Sometimes Easy Really Isn’t Pretty : Meatloaf
Sexual innuendo completely intended…
Anywho! As previously mentioned (i.e complained about) our current kitchen’s stove is downright awful so meals have been of the easy and mostly bake-able variety over the past few months. Meatloaf most definitely falls into the easy and bake-able category so it’s become a favourite served up with buttered bread and lots of veggies.
I think most of us have a tried and tested meatloaf recipe so I figured I’d share mine this week, feel free to tweak it however you like.
Pre heat your oven to 180 C/ 350 F
In a large mixing bowl place all your ingredients and brace yourself for a really disgusting photo…
…hopefully you’ve managed to hold onto your breakfast after seeing the disgustingness of a naked sausage with mustard and garlic smothered on top of it (I have no idea how I didn’t notice how gross this looked whilst taking the photo, must have been “in the zone” )
The easiest and most effective way to combine all these ingredients is to get your hands in the bowl and smoosh it until everything is combined
Place your mixture into a greased or lined loaf tin and pat down until smooth
Place a greased piece of baking paper directly on top of the mince (I was out of baking paper and greased a piece of aluminium foil instead)
Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, removing the paper/foil 15 minutes early to allow it to brown on top a little
Did I mention this baby isn’t pretty?
Mine lost its bottom (hehe) when I tipped it out of the tin but scooping the extra bits out was the highlight of my evening (oh, you’re wondering why I’m eating meatloaf out of the tin with a spoon? To save on water trying to wash it out later, obviously!). If however you don’t need an excuse to hide in the corner of the kitchen shoveling meatloaf down your gob unbeknownst to the rest of your family who are patiently waiting on dinner then you could place a long strip of baking paper underneath your mince mixture so you can just lift it out after baking
My hubby’s favourite way to eat meatloaf is with buttered bread and ketchup. I have it minus the bread and butter and it’s still pretty awesome!
Enjoy!
* Recipe is from here
A Little Bit Irish : Chocolate Espresso Ripple Pots with Baileys
I’m kind of in love with these adorable little pots of yumminess. They are one of my go-to desserts when we have people over for dinner. Super easy to make and fairly rich so a small serving goes a long way. I forgot the mascarpone in our grocery order this week so I made this batch with extra cream in place of the cheese. It worked out okay so if you’re in a tight fix you can double the amount of cream. If you can find mascarpone though it is 100 times better with the thicker texture (holds together better) and hint of cheesy deliciousness. You could also try cream cheese if mascarpone isn’t available in your grocery store.
Roughly break 3 to 4 cookies into 4 glasses or espresso cups. Pour 1 Tablespoon of espresso into each glass
In a large bowl place the mascarpone, cream and Baileys and whip using an electric mixer until smooth and creamy
Melt the chocolate in the microwave and allow to cool for a few minutes. Pour the cream mixture on top of the chocolate and stir gently until you have a chocolate swirl effect
Divide between the 4 glasses, cover and refrigerate. An hour or longer will firm them up nicely but if you’re pressed for time then 10 minutes works too
Grate some chocolate on top if you feel like it and serve with a few extra cookies (I like to crumble them on top or dunk them in for a bit of a crunch). Enjoy!
* Recipe from Sainsburys Winter Recipe Collection published in 2010
Wholemeal Ginger and Apricot Cookies
I have a confession to make. Nothing juicy (this is my squeaky clean blog after all) but it is to blame for the silence around here. My absence hasn’t been from a collapse into a banana pancakey coma of deliciousness, I’ve just been fighting the truth about my new kitchen. The truth is, I hate the crap out of it and cooking on the stove top turns me into a groaning, nag-monster. Our oven/stove is awful, just awful! Boiling potatoes for mash can take me a whole freaking hour, I kid you not. It is such a weak piece of turd that keeping a rolling boil is almost impossible. To top it off my stove can fail to bring my sauce to a simmer whilst I persevere for 40-50 minutes and then in an instant burn the bottom of it. I hate it, hate it, HATE IT!
