Two Again

Dinner time is always an interesting time. I never know what Landon is going to say or do come dinner time. The other night was no exception. I put Landon's plate down in front of him and he wasn't thrilled. I made baked chicken tenders, potatoes, and carrots with sugar and cinnamon. I refuse to make dinner time into a battle in regards to Landon eating his food. I do, however, try encouraging him to at least take one bite of everything. Landon eventually licked all of the sugar off of the carrots, but refused to actually take a bite of them. When I asked him to take a little bite his response gave me quite the laugh. Landon folded his arms to his chest and said, "I don't want to take little bite. I want to be two again." I guess two year olds aren't made to eat their carrots! 

Later on that same night we did our normal bed time routine. Landon picked out three books and I read them to him. I then told him "I love you, goodnight". He responded with a little grunt and said "loves you too, but I don't like you!" My precious little three year old told me that he didn't like me because he had to go to bed. At least he still loves me!

Landon Tested, Mommy Approved

I haven't done a dinner post in quite some time. Tonight I made meatloaf for dinner. I'm not a huge fan of meatloaf. Actually, I'm not a fan of ground beef. Landon loves ground beef so I decided on meatloaf tonight. The thing I love about meatloaf is that it is easy to make. I always make two of them. I freeze the extra one for the days when I just don't feel like cooking. You know, the days where you were out all day and the last thing you want to do is come home and cook dinner. Eating out isn't always an option so it's nice to have cooked meals in the freezer that just need to be defrosted on those days. My favorite meatloaf recipe is Paula Deen's bacon cheeseburger meatloaf. Landon can't eat that one so I make her basic meatloaf these days. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 8 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juice
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

Topping:

• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon prepared mustard

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix all meatloaf ingredients well and place in a baking dish. Shape into a loaf. Mix ingredients for topping and spread on loaf. Bake for 1 hour.

I also add 1/2 cup of pureed carrots into it as well since Landon refuses to eat any vegetables that appear on his plate. He always scarves it down and usually asks for seconds. I omit the onions (I hate the texture of onions when I bite into them, no matter how finely they are chopped) and I omit the peppers just because I don't like them. I'm sure it would give the meatloaf more flavor, but it tastes pretty good without them. We also added LOTS of garlic. Landon is at the age where he loves to help with the cooking. I allow him to mix the dry ingredients and beat the eggs. I also had him pour some garlic into the mix. He was very generous with the garlic so we had to add some parsley to try to balance it out!

I love coming across recipes that are quick and easy to make and that involve ingredients that are already in the pantry. The added bonus is that Landon loves it!

Beef. It's What's for Dinner

Dinner time was a smashing success this evening! Landon rarely eats meat and when he does it is usually just a few bites. This evening I made meatloaf and Landon went back for seconds and thirds! He gobbled every last bite down. I'm not a meatloaf fan unless it is Paula Deen's bacon cheeseburger meatloaf. In fact, I'm not a big fan of anything other than chicken, but I made it in hopes that Landon would like it. I found this amazing cookbook at the library called "The Milk-free Kitchen" and it is filled with hundreds of recipes that I am dying to try. The meatloaf was one of them. It was so simple to make and such a big hit with Landon that I thought I'd share it with everyone in case you are needing some ideas. The meatloaf consisted of:

• 1/3 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped (I omitted this part)
• 2 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (I substituted ground turkey)
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 3 slices uncooked bacon (I used turkey bacon)

Mix the rolled oats, salt, pepper, and onion together. Add the ground beef and mix lightly. Spread the meat mixture into a 5 by 9 inch loaf pan and then top it with the ketchup and bacon. Bake at 350 degrees for about 2 hours. I added 1/2 cup of carrot puree to the meatloaf mixture as well. I also paired it with Landon's favorite side dish- chicken rice-a-roni with broccoli and carrots. 

Landon loves tuna fish so tomorrow night I am going to try making the tuna fish casserole that is in the cookbook. We'll see how it goes. 

I made rice krispie treats for dessert, but Landon refused to try them. I made them with his vegan butter and it didn't alter the taste at all. I know he would like them if he tried them, but he won't even try them. Kellogg's cereal was BOGO this week at the store and when you purchased two boxes of cereal you received a free Kellogg's reusable shopping bag. Landon picked out the Tony the Tiger bag and I purchased Fruit Loops along with the Rice Krispies thinking that Landon would like those. Apparently, Landon hates Fruit Loops. I'm beginning to think that he is not my child! To this day I can eat an entire box of Fruit Loops in just a few days time. Add in the fact that Landon hates rice krispie treats and pop tarts and I am beginning to wonder where he came from!

Another dinner success!

Landon is still a very picky eater. Meal time is always a hit or miss with Landon. He'll eat one day and then go a day or two without eating. Landon will eat anything pasta so I had great success with baked ziti. Hopefully some of you other Mommies who are dealing with picky toddlers will be able to use some ideas. I puree a bunch of veggies into the foods that Landon does eat. I've mentioned it here before. I was able to puree spinach and squash into the baked ziti. I also used whole wheat noodles and ground turkey as well. In a perfect world I would have made the tomato sauce. However, when dealing with a rambunctious toddler pulling out the can opener is about as homemade as sauce gets around here! I cooked the noodles and the meat as normal. I added 2 oz of pureed squash and 1 oz of pureed spinach to the spaghetti sauce. I combined the sauce and meat together and then layered it on top of the noodles. Landon is still allergic to milk so I couldn't use any cheese, but he still loved it none the less.