Regular readers know that T goes to bed before M and I eat most nights. He's an early-to-bedder by nature (typically in his crib by 7), so we're looking forward to him having the stamina to make it through a 6:30 or 7 pm dinner time, which is more natural for us. As it is though, T eats early. Since we want him to eat all the wonderful things we do, T usually eats whatever we had for dinner the night before. We try to make enough of whatever is on our menu for him to have one or two meals (covering lunches some days too, but never the same thing for lunch and dinner - T is VERY insistent on variety). That said, sometimes portioning or planning doesn't work out and I need a quick something for T to eat. Here are two recent successes that pass my tests for a) better than standard kids meal fare and b) high levels of praise from T.

1. Ham bites with cheddar melted on top. Cut a leftover ham slice (like from the night you made spaetzles with ham and gruyere!) and carefully place shredded cheddar on top. Microwave until just melted. Serve with leftover greenbeans or something equally green!

2. Frozen ravioli with butter and nutmeg. Yes, I have them too - Earth's Best (or equivalent brand) of kid-size frozen cheese ravioli. Of course, T likes these with tomato sauce, but he loves them with butter, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. It's a taste treat I would enjoy too. Tonight these got schnorked down along with an entire clementine. I think nutmeg is an under-used spice and serving the ravioli this way gives T exposure to a flavor I'd like him to continue to enjoy.

Happy eating kids!