Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne

from Our Best Bites, based on a recipe by Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dishes
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 pound penne rigate
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 8 ounces each), halved horizontally
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
• 6 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 6 cups whole milk
• 10 ounces white or cremini mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1 cup sliced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
• 1 1/2 cups shredded provolone* (6 ounces) (I used an Italian blend)
  
• 1 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 6 ounces)

Preheat oven to 400. Butter two shallow 2-quart baking dishes. If you’re going to freeze one, use a disposable foil pan.  In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes short of al dente; drain pasta and set aside.

While pasta is boiling, heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Halve each piece lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.  While chicken pan is still hot, toss the mushrooms in and saute until golden brown (3-4 minutes).  Use a little extra olive oil if needed.

In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot (I just use the pot I cooked my pasta in), melt butter over medium. Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking constantly, gradually add milk; bring to a simmer.  Keep whisking frequently as sauce thickens, about 1 minute more. Add mushrooms and tomatoes; cook 1 minute. take the pan off the heat and and gradually stir in provolone and 1/2 cup Parmesan.

Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes.  If freezing, place remaining parmesan cheese in a zip-top baggie.  If cooking, sprinkle on top.

Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Freezer instructions:

To freeze, prepare through step 4 and then let pasta cool.  Cover pan well with plastic wrap.  Place extra cheese in baggie (for topping) on top and then cover entire pan well with foil.  Freeze for up to 3 months.  To bake, preheat oven to 400.  Remove foil and plastic from pan and set cheese baggie aside.  Place foil back on pan and bake for about 1 1/2 hours.  Remove foil, stir pasta, and top with cheese.  Return pan to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until mixture is hot and bubbly throughout.

This boy is just too busy to go to the potty.  If you ask him if he needs to go the potty, his answer is ALWAYS “No.”  At the beginning, we took him every hour.  Then we moved to taking him every two hours, and asking occasionally if he needed to go.  We’re currently focusing on getting him to tell us when he needs to go.

I’ve read numerous books on potty training over the last year, and not all of them agree on the use of rewards.  In fact, some of those books say that rewards are a bad idea. (FORESHADOWING!)  For some reason though, I decided that rewards would create the right incentive for my stubborn little guy.  I decided rewards were just the ticket for our situation!

I should have KNOWN better when I decided to start a Potty Rewards Chart.  I started this about a month ago in an effort to reduce the number of accidents (daily, sometimes more) that The Littlest Apple was having.  The original rules of our system were as follows:

1. You get a sticker for the Potty Chart at the end of the day for NO ACCIDENTS
2. You can also earn stickers by telling us you have to go the potty (and actually going)
3. When you earn 5 stickers, you get a REWARD (in this case, it was mostly toys related to his newest obsession, the movie Cars).

I thought I had him all figured out.  He started doing really well.  Not having any accidents.  But still not telling us when he had to go to the potty, and still saying “NO!” anytime you asked if he needed to go.  Then, last week, The Littlest Apple started asking for stickers EVERY time he went to the potty.  And there were some BIG tantrums when I refused.  But that wasn’t the worst of it….

The Littlest Apple started asking “What do I GET?” every time he went to the potty.

Uh, oh.  I’ve created a monster!  A little monster who wants MORE MORE MORE when he already has way too many junky toys to begin with!!  My mom tried to stick up for him by saying that it was a natural question about actions and consequences, as opposed to the questions of a greedy little boy.  Maybe there’s some truth to that.  After all, I DID create the consequence of a reward, right?

I’m still trying to rectify this.  We still need SOME incentive to encourage The Littlest Apple to tell us when he has to go to the potty, instead of waiting until we make him go.  For starters, I’m changing the Reward System a bit, requiring The Littlest Apple to earn TEN stickers instead of just FIVE.  I’m also thinking about making the rewards experiences instead of stuff, like going to Coldstone with Mommy and Daddy, a trip to a special park or indoor playground, or getting to watch a movie with us.  I’m not sure how well that’s going to be received, as The Littlest Apple is already asking for his next toy-reward.

