Gopher Guts- An Avocado Recipe

Soooo...A couple of weeks ago we decided to introduce Avocado to The Boopster...EASY! YAY! We love easy recipes. This was my first time experimenting with avocado...I use to eat it all the time when I was just a youngin'. My dad was a big fan of it..so I wanted to eat it just like him.  I was a daddy's girl for sure. Anyway...Every time I looked at the finished product..a song that I used to sing and LOVE, might I add, when I was just a wee one..." Great Green Gobs of Greasy, Grimy Gopher Guts" kept playing thought my head...over and over...It was quite pleasant...Anyway...that seemed to be just right for the title of this recipe..since this is pretty much what I have imagined Gopher Guts to look like..hopefully this tasted better....

Gopher Guts



Ingredients:

3 VERY Large Avocados

4 oz of Baby Pear Juice

What I did:
1. Roll Avocados around on counter top (supposed to make it easier to peel)
2. Cut Avocados in half...removed pits...and peel.
3. Toss in food processor
4. Add pear juice.
5. Spoon into trays.
6. Freeze or Serve
7. After freezing place in labeled Ziploc bags.

How long it took: About 15 minutes

How Easy was it: Probably one of the easiest thing I have made so far..I would say...A gopher without Guts could do it!
How much it made: 2 (1oz serving) trays.

Boopee Tested-Boopee Approved.. She really seemed to like the texture of this...I think she would give it a 4.5 out of 5!

What I'll do different next time...MAKE MORE!

Smashing Pumpkins

Well...Today was an adventure....If I had any pent up anger...I suppose I managed to get it out...With the whole persnickety pumpkin process... I had no idea that pumpkins could be quite so tough...I had never cooked one before...And well it was time to introduce a new food to the Boop...so well....with Pumpkins in season...It seemed logical...From what I have read...research says you can introduce pumpkins to your little pumpkins around 6 months.. .We are only a couple weeks shy... so anyway... When I first decided to do the pumpkin thing...I also decided to introduce some mild spices...so you will see those in the recipe below...anyway... I thought I was going to name it "Smells like Thanksgiving.." but after the confrontation....with said pumpkins....this morning...I changed my mind... Soooo...just so you know... I tried the entire set of Calphalon  knives... NONE were sharp enough to cut the little devils...After trying to saw through the pumpkin...I finally just stabbed it and whacked it on the floor as hard as I could and TaaaaaDaaaaaaa! Perfect! Split right in half...thus it inspired...
                                 
                                                Smashing Pumpkins

Ingredients:

4 Small(esh) Baking Pie Pumpkins - Total of 8 lbs

Dash of Nutmeg (About a 1/4 Teaspoon)

Dash of Cinnamon (About a 1/2 a Teaspoon)



    What I Did: 

1. Washed the Pumpkins...

2. Stabbed the Pumpkin and whacked them on the floor until the split in half... Enjoyed it.

3. Proceeded to De seed pumpkin....and then quartered them...

4. Placed pumpkin pieces face down in about 1" of water in a large baking dish in oven for about 1 hour at 400 degrees...

5. Removed and let cool.

6. Scooped out the gooey... and slapped into the food processor...

7.   Pressed Go...

8. Added Nutmeg and Cinnamon...Pretty much eyeballed it...

9. Spoon  into freezer trays.

10. Freeze...then place into Labeled Ziploc bags or Serve. 

                           

How LONG it took... WELL... It didn't take long once I figured out how to smash the pumpkin...I wasted about 30 minutes trying to saw into it... NEXT time...I'll go with the smashing method... Sooo... It probably would have taken me...About 25 minutes in the kitchen on my feet....Since I had 4 pumpkins...

Bake time was 1 hour.

How Easy was it... Really easy....Except for the Cutting of the Pumpkin... Heavy Sigh....A Box of Orange Juice could do it if it had mechanical hands...

How Much it made... 8 Trays... (1 oz cubes...)  A total of  80 OZS!!!!!! YAY! for only $5

Boopee Tested....Boopee Approved...I think she would give it a 4.9 out of 5..Absolutley NONE ended up on the Bib! So she must have liked it...Maybe it's the spices? hmmmm?

We are also planning on mixing it with a cube of our Slapples! yum! 

Give "Peas" A Chance

Woops....We Forgot one... Our classic Simple pea recipe... As I mentioned before....Peas Aren't Boopee's Fave...however....she seems to like these pretty good...The first time I tried to give Boopee peas...they were store bought...and she was not having it...AT ALL! So I am glad that she likes Mommy's peas...even if they aren't at the top of her list!

