Old Clothes/Bubbles and Squeak

Ok, here's the perfect dinner if you're trying to get your kiddos interested in eating their veggies! Both names for this meal, Old Clothes and Bubbles and Squeak, are likely to bring on the giggles and curiosity. It's a simple, quick, and (my favorite!) cheap dinner made with white potatoes, brussel sprouts, tomatoes, bacon, garlic, and olive oil. It can easily be made into a vegetarian recipe by replacing the bacon with eggs, but I just love the taste of bacon and brussel sprouts!

Another thing I love about this recipe is its versatility, which is great when you're trying to eat more seasonally. If you don't like brussel sprouts, you could use other greens like cabbage or turnip greens. If you choose not to eat bacon for whatever reason, again you can substitute with eggs, turkey bacon, leftover ham, etc. If you do choose to substitute bacon for something else, you may want to consider adding some salt for flavor. Anywho, below is the final product!

As described, this recipe will serve about 2 adults and 2 children. Sam likes to take the leftovers for lunch the next day. So let's get started!

Ingredients:

6 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 handfuls of brussel sprout leaves (or other greens)

2 slices of bacon, chopped

2 garlic cloves, skinned and slivered

2-4 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved (feel free to add more, but we didn't do a ton because only Sam and Ruby will eat them)

Hint: I like to use as much of my food as possible to reduce waste and save money, so instead of throwing out the denser, less leafy "heart" of the brussel sprouts, I save them to saute later with lemon and garlic for a snack for Ruby.

Directions:

Pull out a good sized pot and fill it with a generous amount of water, bringing it to a boil. While you wait for your water to boil, peel and chop the potatoes and pull the darker, bigger leaves off of the brussel sprouts. Add in the potatoes once the water is boiling. Return to a boil and cook the potatoes for about 15 minutes. During this time, cut the tomatoes into halves and chop the raw bacon and garlic cloves into thin slivers. Pull out a large skillet, add the olive oil, and heat it on medium-high. 

Your potatoes should have been cooking for about 15 minutes now, so add your brussel sprouts to the top of the pot and continue boiling together for 5 minutes. Start frying the bacon and add the garlic after it has cooked for 3 minutes.

Strain the vegetables, then add to the bacon and garlic. Be careful, the hot oil may pop! Fry together until the veggies get a nice, crusty edge and start browning a little. This may take about 10 minutes. Finally, make room for the tomatoes! Add them in, and fry them up for about 5 minutes until the skins become slightly browned.                  

The finished dish really is beautiful, colorful, and tastes awesome! At about 9 months or whenever you get your doctor's approval, babies can start eating meat. However, we've decided to hold off for longer for a variety of reasons, but that's for another blog. For Ruby's meal, I just picked out the bacon bits. If she gets a little, no biggie! Sam's reaction, "Yum! Mama really is the best cook!" *blush* Ruby: She downed everything, as usual, and seemed to become particularly excited about the tomatoes (she gets that from her dad...). She would have eaten more, but daddy wanted some leftovers for lunch, so we gave her some leftover egg and spinach omelet and mango chunks.

Full disclosure: That neat little orange bowl did not last for long. About five seconds after I snapped this picture, she tried to pour all the contents into her lap. It didn't look so pretty all spread out on her high chair ;)

I hope you enjoy your Old Clothes or Bubbles and Squeak! Have another tasty variation? Let me know!