Meals for new mums

It was really lovely to read a comment from Lisa at Sweet Georgia and the Crafty Squirrel recently saying that some of the recipes I have put on my blog have become family favourites-they are mostly my hubby's recipes as he is a far better cook than I am!  It's been a while since I shared a recipe on here but this one by NZ chef Ray McVinnie is one I've been meaning to share for ages as it's a real goodie.

Chicken Fricassée by Ray McVinnie

There are 5 reasons why I love cooking this meal for a friend who has just had a baby.

1.  It is all cooked in the one pot.
2.  A whole meal- meat, potatoes and veges- is in this dish so all a new mum or dad has to do is heat it up- there's no need to add anything.
3. Toddlers and children will eat this meal as well- well mine luckily do and my friends' 19 month old did as well!
4. If you break it up with a fork it's also a great meal for a baby- Jack loved it tonight (being on the tramp with his crazy sisters for nearly an hour might have helped him build up an appetite though!)
5. The chicken, bacon, baby potatoes and creamy sauce make it a really tasty dinner which is a nice treat for new parents.

This recipe comes from Ray McVinnie's cookbook 'Everyday Sunday' (his collected recipes from the Sunday Star Times 'Sunday' magazine).  

I have found it enough for 4 adults and 2 or 3 children +baby as well. There are a lot of ingredients but it is an easy meal to cook.

"Fricassée is a French term for a traditional dish of white meat like chicken or veal in a creamy sauce with vegetables."

3 tbls olive oil
3/4 tsp dried tarragon
3 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 stick celery, thinly sliced
1 leek, thinly sliced
5 rashers rindless bacon, chopped
300 g button mushrooms, halved
6 skinned and boned single chicken breasts, each cut into 3 across the grain of the meat
125ml dry white wine
12 baby waxy potatoes, well scrubbed
750ml chicken stock
3 tbls cornflour mixed with 3 tbls water
250ml fresh cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup coarsly chopped chervil (or parsley), plus exta for garnish

1. Heat the oil in a large, wide, deep pan over moderate heat. Add the tarragon, garlic, onion, carrot, celery, leek, bacon and mushrooms. Fry gently, without browning, for about 10 minutes until the onion is soft.
2. Add the chicken and mix well, letting the chicken colour all over. Add the wine and let it bubble then add the potatoes and chicken stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 25 minutes until the chicken is cooked and the potatoes are tender.
3.  Bring back to the boil and stir in the cornflour slurry to thicken the fricassee.  Stir in the cream and bring back to the boil again.
4. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add the chervil and mix well. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes so the chicken absorbs the sauce.
5. Serve sprinkled with extra chervil.

Other meals I can think of that are good to take around to new mums are lasagne, shepherds/cottage pie, meatloaf, chicken soup, chicken pie, sausage, bean and tomato stew- would love to hear of more ideas- (maybe you have a recipe on your blog and could put a link to it?)

Megan x

my creative space: a fabric bookmark

Finally a creative space post- a little something I made the other evening for my nearly 5 year old Amelie. I have been really looking forward to reading chapter books with Amelie so I thought I'd make a little fabric bookmark to mark the occasion so to speak!  I received this amazing bag of scrap fabric from Nin last week as part of her 'Scrap Bag Swap'- what a treat to go through all the gorgeous fabrics.

Amelie and I had heaps of fun choosing our favourites- there was some debate going on in regards to some of the fabrics that we both wanted for our stash's (yes Amelie has a stash already ;) so I used some of the fabrics she chose for the front of the book mark...

..and this beautiful yellow fabric for the back- we both love this fabric :)

Thank you so much again Nin for the fabric, and for organising such a great swap. Check out Nin's blog as she has made a Scrap Bag Swap Tutorial page - there are lots of great ideas for things to do with fabric scraps.

I made a pile of the chapter books I want to read with Amelie first- most of them from when I was a child hence the tattered look of them! The only one missing is Pippi Longstocking which I will need to buy as that is one of my favourite books- I have very happy memories reading about Pippi's adventures.