Any suggestions?

I remember making monkey bread when I was younger, using refrigerated biscuit dough.  Smitten Kitchen’s got a recipe for homemade monkey bread with cream cheese glaze.

This recipe for sesame chicken and asparagus pasta from The Sisters Cafe caught my eye.

I dream of pulling up the carpet on my stairs and having wood stairs.  Thrifty Decor Chick did just that in this amazing transformation.

All too often I mention my son being strong-willed in a negative connotation.  Steady Mom’s post, Why I Hope All My Children Have Strong Wills reminded me that having a strong-will is a GREAT thing!

Layla Palmer of The Lettered Cottage just released a new e-book called Creating an Inspired Home.  I love Layla’s sense of style, and I can’t wait to read through it!

Here are some great tips on cooking with your kids as a way to encourage new foods from Kid Appeal.

This rich coffeecake with sweet cheese filling from Brown Eyed Baker would make a great addition to any brunch!

Make Ahead Crisp Buttery Garlic Bread

from My Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:

• 12 tablespoons butter, softened
• 4 garlic cloves, very finely minced
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 12 (1-inch) slices Italian or French bread

Using a fork, beat butter, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper in small bowl until combined. Spread butter mixture evenly over both sides of bread.

Freeze the slices on a large baking sheet or plate until firm, about 15 minutes. After they are firm, transfer the slices to a freezer ziploc bag and freeze for up to one month.

To serve, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Arrange bread on rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden brown on the first side, about 10 minutes. Flip and bake until golden brown on the second side, 6-7 minutes more. Serve.

Note: To serve the bread immediately instead of freezing, bake buttered bread on rimmed baking sheet at 425 degrees for 8 minutes then flip and bake 5 more minutes on the second side.

The Littlest Apple is 30 months old.

I am so happy to have another Tot School post to share with you this week!  Thanks to some of the scheduling tips I read about in Steady Days,  I planned time for reading books (which we were doing anyway), free play, and Tot School activities.  Those are all things I normally just work in when I/we feel like it.  I’m pleased with how things went last week having scheduled time for those activities.

The Littlest Apple and I made Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins with Cinnamon Glaze.  The Littlest Apple is always very grabby and over-eager when we bake together, so it requires lots of patience on my part.  This time we talked about the numbers on the measuring cups (a simple “look! there’s a 2!”), he poured the ingredients into the mixer, counted some of the ingredients, stirred some, helped put the ingredients back in the pantry. We also discussed the order of events: get out ingredients, mix these things, add these things, put in pan, bake, clean up, cool, eat!

We got to see SNOW again in Houston!  (I didn’t get to enjoy it last time.)  It didn’t stick this time, but we enjoyed watching it outside for a few moments.  You can just barely see the snowflakes….

While I was vacuuming last week, The Littlest Apple got out his vacuum too.  I took advantage of that to create a little comparison.  We talked about the different colors, different noises, how you turn them on, how one was heavy and one was light.

The Littlest Apple continues to be very interested in pretend play.  In addition to acting out scenes from Cars, he pretends to be a fireman every day.  He loves to to pretend the fire bell is ringing, race to put on his coat, boots, and hat, and then run to put out the fire and save his dog, Mel.  No matter how many times I try to tell him that he’s got his hat on backwards, he prefers the bill forward, like a baseball cap.

I incorporated a Mommy and Baby Animal matching activity (from Itty Bitty Bookworm) into the fireman role-play one day.  The Littlest Apple had to “rescue” the baby animals and bring them to the matching mommy.  He did really well with this one!  Here are the mommy animals waiting on one side of the room for their babies:

We tested out Popsicle Painting.  I’m hoping to do this with our Art Playgroup on Wednesday!

The Littlest Apple played with his Valentine’s Sensory Tub every day last week.  We moved it to a quilt on the floor so he could use trucks, shovels, tongs, and buckets.  As much as we both loved this sensory tub, I’m excited about creating a new one for March!

