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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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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Honey Ginger Glazed Tuna

Glazed tuna, a pretty tasty invention, I have a feeling this would work with any kind of robust oily fish.  The idea is you add the flavour after the cooking so you don't get issues with the sweet sauce burning in the pan.  I enjoyed this and have made it twice already, what's more, fresh or frozen tuna is a great source of Omega 3 (tinned isn't).  It's also great to make something like tuna the star of the show when so often it's just bunged in a sandwich as a cheap protein source, although I have to admit my favourite way to have tuna is sushi but with the sweet gingery notes, this still hits the mark.

This isn't mad spicy so should be fine for kids but no babies please as it contains honey.

Honey and Ginger Glazed Tuna - Serves 2 adults

Ingredients

2 tbsp grated ginger
2 tbsp honey
2 tsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp Sweet Chilli Sauce
1 tsp Sesame Oil
2 Tuna Steaks
Spray oil
Stir fried vegetables and noodles or salad and rice to serve

Method

Mix the ginger, honey, soy, chilli sauce and oil together in a bowl and put to one side.

Cook the rice or noodles.  Fry the tuna steaks for a couple of minutes on each side or until done on the outside and still pink in the middle (fully cook for young kids).  Put onto a warm plate and spoon on some of the glaze.

In the meantime, finish cooking the rice or noodles and stir fried vegetables or this would be great with a shredded salad.

Serve drizzling more of the glaze onto the fish and vegetables if liked.

Make it Thrifty

Look out for frozen tuna steaks in the freezer section and defrost before using, they're much cheaper than fresh.

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Nasi Goreng for kids

Nasi Goreng is a spicy Indonesian Fried rice dish based on peanuts.  You can do as much of the 'faffing' in this recipe as you like but the basic idea is a paste, rice, some protein and some vegetables.  I've made this to be reasonably mildly spiced so kid friendly but up the chilli if just cooking for adults (if you like, it's still blooming tasty as it is!)

As spring is in the air, I even got outside for my lunch!

Nasi Goreng - Serves 1 hungry adult or 1 adult and 1 toddler

Ingredients

For the spice paste (you will only need half for this, store the rest in the fridge for a couple of days or the freezer)
1 tbsp smooth peanut butter
30g, 1 oz onion
1 tbsp ginger
1 dried chilli - use a mild one if liked (or a spicier one if the family are keen)
Juice of one lime

60g, 2oz Basmati rice
Large handful of frozen peas or French beans
1 Clove garlic
2 tsp Soy sauce

Remainder of onion (not used for the paste)
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 egg
Coriander (cilantro) to serve

Cooked mackerel or prawns*

Method

Blend the spice paste ingredients in a food processor until blended.

Boil the rice for 10 minutes adding the peas or beans in for the last 3 minutes (if frozen, if fresh, add them for the last 4 minutes).

In the meantime, cut the onion left from making the spice paste into thin slices.  Fry in the oil in a wok or frying pan until browned and drain on kitchen paper.

Empty most of the oil out of the wok, reserving some and put back on the heat.  Whisk up the egg with a little water and fry to make a very thin omelette.  Once cooked, put to one side.

When the rice is cooked, drain.  Put a tsp of the oil back into the wok and fry the paste for a minute with the garlic (remember you're only using half of the paste).  Add the rice / vegetable mix and 2 tsp soy sauce.  Cook it all together for a minute and serve topped with the mackerel or prawns, slices of omelette, onions and coriander (cilantro).

* To cook mackerel fillets, just place on a baking tray and cook in an oven for approx 15 minutes or alternatively fresh or leftover barbecued fish would be awesome with this.

Make it Thrifty

Look out for value or smart price packs of Basmati rice.  Although you often get more broken grains, the flavour is still just as good.

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

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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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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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Broccoli frittata for babies, toddlers and the whole family

I'm in a frittata place at the moment.  Blimey, how middle class does that sound?  It shouldn't.  Frittatas are so cheap to make and they're a great way to get vitamin D in the diet and also include some hidden vegetables.  Great for the reluctant vegetable eater in your life (although perhaps chop up a little smaller so they don't see them!)

Broccoli Frittata Serves 1 adult and 1 toddler easily

Ingredients

70g, 2.5oz smoked bacon, chopped
100g, 3.5oz broccoli
3 eggs
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
60g, 2oz Extra mature (sharp) cheddar, grated
Spray oil or oil to grease

Method

Preheat the oven to 180oC, 350F, Gas mark 4.

