Cumin Topped Lamb Steaks

Lamb is a meat that we simply do not have enough. I always try to cook lamb at Easter and then it tends to become the forgotten meat for the rest of the year.

When I saw some lovely, lean lamb steaks that were half price I snapped them up.

When you think of lamb you immediately think mint. However there are so many other herbs and spices that go perfectly with lamb. Like cumin. That is what I have used in this easy, summer time meal.

This is what I did...

Cumin Topped Lamb Steaks

Ingredients

Lamb steaks
Whole cumin seeds
2 courgettes, grated
1 red pepper, chopped
1 red onion, sliced
New potatoes

Method

1 - Place the new potatoes in a pan of boiling water and simmer until cooked.

2 - Grill the lamb steaks under a medium heat for 10 minutes on one side before turning.

3 - Turn the steaks and sprinkle on the whole cumin seeds, amount depending on taste, and return under the grill for a further 10 minutes.

4 - While the lamb steaks finish cooking heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and add the courgettes, red pepper and red onion. Fry until the onions and pepper start to soften but still have a bit of crunch.

5 - To serve place a bed of courgettes, red peppers and red onion on a plate. Top with the lamb steak and finish with new potatoes.

This is meal is delicious served al fresco in the summer sun.

Enjoy x

I am sharing my recipe with

A Mummy Too - Recipe of the Week
Honest Mum - Tasty Tuesdays

How Does Your Garden Grow? - Week 30

This week I am going to share pictures from both our garden and my Grandad's garden.

I spent the morning there at the beginning of the week and took a walk around the garden with the children. I only took a few pictures but wanted to share them as I have so many memories playing there.

As for our garden, the front garden has been dramatically transformed into a drive! Over the last two and a half days we have watched the wonky wall crash down, the enormous willow removed and the turf pulled up. We now have a drive! This is one of many changes that we will be making to the house over the next year. We have so many exciting things to come!

The vegetables are coming on nicely. We have harvested our first cucumbers, the peas and beans have now finished and have been replaced with winter root vegetables.

The sun flower is still growing! It is taller than our neighbour's garage and we still have no flower.

This is how our garden has grown this week...

Grandad's Garden

 Our front garden has been replaced by a new drive!

As always I am sharing how our garden has grown with Manneskjur - How Does Your Garden Grow?

Cheap Budget Meal - Pan Fried Basa

We all enjoy fish, however what I don't enjoy is the price of fish!

I don't know about you but I have found that the price of fish has been going up and up. With the increase in the price for fish, the amount that we have and can afford has gone down.

Well, that is until I discovered Basa.

Basa is a white fish that is not only a more sustainable fish but is also half the price of the traditional cod and haddock options.

This week I am going to share with you a simple pan fried recipe that gives the classic fish and chips meal a twist.

Here is this weeks Cheap Budget Meal recipe...

Pan Fried Basa with Sweet Potato Chips and Mushy Peas

Ingredients

Basa fillets (£1 per fillet, I bought 4)
3 tbsp plain flour
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 egg (£1.39 for 6)
Olive oil
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chips (96p)
Spray oil
1 tin mushy peas (30p)

Method

1 - Heat the oven to 200C and place a roasting tin with spray oil coating the base in to heat up.

2 - Once the oven is to temperature place the sweet potato chips in the roasting pan, spray with a little oil and roast for 30 minutes. Check half way through and move the chip around.

3 - While the chips are cooking mix together the flour and black pepper on a deep dish.

4 - Coat the basa fillets with beaten egg and then coat in the flour and black pepper.

5 - Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan.

6 - Add the coated fish fillets and fry over a medium heat for 10 - 15 minutes turning regularly.

Serve with the sweet potato chips and some good old mushy peas!

This meal gives a new twist on the traditional meal which the whole family will enjoy.

What is even better is the price. I fed my family of 5 for just £5.26. Thanks to the chickens we don't buy  eggs but if you buy them it would still only cost £6.65 and you would have 5 remaining eggs! That is just £1.33 per serving. Which is a fraction of the cost of a fish and chips take away and a lot healthier too!

