hot sauce and season with salt and pepper; cover and set aside.

5. heat 1/4 cup of grapeseed oil in a large skillet over medium heat. add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until beginning to crisp, about 4 minutes. season with salt and pepper; set aside, covered, to keep warm.

6. heat remaining 1/4 cup grapeseed oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. season halibut fillets with salt and pepper and place them in skillet. add remaining tablespoon butter and let melt to prevent fish from sticking to pan. cook fish, turning once, until opaque, about 3 minutes per side.

7. divide mushrooms evenly between 4 serving plates. top each with grapefruit salad and a halibut fillet. spoon over sauce and serve immediately.