Chorizo Oven Risotto

Serves 4
This is a very versatile dish, you can swap the chorizo for other meat (bacon works well!) and swap the peppers for cherry tomatoes or other veg. Baking in the oven still creates a lovely creamy risotto that doesn't require stirring for ages - perfect for a quick and easy family dinner.

150g chorizo, sliced
1 large onion, diced
Tablespoon butter
300g risotto/shortgrain/arborio rice
10 cherry tomatoes halved or 1 red pepper diced (or both)
700ml stock
50g grated parmesan
Start by preheating the oven to 200c. On the hob in an over&hob proof casserole dish, fry the chorizo on a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the butter and onion and cook until the onion is soft. Add the risotto rice and tomatoes/pepper and stir through. Add the hot stock, stir and add a lid to the dish. Pop into the oven for around 20 minutes. Stir through the parmesan, ladle into bowls and serve.

Garlic Chicken & Roast Ratatouille

Well, it has been a long time since I have blogged! I am swamped with college work and life in general. I have a few posts I want to share, some new recipes plus a post about my wonderful visit to the Michelin starred restaurant in Edinburgh!

This was a throw-together quick meal after a full day at college. Luckily all my children like it!
I served this with rice, but potatoes would go as well.

Serves 4
8 chicken thighs
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 garlic cloves crushed
1 red pepper, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1 red onion, chopped into chunks
1 courgette, sliced chunky
Olive oil
Mixed herbs
Salt & pepper
1 tin chopped tomatoes
Rice to serve.

Preheat the oven to 190 c. Mix the melted butter & garlic. Throw all the chopped veg into a roasting tin, then drizzle with a little olive oil. Nestle the chicken thighs in the veg, then baste the chicken with the garlic butter. Sprinkle over the mixed herbs & season. Pop into the oven for around 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove from oven & add the tinned tomatoes to the veg.Cook for another 10 minutes.

Am I a Morrisons Mum?

I was chuffed recently to be asked to try Morrisons this May Day weekend, by the BritMums team. I set off, armed with my vouchers ready to do our bank holiday weekend shop. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I managed to get for £80 - but was unable to photograph it as my camera phoned seemed to be broken - catastrophe! Turns out I had it on a wrong setting, but not until after my shop & first meal had been demolished. I came home with 8 bags of shopping - wowee! I got a great variety of fruit & veg, including pineapples (which was part of their 3 fruit/veg for £1.50 deal), avocados, celeriac (my fave vegetable! search for recipes in the search bar of the blog) amongst many others. Another 2 bags contained our meat, the best bargain was 2 packs of mince for £3.50. My kids all love a plate of mince & tatties!

The first meal I prepared was after a nice long walk we had along the clifftops near our home. Friends of ours have recently got a new dog, so we had a lovely afternoon playing in the park & a long walk home. Everyone was tired, so the kids lounged in front of the TV while I put a quick tea together - pizza pinwheels, sweet potato wedges & sweetcorn. This fed 3 children, including a strapping teenager, at a cost of around £3 for the meal.

Pizza Pinwheels (prices are for Morrisons stores) £1 per person

1 sheet ready to use puff pastry £1
Half a jar of chunky veg pizza topping 50p (Morrisons own, £1 per jar, the other half can be used for another meal)
Grated cheese 40p  (less than half a pack, £1 for the Market Place grated cheese pack)
1 large sweet potato 40p
1 tin sweetcorn & peppers 49p (Morrisons own)

Preheat the oven to 200c. Peel & chop the sweet potato into wedges, toss in olive oil & arrange on a baking tray. Pop into the oven for 25 minutes. Next, roll out the puff pastry and spread half a jar of  pizza sauce over the pastry. Sprinkle all over with cheese. Carefully, roll the pastry up, like a swiss roll! Cut carefully into 1 inch thick slices, and place onto a lightly oiled baking tray. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes, then remove & allow to cool slightly. These are yummy warm or cold. Serve with the sweetcorn & sweet potato wedges.

We finished this off with some cooling Limeade floats! 50p for a 2 litre bottle of limeade, and 80p for a large tub of vanilla ice cream = a lot of floats. The kids enjoyed these very much.

