Me & The Moose

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Creamed broccoli is a quick way to use up that bag of broccoli in your freezer and to get your kids to eat something green. #meandthemoose #vegetables #healthykids #cream #comfortfood #sidedishes #quicksidedishes #broccoli #broccolirecipes

Creamed broccoli

April 20, 2020 by Rebecca Davis in Gluten-free, Kid eats, Quick meals, Recipes, Toddler eats, Vegetarian, Parenting

A little garlic, cream, and parmesan transform ho hum frozen broccoli to a delicious side dish that even my 5-year-old, hot-dogs-for-breakfast kid will eat.

Take me to the recipe!

Creamed broccoli is a quick way to use up that bag of broccoli in your freezer and to get your kids to eat something green. #meandthemoose #vegetables #healthykids #cream #comfortfood #sidedishes #quicksidedishes #broccoli #brocollirecipes

I don’t actually feed my kid hotdogs for breakfast, but he WISHES that I would. I’m pretty sure he’s cried about it at least once this week.

How are you all feeling about your kids’ nutrition during quarantine? I know I’ve been eating like a maniac for a few reasons. First, I’m nursing, so I need at least 10,000 calories a day, right? Second, we can’t go anywhere or do anything, so we’ve definitely been using food as recreation, pleasure, and fun; all of the things we used to get outside of our house and with people besides one another. Third, I’m awake so many more hours per day with a newborn that I have more time to graze in a fatigued stupor.

All of this has set a really bad example for my kid. He wants to eat only comfort, pleasure foods and I’m too tired to fight it a lot of the time. Also, he’s kind of a jerk when he’s hungry, which I’m pretty sure is genetic. This broccoli has been helpful because I feel good about him eating something green and he feels good about eating something with cream and cheese.

I’m really trying not to sweat the eating too much. I think we’re all feeling like some degree of failure if the number of “It’s okay to______ or not to _______during quarantine” think pieces I’ve seen is any indication. It’s hard to do anything all the time. Like I always say, too much of a good thing is still too much. Family time is great, but no one gets a break from each other. I like being a homebody, but what I wouldn’t give for a playdate so my kid could destroy someone else’s house for a change.

If eating a fourth cookie means I can laugh at the AWFUL haircut my husband gave M and not cry with rage because he looks like Eleven from Stranger Things, so be it.

Creamed broccoli is a quick way to use up that bag of broccoli in your freezer and to get your kids to eat something green. #meandthemoose #vegetables #healthykids #cream #comfortfood #sidedishes #quicksidedishes #broccoli #brocollirecipes

A couple of notes:

  • This recipe is barely adapted from one I found on epicurious. Some commenters didn’t love it, but extra Parmesan and garlic really help, I think.

  • This is a little soupier than other “creamed” things like spinach or corn. A lot of recipes call for a roux, which I opted against because I wanted this recipe to be fast and also, AP flour is about as scarce here as toilet paper or hope. What? Too dark??

  • I kind of like the soupyness because we all have enough homemade bread to last until the next pandemic, right? So we need something to sop up with all those carbs. This is also nice tossed with some noodles or zoodles or the like.

  • I use frozen broccoli for this recipe because I feel like that might be more accessible currently, but you can definitely use fresh broccoli.

  • If you don’t have a shallot, sub in some really finely minced onion or just another clove of smashed garlic.

  • When I say “well-smashed” I really want you to give the garlic a good squish with the side of your knife. Get aggressive. You want each clove to be in several pieces.

Creamed broccoli is a quick way to use up that bag of broccoli in your freezer and to get your kids to eat something green. #meandthemoose #vegetables #healthykids #cream #comfortfood #sidedishes #quicksidedishes #broccoli #brocollirecipes

Creamed broccoli

1 bag frozen broccoli or 1 large head of raw broccoli (about 4 cups of florets and stems)
1 Tbsp butter
4 large garlic cloves, smashed well
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
1 cup heavy cream  
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Yield: About 3-4 cups of broccoli
Time: 15 minutes, all active

In a large bowl, microwave the frozen broccoli until completely defrosted, about 4 minutes. Drain and place the broccoli on a paper towel while making the sauce.

