Falling In To Bad Habits.....Again!

Oh yes I am!  Hardly done any scrapping over the past few weeks, yet been stash shopping big style.

Bad bad Candace. 

Must put aside some time for scrapping this week, but with the kids being off school, weekend away and work, plus the usual housework, medical appoinments etc there is very little time left.  But I do plan to spend time scrapping......that counts doesn't it? Lol

PS. Sorry I haven't posted the Tuck In Tuesday yet but with being away I have been unable to make the cobler as I need to get the pork & mushroom out of the freezer and let it defrost. Have taken it out and will make for tea tonight then post for all tomorrow. 

Mrs Disorganised me - but quite sure you had worked that out for yourselves!

Tuck In Tuesday - Chocolate Tiffin

Tuck In Tuesdays - home cooked food for busy working parents!

Chocolate Tiffin

Ingredients

1 pack of digestive biscuits (300g)
150g of Unsalted butter
3 tbsp Maple or Golden Syrup
4 tbsp of Cocoa
Marshmallows
150g chopped milk chocolate or chocolate buttons


This is one of those nice, simple recipes that the kids can make with very little supervision.  My two are aged 6 & 8 and have great fun making this.

Melt butter & syrup in a pan (adults)

Crush biscuits

 

Mix in cocoa

Pour in melted butter & syrup (adults)

Mix

Add marshmallows & chocolate

And mix

Pour in tin (unless you want it all over the floor, advised that adults do this part - I speak from experience!)

Press down with the back of a spoon and place in the fridge for at least an hour

Cut into slices

And end up looking like this!

Now TUCK IN & enjoy!

Lets Make Things Easy

This takes less than 15 minutes to make, even when you have two kids 'helping' or should that read fighting over who does what!

So I am pleased to say it doesn't come much easier than this.

Great for that simple pud, parties, lunch boxes (child & adult) and lovely pressie for Gran - whats better than home cooked sweet goodies that the kids have made themselves.

Meal Alternatives

Instead of marshmallows what about adding:

Crushed maltesers
Flaked coconut
Chopped nuts & glace cherries

Don't forget to come back next Tuesday for

Pork & Mushroom Cobler

Tuck In Tuesday - Pork with Crushed New Potatoes

Tuck In Tuesdays - home cooked food for busy working parents!

Pork With Crushed New Potatoes

Ingredients

8 chops
12 mushrooms
750ml of stock
tbsp flour
100ml of milk or cream
750g New potatoes
fresh chopped mint
150g butter
2 tbsp oil
cooking apple
2 tbsp sugar
salt & pepper to taste

Yes I know, that does read 8 chops.  But what we are doing is making things easy for ourselves.  We are actually making 2 meals here.  Once cooled we will freeze half of the pork in mushroom sauce for another meal in 2 weeks time.

Pre heat oven at 190 degrees

Boil the new potatoes in salted water with half the chopped mint.

Melt 50g of butter & 2 tbsp of oil in large pan.  Add chopped pork and cook until browned

Add mushrooms and cook for further 5 mins

Should now look like this

Add flour & mix

Slowly add stock & milk or cream, stirring all the time.  Simmer the meat & sauce mix to reduce the liquid.

Melt 50g of butter in a small pan, add the sugar and chopped cooking apple

Keep an eye on the apple sauce & mix regular.  Continue to cook until apple is soft.

By now the potatoes will be cooked but check with a sharp knife & drain.

Gently press a potato masher down until you hear them 'pop'

Place on a baking tray, add salt & pepper and remaining butter chopped.

Place in the pre heated oven for 15 mins, you are just slightly crisping them and melting the butter.

Serve potatoes, apple sauce & half the meat & sauce

Now TUCK IN & enjoy!

Lets Make Things Easy & Meal Alternatives

Freeze the remaining pork & mushroom sauce once cooled.
Come back in 2 weeks and I'll show what you can make with this

Don't forget to come back next Tuesday for

Chocolate Tiffin

Tuck In Tuesday - Apple & Caramel Pie

Tuck In Tuesdays - home cooked food for busy working parents!

Apple and Caramel Pie

4 Cooking apples - peeled, de-cored and sliced
30g unsalted butter
Pack of shortcrust pastry
Tin of Carnation caramel (face it, its midweek, I'm a working Mother, who has time to make caramel from scratch????)
handful of sultanas
Milk and caster sugar to glaze

Vanilla Ice Cream, cream or custard to serve

Pre heat oven to 190 degrees

Melt butter in a large pan and add apples, cook until still slightly crunchy. 

 Pour in half the tin of caramel, mix and put to one side to cool.

All you are doing is melting the caramel, takes less than a minute.

Roll out half of your pastry and line greased and floured pie tin - I use my Nan's glass pie plates, seriously these plates are older than me!

