Month: September 2015

Twice baked potatoes

One of my greatest failings as a parent is that I have produced children who don’t like mashed potato. How is that even possible? I mean potato, unholy amounts of butter and milk with plenty of salt and pepper, what is not to love. So, when I made these for #everyfuckingnight I was pretty nervous I’d be left eating them for days, but I totally tricked them with bacon, sourcream and cheese! Huzzah!

I based mine on a Pioneer Woman‘s recipe but used violently less butter and completely forgot to add the milk. I also didn’t have/couldn’t find the potatoes on steroids PW used.

While I’ve put some measures in this I strongly advise you to trust yourself and go largely by sight. PW used 8 super big potatoes, I used 6 smaller mid sized ones, probably about a kilo? So look, That’s what I did and they worked a treat.

Twice baked potatoes about to go back in the oven.
Twice baked potatoes about to go back in the oven.

 

Twice baked potatoes
 
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Potatoes mashed with bacon, sour cream and cheese. Get onto it.
Author:
Ingredients
  • 5-6 mid sized potatoes (ideally use much bigger ones and follow PW's recipe linked to above)
  • oil
  • 4-6 slices streaky bacon, or 3-4 traditional rashers
  • 1 tbsp butter, I really think it's optional
  • about 125g or heaped ½cup sour cream, I just used a large tablespoon and used about ½ a 30ml tub
  • good pinch of salt and cracked pepper
  • 2 good handfuls of grated cheese
  • 2 spring onions, finely sliced
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 200C
  2. Rub potatoes with oil, place on baking tray and bake for 45 minutes or until they're soft on the inside and the skins are slightly crisp
  3. While they're cooking, fry the bacon
  4. Place the bacon, sour cream, butter and seasonings in a bowl
  5. Once the potatoes are cooked, hold them in a tea-towel and cut down through the middle lengthways
  6. Scoop the potato into the bowl with the bacon and sour cream, don't be too precious here, just try not to scoop through the skin
  7. Use a masher and mash up the potato and bacon
  8. Stir in one good handful of cheese and the spring onions
  9. Spoon back into the potato skins, now, when I did this I had two potato skins left over, just so you know the same might happen to you
  10. Put back on the baking tray, sprinkle over more cheese and pop back in the oven
  11. Bake for 15 minutes until the cheese is all melty and golden

 

Twice baked potatoes
Twice baked potatoes

 

Pecan Shortbread (pecan puffs)

A pecan shortbread recipe which just dissolves on your tongue.

Let it be known the pecan is the king of nuts. I won’t hear any battle cries from cashews or pistachios, the pecan has it. This recipe is based on an almond kilfi recipe but I had pecans and needed them in my guts in a baked form.

I do this all in the food processor which I view as a good thing because I’ll often avoid the processor if it’s for just one step of a recipe because it’s a bastard to wash up. See also: lazy.

Don’t over mix it, just until it all comes together. And don’t make them too big – this recipe should make 60, yes SIXTY, little crescents. Basically work with a little ball of dough about as big as your thumb to the first knuckle. If you make them too big they clag in your mouth rather than just dissolving on your tongue.

Pecan shortbread
A pecan shortbread recipe which just dissolves on your tongue

 

Pecan Shortbread (pecan puffs)
 
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Delightful little shortbreads that just dissolve on your tongue
Author:
Ingredients
  • 125g pecans
  • 250g butter
  • 350g (2⅓ cups) plain flour
  • 1 tblsp caster sugar
  • 1 cup (or so) icing sugar
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 160C and have two baking trays ready to go
  2. Blitz the pecans in a food processor
  3. Add all the other ingredients except the icing sugar and blitz until it all comes together
  4. Roll little half-thumb sized balls of dough into a little log then press in the middle to make into a crescent. Don't be precious about this, mine always end up looking more like little logs than crescents
  5. Place on baking trays, they don't spread so you can put them quite close to each other
  6. Bake for 30-40 minutes until they're light brown
  7. When cool roll in the icing sugar (to be honest I never measure the icing sugar)
  8. Store in a container and pour over a bit more icing sugar.
  9. Try not to eat 10 at a time.

 

Chicken and bacon pasta bake

When you’re groaning at having to make dinner again make this.

If you’re not already, follow me at Instagram, search the hashtag #everyfuckingnight and you will see a feed of the dinners I am cooking my boys.

Chicken bacon pasta bake 1

This dinner is solely thanks to my dear friend S who knows the best places to have dinner, always checks in on me and is breeding olympians. She’s made this as the kids meal on two occasions we’ve been over for dinner – the second time because they all loved it the first.

It’s a dinner standard in her house and will now be in ours.

Chicken bacon pasta bake 3

 

Chicken and bacon pasta bake
 
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A fantastic dinner option even most fussy kids will eat.
Author:
Recipe type: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
  • 500g packet of pasta - shells or spirals would be my advice
  • 2 chicken breasts, cubed
  • 6 slices streaky bacon - if using more traditional rashes you get in Aus then probably 3 would do it
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 500g jar of pasta sauce - your brand and flavour choice
  • couple of handfuls of grated cheese
Instructions
  1. Cook pasta until almost done - meaning if it's meant to cook for 12 mins cook it for 10. Drain
  2. Saute the onion, garlic and bacon in a glug of oil for about 5 minutes or until there's a bit of colour coming on but not crispy
  3. Add the chicken and brown, don't go crazy because it will cook in the oven
  4. Add the pasta sauce
  5. Tip in the pasta and combine thoroughly
  6. Stir in a big handful of grated cheese
  7. Tip into a baking dish, top with more cheese
  8. Bake at 180C for 30-45 mins - this is basically dependent on how much time you have and how crispy you want the top to be.

 

?

10 things

1. I’ve made this three times in less than a week.

2. My #everyfuckingnight hashtag brings me great joy. What are you having for dinner tonight?

3. Buying two cats was one of the best decisions of my life.

4. The weather’s getting warmer and I’m dreading it. What on earth am I going to wear?

5. I’ve mopped the floors every weekend bar two in the last two months. This is probably more than I did in the entirety of last year.

6. I’m dissatisfied with Australian Netflix primarily because 30 Rock isn’t on it.

7. I have found myself watching The Bachelor and hate myself for it. How stupid are these women? (and me for watching it)

8. I’ve had a transformative hair cut and colour. I’ve always known the powers of a new haircut to lift the spirits but this is in a whole other realm.

9. I have booked a holiday for me and the boys in January. Nothing flash but so exciting all the same. A road trip to the Victorian high country. We are all so excited. Our first real holiday since 2009.

10. Why is every man on online dating sites named Gary and living in Sydney’s north west?

Onward.