Steam lemon garlic chicken for my 17mo

I am getting bored of stewing and roasting chicken + plain steam chicken. So, I tried steam lemon garlic chicken.

Ingredients:
Half chicken, a piece
1 lemon, juice
1 1/2 bub garlic, minced
Dash of pepper

Steps:
1. Marinate chicken with the other ingredients. Leave it aside for 4 hours (you can put in the fridge).
2. Under high fire, steam for 10 minutes.
3. Under low fire, steam for 20-30 minutes depending on how tender you want the chicken to be.
4. Cool down before cutting into pieces.

It is tasteful but the sauce is too sourish.

Smiley face banana teething biscuit (* eggless)

I didn’t want to waste the Earth’s best rice cereal that my lo rejected during our Taipei trip. So I turned it into teething biscuit, modifying the recipe from easy-banana-recipe . com. The remainder rice cereal I had was about 1 1/2 cup.

Mix all the ingredients:
1 1/2 cup flour (I mixed grind rolled oats, instant oatmeal & biscuit flour – no exact proportion)
1 1/2 cup instant rice cereal
2 tbsp olive oil
2 banana, mashed
Water (as needed to make it a dough)

I used:
Dried blueberries – for eyes
Dried cranberry – for mouth
Sunflower seed – for nose

Bake it in a preheated oven of 220 degree celcius for 20 minutes. Lower down temperature to 180 degree celcius and bake for another 10 minutes. (You can adjust the timing. I baked longer because my biscuit was thick)

It is firm outside and inside, not crumbly at all. I love this as she eats it without kacau-ing me as I type this post! LOL!

Banana oatmeal bread loaf

 

Ingredients:

1 cup water
2 tsp instant yeast
1 tbsp molasses sugar
1 cup Quacker instant oats
(leave them for 10 minutes)
300g bread flour
100g wholemeal flour
2 tbsp skimmed milk powder
Pinch of salt
2 bananas, mashed

Weight: 2llb,

Light crust,

Mode: Basic (my bread maker is Cornell)

Second trial was even prettier:

It was rising perfectly:

Done:

Our 17mo sweetie pie this week:

1. She has become more clingy. =.=”

2. She has become very talkative especially when she is in good mood (giving us ceramah session).
3. She makes use of her nose and tongue senses – smelling & tasting food like an expert.
4. She likes to store food inside her mouth and mummy only knows that there’s food in her mouth when she wants nen nen (she opens her mouth to show me).

5. Just as I thought I could increase her potty training sessions, she starts to show rejection sitting on the potty (guess I need new toy in the toilet).
6. She knows how to remove her socks but not her shoes. She will sit down on the floor once returning home and tries removing the shoes herself.
7. She can say “ball”; she was screaming for other people’s “ball” in the playground.
8. She no longer just cry outside the kitchen for me; she will “yell” at me to come out which sounds like “cursing” me. =.=

9. I added one of Twins’ CNY song in her play list which has an aunty calling “ah lui ah lui”, she thought the aunty is calling her – so will run to me/hide at the back of me! LOL!
10. She will get frustrated when her fringe irritates her eyes (time to trim hair…but mummy has phobia because after bringing her for a hair cut, she fell down hours later & needed stitches :P).

Looking back the photos taken in the past 4 months, I can’t believe you have grown so much though you are with me 24hours! Love ya!

Late lunch today: Fussili with tomato minced pork top with Cheddar cheese

Today we had real late lunch since we went Jkids to celebrate my girl’s 17th month old (our outing day without having to bother about groceries). After playing for 2 hours, I direct latched her, gave her some watermelon juice and not long after she slept. So, mummy’s body itching for massage – so I step into the bali massage centre to have one hour foot massage with the toddler lying & sleeping on me! I eventually fell asleep too. LOL! A great break since turning a SAHM four months ago. She woke up right at the dot when the massage ended; i direct latched her once more and let her have one mango walnut muffin plus her Heinz teething biscuit before rushing back home for lunch.

Back to lunch topic: I have prepared this early in the morning.

For the tomato minced pork:
Marinate 400g minced pork with 2 blended tomatoes, half lemon juice, dash of pepper & one tsp dried rosemary (overnight)
2 onions, chopped
1 carrot, blended
3 tomatoes, blended
Olive oil

Steps:
1. Stir fry onions in olive oil until fragrant.
2. Add in minced pork and stir until half cook.
3. Add in blended carrot and tomatoes. Let in stew for 10 minutes and it is done.

*Amount should be enough for 3 adults & 2 toddlers – our lunch & dinner

Cheese – i used Bega extra tasty Cheddar cheese

She was so hungry that she finished all plus asking from me some more!

It’s real cute that my little girl shares with other toddlers. I am so proud of her that she is generally in good behaviour when mingling with others.

 

Mango and walnut muffin.

I am using the right term now (or no?). It is muffin and not cupcake.

