Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts

Monday, 24 February 2014

Review | McCain ready baked jackets

Hello everyone.  So today I'm going to be talking to you about these bad boys.  That's right McCains new microwavable jackets!  I'm not going to lie I was a bit unconvinced at first.  I mean I've had microwaved meals in the past and they are never as good as the real thing.  With these my first thoughts were that the potato was going to be dry and not very satisfying.  Was that true? Well let's find out.


So I popped these in the microwave for the suggested time it had on the back of the box which was for about 5 minutes.  Longer if I re-call if you were doing more than one potato.  I decided to cook one each for me and David for dinner that night.  Obviously this was a big dinner for David so no surprise he didn't each much of it.  He still enjoyed it though but he left about 3/4.  I'm not surprised though as these were quite filling and normally I eat a whole jacket no problem.  

Obviously the skin wasn't crispy cooking them via the microwave BUT you also have the option of cooking them in the oven if you wish.  To my delight these jackets were not more dry as any other normal potato I would of cooked from scratch.  I always add butter before I add my topping anyway, but I was expecting to add more then usual but I didn't have to which was nice.

The only bad thing I would say though is I had to bung them back in the microwave for a few minutes longer as they got quite cold quickly.  Maybe it's because they were done in the microwave?  I've never had that problem when baking potatoes in the oven.  I think these jackets are a good source of healthy eating in just minutes if your running late on dinner for your family if say you've been out for the day.  Or if your a student these would be a good thing to buy having one per night.  They are on sale at Asda for £2.50 for 4, Which is about 62p per jacket.  There is however the Asda own range which is basically the same (though I have not tried these) for just £2 which sets it at 50p per jacket.  Still quite expensive so I would wait until they went on offer. 

Obviously there is always buying potatoes and baking them from scratch but like I said previously these are good when you're short on time.  When putting all the factors together I'd give this a rating of 3.5/5.  There good quality potatoes and a healthy way of filling your tummy.  They are also a great quick meal for four BUT the price is quite expensive and they got cold quickly.  I hope you enjoyed my review and found it useful,  until next week folks!

What is your favourite jacket filling?

Monday, 10 February 2014

Four yummy eggs and bread recipes


Hi everyone!,  So today I'm going to be doing something which is rare on my parental blog and give you some recipes that you can do with just two main ingredients. That's right just simply using eggs and bread.  I'm pretty sure most households have these in their house.  It's quite easy though to forget that eggs aren't just for baking especially with all these quick, go snacks laying around.  I decided to make this post as I got asked if I would like to be an ambassador for British Lion Eggs, which got me thinking.  When was the last time I had eggs without needing them for baking sweet treats?  Shocking to my surprise it had been quite a long time.  Some of these you might find obvious some you might not.  Either way I hope it jogs your memory of some great egg recipes and if these don't tickle your taste buds then there are plenty more at www.eggrecipes.co.uk

All the recipes below are purely based on my memory and what I remember.  So please don't blame me if they don't come out perfect. Also these aren't my images as well as much as I love these recipes I've only done one of them in the past week and I was far too busy eating it to take pictures ha ha.

Eggy Bread

This recipe is one of my childhood favourites.  Not a lot of people know about this, I often say "mmm I really fancy some eggy bread" and they are just like "huh? what are you on about".

eggy_bread_frying_pan

Ingredients

  • Eggs (I start with 3 and add more depending on how many I'm cooking for)
  • bread (also depends how many you want)
  • a bit of oil to fry with
  • milk (optional)

How to

So first of all you'll want to get a bowl and crack your eggs in to said bowl.  My mum sometimes added a little bit of milk in but you don't have to if you don't want to.  Also feel free to add any salt and pepper to your desire.  Whisk until it is basically the same consistency as if you were making an omelette. When you've done that you'll want to heat up your frying pan with a bit of oil to stop anything from sticking.  For a more healthier option use some cooking oil spray.  Once you've done then then you'll be taking your slices of bread and dipping them into the eggy mixture making sure all of the bread has been covered.  Not too much though as you don't want it to break when you pick it up.  Once your satisfied you have enough on your bread then go ahead and place it in the frying pan and fry away!  Not forgetting to flip them every once in a while of course.  When cooked it should look lovely and golden and you can transfer it to a plate.  You can chose to put ketchup on it or heck even sugar!  That's right these can be treated as savoury or sweet.  Pretty cool huh?

Eggs on toast

Sounds pretty simple right?  Your correct it is but I absolutely LOVE it.  It's like the adults version to eggs and soldiers (though adults are always allowed to eat them too ;) )  For the past week I have had this twice it's a big craving of mine and I don't know why. 


