Moving with baby while making Chilli

Hi all!

I've had the best intentions of writing a recipe every couple of weeks however life again went into complete chaos!!
How would you feel to hear your husband say "um, we're moving states in 2 weeks" - ARGH! I knew it was coming but I didn't realise it was going to be so soon. All you defence wives out there will sympathise with me I'm sure.

I guess this might be a great time to talk about being organised. Thankfully I always have a freezer full of frozen baby food which I prepared in my Qubies so on the day of our big move which involved a plane trip all I had to go was place a few different cubes into containers and they were defrosted by the time Flynn was hungry. As always I had my lamb shanks (Flynn's absolute favorite) and a few different containers of fruits). Flynn is now also eating lots of hand held foods such as bananas, strawberries, bread and cheese. He is nearly 9 months now and loves his food. If your baby isn't at this stage yet don't worry. Tyler who is now 3 gaged on literally everything that went into his mouth that wasn't completely mashed until he was 1 year old!

So this is my excuse for being so behind. At the moment we have things everywhere. I'm still trying to find my camera cords so I can't give you a photo of this weeks fabulous recipe so I've opted for an update of my gorgeous Flynn, bread in mouth. Isn't he adorable - can you tell I'm the mum :).

Moving on..... Here is another yummy recipe from one of our Qubies mums Martha. If you've got a recipe you'd like to share with other mums please feel free to email me at the Qubies website.

Vegie Chilli by Martha
(Suitable from 9 months)

1 onion, chopped finely
Paprika - dash
Cumin - dash
Red capsicum, sliced
Pumpkin, peeled and cubed
Potato, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup red kidney beans
cooked rice
2 Qubies baby food ice cube trays

Place a little oil in a heavy saucepan
Add onion and cook on a low heat until softened. Add dash paprika and cumin.
(Note: neither of these spices are hot)
Add the vegies listed or add some more of your own.
Add the kidney beans and continue to cook on a low heat until the vegies are soft.
Once cooked, blend to the desired consistency. Add rice and serve.

This recipe is suitable for freezing, so grab those Qubies containers and pop the rest in the freezer for a later date.

Chicken Yum in the baby Tum

Hi all

What a crazy week.
If any of you have ever moved you know how hectic preparing and packing can be! Add in the fact that we've had 3 weeks notice and you'll understand my life at the moment is just MAD! Of course this is just another little thing life throws at you to keep you on your toes. I've also just about run out of baby food cubes in the freezer and so on Mother's Day afternoon had to do a big cook up for Flynn who is an eating machine which is wonderful!!!

This is a fabulous recipe from one of our Qubies Mums. It's packed with lots of healthy vegetables and as always if there is something you don't like just substitue it or take it out.

Let me know what you think or if you have a recipe that you'd like to share please feel free to email me at: alexandra@miinkimoop.com.au

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day filled with cuddles and kisses xxx

Chicken with Pasta
Suitable from 7 months

1 chicken thigh, diced
1/2 cup spiral pasta (or try cous cous or rice)
1 small can creamed corn
1/2 cup pumpkin, peeled and diced
1/2 cup zucchini, peeled and diced
handful spinach
1 squash, diced
2 Qubies baby food containers

Steam or boil chicken and place in the food processor
Prepare pasta according to packet. Once cooked place into food processor
Steam/boil vegetables until soft, add spinach leaves and cook for a further 2 minutes
Place vegetables into food processor with chicken and pasta and process to desired consistency.
Add the tin of creamed corn and mix with a fook.

Serve one happy baby and freeze the leftovers into your Qubies for a later date.

Secret rice

Hi all

Obviously photography is not one of my strong points so please excuse my 'artistic foodie photos'...

Anyway, most of the recipes on here are for introducing solids to toddlers however I was chatting to a girlfriend who has trouble getting her 2 year old to eat vegetables and lets face it, who doesn't. Tyler, my 2 year old is a terrible eater. He is just like his mum and could literally survive on bread, rice and pasta! So we had to come up with a way to give him a little roughage as well. Hence, Secret Rice! Tyler absolutely loves rice so I just add whatever vegetables I have in the fridge to his rice and he eats it!

Keep your Qubies in the cupboard as this is not suitable to freeze but it is a great recipe to give to your toddler when you want to start introducing lumpier food as the vegetables are either grated or chopped finely.

Secret Rice
Suitable for 10 months onwards

1/2 Cup Basmati Rice (low GI rice) or which ever rice you prefer
1 Cup water
1 tablespoon grated carrot
1 tablespoon finely chopped cauliflower (as it's white they can't see it!)
1 tablespoon finely chopped broccoli
1 tablespoon corn
1 tablespoon peas
1 tablespoon butter

Place all the ingredients into a saucepan over a low heat. Pop on the lid and allow the water to be absorbed by the rice - this takes about 15 mins. Allow the rice to sit with the lid on for another 10 mins then cool and serve. Enjoy!

Variations: use what ever vegetables you like in what ever quantities you like. Occassionally I add some "Kecup Manis" to give it a slightly sweeter flavour.

If you have any clever ways to give your little darling vegetables that you'd like to share please send me an email: alexandra@miinkimoop.com.au