Recipe :: Lemon Chicken Roast

Thought I'd share my chicken roast recipe with you all... Because it is so delicious! It has a subtle lemon flavour with a crispy skin and is tender and moist on the inside. Very yummy!

Ingredients

1 whole chicken

1 lemon halved

2 garlic cloves

Olive oil

Paprika

Rosemary

Method

Preheat oven to 220°c. Rinse chicken under cold water, including cavity. Pat dry with a paper towel. Squeeze one half of the lemon over chicken and rub into the skin. Put both halves of the lemon into the cavity along with the garlic and tie legs together.

Rub a small amount of oil into the chicken and season with paprika, rosemary, salt and pepper. In a normal oven cooking time should probably only take an hour but our oven (our dodgy oven) takes about 1 1/2hr to do a roast. I also rotate the baking dish half way through.

I bake veggies in a separate dish and, lightly coat with olive oil and season with salt and pepper and chilli flakes. I leave them to bake for as long as the chicken takes but cover with foil for the first half of cooking time.

I make gravy using the juices and it gets a lovely lemon flavour.

Toddler Cooking

My son Rupert is 13 months old and has been eating solids for sometime now and only has a cup of milk after his meal.

For snacks he loves a variety of fruits, sultanas, rice cakes, cheese and plain biscuits. Breakfast usually consists of toast with either Vegemite, Promite or peanut butter or, Weet-Bix with yogurt and milk of course. Lunch is a sandwich with one of the already mentioned spreads, sometimes adding cheese or sliced banana. For dinner I usually pull out a frozen meal which is a concoction of vegetables and fruit. 

Rupert goes to bed at 6:30pm so he usually has dinner between 5:30 - 6pm and so, I found it convenient to cook up a big batch of this vegetable "concoction" once a fortnight, separating into individual meal portions and freezing.

I'll also mention that I often mix his meals around and give him his vegetables at lunch instead of dinner. If I know we'll be out for the evening its easier (and cleaner) to pack a sandwich for his dinner. 

This vegetable concoction I make may contain all or a variety of the following ingredients: pumpkin, potato, carrot, peas, pasta, chicken, tin tomatoes, apple, pear. It then all gets boiled in one big pot!

The reason for me writing this post is because I've come to realize that I should be making meals of more variety and textures. I have occasionally tried different dishes such as spag bol but Rupert has not liked it and probably because I have made it too flavoursome. So, I've decided I need to introduce more foods and meats but still keeping it simple and somewhat bland until he can acquire a taste for these new ingredients. 

People have given me many suggestions and ideas which I love to take on board but then I have considered what my sons eating habits, likes and dislikes are and come up with 2 recipes that I think will be a good start for Rupert. 

Now, yesterday I cleaned out the fridge and I've realized a grocery shop is needed so, the below recipes are of what I could find in the fridge and cupboards. I would have liked to have added more vegetable varieties. But my main aim was to come up with recipes that contained minced beef and tuna and I have managed to do that.
At 13 months Rupert isn't quite old enough to eat like a gentleman but is old enough to want to try so, I've opted to chop the vegetables chunky so that he can easily grasp with his fingers. 

Tuna & Tomato Risotto 

Author: Mama Essy

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 cup uncooked rice, cooked

2 celery sticks, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

2 small potatoes, diced

1/4 cup frozen peas

2/3 cup canned kidney beans, drained

1 cup vegetable stock

1 400g tin diced tomatoes

1 185g tin tuna in springwater, drained

1/4 Parmesan cheese

Method

In a large saucepan fry onion and garlic until soft. Stir in rice, tomatoes and stock. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and add peas, celery, carrot, potato and kidney beans. Cover and simmer for about 30 - 45 mins. 

Stir through tuna and Parmesan cheese.

Savoury Mince with Pasta

Author: Mama Essy

Ingredients

1-2 cups uncooked pasta (I used combination of brown and white), cooked

500g mince beef

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 170g tin tomato paste

1/2 cup water - stock added optional

1 carrot, chopped

2 potatoes, diced

1/2 cup frozen peas

Method

In a large saucepan fry onion and garlic until soft. Add mince and cook until browned. Stir through tomato paste and water. Add carrot, potatoes and peas. Stir through cooked pasta.

Wibbly Wobbly Walking Tiny Teddy Bear

My recent post What Christmas Means For Our Family, only written a couple of days ago tells of Rupert learning to walk and, taking odd steps unassisted here and there. 

Well yesterday the little guy walked! Not just 1 or 2 steps but he was walking short distances across the lounge room unassisted. Matty and I were very excited to watch Rupert wobble along on his own two feet. I was so excited that even after we put him down for bed, I wanted to wake him to experience the thrill all over again. 