Ingredients

  • 2 x eggs
  • 2 x slices of bread
  • a bit of oil to fry with

How to

This is very simple, first heat up your pan to a nice medium temperature. Once the pan is nice and hot crack your egg into the pan.  Whilst it is cooking away place your bread in the toaster and wait for that to pop up.  Go back to your eggs and once the white on top is no longer transparent then your egg is done.  Personally I prefer to flip my eggs over and "seal" the top.  Just incase the white on top isn't quite cooked. If your toast hasn't popped up still take your pan off the heat until they do.  Butter your toast if you like and then transfer the egg onto your toast.  You can try cooking both eggs in the frying pan at once but I personally like to cook them one at a time.

Ideas:
Why not try poached eggs on toast as an alternative;
If you have a metal shape cutter why not cut out your desired shape in your bread and then place the shape cutter in your frying pan and cook your eggs inside it.  Hearts are a cute idea.

Egg and soldiers

I think this is probably one that stays with you for life.  It's a great comfort food and one of those recipes that always tastes better if your someone else cooks it for you.  I always remember having these as a kid in the morning.  If I had an exam my dad would wake me up extra early to have a big breakfast and the table would be laid and porridge would be made and whilst I was eating that my dad would do me egg and soldiers.  Pretty sure I didn't need all that food but he would always say "you need your brain to kick start you've got an important exam today".


I'm not going to bother listing the ingredients because honestly all you need is an egg and a slice of bread.

How to

Start with a saucepan and fill it with enough water to cover an egg.  Put your egg inside the saucepan full of water and place on the hob on a high setting.  Once your water starts to boil it's time to set your timer (or mobile phone) to 3 minutes.  Whilst that is cooking place your bread inside the toaster and wait for it to pop up.  Once popped up, spread on some butter and cut long ways to make strips of toast to dunk in your egg.  When the timer goes off it's time to carefully spoon your egg out of the saucepan and place it in a eggcup.  Let it cool for a bit and then get a knife (or spoon whatever you find easier) cut the top off.  The white should be cooked and not runny. 

If your white is still runny then fear not!  What I do if that happens is I get a ladle and I place the egg carefully in it and gently dip part of the spoon in the water of the saucepan and let it boil for a bit longer. 

If your yolk is hard as well as your whites then don't worry you can still eat it.  What I did when this happened was to spoon out the yolk and then spread it on my toast.  Just as yummy but just maybe not as fun.

Egg Mayo

Ah a classic! I must say I always have loved egg mayo.  I remember being picked on in school for liking this sandwich filler because of "eww it smells I hate egg mayo".  Pfft like I care it's yummyyyy.  As much as I like this sandwich filler though I normally only make it when I am having a picnic outside at the park or garden with my friends or son.  Only because I feel it takes quite a lot of time and trust me when you have an impatient son like I do (yeah he gets that from me I'm just as bad) then timing is key.  Still though you can't beat an egg mayo sandwich!


Ingredients (serves 3)

  • 3 x eggs (about an egg per person)
  • slices of bread
  • Mayonnaise
  • Salad cream (optional)
  • Herbs, salt and pepper if desired.

How to

Right first things first you'll want to boil your eggs.  Fill a saucepan with enough water to cover all your eggs.  When they start to boil, leave them to boil for about 5 minutes.  This is to make sure they are hard.  Once they are boiled drain the water carefully out of the saucepan.  You can do this by carefully pouring the water and eggs into a colander.  Once the saucepan is empty carefully place the eggs back in the saucepan and put under a cold running tap.  This is much quicker then simply allowing them to cool in hot water.

Once the eggs are cold enough it's time to peel the shell.  The easiest way I have found is to wrap an egg in kitchen paper and roll them on the surface with a little pressure.  Much like you would with a lemon before cutting it.  This allows the shell around it to crack making it easier to peel.  Now all your eggs are peeled it's time to mash them. now there are two methods on how to do this (bedsides using a fork) that I have learnt and I shall share both.

Method 1 

Place all your eggs into your bowl and with a potato masher, mash the hell out of the eggs until they are a consistency to which you like.

Method 2 (my new favourite way)

My mum showed me this method after working in a kitchen at the local pub in her town.  Get a grater and on the side your normally grate cheese with grate the eggs into a bowl!  I find this a lot easier then a potato masher and I prefer the consistency.

After you have your eggs in bits get your mayonnaise and add two table spoons worth. My mum also liked to add one table spoon of salad cream, but you don't have to.  Add dash of salt and pepper and any herbs if you wish and then mix away.  Once all the ingredients have mixed together it's time to butter some beard and spread it on and voilĂ !  Your sandwich is done, phew! 

I hoped your liked this blog it's different to what I normally do but hopefully I've jogged a few of your childhood favourites :)  This post is an entry for the #ShortcutEggsperts Linky Challenge sponsored by British Lion Eggs. Learn more and find recipes at www.eggrecipes.co.uk

Monday, 16 December 2013

New family, new traditions

So the title may be a little mis-leading as I don't have a newish family, infact my first Christmas with David was last year but apart from the opening of presents and the dinner it didn't really FEEL like Christmas due to all the stress and what with us being cramped in a tiny 1 bedroom house.  This year I feel so much better I'm in a 2 bedroom house where David has his own bedroom and although I'm no longer with his father I am much happier.  So today I want to talk about the traditions I grew up with and the new traditions I want to introduce with my own family.

