Stuffed Mushrooms

Stuffed mushrooms are one of those foods people think are difficult to make.  "Life is too short to stuff a mushroom" a phrase apparently coined by Shirley Conran.  Stuffing a mushroom does sound difficult, or fiddly but I promise it's not.

 

This super simple stuffing also makes it easy (and delicious).  I just had this as an adult meal for one but my son, a fan of both mushrooms and cheese would love these.  Do include the herbs, after all, without them they'd be a two ingredient recipe and that feels a little bit lame!

Stuffed Mushrooms - Serves 1 Adult or 1-2 Children

Ingredients

5 White Mushrooms (I didn't use large open capped ones, just ones around 2-4 cm across.  The bigger they are, the fewer you'll need.)
A few sprigs of fresh herbs, I used parsley, thyme and chives
60g, 2oz Feta cheese, crumbled

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC, 400F, gas mark 7.

Take the stalks out of the mushrooms just leaving the caps.  If you like the stalks can be chopped up and used in another dish, like Bolognese or vegetarian lasagne.

Chop up the herbs and mix with the feta.

Put the mushrooms in a baking dish and fill the caps with spoonfuls of feta.

Bake for 20 minutes or until browned on top and the mushrooms are cooked through.  Great served with a simply dressed tomato salad.

Make it thrifty

It is possible to buy "Greek Style Salad Cheese" which is often less than half the price of feta which I sometimes do when short of money.  The quality of it is very variable though.  Certainly if having in a salad I would always buy authentic feta but in this recipe the alternative is fine for stuffed mushrooms.

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Cauliflower Pakoras; great finger food for kids

Cauliflower pakoras are something I'd never made before until recently, but as part of my 7 a day challenge I made some vegetable pakoras using peas and loved them.  When I moved house a few days back and restocked my cupboards (including buying some gram flour), the helpful assistant in the shop suggested cauliflower was pretty good and, in fact her favourite.  She also said that fresh spinach was, in her opinion much better in Indian food than frozen.

I always like a bit of advice when it comes to cooking so I gave it a go.  The jury is out in the spinach.  In my opinion frozen is just as good but the great thing about baby spinach is you can use it as a salad vegetable or cook with it and it just so happened I had some in my fridge so I went with it.
Traditionally I don't think the cauliflower is precooked but although I don't like soggy cauliflower, I'm not overly keen on cauliflower which bites back either so I partially precooked mine.

 

Caulflower pakoras - serves 2-3

 

Ingredients

 

7 Small cauliflower florets
30g, 1oz Fresh spinach, finely shredded
100g, 3.5oz Gram flour (chickpea flour, garbanzo bean flour, besan)
2 tsp Garam masala
1/2 tsp Madras curry paste (or more if cooking for adults if liked)
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 tsp Baking powder (use gluten free if avoiding gluten)
75 - 150ml Cold water
Oil for frying
 

Method

Part cook the cauliflower by boiling for approx 4 minutes so still firm but almost cooked.  Cut into halves.

Heat up approx 1 inch of vegetable oil in a deep saucepan.  Never leave hot oil unattended.
 

Mix the flour, curry paste, lime and baking powder with enough water to make a batter like consistency.

Add in the spinach then add in the cauliflower.  Try a drop of batter in the oil, if it sizzles immediately, put a coated piece of cauliflower and see how it cooks.  If it browns too quickly but the batter is still runny inside, lower the heat.  If it takes a long time and seems greasy, increase the heat.

Cook in batches of 3-4.  Leave to drain on kitchen roll then serve as a starter, a side dish or as I did for my son with some rice cooked with peas and some mango chutney mixed with plain yogurt to dip.
 

Reheating:  Once cooked, keep in the fridge and either eat cold (although they do go a bit soft) or much better, reheat in a preheated 180oC / 350F oven for approx 6-10 minutes or until warmed through and crisp.  It's almost worth making extra to have the leftovers with no effort the next day!?

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Spinach and Carrot Cannelloni

Cannelloni is a surprisingly easy dish to cook for one.  I had made some tomato and pesto soup the other day and the leftovers were in the fridge.  It occurred to me that it would also make a really good pasta sauce. 

But I had no cream cheese, no goats cheese, no mince, nothing traditional for a cannelloni filling in the house.  So why not vegetables.  Why not?  You know what, it didn't just work, it was delicious!

