Yummy beef and tomato stew

I have decided that once a week I will write a recipe that I cook for my 8 month old girl. I cook EVERYDAY and have been cooking baby food for years as a nanny. This is different, this is food that I and my hubby can also eat (with a little modification) and really enjoy. I'm starting with

Beef and Tomato Stew. This is a favourite of my daughters and one of my all time dependable dishes and so easy to make. Now I make a big portion so there is lots of left overs that I like to freeze and have as an emergency food for my little one, but if you prefer fresh always just cut down on the ingredients. I love the simplicity of this dish, you can add more vegetables if you'd like.

Ingredients

500 grams beef (any cut of beef will do, the cheaper cuts probably better, just make sure they are cut into rough cubes)

1 onion roughly chopped

500 grams tomato (also I would buy a big pack of the cheaper variety that are very ripe)

1 carrot roughly chopped

basil (roughly a small handful)

rosemary (a few twigs)

oil

water

Method

• First you need to scar all the tomatoes. Blanch all the tomatoes in boiling water in a bowl for 2 minutes. Remove and peel the skin. Roughly chop them and put aside (if you want you can also remove seeds but I just keep them in) 
• On high setting on the stove, in a big pan or ceramic dish, fry up the chopped onion with a tablespoon of oil until the onion starts changing colour.
• Throw in the beef and toss it around, until it becomes golden brown. 
• Place the carrot, the tomatoes and herbs (and any other vegetables you would like) together with 200 ml of water. Turn the temperature to a low setting and let boil slowly for 1.5 to 2 hours. The longer the better. 
• Remove from heat and its ready to eat! Put aside some for adults and add salt and pepper as required

I love my stew with mashed potato and a fresh salad for crunch. For Lucy who is 8 months now, I use kitchen scissors and chop up her portion into smaller bits. She then has it with a bit of the mash or loves it with chopped up wholemeal pasta. For babies that still don't like lumps, you can put the stew in a food processor and its mushy but still delicious.

The rest gets put into small containers for Lucy and is frozen so she can have it for another day.

Hope you enjoy xx Yum!

  

chop it up for smaller mouths