Chop the broccoli into small florets or pieces (see "make it thrifty" below) put in boiling water on a hot hob for 4 minutes, then drain and refresh under cold water.

Meanwhile, chop up the bacon and fry in a dry non stick frying pan.

Once the bacon is cooked, mix the egg, milk, cornflour, cheddar, broccoli and bacon together.

Line a 15-17cm, 6-6.5inch round baking dish with non stick baking paper (mine flares out a bit from the base from this diameter).  Spray or grease with oil.  Pour in the frittata mixture.

Bake for 15-20 minutes (it took 15 in my oven).

Leave to cool for a bit, it's better served warm or cold rather than hot.  This is what makes it a great food for kids who take their time over food but also it's great if cooking for one as the leftovers can go in your lunchbox.

For very young babies, chop up the vegetables very finely and perhaps reduce the bacon a bit as it can be a bit salty.

Serve with vegetables or salad.  Somehow even though these aren't necessarily summery ingredients, frittata feels summery even on the most dreary day.  This was the view out of the window as we were eating.

Make it Thrifty:

A pretty cheap recipe as it is but make it cheaper by making use of the broccoli stalk as well as the florets.  Just trim off the end and cut into an approx 1cm / half inch dice and cook like normal broccoli florets.  In the above photos, I used approx half and half florets to diced stalk, I think you'd agree, you'd struggle to spot that!

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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Anchovy and Broccoli Pasta

I started this blog to get a bit of myself back while I was on maternity leave but one thing I didn't expect was how it would push me to be more creative with my son's food.  One thing I'm very bad at though is cooking just for myself.

If there are other people around I'll go to huge amounts of effort and, don't get me wrong, I do enjoy cooking but I also have 30 hours of work to do in an average day and I kind of like to get some sleep.  The amount of times I've slung some oven chips in while cleaning up or doing an exercise video.  It's not good.

So I'm making an early resolution (why wait till New Year's anyway?)  I promise to respect myself more when cooking for one.

So you might start to see a few more grown up meals on here which are quick, easy and contain my favourite ingredients!

And so we come to anchovies... A pizza isn't a pizza without anchovies but I struggle to get through a whole tin and so often end up throwing half a tin away.  I'm also someone who loves broccoli.  My sister told me about a recipe she made featuring both.  I had a look around at what I could find but frankly didn't like any recipes out there, so me being me, made up my own.  I thought it was pretty good.  I'm not sure I'd use spaghetti next time.  The sauce was a little chunkier than I intended so probably a shaped pasta would be better but it was blooming delicious.

Anchovy and Broccoli pasta - Serves 1 adult

Ingredients

75g of the dried pasta of your choice (or more if you're hungry)

90g Broccoli florets

1 Clove garlic

4 Anchovy fillets, chopped

1 tsp Olive oil

1 tsp Pesto

Grating of parmesan to serve if liked

Method

Put the pasta on to cook; 5 minutes before the end of cooking time, add in the broccoli.

In the meantime, heat the oil and add the chopped garlic and anchovies to the pan.  Fry on a very gentle heat, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.

Once cooked, drain the pasta, reserving the water.  Take out and mash the broccoli with a fork.  Stir into the anchovy / garlic mix on a low heat with some pesto and a tbsp or so of the cooking water.

Stir in the pasta then turn into a bowl topping with parmesan if liked.

Devour in front of your favourite TV shows.  After all, there has to be some benefits to being on your own!

Make it Thrifty:

If you do use some anchovies on a pizza, put the remainder of the tin in a jar and cover with olive oil. Put in the fridge and they'll keep for a few days so you can make this!

Like this?  Bet you'll love this Mushroom pasta!

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Soba Noodle Salad

I've not tried this with my son yet but he has similar dishes with hot noodles so I see no reason not to try.  Certainly a meal for adults though or older kids and despite the humble ingredients it's substantial enough to make you feel you've really eaten something.

Soba noodles are made with buckwheat.  They are often served chilled in Japan so having them in a salad isn't a big leap.  Buckwheat if pure, is gluten free.  If you are following a gluten free diet, make sure your noodles specifically say 'gluten free' and also check the sauces you're using.  Soy sauce would be more authentic but I only had fish sauce which makes this non vegetarian.  Substitute for Soy Sauce (or wheat free Tamari) if you prefer.