A great idea for fussy kids not keen on vegetables (or even adults!)


Spinach and Carrot Cannelloni - Serves 1 adult or 2 children

Ingredients

1/2 a carrot, peeled and grated
20g, 2/3oz Fresh spinach, finely shredded
2 tbsp Single cream (light cream) but any cream could be used
30g, 1oz Extra mature (extra sharp) cheddar
200-250g 7-9oz of homemade tomato and pesto soup
4 tubes cannelloni.  Mine were quite small, weighing 45g, 1.5oz.  Make sure you choose the dried kind which can be cooked without precooking

Method

Mix the grated carrot, spinach, cream and grate in a third of the cheese.

Preheat the oven to 200oC / 400F.  With your fingers (the messy bit), shove the filling inside the tubes.

Pour a spoonful of the soup into the base of the baking dish, put the cannelloni on top, finish with more soup and then the rest of the cheese grated on top.

Check pack instructions but it should take about 30-40 minutes to cook until bubbling, browned and the cannelloni are cooked through.

Make it Thrifty

A completely different dish from leftovers.  What could be thriftier than that?

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Chocolate Custard (low sugar)

Custard.  I never make it from scratch but I do make it from custard powder.  It occurred to me when making some custard from custard powder the other day that custard powder is simply cornflour (cornstarch) natural flavouring (vanilla) and colour (normally a natural colour like annatto).  I don't have much annatto floating around the house and there feels like something wrong about making white custard even though that's the colour it would be if not made with eggs, so my idea was to make chocolate custard.

This would be great hot with chocolate cake, poured over banana (if you want to keep on my 7 a day routine), on it's own or allowed to cool in small pots and eaten cold like blancmange.  It's pretty low sugar too with only 1 tsp added sugar per portion.  There's more sugar in a fromage frais!

Chocolate custard - Makes 2 small bowls

Ingredients

280ml, Half Pint milk
1 rounded tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
1 tsp Cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
2 tsp Sugar

Method

Mix the cornflour with the cocoa powder and sugar with 1 tbsp of the cold milk then add the vanilla.  Heat the remaining milk in a microwave for 2 minutes or until hot.  Gradually whisk the hot milk into the cornflour mix then return to the microwave for 2-3 minutes on full power or until cooked and thick.  Keep an eye on it as it can boil up and boil over.

I would be honoured if you would consider nominating me in the Britmums BIB awards, especially the food category.

After all, who can resist delicious chocolate custard?

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7 a Day Challenge; Day 3 - Vegetable Pakoras

7 fruits and vegetables a day is a bit harder than I thought.

A few days ago, I set myself a challenge to eat 7 fruits and vegetables minimum in 7 days to see how it affected me, my wellbeing and how hard or easy it might be.

I'm on day 3 now and I need to find ways to liven things up!

Breakfast

I was at work early today so took breakfast of rice crispies and a banana.  This is actually far more than I'd normally eat for breakfast so I ended up saving the banana for mid morning.  I will definitely be stretching myself more from a culinary point of view at the weekend when I have more time!

Lunch

Lunch was Gazpacho again (2 portions of vegetables) due to making a double batch yesterday with watermelon and a satsuma afterwards.  I was up to 5 of my 7 after lunch but felt the need to 'retox' with some chocolate cake.  A girl needs something unvirtuous!

Tea

Ok... this week has been harder (even by day 3) than I expected.  I needed fried.  So wrong.  I know, I had chocolate there was even some sugar on the rice crispies.

But the problem is I'm just so full!  Maybe I don't eat big portions but 7 lots of vegetables, in the portion sizes recommended really limits what else you can eat.

So I needed fried.  I needed something which felt wrong even if it was full of vegetables.  Pakora it is!

Vegetable Pakoras - Makes enough for two

Ingredients

100g, 3.5oz Gram Flour (chickpea flour, garbanzo bean flour, besan)
2 tsp Garam Masala
2 tsp  Curry Paste (as hot as you want it to be, I was cooking for myself so used madras but I'd use korma paste for my son)
60g, 2oz Defrosted frozen chopped spinach
60g, 2oz Defrosted frozen peas
2 Spring onions (scallions)
Juice 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp Baking powder (gluten free is easily available if avoiding wheat)
1 tbsp Fresh Coriander, chopped (cilantro)
70 - 100ml, 2.5 - 3.5 floz water

Oil for frying
Mango chutney to serve

Method

Mix the flour, spice, curry paste and lemon juice.  Mix in enough water to make a batter about the thickness of pancake batter.