This morning I was concerned he may have forgotten his triumph of the night before but it was not so, much to my joy. So here we have a [nearly] 10 mo (who looks more like a 6mo, hence why I refer to him as our 'tiny teddy bear') wobbling around the home.

Now, an update on the Christmas baking which I am having oh so much fun with!

Earlier this week I made my first Christmas Cake and it does look great but... I don't eat fruit cake and I can't stand the smell of it! I figured I needed to do it once in my life, and well, hubby can spend the next 6 months getting through it.

It's not particularly Christmas-sy but it did taste great so I'll give it a mention. On Monday I made a Chocolate Walnut slice in my new Tupperware silicone form and it tasted GREAT! I've never really been into making slices as they seem to be somewhat fiddly when moving from the tin to the container. With the silicone form I don't even have to cut the slice prior to moving it! I thought it was great. 

On Wednesday I spent the afternoon with my 2 sister in-laws decorating gingerbread houses and a gingerbread train. I felt like I was cheating myself a little as I have previously made and shaped the gingerbread from scratch but, this year I was not in the mood for 'complicated' and really only wanted to participate in the decorating side of things. We bought the gingerbread house and train kits from Coles and... well... they don't taste nearly as good as our homemade gingerbread but, they did look FABULOUS! 

To talk about something that does taste great would be to tell you that today I have made the first Pavlova for the year. Its actually still in the oven but looks to be doing great and the batter tasted amazing. I love making pavs and it was something I did a bit of when growing up in NSW. However, since living in Darwin I only ever make a pav at Christmas time (whats Christmas without a pav?). The humid weather here in Darwin is too often the cause of many flopped or flat pavlovas. Last year I made 2 successfully which I believe was the result of trying a different recipe, and maybe not cooking on an extremely warm and humid day. If you get the pavlova blues then maybe give this recipe a go. 

Marshmallow Pavlova

Taken from Women's Weekly Classic Cooking cookbook.

4 eggs

1 cup caster sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 tsp white vinegar

300 ml thickened cream, whipped

Fruit for topping

1 Preheat oven to 120c/100c fan-forced. Line oven tray with foil; grease foil, dust with cornflour, shake away excess. Mark 18cm-circle on foil

2 Beat egg whites in small bowl with electric mixer until soft peaks form; gradually add sugar, beating until sugar dissolves, Add extract and vinegar; beat until combined. 

3 Spread meringue into circle on foil, building up at the side to 8 cm in height. Smooth side and top of pavlova gently. Using spatula blade, mark decorative grooves around side of pavlova; smooth top again.

4 Bake pavlova about 1 1/2 hrs. Turn oven off; cool pavlova in oven with door ajar.

5 Cut around top edge of pavlova (the crisp meringue top will fall on top of the marshmallow centre . Serve pavlova topped with whipped cream, and desired fruit.

1 of 2 last years pav using the recipes 'marshmallow' design. Excuse the over-whipped cream!

2 of 2 last years pav, using my usual traditional design.

On The Menu This Week

Here is my meal plan for the week and I'm very excited to be cooking 4 recipes from my Retro Cookbook. Last night I came down with the dreaded flu so I'm praying my week will be smooth and I have the strength to carry on BAU. I have a few Bible College assignments to complete and a double bed patchwork quilt to finish for a birthday next month. So, hopefully amongst house duties, assignments, sewing, cooking, parties, Ruperts play dates and mothers groups, I can find the time to post about the recipes I have so far cooked from my challenge. 

Life since motherhood has become incredibly full and our social calendar far outweighs that of our life before precious Rupert. It's such a blessing to be able to mingle and meet with other mothers and talk all things house and baby from teething troubles to sagging boobs! 

Anyway it's time to carry on with my day, till next time. X

On the Menu

Monday: Baby Rocket Quiche Recipe #3 My Julia & Julia Challenge

Tuesday: Chicken Leek and Mushroom pies Recipe #4 My Julie & Julia Challenge

Wednesday: Lamb Shank and Vegetable Soup Recipe #5 My Julia & Julia Challenge

Thursday: Mixed Mushroom Stroganoff  Recipe #6 My Julie & Julia Challenge

Friday: Homemade Pizza

My Julie & Julia Challenge

Usually we make time for the things we love to do however, it was time that let me love the thing I hated most. Cooking. Not being at work and having more time at home has made a huge difference to my cooking skills, and I am loving it!

