Mashed Potatoes and Beef Bowl - The Perfect Quick Meal

Today's post is a guest post recipe and a meal that we love! Cottage pie style meals are always a huge success in our house. One of our favourite ways variations of cottage pie was my Cottage Pie topped with Butternut Squash Mash that was a quick meal thanks to the Pressure King Pro.

But this recipe that has been shared with me is an even quicker one!

Guest Post

On busy weeknights, spending hours in the kitchen is the last thing most of us look forward to, even if we love to cook. For days like this, it is a great idea to prepare a quick and healthy dinner that is not only nutritious but also delicious. This delectable recipe serves four and is bound to give you the perfect comfort food feeling:

One Pot Spring Vegetables and Pesto Pasta

Green vegetables are not only super good for you but they are also deliciously versatile. They can be added to a wide variety of dishes and can be paired with so many different flavours.

This recipe actually started off as a soup but as I added the all of the ingredients together I realised that they would make a delicious one pot pasta dish. So I added some vermicelli and hey presto we had a new meal! But what really does complete this dish is the pesto. Before you serve it simply add a spoon of pesto and then stir it in to the pasta and vegetables to add some extra flavours.

This meal is quick, easy and keeps the amount of washing up down to a minimum, perfect for a busy mid week meal.

This is what I did...

All in One Spaghetti Bolognese

Don't you just love it when you can cook a complete meal in just one pot! Since I started using the Pressure King Pro that I received to review it has become an invaluable piece of cooking equipment. It makes cooking one pot meals so quick and easy and we all know that in a busy household this can be a lifesaver!

One of our favourite meals that is made in the Pressure King Pro has to be pasta dishes. When the pasta has been cooked with the other ingredients it is so full of flavour and gives you a really rich dish. This recipe is perfect for the Pressure King Pro or any Instapot but can also be easily made in a pan.

This is what I did...

Cottage Pie Topped with Butternut Squash - Pressure King Pro Recipe

A couple of weeks ago I told you about my new favourite kitchen gadget, the Pressure King Pro. Since I received this product is has been used so many times I have lost count. As it is being used so much and how much I genuinely love the product I am going to be posting many more recipes that I have made in the Pressure King Pro.

Today I am sharing with you one of our most loved recipes, cottage pie. This is a recipe that I have tweaked a lot over time, I have added new ingredients, tried different ideas and it really has evolved over time. When I started to use the Pressure King Pro I knew that a cottage pie sauce would cook beautifully in it and I was not wrong!

This is what I did...

Pulled Pork with Aldi

Pulled pork has to be one of the best summer meals. I know that usually pulled pork is smothered in a sweet barbecue sauce. But not in our house. Only our eldest likes the full on barbecue sauce. So here our pulled pork is sauce free but filled with herbs and spices.

Whilst shopping at Aldi I found some fantastic herb grinders that do all the work for you. Each grinder contains a perfectly balanced amount of flavours that marry together perfectly when cooked. For today's pulled pork recipe I decided to try the garlic, herb and tomato seasoning grinder.

Pulled pork is not only a really tasty meal but is also great budget meal. The piece of pork shoulder that I bought weighed 1.562kg and cost just £3.83! Out of this piece of meat, once cooked, I got the pulled pork main meal that I am telling you about today, some meat for a pork salad for the hubby and I the following day and even a second main the following day. That is an amazing 12 meals out of 1 piece of meat! That is a budgeting 32p per meal for the meat.

This week I am going to tell you how to prepare the pork shoulder for pulled pork. Then next week I am going to share with you a delicious way to use the leftovers the following day.

This is what I did...

Easy Mushroom Stroganoff with Aldi

We love mushrooms and one of my favourite mushroom meals has to be stroganoff. I prefer a mushroom stroganoff to a beef one and this meal is a great way to get extra vegetables into the children!

Mushrooms are a budgeting way to bulk out meals and add some extra flavours. For this recipe I have used closed cup mushrooms and button mushrooms. This week mushrooms are even cheaper at Aldi as they are in the Super 6 offer. For a pack of closed cup mushrooms, this week, you will pay just 49p instead of the usual 89p! That makes this week the perfect time to have a go at making my easy mushroom stroganoff.

When cooking this dish I find that the juices from the mushrooms do a lot of the work with regards to flavours. However by adding a little paprika you add an extra hint of spice to this delicious meal.

This is what I did...

Chicken Pesto Pasta

A couple of weeks I shared my Pesto, Mushroom and Pancetta Chicken that I made using ingredients from Aldi.

