Porridge Pancakes

Ive found the nicest way to make pancakes with porridge ,which is so simple and a firm favorite in our house. This portion will feed both mum and little one and is lovely with fruit and extra yogurt with it.  D & E had a brunch date recently and ate all there portion and ours too. Baby N wasnt too fussed but Im sure she will enjoy them another day.  This photo was from one for E who is 2 and a half now.  Obviously be careful with fruit sizes for younger little ones but they are really fluffy melt in the mouth pancakes so I'm sure you will be hooked in no time.

35 grams porridge
2 eggs
150-200 grams yogurt (flavour of your choice)

Mix / whisk all ingredients and if possible leave for a while, then as with any pancakes ladel onto hot pan and voila.  Judge consistency depending on size of eggs but you can always add extra porridge or yogurt if needed.

   Enjoy
Lolly :-)

Healthy nuggets, chips and beans :)

This evolved this evening from leftovers but I was delighted!

My "chicken" nuggets were actually leftover roast turkey breast, cut into strips. Beat two eggs with pepper and dip the strips in, then roll through oat bran for a crispy coating. Fry in a non stick pan til nicely golden, done! You can do this with chicken breast from raw too, same method, just make sure to cook til chicken is cooked through.

For my "chips" I actually made celeriac cubes. I've just recently discovered celeriac and I'm a bit in love.
Peel and dice a celeriac into 1cm cubes (ish, don't worry too much). Fry in a small bit of olive oil with a generous sprinkling of thyme (I use dried wild thyme) until toasty golden looking, then add 4 tablespoons of warm water and put the lid on. Turn the heat down and let it steam for about twenty minutes until tender, stirring occasionally.

Add simple baked beans on the side and there you have it, junk food that's good for you!

Baked Tomato Gnocchi

This one is so so tasty, and great warm comfort food! It's yum with a nice salad and some garlic bread.

You'll need:
2 packs of potato gnocchi
One bottle passata,
Plenty of garlic (to taste, we like A LOT, but around four cloves is a good place to start), finely chopped
Some good quality pesto
Two mozzarella balls, diced into centimetre cubes, maybe a little bigger.

What you do:

Gently fry the garlic in some olive oil for a few minutes, then add the passata and simmer for about five minutes. It's very spitty so you'll need a lid. Add in a good big dollop of pesto, I usually use half to two thirds of the jar. Stir and simmer.

Meanwhile, boil up some salted water in a big pan. Add the gnocchi. When the gnocchi start to float to the top, drain and add to the tomato mixture. Stir until everything's nicely coated, then pour into an oven dish. Sprinkle over your mozzarella cubes and bake at 180 until cheese is melted.

This is one of my favourite dinners along with some fresh salad (still like to get those veggies into the little guy!), and it's so so easy and quick for those tired nights.

Enjoy!

Fancy roasted sausages and veg

This recipe started as a Jamie Oliver one that a relative mentioned to me. It has been tweaked and twiddled to within an inch of its life but it's definitely one of my favourite dinners!

You need:
Sausages, any kind of sausages. I like to use the fancy fat ones (in packs of 6) like garlic and herb, this one was pork and apple.
One courgette, in thick slices.
A red and yellow pepper, sliced.
Cherry tomatoes, I like on the vine but it doesn't matter really.
Mushrooms.
Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh herbs (a couple of sprigs of rosemary is great but you can play around with it and it will still taste fab).

Bung the whole lot in a casserole dish, a drizzle of the oil and a decent splash of the vinegar. Add the herbs and some freshly ground black pepper and make sure it's nicely mixed. Oven for about an hour at 180, once the sausages are nicely brown it's done, just stir it up regularly. Serve with mash, yum!

Tip for the babies: Cut sausages along their length rather than into discs, the discs are more of a blockage hazard.

Easy chicken & chorizo tagliatelle

This is so quick and easy, and a nice gentle way to add a bit of spice to your little one's diet. Chorizo can have a high salt content like other salamis, but balance the rest of the day. D is over one so I have a little bit more leeway!

Excuse the extremely rude photo of D's mouth wide open but I thought it was funny! He savaged this.