Enjoy x

I am sharing my Cheap Budget Recipe with

A Mummy Too - Recipe of the Week

Honest Mum - Tasty Tuesdays

#RealMumsAllBran 5 Day Challenge

I have to admit that before I took the Real Mums All Bran 5 day challenge I was a breakfast skipper.

If I didn't eat breakfast you may be wondering why I decided to take the 5 day challenge.

I was offered the challenge at the same time that I was diagnosed with depression. As soon as I was diagnosed I knew that I needed to make some lifestyle changes. This included the way I ate. I do love food, I love cooking and baking but during the day I tended to pick about and not eat proper full meals.

When I researched further I found out that 90 - 95% of the "happy" hormone serotonin is made in the gut! Therefore it is essential to have a good, balanced, healthy diet to make serotonin. As soon as I read this, I knew I had to make changes. That is where the #RealMumsAllBran 5 day challenge came in.

I was challenged to eat an All Bran breakfast for 5 consecutive days and see if I could tell a difference in my digestion and in my general well being.

I was sent three delicious flavours to try, All Bran Golden Crunch, All Bran Red Berry Crunch and All Bran Chocolate Wheats. For once I was actually looking forward to breakfast time and changing my diet.

I decided to start with the Red Berry Crunch. I love anything berry so had high hopes for day one and I was not disappointed. This cereal is packed with yummy berry bits. A cereal which is not only good for you but tastes good, this really was a winner! With just 184 calories per typical serving it is an ideal way to start the day.

When it came to trying the Chocolate Wheats I will admit to being just a little dubious as to whether they would be truly chocolaty. I was amazed to find the the bite sized wheat packages contained whole chunks of naughty but nice chocolate! What is even better is that you can enjoy the delicious chocolate flavours without the guilt as a typical serving contains just 185 calories! A perfect, sweet start to the day!

The last one that I tried was the Golden Crunch. This cereal was malty flavoured multi grain clusters that had the goodness taste with a sweet bite. With icy cold milk this cereal gives another yummy start to the day. This All Bran variety contains the lowest amount of calories with just 182 calories per typical serving.

My #RealMumsAllBran 5 Day Challenge Verdict

Since starting with the #RealMumsAllBran 5 day challenge I can honestly say that I can feel a difference in both my mental well being and my digestive system.

Breakfast has now become a part of my daily food routine and I have found that I am not only snacking less but I am also feeling less bloated. After having the twins two and a half years ago bloatedness is something which I have suffered with. However I have found that my tummy is feeling happier since I added the extra fibre that All Bran provides into my regular diet.

As for the depression, I have started to feel more like my old self. I feel that this is due to a combination of medication and eating more regular meals and starting the day as I mean to go on, with a good breakfast. I feel confident that eating a healthy breakfast with All Bran is kick starting the serotonin that I need to make each day a good day!

Thank you Kellogg's and BritMums for setting the challenge which really has made a difference to my life.

If you would like to know more about the Real Mums of All Bran 5 day challenge or would like to take the challenge yourself visit Kellogg's All Bran.

This post is an entry for the Real Mums of All Bran linky challenge sponsored by Kellogg's.

Alphabet Project - K

This weeks picture has been taken by my hubby as my K this week is...

KIRSTY (ME)

This is me, stay at home mum to Joseph (9), Isabella and Taylor (2) and housewife to hubby.

As you'll know I love to cook and bake. After hating food and suffering with anorexia and bulimia in the past I now enjoy my food and have a passion for it.

After spending 7 years living abroad I am now very much a home bird. I do not venture far without my loved ones by my side. But I am getting more adventurous with a certain trip to London next year already booked!

As always I am sharing my Alphabet Project with the lovely PODcast - Alphabet Project

Weekly Meal Plan - Week Commencing 28th July 2014

As I spent the majority of last week in hospital the meal plan did not go to plan!

I did make the spinach and ricotta pasta which was lovely and featured as my Cheap Budget Meal last week.

This week's meals will be quite easy meals as I am getting tired quickly and with the glorious weather I really do not want to be in a hot kitchen for too long!

