It’s A Mince & Tatties Kind Of Day!

It really is a mince & tatties kind of day – cold, dull and really, really snowy! As I type this there is a fresh flurry of snow falling on our previous 9 inches! It was so deep poor Little A was up to her knees earlier and Big A was not too far behind!!! Luckily the tractor had just arrived to dig us out!

So here it is, my mince and tatties recipe:

ingredients

850g  lean beef mince
1 white onion roughly diced
2-3 carrots peeled and diced
Peas – as much or as little as you like
Beef gravy – your own, fresh shop bought or bisto

Method

Pop the onions and carrots in a pan with a wee bit of (olive) oil. Cook gently until onions have softened.
Add mince and cook through gently.
Add gravy and then add peas.

Make the tatties – it’s just mashed potato!
Peel and boil enough tatties for however many you are feeding.
Cut and boil.
Drain once cooked through and mash.
Add milk, butter, salt and pepper to taste.

I plate them side by side and most people i know make a ‘dogs dinner’ – mix it all up and eat with a fork!

We like brown (HP) sauce and fruity (HP) sauce with ours. I have seen the odd person ( very odd) have red sauce, but that really is sacrilege!!!

Salt Dough Decorations

This week I have been busy making and baking salt dough decorations. I have made several batches for use on our tree, for gifts to various family members and for tomorrows messy play date with friends in our kitchen!

There are several recipies for salt dough, but I find that this one works best for me:

• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 cup table ( fine) salt
• 1/2 cup water

Put the flour & salt in a bowl and mix well, add the water and form a dough. The dough should not be too wet or it will stick to everything and spread while cooking. It also shouln’t be too dry or the finished items tend to be a bit crumbly.

All you have to do is flour the surface lightly, roll to about a 1/2cm thickness and use whatever cutters you fancy!

Cooking – as far as I can make out, everyone has a different way of cooking salt dough, but I have found that the following method gives me good results.

• Cover a baking tray with grease proof paper
• Place the decorations on and place in oven for around 2-3 hrs on half a gas mark.
• Remove from oven and alow to go touch cool and gently remove from paper
• Place back on the papered tray and leave to cool compleatly ( i leave for a good 2 hrs)
• Return to the oven on Gas 1 for another 3 hrs

You need to check regularly during the second cooking to ensure they are not going over done. You can tell when they are done by tapping on the bottom of the decoration and you should hear a hollow sound.

You can then paint & decorate however you like!

First batch of salt dough decorations

 

Painted and ready for sparkle!

 

All sparkly!

For our tomorrow, they gave their today

 

For The Fallen ( 4th Stanza) By Laurence Binyon

They shall not grow old, as we who are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

 

 

Poppy’s

As Remembrance Day is tomorrow, I thought it might be nice if all the family could wear a Poppy in honour of those that have lost their lives in battle. The thing is, the green plastic stalks of modern paper poppy’s aren’t great for attaching to most fabrics.

So I thought I’d make my own – a nice big one for the buggy hood, and a smaller one for me, even Big A asked for one.

For the large Buggy Poppy I used a basic outline and drew it onto a template ( an old cereal box). Then drew round that onto red felt. I used black seed beads to make the seeds in the centre and then a few round the middle for the stamen. For attaching it to the buggy I used a basic broach clasp, which can be bout in packs of 2 for about 99p.

We will of course still be donating to the RBL Poppy Appeal as usual.  

The finished Buggy Poppy

 

In Situ

 

I think it came out ok! I will also add a pic of the mini one and of Big A’s tomorrow when I can take a picture in better light!