5 Quick and Easy Toddler Approved Meals

How many times have you searched and searched for the perfect meal that your whole family will love (including that picky toddler) only to realize it wasn’t nearly as perfect as you had hoped? My answer? Every. Single. Time. But then you find the one, the golden recipe that everyone loves; including that picky toddler.

Fear not readers, I have done the research for you and have compiled a list of our favorite recipes completely picky toddler approved!

Ham and Swiss Rolls

This became a quick favorite in our household. My husband gets so excited when he sees this is on the menu!

  • 1 package of Hawaiian Sweet Rolls (12 rolls)
  • 18 slices of thin deli ham (choose your favorite)
  • 12 slices of Swiss cheese
  • 1/2 cup butter or 1 stick of butter – melted
  • 1 Tbsp yellow mustard
  • 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 Tbsp minced onion
  • 1/4 tsp salt and pepper

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Cover 9×13 baking sheet with foil. Lightly spray with cooking spray.
  3. Cut rolls in half length wise.
  4. Place bottom half in foil covered pan.
  5. Layer with half of the ham, then the Swiss cheese on top, and lastly the rest of the ham.
  6. Add the top layer of rolls.
  7. Melt butter in microwave (30 seconds always works with ours but always adjust for your microwave) and whisk the remaining ingredients together.
  8. Pour evening over the rolls.
  9. Cover with foil and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
  10. Bake in over for 20 minutes.
  11. Slice into individual sliders and serve warm. Enjoy!

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Alfredo Tomato Pasta

Ingredients

  • 12 oz pasta cooked and drained (any you like, we love the bowties)
  • 1 (24 oz) jar of pasta sauce
  • 1 (16 oz) jar Alfredo sauce
  • 1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened
  • 1/3 cup of milk
  • 1 tsp salt and pepper
  • 1 tsp of Italian seasoning
  • 2 cups Mozzarella cheese

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 sauces – making sure they are well incorporated.
  3. In a second mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, seasonings, and milk. *Add addition milk as necessary, the consistency should be like sour cream.
  4. In a 9×13 pan, lightly coat with cooking spray.
  5. Place approximately 1/2 cup of mixed pasta sauce along the bottom (make sure there is a think coat covering the entire bottom of the pan)
  6. Place 1/2 of cooked pasta in pan and then 1/2 of the pasta sauce on top
  7. Lightly spread the cream cheese sauce over the sauce
  8. Add remaining noodles and then remaining sauce
  9. Sprinkle cheese on top
  10. Loosely cover with foil and back for 30 to 35 minutes until bubbly around edges.

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Cheese Tortellini

Hands down little J’s FAVORITE right now!

Ingredients

  • 1 (20 oz) package of mixed cheese tortellini (I get the spinach/cheese package and sneak in some veggies! He has no idea muahaha!)
  • 2 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced (I use the Spice World brand and use 1 tsp)
  • 2 tsp of dried basil
  • 4 Tbsp of butter

Directions

  1. In a large pot, add 3 cups of chicken broth, tortellini, and water until tortellini is covered. Cook until tortellini floats.
  2. Whisk together 1 cup of chicken brother and cornstarch.
  3. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high until foaming. Stir in garlic and basil and cook for approximately 2 minutes.
  4. Add broth-cornstarch mix and bring to boil; simmer until moisture thickens, about 2 minutes.
  5. Mix with drained tortellini and garnish with some parmesan cheese!

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Pigs in a Blanket

This one is really hard y’all. Pay close attention.

Ingredients

  • 5 hot dogs, cut into 5 slices
  • 1 can of crescent rolls
  • Ketchup and/or mustard for dipping

 

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  2. Lightly grease large cookie sheet with cooking oil
  3. Slice hot dogs into 5ths
  4. Roll out crescent dough and press seams together
  5. Cut into 5 strips both ways
  6. Wrap hot dogs in crescent pieces
  7. Bake for 8 minutes or until golden brown

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Crockpot Queso Chicken Tacos

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 package of taco seasoning
  • 10 oz can of original Rotel
  • 4 oz can of mild diced green chiles (I opted out of using these)
  • 1/2 cup of chicken broth
  • 3/4 cup salsa con queso
  • taco shells, hard or soft
  • favorite toppings

Directions

  1. Lightly spray crockpot with cooking spray
  2. Place chicken and add the taco seasoning, Rotel, green chiles, chicken broth, and queso. Mix together.
  3. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 6 hours. All cookers are different though!
  4. Drain excess juices, shred chicken and enjoy!

