Monday, April 22, 2013

Mini muffin Monday!

Ok, I did it! I completely improvised my first batch of dinner muffins, and they were a huge hit! B crammed three into his mouth AND a few sweet potato fries, which means this dinner definitely counts as the most nutritious dinner he's ever had, considering the fact that up until now dinners have been maybe 1 tbs of curry off my plate or 1 tsp of lentil soup buried under the same string cheese he had for lunch.

So after stalking Pinterest recipes and also asking for a few from Facebook friends and finding I didn't have the ingredients for any of them, I decided to just wing it based on what's in my refrigerator. Here's what I did:

1 zucchini, chopped small and sautéed in a little olive oil, with a little garlic salt sprinkled on

Mixed together: 2 eggs, 1/2 cup grated cheese, 1 cup cooked brown rice, 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, 1/4 tsp oregano. Dash salt & grinding of pepper.

Combine all & bake in mini muffin pan at 350 for fifteen/twenty minutes. Makes two dozen.

If I were to make these again I might use less cheese and one less egg. But really, Bumpus isn't watching his weight, so why not use them? They held together really well and didn't stick to the pan.

I think a good rule of thumb for these recipes going forward is:

You need a base (brown rice, quinoa, corn meal, bread crumbs, flour)

You need at least one binding agent (eggs, cheese)

You need at least one vegetable, pre- cooked and cut small or grated

One or two complimentary spices

Small amount of salt/pepper - just a dash, really

Just think of the possibilities! I'd like to try a Mexican one with soy crumbles, taco seasoning, rice and black beans, or a corn dog type one, or a broccoli/cauliflower one, etc etc. After I shop Friday and try some more I'll post more recipes!

What a relief that B can have a proper dinner, one that involves vegetables and whole grains, that I don't have to feed him. Yippee. And it's seven PM and he's asleep in his crib. Bam.



9 comments:

  1. Finn can't do eggs - wonder if just the cheese would work?

    Though, these days the boy eats anything, so I guess I don't NEED to make these. But they look so fun!

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  2. Thanks so much for posting! Can't wait to try them and also try some variations.

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  3. Yum! Even if Isaac decided he didn't like these, I would gladly eat them! Thanks for posting!

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  4. These are great! One of my best friend did BLW, basically just giving her boy food he could hold (starting at six months!), and he was always excited about meal time. Obviously, eating habits vary hugely from child to child, but I do think most of them get a kick out of feeding themselves, especially when they're so dependent for everything else!

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  5. I love how easy they sound!! I'm guessing they'd freeze pretty well & I could warm them up as needed?

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  6. these look awesome! i can't wait to try them.

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  7. Excellent idea - pleased B liked them too!

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  8. I wish my work computer had a printer attached so I could print this recipe out right now! I definitely want to try these, and look forward to more recipes!

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  9. I need a mini muffin pan! I discovered a great breakfast cookie recipe, can't remember if I shared it here: mash a banana, add 1/4 c applesauce 1/2c quick oats, dash of cinnamon, 1 tsp baking powder. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. You can add raisins or cranberries too.

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