Tag: noodles

Chick’n & Udon Noodles

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Chicken and Udon Noodles (1)

This recipe will introduce kids to new flavor combos in a familiar way. It’s a great way to mix up a regular chick’n and pasta night!

Ingredients:

  • 1 (9-ounce) package Gardein chick’n strips
  • 1 cup teriyaki sauce
  • 1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple
  • 1 (9-ounce) package udon noodles
  • 3/4 cup sunflower seed butter
  • 1/2 cup light coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable broth
  • 2 tablespoons carrot puree
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice
  1. To prepare the chick’n, combine the chick’n strips, teriyaki sauce, and juice from the pineapple can in an 8×8-inch baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, cook the udon noodles according to package directions; drain and return to the pot.
  3. While the noodles cook, combine the sunflower seed butter, coconut milk, broth, carrot puree, ginger, garlic, and lime juice in a blender; process until smooth.
  4. Add the sunflower sauce to the noodles, tossing to coat.
  5. To serve, chop the chick’n according to your child’s preference, and serve alongside the noodles and some of the crushed pineapple.

CHicken and Udon Noodles (2)

Fideos with Chorizo, Spinach, and Chickpeas

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Fideos (1)

The spice in this Spanish take on noodles will challenge little taste buds just enough. But use a milder sausage if your kids don’t like spicy!

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 6 ounces angel hair pasta
  • 1 chopped onion
  • 2 vegan spicy sausage links, chopped (such as Field Roast Mexican Chipotle)
  • 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 cup frozen spinach or broccoli rabe
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot. Break the pasta into 2-inch pieces, and add to the pan; cook for about 2 to 3 minutes. (Note: work in 2 batches, if needed, so that the noodles cook evenly). Remove the noodles from the pan and set aside.
  2. Heat the remaining tablespoon oil in the pan. Add the onion and sausage; cook for 5 minutes, until lightly browned.
  3. Add the chickpeas; cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
  4. Stir in the spinach and tomatoes. Return the pasta to the pan, along with the water. Cover and cook for 2 minutes.
  5. Stir, then cover and continue to cook for 5 minutes, or until the noodles are tender. Season with the salt, black pepper, and oregano.

Fideos (2)

Chilled Peanut Noodles with Tofu

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Peanut Noodles with Tofu (1)

Here’s the third in a series of recipes I featured with a simple tofu-and-bell-pepper preparation. We gave it an Asian spin for a final night of leftovers!

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced
  • 1 (14-ounce) package firm tofu, cubed
  • 1/2 lime
  • 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • Rice noodles
  • Chopped peanuts
  • Cilantro (optional)
  1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, cumin, and chili powder; saute for 5 minutes. Add the bell pepper and saute for an additional 6 minutes, until the peppers are soft; transfer the mixture to a bowl.
  2. Heat the remaining tablespoon oil in the pan. Add the tofu and cook for a final 6 minutes. Return the bell pepper mixture to the pan, along with the juice from 1/2 a lime, and the soy sauce.
  3. Meanwhile, cook rice noodles according to package directions. Rinse under cold water and set aside.

For each preschooler-sized portion, I served 1/2 cup rice noodles with 1/2 cup tofu mixture. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and cilantro to taste for serving.

Peanut Noodles with Tofu (2)

N Week!

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Even with the Thanksgiving holiday, we squeezed in games and crafts with a letter N theme this week, as we continue on our Letter of the Week journey. Highlights included…

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Nature/natural: This was really our key theme of the week, and we kicked things off with a gorgeous fall walk through a nature preserve before the weather turned very windy. With the collection of nature items we found, we came home and arranged them on contact paper. Simply fold the sticky paper in half when you’re finished and voila – a nature collage!

We also saved some of the leaves and flowers for a natural dye collage (and added a few store-bought berries because I knew their colors would be vibrant). We used cheesecloth, since I knew we wouldn’t be keeping this project, but make your dye collage on muslin or other cloth if you want to save it for doll’s clothing or another project. Once arranged, Travis loved pounding on the items with a mallet, and seeing the beautiful colors that (naturally) resulted.

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Finally, for all those events out in nature, we needed a trail walking stick.

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Nest: This word was closely linked to the nature ideas above. We used our air-dry clay to shape a nest, and pressed in more great finds from our nature walk – pine needles, grasses, and leaves. The process was so fun I devoted a separate blog post to it.

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Noise: Make some of course! Pull out whatever instruments you have in the house, or use items around the house to create instruments, or simply bang on pots and pans. However you make noise, Raffi’s “Let’s Make Some Noise” is the perfect song to do it to.

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Net: To play with a random butterfly net we own, I fashioned “butterflies” from construction paper and we set them aflutter for Travis to chase around. It was so windy that we were able to do this right at our windowsill, though we briefly tried outside as well. Nets are also great for bathtub “fishing” or just for letting your toddler collect little items.

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Newspaper: Old newspapers are the gift that keeps on giving. You can wad them up and use an old baby tub as target practice…

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…or roll into a “golf club” and aim golf balls at a target (such as an empty shoebox on its side). We also made newspaper hats, and Travis was so proud wearing his!

And our weekly extras:

Fine art: My intended project was a bit of a fail. I hoped to encourage Travis to make a necklace by threading o-shaped cereal (we used Freedom O’s) onto licorice (yes, Twizzlers are vegan) but he decided it would be much more fun just to eat the cereal and watch me work. Win some, lose some!

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Food: We had noodles for dinner one evening. Travis has also gotten a kick out of belly buttons lately, so what better snack than a navel orange?

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Books: Library picks this week included Jan Brett’s Noah’s Ark, The Napping House by Audrey Wood, and Dog’s Noisy Day by Emma Dodd.

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Songs: Give a listen to “These are the People in the Neighborhood.” Then follow it up with a walk or drive around your neighborhood!

Math: Nickles are an obvious choice. Travis knows quarters and pennies, so this week I taught him to recognize nickles as well, tough because they are the “medium-sized” ones!

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I also simply left out all his toys and books that feature numbers, so he could return to them throughout the week.

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One neat way to visually depict how numbers increase is to build increasingly tall towers (Duplo blocks are perfect) on a corresponding number mat or puzzle.

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