Graduation Recipes

At around 9 months of age, you may be starting to transition your baby from purees to chunkier food.
At dinner time, you may sometimes find yourself at a loss. She is still too small to eat what you made for dinner if you made steak or burgers or chicken stir fry or spicy tomato sauce. But making a special meal for her now is a little more complicated than just boiling and blending a sweet potato.

So, what is the solution?

Here are a few recipes that are baby safe and friendly and still delicious for the adults at the table:

Teeny Pasta Soup

• Place 3 tomatoes, 1/4 of an onion, and one clove of garlic with 1 cup of water in the blender. Liquefy.
• In a large pot, toast some small pasta. Use stars or "pumpkin seed pasta". That's exactly what it's called. They look like little seeds. Use about half a pound. Toast it in some oil until it starts to brown.
• Add the tomato puree you just blended to the pasta.
• Add two cups of chicken broth.
• Bring to a boil and cook until pasta is soft.
• Salt to taste if you wish.

With Chicken

• Boil a chicken breast
• Cool and shred
• Saute the shredded chicken with the pasta while it is still toasting.
• Add tomato sauce. Follow the rest of the above recipe.

If you don't want to add chicken, this is a great side soup for a main course of grilled chicken or steak or anything else you might want for dinner that night.

Beef Stew

• Make your tomato puree in the blender again
• Cut three potatoes into small cubes
• Slice 2 or 3 carrots
• Slice half an onion
• Slice 2 stalks of celery
• Cut 3 ears of corn in half
• Saute the potatoes and carrots in a large pot for about 7 minutes
• Add the stew meat
• When the meat has some color, add the onions, celery and corn. Add a smidgen of water Cover.
• After about 7 minutes, add the tomato puree with two cups of chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Let simmer for about an hour.

If you like cilantro, it adds a marvelous touch to both or these recipes. Just add it near the end.

P.S. Rice and beans are a perfect meal for your little one, or even rice by itself if you happen to be having that.
Or you could add some avocado to the beans or rice if you'd like.