Space rocket craft activity

A good way to keep space mad boys busy on a wet day.

You will need:
A clean, empty water bottle, labels and lid removed
A paper plate
Paints
Tin foil, coloured paper etc. to decorate
Glue
Double sided sticky tape
String

Instructions:
1)Cut the rim off the paper plate and wrap it around the bottom of the bottle to form the foot of the rocket. Stick it in place with the tape.

2)Use the center of the plate to form the nose cone of the rocket by cutting a slit from the side to the middle and bending it round. Fix it in place at the open end of the bottle with the tape.

3)Decorate with the paint, coloured paper and tin foil.

4)Once dry, use the string to hang.

Papier Mache Easter Egg Decorations

Sticky, messy toddler craft fun for Easter. Be sure to wear old clothes and protect all surfaces.

You will need:
A paper plate
Some hay or rafia
Lots of PVA glue
Different coloured sheets of tissue paper
3 balloons
String

Instructions:
1)Cut the hay or rafia into 6 inch lengths.
2)Put them in a bowl and cover with glue. Stick to plate to make a nest and leave to dry.
3)Blow up the balloons until approximately the size of a hen’s egg and knot tightly.
4)Rip the tissue paper into small pieces, place in a bowl and coat with enough glue to make a thick, pasty mixture.
5)Cover each egg thickly in the paper mixture. Hang from a string and leave to dry until hard.
6)Snip knot off each balloon and arrange in nest.

Homemade Dump Truck Cake

 

Another homemade birthday cake. Once again from my favourite cake book: ‘The Practical Encyclopedia of Cakes and Cake Decorating’ by Beverley Jollands, Angela Nilsen, Janice Murfitt and published by Lorenz books. It was my son’s birthday cake for his second birthday, and he loved it!

The entire cake was made in a 2lb loaf tin, then cut, shaped, iced and assmbled on a cake board. It was easy and it looked good too.

Quick chorizo and vegetable warmer

 

An ideal tasty and speedy winter lunch for two.

 

1 tbsp cooking oil

Half a large onion, sliced

Half a green pepper, sliced

Half a large carrot, sliced

Half a large sweet potato, boiled and diced

60g diced chorizo

Ground pepper

Garlic granules

100g grated cheese

Pinch of chilli flakes (optional)

 

1) Pour the oil into a large frying pan and wipe around using kitchen roll.

2)Put the pan on a high heat, add the onion, pepper, carrot and sweet potato. Fry until starting to colour, then reduce to a medium heat. Stir frequently.

3) Add the chorizo, ground pepper, garlic granules and chili flakes, if using.

4)After a few minutes, when all the vegetables are browned, reduce to a low heat and stir through the cheese.

5)Serve hot, topped with jalapeno, if you like them!

 

Italian style winter casserole

Flavourful sauce, plenty of veg and yummy meat balls – something for everyone! Can be prepared in advance and then finished in the oven.

Serves 2 adults and 2 toddlers

Ingredients:

Olive oil

Half a large onion (finely chopped)

60g Diced chorizo

100ml red wine

1 yellow pepper (diced)

Half an aubergine (diced)

2 x 400g chopped tomatoes

Ground black pepper

12  meat balls (cooked or raw)

120g grated cheese

Method:

1)Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft.

2)Add chorizo, and cook for a couple of minutes.

3)Pour in red wine and raise the temperature until the wine boils rapidly. Boil until reduced in volume by half.

4)Reduce the heat and stir in both tins of chopped tomatos, then season with a little pepper. Bring to the boil. Simmer on a low heat until the sauce is thick and not too liquid (approximately 30 min).

5)Meanwhile, if you bought raw meat balls fry these in a little oil over a medium heat until cooked through. If not proceed to step 6.

6)Pour the sauce into a casserole dish and dot with the meat balls. Using a spoon, push them down so the sauce covers them. Then top with the cheese.

7)Place in a pre-heated oven (190 degrees Celsius) for 30 min or until the cheese is golden and the sauce is bubbling.

8)Serve with pasta and salad.

Easy-Peasy (not really) Carbonara

This lovely, creamy, scrumptious Carbonara is the ultimate comfort food. If you’re making this for pregnant ladies, or the under 1s remember to cook the eggs thoroughly when you add them. Otherwise, you can leave them rich and unctuous.

Serves 2 adults

Ingredients

180g pasta

4 rashers of bacon snipped into bits

2 eggs

100g grated cheese

4 tblsps olive oil

Pepper

Method

1) Cook the pasta as per packet instructions. Whilst the pasta is cooking, fry the bacon until browned and crispy, then drain on kitchen paper.

2)Lightly beat the eggs with the olive oil and a pinch of pepper. Stir in the grated cheese.

3)Drain the pasta and return to the pan. Stir in the bacon.

4)Pour the egg mixture over the pasta, and cook stirring over a low heat until rich and creamy. Serve with a crispy salad.

Chocolate bread and butter pudding

The kids loved helping to make this, it was really simple and delicious hot or cold. I think they were a bit disappointed that as there’s no batter mix like with a cake, there wasn’t a bowl to lick out at the end…

Serves 6-8

 

Ingredients

Half a stale white baguette

Butter

100g chocolate chips

50g raisins

2 tblsps cocoa powder

90g caster sugar

5 eggs

2 and a quarter pints of milk (soya is fine)

Equipment

Large, shallow lasagne dish

Roasting tin, big enough that the lasagne dish fits into it

Method

1) Slice the bread into 1 inch thick pieces and spread thickly with butter.

