Creamy Mustard Chicken and Mushrooms, Roasted Sweet Potato, Roasted Carrots and Asparagus in Garlic Butter

This is a lovely dish for the colder nights - it's warming and hearty and could be served with rice, pasta or just salad, or as I have with some roasted sweet potatoes and a selection of vegetables.

Surprisingly given the warm wholegrain mustard addition, this is also a weaning winner too - especially with the roasted sweet potatoes which are always a hit with Bridget. The vegetables and sweet potatoes make for great finger foods whilst the chicken and mushroom encourages the development of spoon feeding.

The below recipe makes enough for two adult portions and two weaning portions.

Here's how:
Chicken & Mushrooms:

• 300g chicken breast
• 150g mushrooms - I used Chestnut but any work well
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 yellow pepper
• 4 spring onions
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 heaped tbsp creme fraiche 
• 100ml hot chicken stock
• 1-2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 2 tsp dried tarragon
• Pinch black pepper

The accompaniments:

• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 pack asparagus tips
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 carrots
• 1 tbsp butter
• 5 cloves garlic
• Pinch paprika
• Pinch dried thyme

Firstly place the oven on to 180 and the kettle on to boil.

Peel the sweet potato and slice into rounds of about 1/2 cm thickness.

Peel the carrots and cut into chunky wedges and place into a saucepan with the sweet potato and pour over the boiling water till everything is covered and place on a medium heat and cook for five minutes.

While the pot is boiling, finely slice the spring onion and 1 clove garlic and add to a non-stick pack with the olive oil and place onto a low heat.

Slice the pepper and mushrooms and set aside for a moment.

Chop the chicken into evenly sized chunks and once the spring onion has started to soften add to the pan. Turn the chicken to cook and whiten on each side.

By now the potato and carrot will be nicely blanched. Remove and drain away all water and give a vigorous shake.

Place into a baking tray or dish. I try to pop the sweet potato one end, and the carrots the other if possible. Now sprinkle over the thyme over the carrots and the paprika over the sweet potato. Add four of the garlic cloves to the pan and then drizzle over about a tablespoon of olive oil. Place into the oven to cook for 30 minutes.

Once the chicken has turned white on all sides add the pepper and mushrooms to the pan and allow them to soak up the cooking juices and slightly soften.

Now add the creme fraiche and stir till it reduces down to a less solid and more liquidy format then add the chicken stock, tarragon, mustard and black pepper and give a good stir. Allow to cook, stirring every few minutes for about five minutes. Then add the flour and stir until all is absorbed by the sauce. Now this needs to cook away until the sweet potatoes are nicely charred – stir every few minutes and this should thicken up beautifully.

A few minutes before removing the sweet potato and carrots from the oven and the chicken off of the heat, in a separate pan, melt the butter with a clove of garlic – I just cut in half and this is enough to flavour the butter. Now add the asparagus and shake every minute or so. Leave these to cook whilst you plate up everything else and that will be plenty of cooking time. Enjoy!

Sandwich Face

This isn’t a recipe, just an idea to make mealtimes fun for your tot during the weaning stage and beyond.

This is an especially good tactic if you have a fussy eater or one who needs a lot of encouragement and motivating little ones to eat finger foods is really important too.

By simply using a cookie cutter to make round sandwiches (use their favourite filling – ours at the moment are soft cheese with cucumber) and then use some salad items to make a face shape outline – using different items for the different features of the face. You could grate some carrot to make the hair, or use some radishes to make rosy cheeks but I’ve just kept it plain and simple here – a cucumber nose and hair and cherry tomato mouth.

Baby Bites Cheese and Vegetable Fingers

These are a lovely way of using up leftover mash and are a great finger food. You can add whichever leftover vegetables you have to hand too.

Serving them with a dipping sauce makes them seem a bit more fun - and this one is homemade and has no additives or any nasties in there either.

The below makes enough for six fingers - 2 are sufficient for my little girl who is 12 months but 1 would be enough for smaller appetites. They keep in the fridge for a couple of days too, but I wouldn't freeze as potato doesn't tend to defrost too well. 

Also these are popular amongst older children too, way past the weaning stage.

Here's how:

• 2 tablespoons of leftover mash potato
• 1 tablespoon sweetcorn
• 1 tablespoon frozen peas
• 1/2 carrot
• 1 large spring onion
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
• 30g Cheddar or another hard cheese
• Black pepper
• 1 slice granary bread
• 1 egg
• Tomato Dipping Sauce

Firstly pre-heat the oven to 180.

Now peel and chop the carrot into very small cubes and place into a saucepan of water with the peas. Pour over some boiled water and cook for five minutes to soften.

Place the mash into a bowl and give a stir with a wooden spoon.

Chop the spring onion and parsley very finely and add to the potato with the sweetcorn and give a good stir.

