Fried Squash

Here's an easy one and it's allergy friendly unless you're allergic to corn! Even if you are allergic to corn you could use flour instead of cornmeal.... if you're allergic to both this probably isn't the recipe for you.

I never measure so I'm just going to tell you the ingredients and process.

What you'll need:
yellow summer squash
yellow cornmeal
onion powder
garlic powder
salt & pepper
oil (I use canola)

Place cornmeal (enough to coat however much squash you use), onion powder, garlic powder, salt & pepper (to taste) in a gallon zip top bag. Chop the squash roughly into 1 inch square pieces and place in bag. Shake bag to coat squash. Cook over medium high heat, turning squash occasionally, until golden brown and crispy.

That's it! It's so easy and soooo yummy! Even my toddler eats it!

Tomato Sauerkraut Casserole

I know this sounds disgusting but it's delicious, I promise! My mom made this for me yesterday. She got the recipe from one of the ladies in her sewing group and it's the only way my mom will go anywhere near sauerkraut!

1 can sauerkraut, drained
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup sugar
4 pieces of bacon, chopped

Combine the sauerkraut, tomatoes and sugar in a casserole or baking dish. Stir well. Top with the chopped bacon and cook for 2 hours at 300 degrees.

So easy! However, you might want to skip the bacon if your little one is sensitive to milk derivatives.
I apologize for not having a picture. I didn't take my camera with me to my mom's house yesterday and I can't find a picture online anywhere.

It's over...

Lately it's been damn near impossible to get my little guy to settle down enough to actually nurse in the mornings... so I've been making him bottles right after nursing him because I know he's not eating enough. The thing is.... he'll semi-nurse for 20 minutes and then get uber excited when he sees the bottle. This is how I knew it was time to stop nursing him. I was severely limiting my own diet just so I could nurse him once or twice a day and that wasn't even providing him with nourishment! Besides... I still have over 100 ounces of breast milk in the freezer I can give him...

So yesterday morning I nursed my baby boy for the last time...on his 8 month "birthday" and then proceeded to have chocolate for breakfast, oreos for lunch and half of a pizza with extra cheese for dinner! Don't worry, though. Little man can't have dairy or soy for the next 10 months so I'll still have plenty to write about.... plus there are still some recipes for me that I haven't posted yet so I'll be sure to get those on here too!

Speaking of food for baby! Hubby and I had summer squash and zucchini with dinner the other night. I just slice them up and boil them until tender. I threw the leftovers in the blender and pureed them for my son. He loved it! The other thing I've made recently is peaches... just peel, puree and voila! I do believe that if your child is under 7 months you should cook the peaches first though....

Pork & Sauerkraut

Last night we had a couple of friends over for dinner and I made pork and sauerkraut. Usually I just do pork chops, cover in sauerkraut and bake until done but last night I was ambitious. I made an actual pork loin for the very first time and it turned out fantastic!

In a large, oval casserole dish I did the following: Put a little bit of the sauerkraut in the bottom of the dish to prevent the meat from sticking, place loin on top of that and season with a little bit of black pepper. Cover the loin with the rest of the sauerkraut and bake at 350 for 2 hours. My pork loin was just under 3 pounds and I used a meat thermometer to be sure it was done. I was shooting for a core temp of 170 degrees but I ended up with 185. I was afraid the meat would be dry but it was surprisingly moist and everybody loved it!

I served it with mashed potatoes. I made the regular version with milk and butter for everybody else and made a smaller amount with chicken broth for myself. Be careful, though. Some brands of chicken broth contain soy! I use the Progresso broth.... no soy and it has a great flavor.

My girlfriend brought over a salad and some fresh green beans that she sauteed in olive oil and Morton's Nature's Seasons, which I had never tried but it was great! On the salad I used some balsamic vinaigrette that I made myself. To make this I combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard. I also shake in a little bit of garlic powder. All of this is to taste, I don't have an exact recipe.... but I do know that this is a strong dressing and a little bit goes a long way!