NanoWrimo Rules

I won NanoWrimo this year for the second year running!

www.nanowrimo.org

NanoWrimo is a yearly event. You write a 50,000 word novel during the 30 days of November. if you manage this monumental task, then you qualify for a free proof from Create Space. Highly recommended if your husband has lots of films he wants to watch for a month!

Downside: I could get used to this nightly writing lark and he's now used to controlling the telly!!

Sweet Christmas Treats - Gingerbread

Actually you don't have to wait for Christmas for this one - my kids beg me to make it for them all year round!

You need:
3 tablespoons golden syrup
100 g/4 oz cooking margerine
50g/2 oz sugar

These are all melted in a pan together.

Then you need

300g/12 oz plain flour
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
i beaten egg
2 tsp ground ginger

Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the melted ingredients to the dry ingredients.

The mixture is now extrememly sticky. You need to chill it for a while so that it sets a little. I usually chill for about an hour. Then take it out, and using plenty of flour you can roll it out and cut it into shapes.

The thicker you leave the mixture, the softer it is when it is cooked.

Heat the oven to 190 C/

Cook the gingerbread for 8-10 minutes only or it will burn.

Yum Factor is *****

Enjoy!

Lazy Sundays

No such thing in my house! I like to do a full roast whenever possible, including sauces, stuffing and yorkshire pudding where appropriate. Is it healthy home cooking? It can be.

This week, I roasted a silverside of beef, and added roast potatoes, carrot and swede mash, cauliflower, peas, yorkshire pudding and gravy.

I use spray cooking oil to roast my potatoes and it greatly reduces the fat you use. I use the whole potatoes to work out how many I need and then peel and chop them. I then put them in boiling water and bring it back up to the boil for two or three minutes.

I use olive oil cooking spray and squirt a few times into a pyrex dish. Then I tip in the hot potatoes and spray some more. Then they go in the oven. For me the temperature of the oven depends on what else is cooking. Usually the meat is still in there so the temperature of the oven is at about 190 degrees C. Having said that, if the meat is cooked and you want the potatoes sooner, then put it up to 220 for faster cooking.

Finally you can also use spray oil for parsnips although I don't usually parboil them first.

Happy home cooking!

Eight Reasons to Cook Tonight

Why cook your own food?

We all have pressures - the school run, the pick-up run, the husband run. Planning a list, shopping then preparing and cooking - sometimes it all seems too much effort!

Next time you're tempted to pick up that ready meal in the supermarket, think on these things:

1. When you cook a meal, you put a little of your own heart into it.
2. This can be a downside or an up (glass half full, anyone?) but you can cater for the family just as they want it.
3. You know how much salt and sugar you have put into a meal.
4. You know how fresh the ingredients are that you have used.
5. You know how long the meal has been made. (Lead times on pre-prepared food can be scary!)
6. You save money
7. You add ingredients or not according to your family's tastes. (Some people hate garlic!)
8. You're in control of your family's eating.

I'm sure there are more and there may be later...!

Enjoy your healthy home cooking and do add your own comments.

Holiday Home Cooking

I've just been on holiday this week in Kent in the UK. We packed a whole lot of cooking stuff to take with us, but one of the best things we took was our slow cooker.

You go out for the day and come back to a home cooked meal. We used ours twice to do a casserole and a roast chicken. Yes, you heard that right - a roast chicken!

To roast a chicken you need to brown it in a frying pan first. This is the tricky bit and involves a bit of spitting fat (not something my husband likes) and juggling the bird with two spatulas.

When you are happy with the colour of the bird, add it to the pot along with some onion and carrot and seasoning. Some recipes add water, not not all. Then leave to cook.

We left ours with water and seven hours later, the meat fell from the bone. We had enough stock for chicken soup and enough meat for two meals. (We made a curry later in the week.)

Absolutely delicious and highly recommended.

Wraps rather than sandwiches

Hi,
Today's Healthy Home Cooking Tip.

A tasty alternative to sandwiches can be to use a tortilla wrap instead of the bread. Wraps come in plain, wholemeal or even seeded, so there are plenty of varieties to choose from.

You can spread half the wrap with salad cream or mayonnaise, then add a slice or two of cooked meat. Add some iceberg lettuce and sliced tomatoes and you have a very tasty lunch. You can substitute cheese for the sandwich meat. Children often enjoy wraps - no dry crusts to munch!

Or make a hot wrap. Cook some breaded chicken fillets or goujons in the oven. Spread the wrap with relish (tomato and red pepper is really nice!) and add the hot chicken and some softened onions and peppers before wrapping and eating.

Mmmm scrummy and still healthyy home cooking!

Slow Cooking

Hi,
Welcome to the Healthy Home Cooking Blog.

Using a slow cooker is one of the best tips I can give. They come in family-sized these days and are not too expensive. Mine is an oval 6.5 litre slow cooker and it can fit a medium chicken!

We took ours on holiday this year and it was great to come home after a day out to a ready-cooked meal. You use the ingredients from scratch, and can use cheaper cuts of meat as the soaking for four to eight hours really makes it tender. There are plenty of slow cooker recipe books out there to choose from, but many recipes can be adapted that you already do. The chilli recipe mentioned on the last post for example.

A slow cooker recipe
Try this:

Sweet and Sour pork

Lean boneless pork (enough for your family)
Plain flour
onion
celery
2 or 3 carrots
4 table spoons wine vinegar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons tomato puree
pineapple juice (from tin of pineapple rings)
pineapple rings (add about half hour from end, chopped up)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
water (just enough to cover about 3/4 of ingredients in the slow cooker)

Coat the pork in the flour and then brown the meat in a frying pan. Soften the vegetables next, then add everything to the pot. Some slow cookers recommend heating the pot first - so check instructions.

The meal should take about four hours on high and about six hours on medium.

Either bring home some nice Chinese microwave rice or put it with some easy cook rice boiled for about 15 minutes (or whatever it says on the packet).

Mmmm. Just off to get some pork...!

Do leave your favourite recipe ideas on the Healthy Home Cooking blog.

Tasty chilli

Hi,
Welcome to my healthy home cooking blog.

My husband made dinner last night. He's pretty good at it too. He made a chilli with a recipe he found on the web.

When I do chilli, I use minced beef, onions, peppers, a tin of chopped tomatoes, some powdered chilli, maybe some real chilli (if the kids aren't sharing it!) and paprika and garlic.

He added cumin and some real tomatoes into the mix!

I have to say it was absolutely gorgeous! So that's the tip of the day - add cumin to your chilli!


Have you got any tips for the Healthy Home Cooking blog? Do write a comment and let me know.

Pass it on!
Love Sassie x

Welcome to Healthy Home Cooking Blog

Hi,
Welcome to my healthy home cooking blog. I hope to share tips, ideas and recipes to help you cook delicious meals for your family.

Please feel free to comment on this blog and share your own thoughts and ideas. I look forward to hearing from you on the Healthy Home Cooking Blog.

Best wishes,
Sassie C x