Add in the baking powder, spinach, peas and spring onions and mix well.

Heat up about an inch or couple of cm of oil in a saucepan and when it's hot, drop a spoonful into the fat.  Cook until well browned turning a few times.  Use this 'trial' pakora to check that it's cooked through by breaking it open.  If it's a bit runny in the middle chalk that one up to experience and, turn the heat down a bit to cook the others.

Drain on kitchen paper and serve.  Update:  Store any leftovers in the fridge for a couple of days and reheat at 200oC for 6-10 minutes or until warmed through and crisp again on the outside.

I have to admit, I was going to have this with some carrot salad but I just fancied the pakora.  I know but they were delicious.  I could only manage to eat half of the batch which actually means I'm a bit light on my vegetable count for the day...

Or am I?  Under the '5 a day' rules anyway, pulses were permitted for one of the 5 a day... so my chickpea flour counts!  Result!

The pakora might not have been fabulous for the waistline but they were great for the soul.

7 a day done!  Kinda.  Why does it feel I've achieved it via a technicality?  7 portions of 10 different fruits and vegetables; banana, satsuma, tomato, pepper (capsicum), cucumber, watermelon, chickpeas (garbanzo beans), spinach, peas and spring onions (scallions).

I would be absolutely honoured if you would consider nominating me in the Britmums BIB awards, especially the food category.

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Spicy Chicken Goujons

After making my crunchy mackerel strips, it occurred to me the same treatment might work pretty well with chicken and, lo and behold, it does!  The sweet chilli sauce lends flavour and a lovely sticky base for the coating.

I've suggested serving with some gingery noodles but this would be just as much at home with salad or as a beer time snack.

I've not tried my son with this yet but I think he'll be a fan.

Spicy Chicken Goujons - Serves 2

Ingredients

250g, 9oz Chicken breast

4 tbsp Sweet chilli sauce

30g, 1oz Rice Krispies

30g, 1oz Plain, All purpose flour

Spray oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC, 400F, Gas Mark 6.  Prepare a baking tray with a layer of non stick baking paper.

Crush the rice krispies and mix with the flour.

Cut the chicken into strips.  Dunk each strip into the sweet chilli sauce and then into the crushed cereal mix and put on the tray.

Spray with spray oil.  Roast for approx 20 minutes or until cooked through and crunchy.

Serve with your choice of accompaniment.  I've chosen some honey and ginger noodles with vegetables.

Make it Thrifty

Take a look at chicken breasts in the freezer department.  Often they're cheaper than chilled chicken breasts and as long as you remember to defrost them in the fridge overnight, you're less likely to have food waste by buying them frozen as they last for ages.

I would be absolutely honoured if you would consider nominating me in the Britmums BIB awards, especially the food category.

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Sugar Free Apple Scones

I'm sorry, these must be the ugliest scones ever made but they do taste nice.

My son used to have this huge thing about dried apple, then, overnight, with a huge bag left in the cupboard, he decided he didn't like it anymore.

So I tried these for size and I think they're lovely (if extremely ugly!)

Apple scones - makes approx 8 small scones

Ingredients

225g, 8 oz SR flour or plain (all purpose) flour with 2 tsp baking powder
50g, 1.75oz Butter or dairy free margarine
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon (Cinnamon powder)
100ml, 3.3 floz Apple juice
130g, 4.5 oz Dried apple

Method

Preheat the oven to 180oC (Fan), 200oC, 400F, Gas Mark 6.

Put the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, butter and chopped pieces of dried apple into a food processor.  Process till the butter is rubbed in and the apple is in small pieces (don't carry on till they disappear though!)

Turn out into a bowl and add the apple juice.  Bring together into a dough and pat out into a thick layer, certainly no thinner than an inch.  Cut using a small, round fluted or straight cutter.  Mine was 6cm (a bit more than 2 inch) diameter.

Put on a floured baking tin and reroll the scraps until the dough is used.

Brush the tops with milk (optional) and bake for 10-12 minutes or until browned and cooked through.

