Sweet Farmhouse Chicken

Sweet Farmhouse Chicken

 

Another fabulously low-fat recipe suitable for Rosie's and Slimming World followers! Tyler also wolfed this one down, I was very surprised, he couldn't get enough! I served mine with mashed potatoes but you can try something different such as jacket potato, wedges or potato rosti.

 

The nutrition is brilliant, lean meat providing a low fat protein, fibre, vitamin C etc. Very healthy for little ones and us older ones!

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

• 2 Large Chicken Breasts
• 250ml Chicken Stock
• 6oz Frozen Sliced Carrots
• 4oz Frozen Petit Pois
• 1 tsp Mixed Herbs
• 4 Sprays of Low Calorie Cooking Spray
• 2 tbsp. Cornflour

 

 

The Not-So Nitty Gritty

 

1. Add the cooking spray to a hot casserole dish (on full heat on the hob), followed by the mixed herbs.
2. Once the herbs start to smell aromatic, dice the chicken breasts and add to the dish immediately. Keep turning the chicken with a wooden spoon so the chicken is evenly coated with the herbs.
3. When the chicken has started to colour up and loose it's pinkness, add the stock to the dish, followed by the carrots, peas and cornflour.
4. Reduce the heat and stir well. Place the lid on top of the casserole dish and leave. Stir every five minutes or so to prevent it sticking to the dish. After 20 minutes, serve with a carb based side.

 

 







Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkins

 

So, it's getting close to Halloween and there are loads of pumpkins on offer but what can you do apart from carve them? Make a soup for seasonal meal times!

Pumpkins provide 170% of your daily vitamin A needs and 15% of your vitamin C needs. Impressive per 100g really, especially as it only contains 26 calories.

Pumpkins are great for adding fibre, colour, texture, taste and variety to yours and your family's diet.

The recipe I am about to show you makes 4 servings or so and cost me around £3 as I bought a very small pumpkin.

 

 

 

Pumpkin Soup

 

 

Ingredients

 

• 250g Pumpkin Flesh
• 200g Peeled and chopped carrots
• 300ml Chicken/Vegetable Stock (chicken stock turns out better)
• 300ml Blue Top Milk
• 4 Twists of Freshly Ground Black Pepper

 

 

The Not-so Nitty Gritty

 

1. Carve the pumpkin and chopped/peel the carrots first as this bit takes the longest. Remove the top and bottom of the pumpkin first and remove the excess 'stringy' flesh and seeds. Seeds can be dried as used later on as snacks. Remove the outer skin of the pumpkin and cut the flesh into thumb-size chunks.
2. Add the carrots, thumb size pumpkin chunks, stock, milk and pepper to a large pot. Bring to the boil and remain on the boil for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Reduce heat slightly and wait until the pumpkin and carrots are tender. This should take an extra 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Put in the food processor or blender until a smooth consistency is achieved.
4. Pour the soup out of the food processor and back in the pot to heat up, stirring well and serve!

 

 

It should go from this...

...to this....

...to this!

 

What Little Monster Made of it....

 

 

Well, first time with soup, didn't go as planned. The soup ended up the walls, over the toys, over me and the carpet ended up a new shade! But, He thoroughly enjoyed the bread dipped in the soup and was gobbled up quickly. We need soup practice!Very tasty and mummy and daddy really liked it too.

 

 

 

 

 



TTFN from Mummy's sleeping pumpkin!!!



Toad in The Hole

Toad in the Hole

 

 

   Toad in the hole has always been one of my favourite dishes and proves to be a firm family favourite. Right, I have a confession, I cannot make homemade batter to save my life so I use Asda smart price batter mix and at only 7p a packet and you only have to add a beaten egg and 200ml cold water, it is a great time and money saver. Yes I am aware of added ingredients, but it won't hurt every now and again if you are short of time and money.

  

 

   This dish will provide, protein, carbohydrate, vitamin C and fibre amongst other things.

