Some of Our Favorite Quick Recipes

Hi! I love reading about food (who doesn't?!)...whether it's recipes, meal planning, or other families go-to meals.  Today I wanted to share some of our favorite quick meals that can be prepared the night before, in the slow cooker or prepared quickly after a busy day. Some are my own and others I've used from my Pinterest - where I have 4928375 recipes pinned ready to go;).  Here's to giving you some yummy ideas! All recipes are linked below. 

Breakfast:

Easy Banana Streusel Muffins

Cream Cheese Filled Banana Bread

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Scones

Overnight Oats

Snacks: 

Garden Fresh Salsa 

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Coconut Oil Kettle Popcorn

Three-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Dinner: 

Amazing Lemon Butter Chicken

Slow Cooker Tikka Masala

Cast Iron Skillet BBQ Chicken Pizza

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

Tom Kha Gai Soup

Creamy Meatball Casserole

Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken Bowls

Burrito Bowls

Roasted Salmon Salad over Steamed Green Beans

Ok, now I'm hungry! I really enjoy cooking and trying new things, so please feel free to share your favorites in the comments as well! For more recipes, follow along with my Instagram [@thebirdsnestblog] as I share them frequently! Have a great weekend! XO 

Nibble Tray || A Fun + Easy Toddler Lunch

Lunch is always the hardest meal for me.  We don't tend to have many leftovers and I'm not a huge fan of lunch myself so its pretty much a daily challenge.  I tend to make Olivia deconstructed sandwiches or cheese, crackers, and some sort of fruit or vegetable.  She loves deli meat but I try to limit that to once or twice a week.  Sandwiches are not my thing, unless I'm pregnant and craving a forbidden deli turkey sandwich morning, noon, and night.  My husband on the other hand could eat a sandwich for lunch every day of his life and not have a complaint, unless we're out of bread...and deli meat...and mustard.  Clearly I can't get my meal planning act together ;)  Anyway, I've been seeing muffin tin meals pop up all over Pinterest and I wanted to try it for Olivia.  I felt that a muffin tin was a bit too big and I didn't want to overwhelm her with too many choices so I opted for my favorite porcelain egg carton.  (Bought at HomeGoods)  Here is what I put in her nibble tray...

Cubed cheese, avocado, teddy grahams, carrot sticks, blueberries, and chocolate covered mini pretzel sticks.  I decided it would be fun to have a picnic so I sat her on our bed and when she saw the tray she exclaimed, "Oh dis?!" which is toddler speak for all this!! Super excited and she loved everything.  The carrot sticks were her least favorite though, so she decided to feed a few to her bunny Penelope.

This was a great little lunch for her.  It was a new, colorful way to eat lunch, which I think helped her to be so interested in it.  Lately, she's been picky and "no way!" is the answer to pretty much anything in the fridge.  Except butter.  The child can eat butter happily everyday all day.  For example, last night when I asked her if she wanted to eat chicken the response was "no way, yes."  Toddlers can be so fickle sometimes, can't they ;) What are some ways you get your kids to enjoy their food?  Have you tried making a nibble tray?  I'd love to hear from you! 

Recipe || Easy Banana Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel

{via}

I love muffins.  Any kind, any size, flavor, you name it. I was searching on Pinterest for an easy banana muffin recipe to use up some bananas I had hanging around...Ok, I'm lying.  I threatened told my hubby that the browning bananas were off limits!  Those babies were going to good use.  Anyway, I found this recipe and it was super easy and yummy!  I adapted it slightly, using less butter for the streusel and it worked out perfectly.  Also, I think whipping the bananas really worked so much better than just squishing them with a fork.

Here is the recipe from Katrina's Kitchen:

INGREDIENTS:

Muffins:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 ripe bananas

Streusel:

• 5 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2/3 cup flour
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Muffins:

1. Preheat oven to 350⁰ F and lightly grease your muffin tin/baking cups with cooking spray.Muffins:
2. Whip up bananas using the paddle attachment on your mixer for 3 – 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. It should end up being about 2 1/2 cups of banana fluff. Transfer to another bowl and set aside.
3. Cream together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of the mixer (there is no need to wash off the paddle or bowl from the bananas). Add eggs one at a time and then incorporate the whipped bananas until well blended. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredientsto the wet. Spoon batter into prepared cups.

Streusel:

1. Melt butter in the bottom of a medium microwave-safe bowl. Add the dry ingredients on top. IMPORTANT: Incorporate the dry ingredients with your FINGERS until the mixture is moist and crumbly. If you try to use a spoon it will congeal into one huge ball of goo.
2. Drop the crumb topping onto the muffins and bake.

