Babyfood storage

So Oliver is finally eating solids. While we've tried our hand at baby led weaning it's not for O. He much prefers purees. That means I'm making a lot of homemade babyfood. Squash is his absolute favorite and it's the perfect season for it too! I've used lots of freezer molds over the years but most have been too small (require me to use 3-4 cubes each time) or too hard to get frozen food out of (plastic over silicone. I recently tried the VenBaby Silicone Baby Food Freezer Tray and it's been great. It has seven individual compartments, is made of silicone, and comes with a tight fitting lid. Each portion is 2.5oz and easily pops out once frozen. The silicone is food safe, microwave, oven, freezer and dishwasher safe too. 

Other fun uses could includes making smaller popsicles, storing herbs for winter use, and much more.  So now that I've write this post I need to head into the kitchen and turn the last two squash I purchased into food for O! Steam, puree, and freeze time. 

I received this product in order to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own!

My baby turns 6!!

I can't believe that six years ago this time i was in the hospital 16 hours into labor and wondering how much longer I had to go. He arrived at 5:47pm the next day! Here are a few pictures from our fun celebrating the big guy today. I am now instructed to call him "large Nolan" or "6 year old Nolan".

Ninja masks and paper throwing stars to toss

Build your own swords and fun boxes for the piñata loot

Fighting the bad guys with their swords

Nolan about to get a bad guy Ninja

Ninja Carter

Piñata Time!!

Swing

Carter at Bat!!

After - Poor Ninja Piñata 

Make a Wish!!

Yes, it's bigger than him but he's been asking for it for months!

Daddy likes it too!!!

Infrared thermometer

So Tim has an infrared thermometer for grilling and smoking meat but we never thought about how great one would be for children's temperature. I struggle to get and keep a thermometer in the house that works well, fast, and accurate. I was excited to try out the SantaMedical Non-Contact Infrared Thermometer.

Each reading takes less than 1 second and the thermometer can store the last 32 readings so you never have to wonder what the last temperature was. I'm not big on reading manuals unless I get stuck so I grabbed the thermometer, hit the go button and tried it out. It's intuitive and easy to use. The directions when I got around to reading them suggest placing the thermometer parallel to the forehead for a second. You'll see the temperature in the lcd screen and ca control the sounds the device plays too. 

The reading can be affected by skin temperature so taking it after exercise or sweating etc. can be misleading. Just like with any thermometer don't run up the stairs and tun take your temperature. I liked how easy it was to check and recheck without undressing and disturbing my kiddos. You can easily switch between celsius and fahrenheit too.

If you're interested in purchasing or to check out more reviews visit Amazon here.  I received this product in order to review it but all opinions are my own and no compensation was taken.

Curly veggies

I'm always trying to hide vegetables in the kids' (and hubby's) diet!! I blend, I puree, and I mash but I've been meaning to make vegetable "pasta" a bigger part of our diet too. It's a quick think i can make for lunches they "might" actually eat.

I tried out Briefton's NextGen Spiralizer recently. I do have a different and much smaller spiralizer to compare. This one is larger than I would have expected but upon using it the reason is immediately clear. You don't have to chop down zucchini and cucumber to spiral cut them! This make prep very easy.

It's easy to clean and makes good durable veggie noodles. This spiralizer comes with 4 removable and interchangeable blades which give you different types/cuts of noodles.

 Also a good feature, the top plug pushes firmly into vegetables and lets you safely use the last bits of the vegetable without risking your fingers. This version has much less waste than others I've used. Below is all that was left un-noodled from my zucchini.

If you're in the market for a spiralizer be sure to check out Briefton's and their huge line of fun kitchen gadgets!! Many ship free with Amazon Prime even.

I received this product in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and no compensation was received.

C is for Cinnamon Rolls!!!