Our flat is pretty, we have loads of extra floor space and it’s the first place I’ve lived that is relatively easy to clean up after three messy kiddo’s in. We pay an arm and a leg for the pleasure but walking through the door and letting out a sigh of relief rather than a groan whilst squeezing past a bike, knocking down a pile of coats and tripping over a pile of shoes makes it worth it. Sadly the landlord has over the years of renting this place out started to cut corners on appliances. The dishwasher, oven and washing machine are really cheap and nasty. It wasn’t something we could have known before renting the place (unless I had thought to ask the previous tenants when we had our viewing. I always feel awful intruding in people’s personal space when viewing a property and rarely say anything other than to apologise for the inconvenience and to thank them for letting us wander around) so sadly we’re stuck with it.
Fortunately there is a solution within reach, we’re saving for one of these babies: a Double Induction Hob. Until then I’m out of new savoury dishes to share and will probably just stick to easy to bake stuff. The oven is pretty terrible too but manageable so I can still bake up a storm (albeit inside a teensy tiny oven that takes forever to warm up).
These cookies are healthy (ish) and the kids loved them dunked in milk. They remind me a little of gingernut cookies and I loved them dunked in a strong cup of milky tea.
I used wholemeal flour but you could use half white flour and half wholemeal if you prefer. Raisins can be substituted for the dried apricots and dairy-free spread and dairy-free milk can be used to make these allergy and vegan friendly.
Recipe makes 20-30 cookies depending on the size of your cookie-cutter (I used a small glass and made about 30)
Preheat your oven to 170 C / 340 F
In a small saucepan melt the butter, sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk and the agave nectar. Bring to the boil, stirring and take off the heat when it has just started to bubble.
In a large bowl place the flour, bicarb soda and ginger. Stir through the finely chopped dried apricots
Make a well in the centre of your flour mixture and pour in the melted butter and sugar
Stir until everything is combined and knead gently with clean hands until it has all come together. I found my dough was way too dry and added a little more milk 1 Tablespoon at a time until my dough held together
Roll your dough out onto a floured surface to about a 1/4 of an inch thick. For softer cookies roll it to 1/2 an inch thick. I prefer them with a bit of crunch (perfect for dunking in a glass of milk) so went for the 1/4 inch
Use a cookie cutter to cut out your cookies and place onto a lined baking tray
Bake in the centre of your oven for 10-20 minutes or until golden brown on top. 10 minutes will give you softer cookies (not soft like your average choc-chip cookie, still stiff but not crunchy) and up to 20 minutes will give you crunchy cookies (check on them every 5 minutes after the 10 minute mark just in case they start to burn)
Pull up a chair and grab yourself a tea, coffee or big glass of milk and dunk away. These will keep in an airtight container for up to two weeks
* Recipe adapted from a recipe in “Cooking ABC’s” published by Guy Fox History Project Limited (free cook book the kiddo’s scored)
It’s a Good Mummy Morning : Banana Pancakes
I have a confession. I like to squeeze in as many seconds of shut eye as possible and this means that my three kids are always, without fail out of bed before me. They’re old enough to get their own cereal (woohoo!) so it’s not the worst guilty Mummy moment in the world, but I doubt I’ll be winning any super mum awards.
On the weekend the Playstation 3 and morning cartoons stretch out Mummy sleep time until midday. In fact my hard working hubby makes way more cooked breakfasts than me in this household. I win the score on lunch and dinner but breakfast is all about cold cereal and the occasional slice of toast from me.
On the rare occasion when our kids get a cooked breakfasts (when my amazing mother-in-law is staying with us, hubby cooked me and him a little too much and gives some to the kids or on the kids birthdays) it’s a big deal.
Yesterday morning I dragged myself into the vertical position and whipped up some pancakes. The cries of shock, “Mummy! I can smell pancakes!!!” were classic.
These are super easy to make and relatively healthy. I was out of wholemeal flour but ordinarily I’d have made them wholemeal to make them more filling and fibre rich. Apple sauce can be used in place of the vegetable oil too for a lower fat option.
1/ In a large bowl whisk together the egg, mashed bananas, vegetable oil (or apple sauce), milk and vanilla extract
2/ In a smaller bowl place your flour, salt and sugar
3/ Sift the flour mixture into your wet ingredients and combine. Your mixture will be a teensy bit lumpy
4/ Heat a fry pan over medium-high heat and grease with a little butter or oil
5/ Drop 1/4 cup of batter onto the pan and flip when it starts to look a little dimpley. Brown on the second side and stack your pancakes onto a plate when they’re done
Serve with whatever takes your fancy. I sliced a ripe banana on top with a drizzle of maple syrup (yum!)
