Wet, rainy, yucky = Butternut squash soup for all to share!

Aug 25, 2010 New Baby Food Recipes, Seasonal, soup

Butternut Squash Soup 8 months+ due to spices

  On a cold, wet rainy day there’s nothing as good as a nice warm soup with a nice loaf of hot crusty bread.  With Fall just around the corner (you can smell it in the air!) a butternut squash soup is just the thing to warm the bones.  Share this with your 8 months+ little one.

Quick Butternut Soup

1 1/2 lb winter squash chopped [or 2 12oz pkgs frozen and thawed]
1 small onion *
1 teaspoon cinnamon or nutmeg*
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric*
1/8 teaspoon ground pepper *
2 cups chicken broth (use no sodium/low-fat or Make Your Own Stock and Broth)
1/4 cup sour cream *

Directions:
Saute onions in a large pot then add thesquash and spices.  
Cook on low for 10 minutes.\
Stir in the broth, bring to a boil and then simmer on low for about 15-20 minutes.

Cool slightly and pour 1/3 into blender and blend until smooth.  Repeat until all of the mixture is blended.
Reheat soup before serving and swirl in some sour cream or plain yogurt (optional sour cream or yogurt)
4 thumbs up from my twins.

Allergy Alert:
Dairy

** Please note that you may leave out the * items as needed for your baby’s age and preferences. Also using plain yogurt instead of sour cream is wonderful**

Tags: butternu, butternut squash, Fall, fall baby food, soup, squash

Baked Pears – wonderful to share with baby on a gloomy and damp day.

Aug 22, 2010 Fruits and Veggies, New Baby Food Recipes

It’s a gloomy day and what a great time to bake some summer pears!  Your baby will love the luscious taste of baked pears!

What You Need
3 Pears
dash of cinnamon or vanilla or ginger.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F
Halve and the core pears.
Place pears in a shallow baking dish with about 1 inch of water.
Bake at 350 degrees F. 25 minutes or until tender.

Serve with a scoop of frozen yogurt (for us big kids!) Mash …and serve to your baby alone or mixed with Oatmeal Baby Cereal, Yogurt or even Chicken. YUM!

Souper Summer Squash Soup in the Crockpot

Jul 27, 2010 New Baby Food Recipes, vegetables

I’ve been feeling a bit ill for the last few days, summer sniffles and some congestion with overall “ick”.  Now in the winter there is nothing better than a nice warm and hearty soup or stew to warm the bones and the soul but in the summer, who wants to be served a piping hot bowl of beef stew?  Well not me and not my kiddos at least, we prefer something lighter and cold if possible.  Since the kiddos are away at camp *sniffle* *sniffle* *lonley-sad* it’s the perfect time to make lighter meals from the crockpot!

Here is a Souper Summer Squash Soup – enjoy it with your tiny diner from 7 months+  Puree it if desired or serve with the squash pieces intact depending on how your little one enjoys textures. 

Ingredients:
3 medium summer squash (yellow-crocked neck or patty pan) washed and diced into small-ish pieces
3 medium zucchini squash – washed and diced into small-ish pieces
1 medium tomato – roughly diced
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1 clove of garlic
4 or 5 cups of veggie stock (homemade or low sodium commercial – love Pacific Natural brand!)
2 tablespoons olive oil
pepper, basil, oregano and chives
2 drips of lemon juice from a bottle of lemon juice or squeeze the juice from 1/2 of a lemon)

Directions:
In a frying pan with a olive oil, saute onions, tomato and garlic 5-10 minutes until veggies are all a wee bit soft and onion is translucent; remove to a bowl.
Add the stock to the crockpot and turn the crockpot on low
Add the squash to the frying pan and sautee in the remaining oil for about 5 minutes – you’re not cooking the squash, just softening up a wee bit and allowing the flavors from the oil (tomato, garlic & onions) to seep into the squash

Now add the squash and the remaining veggies to the crockpot along with the pepper and oregano (to your taste preference) – cook for about 1 hour until squash pieces have reached a texture you like.  Add the lemon juice and basil during the last 5-10 minutes of cooking.

Stir frequently and once soup is done to your tastes, serve warm or, allow to cool a bit and then puree.  If pureeing, you may want to then warm the soup back up prior to serving.  This is great cold too!  Serve the soup with crusty bread and chicken salad on a bed of lettuce for a quick light meal that even baby can partake of.

*Taste often as summer squash may turn a wee bit bitter if you are leaving the skins on the squash – you may peel if desired but there really should be no need if you are using fresh squash.   You could also add 1/2 cup of rinsed brown rice or even lentils to this 1/2 way through the cooking.

Tags: Soups, squash, summer squash, zucchini