After I made the pesto, mushroom and pancetta I had some ingredients left so I thought that I would share with you what I did with them. Pesto is perfect for pasta so what better way to use leftover pesto and chicken breasts!

The chicken breasts from Aldi are fantastic value for money. I always by the large pack of chicken breasts that weigh 1kg and cost £5.59. This pack of chicken provides enough for two meals for my family. Unlike other cheap chicken breasts these do not shrink down during cooking, this is what makes them true value!

This recipe make enough for a family of four, or in our case a family of five.

This is what I did...

Meat Free Cottage Pie

I am always delighted when I cook a meal and see my family enjoying it. But I will admit to feeling quite triumphant when I see them all digging in and enjoying a meal that I know is full of healthy goodness.

I am always trying to find new ways of getting extra vegetables into their meals and them eating the meal with no questions asked, which we all know can sometimes be difficult with children. We are currently changing our diets to include more meat free meals and less meat. At the moment it is simply trial and error to see what the children will and won't eat. So when I find a meal, like this one, that is a success with everybody I love to shout about it!

Shepherds pie is a family favourite of ours so I did hope that it would go down well and I certainly was not disappointed. Not one person questioned what it was or where the meat was or why I had cooked it differently. Not even my 11 year old who has something to say about everything!

This meat free version of shepherds pie contains nine different vegetables and green lentils. But that is not where the goodness stops. I have also substituted the butter in the mash for Clover. Clover is better for you than regular butter. It contains half the saturated fats than regular butter but still has the same great taste. Clover is made with naturally low fat buttermilk and contains nothing artificial. With the extra vegetables and a healthier spread this really is a healthy meal which the whole family will love!

This is what I did...

Spooky Halloween Dinner - Severed Fingers in Mash

Halloween is here and it is a time of year that we can have some fun with food. As it is half term for the children I thought it would be fun to serve them a spooky lunch.

This meal is so effective and so easy to make and is always a winner with children! Today I am going to show you how to turn sausages and mash into spooky severed fingers in mash!

This is what I did...

Slow Cooked Beef and Bean Hotpot

At this time of year I love using my slow cooker even more than usual. There is something so warming about a meal that has been in the slow cooker all day. Slow cooker meals are also a great meal to have on a busy day. You can simply prepare the meal and leave it to cook throughout the day and enjoy in the evening. Slow cooked meals are so flavoursome as the slow cooking process allows the flavours to combine together like no other.

This meal is inspired by chilli con carne but is more child friendly as it has a more mild taste. The kidney beans have been replaced by baked beans and some extra vegetables have been added.

This is what I did...

Breakfast Frittata

Watching what you eat doesn't always mean you have to miss out on the foods that you love. Following the Slimming World plan has shown me this. By adapting and swapping a few ingredients you can enjoy meals that you love, and what the whole family will eat!

So when I really fancied a good old fry up I decided to make it with a healthy twist!

This delicious, traditional English breakfast inspired frittata contains just 1 syn per average serving containing 2 vegetarian sausages. I replaced the higher syn content sausages with tasty vegetarian ones and replaced bacon with healthier turkey rashers which are syn free!

I also found that this was a great meal to use up a lot of eggs! We have recently had lot of eggs that needed using up. Having three chickens mean that they soon mount up!

This is what I did...

A Family Meal of Sweet Potato Cottage Pie with Finish and Giveaway!

I love cooking a meal for a get together with family.

Once upon a time, it would have been a dinner party, but now that we have children a dinner party for us is getting the family around a table and enjoying a meal together.

I love sitting down and deciding what meal I am going to cook for everyone. Having children it means that the meal must be one that does not take too much preparation and time. Our family get togethers are usually at the weekend which is valuable family time together. 

My ultimate dinner party would consist of the hubby and I with our children and parents. I would host the party in our home. It would be a relaxed dinner party where the food would be child friendly, there would be plenty of laughs and quality time spent together. Time with family is so important, not just for us but for the children as well.

When I cook a large meal I have a tendency to use every pan available and do make a mess! There are always plenty of pots to clean. When hosting a dinner party you do not want to waste time cleaning pots. This is where Finish dishwasher detergents can help. Regardless of whether the pots have been cleaned straight away or if they have been left out all night, with dried on food, you can guarantee that they will come out of the dishwasher clean first time.

To really put Finish to the test I decided to make one of our family favourites that does make plenty of pots to wash!

This is my Sweet Potato Cottage Pie...

Moussaka Style Cottage Pie

This recipe came along by accident. It was meant to be a moussaka but the summer holidays took over and I simply did not have time to bake it. That is why it became a moussaka style cottage pie and if I am totally honest it was even better than the original plan. This meal resulted in clean plates all round and even requests for seconds!

