Is my pekin bantam male or female?

[henny penny]

I am going thru and economical healthy, mother earth phase. Does any one have suitable recipes? Freezable ones would also be great!

[kaylis1980]

for yourself or for kids??

[henny penny]

Well mainly for the Kids but they are all teenagers now and seem to eat their lunches on the hoof so food has to be portable but i also take lunches to work -

[surferdog]

I make a big sponge cake at the weekends using the 'weigh the eggs' recipe. I make it in a roasting tin, cut it in half and sandwich with jam. it then gets sliced up and put into individual sandwich bags and goes in the freezer for DD lunch during the week.

 

The lemon drizzle cake also freezes well and I have done a chocolate version but apparently that tasted 'weird' after being frozen

 

Muffins also freeze really well

[Lesley]

Kids mostly eat grass anyway - well, they do where I come from......

[henny penny]

Well I meant my children- all tho the're not little any more Most of them are bigger than me! and they eat me out of house and home!

[Lesley]

....well, I'd def. give them grass then - it should fill them up

 

I make Rhubarb Crumble (see the other thread) with oats in the mix - spread half in a tray-bake tin, cover with rhubarb and sugar and then top with the rest of the crumble mix.Cook as usual....

 

When cold, cut into squares.

[surferdog]

I make Rhubarb Crumble (see the other thread) with oats in the mix - spread half in a tray-bake tin, cover with rhubarb and sugar and then top with the rest of the crumble mix.Cook as usual....

 

When cold, cut into squares.

That's a great idea - DS2 is at uni and I have to cook loads of homemade dinners to go into his freezer (my kids have grasped the processed food bad bit but not that this means you have to cook something yourself bit ) I always do a few rhubarb crumbles for him as it's his favourite but this would be a nice variation.

[henny penny]

Great ideas, will definitely have a go at the sponge and also the crumble cake.

I have just made some quick oven strawberry jam which will need using so will start with the sponge and put in freezer for after half term! the rhubarb has gone bonkers in the garden so will make the crumble cake later in the week. Suferdog have you tried making an apple version?':?'

[surferdog]

I make apple crumbles but have never tried making cake.

 

Lesley - does your cake work with apples? I would guess it would.

[Snowy]

I love some of these ideas! I get fed up with trying to find edible items for middle son's lunchbox. I'm sure he would eat jam spong cake and a crumble cake!

 

But what dimensions are your tray bake trays? And how many eggs do you use in the cake mix to fill them? I have several in various sizes so it would be good to have some dimensions to start with - it's an awful lot of mix to go wrong with if I don't get it right first time!

[surferdog]

The tin I use is approx 22cm by 29cm but you can use one slightly larger or smaller - it just means your cake will be deeper or shallower. I usually line it with some baking parchment as well so can just lift the whole cake out when it's done.

 

Start with the eggs weighed in their shells, you will need approx 200g but again if it's slightly over or under it's not a problem. Then weigh out the same amount of SR flour, sugar and butter. Eg, if your eggs come to 206g weigh out 206g of the other ingredients. I also add 1/2 tsp baking powder and a couple of drops of vanilla essence but you don't have to.

 

Stick the whole lot in a bowl and mix with electric whisk or use a food processor. Spread it evenly into the tin and bake at approx 200c for 30 mins (or according to your oven). Once it's cool I cut it in half and sandwich the two halves back together with jam. It produces a very deep square cake. You can then just slice up, put in individual sandwich bags and pop in the freezer to use during the week.

 

For lemon drizz;le cake make as about but add zest of one lemon to cake mixture. While the cake's in the oven mix the juice of the lemon with 3tbsp granulated sugar. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven spoon over the lemon sugar mixture while the cake is still hot. The juice will sink into the cake and the sugar gives a crunchy top. I just then cut this one into slabs, bag and freeze.

 

I've also made a 'school' cake where I just covered the top with jam and then sprinkled with dessicated coconut. And a chocolate one but that didn't freeze as well - think it was something to do with the filling I used so need to work on that one.

[missuscluck]

I make dough in the bread maker, then divide it up into rolls, bake them and freeze them, then get the required amount out of the feezer the night before and make them up for lunch boxes.

[Snowy]

Thanks Surferdog

[Lesley]

Snowy - I use the tray bake tin from Lakeland. The whole tin fits inside the plastic container they do specially for it, or you can lift the cake out and put the cake and silicone paper in the box. It is 12" x 9"

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/product.aspx/!5859

 

I make a 10ox mixture to go in it - or an 8oz mix if I'm putting a deeper topping on it.

 

Surferdog - I would think apple would work just as well as rhubarb in the crumble cake.

[Snowy]

Oooh, yes that looks like a good idea. And I do need to do an order from Lakeland. Last question - how many eggs is a 10oz mix as I do the weigh eggs then match it all up method! I presume it's 5 eggs, based on the presumption that 1 egg is 2oz?

