chicky chicken meatballs

When it comes to giving meat to babies different babies have different opinions.
I make beef and chicken meatballs for my baby. She loves them. However, I came up with this chicken and turkey meatball for those who hesitate to give beef for their babies or in my case just for a change.
They also are quite healthy as turkey is lean and some veggies are added in the recipe.
Sorry I just realized haven't taken  any pictures. Maybe I'll add them later.

I would say these meatballs are appropriate for babies 10-11 months and older.

You will need:

500g turkey breast
500g chicken breast
1 medium carrot, cut into medium chunks
3 small onions
1 capsicum, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Allright, it is very difficult to find pure chicken or turkey mince here so I mince it myself. While putting turkey and chicken through the mincer I also add carrot, onions and capsicum. This way I make sure everything is the same size, chopped and incorporated.
Once done with it add bread crumbs, salt ans pepper. Mix everything thoroughly. Form meatballs. Cook immediately or freeze for further use.

Bon appetit!

hidden vegetables mince meat

Hi there. Ready for another recipe???
Originally this one is from Annabel Karmel's book, however I made some changes in my version.
This meat sauce turned out to be so good that I would it eat myself with some pasta. Despite the fact it is beef dish, the sauce is loaded with goodness of vegetables and the good part is that if your baby is a fussy eater and doesn't like veggies, he/she won't feel them there so easily.
(12 months +) - but you can blend it in very smooth paste and give to your baby starting from 9 months.

Hidden vegetables mince meat.

You'll need:

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 stick celery, cubed

1/2 big or 1 medium size floret of cauliflower, cut into smaller pieces

1 small carrot, cut into small cubes

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/3 apple, chopped

1 large tomato, skin and seeds removed (I don't bother to remove all the seeds just the ones I see when I cut it into quarters)

200 - 250 g mince meat

3 tbsp tomato puree

150 ml water

salt and pepper to taste

The list might scare you as it's quite long but believe me it is not really a time-consuming recipe and simple to make.

Preparation:

Heat small amount of oil in a pan, add first 6 ingredients and saute until quite soft but not mushy. I took me about 15 minutes I believe. In the mean time I put the tomato in a blender and made puree out of it. Once the vegetables are ready, add them to the tomato puree (be careful the mixture is hot) and process until smooth or almost smooth. Set it aside for now.

Fry the mince meat in a pan with a little bit of oil (if meat has some fat in it I don't use any oil at all). Mash the mince while frying to achieve the desired consistency. Cook meat until brown. If you want it to be very smooth without any lumps you can use the blender once the meat is cooked through.

I cooked the meat in a pot. This way when I mixed all the ingredients it was easier to stir. So once the beef is cooked add the tomato and veggie sauce, tomato puree and water into it. Mix well, bring to boil, lower the heat to minimum and simmer for 45-60 minutes until the sauce thickens. Season  to taste.

And voila! It is ready. I got five 5oz portions.

As you can see in the picture this time I served it with some mashed potatoes. Last time I cooked a small handful of vermicelli and mixed it into the sauce. My daughter loved it.

Let me know what you think.

That's all for now...

take care there.

zucchini carrot meat mash

Here is another dish which fast to make. I served it over some cooked buckwheat porridge or it can as well be mashed potatoes or some rice.
(9 moths - onward)

This dish was created for a quick dinner as I didn't have a lot of time and my baby was getting hungrier and hungrier. Nevertheless she ate it all.

I took:
1/2 medium carrot, peeled and cut into small cubes
2 baby zucchinis, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 baby meatball
salt and pepper to taste (omit this if your baby is younger than a year)
about 2 tbsp creme

Preparation:
Put carrot, zucchini and a meatball in a small pot cover with water and bring to boil. Season and cook until all the ingredients are soft and can be easily mashed. Add water during cooking if necessary. Add creme right in the end, stir, bring to boil and let it thicken a bit.
Take off the heat, let it cool and blend to desired consistency. (I recommend to break the meatball to smaller piece before using a blender.)
It yielded 2 baby portions. I froze one for later.

As I already mentioned before you can serve it with some grains or potatoes.

VARIATIONS:
If you don't want any beef in the dish or feel your baby is too young for beef, you can use chicken meatballs or about a quarter of a chicken breast cut into cubes.
You can add some herbs like thyme or rosemary (for chicken). Just make sure you don't putt to much. A pinch is more than enough.  

Have a lovely meal.
For now...
take care there.

tomato and other veggies sauce

So here is the sauce that can be served in different ways to make it taste like new dish every day. You can add some boiled chicken or baby yummy meatballs, pour it over tiny pasta or orzo, or maybe some buckwheat.
I actually added potato as I already peeled it but it still tastes very good.

So here are the ingredients:

1 potato, cubed
1 small carrot, cut into small cubes
1/4 butternut squash, cut into cubes
1 medium tomato, skin and seeds removed, cut into cubes
1 garlic clove (I cut it into 8 pieces)
small onion, thinly sliced
a pinch of salt and pepper to taste (optional)

Preparation:
Put potato, carrot and squash in a pot, add garlic and onion, salt and pepper (if used), add water, bring to boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the veggies are half cooked. Add tomato and cook till potatoes and squash are soft.
Let it cool. Now it is all up to you what to do with it. Get rid of big pieces with a blender, or leave it and freeze it.
I equally distributed the sauce between four 4oz containers and froze it so later whenever I prepare meal for my baby I easily take only one portion out, thaw it and use it.
Try it and let me know what you think.
That's all for now...
take care there. ;)

baby yummy veggie meat ball lunch

Here is one recipe that I often make for my baby that she loves.
I can actually add different combinations of vegetables but the process is more or less the same.

For this version I took:
2 small parsnips
1 medium to small potato
a small onion
1 garlic clove
one baby special meatball (I made them myself beforehand and I'll try to post the recipe but you can easily substitute it with half a small or 1/4 big chicken breast).
a pinch of salt (for babies older than 1 year)
a cup or so full fat milk

Preparation:
Peel all the veggies and chop quite finely.
Put all vegetables in a small pot, cover with milk, add salt (if used) and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, until vegetables are half cooked.
Add chicken breast cut to cubes and simmer about 15 minutes more till everything is soft. The longest things to cook is parsnip. You can put it to cook a bit earlier than all other ingredients, I didn't bother just kept it on simmer while being busy with my baby's games. Well of course coming and stirring once in a while.
When you see it is ready, take off and let it cool for a few minutes. Use a blender to achieve the desired consistency, as my baby is already 13 months I try to make it quite chunky but make sure that meat pieces are still not too big for her to choke.
I get 3 average portions for my baby, one of which I use right away and the other two go to the freezer.
I will try to post some variations a bit later.
Hope you and your baby will enjoy this yummy lunch or dinner.