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Loaded Potato Skins

April 22, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 4 Comments

My eldest daughter has been going through a stage of not wanting potatoes. She will of course eat wedges and chips but not actual potato as in mash or boiled potatoes. It’s a bit of a pain as we are already making huge adjustments to the food we eat due to my youngest daughters allergies and potatoes are one of our basic diet staples.

So I need to make potatoes interesting again. Think potato dauphinoise, pizza pies ( jacket potatoes sliced in half and topped with tomatoes and cheese ) and I’m starting to convince her that yes she does like them really. This has led to me making more potato based dishes than normal and eventually got me to these loaded skins.

They were pretty easy to make and tasted incredible.

Loaded potato skins

You will need:

4 large potatoes
1 spring onion ( diced )
1 handful of chives ( diced)
3 slices of cooked ham diced
100g of grated cheese
25g of butter
1/4 tsp of crushed black peppercorns
1/4 tsp of sea salt
1 tbsp of olive oil

Firstly bake your potatoes or zap them in they microwave – I put all four in together for 20 minutes. Once out slice in half and scoop out the flesh ( be careful here as you want the skin to remain intact)

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Place the hollowed out skins in a baking tray and sprinkle with the salt, pepper and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Bake in a hot oven for approximately 15-20 minutes until they are crispy.

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Mix together your scooped out potato with butter, chives, spring onion and diced ham in a bowl then fill each potato skin. Top with grated cheddar.

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Place under a hot grill until golden brown.

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Serve with a large leafy salad and some sour cream and sweet chilli dips. These are incredibly moreish I warn you!

These could be easily adapted to be vegetarian by removing the ham.

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Filed Under: Recipes · Tagged: Loaded potato skins

Bogs Footwear Review

April 22, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

With items like footwear I like to give them a good thorough testing before writing a review and I can tell you that these shoes have certainly been tested!

We were sent a pair each for Izzy and Chloe and they have been worn over and over again. They have been splashed in many puddles, plodded through muddy fields and even had a trip or two in the washing machine.

The pair we chose were these beautiful Bogs Kids in Flower Stripe Cranberry.

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Priced at £35.00 they are brilliant value for money in my opinion. They must have been worn more than 60 times each ..probably a lot more and show very little wear and tear.

They are also:

100% waterproof
Made from 3mm Neo-Tech™ insulation with a cozy, plush lining
Machine washable

Another massive perk to these boots in my opinion is that they are so easy to put on. I’m sure we have all been there in that struggle to get wellies on and off but these are so simple that my 18 month old can do hers by herself which makes my life easier.

Some photos of the boots in action:

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And these are the boots 5 months later ..they are due a machine wash as the insides are a bit grubby but don’t they still look fabulous. I wish I had a pair for myself!

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I can’t recommend Bogs Kids enough. Worth every penny.

* We were gifted these boots for the purpose of a gift guide and I have chosen to review them also.

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Filed Under: Reviews · Tagged: Best toddler and baby wellies, Bogs footwear uk, Reviews

Slow Cooker BBQ Style Sticky Chicken Thighs

April 21, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 9 Comments

I love chicken thighs. I cook them at least once a week. To me they are by far the tastiest part of a chicken..also normally cheaper than breasts. They stay moist and full of flavour whichever way you cook them. I have cooked them in the oven, on the hob, on the BBQ and in the Sous Vide but today I chose to cook them in the slow cooker. I make this exact same recipe for my oven baked thighs I just add a little olive oil.

You will need:

6 chicken thighs
1 heaped tablespoon of sweet smokey paprika
1/2 tbsp of garlic granules
4 tbsp of soft dark brown sugar or molasses
1/2 tsp of crushed peppercorns ( I used Sichuan )

Place your thighs in the slow cooker, sprinkle first with the paprika then the garlic and pepper then finally the sugar.

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Try to get an even distribution them cook on high for 2 hours and low for 2 hours. I used a temperature probe to check the thighs got to the correct temp.

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Remove the thighs and leave to rest before serving.

slow cooker bbq style sticky chicken thighs

You can tip the sauce/juice into a pan, add some more sugar and reduce to make a sauce to cover or to use in a different dish but the thighs are juicy and full off flavour as they are.

They were succulent and so tasty. I think they may even be better than my oven version. If you do want a crispy skin pop these in a very hot oven for 10-15 minutes.

I served mine with a leafy green salad and these loaded potato skins:

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– recipe for these to follow soon.

