Slow Cooker Obsessed

Why did it take me so long to get the slow cooker out of the back of my car?? It is amazing. Not only does it hugely help when we have a busy evening but it is so nice to come from work and smell dinner. And so far, everything has been delicious!

Slow-cooker_thumb.jpg

All it takes is a bit of forward planning and minor prep in the morning. And I’m nothing if not lover of planning. And looking up loads of recipes on Pinterest or my favourite blogs. Always fun!

So for a bit of WIAW fun, here are my latest meals thanks to my slow cooker.


Slow Cooker Disassembled Cottage Pie:

Slow cooker cottage pie

This was very simple. The night before I chopped a white onion and fried it with garlic ready for the morning. Then in the morning I added that to the slow cooker with 400g/~1lb lean beef mince. I added a few tablespoons of tomato paste, herbs and crumbled a couple of beef stock cubes and gave it a good mix. Then I popped it on low and went on my merry way to work. It probably cooked for 8-9 hours.

My intention had been to pop it into a casserole dish with mash sweet potato on it and cook it for another 20mins but in the end I couldn’t be bothered. So Ben got his with garlic bread and I whizzed up some cheesey cauliflower mash for me. Done.

I’d suggest it could probably serve 4 with potato but for me and my monster appetite (and only having cauliflower mash) I finished off half and felt very satisfied. Ben struggled with his half!

Creamy Slow Cooker Chicken:

I used THIS recipe for this meal. It was unbelievably easy. Just chicken, a tub of cream cheese (I used medium fat), a tin of condensed chicken soup (I used Campbell’s), lots of Italian herbs and 1/2 cup of water. Mix and put on low for 6-8 hours.

Slow Cooker Roast Chicken:

Again, another simple chicken meal. I chopped up an onion and added it to the slow cooker with lots of garlic and herbs, then placed a whole chicken on top. 6 hours on low (until the juices in the chicken ran clear).

I then served the chicken with a bit of the drained roasted onion and lots of roasted squash (which I did in the normal oven) and vegetables. And half a bottle of BBQ sauce… You know it makes sense.

Squash Soup with Chickpeas:

Ingeniously I did all the prep for this the weekend before. I chopped up an onion, a delicata squash, a butternut squash and a sweet potato and popped it all into a freezer bag.

I popped the bag into the fridge ready. Then a couple of days later I in the morning I added the contents of the bag to the slow cooker, added some spices (I like cumin, paprika and a bit of curry powder), a crumbled vegetable stock cube, half a tin of coconut milk and a cup(ish) of water and stirred. Again, 6-8 hours on low.

When I got in from a run all I had to do was whizz it all up using a hand blender and then added a tin of chickpeas. I left it on high while I showered (20 minutes?) and then dinner was ready!

So I’m pretty chuffed with the slow cooker. It has really helped when we’re working late or I’m out running in the evening. It just means one less thing to worry about and a beautifully tasty meal! Also it means less washing up.

I’m looking forward to try out different soups, BBQ ribs (*swoon*), chilli…the possibilities are endless! Any suggestions are more than welcome too 🙂

What’s your favourite slow cooker meal? So far mine is the creamy chicken. Ben was a big fan of this one too (surprise, surprise…)

What are your time-saving tips for cooking in the week?

 Do you do a lot of food preparation at the weekend? I try to but sometimes the weekends are so  busy, just getting the normal stuff done is tight!

Sleepless Nights and a Special Birthday

There are good times during the day when it is sensible and productive to think about important decisions, tasks at work, and things that you need to do.

IMG_4358

I have found that 3.30am is not that time. At 3.30am everything can seem like a complicated problem. Everything gets ruminated and examined from every possible angle. Time gets sucked away and your mind whizzes at ninety miles an hour. Problems are not solved at 3.30am.

That was last night for me. I tossed and turned all through the night with a mixture of a zillion things going through my mind and achy legs from my running club run that evening. Consequentially, I did not sleep well.

IMG_4359

Loving that peak from 3-3.30am…not

I didn’t need the Sleep Cycle app to inform me that I had pretty rubbish sleep quality. I was fully aware of that at several points during the night. In fact, I’m sure I ruminated on it at 3.30am.

I love running club but it does mess around with my sleeping after I’ve had a hard run only hours before. And on top of a tough week at work…well I had no chance really. It’s funny because at that time in the middle of the night, you almost want you alarm to go off so you can get up. When you do eventually fall back asleep however, those thoughts are long gone.

