Homemade Chicken and Pasta Soup

This is a Slowcooker recipe but can also be done on the stove top as well.

• 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• Baby Carrots
• 4 Stalks of Celery
• vegetable stock cubes
• 500g bowtie pasta (or whatever pasta you fancy)
• Water
• Salt and Pepper
• mixed herbs
• Onion

How to Make Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup:

-          In a large pot cover your chicken with water, add the stock cubes and allow to boil

-          Dice your onion and celery. You can also chop the baby carrots if you want to, put all the veggies together in a bowl and set aside.

-          Remove chicken from pot and place into a bowl to allow cooling to room temperature.

-          Fill your slow cooker or crock-pot with water until it is ⅔ of the way full. Bring to a boil (use your hottest setting until it reaches a boil).

-          Once your water is boiling, place 2 stock cubes into the water and allow them to dissolve.

-          Shred the cooked or cut the chicken into cubes if you prefer.

-          Place the chicken and vegetables into the boiling water and reduce heat. Slow cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours.

-          Place your pasta into your slow cooker for the last 20-30 minutes and allow the pasta to become tender.

-          Serve with fresh rolls or bread 

If you want to make this on the stove top you can follow the same process just set your stove to a lower setting and allow to cook for 2 hours.

I have made this recipe a few times and love it especially when someone in the house is under the weather.

Slowcooker Meatloaf

My Hubby is on leave and made this for us last week and it was AMAZING, we served it with a loaf of fresh bread but you could serve it as you like, you can also do this in the oven as well, the cooking time would just be different.

Slow Cooker Veggie Lasagna

Its time to share anther yummy winter recipe with everyone....

Ingredients

1 large egg 
450g  Ricotta Cheese
1 large package baby spinach, coarsely chopped 
3 large or 4 small portobello mushroom caps, gills removed halved and thinly sliced 
1 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced 
1  can tomato onion mix
1  can diced tomatoes 
3 cloves of garlic, minced 
Pinch of salt and pepper
A box of lasagna sheets, uncooked 
3 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella, divided
 

Preparation

-   Combine egg, ricotta, spinach, mushrooms and zucchini in a large bowl. 

-   Combine crushed and diced tomatoes and their juice, garlic and salt/ pepper  in a medium bowl. 

-    Spread 1 1/2 cups of the tomato mixture in the slow  cooker. 

-   Arrange 5 noodles over the sauce, overlapping them slightly and breaking into pieces to cover as much of the sauce as possible. 

-   Spread half of the ricotta-vegetable mixture over the noodles and firmly pat down, then spoon on 1 1/2 cups sauce and sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella. Repeat the layering one more time, starting with noodles. 

-   Top with a third layer of noodles. Evenly spread the remaining tomato sauce over the noodles. Set aside the remaining 1 cup mozzarella in the refrigerator. 

-   Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on High for 2 hours or on Low for 4 hours. 

-   Turn off the slow cooker, sprinkle the reserved mozzarella on the lasagna, cover and let stand for 10 minutes to melt the cheese.

Enjoy =) 

The easiest pizza base EVER

This oh so simple recipe was shared with me many moons ago and has been such a great help in times when the kids feel like a treat and money is well... fleeting so I just had to share it with all of you.

Ingredients:

Pizza Base

500ml buttermilk
pinch of salt and pepper
1 kg (max) self raising flour

Extras:

Tomato Sauce
Toppings of your choice

Pour your buttermilk into a large bowl, add the spices and then slowly add the flour until your dough forms to a consistency of your liking.

Sprinkle some flour onto your counter and knead the dough then roll it out, use a cup to cut out mini pizzas or a large plate to cut out a larger size pizza, your kids can even do this with help.

Place the base on a floured or grease proof baking sheet and bake at 180 for 10 minutes remove and smear your tomato sauce on as a base then add your toppings and pop back into the oven until cooked this usually takes another 10 minutes or so at 180 degrees.

Voila quick simple and cheap, YUM

This makes a mother load of pizza dough btw so noone will be left hungry and you can freez any left over dough as well.