Add cooled apple mixture & sprinkle sultanas over the top

Roll out the second half of the pastry

Brush the edge of the pastry in the tin with water, place top half of pastry on top and 'pinch' the two layers together

Remember to cut a cross in the top of the pie to allow air to escape.

Brush milk on the top and sprinkle a little caster sugar over the top of the pie (caster sugar optional, a bad habit inherited from my Nan!)

Cook until golden brown

Serve with ice cream, cream or custard

Now TUCK IN & enjoy!

Lets Make things easy

Its ready made pastry & caramel, doesn't come more easier!  To save time you could make more than one pie and when cold cut into family sized potions and freeze in clingfilm and tin foil.  Lasts for one month.

Meal Alternatives

Try adding toasted almonds or chopped walnuts instead of sultanas.

Don't forget to come back next Tuesday for

Pork With Crushed New Potatoes

Tuck In Tuesday - Chicken & Bacon Pasta

Tuck In Tuesdays - home cooked food for busy working parents!


Chicken & Bacon Pasta

To feed family of 4

3 chicken breasts - diced
6 rashers of bacon - diced
Tin of sweetcorn
Leek - sliced
500 ml of Chicken stock
Cream (or milk for low fat version)
300g of Pasta (uncooked weight)
Tablespoon of plain flour
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Pinch of salt (optional)
Little oil or butter

Mixed salad to serve

Heat oil or butter in a large pan.  Add sliced leek and saute until softened.

Remove from pan and add diced chicken to cook

In another pan, add boiling water, add pinch of salt (optional) and bring to boil again.  When the water is boiling add pasta, cook pasta to your own personal taste

When chicken in cooked added diced bacon and cooked leeks

Add flour and stir, cook for a few minutes. 

Slowly add stock & cream/milk whilst stiring constantly (to avoid lumps - lumpy sauce is not nice)

Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

When the sauce is cooked, add drained tin of sweetcorn.  Sweetcorn only needs heating through.

Drain cooked pasta and add to the chicken pan, stir.

Serve, add ground black pepper to individuals taste.

Serve with mixed salad

Now TUCK IN & enjoy!

Lets Save Time

This receipe can be made in advance or in a larger quantity and frozen.  Just make the Chicken and Bacon mix and keep in the fridge to use next day or freeze* in containers in family size portions for up to 1 month.  Not recommended to cook pasta in advance or to freeze. 

*I don't like freezing cooked chicken that has been frozen before in its raw state, but as long as properly cooked it can be frozen, this is just my personal choice.  Never refreeze chicken that had been cooked before frozen.

Alternative Meals

How else can you use the preprepered frozen Chicken & Bacon mix?

Serve as a pie, place in ovenproof dish and top with readymade puff pastry.

Serve with rice or jacket potato.

Tuck In Tuesday

You may ask, what is Tuck In Tuesday?

Tuck In Tuesdays - home cooked food for busy working parents!

I am a single Mother who works full time with a total daily commute of around 2 1/2 hours and I hate ready meals!  I was not brought up on them and neither will my kids. 

I feel I am one of the few among my friends who can and does actually cook.  My Mom and Nan both taught me to cook.  I like nothing better than cooking with my Children, even at 6 & 7 they show great interest.  At times Freya shows a little too much interest and struggles to understand why she can't stir hot pans and get things in and out of the oven.

My Mom was Queen of the Savories and my Nan's sweet pastry dishes were to die for.  I used to get sent back to University every semester with parcels of a dozen apple pies which I'd freeze and with my house mates would share every Sunday, along with a roast.  My pastry is good but compared to my Nan's you'd just throw mine straight in the bin!

Both My Mom and Nan worked full time and I have learnt many time saving tips through the years, where to cut corners but still eat home cooked traditional food.  Ok, we do, usually as a monthly treat, make visits to the chip shop, Chinese, Indian, order pizza or eat out but where's the harm every now and then?

Until recently my Brother would have 'freezer packs' sent to him in South Wales of mass produced home cooked food.  Just take out of the freezer in the morning, then heat through at night.  Its home cooked ready meals - I am a big fan of these.  I don't have time to cook every night but if cooking at a weekend, what is the difference in cooking 500g of mince to make a cottage pie or cooking 3kg of mince?  You just chop a few more veg, then freeze in family size portions.  Cook your potatoes and veg or perhaps a jacket potato on the day of eating, but the mince, which is what takes the time, is done in advance.

As I said earlier alot of my friends can't cook, I am not joking when I say I know someone who can't even boil potatoes (Mrs J - this woman doesn't even own a potato peeler!!!), so the instructions will be basic.

Most of the recipes that I will share with you will be on this theme, cook larger portions and freeze.  Using common sense, some parts of your meal can't be frozen but hey lets just make things a little easier.

Hope you can come back and if you want to leave a message to tell me what you think it would be great to hear how you get on or post a link to your cooking pics, I'd love to see them x

Lets TUCK IN & enjoy!