Broccoli and Cheese Tarts

Wow! It's September already - a whole 8 months since the last time I posted.  I've definitely been keeping track of new recipes that I've tried but just haven't had the time (or energy) to actually go through the act of posting them.

So Reed is now 7+ months old and is thoroughly enjoying chowing down on any and every food I put in front of him.  I've really been embracing the Baby Led Weaning philosophy and Reed has jumped on board.  I do still give him some purees like apple sauce, yogurt, and Baby Gourmets, but the majority of his foods range from sucking the juices out of a big piece of steak to sweet potato and beet sticks and chomping on a cob of corn (sans corn).

I recently came across this recipe for Broccoli and Cheese muffins used it as a mini-tart recipe instead.  Grayson loved them and I can't wait for Reed to try them in the morning!  Click here to go to the recipe.

Changes:
 I didn't have self rising flour so I used my plain all-purpose flour and added 2 1/2 tsp baking powder.  I also added 1/3 grated Parmesan as well as 2/3 cup grated old cheddar and added some pepper for seasoning.  I definitely did need to add the milk as  suggested in the recipe and baked it at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.  This recipe made 36 mini-tarts for me.

Next time I will mix it up with the spices and flavour combo's.  I'm thinking of using feta, dill and spinach in place of the broccoli for a nice little Greek twist on it.  Broccoli and spinach are both high in iron so this just makes it doubly good for my little one!  I really like that the recipe uses yogurt in the mix - a little added calcium and protein never hurts.

Pulled Pork Turnovers

I find when I make pulled pork, I can never make a small quantity and there are always mass leftovers.  These leftovers never seem to be used up in a timely way, so I always end up tossing them into the freezer.  I was cleaning out my freezer before Christmas and found a forgotten about container of pulled pork leftovers and thought to myself, "How will I get Grayson to eat this?"  He really likes being able to pick up his food instead of needing a fork or spoon, so I thought making them into a turnover might just work.  Well... it didn't work, Grayson wouldn't even try them... but Mike and I sure enjoyed them!

Pulled Pork Turnovers

Pulled Pork Turnovers

1 roll of puff pastry, thawed in the fridge overnight

2 cups leftover pulled pork

1 cup grated cheddar

1 egg

1 TSP sour cream or cream or milk

Roll out puff pastry, cutting into 6 triangles.  Place 2-3 TBSP pulled pork on each puff pastry triangle and top with a sprinkle of grated cheese.  Fold the edges of the puff pastry over to make a triangle, making sure it's sealed tightly. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet (or non-stick tin-foil or even just a greased baking sheet) and slice a couple of vent holes in the top of each, allowing for steam release.  Beat the egg and cream together and brush the egg wash over the top of the turnovers.  Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until nicely browned.  

Tip:  Because I was using left over pulled pork that had been frozen, my pulled pork was quite watery.  I found the best results if I let the pork drain a bit and squeezed some of the excess moisture out.  

Peanut Butter Snowballs

I suppose I should preface this post by saying that Grayson is a very picky eater.  He turned 2 in November and for his birthday, I wanted to make something special for him.  One problem... he doesn't eat cake.  Doesn't eat cake you say?? Is he crazy?? Well.. he's 2.. and he's stubborn to try new things... and well... he's 2.  Around that time, one of his staple foods that he loved was peanut butter.  He would carry the jars (one crunchy, one smooth) around with him asking for a spoon and a butter knife.  So naturally I was looking for a recipe for something sweet and delicious that had peanut butter in it and that wasn't cake.

As luck would have it, my Kraft What's Cooking magazine showed up about a week before his birthday, which had a couple of different peanut butter dessert recipes included.  The recipe for Peanut Butter Snowballs seemed incredibly simple and like something that would be a big hit. (Click link above for recipe.)  Despite Grayson's love for peanut butter, his stubborn streak showed itself and he refused to even have one bite of the peanut buttery goodness.  We've made them a couple of times since (delicious and gets rave reviews every time) but he has yet to try one.  

Peanut Butter Balls

The tip Kraft gives is to roll the balls in the chocolate using two forks.  This worked well but was the most time consuming part as you had to let each drip the excess chocolate off before placing on your wax paper lined cookie sheet.  All in all though, it was a super easy recipe and it's definitely a favorite!