Looking for inspiration

I couple of weeks ago I read this truly great book by Juanita Phillips: A Pressure Cooker Save My Life.  It is all about her quest to keep her family healthy, happy, fed, hold down a busy job and keep up the mortgage repayments. Definitely a must read for any working mum.  Ever since I have been on the look out for a cheap pressure cooker, but no luck so far.  And unfortunately my budget doesn't stretch far enough to be able to splurge on one of these.  I am very keen to try out some of the recipes she includes.

It is sad to note that since this book was published my understanding (from tabloid fodder) is that her husband has battled through bowel cancer and they have since divorced.  However the book is fantastic and a completely realistic take on the challenges faced by many families with small children.

After reading the book, I really felt like Juanita Phillips could comfortably sit on the lounge in our hectic household and chat the afternoon away, ignoring spilt drinks and the attention seeking dog quite happily.  Not sure if this is truly the case or she is in fact just a great writer (or possibly indeed both).

What is your favourite kitchen accessory?

Sounds a bit weird, but mine is my iPad!  It gets the most use sitting in the recipe holder in the kitchen to save me printing out recipes or running back and forth to the computer to check what to do next.

A bit slow

Things have slowed down considerably this week.  I am unwell with a cold so many of our meals have been spaghetti on toast or bacon and eggs.  I did manage to hold out until the weekend to get the grocery shopping done and also (I think given my state of feeling miserable) did a very small shop.  So hopefully that means some good savings this week.

Today I am going to try and do some slice baking,  so am pulling our one of my most loved and most used cookbooks.

Keeping it all together

A couple of girlfriends have asked me recently how do I keep it all together and under control??  Simple answer: I really don't!! Everything is usually chaotic and rushed and frayed tempers are not uncommon let alone a huge pile of washing to fold and dishes in the sink.  If you have visited my house recently, you can definitely vouch that this is the case.

To try and ease some of this rushed and crazy feeling I make sure I plan quick and easy meals (or leftovers or cook ahead options) for the days when I am at work.  Then on my day off and weekends I do loads of baking and cooking to see us through the next week. 

Our other single most relied on organisational tip is that my husband and I share an online calendar synced to our phones, so if its in the calendar its happening and its your responsibility to know about it.  And EVERYTHING goes into the calendar.  A downside to this is our phones are continuously going "bing bong" reminding us to pay a bill, return a note for an excursion, wear mufti, or be somewhere for a meeting or appointment.

My only survival tip here is that you have to learn to let things go.  If you are working and a mum, its unlikely you are going to stay on top of the housework too.  That's ok, its probably only you who cares.  I know its easier said than done, I'm not good at going to bed with a messy house - but I am getting better at leaving it until I at least have the time to deal with it properly and head to bed at a reasonable hour instead.  My bet is its probably not much different for stay at home parents, lets face it, its often easier to go to work for the day than it is to mind the kids!!

Menu plan week 13 & 14

I cannot believe we are into Week 13 and 14 already!  Still no work commenced on the new house, although the old one is well and truly gone.  I am hoping this fortnight sees things starting to happen!

I ended up shuffling around last fortnights menu plan and "accumulated" some extra food I had not planned for.  We also ended up eating out once and I headed out for dinner with girlfriends another evening.  So all in all the freezer is still pretty full.  The fortnightly food and grocery bills came in at $346 - pretty happy with that given the eating out factor!

I need to work extra days and hours this week so I am hoping that my groceries (with the help of a fruit and veg box delivery) may last until the weekend when I will get my first chance to head to the shops to try another Aldi shop.  Unfortunately this does not make for a very interesting menu this week as I use up things like the frozen veg and oven bake chips in the freezer.

I am also using some meal bases that Mars sent me after I wrote in to Dolmio about my Lasagne recipe.