If using fresh broccoli, bring a large pot of water to a boil and drop in the florets. Cook for 3-4 minutes and drain. Set on a paper towel to dry while making the sauce.  

In a medium pot, melt butter over a medium flame. Add the garlic and shallots and cook until fragrant, about one minute, reducing the heat if the shallot or garlic start to burn.

Add the cream and allow it to bubble. If it isn’t coming to a boil, increase the heat slightly. Similarly, if the cream is scalding or bubbling too fast, reduce the heat slightly. You want the cream to bubble pretty vigorously and it’s okay if it bubbles up and seems to expand, but we don’t want browning or burning.

Keep a close watch and stir occasionally until the cream has reduced and thickened so that when you scrape the bottom of the pot, the liquid doesn’t immediately re-cover the metal, about 4-5 minutes.

Add the parmesan and stir until melted, about 30 seconds.

Carefully taste the sauce (don’t burn your mouth!) and season with salt and pepper.

Add the broccoli and cook, stirring, until the sauce has covered the broccoli to your liking. The broccoli will release some water and thin out the sauce.     

April 20, 2020 /Rebecca Davis
broccoli, veggies, veggie sides, healthy comfort food, comfort food, advanced eaters, toddler eats, kid eats, kid food, quick recipes, vegetarian, cream, cheese, creamed broccoli, frozen veggies, frozen broccoli, parenting, gluten free, gluten-free, refined sugar free
Gluten-free, Kid eats, Quick meals, Recipes, Toddler eats, Vegetarian, Parenting
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This easy, spring-y mushroom pasta isn’t exactly made from pantry staples, but this lockdown will end one day, so bookmark this one and dream about when we can go to the store again! #meandthemoose #easydinner #pasta #mushrooms #mushroompasta #30min…

Mushroom pasta

March 16, 2020 by Rebecca Davis in Cooking, Kid eats, Nut-free, Parenting, Quick meals, Recipes, Spring, Toddler eats, Vegetarian

I know we’re all eating canned goods from here on out, so maybe bookmark this one as a spring-y, post-virus meal for when the world feels real again? Or, if you impulse bought mushrooms during your panic shop, use them now!

I don’t want to hear more about this freaking virus: Take me to the recipe!

This easy, spring-y pasta isn’t exactly made from pantry staples, but this lockdown will end one day, so bookmark this one and dream about when we can go to the store again! #meandthemoose #easydinner #pasta #mushrooms #mushroompasta #30minutemeals …

I haven’t posted much in recent weeks because, and I know I’m not alone here, I’ve been in a deep, dark pit of worry about Coronavirus. While healthy kids are at much lower risk for developing symptoms, I’m 38 weeks pregnant and about to bring a newborn into this mess. Like, any day now. Newborns are not kids. This also means, I have to go to a HOSPITAL in a few days, just about the last place I want to be.

Oh, and we’re self-quarantining for as long as possible because we need a grandparent to come watch M when I go into labor and all of them have between two and seven of the risk factors that make this a much more serious illness. Can you imagine if we infected one of them because we were carriers and didn’t know?

And, in the event that one of us gets sick, I don’t know what that means for delivery. If M or Ethan are sick and a grandparent can’t come, do I have to give birth alone? Do I have to stay in the hospital and away from M for longer? Will I be separated from my newborn if it’s me that develops symptoms?

Everything feels so scary and overwhelming and unknown. I don’t generally think of myself as someone with strong “mama bear” instincts, but this crisis has awakened a desperate need to protect my family.

This easy, spring-y pasta isn’t exactly made from pantry staples, but this lockdown will end one day, so bookmark this one and dream about when we can go to the store again! #meandthemoose #easydinner #pasta #mushrooms #mushroompasta #30minutemeals …

So, anyway, you probably just want to hear about food, yes? This pasta is really good. It’s also fast and easy and full of flavor. The preschooler didn’t love it, though he did have a few bites. I think he’ll learn to like it. He has no choice because it’s so good, I’m not going to stop making it!

