Onion, Mushroom & Goats Cheese Pizza

We had somewhat of a rather light dinner tonight, seeing as Gloucestershire is still basking in this glori1 sly sunny weather. The recipe tonight was an onion, mushroom and goats cheese pizza taken from the Best Food Fast! Books, Book 25, Easy Italian, Page 38.  I knew from the offing that the Harley and Mackenzie wouldn't give it a try, so I just cooked them an ordinary cheese pizza.  The pizza was easy to prepare, using a pre-bought pizza base rather than making one and, only takes 10-12 minutes to cook so perfect if you need a lunch or dinner in a rush.  I suppose if you have the time and the ingredients, you could make your own pizza base.  I used a Tesco's own base which did the job great.

Ingredients

1 Thin And Crispy Pizza Base

2-3 Tablespoons Onion Relish

2 Tomatoes, Thinly Sliced

50g (2oz) Baby Mushrooms, Wiped And Sliced

125g (4oz) Goats Cheese, Broken Into Chunks

1 Tablespoon Pesto Sauce

Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Wild Rocket, To Serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.  Put the pizza base onto a baking sheet.  Spread with the onion relish.  Scatter the tomatoes and mushrooms on top.  Add the goats cheese and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden.

2. Quickly dot the pesto sauce over the top of the pizza.  Season with salt and pepper and serve with a handful of rocket on top.

DISHED UP WITH A BASIC SALAD & SOME GARLIC BREAD

A little tip for you, spread the onion relish in a thin layer as the flavour is quite strong, but it cuts through the rich goats cheese beautifully.

The pizza is supposed to serve two but I definitely could not manage half a pizza.  It has 406 calories and 16 grams of fat per serving.

Enjoy

Fran x

Chicken Lasagne

Normal duties have been resumed in the Willetts household.  I am back to making my home cooking and loving every minute of it.

Tonight's meal was the Chicken Lasagne from the July Issue of Slimming World Magazine, Page 71.  I served this up with a big old jacket potato and a basic salad.  This went down a treat.  Although quite a lengthy process to prepare, it's definitely worth the wait.  I suppose you could even prepare it beforehand and then put it in the oven for the last 30 minutes cooking time.  Although not a traditional white sauce topping, it more than held it's own, the yogurt giving it a slightly tangy taste which matched the cheddar and cottage cheeses perfectly.  Packed full of vegetables this definitely makes a hearty meal for the whole family. I cooked it in a 27cm square roasting dish, and I was able to cut it into 9 generous portions, perfect if you have a large family like me, even though the recipe states that it serves 4.

Right lets get to it.

CHICKEN LASAGNE

Ready In About 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

Fry Light (I just used Olive Oil)

8 Baby Leeks, Thinly Sliced

3 Garlic Cloves, Finely Chopped

2 Celery Sticks, Finely Chopped

4 tbsp Tomato Puree

2 x 400g Cans Chopped Tomatoes

1 Chicken Stock Cube, Crumbled

200g Baby Carrots, Trimmed And Halved

100g Baby Spinach Leaves, Roughly Chopped

1 tsp Dried oregano

1 tsp Dried Thyme

1/4 tsp Dried Red Chilli Flakes

1 tsp Artificial Sweetener (I omitted this from mine, but I don't think it would have made much of a difference)

A Small Handful Of Fresh Basil, Roughly Chopped

Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper

500g Skinless Chicken

10 Dried Lasagne Sheets

200g Fat-Free Natural Cottage Cheese

400g Total 0% Fat Greek Yogurt

2 Medium Eggs, Beaten

120g Cheddar Cheese, Grated

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 190C/Fan 170C/Gas 5.  Place a large pan sprayed with Fry Light (Olive Oil) over a medium heat.  Add the sliced leeks, garlic and celery and fry for 2 minutes.

2. Stir in the tomato puree, tomatoes, stock cube, carrots, spinach, dried oregano and thyme, chilli flakes, sweetener (omitted) and basil, and simmer for 25-30 minutes.  Remove from the heat, season, then stir in the leftover chicken.

SIMMERING

AFTER SIMMERING, WITH CHICKEN ADDED

3. Transfer half the chicken mixture to a large, ovenproof baking dish and top with half the lasagne sheets.  Repeat with the remaining mixture and lasagne sheets.

4. Whisk together the cottage cheese, yogurt and eggs, then season well.  Spoon the mixture over the top of the lasagne, then scatter over the Cheddar cheese.  Add a twist of black pepper and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden and piping hot throughout. 

PRE-COOKING

AFTER COOKING

DISHED UP

With regard to this recipe, you were supposed to use 500g of leftover chicken from a whole chicken that you had cooked.  As I hadn't cooked a chicken, I just used two 250g packets of Tesco's own chicken breast and this did the job perfectly.

