Is it ever too late for Kebabs?

Hello and welcome.

Well true to my word I've been cooking up a storm in my house trying to stay healthy and happy and hopefully loose all that weight I put on during the baptism. Although must of that was medicinal, stress eating, it was either start shouting or cram my cake-hole with cake lol.

I started off by just doing a simple salmon, literally buying Salmon from the supermarket and cooking it in the oven. I just added a little flair by cooking a whole red chili on the top. Made it nice and spice but added hardly anything to the calorie count.

My other health discovery of the week, I made butternut squash, Sweet potato and chili soup - so all those ingredients chopped cooked in Stock then blended. Really for soup the weights and measure come down to how thick or thin you want it and how much you want. I'm sure other cooks wouldn't be pleased but I approach soup with throw it all in and hope for the best method. I find simmering for 20 minutes always make the veg tender and as you've cooked in stock it straight to the blender.


But any who, instead of having a slice of lovely hot, buttered crusty bread to dip into it (sorry excuse me when I wipe up my drool as I love bread) I used raw carrot Batons.

"Raw Carrot batons?" I hear you cry in slight dismay but honestly it works. You get a lovely crunch from the carrot and the hot and the cold really add a little something.


Look if I wasn't being healthy it would be bready bread goodness. But if you want a healthy alternative to loose a few extra pounds I would highly recommend it.

Okay time to come clean I have tried this week and have been really good. I'll come on to my fab Kebab recipe later. I must admit I had a tiny slip up but honestly it was all for a good cause. On Friday it was the Macmillan Coffee Morning. Macmillan are a great organisation that offer help and support for people and their families dealing with cancer. My cousin had a Macmillan nurse when she was battling (and unfortunately lost) with Cancer. That was back in the early 2000 they were great then and they still do great work now.

So once a year they get people to have coffee mornings, like a big bake sale with lots of people doing it up and down the country. So I gave in as some guy at work put on a fab spread.

I only had one bit of cake but bought two (gave the second bit away) and I took part in the raffle so did a small little bit to help. But small little bits add up and they raised nearly £800 which is about $1000. So all the people at work little bits added up to that and our total will add up to much more with everyone else.  Meaning they can carry on doing such great work and helping a lot of people.

Also technically charity cake doesn't have any calories. As I'm sure the universe sort it self out, as you're doing something good it won't punish you by adding that cake to your hips.

So after that mini treat I was back on it.

Over the weekend I made some lummy yummy kebabs. I know the summer is over and we have hurtled straight into Autumn and on the downward track to winter's cold embrace.

But hey I'm dyslexic and we have a problem with being organised and getting things done in the right order so your getting summer dishes in the Autumn and I might do a spring salad in the winter lol.

So I made Spicy Lemon Lamb Kebabs.

Really easy to make even though they take a bit of Prep.

So you take the Lamb, Lemon (I prefer fresh but I'm sure juice would work as well) and some chili powder.

Place the lamb into the bowl

Squeeze over the lemon. I do this through my hand to I don't have to pick out the pips :)

Then add as much or a little chili powder as you want.

And stir in. Then you need to let it marinate preferable overnight (at least 8 hours) as you want the flavor to take.

This recipe unlike the normal lamb with mint kebabs, which I find can sometimes be an overpowering taste this is more sublet. Sort of adding more of a zing that an fanfare.

So after the meat is prepared all you need then is some lovely veg - what ever you like. I went simple with Tomatoes, Mushroom and peppers. But you can have courgette (Zucchini) Red Onion to name a few, really what ever takes your fancy.

then all you need to do is alternate between meat and the veg to get the perfect balance of tastiness.

Now you can either cook these under the grill or on a Bar-Be-Que. Although as I said earlier I've sort of missed the BBQ boat. So I put them into the oven for 20 min at 180 degrees turning them half way through.

Also if you have any veg left over you can always throw that in too cook too.

Then serve how ever you want on there own, with rice, put them in a pitta bread..........

So hopefully all my goodness will pay off and a can loose a few pounds before I head off to Scotland for a few days in the middle of October for the little ones 2nd Birthday.

And be thing for my second Amsterdam trip in November.  Definitely will need to loose weight before then as I will be putting on a few pound over the two day period as everything is all so nice to eat and there will be a few drinkies.

That hopefully will slake my Wanderlust for a while. As I went part the airport the other day and saw this.

So made me really, really, really, really (I could go on) want to go away.

I do know this is a very first world problem with all the places and stuff I've done this year I know I am very lucky compared to most. Just need to turn on the news to see that.

But that still doesn't stop me wanted more fun and adventure. I think as long as when I am whining about my next trip to WDW or somewhere exotic I remember how lucky and privileged I am to be able to do that. It won't be that bad. I would say I should give up the whining but think that is asking the impossible, just ask my other half lol (I'm not that bad really).

Oh and my Disney holiday fund is now up to a whooping 2.5% only 97.5% to go lol

The Cak-y Baptism, The Missed Week and the Curry

 Hello out there in the blogger-verse.

Sorry I was incommunicado last week it all went a bit crazy.

I had my little ones baptism.