Another big hit this week was our paint mixing activity.  Since The Littlest Apple is much more interested in mixing and playing with paint than actually painting with it, I decided to let him do just that.  We started with mixing red and white to make pink. He enjoyed that so much that he asked for more colors to mix.  We also mixed blue and yellow to make green.

This week we also explored the Houston Museum of Natural Science.  I’m a homebody, and I’d be more than happy to just hang out at home all day.  The Littlest Apple starts every day by asking “Where am I going?” or “Who’s coming over?”  So in addition to our normal excursions and trips to the park, we’re going to take weekly field trips.  This big city has so much to offer, and it’s time to take advantage of that!

I forgot to take photos at the Museum.  It was crawling with hundreds of kids on school field trips which made it VERY hard to navigate with my stroller.  The Littlest Apple enjoyed the Butterfly Center, an indoor tropical rainforest complete with a waterfall and LOTS of butterflies.  We looked at the dinosaurs, too.  He’s still a little young for this museum, but if we were to go again, I might try a Planetarium show.  He’s much better off at the Children’s Museum for now!

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter

from Smitten Kitchen, adapted from Marcela Hazan’s Essentials of Italian Cooking

Ingredients:

• 28 ounces whole peeled tomatoes from a can (San Marzano, if you can find them)
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
• Salt to taste

Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan (it fit just right in a 3-quart) over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.

Baby Happy, Baby Sad, by Leslie Patricelli:  I thought that The Littlest Apple had outgrown all of his Leslie Patricelli books (in addition to this one, we also own Quiet Loud, Yummy Yucky, No No Yes Yes, and Big Little).  We haven’t read these in at least 6 months, but he got them out one day last week and has been asking for them constantly!  The simple text and colorful illustrations are endearing.  I’m trying to ask The Littlest Apple lots of questions as we look at the books, and I think I may start using these to help him learn to spell some of the simpler words like “yes,” “no,” “sad” and “big.”

I’m Dirty, by Kate & Jim McMullan: The story of a backhoe loader with attitude who loves to get dirty.  There is a counting exercise as the loader cleans up a mess.  My son enjoys this one since it’s about a backhoe, but my husband and I don’t care for it.  We think the “attitude” is a little too strong, like the authors are trying too hard to make this “cool.”  Ditto for I’m Stinky, about a garbage truck.

Firefighter Frank, by Monica Wellington:  The Littlest Apple is on a bit of a firefighter kick right now, so I grabbed this book from the library, knowing how much we love Monica Wellington’s vivid illustrations.  The story takes the reader through a day in the life of Firefighter Frank, grocery shopping with the crew, checking the fire engines and equipment, fighting fires, eating a late dinner, and sleeping at the fire station.

Curious George and the Firefighters, by Margaret & H.A. Rey: Two of The Littlest Apple’s favorite things combined: 1) Curious George and 2) Firefighters!  He got this book for Christmas to go with his Fire Chief costume.  These stories are just the right length for The Littlest Apple, accompanied by lots of illustrations.  We really enjoy all of our Curious George stories!

I made each paint popsicle with half water and half liquid watercolors, though next time I’ll use more water and less watercolors.  I’ve also seen it done with tempera paint.  I froze the paint popsicles overnight, then got them out right before we sat down to paint.  I was a little concerned that The Littlest Apple would try to eat them since he loves popsicles, but he seemed to understand that these were for painting only.

2 seconds into the activity, The Littlest Apple touched the popsicle to see how cold the paint was, and got it all over his hand.  He wouldn’t proceed with the painting until his hand had been cleaned to his liking.  These beautiful liquid watercolors are washable, but the vibrant colors also translate to big mess!

Once we had clean hands again, we enjoyed painting with the popsicles for about 5 minutes.  That doesn’t sound like much, but it was a decent length of time for The Littlest Apple.  I think it might have been more successful if I had let the popsicles thaw for another 10 minutes or so before trying to paint with them.  But then they might have been TOO drippy.  All in all, this was a neat activity, and definitely one I’ll try again!

I recently finished Steady Days.  The author of Steady Days is Jamie C. Martin, the blogger behind Steady Mom, one of my daily reads.  She’s always full of inspiration, and empowering, thoughtful posts to help me succeed in this profession of motherhood.

