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Tag Archives: recipes

Play Dough Day

2 / 29 / 128 / 11 / 13

Today I had barely finished mentioning making play dough and my little Lulu  had already retrieved her apron.

Now, I have always been a fan of the 2:1:1 recipe (2 parts flour to 1 part salt and 1 part water).  It’s fast, it’s easy, and it really only requires having two ingredients on hand.  I’ve used it through many, many years of babysitting, nannying, and teaching without even considering giving another recipe a try.  That is, until I decided to give this “fussy” recipe a go this Christmas. Yes, it requires both oil and cream of tartar – not to mention cooking – but if you’ve got the ingredients, extra time, and patience to let it cool, it’s totally worth it.  It’s soft, super pliable, and lasts for a ridiculously long time.  Plus, it’s really not that hard.

IMG 6643Here’s what you need:  Some flour, salt, cream of tartar, vegetable oil, water, food colouring, and a cute little sous chef to help you along the way.

IMG 6646First things first, pour your water in a large pot.

IMG 6656Next, add your salt.  Preferably into the pot.  But hey, whatever works.

IMG 6659Then, add your cream of tartar.

IMG 6670And your food colouring.  (Of course for this little one, purple was the colour of choice.) Give everything a little stir.

IMG 6675Then, over medium heat, warm the mixture until hot, but not boiling.

IMG 6680When hot, add your oil and your flour, cup by cup.

IMG 6681Don’t worry if it looks all chunky and gross.  We’ve used this recipe several times and we’ve always experienced this stage. It’ll all work out in the end.

IMG 6684When you’ve added all of the flour, give the dough one final stir and plop it out onto a well-floured counter.  Sprinkle some extra flour on top if the dough appears sticky.  Be careful – it’ll be very hot still.

IMG 6689Once it’s cooled, kneed the dough well, incorporating all of the extra flour.

IMG 6698Then give your munchkin a chunk and let her go to town.

IMG 6707Fun for hours!

Here’s our slightly tweaked version of the recipe if you want to give it a try:

  • 5 cups of water
  • 2 1/2 cups of salt
  • 3 TBSP of cream of tartar
  • 5 TBSP of vegetable oil
  • Food colouring
  • 5 1/2 cups of flour

Mix water, salt, cream of tartar, oil, and food colouring in a large pot. Cook on medium heat, stirring regularly until mixture is hot.

Add oil, then stir in flour a cup at a time, mixing in between each addition. Mix until playdough pulls away from pot and is no longer sticky.

Dump dough on a well-floured counter, let cool a bit, then knead.

Store at room temperature in an airtight container for several weeks.

Enjoy!

5 Comments

What We Eat While Papa’s Away

2 / 21 / 123 / 1 / 12

Today we had a day of rest and relaxation at home. It was filled with snuggles and stories, drawing and colouring, doing puzzles on repeat, and multiple games of hide-and-seek.  Sadly, our day of relaxation meant missing a Port Moody play date we were anxiously awaiting, but after coming home to a runny-nosed doodlebug who coughed herself to sleep last night, I knew we were in need of a very low-key day. In addition to the things I already mentioned, Gracen and I spent a good part of our day doing one of her very favourite things – cooking!  We whipped up two of our ‘while Papa’s away’ staples – chickpea patties and quinoa salad. Both are easy to make, full of nutrients, and delicious (despite what Bradley may say).  The best part?  Both are very sous chef friendly.  :)

 

Chickpea Patties:IMG 6075
First things first, we drained and rinsed our chickpeas well.  Then Gracen carefully shuffled them into a large bowl.

IMG 6084Next, we added a drizzle of olive oil and an egg.

IMG 6079Then Grae mashed like mad.

IMG 6087When the chickpeas were good and mushy, Gracen added in our fresh ingredients – carrots, zucchini, sweet onions, garlic, green onions, and fresh cilantro.

IMG 6094Then we added the dry ingredients – wholewheat flour, cornmeal, black pepper, sea salt, curry powder, and garam masala.

IMG 6099And just for fun, today we tossed in a little feta.

IMG 6108That’s it.  Then my little sous chef mixed, mixed, and mixed some more until all of the ingredients were evenly distributed.