Here's my list if you are wanting some ideas for chapter books for your children...

• Little Old Mrs Pepperpot by Alf Proysen (I bought a second hand box set from TradeMe)
• Milly Molly Mandy by Joyce Lankester Brisley
• Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
• Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
• Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo
• Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Road Dahl
• The Twits by Roald Dahl
• Falter Tom and the Water Boy by Maurice Duggan (this is a wonderful story but is now out of print and quite hard to find- I managed to get a copy from a secondhand book dealer)
• Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
• Famous Five series of books by Enid Blyton

And just had to share this- if you are wanting something to keep the kiddies amused for a while- read them this picture book...

The Lighthouse Keepers Lunch by Ronda and David Armitage, 

then give them a basket tied onto a rope and loop it over something like this or a tree branch and show them how to pull the basket up and down like a pulley just like in the story. The girls spent nearly an hour (honestly!) filling up the baskets and pulling them up and down!!

Would love to hear of your favourite children's novels or authors :)
For more creative spaces click here

Megan x

A mousehouse playhouse

Hi all and Happy Valentines Day to you!  I mentioned a few week back that I had a playhouse reno to share and have finally got around to collating my pics so you can take a look. This project was the reason my grand plan of handmade christmas presents went out the window last year (really need to prioritise my projects...) and yet another reason why my hubby thinks I am (just a bit) crazy.
It was seeing Stella's gorgeous play kitchen that she and her hubby made for her 2 year old that finally got me inspired- I just loved it as did my two girls when I showed them Stella's photo's. I always wanted a Wendy house as a child so this project was really me fulfilling my dream of a little weatherboard cottage kitchen- in fact if I lived in a little cottage I would pretty much want to decorate it just like this!
Here are a few Before pics of the inside the playhouse. We got it 3 years ago from here - I painted the exterior soon after getting it (which took ages) so for the inside we just bought a little toy oven, put in a bench on both sides of the house, added a sink and taps and a shelf from Bunnings and a blackboard from Warehouse Stationery.  It has been the best thing over the last 3 years to have outside- they girls love it, as do their little pals that come round.

  

And here are the After pics...

First off my hubby made the three shelves to go right across the wall above the bench. Then I painted the whole interior white and the floor grey.

 

For the colour scheme I had the idea of using the colours in Orla Kiely's multi stem fabric print (one of my favourite prints). So I ordered a metre of the fabric from ebay.co.uk and made the skirt to go under the bench and hide the plastic storage bins under there. 

And then I found this gorgeous set of Duraware cups and plates (called tennis sets) on TradeMe which pretty much matched the colours in the fabric. Duraware is great as it is like a very strong melamine- everything for the playhouse has to be very durable having seen what happens to it in there over the last 3 years!

To choose the colours for the scallop bunting I took the cups into Bernina here in Tauranga and found this lovely 'linen-look' fabric they had just got in in every colour imaginable so it was really easy to match the cup colours to the fabric.  Then it was just a trip to my favourite op shop to find some more stuff and a few more Trademe purchases and it was done. The girls loved it and it got them re-enthused about playing in it which was great.  I should add that it looks nothing like this now- most days it looks like a mini tornado has been through it and most of the stuff ends up on the lawn but hey it was still a fun project!

Here are some details about some of the other things in the playhouse

'Learn the alphabet' wooden toy from second hand kids shop Zero to Five. Phone from Kahu's Nest- a second hand shop that's part of the Raglan Transfer Station.

The microwave was a gift and the yellow scales were from TradeMe. There's a little shop till that sits on the bench too but it's not aesthetically pleasing enough to be in the photo hehe. The microwave and the phone are drilled to the bench- if you have small children you'll know why- heavy phone pulled onto little toes not fun! 

Vintage sifter and measuring cup from TradeMe. The sifter is a Bonco one if you like the look of it.

