Author: Mum Scottish

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Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

Chicken enchiladas are a great way of getting some protein into children, by the chicken and cheese, but for me, I wanted to add a little more veg, so the passata was added as a base, and to spoon over the dish.

Instead of finger food, it does take a knife and fork to eat while it’s hot, unless you’re happy to have tomatoey fingers spreading the red stuff everywhere, though as a cold snack, it’s fabulous finger food.

Chicken Enchiladas

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Servings: 12
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g Passata
  • 1 Medium - Large Chicken Pre-cooked and cut up or Shredded.
  • 500 g Cheddar Cheese Grated
  • pinch Parsley
  • Coriander
  • Pepper
  • 200 g Sour Cream or Sour Cream and Onion Dip
  • 100 g Onions Chopped

Method
 

  1. Pre Heat the oven to around 350 degrees F or 175 degrees C.
  2. Pre-Cook your chicken in a pan until cooked through. Add onions, sour cream, half the cheese, some parsley, coriander, pepper and chilli powder to the pan. Cook until the cheese melts into the mixture.
  3. Use a large baking dish, layering the bottom with tomato passata. Lay you tortilla's out, so that you get two with each tortilla wrap. Fill each one with mixture, then arrange in your baking dish, on top of the passata. Use a spatula or teaspoon to spoon some passata over the top.
  4. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top of the enchiladas and bake for 20 minutes.

 

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Soup Maker Recipe: Budget Chicken Noodle Soup

Have you ever gone to your cupboard when you can’t be bothered shopping, or you’re in a hurry and no time to get anything, but have some hungry mouths to feed.  This recipe is more or less down to the kids loving noodles, but not having any fresh in the house.

Feel free to change the potatoes with any other veg you happen to have handy in your cupboard.  Granted, this isn’t the prettiest soup on the planet, but it is like having a full meal in a bowl.

Lesley Smith

Soup Maker Recipe: Budget Chicken Noodle Soup 1.6 Litres

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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 28 minutes
Total Time 38 minutes
Servings: 4 -6
Course: Soup
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 packet Chicken Noodles Approximately 85g
  • 1 Chicken Stock Cube
  • 250 g Cubed Potatoes
  • 200 g Pre-Cooked Chicken Shredded
  • 1 Dessert spoon Flour
  • 1 l Boiling Water

Method
 

  1. Open your pack of instant noodles and break them up as you put them into your soupmaker.
  2. Add the cubed potatoes, stock cubes and the pack of flavouring from your noodles. Put the chicken in, then stir in the litre of boiling water. Make sure you do not overfill your own machine if it is different from mine.
  3. Choose a chunky setting for a bowlful that looks like a casserole, or blend it for a smooth version.

 

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Car That Fits A Wheelchair in the Boot. How Hard Can It Be?

Well, we’ve been at it for nearly a year now, this manipulating an unsteady person anywhere she needs to go.  It’s been a full year since my mother had the first of two nasty infections, from which she’s never fully recovered.

What did change, was her brain.  Damaged, and with significant vascular changes.  Her physical strength and arthritis has deteriorated to such an extent, that she finds it difficult and painful to walk more than a very short distance.  Over the last year, her short term memory had diminished significantly and her confidence to go out is totally shot.

From someone who ‘had’ to go out at least once a day, I’m lucky if I can get her out of the house once a month.  It’s not good for her, and it’s not good for me being trapped in the house so much, only being able to leave her for spells that rivalled elderly dog ownership, as her insulin levels have to be checked regularly.  She’s not safe with medication or her insulin on her own, and if she takes a  hypo, there would be no-one to help her.  She cannot manage her testing kit for herself.

Where I thought I’d have an easy time, was finding a wheelchair friendly car, that would also double as our family car.  Both our cars are on the way out.  The Discovery has given up the ghost and she can’t get up and into it now. anyway, so it would have to go, even if it was still behaving itself.  It’s beside the point that it’s leaking water and the electrics are dodgy.

The man could fix it, but he’s never got the time and he won’t pay for someone else to do what he can do, so it’s at stalemate.  I do love the Discovery, but if it were garage maintained, we’d need a whole new mortgage to keep it up.

Wheelchair

We also have an old Vauxhall family car that has a fault somewhere that keeps draining the battery.  The fix would likely cost far more than the car is worth.  I do need a car that doesn’t need jumpstarted every second day, and I’d like to find the information I’m looking for online, but it’s harder than it looks.  I did consider a Vauxhall Insignia, but they’re too low for her to get in and out of.

