CHEESY SALMON PASTA: A realistic 15 minute dinner for a busy school night

 
Now I'm definitely not an amazing cook but I do try and family life has taught me that sometimes you need to be clever and be able to come up with a family dinner in 15 minutes flat.

I don't think I have mentioned before but I am a SAHM who also works part time in the evening so our schedule can be a little crazy some week nights.  It's a tag team affair but dinner has to be simple and above all fast!

I thought I would begin to share with you some of our everyday family favorites that are budget friendly, can be whipped up in no time and always give me smiley happy kids (and Daddy) with full tummies.

I'm telling you, ANYONE can make this meal, its very easy and is done in 15 minutes flat.

Salmon and Cream Cheese Pasta (aka 'Cheesy Salmon Pasta' in our house)

What you will need:
2 Salmon fillets
About 250-300g of pasta shapes
A 200g tub of cream cheese with garlic and herbs
Around 150ml of milk
Green vegetables, ideally broccoli and green beans
Dill (optional)

First things first, I whack on the kettle to boil the water for the pasta.  Pop it in the pan to cook as soon as the water is boiled as the rest will be ready by the time the pasta is done. About half a standard 500g bag or so should do and we use twists or shells but it doesn't matter.

Next I chop a head of broccoli into a microwaveable dish and add a handful of trimmed green beans or sugar snap peas (or any other green veg).  Add a tablespoon of water and cover with cling film ready to steam for 2.5 mins in the microwave on full (ours is 800 watt).

Then I grab a pan and add a few glugs (maybe 150ml) of milk and a whole tub of garlic and herb cream cheese.  I use a light Aldi variety but any would do.  Careful, as this is the tricky (ish) part.  This needs to be warmed on a low to medium heat so that the cheese melts into the milk.  Please don't let it get too hot or boil or it will split and look bad (still tastes good though)!

Now put 2 Salmon fillets into a microwaveable tupperware (with a lid) along with a tablespoon of milk and a sprinkle of Dill (if you have it).  Microwave on full for 1.5-2 mins (yes that really is long enough) with one corner of the tub slightly open.  Being totally honest I think those tubs you can get with Chinese takeaway in work best for this.

Grate some cheese, about 100g I think and add half to the cream cheese sauce, remove it from the heat and stir in until it has melted.  I also add some black pepper here.  The rest of the cheese is what my kids refer to as 'sprinkle cheese' for the adding at the table.

Finally drain off the veg and snip into small pieces with scissors.  Drain off the pasta and mix with the veg back into the pasta pan.  Pour over the cream cheese sauce and mix.

Then pop your cooked salmon fillets out onto a board, gently remove the skin (trying not to burn yourself) and chop up.  Add this to the pasta pan and give it one last stir.

Now call the hungry troops to the table, you're done! 

This feeds our family of 2 adults and 2 children with a leftover portion to go into the fridge.

I made this last night and we happened to have lightly smoked salmon fillets (as they were on offer) and I have to say it was really lovely and a must try, plus a also added a handful of sweetcorn to the sauce to mix it up.

I also have to make a teeny apology for the pictures as I took them of our leftovers the next day and not our initial dinner (due to the need for speed factor on the night I forgot).  The actual dinner is very saucy and creamy and gorgeous but as with all pasta dishes the leftovers loose a bit of their sauce factor.

I hope you give it a try and let me know how you found it.

 

Easy Oreo pops and truffles: quick and easy treats for any occassion

So you need to come up with some treats for a children's party, afternoon tea or a baby shower type event and don't have a great deal of time (or lets face it the skills)to bake up a storm.

I always seem to have one of these occasions pop up where you would love to make something really cute that everyone will love but end up buying something from the supermarket (and feeling a bit rubbish about it).

No I'm not advocating 'competitive mothering', you know the kind of Mum who its obvious have spent an entire week creating a professional 'Bake Off' worthy offering in order to keep up with the Joneses but I do like to at least look like I care and made an effort.

If this is you then next time you should try one of these two little gems and voila, problem solved!  You really don't need to do a lot with these two REALLY easy no bake treat solutions I promise its mainly melting and dipping!

Oreo Lollipops

 

What you will need:
Lolly sticks
Oreo's (or the Aldi version that I used is fine)
Chocolate or candy melts (any kind is fine)
Sprinkles  

Choose the chocolate and sprinkles that fit your theme.  I went with white chocolate and multi-coloured sprinkles but anything goes.

 

Step 1

Open your Oreo's and gently insert your sticks a good way into the biscuit to make sure they are secure

Naked Oreo pops ready to coat

Step 2

Melt your chocolate in the microwave in short bursts, stiring in between until fully melted.

Step 3

Coat your Oreo pops in chocolate, holding them over the chocolate and turning to allow the excess to drip off and lay them out on greaseproof paper.

