Baked Potato Soup

I made this soup for our Thanksgiving evening dinner and it was delicious! I will post a picture soon!

12 regular or 7 large potatoes
1 cup + 1 T. flour
1 cup + 1 T. butter
8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz. Velveeta
16 oz. sour cream
½ gallon whole milk, plus I add another cup or two of 2% at the end
4 t. chicken bullion
¾ t. pepper/salt

Wash and bake potatoes for 1 hr in 400 degree oven. Cool then cut up into small pieces, with or without peel.

In large pan, melt butter over low heat. Add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook 1 minute stirring constantly.

Gradually add milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until bubbly.

Add potatoes, salt, pepper, cheese, chicken bullion. Cook until heated. Stir in sour cream and extra milk to preferred consistency.

Recipe courtesy of Sally Scroggs

Oatmeal Pancake Mix

This pancake mix is similar to what you buy in the store, but you control the ingredients and therefore know EXACTLY what you are putting into you body! Store in an airtight container.

4C old fashioned oats
3T baking powder
2C flour
2 T cinnamon
2C whole wheat flour
5t salt
1C packed brown sugar
1/2t cream of tarter
1C instant dry milk

Mix ingredients together. Store in a airtight container Makes 10 cups.

To make pancakes:
2 eggs
1/3C olive oil/applesauce/coconut oil
2C pancake mix
1C water

Beat eggs in bowl. Gradually beat in oil. Alternately add pancake mix and water to mixture. Blend well. Yields 10 pancakes.

I like to add one cup of canned pumpkin and 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice to the mix. GREAT way to add extra vegetables into your diet.

I make a big batch of pancakes and allow un-eaten pancakes to cool to room temperature. Wrap each pancake individually and freeze. When you want a pancake, heat in toaster or toaster oven. Cheaper and healthier than store-bought frozen pancakes!

Baby Food - Second Taste Ideas

• I buy StoneyField Organic Plain Whole Milk Yogurt and mix in some fruit puree. It is much cheaper than YoBaby and has less sugar, all of which is natural.
• Make a big batch of Vegetable Soup. Drain the liquid and add a few cooked vegetables to a vegetable puree. This teaches baby to “gum” the food.
• Hard-boil an egg and chop it really finely. Add to a vegetable puree for protein and to teach baby to “gum” food. It is recommended to start with the egg yolk before the egg white if you are concerned about food allergies.
• Add some drained, rinsed beans to a vegetable puree for added protein.
• Mash some garbanzo beans (chickpeas) with some formula or breast milk. Spread thinly on a thin piece of whole grain tortilla and roll up. Let baby chew and suck on the beans.
• Add grated cheese to vegetable purees.
• Dip homemade crackers or homemade teething biscuit in fruit puree and give to baby to suck on.
• Add vegetables from vegetable soup to cooked quinoa or couscous. A little messy…but a GREAT meal for baby.
• Make a big batch of homemade pancakes with added pumpkin. Freeze individually. Give to baby to chew on. Great for teething when frozen.

Baby Food - Fruit Purees

Let’s face it, baby food is expensive! It is so much easier, cheaper and healthier just to make your own. All you need to get started is a blender/food processor, a steamer (or you can boil the vegetables in a saucepan on the stove), and an ice-cube tray or mini-muffin tin. I have purchased 2 silicon mini-muffin tins to freeze my baby food portions. I feel that the ice cube trays do not hold enough puree. I like the silicon because it is easy to un-mold the food. I will usually spend an afternoon making a few different purees so we have enough for a couple of weeks.

Apples
Peel and dice apples. Steam or boil in water until just tender. Mash with fork or blend in blender or food processor. Cook with a cinnamon stick for more flavor.

Pears
Peel and dice pears. Steam or boil in water until just tender. Mash with fork or blend in blender or food processor. Once baby is able to gum food, you can just mash a very ripe pear with a fork.

Peaches
Peel and dice pears. Steam or boil in water until just tender. Mash with fork or blend in blender or food processor.