I recently watched the movie titled "Julie & Julia" and what a fantastic movie it was! I thoroughly enjoyed it and was very inspired to take on my own cooking challenge. If you haven't seen the movie, its about a woman (Julie) who decides to cook every recipe in Julia Child's cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". Its 525 recipes in 365 days, and she writes a blog of her progress along the way.

So I've decided that I will embark on a cookbook challenge of my own, starting September. I will be cooking from AWW The Retro Cookbook cover to cover. It is a lovely cookbook that was a Christmas gift from my sister in-law Kathleen. It contains 160 recipes that range from the original 1950's AWW (Australian Woman's Weekly) cookbooks to today's. I too will blog of my progress and let you all know how my culinary journey is going.

I would like to complete the challenge before the New Year begins but if things don't quite go to plan, than I have given myself a 6 month deadline.

There are some interesting recipes so, stayed tuned!

Ken, Baby Born and Space Lego

To be a wife, mother, and the keeper of a home, it's the desire of most little girls hearts. 

I had many female Barbies but I only acquired one Ken doll because you only needed one prince charming to sweep you off your feet. As I nursed my baby Born as a child I always knew that someday I'd be a mother for real. And when I played with Lego I only ever built houses with four walls, a kitchen and three bedrooms, even if it was space Lego. 

As we get older the reality of life becomes apparent, and you soon realise that your childhood dreams and assumptions no longer appear in your toy box, nor can they be assumed. Finding the real life Ken is like a needle in a haystack, you can no longer buy him from the toy isle. And Santa won't just give me a Baby Born for Christmas. The real life Baby Born is nothing short of a gifted miracle! And well, the Lego home is a seemingly unattainable 30 years of debt but only after 5-10 years of saving.

I'm so blessed to have married my incredible prince charming at the young age of twenty. And even more blessed to have given birth to Rupert our miracle baby at just twenty two. And the house, well we're still working on that one. It seems to me that the more God blesses me with the more I want. 
I look back at our wedding and think how proud we were to have had a beautiful wedding on a budget. And that we were so content to have less in order to be married young, not be in debt of a one day celebration and to not have drained our savings (We were also very thankful that our parents contributed to our wedding).

As newlyweds we moved into the bottom floor of an elevated home (I had already been boarding here for some time). It was one big room which had no kitchen and the combined toilet and shower was also the laundry for the whole house but, it did have a small fridge and a microwave. We were again so content to live there and pay only $50 a week, if it meant we could be together with just my wage supporting us while Matty completed his degree.

Blessed yet again when friends put in a good word for us to be able to rent the cosy 2 bedda which we're still living in over 2 years later.  And I am still so grateful for the lovely unit we live in but, I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say I sometimes become discontent. The more God gives, the more I want from him! The absent backyard, the bathless shower/ toilet/ laundry room, the lack of a third bedroom for baby #2... all things that bring my discontent to light.

It was Thursday morning when I wandered through Bunnings for practically no reason other than to walk the rows of pretty flowers, punnets of hopeful veggies, get a glimpse at the oven of my dreams, and to spy at the glorious crystal chandeliers. It's nice to have goals and dreams to work towards, so long as it doesn't consume us so much so that we become covetous and, forget where we should really be storing treasures, and that my friend is in heaven! 

The afternoon came and I somehow got talking with our neighbours on the floor above (neighbours we weren't very acquainted with). They have two young daughters so I mentioned that they were an inspiration to us ('encouragement' would have been a more suited word), showing that it was indeed possible to have a family in a small 2 bedroom unit. Stuart than went on to say that he was Christian and that it can be hard but, he believes God is teaching him CONTENTMENT! What a breath of fresh air! Just to hear someone else with a common struggle, and even though his daughters would LOVE a house with a yard for a dog, he believes its God shaping him. Right there and then I felt ashamed for being so selfish but it was such a revelation that I too am being shaped by God and, I am learning the art of contentment. I am beyond blessed!

Journey to Super Woman

It wasn't until I had Rupert that I realised that women are amazing people. God created us so that we would become a kind of heroine.

Motherhood may not be everyones cup of tea but nevertheless if it is, you can rest assure that you were created to do the job well. God designed our bodies to bear the pains of childbirth and all post natal trauma. He gives women an inconceivable love for their children so that when challenges arise the mountain doesn't seem impossible to climb. And when it does, somehow we get over it! God gives us just enough strength to get through each day with a little extra to help you out of bed the next morning.

A homemaking career encompasses many a job. We become a nurse when we affix a bandaid to our child's knee and a teacher when we show them how to tie their shoes. We're head chef and waiter all in one when it comes to serving a hearty meal. We are receptionist in our own home, making sure bills are paid, events are rsvp'd and birthdays are remembered. We are cleaners (when we can) and we are our children's taxi service. And importantly we are our husbands support person, his sweet heart and his lover! We are the tenacious mum, loving mummy, courageous mother and adoring wife.