Enjoy

Fran x

Food Festival

WOW WOW WOW WOW What an amazing weekend I have had.  Something happened to me today that I shall remember for the rest of my life! I got to kiss Gino D'Acampo on the lips whilst eating spaghetti Lady & The Tramp style : ) : ) : )  He also signed my copy of his latest book and posed for a photo with me.

Yesterday I visited the Gloucester Quays Food Festival.  I got to see two marvelous cooking demonstrations, firstly by Rob Rees (The Cotswold Chef), and the other by Phil Vickery (the rugby player and Masterchef Winner 2011, not to be confused with Phil Vickery married to Ferne Britton).  I took my daughter along too and she thoroughly enjoyed herself.  She loved the cooking demonstrations and was quiet throughout, which is no mean feat for a 23 month old.  Herbs and spices were passed around for us to smell and she loved every second of it, even when she held a squid skeleton which looked rather like a hard see through feather.  Phil Vickery made a dish which he cooked whilst he was on Masterchef, a Lamb dish with coucous, which smelt divine.  He was more than happy to pose for a photo with me also.  One thing that did sadden me about yesterday, whilst waiting for the Phil Vickery show to start, a woman who was sat behind me, pulled my daughters pushchair out further into the aisle and towards her, in order to block a woman in a wheelchair sitting in front of her and obstructing her view.  

Wandering around the various stalls was wonderful.  The sights and smells were amazing.  My daughter and I tried some Churros, which are sort of like doughnuts but long like worms instead of round.  I also learnt that Churros were originally thought up by Mexican Sheep Farmers who could only carry so much on there treks and were named after the sheep they looked after Churras.

Well today, where do I start.  We (me, my mum & sister) were first in line for the Gino show which started at 10.30am.  We arrived at 9.00 lol.  There was a little bit of grumbling from us as there were a few people going round to a VIP entrance and we thought we would have to sit 3-4 rows back but no, when they let us in, we were able to grab a seat right at the very front.  Gino ran about 10 minutes late but I shall forgive him. The compere came on and got the crowd worked up and then the god that is Gino D'Acampo walked out.

He was wonderful, he interacted with the audience brilliantly.  He made it clear at the start that if we were there to see a serious cookery show then we were in the wrong place.  Let me tell you how the kiss came about ***blush***

Gino asked the audience "How do you know when pasta is cooked?".  My mum said fling it at a wall lol, Gino didn't hear so I repeated fling it at a wall and if it sticks its done.  He said no and told me to come up to him.  He pulled a piece of spaghetti from the pot where it had been cooking and held it up.  I thought that he was just going to feed it to me.  When he put the end in my mouth and I started to eat, he put the other end in his mouth and started to eat too, our lips meeting in the middle.  Well all I can say is my heart went into overdrive and my whole body began to shake (and I don't think it was from fear).  He asked me what I thought and all I could muster whilst looking into his beautiful eyes was a very timid "it's lovely".  He then asked what I thought about the pasta lol, once again a very timid "that was nice too".  That has made my entire life.

One audience member asked what his favourite recipe was in his new book, he told her to buy a copy lol.  I had a copy in my bag and held it up for him to see, he asked me to stand at the front and model his new book which I got to do also.  He is such an amazing man and just like he appears on the tv and the accent, oh it's to die for.

We all had a thoroughly good day made even better for me by my kiss :D

Signing off for now

Fran x

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to my (not so little) first born.  He is 14 today.  I made my first "proper"birthday cake today which has gone down a treat.  It was a chocolate cake with a chocolate buttercream filling and then coated in chocolate buttercream, white chocolate buttons and white chocolate buttons with hundreds and thousands on the top.  The only thing missing were the candles.  I had to hunt around and, the only one I could find, was a number 5 candle from my son Harley's birthday cake in March.  John didn't seem to mind at all : )

Things are finally looking up.  Spoke to Tax Credits today and I am finally getting all my back dated money tomorrow and then regular payments resume on Monday.  It's going to be so good being able to get back into the kitchen.  We were literally down to our last bag of sausages today for dinner.  Goodness knows what we would have done if we had to have waited until Monday.

I'm off to the Gloucester Quays Food Festival tomorrow.  All day I get to sit and watch chefs prepare meals etc, Phil Vickery being one of them.  I'm also going to see my absolute favourite chef Gino D'Acampo on Saturday.  I'm going to take along his latest book and hopefully get him to sign it for me.  Maybe even get a cheeky picture with him if I can get close enough!

Well signing off for now as have a busy day ahead of me tomorrow : )

Fran x

Tiredness!