Here is the plan:

Wednesday -  Crumbed chicken wings, lemon risotto and peas

Thursday – Lamb chops with oven chips, peas and carrot

Friday – Carbonara (Using the Dolmio Carbonara meal base but adding mushrooms)

Saturday - Chicken meatball soup and Choc-hazelnut bread and butter pudding (from latest Superfood ideas)

Sunday – Meatloaf with oven chips and salad plus make some Tuna mornay pies to freeze (from latest Superfood ideas)

Monday – Leftovers

Tuesday –Curried sausages (Using Masterfoods Curried Sausages recipe base) with mash, peas and beans

Wednesday – Country beef casserole (Using Masterfoods Country Beef Casserole recipe base) with rice, peas and asparagus

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Chicken cacciatore risotto

Saturday – Beef and vegetable casserole with rosemary dumplings with Apple and butterscotch sponge pudding (both from latest Superfood ideas)

Sunday – Leftovers

Monday – Enchiladas and rice

Tuesday – Leftovers

Sticky date pudding

It was good, albeit cramped, to have friends over last night.  Some mad menu reshuffling this week has resulted in a really well stocked freezer so I had plenty to work with.  We had crumbed chicken wings (I picked up a stack of these for a bargain $2) and sausages on the BBQ, old faithful potato bake, salad and for dessert, sticky date pudding. The pudding was pretty yum, although a bit light on sauce (maybe I cooked it too long??) - I even enjoyed the leftovers for breakfast this morning.

And for those of you who wonder why I nearly always feed our guests sausages??  It is because most of them have children under 5, and I am yet to meet a child who doesn't at least eat a sausage sandwich.

Melt in your mouth shin stew thanks to Jamie

If only web pages could be "Scratch and Sniff"... when I was cooking this the house smelt so very good! Great recipe for the colder weather.  I must say I was a little dubious about the cinnamon and red onions, but it really worked!

I made a couple of ingredient substitutions, just a small amount of ground cinnamon instead of the cinnamon stick, just the red wine I had open in the pantry (and probably only a third of the bottle) and fresh button mushrooms.  First time I used my Circulon pan in the oven, it worked really well.

Probably the best bit about this recipe that all my carrots, celery and mushrooms where nearing the end of their useful life, and by the time this dish was cooked you could not even tell.  I served it with mashed potato and there was enough for plenty of leftovers for another meal too.  Can't say the kids loved it (they did eat it), but not much other than sausages and ravioli gets eaten by Mr 3 at the moment anyway.

Right up my alley

While grabbing some milk, bread and bananas the other day I picked up the latest issue of Superfood ideas. I don't usually like to buy magazines, I think that the front covers lure you in with empty promises only to find more of the same inside and a feeling that your money would have been so much better spent on a "proper" coffee.  This one I have yet to open (even though I bought it two days ago), but hopefully today is the day.  With so many claims of budget busting and freezer friendly meals, I just could not resist.

Miserly meatloaf and secret veg

This recipe is from my good friend Lauren, it is a sure fire winner at our place.  I usually incorporate my secret ingredient to try and make my children (and husband) unwittingly consume extra vegetables!

• Small onion
• Small zuchinni
• Fresh herbs is you have some (parsley works well)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• Secret ingredient of baby food (make sure you read the ingredients, you want veges with no added ingredients - the one in the picture is probably a bit too much as you don't want your meatloaf to get too runny)
• 500g beef mince 
• 2 tablespoons bbq sauce
• 2 rashers of bacon

1. Preheat oven to 200c
2. Line a loaf tin with baking paper
3. Set up your food processor and first dice the onion, zucchini and any herbs
4. Add in the egg and breadcrumbs then slowly add the baby food and bbq sauce
5. Add the mince slowly and continue to mix making sure it combines thoroughly
6. Place the mixture into the loaf tin, smoothing over the surface to make sure it is all the same thickness
7. Cook for 45 minutes, then drape the bacon over the top and cook for (up to) another 30 minutes - if your oven is anything like mine and a little unpredictable, keep a close eye on the cooking times.  You don't want it to dry out.

**Note I have often cooked this for less time if in a rush, the meat is still cooked through and it tastes great still, it just doesn't have the yummy, crispier outside.

A quick, easy chocolate and coconut slice

I like to bake my own snacks and treats for school.  I know these are not the most healthy things to do but I remember the school yard as a difficult place, where it can be really really important as to what is in your lunch box.  Nothing worse than opening your lunch box to only find a Vegemite sandwich and an apple.  My theory is at least if I make most of our treats I know exactly what is in them and I can choose healthier options, or make smaller portions. I figure the older they get, then if I don't make an effort to provide yummy food then the more likely they are to supplement their packed lunch with treats from the canteen or hot chips on the way home.