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Filed Under: Recipes, Slow Cooker · Tagged: brown sugar chicken, crockpot chicken thighs, paprika, Slow cooker BBQ chicken

My Appliances Multi Function Fan Oven Review

April 21, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 3 Comments

I was offered to review a product from My Appliances the week that my oven died. It had been slowly failing for over a year and I’d been ignoring the fact that it took an hour to preheat or an extra hour to cook just about anything. I obviously opted for an oven and it was delivered within a few days ( standard service – not just for blog reviewers ). The oven I chose was this ART28709 60CM true fan oven.

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It was simple to install – considering my other half had never attempted anything like this before.

I didn’t wait long before I was cooking up a storm with about five batches of cakes and bread flying out of my oven over the space of two days.

It’s been remarkably easy to get used to and I love all of the different functions that it offers:

Light
Defrost
Lower Heat Element
Upper and Lower Heat Element
Convectional with Fan
Radiant Grilling
Double Grilling
Double Grilling with Fan
Convection

The lower heat element is great for pizzas. The upper and lower is great for meats and the convectional oven which gives a more controlled all round heat makes great cakes.
It’s also wider than my old oven which means I can fit more on one rack. Great for making smaller versions of meals to suit my allergic child.

These are some of the bakes I’ve made over the past month:

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These loaded potato skins were browned beautifully using the grill:

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And the most amazing chicken traybake:

Simple chicken Traybake

I can definitely recommend this oven and with a fabulous £125 off at the moment now is the time to buy. You can buy the oven here.

One year later update:

I don’t typically update reviews but we have been so happy with our oven that I thought it was right to let you know how it is faring after a year of heavy use. We had one minor glitch where we thought there was an issue with our heating element and we called customer services who arranged for an engineer to come up within 48 hours..embarrassingly the problem rectified itself by the time he arrived and it seemed to have been caused by an (overly) extended period of slow cooking. Anyway since then we have had no problems, it’s an excellent oven which heats up quickly and has all the functions we need. The grill in particular gets to the perfect temperature in a minute or two which is just what I need it for – I use it typically to brown/burnish dishes that I’ve made on the stove top. I’ve used the defrost setting with no issues and find this also works well for when I want to dehydrate food such as Sundried tomatoes. The two button combination needed to turn it on means it’s safer around little ones and I love that it flashes at me to remind me to turn it off after use!

From the quality of the product and the excellent customer service I would recommend this oven and My Appliances on the whole.

* I was gifted this oven for the purpose of a review.

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Filed Under: Reviews · Tagged: Fitted oven review, multi function

A Giveaway With First Great Western & Bristol Food Connections

April 20, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

From the 1st till the 9th of May 2015 Bristol will once again be taken over for the Bristol Food Connections festival. You can read about last years festival here.

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“Food Connections aims to change how we think about food and how we eat by ‘Bringing people and good food together’ and by celebrating the people, the produce and the projects that are putting Bristol on the map as a sustainable food capital.

All over Bristol, dozens of individuals, groups, organisations and businesses – united by their passion for good food – will come together to stage a food event unlike any other.

The flagship food event for Bristol 2015, European Green Capital, Food Connections will comprise over 130 events all over the city divided into six themes: land and growing, wellbeing, feasting and festivities, get cooking, brain food and families.”

With markets, dining events, family events and BBC talks and seminars including free entry to theatre talks from chefs such as Rick Stein talking about his life in food. You can find out how to apply for tickets here

Find out more about the Sustainable Food Summit, The a Sourdough chain and The Food Trail. You could try foraging, honey tasting or even attend an awards ceremony where you get to try a sample of all of the products entered and see who wins the £100,000 prize. Sound exciting right?

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Now how would you like to win two train tickets to the festival courtesy of First Great Western and tickets to the New Frontiers a Award Ceremony 2015? Just complete the rafflecopter form below but be quick as this competition only lasts a week.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Filed Under: Festivals and Camping, Giveaway · Tagged: Bristol, bristol food connections, competitions, First great western, food festivals, Giveaways, Rick stein

Bluestone In Pictures

April 20, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

Whenever we review a holiday I like to post a photo diary before I write our full review. A little teaser … So here it is a selection of photos from our recent stay at Bluestone National Park Resort.

Free range fun…

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Forest exploration…

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We spent a lot of time at Camp Smokey…

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Lots more to come in our full review in a few weeks.

*Our stay at Bluestone was complimentary for the purpose of a review.