It really can't be healthy to feel this tired all the time.  I mean, come midday, I can barely function, I feel so tired.  If I have a nap it only makes it 10 x worse!  Although not formally diagnosed by a Doctor as suffering from Insomnia, I'm sure I have it.  I can't just go to sleep and stay asleep.  I wake up at least 4-5 times a night, I toss and turn all night and I can never get comfortable.  My husband moans at me because I have to go to sleep with the TV on.  It's just background noise for me to fall asleep to, because if I don't have anything and the room is silent, I can't fall asleep due to the damn ringing in my ears.  Not so much ringing more of a constant low pitched buzz, it drives me insane!  I know if I go to a Doctor they will blame everything on my weight.  Yes I know I'm overweight and I've gone to the ends of the earth to try and shift it but it just doesn't come off!  Maybe if I had the money to have my own personal trainer every day and a chef to cook me all my meals that might make a difference!

My "not smoking" lasted all of one day : (.  I know I can do it, before the kittens died last month I hadn't smoked for well over 100 days and I felt so much better for it.

Does anyone know if your taste buds change as you get older? The reason why I ask is, on an average day I will drink anything up to 10 cups of tea a day.  For the past week though, all cups of tea have been tasting like wet cardboard, vile.  I've had to start drinking hot chocolate as I don't drink coffee but I miss my cups of tea : (

It's my eldest son's birthday tomorrow.  John Samuel.  He will be 14 year old.  I can't believe how fast the time has flown by.  When did I become old enough to have a 14 year old child?  As I posted before he wants a morph suit, but because of our lack of funds at the moment, I've had to explain to him that although he might not get it on his birthday he will definitely get it by next week.  I feel awful making him wait, but there isn't anything else that I can do.  I'm sure he will have a lovely day all the same.  I'm going to attempt to make him a birthday cake, and put to use some of the Cake Decorating Magazines I have been collecting.

Harley finishes school tomorrow.  He's very excited about moving up into Year 1, but doesn't seem to comprehend the fact that he has to have 6 weeks off school first.

Signing off for now.

Fran x

I was very rudely awakened this morning to my eldest two kids having a massive fight right outside my bedroom door.  It would have been over a lot sooner had Kieran just been quiet and carried on getting ready for school, but oh no, he has to have the last word.  This then results in his brother being tipped over the edge and him lashing out.  I really can't deal with such things so early in the morning, and to say I was relieved that Kieran eventually left the house for school is an understatement.

I've been repeating a kind of mantra to myself all day, "I will not smoke a cigarette," and so far it has worked.  I haven't had one all day.  Saying that though, it doesn't mean I don't want one.  I have once again made the decision to stop smoking.  The only reason I started again was because of the death of two much loved kittens, but that was a month ago now and I need to do this again.  For the past week or so I've had a horrible niggley pain in my left arm, right in the middle of my bicep.  It doesn't last very long only a couple of seconds or so but it's on and off all day.  Then today I started getting pains in my left boob again which literally made me stop whatever I was doing and clutch my chest.

These incidents, coupled with the anxiety that I suffer from are no good for my state of mind.  I can't help but think that I'm on the way out and I can somehow stop this if I stop smoking, so here I am again.

My mum thinks I might be going through early menopause.  I will definitely have to make myself an appointment with the doctors as I really cannot take much more of the hot flushes I've been getting everyday.  I hope it isn't though as I'm still only 32!

I'm going to dare to believe that my money situation will be sorted by Monday and I'm going to create my meal plan for next week.  I really am looking forward to being able to do a big shop and buy lots of lovely fresh veg.  I'm really looking forward to getting back into the kitchen as well.  Somehow cooking pizza, chips and beans doesn't compare to cooking a nice joint of roast beef with all the trimmings!

Rain Rain Go Away!!!

In the small break in rain that we have had in sunny Gloucester, Harley gets home from school and begs to be let out in the back garden.  I relent only for Harley to say 5 minutes later, "I want to come in and watch Spongebob".  Cue me telling him he has to stay outside! Does that make me mean?

So G4S have messed up BIG time.  They don't have enough security staff to cover the O******s.  I write it like this because they have gone crazy and you are not allowed to mention the word in full due to copyright infringement, but we all know what it stands for right? Anyway they have now drafted in the Armed Forces to help with security.  Are they being paid contractors wages for their help? No! They are being paid their normal Armed Force wages.  Acceptable? I don't think so but apparently this is in their remit and they knew what they were in for when they signed up! Has anyone else got an opinion on this? I'd love to hear from you whether good or bad.

The Tax Credits office have well and truly screwed me over for yet another week.  3 weeks without money now.  I rang them today and was told that all my details were on the system, the chap I was speaking on the phone to said he had just that second sent it for processing and, if I telephoned them at the end of the week, they will "probably" be able to tell me then how much I am entitled to and when I "might" expect my first payment.  I honestly didn't realise you could feed 5 children on thin air!

I asked my son John today if he would be interested in going to a Home Educators Sports Day next week.  I teach him at home as he didn't get along with senior school.  His response "um I don't like going outside".  That's an understatement if ever there was one.  I actually cannot remember the last time he left this house to go and see some friends.  I despair of him sometimes.  He's 14 on Thursday and really wish he would go out more.  It's just not healthy for him to spend all the time he does in front of the computer.  It drives me insane!

