EASY PEASY WEANING

By Natalie Peal

Cooking for a family doesn’t need to be complicated and stressful. When my daughter Annabelle was younger, I had a tough time putting her down to cook dinner. She was a baby who wanted to be close to me at all times. To help overcome this predicament, I developed a series of easy 15-20 minute meals.

Below you will find three of my favourite recipes from this series; they are all family-friendly and packed full of flavour. You will find even more speedy meals in my 15-20 minute meals app available on the app store. 

Method

Simple Beef Burgers

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Yields: 4

Ingredients

• 500g minced beef
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons low salt beef gravy granules
• 1/2 teaspoon mixed herbs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Simply mix all ingredients in a large bowl, shape into 4 burger ‘patties’
2. Heat oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and fry each burger for 8 minutes on one side, flip and cook for a further 7 minutes (check burgers are completely cooked through prior to serving)

Tuna Quesadilla

Prep time: 4 mins

Cook time: 6 mins

Yields: 2

Ingredients:

• 2 tortilla wraps
• 4 tablespoons of tomato puree
• 75g tinned tuna, drained
• 50g frozen sweetcorn
• 50g frozen peas
• 1/2 courgette, grated
• 1/2 red pepper, finely diced
• 75g cheddar cheese
• 50g mozzarella cheese, finely diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Method:

1. Take one tortilla and spread over the puree, top evenly with tuna, sweetcorn, peas, courgette and pepper before sprinkling over the two cheeses, place the second tortilla on top
2. Place quesadilla into a pan with a tablespoon of oil, cook for 3 minutes over a medium heat
3. Using the aid of a large dinner plate, carefully flip the quesadilla and fry the underside for another 3 minutes
4. Allow to cool, cut into wedges and serve

Spinach, Sweet Potato and Ricotta Frittata

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 9 mins

Yields: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 100g spinach
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 6 eggs, whisked
• 2 tablespoons chives, diced finely
• 125g ricotta cheese, finely diced

Method:

1. Parboil sweet potatoes in a saucepan of boiling water for 5 minutes, whilst they are cooking heat olive oil over a medium heat in an ovenproof frying pan - add spinach and garlic and cook for 1 minute, turn heat off.
2. Drain potatoes and stir into saucepan alongside the spinach
3. Turn grill onto a medium heat in preparation for step 5
4. Turn heat back on and add egg to saucepan, stirring it for a few seconds to ensure the egg is coating all ingredients
5. Cook without stirring for 4 minutes, sprinkle over ricotta cheese and grill for 2 minutes until golden
6. Serve once cooled.

Creator of the Baby Led Weaning Recipes app and book Baby Led Weaning Made Easy.