ideas – Page 3 – Mediocre Mum

Between good friends……

If I’m honest, I’d prefer to get experiences as presents rather than gifts. I know it’s nice to have a little something nice to open under the tree but, we’re not flush by any means, if there is something I want I tend to just go out and buy it myself even if I can’t afford it.

Plus, not being ungrateful, my hubby has a dreadful problem listening or taking subtle hints. Last year, we went to the shops, I said I’d like a new pair of PJs, and then pointed at a stack of them saying ‘any of these would be fabulous, except those ones’. Guess which ones he bought? This is my point exactly.

So, I’m all up for buying experience days as the recipient can choose something of their liking. Can someone give my hubby a nudge?? Last weekend we had the opportunity to try out a Spa Day for two that included 3 treatments. No, I didn’t take my husband, but a friend that I’ve been meaning to catch up for ages.

We had an entire day child free, with no interruptions, gassing, being spoiled and laughing a lot. I saw a few things in the women’s change room that no person should ever have to witness.

We were then led down to the Spa in our fluffy robes and complimentary slippers for our Facials, Massages and Manicures. The facility was gorgeous; low lightening, relaxing music and the therapists were lovely.

Seriously?

They walked us down a long candlelit corridor to a treatment room at the end. You should have seen the look of surprise on our faces when we were led into the same room with not one but two treatment beds side by side. We were going to have our massages half naked right next to each other! OMG!

You have no idea how relieved I was that I took a friend that I’ve known for years and not one of the new mums from school that I’ve recently met, my boss or worse my mother in-law (if she was still with us)! That would have been incredibly awkward.

Once we got over the initial giggles while side stepping around each half naked and crawling onto the treatment beds, very ungracefully I may add, it was all good. We quickly forgot that the other person was in the room. The massage was amazing and my mate said it was the best facial she ever had. Note: That is not us in the photo.

The rest of the day was spent sitting by the pool, nattering with the odd venture into the Jacuzzi, Pool, Steam room and Sauna. I took a book but we were so busy catching up I never opened it.

This is an experience the two of us will never forget and I’m sure we will look back on it and giggle for many years to come.

Disclosure: The Spa Day was courtesy of the Activitysuperstore.com

Meal Planning Monday: 3 Dec 2012

I hope you’ve all had a great weekend. Sadly, ours isn’t finished yet as our daughter has the day off. The Teachers have an Occasional Day. If you’re wondering what one of those are, according to friends, it’s not an inset day dedicated to professional development but a day to do a bit of Christmas Shopping!!! I have to say as a working mum I find it a bit frustrating but they do work hard.

On a positive, I managed to get the shopping in yesterday so I don’t have to do it this morning.

This week we will be having, all Slow Cooked of course:

Meatless Monday: Chargrilled Red Pepper and Tomato Soup – any excuse to legitimately burn food.

Tuesday: Lazy Cabbage Rolls

Wednesday: Pork and Potato Hot Pot

Thursday: Lebanese Meatballs – if I can remember to buy some minced lamb as Morrison’s was out.

Fish Friday: Smoked Mackerel Kedgeree

Have a great week!

Slow Cooker Sunday: Converting Conventional Recipes to use in a Slow Cooker

Prior to having a Slow Cooker I really wasn’t confident in the kitchen. Whenever I cooked it was like a meticulous science experiment, following recipes word for word and if I didn’t have an ingredient all hell would break loose as I wouldn’t know what to use instead.

However, the more and more I have used my slow cooker the more confident I’ve become. I now feel comfortable converting some of my conventional recipes to use in slow cooker. So, I thought I’d share some of my tips with you.

Below is a list of cooking times. The good thing about slow cooking is that it is forgiving and if you leave it in for an extra hour or two it’s not a problem and sometimes leads to a better result (e.g melt in your mouth meat).

1) If a recipe calls for liquid you’ll need to reduce the amount you use as the liquid will not evaporate whilst cooking. I tend to reduce the amount of liquid by 125-250ml. It’s always better to have less liquid and add more if needed, than having too much resulting in a watery dish.

