Comfort food x3

The weather has changed. This morning's walk to and fro school was done under a brolly (it's school photo day and hair paranoia was rife in my eldest).  Cue many disputes over who would hold the umbrella, how much umbrella each child needed, how fast to walk etc, etc. I ran interference as much as possible, I carried umbrella, asked the youngest to either walk in the middle (not acceptable to the eldest as it pushed him to the outside of the umbrella), on the other side of me (not acceptable to the youngest, how could he harrass his brother from such a distance?!) or in front of us both (not acceptable to me as we were late and he walks at snail pace unless holding someones hand). Behind us wasn't going to work as he would get distracted and I'd be half way along the road before realising he had stopped to examine a stone or two after 2 steps. 

We made it to school on time and unscathed (both were a close run thing) and waited under the shelter for each boys class to be opened up. Kissed the youngest and sent him in with no fuss (shocking) but then had to pop the umbrella back up as the eldest wouldn't leave the shelter for love nor money without it, despite evidence that it was no longer raining. He pootled on in complaining all the time that I hadn't sent the permission slip in for his year term treat tomorrow. I promised to speak to the teacher after school and ask for the letter that I never got...

Big sigh, and relax.... I then had a quick stroll around boundary park before heading home . By the time I got home, I was quite chilly and the grey sky had made me feel a bit glum. The solution? CHRISTMAS MUSIC and comfort food of course! Yes I know it's a bit early for christmas music but I've heard that it's OK after Halloween so I'm choosing Halloween 2016...

I had seen on Pinterest (I'm an complete addict to pinning things that in all likelihood I will NEVER

have enough time to make/cook even if I live to be as old as Mary Berry) a trend for cooking things in potatoes and, as I have just had a sack of potatoes delivered now seemed a good time to give it a go. What I wanted to put it was eluding me however so I  prepared 4 largeish potatoes and popped them in the oven to bake, hoping inspiration would strike while I got on with other things.

Two hours later the potatoes were done and I was still stuck so rummaged through the freezer and hit pay dirt with a pack of beef mince - cottage pie! I chopped the jacket potatoes in half and scooped the insides out, reserving them for the tops.

I'd just need to mention how much easier that was for me as I used this gadget which I can't remember the name of but I LOVE wholeheartedly! It makes life so much easier as it grips bowls so I can stir without a messy disaster and bread loafs so I can cut a slice without have to squash it  by leaning on it with my duff arms and full body weight (which still doesn't work). It suckers onto the counter top securely and the black pegs can be moved into different slots to accommodate different sized/shaped objects.

I quickly whipped up the filling, starting with a chopped onion and another gadget that I want to show off. This one is supposed to be for making chips but it is super useful for providing an evenly chopped vegetable! It works via a ratchet mechanism and has a knife guide on the front which aids chopping even sizes.

Once the onion was softened, I then browned off the meat and started thinking about veg. I diced a carrot and some celery using the chipper and added it in along with frozen peas and sweetcorn, a good glug of Worcestershire sauce, a pint of water, a beef stock cube and a vegetable cube. It was left it to bubble gently for a few minutes so the carrot could soften and the frozen veg heat through.
It was only at the point that I realised that I shouldn't have added the veg at all - my husband won't eat any vegetables except potato, limited onion and a certain spinach dish that you can only get in Germany so I normally add them after I've taken his portion out. Quick brain storm later I realised if I took his quarter of the potato inners and mixed it with cheese and the last 2 slices of ham in the fridge then that would serve nicely as his potato filling. I separated his into a smaller dish and got filling, meat first, then mash and finally a sprinkle of cheese.

It was only then I realised the time and so dashed out the door to my youngest carnival afternoon. All the classes have been renamed to country names this year so as he is in Brazil class, they are having an end of term "carnival" where they act out the class story, do some crafts and then sing us a song. It was the sort of adoreable that only appeals to the parents of the children in question. I teared up a bit while they did the story as my son tried really hard to do all the actions and to remember the words and just did great! I then gathered him up and all the bits and bobs I could find that belonged to him (that explains where all his jumpers had disappeared to) and grabbed his brother from his class and headed home in the now pouring rain.

The kids are always ravenous when they get home so I threw the cottage potatoes into the oven and whipped up a quick salad and they were soon to be happy chappies...

