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