IMG 6111Then we formed them into patties.

IMG 6114And popped them in the oven.  And while those baked, we started on our next dish…

 

Quinoa Salad:
IMG 6126First off, Miss G added our fresh veggies to our already cooked quinoa.

IMG 6131Of course she stopped to steal a few big chunks of avocado in between handfuls.

IMG 6134Then we added a little drizzle of olive oil…

IMG 6137And generous drizzle of the Okanagan’s own, Little Creek Dressing (delish).

IMG 6141Then Grae mixed it all up.

 

IMG 6149

That’s it.  Lunch is served.  Chickpea patty, garlic scape pesto, quinoa salad, and apple slices for dessert.

IMG 6152Of course Grae gobbled it up like we hadn’t fed her in a week!  Hopefully a vitamin-packed lunch will help her fight this little bug that seems to be pestering her.  Recipes below. :)

 

Truthfully, neither of these are “recipes”.  Both just kind of came about last summer when we were freshly home from Kuwait and taking advantage of Grandma Charlotte’s fully stocked vegetable garden.  There are tons of possible ingredient variations and honestly, nothing I’ve done to either dish has turned out badly.  Yay for forgiving recipes!  :)

Chickpea Patties:

  • 2 cans of no salt added / low sodium chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 egg
  • generous drizzle of olive oil
  • 1/2 of a large carrot, grated
  • 1 small zucchini, grated
  • 1/4 of a sweet Spanish onion, finely chopped
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • handful of fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
  • small chunk of feta, crumbled (yummy, but totally optional)
  • 2 – 3 TBSP of wholewheat flour
  • 2 – 3 TBSP of cornmeal or breadcrumbs
  • 1 TBSP of curry powder
  • 1 TBSP of garam masala
  • generous grinding of fresh pepper
  • pinch of sea salt (not needed if using feta)

*Veggie combos are endless.  Mushrooms, leeks, kale, and spinach are delicious in these too.  Also, instead of curry powder and garam masala, basil, thyme, and oregano can be substituted for a more Italian feel.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking pan with parchment paper.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas.  Add the olive oil and egg and mash well.  Add all other ingredients and stir well.  Gently form into patties and place on the lined pan.  If patties are difficult to form because the mixture has too much moisture, adjust the amount of flour / breadcrumbs.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Serve as is, with a dipping sauce, on a bun with traditional burger toppings, or wrapped in a pita with lettuce and tomato.

 

Quinoa Salad:

  • 2 cups of boiling water
  • 1 cup of uncooked quinoa
  • 1/2 of an avocado, diced
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • 1/2 of a red pepper, diced
  • 1/4 of a long English cucumber, chopped
  • handful of fresh parsley, chopped
  • small drizzle of olive oil
  • generous drizzle of your favourite dressing

*For a more Mexican vibe, replace the cucumber and parsley with some black beans, corn, jalapeños, and cilantro.

Bring water to a boil.  Add the quinoa, cover, and turn the heat down to low.  Remove from heat when all water is absorbed and fluff quinoa with a fork.  Let cool.

Add fresh veggies, herbs, olive oil, and dressing.  Mix well and serve.

 

3 Comments

Granola Crunchers

2 / 17 / 123 / 1 / 12

Okay, so maybe we’re not really granola crunchers, but we’re definitely granola lovers.  The problem is that granola you buy at the store is filled with all kinds of sugar, sodium, and other things we don’t want Grae to eat. And since we picked up a bunch of delicious Liberté yogurt today, we needed a batch of homemade, healthy granola, pronto.  Of course my little sous chef was more than happy to help out in the kitchen.

IMG 5900First things first…  Gracen measured out our old-fashioned oats.

IMG 5903Then she added the almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, ground flax, wheatgerm, and quinoa flakes.

IMG 5908And enthusiastically shook in the unsweetened coconut.

IMG 5910That was it for dry ingredients.  Then it was time to stir, stir, stir.  (Don’t mind Grae’s bruised cheek – the poor little thing had a fall a couple of days back.)

IMG 5920On to the wet ingredients and spices!  In a separate bowl (or in our case, measuring cup), we added and mixed together our applesauce, pure maple syrup, olive oil, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.