Anyway, so this week has been tough at work and tough running. My 10k on Sunday pretty much savaged any energy I had left in my legs and left my runs feeling tough beyond belief. I usually comfortably run between 7.30-7.45mins/mile. On Tuesday I was struggling to hit 9mins/mile. Very humbling! Reminds me that I’m not superwoman and rest is important.

image

But I enjoyed the run regardless and just ran at a pace that my legs felt comfortable. I think it’s important to get back into it after a tough race but I also think it’s important to that slowly and sensibly. Shake out those achy muscles and get some fresh air.

And importantly – a big happy birthday to my amazing, super mum.

IMG_1711

I couldn’t ask for a better mum. She may not be the best cook in the world Winking smile but she is definitely a great listener, a loving person, kind beyond words and always there whenever I need a mum-daughter chat or coffee.

On to some good food. The other night I tried a new recipe. It’s loosely based on THIS recipe that I had pinned (follow me if you fancy!)

IMG_4323

Tomato and Feta Chicken (serves 2)

  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
  • Tin of chopped tomatoes (I used chopped cherry tomatoes)
  • Herbs (e.g. oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary)
  • Garlic

– Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F.

– On the hob in a small pan, cook the chopped tomatoes with the herbs and garlic until bubbling.

– Add most of the feta (reserve two heaped teaspoons) and stir so it begins to break down and melt.

– Season the chicken with pepper (no salt as the feta is very salty) and add to a small casserole dish. Cover with sauce, pop in oven and cook for about 15mins.

– Remove then sprinkle over the remaining feta and pop back in for another 5mins (until the chicken is cooked).

IMG_4324

The sweetness of the tomatoes and the saltiness of the feta worked so well together. And so easy to make, definitely one to repeat as an easy midweek meal!

So it’s Friday today, hurrah! This weekend is a long weekend with the bank holiday on Monday (a day off in the UK). I plan to enjoy a nice relaxed Parkrun tomorrow – NO PRESSURE allowed. And then Ben and me might have signed up to another 10k for Sunday….um, yes we are obsessed.

Have a lovely weekend!

What are you up to this weekend?

What’s your favourite kind of cheese? Mine is goat’s cheese without a doubt. But I do love cream cheese.

Do you wake up in the middle of the night with thinking-overload?

Embarrassing Bananas

**SlimKicker have finally got back to me on who won the giveaway. They chose:

 Winner

 So Angela, please email me and we can arrange your winnings! 🙂 **

I’m not going to lie. This week has been tough. I feel like I’ve been chasing my tail and never quite catching it. Don’t get me wrong, I love being busy and I love having goals to hit and chunky bits of work to get my teeth into but I feel like everything has slipped.

Yesterday (Thursday) was a really tough day in terms of work. I felt frazzled by the end. And the annoying thing was that I really wanted to get to running club in the evening but because work went on longing than I thought it would it meant I had to miss it as I just couldn’t have made it there on time.

I know that this is completely ridiculous but it really stressed me out. I had my whole evening planned, I had geared myself up all day to go and then suddenly the realisation hit when I was supposed to be leaving by 5pm I was still sat there at 6pm that it wasn’t going to happen. I am a rigid person, I know that. I’m not that flexible in that when I have something planned it’s a big deal for me to just miss it. Don’t get me wrong, in this circumstance I know that work was far more important and I don’t regret staying. But it really got to me. I felt stressed inside all the way home. It wasn’t just the disappointment of not going to running club or missing a run, it was just the whole messing up of my plan. I really need to work on this. This can’t be healthy. In the past I have found myself getting really annoyed or upset when my routine is shifted. Even if it’s outside my control. Please tell me someone else gets this way too?

Anyway it’s Friday!

Because I missed my run last night, I ran this morning. Unfortunately this meant getting up at 5.50am so I wouldn’t be late for work. But when my alarm went off I actually wasn’t that tired and felt raring to go.

image

It was a nice clear morning so it was good to be outside. But I would have preferred to have run last night with the guys from the club!

Food-wise, like I said, this week things have slipped. I had planned a few meals but with time just running out it just wasn’t going to happen. However, I’m pleased to say that didn’t mean turning to microwave meals. Not that there’s anything wrong with eating them once in a while don’t get me wrong. But I’m not a big fan and I never think the portions are that big! And any vegetables are just horribly soggy and pathetic.

So a couple of evenings this week we’ve had ‘wing-it’ meals. For example, the other night we had chicken with a salsa and cream cheese sauce. Such a simple meal!

