Weekly Meal Plan - Week Commencing 7th December 2015

Another Monday is here and it is time for my Weekly Meal Plan. I cannot believe that the children only have two weeks left at school until they break up for the Christmas holidays. This term has flown by, as has the year!

A few weeks ago we began to eat more meat free meals during the week and I have been delighted with the response from everyone. We are continuing to have only two out of five weekday meals with meat. This has not only varied the children's diet but has also given me a challenge cooking the meals. I am trying new foods and experimenting more with new meals. If I have found that the family do not like a vegetable I have enjoyed the challenge of finding a way that they do like it. Aubergine is a perfect example of this problem. Nobody really liked it when it was cooked with the skin on, however when I remove the skin, it blends in with the other vegetables and everybody eats it without realising. I did feel quite smug when I saw them all enjoying a vegetable which they thought they disliked! Keep an eye out for more vegetarian recipes! Last week I shared a variety of healthy dinners, baking with the twins and a delicious, super quick to make cake.

Chicken and Butternut Squash Casserole with Potato and Pea Mash

Baking with the Twins - Bakedin Review

29th November - 5th December 2015 - One Picture Everyday For One Year

Wow this week has been a busy one. I feel like I have not stopped. This has been because of an increase in work, which is great especially at this time of year, and the twins being off school for two days. But at last Christmas has arrived to the Hijacked By Twins household.

Here is our week in pictures...

Sunday 29th November 2015

On Sunday we decided to light our annual Christmas candle. This year I bought the Noel candle from Crabtree and Evelyn which, when lit, fills the room with Christmas aromas.

Quick, Easy Microwave Cake - Surprise Chocolate Bottom Pudding

A couple of weeks ago the hubby was moaning that there was no cake in the house. So I gave in! But I certainly was not going to bake a regular, oven baked cake at 8 o'clock in the evening. So instead I made a microwave cake. This got me reminiscing about my childhood. I have many fond memories of doing some of my first baking with my Nanna using a microwave. Using a microwave is a great way to let children cook and bake more independently. I remember feeling so grown up as I could place the buns into the microwave, set the time and watch them bake. My Nanna had a traditional, round bun mould, which now seems to be classed as a 'vintage' piece of kitchenware and she had one of the first microwave ovens that were around in the 1980's. Now, 30 years on (yes I do feel old saying that) technology has improved no end. We now have a combination microwave that can also grill and cook like a regular oven and the moulds are now silicone.

I have been spending time trying to perfect this recipe and have been using a glass bowl. But now that the recipe is just how I want it to be I have been looking into buying some better microwave cake moulds. I did have a look for one like my Nanna had but they really are quite rare and the only one that I did find was from America! But this is what it was like...

Photograph courtesy of Amazon

Unfortunately I cannot find a brand new one and if I am honest I would only want it for old times sake. For the fact that it reminds me of my Nanna. But after taking a look at what products are available now for microwave cakes I am settling on silicone. Silicone is a great material to bake with. After only a slight greasing the cakes easily pop out thanks to the flexibility of the moulds. After looking around at different shops the best set that I have found has to be this 6 piece silicone bakeware set from ProCook Kitchenware. I love the colour of it but the fact that you get a great variety of moulds makes this a must have. Also with 50% off the retail price means that it is going on my 'to buy' list!

Now back to the cake. The first one that I made was a chocolate chip cake. I have also tried making a classic sponge. But I have found the chocolate chip cake the most successful. With small microwave cakes they are better eaten warm. With the chocolate chip cake as you cut the cake the chocolate chips spill out delicious melted chocolate. This led me to try something else which has turned out to be a perfect, quick dessert that will please and surprise your guests. Cooked in individual ramekins it is an ideal pudding and has just the right amount in, they are not too filling nor will they leave you hungry. It is perfect with a scoop of ice cream melting over the top!

So without further ado, let me tell you and show you what I did...

Thrifty Christmas Thursday - Vegetables and Trimmings

This week for Thrifty Christmas Thursday I am focusing on the vegetables. Vegetables can often be forgotten, but on any Christmas dinner they also take centre stage.

We all know about the traditional Christmas vegetables and have all seen the Christmas cook spending all Christmas morning in the kitchen preparing the big meal. So today I am going to give you my top tips on how you, the cook, can leave the kitchen and enjoy Christmas day with your family safe in the knowledge that all of the food is prepared and will be easy to cook.

The vegetables which I am going to feature today are...

Bakedin Christmas Special Recipe Box

Last year you may remember that I worked with Gousto and wrote a review on their delicious recipe boxes. These are great boxes which arrive with all of the ingredients and step by step instructions on how to create a restaurant style meal. We all really enjoyed the meals that we received. So when they got in touch with me again asking me if I would like to try their Bakedin Christmas recipe boxes that are perfect for little hands I could not turn them down. Now that the twins are three they love to help me in the kitchen when they get the chance so I knew that they would love this.

Bakedin have joined forces with Michel Roux to create a deliciously festive Snowflake Brownie box. We received two boxes, one for the twins and one for Joseph to bake with. Joseph also loves to bake, but he likes do bake independently. He is now 11 and wants to done things on his own so this box is an ideal way to raise his confidence in cooking. These boxes are a perfect way to help children bake more independently. All of the ingredients are labelled and pre weighed so all that the children need to do is add a couple of fresh ingredients, have some adult help when using the oven and they can make their own delicious treats.

Here is how the twins got on making their own Snowflake Brownie...

Chicken and Butternut Squash Casserole with Potato and Pea Mash - CookBlogShare Week 20

At this time of year I love to cook casseroles. They are always such warming meals that are so comforting on a cold, wet day. You will probably know how I am constantly trying to get extra vegetables into our meals. One way that I have found it so easy to get some extra goodness into the children is by adding different vegetables to the potatoes when I am going to mash them. In this recipe I have added peas to the mash. They worked so well together, the flavours were perfect and were a great accompaniment with the chicken and butternut squash.

This is a great meal as you can simply leave it in either a casserole dish in a low heat oven or in the slow cooker until ready. As the meal cooks your kitchen will be filled with delicious aromas as the ingredients cook and come together.

This is what I did...