William, meet Poultry

I recently introduced William to both chicken and turkey (yes, after beef!), and tried recipes that would give the protein a soft texture. William has absolutely no teeth yet (he's a bit of a late bloomer at almost 10 months), so other than some great gumming skills, we don't have much to work with!
Last week I made a delicious slow-cooker chicken stew, and just last night got creative and made my own braised turkey breast.


Chicken Stew (adapted from Pillsbury's "Creamy Herbed Chicken Stew" recipe)

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

2 large potatoes, peeled and chunked

1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)

1 medium stalk celery, sliced (1 cup)

chopped fresh herbs (or dried. I used fresh rosemary, thyme and sage)

salt to taste

pepper to taste

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into chunks

hot tap water to cover

2 cups fresh snap pea pods

1/2 cup half and half

1/8 cup all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS

• Spray 5- to 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Place carrots, potatoes, onion and celery in cooker. Sprinkle with herbs, and a tiny bit of salt and pepper. Top with chicken. Pour in hot water to just cover ingredients.
• Cover; cook on Low heat setting 7 to 8 hours (or High 4-5 hours), adding pea pods (strings removed!) for last 5 to 10 minutes of cooking. This can also be done on the stove in a heavy-bottomed pot. Use a very low setting if you have time to cook longer, medium-low if you have less cooking time.
• Remove chicken and vegetables from cooker to serving bowl, using slotted spoon; cover to keep warm.  In small pan over medium heat, mix half and half, flour and more herbs; stir in liquid from cooker. Cover; cook about 10 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to adult taste.
• Reserve some cooked veggies and chicken to shred for baby, stored with a little liquid to retain moisture.  For other family members (or baby too!), pour sauce over chicken and vegetables.

Braised Turkey "Soup"

3 thin cut turkey breast cutlets, cut into strips
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 slice of onion, diced
garlic powder
salt
pepper
herbs (I used fresh thyme and sage)
hot water

In small pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add turkey, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Saute until all of the turkey is cooked through (no longer pink).  Add onion and herbs and saute a minute more, until onions have started to become translucent.  Add hot water to just cover the ingredients (or more water if you really want a lot of broth).  Cover and reduce heat to low, simmering at least an hour, stirring occasionally.

You could also add veggies to this (chopped carrot, potato, green beans, peas) for the last 15-20 minutes to make it a complete meal!