Meal Planning Monday- Caramelized Brussel Sprouts with Lemon

image from marthastewart.com

We wanted to add something new to the vegetable category this Christmas dinner. I turned to the world wide web and found this wonderful selection of vegetable sides from Martha Stewart. I was recently re-introduced to brussel sprouts by my father; now I can’t wait to add them to the garden!

• 12 ounces brussel sprouts, halved lengthwise
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving

In a skillet, combine sprouts and 1/2 cup water; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium. Cover; cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the water has evaporated and sproust are crisp-tender, 5 to 8 minutes (add more water if skillet becomes dry before the sprouts are done).

Increase heat to medium-high; add oil to skillet. Continue to cook, uncovered, without stirring, until sprouts are golden brown on underside, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Serve with lemon wedges.

Why We Love It Thursday (oops)- Pretty Lizzy Lu Snack Bags

We are so excited to get these great reusable snack bags into our inventory. We are even privileged with Simple Little Baby exclusive fabrics! They are as cute as can be. These snack bags can easily be wiped out for reuse or washed if your snack was on the extra messy side. The bags are standard zip-lock sandwich bag size. Easy enough to send with the kids and stylish enough to pack for yourself.

These bags make a great last minute stocking stuff. Find them on our website at 10% off retail price this week.

Meal Planning Monday- Sweet Potato and Lentil Burritos

Mothering magazine seems to always have exactly what I need in every issue! This month’s issue has 11 great potluck recipes. My eyes went straight to the sweet potato and lentil burritos. I have been getting the most amazing sweet potatoes from the farmer’s market and was ready to try them out in a new recipe.

• 4 large sweet potatoes
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• salt to taste
• 6 large whole-wheat tortillas
• 2 cups cooked lentils
• 1 cup organic salsa
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Roast potatoes at 425 for 1 hour.

Remove potatoes from oven. When potatoes have cooled enough to handle, peel and mash. Add cumin, chili powder, and pinch of salt; mix well and set aside.

Spread down middle of tortilla a few tablespoons of sweet potato mixture and a few tablespoons of cooked lentils. Add 1 tablespoon salsa and sprinkle cheese to taste. Roll up bottom third of tortilla, fold in sides, then roll up tortilla the rest of the way. Place burritos in oiled baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas, making sure to pack burritos tightly together in dish.

Sprinkle any remaining cheese over burritos and bake 10-15 minutes, until cheese is golden brown.

Why We Love It Wednesday- Diaper Sprayer

There have been a lot of changes in the cloth diaper industry in the last 5-10 years. Diaper pins are vintage, plastic pants only if you want to use them(and who would!), and oh so cute colors and prints. As important as all those are, I would say the best thing to happen to the cloth diaper world is the DIAPER SPRAYER!

No more rubber gloves up to your elbows while dunking and scraping a dirty diaper (as fun as that sounds). A diaper sprayer is similar to your kitchen sink sprayer. You attach it to the back of your toilet and hang it on a hook. When you come across a soiled diaper, you lift the toilet seat and spray the waste into the toilet and toss the diaper into the pail. I love my diaper sprayer!

They make a great addition to any cloth diapering home. Find them on our website at 10% off retail price this week.

Meal Planning Monday-Meat Loaf

I can’t say that I was excited the first time I made this recipe from The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook. I think I had some ground meat and didn’t know what to do with it. I didn’t have fond memories of meat loaf, but thought I’d give it one last try. I actually like this recipe a lot and use it when everyone is craving a little meat. The oatmeal makes it extra yummy. I use to make it with ground turkey, and just added a little more oats to hold it together. Now I use ground chuck from Mountain View Farm Products.

• 2 pounds ground chuck
• 1 cup uncooked oats
• 1/2 cup organic ketchup
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup organic ketchup
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons organic mustard

Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl; shape into 2 loaves and place in loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Combine 1/2 cup ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard; spoon over meat loaf, and bake for 15 more minutes or until meat thermometer registers 160.

