No ordinary cheese on toast

Posted by on 14 May, 2012 11 Comments

I love you – Mark

Two slices of thick white bread grilled on one side. Topped with 50g of a strong savoury-sweet cheese (we used Old Amsterdam gouda), and two slices of chopped smoked ham. Grilled until bubbling and finished with a drizzle of coarse grain mustard and a generous sprinkling of freshly milled black pepper.

This was for Mark. I’m a vegetarian and even I was drooling.

Quick, cheap – not posh, but yummy.

Disclosure: Old Amsterdam cheese was sent to use for review. No payment was received. All posts are 100% honest.

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I spy with my little eye something beginning with H

Posted by on 9 May, 2012 6 Comments

Are you going to Scarborough Fair? – Simon and Garfunkel

I’ve been out of the #ISpy a little but I’m back in the game and bringing you something beginning with H.

Can you guess? Of course you can.

Mum of One
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Pink pig cupcakes – easy baking fun

Posted by on 8 May, 2012 10 Comments

I did them myself! – JD, 4

We were nosing round the wonderful Multiple Mummy‘s blog a few weeks ago when we spotted a lovely idea: pink pig cupcakes.

We gave it a go with our own easy recipe – our version has white chocolate for the main topping along with a good dollop of creative license.

Here’s what we did:

Pink pig cupcake ingredients

  • 80g margarine
  • 100g granulated sugar
  • 1 medium free-range egg
  • 100g self-raising flour
  • 1-2tbsp milk / soya milk
  • 12 pink cupcake cases (ours were part of a multi-coloured set from Lakeland)
  • A pack of pink buttons (again ours were from Lakeland)
  • 100g white chocolate
  • 100g icing sugar
  • 2-3 drops of red natural food colouring
  • 1-2 tbsp of warm water
  • Icing pens and any other decorative bits you fancy

Pink pig cupcake instructions

  1. Cream the margarine and sugar together
  2. Beat in the egg
  3. Stir in the sifted flour
  4. Add the milk if the mixture is too thick to handle
  5. Divide between the cake cases
  6. Bake at 180C for about 15 minutes
  7. Cool completely on a wire rack
  8. To make the chocolate icing
  9. Mix the icing sugar with 1tbsp of warm water
  10. Melt the chocolate and stir in the icing mix
  11. Add a couple of drops of the food colouring until it turns pink
  12. Add the rest of the warm water if it seems too thick (it might just need warming again)
  13. Divide between the cakes straight away before it sets
  14. Once set, create snouts by icing two dots on a button and sticking it to the cake with a little more icing from your pen
  15. Ice on the eyes, smile and any other details you fancy (one of ours had a union jack nose)
  16. Finally, add two more pink buttons for the ears

Easy, fun and lots of room to be silly. We had loads of fun making these and they tasted delicious.

Tuesday Tots
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How to prepare tofu so it works in curries and doesn’t fall apart

Posted by on 7 May, 2012 6 Comments

I never thought I’d enjoy tofu – Mark

I was speaking to some friends this week about tofu and how much I like when they looked at me aghast. Apparently every experience they’d had with tofu had been a sloppy affair, and any attempts to put it into curry in place of chicken has resulted in something resembling curried scrambled egg. Bleurgh.

Here’s how I prep tofu to give it a little bite and avoid it dissolving into sauces.

Instructions

  1. Peel / cut the lid off (assuming you’re working with the widely available 500g Cauldron brand) and pour out the liquid
  2. While it’s still in its box, press down firmly on the tofu with the palm of your hand and turn the pack upside over the sink to drain off more liquid
  3. Still in the box, cut across and lengthways down to the bottom making inch wide squares
  4. Tip the tofu out on to kitchen roll and pat dry
  5. Drizzle with dark soy sauce
  6. In a wok or heavy gauge pan on a high heat, add 2tbsp of vegetable oil
  7. Tip in the tofu – CAUTION: It may spit at first, so if using a gas flame, turn it off briefly
  8. Fry for a minute, then turn all the pieces
  9. Fry for another minute, then add your veggies, if desired, for a final minute
  10. Drain on kitchen roll

DONE! The tofu will still be soft, but it’ll hold its shape much better and taste yum.

Super quick thai green curry

This method is perfect for preparing tofu for use in Thai green curry. We use the Easy Thai Green Curry Kit from Thai Taste. Just do the above, then:

  1. Fry up the sachet of paste with a little oil and a dash of the coconut milk for 2 minutes
  2. Add the tofu and veg back in and fry for a further 2 minutes
  3. Add the rest of the coconut milk and cook for 2 more minutes.
  4. Add the herbs, cook through briefly and you’re done.

Perfect, easy, Thai green tofu curry. Perfect when served with boiled rice and a refreshing glass of the rather unusual Bottlegreen Lemon & Lime Leaf Sparkling Pressé.

Disclosure: The Easy Thai Green Curry Kit and Bottlegreen Lemon & Lime Leaf Sparkling Pressé were set to us for review. No payment was received. All posts are 100% honest.

