Butternut Squash Baby Food

I recently told a friend of mine, "Do not buy Baby Food! It is so easy to make." I ran upon a huge butternut squash two weeks ago at Aldi for $1.49. From that, I think I made Rex enough squash to last a month and a half.
Baby Food is so easy to make because you shouldn't put anything in it..that's right....don't add to it. Just cook it and puree it so that a little person who is still learning how to use a spoon can swallow without chewing. I also add breast milk to help thin out the veggies to a better consistency.  (You could add water or formula.)

You can see all three stages here:
1. I used the Crock pot. Low for four hours. But you can also steam, roast, boil.  I used the crock pot this weekend because I wanted them to cook even though I had a lot of errands to run.
2. Puree in a food processor, blender, or food mill. I have all three and have used all three.  The food processor is my favorite because it is the fastest for large amounts. Stir in your milk, water, or formula.
3. Freeze in ice cube trays for portion sizes. Then dump, and store in a plastic bag in the freezer.  Every night, Rex gets two cubes of veggies and some oatmeal.

Harvesting Sweet Potatoes

In June, Steve and I with the help of my dad planted about 40 sweet potato plants.  Well, it is time to harvest. 

Once they come out of the ground, we have found that keeping the dirt on them keeps them fresh longer. We lay out a large shelf in the garage and store them here until ready to cook.  Sweet Potato Chicken Soup, Sweet Potato Chili, etc.....  I'll be restocking the freezer over the next three weekends.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am redesigning our garden this fall.  The rows that we have used in the past is too much for me to maintain working full time with two small children.  You can see in the pictures above the amount of grass around the rows. We are moving to more raised beds. I was able to follow Steve in digging up the sweet potatoes this weekend.  As he broke the ground loose to find the potatoes, I moved the dirt into one of our beds that I have built.

I made this bed out of reclaimed, broken cinder blocks that I found free on Craigslist and lying around the yard. It isn't pretty, but it was free and I kept all of these materials out of a land fill.  This long narrow bed is where we hope to relocate our strawberries and plant blackberry bushes. It will become a permanent fruit bed.

Granola

A healthy, no artificial sweetner, version that is easy to make and fits into the Dr. Oz diet recommendations that I have been following lately.

1/4 cup Flaxseeds
6 cups oats
2 cups sliced almonds
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup veg oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Mix all ingredients.  Spread on two baking sheets and toast at 35 degrees for 30 minutes.
*When granola is finished, toss the toasted oats with a spatula before letting it cool.  This keeps the granola from sticking together.  Allow it to cool completely before placing into storage.

Awesome with yogurt for a protein rich breakfast or snack.