Tomatoes, Butternut Squash, Potato & Green Beans with Cheese

About a month ago I wasn't sure what batch of food to make for my baby to freeze, so I looked in the fridge and the pantry and collected whatever I could find.  I came up with the following recipe and surprisingly, my little girl absolutely LOVED it!  Here's the recipe:

*1 can Diced Tomatoes - 796ml (28 fl oz) 

*2 1/2 cups Butternut Squash

*3/4 cups green beans (canned or frozen)

*1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese

*3/4 cups mashed potatoes

Alternatives:

*Butternut Squash could be replaced with Sweet Potatoes

*Add some finely chopped, cooked (so they are soft) onion

*Add 1 3/2 cups of cooked rice

1. Steam butternut squash and green beans (if frozen).

2. While veggies are being steamed: peel & boil potatoes (or use leftover potatoes and mash them!), grate mozzarella cheese and start simmering diced tomatoes.

3. Once butternut squash and beans are ready, add them to the diced tomatoes.  Once well mixed, add potatoes, then mozzarella chesse.

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Broccoli & Cauliflower Cheese Sauce

My friend Lila from Sweet and Lovely Crafts introduced me to this recipe and my little girl along with myself have loved it ever since we've tried it the first time! The recipe is from the cook book The Baby's Table by Brenda Bradshaw, which is available on Amazon.ca or your local Chapter's (currently at 78% off at $4.99 at the latter)! I usually make a double batch of this recipe and freeze it! I normally add some Butternut Squash to it as well, to add a bit of sweetness.

Broccoli & Cauliflower Cheese Sauce

*2 cups of cauliflower
*2 cups of broccili
*1 tbsp flour
*1 tbsp butter
*1 cup of milk (I use regular milk, but you can

use breast milk or formula if you want)
*1 1/2 cups chedder cheese

1. In steamer cook broccoli and cauliflower.

2. To make the sauce: whisk butter and flour over medium heat until paste forms. Slowly add 1/2 cup of milk, whisking until lumps disappear. When it's lump free, add in the rest of the milk. Stir (use a spoon!) in the cheese until the sauce thickens to a smooth and creamy texture.

3. Since my little one is a bit older, I usually just mash the broccoli and cauliflower with a potato masher now and then pour it into the sauce. For even finer texture puree it to the desired consistency, using a blender.

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Tomato, Sweet Potato & Cheese Sauce

I made this Tomato, Sweet Potato, and Cheese Sauce for my almost 10 month old daughter. It was the first time I didn't puree a meal and she just gobbled it up. Let's hope she'll still like it in a couple of days! Hope your little one enjoys this recipe as much as mine! This is another recipe from Annabel Karmel but this recipe is from her cook book More First Meals CANADIAN EDITION and is actually called "Tomato, Sweet Potato, and Cheese Sauce with Pasta Shells". This book features over 80 recipes with handy food diary and meal planner. It can be especially handy for first time parents, as it has complete meal plans for a week etc., but really any parent. It looks really great on top of that!

As always, I didn't keep completely true to the recipe below, as I probably made a batch and a half and didn't have any cheddar cheese (I used Mozzarella) or enough carrots and eye-balled the crushed tomatoes (I used diced) and sweet potatoes, but my husband and myself both tried it and it actually turned out really nicely. Another change I made to this recipe, was that I steamed the sweet potatoes and carrots first, then added them to the onions and garlic. At the end, instead of pureeing the sauce, I just used a potato masher to make it a little smoother and therefore did not have to puree it at all.

Another big plus for this sauce, is that it's suitable for freezing! The recipe saysto serve this sauce with mini pasta shells but I had some rice left over from the day before, so that's what I mixed in the sauce. Orzo would also be perfect to mix into this sauce, as it's small enough and in the shape of rice but tastes more like pasta.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

*Makes 8 portions of sauce Picture from Amazon.ca

*Provides protein, calcium,

beta-carotene, vits B6, C, D, & E,

Prebiotics

*Sauce suitable for freezing

Ingredients:

*1 tbsp olive oil

*1 onion, chopped

*1 clove garlic, crushed

*2 cups peeled and chopped sweet potatoes

*2 medium carrots, peeled & sliced

*400-g (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes

*Scant 1 cup boiling vegetable

stock or water (I used water)

*1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

(I used Mozzarella cheese)

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a sauceman and saute the onion until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute longer. Stir in the sweet potatoes and carrots, then pour in the tomatoes and boiling vegetable stock or water. Bring to a boil, stirring. Cover the pan and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

Let cool slightly, then blend the sauce to a puree and stir in the cheese until melted.

Cook pasta (or rice) according to the directions on the package. Drain the pasta and mix with the sauce.

***Serve over mini pasta shells (about 2 heaped tbsp for each portion of sauce - I used Basmati rice)***

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Butternut Squash, Carrot & Broccoli Puree

This recipe (with the little change of sweet potato being replaced with butternut squash) is from Annabel Karmel's First Meals Canadian Edition cookbook. It's all about "fast, healthy, and fun foods for infants and toddlers".

Picture from Amazon

Prep Time: 5min

Cook Time: 18min

Makes 6 portions

Suitable for freezing

Ingredients:

*2 1/3 cups sweet potato, peeled and chopped

*1 large carrot, peeled and sliced

*1 1/3 cups broccoli, cut into florets

Preparation:

*Put butternut squash and carrots in a steamer and
cook for 10 minutes

*Add broccoli and continue to cook for about 7 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender

*Blend the vegetables with 6-7 tbsp of the water from the bottom of the steamer to make a puree

Picture from Well.ca

I freeze the baby food in either empty baby food jars or Baby Cubes that I purchased from Well.ca, as they offered them cheaper than the specialty stores in our area. I really like Baby Cubes, as they come with an attached lid, are microwavable, come in different sizes and the trays can be stacked in the freezer. Well.ca is a great site to order Baby Cubes (and lots of other items) from, as it's Canadian and has free shipping in Canada, which is always appreciated.

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