All I want is a car that will take a bog standard manual wheelchair, one that’s not too low so that I don’t break my back getting her in and out, and not too high, so that I have to lift her in either.  Oh yes, I also need to fit 5 people in the car, and I don’t want to pay a fortune in road tax every year, nor pay a whack on customising a family car.

I also can’t face the Citreon Berlingo, nor the boxy cars.  It’s my car.  I know we all have different ideas of what is nice and what’s not, but I don’t want to saddle myself with what I see as a horrible looking car, just because I need one that fits a wheelchair in the boot.  Selfish, maybe, but it’s my money, and I should be able to spend it on something that suits our family, not something we’re stuck with because there’s nothing else.

Can I find the information I need online?  Perhaps I’m looking in the wrong places.

There’s a large proportion of the population who need wheelchairs, so I can’t believe how difficult it is to find out if a car boot can take one.  You’d think with the money spent on advertising and lovely glossy brochures, that there would be something in them.  A line somewhere that gave an indication of suitability for wheelchairs.  Yes, I can see boot dimensions, but given the angle of some boots, they can look big enough in theory, but if it narrows in the wrong place, a wheelchair won’t fit in, and I’d like to carry some shopping at times too.

Before I go to look at a car, I want to know it will fit the wheelchair, otherwise I’m stuck to lugging the thing around with me and taking it out at every car dealership, which is a pretty daft way of going shopping.  Why do they mention cup holders, bluetooth connection, seat warmers, and neglect to add a pretty basic feature?  Perhaps wheelchairs just aren’t sexy enough, or, as I said before, I’m looking in the wrong places, but if I am, then shouldn’t it be easier to find the right places?

I will say though, that I do like the look of the hybrids.  I’m tempted to look for a Toyota Prius, or the smaller ones along those lines.  I did consider the Nissan Leaf, but the driving range would drive me round the bend, though guess what…I don’t know if they’re worth looking at, as I don’t know if a wheelchair will fit in the boot……..and I can’t be bothered going to find out.

I may just pick up a banger from the car mart to tide me over,  because I can’t decide, and don’t have time to visit dozens of showrooms to find out.

Have a good day all, and hope you all stay safe in the windy weather.

If you like this article, check out the post on helping to empower senior drivers.

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Soup Maker Recipe: Carrot and Coriander Soup

This is a luxurious and tasty, not to mention creamy soup, intended for soupmakers up to 1.6 litres.

If you think it may be too rich for you, replace the cream with more boiling water or stock and away you go with the low calorie version.

Soup Maker Recipe: Carrot and Coriander Soup

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Course: Soup
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
  • 200 ml Fresh Cream
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
  • 800 ml Boiling Water
  • 1 Stock Pot Vegetable or Chicken
  • 600 g Carrots Peeled and Sliced or Chopped
  • 75 g Onion Chopped
  • 75 g Potatoes Sliced

Method
 

  1. Saute the onions in the olive oil, adding your stock pot as the onions soften.
  2. In the pot, add your onion mix, and the rest of your ingredients. Make sure to stir well before switching it on. It really does help to avoid soup sticking to the base of your soup maker if you don't have a non stick surface.
  3. Select the smooth function for this option.
  4. Serve with croutons.

 

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Soup Maker Recipe: Winter Vegetable Soup

This usually just involves whatever you have in your vegetable drawer over winter.  Don’t be too strict with your choice of ingredients, just enjoy the soup when it’s ready.  This version is red onion, potatoes, leek, turnip and carrot.

Lesley Smith

Soup Maker Recipe: Winter Vegetable Soup Recipe – 1.6 Litres

5 from 3 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 31 minutes
Servings: 4 -6
Course: Soup
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 150 g Red Onions Sliced
  • 150 g Leek Chopped
  • 100 g Carrot Sliced
  • 100 g Swede or Turnip (Chopped)
  • 200 g Baby Potatoes Washed and Thrown In Whole
  • 50 g Butter
  • 1 Chicken Stock Pot
  • 800 ml Boiling Water or Stock

Method
 

  1. Saute your onions and leek for a couple of minutes, until they're soft, but still light in colour.
  2. Add all your ingredients to the pot, stir well and select your chosen setting.
  3. We like smooth soups most, so we chose the smooth option on our Morphy Richards. If you are going for chunky soup, you might prefer to chop your vegetables smaller and peel your baby potatoes.
  4. Serve hot with fresh bread.

 

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Review: New Morphy Richards Sauté and Soup Maker

I bought this Morphy Richards Sauté and Soup Maker with Serrated Blade recently, to replace my older Morphy Richards Soup Maker.  I love the quantities and ease of cleaning with the Morphy Richards soup makers, so there was not even a discussion in my mind as to whether I should get one or not.    I was lucky enough to get mine from Costco at a great price, though Amazon seem to have them for around £52.