ANTS

I seem to have acquired a massive ants nest in my garden, the picture doesn't really do it justice on how big it actually is, I also have a few smaller ones as well.  I'm wondering does anyone have a tried and tested method of getting rid of these ants nests and them staying away?  I've used hot water and powders but they just seem to move elsewhere or rebuild their nests.  I can't even let the little ones on the grass at the moment for fear that they'll stand on one and then get covered in ants.  So if anyone can help me I'd be glad to hear from you.

Signing off for now.

Fran x

Bliss

A whole half a day without the kiddie winks.  Can it get any better than this? Why yes it can.  I'm at my mums today so I don't even have to cook dinner, and having my favourite roast, Lamb!  I am so hungry, I'm really looking forward to it.  Hopefully, come tomorrow, I shall be able to start cooking again.  It's been a nightmare week last week, lack of funds meant no home cooked meals and having to live off freezer food.  All this because I've renewed my Tax Credits claim.  This has meant that for the past 3 weeks I haven't had any money, but with a bit of luck, tomorrow I should have my regular money plus whatever is owed backdated.  I can't wait to get in the kitchen again and start cooking "proper" food!

Aaaarrrrgggghhhh Facebook isn't working at the moment.  What the hell am I going to do? My life has come to a complete and utter standstill.  Oh well I suppose I'll just have to drink this big glass of rose wine and lemonade I have ; ) Panic over it's working again lol.

Well I had every intention of showing you the delightful dinner that I had had cooked for me by my mum, but by the time I had started tucking into it and realised that I wanted to take a photo, it was already half demolished lol.  Whoops!

Signing off for now, and hopefully things will be back to normal cooking wise next week : )

Fran x

Another Weekend

Well another Saturday is here and all too quickly it will be over and done with once again.  Can I do anything with the kids though? The answer to that is a big fat NO!!! The forecast doesn't look good, rain, rain and more rain, but hey what do you expect this is the great British summer after all.  Kieran is entertaining his younger brothers, Harley and Mackenzie by teaching them how to play dungeons and dragons.  Savannah is "helping" her dad to do the washing, and me, well i'm having a bit of time off today.  Didn't sleep much last night.  I don't know what was wrong I just kept tossing and turning.  It doesn't help that even though it is pouring with rain 95% of the time, it is as muggy as hell!

Another child of "Hollywood" has been found dead : ( Sylvester Stallone's son Sage was found unresponsive in his apartment and later pronounced dead.  Sylvester is said to be grief-stricken which any father would be.  The rumours have already started flying around that he died from an overdose.  If he did die from an overdose I don't think it's for the media to announce so soon.  Why can't they just let the family grieve first.  This must only be adding to the heartache that they must be feeling right now.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18840326

Some good news.  The little girl I reported about who had fallen from height at Chessington World of Adventures, is now out of her medically induced coma and talking.  She has even been reported as saying "Can I go back to Chessington, I promise I'll be more careful?"  Bless her.  Although she still has a long road of recovery ahead of her, it's all looking good.  Her left side of her body has been affected by the fall and she can't currently walk, but her parents are holding a fundraising event to help pay for her future rehabilitation.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18723840

Well it looks like I shall be having another trip to the vets.  My kitten Prince Orion (yes a great name I know, we couldn't decide between Prince or Orion so we had both), has now got a runny eye.  I'm hoping that it's just a bought of conjunctivitis and will easily be treated with drops.  Which reminds me I really must set up his insurance!

It seems I spoke too soon, signing the praises of Kieran, because now he has turned into an absolute nightmare.  If I hear the words "my life is so boring" and "it's so unfair" anymore I think I might actually sew his mouth shut!  Oh how to have the money to be able to ship him off somewhere, where he could spend a week living with people less fortunate than himself and then having him say that his life wasn't fair.  It's all very frustrating!

What a stroke of luck some people have.  The kind of luck where you think "why can't that happen to me?"  A pensioner went into his local charity shop and bought a brown bag for £20.  He has now discovered that the bag could be worth up to £350,000!!!! It's one of only about 10 bags made by designer Philip Treacy.  He has has two private collectors offer him £250,000 and £350,000 respectively for the bag!

