Gluten-Free Loaded Potato Soup Recipe

Give yourself at least an hour to have this made and ready to serve. This loaded potato soup recipe will make a side for 6-8.

Potato Soup Ingredients

• 4-5 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 8-10 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 cups whipping milk or whole milk (or use 4 cups of a milk substitute—like rice milk—and skip the broth)
• 2 cups chicken broth (vegetable broth or water would work too)
• 8 oz smokey mild cheddar cheese, hand shredded
• 3 Tbsp King Arthur’s Gluten-Free 1-1 Flour
• Bacon bits
• 1/2 medium white onion, diced
• Green onions
• Salt and pepper

How to Make Loaded Potato Soup

In a large pot, melt 8 Tbsp of the butter and add potatoes. Cover and stir occasionally, keeping the heat on medium-low, allowing the potatoes to soften without browning or sticking to the bottom. When potatoes are cooked, remove to a separate bowl.

Melt the remaining butter in the large pot and use a whisk to mix in the flour and diced onions. Allow the flour to just start browning before adding in the milk and broth. Continue mixing and reduce heat to avoid reaching a boil. Mixture should be very runny and smooth.

Using an immersion blender (or potato masher), blend some of the cooked potatoes in the separate bowl smooth before returning them to the large pot with the milk and flour mixture. Allow some of the potatoes to remain chunky. Mix in the pot well to fully combine liquids with potatoes, adding salt and pepper to taste.

You may need to add additional milk or water to get the consistency of a thick soup (not mashed potatoes). When the soup is just a bit thinner than you want, add about half the shredded cheese and turn the heat off.

Serve topped with shredded cheese, bacon and green onions.

Make it a full meal and serve loaded potato soup with:

• Easy Honey Baked Salmon
• Sausage Pepper Skillet
• Or my Apple Cherry Glazed Holiday Ham for special occasions!

Recipe Notes

If you are using another kind of flour, add a Tbsp or two more to the recipe. King Arthur GF flour tends to give a thicker result than most flours.

Cooking the potatoes fully in the oil (butter) before adding any water (milk or broth) allowed the potatoes to cook without the starches interacting with the water. Only simmmer after adding the milk and cheese to avoid curdling. This resulted in a very smooth and creamy potato soup that wasn’t at all “gluey” or grainy.

It may be tempting not to add a bunch of other ingredients (like garlic), but the simple flavors here are incredible—especially if you find a smoky cheddar to use as a highlight ingredient.

Pin it now to make later:

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Here is the image I saw from John Belvedere and used for inspiration (I have no clue what flavors they use):

At first, you might think this is incredibly filling. But, mac ‘n cheese, fries or baked beans are common sides to include next to a burger. So, really, this just cuts out the bun. It also goes great with lower-carb sides (fruits and vegetables) to help balance it out.

Mac N Cheese Waffle Burger Ingredients

For each burger, you will need: two waffle squares, two smash burger patties, bacon, smoked cheddar sauce, mac n cheese sauce and smoky honey mustard.

Mac N Cheese Waffle “Bun” (and Mac N Cheese Sauce)

• 1 package macaroni
• 32 oz Velveeta original cheese, divided
• 8 oz smoked white cheddar
• 4 oz smoked sweet Swiss
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• approx. 1/2 cup whipping cream, divided
• 1/4 cup butter
• Seasoning (I used black pepper, Lawry’s and Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb)

Smoked White Cheddar Sauce

• 4 oz smoked white cheddar cheese
• 2 tbsp whipping cream
• 1 tbsp butter

Smoky Honey Mustard Sauce

• 2 tbsp mayo
• 2 tbsp Heinz Carolina Sweet Mustard BBQ sauce
• 1 tbsp Roasted Pepper Sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp ground paprika
• 4-7 drops of liquid smoke

Mac N Cheese Waffle Burger Instructions

Mac N Cheese Waffle Buns: Start by melting the butter in a large sauce pan over low heat. Add about 2/3 of the Velveeta cheese, sliced into 1/2 inch slices. Allow to sit on low heat for a few minutes, softening. Meanwhile, start water in a large sauce pan for noodles with 1tbsp salt, Lawrys and Mrs. Dash (to flavor noodles). Strain noodles when they are al dente (about 6 minutes) and run under cold water until completely cooled.