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Filed Under: Hotel Reviews, Reviews, Reviews, Travel, UK holidays · Tagged: blue lagoon, Bluestone national park resort

Springtime Special Buys At Aldi

April 19, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

Whenever we do a shop at Aldi, I end up getting all the food whilst my other half lingers around all of the special buys. They always manage to have something we absolutely definitely need ..ok want.

I read the weekly leaflet to find out if there is anything I fancy and then I try to get there on the first day of the promotion to make sure I get it.. Because the problem is that sometimes the deals are so good they fly out which can lead to huge disappointment.

In the last few months we have bought a carpet washer ( for approximately £30 less than we could have bought it elsewhere ) am ironing board with a built in extension plug ( a surprise bonus ) and I bought THE most comfortable pair of trainers just after New Years. I wore them for a 6 hour Danceathon and ahem nearly everybody around me was moaning about sore feet and I was all bouncy and comfy in my £14.99 shoes ( which scanned through at £9.99 ) woop. Plus they are bright pink and look rather cool. Oh and we bought a king size duvet..and their foodie special buys too. Ok we may buy their special buys a lot.

We have also been lucky enough to have been sent some of the more recently special buys to try out:

I loved the selection on offer for the Baking Special Buys:

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The digital measuring jug is especially useful and I use it ALL the time:

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We have also been reviewing some of the hiking products which are in store right now including these fab jackets priced at £29.99:

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The Trekking Jacket is both warm and waterproof, thanks to its 3 layer fabric and membrane construction. In styles for both men and women and fit to fight off the strongest of storms, it has a fully adjustable hood and a storm flap. Not only is this jacket waterproof but windproof too. We have had such glorious weather lately that we haven’t had much of a chance to try them out, other than a brief wet and windy school run but we live in Wales so that will change soon I’m sure.

In store this week they have running gear, heart monitors as well as polarised sunglasses amongst all their usual goodies. Go check them out and find out more about the upcoming special buys here.

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Filed Under: Reviews · Tagged: Aldi special buys, hiking gear, jackets, trainers

Win A Hamper Of Quinola & Rebel Kitchen Toddler Goodies

April 18, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 68 Comments

A few months ago we were sent a hamper of products from Quinola UK and Rebel Kitchen. It was perfect timing as we were really starting to struggle with what to feed Chloe when we were out and about due to all of her allergies whilst still wanting to give her good, nutritional food and drink.

Let be start by telling you a little about the brands:

What is Quinola?

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Quinola is the sacred crop of the Incas, the uber tasty, nutritious super-grain that powered the greatest empire South America has ever seen. It’s been recognised as a superfood by NASA, who have earmarked quinoa as a key food source for deep space missions.

We reviewed the Quinola Baby range here last year and were really impressed, this time we received a bundle of Quinola Kids products.

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Our absolute favourite flavour was Thai Quinoa with peas, carrots and coconut milk. I say our favourite flavour because Izzy loved it, as did Chloe and I *may have had a sachet all to myself inside a pitta bread. Oh my. It tastes so good. It’s proof that ready made children’s meals can be healthy and taste like real food too.

It also comes in a Tex Mex version and a Mediterranean Quinoa with tomato, carrots and courgette.

They can be warmed to the perfect temp in just 30 seconds and we ( Chloe ) also ate them straight from the pack.

They also sell adult Quinola express packs which I’m eager to try. Find out more about the brand here.

Rebel Kitchen:

We received a selection of KIDS MYLK

Mini Rebels make the ideal lunch box addition or after school snack.

Available in three delicious varieties: Chocolate, Banana and Orange Chocolate.

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Both girls enjoyed these and we didn’t get a look in.

They also sell adult versions with flavours such as chocolate, matcha and chai. These sound pretty great and I’m going to keep an eye out for them next time I’m shopping!

Now do you fancy winning a hamper of goodies from both of these brands? Just fill in the rafflecopter form below for your chance to win:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

* I was provided with a hamper of products to review for the purpose of this post.

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Filed Under: Allergies, Giveaway, Parenting/baby, Weaning · Tagged: Quinola kids, Quinola Mothergrain, Rebel kitchen uk

A Munchkin UK Giveaway

April 18, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 43 Comments

We are blog ambassadors for Lindam Munchkin and proud to be so. We use their products all day long from breakfast through to bathtime and have never encountered any problems with quality or function.

Today I’m sharing with you a couple of our current favourites and giving you the chance to win some of them for yourself.