So far, I am very impressed with my Morrisons shop. More recipes to come in the next few days with more of the lovely ingredients I was able to buy.

Eating Out - Wagamama

This was the first time I'd eaten at Wagamama, and really enjoyed it. I quite enjoy Japanese food anyway, so this was a nice treat. I'd had the gyoza recommended to me by my sister, and the friend I ate lunch with recommended the tropical juice - both were lovely!

                                                                Chicken teriyaki donburi

                                                             Steamed chicken gyoza

Freshly made tropical juice

 I would definitely eat there again, and I think I would try the chicken katsu curry next time.

Smokey Bacon Spaghetti

This is one of my favourite budget meals. If you use value versions of the ingredients, you can make this meal for a few pound - bargain! I paid 33p per tin of tomatoes, 30p for the dried spaghetti, £1.50 for the smoked bacon and I already had smoked paprika in my cupboard. You can buy paprika quite cheaply though, and it will last for quite few meals. The smoked paprika is a must, it gives this dish a lovely taste.

Serves 4

400g dried spaghetti
150g smoked bacon, diced
1 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
Oil for frying
2 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
Parmesan (optional)

In a large frying pan, heat the oil to a medium heat & fry the bacon until starting to crisp. Add the onion & garlic & cook until soft. Stir in the paprika and continue to cook for another minute. Tip in the tomatoes and stir through. Allow to simmer for about 15 minutes, until teh sauce thickens. Cook the spaghetti per the pack instructions. Once the spaghetti is cooked, add the sauce & coat the pasta. Serve sprinkled with parmesan, if you like, and garlic bread.

Easy Chicken Biriyani

I like one-pot meals - easy and keeps the washing up to a minimum! This is one the kids enjoy, but you can use a hotter curry powder if you like it spicier. Curry paste can also be used in place of powder, just whatever you have at hand. Allow one or two chicken thighs per person, depending on appetite.

Serves 4

7 chicken thighs (1 or 2 per person)
1 onion, diced
2 tablespoons of curry powder (I used mild, so the kids could enjoy)
1 tablespoon oil
1.5 mugs of easy cook rice
3 mugs of chicken stock
1 mug of frozen peas

Preheat the oven to 200c. In a large hob/oven proof dish, heat up the oil to a medium heat. Fry the chicken in batches, to colour & crisp the skin. Remove & set aside. Fry the onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the curry powder & cook for another minutes. Add the rice, and stir to coat in the curry/oil. Pour in the stock, stir & allow to come to a simmer. Add the chicken back on top and then place in the oven for 30 minutes. Add the peas, stir and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Serve in warm bowls.

BBQ Brisket

This is a really easy meal to make in the slow cooker. I have been trying to use my slow cooker more often, as it renders cheap cuts of meat really tender and soft while retaining all the flavour. I served it in wraps, with cheese sprinkled on. It would also be great in crusty rolls with crisp salad leaves. A side order of onion rings & coleslaw would make this a perfect dinner.

1kg beef brisket (roughly)
1 large onion, sliced
2 crushed garlic cloves
1 tbsp tomato puree
300ml passata
150 ml stock
2 tablespoons orange juice
100ml cider vinegar
1 tbsp demerera sugar
1 tbsp honey
2 whole cloves (remember to remove these before shredding the beef)
Salt & pepper

Place the brisket on top of the onions in the slow cooker. Mix the other ingredients & pour over the beef. Cook on low for 8 hours. Remove the beef, shred with two forks, then mix the shredded meat back into the sauce. Serve in wraps/pitta/crusty rolls/

Halloween Recipes & Ideas

I thought I'd share some fun food and decoration ideas from Halloween parties I have held in the past. All of these were cheap & easy to do, and quite effective. The kids all had a great time!

Boil up some hard boiled eggs. Crack the shells, but do not remove. Place a a bowl with water & red food colouring overnight in the fridge. This is what they will look like when you finally remove the shell!

Bats cut out of black paper. Very effective! Bend the wings slightly, where they join the body, to create shadows on the wall/

This is just orange tissue paper and black paper for the eyes & mouth, tacked to the window.

