Simple veggie rice for toddlers (and adults too)

This one is so so simple I'm not sure it counts as a recipe. This is a huge hit with my eldest who loves rice and it's an easy way to get a balanced meal into him. These quantities serve 2 toddlers but it's easy to make this for more or for adults (my husband likes this one for his work lunchbox and I frequently ate it as a poor student!).

In a saucepan of boiling water add a small handful of basmati or brown rice, and the same of red lentils. Add 1 carrot, sliced and 1/3 cup of broccoli florets (cauliflower is a nice change or any other veggies that you have in the fridge). Stir in 1/2 low sodium stock cube (chicken or veggie) and simmer until the rice is soft and the lentils and veg are cooked.

Nice on its own or with scrambled egg mixed through! 

Quick and easy soup

I've been in Devon visiting family which has meant lots of eating out followed by a long car journey home where we stuffed our faces with snacks to keep us going. This has left me craving vegetables! So I've whipped up a quick healthy soup to have for lunch. This recipe works really well with whatever veg is on offer or you might have lying about in your fridge. Just adjust the seasonings to suit the veggies. I went for a simple carrot and coriander this time.

Sauté 1 medium chopped red onion with 4-5 large carrots, roughly chopped until the onion is soft.
Add 1.5 pints of stock (veg or chicken) and bring to the boil.
This is where you add your herbs, swap these if you've used different vegetables to suit your flavours. I've used a handful of chopped fresh coriander but a teaspoon of dried works too.
Sinmer for 10 mins or until veg is soft and then purée and season to taste.
Easy. Healthy. Yummy!

Chicken and potato bake

Tonight's dinner was inspired by my love of Mediterranean style cooking and my desperate need for carbs after spending all night and day breastfeeding a very hungry baby. This little one is a big feeder who is piling on the weight (a whole lb in 5 days!) and as a result I find myself constantly hungry and thirsty. Lots of water being guzzled here as well as making sure I keep up my iron and energy levels with lots of fruit and veg and delicious filling meals.

This chicken and potato bake is easy to do even with two small bubas crying for your attention. Serves 4 with a side of spinach or salad.
Peel and chop potatoes into smallish chunks and boil in a pint of stock (veg or chicken).
Meanwhile grill or oven bake 2 chicken breasts.
In a frying pan soften 1 clove of garlic and 1 red onion in a little oil. Add a teaspoon of tomato purée, a generous squeeze of lemon juice. 2 tbs of white wine vinegar and some ground ginger. Stir until well combined and put all in an oven proof dish. Pour over a can of chopped tomatoes and stir through a teaspoon of paprika and a teaspoon of cumin (alternatively add cumin seeds to the frying pan with the onion).

Once the potatoes are soft and the chicken is cooked dice these and add to the oven dish with a few tablespoons of the veg stock leftover from the potato pan, season to taste and place in a preheated oven at 220 degrees for 15 minutes or until piping hot. Serve with a side salad or some spinach leaves.  Delicious.

Optional add in include any veg you have that needs using up. This time I added carrots and leftover butternut squash from yesterday's risotto and a green pepper that needed to be used. This meal works equally well and can be made less carb heavy by substituting sweet potatoes. Chicken can also be swapped for a white fish such as cod or sea bass for a tasty alternative.

Pasta sauce from scratch

I love pasta. It got my through my skint student days when the budget was tight and the food had to be quick, cheap and satisfying. But white pasta and sauce from a jar is not the healthiest meal. I switched to wholemeal pasta about 8 years ago and now I don't like white pasta and the bloated feeling it gives me after, and I've swapped jars of sauce for homemade. Much less sugar, much more veg! Here are my favourite 'red' sauces;

My go to;

Mince 2 cloves of garlic, 1 large onion, 3 carrots and 3 sticks of celery (I usually chuck it all in the food processor!). Soften the garlic and onion in a little oil (coconut is great, olive is good) and then add in the other veg. When it's all softened up add in some tomatoes- you can either blend up dine fresh ones or add in some passata. Simmer and season to taste.