Ingredients and steps:
50g unsalted butter
1 egg
(beat them together first)
1 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence (optional)
3 tbsp fresh mango, pureed
(mix everything, at this stage, I saw that it is not smooth barter, so I put into the blender that has a mixer function – and blended it until smooth)
50g walnut, chopped (mix)
100g self rising flour (fold in)

I have reduced the amount of barter to 2 1/2 tsp per muffin sheet. Under preheated oven of 160 degree celcius (preheated 10 minutes), bake for 20 minutes.

It is still not perfectly smooth. Guess I will try without pre-heating the oven. Not sure if it is the quality of the mango, it has lacking mango taste.

I have read that with fan-assisted oven, we can lowered the temperature. I have done so as I followed one of the comments given by mummies.

Honey oatmeal & flaxseed bread loaf

Top crust slightly crumbly; seems like adding skimmed milk powder & flaxseed to the previous recipe absorbed more water + I forgotten to add a pinch of salt!

How does 17chipmunks manage so many things with an active toddler?

Picture source: mummyrunning.wordpress.com

This is the question that I get from most mummies, either from commenting on my post or even private messaging me. My answer has been always “time management”. And, then they will go on further “how?” Errr….”like that lor?”

 

So, let’s put this into writing so that whenever someone asks me about this – I will just copy and paste the link to them. *grin*

 

Since February or my girl’s 13 month old onwards when I turned a stay at home mum, her schedule has been fairly consistent – just that she has reduced to one nap per day and she is sleeping later at night; occasionally waking up later in the morning.

 

I basically gets up 15-30 minutes after my hubby’s gets up to go for a jog; that will be around 7 to 7.30pm. I begin my day by brushing my teeth and then prepare breakfast for my hubby – which would be usually half boiled eggs (just boil hot water and pour onto eggs). Others like coffee and toasting of bread – he will settle it himself. Then, I will then start preparing the meals for the days – usually soup or stew chicken (which I would have marinated the previous day) and also my little girl’s brekkie – usually fruits yogurt with cheerios or scramble egg with fruits. Good thing is that we adults and the toddler have the same set of meals – where I will use natural ingredients for our meals (without salt and sugar). In between time gaps of waiting (for water to boil), I will surf the net, update my blog, prepare my own coffee for breakfast and have a quick brekkie (bread, muffin, biscuit) – coffee is a MUST to survive as a stay-at-home-mum!

 

In between time, my little girl would have woken up – depending on her level of tiredness and mood to sleep in. When she wakes up, she will either yell for me or walk over to the kitchen to look for me. Once awake, she would want to be breastfed immediately and then I will teach her how to wash her face, brush her teeth and *cough* try to potty train her – so far, I have gotten her to sit down, but actually peeing or pooing has been difficult/ or yet to be successful. Then I will get her to take breakfast after letting her warm up in the living room (while I quickly do some stuff in the kitchen). I will usually keep an eye on her while she has her breakfast – I could even watch her eat from the kitchen while I cut vegetables or so (save some time here) – I just have to put her nearer to the kitchen (which is no entry for her – safety gate on).

After breakfast, we will take our shower together. Then, little 17chipmunks will play by herself (she will occasionally run to the kitchen to look for me- I would have to run to and forth the kitchen-living room to calm her down)  while I will continue with preparing lunch and/or dinner. By this time, one of the meals would be almost done (or both meals done if we are having the same dishes for the day –usually this is the case). Next, we will have our time together either playing, learning or grocery shopping. In between, she would have a little snack (even outside home – which is usually cheerios, raisins or teething biscuit). When at home, the morning snack would be usually fresh fruits.

We would have lunch by 12.30pm, which will take about 30 minutes –including cleaning up the mess. I have practiced the policy of not force feeding her – but let her eat if she wants and let it be when she doesn’t. Just after I wash her up (which including trying to potty train her) – depending on the level of mess (I might change her) – I will let her some time alone – playing/ listening/ watching kids videos. This is the time I will do the dishes and if she isn’t clingy that day – I will go on preparing her next snack/ meal. If she is clingy, I will get her involved – by shifting the kitchen to the dining table. Or, if she is clingy because of sleepiness or so, I will just lay on the bed with her – while she climb up and down; or wants to be nursed – this is the time I take a break. Note that each time I nurse her on the bed (which she does several times during day time) is an opportunity for me to get updated with what’s happening by going through facebook, reading news and also updating some posts on facebook. She will eventually takes her nap – which lasts from 30 minutes to 3 hours – depending on her level of tiredness.

 

Her nap time is my opportunity to rush everything – I will usually cook and/or bake and then mop the floor when she is asleep – as these two are the most difficult tasks to do when she is awake. I would also marinate stuff for the next day – so cooking gets easy the next day. I could leave laundry while she is awake – as she works as my little assistant too. I could also leave ironing clothes (which I do once a week) when she is awake – during her own play time. She will usually wake up right on the dot when I get to sit down on my chair (except for cases when she is really tired – like today?) House chores that probably need to be done on a fortnightly or monthly basis will be planned out eventually. For example, washing toilets can be done if she decides to sleep in or during her bath time (where I let her play longer in the tub). PLUS, I don’t live in a big bungalow. It is just one level condo unit where things are still manageable and within my eyes.