Cadburys white choc finger biscuits, scratch knuckles halfway down & paint the tips with red gel colouring.

Little meringues with icing pen faces.

Coffee and mason jars, PVA glue & tissue paper! So easy. I then drew faces on with a marker pen. I popped glow sticks into the ghosts and battery-operated tea lights into the pumpkins.

Bandaged fingers .... sausages wrapped in pastry strips, ketchup for blood, bit of onion for teh finger nail.

Scottish Stovies

This is actually my husbands recipe, he is the "stovies maker" in our house. I think most Scottish kids grow up eating stovies ... it's so cheap & easy. Traditionally, you bunged all your left overs from your roast dinner (beef and potatoes) in a pot with some onions & stock and simmer it all down in a pot on the stove (hence the name). Some areas use sausages, mince or Lorne, some add other veg (carrots, peas etc) but the stovies I grew up with were made from corned beef. We serve ours with oatcakes to scoop it up with.

Serves 4
5 medium potatoes, peeled & sliced 1cm think
2 onions, sliced
1 tin of corned beef (replace with leftover mince/cooked sausages/roast beef trimmings if you prefer)
Dripping/lard (or oil) for frying
1 beef stock cubes
Water.

Heat the dripping in a large saucepan. Gently fry the onions until completely softened but not coloured. Add the potatoes to the pan, cover with water to halfway up your potato/onion mix & crumble in the stock cube. Mix, and allow to bubble away until the stock is almost all absorbed. This will take about 30 minutes. Add the crumbled corned beef & stir through - then allow the mixture to thicken up by letting it simmer/bubble for another few minutes. Serve with oatcakes.

Cheesey bacon potato bake

This recipe came about on one of those days where you need to go shopping, but haven't been yet! I am quite busy with college these days, and it's hard fitting it all in. This was surprisingly tasty, and went down a treat with husband & kids alike. It really does need some veg on the side, as it is quite rich on its own. If you are feeling decadent, you can add a swish of white wine to the cream & garlic mix!

Serves 4

4 large baking potatoes (or equivalent in small potatoes) cut into half cm thick slices
4 rashers of bacon, diced
1 large onion, cut into thin slices
2 garlic cloves, crushed
300 ml double cream
250g grated cheese
Steamed veg, to serve

Heat the oven to 180c. Mix the crushed garlic with the cream and set aside. Fry the bacon on onion over a medium/low heat, until the bacon is cooked & the onion soft. Layer the potato slices in a large oven proof dish, and add the bacon/onion. Pour over the cream mixture, then scatter the grated cheese on top. Pop in the oven for 45 minutes, then serve with steamed vegetables.

Beef in Oyster Sauce

This is a great, simple but quick meal idea for those days you are rushed off your feet (which seems to be every day for me just now!). This tasted amazing, and you could serve it with some rice or noodles. You could change the vegetables for what ever you have in, carrots, courgette & onion would all work well too. This makes lots, so there were leftovers for lunch the next day.

Serves 2

300g rump steak, thinly sliced
150g chestnut mushrooms
150g kale or sliced greens
150g baby corn/mange tout
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
1.5 tablespoons soy sauce
Piece of ginger, grated
1 garlic clove, crushed

Mix the 2 sauces together & set aside.

Heat some oil in a large frying pan & quickly brown the steak strips. Remove to a warm plate. Fry the ginger & garlic for 1 minutes, then add the mushrooms. Fry those for a few minutes, then add the other veg. Stir fry for a few more minutes, then tip in the sauce. Warm the sauce through then add the steak back to the pan. let the whole thing heat up for about 5/6 minutes, then serve.

Slow Cooker Bacon & Cabbage

This sounds less appetising than it actually is! I have recently started college, so my time for cooking has been greatly reduced. This is a great recipe that can be bunged in the slow cooker, ready for when you get home. The juices that run out of the bacon joint are used to make a tasty sauce to pour over. I love recipes where you can put everything in together, less washing up too!

