from somewhere in my imagination

10 More Snacks for Keeping Small Bellies Full

I got lots of great feedback on my last 10 snacks for small bellies post so I thought I'd share a few more ideas with you.

I've been enjoying a few busy days, yesterday I was out and about socialising, visiting the bank, cooking up some seafood for dinner then snuggling on the couch with Steven and watching baseball.  Today has been full of spring cleaning and a spot of sewing this afternoon.  Now I am catching up on the last few episodes of Gossip Girl that I missed when we headed to the USA.

Eggs & Toast Soldiers

Place eggs in saucepan and cover with cold water.

Pop onto high heat, bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer.

Simmer for 3 minutes and serve with hot toast fingers.

Zucchini slice

This is my tried and true recipe.  It is a winner in our house, another green vegetable based favourite of the boy!

Ingredients

• 1 Onion finely chopped
• 2 carrots - grated
• 2 zucchinis - grated
• 1 cup grated cheese
• 1 cup SR flour
• 125g tin creamed corn
• 3 rashers of bacon - diced
• 5 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 180C and line 20cmx30cm tin with baking paper

Mix everything together

Pour into tin and press down

Bake in oven about 45 mins or until golden on top

Spinach & Cheese Triangles

The boy 'taught' me how to make these after making them at kindy a few weeks ago.  He is now a total spinach devotee.

Nori Rolls

My kids love Sushi.  It's a great lunch when we are out and about in the city.  It also makes a great school lunch and is quick and easy to prepare provided that you have the rice on hand.

1 1/2 cups koshikari rice is enough to make 6-7 rolls that can be cut down into smaller rolls or pieces.

Prepare the rice according to directions on the packet, spread out in a dish too cool and add 3-4 Tbs Sushi Seasoning according to your taste. 

Spread rice over 2/3rd of a nori sheet, add filling, roll using a bamboo rolling mat and seal by brushing some water across the bare edge and pressing together.

Our favourite fillings are smoked salmon + cucumber, spicy tuna (made by mixing a medium tin of sirena chilli tuna with 1 tbs mayonnaise and mixing until smooth and chicken and corn made by mixing a small tin of creamed corn with some chopped, cooked chicken breast.

Apple, Berry & Yoghurt Muffins

Given that we are a family of 6 I prefer recipes that will make a large cake or big batch of muffins, this one gives me at least 18 muffins usually.  I look for recipes that have a at least  2 cups of flour to know that they make a large batch.

Preheat oven to 180C & prepare standard size muffin trays with paper cases

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups (335g) SR flour 
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup (155g) brown sugar
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup natural yogurt (I always have greek yoghurt in the fridge so that's what I use)
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbs Vegetable Oil
• 240g peeled, diced, cooked and cooled apple (about 3), alternatively you can grate them
• 200g mixed frozen berries

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl (flour, cinnamon, sugar)

Mix together wet ingredients in a jug or bowl (buttermilk, yoghurt, eggs, vegetable oil)

Stir berries and apple through dry ingredients (this helps to evenly disperse them throughout the mix and stops them sinking to the bottom)

Mix in wet ingredients (same 12 stir theory)

Spoon into preprepared cases and bake 20 minutes until golden

TIP: If you don't have buttermilk you can substitute with a half/half mix of yoghurt and milk

Guacamole & pita chips

• 2 Avocados
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2-3 Tbs chopped fresh coriander leaves
• Freshly ground salt and pepper
• Pita Bread rounds dried out in the oven to make pita chips

Peel and remove seed from the 2 avocados.  Mash together with the juice of 1 lime and ground salt and pepper to taste.  The lime juice and salt should balance each other.  Finish with the finely chopped coriander leaves.

