The Hardest Thing

A couple of weeks ago I wrote that I would have some very exciting news to share with you but I am sorry to say that instead I have the most heartbreaking news to share.

A week before I was due to go on holiday I found out that I was pregnant. Excited was not the word I was so happy The Boy and I where planning for our new arrival we shared the news with family and friends and I was already getting a pretty big stomach. Everything seemed to be going as normal, however as I think you might have guessed it has not gone to plan…

Miscarriage it is such an ugly word and it has 100000’s of feelings behind it. The one I am feeling at the moment is guilt. Was it something I did? I know it wasn’t but it doesn’t stop it from hurting. 

While my family and I are dealing with this I am astounded with the support I have received from my friends and family and I am so grateful to them. They understand that I need my space so have given me that but I know that they are there.

Having Munch is also such a blessing I know people, like my sister who are unable to have children so I know I am lucky that I have her and I thank my lucky stars everyday for her and her funny ways that always make me smile.

I know that the gut wrenching despair I am feeling now might fade but I am not naive enough to think that it will fade completely I will never forget the pain, the guilt or the heartbreak, but with the understanding of my amazing family and the strength that I gain from my friends I know I will get there.

Thank you for reading this. 

Tacky but I love it.

My parents run a B&B in Blackpool so once a month the family and I visit them and escape to the seaside. Living in a city like Manchester it is nice to have an escape route even if it is the cheesy Blackpool coast.

 

For the past few years Blackpool has not got the best reputation Stags and Hens seem to flock there which gives it a bad name. I have hears people call it tacky, but my question is What is wrong with tacky? I love Blackpool especially now since they have made some improvements on the sea front. Yes so its a it dated, but retro is all the rage now isn’t it?

Munch loves visiting her grandparents they spoil her this last visit we came away with two new pairs of shoes and a new toy. I love taking her to the seafront and watch her run around laughing clearly not bothered about the rep that this seaside town has. once a year we  take her to Blackpool zoo which is really good for younger children as they run shows throughout the day, have a petting zoo and it is also compacted enough that they can walk around it without feeling too tired. (We tried that at Chester zoo but it is huge!)

There is also the Sealife center which if I am honest I will only go to if I have a voucher for 2-4-1 or something similar but it is still worth a look.

Personally one of my favorite things to do is read the comedy carpet as there are some brilliant quotes some of which I recognise some I don’t but it always gets a giggle from me.

So for my readers in the UK please give Blackpool a chance it is great for the family!

 

Rosy cheeks = a good time running around

Manic Times! (A Preview)

I bet you thought I had forgotten you!? Sorry it has been too long since my last post but it has been a very mad few weeks at the Family Pie household! 

Over the next few days I will update you with all my goings on including…

• An amazing 10 day holiday – expect a lot of pictures – the boy took over 300 pictures! 
• A review on a unlikely family friendly restaurant.
• A family trip to the seaside.
• Last but certainly not least a MASSIVE piece of news I am itching to share with you all but I have to be patient.

See I told you I have been busy!! So please keep following and commenting and I won’t leave it as long next time….

 

 

Not quite a BBQ

“I want a barbecue!” I declared to the Boy Sunday just gone, fair enough it wasn’t sunny, but it wasn’t raining and when you live in Manchester when it is not raining you try and get out as much as possible! Since moving to Manchester 6 years ago I am sure I have shrunk as I am always drenched from all the lovely weather!!

After a bit of compromise we made the decision to have chicken, ribs and potatoes and we would barbecue the ribs!! I can not describe how excited I was I adore barbecued food and the whole process of cooking outdoors.

At 10 I started to marinade my ribs in some jerk seasoning it was all going to plan….at 1 I started to plan my side dishes I decided to have some 5 spice roast sweet potatoes, mash potato (I know a lot of carbs!) and some baked beans.

After playing with play doh and watching some nursery rhymes with Munch it was time to light the barbecue and yep you guessed it…..

RAIN!

 

Well maybe not this bad but you get the idea!

To say I was gutted would have been an understatement. Yes I did sit and stare out of the window wondering Why me?? Melodramatic? Maybe….but nevermind 

But being the supermum (cough cough) I am I plowed ahead and used my faithful George Foreman Grilling Machine!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen I give you Not Quite a BBQ!!