http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/charity-shop-sells-designer-bag-worth-hundreds-of-thousands-for-%C2%A320.html?fb_action_ids=10151251303140898%2C4152858827098%2C3859161071985%2C10151022788414089%2C10151106539187754&fb_action_types=news.reads&fb_ref=type%3Aread%2Cuser%3A00sUfiCzz0Bhm00vnEqHKZVvR8s%2Ctype%3Aread%2Cuser%3Ap_2A9T1tyeES614EnvGE6wQTvhM%2Ctype%3Aread%2Cuser%3ARM-hjwfmF1G7sArSw5YVppagQDQ%2Ctype%3Aread%2Cuser%3AstyJ9pOBUGHywawvni2UQQplezY%2Ctype%3Aread%2Cuser%3A7sD6Fn6OlrrGLwFTfiItB2RW_ZA&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%2210151251303140898%22%3A10150905204165728%2C%224152858827098%22%3A10151021099189374%2C%223859161071985%22%3A10150937749793775%2C%2210151022788414089%22%3A10150964804158005%2C%2210151106539187754%22%3A10150943020603583%7D&code=AQBJaUhrW7lXlIti22cVlmi0lbhrT53DgLlSwt9iga77mWbVVxIZZare_732brRTILT2gxmOkTDXIntuyiWeOoqX00fvXzZAPxBn0yO_hJrX5qjVggGXO4tg0myjacDSWagelE_fW5y5a1MNEJguVi_g4ufxTTl6HJX7mVNb-bdBPoENVSlz-_hyrE32M7XU6iQ#_=_

Signing off for now.

Fran x

Depression

Why is depression still such a taboo subject in this day and age? Why are women still frightened to admit that they need a bit of help after a baby is born, for fear that they will be labelled a bad mum. Why do people feel that they have to suffer in silence?  Sorry to do such a down subject but I really am not feeling today at all.  I've suffered with depression on and off over the years, gosh it's been that long, that I can't even remember when it all first started.  I'm good when it comes to taking my anti-depressants but even I still get down days.  I normally cook ever day of the week as my own sort of therapy but I haven't done any at all this week so perhaps its all just caught up with me.  I couldn't tell you specifically what's wrong only that everything seems to be in slow motion, and I myself just feel sluggish and blah!  Of course life has to go on because I just can't take to my bed (although I wish I could) as I have Mackenzie & Savannah to look after.  I look at them and sometimes a smile passes my lips but, I don't feel it deep down if you know what I mean?

I actually felt like running last night.  Working everything out in my head, looked up b&b's that I could stay in (incidentally I found one that was £120 for 7 days) right next to the beach as well.  I had this whole scenario mapped out in my head, how i would go, stay in this b&b, after a day of rest I would go out and see if I could find a job.  Basically living a single person, with no attachments life.  But then I realised, I couldn't do that to my kids, just go away and leave them wondering if I was ever coming back.  Of course once I had myself sorted I would have sent for them but it was the actual doing it.

Any way, lets get off that topic and talk childhood food memories.  What is the one meal that takes you straight back to your childhood? I'm having mine right now! A Fish Finger Sandwich!!! Is there anything better, I'd like to know lol.

Is anyone else not interested in this John Terry Race Trial that is going on at the moment?  However many thousands of pounds, it has cost to take this incident to trial, the maximum possible sentence that he can get is a £2,500 fine.  That isn't going to make even a dent in what he earns.  Yes I agree that he should be punished for what he has "allegedly" done, but why drag it through the courts for such a meager sum of money.  Surely it would be better for his club to fine him say 3 months wages? Perhaps that would make him think twice before saying anything be it in jest or not!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18827915

Finally feeling a bit better : ) I have a lot to be thankful for, a good husband, my own home and 5 healthy children.  I think I need to remember this when I have a down day.  There are a hell of a lot more people in a worse off position than I am.

Breaking news.  My 13 year old son has agreed to let me cut his hair.  Now you may not think this is a big deal, but believe me it is.  He has afro hair and has been growing it for the past few months.  The only problem is, it is unruley.  He has very tight curls, which get incredibly knotted and you literally cannot do anything with it.  The reason he has asked me to cut it, it is his 14th birthday next Thursday and he has asked me and his dad to buy him a morph suit, (don't ask)!  Apparently it won't look right on him if his hair is the way it is now so he want's it cut.  Result!!!!

For those of you who don't know what a morph suit is, visit http://www.morphsuits.co.uk/?src=google&gclid=CLzumoWTl7ECFQRTfAodkBjp7A

BEFORE

AFTER

Total weight of hair cut off 2 1/4oz.  Don't ask me why we weighed it he just wanted to know lol.

Signing off for now. 

Fran x

Just a little bit sad : (

As I mentioned yesterday, today is my 9th wedding anniversary.  What did I get??? Nothing, Nada, Zip.  It's made me just a little bit sad.  I know that money is REALLY tight for us at the moment and I wasn't expecting the earth, but even a cheap bunch of petrol station flowers or a hand made card would have made me smile.  Of course I didn't let on that I was disappointed or upset.  I know you don't give presents to receive, and that's not why I'm upset it's just a little gesture would have been nice.

On the other hand my Mother-In-Law, came round last night and bought us the most amazing sweetie cake in the shape of a number 9.  Sweetie cake I hear you ask, yes an entire cake made out of sweets.  I will be striving to keep little hands away from it but I'm not sure how long that will last lol.

