Sunday, December 13, 2009

Your Secret Weapon...

My sister was telling me about a side dish she served at dinner the other night, chopped fruit mixed with yogurt and I thought...oh yeah, I need to serve fruit at dinner more often. That is your secret weapon - kids will always eat fruit. It is a great accompaniment to dinner as well as a substitute for dessert. If you can mix fruit in with your main dish, you may have a hit on your hands. Below are some recipes for you to try. Enjoy!

6 months and older
Once baby has had both applesauce and squash, try mixing them together. Experiment with the proportions but I like 1 part apple to 6 parts squash. You can also serve this as a side dish for the rest of the family with a little freshly ground nutmeg.

8 months and older (see note below)
Chicken Couscous with Dried Fruit (adapted from Food Made Fast: Weeknight (Williams-Sonoma) by Melanie Barnard and Chuck Williams http://www.amazon.com/Food-Made-Fast-Weeknight-Williams-Sonoma/dp/0848731379/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260771546&sr=8-2)
serves 4
2 cups shredded roast chicken
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup mixed dried fruits, chopped
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup couscous
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Saute onion with olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and saute an additional 1-2 minutes. Add the cumin and cinnamon, and then stir in the chicken, lemon juice, dried fruits, and broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Now add in the couscous, re-cover and remove from the heat. Let stand until the liquid is absorbed and the couscous is softened, about 5 minutes. Garnish with the almonds and serve.

Note: To modify this for younger babies you can add the chicken in at the end and use water instead of chicken broth. To serve for the rest of the family just add in the chicken (warmed in the microwave) and garnish with the almonds.

10 months and older
Spicy Apricot-Glazed Chicken from Everyday Food Magazine: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/spicy-apricot-glazed-chicken

This recipe is great: three ingredients and it cooks up in 15 minutes start to finish! I have a terrible gas broiler so it took an additional 5 minutes at the end. I did include the red pepper flakes. It was slightly spicy but neither of my daughters complained and both asked for seconds!

1 comment:

monica said...

Yeah! I'm in your blog!! I gotta tell you; you have great recipes!!
3 Cheers for fruit at dinner for a change!! Right now; banana and orange slices mixed together are delicious!!