 

 

 

Tyler's Personal Portion

 

 

 

Ingredients

• Battermix (7p, Asda)
• 6 Sausages  (89p, 12 pack, Lidl)
• Oil (89p, Lidl)
• 1 can Baked Beans (17p, Aldi)

 

 

The Not-so Nitty Gritty

 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees
2. Drizzle oil into a small roasting pan and place in the oven
3. Fry sausages until a light brown
4. Make up your batter mix, or your homemade batter if you have greater apt for these types of things
5. Remove the pan from the oven and pour in the batter mix.
6. Put the sausages in the pan too and space out evenly.
7. Start cooking the beans 5 minutes or so before the end of the oven cooking time
8. Cook for 20 - 30 minutes.
9. Take out and cut up and serve with baked beans

 

 

Mummy size portion, daddy wouldn't let me take a picture of his, he thinks it's unhealthy for me to be obsessed with photographing food. I majorly disagree.

 

 

 



What Little Monster Made of it

 

Well, well, well! I have never seen his plate clear so quick. Ate the batter first, sausage second and beans last. All by hand as we are having some fork issues at the moment. A nice strawberry rice pudding to follow and all was well. Not much else to say really, was eaten, seemed to be enjoyed, cheap and quick enough for success!

 

 

 

 

Cottage Pie

Cottage Pie

 

I know you all probably have cottage pie mastered to a fine art now you are a fully fledged family, but here's how I did it if there is anything you would like to take from it.

Also provides carbs, fibre, protein and key vitamins. Oh, and only cost me about £2 to make for me, Nick & Tyler!

 

 

Pre-oven. And already looks fab!

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

• Half a Pack of Lean Mince Beef (Lidl)
• 4 Medium-Size White Potatoes (Iceland)
• 5 tbsp. Baby Carrots (Iceland)
• 5 tbsp. Petite Pois (Iceland)
• Half a Diced Onion (Lidl)
• 1 tbsp. Butter
• 1 tsp Beef Gravy Granules
• 5 tbsp. Beef Gravy Granules

 

The Not-So Nitty Gritty

 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.
2. Peel and chop potatoes into 8 pieces each, the smaller the better. This will allow them to cook faster as the starch is broken down easier in the centres.
3. Boil the potatoes and leave them for approximately 15 minutes.
4. Brown the mince and as just colour is just about to change, add the onion and 1 tsp of beef gravy granules.
5. Add the carrots and peas at this point too. (I used frozen veg as I had no plans of reheating)
6. Cook the mince, regularly turning and stirring, for a further 5 - 10 minutes.
7. Put the mince and veg in a Pyrex (or similar) dish. Make up the gravy with the 5 tbsp. of granules and add boiling water, make it quite thick. Then coat the mince with the gravy.
8. Drain the potatoes, add the butter and mash.
9. Spread the mash over the mince then run the prongs of a fork over the top of the mash and when it goes in the oven it will crisp up and add to the texture,
10. Place in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes.
11. Serve.

 

 

 

Side View

 

 

Tyler's personal portion.

 

 

What Little Monster Thought

 

Well this dish was a success all round. Daddy said the only problem was, was that there wasn't enough. He does have a big appetite though! Tyler loved using his hands and getting messy. I did encourage him to use his spoon but it didn't go to well when he flung it at mummy! But, he ate the lot. And as he has been teething, I am more than happy with that result!

 

 

 

Mummy, Tyler and Daddy Portions!



 

 





Leighton's Fighting Fit Dinner

Leighton's Fight

 

Leighton is a little boy who was diagnosed with Juvenile Monocyclictic  Leukaemia (JMML) at only eight months old. He has been in and out of treatment ever since and I have recently been keeping up with his progress and his mummy's brave efforts. It is remarkable that someone so young has so much strength and I thought "What can little old me do to help this little man?".

 

 

 

The idea I came up with, if I do a blog post making a recipe with Leighton's favourite foods in the link it to his facebook page, I could raise awareness of JMML and encourage people to buy his wrist bands to raise money, particularly for the Birmingham Children's Hospital which his Mum, Zoe, Is doing a tandem sky dive for. Good luck.

 So let's give this local lad (Worcester) a little hand.  

 

 

And as September is national Childhood Cancer Month, why not try this little lad's recipe or send a donation. His Mum has the most respect from me for fundraising and taking care of her son at the same time. A true inspiration for mums and it put a lot of things in prospective for me.