This made a bit too much for two adults and one baby, but it's very adaptable. I cut it down from a recipe that was to serve 8 so you can fiddle with amounts and it will still be yum!

3 chicken breasts, in chunks,
1 tin chopped tomatoes,
Half to 3/4 of a small container of cream,
Chopped rosemary,
Chopped parsley,
Chorizo, chopped into discs (maybe 4 to 5 inches of the sausage, depending on how much you like),
Tagliatelle.

Melt a thick slice of butter in a large pan. Add the tin of tomatoes and a heaped tablespoon of chopped rosemary and cook on a medium heat til it starts to soften and look like a sauce. Season with salt and pepper, and a half teaspoon of sugar.

Add the chicken and chorizo, along with about a tablespoon of chopped parsley. Add your cream and leave to simmer for 5 to ten mins, til the chicken is cooked. Serve with tagliatelle and top with grated parmesan.

Easy peasy!

*As I say, chorizo is high in salt, so you can use unsalted butter and leave out the salt from seasoning if you wish. I'd recommend this for babies under one, leave off the parmesan for them too.

Paprika Chicken

This is a one pot dish, so minimal cleanup, win!

Ingredient amounts are up to your own eye really, I was cooking for two adults and a baby and I WAY overdid it! It does freeze well though if you want.

You need (what I used):
3 chicken breasts,
Mushrooms,
Red and yellow peppers,
Half a sweet potato,
1 onion,
Garlic,
Peas and sweetcorn are nice in it too, but I forgot today!
Rice,
Paprika,
Thyme,
500ml (ish) chicken or veg stock,
Cheese (any you like really, coarsely grated. I used some garlic and herb and some chilli and it worked really nicely)

Use a large deep frying pan or cooker top casserole dish and fry the chicken until golden brown on the outside. This only takes a minute, you don't need to cook it through yet. Set the chicken aside.

Fry the onions and garlic til soft, then throw in the uncooked rice and stir continuously for 5 minutes.

Add the vegetables, stock, and about a teaspoon each of paprika and thyme. Mix well, then place the chicken breasts on top (maybe dig 'em down a little bit!).

Cover and turn the heat down, then let simmer for about 25 minutes or so, or until the chicken is cooked through and the liquid pretty much absorbed.

Sprinkle over another teaspoon each of paprika and thyme, then your grated cheese. Spread it around but make sure you get plenty on the chicken, it's tasty! Pop the pan under the grill til the cheese melts and you're done!

This is good for any age, just use the low salt baby stock. Might be better for little ones who have pincer grip, but even if not, little handfuls will stick together til they get to the mouth!

Enjoy!

Beams

2 Quick and easy lunchs made with Toast.

 There is nothing that gives me mammy guilt more than when I'm running late when out and about and get home and E is shouting at me for lunch. The last few weeks have been very busy for us and this has happened a few days  so  Ive had very little time to prepare healthy lunches. She is almost 14 months now and gone are the days where I can buy some time with rice crackers! Here's a few of our favorites that can be made in less than 5 minutes.
 
Apple and cheese on toast
This recipe is from the river cottage baby and toddler cookbook . E and I love this and Ive even a mammy  and daddy version too.

2 slice of bread (1 each!)
A little unsalted butter
1 apple- (We prefer granny smith but any desert apple is good also.)
70g Cheddar

~Peel and then grate apple
~Toast bread lightly
~Spread unsalted butter then apple and then cheese on top and pop under grill for a couple of minutes until cheese is golden and bubbling.

For a nice mammy (and daddy) version, spread tomato relish(We love Ballymaloe relish) on toast instead of butter, and make the same way :-)I also sometimes add a few drops of Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce too.
                                          
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Simple Guacamole on toast - This amount makes enough to spread on approx 4 slices

Bread
Unsalted butter
1 avocado
Juice of 1/2 a large lemon
tablespoon of tomato purée
finely chopped red onion
black pepper to season(I also like a to use little chilli flakes sometimes)

~simply scoop out avocado, mash with all ingredients and spread on toast.  
 Obviously there are lots of lovely Guacamole recipes but this is one that really couldn't be any simpler but still really tasty. 

Enjoy~ Lolly