First Birthday Party

This past Saturday, we celebrated my baby's first birthday with family.  I'm still amazed at how fast the year has flown by!  We are lucky to live within an hour of the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, so they were all able to attend (except one uncle who is away for work).  We had 8 adults and 7 kids total ranging in age from 1 to 14.  Of course, I did my best to have a good balance of fresh and healthy foods with some delicious indulgences - it was a party after all!  :)

For appetizers, we had some fresh organic fruit,

organic veggies with homemade ranch for dipping,

and a tray of caprese bites.  These were my favorite!  Halved cherry tomatoes, basil, and ciliegine (cherry-sized mozzarella balls) held together with a toothpick on a tray drizzled with olive oil and lightly sprinkled with salt and pepper.  They were so easy to serve and a fun idea I will use again!

For the main course, we had chicken alfredo pasta (my husband's selection) and cheese tortellini.  I have to confess, we brought those in from a local restaurant.  C'mon!  I have a 1 year-old and a 3 year-old!  I did the best I could!  :)  Sorry, but I forgot to get a photo of them.

I did make some amazing garlic cheese bread (thanks to the recipe over at Chindeep).  I made some modifications - which I will share later - but her original recipe is great!!

and my Olive Garden Salad.

The cakes were beautiful!  We got them from Whole Foods because I am not very talented when it comes to cake decorating.  I love the Whole Foods cakes because you can choose to have organic fruit filling inside, and they will make an adorable smash cake for the birthday girl!  

The big cake

 The smash cake (about 6" in diameter)

She loved the cake!  :)  I apologize for the gruesome nature of the photo. 

The party was a huge success and everyone had a wonderful time!  Until...

I took a bad fall with the birthday girl in my arms.  I tripped over a riding toy on our concrete backyard, and fell straight back clutching her as tightly as I could.  I slammed my head in the ground and she began to scream.  My sister-in-law quickly grabbed her and took her inside to get a better look while I tried to get up.  We soon discovered she had a bloody nose and my head was killing me.  Fearing a broken nose for the baby and a concussion for me, my husband wanted to take us the the ER.  So this is how we ended our night. 

Luckily, she was fine and I did not have a concussion.  I am still pretty banged up with scrapes, bruises, and a very sore right elbow and neck.  It was certainly an eventful birthday filled with family, great food, fun, and a little extra adventure. 

Hopefully she will only remember all the good stuff!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Earlier in the evening inspecting some gifts.  :)

Weekly Menu

Hello friends!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  We celebrated my baby's first birthday with extended family on Saturday.  It was so much fun!  I will share some highlights (and lowlights) tomorrow.  Let's just say the baby and I ended up in the emergency room.  Luckily, nothing was too serious.

But what do you think of these lovely veggies we got from the farm?  So delicious!  We are in between seasons here, so you really don't know what you'll find week to week.  We picked up a red watermelon, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, carrots, sweet Maui onion, tomatoes, green beans, and cantaloupe.  We also have some sweet corn left over from last week.  Because of the events at the end of the party this weekend, I will only be able to cook two meals.  Here is how we plan to use them:

• Portobello and Red Pepper Quesadilla with Corn and Black Bean Salad
• using the last of the remaining corn and tomatoes

• Spicy Thai Noodles with Chinese-Style Green Beans
• using the sweet Maui onion and green beans

I will be using the cherry tomatoes and carrots for snacks for my toddler and I will be cooking the broccoli and carrots for my baby.  We will be enjoying the watermelon and cantaloupe for dessert.  

Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party and Giveaway

Happy Friday friends!  Welcome to another wonderful party!  We had a great turnout last week, and I sure hope you are bringing some more amazing recipes today.  

First off, let's take a look at this week's amazing giveaway for three lucky randomly selected links!  Bazor Designs is giving three lucky winners this adorable hand-screened lemon kitchen towel!  This award is limited to U.S. and Canada residents only.  I would LOVE one of these in my kitchen!

Sweet Onion and Pickle Panini

OK.  I admit it.  I first made this recipe last summer when I was pregnant with my youngest daughter.  It just sounds like one of those weird pregnancy cravings, doesn't it?  Well that is how it started, but this recipe is a keeper!  The combination of sharp cheddar cheese, sweet onion, and juicy pickle is amazing.  I sometimes add Havarti cheese to the mix because I love it in combination with the cheddar.  This makes for a quick and easy meal when you are pressed for time, and a nice alternative to plain grilled cheese.  

Ingredients
crusty white bread ( I use a french miche)
2-3 slices of sharp cheddar cheese
1 sweet onion, chopped
pickle slices
butter

Directions

1. Heat your panini press to medium-high.
2. Butter the outside of the bottom piece of bread.  Put a single layer of cheese, topped with a layer of pickles on top.  Layer the diced onions and top with another layer of cheddar.  Butter the outside of the top piece of bread.
3. Place inside the panini press and cook until golden brown.  Let sit for about 2 mintes before cutting in half to serve.  

Food Fun: Color-Themed Dinners

I am starting a new feature on the blog called Food Fun where I will share some of the ways I make food entertaining for my kids.  Let's face it, if kids are having fun, they are more likely to try new things.  By making healthy foods more of an activity, they will hopefully become adventurous eaters who are open to a wide variety of tastes, colors, textures, and experiences.  

This week I wanted to share with you my color-themed meal.  Occasionally, I will pick a color (with the help of the girls) and plan a meal consisting entirely (as best as I can) of that one color.  It is so much fun for the kids!  For this dinner, we went with an orange theme.  The meal included tomato soup, roasted carrots, grilled cheese panini, and cantaloupe for dessert.  This is a wonderful way to get your kids involved in meal planning.  

Crispy Pesto Gnocchi

So I had been seeing this idea for crispy gnocchi all over the place and finally decided to try it.  I have to admit, I was never a huge gnocchi fan because of the texture, so I was excited to try this new version in the hope that I would like it.  And do you know what?  I DID!  :)  I have never had any sort of crispy pasta, so this was such a novelty for me.  My daughter loved it.  The gnocchi were just the right size for her to eat.  This was a wonderful, easy meal for the entire family.  

Ingredients

1 pound gnocchi, boiled according to package directions

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 C pesto

parmesan cheese

Directions

1. While the gnocchi is cooking in boiling water, heat the olive oil in a large fry pan over medium-high heat. 
2. Drain the gnocchi very well.
3. Add gnocchi to pan and spread them out to a single layer.  Let them cook undisturbed until crispy on one side, about 3-5 minutes.  Flip the gnocchi over and repeat on the other side.
4. Transfer to a bowl.  Stir in the pesto and add some freshly grated parmesan cheese.  Serve immediately.

Weekly Menu

I hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend!  We spent it taking care of sick kids.  I guess it was a preview of the year to come with my oldest about to start school.  It was tough, but I still made it to the farm in order to get our fresh veggies for the week!  We picked up some basil, cantaloupe, tomatoes, carrots, sweet Maui onion, corn, and chinese broccoli (a veggie I have never cooked before!).  With that selection, we will be making the following meals:

• "Everything Orange!" Dinner featuring Grilled Cheese with Pickles and Sweet Onion, Tomato Soup, Roasted Carrots, and Cantaloupe
• using the sweet Maui onion, carrots, and cantaloupe

• Crispy Pesto Gnocchi with Sweet Corn Salad
• using the basil, corn, and tomatoes

• Gardein Orange Chicken with Chinese Broccoli
• using the chinese broccoli