Thursday Special – Meal Planning

Wow a week goes by so fast! I have decided to make my meal planning a weekly thing on here as I love to share with you what I am eating and I am obsessed with going through other peoples blogs and reading what they are eating and getting some ideas for meals.

The boy is realising that while I am blogging it is a free pass for him to watch as much football as he wants so I am forever browsing through the millions of blogs that are out there and some people are a real inspiration.

Without further ado this weeks plan is:

Friday – Chicken Stir Fry

Saturday – Red Pepper and Chicken Curry

Sunday – American not quite a BBQ

Monday – Chili and rice

Tuesday – Fish and Potato Pie

Wednesday – Sticky Gammon Steaks with Jacket Potatoes and beans

Thursday – Penne with beef ragu.

What do you think? I am particularly excited to try the sticky gammon as that is a new recipe to try out. I will add pictures throughout the week.

Beware! Toddler!!!

Toddlers should come with a health warning as I am sat here I can hear the Boy shout “Munch get down!” and her cute, but definitely evil laugh follow. Having a strong minded little girl is most of the times lots of fun the things she comes out with is hilarious, but like her mummy she is stubborn and when she thinks she is right that is it!

 

 

Her childminder told me of an incident last week where they where playing the traffic light game. The rules of this game are simple when someone shouts out green you run and when they shout out red you stop, but Munch had other ideas:

Childminder: “Red!” (Munch runs) “Munch no at red you stop”

Munch “No at red we go because of the green man”

Now at this point I must point out that me and the Boy don’t drive so any experience that Munch has had of traffic lights is as a pedestrian so in this case I can see why she would argue! Suffice to say the childminder doesn’t play that game often with the children as it just ends up in a big debate with Munch!!

We tried out the naughty step for when she is naughty but she just climbs up them and walks down them….so we tried naughty spot where she spun screaming “DIZZY!”

Now it is a warning then her bedroom…which thankfully seems to be working at the moment. As soon as you say “Stop or you will be going to bed” she freezes and stops. Then starts doing whatever we told her not to about an hour later.

Being a parent is so much fun especially with a toddler I am learning, but I am not afraid of the bad mummy brigade when I say sometimes my favorite times are when she is asleep!

If you have a toddler how are you coping? Have the terrible twos hit yet? I would love to hear your thoughts 

 

Busy Sunday

I hope you all have had a really nice and relaxing Sunday here at the Family Pie household it has been very busy.

It started off with a 2 mile walk to our local Asda as it was a nice morning, but we completely forgot Sunday opening hours….

Munch didn’t mind waiting outside for 5 mins she found a ride….

 

Once shopping was done it was time to have a little fun so off to the park we went, 

Then some older children showed up and started swearing and carrying on so we left as I was concerned with the football they where kicking up in the air not caring where it landed!

Once we where back at home the real work began I decided that today I would do some batch cooking and ended up with this….

, 

I made:

• Chicken Spring Rolls
• Mini Bagels
• Mushy Pea Curry
• Peanut Butter Curry
• Yellow Drumstick Curry
• Thai Chicken Wings
• Tandoori Chicken Wings
• Croquettes
• Meatball Pasta Bake.

Phew I am shattered. But I suppose this is what Sundays are about getting the house in order and family time. 

If you would like any of my recipes please let me know and I can post them!

Spice Girls and Pizza

Sometimes its easy to forget who you are when you are a parent, your life becomes an endless cycle of making meals, tidying up, controlling the terrible twos and going to work. Please don’t get me wrong I love being a mum I really do, but sometimes I also like to remind myself that I am a young (28 is classed as young right?) women.

When I was asked by a good friend if I wanted to come to her house for “pizza and cocktails” I jumped at the chance, Munch and The Boy planned a daddy and daughter night which surprise, surprise consisted of Monsters Inc!

1 o’clock this morning I found myself singing along very badly to Spice Girls with a Long Island Iced Tea in hand not even worrying about the monster of a hangover that was waiting for me around the corner.

After a really good night with some great friends I came home to an excited Munch and got loads of cuddles and kisses which made me a very happy mummy. It is nice to have time away, but its always great to come home.