Fairy Friends print I won in a giveaway from Charlotte and Austen. Shelf from an op-shop that I painted. Flowers in glass jar purely for photograph- they would last about 2 minutes in there! 

Pots from Op-shop, play food from The Warehouse. 

Hope you enjoy the pics and thanks again Stella for the inspiration:) 

Megan

Finger foods for babies

I was talking to a mum a few weeks ago with the same age baby as Jack (nearly 9 months) and we were talking about feeding, solids, finger foods and all of that stuff us mums talk about.  Her baby was into his mashed solids but she hadn't started him on any finger foods and was wondering what I gave Jack. Jack has gone from being a baby who wouldn't eat a thing to what my step dad calls a 'boa constrictor'- he would eat all day now and especially loves finger food- that was how we actually got him to eat in the beginning as he preferred that to purees. So I thought I'd share the finger foods we feed Jack so if your baby is at this stage so you can get some ideas or maybe just find a new one you haven't tried.  I was a bit nervous starting him on finger foods earlier than the girls in case of choking but in the beginning that was all he was eating so we didn't have much choice (he eats mashed food now as well though). And a friend lent me a book about Baby Led Weaning which gave me lots of ideas and reasurrance on starting them early on finger foods.  Also, Jack doesn't have any teeth yet  but can eat all of these foods without any worries (pays to keep an eye on them though of course!)

Fruits and Vege's
* Banana's- I used to give them to him in slices but now I just give him the whole banana and watch him eat it a la Mr Boa Constrictor
* Canned peaches- great for 'desert''

* Steamed broccoli- he will chew on this for ages

* Cooked peas- tricky for him to pick up but good practice and he does eat them!

* Strawberries sliced in half
* Kiwifruit sliced longways
*Watermelon cut into small triangles
*Blueberries

Meat
* Sausages with the skin off and cut into really thin slices
* Lamb strips

* Shredded chicken from a roast or from the deli (this was the first meat we gave him and he really loves it.)
*Meatballs- we just break up our ones rather than making mini ones- he loves these too
*Shaved ham and luncheon

Dairy
* Yoghurt- I haven't tried the baby yoghurts with Jack - we just give him the same yoghurt as us
* Cheese slices- these were great with all 3 kids

* Grated cheese

Bread
* Rusks- he loves these dipped in hummus too

 

* Toast cut into fingers (or the crusts off his sisters' toast) and sandwiches sliced in fingers- spread with jam or marmite, just started giving peanut butter too. Hummus is a great spread too - thanks for the tip Nic :)
*Cruskits with cream cheese spread, hummus or marmite
* Rice crackers- these are the only crackers I give Jack as they sort of disintegrate as he chews on them rather than break off in his mouth

* Fruit sticks- they make a real sticky mess though!

* and my fav at the mo....Ginger nut biscuits- these are my go-to if I'm in town and he starts getting grumpy- the mess goes absolutely everywhere but one gingernut can keep him happy for at least half an hour!!

I also mix Farex into his pureed fruits and vege's to increase his iron intake- well I think that's what it's doing anyway ;)

And here's a link to the Watties finger foods charts which are really great- scroll down to Stage 3 Printables for Finger Foods 9 months +
http://www.forbaby.co.nz/All-Printables

Would love to hear of any more finger food ideas!

Megan

New Years Eve party drinks

Just sneaking in one more post for 2011;) I've been meaning to share some party drink recipes I've come across lately and today's Herald had some more so I thought I'd share them in case you are wanting to make some party drinks for tomorrow night.  Some have rather fancy ingredients but I guess a good liquor store should stock them ?! I prefer recipes where you make it all in a jug/pitcher so there are some of these and some where you make them in each guests individual glass.