To find out more about sweetie cakes, visit www.sweetiepiecakes.co.uk tell them I sent you : )

My son Mackenzie got up about half an hour ago, he has since had a cup of tea and two slices of toast.  He is now asking when is it sandwich time lol.  I think perhaps he may be going through a growth spurt.  He has been complaining for a couple of weeks that his knees are hurting him, I assume it's just growing pains and hopefully won't last for much longer.  I hate to see any of my little ones hurting, knowing there isn't anything I can do about it.

Once again, Savannah is on the rampage, touching everything in sight.  Her favourite today, are the anniversary cards in the window.  Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr to this little whirlwind!  She learnt a new word today "woof woof".  I recently  had a look at a website, which showed developmental targets for 24 month old's.  Now bearing in mind Savannah is 2 next month, she cannot do one single target of what she is "supposedly" supposed to be able to.  I was concerned at first, but after some reassuring words from the lovely ladies of a Facebook group that I'm a member of, I'm aware now that she will do what she wants, when she wants and not to some silly timetable.  She has an excellent understanding of what you are saying to her and can often do things that are requested of her, it's everything else she doesn't want to do and I suppose that's just down to the diva in her : ).

I know it's only 3.40pm but I am treating myself to a nice big glass of rose wine and lemonade.  I think I need it after today.  Savannah has been her disobedient self and Mackenzie's constant cries of "Is it sandwich time yet" have got right on my nerves.  Still wouldn't change them for the world though!  Savannah is currently climbing in the toy box but it's keeping her quiet so I'll leave her to it for a bit I think ; ).

Presents

So it's my wedding anniversary tomorrow.  I will have been married for 9 years.  According to a site I found on the Internet, via Google, it is either copper (traditional) or leather (modern).  It's just typical then that a) I can't think of anything copper to get my husband, bar a 1p piece and b) he got a brand new wallet on Sunday.  Cue me rushing to our local supermarket looking for a new pair of work shoes for the hubster.  There were no nice shoes at all, not to mention no anniversary cards to my husband, but plenty for mum and dad and wedding day!  I ended up buying him a pair of Spongebob SquarePants lounging trousers, Spongebob SquarePants Socks & a pair of espidrills.  Never mind it'll just have to wait until next year when I get something related to the day.  In all honesty I think he thinks that I've forgotten what day it is tomorrow so we shall see if he gets anything for me ; )

Another sad story on the BBC News Website today.  A 4 year old girl has fallen from height at Chessington World of Adventures.  She didn't actually fall from a ride, oh no, she fell whilst queuing.  She is now in a critical condition in hospital.  Lets all cross our fingers for a speedy recovery!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18379364

I actually astound myself sometimes on just how classy I can be (do you sense the sarcasm?).  Have just wrapped up the hubster's anniversary present with (wait for it) red Christmas paper and brown parcel tape.  You see in a house of 7, things such as wrapping paper (any kind) and sellotape have a habit of disappearing.  I guess they disappear to the same place as all those odd socks.  You know what I mean, you put a pair in the tumble dryer but only 1 comes out.  What's that all about then????

I also managed to get the hubster a nice bottle of red wine to go with his presents tomorrow and a card.  Yes a card : ), something that a major supermarket chain seems incapable of stocking.

Picked Harley up from school, he came out wearing a lovely t-shirt provided by the school, and brandishing a certificate and medal.  School sports day.  He tells me he got his certificate and medal from winning running, doing roly-poly's and hopping.

I made another sad discovery today.  It seems my 12 year old has had light fingers again around my purse! It was only £2 but £2 is £2 in this day and age, this could have brought milk or bread.  I am at a loss as to what to do with him, it's not the first time it has happened and I thought he had learnt his lesson from when I threatened to chop his fingers off if he did it again.  I really don't know what else I can do with him.

Feeling much better after yesterday's bout of sickness and well you know.  My son Mackenzie (3) is refusing to eat his food though so don't know if he might be coming down with something.  Will have to keep an eye on him as he's crying a lot for no reason, but says that he feels ok.

Well that's all to report for now : )

Fran x

Shocking.

Not much to report today.  I took my son to school today and visited my dad who spent most of the morning dancing with my daughter.  I read something yesterday that shocked and saddened me to my very core.  A woman in Russia threw her children from a 15th floor block of flats because "she was fed up of having children".  As a mother we take an unconditional vow to protect our children at whatever cost, so to be the one who takes their life there must be something seriously wrong.  She allegedly lured them to the 15th floor with promises of throwing paper airplanes.  Why wouldn't you trust your mummy?  I only pray that they didn't know what was going on.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4395708/Mother-threw-sons-from-15th-floor-balcony.html

I think I may have contracted a mild form of food poisoning.  My own fault for eating a ham sandwich and not realising that the ham wasn't that great. I say wasn't that great I should have clicked something was wrong when I realised it wasn't chicken roll I was eating. Yes the ham was very pale. Lesson learned, cue vomiting and well lets not go into the other!

