Category: easy recipes

Simple yet looks good!

INGREDIENTS:

Pasta of your choice
Sun-dried tomatoes (straight from a jar)
Black olives (from most supermarkets or speciality stores)
Feta cheese
Balsamic vinegar
Flaxseed oil (I got a bottle of flaxseed oil as it has more anti-oxidants than olive oil. #1 and #3 need to keep their immunity up these next few months before their PSLE & ‘O’s)

Gourmet lunch from a jar

Boil the pasta as per normal, top with tomatoes, olives and cheese. Drizzle with vinegar and oil. Ready to serve!

#1 loves such atas food… but not the other kids. They prefer the usual tomato or cream based ones. So I do this for her on days when she’s back at an odd hour of lunch at 4pm when the rest have already eaten.

Sane tip: Really easy to make.

Save tip: The cost of the ingredients is equivalent to one plate at a restaurant, but here I can make her 4 servings!

Salmon and sweet potato salad

I concocted this one with fresh vegetables which I had on hand.

INGREDIENTS:

Raw salmon cut into strips
Sweet potato cut into cubes
Tomato cut into wedges
Japanese cucumber sliced thinly
Lettuce shredded
Large onion cut into rings

Make sure the sausage is in the middle of the strand

Step 4: Prepare a pot of boiling water. Add some salt.
Step 5: Put the spaghetti into the water and cook for about 10-15 minutes.
Step 6: Remove the spaghetti and drain.
Step 7: Ready to serve!

Tropical salad

1 packet of mixed salad leaves (eg. baby spinach or rocket)
1 large mango
1 apple
1 avocado
A handful of cherry tomatoes
A handful of cranberries
A handful of pine nuts

Dressing:
2 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon of honey

Chop everything up, mix the dressing and toss everything together. Easy!

#2 made some Salami and Cheese rolls from scratch. Click here for the recipe of the dough. After rolling the dough out into thin layers, she cut them into squares and topped them with salami and mozzarella cheese. They were baked in the oven at 200C for 20 minutes.

Duck and Sweet Potato salad

Ingredients: (Serves 1)

4. I sprinkled a handful of chia seeds on top. I love adding chia seeds into their food as it’s a great way to up their Omega-3, iron, calcium and fibre intake.

Sane tip: Salads are easy to make and can be whipped up in 15 minutes.

Save tip: You can replace the duck with any other meat or leftovers.

8) Put the ham onto the egg before it solidifies entirely

3) Cover the jug with cling film and put in a warm place to prove – it will froth up and a foam will form on top of the yeast mixture. It will take about 15 minutes to prove.

2) Crush the garlic and remove the skin. Chop it finely
3) Peel the onion and chop it finely

7) Carefully pour in the yeast mixture
8) Add the olive oil
9) Mix it with your hands until it comes together

10) Turn the dough onto a clean work surface
11) Knead the dough continuously for about 5 minutes until it is smooth and firm
12) It may be a little tiring but keep going! You are doing great!
13) The dough should be firm and smooth.
14) Make it into a ball shape
15) Sprinkle a bit of flour into a large, clean mixing bowl
16) Put the dough into the bowl and press it down gently
17) Cover the bowl with cling wrap and leave it in a warm place to prove for an hour
18) It should rise and double in size

19) Drizzle the olive oil in a saucepan on medium heat
20) Add the garlic and onion and fry for a couple of minutes until translucent
21) Add the caster sugar
22) Add the chopped tomatoes
23) Add the tomato puree and stir well
24) Put the lid on and let the tomatoes simmer for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally until the sauce thickens

25) Turn off the heat and pour the sauce into a blender

28) Put it aside (any left overs can be kept in the fridge for 4 days and used in pasta dishes)

29) After an hour, remove the dough from the warm place and take off the cling wrap
30) Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and press it down to get some of the air out
31) Turn it out onto a floured work surface
32) Knead the dough for 30 seconds to knock the air out
33) Cut into a few pieces and roll them out separately into large circles
34) Sprinkle more flour if your dough is sticking onto the work surface
35) Roll it out as thin as you can
(this time, her dough didn’t turn out very well as she did not have enough time to wait and she proved the yeast in the oven at 115C which is too hot)

36) Put each pizza base on a baking paper and add toppings of your choice. Finish off with mozzarella cheese

Her friends arrived in time to help roll out the dough

37) Cook the pizza in a pre-heated oven at 200C for about 15 minutes

It should be crispy and golden brown on the top

Looks ugly but it’s really yummy!

By the time lunch was ready, everyone was starving and every time a piping hot pizza came out of the oven it was gobbled up in minutes!

Sane tip: Depending on how many people the child is cooking for (and the age of the child), they may run out of steam half way through. Do anticipate this and be prepared to help out or take over. Most of the time and effort actually comes from making the dough. For a simpler alternative (which is what I do if it was a weekday meal) I will use those ready made bases like Pita base or other alternatives which you can find at the bread section and just add the toppings.

Save tip: It is cheaper than eating at a pizza restaurant.. and it definitely tastes better!

~   mummywee – parenting 6 kids without going mad or broke  ~