When all else fails…. make cup cakes.
Nothing better than warm from the oven rhubarb and oat cupcakes on a bad day.
Recipe?
Um, I just kind of make it up as I go along but…
Cook up some rhubarb with some water, sugar and a handful of oats. Then add that to a basic cupcake or muffin mix with some added cinnamon and/or all spice. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar before you bake!
In a perfect world my favourite food would just arrive on my table every night without me having to lift a finger. This is especially desirable towards the end of pregnancy and in the early days of new baby-ness.
Except it isn’t going to happen.
We can’t even save up and opt in for a week or two of home delivered take out – no one delivers to us out here in the paddocks.
I know I have some wonderful friends and family who will help out with the magic food thing, but they all have their own families to feed. Plus, I suddenly find myself with two picky eaters which can make things even trickier.
I am not complaining really. Up until recently all my kids have eaten pretty much everything – bar one or two dislikes. And for all the girl’s current pickiness they still eat very well. It’s just that the things they have stopped eating are all the things I would have cooked in big batches and frozen for easy pre and post baby meals.
For example – My kids don’t eat spaghetti bolognaise.
I know, pick yourself up floor, it’s true. The most kid friendly, and freezer friendly meal of all time is one thing that all three of them turn their noses up at. Life was not meant to be easy hey.
So here I am trying to compile a list of meals that the majority of us Pickles will eat, and that I can cook in advance and freeze and I’m struggling. So far my list has three things on it…
Chilli (yes they will eat a mild chilli con carne but not spag bol – go figure)
Chicken soup.
Meat and vegie pot pies – figure I can cook up the filling to freeze and wack them in the pots with a circle of pastry on the night.
Anyone care to help out with some suggestions?
I can’t kid myself any longer. There is no chance of hanging onto the last remnants of Summer today. The sky is cloudy, the wind has that chilly bite to it and to top it off I heard them forecasting snow on the radio this morning (though not down as low as our mountain!) It’s definitely Autumn with Winter fast approaching.
In a bid to ‘Make the best of things‘ I’m looking hard to find some positives to the colder months. Among those ‘positives’ is the change over from our Spring/Summer menu to our Autumn/Winter menu.
It’s not as fancy as it sounds, and many meals will stay the same, but it’s refreshing and pleasing to think about switching out salads for soups, looking at what fruit and veggies are going to be around and hunting down a few new recipes to try. And, you know, “a change is as good as a holiday” – or so they say!
So here’s our Autumn/Winter menu ideas…
Pasties – Planning With Kids has a great recipe.
Meat Pies/Pot Pies
Empanadas – going to try the basic dough recipe from Buttons Magee
Chilli with cheese bread
Meat balls
Meat loaf
Mexi Bake
Chicken Mushroom Pasta
Chicken Noodle Soup
Minestrone Soup
Pizza /peekaboo pizza bread
Tuna Mornay – my girls love tuna, just not with cheesy sauce but I’m giving this recipe from Innerpickle a go anyway!
Slow Cooker Chicken and Lentils – this will be my first foray into the world of slow cooker meals.
Fried Rice
Stir fry with home made egg noodles – if I am brave enough to have a go at these
Indian Chicken with Naan Bread
Sausages with cheesy vegetable rice.
Roast – we are planning to save up to maybe have a nice roast every now an then!
So what is your favourite winter dinner?
Care to share your favourite winter recipe?
photo by net_efekts via flickr
While out driving the other day The Baldy Boy discovered an ancient apple tree on a country back road.
He came home with five HUGE bags of apples!
I’ve been pealing and coring apples every day for more than a week. They are deliciously tart when eaten fresh. We’ve eaten stewed apples till they are coming out our ears. We’ve made Apple and rhubarb pie, apple muffins and many variations of apple in pastry. We bought a juicer and made apple juice (any tips on how long apple juice will keep?). We’ve given away bags of apples and I’ve even frozen a fair few bags of stewed apples, for the day, a long way in the future, when we are no longer over eating stewed apples!
But we still have apples.
So come on people…. hit with your best apple recipes so I can use up the last of this fabulous free apple stash!
We made these Ricebubble (or Rice Krispy if you live on the other side of the world) Treat eggs to give as little Easter gifts to friends and family this weekend. Thanks to Kitchen Simplicity’s Three No-Bake Easter Treats post for the great idea. (found via Simple Bites)
My one tip… pop the mix in the fridge to cool down a little before trying to form them into eggs, otherwise all you’ll get is really sticky ricebubbly hands!
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