Pasta and Chicken Slow Cooker Soup

I love sharing recipes and this is one I haven't made in while so it is on the menu for this weekend, its simple and the whole family will love it unless they are like Gabriel who just refuses to like soup then I am afraid you may need to make something alongside with it, I usually do toasties and Gabriel is quite happy with that.

Pulled Slow Cooker Chicken Wraps

This is another simple recipe to  make for these cold days that are FINALLY dawning upon us, I made this last night and it was absolutely divine so I just had to share.

End of the month Bolognaise

 

Also known as my throw everything you have left in the cupboard together spaghetti =)

I will say that every time I make this it is different as I base it on what I have left in my cupboard but it is always a winner and this weekend’s was amazing so I decided to share it with you.

When I say this is filling I am not kidding and the beans and veg make it go a lot further, you can of course skip the mince and go vegetarian without it but my kids asked for a mince dish.

Butternut and Feta Lasagne

This is honestly one of my Favorite veggie dishes of all time to make and such a hit with everyone I have made it for, you can of course substitute the cheese for vegan cheese and the milk with a vegan alternative if you are vegan.

Lunch Box Tips

The lunch box is the nightmare of many a parents daily life experience, and I agree its tough to always come up with something new especially if you have toddlers, children with sensory issues, or children who just like to change what they like often enough to drive you insane trying to get them to eat.

I have 3 kids with varying tastes at different stages of their lives 2 are adhd and its tough, I sometimes finding myself staring at the cupboard trying to figure out what to do next especially at the end of the month so here are a few tips and tricks I have learned along the way to make this a bit easier for me.

Alternate your selection

I usually have 2 or 3 set types of items that I include in the lunch boxes; a yogurt, a fruit (my kids eat a lot of fruit so one fruit in their lunch is fine) and a small handful of crisps or pop corn, the other items I tend to vary between crackers and cheese ( my youngest loves the cheese wedges the most), a sandwich or a savory muffin, I will also add in a biscuit or crunchie if I have or a packet of nuts or raisins, I find changing up what I put into the boxes keeps my monkeys happy and not bored of what they eat they also tend to eat everything in the lunchbox which I found was not happening when I packed in the same thing every day.

Bare in mind my toddler gets a full lunch and snack at school so for him a fruit, yogurt and cheese wedge with some chips is more than enough, my eldest has two breaks as he finishes later so I have to pack more.

Cookie cutter.

Purchase yourself a set of cookie cutters I got mine from crazy store and made sure that they were big enough to cut a sandwich without wastage, I got a heart, a star and gingerbread man and the kids love getting a sandwich surprise, it also cuts the crust away so I don't have mans and groans from Gabriel who seems to have an aversion to anything with a crust.

 

Notes

When Loghan was going through a tough time at school I made mini foam speech bubbles with notes on them that read you are amazing, or make friends today or you are our amazing do not forget!

These notes are very encouraging and also a nice way of showing your kids that you put love and thought into what you made and that you are thinking of them during the day.

You could even hand write these to make them even more special =)

 

Input

If you are sitting with a lunchbox half full at the end of the day ask your kids why maybe its to much or maybe they don't like a certain something you have included I'm not saying let your child dictate but it does save you wasting the stuff at the end of the day.

Treats

I insist that the kids have their healthy items if I see that they are not eating them I take out the chips or the biscuit the next day, I also try to do a treat day on Fridays or a tuck-shop day if I can afford it and behavior permitted.

 

Include utensils

For a while I could not understand complete blonde that I am why Gabriel was not eating his yogurt when I asked him he was like well mommy you didn't put a spoon in duh, so now we have a few plastic utensils that I keep on hand for the lunch boxes, that way if they get lost its not a train smash and its quick and easy, you can find these utensils for cheap at the crazy store as well.

 

A sturdy lunchbox 

I have gone through too many lunchboxes to count and often the character ones that the boys choose are expensive and small and break easily so now I use a standard large square Tupperware type container that holds everything and will not break if mishandled, its cheaper and last longer.