I found this chocolate slice the other day and decided it was worth a try given weetbix were the main ingredient.  I didn't have any cocoa on hand (what is going on with that!) but I had drinking chocolate instead and this substitution worked out really well.  Only the end result wasn't as dark as the picture in the recipe.  I also used a half/half mixture of wholemeal SR flour and normal SR flour.  This slice packs and transports really well too, I lugged some around in my handbag for most of the weekend and it stayed intact (what wasn't eaten!). I will definitely be making this one again.

Mmmmm, Lemon Meringue

Wednesday I had so many things to do and people coming for dinner.  I had planned to make my usual lemon meringue pie, but I just didn't have the energy.  So I hunted around for a quicker option and came across a great, quick, easy recipe that tasted absolutely fantastic!  Highly recommended and no making pastry or lemon curd from scratch.  I will definitely be making this one again!

Creaming butter and sugar

Do you hate reading in recipes "cream butter and sugar"?  I keep my butter in the freezer, and often if you decide to make something at the last minute (this happens to me all the time) then the frozen butter just aint going to cream.

Well I have it on good authority that its okay to soften the butter in the microwave first! And by good authority I mean a long standing, award winning old-school baker. So next time you need to cut a corner, I highly recommend this one.

The only warning is, if it involves eggs, and you are adding them to the melted butter, make sure the butter has cooled or it is beating really fast to avoid getting cooked egg lumps.

Menu plan week 11 and 12

I'm running a little behind this week, haven't yet thought about by menu plan and its grocery day tomorrow.  My last fortnight came in ridiculously over budget at $428 - what a disaster!  The only good thing to come of such a drastic overspend is a well stocked pantry due to the menu bargains I was unable to resist at Aldi.

Wednesday -  Coq au vin, crusty bread plus lemon meringue pie

Thursday – BBQ chicken and avocado pasta

Friday – Meat loaf, lemon risotto, peas and broccoli (for me at least!)

Saturday - Homemade pizza

Sunday – Sausages with potato bake and garden salad plus sticky date self saucing pudding

Monday – Sausage hotpot with rice

Tuesday – Leftovers

Wednesday – Jamie Oliver's Melt in your mouth shin stew

Thursday - Lamb chops with mash and peas

Friday - Slow cooker chicken cacciatore and rice

Saturday – Enchiladas and rice

Sunday – Speedy chicken and mushroom casserole

Monday – Leftovers

Tuesday – Chicken meatball soup

So with that insight into my upcoming culinary adventures, I will say goodnight and leave my shopping list compilation until the morning.

On a separate note can I add that budget busting means we are attempting to survive the winter with no heating in the house, so far so good, although my fingers are numbing as I type. The children are well and truly rugged up and snuggled in their warm beds, and my hot water bottle awaits.

School snacks and sweet treats

How good is weekend baking!  We are heading to a picnic with friends this evening so I am cooking roast beef and potato salad to go with fresh rolls and a garden salad for our feast.  The house smells beautiful!  Lazy days are few and far between so I am doing a bit of baking: home made LCM bars (thanks for the recipe @BrendonWalker) and the most scrumptious biscuit ever, Russian Tea Cookies.

LCM bars

• 8 cups rice bubbles
• 1 tin condensed milk
• small pack of choc chips

1. Grease and line with baking paper a slice tin, put on oven at 160C
2. Mix everything together in a big bowl
3. Spread mixture evenly in tins and smooth down
4. Bake for about 20 mins at 160C (keep your eye on them I expect they are easy to overcook)
5. Let them cool in the tin then slice into bars and store in an air tight container

Note that I probably should have put mine in one tin rather than two as they ended up too thin and really didn't work out well as they were not thick enough to slice (see we all have kitchen failures from time to time!).  Another friend swears by a slightly different recipe for these which you can find here.

Russian tea cookies
Alas this is not my (or a friend's) recipe to publish.  But I can guarantee they are the yummiest biscuit you will ever eat.  Reading is one of my greatest pleasures, and one of my most re-read series of novels of all time is the Paullina Simons Bronze Horseman trilogy.

