All i can say is Yum! These were great for the whole family…. Jon’s rugby team had just beaten the team who are currently top of the league, so this was perfect to welcome him home with (of course) an accompanying beer!
spread with black bean paste and top with salsa, sour cream, avacado, jalapenos, corriander and grated cheese 
Abbie loved them too although they were much more filling than the ones we normally make so she could only manage half of one.
Filed under Family suppers, trying new foods
Abbie has been sooooo excited about Halloween for the last few days – much Scooby Doo has been watched and this has encouraged the obsession even further. So I thought it only fitting that we should plan a Halloween themed dinner, ably aided by recipes from Nigella Lawson’s ‘Feast’. Abbie rejected slime soup and witche’s hair (although i quite fancied both!) and opted instead for ‘Blood and Guts potatoes’ with extra limbs and ‘Blood Clots and Pus’ for pudding.
On Monday night I set to carving yet another pumpkin from our garden (the last one went mouldy whilst we were on holiday) – after Abbie’s Uncle Gigi had carved a wonderful ‘Super Why’, she was very keen on the idea that I would do ‘Hello Kitty’. Luckily Jon found a printable stencil on the internet and so 30 mins later here was the result!
Hello Kitty... what will be requested next year??
Next we sat down to our ‘Blood and Guts Potatoes’ with added ‘limbs’ – cocktail sausages
Blood and Guts Potatoes
You will need Baking Potatoes, Balls of Mozarella (use 2, for 3 potatoes or 3 for 4 potatoes), Tomato Ketchup
Blood and guts potaotes - delightfully stringy!
Then it was on to the gruesome…
Blood Clots and Pus
For the Blood Clots I made up some raspberry jelly (Nigella also makes blackcurrant and strawberry) and then when it has set, scrunch it up into bowls.
For the Pus – make up lime jelly cubes with 100ml hot water, heat in microwave to dissolve the jelly and then make up to a pint with milk. Again, scrunch some over the top of your blood clots. Disgustingly gorgeous! And incredibly simple to boot!
Blood clots and Pus - nuff said!
All in all a very happy little ghost – although quite scary looking here!!
Boo!
Filed under entertaining, Family suppers
Hooray hooray for holidays!! Abbie and I decided to have a pyjama day today and laze around at home.. believe me a rest was needed after the half-term we have both had. Abbie said there was only one way to start a lazy day (after we had stayed in bed, reading books and chatting for an hour!) and that was to have pancakes. I found some Bisquick at the back of the cupboard and decided that these would be about the laziest pancakes I could make… besides buying them ready-made!
Just add egg, milk and water
Abbie was keen to make the mix herself, so I can honestly say these were so easy to make a child could have done it! They were actually very decent pancakes – more English style than American and they definitely fanfared that we were on holiday.
Abbie making her way through the first of many!
I wrap the rest in greaseproof paper and pop them in the freezer for impromtu snacks
Then it was out to the garden to see how our pumpkins were doing…. Abbie picked the best of 9 and we carried it back inside like the prized possession that it was.
This one!
When will this fashion catch on??
She remembered just what we had to do to prepare the pumpkin for carving and set to deseeding by scraping, turning and banging the seeds out… although making her own pumpkin hat was probably her favourite part! Then it was up to me to hollow the pumpkin out, placing all the flesh into a deep baking tray, a little water over the top and into the oven for 40mins at 160C. This roasts/steams it – I then make pumpkin puree to use in scones, muffins and pumpkin soup – see later…
Friendly, not spooky was my brief...
We started making bread (sponge stage), did some jobs around the house and then started getting ourself ready for our Movie lunch. I decided to make ‘Beanie Nachos’ as they are a favourite, and easy to eat in front of the TV. All I do is fry a little garlic in a pan, add a can of ‘Taco Beans’ which are mixed beans in a chilli/tomato sauce and a couple of handfuls of frozen sweetcorn and a little grating of dark chocolate (1/2 square). I put a couple of handfuls of lightly salted tortilla chips in the bottom of a pie dish, top with the beans and a couple of handfuls of grated light cheddar. Pop under a hot grill until the cheese melts and then serve with a dollop of sour cream for dipping (and pickled jalapenos for me). Delicious…. feels trashy but convince myself that the beans make it healthy!
Movie lunch - all polished off!
We made bread in the afternoon – I gave Abbie her own handful of dough to knead, rise and bake; using the rest to bake our loaf. She was delighted with her finished bread (baked for 10 mins at 220) and also loved our Autumn pumpkin soup, made with the innards that I roasted earlier.
Jon described this as the best soup I have ever made…. and asked how many more pumpkins we had. Think I know what I’m going to be doing with the remaining 8!
Sausage Ragu with Gnocchi and a touch of basil
7lb gone in the last 6 weeks and I am feeling soooooo much better for it! As I have been trying hard to drop the lbs, it has been back to the Weight Watchers cook books, which Jon always moans about! I don’t understand it at all because when eating each and every meal he has said ‘Is this really Weight Watchers??’. This would be a classic example of such a meal – with both husband and daughter coming back for seconds!! Ready in under 25 minutes… what’s not to love!
Sausage Ragu with Gnocchi (6 points for ragu, 4 points for 125g gnocchi for Weight Watcher devotees)
Serves 4
From ‘Weekdays’ by Weight Watchers
low fat cooking spray
big squeeze of garlic puree (or 2 cloves, chopped)
6 good quality pork sausages
600ml passata
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tblspn tomato puree
1 tablspn tomato ketchup
125g canned chickpeas, drained
Filed under Family lunches, Family suppers
Still waiting for my delivery tonight (the godsend of any working mother!) and so the freezer has to deliver instead. I freeze Abbie portions of anything that I make that is freezable. We’ve already had paris mash this week and today Abbie chose veggie soup. A quick zap in the microwave and presto! Dinner is served!