Cocktails

White Wine Sangria

from Womans Day magazine Dec 12
1 cup apple liqueur
2 tablespoons caster sugar
2 cups pineapple juice
1 pomegranate, seeded
1 pear, cored and finely chopped
1 green apple, cored and chopped
1 lime, finely slices
750ml bottle chilled white wine
ice to serve

1. In a jug, combine liqueur and sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves.
2. Add juice and fruit, chill. Top up with wine and serve over ice.

For a red wine sangria recipe check out this one here (there are lots more cocktail and mocktail recipes on here too www.thebartender.co.nz)

Pimms Jug
From NZ Herald Dec 30 - recipes by Frankie Walker from The Mix (lots more recipes and tips on this website)
Take a jug or long drink glass, fill it with ice. Mix in one part Pimms No 1 cup with three parts chilled lemonade. Add some mint, cucumber, orange or strawberry.

Summer Breeze

Recipe is for either glass or jug

1 and a half parts vodka

half part elderflower cordial

2 parts apple juice or apple cider

2 parts white grapefuit juice

grapefruit wedge to garnish

1. Fill a highball glass with ice and squeeze in a wedge of grapefruit. Add vodka, elderflower cordial and apple juice and top with grapefruit juice. Stir well and serve.

Passionfruit Mojito

Recipe is per glass

20 ml Monin Passion fruit puree

60 ml white rum

100ml perrier lime

Half of a fresh lime

10 mint leaves

crushed ice

Muddle lime wedges, lime and passion fruit puree in the bottom of a glass. Add crushed ice. Top up with rum, stir gently and add Perrier lime water. Top up with more crushed ice and decorate with fresh mint sprig

Champagne Cocktail

Recipe is per glass

15 ml gin

10 ml lemon juice

5 ml sugar syrup

30 ml fresh pomegranate juice

Build the ingredients in a chilled champagne flute, top with champagne and garnish with lemon zest.

Russian Spring Punch

From inthespirit.co.uk

12 shots of vodka

3 shots of Creme de Cassis

1 bottle of champagne or sparkling white wine

Ice

1. Fill glasses with ice

2. Mix vodka and creme de cassis in jug

3. Add champagne to jug just before serving to retain the fizz

4. Serve in glasses and garnish with lemon slice or raspberries

Cosmopolitan cocktail

From KidSpot.co.nz

Recipe is per glass

half of a lime, chopped

30 mls of vodka

60 mls of cranberry juice

10 mls of lime juice

crushed ice

orange zest

Muddle chopped lime in glass (I'm guessing that squeezing lime into the glass will suffice for those without 'muddlers'!), pour vodka, cranberry juice and lime juice into glass. Top with crushed ice and orange zest.

Mocktails


Vanilla Apple Dry Mocktail (serves 8)

from Womans Day magazine Dec 12

4 limes, cut into wedges
2 cups apple juice
2 tablespoons vanilla syrup
Ice
1 litre ginger ale
Green apple slices, to serve

1. Squeeze half a lime into each glass. Add quarter of a cup apple juice and 1 teaspoon syrup to each. Stir to combine. Add ice and top up with ginger ale. Serve with apple slices

Raspberry Watermelon Crush (serves 8)

from Womans Day magazine Dec 12

1 kg seedless watermelon, rind removed, chopped
500 g frozen raspberries
1 bunch of mint leaves, plus extra to serve
1 litre lemonade, chilled

1. Cover watermelon with plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes
2. In a bowl, mix watermelon, raspberries and mint together until well combined. Spoon evenly into glasses. Top up with lemonade and serve with mint leaves.

Have a great night and Happy New Year!
Megan

my creative space: crocheted christmas balls

For this years Kiwi Christmas Ornament Swap after much deliberating I decided to make some crocheted christmas balls. Luckily I started ages ago as life has been pretty crazy lately (Jack's tonsilitis lasted 2 weeks and he was one very grumpy baby) so I only just finished the last one on the day we were meant to be sending them! Am pleased I stuck with them though as I do like the look of them and I really enjoy making these balls- crochet is very relaxing and a great de-stresser as any of you into crochet will understand! I followed the pattern at Kate from Greedy for Colour's crochet ball tutorial but added a few more rounds to make the ball bigger and then made a chain for the loop and added the bow and bell.  

