There is a good reason most of the recipes are beef, my girls had no problems with chicken! Just hand them delicious chicken and they go to town. I didn’t have to make baby chicken. Beef was chewier for them so ground beef in meatballs or sauce was acceptable. You can adapt these recipes with ground lamb, pork or chicken. Enjoy the last phase before they eat like adults.
Tomato sauce (ground beef)
- 250g pureed tomatoes (4 large)
- ½ carrot
- ½ onion
- 1 garlic
- Pinch of fresh rosemary or fresh basil
- ¼ leek
- 150g ground beef
- Chicken stock (as required)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional)
- Salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a pan, cook the onions, leek and garlic. Till onions are translucent.
- Increase heat to medium-high and add ground beef, cook until brown on all sides.
- Add carrots and cook for a few minutes.
- Add the pureed tomatoes and tomato paste (if using) and cook for a few minutes.
- Add stock or water and reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes or until tomatoes taste sweet. Season with salt, pepper and rosemary or basil. Serve baby with rice, pasta or mashed potatoes.
Meat pie filling.
One day, I made more filling than my pie dough. I offered the leftover filling to my babies with mashed potatoes and they loved, so it came on their menu.
- 1 onion (fine dice)
- 1 garlic (minced)
- 1 potato (medium diced)
- ¼ teaspoon thyme
- ¼ teaspoon mild curry powder
- ⅛ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ carrot
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 250g ground beef
- 1½ tablespoon vegetable oil
- ⅛ cayenne pepper
- Chicken stock (as needed)
- 1 teaspoon flour (to thicken)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Cook onions and garlic on low heat in vegetable oil till softened.
- Increase the heat and add ground beef, cook till completely browned.
- Add diced potatoes and carrots. Add enough chicken stock to cover the vegetables and meat. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are cooked through.
- Season with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme, curry powder and chili. Cook for a few more minutes, thicken sauce to desired constancy by adding flour, 1 teaspoon should be fine unless too much liquid was used.
- Serve baby with rice or mashed potatoes.
Fish fingers
- 200g white fish fillet
- 1 egg (beaten)
- ¼ cup flour
- ¼ cup bread crumbs
- Salt and pepper
- Cut fish fillet into desired size. Wrap in kitchen paper towel to dry out extra moisture.
- Season flour with salt and pepper and set in a tray. Also set egg and bread crumbs in separate trays.
- Preheat oven to 200˚C.
- Coat fish first in flour, then in egg and then coat with bread crumbs and set on parchment lined baking trays. Do this for all the fish fillet.
- Bake in the oven for about 10-12 minutes. You may need to flip the fish if it is browning too quickly. Serve with gravy, mashed potatoes and steamed carrots/peas.
Meatballs in tomato sauce.
Meatballs – about 20 meatballs of 30g each.
- 450g ground beef
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp onion powder (or ¼ fresh onion in fine dice or blended)
- ½ tsp garlic powder (or cloves in fine dice or blended)
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 egg (lightly beaten)
- ¼ Coriander powder (optional)
- ¼ cup bread crumbs (crushed to fine)
Sauce
- 500g chopped tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 onion
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon fresh basil
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- Chicken/vegetable stock (as needed, optional)
- Preheat oven to 180˚C
- Combine all the ingredients and make about 20 equal balls (this ensures they cook evenly)
- Line an oven tray with parchment paper and bake meatballs for 8 minutes.
- Heat oil in a pan and cook onions till tender, add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add chopped tomatoes and tomato paste; cook for about 20 minutes on low heat till tomatoes taste sweet.
- Season sauce with salt, pepper, basil, oregano and cayenne pepper. Add some stock to the sauce, return meatballs to sauce and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Serve baby with rice, pasta or mashed potatoes.