Grate the cheddar and Swiss cheese, adding it to the Velveeta mixture. Add approximately 1-2 tsp. of black pepper, Mrs. Dash and Lawry’s (to taste). Add 1/4 cup whipping cream and stir until cheeses are smooth and mixture is thick, but creamy. In a separate small bowl, mix remaining whipping cream (about 1/4 cup) and flour until smooth.

In a large bowl, pour all but about 1 cup of the Velveeta mixture (set the 1 cup aside for Mac N Cheese Sauce). Add the flour mixture to your large bowl of Mac N Cheese sauce and mix well. Add noodles and gently fold in until completely coated. Add both eggs and gently mix in until the egg is no longer separate from the cheese mixture at all.

When the waffle iron or press is hot, spray with nonstick spray and add the Mac N Cheese. Press the iron together and hold to ensure the crevices’ are filled. Check, cooking until waffles start to turn golden brown (this takes longer than waffles). Spread buns on a baking sheet and place in the oven at 300° while you make the rest of the buns, burgers and sauces.

As you are making waffles, fry up bacon and then make your smash patties (just very thin patties). I seasoned my patties with a little pepper and Lawrys.

Sauces: For the Smoked White Cheddar Sauce, simply melt ingredients slowly on the stove or in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds. For the Smoky Honey Mustard Sauce, whisk all ingredients together. For the Mac N Cheese Sauce, add 2-4 more tbsp to the 1 cup of reserved Mac N Cheese mix and melt together until smooth.

Assembling the Mac N Cheese Waffle Burgers

Not too bad, right? At this point, you just layer your ingredients.

• Bottom Mac N Cheese Waffle square
• Smoky Honey Mustard Sauce
• 1st burger patty
• Smoked White Cheddar Sauce
• Smoky Honey Mustard Sauce
• 2nd burger patty
• Bacon
• Mac N Cheese Sauce
• Top Mac N Cheese Waffle square

This burger went really well with asparagus and fresh watermelon!

Make sure you pin it for later:

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You are busy, tired and burned-out by the end of the day. I get it. I really do.

But, family meals are too important to skip. Eating together has always played a key role in training kids and keeping families healthy.

If you don’t know, we spend a lot of time together as a family. Even when Knick is busy with coaching and I’m stretched thin, we still eat 99% of our dinners together. It is easier to do this with little kids, since they will be busy themselves as they get older. But, eating together requires prioritizing family meals at all times. Understanding the importance of eating together as a family and how you can make that easier is the first step to establishing that priority.

September is National Family Meals Month and I am so excited to partner with the FMI Foundation to bring you this post on family meals.

Keep reading for some helpful tips and inspiration to get you started on making those family memories across the table.

Are Family Meals Really that Important?

“Home Cooking in America 2020,” by the FMI Foundation[1] notes the biggest reasons families don’t cook meals and eat together at home include lacking time, energy and inspiration. But, homemade family meals create a deep connection, can cost less and can be healthier.

It showed that during the COVID-19 pandemic:

• 40% of American adults say they are cooking more
• 23% are planning more meals in advance
• 18% are trying new dishes more often

Studies show that family meals improve fruit and vegetable consumption. My kids are always more willing to try vegetables if they see us (especially dad) eating them first. Family meals improve communication, teach table behavior and give us a set time to spend time together each day.

Whatever our new normal will be, we need to stay physically and emotionally fit. Family meals help with both. But, so many meals at home means we need to get creative with options for healthy, cheap and easy meals.

Cheap, Healthy and Filling Family Meals

I know all too well what it’s like to feel broke and in need of a cheap meal. Sometimes money gets tight and that’s when you need meal ideas that will stretch out those pay periods without sacrificing your family’s health. Rather than spend money on fast food, you can make cheaper dinners at home. My go-to cost-conscious meal typically involves:

Chicken: usually the cheapest by the pound of the meats, chicken is also one of the more nutritious—high in protein and low in fat. I try to find on-the-bone meat for around $.99/lb and boneless for under $2/lb. It can be added to pasta, grilled, baked or fried.