Right after she wakes up from nap, she wants to be nurse – which takes about 5 to 10 minutes. In most cases, this is an opportunity for me to take a short nap – yes, real short one like 5 to 10 minutes – which really helps. Then, she will take her afternoon snack while I relax and watch her. By evening, we would be in the playground, swimming pool or if it is raining, do some indoor activities like hula hoop, play dough or clay art. Or, sometimes when I don’t get to finish my laundry, we will just do it together.

Next, we will usually take a shower before dinner – just to ensure that she is clean from germs before having dinner. Yes, that would mean another round of cleaning after dinner. After dinner, she will get to play the tab – while I do the dishes and have some alone time for myself – I get to sit on the desktop if she plays the tab. She will come bug me if she starts to feel bored or wants to be nursed. At this time, sometimes I just play with her lego or her toys.

Soon, hubby returns home – I have more break time from then on. After hubby’s dinner, I will prefer to do the dishes while hubby entertains our girl. *blek*By this time, she would have also gotten bored of me and cling on the papa for his phone/ ipad.

 

After hubby takes his shower and clear some of his stuff, we would have time to watch some drama – while the toddler would be playing herself or lately, doing “ceramah” (although we don’t know what’s she trying to say). We also take the drama time to read news on our phone/tab/pad. Eventually, she will use up her energy and throw some little tantrum, before waving goodbye to papa in front of the room – indicating that I have to nurse her to sleep. If I am still not too tired after she has fallen to sleep, I would either prepare some cooking/baking stuff for next day, surf the net, update blog or continue watching drama with hubby. I usually go to sleep between 12.30am to 1am.

 

It is as simple as this; so, there’s nothing extra ordinary that I do, I guess!

Main tips:

1. Do as much as possible when the toddler is asleep!

2. Eat the same type of food as the toddler -promotes healthy eating too.

3. Get the toddler involved in some activities like laundry.

4. Be quick to offer different activities to the toddler – so that they won’t be bored. When they are bored, the tendency for them to be clingy is high.

5. Just lay on the bed to accompany them if they are clingy – the reason of this clingy-ness is probably because they are tired.

6. If you are breastfeeding, nurse lying down. You get to relax/nap/surf the net using your phone.

 

Some people love to use the phrases like “poor thing, you are so tired” or “you have no time for yourself”; but I actually prefer this kind of schedule than having a meaningless life back then (the time when I just got back to work after maternity leave) – at least I get to see my girl grows up and spend my time with her. Tired? Yes, I am tired but I am loving what I do and that’s what it easier to get things done!

Read: Why does 17chipmunks have so much energy to do things?

 

 

 

Papaya yogurt chicken

Thanks to the HK papaya that I bought, which wouldn’t really ripe but somehow ripe (LOL!) – i have to use the whole papaya to cook chicken (too late to use it to boil dessert). I modified from foodnetwork.ca

Ingredients used:
1 whole papaya, blended
1/2 chicken, cut
1 onion, chopped
Olive oil
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp coriander powder
1 small bowl chicken/vege stock
Dash of pepper
5 tbsp Fresh farm natural yogurt

Steps:
1. Marinate the chicken with papaya (overnight).
2. Remove chicken from fridge for 30 minutes or so before cooking.
3. Stir fry onions in olive oil.
4. Add fenugreek seed and coriander powder (you can add parsley if you have). Stir fry until fragrant.
5. Pour in the marinated chicken, pepper and the bowl of stock. Mix well.
6. Let it stew for 30-40 minutes. Stir the chicken from time to time.
7. Add the yogurt and let it stew for another 5 minutes.
8. Cool down before serving.

Be assured that there’s no papaya taste – Just taste like a normal stew chicken with soy sauce. LOL!

Looking at the ingredients, not sure if this dish could help boost breastmilk – fenugreek + papaya? LOL!

Blueberries cupcakes

Yes, we have finished the 8 mini apple & honey cupcakes that I baked the day before. So, we had blueberries cupcakes today. Modified from the previous recipe. Ingredients added in the following order:

50g unsalted butter
1 tbsp caster sugar
(mix till creamy)
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
50g fresh blueberries, blended
50g dried blueberries, cut into smaller pieces
100g self rising flour

Bake in preheated oven of 160 degree celcius (preheated 10 minutes) with fan on for 25 minutes (I added additional 5 minutes). Leave it for 10 minutes before removing.

I have 8 mini cupcakes again.

Hem… There are still slight crosses. I think butter & sugar not cream enough? Maybe I will try adding the flour before the blueberries. Or put lesser batter in the cupcakes sheets.

 

I also realised that I have been giving wrong connotation to my “cupcakes”, they should have been “muffins” since I did not put toppings on them: Read more