I have six people to feed, and my mother, who had dementia, is also diabetic.  To get good food into her, the soup maker is just so easy.  I throw all the ingredients into the pot, then twenty minutes later we have bowls of great tasting soup for her.

I did find that trying to sauté ingredients with my old maker was a bit of a faff, as it had to be done separately, so another pan to clean.  Because of that, I rarely bothered, unless I wanted a specific taste.  I did get a bit of a surprise when I switched on the Sauté and Soup maker, to find out just how quickly that it heated up the integrated sauté function.

The inside of the soup maker has a coating, which you can effectively fry onions, butter, garlic and any vegetables you fancy on it.  The smells that come off are amazing and to be honest, they really do make any soup taste much more appealing.

morphy richards saute and soup maker featured

The secret to good soup is always great stock, but there are ways to cheat with good herb and stock pots.  You have to find a way that suits you.

Here’s a little about the maker.

Sauté 

Just pop a little butter or oil into the bottom of the jug and throw in onions, bacon bits, some herbs, garlic, ginger or spices and let them fry for a minute or two.  I use a wooden spoon to give the vegetables a little stir around while they’re cooking.

Morphy richards saute and soup maker 3

Settings

We can choose which settings to use.  Smooth takes the soup into a quick pureed state, while chunky is just that, although it takes a few minutes more for the soup to be ready.  There’s actually even a pause setting that allows you to remove the lid and add some seasonings before the cooking starts again.  There’s a blend function for if the soup isn’t smooth enough for you, and the last one is the juicer function, which I have to admit, I haven’t used with this soup maker yet.

Morphy richards saute and soup maker 4

Serving Capacity

1.6 litres, or 1.4 litre options.    The booket says for servings up to 4 people, but I manage to get enough with one kettle full for three adults and three children.  And if we need more, it only takes 20 minutes to make it, so I can have another pot brewing while we eat our first bowlful.

Non stick coating

This is a fabulous addition to the soup maker.  I’m not sure what more I can say.  It is easier to empty the soup immediately out of the soup maker and rinse it off there and then.  Dried on soup is harder to remove afterwards and you don’t want water to get into the electrical points.

Morphy richards saute and soup maker 2

Making soup is a dawdle in a soupmaker.  It even means that I can just leave it to get on with the job while I do something else.  Anything that saves time foodie wise is a bonus in my eyes, and I don’t have to worry about a pan drying out or boiling over.

A soup maker is the one item, apart from an oven obviously, that I will replace time and time again in my kitchen when one fails.  I can’t say more than that really.  Have I said before how fabulous these are?  Maybe so, but I’ll probably repeat myself for the rest of my life on this item.

I have a fair few soup recipes online.  You can find them here if you’re interested, or check the soups section on the menu bar.

 

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Christmas Tree Napkin Fold Tutorial

Christmas Tree napkin Fold Tutorial 1

This is so simple to do, and looks great on a table, or place setting.  It’s something a little different and personalised for your Xmas day guests.  Napkin folding is not something new, but we all appreciate the little touches that made Christmas Day that little bit more special.

Christmas Tree Napkin Fold 2

Here’s how to do it for yourself.

Step 1

Take your regular napkin from a pack and lay it flat.  Most napkins will come out of the pack ready to go, but just in case yours isn’t, you’ll need to fold it into a square.

Turn the napkin towards you, so it looks like a diamond shape, with the loose ends under your fingertips, like the image above.

Step 2

All you have to do is take one layer at a time and fold it upwards, so that it rests around half an inch or so from the top, and fold the line.  Do this with all four layers until you have the same shape as below.

Step 3

Turn the napkin around.  It should resemble a boat shape.

Christmas Tree Napkin Fold 11

Step 4

The aim is to have the point shape at the centre of the bottom of the napkin.  Fold the right hand side over to mid way on the opposite side and fold over.  Do the same for the left hand side.

Step 5

The point shape at the bottom should be in the right place.  When the sides are folded over, turn the napkin around again, and set it this way up.

Christmas Tree Napkin Fold 15

Some people will stop here, but if you want to have the full effect, simply fold each layer back on itself, and tuck it into the one above.

 

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Review: Perfecta Comfort Mattress from Carpetright

How could we say no to the lovely offer of a mattress from Carpetright.  Our youngest has wanted a more grown up room, but he disliked the mattress on the bed.  He found it too hard and not comfortable enough.

When we were told which mattress we would get, I was slightly worried, as his complaint about his current one, was that it was too hard and uncomfortable.