Serve with butter and / or apple butter if liked (if you're not worried about them being sugar free) or these would also be equally at home with cheese.  Tasty.  My son looked at them and said "no", I suggested he tried a bite and he loved them.  Just so ugly... Sorry!

Best served on day of baking or freeze, defrost and warm through slightly in a microwave.

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Sugar Free Raspberry Mousse, great for babies and toddlers

It can be easy with toddlers to ease up too much on the 'naughty' snacks and treats.  I'm certainly more relaxed than I used to be but occasionally I try to challenge myself to cut back a bit on the sugar again so I made this mousse with all natural ingredients and no added sugar or sweeteners.  The result was creamy and gently sweetened.  My son said it was "fantastic".

This would be great for all ages including babies.

Apple and Raspberry Mousse - serves 2

Ingredients

2 Leaves of gelatine (enough to set half a pint, 300ml)
150ml,  5.5 floz, 2/3 cups Unsweetened Apple and Raspberry juice (or other naturally sweet juice)
100ml, 3.5 floz, just less than 1/2 cup Double (heavy) cream

Method

Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water.

Take half of the juice and heat to boiling in a microwave.

Put the gelatine into the hot juice, leave for a few seconds then stir in.  Add the remaining cold juice, stirring in and put the juice mix in the fridge.

Whisk the cream using an electric whisk until soft peaks form.  When that's done, take the juice out of the fridge and whisk that until foamy.

Add the cream into the juice and whisk together.  Pour into dishes or glasses and chill for a few hours until set.

Quick request:  The MAD blog awards are open and I need nominations to be in with a chance of making it to the knock out stages!

Here is the link:  http://www.the-mads.com/vote/ if you'd get the chance, I would love to be considered for the "best food blog" category.  My blog URL is this:  http://mamacook.blogspot.co.uk

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Crispy Mackerel Salad

So this was a meal for one and a delicious one at that.  It can be difficult to motivate children to eat well but I find my own diet can sometimes be lacking, especially when I'm eating alone.  This is a source of omega 3, tasty and delicious, even if you're a touch reluctant when it comes to oily fish.  Most importantly though, after a long day, it's quick.

Crispy Mackerel - Serves 1

Ingredients

2 tbsp Sweet chilli sauce
1 Mackerel fillet, defrosted if frozen
15g, 1/2 oz Rice Krispies
15g, 1/2 oz Plain flour / all purpose flour
Spray oil

Salad, rice and sweet chilli sauce to serve.

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC, 400F, Gas Mark 6.

Crush the rice krispies and mix with the flour.

Skin the mackerel if liked.  Cut into thick strips about the width of a finger.  Dunk each strip into sweet chilli sauce and then into the flour mix.

Put onto a tray lined with non stick baking paper spray with oil and bake for approx 15 minutes or until crisped on the outside and cooked through.

Serve with salad and / or rice with a drizzle of sweet chilli sauce.

The MAD blog awards are open and although I do feel embarrassed to ask, I would love it if you would nominate me.

Here is the link:  http://www.the-mads.com/vote/ if you'd get the chance, I would love, love, love to be considered for the "best food blog" category.  My blog URL is this:  http://mamacook.blogspot.co.uk

Thank you.  x

Make it Thrifty:

Frozen mackerel fillets are a great way to keep costs down.

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Egg Free Pancakes - great for all ages

It never occurred to me that you could make American style pancakes without eggs and you wouldn't be able to notice the difference.  The only way I knew was, one time when making my normal sugar free pancake recipe, I made it as normal then got confused thinking I had more eggs in the fridge than I thought.  I was convinced for years I'd miscounted, but, this morning I gave it a go again and I was right, you don't need the egg!

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with eggs at all and they're a great source of vitamin D but they are also a common food allergy and, if you don't have eggs in, you can still have delicious pancakes!  Result!

Egg Free Banana Pancakes

225g, 8oz, (1 and three quarters cups) of Self Raising Flour (or plain / all purpose flour plus 2 tsp baking powder)
Knob (about 30g, 1 oz, 1tbsp) butter or use non dairy spray oil
300ml, 10.5floz, (1 and a quarter cups) Milk 
1 tsp natural vanilla paste or vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas

To serve for adults and older children (optional)
A knob of butter and a drizzle of honey (over 1 year only) or syrup

Method

Weigh out the flour, put in a blender with the milk, vanilla and bananas.  Blend until fully smooth.