While they baked, I had a lot of left over filling so I quickly boiled and mashed 5 medium sized potatoes and popped them both into a pan and then into the freezer once they had cooled for a quick cottage pie for another day. I may add an addendum later onwhen I cook it.

Sorry I forgot to take a photo of that or of the cheese and ham potato once it was cooked. The first because my eldest mucked up his Minecraft account while I was getting this lot done and so I had to deal with his WORLD ENDING!  The second didn't get cooked until very late as JJ messaged me from the train when he got near enough so it was ready soon after he walked in the door or I suspect it would have been uneaten and he would have gone straight to bed!

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Cottage pie two ways and a fussy eater potato

by OneHanded Mum October-19-2017

3 Indivdual cottage pie in a jacket potatoes, 1 large cottage pie and 1 cheesy potato

Details

Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 2 hour 50 mins Total time: 3 hour 20 mins Yield: 4 potatoes plus a large cottage pie

Ingredients

• 4 large potatoes
• 5 medium potatoes
• Onion, chopped Onion, chopped
• 300g lean mince beef
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1 celery, diced
• 1 generous handful peas, frozen
• 1 generous handful sweetcorn, frozen
• 1 large glug Worcestershire Sauce
• 1pint water
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 1 beef stock cube
• 2 tblsp olive oil
• Enough to sprinkle sea salt
• 2 knob butter
• 50g plus extra for sprinkling grated mature cheddar
• 2 slices ham, roughly chopped
• corn powder, optional

Instructions

Set the oven to 180 C (160 C fan)
Cover the 4 potatoes in oil and then sprinkle them generously with sea salt
Place directly on the oven shelf placing a baking sheet on the shelf beneath.
Bake for approx 2 hours 20 minutes, checking after 2 hours. 
Peel remaining potatoes and boil in water until soft. 
Drain and then mash along with a knob of butter. Put to one side.
Now to prepare the meat "filling": Saute, the onion until caramelised then add the meat. Cook until all the pink is gone.
Add the peas, sweetcorn, carrot, water and stock cubes and stir. 
Let  simmer until the carrot is cooked through. If the gravy is too runny, use the cornflower to thicken. Put to one side
Constructing the pies: Once the jacket potatoes are cooked, do not turn off the oven, allow them to cool a little to save your fingers, then cut them in half and scoop out the inside, leaving a small amount against the skin. 
Place the skins into a suitable baking vessel, placing one seperately in a large ramekin. 
Mash the insides with a knob of butter and the cheese. 
Fill the potato skins (all but one) with 1-2 tablespoons of meat and top with cheesy potato. 
Add the ham to the leftover potato mash from the insides and fill the potato in the individual ramekin with the mixture.
Place the remaining meat mixture in a small casserole dish, top with the additional mash potato.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese over all the pies an place back into the oven for 1/2 hour.

Roast chicken and mushroom pie (Deli chicken part 1)

Over the weekend, we visited Costco and as usual, we came home with a ram packed car and a much reduced bank balance. Among the loo rolls and huge bag of chia seeds, I had secreted a rotisserie chicken. The boys told me it smelt delicious (my sense of smell went as a result of my stroke) and it was so cheap I thought we could have it for a few meals and I could whip up some stock from it too. Getting it home I quickly stripped it and chucked the skin/fat/bones into the slow cooker along with carrots and onion and bagged up the meat and popped it into the fridge.

Yesterday, we had a small gammon for lunch and I thought I could whip up a chicken and gammon pie but hubby but, come the evening the rest of the gammon disappeared into sandwiches so bang goes that plan....

I do have leftover veg from yesterday's lunch  in the fridge and some puff pastry - chicken and vegtable pasties it is! Even better my veggie hating husband is in Gothenburg ("I am batman! Grrr" - my husband) so I can load it up with veg without having to cook something different too.

This couldn't be more simple, first I chopped up some chicken and the leftover veg and left it in a bowl, and covered it in a quick bechemel sauce (which went a bit lumpy because the postman rung the bell but a few lumps never hurt anyone ...)

I then filled a shallow pie plate with just over 1/2 of the mixture, topped it with puff pastry and glazed it with egg. This one will go in the freezer for another day.

