Rutabaga & Butternut Squash Baby Food

This kid has been the best eater, I'm very fortunate. The bulk of his meals have come out of the bargain produce bin. I steam up whatever's on sale, purée it, pour it into ice molds and store it until I need it. 

Baby food should only be stored for up to 3 months but I've never had anything last longer than 2 weeks with my guy.

Rutabaga & Butternut Squash Purée

Wash, half and remove the seeds from the butternut squash. Place it flesh side down in a baking dish with an inch of water. Bake at 375 for 30 min or until soft. Allow it to cool completely.

Sweat 1/2 onion and a few cloves of garlic in butter. Purée these first and well. Even if you're making this for an older baby who can handle chunks, be sure the garlic and onions are small.

Peel, chop and steam the rutabaga. Typically, they are covered in a layer of food wax to keep them fresh. Wash it thoroughly with soap and water before you peel the outer layer off completely. Cut the pieces small to shorten steam time. I usually go for about 7 min or until fork tender.

(This is the rutabaga after I transferred it to a frying pan because the steamer was causing a strange reflection.)

Add the rutabaga to the food processor and purée until its a little chunky. You may want to add a little rutabaga cooking water to thin it out.

Scoop out the butternut squash flesh and add it to the food processor. Purée to desired consistency.

To freeze, scoop the purée into and ice tray. (Buy BPA-free ice trays!)

Smooth it with a spatula. Depending on the size of the squash and rutabagas, you may fill a bunch of trays.

I store my frozen food in a glass container inside a freezer bag. 

This is cheaper and better for your baby than jarred foods. You'll expand baby's palate and look like a baby food chef. The chopping is time consuming but once you have a bunch of frozen baby food stored, just pull a few cubes (mix and match with other baby recipes) and microwave for 90 seconds.  To thicken, add some rice cereal or baby oatmeal, to thin, add water.

Bon appetit!

Tomatillo salsa (salsa verde)

I need to figure out how to grow tomatillos in my yard next because I love my salsa verde recipe. Again, just like everything else I make, it's super easy.

Preheat the oven to 350

1 large purple onion, chopped

1 lb of tomatillos, paper removed/washed/chopped

Peppers, chopped (all the peppers and heat you can handle or want)

Combine them in a bowl and add about a 1/2 cup of olive oil, stir

Add them to a 9x11 pan and put them in for 30 minutes

Let it cool before you add it to the food processor.

Chop it to your preferred texture. If you're going to serve it as a salsa, go small. If you're going to add it to rice or quinoa, keep it chunky.

Enjoy!

Pear and Nectarine Baby Food

Nectarines were 69 cents/pound at the produce store this week so I went crazy and bought 2 pounds. Last time I made nectarine baby food, it was a little strong for WP so I decided to calm it down by adding pears. This recipe is easy. I wouldn't do it if it was complicated.

Slow Cooker Nectarine & Pear Baby Food 

1-2 pounds of nectarines, chopped

1/2-1 pound of pears, chopped

1 cup of water

Put it all in the slow cooker. Set the timer for 2 hours, low temp. Don't stir, don't mash, don't touch...just go do something else.

When the timer goes off, use an immersion blender.

Purée completely or just give it a quick hit with the immersion blender. Since I'm feeding a nearly one year old* I left a little chunk in it.

Let it cool, then spoon it into ice cube trays and freeze it. I store the cubes in glass containers inside freezer bags to prevent freezer burn. But don't worry, even if they are freezer burned, my kid loves it, he's not picky.

*Has it already been a year?!