Teacher’s Gifts!

Do you or don’t you give Teacher’s Gifts?!?

 

I have only once felt that I wanted to give a teacher a gift as I thought she was outstanding and had really helped my daughter. So much so that I actually made her a Smallprint Keyring with ‘Best Teacher’ written by my, then 5 year old, daughter stamped into it. Other than that I don’t really feel compelled to give gifts, and think it is an expense that at this time of year we could do without. At the end of the day they are doing a job and it is not common practice to give gifts to someone for doing their job. However there does seem to be a growing trend of giving gifts at the end of the school year and on our playground there does seem to be an air of ‘keeping up with the Jones’!

 

The retail market have grabbed this opportunity with both hands and the shops now seem to be full of Thank you gifts for Teachers. But seriously, how many mugs, keyrings or teddy’s does a teacher want or need?!?! I wonder what they do with them all? I came under pressure from my children yesterday as people had already brought gifts in and so it had planted the seed that they should do it too! I was adamant that we were not going to go out and start buying gifts and I explained to them why. I suggested that if they really wanted to give the teacher something why didn’t they make something as it would be more personal. So we had a quick route through the cupboards and decided on homemade Honeycomb! I had never made it before, but it is a recipe that my daughter had earmarked in the cook book I got her at Christmas! I have to say, it was so quick easy and we had everything we need in the house! It looked great and tasted just like shop brought honeycomb!

The girls were brimming with pride as they left the house this morning carrying their little bags of homemade honeycomb to give to their teachers and I didn’t mind as it hadn’t really cost us anything to make! Turns out this was the perfect solution to the teacher gift giving debate! Plus now I have a recipe that I can do with the kids quickly and it would make the perfect gift to take to someones house when invited for dinner! Love it x

Can’t beat Spaghetti Bolognaise

I love to cook and always try to cook from scratch rather than using pre made sauces and marinades. I am a big Jamie Oliver fan and have most of his books. Spaghetti Bolognaise is one of my favourite dishes to make as the kids love it! It is quick and easy and if you make extra you can freeze it for another day, so great time saver!

When I make bolognaise I always use Jamie’s recipe for “Kinda Spaghetti Bolognaise” from his book “Happy Days with the Naked Chef”  –  serves 4. I have put the recipe below and if you have never tried it I highly recommend that you do.

10 slices Pancetta or smoked streaky bacon rashers, sliced
1 handful of rosemary, leaves picked and roughly chopped
olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
455gr/1 lb  chuck steak, minced, or best minced beef
1 wineglass of red wine
1 level teaspoon dried oregano
1x 400gr/14oz tin of tomatoes
1 x 200gr/7oz tube tomato puree, or 1 small jar of sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
455gr/1 lb dried spaghetti
1 handful of fresh basil
2 handfuls of grated Parmesan or strong Cheddar cheese

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas4.

In a large hot pan that can go in the oven, fry the pancetta and rosemary in a little olive oil until lightly golden.  Then add the onion and garlic and fry for a further 3 minutes until softened before adding the minced beef.  Stir and continue frying for 2 or 3 minutes before adding the wine.  Reduce slightly, then add the oregano, all the tomatoes and the tomato puree.  Season well to taste, bring to the boil, cover with greaseproof paper or a lid and place in the pre-heated oven for an hour and a half. 

If I don’t have a lot of time I just do this on the hob and let it simmer for 20 minutes and it is just as good. I watched a cookery programme recently that said that there is no dish in Italy that is the equivalent of Spaghetti Bolognaise. There is a traditional Ragu sauce but it would not be served with spaghetti as it would not coat the pasta so it would be served with tagliatelle. Since watching this I have always served mine with tagliatelle and have to say it is much better. When mixed the sauce coats the pasta and some how seems less greasy. This recipe is a really rich sauce so you don’t need a massive portion, but it goes down a treat in my house with a bit of cheese grated on top and lots of garlic bread!

Quick tip – I don’t know about you but if I have to open a bottle of wine to cook with I often end up drinking the rest of it when I don’t really need to – or if I’m not in a drinking mood it can sit on the side and turn before I get round to enjoying it. My tip to prevent this is when you have a bottle of white or red wine open fill an ice-cube tray with some and pop it in the freezer (or if you have a bottle open that you aren’t going to finish do this rather than let it go to waste). Then the next time you are making a dish that needs wine, just go to the freezer and grab a couple of your wine ice cubes. Simple x

There are so many variations on this sauce that I would love to hear what your families favourite is and how you serve yours?

What to do with Brown Bananas!

In our house the moment the bananas start to turn brown no one will touch them! I hate waste and throwing out food so I am always looking for recipes and tips on how to save or use food that is on the turn. This is my favourite recipe for using up bananas that are past there best. The kids love eating it as well as helping bake it and it is a great lunch box treat or morning snack!

Banana & Chocolate Chip Loaf

You will need;

6 oz Butter or margarine

8 oz Caster Sugar

2 Large Ripe Bananas

1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence

1/25 tsp Salt

10 oz Self Raising Flour

3 Eggs

& 2 oz Chocolate Chips

Set your oven to 160 C

Line a 3″ deep Loaf Tin

To make, put the butter and sugar in a large bowl and melt in the microwave. Once melted add the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda and mix together. In a separate bowl mash the bananas with the vanilla essence then beat the 3 eggs into the banana mixture. Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture in the large bowl and stir well until combined. Finally add the chocolate chips and stir lightly before pouring into your lined tin.

Bake at 160 c for 50 minutes. My oven is a fan oven and it sometimes needs a little longer. You know your cake is ready when you push a skewer into the middle and it comes out clean.

Totally yummy and counts as one of your five a day. What’s not to love!

If you have any banana recipes please comment and let me know so I can give them a go.