Soba Noodle Salad - serves 1 grown up

Ingredients

Sauce

2 tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce
1 tbsp Fish Sauce (or Soy Sauce)
1/2 tsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp Smooth peanut butter

For the Salad

90g, 3oz Soba Noodles
5cm / 2 inches of Cucumber
Half a Carrot
Approx 10 Sugar snap peas (Snap peas)

A small handful of unsalted, chopped peanuts to garnish (optional, exclude if giving to younger kids due to the choking risk or substitute for sesame seeds)

Method

Cook the noodles following pack instructions.

While the noodles are cooking, mix the sauce ingredients, it will be fairly thick so you might need one of those dinky whisks.

Cut the carrot and cucumber into julienne strips and the sugar snap peas into thick slices.

Drain and cool the noodles under running water.  Mix the drained noodles with the sauce and vegetables.

Put into a bowl and top with peanuts if using.

Make it Thrifty:
To save money as unsalted peanuts are always strangely expensive; rinse the salt of unsalted peanuts and use immediately.
Swap soba noodles for regular noodles

I've linked this up to the wellness weekend.

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Lettuce Wrapped Pork for Adults

Another quick and easy recipe, less than 10 minutes to make.  Great when the grown ups are hungry once your little one is in bed.

This is based upon a kind of Thai version of Yuk Sung.  My brother in law who is an excellent cook used to make this when I came to visit as a student.  Much to my shame I didn't ask for the recipe but this is what I remember it tasting like.

Lettuce Wrapped Pork - serves 2 adults

Ingredients

1 Small onion, thinly sliced in half moons
1 tsp Vegetable oil
350g, 12 oz Pork mince (or you could use chicken or turkey mince)
2 Cloves of garlic
2 tsp Chopped root ginger

Sauce ingredients
1 Hot dried chilli
Juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp Fish Sauce
2 tsp Sugar

To finish
1 tsp Cornflour (cornstarch)
30g Unsalted peanuts
A handful of coriander (cilantro)

To serve
Leaves of iceberg lettuce

Method

Mix the sauce ingredients together and set aside.

Slice the onion, chop the garlic and ginger.

Prep the lettuce.  Carefully separate each leaf, keeping it as whole as possible and rinse.

Heat a wok with the oil on a hob and add the pork, onion, garlic and ginger.  Stir until the pork is cooked.  Add in the sauce, bubble for a bit.  Mix the cornflour with cold water to make a paste and pour onto the pork.  You should find the sauce thickens and sticks to the pieces of pork.

I have to admit, I cheat and use salted peanuts and rinse off the salt (they're cheaper).

Add in the peanuts to the pork, stir in the coriander and serve.  Put a spoonful into a leaf of lettuce, wrap up and eat!

Update Made this again with turkey mince this time.  Super healthy and easily halved to cook for one.  Much cheaper, quicker and healthier than getting a takeaway!

I've linked this lovely old recipe up to the Spice Trail Ginger challenge.

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Spicy Baked Chicken for Grown Ups

I cooked this for the first time when I was in on my own.  My son is in bed by 7pm and I'm not used to eating before his bedtime routine so I try and get something ready for when he's in bed.  This often means something quick or something I can sling in the oven while he's having his pre bed milk.

That said, it's still difficult on your own.  It's difficult to motivate yourself to eat well and I do prefer to eat reasonably healthy food.  This is so easy though that even the least motivated and tired parent will manage it.

Spicy Baked Chicken - Serves 1 tired Mummy

Ingredients

2 Skinless, boneless chicken thighs

Marinade
1 tbsp Thai Chilli Sauce or Chilli Dipping Sauce
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
Juice of half a lime
1/4 tsp Ground Coriander
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Grated Root Ginger

Salad
Strips of cucumber
1 tsp Soy Sauce
2 tsp Rice or White Wine Vinegar
1/2 tsp Sugar

To serve, sesame seeds (optional)

Method

Mix all of the marinade ingredients together then rub into the chicken, cover and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Cook in an oven at 200oC / 400F / Gas Mark 6 until cooked through and sticky.

Mix salad ingredients apart from the cucumber together then mix in with the cucumber.

Serve the chicken, salad and rice if liked sprinkled with sesame seeds if liked.

I'd love to say this was good cold but I've got no idea.  It was tasty hot!  I suspect it would be pretty good though which is why I've linked it up to the allergy friendly lunchbox linky.

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