Green vegetable: Adding a green food to the plate adds nutrients and vitamins without starches or carbs. In-season vegetables are the cheapest and can be as low as $.99/lb. Asparagus, green beans, bell peppers (we eat these raw) and broccoli are all great vegetables to snag when they are on sale. You can also opt for a bag of frozen peas for $1. Kids are probably going to push back a bit on this, but it’s really important to keep putting green foods in front of your kids, despite their protest. I personally make my kids (over 2) eat at least one bite.

Potatoes: Not necessarily the healthiest vegetable, but kids do need carbs to fuel their incredible energy. Unprocessed potatoes are natural and filling. Sweet potatoes are the most nutrient-dense and are a complex carb. Potatoes are very cheap per pound (less than $1) and easy to roast with a little butter or oil, salt, pepper and seasoning salt. They should be started early, since they will usually take longer than the rest of your meal. If you are in a hurry, try microwaving for 3-4 minutes before putting them in the oven to speed up their cooking process.

For our family, a home-cooked meal of chicken, vegetables and potatoes will cost around $10. Add in something fun, like watermelon, and you can still stay under $15.

Not bad for a family meal, right?

You can switch it up with these cheap ingredients instead of the potatoes:

• Pasta noodles (Hearty Chicken and Noodles Soup or chicken parmesan)
• Rice (chicken stir fry or just as a side)
• Homemade bread (it’s cheap and delicious! Try my Perfectly Homemade Dinner Rolls)
• Tortillas (chicken tacos)
• Tortilla chips (chicken nachos)
• Beans (buy them dried in the bag for a healthier, cheaper option)

Fast and Easy Family Meals

I like to make complicated meals because cooking is an art form. But, sometimes you are short on time. Making pretty or complicated food isn’t the point. Sometimes we hold ourselves back because we put too much pressure on the process.

I reached out to Krista Marshall, creator of Everyday Moms Meals, and she stated it perfectly: “Putting a delicious meal on the table to bring your family together can be the best part of a busy day. No matter how simple the meal might be, the most important thing is everyone sharing time with one another, creating memories.”

My personal go-to meals when I’m in a rush are spaghetti and tacos.

It’s also a huge time-saver if I have the chance to make meals ahead of time for the freezer to heat up on another day for dinner. Meatloaf, quiche and chili are a few of my top homemade freezer meals. Even just freezing the cooked meat can be a huge time-saver (like cooked ground beef for spaghetti or tacos). I also tend to put big batches of chicken or burgers on the grill if I can, saving part of the batch in the freezer for a future meal.

Special Family Meals

Sometimes you can splurge—in time or cost—and those are special family meals! While all family meals are important, the special ones can be the most memorable. Some of our favorite ideas for changing up the scene include:

• Outdoor (picnic blanket in the backyard before we had a patio set)
• Our local cinema bar and grille or drive-in movie theater
• Party platters (they love crackers, cheese, sliced meats and wings they can self-serve)

Get creative with your family meals!

When I was a kid, my family ate a lot of meals together. However, some of the most memorable family meals I participated in were at my friend’s house—her parents would let the teens plan a themed family dinner we prepared mostly unaided and presented to the rest of the group. We did a drive-in Dog ‘n Suds while on rollerblades, a very wild Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter Tea Party and other creative themes.

Eat More Meals as a Family

So, how many meals should you eat as a family?

According to the FMI: As many as you can.

The Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior (JNEB) recently published a review[2] that sorted through over 1200 studies to look for dietary outcomes linked to family meals. The review found studies agreed on a noticeably higher level of fruit and vegetables during family meals and a lower number of sugar-sweetened beverages.

Did you know September is National Fruit and Veggies Month too? So, take this as your reminder that the goal is  1-2 cups of both fruits and vegetables for kids aged 2-13. Planting a garden has gone far in getting my kids excited about trying vegetables. Having them help make the meal really helps them want to eat it–but that’s a whole other can of worms for another post.

Keep bringing your family together for meals and check out the Family Meals Movement for more ideas and information!

