1. I got the recipe from here at Baking Bites. They are delicious. No. More than delicious. Oh, just go and make some real quick so you can try them for yourself. You may not be inclined to share them..!

2. Trying something new to help Owen with his sight word lists from school. As he learns them, I will either wipe them off and put a new one up in a different colour, or just wipe them off, or cross them out. He knows most of these already but is sounding them out when getting tested, not just throwing the word out there and that isn’t what the teacher is looking for… I like that he can sound out his words… But I’m not his teacher and I’m not the one being tested!

3. Playing crazy games with some rubber gloves… These two were in stitches over it! I love hearing that kind of laughter in our home. Makes me giggle too :)

4. Ella is getting quite tall, and heavy! 15.7kg is an awful lot of me to UPPY UP (how Ella so nicely asks to be picked up..!). All day long… No wonder my back aches!

So here is how my version turned out. Not too shabby at all..

And my tweaks?

(I halved the recipe as it says it serves 6 – 8 and i was only feeding 4 last night.)

• We here at the Harvey Circus actually like the flavour of tuna, so I didn’t add the chicken stock at all. I am assuming that it is in there to mask any real over the top fishy flavour that kids generally don’t like. Mine do. They are weird. We already know that.
• Secondly, I added peas. I like peas. Next time I will add a few more vege to the tuna mixture. Means it’s more of a one pot dish. Less cleaning up is a good thing, right?!
• Thirdly, I didn’t put much of the cheese/breadcrumb topping on at all. I’m not a huge cheese on rice fan. It was still good though with that breadcrumb crunch and the golden goodness of the cheese…
• Lastly, I will assemble it in a smaller baking dish next time. The one I used was too big and I didn’t think we got enough of the tuna saucy bit with the rice topping. And add lemon. You can never have too much lemon with fish – even tinned tuna ;-)

I don’t know who Pete is, but thanks for sharing your recipe! My kids wolfed it down like the hungry pack they usually are, come dinner time!

I topped the capsicums, deseeded them, took out as much of the bitter white part that I could, then gave them a light dousing of olive oil, salt and pepper and popped them in the oven at 200 degrees for about 20 minutes.

While the capsicums were roasting away, I made a savoury mince of sorts with the turkey mince, a finely chopped onion, herbs and spices, beef stock, tomato paste and a good splash of Worcestershire sauce.

Then when the capsicums were caramelised and the mince had cooled slightly, I packed the capsicums chock full of the mince, making sure to squash the mince into all the crevices in the capsicum. Then because I assembled these at lunch time, I put their lids on, and put them in the fridge until it was almost dinner time. All I had to do for dinner was heat them in a moderate oven for about 25 minutes and steam the veges. Too easy!!

And there you have it! Roasted, stuffed capsicum with steamed veges on the side.

The Verdict: Delicious!!
Another meal to add to my Make At Lunch Time repertoire, which makes dinner time around here so much easier.
They were tasty as leftovers for lunch the next day too. I just reheated one in the microwave for a few minutes!

I took one out of the freezer and popped it in my handbag on my way out the door one workday morning, and by the time I was STARBING (so at like, by 9am!) my cheesy scone was thawed out and ready to eat.

Defrost Test = Tick!
Taste Test = Tick!
Texture Text = Tick!
Repeat This Recipe Test = Tick!

Honestly, it tasted just as good, and the texture of the scone was just as good as if I had made them on the day.
That gives this recipe and defrosting method a huge thumbs up in my book!  Thanks for this one, Susan!

Anyway, I have big plans for Susan’s recipes, her direction and my trusty deep freezer… 

Frost Bite is all about prepping ahead of time, having things frozen and ready to go, the best way to freeze, and store your goodies.  But the very bestest, most helpful (to me) part?  Exactly how to defrost each recipe properly, so your meal tastes like you have spent the afternoon slaving away in the kitchen, not just pulled something out of the freezer!  

I really don’t enjoy spending hours in the kitchen in the middle of Summer, so I am planning on making up a few of her main meal creations and having them ready to go for those days when you’re all BBQ’d out (is that even possible???!!!) or just can’t be bothered doing anything for dinner and take-away is not an option.

Sunday morning I decided to give Susan’s Cheesy Scones a whirl. 