 

I hope you found this interesting, with these tips and tricks I have found that lunch boxes do not have to be a nightmare and can actually be quite an enjoyable part of my day =)

Wild Rice and Veggies #VeggieMondays

My family really loves rice particularly wild and brown rice so this week I decided to male use of my slow cooker once again and see what I could put together.

Ingredients

1 tin of diced tomatoes

1 diced red onion

1 diced brown onion

2 cups sliced carrots

2 cups diced potato or sweet potato

250g chickpeas

1 cup diced broccoli

1 cup peas

2 cups wild rice

1 tbsp garlic

1 tsp cumin

2 tbsp masala

a dash of cinnamon

salt/ pepper

1 tsp sage

2 x vegatable stock cubes

dash of olive oil

water

Method

Throw a dash of olive oil into the slow cooker and allow to heat up, throw in all your spices and your onion wait a while and then add all your veggies and your uncooked rice, cover with water and set on auto over night.

Taste and check on the food in the morning, add more spices if needed.  If the rice drys out a tad just add another stock cube dissolved in a cup of water when you heat it up to serve, my family prefers a saucy meal so I did this when I got home, it took about a half hour to reheat it in the slow cooker on high.

It really is as simple as that and it tasted great, the slow cooker is so easy to use and allows all the flavors to cook into the veggies and rice.

Making a simple vegetarian meal really is so simple there is no need to buy fancy alternatives or go over board it can be done on a budget and taste great!

#VeggieMonday.... on a Tuesday

So yesterday we had leftovers for dinner so our Veggie Monday turned into a Veggie Tuesday.

There is no pic this week I'm afraid my phone went dead, then the storage was full and I just got irritated cause I was hungry so no pic but this weeks venture turned out to be a yummy one as always.

Spinach and Butternut Lasagna

Ingredients

350g sliced butternut
250 g corn
Washed and sliced spinach leaves
1 large sliced onion
Knorr garlic and herb potato bake or a white sauce of your own
Garlic, mixed herbs
Grated cheddar or feta cheese
Lasagna Sheets

Method

Line a greased dish with a first layer of sliced butternut and onion, sprinkle with your herbs and spices.

Create a second layer with lasagna sheet and the next with spinach leaves and corn.

Make up your cheese sauce, you can do it from scratch as well but I was just lazy tonight,  I added a bit more milk than called for and poured half over the spinach and corn.

Create another layer of lasagna sheets, pour the rest of sauce over it and then top with feta or cheddar cheese, feta tastes amazing but can work out expensive.

Allow to stand for 10 minutes, then bake for 20-30 minutes depending on your oven until the lasagna is soft, be sure to cover the lasagna in foil so it doesn't burn the top.

Serve... Yummy

Cooking Fun

The boys have been begging me to try out some of the recipes in the cooking Priddy book we received from #kidsbookclub sometime ago. (terrible mom to wait so long I know)

This week has just been terrible and with pay day around the corner I thought it would be nice to try one of them out this weekend, I was browsing through and came across this recipe it looked so yummy I decided to share it with all of you.

Ingredients

100 g castor sugar

75 g soft brown sugar

125 g unsalted butter

2 tsp vanilla essence

150 g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

100 g chocolate chips

Method

Line two trays with grease proof paper

Put the sugar into a large bowl, melt the butter in a saucepan add this to the sugar and mix well

Add the egg and vanilla, then all your dry ingredients and finally throw in your chocolate chips

Spoon out small tsp sizes balls onto the greased tray about 3 cm apart and bake for 19 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Leave to cool and serve

Sounds yum right! Personally I always add something extra to a recipe so I will probably end up adding oats just to make it a bit healthier and add a bit of a crunch, YUM.

This is one of the many great recipes in this book, we have really enjoyed our KidsBookClub goodies.

Creamy Avocado and Chickpea Pasta #VeggieMondays

I almost forgot to take a pic so this is my sons plate

First off I know its been a few days since I have posted, something happened in our family last week and I had to take a few days to get that seen to, I may still be quiet for a while my family is as always my top priority but for now I'm here to share this weeks veggie meal... which I have to say was almost a flop due to uncooperative avocados.

