We love the superb quality and taste of Irish meat and that’s why we use only 100% Irish Bord Bia approved Beef, Chicken and Lamb for our meals.

Our Lamb Tagine is a big favourite with our little Pip & Pear fans. Here is a tasty recipe for Lamb Stew for the whole family. (Always ensure not to add salt until you have removed a portion for baby)

 

Ingredients:

• 350g Irish lamb – diced.
• 1 tbsp of plain flour
• 1/2 tsp chopped thyme
• 1 onion – sliced
• 1 leek – peeled & sliced
• 1 carrot – peeled & sliced
• 1 potato – peeled & cut into chunks
• 75g turnip – cut into chunks
• approx 300ml homemade chicken stock (or a reduced salt chicken salt).

 

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4.
2. Place the lamb in a bowl and toss in the flour until evenly coated. Place half of this lamb into a medium sized casserole dish and add a little amount of thyme.
3. Scatter over the sliced onions, leeks, carrots, potatoes and turnips and add another pinch of thyme. Place the remaining lamb and thyme on top.
4. Pour in enough chicken stock to just about cover the contents of the dish and cover with the lid.
5. Place in the oven for 1 1/2 hours until all ingredients are tender.
6. For baby: Mash up one portion and place in a bowl.
7. For family: Serve and season as required.

Enjoy!

Stage Three – Chunky Textured Meals For Baby

At this stage your baby is starting to become more independent in every part of their life and this includes feeding time, they might be insistent on feeding themselves and this can be very messy indeed, but the more your baby experiments the quicker they will learn to feed themselves.

It is vitally important by 10 months that baby eats more textured food which will help with the development of fine motor skills. Babies do not need to have teeth to learn to chew. The first steps of chewing require only tongue, jaw and cheek movements. Teeth are used later for more complicated foods with fibres that must be broken up by the teeth.

Remember variety is the spice of life so adding new food to your baby’s repertoire goes a long way to insuring a less fussy eater later on.

The recipes below are dishes I make for us as a family and both children and parents enjoy them a lot, just remember when portioning up for baby not to add salt. You will need to mash or blend baby’s portion of these dishes further.

 

Chicken & Broccoli Bake

Serves a family of 4 with extra portions for baby

I tbsp. of oil
250g quills or shells
280g broccoli, cut into florets
1 onion finely chopped
300g of chicken

Cheese Sauce

30g butter
25g gluten free flour
350ml milk
1 tbsp. wholegrain mustard (optional)
140g cheddar or Edam, grated

• Preheat the oven to 190C/gas 5/fan170C.
• Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Throw in the pasta, stir well and return to the boil.
• Cook for 6 minutes, then add the broccoli and cook for 5 or 6 minutes more until the pasta is just cooked.
• Drain well, then return to the pan.
• Heat the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. Cook for 1 min, then gradually add the milk, stirring well between each addition.
• Bring to the boil, stirring, then simmer for 2 minutes, before stirring in the mustard and half the cheese.
• Heat the oil in a wide pan, add the onion and fry until soft. Add the chicken pieces and fry until lightly browned.
• Mix the pasta, chicken and broccoli into the sauce and spoon into an ovenproof dish. Scatter over the remaining cheese and place into the oven for 15 minutes or until golden.
• Remove the portion for baby avoiding any crispy cheesy pieces, and chop until desired consistency, you might add some milk to loosen sauce out.

Enjoy!