Drain the carrot and peas and return to the pan to absorb any moisture. Then add to the mash mixture and again stir well.

Grate in the cheese and give one final stir.

Blitz the bread with a blender to make the breadcrumbs, then place onto a plate or bowl.

In a separate bowl crack the egg and give a quick whisk.

Now get about 1 tablespoon of mixture in your hands and shape into a finger - kind of like a sausage shape, and then place onto a clean plate. Repeat till all the mixture has been used. 

Now pat each one until it is a little rectangular shape, then dip into the egg and turn over, then dip into the breadcrumbs then return it to the plate and do the same to each finger.

Now drizzle a little vegetable oil into a pan and place on a medium heat. Once warmed add the fingers you are cooking, and allow to cook for two to three minutes or until the breadcrumbs have turned nicely golden brown. Then turn over and repeat for the other side. 

Once golden brown on each side, place the cheesy vegetable fingers onto an oven tray or dish and place into the oven to heat through for ten minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes until cool enough for baby to handle. Serve alongside some tomato dipping sauce.

Baby Bites Steak and Lentil Cottage Pie

This is an absolute family favourite at our house and particularly with our little weaning one.

Whilst she does love her finger food, this is a great chance to encourage her how to use a spoon too - and serving with some vegetable spears such as asparagus and baby corn, mean she can dip them in and still have a selection of fun finger foods too.

I only use 200g lean steak mince and 150g red lentils plus all of the vegetables and this makes enough for two cottage pies plus two small ones so this is a very economical meal too as well as being a bit healthier than a traditional cottage pie.

Also with the gravy - if you have all the time in the world to make one from scratch - perfect. Personally I use Bisto, and find no shame in this.

 

Here's how:

• 200g lean steak mince
• 150g red lentils
• 1 onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 carrots
• 3 sticks celery
• 3 tbsp frozen peas
• 500ml gravy - made to your preference
• 200g white potatoes (I use Desiree) 
• Black pepper
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 30g hard cheese (I use Cheddar)
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Firstly peel and wash the potatoes and put them on to boil and pre-heat the oven to about 180 degrees.

Now finely dice the onion and crush the garlic add to a pan on a low heat with a spritz of cooking spray.

Now peel and chop the carrot and slice the celery and set aside.

Once the onion has begun to soften, add the meat to the pan and move around using a spatula or wooden spoon until it has browned all over.

Once brown, add the carrot, celery and lentils and cook in the juices from the meat for three or four minutes whilst you make up the gravy.

Now pour over half of the gravy and add the frozen peas, dried thyme and a pinch of black pepper at this point too. Try not to be tempted to add salt at this point if possible - the gravy will have a salt content and you and your partner or any other adults sharing the meal can always add salt when eating.

Give a good stir and leave to bubble away for twenty minutes, adding more gravy if it becomes too dry.

Test to see if the potatoes are soft enough to mash with a fork and if so, drain, shake away excess water then return to the pan and place back on the heat for ten seconds giving the pot a good shake to remove any leftover moisture.

Now add the olive oil and mash. Add a pinch of salt here too for seasoning. Once nicely mashed set aside for the moment.

Once the meat has been cooking for twenty minutes, remove from the heat and spoon half into an ovenproof dish. I like to do Bridget's in a separate dish so also use a ramekin for her which is the perfect size and two tablespoons of the meat mixture is sufficient. The remaining meat I put into a plastic dish ready for freezing. (Obviously allow this to completely cool before placing into the freezer to avoid it ruining the rest of the food in the freezer!)

Now spoon on the mashed potato onto both dishes use the back of a spoon to press it down slightly. Once evenly distributed all over, grate over the cheese onto both dishes, and use a fork to crimp to give it that classic look once cooked.

Now leave to stand until you're ready to cook or place into the oven and cook for 35-40 minutes or until nicely golden brown. 

Serve with your choice of vegetables.

Crab, Chilli and Asparagus Pappardelle

This pasta dish is one of my absolute favourites - there's barely a sauce, the rich brown crab meat and white wine plus all the seasonings make just the most delicious coating for the thick pasta, and the white crab meat stirred in last minute plus lots of fresh parsley add a delicacy and freshness that is just beautiful.

I used fresh pappardelle from La Tua but dried is good too and you can use the more traditional linguini or spaghetti too but I just love this combination.

The below serves two as a main course.

Here's how:

200g fresh pappardelle
1 whole medium dressed crab (brown and white meat)
4 spring onions
1 clove garlic
1 whole red chilli
Handful of asparagus
1 courgette
2 tbsp white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh parsley
Salt and black pepper
Zest of a whole lemon, juice of half

Firstly drizzle the olive oil into a pan and place on a low heat. Also boil the kettle or put a pan of water on ready for the pasta.

Now finely chop the spring onions and chilli and mince the garlic and add all to the pan to flavour the oil and slowly soften.

