Freezing Homemade Baby FoodWritten by Rachel Paxton
With our twin boys getting ready to start solid food, I have been reading about making and freezing my own baby food. It is very easy!You can make up large quantities of baby meals and freeze them for later use. Green beans are in season and were on sale at grocery store, so I bought several pounds to prepare and freeze. I steamed them in an electric steamer for about 20 minutes and then blended them in blender with some water until they were pureed. I then poured puree into ice cube trays. After cubes were frozen I transferred them to a reclosable freezer bag and labeled bag with name of vegetable and date. These cubes can be stored in freezer for 1-2 months. One cube is approximately 1 ounce of food and can be thawed out in refrigerator or microwaved for a quick meal. You can also mix cubes together (e.g. one meat, one vegetable) for a combination meal. The cubes also travel well, just place a frozen cube in a sealed container until ready to eat...it will be all thawed out and ready to go. Many types of foods can be prepared ahead of time and frozen. Try freezing cereals, pureed meats, vegetables, and fruits. Fruits (except bananas) need to be cooked before they are pureed and served to baby. Cubes of same type (vegetables, fruits, meats) can be stored in freezer together.
| | Ground Turkey RecipesWritten by Rachel Paxton
Our family has recently made switch from ground beef to ground turkey. With ground beef more than $2 a pound, we had basically quit eating hamburger for quite some time. On a recent trip to grocery store I noticed that ground turkey was HALF price of ground beef, about $1 a pound. I decided to give it a try, and our family loved ground turkey. Honestly, you can't even tell difference in taste, and it is very low fat. There is almost no fat to remove from your pan. Here are some recipes our family adapted to our tastes:Turkey Chili 1 tbsp. vegetable oil 1 medium onion, chopped 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced 1 lb. ground turkey 4 cloves of garlic, minced 1-2 tbsp. chili powder 1 28-oz. can of crushed tomatoes 1 15-oz. can of black beans, drained 1 tsp. dried oregano 1 can corn (optional) In a large soup pan, cook onion, pepper, celery, and turkey in oil until turkey is cooked through. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes, beans, and oregano, and stir well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer partially covered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add corn and simmer for 10 more minutes. Serves 6. Turkey Lasagna 1 tbsp. vegetable oil 1 lb. ground turkey 1 clove garlic, chopped 1 cup onions, chopped 1 (14 1/2-oz.) can tomatoes, chopped, reserve liquid 1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste 2 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning 8 uncooked lasagna noodles 1 (12-oz.) carton cottage or Ricotta cheese 3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
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