food Archives - Don't Mind the Mess

Kid-Friendly Recipe: Rainbow Rice

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Jess • 0 Comments

So technically this is Jambalaya, but since we wanted Graham to eat it we called it “Rainbow Rice.”

Remember all those peppers we used for his rainbow lunches this week? It was a pretty big success so we tried to see if we could expand his dinnertime repertoire by tying in the rainbow peppers. (And if you haven’t entered my Rainbow Giveaway, you need to head on over there right now!)

We normally use a spicy Jalapeno sausage but this time we tapped down the spice and kept the recipe really simple so I could throw it together quickly. (I MADE DINNER. SHOCKING.)

I was hoping that I could call the sausage “hot dogs” and get Graham on board, but his skepticism of meat continues. But he did eat his entire bowl of sausage-free Rainbow Rice.

Rainbow Rice

2013-04-12 07:03:51

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Ingredients

4 sweet peppers in a rainbow of colors, chopped into bite size pieces

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 14-oz can diced tomatoes

1 can low-sodium chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 c. rice

1 lb smoked sausage, cut into bite-size pieces

Instructions

Combine all ingredients except sausage in a nonstick saucepan. Heat on medium-high until boiling. Add sausage, reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more water if needed during cooking.

Notes

You can add celery and onion, too for extra veggie power.

We like using pre-cooked chicken or turkey sausage. The hotter the spices on the sausage, the hotter the rice.

For adults, feel free to add cajun seasoning for flavor.

Adapted from Turkey Jambalaya

Don't Mind the Mess http://theseversons.net/

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This was a pretty successful dinner in our house. Graham was reluctant but eventually ate all of his and there was some leftovers for the next day. You have a lot of room to wiggle in this recipe when it comes to spice so adjust accordingly.

Tags: food, kid stuff, recipes • 0 Comments

Run the Rainbow, Eat the Rainbow

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Jess • 126 Comments

This post is in conjunction with New Balance & Chop Chop Magazine, who are giving away some super awesome stuff so keep reading!

We’ve just had a little streak of warm weather and it’s life-changing. Last year I was happy to hole up in the winter since I started it hugely pregnant and ended it with a tiny baby. But this year it seemed like winter lasted forever and I’m looking for some brightness in my life.

I am guilty of not getting the kids out for exercise very much during the winter. But now that there’s nice weather on the way, we’re going to be making a lot more playground trips. I’ve even started taking the midday walks with the stroller that I’ve been talking about for months.

Do you remember the pink shoes? Well they’re not getting quite as much use this spring. There is a new favorite shoe in this house and it is the Rainbow Shoe.

When I showed Graham these shoes on the computer he instructed, “Buy them for me while I’m at school, okay?” His rainbow shoes are now the supreme shoes in the house. He also doesn’t complain so much about them not being tight enough, since the velcro attaches to a lace that tightens. (LOVE THAT. For bigger kids the shoes have just plain laces.)

When he got his shoes right before we left for Texas he put them on and declared them “snazzy.” I have no idea where he heard that word. The next morning at the airport, the woman behind the counter told him his shoes were “snazzy” and that settled the issue. They are some snazzy, awesome rainbow shoes. They’re also for-real athletic shoes, which is a good thing because they’re getting some good use.

new balance collage Run the Rainbow, Eat the Rainbow

The shoes get a workout on a warm day at the Zoo playground.

The rainbow shoes are part of a partnership with ChopChop Magazine, the food magazine for kids called Run the Rainbow, Eat the Rainbow. Even though Graham is only 3, we’re working to get him enjoying exercise and healthy food. (He’ll be starting soccer in a few weeks and we really need to have enough healthy foods to overcome his love of donuts.)

Encouraging different colors of fruits and veggies is a simple lesson in nutrition that’s easy for kids to catch on to. A rainbow plate has a variety of nutrients and flavors. Definitely better than the plates of beige our kids prefer so often. I am always impressed with how ChopChop finds ways to interest kids in food using all their senses.

ChopChop’s Eat the Rainbow recipe is for fruit skewers using grapes, blueberries, kiwi, pineapple, cantaloupe and raspberries. Very tasty. But for my Bug I decided to give him a rainbow lunch since one of his favorite foods comes in a variety of colors.

I’m lucky my kid is a veggie eater. He likes crunch and it’s been our saving grace to get him to try more things. I never really thought much about texture before but it’s a big deal for him. Once we got him on crunchy vegetables he’s now moved on to “leaves” (aka raw spinach or greens) and many others.