Additional Sources:
<sub>1. FMI Foundation. (2020). Home Cooking in America 2020, a Special Report based on U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends.
2. Robson SM, McCullough MB, Rex S, Munafò MR, Taylor G. Family Meal Frequency, Diet, and Family Functioning: A Systematic Review with Meta-analyses. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2020;52(5):553-564. doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2019.12.012</sub> 

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Fudgy Chocolate Chunk Homemade Brownie Recipe

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, melted and cooled
• 4 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp Canola Oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 bag chocolate chunks (I used 60% cacao)

Mixing the brownies:

Preheat oven to 350° and grease a baking pan. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the melted butter (cooled to barely warm), oil and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, beating well for about 1 minute. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder and salt. Carefully fold dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Add chocolate chunks. Be careful not to over mix.

Baking the brownies:

Bake for approximately 25-35minutes (times will depend on your pan size). Use a strip of aluminum foil around the outside of the pan to slow the edges from getting too done and help the center bake more evenly. The center is done when it is no longer jiggly and feels set to the touch. Let the brownies set for a few minutes before cutting and then sit longer before eating to ensure they are chewy, cooled and dense.

Warm brownies with a little milk (I personally prefer almond milk) might be the best thing ever. Throw a colored sprinkles on for a very festive look and Happy Birthday to me!

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Sugar Cookie Recipe for Cutouts

Cream together:

• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp almond extract

Mix together in a separate bowl:

• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture until fully blended. You might need to add more flour until the mixture isn’t too sticky. Divide dough into two parts and wrap both in plastic cling wrap, placing them in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (you can shortcut this with 20 minutes in the freezer if you are in a rush). Roll the chilled dough out on a floured surface to 1/4″ thick.

Place the cookie cutters as closely as possible, reducing the excess dough. You will only be able to reuse the dough one more time before too much flour is added and the cookies become tough.

Once I’ve placed all of our cookie cutters, I move the cookies to the pan and finish the rest of the dough slab. Excess scraps are balled up and placed back into the cling wrap in the fridge.

It may be helpful to use a spatula when removing the cookies in order to keep them from squishing or sticking.

Bake cookies until they are firm and light. I like them best before the edges start to brown.

Sometimes frosting the cookies with white first makes them easier to decorate–especially for young kids decorating the sugar cookies.

For the Frosting:

• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

Start by creaming butter and sugar together. Add in milk and vanilla. You may need to add a bit more milk if you are piping the frosting onto the cookies.

We use a combination of bags with decorating tips and Ziploc bags with the bottom corner cut.

The post Holiday Sugar Cookie Recipe appeared first on MidKid Mama.

Molasses Cookie Recipe

• 3/4 cup margarine, melted
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2/34 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp ground ginger
• 3/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp salt

Mix melted butter, sugar, molasses and egg together until well blended. In a separate bowl, combine flour and, baking soda, salt and spices. Slowly stir flour mixture into creamed mixture until fully combined. Roll sections of cookie dough into 1 inch balls. Press down each ball with a glass dipped in sugar until each cookie makes a 1/4″ thick disks. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes.

Pressing Molasses Cookies with Sugar

The best part of molasses cookies is the chewy cookie with the crunchy, sugar topping. To do this step, you need a glass cup with a very flat bottom. You get the sugar to stick to the cup by lightly wetting the cup with water or by pressing into a cookie (getting the bottom of the cup a bit greasy). You only need to do this once typically because the grease from each cookie will leave enough on the cup to keep coating it with sugar.

Just press down evenly into each cookie ball and then dip the glass back into the sugar. If a cookie looks a bit spotty with the sugar, you can coat the cup again and then gently tap it on top of the cookie so they are all evenly coated. Kids love to help with this part!

For more festive cookies, you can use food coloring to dye the sugar. We sometimes did red or green for Christmassy cookies!

Our Molasses Cookie Family History

These cookies bring back a lot of memories for me. My grandpa loves molasses cookies, so my grandma always had them on hand. Usually, she bought Archway molasses cookies, so this recipe is pretty similar in flavor to those.

Molasses cookies aren’t overly sweet, making them perfect for party platters or dessert after a big dinner. They look pretty with the sugar and cracking, but they are easy to make. They have a warm blend of spices, which also makes them a holiday favorite.

