Baby Food Recipe: Baby Chili

With the start of Fall this week, now is as good of a time as any to introduce filling comfort meals. Chili is a hearty american classic which with a couple of modifications can also be a good whole meal for babies.

For this recipe you can use ground beef, ground turkey or omit the ground meat altogether and just use beans (skip steps 3 and 4 in the instructions below). Recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:

1/2 lb of ground meat (chicken, turkey or beef)

1 cup of diced tomatoes with the juice

1/2 cup canned kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

1/4 cup diced onions

1/4 cup of diced green peppers

1/4 cup of corn

Chili powder (if the baby is over 12 months)

Cooking spray

Instructions:

1. Spray cooking spray in the bottom of a medium sauce pan and heat the pan on medium-high heat
2. Add green peppers and onions to the pan and sauté for 1-2 minutes 
3. Add the ground meat and brown the meat while also breaking  meat into tiny pieces with a spatula. 
4. Drain the meat and return to pan
5. Add tomatoes with juice and kidney beans (drained and rinsed) and corn to the pan (optional: add a 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder to the mix if the baby is over 12 months old)
6. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes to let the flavors blend
7. Let the chili cool for 5 minutes then transfer to blender or food processor and purée to desired consistency

Storage:

Option 1: Store the chili in air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days

Option 2: Separate the chili  into 4 ounce portions and place in a freezer-safe container. Freeze overnight and save for up to 3 months