(When I first started crochet I didn't know why my balls had the striped look on them like the red and green ones below but crochet queen Kristy from Paisley Jade and a couple of other helpful bloggers figured out I was only going through one stitch instead of both when doing each 'Single Crochet' stitch.  So for these balls I did some with stripes and some without.)

And I've just had a look at Kate's blog to link to the tutorial and great minds think alike hehe - she has made the most gorgeous crochet baubles using gold thread to make little toppers so they just like a bauble! And they look so divine all together in the box. Kate has written a tutorial for them too being the lovely crafter she is :) Making a crochet ball is a great thing to start with if you want to get into crochet and it gives you lots of skills to make other things like an easter egg, an apple and other stuffed shapes- crochet is a great portable project for the holidays too!

I've received some lovely ornaments from the swap so far thank you ladies- it's been so much fun opening up the little parcels. And thanks again Dione for organising another great swap- you can check out more of the swap ornaments at Dione's blog 'Sew Funky' here.

Megan x

A Mousehouse Christmas Giveaway

Happy 1st December! To say a BIG thank you to all of you that read my blog and follow mousehouse on facebook  I'm having another Christmas giveaway... here's what you could win...

• a mousehouse waterproof 'Babushka' purse (I bought the fabric for the purse from Stitchbird and I think it's my most favourite fabric yet which is saying something!)
• a Cath Kidston notebook
• 20 metres of red/white bakers twine
• set of 6 gift tag stickers
• fat quarter of christmas fabric

I've really enjoyed my second year of writing this blog and I so appreciate the feedback and comments I receive and being part of this awesome crafty / mum blogger community.  Thank you for the emails, the comments on my posts, the feedback and answers to my questions on my facebook page, and for reading my blog- the connections made from my kitchen bench are just fantastic.

For my christmas giveaway last year I asked readers to comment with their Christmas family traditions and have added quite a few to my list of things I would like to do this year- even if I get a a few done I'll be happy as there's quite a list now! So this year if you are like me and haven't done a whole lot of present making/buying yet I thought it would be great to share some ideas for presents- either homemade or store bought.  So to enter... leave a comment telling us something(s) you'll be making or buying this year for someone in your family or a friend.  

For extra entries (if you'd like to) you can...

*follow my blog 

*like my facebook mousehouse page (you can also enter the giveaway on my facebook page by leaving a comment below this post on my page.)

*follow me on twitter or share this giveaway @megsmousehouse

*share this giveaway on your blog or FB page

 Just leave a comment telling me for each extra entry. Giveaway closes Thursday December 8th and is open to all so international entries are welcome.

Good luck and thank you again for reading 'mousehouse' :)

Megan x

Christmas busy book pages

When I was teaching there were quite a few of us that made two lists on the board with "Must do's" and "Can do's"- generally on a Friday with tasks and activities that the children needed to get done and a few things they could do when finished.  I think I need to write one of those lists as I am really good at doing things on my "can do" list- crafting, making stuff, more crafting but not so good on the 'must do's"- cleaning, cooking and other jobs- as I'm sure a lot of you crafters can relate! I have quite a few things on my 'must do' list at the moment but instead of doing some of them last night I decided I really wanted to make some more busy book pages. My hubby actually asked when I was going to be finished with the busy book but I honestly can't imagine finishing it- I think of pages I would like to make all the time!  So here are my latest pages...

Page 1: Decorate the christmas tree with little felt ornaments and thread the ric-rac through the loops to make a garland 

Page 2: a zip pocket to store the felt decorations and four 'lift the flap' presents with pictures underneath (from the Maisy fabric I also used for my roll-up busy book). 

Right, better go and do a few 'must do's' now before Jack wakes up!

Megan x