Why We Love It Wednesday- a+a Sleeping Bags

One of our most recent products added to our inventory is the Aden + Anais cozy sleeping bag.  These are a great addition to baby’s wardrobe as nights become chilly. The cozy bags are made of four layers of the same oh so soft muslin as the popular swaddles. Sleep bags keep baby warm and safe by eliminating loose blankets in the baby’s sleeping area. And Aden + Anais’ muslin becomes softer with every wash.

Aden + Anais Cozy Sleeping Bags make a great holiday gift for the baby in your life. Find them on our website at 10% off retail price this week.

Meal Planning Monday- Butternut Squash Lasagna

Eating seasonally starts to get interesting this time of year. Two words…winter squash.  There’s not one I don’t love, so I love finding new recipes for these beauties. Leave it to Mother Earth News to come up with some “cozy and comfy fall recipes.”

image from thefoodfairy.wordpress.com

BUTTERNUT SQUASH LASAGNA

• 1 butternut squash
• salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups whole milk
• pinch of nutmeg
• 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
• 2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Cut squash in half. Scrape out seeds. Place face down in casserole dish with 1/2 inch water. Cook at 350 for 30 minutes or until tender when tested with fork. Let cool. Scrape squash into a bowl and mash. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Melt the butter in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a low boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat ti medium and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 5 minutes. Add the nutmeg. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 375. Lightly butter a 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce over the prepared baking dish. Cover the bottom of pan with 4 lasagna noodles. Spread half of the squash puree over the noodles. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Drizzle 1/2 cup of sauce over the cheese. Repeat layering once more, finishing with a layer of noodles covered by only white sauce.

Tightly cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove cover, sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over the lasagna and continue baking until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, about 15 minutes longer.

I know that seems like a lot of directions, but it’s really not that bad. This is such a yummy meal. While I was eating it, I kept thinking that this should really be a dessert!

Celebrating Black Friday ALL WEEKEND

We hope you all had a beautiful day! We have so much to be thankful for today, especially our sweet babies that have led us to this endeavor. We want to share some of these great products and ideas with you this holiday season.

Simple Little Baby is celebrating Black Friday & Cyber Monday ALL WEEKEND LONG! Friday November 26th-Monday November 29th we are offering the following sales:

5% off orders $40-$59.99                                          coupon code: blackfriday5
10% off orders $60-$74.99                                        coupon code: blackfriday10
15% off orders $75-$99.99                                         coupon code: blackfriday15
20% off orders $100 and over                                   coupon code: blackfriday20

sale excludes Ergobaby.

Meal Planning Monday-Lentil Tacos

We want to bring useful information to our friends and supporters. And what’s more useful than some meal planning! And we promise healthy meals with relative ease.

I came across this recipe last year in Saving Dinner the Vegetarian Way and was crazy about it. I decided to serve it at Levi’s birthday dinner this weekend. It was a huge hit, even with my “must have meat” brother-in-law 🙂

This version of the recipe is from http://www.allrecipes.com.

image from theveggiegal.com

TASTY LENTIL TACOS  6 servings

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon canola oil

In a large skillet, saute the onion and garlic until tender.

• 1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

Cook and stir for 1 minute.

• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth

Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Uncover; cook for 6-8 minutes until mixture is thickened.

• 1 cup salsa
• 12 corn tortillas

Stir in salsa. Spoon about 1/4 cup lentil mixture into each tortilla. Top with cheese, sour cream, and any of your other favorite taco toppings. Enjoy!

 

New Evening LLL Meeting in the Valley

International Breastfeeding Symbol

La Leche League of Harrisonburg/ Valley is excited to add a new series meeting to its calendar. The group will now be holding a quarterly evening meeting. Their first evening meeting will be Thursday, October 14 at 7:00pm at Brookhaven Women’s Health and Natural Birth Center.

La Leche League’s mission is to help mothers worldwide to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, encouragement, information, and education, and to promote a better understanding of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and mother. Meetings are organized and run by accredited leaders who offer education and facilitate mother-to-mother support.

The Harrisonburg/Valley group offers monthly daytime meetings, quarterly evening meetings, over the phone help, email help, a lending library, and invaluable fellowship between local mothers.  Check out their website for general information and meeting times.