Chocolate Strawberries

Strawberries are coming into season right now, so they are fairly affordable right now...and judging from the ones I've had it's a good season for them.  Most kids dont need much encouragement to get them to eat strawberries, I have to encourage J to actually share them with some one else...but what an awesome treat every now and then to chocolate dip a few.  Divine.  It's an easy cooking activity to do with the kids too ;)

Homemade Museli Bars

Preheat oven to 130C and line a 20x30cm tin with baking paper

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups rolled oats (350g)
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut (55g)
• 1/2 cup flaked almonds (50g)
• 1/2 cup wheatgerm (45g)
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds (30g)
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (35g)
• 2/3 cup chopped dried apricots (100g)
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1/4 brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Put the honey sugar and oil in a small saucepan and heat until all the sugar is dissolved

Put the rest of the ingredients in a big bowl

Pour the ingredients in the saucepan over the ingredients in the bowl and mix until everything is coated

Press into the lined tin and bake for 50 minutes or until golden.

Cut into portions when still warm and wrap in glad wrap once cooled, store in the fridge for lunchboxes.

You can vary the nuts and fruit in this and replace with what ever you want...craisins and macadamias are favourites here....I think I might try fig and choc chip next :)

Be careful not to overcook because then it dries out a bit too much but don't undercook it either because then it just crumbles.

Mini Fish Cakes

I posted these a few weeks ago, a totally simple way to turn some left over mashed potato into a greak little snack lunch for the kids (both big and small). They were a winner in our house.

Melon Balls

I guess it may seem a little obvious but during summer melon balls are a total treat for the kids.  Apparently whipping the melon baller out of the draw and turning the melons into balls makes them taste ever so much better.

 Hope that you are having a lovely weekend!

Tatum xx

Fast & Yummy - Spinach and Cheese Triangles

They have a beautiful vegie garden at Sebastian's kindy and last week they made some spinach and cheese triangles.  Sebastian really wanted to make some at home so I bought the appropriate ingredients and on Tuesday we made some for lunch.  I've always been a huge fan of spinach and cheese type pastries but I am particularly impressed that the cooking activity at kindy has turned my son into a huge fan of the leafy green vegetable!

We talked about the ingredients on the way home from kindy. 'We need 2 white cheeses and 1 yellow cheese mum' ...sounds like the knew what they were doing at kindy ;)  They are great for an after school snack and also make a good lunch popped into a lunchbox and eaten cold.  They would even make a nice spring dinner with some salad.

Spinach & Cheese Triangles - Makes 20

Ingredients

500g (2 packets) frozen spinach (they used fresh at kindy but unless you come by piles of spinach or grow your own frozen makes it more accessible year round)

250g Feta Cheese (we used danish because it is nice and creamy and not too salty)

1 cup grated mozarella cheese

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

2 eggs (I was going to just use one but Sebastian insisted we needed 2)

Bunch of spring onions

5 sheets puff pastry

Milk to brush

Method

Defrost frozen spinach and put in a big mixing bowl.  The biggest one you can find.  If mum is being too slow to help jusy get started on your own, that will get her moving.

Clean spring onions and chop into little pieces.  Make sure you are really careful of your fingers.  Put them in the bowl with the spinach.

Cut or crumble the feta cheese into little pieces and put them in the bowl too.  Try to stop your little sister from stealing it all and eating it.

Tip in the grated cheese and ricotta.

Crack the eggs into the bowl.  Be really careful to actually get the eggs in the bowl.  I don't know about yours but my sister will actually eat the eggshell, that's kind of gross.

Grind in some pepper.

Mix it all around.

Take a pastry sheet and cut it into 4 squares.  It is actually better if mum does this bit even though I really wanted to do it myself.

Put a big spoonful of mixture in the middle of each square.  Brush the edges with milk and fold over to make triangles.

Use a fork to squish down around the edges and put them on a baking tray covered with paper and brush more milk on the top.  When the baking tray is full get mum to put it in the oven.  The oven needs to be really hot, 220C, so that the pastry puffs up lots.

They take about 10-15 minutes to cook.  You will know that they are done because they will be brown on top.  Before you eat them get your mum to cut them in half and leave them to cool down a little bit so that you don't burn your tounge.