6 jumbo muffins: 20 – 25 minutes
12 standard muffins: 15 – 18 minutes

I ended up making about 18 standard sized muffins.  Olivia loved them, minus when I broke apart the muffin so she could eat smaller bites.  Toddlers...gotta love their emotions ;)

All was well in the world once she was able to get another whole muffin and could eat both ;) Just snacking and reading books, her favorite activity!

Let me know if you make these!  They're so yummy and perfect for breakfast or a snack on the go.

*Don't forget to enter our current Shop Feature Giveaway here! Winner receives a $15 shop credit to Stamps and Charms!  Perfect for an initial necklace, charm bracelet, Grandmother necklace and more.

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Toddler Meals: Part 2

Hi! This is part two of my toddler meal posts.  You can find part one here.  I really have so much fun making these fun meals for Olivia. She always giggles when I put them in front of her and actually understands that they're fun for her! Overall I'm very happy that she is a good eater, but of course sometimes she is picky depending on the food or day...aren't toddlers so fickle sometimes;)

Most of the meals that I make her are very simple and quick to put together.  I always think that kids are more willing to eat food that looks fun and appetizing to them, don't we all?

Here are some of the toddler meals I've put together lately:

Mini pita pizzas with green beans

Salsa chicken with black beans and corn

Avocado and zucchini bites

Whole wheat tortilla triangles

Homemade pumpkin spice muffin

Nectarine and cucumber slices

Breakfast bunny with fresh bread and homemade apricot jam

Strawberries and blueberries

Ingredients for chicken meatballs 

Recipe on first toddler meal post 

Can toddler pajamas get any cuter?

I'd love for you to share your toddler meal ideas!  Hope you enjoy your weekend! 

Toddler Meals: Part 1

Wow, it has been quite a while since my last post!  I've really missed blogging and I'm determined to keep up with it.  This post was inspired because Olivia recently turned one and she's loving feeding herself and interested in new foods.  I turned to Pinterest for some ideas and I came across a new-to-me blog, A Healthy Slice of Life and there are so many cute meal ideas aka "Munchkin Meals."  It's really important to me that Olivia receives the nutrition she needs and also to incorporate new foods into her diet, therefore, it's been really fun for me to put together her meals during the day.

While I'm preparing her breakfast, Olivia loves to play in her pack and play and I frequently hear her "reading" to herself and pretending to call her cousin Brynn on the phone. I think it's so cute that she's becoming such a funny, sweet little lady and maybe it's a mom fail but she is clearly picking up on things I do.Like talk to my sister all morning. My niece Brynn is almost 11 months and they are only 9 weeks apart and best friends.  It's so nice to have the babies grow up as close as sisters.  Anyway, back to breakfast.  She loves to eat scrambled eggs and I've been sneaking in fresh spinach and shredded cheese and she inhales them.  She also loves plain Cheerios and banana slices. 

Another breakfast she loves is french toast.  She's a carb lover just like her momma and we both love french toast.  I normally add a splash of vanilla, milk, and cinnamon to the egg mixture before soaking the bread.  Another favorite of hers is yogurt dots.  They are seriously the easiest thing ever to make.  I use Brown Cow plain yogurt (or any other organic) and put about 2 tablespoons of yogurt into a plastic sandwich bag. Snip the corner and squeeze out little dots on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet and freeze for at least three hours.  She is obsessed with them and it's a great way to incorporate yogurt into her breakfast without added sugar.  I've used blueberry yogurt, pictured below, and she loves that too.  I always give her fresh fruit as well. 

She would eat scrambled eggs and cheese at every meal if I let her, so I try to change it up a couple times a week.  This was super quick and she clearly enjoyed it - little jelly face!  Cream cheese and jelly toast with fresh nectarines and plain yogurt dots...  

I feel lunches are slightly harder to plan for, as sometimes we're out running errands, etc.  If we're home, I tend to warm her up some leftovers such as chicken or pasta from dinner last night with some sort of vegetable.  Since she's over a year old, she's allowed to have peanut butter.  Panic the first time she ate it! I made these cute little rolls ups with a whole wheat tortilla, natural peanut butter and banana slices with a side of thawed frozen corn.  Super easy and transportable. 

Another lunch idea is avocado, green beans, and chicken meatballs.  These little meatballs are so yummy I tend to share with her:)  Super simple to make:

1 lb. of lean ground chicken
1 piece of whole wheat bread soaked in milk
1 egg
Fresh, chopped spinach
Parmesan cheese
Sprinkle of oatmeal
Fresh parsley
Sprinkle of dried oregano

Mix all ingredients together and form into bite-sized meatballs. Bake at 350 for about 20-30 mins, or until golden brown.  They were so yummy and healthy! Also, perfect for freezing and popping a few in the microwave for a quick lunch or dinner.

I hope you found this post helpful to give you some ideas for your munchkins!  Please feel free to share your favorite toddler meals!