Tuesday 24 January 2012

Mince & veg pie

I think pies are the ultimate winter food and the other day I made really tasty mince & veg one. I have to admit that I cheated and bought the puff pastry but even so it tasted great and went down really well with the kids. For extra veg, I served it up with broccoli.

Mince & veg pie

1 x puff pastry, rolled
1 x pack of lamb mince
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 cup stock made with Bouillon
2 carrots, cubed
handful peas
black pepper

I sauteed the onion & garlic for a few minutes and then added the mince & carrots. Once the mince had cooked I added the tomato puree, stock & peas and let it simmer for a while adding a bit of black pepper.

I then turned into an oven proof dish and laid the puff pastry on top. With the bit of pastry I had left over I made the kids initials and a couple of leaves - that's very artistic for me!

I brushed a bit of milk over the top & put it in the oven for around 20-25 mins.

Hey presto, a delicious pie for dinner.

Thursday 12 January 2012

Sticky baked salmon

Last night, I made sticky baked salmon based on a recipe in the My Daddy Cooks recipe book. It's a really tasty yet easy recipe to make.

Sticky baked salmon

The only thing is that the serving suggestion is noodles and my kids aren't too keen on noodles so I swapped them out for rice. Well, I was going to swap out for rice and then realised I didn't quite have enough rice for all four of us. So it ended up half rice & half couscous! Why not just all couscous...because the hubby isn't too keen it, thinks it's a bit bland (although isn't plain rice bland too?!).

The recipe also lists sesame oil but as my kids are allergic to sesame I substituted this for olive oil.

Serves 4
Prep time 5-10mins
Cooking time 35 mins
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1.5 cm fresh ginger, grated
  • 3 tsp Chinese five spice powder
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • Oil
  • 4-5 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 2 carrots, peeled & cut into battons
  • 1 yellow pepper, chopped
  • handful of frozen peas
  • 1 courgette, cut lengthways
  • 4x150g salmon fillets
  • Noodles, rice or cous cous to serve!
To save time after the school run, I made up the marinade before I went out. So in a cup I mixed together the garlic, ginger, 5 spice powder, honey, dash of oil and the soy sauce. I mixed with a fork, covered & left it until I needed it.

When I was ready to make dinner - around 4.15pm in my house - I put the oven on to 180C/350F. Then poured the marinade into a large roasting tin and roll in the chopped veg (except the peas) and the salmon so it was all well covered.

I then removed the salmon onto a plate and baked the veggies in a oven for around 35 mins, turning a few times.

Meanwhile, make up your carbs...whichever you decide to go for!

With 10 mins to go, I add the salmon to the tin too. (If the sauce looks like it's getting a bit burned, I often cover the whole roasting tin with foil and cook like that for say 5 mins & then just remove & cook without for the last 5 mins).

To cook the peas, I simply put them in the micro for a couple of mins in a bowl with water.

Once the salmon is cooked, remove from the oven, add the peas & serve.

The kids mainly had rice & I didn't add any extra soy sauce to the rice. I did add a few dashes to the couscous just to stop it being so bland. There you go hubby, I do listen to you ;-)

Wednesday 11 January 2012

Thrify...."free" face cream

Yesterday I was really chuffed to get this pot Nivea Pure & Natural anti-wrinkle day cream for "free" using my Boots points.


The pot I had been using - No 7 Protect & Perfect - had run out and I was debating what to buy next, torn between a budget buy and wanting to keep my skin looking okay.

And then I came across one of the those free samples in a magazine for this Nivea Pure & Natural. I thought I'd slap it on and didn't think much else about it until the next morning when my skin was looking better than usual. Now, perhaps it was a fluke or one of those one-time wonders but I thought it was worth another go.

And for free, what more could a girl ask for!

Tuesday 10 January 2012

"Buy me" stationary!

I popped into Paperchase today and saw some fab bits of stationary. Managed to refrain from spending too much - I just love their Japanese style designs - but did come away with some useful bits.
Paperchase - stationary

A 2012 diary as I don't currently have one. In general, I use my phone for all events/appointments but I do like having a paper version too. This one has several tabs including planner, dairy & notes.

Got the box for all current school letters & ongoing homework. I tend to have a pile of papers sitting on my dining room table, this way I can neatly put them away but there are easy to hand for when I need them.

And finally a pack of pens which I thought were quite a bargain!

Diary - £8
Box file - £7
Pens - 4
Total - £19