#Healthy #Chicken #Taco #Salad with #Greek #yogurt
I got the idea for this dish from a post I saw on Pinterest. I decided to give it my own twist and use it as my first cooking assignment for the Childhood Nutrition class I’m taking on Coursera.
Here’s what I did:
In a bowl, mix together:
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of corn, drained and rinsed
2 small tomatoes, diced
1 green onion, sliced
1/4 yellow onion, diced
1/2 tsp dried cilantro
1 tbsp lime juice
On the grill:
Chicken breasts (however many you like) sprinkled with salt & pepper, with olive oil drizzled on top
1 green bell pepper, quartered and seeded
Grill the chicken and pepper to desired degree of doneness.
Meanwhile, mix together in a small bowl:
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dill
1/2 tsp cumin
Add yogurt mix to salad bowl and mix thoroughly. Once pepper is done, dice it up small and add it to the bowl as well. Next, you can either dice the chicken and mix it into the salad or serve them together in a wrap with avocado. I showed a picture of my “adult style” and “toddler style” serving method.
Enjoy! Healthy and delicious!
#MeatlessMonday: #Taco #Pizza - refried beans, salsa, black beans, corn, onion, tomato, lime juice, cumin, and cheese on top!
A #handmade #newborn #fitted #clothdiaper to be proud of! Third time’s a charm!
This is my third newborn fitted diaper attempt, and I am super happy with this one. I combined what I liked from the first two diapers into this third diaper, and the construction went quite smoothly! This will be my prototype going forward for the rest of my newborn fitted diapers. Woohoo!!
Blog post coming soon on my growing pains through my first and second attempts!
Making spicy pork buns - a recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day! Check out the delicious pork that has been cooking over low heat on the stove for the past 3.5 hours. Super tender and delicious!!
#Newborn Fitted #Clothdiapers: Step 1
I hit the thrift stores today to see what sort of diaper making materials I could find. I was on the hunt for thin micro fleece and flannel. First, I checked the linens section, hoping to score and old blanket, sheet, or pillow case. No luck there, so I tried the pajama pants aisle! SCORE! For under $4, I got 4 pairs of pajama pants: 2 fleece and 2 flannel. I also found 8 brand new cotton pre-folds of really nice quality for $.50 each. Since they were better than the pre-folds I had at home, I decided to get them. Besides, can you have too many pre-folds? They make great cleaning rags for years to come.
So, I’ve got the stuff for a flannel outer, fleece stay-dry liner, and the pre-fold for a soaker inner. I have enough elastic from the BumGenius repair kits I purchased online, so I shouldn’t need any more elastic.
The only thing I’d like to get now would be a KAM snap starter kit, so I could put snaps on the diapers. I have a little Velcro in my sewing supplies, so I may use that for a few diapers. The KAM snap starter kit is definitely the most expensive item ($30 on Amazon, and includes the snap pliers and 100 snaps of assorted colors). But, once I have the tool, I could put snaps on anything that needs snaps! From diapers to kid’s Halloween costumes to who knows what? I think I could justify it.
I also think I have enough newborn waterproof covers. I have 3 Thirsties x-small diaper covers and one home-made one (I received as a gift.)
Next up: cutting out a pattern template and cutting out some fabric!! (But first, must wash all of this stuff!!)
Smothered #Porkchops
Last night’s dinner was so beautiful, I had to take a picture before digging in. Yes, that IS bacon sprinkled on top. YUM!
My approach to cooking has recently been revolutionized by Cook’s Illustrated cook book: The New Best Recipe. It’s a compilation of some of their best recipes from the magazine. All of the recipes are developed in America’s Test Kitchen, and as a result, it is truly the engineer’s cookbook. Each recipe has a description of the different things that were tried in pursuit of THE BEST recipe, detailing what worked and what didn’t, and why. The why is what will revolutionize your approach to cooking (and baking). This book is a great way to learn best practices (see? That’s engineer speak, right there!) when it comes to certain dishes or certain cooking techniques.
In short, I am in LOVE with this book and I know it will be my go-to reference for many years to come!
Restoring Hook & Loop Closure #Clothdiapers
#BumGenius 4.0 cloth diapers make up the bulk of my #fluffstash. Of those, about 1/3 have hook & loop (velcro) closures instead of snaps. When my daughter was just a brand new, tiny tot, I thought the hook & loop closures were great! It’s easy to get a perfect fit every time, and they’re easy to put on. However, after just over a year of use, the hook & loop tabs were showing definite signs of wear and were starting to curl, thus reducing the available surface area for attaching the tab to the front of the diaper. My daughter could lean over and pop her diaper off. Not only does my 14 month old walk, she runs, climbs, rolls, and does just about any other thing your average toddler can. As a result, I knew I had to do something to fix these diapers.
I emailed customer service at CottonBabies.com, and they suggested I purchase the BumGenius refresher kits. I’ve never seen them on their website before, but if you either click the link I have provided in the text, or check out their Used Diaper page, it will lead you to it. The refresher kits include new tabs, new laundry tabs, new elastic, and sewing instructions. I’m not exactly a super skilled seamstress. I generally sew in straight lines and only sew flat things (quilts, pillow cases), but I was able to handle this with my $100 sewing machine from Walmart without an issue. It took me about 15 minutes per diaper to replace all of the velcro. I did not replace the elastic, since my elastic is all still in good shape. However, at least I have replacement elastic for when I need it!
I photo-documented the restoration process for your viewing pleasure. Here’s what the tabs looked like before restoration:
Here’s the tab being removed with a seam-ripper:
Here’s what the diaper looks like with the old tab removed:
Now with the new tab sewn on:
The new tab & new laundry tab (very shiny and white - and not curled up!):
The restored diaper (voila!):
For just $1 each, the restoration kits are certainly worth the extended diaper life. In fact, I’m sure that I’ll be restoring them again before their life is up (baby #2 due in August!) I will say, though, that if I could go back in time, I would tell myself to buy ALL SNAP CLOSURES!! The diapers stay looking much nicer and maintain their functionality for longer. Oh well….lesson learned. :)
#Lunch #MeatlessFriday Pizza with tomato, spinach, feta, and onion.