[Lesley]

Approx. 5 eggs, yes.

 

I weigh mine because I use the bantam eggs I don't sell those unless someone asks for them.

 

.....and I also use a sheet of baking paper although if I remember rightly, the tin is non-stick?

[Tara.F]

For my daughter's packed lunch box I make a selection of the following, store all in the freezer and put a different savoury and a sweet in each day along with a small plastic box of either savoury rice, pasta or salad.

 

mini quiches (always plenty of eggs here)

 

'pigs in blankets' square of pastry, squirt of ketchup or mustard wrapped around a cooked sausage and baked

 

square of pastry, grated cheese wrapped round rasher of bacon and baked

 

veggie tarts, caramelised oinions in a pastry dish topped with toms, charred peppers and sealed with a little grated cheese.

 

Home made lamb sausage rolls. I spread a little redcurrant jelly on the pastry before wrapping round a mix of minced lamb, one egg, finely chopped onions, mint and finely chopped prunes. (sounds gross, tastes divine )

 

sunday lunch pies, a circle of pastry with a piece of leftover roast chicken, a dollop of sage and onion stuffing and a spoonful of leftover gravy. fold over and press edges together to make a pasty shape and bake before freezing. These are her absolute faves and never last long.

 

for sweets I do flapjacks

american style cookies

fairy cakes

jam tarts

individual fruit pies

[henny penny]

Wow lots of great ideas. I have a bread maker and often make rolls for lunch but wasnt sure how they would fare after being in the freezer so will have ago this week.

i love the pastry items- i know my sons would like these.Lots of sweet ideas too. I made someones millionare cake this weekend from off this forum -Yummmmmmmy!

 

I do have a semi vegetarian so any ideas here would be gratefully received

[..lay a little egg for me]

Muffins are good for lunch boxes as they are (relatively) low in fat and sugar and if you make blueberry or other fruit ones, there is even the odd vitamin floating about. I buy frozen blueberries from the farm shop and keep in the freezer to use when needed. I don't bother defrosting the blueberries, just add them straight into the mixture and the muffins turn out fine. I expect you could use corn oil or similar instead of the butter but they probably would not taste quite so nice!

 

300 g plain flour + 1 tbsp baking powder (or self-raising + 1 tsp BP)

100 g melted butter

100 g caster sugar

2 eggs (approx 120g weighed in shells - the recipe seems to cope with a fair variation in egg size)

200 ml milk

1tsp vanilla essence

150 g blueberries/choc chips/other fruit or nuts

 

Sift dry ingredients into a bowl

Whisk eggs, milk, vanilla and melted butter and add to dry ingredients

Stir roughly

Add blueberries or whatever and mix lightly

 

Spoon into muffin cases or direct into a muffin tin (makes about 12, or 20 if use fairy cake cases/tins)

 

Bake for about 20 mins at 200degrees C

[henny penny]

I have often wondered about muffins but thought they had to be made on the day you eat them- just couldnt face getting up half an hour earlier to make them. Do you make them the day you eat them or will they keep a couple of days and/ or do you freeze them (':)')

[henny penny]

square of pastry, grated cheese wrapped round rasher of bacon and baked

 

 

Do you wrap the pastry around a rolled up rasher or do you wrap the bacon around the pastry-?

 

great ideas!!!! thank you

[Tara.F]

flat rasher of bacon laid diagonally across the square, put on your cheese, pull the two corners in (a bit like an envelope)

you should be left with a bit of bacon peeping out at each end but it's middle covered with pastry.

does that make sense?

[chickencam]

Puff pastry?

[redhotchick]

These are lovely, I stored them in a tupperware for a few days and they kept fine, after a few days I'd eaten them all up anyway! And it's a good recipe for using up a soft banana. They are quite sweet so the sultana tip is recommended. If you are experimental you could try reducing the margarine and adding another banana instead. I haven't tried any of the other fruit variations but they sound good!

 

Banana Flapjack

What You Need (makes 8-10 flapjacks)

75g (3oz) polyunsaturated margarine

2 tablespoons honey

75g (3oz) soft brown sugar

1 large banana mashed

200g (8oz) rolled oats (porridge oats)

How To Make It

Preheat oven to 180C/360F/Gas Mark 4.

Place the margarine, honey and sugar into a pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.

Remove from heat, stir in the banana and oats, and mix thoroughly.

Press into a lightly greased small square baking tin (approx. 1 inch deep).

Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.

Leave to cool completely before removing from the tin.

Store in an air-tight container.

Try making different flapjacks:

Banana and sultana flapjack: add half a cup of sultanas and reduce the sugar content by 25g (1oz).

Instead of banana try other fruits such as pureed/finely chopped apple, peaches or apricots.