Since we received these apple divider plates we have used them for most meal times. Izzy loves picking a different colour and I love that there are separate sections for her food. She’s a big fan of dips such as hummus or a flavoured mayo so there’s normally a dollop of that in one section, some veggies/salad in the other and whatever our main meal consists of …or you know just pizza 😉

Munchkin uk apple plate

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Then there are also these brightly coloured white hot plates and bowls:

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These White Hot® Toddler Bowls and plates feature Munchkin’s patented technology to tell you and your little one when food is too hot to eat. They also stack neatly together in the cupboard so great for helping to keep life organised.

Fancy winning a set each of the Apple plates, White Hot Plates and White Hot bowls?

Just enter the simple rafflecopter form below for your chance.

UK entrants only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Filed Under: Parenting/baby, Weaning · Tagged: competition

The Overwhelming Responsibility Of Parenting

April 17, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 1 Comment

I’m always envious of the parent who breezes into the school yard perfectly dressed with her child who holds onto her hand, another on her back while she casually pushes the other in a buggy. She never seems to get angry, or forget things. She is never flying around the corner of the school as the last child trails out or walking in as the register is being called. Her child always has the correct book/fruit money and hair is neatly plaited or combed.

Rare is the day when everything goes perfectly at our home. I always feel as if I’m just managing. My children are always fed. They are always dressed, warm and loved. I guess this is all that matters. Yet I feel as though I’m lacking.

How do people do it. Or to quote the famous book and movie “I don’t know how she does it”.

I really don’t. I come from a large family and I’ve no idea how my mum managed to organise our household and lives. I ask her and she says she just did. Because she had to.

My mind is constantly flooded with things I must do, things I should probably do and then of course the things I want to do.

Chloe and Izzy have daily medication, one for reflux and the other for asthma and sometimes it feels like just remembering to do these small things twice a day is crushing me. I have to remember to order their medication before it runs out. Chloe is on a prescription milk as she was losing weight and due to her allergies can’t have any milk I can buy in the supermarket at the moment. They only give me a weeks box at a time. This means remembering every week to re order it from the GP. Then call the pharmacy so that they can order it in. Then arrange to collect it. Then make it up twice a day, store it in the fridge. Check every ingredient in every product we give Chloe TWICE. Try to create a meal plan which is not only dairy free, egg free, wheat and gluten free and soya free but is also fillings, nutritious and tastes good.

Then there is school. Getting Izzy to and from school twice a day, remembering which day ( twice a week) that her library book goes back. Knowing if it’s red day or bring a toy day etc.

Remembering my own doctors/hospital appointments and attending them. Calling hospital departments to chase up Chloe’s op. Trying to get Chloe to sleep. Trying to get Chloe to remain asleep. Trying to get Chloe to eat. Trying to stop her from eating any crumb of anyone else’s food that she sees because it could make her ill.

Trying to spend time with my partner, trying not to lose patience with him and failing. Trying to not be angry with everything. Trying to be grateful for what I have and not for what I don’t.

Trying to sleep. Failing to sleep for more than an hour straight. Getting frustrated. Making lists. Trying to force myself to relax. Trying, trying, trying.

Yesterday I forgot one single dose of my daughters reflux medicine. Not a big deal really. In fact I’m assured it’s no problem at all but when I put her to bed and she gagged and whined. I instantly felt awful for that one missed dose that morning. A dose I missed because I was so focused on worrying about my own appointment that morning.

That afternoon I had to take Izzy to school in non uniform clothes ( it’s not compulsory ) as we had put Chloe to bed in the room where her wardrobe is. Stupid me for not planning. Getting annoyed because I can’t be more organised.

Trying to take advice, to accept help. To relax.

Finding it all hard.

I’m not alone here. I have a supportive partner who does more than his fair share and yet it’s overwhelming.

Who knew being a parent was so hard?

This is without the feelings that go along with everything, the guilt if I don’t give everyone enough attention. The frustration when I make up a meal and it’s not appreciated – the understanding when it clicks that maybe at 3yrs old it’s hard to appreciate how much effort goes into food. How it’s not her fault that her sister is ‘lergic.

Trying not to lean too heavily on my partner in case he falls. Knowing he is there but not putting on pressure. Knowing I should be leaning on him more.

Some days I just don’t know how people do it. I know to some degree we all feel like this and that woman in the schoolyard may be totally different behind closed doors but I wish I didn’t feel so inadequate.

Seems like a good day to remind myself of this quote I read recently in a DIY store..

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Filed Under: Parenting/baby · Tagged: Parenting. Hard

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