It really feels as if winter is on its way now. I am delighted when the heating comes on and I seem to be spending my evenings wrapped up in a comforting big jumper (often liberated from my husband’s wardrobe! – ssshhh, don’t tell him!), snuggly thick socks and slippers. Oh and hot chocolate when the kids are in bed.
With the colder weather, I have 
been increasing my efforts to make potato more appealing and appetizing to my little potato-hater. We did try making hash browns, and he really did love using the food processor to grate the potato, but the entire recipe failed to entice him to devour a potato. Maybe wanting Atticus to do a complete one-eighty on his opinion of potatoes is a long shot, but I am really, really hoping that he will all of a sudden discover his Irish roots and the love of potatoes that everyone in my side family seems to have.
This recipe is the latest attempt, and I am happy to say that it is the most successful to date. I also have photographic evidence of Atticus eating it as I didn’t think his dad would believe me unless I had proof. I am unsure as to whether this was a one off or if it will become a bit more frequent, but for the moment I am revelling in my success!
For this recipe, I allowed one jacket potato per adult and half per child. We served it as an accompaniment to sausages, and corncobs for the kids. I had mine with salad and Simon had chicken wings.
Ingredients
- 4 cooked jacket potatoes (I tend to cook mine for a couple of hours the morning of or the evening before making these. They are easier to do when the skin is crispy)
- 250ml passata
- 1/2tsp garlic salt
- 2tsp dried mixed herbs
- 150-200g grated cheddar (or cheese of choice)
- Black pepper to taste (optional)
- Variations; add some tuna and sweetcorn as well as the passata or chopped sausage or pepperoni to make different flavours.
Method
Slice each cooked jacket potato in half (lengthways). The boys (6 and 4) used a sharp knife to do this).- Scoop out the centre of the potatoes
with a spoon being careful not to tear the skin and put in a large bowl. Place the skins in an oven proof dish. - Squish and squash the potato with a masher.
- Add the passata, garlic salt, dried mixed herbs and black pepper (if using) and any other flavours and mix so that the mashed potato is
fully coated in the passata. - Spoon the potato mixture back into the potato skins and place in a large ovenproof dish.
- Sprinkle the cheese on top and put in the oven for 15 minutes so that the cheese melts and the potato warms through.
The children thought these were fun and they all got really involved in the process of making these ‘Pizza Potato Boats’. The two year old told me off for trying to help her (Little Miss Independent!). It was wonderful to see them all hard at work with the same activity and then all actually eat it without a single complaint!
When making the meatballs we talked about textures and scents of the ingredients. We also made different sized meatballs and Seb took great delight in using as many different adjectives to mean big or small to describe them. Who said cooking with the kids only teaches them about food?
in a bowl and mix well.
which contain the essence of other favourites? Our kids, in particular the younger two, love baked beans. Beans on toast is a standard Monday night dinner after swimming as after trying to watch two boys swim and then help them get changed again afterwards while ensuring a two year old doesn’t disappear is a really stressful feat. Thank heavens she goes to play with her dear friends the crèche ladies for most of the lesson! (Big thank you crèche ladies.) On the occasions that she has been poolside with me, I have had to drag her away from the edge of the water to prevent her from joining her brothers’ lessons fully clothed!
Another popular dinner choice is sausages. I think they would feature a lot more frequently if I let the kids choose the weekly menu! If you asked most children what their favourite meal is, I do think that sausages (meat or veggie) would probably prove one of the more popular choices. My children are happy eating either meat or vegetarian sausages and this dish could in fact be made veggie friendly.
single hitch. The truth is that each child spilt the melted butter bowl once and I ended up with the contents all over the counter and the floor. I can say I was definitely getting frustrated with the three of them by the end of the process. I didn’t always remain as patient and as calm as I should have, but we soldiered on. Then when it came out of the oven, I saw their impressed faces and it was all worth it. Cliché yes, but 100% true. From experience, I would recommend using a wide-bottomed sturdy bowl for the melted butter rather than a plastic one to prevent accidental spillage.
Add 90g of the cheese to the bean bowl and mix well.
