I started out just pureeing stuff that I cooked by boiling in chicken broth (low sodium) and some spices. Some examples:
sweet potatoes, with some cinnamon and nutmeg
green beans, with var. Italian seasonings
I also would mix meats and veggies like:
ground turkey, with squash
chicken breast, with carrots
I would then puree in food processor and freeze in ice cube trays. Then I kep ziplock bags in the freezer labeled with item and date. A standard meal would be 2-3 cubes, microwaved for about a minute total (sturring in the mdidle)
I also would buy those blocks of frozen pureed butternut squash and cut them into 6 or 8 pieces, he LOVES squash and I often would make him a bowl of 1-2 cubes of other stuff mixes with a cube of squash.
As he was more able to eat finger food, I have other things I now keep around that he loves: cubes of tofu cooked in broth, I keep a container in the fridge and just head up a handful in the microwave for 10 secs. Sweet potato "fries" that I roast in the oven for about 40 min at 400 degrees, coated with oil first, stirring a few times during cooking. Thos I also keep in the fridge and just heat up barely before serving.
For some great recipes for purees and finger food: I took books out of the library, don't have titles handy now but if you google baby purees finger foods I bet you can find some books and authors, and for me, just library and learning a few good recipes made more sense than buying the books. I made stuff like pureed salmon with orange zest and cheese, stuff I never would ahve thought of on my own.
