Dried Apricot Oatcakes

Lately I've been stumped on new breakfast ideas, especially since my increasingly independent little man likes to feed himself.  This recipe is from the cookbook called Cooking for Baby, which was a great shower gift from my sister.  Here is a recipe full of whole grain oats, plus a little fruit.  The cakes can store in an airtight container for 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.  Makes about 15 two-inch rounds.

Vegetable oil spray
2 cups Old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp melted unsalted butter
1 tbsp honey (for babies over 1 year)
3 tbsp dried apricot, finely chopped
2 tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 400.  Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil and spray with oil.

In a mixing bowl, combine oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.  Make a well in the center and add the butter and honey.  Mix with a spatula until oats are coated.  Mix in apricots and coconut.  Heat 1 cup of water until very hot, but not boiling.  Add hot water 2 tablespoons at a time to oat mixture, stirring after each addition with spatula until oats become wet and sticky.  You will not need to use all of the water.  With wet hands, mix oat dough a final time.  Dough will be sticky and loose.

Using 2 large spoons, scoop and drop dough onto baking sheets.  With wet fingertips, shape dough into 2 inch round oatcakes.

Bake until edges turn golden brown and centers are firm and not sticky, about 15 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  They will crisp while cooling.

Cabbage Pie....tastes better than it sounds, I promise!

One of the great things about joining the farm share at Red Fire Farm, was finding all sorts of recipes on their website.  We had a few heads of cabbage and we decided to give the cabbage pie recipe a try (by "we," I mean my husband Scott made it).  Grant really liked it, but I had to chop his cabbage fairly small.  For more recipes, visit www.redfirefarm.com

1/2 cabbage (doesn't matter what color)
1/2 onion
1/2 -3/4 cup fresh dill (not dried)
3 hard boiled eggs
1/4 cup feta cheese
2 Tbs olive oil/ butter 

Other veggies if you like:
carrots
mushrooms
summer squash

Prepare a pie crust (top & bottom) from your favorite recipe or storebought and set aside.

Chop onion into thumbnail size squares and begin to sauté in olive oil or butter. While that is sautéing chop cabbage into ribbons (1/4" to 1/2" width) and toss in after onions. Stir around and cover while you chop the carrots into bite size pieces. Toss carrots in and give another good stir. Chop dill rather finely and add to sautéed mixture in pan. Sauté until everything is lightly cooked (it’ll get cooked again).
Transfer to a bowl where you add the feta and mix well. Cut hard boiled eggs into cubes or into slices, however you prefer. 

Add half of sauté/ feta mixture into pie crust, then add the egg as a middle layer, then add the rest of the sauté mixture. 

Roll on the pie crust top, cut slits for steam vents and put in oven at 375˚ for 45 min to an hour. Remove when pie crust is a nice brown.

Serves 4

Broccoli & Cheddar Nuggets

Home-cooking and blogging has been a little dry over the past few weeks, as Grant was sick = no sleep for momma and daddy.  Here is a recipe that is an alternative to chicken nuggets.  They even taste good for the grown ups.  This recipe freezes well, so you can store them in a single layer in a freezer bag, and lay flat to freeze.  I just pull out 2 as needed to pack with Grant's lunch.

Broccoli & Cheddar Nuggets
16 ox frozen broccoli, cooked, drained, and chopped
1 C. seasoned bread crumbs (easy to make you own as well)
1 1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 375.  Coat baking sheet with olive oil.

Mix ingredients together and shape into nuggets.

Bake 20-25 minutes, turning them over once after 15 minutes of baking.

Sweet Potato Fries

Now that my boys can manage to pick food up and get it to their mouths, I'm always on the lookout for good finger food options.  These have been a big hit.  Theo can hold them and take bites.  Will has a tendency to want to shove the whole thing in his mouth, so I break the fries up for him.

Ingredients

sweet potatoes
olive oil
cinnamon
ground ginger

peel sweet potatoes and cut into "fries."  I found cutting them into relatively thick fries works best for withstanding the tight baby grip that can quickly turn the fries into mush. 

Toss in olive oil and add a bit of cinnamon and ground ginger.  I think nutmeg would also be tasty, but I haven't tried it yet.

Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.  I like to take them out as soon as they are cooked through so they are not mushy (again, they need to stand up to grabby little fingers!)