My childhood Christmas traditions (basically a rant)

So when I was younger Christmas well I think it made me more impatient then ever.  We would wake up and have our stockings.  Our stockings were pretty good not gonna lie but because they were knitted everything would get caught..all except the orange....typical.  Then you would think that we would go downstairs and open all our presents up....WRONG.  No infact we weren't allowed to open up our presents until after dinner.  When was dinner time I hear you ask?  Not until 3pm!  Yep that's right I swear Christmas was sometimes like hell. Dinner consisted of the average Christmas meal and of course we all had to say Amen and say thank you for the food.  You'd think my mum would be the one going round the table "have you got enough" but actually infact it was my dad.  Due to the Peter Kay sketch I call him the Rivita man. We also had to watch the Queen's speech every year (no offense queeny but when I'm growing up of course it's gunna be boring). Oh by the way before I get to the opening of presents I would just like to say that we were not allowed at all to decorate the tree in the way we liked, oh no.  My mum had a strict routine,  lights first, tinsel and beads second then decorations.  That sounds simple enough but wrong again certain decorations had to be put in certain places or they "wouldn't look right".

 Right back to the present so like I was saying we wouldn't be allowed to open our presents up until the afternoon (this being that this was the way mum was raised due to her mother (my nan) being chruchy and it was a tradition that Christians would not open presents up until after the afternoon Christmas service).  Not only did we have to wait agessss but we also had to take note of who they were from so we could write down the names to write thank you letters.  My mum also used to try and get us to open the presents up nicely so she could save the wrapping paper....yeah that never happened. After all that we sat down and played with our new toys and sometimes went round to visit our nan on Christmas if not boxing day as well.  We would sit there and play board games and watch my brother lose control and get angry 'cause he was a sore loser which was hilarious to watch.  Not to mention get fat eating cheese and watch my mum go through a whole packet of salted nuts and my dad the same with his bombay mix.  Christmas was good but it made me impatient and in the mornings made me angry with my mum but with the help of my siblings we slowly but surely changed that. (even if she still obsesses over that damn tree!)

My family traditions

So first of, my son and any future children I may have will be opening up their presents as soon as they wake up I am not gunna be stopping them.  Right got that out of my system, however lets start with Christmas eve.  I never have in my life got new PJ's on Christmas Eve I never even thought to start this tradition before I saw it on the net.  I looked at this Christmas Eve box that was going viral and thought....my god this is amazing and fun :D.  So from now on every Christmas Eve my son shall get a Christmas Eve box.  This year I shall be filling it with new PJ's, mini marshmallows, a new book to read before bed, a dvd to watch together, a new cup and a sachet of hot chocolate.

Next-chibi-avengers-PJs
chibi avenger PJ's from Next
When David wakes up he will wake to a stocking at the end of his bed (just like I did) this year it will be filled with: 4 bath toys, a bath book, another new book, play dough with number cutters, chocolate, an orange, whiteboard pens, cutlery set and a car.

stocking-fillers
Christmas-stocking
filled right to the top O_O
Then we shall start off with breakfast whilst he plays with his stocking. Breakfast this year will just be a normal breakfast though next year I shall be buying the little boxes of cereal you can get I always loved that as a child and think David will too. After that it's time to open up presents! I'll let David go mad (though I might have to help him a bit lol) we shall be swimming in wrapping paper and we all won't care as I'll see the smile on his face.  Normally I'd be making dinner at this point (well I would of put the turkey on the night before) though this year we are going out for Christmas dinner as I've been invited by Matt's parents. I've never eaten outside the house before on Christmas day so it should be a new and fun experience.  Whilst in the area I shall visit my family where we shall spend some time together.  After that go back and assemble all of David's presents if we have not done that before hand lol.  Next year will be difficult as I don't know what will happen with David and his fathers contact.  This year his father is to spend time with him on Christmas Eve,  I said to him that he can keep him for a bit longer as he won't have him Christmas Day.  Next year hopefully we shall get on better and he can have David on Christmas Day and I have David on boxing day though I admit it shall feel weird.  Though Christmas is just another day and I shall turn my boxing day into Christmas Day and make it extra special. Though I'm hoping in the future me and David's father can both spend Christmas together for David's sake and David can wake up here and his father can arrive early morning and we can both cook Christmas dinner and watch our son be happy together.  That's in the future though something that probably won't happen for a long time.

Well that's it for this blog....went on quite more then I thought I would ha ha.  I hope you have a fantastic Christmas!  Do you have any traditions any new ones?  If so please comment I would love to know ^_^.