I think I have the best mum in the world as at short notice she picked my sons up from school for me and brought them home. I am now confined to my bed with a constant nauseous feeling and bubbling belly. Thank god for the husband too because even though he has been at work for 12 hours he's come home and sorted dinner and the kids. I still can't believe we'll have been married for 9 years on Thursday.

Fran x       
                                                    
                                                     

Update

I am now mobile have just downloaded blogger to my mobile so can update on the go now : )

Back To The Grindstone

Well that's another weekend over and done with far to quickly.  Back to the grindstone as they say.  I thought I was late taking my 5 year old to school today, as my clock said 9.30 when I looked at it.  I was gutted as he was supposed to be getting a certificate in assembly today.  It was only when I looked at the clock on my phone that I realised that little hands had gotten to my clock.  Literally no where is sacred!  Needless to say we got to school on time and I was very proud to sit there and watch my son get a certificate for "Amazing Independent Writing".  A chip off the old block I think as I always loved English at school : )

So now I'm sat at home writing this blog and contemplating tackling the vacuuming and kitchen before having to pick the kidlets up from school.  I only have my daughter at home on a Monday, Tuesday & Friday, I don't really count my eldest as he does his own school work (home schooled), so it should give me plenty of time to do what needs doing.  Well you would think that but time does seem to escape you!

Picked Harley up from school, laden with his certificate, 2 paintings and 3 drawings for me.  As well as his reading book and his new words that he has to learn from school.  The first question I get from him when we start to do his work was, "why is it called homework?"  My response, "because you do it at home."

That seemed to satisfy him and no more was said on the matter.  I cannot believe that he is going into Year 1 in September and then only another 2 years before he goes into Junior School.  Where has the time gone?

Mackenzie on the other hand, when I picked him up from school, he rushes out with a leaflet of all the activities his playschool is putting on throughout the summer holidays.  One of them being a trip to Barry Island, which I shall be taking them on, as I have fond memories from when I was a child of going on a day trip to Barry Island by coach.  Although, during once such trip, we stopped off at a pub on the way home.  I couldn't have been more than about 8-9 years old maybe even a year younger.

They had a play area in the pub and so I hastily made my way towards to swings.  Whilst swinging away, another girl came and started swinging next to me.  All of a sudden I heard her singing to herself something along the lines of "I'm going to chop you up into little pieces."  It frightened the absolute life out of me.  Funny the things you remember.

Savannah my daughter has got into a horrible habit of slapping me and I am at a loss as to what to do to stop her doing it.  I take her hands away, say no firmly whilst looking her in the eye, put her down if she is sat on my lap and even remove myself from being anywhere near me.  Just as I think she has learnt her lesson "wallop" I get another slap in the face.  She doesn't do it to anyone else apart from me.  It's making me feel very loved.  If anyone has any other advice on how I can tackle this behaviour, please get in touch.

Fran x

One Day

One day I may actually be able to eat a piece of toast without having to share it between 3 other people.  One day I may be able to drink a cup of tea whilst it's still hot.  The joys of motherhood.

Ah Sunday, my favourite day of the week.  Why??? Because Sunday means that the husband takes all the kids bar one (the eldest who likes to stay with me) to his mums for lunch and I have a relatively peaceful day.  I have my mum and her husband coming to dinner today which is going to be steak and home made peppercorn sauce, potatoes and vegetables.  I say potatoes, because I haven't decided whether to make mashed potatoes or roast potatoes.  The recipe comes from my Grandma's Kitchen Collection of Recipe Cards, which will be posted below.

So I'm a meal planner.  Does anyone else do this? I find having such a large family this is the best way to prepare meals, ensuring that the kidlets don't get bored of having the same old thing week in week out, and it also means they get to try new foods.  I am currently working out of about 6 different magazines and cookery books.  I am a bit OCD though, in that I can't just flip through and choose a recipe, I have to start at the beginning and work my way through the entire book before moving on to a new one.  So whether I come across a starter, main, side dish or dessert, I incorporate it the best way I can into the weeks meals.  One of the new things we tried this week was eggs with skordalia, which is a Greek accompaniment to eggs, almost like a mayonnaise but thicker because you add breadcrumbs and ground almonds to the mix.  This is something you should stay away from if you are not a big fan of garlic, as after eating this I ended up smelling like I was waiting to do battle with Dracula!!! The kids weren't overly keen on this as the garlic was the main flavour and a bit too pungent for them, but my 22 month old daughter loved it.  To date, the only food that she won't eat is manufactured fish fingers!

Well dinner was truly amazing.  I haven't felt as full as that in such a long time.  It was on a par to the feeling you have after eating Christmas dinner.  I think it was the extra portion of mashed potatoes and vegetables that did it.  Yes I chose mash in the end.

