The kids are in love with this deep filled creamy chicken pie topped with crispy puff pastry! Its so easy to make and makes a lovely family meal served with fresh seasonal greens and root vegetables.
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Aldi Autumn Trifle Bowl
This beautifully layered Autumn trifle is the perfect Scottish inspired dessert to enjoy with the whole family. I love traditional Scottish trifle its such an easy yet impressive dish to whip up for the family and it looks lovely as a centerpeice after dinner when the extended family members are over for food.
Read MoreCheesy Kale & Walnut Pasta
We love pasta in this house and this comforting cheesy dish is a favourite family meal in the colder months. I have used delicious garden fresh kale, runner beans and spelt spinach pasta. Its a comforting but healthy dish!
The recipe can also be made dairy free by using olive oil and dairy free cheese.
You could also use spinach instead of kale and mix up the green vegetables a bit to create a variety of different meals. The walnuts add additional healthy fats and crunch but pine nuts would work well too.
I have used oat cream for the sauce because it is my fave cream but you can also use plain single cream for this recipe too.
I hope you enjoy experimenting with this dish!
Ingredients
2 tbsp of butter or olive oil
2 handfuls of chopped fresh kale
2 cloves of chopped garlic
2 small cartons of Oatly oat cream (about 2 cups) or single dairy cream
Grated cheddar cheese (about 2 handfuls)
Nutmeg (about 1tsp)
S & P
Pasta
Green beans or other green vegetables
Gently heat the butter or oil in a large pan and add the chopped garlic. Stir in the chopped kale and cook lightly for around 5-10 minutes.
Add the pasta to boiling water with the chopped green vegetables, I used runner beans because that’s what was in season at the time but use whatever you fancy here, green beans or broccoli also work well.
Add the oat cream to the sauce and heat gently. Add in the grated cheddar, around two handfuls, but please use more or less if you prefer. It really does depend how cheesy you like it. My kids like a cheesy pasta and if it means they will eat more green vegetables then I am happy with that.
Heat the cheesy creamy sauce until all the cheese has melted. Add the walnuts and season with salt, pepper and the nutmeg.
Drain the pasta and vegetables and add to the cheesy sauce, mix through and serve.
My kids like to add extra Parmesan to the top but I prefer it without. A green salad on the side goes really well too with some cucumber, tomatoes and other salad items.
Enjoy! x
Apricot Chicken & Spinach Pilaf
This delicious one pot slow cooker wonder is so easy and quick to throw together. The chicken and rice go really well with the fragrant spices, sweet apricots and velvety super green spinach. I dolloped a tablespoon of fresh live yoghurt on the top and it worked really well. Plates were empty so I’m guessing it was a hit with the kids!
I like to use chicken thigh meat because I think it has better flavour, especially from an organic chicken. You could also use chicken breast if you prefer but the breast does create a slightly drier texture. I also like to use the unsulphured dried apricots which are darker in colour and sometimes brown rice for this recipe.
You will need the following ingredients:
Ingredients
1 tbsp of coconut oil or ghee
1 finely chopped onion
4 chopped garlic cloves
2tsp of cumin seeds
2 tsp of ground coriander
2 tsp of tumeric
1 cinnamon stick
A small handful of chopped dried apricots
1 1/4 cups of basmati
3 chopped up chicken breasts or 6 chopped up thighs
700ml of vegetable stock
3 cubes of frozen spinach
Live yoghurt to serve
Set the slow cooker to high (2 -3hrs cooking time) or low (4-5 hrs cooking time) depending on the length of time you have to cook the meal. I like to prep my meals late morning or around lunchtime so that everything is ready for dinner around 5pm.
Add the coconut oil or ghee to the slow cooker and let it melt. Add in the onion, garlic, spices and chopped apricots and give it a stir around to coat everything evenly.
Add the chopped up chicken meat into the rice mixture and stir evenly to coat in the spices, apricots and rice. Add in the hot stock, frozen spinach cubes and stir once more.
Pop the lid on and leave to cook for the required time as above – high setting (2 -3hrs) or low setting (4-5hrs).
Serve with fresh greens or other seasonal vegetables and add a dollop of live yoghurt on top to serve.
Autumn Fall Cookbooks My Faves!
I love cook books! I love the photographs, the graphics and even the smell of a good book, lol! I thought I would share my fave family cook books that I bring out in the Autumn Fall season to stay warm and to keep the family nourished! I hope you find some inspiration here in this video for your own family.
There are links at the bottom of the page where you can buy the books from Amazon, (they are affiliated links and I should probably notify you that I might earn 10p or so if you click it lol!!!!) If you have an independent book shop, order them in there and support small local business instead!
With love x
Granny’s Gingerbread
I love a hot latte style drink and a thick slice (emphasis on the thick!) of this delicious sticky gingerbread. I use this to create a hearty and warm filling breakfast with some stewed slices of apple on the top and a sprinkle of additional walnuts. It also makes a great after school snack or wrapped in a little beeswax a school break time piece.
Follow the recipe below for a delicious addition to your Autumn faves!
Ingredients
125g of butter
50g golden syrup
175g molasses
225g spelt wholemeal flour
2tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of ground ginger
75g of soft brown sugar
2 eggs
50g chopped walnuts
150ml almond milk
1/2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
Turn on the food mixer or processor and cream the butter, golden syrup and molasses. Add in the flour, baking powder, ground ginger, brown sugar and mix further. Whisk the eggs with a fork in a cup and add to the mixture, mix further on a medium setting. Add in the chopped walnuts and milk and bicarb, mix further and pour ino a lined or buttered loaf tin. Bake at 160oc for 1hr and 30 mins. Remove, cool and serve.
Autumn Monthly Meal Plan
The cold is setting in quickly into this part of the world and I don’t know about you but I’m all about comforting warming dishes this time of year! I love a good slow cooker recipe or pressure cooked stew.
Check out the video below for a look at our September monthly haul and the cosy four week meal plan is at the end of the video. It is also written at the bottom of this page for you.
I hope you find some inspiration for your own family meals, love Angie x
Autumn Fall Home Decor & Haul
I love Autumn it is my absolute favourite season, I love the cooler weather and the beautiful colours that fall brings. I really enjoy spending time with the family at this time of year and there are always so many memorable things to do around the home and outdoors. It is such a special time.
I created this video below to show you how we are enjoying the season at home with decorations and foodie treats (of course!).
Love Angie x
Broad Bean Soup
Just what I needed today after a cold walk with the dogs and collecting leaves with my son for some leaf identification work we were doing. Such a warming recipe, I served it up with a little drizzle of hemp oil but you could also use olive oil and perhaps some croutons. mmmm!
Ingredients
3-4 cups of broad beans (frozen or fresh)
1 leek (chopped)
1 onion (chopped)
3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1-2 red chillies (chopped)
2 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of tumeric
1 tsp of paprika
oat cream, or other dairy free cream ( a dash during blending, optional)
Add all the ingredients apart from the optional cream to the soup pot along with the stock cube and water to just over the vegetables. Cook for 40-50 mins or until vegetables are tender and blend in the blender (be very careful when blending hot liquids, make sure the blender has the lid on securely) add in the cream of choice if you like to your desired consistency. Serve with warm wholemeal bread or perhaps a toasted sandwich.
Any questions pop them in the comments below.
Love Angie
If you enjoyed this recipe pop over to my youtube channel for more recipes, holistic health tips, my family life, and my weight loss vlogging! Thank you! Angie x