Serves 4

1kg bacon joint
1 pointed cabbage, cut into wedges
12 baby carrots
1 onion, quartered
1 bay leaf
500ml water
8 potatoes, halved or quartered (depending on size)
150ml double cream
Chopped parsley


Place the potatoes, onion & carrots in the bottom of the slow cooker. Lay the bacon joint on top, then squash in the cabbage all round it. Pop in the bay leaf, pour in the water then put the lid on & cook on low for 6/7 hours. When ready, remove the bacon & slice up. Remove 150ml of the stock from the slow cooker, mix with cream, pepper & parsley & warm back up. Use this sauce to pour over the bacon & vegetables.

Chocolate Caramel Muffins

It's a wet miserable day up here in Scotland (typical of the summer holidays!) so deiced to do some baking with the kids. My daughter picked this delicious summer recipe from the bakingmad website. It was a really easy recipe to follow, my 11 year old daughter did most of it herself. They also tasted amazing! I will make these again, for picnics or packed lunch boxes. It would be easy to swap the chocolate caramel drops for other ingredients too.

Makes 10 large muffins

110g butter or marg, softened
100g golden caster sugar
150 ml milk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
300g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
100g pack of chocolate caramel drops (silver spoon brand)

Preheat your oven to 180c. Line a muffin tray with muffin cases.

Cream the sugar & butter together. Add the eggs, mix again. Add the milk a drop at a time & combine. Add the flour & baking powder & mix again. Gently stir through the chocolate drops & then add a large dollop of mixture to each muffin case.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until firm to the touch & golden in colour.

Vichy Carrots

This dish get it's name from the brand name of sparkling water the original recipe uses for cooking these carrots. I personally just use a cheap bottle of sparkling water! This is my favourite way of cooking carrots.I love to sprinkle fresh parsley from my garden over them near the end of cooking for a fantastic flavour. These take longer to cook than just boiling our carrots, because we are simmering them slowly, but it is worth it for the end result.

Use your largest frying pan.

Serves 4

4 carrots, peeled & sliced about 1 cm thick
Sparkling water
Large knob of butter
Chopped fresh parsley
Salt & pepper

Lay the carrots in one layer in the largest frying pan that you have. Pour in enough sparkling water to just cover the carrots. Add the butter & season. Simmer gently for 15 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed. . Scatter over the parsley, stir & serve.

Swede (turnip) Bake

Up here in Scotland we call them neeps or turnips, but I know the English call them swede and Americans call it rutabaga! No matter what you call it, it's a tasty vegetable, and a great replacement for potatoes in a lot of dishes. This dish is lovely with a roast dinner or maybe some sausages. I think this has more flavour than potatoes, and make it quite often to go alongside roast chicken. I didn't add cheese to mine, but you can sprinkle some on top if you fancy it.

Serves 4

Butter to grease
1 swede, peeled and sliced in 0.5 cm thick slices
2 garlic cloves, crushed
200 ml double cream
Cheese to top (optional)

Grease an oven proof dish with butter. Preheat oven to 200c.
Place a layer of swede slices in the bottom of the dish. Add a little garlic on top. Layer more swede on top, with more garlic. repeat until you have filled the dish or have used all the swede. Pour the cream over the whole dish. Add cheese on top if you are using. Pop in the oven for around 30/35 minutes. A knife should go through all the layers of swede easily.

Growing Herbs

I use a lot of herbs in my cooking, and it is so handy to grow your own in the garden. I love that I have fresh herbs on hand, no matter what or when I am cooking. I have tried, unsuccessfully, to grow vegetables, but my herbs are doing great. I have encouraged my kids to garden with me, and they have a huge patch of strawberries growing. The wee man has had fun planting sunflowers and tomatoes. I have a bay tree, rosemary, tarragon, mint, 2 kinds of parsley, 2 kinds of basil, fennel, chives and lemon thyme. I am going to attempt garlic this year too.

Do any of my readers grow their own herbs or food in their garden? I'd love some tips & hints! Leave a comment below.

