Okay, I think I am back in the blogging saddle. During my time away, I have been doing my best to continue the Reilly Revolution. My quest to take back my dinner table hit a high point today for Maeve's second birthday. In my opinion, two is the anticlimactic birthday. There is no need for the fan fare of the baby's 1st birthday and the established circle of toddler friends is usually a bit limited. However, it is still a birthday and a celebration must be had. And that is what we did.
The challenge was the meal. We needed something quick that would satisfy the children without leaving the adults longing for their next meal. Although winter has been very mild in Colorado this year, I decided to stick with a good ol' winter standby - Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese. We are not talking Campbell's or Kraft Singles, but homemade soup and tasty grilled cheese.
I have heard so many parents say, "my kids only eat Kraft," or "we survive on chicken nuggets."
While I am often a fan of convenience, I always surprise myself as to how convenient cooking well really is. I teamed up with my best cooking partner, my husband Jim, to prepare a homemade feast fit for a two year old. I followed an amazingly easy recipe for creamless tomato soup from CooksIllustrated.com (secret ingredient - bread) and bought a few loaves of thinly sliced fresh baked Italian bread and cheddar cheese. Within an hour, dinner was served.
The adults at the table were all very complementary. But the best complement came from my son who put his bowl to his lips to make sure that he could get the last drop. Can't wait to warm up a bowl tomorrow.