IMG 5924This part is the most fun.  We added the wet ingredients to the dry and Grae went on a stirring frenzy.

IMG 5929When everything was evenly coated, we dumped the mixture out on two large baking sheets, spread it out, and drizzled on just a touch more olive oil before popping both pans into the oven.

IMG 5930Gracen was our official granola watcher and I was the official granola flipper.  We make a pretty good team. :)

IMG 5934And after about 45 minutes in the oven, we took it out to cool on the counter. Voila!  Done.

IMG 5941Gracen patiently waited for dinner to be made, ate up her portion, and then moved on to her anxiously-awaited dessert course – yogurt with granola and dried fruit!

IMG 5943Apparently it was so good that it disappeared more quickly than she was prepared for.

IMG 5947Be warned – if you try this recipe, licking leftovers off of your sleeve is a total possibility.

Here’s the original recipe and here’s our slightly modified version:

  • 6 cups old-fashioned oats
  • 2 cups chopped raw almonds
  • 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
  • 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
  • 1/4 cup sesame seeds
  • 1/4 cup wheat germ
  • 1/4 cup ground flax seed
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut
  • 2 TBSP quinoa flakes
  • 2 individual cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/4 cup pure organic maple syrup
  • 3 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 TBSP ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 TBSP ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
Preheat the oven to 300°F.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl, and then add to dry ingredients.  Stir well to mix thoroughly.

Spread the mixture onto two baking dishes. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until evenly golden brown, stirring every 15 minutes to ensure even browning.

Enjoy!
6 Comments

Homemade Finger Paint

2 / 13 / 125 / 22 / 13

IMG 5482In preparation for Little G’s Valentine’s Day tea, this morning we experimented with making our own finger paint.  I found the recipe on Pinterest a long while back, and knew it would come in handy one day soon.

IMG 5485Gracen carefully added all of our ingredients into a large measuring cup first…

IMG 5486And then enthusiastically mixed it up!

IMG 5492Then we warmed the mixture on the stove…

IMG 5496Separated it into small bowls, added a few drops of food colouring, and stirred it well.  It looks pretty, right?

We’ll have to use the paint a little more (right now we’ve just got in zip-close bags for mess-free painting), but I’m not sure that I’m sold on this recipe.  Although it’s very quick and easy to make, uses ingredients that most people already have in their kitchen, and has a great texture while warm, ours turned out like Jello when cooled.  It did soften up again when stirred well, but I think next time we’ll try cutting down the amount of corn starch a little.  The other important thing that the recipe doesn’t mention is that the mixture needs to be stirred constantly while heating.  We didn’t do that the first time around and ended up with a clumpy, bumpy mess!  We’ll have to see what it looks like when we actually put it on paper…

3 Comments

Breakfast Helper

2 / 13 / 123 / 1 / 12

IMG 5442This morning Gracen helped me make one of our favourite ever breakfast dishes – Lottie + Doof’s baked oatmeal. (You can find the recipe here.  I normally follow it fairly closely, but I go very easy on the maple syrup and add some ground flax and wheatgerm for added nutrition.)

IMG 5444We normally make it with blueberries, but this morning we decided to switch things up a little and made it with raspberries instead.  Naturally, Gracen was the designated taste tester.

IMG 5447After all that hard work in the kitchen, this little lady ate and then asked for a washcloth.  I gave her one and found her below her chair a few minutes later “cleaning up” her mess.  :)

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Mooooore Muffins!

2 / 9 / 123 / 1 / 12

IMG 5160We got some great news this morning and fresh muffins were needed for the occasion, stat.

IMG 5164Gracen’s becoming a pro at muffin making.

IMG 5172The secret ingredient in this recipe?  Whole greek yogurt!

IMG 5186The highlight for this little object transferring fiend?  Moving the blueberries, one by one, from the plastic container into the bowl.

IMG 5171Baking is just so much fun!

IMG 5193Prepping the pan is Grae’s specialty.

IMG 5196Next step?  Sprinkling cinnamon sugar on the muffin tops!

IMG 5199In the oven they go.

IMG 5202While waiting, my little baker kept busy at the gorgeous easel she got from her Uncle Gary for Christmas.

