Tonight I made a chilli con carne for mine and Nathans tea, I decided to put some mince meat aside to make Thomas a cottage pie. I was a little worried about making him a cottage pie as when I am cooking a cottage pie for us I put oxo in and oxtail soup to give it an extra meaty flavour. Although I am not keen on adding any salt into Thomas’s cooking so I put off making him a cottage pie…Until tonight. I tried out a new way of cooking cottage pie without using any tinned soups or stocks as these often contain salt.

Below I have listed the ingredients and written a step by step account on how I made the Cottage pie. Please note I haven’t gone into detail with measurements for the ingredients as I am not really one for measuring and weighing things, it all depends on how much you want to make. I made a medium sized pan amount tonight which I scooped into individual amounts and froze – Although I will say that I will try to use all the meals within 1 month of freezing them.

Ingredients:

• Mince Meat
• Onion
• Button Mushrooms
• Plum Tinned Tomato
• Tomato Puree
• Potato
• Water
• Red Split Lentils

Cooking Cottage Pie:
Dry fry the mince and onions in a pan, add 2 x plum tomatos from a tin and stir also adding the mushroom and 1 x tablespoon of tomato puree. Wash and peel the potato’s cut them into cubes and add them to the sauce pouring in approx 1 x cup of water. Bring the pan to the boil then cover and allow to simmer for 30 mins.

Wash the lentils in cold water, rinse and cover with boiling water – Cook on the hob for around 15 mins until soft. Drain then add the lentils to the cottage pie.

Allow to cool then blend to the desired consistency using either a hand held or jug blender. If you are refrigerating the pie then use within 24 hours, alternatively you can spoon the mixture into individual containers and freeze for up to 1 month. I find freezing Thomas’s meals really useful, when I put him to bed at the end of the day I usually clean his bottles etc and pull his dinner and tea out of the freezer for the next day and put them in the fridge.

I hope you  find my cottage pie recipe useful, if your worried about salt and using tinned foods in your babies food like I am then this recipe is perfect for you and your little one. The tinned tomatos I do use In Thomas’s cooking are 100% tomato nothing else added, its worth reading the back of the tin as some tinned tomatos include herbs.

This dish is bursting full of vitamins and minerals for your little one, you dont have to add the lentils, although I did to give the cottage pie an extra boost of protein.

Good afternoon everyone, firstly I would like to say a huge thank you to all those readers who have posted comments on the First Time Parent Diary Website! I am amazed at the volume of comments I get from the blogs I write and especially the number of return visitors to the site who post comments again and again. I have really enjoyed sharing my experiences with you all and getting my feelings down on paper – So to speak! I cant wait until Thomas is old enough to enjoy reading some of the special memories of his early life, as I look forward to sharing the First Time Parent Diary blogs with him.

As Thomas is becoming a little more of a handful I am finding it difficult to write my blogs, he is becoming stubborn with his daytime naps as he now refuses to nap in his cot during the day – He only seems to sleep when were out in the buggy and of course wakes up soon after getting back home so I dont even get to have a coffee before were off again playing. I think I have kind of made a rod for my own back in a way as I do sit and play with him, I do give him constant attention when at home therefore if I decide to sit on the chair and enjoy a hot drink Thomas comes over and pulls at my leg to sit with him and play. I cant help giving him attention, he is my first so I can, it just makes getting things done during the day a little difficult – Including writing my first time parent blogs which I love doing!

Nevertheless I do plan to get organised and start posting blogs on a weekly basis, so many things are changing with Thomas, I am learning so much as a parent so there is lots to write about. I would also like to write more about my homemade baby food recipes I have tried and tested with so much fun – From babys first foods to casseroles, chicken dinners and many more.

I am also creating a weekly newsletter that will be sent out to all subscribers via Email, the newsletter will include the  latest blog as well as some baby food recipes I have found to be really tasty. I would also like to include a coupon code section in the newsletter where you can get money off baby related purchases online, everyone loves a bargain and with Christmas coming up this is the best time to grab a discount when buying your favorite items online – Its worth taking a look!

I hope this blog brings everyone up to speed with the big plans I have to grow the First Time Parent Diary Website, if you are interested in subscribing to my up and coming exciting newsletter then you are welcome to enter your name and Email address below, I look forward to writing to you.

Jen x