A Great First Toddler Introduction To Mushrooms (Queso Fundido)
Confession: this isn’t really a mushroom dish. It has mushrooms in it, of course, and it makes a great first toddler introduction to mushrooms; you could technically serve it with more mushrooms, or even all mushrooms. But this is a queso fundido: it’s a lot of cheese masquerading as–or is that masking?--funghi. No matter. The crispy-mushrooms-on-top-of-melty cheese will delight/distract your little one; it’ll burn through your excess inventory of string cheese sticks, too. Oh, and: it’s pretty f’n delicious. It’s an early and great start to ‘shrooms that will reduce fear/anxiety of it being on his/her plate, opening up their use in other dishes–veggie burgers!--or as a side.
- 6 sticks String Cheese (can also use block/brick cheese as well)
- 1/2 pint Cremini or Button Mushrooms
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Lime
- Oregano
- Cilantro
- Basil
- minced Garlic
- With a wet paper towel, clean mushrooms. Remove any stems, then chop into pieces of a manageable size for your child; place in a bowl.
Over the top of the mushrooms, add a swig each of the vinegar and olive oil, and the juice of a half of lime; then dump two spoonfuls of minced garlic, a copious pour each of oregano and basil. Mix together, and allow to sit for at least twenty minutes.
- When ready to cook, preheat your oven to 350.
With your hands, and into whatever small vessel you got that’s oven friendly–e.g., a Pyrex bowl, a small cast iron pot–pull and rip the string cheese sticks into small shreds and chunks, making sure the pieces cover the bottom of the cooking instruments and are stacked up all around it. Pour any remaining liquid from the mushroom marinade over the cheese and mix.
- Heat a large pan or skillet on Medium High and dust with cooking spray. When hot, dump the mushroom pieces in and cook for 12-15 minutes, stirring only every few minutes. Look for the interiors of the mushrooms to take on an almost amber brown color–that’s how you know they’re borderline crispy. Remove from heat.
- While mushrooms are cooking, place the cheese in the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the top is slightly brown and the outer edges of the cheese are congealed; the center should be just slightly runny. Remove from oven.
- Give the cheese a minute to cool and congeal, then pour mushrooms over the top of the cooking instrument, followed by cilantro.
cut a small and manageable chunk (i.e., your kiddo can chew and swallow it) of cheese and place over the top of a cracker or tortilla chip; add a few mushroom pieces on top. Rinse and repeat. If your kid is digging it, when the cheese cools you can serve it without the cracker or on top of a piece of broccoli; if not, try repackaging the cheese mixture in a sandwich or quesadilla.
So far as it melts well, you can sub in pretty much any cheese in here: gouda, muenster, cheddar, etc. Other vegetables can be used in lieu of ‘shrooms, but stick to ones that can crisp up well–say, broccoli or kale.
Brad (the Dad) is the founder and Chief Recipe Officer of New Dad's Kitchen. His own cooking/feeding journey started humbly during his son's infancy, preparing and managing his son's bottle intake in order to support his wife; it has since blossomed into a full-on passion to feed his child and family delicious and healthy meals that can satisfy both a toddler and his very tired parents.
