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Gammon, mushroom, leak and cheese pie

We had a nice hunk of Gammon in the freezer, from Mother’s Day as it happens, and some leak from last week’s shop. What a yummy pie that would make!

2 leaks choppedPaprika
½ punnet of mushrooms, more if you like, slicedDijon mustard
Cooked gammon or slice some cold meats you need to use up1 tbs of flour
2 medium carrots, halved and slicedMixed herbs
¼- ½ head of broccoliUnsalted Butter and vegetable oil
150ml single creamWhole milk
Grated cheddar Cheese, we used mature1 garlic clove quartered

Fry the leaks for 2 minutes in some oil of your choosing, then add the mushrooms and a bit of butter and the garlic. Meanwhile steam your carrots and broccoli in the microwave and chop into 1cm or smaller chunks once soft. I was doing a hidden veg vibe, so they don’t bite into something and pick it out so chopped them quite fine.

Once your mushroom’s and leaks have cooked down and taken on some colour grind in some pepper and add the mixed herbs and paprika. Removed 2-3 tbs and add it to the chopped steamed veg for the kids. Hubby is not into carrots and broccoli.

Now put in in a bit of butter, how much is up to you really, add the flour and stir through the butter, remove from the heat after a minute or so and pour in the cream and stir the entire dish add a little milk to loosen and the Dijon mustard. Put back on the heat, as the mixture thickens add more milk till it is the consistency you want, then turn off the heat. At this point remove to spoons of the sauce and add to the baby’s veg and put 30g of cheese in too and mix. You will see it is mostly vegetables and just enough sauce and cheese to bind it. Add cheese to the adult portion and stir through, it is enough for 4 medium pie’s the same as the children’s or one large lidded pie. I added a pinch of toasted and ground fennel seeds, but it is a strong flavor so only add it if you love it and it is really not necessary.

The gammon needs to be chopped into cubes, for the babies I did them small 5mm square roughly and then 1cm for us. Remove your pastry from the fridge 10 minutes before needing it. Cut a 15cm piece and cut that in half so you have 2 squares.

Mix the gammon cubes into the rest of the children’s mixture once it is cooled. Place the mixture in one half of the pastry and fold over, you may need to tuck it a bit so it all fits and then with a fork push the edges together. Back for 15-20 minutes at 200 degrees.

For the adulty meal the mixture would have cooled now so add your gammon and mix put in a pie dish or any baking tray and top with the pastry, so it is covered back for the same time as the babies. I mixed carrot and broccoli in my half of the pie and it was extremely delicious! I would really recommend it and did keep telling my husband how he was missing out. Much to his silent annoyance.

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Leftover lunch!!

This will be super short as the recipe came from the need to get them to eat vegetables we had and left over carbonara from their lunch.

Chop up the mini corn and broccoli and fry it a bit more, then whisked an egg with some whole milk combined with the chopped pasta and veg and back in the pan with some butter, so it doesn’t stick. Straight in the plate to cool and top it with some feta or any cheese you have.

It was very tasty, and it had all the food groups so why not!?

We had pizza last night and I use sandwich thins and spread a mix of tomato sauce and tomato puree on the bottom topped with ham and cheese and a mixed herbs on top. So delicious and will work with anything you have. I used wraps before and cut then into rough rounds, but you could just quarter the.

Finding your Happy at home

Most of my blog’s focus has been on the children and what we do in our day, and while that makes for fun and interesting writing there is a lot more going on in people’s lives.

As it happens this morning, we did a Joe Wicks P.E session together as a family, they are rather challenging so that will be my exercise for today and I will commit to doing a hardcore HIIT session tomorrow. Mostly within a day I do at least one work out, whether that is a calming yoga, quick core workout by MadFit or a Peloton session with my husband.

Daddy, Austin & Aria doing P.E with Joe

 We need to take the time to keep our heads straight, I can confirm that some days this has been so hard! You still have all the normal work to do coupled with all this fitness ‘malark’ and being a full-time good wife. It’s a lot so make sure to also cordon off time for you away from it all. Even the fitness, yes it will help but you need time to think or not think. On Monday after the children went down for a nap, I ran myself a bath and popped a Lush bath bomb( I cut it in half so I had some for another day) in and listened to a Podcast, Happy Place with Fearne Cotton and Russel Brand, confession I actually loves what he has to say! Yes, he makes it sound preachy and talks very fast but at least he is saying something and thinking about others.

While I know many people have been spring cleaning, decluttering and getting the garden ready we have not been that productive, well we have done the garden but it was only this morning that I gave our shelves in the lounge a sort. It seems that each time the babies can reach higher we just move items and after months it looked beyond messy. Giving areas in your home a freshen up can quickly and easily lift your spirits, like with most things you just need to set the time aside to do it. I tackled ours while in PJ’s and just did it!

Now the dust has settled it seems more and more social events are popping up. This evening we are enjoying a bottle of wine with above mentioned neighbours’ this evening. There is a garden between us, so safe distance sorted! Similarly, we have calls set up with some friends from our NCT group on Friday and Matt with the NCT guys on Thursday.

My lovely neighbour and Godmother to my children gave us a great idea that should have come to mind but in busy lives… They are ordering a takeaway and doing a date night every Saturday. Setting the table up like a restuarant and enjoying time together. We are looking forward to ‘going out’ for Japanese on Saturday night.

Create special time within your home.

Casey from Sensoryland has scheduled Cuppa Club for the Moms or Dads to log in and have a chat on Zoom. We get the chance to talk about something that you struggled with/ found difficult that week or share an activity that was fun. I found it super helpful to just say out load what was bothering me and saying it to someone that isn’t my husband. I have been struggling to sleep or get back to sleep after waking up for the babies, one of the members had a tip to think of your thoughts as a train and each carriage is a thought. If the thought isn’t something you want to explore or that will serve you jump it and move to the next. So, go on connect with groups that you belonged to you never know if you can offer some support to someone out there too.

Remember your life before the lockdown and the things that made you happy and try recreating or adapt the things that made you happy. Create your own happy.