I have found that if I remove the skin of the aubergine before I cook it the children will eat it. When I have cooked it in the past with the skin on none of them have eaten it. So if you have anyone that will not eat aubergine remove the skin and they will never know!

This recipe was supposed to be yesterdays Family Friendly recipe. Over the next few weeks I am not going to be posting as regularly as normal, like most families, I am busy with the children all being at home!

This recipe is now going to be added to one of our favourites. This is what I did...

Roasted Red Pepper and Tuna Pasta Sauce - Family Favourites

Like many others, my children love pasta and spaghetti. It is such a quick and easy meal to prepare, therefore it is great for busy families to enjoy a lovely home  cooked meal. 

I know that sometimes it is just easier to grab a jar of sauce but you simply do not get the goodness that a cooked from scratch sauce gives you. Plus, for me, I love knowing exactly what my family are eating.

Today's recipe is for roasted red pepper and tuna sauce, but you can have it without adding the tuna. I added it to bulk it out a bit but also because the hubby asked me to add it in!

This meal is a sure winner and a great way to get added vegetables into the children without them knowing it!

This is what I did...

Butternut Squash Risotto - Family Favourites

For this weeks Family Favourites recipe I am sharing a meat free recipe that any meat lover will love!

This dish really is loved by all of my family. Before eating this Joseph always swore blind that he did not like butternut squash, it was only after he had a clean plate that I told him what he had eaten.

This meal is so easy to make and if just full of flavours that keep you wanting more!

This is what I did...

Full of Veg Crustless Quiche - Family Favourites

Now that the hot weather and summer has arrived we long for lighter meals. Quiche is great for summer but as we all know pastry is not great for us and contains a lot of fat. But you can still enjoy quiche without the pastry! 

This week for my Family Favourites recipe I thought I would share my crustless quiche recipe. This is a great meal to cook if you need to use some eggs up. Now that we have three chickens we have an abundance of eggs so this really is a great meal! It is also great of you grow your own vegetables!

Not only is this an easy summer meal to make but is also full of vegetables and goodness.

This is what I did...

Tuna Steak with Courgette Noodle Stir Fry - Family Favourites

I have recently bought a spiralizer. After seeing so many good reviews I decided to go ahead and get one. I have been looking forward to making vegetable noodles and spaghetti.

This week I am sharing a recipe that uses the spiralizer to make courgette noodles. They are a delicious and healthier alternative to traditional noodles.

This meal is not only extremely healthy but quick and easy to make.

Here is this weeks Family Favourites recipe...

Creamy Stroganoff Lasagne - Family Favourites

I love lasagne, it really is one of my favourite pasta dishes. However the hubby cannot eat the rich tomato sauce that is used in a traditional lasagne recipe. This is why I created this dish. I wanted to make a lasagne that we could all enjoy. This dish certainly did not disappoint. Hence why it is now a family favourite.

We can now, all enjoy lasagne again!

Here is this weeks Family Favourites recipe...

My Favourite Family Favourite Recipes

As I am away this week enjoying time with my family I didn't want to leave you without a Family Favourites post.

This week I thought that I would share with you a collection of my favourite Family Favourite recipes that I have featured this year.

All of the meals that I have shared have been tried and tested on my family. They have all enjoyed trying new foods and new flavours. I look forward to trying more new foods and dishes on them and being able to share them with you in the future.

I hope you are all enjoying spring break half term and enjoying plenty of family meals!

Here are my favourite Family Favourite meals...

Mushroom, Black Pepper and Spring Onion Pasta

Venison Cottage Pie

Isabella's Spaghetti

Mushroom and Broccoli Freekah

Vegetable Risotto

Buffalo Steak Pie

Enjoy x

Pork Rib Eye Steaks and 3 Pepper Sauce - Family Favourites

Recently I have returned to getting my meat delivered. I have subscribed to a weekly family box which contains five different meats along with a few vegetables and fruits. All have been sourced from local farms and are of a high quality.

One of the reasons which I like to get the boxes delivered is because we get a greater variety of meats to try than if I were to buy from the shops or the market. When I buy meat I tend to stick to the meats I know that we like and do not tend to look at what else there is. This is often due to time and wanting to get the shopping finished and to be home in time to collect the twins. With the boxes I get sent different meats which make me think a bit more about how to prepare, cook and serve the weeks meals.

In a recent box I received some Pork Rib Eye steaks. This was the first time that I had seen, let alone eaten pork rib eye. So this really was a new meat for the family. I decided to serve the pork steaks on a base of pepper sauce which complimented the steaks perfectly.

This is what I did...