change of ways...

I haven't been able to post any new recipes for a while as we have been on holiday for 7 weeks. Being teachers on the European school calendar means that we get to go home to Australia for an extended amount of time and visit family over winter. The holiday was great & fortunately/unfortunately I didn't do too much cooking - although I made a great sweet potato mash with orange juice!

Anyways, we are back home in Bangkok and getting back into our routine. I can't wait to get back into the kitchen and try out some of the recipes from my new birthday present cookbook from my mum, Hopscotch & Honey Joys. I LOVE this book and think I will buy it for others as a gift.

Also I have decided to expand my blogging and as well as cooking, I am going to share some of the crafty, fun things I do with my son. Now he is 20 months old we are having serious fun and I am tapping into the long-forgotten art & craft side of my brain. Upcoming activities (& posts) include wooden spoon puppets, coloured ice cubes to chase in the bath & maybe a cardbox box fort of some kind... still thinking on that one. In the meantime, below are some photos of the play kitchen I just made and I am off to explore my new cookbook and choose some new recipes to cook!

it started with a box

add some contact, cd's, plastic tubes & a bowl...

hours of fun!

Spinach & Mushroom Lasagna

last night's dinner

I decided to make a lasagna last minute and decided to use mince as well as spinach and mushrooms. My son ate it up so quickly and I liked it too but I think next time I will either make a traditional meat lasagna or a spinach, mushroom and ricotta one. Also, I ran out of sauce for the top layer so had to use tomato paste mixed with water which made it taste a bit too tomatoey. I always make too little sauce. Anyway, below is the recipe with the ingredients adjusted. It made 5 adult serves and 7 toddler serves which are perfect for freezing.

Here's what you need:

Always make a lot of sauce

700g minced beef

2 jars Passata tomato sauce 

1 brown onion diced finely

1 garlic clove crushed

1 punnet button mushrooms washed & sliced

2 cups spinach, blanched & sliced finely

1 tbspn sugar

1 tbspn Worcestershire 

olive oil

1 box dry lasagna sheets

Mozzarella & cheese grated - about 4-5 cups

2 bay leaves

Here's what you do:

Preheat oven to 180C. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook onion and garlic together until soft, about 3 mins. Add the mince and cook until brown. Add the mushrooms and stir. Pour in the 2 bottles of tomato and sauce and add some water to each bottle. Shake well and then add the water to the pan also. Add the sugar, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves and stir well. Reduce the stove heat and cover pan with lid. Leave to cook for about 10-15mins, stir occasionally. Add the spinach and stir through.

When the sauce is ready remove from heat and scoop out the bay leaves. Coat the base of a deep oven dish with a layer of sauce which will stop the lasagna sheets from sticking. cover with a layer of dry lasagna sheets. Use a large kitchen spoon and cover sheets with sauce. make sure to cover the sheets well, especially the corners as these will dry out. Sprinkle grated cheese over the sauce generously and if you have any left over spinach you can add now too. Cover with another layer of lasagna sheets and repeat the sauce/cheese process. I managed to get 4 layers.

Cover the top layer with the remaining sauce and top generously with cheese. Cover the oven dish with foil and place in the oven for 25 minutes. When ready, remove the foil and cook for a further 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Nuggets - Super Delicious!

Our favourite chicken nuggets

These chicken nuggets are a favourite of everyone in the house. I always make so many but still it is hard to save any for freezing because they get eaten too quickly. The recipe is adapted from Annabel Karmel's The Fussy Eater's Recipe Book which is one of my favourite children (and adult!) cook books. The secret is in the soaking of the chicken and adding the parmesan to the breadcrumbs. I cooked these for friends and one said it was like eating mashed potato, they were that soft. I also made a mustard sauce which is a nice change from the standard tomato.

Here's what you need:

Preparing to crumb the chicken

2 chicken breast, cut into 2cm cubes
200ml milk
1 tbspn lemon juice
1tspn Worcestershire sauce
1 tspn soy sauce
1/4 tspn paprika (if you want)
100g plain flour
1 beaten egg
75g breadcrumbs
45g grated parmesan cheese
4 tbspn canola oil

Here's what you do:
Place the cut chicken in a bowl and cover with the milk, lemon, Worcestershire, soy and paprika. Stir through, cover with cling wrap and leave in the fridge for at least 2 hours or longer. When you're ready to coat the chicken, strain the marinade off the chicken. Lay out the flour, egg and breadcrumbs. Add the parmesan cheese to the bread crumbs and mix through. Coat the chicken in flour, dip in egg and then coat with breadcrumb/cheese mix. Repeat until all pieces are coated.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry on high for about 2-3 minutes. I used olive oil as I had no canola. Make sure to turn the nuggets over and keep an eye on them as they cook quickly. When cooked, place on paper towel to the side and repeat until all are cooked.

I also decided to make the mustard dipping sauce suggested in the recipe book and Oscar loved it. It is so quick and easy. Below is what you need and what to do.

Honey Mustard Dip
4 tbspn mayonnaise
1 tspn Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tspn honey
1 tspn cold water

Mix all the ingredients in a small dish, I used a ramekin. That's it! Stir the ingredients well and keep in fridge. Enjoy!