* Recipe used is from over here
Feeling a Bit Seedy This Morning = Last Night’s Glass of Red (not) this Seedy Recipe : Slightly Healthier FlapJacks
Flapjacks aren’t the healthiest of treats with their high sugar content, but at least this recipe will leave you feeling like the wholesome ingredients (oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and dried fruit) equal out the less than ideal ingredients (sugar and butter). Plus I think a little something extra inside and on top your flapjacks makes them a bit more interesting. Every bite being the same as the last can get tiresome (if you’re not a crazed low-carb gal seeking a naughty, massive sugar high).
1/ Preheat your oven to 180 C (350F) and line a deep 20 x 30cm (10 x 12 inch) tin with baking paper
2/ In a large saucepan melt the granulated sugar and butter until completely dissolved. I used only 250g of butter (50g short) in mine which is a slightly lighter option, however I think my flapjacks would have been softer with the extra butter so if you can justify it then add the whole 300g of butter
3/ Remove from heat and add in the oats, agave nectar (golden syrup), 2 Tablespoons of pumpkin seeds, 2 Tablespoons of sunflower seeds, 2 Tablespoons of dried cranberries (or sultanas or raisins) and cut the dried apricots into small pieces with kitchen scissors before dropping them into your mixture
4/ Stir until all the ingredients are well combined
5/ Pour into your baking tin and spread evenly pressing down with the back of a spoon until flat and smooth
6/ The recipe suggests reserving half the dried apricots to sprinkle on top but I found the apricots burnt in the first 10 minutes of baking, so next time I’ll mix them all into the mixture to avoid yucky black apricots!
Sprinkle the remaining Tablespoon of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and dried cranberries evenly over your mixture and press them in a little
7/ Bake in your preheated oven for 10 minutes uncovered, then cover with foil for another 15 minutes
8/ Turn off your oven and let your flapjacks sit for 10 minutes before putting them on the bench. Using a sharp knife cut them into 24 squares and allow to cool completely
9/ Once completely cool (I waited about an hour) lift them out using the baking paper onto a flat surface and pull them apart (re-cut if you need to)
10/ Store in an airtight container for 3 days
Enjoy!
* Recipe is an altered version of a Clover Light Butter advert in my Sainsbury’s Magazine March 2012 – I added extra seeds and dried fruit and used agave nectar in place of golden syrup, yum!
Kinda Gingerbread-y in a Vegetable-y Kinda Way: Wholemeal Zucchini Bread
Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F)
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg
In a large bowl whisk together the vegetable oil, eggs, sugar and vanilla extract until well combined
Stir in the grated zucchini and grated apple
Fold in the flour and spices mixture
Finally fold in the coconut and walnuts and stir your mixture until all your ingredients are combined
Pour into a greased loaf tin
Bake in the centre of your oven for 50-60 minutes or until your bread has risen and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean
I serve mine sliced with a little spread of butter. The original recipe includes a cream cheese frosting.
To make the frosting: Beat together a 1/4 cup of softened butter and 110g (4 ounces) of cream cheese until completely smooth and then gradually add in 3 Tablespoons of Icing Sugar (Confectioners Sugar). Stir in a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla before spreading over the zucchini bread (allow to cool completely first).
* Recipe adapted from this one
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Carrot and Coriander Soup
Wholemeal Chocolate and Orange Brownies
Wholemeal Apricot and Ginger Cookies
Banana Pancakes
Rich Fruit Cake (DIY Wedding Cake or Christmas Cake)
Butterfly Cakes
Wholemeal Zucchini Bread
Peppermint Creams
Easter Bun Cupcakes
Winter Vegetable Soup
Candy Bar Filled Cupcakes
Shepherd’s Pie
Jammy Filled Cupcakes
Coffee and Walnut Cake
Apple and Blackberry Pie
Italian Style Lamb Stew
Choc Chip Banana Muffins