Lunchtime came and I really wanted something greasy and naughty, but after the pizza and cocktails from the night before I knew I had to be good so I looked in my fridge and made….

Burgers!!!!

It was just what the doctor ordered and because I used extra lean mince it is so much healthier than the Golden Arches version that I usually crave when I am slightly worse for wear. I added bacon and a cheese slice and it was perfect.

So here is my hangover cure hope you enjoy.

Hangover Burger

Ingrediants.

• Pack of extra lean beef mine
• Red Onion – chopped finely
• 2 tsp mixed herbs
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• Bread bun
• Cheese slice
• Bacon

Method

1. In a bowl combine the mince, mixed herbs, garlic and tomato puree and get your hands in and mix all these ingredients together until combined. Shape these into 4 burgers and pop in the oven for about 15-20 mins.
2. Meanwhile put the bacon in a frying pan until cooked and put to one side.
3. Once the burger has cooked assemble the burger together anyway you want then sit back and enjoy!

Planning is Key – Meal Planning

When it comes to our weekly meals I have learned the hard way that the best thing to do is plan! Many times I have come home from work and thought ‘Oh whats for tea’ and my cupboards are bare. So on a Thursday me and the boy sit down with the mountain of cook books I own and set up a weekly meal plan.

I am going to share this weeks with you and I might make it a regular feature as I search through loads of recipe and meal blogs and find real inspiration and I hope that I can do that for someone else.

Meal Plan

Friday – Salmon with sweet chilli sauce, sweet potato mash and beans – This is for the boy only as I am meeting friends Munch will be having pasta.

Saturday – Baked yellow drumstick curry with rice

Sunday – My Invention – More about this on Sundays post.

Monday – Cowboy Hot Pot

Tuesday – Honey Mustard Chicken with mash and parsnips

Wednesday – Macaroni Cheese

Thursday – Fish, chips and mushy peas.

 

There we have it a weeks worth of food and the Family Pie house. I would love to hear your favorite meals and also your thoughts on my weeks plan.

Meatball Pasta Bake

One of the best things about having a 2 year old is that point when you can bake cakes, make soup and have a general mess about in the kitchen with them. Things get messy but its all round fun.

On the other hand one of the worse things about having a 2 year old is that they want to help in the kitchen all.the.time! Munch is no exception the boy and I just need to step foot in the kitchen and we hear “Can I help?” and nine times out of ten we say yes so a meal that should take 30-40 mins to make ends up taking 90 mins. Not that I am complaining…much. I love spending time with her and teaching her new things I mean that is all part of being a parent, but sometimes especially after work all I want to do is make tea and sit down…Actually scratch that what I really want to do is sit down log on justeat and order my tea, but I am trying to loose weight and set a good example.

One meal that I enjoy making with Munch is pasta and meatballs as it is the type of recipe that you can get messy with and have fun shaping the meatballs and it is also a firm family favorite. If you want to go in the kitchen with your little ones so they can help here is the recipe:

Ingredients.

A pack of pork mince
6 spring onions – finely chopped
1 tsp Italian Herbs
1 tsp Garlic Granules
1 tbsp Tomato Puree
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 onion – chopped
2 garlic cloves – crushed
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
75ml chicken stock
2 tsp oregano
400g pasta (I used penne)
150g grated cheese

Method

The step your little ones can help with!

1. With your little helper (or by yourself) mix together the pork mince, spring onions, garlic granules, Italian herbs, tomato puree and Worcestershire sauce. Shape it into roughly 20 balls (depending how big or small you wants your balls!) then cook in your oven for 12-15 mins, turning occasionally so the meatballs are browned all over.
2. While the meatballs are cooking place a large pan and add a little oil over a medium heat. Fry the onion for a couple of minutes then add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes more. Add the chopped tomatoes, stock and oregano then bring this to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 mins so the sauce has time to thicken.
3. Cook the pasta as normal. (If you don’t know how to cook pasta there are instructions on all packets)
4. Once the sauce and pasta are cooked combine these into one big pan then stir in the meatballs. Sprinkle over the cheese and bake in the oven until cheese has melted and golden.
5. Dish up and enjoy (my favorite step)