Baked Cheesy Broccoli Rice Cups

I have been experimenting with different recipes to try and use creative and yummy ways to get my little boy (and myself) to eat more veggies!  This is a recipe that I had saved in a drawer and I am unsure exactly where it came from, but I have also seen very similar recipes on various Pinterest pages!  It is the Baked Cheesy Broccoli Rice Cups and it is so darn good!!

 
Baked Cheesy Broccoli Rice Cups

Ingredients
1 cup quick-cooking rice (such as Minute Rice)*
1 cup chicken broth
1 bag of frozen broccoli (approx 10-oz), thawed and steam cooked
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 cup Ranch dressing
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Directions
Steam-cook the broccoli. Let cool, then chop into small bite size pieces.
Bring 1 cup of chicken broth to a boil and add the Minute-Rice. Cover and remove from heat.  Wait 5 minutes for rice to fully absorb the broth. Fluff with a fork and set aside to cool slightly.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all ingredients into a large mixing bowl, using only 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese, and stir until combined.
Spray muffin pan well with cooking spray.
Scoop mixture into muffin cups (I used a large spoon and filled the cups fully).
Top with remaining 1/4 cup shredded cheese.
Bake for 25 minutes or until tops are lightly browned and edges are starting to get crispy.
Let cool slightly before serving.
Enjoy!

I have made these many times before, and each time I am still amazed at how good they are!  I forget that I am eating broccoli.  My son likes broccoli normally, but usually refuses anything with rice.  This, he eats as much as he can! Success!

Eggplant Pizza Bites (AKA OMG YUM)

I was really craving Eggplant Parmesan the other day while grocery shopping, so I snagged a ripe looking eggplant with all intents on making it for dinner that night.  Once the groceries were put away though, I forgot all about the eggplant (shoved into the veggie drawer) and made something different.  I rediscovered that eggplant last night...thankfully before it had molded away...and no longer craved Eggplant Parmesan.  But I still needed to use this veggie before it went bad.  I decided to try out an Eggplant Pizza Bites recipe I found online at FirstBites.org.  It looked fairly easy, and best of all I had everything I needed in the cabinet.  I did alter the baking time, as my eggplant seemed to cook faster, and omitted the salt since it has enough flavor already.

Eggplant Pizza Bites

Ingredients

1 eggplant, sliced thinly (about 1/2 inch thick)

Olive oil

Bread crumbs (I used Italian style because that is what I had)

Grated Parmesan Cheese

Garlic powder

Tomato sauce (i used about 1/4 of a small can)

Mozzarella Cheese

Parchment paper

Additional toppings as desired: Pepperoni, tomatoes, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, etc

Directions 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Slice the eggplant.

Lay the slices onto parchment paper and brush topsides with olive oil.

Sprinkle some bread crumbs onto the topsides of the slices.

Sprinkle some Parmesan onto the topsides of the slices. 

Lightly sprinkle the topsides with garlic powder.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Flip the slices over and repeat the process:

Sprinkle some bread crumbs onto the new topsides of the slices.

Sprinkle some Parmesan onto the new topsides of the slices. 

Lightly sprinkle the new topsides with garlic powder.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Spread a small spoonful of tomato sauce onto the topside of each slice.

 Sprinkle as much mozzarella cheese as you desire onto the topside of each slice.

Add additional toppings as you like.

Bake for 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

I did notice that the skins do bake up a bit tough to chew, so I peeled the skin off of the ones I gave to my little boy. These turned out amazingly yummy!  My little Dragon especially liked that they were a perfect size for him to pick up and eat. 

 Yummmm!!

 

 

The Hemswroth Brothers Take "Charlie Bit Me" To Greatness

If you haven't seen this adorable YouTube video of a baby brother biting his older sibling's finger and the cute way the older boy says "Charlie...you bit me!" then you are missing out on some cuteness!

Now, Jimmy Kimmel Live, along withe Chris Hemsworth and Liam Hemsworth, bring us the extended story of these brother as grown men, still struggling with the fact that "Charlie bit me."  It is fantastically brilliant.


I think these brothers need to be in a movie together soon.  Perhaps we can get Liam to play Balder the Brave in a Thor movie?!  Make it happen, Marvel!

New Fight-Sequence Revelaed for CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER

 Fandango released a new four minute promo for Captain America: The Winter Soldier that has around two minutes of fighting followed by bits of trailer footage we have already seen.
The fight scene looks amazing!  Cap's acrobatics are realistic for a human at peak fitness, but not over the top like he's Spider-Man or anything.  They really let Scarlett and Chris' familiarity shine in this (they have done four movies together thus far).  I still hope they are not true "love interests" because I don't feel like Black Widow needs to be tied to a male superhero to be important for this franchise. She can kick ass all on her own.  And she does so in this clip!  Plus she uses the WIDOW'S BITE so we can all actually see it clearly!!!

A Toddler Masterpiece: Radin's First Painting

Today I busted out the acrylic paints, a few brushes, a few sponges, painters tape, and a blank canvas. Oh, and lots of baby wipes. For today I introduced Radin to painting!  I asked him if he wanted to paint with Mommy and he shook his head in disapproval.  Then I realized he had no clue what "painting" meant, so I asked him if he wanted to color with Mommy.  His answer was then a joyous clapping of hands and nodding of head! So I hoisted him (it's like lifting a giant sack of potatoes at this point) up into his booster seat at the table for some fun painting time.

I forgot to mention that I had already covered the table in newspaper to prevent the inevitable painting of the table.  I taped the newspaper down as I knew Radin would attempt to rip it away.  He did attempt. Multiple times.

I also pre-taped a stretched canvas spelling out Radin's name. I am sure that if you have been on Pinterest at all, you have seen people do this.