If you have read these three novels (The Bronze Horseman, The Bridge to Holy Cross and The Summer Garden) you will be familiar with the main character, Tatiana's love for food.  In fact such a huge theme that food and cooking plays in these books (and one assumes the author's too), has no doubt resulted in the "companion" Tatiana's Table cook book.  In this little gem of a book you can find the recipe for Russian tea cookies (on page 102).   This recipe alone is worth purchasing this book, or at the very least making a trip to the library. A lovely light, sweet biscuit with a hint of chewiness and

Note that the recipe uses walnuts for coating the biscuits, in my opinion the biscuits are just as yum without the walnuts and it means you can send them to school too.

Nana's potato bake

This is the best potato bake in the world, I'm not joking.  I know many followers of this blog have tasted it and would agree.  It is my 3 year old's favourite dish (a close call with chicken meatballs).  There are a few things you need to know:

• If you are on a low fat/low carb diet this is not for you (although you could swap potato for sweet potato and ditch the bacon) - I always use light cream
• If you don't have a mandolin then don't try making this - it is possible but my guess is if you like this blog you are looking for time saving kitchen shortcuts, thinly slicing 8 potatoes with a knife does not fall into this category
• If you have left it too late in the day to make this, don't despair - you can microwave the potato slices before you put the dish together to save on baking time

1. You need 6-8 medium/large potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly (2mm-3mm) 
2. 300ml - 400ml of cream (if you think you need extra liquid add a little milk)
3. Fry up 200g (ish) of diced bacon - didn't you know that bacon makes everything taste good!
4. Spray a large baking dish with olive oil spray and layer the potatoes, every few layers sprinkle salt and pepper and some of the fried bacon
5. At the end pour over the cream (and milk if you used it)
6. Cover with aluminum foil
7. This dish is best cooked slowly (eg 2-3 hours around 160 C).
8. In the last half hour take off the foil and sprinkle with grated cheese.

The one in this picture was a small potato bake (around half the quantities above) and without the bacon.  I also used the cheat method of microwaving the potato slices and just cooking in the oven for an hour.

Entertaining on a budget

One benefit of this blog is that I have no need to make apologies for a not-so-special dinner party menu.  Last night we had people over and on the menu was, nibbles, sausage hot pot (suggestion from my Facebook page, thanks @Bowhite), rice and Easy apple pie.

Sausage hot pot:

• 8 cooked thin sausages cut into bit size pieces (do yourself a favour, only by sausages from the butcher!)
• 800ml jar passata
• 1 onion diced
• 1/2 cup dried surprise peas
• 1 tin mushrooms (or small fresh button mushys left whole)
• 1/4 teaspoon (or just a sprinkle if your not keen on too much) chilli powder
• 1 clove crushed garlic

Put everything together in the slow cooker and put it on low for about 6 hours.  Serve with rice and grated cheese.

Easy apple pie: (this is an adaptation of this recipe, just a bit simpler and if you work smartly only 1 bowl to wash up plus the pie dish!)

• 1 tin pie apple
• 125g butter melted
• 1 egg
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup raw sugar plus an extra tablespoon

1. Spread the pie apple into a pie dish and sprinkle the tablespoon of raw sugar on top
2. In a large bowl, melt the butter
3. Add the flour, sugar and egg and mix well
4. Spread the mixture evenly over the top of the apple, doesn't matter if there is not enough to cover all the way to the edges, just spread it roughly over the apple as in the picture below
5. Put in a 170C oven until the top turns a lovely golden colour - I usually set the time for 45 minutes then check on it regularly
6. Serve with cream or ice cream

 

In the spirit of not wasting anything

I just popped a pot of pumpkin and sweet potato soup on the stove. When we had roast chicken the other night I threw into a pot all the bones, juice and leftover veg and herbs to make stock. I probably should have planned a bit better but the inspiration hit late tonight and veg soup is (or will be) the result. The lovely smell of simmering soup is already filling the house! Can't wait for lunch tomorrow already.

NB even the dog is happy, she is currently enjoying the fat from the top of the stock.