Steady Days opened my eyes to so many small and doable things to think about and actions to take to help my make my mothering more intentional.  This book is written in short 2 and 3 page chapters that are perfect for mothers who only have a few spare moments here and there.  There is something very calming and soothing about the author’s tone throughout the book, and knowing that she has 3 small children, I’m positive that she understands exactly what I’m struggling with.

After reading Steady Days I’m spending a little more time thinking through a (loose and flexible) schedule for the day, instead of relying solely on a mile-long (and unrealistic) to-do list. I’m taking time to write down some Daily Blessings each day: the sweet and heart-warming moments that happened in between all of the tantrums.  I’m still working my way through all of the tools and absorbing all the ideas Steady Days has to offer, but I can definitely say that I’m happier, calmer and feeling a little more fulfilled on the days when I’m actively using what I’ve learned from this book.  And I’m hearing a little less whining from The Littlest Apple too, a welcome improvement, indeed!

This book is divided into 4 Parts:

• Getting Organized-I always thought that I was organized, but I do struggle with not being flexible enough and having too many expectations about what I’ll be able to accomplish on any given day.  A chapter from Steady Days: Flexibility-The Key address this problem perfectly.  Jamie shows how to implement routines in 3 easy phases and the importance of a Home Planner.
• Retaining Enthusiasm-  This was the section of the book that spoke to me most of all.  As much as I hate to admit it, maintaining my enthusiasm for mothering is something I certainly struggle with.  This is the section where Jamie discusses Steady Blessings, a fabulous tool for enthusiasm.
• Learning Together–Valuable information on encouraging your child’s curiosity, your role as a parent-teacher whether you homeschool or not, how to learn WITH your children, and several useful tools for learning.
• Making Memories–Another great section full of useful ideas and tools for remembering the special things your kids do, say, and create.  I can’t wait to start The Littlest Apple’s Look at Me! Binder!

There is also an extensive appendix full of sample forms, inspirational quotes, and suggested resources, all of which I found extremely useful.  You can download the forms mentioned in the book from the Steady Days website for a small fee.

For more information on this wonderful book, you can read an interview with author Jamie Martin, or check out the Steady Days website.

Disclosure: I have not been asked to review this book.  This was just a Good Read I wanted to share! Some of the links above are Amazon affiliate links.

So, how did these pumpkin muffins go over with The Littlest Apple?  I’ll just let the photos speak for themselves….

Look at that!  He’s TRYING IT!!!

Not spitting it out….this is good…..

SUCCESS!!  It wasn’t completely miraculous, but he had more than a few licks of the batter, and took a few (3, to be exact…you can see he’s got some of it in his teeth) bites of his muffin before crumbling it to smithereens.  I failed to capture that particular mess on camera, so you’ll just have to imagine it.  I’m taking joys in the small victories, like 3 bites of a new food.

I think next time, I’ll add the cardamom and pecan elements from the Pumpkin Pecan Muffins to the delicious whole wheat flour and cinnamon cream cheese glaze of this recipe, to create The Perfect Pumpkin Muffin.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins with Cinnamon Glaze

from RecipeGirl.com

Muffins:

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs (I used Ener-G Egg Replacer)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (unsweetened)

Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) softened cream cheese (omitted)
• dash of ground cinnamon
• dash of milk (to thin out)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray muffin tin with nonstick spray- be sure to spray the top of the pan too since the muffins will bake over the side of each tin.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon. In another larger bowl, use electric mixer to cream butter and sugar together. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk/cream. Add pumpkin puree last and mix just until incorporated (don’t over mix).

Divide batter between 12 muffin tins. They’ll be quite full with batter- that’s okay. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean. Let cool in the muffin tin for about 15 minutes, then gently move muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.

In a small bowl, mix glaze ingredients. Drizzle glaze over muffins. The easiest way to do this is to place waxed paper (or foil) underneath the cooling rack and let the glaze drip off the tops of the muffins.