2) However, if you are cooking rice, beans, or pasta, don’t reduce the liquid called for. You generally need twice as much liquid as product to cook these ingredients.

3) Conversely, if the recipe doesn’t call for any liquid I’d encourage you to add approx 125ml of stock, type depending on the dish. If in doubt use vegetable stock.

4) Not all people agree but I always brown meet prior to putting in the slow cooker as this reduces the amount of fat swimming around the top.

5) If you’re adding tender vegetables such as Mange Tout, Broccoli or Peas, I tend to add them about 30 minutes before the end of cooking time or then end up overcooked.

6) If the recipe calls for lentils or beans, I tend to par boil for about 10 minutes or alternatively use tinned ones.

7) I know it’s hard to resist, but try not to take the lid off too often as all of the heat escapes and the slow cooker will have to get back up to temperature. The beauty of slow cooking is that you don’t need to continually stir the contents.

Do you have any tips you’d like to share? If so please do leave a comment. For more recipe inspiration click here.

Slow Cooker Sunday is all about sharing our favourite recipes. Don’t forget they don’t have to be done in a Slow Cookers as long as its been slow cooked.

Sausage and Caramelized Onion Jacket Potatoes

This is the perfect meal for either ‘All Hallows Eve’ or Guy Fawkes night. This recipe serves two but is easily doubled, tripled, etc. On this occasion I haven’t used my slow cooker but you can do jacket potatoes in one.

Time: 10 minutes

Serves: 2

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

2 Jacket Potatoes – you could make your own but we cheated and used McCain’s as they can be done in the microwave in minutes.
1TBSP of Olive Oil
1 small red onion, finely sliced
4 good quality sausage, cooked and cut into chunks
3 TBSP Red Onion Chutney
Handful of Fresh Parsley

Method:

You could opt for a Delia method of doing the Jacket potatoes but that can take up to two hours, alternatively you can microwave your own which takes about 10 minutes or like us use McCain’s Ready Baked Jackets.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the onions and fry until soft, approx 3-5 minutes.
Add the sausage chunks and heat through
When the potatoes are cooked, add the chutney to the sausages and allow to bubble. When heated through, open the potatoes slightly and top with the caramelized red onion and sausage mixture.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Sunday: Moroccan Harira Soup

Welcome to Slow Cooker Sunday a place to share slow cooker recipes and to be inspired! Feel free to join in. You can either use the linky below or leave your recipes in the comment section.

My Slow Cooker has been working overtime this week we’ve had Vegetable Biryani, Beef Stew, Fish Creole but the favourite was the Moroccan Harira Soup.

Moroccan Harira Soup

Unfortunately the pictures didn’t do this justice. It was a lovely, warming combination of lamb, chickpeas, lentils and spices, perfect for a winter’s night. My hubby moans about lamb on occasion as he finds it fatty but he absolutely loved this one. We served it with Ciabatta Rolls.

Serves: 4-6

Difficulty: Moderate

Temp: Low

Time: 8 hours

Ingredients:

1 TBPS of olive oil
1 Onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 celery stick, chopped
454g of diced lamb or mutton
Salt and Pepper
1 tsp of ground turmeric
1 tsp of cinnamon
5cm piece of root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
900 ml of vegetable stock
125g brown lentils, rincsed
400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tsp of harissa paste

Method:

1) Heat the oil in a large pan add the onions and sauté for about 3 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and celery and cook for another 5 minutes or so.

2) Add the lamb, season with salt and pepper then cook until it is sealed on all sides. Add the turmeric, cinnamon and ginger mix well so it is evenly coated. Some of the spices may stick to the bottom of the pan. Poor a small amount of the stock in, bring to a boil and scrape the goodness off the bottom.

3) Meanwhile put the lentils and chickpeas in the slow cooker. Transfer the meat mixture to the slow cooker, add the harissa paste and pour in the remaining stock. Mix well, cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

So what have you been Slow Cooking ?