2)Grease the lasagne dish, then arrange the bread in overlapping rows in the dish.

3)Sprinkle with chocolate chips and raisins

4)Add the cocoa powder to a quarter of a pint of milk and stir into a smooth paste.

5)To make the custard, beat the eggs thoroughly, then whisk in the caster sugar. Stir in the cocoa mixture and the remaining 2 pints of milk.

6)Spoon the custard over the bread and allow to soak for 5 minutes.

7)Put the lasagne dish into the roasting tin, then add water so that the sides of the lasagne dish are halfway covered.

8)Put in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 50mins. Check regularly, do not allow to dry out. The pudding is ready when the custard is lightly set and the top is browned. To check insert a sharp knife into the centre. If the custard is still runny, bake for another 10 mins. Serve warm with custard, ice cream or cream.

Baked rainbow trout, fresh garlic bread and ratatouille

This sounds fancy, but it’s not- it’s quick and yummy. You could make it from scratch and it would be even tastier, but would take much longer. As  usual, here is the busy Mummy’s version, which shouldn’t take longer than 30 minutes.

Serves 2 adults and 2 toddlers

Ingredients:

Sea salt

2 whole rainbow trout

Ready-made, fresh, wholemeal pizza dough or ‘just add water’ pizza base mix, prepared as per packet instructions

3 cloves garlic, peeled and cut into thin slices

1 large sprig rosemary

200g grated cheese

Olive oil

1 tin ratatouille (400g ish)

Method:

1) Cut the heads off the rainbow trout and discard. Then place in a roasting tin and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 25-30min, or until the fish is soft and flakey.

2)Lightly oil a large baking tray. Then sprinkle with plain flour. Press out the pizza dough until it is about 1.5 cm thick.

3)Dot the dough with the slices of garlic. Pick leaves off the sprig of rosemary, and dot in between the garlic, pressing gently into the dough. Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt. Then drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil over the pizza and top with the grated cheese.

4)Bake in the oven with the fish for around 15min, or until the cheese is bubbling and the crust risen and lightly browned.

5)Heat up the tin of ratatouille as per the instructions on the tin.

6)De-bone and flake the fish. Serve with the ratatouille and wedges of the fresh garlic bread.

Last Minute Valentine’s Day Meal Inspiration

You want to impress your beloved with a delicious meal on Valentine’s Day, but you’ve left it all a bit last minute, and haven’t got long to prepare. Don’t worry. You can still rustle up something that will impress. Here’s my suggestion…

Steak, Chips and Garlicky Green Beans

Steak

With simple meals, it’s all about the ingredients. Buy the best steak you can afford from the best butcher you can find. If you have to buy from the supermarket, go for the premium meat range.

1) Dry both sides of the steak with kitchen paper. Sprinkle lightly with salt.

2)Heat a little oil in a heavy-based frying pan. When hot, add the steak.

3)Cook for 2-4 mins on each side, depending on whether you like it rare or well done. Serve immediately.

Chips

In an ideal world, you would hand peel potatoes, slice them and fry them in hot oil. Here in the real world you’re running late and need to get dinner on the table, but don’t want to eat something that tastes awful. The key is to buy the best quality oven chips you can get your hands on. These should be made from whole potato and coated in nothing more than sunflower oil. Many supermarkets now have premium ranges that will taste great.

Garlicky Green Beans

Ingredients:

300g trimmed green beans

2 tblsps olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

Method:

1)Steam the green beans for around 5 min.

2)Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small frying pan over a high heat. Add the garlic and fry until lightly browned. Remove from the heat and add a pinch of salt. Place the green beans on the plates, pour over the garlicky oil. Serve immediately.

Beef and Winter Vegetable Stew

A great meal on a cold day, and full of hidden veg that the kids will never know they’re eating! Works great served with cheesy dumplings, click here for the recipe. This is another slow one, but make it on a quiet Sunday afternoon and serve the leftovers later in the week. It definitely re-heats well. Like other stews, this one can be made more quickly by using a pressure cooker.

Ingredients:

2 tblsps cooking oil

1 large onion, chopped

450g diced beef

3 large carrots, diced

1 medium parsnip, diced

1 small swede, diced

1 tblsp worcester sauce

2 beef stock cubes

Salt and pepper

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried sage

1 bay leaf

4 juniper berries

4 tblsps tomato paste

4-5 large savoy cabbage leaves, stalks removed and finely chopped

1 tin of pinto beans

Method:

1) Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pan or pressure cooker. Add the onions and fry lightly, stirring all the time.

2)Add the beef, and fry over a high heat until browned.

3)Sprinkle on the worcester sauce, stock cubes, salt and pepper, rosemary, sage, juniper berries and bay leaf. Cook stirring for a minute.

4)Add enough water to cover all of the ingredients. If using a pressure cooker, cook the stew at the highest pressure setting for 30min, do not overfill. Otherwise, simmer for 3 hours, stirring regularly. If the stew starts to look dry, add a little water.

5)When the meat is soft and starting to fall apart, add the tomato paste, cabbage and pinto beans. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary, then simmer for around 20 min. If serving with dumplings, add them at this point and simmer until cooked.