To use up the remaining mix I used my biggest circle cutter to make individual pies which the boys can have for tea tonight and in their lunch boxes tomorrow

They came out beautifully and my boys wolfed through theirs at tea time, along with veg and mashed potato and were cuffed to find they'd have more tomorrow.

Of course, the only difficulty now is concealing the mini nutella filled pie that I made with the last few scraps of dough so I can have to as a treat - shhhhhhhh...

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Chicken and Leftover Pie

by Lydia Juerss September-11-2017

Use up bits and bobs in your fridge to make this quick and adaptable pie

Ingredients

• 1 ( approx 150g) Chicken breast, chopped into small pieces
• Approx 250g Leftover vegetables, chopped into small pieces
• 25g Butter
• 4tblsp Plain flour
• 250ml Milk
• 1 packet Puff Pastry
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1 egg, beaten

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 200 CFirstly make a bechemel sauce. Melt the butter over a low heat.Stir in the four to make a thick paste. Add the milk a little at a time stirring vigorously until you have a thick sauceCombine the sauce with the chicken and vegetables Roll out the puff pastry to approx 5 mm thickIf making one large pie, transfer the mix to a pie plate and paint the rim of the plate with egg. Drape the pastry over the top, trim the excess, crimp the edges and make a sall hole in the top to let the steam out before painting the pastry with egg. Any leftover mixture and pastry can then be made into individual pies. Cut an even number of circles from your pastry. Put a half tablespoon of the mixture onto one circle, paint egg around the edges and place a second circle on top. Seal the edges and make a hole in the top to release the steam then pain with egg and place on a baking sheet.Bake the large pie for 35-40 minutes, the small pies 20-30 minutes until golden brown

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 40 mins Yield: 1 shallow plate pie and 6 individual pasties or one deep pie

Recipe Notes:

This is a really forgiving recipe - want a heavier chicken content? Throw it in! Add more veg? Great! Left over gravy? Stir it into the sauce. With the veg if it isn't cooked already either precook it or cut it up really small - I grated half a courgette into mine to really load up the veg content. 

Got a picky eater? This is also an easy one to adapt, make up the mixture without the bits your picky one doesn't like and make them an individual pie and then chuck the objectionable stuff in for the rest of you

Made to many pies? They freeze just fine. Defrost for 24 hours before cooking or cook straight from the freezer (just make sure the contents are properly heated through.

Used all your mix and have pastry left over? Try making jam or nutella pasties and you've got pudding sorted too.

Redemption...

After last weeks appalling attempt, today I realised I had nothing sweet to put in the boys lunchboxes in the morning (they have nagged me to let them have packed lunch for the term -ugh- and I have reluctantly agreed).

I had a trawl through the kitchen and found a butternut squash that was starting to look worse the wear so quickly found a pumpkin blondie recipe on the net that seemed fairly easy and, more importantly, I had enough ingredients for.

It came together quickly, the longest step being to prepare the butternut squash and boil it. I did substitute raisins for the pecans as they boys aren't allowed to take nut's etc into their school. Popped them in the oven while I packed the dishwasher and cleared up from the boys painting session this morning.

Leaving the to cool, I was a little nervous but I needn't have been as they turned out beautifully!

I let both children try them and they promptly spend the rest of the evening nagging "can we have another". I feel my soul is cleansed of my previous disaster so maybe I should actually tackle the sourdough brownies again. Another day, for today I shall revel in my triumph...

The return of the school run...

Yesterday, my two boys went back to school. We'd had a good summer so I was worried I was going to miss them dreadfully...

However, my children are SO CONSIDERATE that they decided to act like ferral animals before almost from the moment of waking,  purely so I'd be glad they are gone.

First crisis? The eldest wants to do the youngest's hair but the youngest has a clear idea of how he wants his hair done. He draws a picture on the black board of what he wants. I didn't get a photo but it was effectively a picture of the side of Homer Simpson's hair and he is ADAMANT he want's zigzag hair.

So, I brushed my teeth to a chorus of "I WANT THIS!", "YOU CAN'T HAVE ARROW HAIR, I'LL DO IT HOW IIIIIIIII WANT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

BUT I have been reading/listening to "How to talk so little kids will listen" so I took a deep breath, girded my lions and calmly walked onto the landings and called them to me and proceeded to completely loose my shit knowing full well that I had failed at the first hurdle (both boys in tears, one barricaded in his room, the other shoulder barging the door.)