So I had loads of stuff to sort out last week from the arrival of family to sorting out a cake topper. I was actually shameful and used Store bought cake instead of making my own. but what with getting the balloons ordered the venue set up and trying not to loose what little of my mind I have left it was the easiest options.


All I can say is thank goodness for "Not on the High Street" as I managed to get a great cake decal that my poor mother and sister in law spent one night cutting out and sticking on as I had to take the Godparents through the order of service.

Although in all the madness I did manage to whip up a curry - It a take on a curry I made before but as I know the recipe and I know it a fairly quick cook time (Well most of it is letting it simmer) I made Sweet Potato and Chicken Curry.


Ingredients
400g of Chicken
3 Sweet Potatoes
3 Bell Peppers
400g of tinned tomatoes
200g of Tomato Puree
350g of Spinach
Some Fat Free Fromage Frais
Curry Powder - No I picked Hot as I like it spicy but it up to you really.

Also 300ml of Stock (not featured as I forgot until I was in the mist of cooking)

Chop the sweet potatoes and put them on to par boil for 5 minutes.

Then in a big pan throw in the chicken and add the curry powder you can be as generous as you want it up to you spice it up a bit...

Then Throw in the peppers and start to cook off.

After then add the par-boil potatoes to the mix, stir in

Before adding a handful of the spinach.

Followed by the tomatoes

and the Stock

and another handful of spinach and the tomato puree

Keep adding the spinach till it wilted down then simmer for around 25 minutes until the potatoes are lovely and tender.

then you can stir in some fromage Frais to make it a bit creamer. Also if you've got someone who like it a bit milder you can always add a bit more to there curry to cool it down.

serve up with some rice and for added healthiness veg.

So glad I managed to get that in with in the madness. As it very filling and super nommy. 


You'll all be please to hear that the Baptism went off without a hitch, well the best it can with a 23 month old and a 45 minute service.



The reason we didn't have him baptized sooner, was because due to family being scattered across the world it was a logistical nightmare but  nearly everyone invited turned up which is amazing. It so nice to be able to celebrate a nice and happy day in actually really fantastic weather (for England in September).

Our Priest Father Peter was amazing and it was great service and everyone, what ever religion, was made to feel included and enjoyed a few laugh. Especially when my darling son didn't want to go over the font and was grotting my husband by clinging on for dear life to his neck tie lol..

Also the party afterwards was super success too I can't thank The Spitfire pub enough who put on a lovely do the space was amazing.

Made even more special by the fantastic balloons from Party on the Hill . They were such nice displays and I wanted something small and understated but set off the room.

As with kiddywinks running around you know they will be popped or when we're not looking the Helium used for hilarity (Warning Helium can be dangerous so not advisable) but considering some of the parents were doing it they couldn't really then tell their kids off. I don't know sometimes we can be worse than the kids lol..

Don't worry the little ones godmother is a nurse so we were safe from any calamity. lol


Also on the same day we had my in laws 35 Wedding Anniversary and our friends 33rd Birthday so we needed to get extra cakes to celebrate that too. Think I had cake overload.

What with that the glass of wine, the glass of champagne and did I tell you I started of the day with a bucks fizz my diet went truly out the window. But hey how many times am I going to get my son baptized.

So this week at weight club I had a gain so am back on the diet trying to loose it. So to make it more interesting I redid my wrapped chicken recipe (see my 1st July post for details) but this time I added fresh chilies in with the low fat cream cheese, now these were some fiery chilies. They were so nice to eat but did have a bit of heart burn afterward that will server me right for cranking up the heat a bit too much phew.

So I think my next post will be filled with nice and healthy dishes as I need to get the weight off.

As we booked another girl trip to Amsterdam - See Amok in Amsterdam parts 1-3 for what we got up to last time goodness knows what we will get up to this time but I can tell it's going to be filled with Fun, Food and a couple of drinkies (Don't worry I will be sans baby).


Which is great as I really need a break :), 

I had to decimate my Disney holiday fund to throw the baptism party which I don't mind as it was such a great day. Also I have managed to re-start the fund and have 1.5% saved up so far. Ooh so much I hear you say lol 

although with Epcot food and Wine starting and its coming up to the year anniversary of my last trip. I can't help being a bit bummed. As looking at the F&W previews it looks amazing and I would love to taste all the fun thing from all over the world.

Oh well as they say good things come to those who wait so I will keep at the saving try not to go mad at Christmas and hopefully in the January Sales I can bag a holiday bargin.

A Melon Margarita Giraffe of a week

It hasn't been the most eventful week, up and down, up and down that seems to be my life at the moment but can't complain as I'm having fun.

Main cooking highlight of the week was a super oh so quick and easy chicken, potato, pepper bake.

So simple just cut and par boil (5 minutes) some baby potatoes

Then throw them into a roasting disk with some bell pepper I used yellow and green but they can be any colour.

Then add some chicken along with some nice spice 

I used Chilly powder and cooked in a hot oven 220c for 25 minutes.

It comes out smelling lovely.

Just pair it with some rice and vegtables and a wonderfully fantastically healthy simple meal is born.

And to say it is yum is an understatement of epic proportion.