I try to pack him veggies with sauce (ranch dressing) almost every day for lunch and he’s usually pretty good about eating them. He was really pumped when I told him today he had a rainbow lunch.

As a bonus there were plenty of peppers left over, so I’ll be making rainbow jambalaya in the next couple days. I never would’ve thought to let my kid munch on peppers, but I highly recommend you give it a try. The bright colors are a great incentive.

Another way to do a rainbow veggie plate is to try red peppers, orange carrots, yellow cherub tomatoes (one of Graham’s favorites) and green broccoli. Serve that instead of your next veggie side dish and see if you get a few more bites than usual.

And now for some cool stuff! Not one but TWO giveaways!

New Balance and ChopChop are running a giveaway where you can win a subscription to ChopChop, a pair of the New Balance Rainbow 890v3 shoes and a $400 gift card for groceries. The contest runs through May and you can go here to enter.

Plus right here on the blog I’m giving away a pair of New Balance 890v3 Rainbow shoes and a ChopChop subscription to one lucky person! The shoes are available in infant, preschool and grade school sizes. Infant sizes have the velcro and go up to a size 10.

To enter simply leave a comment on this post.

You can earn a bonus entry by tweeting: “Win @newbalance shoes and a year of @chopchopmag in the Run the Rainbow Eat the Rainbow Giveaway with @jessicaesquire! http://ow.ly/jVBRH ” Make sure you leave a second comment with the address of your tweet. (To get that, go to your twitter profile and click the time stamp on the tweet.)

Official Rules: No purchase necessary. By leaving a comment you agree to the rules of this giveaway. Up to two entries per household according to the directions set out in the post. Limited to entrants over 18 in the United States. Contest begins as of the time of this post and ends on Tuesday, Aprl 16th at 6 pm Eastern Time. One winner will be chosen. The winner will receive a pair of New Balance Rainbow 890v3 shoes and a subscription to ChopChop Magazine. Prize has value of approximately $60. The number of eligible entries received will determine the odds of winning. The winner will be selected using the “And the Winner Is” plugin. Winner will be notified by email and must respond within 48 hours to receive their prize. If a winner does not respond within that time, a new winner will be chosen. The prize will be provided by New Balance and Chop Chop Magazine. This contest is governed by the rules of Massachusetts, void where prohibited.

Disclosure: I received a pair of New Balance Rainbow 890v3 shoes in exchange for promoting the Run the Rainbow Eat the Rainbow contest.

Tags: food, giveaway, kid stuff, photography • 126 Comments

Failure: It’s What’s For Dinner

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Jess • 14 Comments

Honest truth: I’ve been in a funk.

I’ve been hesitant to post some stuff I’ve been wanting to because I don’t feel like I can fully do it justice right now. I’m tired and kind of sick and since I’ve weaned Tessa people tell me the hormones will leave me wonky for a while. I feel wonky. I feel off. I’m hoping it doesn’t last much longer.

But in addition to being in a funk I’m also busy. Working from home with a preschooler and a not-walking-yet-so-not-really-officially-a-toddler is basically one long juggling act.

There’s my blog, which requires posts and social media updates and events. There’s Red Letter Reads with posts to put together, a newsletter to make, books to beg for, late reviews to track down. There’s Jellyfish, with our clients and any bumps in the road we may encounter.

There’s Graham, whose mornings and afternoons outside of school are always unpredictable. There are questions to answer and constant snacks to supply and tantrums to ignore. There’s Tessa, who has been in her own funk where she either sleeps to excess or refuses to nap all together. While she can point, she has no signs or words and we’re starting to get to the point where our lack of communication is a source of real frustration for both of us.

There’s the house, with a constant stream of chores to attend to. There’s laundry to do. There’s dishes to wash. There’s floors to vacuum. There’s toys to pick up. There’s errands to run.

And always, always, always, there’s dinner. You just don’t get to skip it. It must be eaten every night.

When Graham’s at school and Tessa’s asleep, there is work to finally be done and phone calls to finally be made. When they are here things can be calm or chaotic or both within a few seconds.

Somehow I keep finding that as Graham gets home at 3:30 and dinner is not too far away that I have nothing made and I haven’t made plans to make anything, either. My proteins are all still frozen. The crock pot is empty. The produce on hand may or may not be fresh.