‘bowl’ (you should have a small circle of exposed bean mixture in the centre of the pie) and brush the scrunched pastry with the remaining butter.
slice was a bit of a challenge to get out intact, but subsequent slices came out more easily. According to Seb this is; ‘loads better than beans on toast!’ He managed to eat two slices as well as the rest of the food on his plate! I think there may well be more requests for it in the near furture. Do let me know if you try this out.
people Spanish, I pounced on the paella rice in the supermarket when I found it. I normally grab risotto rice on autopilot as going to the supermarket without any ‘help’ is a luxury! I tend to walk around the supermarket revelling in my child-free status and barely looking at the shelves, just grabbing the usual. My hope was that the rice would reignite my efforts to immerse my kids in Spanish and provide them with a yummy, hands on and stress-free dinner. Stress-free because rice is a universally accepted carbohydrate in our house and doesn’t elicit the horrible reaction that certain forms of potato produce.
If you are doing this recipe with children over 4, you may want to let them have a go at chopping the chorizo, chicken and fish with supervision and help as required. Otherwise, you can chop in advance for them or buy pre-chopped. With the chorizo you could buy slices and have the children tear it up instead. If you are using stock pots rather than stock cubes it is easier to make them dissolve with boiling water so your children may require help pouring it in. If you are using stock cubes they can crumble them into cold water.
and small prawns and mix well.
After all the cake at Ophelia’s birthday, I decided that it was time to make something savoury again and to take advantage of Atticus being at home, something that will happen less and less as he starts school in the autumn. Out of the savoury items we make, the ones which comprise of copious amount of cheese are generally more successfully with the children. Cheese is a popular snack and we seem to go through a mammoth amount every week. I have no concerns about my children’s’ calcium intake!
Slice the rind off the brie and chop and grate the emmental and the parmesan.
and pulse until all combined.
Divide the cheesy mixture between the ramekins and then sprinkle with the remaining parmesan.
15 minutes until bubbling. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5-10 minutes before putting a piece of quartered fig on top and enjoy. You will need to remind your children that the cheese will still be quite hot. Mine enjoyed blowing on it to cool it down before dunking soldiers into it.
Atticus and Ophelia had these for lunch with some sliced pear and buttered toast. They could equally be served for a dinner with vegetable sticks, crusty bread or anything else you want to dip in them! My kids would probably enjoy dipping cocktail sausages in them. I enjoyed mine with olive bread, baby corn and sugar snap peas.
they were a very good effort from a five year old and all the kids ate them for dinner very happily for two nights. How often does that happen?! A child willing to eat the same thing for dinner (with different accompaniments) two nights in a row without complaint and not a single child muttered anything about not liking them. We had two nights of clear plates! Woop woop! It is a victory that I am celebrating with a happy little dance which I am very glad you can’t see! But call me crazy, I am reluctant to try these again too soon as I don’t want them to decide they don’t like them and taint my victory!
Mix the salmon, ricotta, lemon zest and juice, rosemary and seasoning in a bowl and put in the fridge while you roll out the pastry. Seb had some help with the zesting, but was really determined to have a go.
this step or roll it a little bit to make it thinner).
We did have this issue with some of ours, but it obviously doesn’t affect the taste.
egg around the edge of each circle to help it stick together.
using a fork. Brush them with the remaining egg and then refrigerate for 30 minutes before cooking them in an oven which has been preheated to 180°c fan for 30-35 minutes until all golden.
and they love it when sausages are on the menu. As none of my children particularly enjoy (please read absolutely hate and wouldn’t touch with a barge pole) mashed potato, they are not on the menu too often. This seems to change in the summer months when the BBQ emerges from its winter hibernation to perform its summer duties.
We had leftover sausages from a BBQ over last bank holiday weekend and to use them up I decided the kids and I would make Mini Toad in the Holes. Pancakes always go down well, so why not add sausage to the mix to make them extra special? Unsurprisingly as soon as I mentioned cooking with sausages I had a couple of children following me eager to get started!
Preheat the oven to 200ºc and put a silicone muffin case into each of the muffin holes. Spray them with frylight or paint them with oil using a pastry brush.
jug and mix. Season the mixture and whisk in the eggs.
Spoon or pour equally into the muffin cases and then divide the sliced sausages among them.