Weekly Dinner Roundup Number TWO!

Ugh do not try to do the math on when my last weekly meal roundup was, it will not add up cause it was waaaay longer than a week (month?) ago. Someday I will do this regularly. Just like someday I will always have a clean kitchen.

But for now whooo caaares cause I’ve got some good dinner ideas to share this week! 

Note: This is not an actual depiction of a week in our house. We usually have at least one night of grilled cheese or frozen pizza or leftovers. But these are recipes I've made and loved over the last few weeks plus tips on prepping them to be baby-led feeding/weaning (BLW) friendly.

SUNDAY

Chicken tamale casserole. FIRE. This will definitely be made again, like, next week. The recipe calls for a scratch cornbread recipe, I used one package of Bob's Red Mill cornbread mix (found at Target!) and it worked perfectly. I also used leftover grilled chicken thighs so I basically turned this pretty involved recipe into a quick weeknight dish. 

BLW tip: I left the salt out of the enchilada sauce and used low sodium chicken broth (love homemade enchilada sauce btw, it’s so good and surprisingly easy to make). 

MONDAY

Chickpea and zucchini sheet-pan dinner with mashed sweet potatoes. On a super uninspired Monday evening, I dumped two cans of chickpeas (drained and rinsed) onto a sheet pan before adding 3 sliced zucchini’s, olive oil, S & P, and rosemary and roasting at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Expectations were not high but IT WAS GOOD! The kids and I loved it, Austin got home from work late and faked excitement “Oh cool! Chickpeas!” (He’s so tired of chickpeas 😂). 

For mashed sweet potatoes: I roasted whole potatoes since I had the oven going, removed the skin, and whipped in my stand mixer with butter and a little cream. 

BLW tip: babies/toddlers freaking love mashed sweet potatoes. They are messy, like too messy, but so worth it.

TUESDAY  

Peanut salmon with coconut rice. AMAZING. I’ve made this recipe 100 times. There are a million beautiful food blogs out there but I cannot find one I love more than the blog where this recipe lives. Every recipe I’ve tried, AMAZING. And she's funny and sooooo good at capturing deliciousness on camera.

BLW tip: no changes needed, great BLW meal. Even if you don't make the salmon, try adding a can of coconut milk to rice someday, it is a game changer.

WEDNESDAY  

THE veggie burger. I have made these a handful of times and they are super time consuming but VERY WORTH IT. I found the recipe among the millions of veg burger recipes out there because I was looking for ways to use up a large bag of barley. The ingredients list is super long which normally turns me away from a recipe, but I stuck it out and I'm so glad I did (I have made these a few times and have left out the mushrooms, celery, sun-dried tomatoes, and some of the seasonings with good results).  I also made homemade hamburger buns for the first time with these which I highly recommend trying someday.

BLW tip: bean burgers are an awesome BLW food - easy to pick up, packed with veggies, fiber, iron, and calories little bellies need.

THURSDAY  

Broccoli cheddar potato soup with this super easy, no-knead Dutch oven bread from my friend Rosie's blog.

BLW tip: so how the heck do you make soup BLW friendly? Sometimes I offer Bobby smooth soup like this in a sippy cup with handles (OR a small coffee mug if I haven't done dishes in a year). Ruthie (3 years) gets a spoon of course. A younger babe can be offered slices of bread soaked in soup and/or some pre-loaded spoons. OH also, I add parsley to pretty much every soup cause it is tasty and loaded with iron and vitamin C.

FRIDAY  

Kale salad with crispy chickpeas, roasted beets, herb goat cheese and simple vinaigrette.

Go-to vinaigrette: 1/4 cup organic evoo, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, a few teaspoons sesame oil, 1 tbs honey, 2-3 cloves garlic finely diced all in a mason jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake and serve.

BLW tip: as you can imagine, kale is a little chewy for babies and toddlers. Bobby and Ruthie typically suck the dressing off and spit most of the kale out but I still give it to 'em. I served these deconstructed for the babes and added strawberries.

SATURDAY  

Sticky grilled sesame chicken legs with zucchini and potato foil packs.

BLW tip: chicken legs were one of both Ruthie and Bobby's first foods so it makes sense that they love them now. They are an awesome BLW food: easy to grasp, super tender, and full of iron. This recipe uses honey which can be omitted for babies under one year.
 

OTHER THINGS: 

Vegan Banana Scones. I've been making these pretty much weekly to have for snacks (adding mini choco chips of course). They're super easy and delicious.

Peanut Butter Granola.  Sometimes when I wake up in the morning, nothing sounds good. On those days I make THIS. It's that quick.

White Flatbread Pizza. Made on Sunday for lunches during the week - mostly we ate it cold at the playground/pool and I will def make again.

Hot Pink Smoothies. BEEEETS are overflowing from our garden and makin' our smoothies super purty.