This week I also had a lovely meal out at Giraffe

Great restaurant as they do a fab kids menu which the little one adores so that keep him happy and eating out with a child if they're not happy you can be sure you'll be unhappy too (also having something fun to hand is a must).

So while he tucked into a nice meal I had Penang Bang Salad
(Chicken, Chilli, Noodles and added yumminess)

The other half had Thai Duck Stir fry

Felt like we where back in South East Asia (Apart from the British Weather) I also topped it off with an absolutely refreshing and delicious Melon Margarita.

Should wax lyrical too much about a drink but it did taste exactly like sunshine and holidays.


Apart from those two events it was a bit of a calm week full of Spag Bol and soup as had a bit of a mad week with work so stuck to the basic and what I could do without too much fuss.

Oh and I am back off to Amsterdam - Yes the girls are going back on Tour. To say I am excited is not a big enough adjective to encapsulate how  thrilled I am to be going on this trip again.

As firstly I get to nosey around my friends new house and from the pictures I've seen it looks amazing.

Also give me an opportunity to do some of the thing I missed on my last trip.

Finally I can have some of the lovely drink and snacks I enjoyed last time mainly Scrappino and poffertjes.

That's in the pipeline for November.

So what with the baptism next weekend, going for a trip to Scotland in October (might even treat you all to pictures of a deep fried mars bar (yes they are real)) it going to be a very busy period up until Christmas.



Oh and one last thing before I go I had another bacon sandwich this week. This time from EAT it was tasty (Going to have to start a little rating chart seeing I have so many). I really liked the bread on this the only downside is that it didn't come with butter not like I need the calories but I do like it on my butty.

But it was £3 and was quick and easy way to have some nommy breakfast.

Bread and Bad Aubergine (Egg Plant)

It was a bank holiday over here in England to mark the end of the summer boo...

Also was typically bank holiday weekend weather,  but hey when you've got a little one all you need is a pair of wellies and a rain coat and you can go out whatever the weather.

Actually not so bothered it's the end of summer as I love Autumn... As you can get down to some serious cooking and also wear some big jumpers to hide the fact you've done a lot of cooking lol..

And with the extra day off I managed to cook up a storm...

Well after we attended my friend son Jack's christening. It was a lovely service and it was so nice to see my University friends and catching up always cool - Although the little one decided to have a bit of a fit when we first got in there which wasn't too helpful. But the magic of milk helped and calmed him down enough to get through the event.

At the reception she had a lovely cake for him and it was EGG FREE - couldn't believe it. It's so great now that they can do lots of things for Allergies and just cause you can't eat something you don't have to miss out :)

As for food at home, I had fun cooking another faux carbonara but decided to spice it up a bit..

I then had a bit of a disaster, I decided to make a Moussaka (first time). I used the Slimming World recipe to make it low fat but I could get the Aubergine (Egg Plant) right.

I cut them placed them on the paper added salt and left them for 20 minutes but they still didn't taste right hmm... Think I might need to take the skin off next time. Or if anyone has any tips I would love to hear them.

But apart from that the rest of the recipe went find so we had the Moussaka but just removed the Aubergines so it actually turned out more like a lamb mince bolognese.

I do like that about cooking sometimes a disaster can be turned into a good meal.

I also, as promised, got round to making bread.

I made Onion Soda Bread.

with:
250g wholemeal flour
250g Plain White Flour
400ml Buttermilk
tsp of Salt
tsp of Bicarbonate of Soda
100g of Onions

Firstly I mixed the Flours and the bicarb in to a bowl.

Added the onions

and the salt

I then mixed them all together

before making a little well to add the buttermilk

Best if you add it a bit at a time.

Stirred it all up together - actually it's better if you use your hands.

then throw it out on to a floury surface and molded it an oval shape.

Put it on some baking parchment and score a cross on it.  The cross is traditionally cut on the top of the soda bread loaf with a knife as it is supposed to Ward of the Devil and protect the household, which I always find helpful in cooking and it helps to cook it better.

Then I stuck it an 200 degree oven for 30 minutes.. (although I now want to revise this to 35/40 minutes) as it felt a little bit doug-ie when I got to the center.

Take it out and enjoy some yummy warm bread.

The great thing about this bread is it quick and simple and as you don't need to Proof it cut down on the time too.

Although my husband is still on at me to show him how to make a normal loaf of bread so as we're both not working this weekend, if the little man gives us a chance, there might be some more fresh bread being served up in the Dyslexic Cooking household.

The other development of the week is the holiday budget has gone down as it was nearly going to hit 10% but due to the numbers coming to my sons baptism I needed to rent a hall and sort out a buffet  - So glad the money is going on something fun but my Disney world vacation will have to wait a little longer (sad face for lack of Disney).

Although I enjoyed hearing the stories from one of my colleagues who came back from his first trip to Disney World Florida and because of all the hints and tips I gave him before he went he got me a little present.

So that has cheered me up no end and even managed picked my self up a cheeky treat from the Disney Store 

I have made peace that it will take a bit longer to get back to the happiest place on earth. The good thing is I know we will get there in the end and we can have a fun filled family holiday.