Baked Apples

Our family went apple picking last weekend up in Shelburne at Dole Orchards.  We had a great time and came home with a lot of apples.  One easy way to use up some of the apples is to bake a bunch at once in a 9x13 pan.

Core apples, but leave skin on.

Place apples standing up in the pan.

Put a tiny pat of butter inside and sprinkle apple with cinnamon.

Add enough water to the pan to make it 1-2 inches deep.

Bake at 400 degrees for about a half an hour.

When they are done, remove the skin and either cut in small pieces for your baby or puree it to make applesauce.  We freeze the sauce in ice cube trays.  Try adding some applesauce to your next batch of pancakes.

Mango Chicken

This is a tasty dinner the whole family enjoys!  A side of bok choy goes well with this dish for those who are eating the unblended version.

Ingredients
 - 1 lb chicken breast, cubed   (or 1 package of chicken tenders, cubed)
- 1 16-oz frozen bag of mango  (Wholefoods)
- 1 small onion
- 2 garlic gloves, chopped
- 1/8 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger (or ground ginger), depending on your taste
-  chicken or vegetable broth (1-2 cups)
- 1/2 cup white wine (optional)
(chopped cilantro is also a nice addition)

 In a saute pan, saute onion in olive oil until translucent (about 3 minutes).  Add chicken, garlic and ginger and cook until chicken is just browned.  Add white wine to deglaze pan.  Add mango and enough broth to just cover chicken and mango pieces.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer until liquid has halved and thickened (about 30-40 minutes.)   Serve over rice.

put in blender/food processor with rice.

Butternut Squash Bisque....yes the baby liked it!

This recipe is from my mom's kitchen and I wasn't sure if Grant would enjoy soup, and to my surprise, he loved it!  This is a very smooth soup that is great in the fall with fresh butternut squash.  You can also substitute fresh pumpkin.  (I once tried making this with frozen butternut squash cubes, but it didn't taste the same.  You can save yourself a step if you buy the pre-cut squash in the produce section that often comes from local farms).  Enjoy!  I served this to Grant with mini-turkey meatballs and peas.

2 tbs butter
1 lg sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 C. peeled, diced butternut squash
1 C. peeled, diced potato
5 C. low-sodium chicken stock (low sodium is important since baby's kidneys aren't ready for high sodium content)
1/2 C. light cream
1 tsp. dried rosemary (or thyme)
1 tsp salt
Pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large soup pot.  Stir in onion and rosemary.  Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in garlic and cook for another minute.  Add chicken stock, squash, potato, and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and cook over low boil for about 20 minutes until vegetables are soft.  Remove from heat.  Slowly add small batches to blender or food processor, puree, and return to pan.  Stir in pepper, cream, and heat until hot.

Stuffed Pepper Casserole - A Meal the Whole Family Can Enjoy

These days, we have been trying to make meals that our almost-1-year-old-son Grant can eat with us.  We decided to join a farm share this year at a local organic farm in Granby, Ma.  With a recent abundance in peppers in our fridge and an idea from my cousin-in-law Kim, we turned traditional stuffed peppers into a casserole.  We put Grant's portion in the blender for a few seconds to chop up the pepper and turkey.  Not only did he like it for dinner, but it made enough to go to work with us for lunch and send with him to daycare.

4 green or red bell peppers
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned
5 Tbs olive oil
1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 cup of cooked rice
1 lb of ground turkey
Fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 tsp of Worcestershire Sauce & a dash of hot sauce
1 Tbs chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp of dried oregano 

           1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

 Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, cut top off peppers 1 inch from the stem end, and remove seeds. Add a pinch of salt to boiling water, then add peppers and boil, using a spoon to keep peppers completely submerged, until brilliant green (or red if red peppers) and their flesh slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Drain, set aside to cool.  Once cooled, slice into strips.

Preheat oven to 350 ̊F. Heat 4 Tbs of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, and cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat, add meat, rice, tomatoes, and oregano, and season generously with salt and pepper. Mix well and drizzle remaining 1 Tbs of olive oil into mix. Pour mixture into 9x13 baking pan. Combine ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and 1/4 cup of water in a small bowl, then spoon over top of dish.

Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven after 25 minutes, top with cheese and return to oven.