See the pic out of the book, and see my finished product – pretty darn close to the food styled scone, don’t you think?  I am always excited about a recipe if my version looks the same as the pic!  And what did they taste like?  Great!!!  We didn’t have any fancy fillings, except for a little ham and everyone loved them.  So much so, that there were only two left after morning tea…  And those two, I buttered and hammed and froze straight away.  They will be getting a defrosting test run when I go to work later this week.   

If you think you’d like a copy of Frost Bite (you know you do!), check out this page for stockists details. 

Diminishing Lucy has recently posted a whole heap of easy (and flavourful!) marinades for your average chicken breast. Yum ! There are even a few more ideas in the comments section from fellow readers to try as well. Double yum !!

Marshmallow Slice is the first recipe I’ve tried out of the book.  Why this one you ask?  Well, only because it was the very first page I turned to when I opened the recipe book in the middle of Woolies!  It was something easy to make, with no baking involved so the kids could help me out.  Next time.  Maybe.  I like to bake at night, after the circus clowns have gone to bed and it’s quiet! 
  
The recipe book is very cute.  And has lots of pictures.  And a story from each contributor accompanies every recipe.  I have actually read through the book, not only to drool over the pictures but to read all the little stories.  

~ notes for this recipe ~ 
It’s extremely sweet. Almost too sweet (even for me!).
I would use dark chocolate for the top next time and maybe up the biscuit content to bulk it up a bit.
Oh and I would cut my slices much smaller next time!

This my version of Taste’s Zucchini Slice.  Marc isn’t a huge Zucchini Slice fan, but with a few additions that give it extra flavour, I won’t say he’s excited to eat it, but he doesn’t grizzle about it either…
This one is great to freeze, which rates highly in my books.
Plus The Harvey Three all like to eat it so it’s a staple on the menu at our house, if not for dinner, it’s made to combat the, ‘I’m not taking a sandwich!’ whine…!

Notes:

• I have replaced the bacon with ham, and it’s still great.
• Add corn and/or peas.
• Can be made in muffins for great snacks on the go.

]]> http://www.harveysathome.com/2011/06/zucchini-slice/feed/ 0 http://www.harveysathome.com/2011/05/pumpkin-soup-slow-cooker-style/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pumpkin-soup-slow-cooker-style http://www.harveysathome.com/2011/05/pumpkin-soup-slow-cooker-style/#comments Mon, 09 May 2011 11:35:59 +0000 Meegan http://www.harveysathome.com/?p=2415 Continue reading →]]> I had a massive pumpkin to use up this week, so while I chopped it up and roasted half of it, with the other half I decided that a pumpkin soup was in order especially given the weather we are having at the moment.  Perhaps Winter is here to stay?  I hope so.  I love snuggling up with a hot chocolate (or Milo, I’n not fussy) and a good book.

Anyway, I decided that I’d try my pumpkin soup in my trusty slow cooker.  Honestly, I would cook everything in it if I possibly could.  I really do love that kitchen appliance and cannot believe I only found out about slow cookers a couple of years ago.  I know.  Terrible, isn’t it?!  All those sans slow cooker years wasted!!!  After my mix master, my slow cooker is my favourite thing in the kitchen!

This is nothing like my normal pumpkin soup recipe, which is actually my Mum’s recipe ( It’s the best.  I love Mum’s pumpkin soup. )  I would never have thought to put fruit in a soup - but it works!  Really!  Next time I’ll try less apple, maybe 2/3 of the tin of apples, or maybe use one granny smith instead.  But you use what you have, and I had a tin of apples in the pantry that needed to be used.  So I did!

Pumpkin Soup – Slow Cooker Style

Ingredients:

• 1.2kg pumpkin chopped into roughly equal sized pieces
• 1 cup potato chopped into same size pieces as the pumpkin
• 1 onion slice finely
• 750ml stock (I used half chick and half vegetable)
• 1 tin of pie apples
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Pop all prepped ingredients in you slow cook, on high for 4-5 hours.

Then use a stick blender to moosh it all up to your desired consistency.

And this, this is why I love to cook!  Who doesn’t appreciate this site at the end of a meal?!

I love a good toasted sandwich.

I really do.  It would be my preference nine times out of ten for my lunch.  And this beauty pictured is my lunch today – a baby spinach and tuna toastie.  If I can be bothered, I add cheese, but I find this filling doesn’t need it.  And since I’m only serving me (the kids are already fed and in bed for naps) I can make my toasted sandwich and enjoy it while still warm from the sandwich press!

Hope your Friday lunch is a yummy as mine!