Give "Peas" A Chance

Ingredients:

2 Cups of Sweet Peas

4 Oz Baby Apple-Prune Juice

What We Did:

1. Steamed Peas on top of stove in our handy dandy royal prestige steamer! Took about 15 minutes!

2. Placed in Food processor.

3. Pressed Go.

4. Added Juice...Blended some more.

5. Spoon into trays...

6. Freeze.

7. Remove from freezer and place into labeled Ziploc bags or Serve!

How Much it Made :  2- 3 Trays (1 oz cubes)

How easy?  A Head of Lettuce could do it...If it had arms....and hands..and fingers...and a small brain..

How long did it take? The steaming...About 15 minutes.... Actual time spent on my feet in kitchen...About 10 minutes!

Boopee Tested....Boopee Approved! I think she would give it about a 3... She isn't crazy about peas...But HEY! At least she eats them..When I tried her on the store bought...I thought she was never going to eat peas....However...She slurps them up when we mix them with sweetsations...or other cubes...SOOOOO...Mixing is a GOOD thing...Sneaky...perhaps...but good. =)

Not So Secrets...

Sooooo... Just a quick little scribble here.. As we have been brewing and bubbling our concoctions in the kitchen...I am so glad I have chosen to go down this path and make Boopee's food. At first I was a little nervous about it all....I was always pretty confident and comfortable in the kitchen....but BABY food...It just seemed....I don't know...Like there should be some kind of  Magic baby ingredient...and that's why you have to buy baby food in the store...It just seemed to good to be true to be able to make it myself and for it to be cheaper..AND for her to like it...AND for it to be healthier!  It has really been a great experience so far...And super easy!  And I love knowing WHAT is going into my little girl's belly!  Soooo... Anyway...here are a couple of the little tid-bits/ random information concerning our baby food experiments...

1. The great thing about the Ice Tray Cubes....Boopee Eats 3..That's right Three at a time...(Gerber's jars of 1st step baby food are about 2.5 oz)  Only once a day... Sooo the really cool thing is... Each one is 1 oz... So you can mix the cubes... We do it all the time with previously introduced veggies.. For instance.. When we were trying peas... and she wasn't super crazy about them.. I would do  2 cubes of  "Ode to Peas" and 1 Cube of Sweetsations....Now we mix and match all the time!

2.  To Serve the food...I have found the best way to thaw it...Is to put it in a little bitty corning ware dish...they are super fancy cute! And put it in the microwave on defrost...instead of microwave...So it doesn't actually cook it...=)  In our microwave...it takes about 90 seconds to defrost 3 cubes...

3.  Juice... Juice is awesome for thinning and changing textures...or for helping "things" move along more naturally... And if you accidentally push the wrong button on the microwave....it cools things down...really quick.. =) still check for hot spots in baby's food....we don't want to burn little one. =)

4. Formula....I don't add formula to my purees before I freeze them... however... after they are thawed...and I am ready to serve... added mixed formula....makes things creamier... and can help cool things off too.

5. Fussy when eating...All of a sudden.... a Couple of weeks ago...Boopee suddenly started fussing everyday while she was eating... I couldn't figure it out... then I noticed she was eyeing her bottle... Found out...she is like her Mommy...she HAS to have sips of her drink between bites... Soooo...If your little one suddenly starts fussing...Who knows...maybe???

Slapples

Our Latest Experiment in the kitchen...Apples...I had no idea...Seriously...I have personally never been a HUGE apple fan...However...after this apple adventure...well...I am considering making apple pies...apple turnovers..Carmel covered apples....or just helping Boopee eat her apples...We have been taking our time with introducing the veggies....I wanted Boopee to have lots of Veggie experiences before we started fruits...Sooo...now that we have tried sweet potatoes, squash, sweet peas, carrots, green beans...I thought it was time for a little dessert... After doing some reading..I decided to Steam the apples...instead of baking...it seems that steaming is the best way to lock in those nutrients! And
we want to hold on to as many nutrients as we can! I wasn't really sure about how the whole steaming of the apple situation was going to go down... I figured steamed apples ...hmmm....doesn't sound to tasty....Well....I was super duper WAY wrong... I have never tasted anything soooooooo naturally sweet! Oh My! They were scrumptious! I had to stop myself from eating them all...We decided to name them Slapples...since they were so good they almost make ya wanna slap ya mama! ohhh..and lets not even talk about how they smell....it could totally have been bottled up and sold at Yankee candle or as a wall flower fragrance....Yum.

Slapples

Ingredients:

2 Red Delicious Apples

2 Golden Delicious Apples

2 Fuji Apples

What We Did:

1. Wash Apples.

2.  Cored Apples using our handy dandy Kitchen Aide Apple Corer... Then peeled the skin off...and cut apples into smaller pieces...