BONUS: Pizza Rolls

Ingredients

  • 1 tub of pizza crust
  • Pepperoni slices
  • 10 mozzarella sticks
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp dried parsley

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
  2. Spread pizza dough out on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cut the dough into 10 rectangles.
  3. Place about 4 slices of pepperoni on each rectangle and add the mozzarella stick.
  4. Roll up the pizza dough, enclosing the cheese stick, making sure the seams are pressed together
  5. Melt butter and add the garlic powder and dried parsley. Bruch the pizza sticks with the mixture.
  6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
  7. Enjoy!

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There you have it! Our recent favorite quick meals that are toddler approved!

Have you tried any of these recipes? What did you think? Do you have any recipes that are always a win? Share below, I want to try them!

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5 Must Have Toddler Toys

Have you ever sat there and looked at all the toys that your toddler has and wondered if they really needed all of them? (Of course you have, let’s be honest you’re not really a parent unless you’ve contemplated this.) Everyone loves to give your toddler toys and sometimes it’s hard to not pass up a toy at the store that you just know your toddler is going to love. I don’t know about you but I LOVE seeing the look of astonishment and surprise before giving you the biggest smile ever when receiving a new toy.

Then there are other times and you start to worry that your toddler doesn’t have the right type of toys or maybe you need a gift for another toddler and you aren’t really sure where to start. So I’ve compiled a list of our current favorite toys and staples I feel every toddler should have!

1. Mega Blocks/Building Blocks

Mega Blocks

Infantino Balls, Blocks, and Buddies

 

*excuse the mess, we’re making memories 🙂

2. Books, Books, and More Books!

Here are some of our recent favorites:

Snuggle PuppyGood Night Texas The Good Night Series is absolutely amazing! They have one for every state and even have some for big cities. We’ve been picking them up and collecting them as we have visited new places. J absolutely loves these!; First 100 Words We love this one, there are so many different variations, we even have one that’s Disney based. It’s be great with learning his animals, transportation, and many other things!; The Pout-Pout Fish I have this whole book memorized, we turned it into a little song and it has been so much fun to sing/read.

We created a little reading nook for J and we have so much fun hanging out there and going through all of his books! I love when I have a mini heart attack because he’s silent and I peek around the corner and see this –

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3. Puzzles

Melissa and Doug have become a quick favorite of ours in every toy that they make but here are a couple puzzles J adores!

Farm Animals, House and Shapes, Farm, Safari, and Vehicles.

And for some great organization of the puzzles, we love this rack.

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4. Stuffed Animals

Okay, full confession, J has never been a big one for stuffed animals. I don’t know why but he’s never had a ‘lovey’ blanket or binky or stuffed animal that he absolutely adored until recently. We took him to a bookstore to pick up a few books and he found this Clifford and has even since absolutely loved his stuffed animals. I never knew what I was missing until I saw him cuddling his doggie at night and my heart melted. I mean, look at this!

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5. Cars/Trucks

Roll n’ Rattle – these are perfect for those little hands and fingers!

Dump Truck – this has been perfect for outdoor play and I can’t wait for it to warm up a little more so we can take it to the beach!

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Bonus: Squishy water things (official name)

Infantino Tub O’Toys– J has been absolutely obsessed with his ‘animals.’ He loves to carry them around in his mouth (he learns this from the dogs lol) and he loves to chew on them. They definitely seemed to help with teething.

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He loves to also line them up on the windowsill while watching the cars drive by.

**I will say that you have to be careful to not actually get any water in them because they mildew very easily and we have yet to figure out the best way to clean them so we wind up throwing them away and buying more. Do you already have these and have a great cleaning tip?? PLEASE share with me below!

 

What have I left out? Am I missing anything? Tell me what your favorite toys are for this age!

 

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