Chocolate Cream Pie

Ingredients:
For the Crust:
24 Oreo cookies, crushed
3 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled

For the Filling:
2 + 1/2 cups half & half
pinch of salt
1/3 cup sugar, divided
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
6 egg yolks, at room temperature
6 Tbsp. butter, cold and cubed
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chips or chopped bar
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 tsp. vanilla

For the Topping:
1 + 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar (or more to taste)
1 tsp. vanilla

Chocolate Shavings for garnishing (Optional)

Directions:
To make the crust, crush your Oreo cookies and mix with the butter until it can be pressed into a 9" pie pan. Refrigerate the crust for 10 minutes and then bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes until it is set. Cool on a wire wrack.

To make the filling, bring the half & half, salt, and 3 Tbsp. of the sugar up to a simmer. Stir it frequently to avoid burning the cream on the bottom of the pan. Mix together the remaining sugar and the cornstarch in a separate bowl and set aside. Whisk together the egg yolks for 30 seconds until thickened slightly and then add the cornstarch and sugar mixture. Whisk together again until it looks glossy and smooth, about 1 minute longer. When the half & half mixture is simmering, add a small amount of it to the egg mixture to bring it up to heat. Continue doing that until you can incorporate the egg mixture into the pan without the eggs cooking. Return to simmer until the mixture thickens and looks glossy, about 20 seconds longer.

Remove the mixture from the heat and whisk in the butter, chocolate, and vanilla. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to fully mix the ingredients together. Pour the mixture into the pie crust pan and lay plastic wrap over the top so that a film doesn't form over the filling. Chill the pie for several hours until the filling and crust are well chilled.

To make the topping:
Once the pie is chilled completely, you can start the whipped topping. Place all ingredients into a medium bowl and beat with a mixer until the cream forms a good peak. Then spread the cream over the pie and garnish with chocolate shavings.

Time to Make: about an hour plus chilling time
Difficulty: Medium
Recipe Origin: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/chocolate-cream-pie-recipe/

Butternut Squash and Pears

Ingredients:
1 Butternut Squash
2 Pears

Directions:
To prepare your squash, peel the skin off being sure to remove the skin down to the orange flesh. Cut it in half and scoop out the seeds in the middle. Cube the squash and steam it for about 12-15 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile peel and core the pears and place them in your food processor or blender. Wait to blend them until the squash is tender and then blend the two until they are a nice puree. You can add liquid if necessary from water used to steam the squash, or apple juice works well too. Place puree in ice cubes trays and freeze. Once solid, remove the puree cubes to a freezer container or baggie and keep frozen until needed up to 3 months. Makes about 24 cubes.

*You can also add the pears to the squash for the last few minutes of steaming and then transfer all the ingredients to the processor/blender.

Difficulty: Easy
Time to make: about 20 minutes
Recipe Origin: http://www.annabelkarmel.com/recipes/butternut-squash-pear-puree
Introduce to Baby: Makes a good beginner food.

Sweet Potato and Apple Puree

Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato
2-3 sweet apples (such as gala, jonagold, jonathon, etc.)

Directions:
Prepare your sweet potato by either baking it or steaming it. If you bake it, follow this recipe. If you steam it, then you need to peel your potato and cut it into cubes. Steam it for 6-8 minutes or until the pieces are tender when poked.

Prepare your apples by steaming them as well. Peel, core, and cut apples into thin slices. Steam for 6-8 minutes until tender.

Place the potato meat and the apples in a food processor or blender. Add enough water from the steamer to make a smooth puree. Spoon the puree into ice cubes and freeze till solid. Transfer cubes to a freezer container or baggie. Makes about 12 ice cubes.

To serve: Thaw ice cubes overnight in a fridge or under hot water in a baggie until the puree is warm. You can add more liquid before serving or baby cereal if you want. Discard any leftovers.

Difficuly: Easy
Time to Make: 20 minutes - 1 hour (depending on how you prepare the potatoes)
Recipe Origin: online somewhere
Introduce to Baby: Makes a good beginner food.

Sweet Potato Puree

Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes

Directions:
Scrub your sweet potatoes to clean them and wrap them in foil. Prick holes in the potatoes for steam vents and bake at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes, or until they are tender. Cool slightly and unwrap the sweet potatoes. Scoop out the meat of the potato and place it in a food processor or blender. Add a little liquid such as breast milk, water, or apple juice and puree till smooth. Spoon into ice cube trays and cover with wrap. Freeze until solid and then transfer the cubes to a freezer container or baggie.

To serve: Place an ice cube or two in a baggie and thaw under hot water until the puree is warm. You can add baby cereal or more liquid if necessary before serving. Makes about 24 ice cubes.

Difficulty: super easy
Time to make: about an hour start to finish
Recipe Origin: online somewhere
Introduce to Baby: Makes a good beginner food.

Chocolate Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup (2sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 + 1/4 cups flour (more if you want them a little thicker)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa
2 cups chocolate chips (or any kind of chips you want to use)
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine wet ingredients and mix well till smooth. Add dry ingredients, chips, and nuts and mix till blended. Drop by spoonful on a cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Cool slightly before removing from cookie sheet.

Difficulty: Easy
Time to Make: about 45 minutes
Recipe Origin: Tricia Richards

Irish Stew

Ingredients:
1/3 cup + 1 T. Flour, divided
1 + 1/2 lbs stew meat (beef or lamb)
3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
3 medium onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups reduced sodium beef broth
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 medium carrots, sliced into 1 inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Basil, Parsley, Thyme, any other herbs you want to add (start with 1/2 tsp. and add more if need be)
2 Tbsp. water

Directions:
Add the 1/3 cup of flour to a large resealable bag and place the stew meat in the bag. Seal the bag and shake well to coat the stew meat in the flour evenly. In a large hot skillet, brown the stew meat in 2 batches in 1 Tbsp. oil for each batch. Set browned meat aside.

Add the remaining 1 Tbsp. oil and saute the onions until tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the broth and scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen any bits, then return the meat to the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and continue to simmer for 1 hour.

Add potatoes and carrots and cook for 20 more minutes. Then add the frozen peas and continue to cook 5-10 minutes longer, until all vegetables are tender.

Add the seasonings. In a small cup mix together the remaining 1 Tbsp. flour with the 2 Tbsp. water. Mix until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the stew and cook for a couple more minutes until it starts to thicken. Serve stew hot. Serves 8.

Difficulty: Easy
Time to Make: about 2 hours from start to finish
Recipe Origin: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/favorite-irish-stew