It was a very thin mattress, and probably not a great choice for him.  We should have chosen better at the start, but we know better now, and that cheap doesn’t necessarily mean good value.

For different sleep needs, mattresses at Carpetright are tagged as either S (soft) M (medium) or F (firm).  For people who sleep on their sides, a soft mattress is recommended to protect hips and shoulder.  A medium is good for people who move around a lot, and a firm mattress is good for people who either sleep on their front on their back.  He sleeps on his back, so I believe a firm is the best choice for keeping the spine supported.

The Perfecta Comfort Mattress, which is the one we were given is rated as an F for Firm.  I did worry that he would find it too hard, but I’d told them what our problem was, and they came up with this solution to fix it for him.

Perfecta Comfort Mattress

It took a little while to arrive.  These mattresses are made by the Silentnight brand.   They’re handmade in the UK and also benefit from fillings that are hypoallergenic, with firm support.

Perfecta Comfort Mattress 1

The bed is a standard double, so the dimensions of the mattress were perfect.  It’s a double sided mattress so can be easily turned to keep it in tip top condition, and comes with a five year warranty.

Now, onto what littlest thought of it when it was time to sleep.

Perfecta Comfort Mattress 2

His favourite Real Madrid covers were added.  Yes, I know we live in Aberdeen, but he supports Real Madrid as a Country Team.  Kids around our way tend to support four teams, their local, the country team, an English and an International one.  For him, it’s Aberdeen, Scotland, Man U and Real Madrid, simply because Christian Ronaldo plays for them.  Whichever of those teams are playing gets his full and undivided attention.

His bedroom isn’t always this neat looking.  You’ll notice I’ve cut out part of his room, as it’s a typical boy room, no matter how often I tidy it, it looks like the aftermath of a massive party.  He’s had a few comfortable nights on there, and in his words ‘it’s beasting.’  Go figure, I’ve never heard that term either.

He’s delighted with his new mattress, and I worried un-necessarily about it being too hard.  It’s just perfect for him.

Perfecta Comfort Mattress 3

We’ve had carpets from Carpetright in the past, so we knew what the service would be like.   I’m after this rug for my hall, but as my size is out of stock, I’ll have to wait until they get more in.

I have to say a big thank you to Carpetright for our mattress, it’s just what we were looking for.  It was worth telling them what the problem was, as I’d have likely picked a soft or medium mattress without asking an opinion, and that wouldn’t have been what he needed at all.

Disclaimer:  Carpetright sent the mattress for review and asked us for our opinion. 

 

 

 

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Hand Made Jewellery Christmas Presents

Here they are.  The personalised Christmas presents we made with the owners in mind.  We hope they enjoy wearing them as much as we enjoyed making them.  They’re all either rhodium plated brass as a base for the pendants, with only a couple that are sterling silver.  The colours are all made by cold enamelling, or resin casting.

We love what we’ve achieved and each and every one in this post has gone to a Christmas home, as well as a few others that didn’t get in the photographs as they were still curing.

As a hobby, this is great, as the kids could be involved.  Yes, it did mean taking some important steps to ensure they were safe with mixing the chemicals, and I wouldn’t do this with very young children, but for my older boys, it has been a great way to give christmas presents that actually mean something to them, and a handmade gift for the recipients, both at school and at home.

I’m actually really proud of what we achieved in such a short space of time.  I love the drop heart pendant, so plan on ordering more of those blanks.  We only had one, which was lovely when it was done.

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Charity Guest Post: Would You Like To Start 2015 Changing A Life? Volunteer For Guide Dogs

Did you know that 180,000 people who are blind or partially sighted rarely leave home alone? At Guide Dogs we are committed to change this and we need your help to do so.

Besides training guide dogs, we offer other services that contribute to change the life of blind and sighted people in Scotland.

We are currently looking for volunteers in Aberdeen and the surrounding areas to fulfil central roles: Puppy Walkers and My Guide.

Whether you have a couple of hours per week or are available full-time, your can make an enormous difference on people’s life.

Would you like to help us?

If you are free full-time, maybe you’d be interested in becoming a volunteer Puppy Walker?

Guide Dogs 1

A Puppy Walker is a challenging yet very rewarding role. You’ll be welcoming at home a puppy and helping them live different experiences that will give them the confidence to be a super guide dog in the near future.

Thanks to your help, this puppy will become a guide dog that will give to a blind or partially sighted the confidence to enjoy of the same freedom of movement as everyone else.

If you are working but have a couple of hours free, maybe you would to become a volunteer My Guide?