 

 

 

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/LeightonsFightJMML

Tandem Sky Dive Sponser Page:

http://www.doitforcharity.com/ZBrownrigg

PayPal for Wrist Bands:

lajbrownrigg@outlook.com

 

If you wish to purchase a wrist band they are £2 each plus £1 p&p for everyone you buy. And once you have made the payment please personal message your delivery details. The pictures below and right are of the wrist bands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Task

 

   Leighton, from what I have gathered, sometimes loose appetite during treatment, so when he does eat it has to be something he likes and knows is going to taste great. Mum has told me that grapes and broccoli have always been his favourites before and during treatment. And that he prefers softer foods as his teeth are currently sensitive. Then I have to consider my angle, tasty, lots of energy for treatment and playing and key vitamins to encourage growth and weight gain. Oh, and something quick and easy that mum can do after a long day. Easy you say? Well it's taken me near on a week thinking about this one so not as easy as it initially sounds.

 

My Conclusion

 

   Leighton likes broccoli? Then broccoli he shall have! I wish broccoli was one of my sons favourites. So, here it is ... main course: broccoli cheese with chunky wedges and for pudding mixed grapes and evaporated milk. Yes, I believe all fruit tastes amazing in evap milk. Personal weakness.

 

 

 

Broccoli Cheese & Wedges

 

Yes it is basically coliflour cheese without that white vegetable my son has a distinct hatred for. So this idea of mine has turned out pretty good for little Tyler. The broccoli contains loads of key vitamins and is also a great source of iron for keeping our little men strong. The sauce that will go over it will provide plenty of calcium and vitamin D as well as protein for muscle growth and muscle repair. The potato wedges are jam packed with carbohydrates to keep those mess makers going ten to the dozen as well as a surprising high amount of vitamin C!

 

 

Ingredients

 

• 5 tbsp. broccoli (Frozen £1 a bag, Iceland)
• 1 pint Whole Milk (£1, Iceland)
• 3oz Cheddar Cheese (£1, Iceland)
• 2 White Potatoes (Large 4kg bag, £3, Iceland)
• 1oz unsalted butter (£1, Iceland)
• 1oz plain flour (£1, Iceland)

 

 

The Not-So Nitty Gritty

 

 

First, for the cheese sauce. If keeping on the hob while the broccoli and wedges cook, stir regularly to avoid burning as cheese sauce burns as quick as it is made.

 

1. Melt the butter in the sauce pan and sift in the plain flour.
2. Stir in the milk gradually to slowly build up the texture.
3. Simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Stir in the cheese, allow to melt and serve as soon as this step in done.

 

Now, for the main bit.

 

1. I am putting the broccoli into boiling water for longer than usual (10 minutes) as Leighton is better with softer foods at the minute.
2. That aside, I will peeled and cute into wedge shapes the white potatoes.
3. These need part boiling for 15 minutes.
4. Once the potatoes have been boiled put on a baking tray with a drizzle of oil and put in the oven at 180 degrees for approx. 15 minutes. Check after ten to be on the safe side.

 

 

And there is your main meal!

 

 

 

The Easy Peasy Pudding

 

 Get your red and white grapes, I would say 6 - 7 of each. If your little one is below 1 year they might prefer them pealing as they are easier to chew then, I always had to peel Tyler's, much to my frustration! Wash the grapes and dry off with kitchen towel.

Put the grapes in a small pudding bowl and add that lovely sweet evaporated milk. Then Serve, bliss!

Unfortunately, Tyler is off grapes at the moment.... so no picture and no review of that, but I love it!

 

 

What My Little Monster Made of It

 

Loved it! We ended up in a bit of mess with the cheese sauce, I might use a bit less on his plate next time but he ate all his greens for once! So I would class this meal a success as he has had good vitamins and minerals and he is full up for the night so he will sleep brilliantly.

 

 

 

 

More Information on JMML

 

JMML is serious chronic leukaemia (cancer of the blood) that mainly affects children under the age of 4 years old.

JMML only accounts for 1 - 2% of childhood leukaemias.

Most children with this condition are male.

Most children are diagnosed around the age of 2 years old.

 

 

 

Hope you like it Leighton!

Love From Hollie & Ty :)