Baby On The Way! (So, I'm Cooking) + Baby Shower Food Ideas

Baby Shower Food and Ideas~

(Nutella Milk & Cookies, Teddy Bear Braised Short Rib Sliders,
Paper Baby Shoes Filled with Cheese Crackers, and S'mores on a Stick)

If you came to this page for a recipe only, that's cool. However, you may want to just scroll on down to it because, in the teen vernacular words of my very teen vernacular-worded son, "shiz is about to get real in here."

I'm typing this as my daughter has gone into "pre-labor", so her husband and she have gone to the movies. I know, right?!? What the..? Shouldn't she head to the hospital?

She's having a home birth with Mid-wives. Quite frankly she and her loving husband know more about the whole process of her body and her baby's body than I did with all 3 of my children, even though I tried. When I was pregnant with my daughter I was in North Carolina and barely over 20. I definitely read every book I could find. I did the whole "no drugs", baby into a warm bath, husband leading the "hee hee hee" and the "hee-ho-hee" routine of breathing. My birthing room was decorated like a nice guest room (that just happened to have a bed complete with stirrups attached.) And, I was blessed with a crew of patient and intelligent nurses. The doctor showed up in time to catch and complete, and was perfectly accommodating to my preferences.

The second child was born effortlessly, and I also was fortunate to have a wonderful doctor and a similar experience in Santa Monica. A second marriage and 10 years later, that same incredible doctor delivered my third and pre-mentioned son into the world, into mine and my husband's arms first, and with no rush or cold attitudes that many women have told me about with their deliveries. I'm sure, like everything, there are good and bad examples.

There are many caring doctors, nurses, hospitals and there are some who are buckling under the stress of the system. Some have become more of a money making "get her-in, get her-out" surgery cafeteria of labor and delivery. We have a flawed health care and insurance system and the rushed labor and delivery stories are often bearing witness to the problem.

And for some, there is no choice. So, for this moment I pause and become keenly aware of how thankful I am to be living in a situation that offers choices. I sincerely pray that this country does not lose sight of the freedom to make choices in all personal matters, but instead works to make the opportunities equal. Of course, that starts with me. I will admit that I have both reveled and anxiously paced during my daughter's pregnancy, but with full respect for her intelligence and fortitude. She didn't make the decision to have a home birth out of any anger or fear. It was only after educating herself, weighing her beliefs and doing her work. It's not for everyone, and there are many wonderful ways to add to a family.

But for now, I'm getting ready to pack up my groceries and head to her house. I'm part of her "birthing team", I'm the one that will keep everyone fed when the "shiz starts getting even more real."

I'm nervous. I'm thrilled. I can't wait to meet my new little granddaughter, ya'll. Send me good vibes/prayers/energy/light. :D

The recipe part:Several weeks ago we had a baby-shower for my pregnant daughter. Many of her friends and our friends attended, including family who traveled just for the weekend. My mom was on Skype for the whole party, so we even had her "virtually" there. The food was plentiful and never-ending. When I get happy, I cook (okay, when I get sad I cook, when I get nervous I cook, when I'm cooking I'm thinking of what else to cook.) I was cooking and planning this for weeks.

I thought maybe others would like the recipe or ideas for a couple of these things, too.

Nutella Milk and Cookies:

This is simply made with a ratio of 1 Tablespoon of Nutella for every Cup of Milk. I put that in a large jug and used an Immersion Blender to mix it all up. I held it in the fridge until ready for pouring into these cute milk bottles, purchased from (click) here.The cookies are a basic Butter Sugar Cookie dough, then cut out in rounds followed by a smaller cutter for the center, before baking them. I've used a similar idea in catering dessert buffets, but with plain milk.

Teddy Bear Braised Short Rib Sliders:

A picture of Teddy Bear buns was floating around the internet for a long time, but without a recipe. I simply made the One Hour Bread dough I often use. I measured pieces of dough (.25 ounces each) and rolled them into small bun shapes. I used scrap dough to make tiny balls for ears, and attached them to the side of the dough buns with a little brush of water. I let the bread rise for about 1 1/2 hours, then brushed egg white on top and baked in 350F. oven for about 18 minutes. The faces were drawn on with Wilton Food Markers. The Braised Short Ribs were my recipe found (click) here. The meat was pulled off the bones (or it fell off, they were so tender, Mmmm), and a fork-full was used for each slider. I also spread a little Jalapeno Jelly on the inside of each bun, first.Paper Baby Shoes Filled with Cheese Crackers:

The shoes were made from card stock using this template (click) here.
I made those a week earlier while talking on the phone, or waiting for pictures to download. It takes a bit of time, but it moves faster once you have the hang of it. The crackers were my Go-To Eazee Cheezees. S'mores on a Stick:

I was super excited to use this idea, just one of many found in Food On Sticks. It's a fun and exciting food book with recipes and inviting pictures by Matt Armendariz. I used my own homemade marshmallow recipe (there's also an easy recipe in the book) and incorporated his brilliant idea for Party S'mores. You can buy Food On Sticks from Amazon right (click) here.

I'll try to post some of the other recipes and ideas in a later post. I also served Mini-Grilled Cheese Sammies on a skewer over Tomato Basil Soup Shooters, Mushroom and Gruyere Risotto Balls, Chicken Cherry Mole in Filo Dough Shells, Momma's Mini Apple Pies, Pomegranate Lemonade, Rose Sangria, Baby Chocolate Cupcakes with Rose Butter Frosting, and Blueberry Macarons with Lemon Curd Filling.

Just for fun I made my own Pixie Sticks by grinding dried Pomegranate into a dust and mixing with double the amount sugar, plus a teaspoon of Tartaric Acid to make it like a Sweet Tart. We played several games that my daughter's friends designed, and each guest also decorated a Onezie using Fabric Pens and Stencils. I had several sizes of the Onezies, so her baby will be wearing the party for the first 2 years.

We did a book lottery: Each person who brought a copy of their favorite children's book had their name put into a lottery for an Amazon Gift Card.

It was a fun-fun, laugh filled day. I wish many of those for my daughter and our ever expanding family.