Spinach Rice Casserole

Lately we had been enjoying more vacations than working days put together! 
Ultimate enjoyment too comes with a price..Tanned hands and legs, weight gain and laziness!!!! After effects are affecting me so bad. Did I let sloth win over me or has my body completely reconciled with stress or is my overactive Omy boy not a subject of concern anymore... Is he starting to join hands with peace??Eh?
Only thing I force myself to do now is cook! Only because I HAVE to! I admit it.. what a lazy mortal am I?

I find 'one pot meals' the most trustworthy among the dishes!

Its easy, simple,  involves very less execution time and they come with a minimun 90% 'yummy' guarantee. When Rajani of MyKitchenTrials came up spinach casserole, I knew that was gonna be my dinner the same day. 

Well, I did tweak the recipe, rather say indianised it!
Daddy and baby found themselves digging the baking dish for more!

Spinach                    - 200 grams (I used Green giants frozen spinach)

Oil                            - 1 tbsp

Onion                       - 1 thinly sliced

Mustard seeds          - 1/2 tsp

Urad dal                   - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves             - 1 stick

Chilli powder           - 1 tbsp

Cooked Rice             - 2 cups

All purpose flour       - 1 tbsp

Milk                          - 1 cup

Bread crumbs            - 1 cup

Mozzarella cheese     - 1 cup

Salt, Pepper               -  to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a rectangular baking dish.
2. In a pan, combine the butter, flour and milk. Heat, stirring continuously to get a smooth, lump free sauce. Dilute with water or stock, if the sauce is too thick. 
3. In a pan, heat the oil, splutter mustard seeds and add the urad dal and fry for a few seconds. To this, add the onions, curry leaves and saute. Once onions are translucent add the chilli powder, salt and pepper to taste.
4. Microwave the frozen spinach for a minute and add the spinach. 
5. Once the spinach has wilted and everything mixed up, add rice and the milk sauce to it.Mix everything till combined.
6. Transfer to the baking dish, press lightly. Spread cheese evenly on top, then spread the bread crumbs all over it.
7. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes till the top turns brown.

That's my baby enjoying the sun, food & stroller in NY

Sangaria with marianted fruits

I have no intentions to mislead a mom!!! Forgive me if this is not apt for my baby blog! 

For this post alone, I would like to cut off any trace of 'Baby' from 'AmmaandBaby'. This is only for NON-Breastfeeding amma's longing to take a break, chill and relax the night!!!

Most of the times after a weekend party we see opened leftover wine bottles dead inside the fridge.  Sometimes when this happens, we make Sangaria and enjoy the exotic ecstatic flavor blend of wine and fruits.

What you need
Make sure your baby has slept
Red Wine                                  - half a bottle
Orange juice or any fruit juice - 1/2 cup
Sugar (add up to your taste)     - 2/3 cups
Lime juice                                 - 2 Tbsp
Your choice of fresh fruits cut into small pieces 
(Apples,Strawberries,mangoes,watermelon, honeydew,cantaloupe) -  1 - 2 cups

Mix up all these in a bottle, close it and pop it inside the refrigerator (Bottle section).
Let it stay for one whole night and day so that the marinade has plenty of time to soak into the fruits. Normally i mix it up at night so that its ready for the next night.

Serve it chilled the next day after your baby drifts into deep sleep! It will transport you to another delusive world!

Enjoy!

Mango Bread

It was love at first sight with Hamaree Rasoi Deepa's Mango bread.(Originally created by INJI ).
I got a little too excited that I added colors and made colorful cupcakes also out of it.. :P

Copy pasting the recipe as it is! I followed the exact recipe and the output was so ambrosial!

1. 2 cups and 2 tablespoon of sooji
2. 2 teaspoon baking powder
3. 1 cup sugar
4. 2 teaspoon cardamom powder
5. 2 teaspoon nutmeg powder
6. pinch of salt
7. 3 tablespoon rice flour

Mix dry ingredients together until well-blended. Then add:

1. 2 cups and 2 tablespoon mango pulp
2. 1 egg
3. 1 tablespoon lemon juice
4. 1/2 cup oil

Let sit for ten-fifteen minutes (this lets the raw sooji soak up the liquids)
Preheat over to 375.
Grease the pan with butter or non stick spray, pour the batter and sprinkle almonds or sesame seeds or any topping of your choice. Bake it for about half hour or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean!

Omy loved his sweet munch after lunch.. 

Homemade Granola

I am living a fantasy life.. My mornings starts with  a press of a remote control.

Omy and me take up the balcony seats to watch Lightning McQueen loom towards the end line. Then, the wheels on the bus take us through the town and drop us at the Sodor island. Thomas and his friends pick us up to enjoy the beautiful scenery as we wind our way through the luscious green forest.  The venturesome ride makes us so sleepy but the neighbor old McDonald's farm animals keep making creepy noises. By evening, the 'angry birds', 'Talking Ben' and ABC's are hit so hard that they fail to make an appearance by night. So, a huddle of cars and trucks takes a stroll all over the house only to end up in a wreck. Bed time story books are my best friends now.. they help Omy gently fall asleep!

Peace regained! (amma's with a baby boy and a smart phone can easily draw a similar picture :D).

Anyways, Aipi's Granola recipe had been eating me up all this while.. I just wanted to get it done and grab a mouthful. Finally I took a break from the rides and tried it out! Honestly, I loved it.. the texture, the taste.. its a natural fat free snack which we can keep munching without regrets!

I added half a cup of cheerios to the original recipe.

Oats                2 cups
Honey             1 cup
Brown sugar   1/2 cup
cheerios          1/2 cup
Dry fruits, berries, cherries, dates, seeds of our choice - 1/2 cup each.
(I used 'Southern Grove's Trail mix and Fit  & Active's dry fruit medley combo, cut them into tiny pieces)
Oil                   1 tbsp
Vanilla extract 1 tsp

Heat the oil in medium flame.. add honey, sugar, vanilla and bring it to a boil. keep stirring till its done. Let it cool a bit.
Mix up all the rest ingredients along with this mixture.
Make sure everything is coated with the sugar mixture.
Spread it on a baking tray and pop it in the oven.
I gave it a stir every 5 minutes.
In 15 minutes my granola was ready. I took it out as soon as the oats became dark brown in color.

Let it cool and enjoy. 

I paired it up with chocolate icecream for Omy!!! He loved the creaminess and the crunch together!

As he says.. 'MAMMA YUMMY' :D