IMG_4106

Chicken with Salsa & Cream Cheese Sauce (Serves 2)

  • 2 chicken breasts, diced
  • 1 white onion, diced
  • half a zucchini, small chunks
  • 3-4 mushrooms, sliced
  • Half jar of salsa (I used just a supermarket chunky mild version)
  • Large tbs. cream cheese
  • Spices (I used paprika, garlic powder, salt & pepper)

Literally took next to no time. The most onerous thing was chopping the veg! Very tasty. We had this twice. The second time we had it I threw in some torn mozzarella as well and it became even more cheesy and rich. Really tasty, this is definitely one for our rotation!

On a food related note… Ages ago I bought a banana holder so I could carry my banana around in my handbag with ease. I have such a hate for bruising my bananas and getting all battered. I have been known in the past to carry a banana in my handbag covered in a thick clean sock to protect it. I did this once when I was going on holiday with some friends and when I went through security the security guys searched my bag and found my sock covered banana. Literally the most embarrassing experience of my life. That obviously all my friends saw. I’ll never forget the security guard’s bewildered face. Anyway, so along came the banana holder…

IMG_4105

A large yellow, er, strangely shaped object I think you’ll agree… This lives in my desk drawer at work because, well, I just don’t use it. I tend to buy my bananas at work to avoid the transportation issue from home. One of my colleagues saw this object in my drawer and there commenced a lot of awkward explaining that this was purely a BANANA HOLDER and nothing else.

*Sighs* Seriously, bananas, you have caused my life no end of embarrassment.

And because I haven’t shared my outfits with you in a while (not that they’ve been that interesting I must admit)…here’s my outfit du jour!

IMG_4104

Cardigan and leggings from New Look, shirt-dress from Dorothy Perkins

No thick woollen jumper, no huge scarf curled around my neck a million times – a more spring-like ensemble finally! I can’t wait to finally stop wearing cardigans and allow my arms to see the sun. Yes, Britain, I said SUN. Make it happen.

Fingers crossed the weather is spring-like where you are! Have a great weekend people!

Do you get stressed when your routine is messed up? How do you cope?

Bananas: are fanatical about bruising them like me? Or are you not too bothered?

Any embarrassing fruit-related stories? No judgement here Winking smile

Steak, chicken and peanut flour pancakes

Ah Monday. So we meet again.

Seems like just a few seconds ago it was Friday and I was leaving work. Ah well. And it seemed to rain from Friday until Saturday night.

IMG_4080

This is the dismal view from the window by my desk at work. It looks like February. It felt like February.

Friday night I decided to whip up a different meal from usual. You might have seen that I eat a lot of chicken and not much other meat. I don’t mind pork and I don’t mind beef mince but I can’t stand lamb. Not sure why but there we go. Anyway, I saw a recipe and knew I needed to try it. Main ingredient? Steak.

IMG_4082

Basically it’s steak with a honey marinade and goat’s cheese salad. I used THIS recipe but subbed the gorgonzola for goat’s cheese just because I love goat’s cheese. I also left out the walnuts and portabella mushroom as I thought I’d keep it simple.

The marinade was this:

  • pinch of sea salt
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. onion powder
  • 2 tbs. honey
  • 1 tbs. soy sauce
  • good splash of Worcestershire sauce

I used thin steaks (as the recipe says) which I was glad for as I’m not that adventurous to try a big old thick steak. They took next to no time to fry. So a very simple meal all in all. And very tasty. The goat’s cheese and steak went perfectly together.

Then we watched a whole lotta House of Cards (the new series we’ve gotten into as we signed up to Netflix). I love Kevin Spacey, there is something strangely attractive about him and his smooth talking. Am I alone in this?

IMG_4086

Saturday morning I managed to dodge the rain and get out for a 9 mile run before it started again with a vengeance about 30 mins after I got back. I knew that the run would be tough because of Thursday’s super charged run. Honestly, even if I wanted to run faster I couldn’t have. My legs were so fatigued.

image

As soon as I started I knew it was going to be tough, so I kept the pace easy and just enjoyed being outside listening to my podcast. Sometimes it’s good to just let your mind wander and just relax into a nice pace.

And guess what I had for breakfast afterwards? You’ll be forgiven for guessing oatmeal, but I had something different. Yes. I know, shocking.

IMG_4088

I was going to have some basic pancakes but realised I didn’t actually have any regular flour. Ages ago I bought some peanut flour but have never used it so I thought I might as well give it a whirl.