Thanks to Tryazon I recently hosted a new Rhodes, Bake n Serv,  product party! Rhodes has a new line of microwaveable cinnamon rolls they are sharing with the world. As amazing as their other products are, I can't wait to try these quick rolls. For our Rhodes themed party we sampled their traditional cinnamon rolls. These have a "quicker" option that lets you defrost in the oven that I've done each time I've had these. It's much faster and I see NO issues or trade offs. Rhodes cinnamon rolls are found in your grocer's freezer section. The are simply defrosted, allowed to rise, and baked. Cost here int he midwest was around $4 for 12 giant rolls.

As a hobby baker myself, I usually find homemade baked goods worlds above anything found in a grocery store including the refrigerated ready made doughs. Thats just not the case with these. Rhodes cinnamon rolls are better than any I've created from scratch and so easy. Everyone who tried them couldn't believe they weren't homemade from scratch. They were the best cinnamon rolls I've ever had!! Seriously!

Okay enough gushing lets's get to the fun part!! Pictures.

The frozen rolls are simply laid out on the baking sheet, covered with saran wrap, and then put into an oven heated to 175degrees then shut off. This fast defrost method lets you have fresh rolls in less than 2 hours. 

To incorporate cinnamon rolls and Rhodes products into a fun vent for both moms and tots in my moms group, I hosted a C is for Cinnamon class. There we talked all about the letter C with the kids, read fun books, and did fun crafts. 

"C"utting practice

Painting "C"orn with cinnamon and learning about the color brown

 The highlight was our tasting and sampling at the end of our crafts!

Okay so when I went to write this post, I realized that I have NO pictures of our fully baked and amazing rolls. This could be because they were gobbled up in mere minutes! Luckily I've been addicted to them ever since my first sampling so I'll make a batch tomorrow and repost those pictures. They rise and get amazingly large and scrumptious!!

I hosted a Rhodes, bake n serv, party thanks to Tryazon! All opinions are my own.

Mealplan Monday

Another week another meal plan!! This week I start off with smoked chicken leftovers from a fun cookout this weekend. I'll be turning that into Brunswick stew along with some leftover bratwurst and corn on the cob. Check the links for any inspiration recipes I may be using.

Pretzel buns I made last week!! These were amazing as buns for our smoked chicken sandwiches!

Monday
  Brunswick Stew
    -This is a fun dish I make to my liking now no real recipe we follow. The broth is a mix of canned tomatoes (diced and include juice), BBQ sauce (homemade or bottle), and a bit of vinegar (ACV even) for tanginess. Mine usually includes potatoes, smoked meats, corn, lima beans, and carrots/celery/peppers as we happen to have them on hand.

Tuesday
   Bourbon chicken over brown rice with roasted broccoli
 
Wednesday
   Baked marinara pasta with ground beef
    - this week I'm not doing spaghetti but another random pasta shape. Wednesday is our fast nigt as Nolan eats before soccer!

Thursday
     Salisbury style meatballs over mashed potatoes with carrots
   - I've made these before with a little of my own twist to the recipe but they are amazing and everyone asks for more. All kids ate and hubby too no complaints!!

Friday
     This is our easy peasey night as hubby won't be eating with us. I might even do frozen pizza... gasp!!

SAHE Silicone Baking Sheets

I recently got to try out SAHE's silicone baking sheets. These are available on Amazon and ship for free with Prime membership. The two pack ave a woven material layer sandwiched between two thin layers of silicone. The silicone while not actually sticky has a very adhesive feel that helps it stick to the baking sheet.

I've been wanting to try baking sheets to limit the use of parchment paper and extra oils. I always seem to run out of parchment paper when I need it and it's a bit expensive. With my love of kitchen gadgets this seemed like the perfect new addition for my love of baking.

These sheets are oven safe to 450 degrees. They are also food safe and BPA free. Although they don't get very messy in use, they are dishwasher safe if you need it. You can get your own at Amazon!!

I received this two pack to review. All opinions are my own and no compensation was received.