Basic veggie soup
Roots: carrots, parsnip, potato and/or turnips
Alliums: garlic and onion/leek
Extras:peas/broccoli/green beans
Chop
Cook in a little oil in a big pan until going soft
Cover with veg stock and cook for 1 hour
I play around with the ingredients every time I cook it. Always yummy!
Filed under Family suppers
I have now hit the point of my hangover where I want junk food….. but I am strong!
Abbie is starving, however, and frankly whatever form dinner takes, it has to be minimum effort. Enter the toastie maker – my saviour. In no time Abbie is sitting up to a plate of cheese and olive toastie with baked beans. And I can sit down, stare aimlessly into the middle distance and think about how bed is now only a few hours away…….
Filed under Family suppers
Not quite what we did!
Have to admit today I am not feeling great…. a tad hungover still at midday, even though my wonderful husband made me scrambled eggs for breakfast and I slept until 11. I tend to do this once a year and this must be this year’s event! Somehow convinced myself and those around me that I would be attending Zumba this morning – loud music and shaking my booty would not have been ‘just what the doctor ordered’ this morning!
Anyway the reason for my poor appearance today was a ‘Safari Dinner’ – what a fantastic concept! Organised by my Headmaster’s wife, we ventured around the school and town, visiting classrooms and kitchens to eat each course with a different group of people. At the end of each course everyone received envelopes which told them where they were off to next – ingenious and exciting! We started in a classroom at school where Parma Ham and Melon & Chips/Dip were provided with copious amounts of wine. Then onto one of the boys’ houses down the road where we were treated to Roast Beef and all the trimmings main course by a very talented Housemaster, served with copious amounts of wine. We hotfooted it back to school to serve our course, pudding, in my lab! It was quite a challenge to give that space the right ambience – but SummerPudding Trifle triumphed again (see previous post ‘How to impress your mother-in-law #2 – July). We also served kir royale made with my homemade creme de cassis or madiera. Lastly, we all converged upon the library, where we were treated to a massive selection of cheeses with copious amounts of port.
Have to say that the best moments were passing other groups in town and discussing what we’d had and where we were going….. and the copious amounts of wine obviously! I truly deserve this hangover!
Filed under eating out, entertaining
Jon has been nagging me to have a go at this idea since we left Houston six years ago…. we used to go to this amazing supermarket called ‘Central Market’ and he used to buy a loaf of this bread each week, without fail. They baked it fresh on the premises and it was incredibly yummy. Now that I feel more competent at making bread I thought I would have a go!
Lone Star Chilli and Cheese Bread
I used the same method and bread ingredients as in my previous ‘Breadilicious’ post: http://kidandkitchen.com/2011/08/20/breadelicious/ ;apart from I used 100% white bread flour, no granary this time
I added 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar and 1 large jalapeno from our garden (deseeded and finely chopped) to the main mix – not the sponge.
I now have a very happy husband (and daughter)…. although a fantastic result at Weight Watchers is looking less likely now! Have frozen the rest to help resist temptation and to prevent the scales from breaking!
Lone Star Bread
A slice of pure heaven!
Filed under baking with children, bread, trying new foods
I just HAD to post about my crazy daughter! Yesterday she finished two lines of her reward chart, meaning that she could choose a great treat when we went out today. Soooooooo…. Abbie decided upon careful consideration of comics, books, toys and other delights that she wanted… CHEESE! She asked if she could have a cheese plate with 3 cheeses on it.
Both Jon and I were completely stunned, but Abbie happily bounded up to the deli counter and asked for ‘that blue one’ (Shropshire Blue), ‘Cammememebert’, and ‘that stripy cheese’ (5 counties). She couldn’t have been more pleased with her choices. She has nearly finished another row – wonder what it’ll be next time… maybe a selection of fine wines!!
The cheese plate!
Filed under Family lunches
Hooray for handmade bread – it is addictive to make as well as to eat! This week we made 1/2 granary, 1/2 white flour. Abbie and I are loving making our weekend bread and this lazy method fits in well with our routine…..
1.30pm – made the sponge (bit of the flour, water and yeast left to rise) and it in the airing cupboard – then it was off to Glee 3D and to drop Jon off at the station for his boys’ weekend (or Geekfest as they are calling it!).
Click to print off recipe
5.00pm – continued to make the dough, adding the remainder of the ingredients and did a good bit of kneading before putting the dough in the airing cupboard to rise.
We kneaded through 3 Warblers' songs
8.00pm – with Abbie in bed, I started on the next stage – thumping the dough down and shaping it to make a loaf. I spray the top with a little water and dust with flour – I use a shaped stencil to decorate. This takes a few minutes and then it’s onto a baking tray, cover with a teatowel and leave for the morning.
7am – Couldn’t believe that I was up before Abbie this morning – must have been the excitement of baking! I heaated the oven up to 200C (fan) and baked the loaf for 35 minutes. The delicious smell of bread had roused my daughter by then who came down with the words “I’m hungry”…. Neither of us are particularly patient people so we ate the bread, still hot with butter and jam. I broke into my rose petal jam, bought last year in France – heaven!
Can you smell it from there?
Here are the remainder of the instructions for the sponge method…
Filed under baking with children, bread
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