This is what we will be enjoying this week...

Week Commencing 28th July 2014

Beef and Courgette Lasagne

This meal is a bit of a trial. I am currently trying to find new ways of using courgettes as we have been inundated with delicious home grown courgettes. I am going to thinly slice the courgettes and use them as the lasagne layers instead of pasta sheets.

Cumin Crusted Lamb Steaks

I will be topping lamb steaks with whole cumin seeds and grilling. This will be served with roasted peppers, onions and courgettes with couscous.

Mushroom Bolognese Pasta

I will be making a Bolognese sauce using chestnut mushrooms.

Pan Fried Basa

I will pan fry white fish with a drizzle of lemon juice and sea salt and serve with sweet potato chips and mushy peas.

Roast Pork

Whilst we were shopping the hubby picked up a lovely pork joint that is seasoned with sea salt. We will have this with new potatoes and summer vegetables or salad.

I am only planning 5 meals this week as we often decide on the day what we fancy on Saturdays. But if the weather continues as it is we will probably be making the most of it and having a barbecue.

Have a lovely week x

As always, I am sharing my Weekly Meal Plan with At Home With Mrs M - Meal Planning Monday

21st July - 27th July 2014 - One Picture Everyday For One Year

Well this week has certainly been eventful!

The summer holidays have not started as we had expected, however it will get better!

This is our week in pictures...

Monday 21st July 2014

Monday was red hot so I got the paddling pool out for the twins to cool down. They loved it so much more than I had expected! Taylor stood there and threw buckets of water all over himself while Isabella stood giggling at him.

Tuesday 22nd July 2014

We had more paddling pool fun on Tuesday and the twins blew bubble to their Grandma and Gramps. Isabella does keep asking where Mamar is so I have told her that she is a bright star and that she can blow bubbles to her instead of kisses.

Tuesday night was what we were not expecting. On Tuesday night I started getting excruciating pain in my abdomen. I tried gritting my teeth and getting on with it but in the end I had to admit to the hubby that something was not right. He rang my mum and dad to come and be with the children and he rushed me to hospital. I was quickly given some morphine to kill the pain and was told that I had appendicitis. I was placed on the operating list for the following day.

Wednesday 23rd July 2014

On Wednesday afternoon my appendix was removed via keyhole surgery. Wednesday went by in a blur of pain, drugs and anaesthetic. The one thing that did put me at ease was my surgery was performed in the same theatre that the twins were delivered in! I immediately recognised the room before the operating theatre.

Thursday 24th July 2014

Thursday was another painful day. As I had keyhole surgery they had pumped my body full of gas and this gas was lingering about in my chest. This made just breathing painful. Joseph came to visit me in the evening and entertained himself with the oxygen mask that he found.

Friday 25th July 2014

On Friday my pain was starting to ease and I was discharged! It was lovely to be back home with the hubby and my children. I had missed all of them so much.

Saturday 26th July 2014

On Saturday I was proud to add this picture to my blog! I am over the moon to have been selected to be part of the Center Parcs Family Blog Club. We are all extremely excited to be visiting the Sherwood Forest Resort at the end of November to experience their Winter Wonderland.

Sunday 27th July 2014

My Silent Sunday.

Hope you have a great week x

As always I am sharing our week with

The Boy and Me - Project 365

Make Do and Push - The Week That Was Captured

Actually Mummy - Expressions

Silent Sunday

How Does Your Garden Grow - Normanby Hall Walled Garden

Last week we had a trip out to one of our favourite local places to visit Normanby Hall.

Every year we buy an annual pass so that we can enjoy as many visits as we like. Normanby Hall is place where I visited as a child with my Nanna and Grandad, it really does hold many happy memories.

We always enjoy seeing how the Walled Garden changes over the year. In the Walled Garden they have fruit and vegetables growing and greenhouses to explore.

For my How Does Your Garden Grow this week I thought I'd share our latest visit and pictures of the Walled Garden.

As always I am sharing my How Does Your Garden Grow post with the lovely Manneskjur