The days when I do get myself together and cook a real meal, it ends up in disaster. Eric comes home late and doesn’t eat his portion left waiting for him in the fridge. Graham refuses everything on his plate. Even Tessa, my formerly-reliable-eater, will suddenly become picky and eat only bananas. After all of the effort and time and planning and other stuff that didn’t get done, it’s not a satisfying way to spend the evening.

So I haven’t exactly been in a put-the-effort-in mood. After several days in a row of eating takeout or delivery, I took Tessa over to the warehouse club and spent some serious time in the frozen foods aisle.

There are times when I put my food down on the belt at the checkout and feel superior.

This was not one of those times.

But you know what? Tonight I threw one of those skillet meals in the pot, stirred that sucker up, and served it.

And you know what else? EVERYBODY ATE IT. BOOM.

I don’t care if it came out of a bag. We ate. I didn’t feel like a failure. And it was at least half the price of a delivery meal. Maybe it would count as a fail in most people’s books. But right now I just want to make it through the evening. I don’t want to spend extra time planning meals.

I’m good enough. I’m smart enough. I’m a good cook. And I don’t have to prove it every night by coming up with a time-consuming concoction that goes unappreciated.

I hope the rest of you enjoy all your pinteresting recipes. Hopefully one day I’ll be back in the kitchen again using more than one pot…

Tags: food, parenting, the horror • 14 Comments

Treat Cupcake Bar

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Jess • 1 Comment

Review of Treat Cupcake Bar! I got to go to this sweet cupcake decorating class and I’m telling you all about it.

There is a reason cupcakes are all the rage. Because they are freaking delicious. I’ve sampled a wide variety of the cupcakes Boston has to offer, but I recently went to Treat Cupcake Bar for the first time with the Boston Brunchers. Yes, we’re all about brunch, but everyone loves cupcakes so we made an exception.

We didn’t just go for their make-your-own-cupcake bar, we went for the full-on cupcake party. That’s right: cupcake. party. (And yes, they do kid’s birthday parties, to answer the question you just asked.)

So what exactly does a Cupcake Party entail? I’m glad you asked.

First, there’s a cute baby in a hat.

Oh wait, that’s just me. Sorry.

Believe me, your cupcake party is better off without the baby because she just wants to eat everything and you’ll end up loading her up with sugar just to keep her calm. (Well, calm-ish.)

Okay. First, there’s markers. Not what you expected? That’s okay. First you get your box for the cupcakes and an apron. Hope you brought your creative side because they need decorating.

After you have your supplies all ready, it’s time to get decorating! But no, no cupcakes yet. Now it’s time for fondant. The cool stuff you can mold into shapes with all different colors to use as toppers.

Since you probably haven’t used fondant before, you’ll get a great demonstration from a Treat crew member.

We rolled it in powdered sugar instead of flour to keep everything sweet and tasty.

And then… at long last… time for cupcakes!!

Oh, and don’t forget frosting!!

And tons of tasty treats, too.

We got a great demonstration on making a flat-top cupcake. I wish mine came out this perfect!

I was a little intimidated. I’m not exactly a great decorator or crafter or anything. But they were super helpful. Plus they brought out dye-free frosting so I could take some home for Grammer.

I was pretty pleased with my results given that I’m not terribly talented in this area. I even made a nice orange flat top!

But I’ll show you some of the works of the other talented cooks who were with me so you can see what actually talented people can do!

I love the Ladies Night Out concept of our party and bringing home 6 giant cupcakes means that your family won’t miss you much while you’re gone…

And how about the cupcakes??

I’m picky about them, I admit. But I love that when you decorate your own you can put as much or as little frosting as you want. Plus the Treat cupcakes were really moist and dense without being too rich or heavy.

I’d definitely take my girlfriends. For kids, I think it’s a great fit for an older bunch who can handle sitting down for a while and won’t start throwing m&m’s across the room…

Oh, and Treat is opening a new location in Chestnut Hill soon!

Thanks to Treat Cupcakes for providing a group of Brunchers with a cupcake decorating class!

Tags: Boston, food, outings, reviews • 1 Comment

Cocktail Hour with Heart of Haiti

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Jess • 7 Comments

Sometimes being a blogger is really hard work. And sometimes, well sometimes you just kick back, sip your cocktail and think that you have it pretty good.

This is a post where two things I love come together beautifully.

Don’t just look at the gorgeous drink. Don’t you love that tray? It’s part of a set.

It’s a part of one of my favorite lines: the Heart of Haiti artisan series at Macy’s.

(Oh, and hey, whaddya know, they’re on sale right now for $29.99!)