The book does advise that "you almost always get s second chance" to set things on the right path.  Eventually, I  regained my temper, got the youngest to accept that zigzag hair wasn't going to happen but he'd look AWESOME if Daddy styled his hair like daddies. Deliver still slightly sniffly child to Daddy who promptly announces "I won't be able to do it like mine" while I frantically making shushing gestures behind his head.

Finally peace is restored, children are dressed and clean... So it's time for the obligatory first day back photos... We hunt down the school shoes and head for the front door... 37 photos later, I gave up trying to get them both to smile and look in the same direction at the same time.

We are now late leaving, so Daddy kisses them goodbye and off we go...

Despite the fraught morning, I am still a little sniffly when I drop them off at their new classes but that soon passes when I realise I am going home to PEACE AND QUIET!

Cleaning up

The things that I have found most irritating over the last few years tend to be little and largely insignificant in the whole scheme of things! For instance, I have found my way round the problems of preparing and cooking food fairly easily - it is the clean up that has thwarted me time and time again. For example, having cut bread it is inevitable that a small amount of crumbs would escape the board/plate. I used to use one hand to sweep the crumbs off the top into my other hand and from there to the bin which is now impractical. I have tried putting a plastic container against the edge of the top, held in place with my hip or stomach but inevitably I would drop the box and spill the contents everywhere. That is, until this week, when looking at sale items in Lakeland Plastics  I found the Chop & Sweep Bin Board. 

I immediately declared, in a decisive and forthright manner, that, as it was reduced to £15, I would buy one. But in true Bryant woman style I hemmed and hawed and didn't get round to it. 

Three days later, wandering round Asda with both my boys in tow, what should my stunned eyes see? The Worktop Wonder from JML - An almost identical product, but cheaper and more versatile! My one reservation with the bin board had been that, if items fall off the board onto the counter, there is no way to sweep them into the bin

No such problem with this alternative and having used it for a few days, I am  pleased to report that it was well worth the £9.99 I paid!
In addition to the clean up after chopping veg etc. I've found that I store it by the kettle so I can also use it for tea bags, so no more drips of tea from the kettle to the bin. If only I can persuade my hubby to clean up after himself, then I could have a fairly effortlessly clean kitchen! (I don't hold out much hope for miracles though...)

Let's try again shall we?!

I started this blog not long after having my first son for various reasons. It very quickly fell by the wayside as I was dealing with a number of things - adjusting to life as a mother while coming to terms with being disabled and trying to move on emotionally from the trauma of the stroke itself. However, after chatting with my stroke consultant - the lovely Dr.Cloud - I think my experiences could be useful to others who may find themselves in similar circumstances. Initially I was going to focus on gadgets that assisted me as a mother.

But that was 3 years ago (yup Bigfoot is now not far off school age!)  and I now have a second son (Littlefoot) who is 3 months old now so I have a bit of a different (more balanced?) focus now and so I think I will widen the focus of the blog to general aids that have helped, or organisations that have assisted me to live as normally as possible with only the use of one arm. I am going to try to to post at least once a week not always with product reviews but hopefully with relevant stuff...

breasting feeding products

Breastfeeding one handed is not the easiest task - I was often told to support my breast while holding the baby in place and to tickle his toes to keep him awake as he was jaundiced so constantly tired.So I ended u pmore often than not in tears - frustrated, feeling guilty as I wasn't feeding my baby properly. While in hospital they took good care of me - I was assigned a care assistant to help me at all times but at home obviously I couldn't manage despite bigger feets help.I had planned on putting short videos up showing how theses items worked - please forgive me but I decided the world isn't really for video of my boobies! We tried various products to help out some with more success than others:

The Widgey Support Cushion
Details:£24.99 from Mothercare


We tried this in the shop and it seemed like a good idea....
Pros: It is fairly easy to fit round you one handed
cons: The rounded top means, if baby wiggles as much as Bigfoot does, it isn't very secure though it does support your arm well if you are confident enough to lift the baby one armed ( I wasn't/am not). On the plus side it is easy to pull on one handed and would possibly be useful if you were sat in the middle of a bed so if the baby slipped it wouldn't be the end of the world - as it was I gave up with it once I had left hospital.and I do prefer to feed sat in a chair.