Warm a non stick frying pan and either rub with a knob of butter or use spray oil.

Fry in batches; turning when bubbles appear on the surface of the pancakes (see here for instructions.)

Serve!  When my son was little I got away with giving him these without toppings.  It wasn't until he was three he noticed Mummy and Daddy were having honey or syrup.  I can still get away with giving them to him as a snack though without a topping as they're naturally sweet.

These are a great first finger food or baby led weaning food for younger kids.  Cold they taste like Scotch Pancakes so are great any time.

Make it Thrifty:

This is a great way to use up over-ripe bananas.

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Smoked Mackerel Fish Cakes

I may worry (probably unduly) about my child's nutrition but it can be difficult to encourage kids to eat oily fish. Oily fish is an excellent source of Omega 3 oils.  Omega 3 are a group of oils which, although the jury is out on the specific health effects; it's generally believed they're pretty good things to have in your diet.  Sources include things like salmon, herring, sardines, mackerel, fresh tuna, pollock (at lower levels) etc.  There are other sources but oily fish is the most concentrated.  This might not look like a lot of mackerel in the recipe but there's about five times more omega 3 in mackerel than there is in cod.

So how to get this goodie into your child's diet?  A challenge and I've linked some other oily fish recipes at the end if you'd like some more ideas!

Smoked Mackerel Fish Cakes - made 6

Ingredients

1 Potato (mine weighed just over 200g, 7oz before peeling)
85g, 3oz Butternut squash (peeled weight)
1 tsp mild, grainy mustard
25g, 1oz Hot smoked mackerel (i.e. the type which is ready to eat)
Spray oil

Method

Peel the potato and cut the butternut squash into chunks and then boil together in water for approx 20-25 mins or until fully cooked.  Drain well then mash together using a potato masher.  Allow to cool.

Flake the mackerel into the mash mix and add the mustard.  The mix might be a bit soft but once you get your hands in it should be pretty mouldable.

Mix well then shape into fishcakes and put on a lined baking tray.  Cover and chill until ready to cook.

When ready to cook, preheat an oven to 200oC, 400F, gas mark 6.

Uncover and spray the tops with spray oil.  Bake for 25-30 mins or until brown.

My 3 year old ate 4 of them (he asked for seconds).  I think that's a hit!

Make it Thrifty:

Try using leftover vegetables to make this to keep costs down and why not cook something else in the oven at the same time?  Like sweet potato wedges to have on the side (or roast carrots and radishes like I did if you're feeling more adventurous) or a crumble for pudding?

Here are some other great oily fish recipes for your family:





Tuna Meatballs

Fish Pie











Herb crusted Salmon

Baked Salmon Fishcakes







January's Family Foodies challenge is all about 'hidden goodies' and this recipe has hidden veg and Omega 3.  I've submitted this along with a few other recipes to Bangers and Mash and Eat your veg's challenge:

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Simple Baked Southern Fried Chicken

Ok, sorry to remind you but we're approaching New Year and the time for those resolutions.  What will yours be this year?  Lose weight?  Stop smoking?

Have you ever noticed how resolutions are always about what we don't want rather than what we do want?  That's a bad thing because we're not wired that way.  Don't think about a pink elephant.  Go on, think about ANYTHING else apart from pink elephants.  Don't think about it.  You're thinking about it aren't you?  You can't help yourself!

Anyway, in general, I'm always of the opinion that a bit of what you actually fancy is better than 101 diet products.  Let's face it, if you buy diet biscuits, you eat more biscuits don't you?  Go on, we all know the truth...  So although I'm not a huge fan of dieting per se, I also managed to lose quite a lot of weight in the last two years.  You didn't know that about me did you?  I am now a shadow of my former UK size 16/18 self and am now a comfortable size 12, size 10 in Fat Face or White Stuff on a good day with a fair wind behind me (and size 8-10 in US terms which is even better!)

I can't pretend that I'm healthy all of the time either.  It's not true.  I do exercise but I also occasionally eat chips and, very occasionally, fried chicken.  But that said, I can't bring myself to actually fry chicken at home, I can feel my arteries hardening at the thought and there is something a bit gross about the extreme fattiness of it.  If I ever do buy fried chicken (from a certain well known High Street chain), I always drain it on the paper towels to make it a bit less greasy before eating.

