Recipe Review

From The Joy of Cooking:

Basil Squash Puree (with summer squash)

Squash, chopped
Olive oil
1/2 t. salt
Garlic, opt.

1. Heat olive oil in pan, add chopped squash. 

2. Season with 1/2 t salt and a sprinkle of garlic (optional)

3. Cook covered 6 minutes

4. Drain juices

5. Put back on stove, add basil if you want, and cook another 2-3 minutes or until tender. 

6. Purée and enjoy.

My Review:
Easy to make, smells great, but took a bit longer than the recipe said. It's on my list to keep making, for sure.

Kids Review: 

My 9 month old really really likes it. She gobbles it up. I'm making more today and going to have my 2 yr. old try it.

Recipe Review

 From Weelicious.com, Veggie Heavy Pizza Sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 red, orange or yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes, drained

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the bell peppers, carrots, celery, onions and garlic. Saute until veggies are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 more minute, stirring constantly.
2. Add the tomatoes, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat, puree with an immersion hand blender (or in a regular blender) until almost smooth.
4. Return sauce to the heat and simmer until thick, 10-20 minutes. The longer you simmer this sauce the thicker and more flavorful it will become. You can simmer up to 2 hours.

My Review:
I loved the idea of having a lot of veggies in this sauce. But I tasted it and wasn't a fan at all, I just hoped the kids would be! Quite a strong taste of the bell pepper.

Kids Review: 
My 2 yr. old hated it. One mouthful and she was done. I used it mixed in with other items for my 8 month and she ate it that way, but not on its own. I won't be making this one again with this exact recipe - perhaps without the bell pepper I might.

Recipe Review

A new addition to this blog is going to be reviewing some of the recipes out there for babies and toddlers. To start, I'm going to review a few recipes from a website that I visit fairly often - weelicious.com - for which I have both positive and negative reviews. I'm going to include my review, as well as what my kids thought. To kick off these reviews...

From Weelicious.com, Broccoli, Potato, and Cheese Puree:

Ingredients

• 1 large potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup broccoli, chopped
• 2 tablespoons cheddar cheese (i used white cheddar cheese)

Preparation

1. Place the potato cubes in a steamer pot over boiling water and cook for 6 minutes.
2. Add the broccoli and steam for an additional 4 minutes or until vegetables are fork tender.
3. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and puree. 
4. Serve.

My Review: The picture that accompanied this recipe looked delicious, a puree of normal texture that had a light green tint to it. It's actually much thicker than a regular puree is, it is really just like thick mashed potatoes. You can taste the broccoli in it, but it's not an overpowering flavor. You cannot taste the cheese at all, so you could skip that completely. Next time I make it I am going to add in 1 c. cauliflower and see if changing the ratio of potato to veggie helps thin it out a bit, as well as add some more nutrition to it. I ate some with my leftovers for lunch and added some more cheese on top for a bit more flavor.

Kids Review: 2 year old did not like it. 7 month old ate it fine.