Spinach, peas, and broccoli is dinner tonight. Sounds delicious, right? Of course not. These are ingredients that will get made into a puree that will go into other healthy and delicious meals. I will be doing a couple of recipes from Missy Chase Lapine’s book, “The Sneak Chef” this week. In order to make the “maxed out meatloaf” and the “magic meatballs”, you will need Lapine’s “green puree”. Here is the recipe for the green puree:

Ingredients:
2 cups raw baby spinach leaves (or 1 cup frozen chopped spinach, or frozen chopped collard greens)
2 cups broccoli florets, fresh or frozen
1 cup sweet green peas, frozen
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3-4 tablespoons water

Yields: About 2 cups of puree

Alternatively, place broccoli, spinach (or collards) in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with water, and microwave on high for 8 to 10 minutes until very tender.

Once cooked, drain the broccoli, spinach, and peas and place them in the bowl of your food processor along with 2 tablespoons of water. Puree on high until as smooth as possible. Stop occasionally and push contents from the top to the bottom. If necessary, add the third tablespoon of water to make a smoother puree.

Once my puree is created, I scoop the approximate amount I will need for my recipes into ice cube trays or popsicle trays, much like you would when making, and storing, baby food. I am showing you a picture of the popsicle trays filled, but I suggest ice cube trays because it is easier to get the puree out after it is frozen.

Once frozen, label a bag, date the bag, and stick into your freezer until you are ready to use it. I took these pictures last year, from when I made this at that time. These pics have been sitting in the archives for a while. ;0)