my breast friend
Details : £44.99 from Mothercare or online at
pros: a nice firm support pillow that clips in place with bumps to lift the babys head a little. As a rather well endowed woman it "presents" my breasts at the right height. The version available at their website has 2 fixings an adjustable clip and a useful velcro strap - unfortunately the version available in mothercare only has the clip.It has a built in back rest which I found very comfortable.and a handy pocket on the front - perfect for holding a muslin etc.
Cons: It is a little to clasp the clip one-handed but the velcro version may be easier! I also find it quite hard to position the baby on it without help - but this is mostly because bigfeet has decided he doesn't like breast feeding - I think due to the pressure in hospital making me tense and miserable which i think he picked up onand with lots of different people forcing him to feed instead of letting him get on with it himself so when we position him he squirms and cries and make life generally awkward,

Easy Expression Hands Free Breast Pump Bra - Bustier and Halter
Details : Easy Expression approx £19.99
Pros: Really easy to get on( I have the halter version) it is easy to pull on over my head all the way down to my hips then back up under my duff arm - the halter tie is long enough to hold one end in my teeth to tie it though I leave it done up most of the time as it can then just stretch over my head easily. Putting in the pumps is doable though not easy it took some practice but I am quite good at it now.
I did have mastitis caused by the way I was holding the pump preventing the breast to drain properly but since I used this it has almost completely cleared up.(quick tip from my cousins wife emma - mastitis can be helped by cabbage leaves in your bra - not necessarily the most exotic acessory ever but it works).
Cons: getting the pumps in takes some practice but is doeable without damaging your poor boobs and I am now a dab hand at it!

Medela Mini Electric Plus Breast Plus
Details: £70 from various
Pros: I found this just as good as the hospital medela pumps. It is fairly easy to assemble BUT getting the membrane on the filter is very hard the only way i could do it was to pop the yellow fillter on the cup bit of the pump grip the cup in my teeth then go cross eyed while I put the membrane on- easier said than done but achieveable
Cons: I also found the bottles that came with it were too big - unfortunately being rather well endowed they tounched my thighs tipping the pump backwardswasting valuable milk! I replaced them with the 50ml bottles from the hospital which though strerilisable they just throw awaay and so being a miser a grabbed a bunch of them thinking even if I couldn't use them maube our local school could use them to store paints or similar.The connecting tubes are quite short so I have pulled the whole shebang off the table when shifting to get comfy.This is particuarily annoying as I pop the big bottle in the stand so when the 50 ml bottles fill they don't over flow so I loose my hard won milk!
Tips: you will get a hiogher yield of milk if you don't double pump but you pump fist one breast for 5 mins then the other for 5 mins and then switch back. You need to express roughly the same number of times as your baby feeds - tedious i know but it means you will have enough milk to avoid formula.

Mothercare own nipple sheilds
Detaiils: Motghercare £3.99
Pros:Recommended by te midwife and did help the monster latch on once ,yup just once.
Cons: These don't have a cut out or the babies nose and seemed to seal over his nostrils quite often. They "stick" on using water and as big feet is a wiggler he just immeadiately got his fingers under them and so they peeled off - I am thinking of taking a pair of scissors to them to solve the nose problem and may see how they work then - I am determined to keep trying him and hopefully end up breast feeding as expressing is just so time consuming and frankly boring.

Tommee Tippee bottle and food warmer
Details : Tescos £19.99
Pros: Quick hesting amd takes various sized bottles - by the time nappy is changed and big foot is ready to eat the bottle is warm .If like me you find everything takes longer with only one hand - this is a useful timesaver and having it by the bed takes some of the stress out of night feeds and mean I don't have to freeze in the kitchen at midnight.
cons: There is no on off switchso to turn it off have to unplug it this is awkward and not as easy as it could be as we have it plugged oin by the bed and have to have an extension lead so it can be plugged in but not a major problem we just got an extension lead with each socket individually switched t o solve the prolem.I haven't reviewed it as it isn't really to do with on handed parenting but we also have a small camping fridge which we keep on the bedside table s o we don't have to go down to the kitchen at all - lazy I know but every minute of sleep counts!