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18/52: Silent Sunday

Posted by on 6 May, 2012 43 Comments

TheBoyandMe's 366 Linky Silent Sunday
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Veggie Fajitas (recipe)

Posted by on 5 May, 2012 2 Comments

WOW – Mark

Here’s a quick, tasty recipe that fills the plate and hungry tummies. Better still, it makes eight fajitas to feed a family of four, including side salad and guacamole dip, for just £7.15 (£1.79 per person).

We made this as part of a Morrison’s challenge to feed the family for under a tenner, so the majority of the items listed are Morrison’s M Savers brand.

Ingredients

  • 2 M Savers peppers 67p (in a £1.68 bag of 5)
  • 1 M Savers courgette 50p (in a £1.50 bag of 3)
  • 1 M Savers salad onion 15p (in a 1kg bag)
  • 2 Morrison’s cloves of garlic 7p (approx. quarter of a 26p bulb)
  • 1 Morrison’s fajita kit £2.29 – containing 8 tortillas, 1 sachet of spices and 1 sachet of salsa
  • 1 Morrison’s lime 30p
  • 1 Morrison’s large avocado £1
  • 12 M Savers tomatoes 38p (of a 75p box)
  • 1 Morrison’s bag of iceberg lettuce £1
  • 55g Discovery soured cream 20p (approx. quarter of a £1 bottle)
  • 90g M Savers mature cheese 59p (quarter of a £2.36 block)
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil 0p (already in the cupboard)

Instructions

  • Make the guacamole by roughly mashing the avocado, squeezing in a splash of lime juice (to taste) and stirring in a dash of the salsa
  • To make the fajita mix, de-seed the peppers and slice them into long thin strips
  • Halve the courgette and slice into thin strips
  • Roughly chop the onion and garlic
  • Heat 2tbsp of oil in a heavy gauge pan
  • Tip in the veggies and sprinkle over the spices
  • Fry on a medium-high heat until the seasoning tastes cooked but the veggies still have bite
  • Grate the cheese
  • Place all 8 tortillas and on a microwavable plate and zap for 45 seconds
  • Serve the veggies to the table with the tortilla, cheese, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, halved tomatoes and lettuce
  • Let everyone construct their own!

Disclosure: Morrison’s send us £35 in shopping vouchers, a little kit or cooking utensils and set us the challenge of feeding a family of four for under a tenner. All posts are 100% honest.

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Scotch pancake breakfast

Posted by on 4 May, 2012 7 Comments

They’re like little flat cakes – JD. 4

Here’s a quick and yummy breakfast recipe for you to try this weekend. It’s essentially Mary Berry’s basic drop scone recipe (oh, how I love her) with extra stuff filling the plate and drizzled all over them.

It makes about 12 pancakes, so should feed 3-4 people, depending on how hungry you are, and is super-duper-make-with-the-kids easy.

Ingredients

  • 110g plain flour
  • 3/4 tsp of baking soda
  • 1 1/5 tsp of cream of tartar
  • 1 tbsp of sugar
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 125ml of milk
  • 1 tbsp of golden syrup
  • 1 chopped banana
  • 1-2 tbsp of natural yoghurt
  • 1/2 tbsp of runny honey

Instructions

  • Sift the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and sugar into a bowl
  • In a separate bowl, beat the egg, milk and golden syrup together with a fork
  • Beat the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a fork for about 30 second until it looks bubbly
  • Put a frying pan on a medium heat, with a little butter
  • Use one generous tablespoon of batter per scone (I can comfortably fit four at a time in our heavy gauge frying pan)
  • Serve straight onto a small plate, stacked up roughly to cover half the plate
  • Stack-up the sliced banana to fill a quarter of a plate
  • Fill the final quarter with the generous dollop of natural yoghurt
  • Drizzle honey all over the plate from a height
  • Eat while the pancakes are still warm

Since writing this piece (which originally appeared on Love All Blogs) we’ve tried these pancakes with some Luscious Lemon yoghurt from The Collective and Oh. My. WOW. Just gorgeous. Go get some.

Disclosure: we were sent some free vouchers so that we could try The Collective range of yoghurt. No payment was received. All posts are 100% honest.

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Win an award-winning FunPod and kid’s baking set, worth over £150

Posted by on 3 May, 2012 887 Comments

FunPod heralds a new generation of foodies – Little Helper

Another month, another fantabulous prize. Regular readers will know I’m a big fan of getting kids involved in the kitchen and this prize makes it easier to do just that.

The multi-award winning FunPod encourages children aged one to six to get involved in food preparation by providing a safe environment that brings them up to the kitchen worktop level where then can help, interact, learn and play safely.

Experts say that children form their habits and opinions between the ages of one and four so this is a key time to be giving them a healthy food education. With the FunPod, your child can be exploring a range of textures and tastes while you cook and help them acquire the basic nutrition skills that will become invaluable in later life.

The FunPod from Little Helper retails from £117.99 and the winner will also bag a lovely baking set, bringing the total prize value to over £150.