Now the recipe for the Steak with Pepper Sauce calls for the use of Fillet Steak but it would have cost me over £20 for those, but one of "Grandma's Secrets" is, "The subtle flavour of fillet steak is ideal for this dish, but Grandma would often use sirloin or rump steak instead for a cheaper option.  Alternatively, she would select some juicy pork steaks and substitute cide for the cognac."

I chose to use Sirloin Steak which was on offer and cost me £10 for 4 5oz Steaks.  Recipe Below.

Fillet Steak with Pepper Sauce


Ingredients

4 Fillet Steaks, About 200g/7oz Each
2 tbsp Green or Black Peppercorns
1/2 tsp Mustard Powder
2 tbsp Sunflower Oil
4 tbsp Cognac
200g/7oz Creme Fraiche

Method

1. Leave the steaks to stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes before cooking - this helps to make them more tender.  Then pat dry with kitchen paper to remove any moisture.

2. Crush the peppercorns using a pestle and mortar.  Or, put in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin.

3. Sprinkle the steaks with a little of the mustard powder.  Spread the peppercorns on a plate and use to coat both sides of each steak, pressing them firmly into the meat.

4. Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan.  Add the steaks to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes per side for rare, 3-4 minutes per side for medium and 5-6 minutes for well done.  Transfer to a warm serving dish, cover and keep warm.

5. Off the heat, stir the Cognac into the pan and stir to loosen any sediment.  Add the creme fraiche and cook gently for 1-2 minutes stirring constantly.  Pour over the steaks and serve immediately.

And the finished article looked something like this : )

If you decide to try it let me know what you think.

Enjoy x

How Many Times????

Can you tell one little girl "no".  My daughter Savannah (22 months), has consistently tried my patience today.  Time and time again I tell her not to touch things yet she carries on.  I am slowly starting to tire of this phase of toddlerhood.  Twice whilst watching a program that was recorded she decided to reboot the box, cutting it off at crucial points.  I am sure they just know lol.  God bless 7.30pm when she can go to bed.  This is the relatively easy stage as she has always been a perfect sleeper, and is quite happy to just sit in her cot playing/being quiet until she eventually falls asleep of her own accord.  I love her to pieces but she could try the patience of a saint!

The weather is still thoroughly miserable here in sunny Gloucestershire, so any plans for out doors activities with the kids are scrapped until further notice.  Instead they have had a nice day playing indoors together, the two eldest on their laptops of course, whilst mummy and daddy have the pleasure of tidying up the inevitable destruction that is left in their wake.

Lunch today was a lovely Chicken & Mango Relish Sandwich on Wholemeal Bread which is super easy to make and super tasty.  The recipe came from July's Issue of Slimming World Magazine, and can be found on Page 73.  For those of you who haven't got a copy I will post the recipe below.  I think it also had slight undertones of tasting like coronation chicken due to the curry powder.

Chicken & Mango Relish Sandwich

Peel and cube a thick slice of mango and a 3cm chunk of cucumber, then mix with a small handful of finely chopped fresh coriander, 2 tbsp fat-free natural yogurt and a large pinch of curry powder.  Season with salt & pepper.  Cube 75g cooked skinless chicken and stir into the mango relish.  

If you decide to try it let me know what you think.

Signing off for now : )

Hello From Me

So here it is my first blog.  I have no idea what to do or what to say but I'm sure it will come to me over the coming months.  I suppose I had better introduce myself.  My name is Fran (Francesca) and I am 32 years young.  I have 5 children, John Samuel 13, Kieran 12, Harley 5, Mackenzie 3 & Savannah 22 months.  I am married to Chris (have been for 9 years on the 12th July), but we have been together 12 years.  We have our ups and downs like most married couples, and are now striving to always talk things through.  Our new motto is to never go to bed on an argument.

I am the organiser of the Gloucester Group of the Clandestine Cake Club.  Myself and other like minded people meet up once a month to eat and talk cake, each member bringing their own cake baked to the theme of the month.  Our theme this month is "Around The World In 80 Cakes".  I have chosen Italy and I am making an Italian Chocolate Cake.  There are some wonderful varieties being brought this month.  If you would like to find out more about the Cake Club then please visit www.clandestinecakeclub.co.uk

I am a stay at home mum who loves to cook, bake, read, occasionally write poetry, but I suppose my main job would be to act as a referee between all of my children.  To guide them in the best way that I feel is humanly possible and to be there whenever they need me be they 5 or 50.

There will probably be a lot of baking/cooking updates, recipes and pictures.  If you would like to ask me any questions then please feel free to do so and I'll try to help in any way I can.  I'll tell you how my day went and you can tell me how your day went.  I suppose it's just a little insight into the way I run my house, my children and my life really.

I hope you enjoy.

P.S I'm the one in the yellow :)