Banana
Slice a very ripe banana and mash with a fork. Pairs VERY well with avocado. Does not freeze.

Berries
Steam a bag of frozen veggies or boil in water until tender. Mash with fork or blend in blender or food processor.

Baby Food - Vegetable Purees

Let’s face it, baby food is expensive! It is so much easier, cheaper and healthier just to make your own. All you need to get started is a blender/food processor, a steamer (or you can boil the vegetables in a saucepan on the stove), and an ice-cube tray or mini-muffin tin. I have purchased 2 silicon mini-muffin tins to freeze my baby food portions. I feel that the ice cube trays do not hold enough puree. I like the silicon because it is easy to un-mold the food. I will usually spend an afternoon making a few different purees so we have enough for a couple of weeks.

Sweet Potatoes
Wash a sweet potato and pierce a few times with a knife. Wrap in foil and bake in 350 oven for about an hour. Mash without peel. Add a little formula or breast milk to reach desired consistency.

Butternut/Acorn Squash
Pierce squash a few times with a sharp knife. Place on cookie sheet and bake in 350 oven for about an hour and a half. Scoop out flesh with spoon and mash with some formula or breast milk to reach desired consistency.

Peas/Broccoli/Green Beans
Steam frozen vegetables until tender. Blend/puree with added formula or breast milk until vegetables reach desired consistency.
*Note* Frozen fruits/vegetables CAN be refrozen once they are in puree form.

Tomatoes
Dice tomatoes and sauté in olive oil and a little diced onion and garlic (for flavor) until tender. Mash with fork. Tomatoes are not too great on their own because of their strong flavor, but they can be added to squash or green beans.

Avocadoes
Mash ripe avocados with a fork. Very tasty when mixed with mashed bananas. CANNOT be frozen.

Homemade Teething Biscuit

I get really frustrated with teething biscuits. Firstly, they have a lot of unnecessary ingredients (some of which I cannot even pronounce), quite a bit of sugar, they make a big mess and they break off into pieces that can easily get stuck in baby’s throat. Let’s not even talk about the cost!
These teething biscuits are cheaper, really easy to make, and a lot healthier. They also do not make as much of a mess and do not break into smaller pieces. I make them with my own homemade whole wheat honey bread, but you can use any bread of your choice!
Take one piece of whole-grain bread and cut off crusts. Roll up into a “log” and squeeze in hands. Cook in microwave for 1 minute and let cool. Give to baby to munch on.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

6 Loaves
6.5-7 cups hot water
1 cup oil
1 cup honey
2T dough enhancer
1/3 cup gluten
2 T salt
5-6T yeast
18 cups flour

3 Loaves
3.5 cups hot water
½ cup oil
½ cup honey
1T dough enhancer
1/6 cup gluten
1T salt
2T yeast
9 cups flour

Pour hot water in mixing bowl (just warm out of the tap). Add oil, honey, dough enhancer, gluten, salt, and 10 cups of flour (or 5 cups if halving recipe). Add yeast on top. Mix just a little bit then turn the machine speed to 1 (low) and continue to add flour only until the dough begin to pull away from the sides of the bowl (not sure what that will look like for you?) The dough should be a little tacky – don’t add too much flour
Turn machine up to medium and knead for 4-5 min. Remove dough from bowl and place into greased bowl or on the counter top. Grease your hands before handling. I use coconut oil. Olive oil doesn’t work great but it might be fine in a smaller batch or I would use butter – something heavier.
Sponge the bread by letting it sit with towel over it 15-20 – this makes it lighter and softer.
Slam the whole thing of dough on the counter 7 times to get air out. Then cut into 6 parts (I use a pizza cutter) Slam each piece another 7 time on counter. Then shape dough into loaves or buns.
If you would like to make cinnamon bread, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar then roll up and pinch the seam together placing that side down.
You can also use it for pizza dough.
Let loaves rise until double.
Bake in preheated oven 350 for 30-45 min until golden brown. Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire rack (about an hour). Rub top of hot bread with butter if you like for shiny crust.