Chicken & Broccoli Bake

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!