How to enter

To enter you must:

For up to five bonus entries, you can also:

Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

The giveaway will close at 8pm UK time on 31st May 2012 and a winner will be selected at random.

See the prize draw T&Cs - Disclosure: Little Helper Limited is providing this prize for the purposes of the giveaway. No payment was received by A Mummy Too. Please see my review/disclosure policy for more information. Listed on ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions and Competition Hunter.

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Top handbag snacks for kids

Posted by on 19 April, 2012 1 Comment

I haven’t got room for crisps now – JD, 4

A little while back I wrote about some healthier choices that busy parents could carry in their bag to avoid snacking on crisps between grocery shops and school runs.

This week, I bring you the same roundup, but this time for the small people in your life:

HIPP Organic Little Nibbles (£1.00-£1.08 per pack): aimed at older babies and toddlers, I think these are an ideal snack to last through the nursery years and beyond. They’re simply rice cakes flavoured with vegetable and fruit juices and fortified with vitamin B1. Choose from apple, apple and blueberry or carrot and pumpkin.

Chedds (£199 for a pack of 8): Handbag sized packs of 100% cheese – great for a shot of calcium on the go. JD couldn’t try these as he’s intolerant to more than a touch of dairy, so I dutifully ate them and they’re very nice, although being cheese you obviously would want to lose them at the bottom of you bag for long.

Annabel Karmel Disney Snacks (from 35p): this new range offeres simple, healthy snacks with much loved Disney characters on the packaging. JD’s a fan of the apple crisps (simply freeze dried apple slices) and the flavour rice and corn snacks, which come in cheese and onion or tomato flavour.

Ella’s Kitchen Munchie Biccies (£1.79 for a pack of 5): better known for their range of baby foods, Ella’s Kitchen also do snacks for “big little people”. These biscuits come in individually portioned packs and add a bit of interest to snack time without the terrifying salt and fat content of standard crisps. Choose from banana, cinnamon and orange or cheese and apple flavour.

Alpro Dessert Pots (£1.40 for a pack of 4): these yummy pots come in chocolate, dark chocolate, caramel or vanilla flavour and are totally dairy-free. They’re also low in saturated fat and don’t need to be kept in the fridge – a very handy handbag snack without any of the grittiness you sometimes get with vegan desserts.

Organix Goodies Organic Cereal Bars (£2.45 for a pack of 6): another dairy-free option, these bars are genuinely yummy without being full of sugar, hydrogenated fat or additives. Choose from carrot cake, apple and raisin, raspberry and apple, blackberry or cocoa and orange. JD loves them all.

Nakd Infused Raisins (39p per pack): this little snack is rather clever if your children already have a taste for sweets like cola bottles or midget gems. They’re simply raisins, infused with a natural sweetie-style flavouring. Choose from Crazy Cola or Tangy Lime.

Junior’s Pantry (£2.89 per pot): little prepacked meals aimed at primary school children. Microwave for a quick, healthy meal such as chicken, prawn and chorizo paella, chicken with pesto pasta, or beef ragu wholemeal fusillii. Handy to carry with you if visiting friends.

Are there any children’s healthy food ranges that you swear by? Add ‘em below :)

Disclosure: Samples of most of the above snacks were sent to us for the purposes of this roundup. No payment was received and all features are 100% honest.

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Choc chip, raisin and sunflower seed breakfast biscuits (recipe)

Posted by on 18 April, 2012 6 Comments

These have seeds in? But they’re nice! – Mark

Last week, I posted a recipe for Mary Berry inspired white chocolate cookies and got a bit addicted to them, having to give most of them away for fear of ruining my commitment to Weight Watchers.

Experiencing withdrawal symptoms this week, we gave a marginally healthier version a go and it turns out to be just perfect for breakfast with a strong cup of tea or coffee.

This recipe makes 12-14 biscuits and is super easy, so your small people should be able to help.

Ingredients

  • 125g unsalted butter / dairy-free spread
  • 150g golden granulated sugar
  • 1 medium free range eggs
  • 1/2tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp soya milk (or normal milk)
  • 140g porridge oats
  • 110g self-raising flour
  • 50g milk chocolate chips / vegan chocolate chips
  • 35g raisins
  • 25g sunflower seeds

Instructions

  1. Put the butter / spread in the microwave in a large bowl for bursts of 10 seconds until well softened but not melted
  2. Stir in the sugar with a fork, then whisk until the mixture is fluffy
  3. Whisk together the milk, eggs and vanilla extract, then whisk into the main mixture
  4. Stir in the flour, oats until well combined
  5. Add the chocolate chips, seeds and raising and mix well
  6. Use your hands to roll 1.5 inch dough balls and place onto a non-stick an oven dish at least 2 inches apart, pressing down only slightly
  7. Bake at Gas Mark 4 for 15-20 minutes, until just colouring at the edges
  8. Cool briefly on the tray, then transfer to a cooling rack with a spatula

It’s yum.

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