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Blackberry Lemon & Gingersnap Desert Recipe

For this desert, each layer is made separately. Cover and chill in between layers to help them set. Making this the night before works best, but it could also be made just before eating.

Crust:

• 4 cups gingersnap cookies, crushed
• 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, melted

Filling:

• 8oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 8oz whip cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Custard (optional):

• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, strained
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs

Fruit:

• 24 oz blackberries
• 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

Instructions:

Crush gingersnap cookies, mix in sugar and then add melted butter. After combining, press into pan (this recipe makes 11×13 and 20 servings–half the recipe for an 8×8 or 9×9 pan). Refridgerate while you make the next layer.

Start by mixing cream cheese in bowl with powdered sugar until smooth. Mix in vanilla and whip cream. When fully combined, layer on top of the crust and refrigerate.

The custard is actually an optional part of this desert – the whole thing still works beautifully without this layer: Squeeze lemons (fresh juice works best, but bottled lemon juice works too). Add all custard ingredients to a pot and heat on low to medium heat, stirring continuously.

Continue stirring with a whisk until mixture starts to bubble and thicken. Do not let a bottom layer form in the pot. When thick, pour into separate bowl, cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or more before adding as the third layer.

Letting your berries sit overnight with the sugar and lemon juice helps them soften and the flavors infuse. Simply stir together and leave the bowl in the refrigerator over night. If you add the berries as the top layer too far in advance, it tends to make the cream cheese layer run a bit and not look as pretty. So I keep them separated until right before I’m ready to take them somewheere or make the dinner portion.

Making a Traditional Dessert

My extended family on both parents sides love the Cherry Delight dessert, so it was something I grew up with. My husband’s family didn’t love the canned cherries part, though. So I switched up the ingredients and came up with something pretty different, but really good. Now, it’s something I “have” to bring every year to Thanksgiving! No one cares what else I bring, as long as this and my green bean casserole It is good year round, but it has become one of the traditional Thanksgiving desserts on our table each year.

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Chicken and Noodles Soup Recipe

• 1 bag thick egg noodles
• 2-3 lbs chicken(I prefer thighs on the bone)
• 10 oz spinach
• 10-12 cups chicken stock or broth (I typically make my own chicken bone broth and you can see how I make it while I make this recipe–use one or two cans plus water if you are buying your chicken stock from the store)
• 3 large carrots, sliced
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 Tbsp. canola oil

Chicken Seasonings:

• Lawry’s Seasoning Salt
• St. Elmo’s Seasoning (optional)
• Paprika
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Salt
• Black Pepper

Start by seasoning both sides of chicken pieces and heating the oil on medium high in your large stock pot until shimmering or smoking. Keep spices out for seasoning broth later.

Add the chicken and let it brown on both sides. Do not try to cook chicken completely through, remove from heat back to the cutting board.

Add carrots to hot oil and let cook until starting to soften (7 minutes or so). Mix in onions and saute with carrots until the onions are translucent (another 4 minutes or so). Add in spinach. While spinach is softening in the heat, chop chicken, removing any bones. When chicken is chopped, add it back to the pot, fully cooking chicken and spinach. It will seem like a lot of spinach until cooked down.

Reserve 1 cup chicken broth in a separate bowl and add the rest to the pot, bringing it to a gentle boil. Add the noodles (if you are avoiding carbs and want a heavier balance of veggies and meat to the noodles, only add half the bag). Make sure the broth is covering the noodles, add bay leaves and seasonings to taste. Place lid on pot and stir occasionally as noodles cook.

Once the noodles are softened (about 10 minutes), check the flavor of your broth and add more seasonings if needed. Make sure you remove bay leaves before eating!

Pro Tip: Add 1-2 Tbsp corn starch to the reserved broth if you want a slightly thickened broth. Stir it well and then add the broth-cornstarch mixture into the the pot of chicken and noodles soup. This will give your soup that restaurant-style soup thickness.

This soup freezes well, so make more than enough and save the rest for later! To save some space, I often freeze just the chicken, seasoned broth and carrots to have a fast and easy starter when I want to make soup on a busy day (just heat to boiling before adding noodles and spinach!)

