When those cold winter nights are drawing in there is nothing which will warm your little one's tummy up as much as a creamy chicken casserole or a hearty beef broth. Both are warming, filling and satisfying and these comfort foods help you to get healthy meat, lentils and vegetables into your little one with no tantrums. Best of all with both recipes you can remove baby's portions and it just takes a couple of extra ingredients in the last moments to transform them into sophisticated traditional adult meals suitable for the rest of the family or guests.

Both recipes are suitable for freezing.

Chicken Casserole

Ingredients;

3 chicken breast fillets

10 new potatoes/ baby potatoes

4 carrots

1 handful of frozen peas

1 tablespoon of soft cream cheese such as Philadelphia

1 chicken or vegetable stock cube

150ml/ ¼ pint white wine

Ingredients for the roux;

40g/1½oz flour 40g/1½oz butter or other fat 450ml/¾ pint full fat milk

Method;

1. Wrap the chicken fillets in a parcel made out of tin foil/ aluminium foil. Leave some space around the chicken but ensure the parcel is fully sealed. Put in a preheated oven at gas mark 6/ 400F/ 204C for 30 minutes. When cooked leave to cool then dice, ensuring that the chicken is fully cooked

2. Whilst the chicken is in the oven dice the potatoes and carrots and put then into a pan of boiling water. Leave to simmer for 45 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Once soft add the frozen peas for a final 5 minutes.

3. Make a roux by dissolving the butter in a pan and slowly adding the flour. As you add the flour stir it into the mixture until a smooth paste is formed. Cook on a very low heat for about 2 minutes to remove the flour flavour. Pour in 1/5 of the milk but do not stir. Leave to boil then stir until smooth. Add the rest of the milk slowly and beat between each addition.

4. To make the roux into the casserole sauce keep on a low heat and add the cream cheese, stirring until melted.

5. Add the chicken and vegetables and stir well. Leave on a very low heat for 10 minutes. Stir regularly during this time.

6. Separate baby's portion(s)

7. To the remainder add pepper, wine and a chicken stock cube and leave on a very low heat for a further 20 minutes, stirring regularly

8. With baby's portion blend to taste. For a younger baby add some more milk or formula and blend with a food processor or hand blender. For a slightly older baby do the same but mash with a fork and shred the chicken pieces with a knife and fork. For a baby who has been weaned for a while just chop the chicken and vegetables into smaller pieces and do not add extra milk.

Beef Broth

Ingredients;

900g/2lb of beef (whatever cut you prefer) 5 litres/8 pints water 1 tbsp salt & 1 tbsp pepper 2 bay leaves 2 thyme sprigs

2 celery sticks 2 carrots 2 onions

1 tin of lentils or the pulse of your choice

1 - 2 beef stock cubes

Method;

1. Chop the beef into small chunks (removing all traces of visible fat) and fry them for 5 minutes on a high heat. Use a very small amount of healthy option cooking oil to prevent sticking.

2. Put the beef into the pan of water with the finely chopped bay leaves and thyme sprigs

3. Dice the carrots, celery and onions into very small cubes and add to the pan of water

4. Add the drained tin of lentils/ pulses (use tinned for convenience but if you are a lentil aficionado you may prefer to use dried lentils/ pulses and prepare them in advance)

5. Bring the pan to the boil and skim off any fat which rises to the surface

6. Leave the pan of ingredients to simmer for 2 ½ hours

7. Remove baby's portion(s)

8. For the adults add the beef stock cube(s), salt and pepper to taste

9. For baby blend with a food processor or hand blender. Do this no matter what age of the baby due to the textures of celery and beef being difficult to chew for babies. Fish out any bits of basil or thyme which won't blend