Use a vegetable peeler to slice the courgette into ribbons, halve and set aside. Break the tips off of the asparagus and discard the thick ends.

Add the asparagus tips to the pan, and then pour over the white wine. Allow to cook for two minutes.

Add the brown crab meat and use a wooden spoon to break apart so it's evenly distributed.

If using fresh pasta this is the time to place it on to cook with a pinch of salt as it only takes four to five minutes from here.

Chop the parsley finely and keep to one side.

Add the courgette ribbons to the pan too and move around with the wooden spoon.

Add about a third of the parsley at this stage.

Once cooked to your preference, take a tablespoon full of the pasta water and add to the crab mix, drain the pasta then add to the pan and give a good stir to ensure that the pasta is coated.

Now add the white crab meat, the parsley and grate on the zest of a whole lemon stirring all the time. This should only be just heated through for a minute or two.

Now cut the lemon in half and before serving squeeze over the juice of half of the lemon, season with salt and pepper and give a final stir.

Five Spice Rump Steak with Stir Fried Vegetables

This is the perfect midweek dinner for two – it that takes barely any time at all and is fairly healthy too but packed full of flavour.

You only need one 250g(ish) rump steak, and you can of course use a different cut, this just works quite well.

I served here with some instant noodles that take less than three minutes to cook but you can just add more vegetables to the stir fry if you prefer.

The Chinese Five Spice marinade works really well with the steak and is aromatic and warming rather than overly spicy.

Here’s how:

• 1 rump steak (250g)
• 1 carrot
• 1 pepper (I used green but any colour is fine)
• 1 red onion
• 100g beansprouts
• 1 small gem lettuce
• 1 red chilli
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp rapeseed or vegetable oil
• 2 tsp Chinese five spice
• Handful of cashew nuts
• 1 lime

Firstly marinade the steak in the rapeseed or vegetable oil and the Chinese five spice. I combine the two in a bowl then pop in the steak and leave for five-ten minutes while you prepare the vegetables and nuts.

Mince the garlic and roughly slice the onion and chilli and set aside – this will flavour the oil when you begin cooking shortly.

Now slice the pepper, lettuce and peel, then finely slice the carrot or use a peeler to make ribbons.

Pop your wok or pan on a medium heat and gently toast the cashews – this will only take a minute or two, until the colour changes subtly. Then remove from the heat and place into a sandwich bag or wrap is some cling wrap and bash with a rolling pin or mallet to crush a little bit.

Now extract the oil from the steak and pour into the wok and place back on a medium heat. Once hot, place the steak in and cook for two minutes exactly on each side for blushingly rare (recommended) – or slightly longer as you prefer. Time this, as overcooked steak is not a thing of deliciousness. Once the four minutes (or longer) is up, remove the steak and place onto a plate with a bowl over the top to keep the heat.

Immediately pop the onion, garlic and chilli into the oil and add the sesame oil and soy to the equation too. Cook until the onions are softened – probably 1-2 minutes.

Next add the peppers and carrot and cook for a further three minutes.

Finally add the beansprouts and lettuce to the pan – these both take less than a minute to cook – and will turn to mush if overdone so don’t be tempted to cook for longer.

During this final moment of cooking, slice the rump steak thinly.



Dish up the stir fry, with noodles or rice if this is how you’re having it, then add the strips of steak on top, scatter over the cashew nuts and give a squeeze of lime. Enjoy!

Baby Bites Mushroom and Cheese Omelette

Omelettes are such a quick and easy meal and the egg provides a great source of protein for baby. What's more they can be served with berries or fruit sticks as I have done for breakfast or brunch or with a side salad such as cucumber, tomatoes, radishes and lettuce for lunch or dinner.

Up until a year old you must make sure the egg is cooked right through (no runny bits) which is better whilst they are enjoying the finger food stage of weaning, as it helps the omelette to keep its’ shape.

You can use up lots of different ingredients but this cheese and mushroom variety is a favourite - I use two eggs and Bridget just has a quarter of the omelette whilst my partner has the rest. 

Here's how:

• 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 medium eggs
• 3 mushrooms
• 25g hard cheese such as Cheddar, Red Leicester or Edam
• Black pepper
• Handful of washed berries (or salad if you prefer)

Firstly pop the butter into a non-stick pan and place on the lowest heat.

In a bowl crack the two eggs and beat gently with a fork.

Grate in the cheese and add a pinch of the black pepper.

Now wash and dry the mushrooms thoroughly and slice then add to the egg and stir through to try and evenly distribute.

Pour straight into the pan and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes or until the omelette has starts to take a more solid form on the bottom.

Use an egg slice to gently flip it over and cook for the same time on the other side.

Remove from the heat and cut off a quarter for your little one and place on a plate to cool a little. Add the berries or salad and once cooled serve to baby.