I don't see myself as super mum yet but I am aspiring to be [by Gods grace and help]. Becoming a mother has opened my eyes to the super woman that my mum is and that every other mother is! And I take my hat off to the women who also juggle work outside the home along with their homemaking, that is hard work on it's own. So, if your not a mother as yet, don't think I don't know that your becoming a super woman in your own right. But I write this post specifically for the mums, me being knew to it an all.

As wives and mothers we learn humility, making sure everything we do for our families is of the heart. In the workforce when budgets and targets are met you are recognised with a financial reward. You make sure that you do your job well so that when an opportunity for a higher position arises, you can be the first to deserve it. Overtime is worked so that you earn more money and if its a professional job, you dress to impress, to appear confident and competent. Now, although we may put in time and effort to prepare dinner every night, the most recognition we may get is "thanks for dinner mum/dear". We just learnt humility. There is no extra dollars for cooking a 4 hour roast instead of a toastie. Theres no embossed bachelor certificate to say your certified to cook amazing dinners! You may get promoted by your family to cook that roast again, because it tasted so great but otherwise, you do it because you love your family. And you need to eat hehe. You get what I mean!

The screaming, the puking, the dirty nappies and ton of washing... not things we always love and are happy to attend to but we are the perfect woman for the job. We (dads included ) are our children's greatest need. We are a kind of heroine to them.

Let's Get This Blog Rolling!

So, it's been a very long time since I did anything with this blog and I'm going to give it another shot.

...

Back in December I finished up at work and commenced maternity leave. Our baby was due in mid February and I wanted a couple of months to nest and prepare for the big journey my husband and I were about to embark on.

I was a little concerned that I might miss work and get just a little bit bored being at home. Despite my deepest desires to be the 1950's housewife and mother! I like structure and routine and, the consistency that it gives me in life. And of course the security of a wage. I wasn't sure that it would remain without my job outside the home. But it did. I loved every minute of being at home and being able to put a good dinner on the table. Not being forever tired and exhausted from a full days work. I discovered myself to be a happier person and enjoying my days far more. I loved having the time to read my Bible, make new curtains and quilts. I knitted and decorated and enjoyed having a clean home. I did what I was always too busy or too tired to do.

No doubt your wondering what I think now, after having a baby. Do I still enjoy being at home? Do I still have the time to do the things I listed in the above paragraph? And do I now think that my job at work is easier? Well yes, being a mother is exhausting and no I don't have as much time on my hands as I did before Rupert. However, it's a lifestyle I've adjusted to and love living. Do I think going to work was easier? Yes I do but its also more stressful and not as enjoyable or rewarding. I love that even after a sleepless night of crying, feeding and changing nappies that, I can embrace, hold and cherish every moment of my sons life. Their need to have you as their naturing mother... it greets you every minute of the day!

Now, I might not have adjusted quite as well if it wasn't for my dear friend Naomi giving me a certain book. The book titled 'On Becoming Baby Wise'. As I mentioned earlier, I like structure and routine and this book follows a 'parent directed feeding' method [a routine]. A method that helps me plan my day and the hours in that day. There are of course days where things don't go to plan but on the whole it generally works. I highly recommend the book and, like anything you customise to what suits your family. Another book I recommend is 'Calm Baby, Confident Mum'. This book written by Simone Boswell who is a mother that follows the 'parent directed feeding' method. She's not a nurse or doctor ect. but a mother who writes from her personal experience.

Anyway, signing off now but before I do I have a blog written specifically to my son Rupert. Its made up of daily notes and letters containing little things that he and I might have done that day. Click here to follow 'Letters to My Son'.

Welcome to "Wives in Aprons"

"Welcome to "Wives in Aprons".

For some time now I have wanted to write a newsletter encouraging young women. Although I have boldly targeted married women in the title it is however, open to all women, of all ages. Women with old fashioned values, living in modern society. Women today more often then not have a working career outside the home. Suit by day and apron by night.
 And while there is nothing wrong with a professional career, I would not be honest if I didn't say I lack in the apron department. Is it so wrong to want a home cooked meal every night, crisply ironed clothes and not a speck of dust on the shelves?

Womanhood today is a balancing act and something I can't seem to master. And I know this because I am more often washing my work uniforms then my aprons. I want to encourage women to embrace their house duties as well as their career. Post your favourite recipes, cooking failures, sewing projects, send in a pic of the mold growing in your fridge or of your favourite heels.

Stay tuned for more on the newsletter... and consider if you would be interested in submitting an article."