Personally I have never been a fan of avocados but my family is, they have such amazing health benefits as well and since it is more a texture issue that I have, I have found that using it in sauces helps alleviate the issues and I don't mind eating it, I recently read an article which detailed some of the amazing health benefits of said fruit and I found it really interesting there are a few facts that I didn't know, the website on which the article is displayed has a great range of very insightful articles as well, the Website is Health and Fitness Shop, and contains articles, on health, fitness exercises and diet.

Creamy Avocado and Chickpea Pasta

Ingredients

Spaghetti or Noodles, whichever you prefer and enough to feed your desired amount of people, I usually use 500g.

250 g cooked peas

250g chickpeas

2 RIPE avocados

1 tub sweet chilli cream cheese

lemon juice

olive oil

salt and pepper

mixed herbs

First make up your pasta on the stove and drain then set aside

Blend together your avo, cream cheese, lemon juice, herbs and salt and pepper

Make sure to taste it as you go to get the desired flavor, I also added some cayenne pepper but that's not up to everyone's tastes

Add the chick peas and blend again to create a hummus texture

Add your mixture to your pasta and add in the peas as well, be sure to coat the pasta and then serve.

The blending process takes a short amount of time so your pasta will still be warm however as I mentioned I do not love avocado and therefore don't tend to eat much avocado and so I happened to make the mistake of picking 2 avocados that were not ripe so it took much longer but in the end it came out really well and everyone enjoyed it.. even me as a non avocado eater =)

I am really enjoying making these veggie meals for my family and the kids have not even noticed the lack of meat which is great.

I would love to hear other #veggiemonday ideas, if you have any leave a comment down below and I'll be sure to try it out.

Creamy Veggie Pasta Rice #VeggieMondays

This meal was a bit of a miss with Jesse but my hubby really liked it so give it a go and if you do let me know if you liked it.

Ingredients

1 packet of pasta rice 

250g corn

250g diced baby marrow

250ml sour cream

2 tbsp red pepper cream cheese

mixed herbs

1 tbs garlic (we love garlic)

1tbsp chutney

Boil your rice on the stove top until it is aldente, be careful not to overcook because it will go sludgy and wont be nice, if you want to make sure your pasta rice does not stick add a few drops of oil to the water you are using.

In a separate saucepan add all your other ingredients together until the veggies are cooked but still crisp.

Then mix it all together, add some salt and voila, you can also leave this to chill in the fridge and have it as a cold meal as well.

Quick and easy this was done within 20 minutes.

Honestly it gets easier by the day to put together a veggie meal and so far my family is loving it.

I hope everyone had a great start to their week, happy meal times =)

Veggie Mondays- Chickpea Curry

 

It is Monday once again and it is time to share another scrumptious veggie meal.

 

This week I made a chick pea curry and it went down well with everyone even Gabriel who is as fussy as it comes when veggies are involved.

 

The nice thing about this meal is you can pretty much use what ever veggies you have on hand, it can be as cheap and easy as you want/ need it to be, I used the following:

 

Several Carrots

1 Large Zuccini

Half a large onion

1 can of chickpeas

1/2 cup of split peas and lentils

5 large potatos cut into 4

half a packet baby tomatos

1 table spoon raja curry powder

1/2 tsp masala

 

Dice or slice and throw it all together in the slow cooker with enough water to cover the ingrediants.

 

Leave to cook on low for 6 hours or even 8, I switch the slow cooker on in the morning and when I get home all us done, if you do not have a slow cooker you can make it on the stove top as well with a bit of oild added to the water, I just find the slow cooker adds flavour and the veggies all cook so lovely and soft.

 

Voila an amzing veggie curry your family will love!

 

Recipe Share- Grilled Cheese Roll Ups

I often see recipes on Facebook but there are honestly so few times I actually attempt to make it, this weekend however I made 2 Pinterest / Facebook related recipes and I have chosen to share this one with you because....

1) Its Quick

2) It's Easy

3) You can chop and change it as you please

4) Your whole family will love it!