IMG 5211‘They’re reeeeaaaady, Mama!’

IMG 5215The finished product ready to be packed up and taken to our friends (explanatory post coming soon!)

The recipe we used can be found here.  Now this recipe is from the Pioneer Woman…  And although I never really follow recipes as they are, you just don’t mess with Pioneer Woman.  Why?  Because she is the QUEEN of cooking. That’s why. We did, however, replace half of the blueberries with raspberries, and add a splash of milk and a little cinnamon.  Shhh..  Don’t tell.

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Muffin Making with Mama

2 / 6 / 129 / 10 / 12

IMG 4966This morning’s activity involved baking a fresh batch of healthy muffins for the week.  Baking with a very busy baby isn’t always easy, so I try to have my ingredients {roughly} measured out before we actually get started. I find that it’s just easier if Grae can stay involved with the dumping and mixing and not have to wait for me to fetch and measure ingredients.

IMG 4963Today we sat on the floor next to the lazy susan and measured out the dry ingredients together and then she did this while I quickly gathered the wet ones.  There’s nothing like a little bowl of almonds and a drink to keep this little munchkin happy.

IMG 4974When I had everything out and ready, it was time to get to work.  First, Grae gave the dry ingredients a little stir by hand.

IMG 4979Then she added the walnuts.

IMG 4978In they go!  This may not be the fastest way of doing it, but I always try to let her do it her way first and then help her dump the rest in afterwards.

IMG 4986In with the milk and olive oil.

IMG 4989And now for the egg…

IMG 4991In it goes.

IMG 4993Then the fun part.  Adding the shredded carrot and zucchini!

IMG 4998She quite liked this step at first, but she didn’t love that her little hand was covered in grated carrot in between handfuls.

IMG 5004Once everything was in the bowl, it was time to let the mixer do its job.  Grae held the bowl, just in case. :)

IMG 5010This was the point when Miss G realized that she could see her reflection on the side of the stainless bowl.  Too funny!

IMG 5025With the batter finished, it was time to brush our muffin tin with olive oil.

IMG 5032Gracen waited patiently while I scooped the batter into the cups and then she sprinkled some cinnamon on the tops of the muffins.

IMG 5033Oops.  The result of overly enthusiastic cinnamon shaking.

IMG 5035The final step was placing a pecan on each muffin top.

IMG 5036Of course, Grae wasn’t shy about shoving some in her mouth when she got the chance.

IMG 5012With the muffins in the oven, it’s now time to wait…

IMG 5042Gracen made sure to check on them part way through.

IMG 5045They’re done!

IMG 5050Here’s the end result. You know how you sometimes bake some healthy and then end up eating it because you know its good for you and not because it actually tastes good?  Well not these!  They are actually really delicious.

IMG 5056Not to mention, they’re kid approved.  Gracen loves them!

If you’re in the mood for some yummy and mostly healthy (they do contain a small amount of sugar and salt) muffins, I strongly recommend you give these a try. I have issues following recipes as they are (hence the reason I’m not a great baker), but the recipe I used as a loose guide  can be found here.

Or if you want to try our version, here it is:

  • 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup organic brown sugar, loosely packed
  • 2 TBSP ground flax seed
  • 2 TBSP wheat germ
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp organic cinnamon (additional for sprinkling)
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 cup old-fashioned organic oats
  • 1/2 cup walnuts
  • 3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large organic egg
  • 1/3 cup skim milk
  • 3 medium carrots, shredded
  • 1 small zucchini, shredded
  • 1 medium ripe banana, mashed
  • 12 pecans (for muffin tops)

Preheat oven to 350° . Prepare a 12 cup muffin pan by brushing it with olive oil.

In a large bowl, combine together the flour, brown sugar, flax, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oats and nuts. Add the oil, egg, milk, carrots, zucchini, and banana and stir until just blended.  Sprinkle muffin tops with cinnamon and place a pecan on top of each.

Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool and watch your baby gobble them up enthusiastically.

*I actually added an extra 1/3 of a cup of milk because the mixture seemed like it needed a bit more moisture, only to realize later that I had forgotten my thawed banana in the microwave (again, bad baker). With the banana, I don’t think we would have needed the extra milk. OOPS!

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