But they weren’t just going to send me the trays to look at and take pretty pictures. They said, “Oh, and by the way, how about you make some cocktails?”

You don’t have to ask me twice.

I chose to make the Goslings Ginger Ale Cocktail by chef Ming Tsai not realizing that it was not just throwing some stuff in a glass. This was an intense recipe. And it ended up being kismet that at the last minute I got together with my friend Kathy to put these together.

Kathy is the kind of person who looked at this recipe and said, “Making my own candied ginger??? Yes, please!” I’m so glad I have her in my life. Because I am not the girl who makes her own ginger syrup. Kathy is the girl who makes it and then sends you home with extra.

We used Kraken Rum instead of Goslings, as you can see. Because, well, it’s KRAKEN RUM. (And that’s what Kathy had.)

So I didn’t really know what to expect with this cocktail. I’ve had the ginger ale everyone has, that doesn’t actually have *ginger* in it. I’ve definitely never had homemade ginger ale.

Then there were the mixers. Ginger, rum, lime and… orange juice? This seemed sketchy but we followed the recipe right on. Kathy even made some lovely lines of lime zest for garnish to keep the candied ginger company.

The moment of truth came. We took a sip and… well, it wasn’t what I expected. It was fantastic.

Light, sweet, sharp. Somehow all the flavors came together to taste like something totally different than the individual ingredients. It may sound strange, but it kind of tasted like cream soda. Like the best cream soda ever.

As a thank you to my fantastic partner in cocktail-making (let’s be honest, she did the work) I left her with these lovely trays. She will make great use of them, I’m sure. And someday when I don’t have tiny children in my house I will do some serious entertaining myself…

This post is sponsored by the Everywhere Society. I was compensated with these trays which made a great gift to pass on to my fantastic hostess and partner in crime.

Thank you to Kathy Day for the first and last pics. They are super lovely.

Tags: food, me me me, recipes • 7 Comments

Mac & Cheese Kit Review

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Jess • 2 Comments

Making for-real super-cheesy macaroni and cheese is one of those things that I would do all the time if I lived the life I imagine in my head. I am a cheese addict and a carb addict so it’s basically one of my favorite things. And yet I never really get around to actually doing it. I don’t think I’ve made REAL mac & cheese since I was living alone.

4608030678 ddb77a44fb 300x200 Mac & Cheese Kit Review

Full disclosure: not my picture. The light in my kitchen sucks.
Image by stevendepolo

Given that I have two hungry kiddos who enjoy cheese (this is new for Graham and I’m super pumped about it) I was happy to review a Mac & Cheese Kit from Smith’s Country Cheese here in Massachusetts.

A local dairy that makes their own cheese and has a commitment to reducing their carbon footprint. Yes, folks, you are in New England. Love it.

I really want to be better about eating more local food, supporting small businesses and buying less processed food, so getting cheese from a local dairy is a triple-threat. (Maybe it will offset a little bit of my warehouse-club-membership…)

Even better, this is a Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese recipe that has Smith’s Cheddar and Smoked Gouda. You will still have to make your sauce (roux & cheese on the stovetop) but I like a recipe I can make in the middle of the day and have hot and ready when everyone’s home from work and school without having to manage cooking and the crazy-that-is-our-house-at-6pm simultaneously. While you will have to make a sauce, it’s pretty simple as long as you’ve got all your ingredients ready to go before you start.

So what did we think?

Graham, as I’d feared, was unconvinced that putting cheese & pasta together was a good idea, even though he enjoys them separately. Someday he’ll kick himself for depriving himself of homemade mac & cheese.

But the rest of us gobbled it down and Tessa and I ate the leftovers for days. (The recipe makes a LOT. You’ve got a pound of cheese AND a pound of pasta.) I love Smoked Gouda, but I’d never used it in Mac & Cheese before and I liked the flavor it added. The cheese isn’t so fancy your kids will be turned off (like they would with something like gruyere) and the mix is half cheddar. So it’s a nice mix of adult and kid palates coming together.

My only complaints are (1) I’d love to see a company committed to local food and such provide a locally sourced pasta, since the one in our kit was a brand we could get at the grocery store; and (2) I think the price is on the high side. I’d recommend ordering the cheeses on their own and getting the recipe online to save a little cash.

If you don’t want to order online, you can find Smith’s Cheese at a bunch of Massachusetts locations (including Whole Foods and several farmers markets).

Tags: food, recipes, reviews • 2 Comments

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