So this recipe is good all round.  Lower in fat but also much less greasy which is a good thing and makes it tastier.  No frying smells to stink out the house and you can feel slightly more virtuous for having your cake (or chicken) and eating it!  Just don't eat 10 pieces because it's 'healthier'!

Southern 'baked' chicken - Makes 4 pieces

Ingredients

200ml, 7 fl oz Semi Skimmed (2% fat) milk
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 dried chilli
4 large chicken thighs, skin on and bone in
60g, 2oz Plain (all purpose) flour
2 tsp Paprika
80g, 2.5oz Cornflakes
1/2 tsp Garlic powder
Salt and pepper
Spray oil

Method

Mix the milk with the mustard and chilli.  Soak the chicken in this mix for about an hour.

Crush the cornflakes then add to the flour, paprika, garlic powder and seasoning (miss out salt for very young kids).

Preheat the oven to 200oC / 400F / Gas Mark 6.

Take each piece of chicken out of the milk mixture.  Put each into the dry mix covering them, then onto a lined baking sheet.

Repeat with all of the pieces of chicken and then spray with the spray oil then put in the oven for 40 minutes, turning once.

The result was crunchy, gently spiced and tasty.  A hit with my 3 year old and me!

Mix it up; to make it more spicy if making just for adults or adventurous kids; use more chilli in the milk mix or a touch of cayenne pepper in the dry mix.

This would be great with coleslaw







So remember, when making your resolutions, think about what you do want this year, not what you don't and you never know, you might just achieve it!

I've linked this up to Nomday Monday and create, link inspire

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No added sugar, nut free Granola

I find commercial granolas a bit too sweet if I'm honest and although my son loves things like this for breakfast, they're also pretty expensive and, as a three year old, there is still a choking risk on larger nuts.  Not of course if you make it yourself and control what goes in!  This is refined sugar free!

I have to be totally honest and say the chunks weren't all as quite as big as I would have liked but I suspect I might have to add more honey to make that happen.  There were some satisfyingly large bits though and a tasty and pretty healthy option for breakfast.

This should be for over 1's only due to the honey but also be guided by your child and their ability to chew the delicious chunky bits!  My son has been eating things like this since he was around 2 years old.

Raisin and Apple Granola makes around 400g (14oz)

Ingredients

2 tbsp Runny honey (substitute for golden syrup, maple syrup or agave nectar to make vegan)

2 tsp Oil (chose a mild, flavourless oil with high monounsaturates for health, like rapeseed)

1 tsp Vanilla extract

250g, 9oz Porridge oats

75g, 2.5oz Unsweetened dessicated coconut

4 tbsp Apple juice

2 tbsp Sunflower seeds

150g, 5.5oz Raisins

50g, 2oz Dried apple

Method

Preheat the oven to 170oC, 325F, Gas mark 3.

Mix the oats, coconut and seeds together in a bowl.

In a microwavable cup or jug mix the honey, vanilla, oil and juice.  Microwave for approx 30-45 seconds or until the honey mixes in well with the remaining liquids.

Pour the liquids over the dry mix and mix in well.  Turn onto a lined swiss roll tin and press into a layer.

Bake for approx 10 -15 minutes, give it all a stir and bake again for 5-10 more minutes; around 20 mins in total until you have crunchy browned pieces with no soggy bits.

Leave to cool then mix with the raisins, chopped up dried apple and pour into a sealable box (e.g. tupperware).

Serve with dairy or soy milk or yogurt and fruit.  My son loved this and suddenly wasn't quite so interested in Shreddies anymore!

I've linked this up here.

Make it Thrifty:

Look out for 'value' or 'smart price' packs of porridge oats, they work fine and are much cheaper than the branded varieties.

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Turkey Sliders for all ages

A slider, so I'm told is a small burger.  I've mixed these up by making them with turkey (seasonal) but also sneaking in some hidden vegetables (why not) and a bit of spice!  These are super easy and healthy because they're made with white meat and baked not fried.

I do have a bit of love for sweet chilli sauce.  Although when my son was under 1 I diligently avoided giving him sugar as much as possible, I eased up as he got older.  Sweet chilli as an ingredient is a great way to introduce some gentle spicing in a way that is more predictable than using a small amount of chilli.

