Healthy lunchbox filler: noodle pies

NOODLE PIES

Ingredients:

2 packets of 2 minute noodles, cooked to packet directions

2 eggs - beaten

1/2 cup cream/sour cream

1/2 cup grated cheese

2 cups of 'filler' (see below)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160C 

2. Grease a muffin tray

3. Combine all ingredients and spoon into tray

Makes approx 9 large muffin sized pies

Filler ideas:

Pizza: diced fresh tomato, capsicum, carrot and salami

Vege: onion, carrot, zucchini

Hawaiian: ham, pineapple, zucchini

Tuna and sweetcorn with onion

Linking up with Maxabella Loves Weekend Rewind and Flamingo Toes Think Pink Sunday

Too easy Pumpkin Soup recipe

I love soup. I know some people say soup is not a meal, but I beg to differ.

This year our favourite is pumpkin. I generally use a nice butternut pumpkin as we enjoy the sweet flavour - but I have been known to sub-in some sweet potato or carrot if they are cheap. My kids actually seem to prefer the 50/50 pumpkin/sweet potato blend best :)

Here is my lazy mothers' recipe for Pumpkin Soup. I always double it - that way there's enough soup for two hearty meals!



TOO EASY PUMPKIN SOUP (serves four)

Ingredients:

750g pumpkin
250g potato
700 ml of vegetable stock
1 large onion
1 tbs crushed garlic (I buy the kind in a jar)
tbsp oil (to fry)
1/2 tsp ginger (optional)

Cream if desired

You will also need a very large pot and a stick mixer

1. Preheat oven to 175C degrees.
2. Peel potatoes and cut into halves/quarters
3. Place pumpkin and potatoes into oven to roast for 45 min

This is a double quantity batch

4. Fine dice onion
5. When pumpkin and potatoes are done, cut into large chunks. Pumpkin skin will come away easily. Discard skin and seeds. (leave browned outer layer of potato, it will add flavour)
6. In a large pot, fry oil ,onion and garlic. I let mine brown a little, but you can just fry til onion turns translucent if desired.
7. Add ginger and stir
8. Add pumpkin and potato and stir until well mixed.

9. Pour in stock
10. Bring to boil and then reduce to a simmer for 30mins
11. Allow to cool before blending with a stick mixer
12. Add boiling water if you prefer a thinner soup. Add cream as desired (not necessary, but we like it)
13. Serve :)

Makes well over a litre. I find I can roast the vegetables while the kids do their homework or I put them all through the shower. Roasting them first makes them easier to peel (I hate peeling pumpkin) and also gives a nicer flavour and slightly darker colour to the soup. Actual 'cooking' time is quite minimal and I know that this is a healthy meal my kids will love.

Leftovers can be reheated or even frozen (I prefer to freeze it before adding cream but it's ok to do either). I have also stirred left over soup through a pasta dish the next day instead of tomato based sauce.

Let me know if you give it a try!

Breakfast for Dinner... part 2

When 'daddy' works late, I often stick to simple cooking. I know it sounds awful, but if I have no adult audience I lower the bar a little bit. Is that awful?

Anyway, because I pride myself on serving my children nutritious (if sometimes unconventional) meals, this meal has become a favourite of mine - and Mr Z's!

Cheap, easy and nutritious, straight from the Lazy Mother's Handbook! (That's the term I use to refer to my shortcuts)


Special Scrambled Eggs

Ingredients: eggs, 1/2 cup of diced/grated vegetables per egg.

(this recipe is just an example of what you can use and serves 3, you can use whatever you have in your fridge)

6 eggs
1 large carrot, grated
1 medium onion, fine diced
2 mushrooms, fine diced
1/2 tomato, diced (or handful of cherry tomatoes cut in half)
handful of frozen corn
2 rashers of bacon diced
1/4 cup of grated cheese
olive oil

1. Fry onion and carrot until softened in a small amount of oil.
2. Remove from pan, fry bacon bits
3. Add onion and carrot back to pan, add other vegetables and stir until they are warmed through.
4. Crack eggs into the pan, keep stirring until eggs are cooked
5. Add cheese and remove from heat
6. Serve


If you need to bulk it up a bit, you can add precooked rice to the mix.