Works for Me Wednesday

This week, We Are THAT Family is hosting a Back To School edition of Works for me Wednesday. I don't have any school aged children, but once upon a time, in a land far far away, I was a school aged child.

Sigh.

Back in the day, I used to freeze my juice boxes.  I would put it in my lunch in the morning frozen solid and by lunchtime, it would be icy cold and ready to drink.  Or super slushy and ready to be enjoyed for dessert with a spoon.  Either way, I was a very happy camper.  It can also serve to keep a sandwich or fruit cup cold.  (A frozen container of yogurt also works!)

Speaking of lunch, I had planned to share some recipes for what Chloe has been eating, lately. She is 16 months old, and while she does have 6 teeth, they are all in the front and are really not terribly useful in chewing food.  I find that she basically swallows much of what I give her whole.  I'll give you one guess as to how I know this.  Ahem.  Anywho...  I feel better if I run her meat dishes through the food processor.

Chili

1 lb. ground beef, chicken or turkey browned and seasoned with chili powder, garlic powder and cumin - to taste.

Once browned, I put this in the food processor and give it a whir.  Then to the food processor, I add:

1 can of black beans drained and rinsed.

1 can diced tomatoes.  I buy no slat added tomatoes for this purpose.

1 cup corn frozen or canned - heat if frozen.

I give it another quick whir, then I spoon meal sized portions onto a cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap, freeze for a few hours and then put the servings all together into a large freezer bag.  When it's time to serve, I put one serving into a Corelle bowl and microwave for 1 minute. (If you can avoid microwaving in plastic bowls, you should.)

Another item I like to keep in the freezer is applesauce chicken.  For this, I just brown ground chicken and whir it up with some unsweetened applesauce and a little bit of cinnamon. Sometimes, I feed her this for breakfast.  She loves it!

Spaghetti

1 lb. ground beef, chicken or turkey - brown and put into the food processor.

To the food processor, add:

1 jar of Newman's Own Marinara Sauce.

half a box of frozen spinach thawed and drained

Once the sauce is done, combine it with cooked alphabet pasta.  This is the perfect sized pasta for Chloe, so I don't grind it up.   Once everything is combined, I do the flash freezing I mentioned above.

The last time I made up meals for Chloe I made a variation of her favorite:

Instead of black beans, I combined the sweet potato puree with browned ground chicken and the other half of the box of spinach.  Cumin is a great spice to add to this recipe.

Chloe is really wanting to feed herself, these days.  She's not great at it, but she is learning.  The recipes above are great ones for practicing.  The texture of the meals work well for sticking to the baby spoon.  I usually give her a spoon and have one for me to use, as well.  She can practice, and I can feed her in between bites.  She's happy with her spoon and feeling good about herself.  She's not fighting me for the spoon, she's not making too big of a mess, and it doesn't take us a sweet forever to get a meal in her!  Cheerios in milk or yogurt, or cottage cheese with finely diced fruit also work well for practice for breakfast.

What finger foods do you give your toddler?  I don't really want her eating her body weight in hot dogs every week, though she sure does LOVE them...  I give her grilled cheese, lots of beans, and sliced cheese sticks.  I'd love to hear your go to toddler foods!

For more great tips, especially Back to School tips, head over to We Are THAT Family for Works For Me Wednesday!