He tried some of my sliders with sweet chilli sauce but on balance preferred his served with ketchup.  Had I got any in the house, I would have served these with baked sweet potato wedges but I didn't so I served with cooked carrot sticks instead.  Might seem a bit strange but he loved it!

Turkey Sliders - made 5

Ingredients

125g, 4.5oz Minced (ground) turkey
60g, 2 oz Grated courgette (zucchini)
1 tbsp Thai style sweet chilli sauce
1 tbsp chopped fresh Coriander (cilantro)

Method

Mush all of the ingredients together then shape into patties and chill on a tray lined with baking paper and covered with cling film (saran wrap).

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200oC, 400F, Gas Mark 6.  Remove the film and bake for approx 18 minutes or until cooked through.

Serve in small buns with lettuce and either sweet chilli sauce or tomato ketchup.  I have to admit I liked them and I'd be tempted to make them again just for me!

It just so happens that January's Family Foodies challenge is all about 'hidden goodies'.  Is there a more appropriate challenge for Mamacook?  I think not!  So I've submitted this along with a few other recipes to Bangers and Mash and Eat your veg's challenge:

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Child friendly Prawn Laksa

Laksa isn't an obvious choice for a preschooler but why not?  Most kids I know are fans of prawns and noodles.

I've toned this all down a bit to make it friendly for kids who aren't big fans of spice.  Although my son does have more spice in his food than he sometimes realises, last time his Dad cooked him a curry, he was less then keen and apparently ended up eating fish fingers so I went gentle (but noticeable) on the spicing here.

He looked at it.  Said "I don't think I like that"
I said "Have you tried a prawn?"
He said "Ooh, no"
Has a couple of bites, then starts eating the mushrooms and noodles.  I'm trying to photograph my portion while my stomach is rumbling because it smells pretty good (I'm not one of those food bloggers who cooks to photograph, I cook to eat.)
"Mummy this is yummy"
And indeed it was :-)
A touch too mild for me but there was spice there and a real depth of flavour.  You can do as I did and slice up a little raw red chilli to put on top for a bit of zing.  It's great to be able to make a dish that you can adapt for everyone in the family without feeling you're having a huge turkey twizzler compromise or reaching for the pack of emergency fish fingers...

Don't be scared by the long list of ingredients, this is a piece of cake.

Laksa - Serves 1 adult and 1 child

Ingredients
Paste
50g, scant 2oz Onion, chopped (half an onion)
2 Garlic cloves, chopped
1 heaped tsp smooth peanut butter
2 slices of green chilli, seeds removed (approx 1/4 of a chilli, use more if liked)
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp chopped ginger (see 'make it thrifty' below)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp water

For the Laksa
1 tsp vegetable oil
150g, 5oz raw prawns (see 'make it thrifty' below)
100g, 3.5oz mushrooms
Half of a tin, approx 200ml, 7 fl oz canned coconut milk
1/2 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
1 tbsp fish sauce
Juice of half a lime
1 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro) plus more to serve
150g, 5oz straight to wok rice noodles (see 'make it thrifty' below)
Additional lime and chilli to serve if liked.

Method

Chop the onion and garlic and put into a jug or small blender with the remaining paste ingredients.  Blend until smooth (I use a stick blender and a jug which I find which is the best way to make a spice paste as in a large blender, you often find bits get stuck).  You can make this earlier in the day and leave it covered in the fridge if you like.

When ready to cook, devein the prawns if liked (I prefer to if I have time) and quarter the mushrooms (or halve if small).

Heat a tsp of oil in a wok, add the paste and heat through.  Add the coconut milk (make sure if you're using half a can you use half of the thick stuff and half of the thin) and another tbsp fish sauce and bring to the boil.  Add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the prawns, after a minute add the cornflour (cornstarch) mixed with a little water before adding.  Bring to a bubble and put in the noodles.

Heat through then add the lime juice and chopped coriander (cilantro) then serve sprinkling with extra coriander (cilantro) leaf, lime and sliced red chilli if liked.

Make it Thrifty:

I buy frozen ginger as it means it doesn't go off.  It's not that different in price to fresh ginger and it's frozen in portions of about a tbsp.  For this, just allow it to defrost before making the paste.  I also buy raw prawns frozen.  The great thing about buying them frozen is you can be sure of the freshness and again you're not going to have the waste.  Or you could make it with vegetables instead.

