Family-friendly meal: Cheesy Porcupine Meatballs

My family has eaten a LOT of meatballs lately, as I’ve made this recipe over and over to test out the ingredients. Luckily, they love it! My mother reminded me a while ago that she used to make these when I was a child, which prompted me to have a go at making them (with hidden vegetables, of course). My kids stick their forks into them whole and eat them like lollipops.

Although the meatballs take a little preparation, the dish is quite easy to cook. The meatballs cook in the sauce, so there’s no standing over the cook-top trying to ‘brown the meatballs on all sides’. I’m notoriously bad at frying meatballs, and usually end up with meat-cubes.

This dish also has a bolognese-style flavour, so if the kids love bolognese (and the adults, because who doesn’t?), but you want something a little different or less pasta-heavy, this might be a good one to try. The Thermomix recipe is also below the regular recipe. Continue reading →

Hearty Chicken Casserole with Sweet Potato Dumplings

This past week has been a very tough one for some of the people in my life, and will continue to be for some time. Thank-you very much to those who generously donated last week to the campaign to help Mel and her family, after their house burnt down.

My heart is also with my dear friend, whose father passed away on Thursday. My friend is the most resilient person I know – I am in awe of her seemingly endless capacity to give, including through her work. But I also wish she didn’t have to be. She is a beautiful mother (to the cutest, most chilled out little baby, who gives cuddles like a koala bear) and a wonderful friend, and I’m sending her lots of love.

I first made this for Miss Marzipan’s Food of Thrones Challenge back in April, dedicated to the Starks of Winterfell. A few people asked for the recipe … and then gently reminded me a couple of months later … I’ve finally gotten my butt into gear to finalise the recipe. It first came about as a bit of an ‘all in’, using bits and pieces I had in the fridge – so feel free to replace the vegetables and herbs with whatever you have. Continue reading →

Veggie-Charged Chilli Con Carne with Green Salsa

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to participate in an ‘Instagram Takeover’ of the I Quit Sugar Instagram account, with fellow Ambassador Elise – who, incidentally, has just recently launched her own blog, Crave Real Food, which is accumulating a delicious collection of low-sugar recipes. We wanted our takeover to focus on the family-friendly side of living low-sugar, real food lifestyles, so we each contributed a couple of ‘family favourite’ recipes. This veggie-charged chilli-con carne first appeared on the IQS recipe collection, but I’m also taking the opportunity to post it here.

I tend to make this in double batches, as it freezes really well and is useful for quick weeknight dinners. In the cooler months, we enjoy it over bowls of rice with cheese (not authentic at all!), and in summer we stuff it into burritos or pile it on top of nachos! We love some buttered corn cobs on the side. It would also be delicious over baked potatoes (including sweet potatoes), in quesadillas, or with fried eggs for breakfast.

Continue reading →