A couple of notes:
- Feel free to swap in dried thyme for fresh if you don’t have any.
-The vinegar gives the pasta a little tang and acid, but if you don’t like it or LOVE IT and want more of it, feel free to skip or add more. I also like a little sprinkle of vinegar splashed on at the end.
-I add the cheese at the end as a garnish, but fee free to add up to a cup of cheese while the pasta is still hot and mixing it in with the melting butter to make a thicker sauce.
-Julia would be APPALLED by how much I crowd the mushrooms when I make this dish. I can’t help it. I have no sense of volume when it comes to mushrooms and the appropriate pan in which to cook them. I find that it doesn’t really matter. They cook down significantly, so as long as you’re okay with rescuing a few escaped shrooms at the start of cooking while you give things a mix, eventually, they’ll all fit in the pan just fine.

This easy, spring-y pasta isn’t exactly made from pantry staples, but this lockdown will end one day, so bookmark this one and dream about when we can go to the store again! #meandthemoose #easydinner #pasta #mushrooms #mushroompasta #30minutemeals …
This easy, spring-y pasta isn’t exactly made from pantry staples, but this lockdown will end one day, so bookmark this one and dream about when we can go to the store again! #meandthemoose #easydinner #pasta #mushrooms #mushroompasta #30minutemeals …

Mushroom pasta

Yield: 5-6 adult servings
Time: 25 minutes, mostly active

14 oz-1 lb whole wheat pasta, cooked until al dente
4 Tbsp butter, divided
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
1 leek, halved and thinly sliced
1 lb mixed mushrooms, sliced
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh thyme (3-4 stems), or ½ tsp dried
½ Tbsp red wine vinegar (or more to taste)
Salt/ pepper to taste
Nutty cheese, such as Parmesan, Gruyere, Romano, or Gouda

Cook pasta in well-salted water.

In a large skillet, melt 2 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and leeks and let cook for 5 minutes until translucent and soft., stirring frequently to avoid browning.

Add the mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms start to cook down and release some of their juices. If they haven’t cooked enough at the 5-minute mark, keep going until there’s a fair amount of liquid in the pan.

Add the garlic and let cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant.

Add the vinegar and let cook until evaporated, about 1 more minute.

Season the mushroom mixture with salt and pepper to taste.

Drain the pasta, but don’t go crazy- a little water will help keep the pasta loose. Add the noodles to the mushroom mixture along with the remaining 2 Tbsp of butter. Stir well and turn off the heat. Taste again for seasoning and serve immediately.

March 16, 2020 /Rebecca Davis
pasta, mushrooms, dinner, advanced eaters, vegetarian, meatless monday, Meatless Monday, corona virus, parenting, nut free, whole wheat pasta, quick dinner, easy diner, easy meals, leftovers, toddler eats
Cooking, Kid eats, Nut-free, Parenting, Quick meals, Recipes, Spring, Toddler eats, Vegetarian
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Kale mac and cheese | Me & The Moose. This vegged-up pasta sauce looks green and packs a nutritional punch, but tastes like cheese. #meandthemoose #macandcheese #kale #greensauce #kidfood #dinnerrecipes #vegetarianrecipes

Kale mac and cheese

April 25, 2019 by Rebecca Davis in Cooking, Food, No refined sugar, Parenting, Quick meals, Recipes, Spring, Summer, Toddler eats, Vegetarian

Mac and cheese is a perennial favorite for a reason. You can quickly make a huge batch and reheat it as needed. It’s perfect filler for lunchboxes or to whip up for dinner. And you can throw in any old proteins or veggies you have lying around. And it gets eaten. Huzzah!

Take me to the recipe!