In general I'm not a fan of the straight to wok noodles (sorry manufacturers), I find them too soft.  The only reason I used them here was because I couldn't get any dried rice noodles but you can make it far cheaper by using dried noodles and cooking as per pack instructions.

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Onion Bhajis for Toddlers and Grown ups

Onion bhajis or pakoras; is there a more convenient finger food?  They are so ridiculously easy and cheap to make yourself too and you can mix up the type of vegetables in them.  Here I've included a bit of carrot.

My son liked them but only the bits with smaller onion pieces, he found the long bits a bit stringy.  Next time I might make them with more finely chopped or grated vegetables.  He was a big fan of the spicy yoghurt dip though which surprised me.

Onion Bhajis - makes plenty for one adult and one child

Ingredients

100g, 3.5oz Gram (chickpea) flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 tsp Garam masala
1-2 tsp Medium or mild curry paste
110g, 4oz Onions, sliced
Half a carrot, finely grated
Juice of half a lemon

Oil to cook

Spicy yoghurt dip (optional)
1 tbsp yoghurt
2 tsp medium curry paste
1 tbsp mango chutney

Method

Mix the garlic, spices and lemon juice together.  Add the gram flour and mix to a thick paste with approx 10 tbsp water, add it slowly until it's a thick batter only just thinner than a paste.  Add in the onions and carrot mixing to coat.  Make it thicker rather than thinner.

Heat a couple of cm / an inch or so of oil in a deep frying pan until a small amount browns in 2 minutes.  You don't want it too hot.

Drop dessert spoons of the mix into the oil and fry on both sides until browned.  Drain on kitchen paper while you cook the rest.

Serve as a starter or a side dish with dhal or as I have here as a simple lunch with a spicy yoghurt dip and some rice cooked with peas.  For younger kids or ones less keen on spice they might just prefer to dunk into mango chutney.

If just making for grown ups or for kids who are more keen on spicy foods, add some chilli or use a hotter curry paste.  If your child is less keen on spicy foods, you could miss out the curry paste completely so they are flavoursome without being at all hot.

Make it Thrifty:

This is a pretty cheap recipe as it is but I believe you could make them with plain flour rather than buying chickpea flour but I've never tried it.  Another way to keep costs down is to use a wok to fry them as they often have a narrower tapered base so you use less oil.  Also keep an eye out for large packs of Indian spices in supermarkets.  They're often cheaper than the small branded supermarket ones.  If you share a big bag of garam masala with a friend it will cost you far less.

I've linked this up to the wellness weekend.

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Spinach and Potato Bites, great for babies and toddlers

I was out running this morning, as you do, and thought about something my Mum used to cook for us sometimes.  In retrospect I suspect it was a way to use up excess mashed potato but it was something I loved.  If I'm honest I was never a big fan of mashed potato on it's own and this mixed it up a bit.

So I made them smaller, added spinach and made these.  They were a big hit with my son.  I gave him 6 and he ate them all first off his plate, even before the fish fingers I served them with and he does love fish fingers (well we all need some time off).

This would be great as a first finger food.  They're still soft when baked.

Spinach and Potato Bites - Makes about 8 small swirly bites

Ingredients

40g Spinach, chopped finely
Spray oil
1 clove of garlic
100g Mashed potato
10g Extra mature (extra sharp) cheddar
1 tsp Milk
A few gratings of nutmeg

Method

Preheat the oven to 220oC, 420F, gas mark 7.

Fry the spinach with the whole clove of garlic in the spray oil until it's wilted, it only takes a couple of minutes.  Put in a bowl taking out the garlic and mix in the mash, cheddar, milk and nutmeg.

Line a baking tray or swiss roll tin with non stick baking paper.  Spray the paper with spray oil or brush with oil if you prefer.  Use a piping bag or piping syringe to pipe swirls onto the paper.  Spray or brush with oil and bake for 12-15 minutes or until hot through and brown.

It just so happens that January's Family Foodies challenge is all about 'hidden goodies'.  Is there a more appropriate challenge for Mamacook?  I think not!  So I've submitted this along with a few other recipes to Bangers and Mash and Eat your veg's challenge:

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