We got this cookbook from a friend for Christmas so over the weekend, I thought I’d be adventurous and try out a couple of the recipes.  I was intimidated by the words homemade and healthy because anything homemade that comes out of my kitchen is usually the opposite of healthy.  And when it comes to baby food, those little tubs/jars are so easy and convenient.  Truth be told, we never feed Theo store-bought baby food at home.  He eats whatever we eat 95% of the time.  We keep a jar of baby food in the diaper bag and we send Stage 3 foods (along with other snacks) to the babysitter because for now, it’s just easier.  I’m not looking forward to trying to pack a balanced lunch for him every day. 

Anyway, over the weekend I prepared the baby Broccoli and Cheese (mini) Casserole.  It made enough to fill four ramekins, 2 of which I froze for later.  It was actually quite easy and SO rewarding to watch him gobble it up.  He loved it.  Ingredients included broccoli (duh), cheddar cheese, chicken stock (the recipe called for veggie but I had chicken on hand), shallots (I omitted because they are disgusting and I didn’t want my baby to vomit), mushrooms, and brown rice.  I think that was it.  I thought each ramekin would yield two servings but he pretty much polished off the entire serving the first night and most of the second ramekin the second night.  (P.S. I tried the casserole and was not personally a fan of it, but to be fair, I don’t like mushrooms.  And I do like love salt, which the recipe is void of). 

Last night he had a little left over casserole along with his homemade “baby baked potato.”  I have only made homemade mashed potatoes once (which is what this recipe amounted to) and they were disgusting.  The texture was like concrete and the consistency was like rubber cement.  You could have used this stuff to lay a foundation for a house, no doubt about that.  The baby recipe says to use Yukon golds.  Peel and dice then boil for 10 minutes. Strain them but don’t rinse then return to warm pan and add unsalted butter (um, I used margarine…so sue me) and whole milk plain yogurt (I couldn’t find this so I used fat free plain yogurt).  Smash/mash them to your baby’s liking and add a sprinkle of parmesan or cheddar cheese.  Can I just say YUM?  They were the perfect consistency and texture.  Yogurt.  Who knew?  Maybe it was the golden potatoes – they did seem to have a bit of a different flavor.  Of course I added a little salt and pepper to mine but Theo liked them just the way they were prepared.  Oh, the recipe called for finely chopped chives, which I also left out because they are disgusting and I didn’t want my baby to puke.  If anyone wants the specific measurements (which I don’t think you really need), I’ll be happy to share them with you.

I don’t like onions in any form…can you tell?

~C~