Hope you enjoy Sebastian's spinach & cheese triangles.  I know that they will be a regular on our lunch menu.

Tatum xx

10 Snacks to Keep Small Bellies Full

With 4 children we go through a lot of snacks...there is only so much fruit I can feed them and it is handy for them to have more substantial snacks so I spend less time in the kitchen.  Other than muesli bars and crackers and rice crackers I don't buy a whole lot in the way of snack food.  I like to know what they are eating.

With the holidays just around the corner I am armed with plenty of ideas (and ingredients) for some of our tried and true snacks (and lunches)

Apples + Hummus.  The kids (especially Charlotte love Hummus). It makes apple slices so much more appealing.

Black Swan is my favourite brand and I buy the big tubs but it is easy enough to blend up my own with ingredients I keep on hand.

In a food processor blend together

1 tin of chickpeas, drained

2 Tbs Tahini (sesame seed paste, you find it in the health food section at the supermarket and it keeps in the fridge for ages)

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 tsp ground coriander

Ground pepper and salt to taste

It works equally well with carrot and celery dippers and is a great alternative to peanut butter for school sandwiches (provided there are no sesame seed allergies of course).

Bugs on a Log.  I saw this on Playschool many moons ago and it has been a firm favourite ever since

Wash and peel the strings off some celery sticks

Spread cream cheese (or cottage cheese) into the groove

Top with sultanas

Fruit Salad.  My girls love making this one themselves and they all love eating it (even my fruit phobic boy).

Pizza Toast.  This is an oldie but a goodie in our family, I set Steven to work making it for Sunday lunch while I was at work (although his toppings were a bit OTT).  It works equally well on english muffins as toast too, and english muffins are easy to stash in the freezer!

Top split english muffins or bread slices with pizza sauce and toppings of your choice, top with grated tasty or mozzarella.

Bake in a 200C until the cheese is nicely melted

Tuna Toast.  Mix together a small tin of creamed corn and about 200g tuna chunks in spring water together with about 1/2 cup grated cheese (use less if you are using a strongish cheddar like mainland).  Spread onto slices of bread (you will get about 3-4 from this amount) and bake in a 200C oven until cheese is melted.

Tuna + Bikkies.  Pretty self explanatory!  I stock up on little tins of tuna when they are on special, each of the kids has their favourite flavours.  They like it mixed with a little bit of mayonnaise with jatz (or similar) or rice crackers for piling it onto with a spoon.

Greek Yoghurt + Topping.  We love the yoghurt shop but there isn't one even remotely nearby and this DIY is much more economical.

Top Greek yoghurt with fruit toppings such as tinned (or fresh in season) passionfruit, frozen raspberries + honey, stewed apples + sultanas, museli, the list goes on...

Scones.  It's so quick and easy to whip up a batch as a treat.  Lemonade scones (although a little too sweet for my own taste) are especially easy and there is no reason why the kids can't make them themselves!

Homemade Sausage Rolls.  Always a winner, I make them with more vegies than meat over all and they get demolished.

Makes 8 long rolls, cuts down to 32 small.

Ingredients

500g sausage mince (or other mince if you aren't keen on using the sausage stuff)

Grated vegies...I usually use onion, zucchini, carrot and pumpkin.  Pumpkin makes them especially delicious.

A big squirt of tomato sauce

2tsp chicken stock powder

Ground Pepper

1 egg

4 sheets thawed puff pastry

Method

Mix all the ingredients together.

Halve your sheets of puff pastry and shape a sausage of mixture along the length of each

Brush one edge with milk, roll and press closed

Transfer rolls onto a baking paper lined baking tray, brush with milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds

Bake in a preheated hot (200-220C) oven until puffed and golden

Make sure you actually share them with the kids!

Fairy Bread. Because fairy bread just makes everyone happy, even if it is made on soft wide bread and has minimal nutritional value the smiles just make it all worth it.  If you are feeling particularly decadent I've heard rumours that it is pretty good made with nutella instead of butter.

Happy Days

Tatum xx