Weight Gainer's Mac and Cheese Au Gratin Recipe

One of the problems with having a tiny toddler is that when you make her recipes like this it's REALLY hard not to partake. Just eating her leftovers would make my bum grow!
With recipes like these I usually just freeze the leftovers in individual servings so I can pull them out for her when we're having something she won't eat, or I need something fast.

Weight Gainer's Mac and Cheese Au Gratin Recipe
Makes 7 1/2 servings

Nutritional facts are calculated for 1 cup-servings. This can be made gluten free by using brown rice pasta and brown rice flour.

Ingredients

8oz whole wheat elbow macaroni
2cups evaporated milk
1/3cup powdered milk
2tbsp butter
2tbsp brown rice flour
8oz shredded cheddar cheese
1/3cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4cup olive oil
1cup oat flour
2tbsp ground flaxseed

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the evaporated milk and powdered milk and set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in a small saucepan. Remove form heat and add oat flour, flaxseed, and parmesan cheese.
4. Cook the macaroni until al dente--about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain.
5. Prepare a thin white sauce: melt 2 tbsp butter in a small sauce pan, add 2 tbsp rice flour and salt to taste. Bring to a bubble, remove from heat, add two cups milk, and return to heat, stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes.
6. Add grated cheddar cheese to white sauce and blend well.
7. Combine macaroni and white sauce mixture in a 2-quart casserole. Top with the oat flour mixture.
8. Bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
9. Serve with salad (with dressing, of course!) or veggies fried in olive oil to make an awesome weight gain meal.:]

Calories (yes, per 1 cup serving): 575
Fat: 38g
Protein: 20g

Tracking Calories

I know for some parents it's essential to track your child's caloric intake. I used to have a spreadsheet of every food Emma ate and the nutritional value of it. Even for foods I made from scratch I would calculate the values. It was pretty time consuming, but it helped me to see how she was doing.
Here is a great site that offers nutritional guidelines for children AND makes it easy to track!

http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/planner/index.aspx



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Breakfast Ideas

A couple great high calorie recipes!
Keep in mind that these are all adult size recipes, so you’ll probably get a couple servings out of each one.


Super Cereal (Single Serving)
7 oz Evaporated Milk
2 tbs Butter
1 ½ oz Cream of Wheat""
1 oz Brown Sugar
Cinnamon
Heat evaporated milk in a saucepan. Dissolve butter and brown sugar in heated liquid. Add cereal until it thickens. Add cinnamon to taste.
544 Calories, 37g fat, 16g protein

HIGH CALORIE DRINK
1 (8 oz.) yogurt
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. honey
3 tbsp. toasted wheat germ
1 c. strawberries
1/8 tsp. almond extract
Combine all ingredients in electric blender, whip until smooth and frothy. Yield 3 cups
Total: 685 calories, 16.5g fat, 25g protein







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Toddler Foods

Lately I've had a ton of requests for ideas for toddler foods. I've compiled a list that will hopefully help you come up with ideas (obviously in our house we put fat on everything)

Fruit
Steamed vegetables
Quesadillas
Cheese
Yogurt
Beans

Mac & Cheese
Various Pastas
Chunks of Rotisserie chicken
Meatballs
Scrambled eggs
Waffles
Applesauce
Creamy peanut butter (or other nut butter)
Cream cheese/jelly on flat bread
Chicken nuggets
Gnocchi
Sweet potato fries
Grilled cheese
Boca/veggie burgers
Hamburger
Ravioli
Oatmeal/Cream of Wheat
Edamame
Tofu
Hummus
Stir Fry

Rice
Couscous
Earth’s Best Organic cheese crackers
Tater Tots
String cheese
Cereal
Thinly-sliced deli meat
Roasted veggies
Turkey burgers
Guacamole

Tofu

I'd love to hear your favorites!

Chicken Enchiladas

Sorry that posting has been so scarce, we've had 2 solid months of illness around here. I won't bore you with the details, but I hope to get better. A friend recently reminded me of how popular this recipe is... it's my mom's and it's a hit with EVERYONE!

Chicken Enchiladas

1 lb cooked chicken, diced or shredded
1 cup onions, chopped
1 small can green chilies (optional)
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
¼ cup butter
¼ cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp coriander
1 cup monterey jack cheese, grated
1 cup sour cream
salt, pepper, cayenne
corn tortillas (usually about 12)

Sautee onions in a small amount of butter or oil until translucent.
Combine chicken, onions, green chilies and cheddar cheese in a large
bowl and season with salt, pepper and cayenne (if desired). Set aside.

In saucepan, melt butter, blend in flour, add chicken broth, and cook
until mixture thickens and bubbles. Stir in Monterey Jack cheese and
coriander and continue to blend until cheese is melted. Stir in sour
cream. Cook until heated through, but DO NOT BOIL.

In large glass baking dish spread a little sauce on the bottom (enough
to cover). Place chicken mixture in a tortilla, roll and place in
dish, repeat until filling is gone. Pour remaining sauce over the
enchiladas (you may also reserve some to pour over after they have
baked if you like). Cover dish with tinfoil and bake at 350 degrees
for about 25 minutes (until bubbly).

**Modifications**
If you like your food a little spicier you can add some spice to the
chicken mixture by adding any kind of seasoning such as cayenne, chili
powder etc, peppers (chipotle, green, etc) or hot sauce. You can also add beans

or veggies to your filling to mix it up a bit, basically the secret is the sauce.
You can also make this more casserole like by layering the items.
First a little sauce, then tortillas to cover the bottom of dish, then
filling and then more tortillas and top with sauce. Cover and bake for
25 minutes at 350 degrees.

This can also be frozen after preparation. After freezing, if thawed
bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees (covered) or 50 minutes if frozen
(until bubbly).

Leftovers!

I'm sorry that I've been MIA. I went back to work and life is just crazy around here!

Tonight I made one of my favorite Thanksgiving leftover dishes and it turned out that the toddler LOVED it!

Turkey Wild Rice Soup

Soup:

8 ounces wild rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups chopped carrots
3/4 cup flour
4 cups cubed cooked turkey
2 cups light cream or milk

2 cups broth
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons crumbled dried thyme

1 teaspoon crumbled dried bay leaf


Place 4 1/2 cups lightly salted water in a medium pot. Bring the water to a boil and add the wild rice. Stir the rice and return to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes (in CO it's going to take about 1.5hrs) or until the rice is tender and opens.

While the rice is cooking, sauté the oil, 2 tablespoons of the butter, the onions, celery, and carrots in a large stock pot for 5 minutes. Add the flour and mix well. Pour in the broth and heat through. Add the turkey, cream, and spices. Simmer for 40 minutes. Just before serving add the cooked wild rice.

Enjoy!

Packing a punch!

With a finiky eater it's always important to pack as much nutrition as possible into each bite. I've compiled a list of foods that are great choices for your children. As always, at our house everything is doused in fat for added calories.

Nutrient-dense foods that most children are willing to eat include:

• Avocados
• Pasta
• Broccoli
• Peanut butter
• Brown rice and other grains
• Potatoes
• Cheese
• Poultry
• Eggs
• Squash
• Fish
• Sweet potatoes
• Kidney beans
• Tofu
• Yogurt