Beefy Base

I personally don't like beef, so it isn't something that BB is likely to try when we eat together. In the spirit of Baby Led Weaning and the idea of introducing as many foods as possible, I do want to give him the chance to like it himself. I have tried him with a slice of beef from the deli counter a couple of times but he was not impressed, so I thought I would give him a chance with mince in a cottage pie style base.

This recipe makes enough to be able to freeze 4 - 6 portions, depending on how much your baby eats.

You can serve the beefy base with mashed potato, baked potato, pasta or rice.

Tonight he had it with pasta. As you can see, it was greeted with approval. Another win for mummy!

Ingredients

200g Beef mince (I used low fat steak mince because it was on offer, but any mince will do as long as you dry fry it first and drain off the excess fat).
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small carrot, grated
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup low salt vegetable stock
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp mixed herbs
small pinch chili flakes

Method

I a medium size pan,  heat the oil and gently fry the onion. Add the carrot and garlic and fry for a further few mins.
At the same time, in a separate saucepan or frying pan, dry fry the mince until it turns brown.
Then add the tomatoes, peas, vegetable stock, herbs chili and the cooked mince to your first pan. Mix and simmer for about 20 mins.

Lightly seasoned lentil patties

Makes 12-14 patties so plenty for freezing

Ingredients

1 small onion (finely chopped)
1 cup red lentils
2 cups low salt vege stock
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 carrot (grated)
1 medium potato (grated)
1 small sweet potato (grated)
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander or 1 tsp dried
3 eggs (beaten)
5 or 6 slices wholemeal bread (crumbed)
fouler for dusting
cooking oil (rapeseed or sunflower)

Method


Fry the onion and garam masala until the onion starts to become transparent
Add the lentils and vege stock and bring to the boil
Simmer for 10 - 15 mins
Add the grated vegetables and coriander and cook for a further 5 mins or until the mixture is quite dry
Beat the eggs in a bowl, add the vege mix from the saucepan and the breadcrumbs and mix well
Dust the bench with flour and form patties.
Fry in vegetable oil at a medium to high temperature

Uncooked patties can be frozen

Gardener's Pie

Servings: some for now and some for the freezer

Ingredients:

1 cup brown lentils

1 tbsp oil suitable for frying (eg sunflower or rapeseed - not olive oil)
1 large onion, finely chopped

1 clove crushed garlic
4-5 medium mushrooms, sliced
1 stick celery, sliced
1 carrot finely sliced
1/2 cup broccoli florets

1 cup low salt vegetable stock

1 tsp mixed herbs(or other herbs that you prefer - oregano is nice in this dish)
Garlic pepper
3 tbsp tomato paste

3 cups mashed potato (optional)


Method:
Soak the lentils for 2 hours or overnight, drain and rinse (or prepare in advance and freeze)

Heat oil in a large saucepan and saute onion, garlic and mushrooms for 5 minutes
Add remaining vegetables and saute a further 5 minutes
Add cooked lentils, seasoning, tamari, vegetable stock, herbs and tomato paste.
Stir over heat until combined and simmer until all the vegetables are tender and the mixture is fairly thick
Place in an ovenproof dish and top with mashed potato
Brown in a hot oven for about 15 minutes

Alternatively, serve the mashed potato separately. Mashed potato can be substituted with sweet potato, or swede if you wish.

There should be enough for one meal for the two of you, and a couple of portions for the freezer (I don't recommend freezing the mash, just the base)