Making Baby Food

I am one step closer to becoming a domestic goddess I tell you, because yesterday morning when I saw 2 beautiful butternut squashes in my Bountiful Basket pick up, I knew exactly what I was going to do with them. Make baby food! Sure, little M wont be eating solids for another month or two, but this way I can have a little stock built up for when she does start. The food co-op thing makes it a lot easier too with the large assortment of fruits and veggies each week and some that I wouldn't normally buy (like butternut squash!). I hopped on the computer this morning to find out how to tackle the squash and found this website . It tells you everything you need to know about making baby food, storing it, preparing it etc. So once the babes was taking her morning nap I got busy.

First I cut the squash squash length wise and scooped out the seeds...

then you place them flesh side down in a baking dish with about 1-2 inches of water...

and bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until shell/skin looks puckery and turns a darker tan.

After it cooled a bit, I scooped squash “meat” out of the shell and into a large bowl...

and used my trusty hand mixer to puree it.

and since I know this will be one of her first foods, I kept adding some of the cooking water little by little until it was a nice smooth, thin consistency.

Then I placed the squash puree into ice cube trays and stuck them in the freezer for a few hours.

After they were frozen solid, I emptied the tray and put the cubes in a freezer bag with the date and use by date, you know because I suck terribly at math. Even elementary math, so I how I ended up doing bookkeeping/financial work is way beyond me. Anyways, this is perfect because each cube is a 1 oz. serving and I can just take and thaw as we go!

I am pretty proud of myself and it was so easy! If I can do it, anyone can!

Next up: Applesauce! I have been getting a bag of apples each week with the co op. And although we eat them regularly we have a lot left over!

And for my baby food makin' momma's, please feel free to share your favorite websites/books/and recipes! I'd love to hear them.