Dinner Time – sometimes trial and error

Every once in a while I find myself motivated to try something new with my kids at dinner time.  Sometimes they’re my companions in the experiment.  More times than not, though, the tinkering is more of a solo affair.

Last night was one of those latter efforts.  I was in a pureeing mood (I really love my blender).  One of my kiddos was complaining of a sore throat so I was thinking chicken soup.  Actually, let’s be honest, I was thinking more along the lines of chicken stock and some noodles.

I know, not the big nutritional blast.  Until I pulled out that blender. 

My lovely really was only interested in sipping something, so the challenge was to come up with a dish that had at least some of the nutrients I wanted in her belly in the form of pale yellow slurpy liquid with the occasional noodle.  So, I took the yellow squash and zucchini I found in my veggie drawer (peeled the zucchini), steamed them a bit, plopped them in the blender, then added some cannelini beans (right from the can) and pushed “Blend”.  Perfect.

I added this pale yellow mixture to my chicken stock and noodles (watch the combined consistency – you don’t want glop), seasoned to taste, and 10 minutes later my two little people (one with sore throat, one without) had emptied the pot.  And I, the woman with the cape, had the satisfaction of knowing that my girls had consumed some extra fiber, vitamin C, potassium and protein in their day’s intake.

My kids are sort of used to these efforts of mine, and this one too seemed to amuse a bit.