A Midwest Classic–Chicken and Noodles

I grew up with little-to-no seasoning on my food. The classic midwest meals in my home were meat, bread and potatoes. Chicken and noodles was really just chicken bits added to cooked noodles with salt, a bay leaf and a tiny bit of pepper. My mom served them over a bed of mashed potatoes and usually there were biscuits–you know, the flaky kind you get in a can. This ads up to a lot of starch and carbs, but not much nutrition or flavor. .Still, it is a comfort food.

So, I put my own spin on it.

It still has the basic direction, but with the added benefit of veggies and a major flavor boost. I still typically serve it with mashed potatoes and sometimes homemade rolls. However, this recipe can stand alone as a hearty soup as well, or even be served with a crustier baguette-style bread for dipping.

I also love to add dried Swiss Chard powder to this Chicken and Noodles Soup. It adds a great, earthy, green taste–similar to parsley but softer. I dehydrate the Swiss Chard leaves and make my own powder for this.

A Soup for Every Occasion

Enjoyed this recipe? I’ve teamed up with some other awesome food bloggers to bring you a variety of new soup recipes to try with your family. Check out:

Ultimate Taco Soup

Roasted Vegetable Soup

Cabbage Soup

Pumpkin Chorizo Soup

Vegan Butternut Squash Ginger Soup

The post Hearty Chicken and Noodles Soup appeared first on MidKid Mama.

• 1 cup warm whole milk
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 3.5 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp. shortening, room temperature
• 2.5 tsp. yeast (or one packet)
• 2 tsp. salt
• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Heat water and milk until temperature registers 100-110° F. Stir in yeast and sugar. Let sit in warm place (like on top of the fridge) undisturbed for 10-15 minutes until foamy head occurs. Place shortening and salt in bread maker or bowl during this time (especially if shortening isn’t already room temp). Pour warm milk yeast mixture into bread maker and add 1 cup of flour. Set bread maker to “dough” and start the machine. When flour is incorporated, add another cup of flour. When that flour is incorporated, add third cup slowly, making sure all flour is incorporated. The final result should be a smooth and elastic ball of dough that isn’t sticky to the touch. Let rise for 45min to 1 hour.

Creating the Rolls

Folding the rolls correctly is how you get a perfectly round and smooth finished product. After the rolls have risen for the 45min to an hour, knead your dough (I find if I don’t mix the dough before the next step, some rolls are fluffier than the others). Pull off dough sections about the size of a small orange or tangerine (remember, they will rise to almost double in size). This batch should make around 12 rolls.

1. Smooth section of dough by stretching across the top and pushing the edges towards the underneath middle.

2. Keep pinching the sides, pulling the top smooth and creating a ball shape with the dough.

3. When sides are flat, shape the ball of dough in the palm of your hand until smooth and even in shape.

4. The bottom will remain pinched. Place finished roll on greased baking sheet and finish forming remaining rolls.

Cover tray and allow rolls to rise for 45 min. Bake at 350 ° F on the top rack until rolls are lightly golden brown on top and cooked completely (BOUT 10-12 minutes).

These rolls are definitely better when served on the same day. These go so well with honey, but you can also spread butter on top when they are still hot!

Nutritional Facts and Information

Even though I try to eat low carb, these are definitely one food I’m willing to splurge on. I’ve even counted up the dinner roll nutrition facts to see exactly what each roll will count for in terms of net carbs. At about 27 net carbs, these are a splurge. You can take this number down a bit if you use a sugar substitute (I’ve tried xylitol and monk fruit sweeteners, and both work).

Baking Memories for the Generations

Passing on traditions, skills and family valuables to your children is such a gift. Recipes, seeds, knowledge, life tips–there are so many non-material things that you can learn from older generations in your family. This was actually my grandmother’s recipe, passed to my mother and then to me. I have fond memories of these rolls and I absolutely love them. My kids also get very excited when they see me making rolls or bread. Store bought bread just can’t compare to fresh, warm homemade bread.

Whenever I take these to a party or serve them over the holidays, people are shocked they are home made. if you follow the folding technique and give them enough time to rise, you will get beautiful rolls that are almost too perfect to be handle.

Share with your friends and don’t forget to Pin for later!