And the one I made today;

Blanch and peel approx 1kg of tomatoes and then blend or mash to a pulp. Mince 2
cloves of garlic and 1 small onion and soften in a little oil. Add in your tomatoes and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer and add 1 teaspoon of brown sugar, salt and pepper to taste,
A teaspoon of paprika, a generous amount of fresh or dried basil and the same of oregano. Turn the heat right down and stir frequently until the sauce has thickened. Depending on the time of year, if your tomatoes aren't very rich in flavour you add an optional blob of tomato purée.

Both sauces keep in the fridge for up to 3 days in a sealed container and freeze really well.

New addition! 😊

Well I've been on a 2 week cooking strike as I just had a baby boy, Jonathan! I was so glad that I stocked our freezer with delicious meals before I went into labour as its meant life with a newborn isn't quite as stressful as it could be! Although we have also had quite a few bbqs since the weather has been so warm. I ended my cooking strike yesterday with a healthier take on cauliflower cheese that I served up with a babyleaf salad and some French bread.

For this simple delicious meal chop cauliflower and broccoli into florets and boil or steam until tender. Meanwhile cook some red lentils and in a separate bowl combine 2 good sized eggs with 200ml of milk and season to taste. Add a little water from your pan of veg (1-2 tbs) to stop the egg from scrambling. Drain the veg and put it in an oven proof dish, pour oven your egg mixture and stir through the lentils. Top with your favourite cheese (grated) and bake in the oven for 15mins at 200 degrees or until the cheese is nicely browned. Great as a main with a salad or a healthy side with some fish or other grilled meat.

Portuguese inspired chicken tray bake!

I cannot resist a bargain, and walking through the market yesterday they had whole crates of peppers and tomatoes that were so cheap they were practically giving them away! I couldn't just leave them there for such a good price so I loaded up my buggy with bags of delicious produce and now I need to find lots of ways to use them up (and my freezer is already so full I can barely shut the door!).
Tonight's chicken tray bake was inspired by food I ate in Portugal last year and my need to use up some peppers! I used orange and yellow peppers as that's what I had the most of but red peppers would be equally delicious in this recipe.
It's a really simple one that's perfect for a weeknight as you can just throw everything in, set the timer and get on with something else (in my case it was bathing little man and getting him in bed!) knowing a delicious dinner awaits.
So here are the oh so simple instructions....

Chop peppers of your preference into chunky strips and place in the bottom of the tray or dish you are using (about 1 pepper per person is the right portion size), next peel and chop sweet potatoes into coins and add to the tray. Again, 1 per person should be enough depending on the size of your spuds. You will need about half a chorizo sausage for 2
People, chop this and add to the tray. Place chicken thighs on top of your veg and drizzle with a little olive oil, a squeeze of lemon and some oregano. Put it straight in the oven for an hour and do your thing- if I wasn't pregnant I would definitely be pouring a nice glass of red to go with this. Give it a shake half way through cooking and devour! :)

Sweet potato chorizo hash

This is yum in a bowl and takes minutes to prepare! I really don't know why we don't have it more often! Peel and chop 2 cups of sweet potato (this is about 3 good sized whole potatoes) and par boil them to soften. Meanwhile dice 1 smallish red onion, 1 glove of garlic and about half a medium chorizo sausage (1 cup diced) and 3 medium sized tomatoes.
Add the chorizo to a hot pan and heat until the oil comes out. Remove chorizo from the pan and out aside, using the oil to gently fry your onion and garlic. Add a pinch of cumin (and optional chilli flakes or some extra paprika to your taste) and add the sweet potato stirring until browned and softened. Add the tomatoes and 3 good handfuls of kale. Re add the chorizo and stir well until tomatoes are cooked and the kale is wilted.
Spoon in to bowls and eat as it is or topped with cheese.
I made double of this and put some in the freezer for when baby 2.0 makes an appearance so I'll let you know how well this one freezes!