Peanut Flour Pancakes (Serves 1)

  • 1/4 cup peanut flour
  • 1 tbs. oats
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tbs. sugar/alternate preferred sweetener
  • 2 egg whites/1 egg 
  • 1/4 cup almond milk (or regular milk)
  • pinch of salt

– Basically, mix all the ingredients together, then heat a tsp. oil in a frying pan and pour in the mixture in batches to make about 4-5 pancakes.

– Then add your favourite topping! I served mine with some mango that needed using up.

IMG_4089

A random choice perhaps and not particularly beautiful but it tasted pretty good. To be honest, I couldn’t really taste the peanut flour. It tasted just like normal pancakes, but I guess the mango could have helped disguise any differences hehe.

Hurrah a different breakfast for once! Though I did miss my oatmeal…well, you can’t have everything Winking smile

After getting ready we then had to take Alfie to the vets for his booster injection.

IMG_4095

Bless him, he was all fine in the waiting room sniffing around but as soon as we got into the vet’s room he was not a happy bunny. And he really didn’t want his injection and tried as hard as he could to avoid it Sad smile But in the end it was fine. Honestly he’s a big girl’s blouse. Also, check out the crazy dog hair products you can buy.

IMG_4090

They were £9.99 for a spray to make your dog’s fur smell nice. I don’t even spend £10 on my own shampoo!! I think Alfie would be offended if we suddenly turned him into a pampered pooch. In his mind I’m sure he believes he’s a big scary Rottweiler (incidentally, one of my friends has a 2-1 shampoo and conditioner for her pug…).

Saturday evening we met up with Ben’s mum and went out for dinner at a local pub. Usually this pub is quite nice; we’ve been a fair few times. But it wasn’t amazing. Ben and me shared a mezze board for starters which was tasty but nothing spectacular (and we know our mezze boards!)

IMG_4096

The falafels were nice, as was the hummus and obviously the sweet potato was good if not a bit huge for a starter. But three olives? Hmmm. And the square pastry things were tasteless.

The main I was really excited about, but the portion was quite small considering it was one of the more expensive things on the menu and this isn’t a fine dinning restaurant, it’s just a regular pub!

IMG_4097

It was turbot steak with mango salsa and more sweet potato. The two bits of sweet potato at the top were actually from Ben as he had them with his meal and didn’t want them. They must have had a stupid amount of sweet potato in the that kitchen!!

It was tasty but just a bit small (I was grateful for Ben’s off casts – though I was feeling a bit sweet potato’ed out by this point). But the company was lovely and we had a good natter Smile

Sunday (today) we enjoyed another roast chicken, this time a bit bigger and I left it to roast without adding anything to it as I wanted some plain meat for other meals in the week.

IMG_4098

I love how the house smells when you’re cooking a roast! So warming.

IMG_4099

I had a whole lot of chicken with veg and, er, yeah more sweet potato…I obviously wasn’t put off too much last night! Deliciously simple. I could have made gravy to go with it but we just fancied something really fresh and simple. And Ben wanted to drown his with lots of garlic mayo sauce. Lovely.

Speaking of Ben…he was keen for me to mention that he’s still going well with not drinking alcohol (he gave up four weeks ago in effort to get more healthy, run more and be ready for the 10k which is in 4 weeks time). Unfortunately his running has had to stop for a bit as he’s had some knee and back issues but hopefully, after seeing the physio a few times, he’ll be raring to go again. Though he is counting down the days until he can have a glass of wine again haha.

*** I’m still waiting to hear back from SlimKicker regarding the giveaway, I’ll post the winner as soon as I  know***

What did you get up to this weekend?

What’s your favourite way to roast a chicken?

Do you have a dog? What’s his feelings on the vets?

Busy times and a new addition – WIAW

Whoops, I apologise for the delay between posts. Things have been crazy busy! I have some very exciting news (which I will get to shortly), a weekend catch-up with What I ate Wednesday. Whew, better get started.

 

Friday night Ben and me decided to treat ourselves to a take-away Indian meal. Honestly, I was so excited about it. We haven’t had one in ages. We have a lovely local Indian restaurant/take-away and it’s just brilliant. I had a starter of chicken tandoori:

IMG_3958

Yum! This is basically a piece of chicken covered with yogurt and spices and cooked in the clay tandoor oven.

I then had a chicken tikka main (which is essentially very similar to my starter but chunks of chicken rather than an actual leg etc. – what can I say, I love this meal!). I had it with the ludicrously coloured yogurt side-sauce it comes with.