Lollipop drying station

Step 4

Sprinkle with whatever you like and leave to set on the paper.  All done (told you it was easy)!

Tip:  You might want to wipe any excess chocolate from around your pops before they set if you have a lot of excess chocolate pooling as they dry.  Just make sure you twirl over the chocolate bowl for a little longer to stop this happening with the next one.

 

Oreo Truffles

 

What you will need:


3 packs of Oreo's (or the Aldi version that I used is fine)
1 pack of Cream Cheese
Chocolate or candy melts (any kind is fine)
Sprinkles  


Choose the chocolate and sprinkles that fit your theme.  I went with white chocolate and pink and blue sprinkles as this batch were for a baby shower but anything goes.

Step 1

Blitz up your biscuits into crumbs.  Either in a food processor or in a frezzer bag with a rolling pin and bash away.  I blitzed in 3 batches in the food processor in small 2 second bursts and they came out like this:

Oreo crumbs

Step 2

Mix together with a full pack of cream cheese until it forms into a dough like so:

Oreo truffle dough

Step 3

Form into small balls in the palm of your hand and put into the fridge to chill for 20 minutes

Truffle balls ready for the fridge

Step 4

Melt your chocolate in the microwave in short bursts, stiring in between until fully melted.


Step 5

Lower your truffle on a spoon into the melted chocolate and turn until coated.  Remove gently and place on greaseproof paper.

Tip: If you would like to make your truffles appear like cake pops then use a pretty wide drinking straw pushed into the truffle as the stick.  Pick up your truffle by inserting your straw and  dip it into the chocolate to coat.  Then place your truffle pop upright in a glass to set.

Step 6

Sprinkle with your chosen decorations or some crushed cookie to finish

This recipe does make quite a large batch of truffles, around 30 or so but they are sooo good that really isn't a problem!

Enjoy!

Yummy Easter Bark

In an effort to get rid of the rest of our Easter egg glut and have some serious fun too we had a go at making yummy Easter chocolate bark today.

Now I have to admit that our version is a little less 'designer cute' and a little more 'chuck it all on' but then the kids did make it!

We were inspired by a recipe that I found on Pintrest and added our own sparkle and flair. Check out my Pintrest Easter board for the original post.

This is what we used from our Easter grotto

What you'll need for your Easter Bark

Now we set about smashing up our white chocolate bunnies and our eggs and melted them in shot blasts in the microwave is 2 separate bowls.

Mmmmm, all ready for melting

You will need to bash up your Oreo's into crumbs with a rolling pin before you start and lay out all of your Easter egg sweeties ready.  We had Smarties, some Minion Mini Eggs, Jazzies, mini marshmallows and a selection of sprinkles from our baking cupboard.

Clingfilm your tray for ease of removal

Set up your baking tray with 2 layers of cling film to make it easy to get your bark out later and sprinkle with a handful of your sweets and some Oreo crumbs.

The Easter Bark creation station

Once the chocolate is melted pour it over the scattered sweets in the tray any way you like as you will be swirling it together.

Pour over the melted chocolate yummyness

Then, with the wrong end of a spoon give your chocolate a gentle swirl until it looks something like this.

Swirly whirly time

  
Now all that is left to do is let the children cover it with sweeties and chocolates, sprinkle over more Oreo crumbs and then top with a selection of sprinkles and a little edible glitter (if you have it).

Ta dah, sugar heaven!

Pop this into the fridge for about an hour to set firm and then break it into slivers and enjoy!

And now for the best part...eating your Easter Bark

It was a sure fire hit in our house so we hope you enjoy it too.

 

Making Pitta Pizzas with my creative little mini chefs

If you are anything like me and looking for an easy way to make mealtimes a bit more smiley and a bit less shouty then these pitta pizzas are a great activity that is cheap, easy to set up and simple to get even the very little ones involved and eating!

Our finished pizza creations

All you need are some pitta breads (I use wholemeal but you don't have to), tomato paste, cheese and a selection of toppings of your choice.  The more colorful and exciting the better!

The creation station

Give them a helping hand getting started with the tomato paste and then really let them loose!   Resist the OCD urge to help them 'do it properly' that I certainly have.   

Smiley face fun!

Make sure you make a note of who made which one though or it could all go terribly wrong!!










I also add in a few dips if I have any in as my toddler loves anything dippy so all the more fun.

Watch them go!

It really doesn't matter what they put where as long as they get some cheese on the top and then pop them under a hot grill for about 5-6 mins until they are starting to brown mmm.

Top Tip:  I normally let them eat the leftover toppings while they cook to help with the waiting as 6 minutes is a long time when you're pint sized.

Nearly ready...

I love making these with the kids as they really enjoy the activity, its a quick meal and they are really nice for grown ups to so its win win. 

Dinner is served

Et Voila, happy full tummies and zero whinging!  They will be begging to make them again believe me.