Guide Dogs 2

As My Guide you will be supporting a person who is blind or partially sighted for a couple of hours to go out. You’ll be receiving training and on-going support as you are carefully matched to a local person who is blind or partially sighted.

Your local staff are there to answer any questions or help as needed.

If you are interested in finding out more about the roles of Puppy Walker or My Guide, why not have a chat with Emma our Volunteer Consultant at the Edinburgh Mobility Team?

We look forward to hearing from you soon and see how you can help Guide Dogs make a real difference in Scotland.

Contact us:

emma.murton@guidedogs.org.uk

0845 372 7406
Visit our website http://www.guidedogs.org.uk/

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Those scribbles on the walls really add up…

Any parent understands the day to day struggle with keeping the house in order, and we’ve all walked into a room to be met with spillages, breakages and general curiosity-induced chaos, maybe some innocent puppy dog eyes too.

It’s great to see the kids having fun, but all too often a play date becomes an over excited danger zone and a rough and tumble with siblings ends in tears or boredom results in a toy meeting its demise in the microwave.

This last destructive activity actually came in at number 20 on a list of the most common household damages caused by children.  The study, published in the Daily Mail, has brought to light the shocking statistic that by the age of just 10 the average child has cost their parents over £2,000 in repairs within the home.

It just goes to show how the constant clumsiness really adds up; 50% of parents questioned in the research consider the costs of fixing child-generated damages around the house as one of the ‘main drains’ on their finances and a similar percentage also believe their offspring to be the ‘root cause’ of domestic damage – even more than dodgy DIY jobs or pets!

Although all kids are guilty of destruction – whether accidental or intentional –unsurprisingly it was boys aged 4 to 10 who were voted as the most likely offenders with two out of three sons were deemed ‘hazardous’ around the house by their parents.

Drawing on walls, permanent carpet stains and broken plates and crockery topped the list of damages, with damaged furniture, foot/hand prints on surfaces and scratched upholstery closely following.

Perhaps it’s rather comforting as well as shocking to find out that 15% of the parents in the study had suffered a blocked toilet while the same number had repaired a smashed window. We’re not alone!

They may seem like relatively small amounts on their own, but these frequent expenses add up to an average £2,000 a year per child – a frightening prospect, especially for those with larger families. All in all, these findings put forward a great case for having accidental damage cover included in your home insurance.

Check out More Than home insurance accidental damage cover for some peace of mind, now with free £200 Home Emergency Assistance when you use their authorised repair network.

This is a collaborative post with More Than.

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Review: Von Shef Frozen Dessert Maker

Domu is a brand, resulting form ten years experience with Designer Habitat.

Their goal is to give customers very competitively priced gadgets at a lower price than the traditional brand name items.    The products allow us to get a wide variety of home and kitchen products at a much lower cost than traditional brands.  I’ve had a look around the website several times and I’ve been pretty well impressed by the range on offer and the prices for what we get.

I received a frozen dessert maker to try from the range, and although I found it a bit tricky to navigate to begin with, I think we’ve found a good way to get on, especially considering the nice big bowl of what tastes and feels like ice-cream, but is actually only fruit.  That made me persevere after my first disastrous attempt at using it.

I did try the bananas and strawberries.  The book says to freeze the fruit for at least 12 hours beforehand.  I did, but you do need to chop up the strawberries into chunks if they’re medium to large sized, as my first try ended up with strawberries that were too large to push through with the plunger.

My attempts didn’t look as smooth or as perfect as the picture on the website, but I found that by mixing the fruity pulp that comes out of the machine afterwards, that it looks more like ice-cream than it did while it was pouring out.

I found the consistency very thick, but a few more minutes out of the freezer and I was able to mix the fruit into a nice consistency.  The blade part of the machine is very sharp, as it needs to be for crushing frozen fruit, and the machine itself is very noisy in action, but I was impressed with the dessert we had at the end of it all.

Von Chef 2

We can add frozen cream and other items to it, to make it a more creamy and luxurious dessert, but to be honest, I really liked the fruit on its own.  I’d say it takes a wee while to get used to, and the banana makes the dessert much more creamy if it’s fruit only.  On it’s own, the strawberry was much like a sorbet.  I’m planning to buy the frozen bags of fruit from supermarkets and trying those next.

Desserts with zero sugar and no added fat have a distinct advantage and it’s an easy way to get fruit into kids.

I actually really like the look of the Von Shef Expresso and Coffee Machine, and am off to send an e-mail to find out if it can use any coffee pod in it, because if it can, I’ll be ordering one for my kitchen.  I hadn’t heard of Domu before, but now I know about it, I’m quite pleased about the range of products and the prices.