Chili con carne

Your everyday, super simple version of it.

In an ideal world, I would make this out of finest beef which I'd mince myself and use only fresh ingredients. In reality, I don't have the time nor the money.

So your busy-but-poor-working-mum-recipe is as follows:

In a cast iron kettle, sear 400 g of minced beef.
Add 2 dl of canned corn and 2 dl of canned kidney beans (remember to rinse well!).
Add 1 can of tomato puré and 1 dl of beef broth.
Season to your liking with paprika, chili, garlic powder and taco seasoning.
Mix well and let simmer on low temperature, under a lid for about 30 minutes.
Serve with boiled rice and top with corn kernels and avocado cubes.

Someday I WILL make a fancy version of this. Maybe on my next vacation.

The globe

In a (desperate) need for a night light in the kid's room, I decided I wanted a globe. A good, old-fashioned globe.

I was lucky enough to find one on a Facebook fleamarket for 10 euros.

The colours work well with the rest of this very tidy kid room.

In addition to being in a phase of not being able to sleep in the dark, the kid is also going through a phase of imitation. Wonder where he get THIS from.

Sunday roast

I want to create routines, habits and traditions which the kid, when he's grown up, remembers as something we always did when he was a child. Those kind of memories are the fondest to me from my own childhood.

Sunday dinner is one of the things that I want to be special. Sometimes it means we eat take-away on the sofa while watching sports. Usually, however, it means I cook something that takes a bit more time and effort - and tastes a bit better too.

Pulled pork is one of the favourites. We make burgers and pizza with it, or we eat with fries and veggies.

Sunday dinner, though, is never anything fancy with white linen on the table. Because what I most want the kid to remember, is that Sundays were always fun days.

Retro dining

This is a dish from my childhood. I see it as retro, some as vintage. And if you ask my husband, he'd say it's antique. Funny guy.

I guess you could say it's a pie. A puff pastry pie filled with minced beef. The original, as I recall, had beef, onions and boiled egg in it. I added some kale too.

Puff pastry dough is store bought. You need 500 g of it. Let the frozen pastry sheets melt in room temperature for about 30 minutes and then roll them into two bigger sheets. If you're a superhuman, make your own dough.

FILLING:
Sear the minced beef (400 g), chopped onion (1 medium sized) and minced garlic (2 gloves). Season to your liking - I used salt, black pepper and paprika. Add shredded kale and cook for a few minutes.
Mash two hard boiled eggs with a fork. In a bowl, mix together the eggs and the beef, onion & kale mixture. Check the seasoning. At this point, I added some sweet chili sauce.

Lay the other sheet of dough on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Spread the filling evenly on top and cover with the remaning dough. Pinch the edges so that the sheets stick together.

Bake in 175 C degrees oven until golden (35-45 minutes).

Easy, quick and tastes good. My kinda food.

Day off

Ever since I became a mum and especially a working mum, I've forgotten how to just BE. How to do nothing.

Most of the time, I work six days a week, 10 hours a day. The days off are then usually spent doing whatever needs to be done around the house.

On my day off this week, I took on a project that at least created an illusion of me doing nothing. I have a huge pile of old magazines that all contain one or more interesting recipes. So, a cup of coffee, a pile of magazines and a comfy position. Almost a day off.

 

Roasted chickpeas.

I've been trying to come up with something to make out of chickpeas. Something that tastes good.

You see, I have tried, for example, chickpea burgers which did NOT taste good. They were, in fact, terrible and I have been banned from ever making them again. EVER.

But these turned out quite nice! I used dried chickpeas; rinse them, soak them overnight and pat them dry. Place in a bowl, add two tbsps of canola oil, three tbsps taco seasoning mix and mix well. Spread onto a baking tray and toast in a 150 C degrees oven for 35 to 40 minutes.

Not a bad snack for a Monday night movie!

Tortilla pizzas

A very quick dish which we actually make quite often.

These, and pizza in general, in our household serve one purpose only. Hide the veggies.

The one with the salami strips is actually for the vegetable-fobic kid. Again, the purpose is to hide the veggies.

Still, here's the OMG I JUST ATE A BROCCOLI - face.

In general, it goes down well. It also goes into his hair.