This post is an entry for BritMums’ #KidsGrowWild Challenge with www.moneysupermarket.com/home-insurance/competitions/kids-grow-wild/

Celeriac Tartiflette

Celeriac  is one of my favourite vegetables. I quite often use it in place of potatoes, as it is much more flavoursome. I picked one up in Sainburies the other day, and was walking around the store wondering what to do with it when I spotted some Reblochon cheese. Of course, I decided to make tartiflette and use celeriac instead of the traditional potatoes. It was a huge success! I used a recipe that I found on Mumsnet and took it from there. I did take a photograph, but it was terrible so decided not to share it! Believe me though, it was great.

1 celeriac, peeled & chopped
250g bacon lardons or smoked bacon chopped
2 shallots, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
100ml  white wine
200ml double cream
1 whole Reblochon cheese
Salt & pepper to season

Parboil the celeriac for 10 minutes in some boiling salted water. Drain & set aside. Meanwhile, fry the bacon lardons in some olive oil. Preheat the oven to 200c.Add the shallots & garlic to the frying pan and cook for 5 minutes. De glaze the pan with the white wine & allow to reduce down slightly. Place the celeriac in an oven proof dish. Pour over the wine/bacon mix over the top, and then the double cream. Season. Place slices of the Reblochon over the top & pop into the oven for 15 minutes. Serve with a green salad or crusty bread.

Eggs in Clouds

This is a really fun & cute idea for cooking eggs that kids will love! It is almost like a savoury breakfast meringue. You can chuck in all sorts to flavour it - spring onion, cooked chorizo, grated cheese, etc. In this version I just use some parmesan and served them with bacon & mushrooms for a hearty brunch. Use an electric hand whisk, if you have one, to save time. Beat the eggs until white & fluffy.

Allow 1 or 2 eggs per person.

Eggs
Parmesan (or any other ingredient you would like to add, such as spring onion, grated cheese etc)
Salt & pepper

Preheat your oven to 200c.

Start by carefully separating the egg whites & yolks. Keep the yolks intact! Whisk the egg whites until they are thick, white & fluffy. Add a teaspoon of permesan per egg and carefully fold in into the mixture. Season & spoon onto a baking sheet. Divide the mixture into equal parts totalling the amount of eggs you used. Make a small well in the top of each mound, and carefully add back the yolk. Place into the oven on the middle shelf for 5 minutes. If you like runnier yolk, cook the whites for 3 minutes before adding the yolks & returning to the oven.

Aubergine Melts

Aubergines (or eggplants for my US readers!), I find, are the meatiest tasting vegetable out there. I can eat one of these and not feel like I am missing the meat part of my meal. I ate a whole one for my lunch, or you could have half with a couscous side dish. I couldn't entice any of my children to try it though! Not even the veg-loving one wanted to taste it. I loved it though, and will have it again soon.

Serves 1-2

1 whole aubergine
Olive oil
2 tablespoons pesto
1 ball of mozzarella, drained & sliced
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
Basil leaves to garnish

Preheat the oven to 200c. Cut the aubergine in half and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Spread a tablespoon of pesto on each half, then top with sliced mozzarella and then finish with the cherry tomato halves. Pop back into the oven for anther 5 minutes, until the cheese has melted & tomatoes softened. Sprinkle with basil.

Smokey Pork Burgers

These burgers are flavoured with lovely smoked bacon & paprika to give a wonderful taste. They are great for a BBQ or just grilled indoors. Serve with some lovely BBQ sauce and some applewood smoked cheese & salad. I served mine with hommade coleslaw and onion rings, for a great American feel. I love finding recipes that use pork mince as its a nice budget-friendly meat. This recipe will make 4 burgers.

olive oil, for frying
500g pork mince
4 rashers of smoked  bacon, finely chopped
1 shallot - peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon smoked paprika


Gently fry the shallot & bacon for a few minutes in the olive oil, over a medium heat, until the shallot is  translucent and the bacon crispy. Add the paprika and continue to cook for a further minute. Remove from the heat, allow to cool slightly then add to a mixing bowl with the pork mince and season. Combine the mixture with the mince using your hands, then divide into 4 equal parts. Form into patties. Cook the patties in a grill or an oiled frying pan on a medium heat. Cook for around 4 minutes each side, until cooked through. Arrange on bread rolls with salad, smoked cheese slices, BBQ sauce & serve.