3. Placed into our lovely stove top steamer....

4. Steamed for about...20 Minutes.

5. Dumped Apples into food Processor....Enjoyed the Aromas...yummmmmm...

6. Pressed Go.

7. Spoon into Freezer trays.

8. After Freezing...place in labeled Ziploc bags or Serve!

How long it took:  About 20 minutes to steam...And About 30 actually spent in kitchen working......Peeling apples takes a while...

How much it made:  2 Trays ( 1 oz cubes)

How easy was it? Um...I think that a Walrus could do it if it had real hands!

Boopee Tested...Boopee Approved! I think she would give this one a 5 out of 5....Not one drop has ended up on the bib...it has been super slurped...

What I have learned about apples....

1. They smell super good when they are being cooked....

2. They taste really good when they are fresh....Way better than any applesauce I have ever tasted...or any other apple product...for that matter...

3. They are sticky. Really sticky.

4. They help with PicInics. =)

5. Get lots of apples....For a couple of reasons...once you core them and peel them....there isn't a whole lot left....and once they are steamed they will be even smaller.... and you might want some for yourself... =)

Crazy Carrot~ "Butt Stain"

Soooo...As we have created our potions over the last few weeks...we have finally decided to try carrots... I was a little hesitant because of the whole concern of nitrate poisoning.... so I discussed it with Boopee's pediatrician... and she said no worries... To give the baby some carrots! SOOOO. Carrots...Stand back! Here we come... They were super easy... And Boopee seems to love them! However... Talk about making someones Butt stained ORANGE! OH MY! were we in for a surprise! If you didn't know...know you know...or you will know soon enough if you try them on your little one... what goes in Orange...comes out orange...and what stains the bib...Stains...the Butt! Sooo that sort of inspired the title of this one to be...probably rather a little unappetizing...but we think memorable and appropriate...
                                                         Butt Stain

Ingredients:

3 Pounds of Carrots

4 oz Baby Apple-Prune Juice

What We Did:

      1. Washed carrots. Placed in handy dandy Royal Prestige Steamer pot on top of stove... Steamed for nearly an hour... THEY TOOK A LONG TIME.

2. Place in Food Processor

3. Pressed Button.

4. Added Juice... Blended a while longer... until consistency was smoother.

5. Spooned into Freezer trays.

6. Freeze.

7. Remove from freezer and place into labeled Ziploc bags or Serve.

How Long did it take?  The cooking of the Carrots took a while...about a good 40 minutes...but I probably spent about 20 minutes in the Kitchen working...

How Easy Was it? Pretty Dag Gum easy.

How Much did It make: 4 Trays ( 1 oz Cubes)

Boopee Tested. Boopee Approved.. I think she would give it a 4.7 ! She seems to love carrots so far!

Only bad things about carrots:  They stain..Clothes... and Baby butts. AND they seem to give her gas... So I end up giving her a couple of drops of mylicon... I hope that gets better after she eats them a few more times...because she seems to really dig them.. and they also help her "PicInic!"

Sinfonia in "Pea"

This...This is a combination of stuff that is green..and yellow...I suppose you could say its a blend of three independent voices... Hence the name Sinfonia...  It's actually got a couple more things involved...but we will just call that developmental material... =) Sooo Without further ado...

Sinfonia in "Pea"

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of Green beans

3/4 Cup of Peas

1 Butternut Squash

1 Acorn Squash

2 oz baby apple juice

2.5 oz of baby pear juice



What to do:

1. Cut Butternut Squash Lengthwise, remove seeds,  and place face down in 1/2 inch of water and bake on 400 for about an hour...

2. Stab Acorn Squash a Sit on a foil covered pan and bake on 400 for about an hour...

3. Place Green Beans and Peas in Steamer...(on top of Stove preferably to retain more nutrients) and STEAM! (took about 20 minutes)

4. When Squash, are done... Remove from oven... Scoop out the yumminess and slap up into the food processor...

5. Add Steamed green beans and peas...

6. Puree Away...

7. Add Juices....

8. More Pureeing...

9. Spoon into freezer trays...

10. Freeze..

11. Remove from Freezer and place into labeled Ziploc bags or Serve.

How much it Made: About 6 Trays ( 1- oz cube )

How long it took:  Cook Time was about an hour

                              Actual Time Spent on my feet in Kitchen Working...About 30 Minutes...

How Easy Was it? Pretty Easy!  Just more time consuming when you add more prep of the extra veggies..

Boopee Tested: Boopee Approved... I would say she gives this a 4 out of 5. It still has peas...but they are disguised pretty good by some of her other favorite veggies!