Recipe: Baby Beef Stew

 Baby Beef Stew

Our little man is a true lover of meat and potatoes, just like his mommy. Since I've been working, I've been all about trying to save time and found that the crock pot is the answer. It's been a lifesaver! Here's our super delicious and protein-filled recipe for super easy beef stew.

Ingredients:
4 large russet potatoes
6 carrots
1 onion
1 chuck roast or sirloin (2-3lbs)
1/4 cup of water 
(2-3 zucchini's if you wanted to make it more colorful)

Add all ingredients to crock pot and cook on high for 6 hours. I may not be a great cook because I love cooking everything on high, but it really makes a difference in the tenderness of the meat in this case.


I've noticed that usually babies try turkey, then chicken, then beef. We started with chicken and veal and then did beef. We began offering meats after veggies and fruits at about 7 months.
The first few times I made it, I didn't use any spices. Now that Max is 13 months, I add a half a package of the Lipton Onion Soup to the Mix and sometimes a couple cloves of garlic.

Then comes the more time consuming part - blending. One roast usually yields a lot - roughly 70 oz of beef. I usually transfer to a large glass bowl and make the first portion fresh. Then, after he goes to bed, I blend the rest using some water to make it less thick. I then freeze the rest and reheat either in hot water (I've almost abandoned that entirely) or in a glass bowl in the microwave. We love this recipe because it's delicious, easy to make, and yields a ton! Max will usually eat 4-6 oz for dinner and loves it!

Also, if you have cleaning out the crock pot afterwards, I'd recommend using the Slow Cooker Liners. They're great and unfortunately, I run out all the time. There's less mess to clean up and you can just transfer the bag into a large glass bowl until the stew cools.

Making Stage One (Stage 1) Baby Food - Carrots

Here's our super easy recipe for a carrot puree (steamed):

I purchased some organic carrots, even though they are not on the list of the 'Dirty Dozen' (the fruits and veggies with the most pesticides on them). However, when it comes to baby food, I think organic is the way to go.
NOTE: Unlike sweet potatoes and squash, the return on carrots is not as great. I purchased one pound of carrots and cooked about half the bag and I thought I would have tons of carrots, but I ended up with about 12oz of baby food (about 6 servings).

1). Bring about one cup of water to a boil, make sure the pot is covered with a lid. Wash, peel, and chop off the ends of your carrots.2). Next, chop your carrots into relatively thick rings and place into the pot. Depending on the thickness and the amount of carrots the steaming time will vary slightly. I check after 20 minutes. If you can easily cut the thickest piece in half with a spoon, it's done!



3). Here's the fun part...blending! Place your steamed carrots into the 'blender' of your choice.

After experimenting with several blenders, I really just love using my Ninja Food Chopper. It's super fast and easy to use. We have a nice blender which we hardly ever use and I bought the Magic Baby Bullet, which is only magical for the containers so far (they're so stinking cute). If I had a do-over, I would have just saved the money and stuck with the Ninja, but, alas, I'm a First Time Mom. I bought the Ninja for $15 at Fry's four years ago and it's saved me COUNTLESS HOURS in the kitchen and now it's saving me time yet again.
 

3). I add a bit of breastmilk to the mix (no pun intended), but you can add some water or a liquid of your choice.


4). And voilà, baby carrot purée made! (Yes, we are now French cuisine experts and need the lingo to match.)



5). Like I mentioned earlier, I didn't get that much baby food out of this batch. You can either store your purée in the refrigerator (good for up to 48 hours, some say 72 max), or freeze. I have been cooling on the counter for about 20 minutes, then transferring the freezer friendly containers to the refrigerator for a few hours, and then freezing in the freezer.




These are 2oz silicone ice cube trays, so essentially 6 carrots yielded 7oz of baby food. Perfect if you are introducing for the first couple of days!