The post Perfectly Homemade Dinner Rolls Recipe appeared first on MidKid Mama.

“This post on getting green foods into your baby’s diet has been sponsored by Gerber. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

As a parent, you want your kid to eat plenty of green things and have a balanced diet. But babies often have an opinion about food as well. Out of our four kids, two did not like anything green when they first started trying out foods. Sometimes as a parent, you have to be strategic in order to get green foods into a baby’s diet. The NEW Gerber^® Lil’ Mixers are one way I can help my son expand his taste pallet.

Getting in the Green Foods

The first food I usually tried introducing to my babies after rice cereal was peas. Sweet potatoes and fruits are usually easier for babies to like, so the doctor recommended waiting to introduce those sweeter tastes until the baby ate veggies. Both Klay and Kaleb absolutely hated peas, green beans, spinach, or anything that even looked a tad bit brown (the color of orange baby food when it is mixed with anything green). So, I started mixing together just a couple of the 1^st Foods^® together. I might take peas and add just a spoonful to a container of sweet potatoes.

I’ve also made my own green veggie powder to mix into sweet potatoes but with Gerber, I can get this done quickly. Gerber 2^nd Foods^® made this mix and transition really easy because they often mix those flavors themselves. When they add in the green foods, the baby still tastes the sweeter veggie or fruit paired with it. Klay’s favorites were:

• Sweet Potato, Mango, Kale
• Apple, Avocado
• Carrot, Sweet Potato, Pea

Eventually, we even worked our way up to peas, carrots, and spinach (which were more green than he could handle at first).

Working Up to Food Texture (While Still Getting in Green Foods!)

Many kids struggle with texture, too. According to one study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association and looking at the eating habits of infants, 19% of 4- to 6-month-olds are picky eaters. That number jumps to 50% for 19- to 24-month-olds and only gets worse through toddlerhood. The dislike of vegetables starts early and often persists through childhood.

To combat this, many professionals encourage parents to avoid the “easy” solutions of the common children’s food menu (chicken nuggets, peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, etc.) and opt for as many nutrition-focused meals as possible. While the occasional “children’s meal” is okay, it is the consistent exposure to new tastes and textures that helps them develop a diverse palette. But, it can be really hard not to turn to the quick foods you know your baby likes.

Gerber does a really good job of helping babies move from the blended tastes to experiencing new textures by remixing mealtime with the Lil’ Mixers. There are 8 combinations inspired by homemade tastes with no artificial colors or ingredients.

They are so easy, and I know he will get nutrition in every bite! Lil’ crisp? Lotta crisp! Add texture your way. The texture is in a separate container, so you can custom mix the amount you want in the food (the food isn’t wasted if your baby isn’t feeling the extra texture!). Plus, some textures are best kept dry to keep them from getting mushy from being premixed in the food.

Klay is a huge fan. They offer the flavor of other Stage 2 foods, but with an additional texture for toddlers like him that are starting to outgrow purees.

You can explore the whole range of Lil’ Mixers by heading to Walmart and using this Ibotta offer! I go to Walmart for a convenient one-stop shop. We grabbed some of these while the auto center replaced the battery on our van. They are located in the baby food aisle, on the end of the Gerber food section.

Offering Green Foods as Snacks

Another tip is to make healthy foods (especially vegetables) the only option for snack time. Just offer whatever vegetable you are cutting up for dinner. If your kids are at all like mine, they will actually start to enjoy raw green beans, sweet peppers, celery, and carrots.

For babies, this can be difficult because they are hungry and don’t fully understand dinner is right around the corner. Gerber also has all kinds of snacks, like Veggie Melts^® snacks or veggie-filled granola bars, that even make snack time nutritious.

Once they are old enough to understand they can either eat the fresh vegetable snack offered or wait for dinner (around 2.5 or 3), it gets easier to make the vegetables an exciting treat. And they learn from each other. Klay has been more willing to gnaw on a green bean when he sees the older kids think it’s cool.

Keep offering the green foods and textures. Use Gerber to help with the transition. Over time, they will become familiar and your child won’t be as limited with taste. Use Gerber to help with the transition. Over time, they will become familiar and your child won’t be as limited with taste.

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