Kale mac and cheese | Me & The Moose. This vegged-up pasta sauce looks green and packs a nutritional punch, but tastes like cheese. #meandthemoose #macandcheese #kale #greensauce #kidfood #dinnerrecipes #vegetarianrecipes

So! Easter and Passover just happened/are happening. My kiddo is at the age where he asks a lot of questions about everything, the deeper the subject, the better. The other day he hit me with, “Before I was born, where was I?”

Let me be clear: He was NOT asking where babies come from. He was asking a philosophical question about personhood. He wanted to know where his “self” resided before he had a body. He didn’t put it in those words, but that was the gist.

WHAT? WHY?

As you can imagine, religious holidays are tricky for us because this kid is constantly asking questions and we don’t always have great answers. “Why didn’t the Easter Bunny come to our house” was a little easier to handle than “Am I going to die?” but it was still tough! I stayed away from talking about religion and talked more about traditions, but I know that the questions are going to keep coming and get EVEN MORE complicated as his awareness grows.

Kale mac and cheese | Me & The Moose. This vegged-up pasta sauce looks green and packs a nutritional punch, but tastes like cheese. #meandthemoose #macandcheese #kale #greensauce #kidfood #dinnerrecipes #vegetarianrecipes

Since parenting has required so much mental gymnastics for us lately, I want to keep dinner as simple as possible. So, Mac and Cheese!

As you may or may not know, I prefer a stovetop mac and cheese to the baked kind. I feel like the baking process can dry out the sauce, which is not tasty, IMO.

Kale mac and cheese | Me & The Moose. This vegged-up pasta sauce looks green and packs a nutritional punch, but tastes like cheese. #meandthemoose #macandcheese #kale #greensauce #kidfood #dinnerrecipes #vegetarianrecipes

A couple of notes:

  • Do cook the kale a bit before pureeing. The more you cook the greens, the smoother the sauce will be. I only cook it for a few minutes though because I don’t want to lose too many of the nutrients.

  • Turn down the heat when making the sauce. It takes a bit longer, but will hopefully keep the milk solids from separating, which can make dairy-based sauces look curdled.


Kale mac and cheese

Time: About 25 minutes, mostly active
Yield: About 4 cups or 30 oz

1 lb small, dry pasta
1 bunch Lacinto kale, leaves stripped off of the tough center ribs
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
2 cups milk, divided (I used whole, but you can certainly use a lower fat variety if you like)
½ cup reserved pasta/kale cooking water
6-7 cups shredded cheese (combination of any nutty cheese like cheddar, gruyere, gouda, and Parmesan)
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp sea salt
Several cracks of black pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions.

While the pasta cooks, melt the butter over medium-high heat in a large sauce pan. Add the flour, stir well, and let bubble for 1 minute.

Turn the heat down to medium-low, add 1 and 1/2 cups of milk, and whisk to combine.

Add garlic, salt, and pepper to the milk and stir to combine. Let the milk heat up until there are small bubbles forming along the sides of the pan, about 3-4 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until melted, allowing the cheese sauce to bubble slowly, but try not to get the sauce too hot, about 4-5 more minutes.

Remove pasta from boiling water and add kale to that same water. Blanch for 2 minutes and remove greens to a blender. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water.

Add the remaining ½ cup of milk to the green in the blender and puree until smooth, adding the reserved cooking water as necessary to puree the kale.

Add the greens to the cheese sauce and stir well. Allow the mixture to come up to a simmer again.

When both are cooked, combine 2 cups of the sauce with the cooked pasta and stir well. Add any additional toppings you might like.

Kale mac and cheese | Me & The Moose. This vegged-up pasta sauce looks green and packs a nutritional punch, but tastes like cheese. #meandthemoose #macandcheese #kale #greensauce #kidfood #dinnerrecipes #vegetarianrecipes
April 25, 2019 /Rebecca Davis
kidfood, mac and cheese, kale, vegetairna, vegetarian, cheese, cheese sauce, advanced eaters, spring, summer, stovetop mac and cheese, stovetop, toddler eats, baby eats, parenting
Cooking, Food, No refined sugar, Parenting, Quick meals, Recipes, Spring, Summer, Toddler eats, Vegetarian
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