IMG_3959

I had both starter and main with the salad garnish you get free with the starter and an onion salad as well. I love the onion salads but it pretty much kills any romance haha. Normally I don’t have any poppadums but I really fancied them so stole a fair few from Ben (Alfie loves them too…I know this is naughty!). We then watched Argo. Brilliant film, such a good story. But SO tense.

Saturday morning we got up early and Ben went for a 6 mile run and I went for a 9 mile run (we ran separately as we had different routes and different paces). The weather was pretty rubbish: cold and wet. And unfortunately on mile 3 when turning round a corner I slipped straight over and landed on the side of my thigh. Seriously painful. A woman passing her car stopped and helped me. She was very nice and offered to drive me home but I told her it was fine. She warned me not to run anymore…She clearly doesn’t understand the running mentality. I’m a third of the way in! No backing out now. I did have a bit of a rest but then carried on. What was great was as I fell I stopped my Garmin – runner’s mentality again haha.

image

Yeah so carrying on running was a bit painful but my own fault obviously for continuing so what can you do!

After the run I showered and made my usual breakfast of oatmeal and almond milk. So good after a run.

IMG_1796

Then I was on fire and cleaned the bathrooms, hoovered, did the washing, ironed, put away laundry, and then walked Alfie. Super Anna! I then crashed haha.

For lunch I made a yummy sweet potato soup based on THIS recipe. It was lovely and warming and quite spicy. I used chickpeas instead of black beans though. And I sadly used all my nutritional yeast up *sobs*. It was another annoying meal that required grating sweet potato though.IMG_3961

Then Ben and I collapsed onto the sofa and watched three episodes back-to-back of Game of Thrones series 2. AMAZING.

For dinner I tried another new recipe. Prepare yourself, because this is something amazing.

IMG_3969

Chicken Parmigiana (based on THIS recipe) serves 2

  • 2 chicken breast 
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 40g breadcrumbs
  • 40g parmesan, grated (split into half) 
  • Garlic clove, diced
  • 1/2 can passata/chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • ½ ball light mozzarella, torn

–  Mix 20g of the parmesan with the breadcrums.

– Dip the chicken in the egg, and then the breadcrumb mixture to coat the chicken (I double-dunked back in the egg and breadcrumbs to ensure maximum yumminess).

– Grill the chicken on both sides until golden and crispy.

While the chicken is grilling, fry the garlic in a saucepan, then add the passata with the sugar and oregano until bubbling.

– In a shallow baking dish, add the chicken and the pour over the passata, place the torn mozzarella over the chicken and around it, then dust everything with the remaining parmesan (the pièce de résistance). Grill for 5 mins (until all is melted and gooey like the photo).

IMG_3963

This was phenomenally tasty. The best part was when I served it Ben he had no idea really what it was apart from being a ‘cheesy tomato chicken thing’ (this is how I sold it to him). He had no idea the chicken was breaded. He said it literally made the meal and was possibly the best meal I’d ever made. These are CRAZY words. I almost cried Winking smile

Sunday was supposed to be a relaxed day but something exciting happened that no one was expecting so soon…

V__AA80

My sister gave birth, six weeks early, to little Megan. It was always planned that Rachel would have a planned caesarean because of the baby’s position, but this was to be closer to the due date. So obviously this was quite a surprise for everyone, mainly the now very proud parents. She’s a little on the small side (as to be expected) but she is very well and so is Rachel thankfully.

image

She’s currently going to be spending the next two weeks in hospital just to make sure everything is perfect and then she can go home and join her sister, Ellie.

So Ben and I went to visit them on Sunday after dashing quickly into town to buy some pressies. And then we got to see mum and baby. Rachel was understandably very tired and Megan was fast asleep. But I did get to rest my hand, very gently, on her back. We couldn’t hold her as she needs to be kept as germ-free as possible. But it was just a beautiful experience. I’m always so awe-struck by how tiny and delicate and soft new borns are (I’ve only seen two – Ellie & Megan). And my sister is literally made to be a mum – she fits so naturally into the role.

How very exciting! Big congratulations to Rachel and Nick, my brother-in-law Smile

Do you have any little ones in your family? Our family is very small so Ellie and Megan are the only ‘little people’ we have.

Have you ever fallen when running? It was more embarrassing than anything, but I do have a HUGE bruise on my leg now. I guess that’s one good thing that it’s still trouser weather.

What’s your favourite take-away/take-out?