I really had to press the tape down onto the canvas, because I just knew Radin would attempt to peal it away.  And he did attempt.  Multiple times.

I cut up a Mr. Clean Eraser sponge into four pieces to use as fat paint sponges.  The acrylic paint is BASICS and states on the bottle that it is resistant to water, but I know from experience that it is super easy to wash off of skin.  Clothes on the other hand, I wasn't sure.  So I made sure Radin and I were both dressed in old clothes that I didn't care about turning into a rainbow of stiff paint.

I squirted a few blobs of blue, green and red onto the canvas and was about to show Radin what to do, when he picked up the paint brush and started painting. It's amazing what they pick up from watching Thomas & Friends movies on Netflix.  One of the episodes features Mr. Perkins painting a picture of James.  I assume this is how Radin knew what to do with the paint brush.  That or he is a genius.  And since he still runs into walls occasionally, I'm leaning more towards Mr. Perkins.

 

Then it happened; Radin got paint on his hand!  I thought for sure he would begin painting his whole body.  But no, he requested that I wipe his hand off. He doesn't really enjoy his hands being dirty.  If you've ever seen him at the park, you know he constantly requests the sand be brushed from his hands and shoes.  I am teaching him to wipe the sand away on his pants.  Possible bad habit, but I'm tired of being summoned every minute to wipe away a grain of sand. He doesn't seem to mind dirt covering his entire face after he dumps a pail of it over his head though.  Go figure.

After about an hour of smearing paint all over the canvas with the sponges and then making swirls with the paint brush, Radin started to attempt to paint the table. Then paintbrushes began being tossed in little rage fits over being told that he could not paint the chair.  That is when I knew we were done with our masterpiece.  I sponged over the small corner that was still paint free, and let Radin have a mid-day fun bath.  He loves his baths.

Once we were all cleaned up and he was distracted by toys again, I peeled away the painter's tape and put the painting in the garage to dry.  I am very pleased with how it turned out and I cannot wait to hang it up in Radin's room to add a vibrant pop of color and personalization!

I would highly recommend this little art project for anyone with small children.  It was a fun way to share an artsy moment.

EDIT:  Here it is all dry and hanging in Radin's room/  We had to rearrange the Avengers wall clings a bit, but it works.

Homemade Baked Banana Chips

I have never really loved bananas.  They are okay. I like them in banana cream pie and chopped up and mixed in with my chocolate chip ice cream, but a banana by itself will never really appeal to me.  Plus, when they get really ripe, they make my throat itchy.  I know, I'm weird.
My son, on the other hand, loooves bananas.  But he only like them when they are still green.  Once they ripen and get a bit mushy, he is done with them.  And I'm not going to eat them then, because they make my throat itch.  So we usually have some bananas leftover that have to be creatively used either before they ripen or shortly after. Last week, I used a pair of overly ripe bananas to make Banana-Nut Bread.  This week, I am going to attempt Banana Chips.

This is a very simple recipe, and I see it pop up on Pinterest a lot, so I hope it actually works and tastes good.  I'm curious to see if Radin likes banana chips too.  If so, I can make batches of these for snack packs on the go.

You basically just need a few bananas, some lemon juice, and an oven.  Cut up your bananas into think slices, dip them into the lemon juice, and place them on a cookie sheet.

I lined my cookie sheet with parchment paper, but I don't think it is necessary.  Now pop them into the oven at 200 degrees for 2 hours, flip them, and put back into the oven for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Currently, my bananas are in the oven for the first two hours.  I will update at the two hour flip mark and then again when they are done!  I really hope this turns out okay, as it sounds super yummy and like a good snack for Radin.

I checked the bananas after an hour because they smelled so good, yet also smelled like they were close to getting burnt.  The banana chips were already pretty crispy, so I decided to go ahead and flip them early.

Baked Banana Chips

Ingredients

2 bananas

lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Slice bananas into thin medallions.

Dip bananas into lemon juice and place onto baking sheet.

Bake for 2 hours at 200 degrees.

Flip bananas and bake for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until crispy.

Let cool and enjoy!

Four New Stills From X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

Empire Magazine has released four exclusive stills from Bryan Singer's upcoming X-Men: Days Of Future Past.  Here they are, in all their mediocre glory!  Now let's pick them apart like only nerds can do!!!

Sunspot, Shadowcat, Iceman, and Colossus

 This temple looks Tibetan to me, though they might just be going for "ancient generic temple."  Does it snow in Tibet?  I honestly do not know. Maybe it does in the future. Please oh please let this be an Akkaba or even Askani temple.
Sunspot's hair! Teehee!  It is adorable! Kitty looks like a tiny bad ass. Why oh why is Colossus wearing gloves?! I wish Singer would branch out from the black leather outfits though.  I thought he promised "no more black leather."  That's all I have seen so far...black leather.  And we better get Iceman in full ice at some point during the movie!

Magneto...floating about.

 I kind of miss the days when Magneto had a giant magnetic bubble around him when he flew through the air. lol  I'm a kid of the 90's cartoons I guess.  Again, the temple looks like it has tiny statues...Buddhas? Tiny En Sabah Nurs?

Wolverine. 

 I am mentally preparing myself for this to basically be a Wolverine-centric movie.  I like Wolverine, and I understand that he is the fan favorite, but he also gets his own damn movies!  Stop focusing on him so much!  I just realized there is a man on the floor with a camera...so I am guessing this is less of a still and more of production photo.

Mystique.

Mystique holding a white gun.  Is it maybe a plastic gun?  Or just a very shiny gun?  SInce there is a flag behind her, I'm guessing this is when she attempts to assassinate the president.