Chicken and Vegetable Nuggets

I hate veggies. At least veggies on their own.  I can handle them in a bake or mixed in with other stuff so that I can't taste them.  Devil Spawn hates them just as much, so veggie smuggling is pretty important around here.  One food that Devil Spawn does love though is chicken nuggets.  He'd eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I let him but sadly they aren't particularly nutrious.  That's when I got thinking about how I could combine veggie smuggling with Devil Spawns favourite foods and Chicken and Vegetable nuggests were born.  I try to have pureed veggies in the freezer all the time so that I can add them to spag bog and other easy foods.

Chicken and Vegetable Nuggets

 
These are better prepared a few hours before you are ready to cook them.  Of course if you are short for time, preparing and cooking straight away won't make too much difference.
 
Ingredients
500gm of chicken thighs, pureed (you can use chicken mince but I found the thighs easier to work with)
2 cups of vegetable puree. (You can use any mixture of pre pureed vegetables)
Tuscan Seasoning (I tried it with the all pourpose seasoned salt and they just weren't the same)
Breadcrumbs

Method
1.    Mix together the chicken and vegetables, adding the tuscan seasoning as you go.
2.    Roll the mixture into tablespoon size balls and coat in bread crumbs.  Place flattened
    balls into an air tight container, putting a layer of baking paper between each layer.
3.    Put the prepared nuggets into the fridge for at least an hour. A friend gave me this     tip and it's great for keeping the breadcrumbs intact when cooking.
4.    Shallow fry the the nuggets until both sides are brown. This helps keep the mixture     together.
5.    Bake for 25 minutes at 200C

This recipe makes about 32 nuggets.  I cook them all then separate into resealable bags for easy dinners in the future.     

Sanity Saviour

Depression and other Mental Illnesses can zap you of any energy or motivation you have.  Sometimes the medications used to treat these can have an even worse effect. I have never made it a secret that I don't like housework. So I wanted to share with you what I do to make things easier each day. Things that make things run a little smoothly.
 

1. A lot of people fold their washing as they take it off the line, I take it one step further.  I take the clothes off the line in order of whose clothes they are.  Then when I come inside, all of the clothes are already in piles of whose room they belong in, meaning that I put them away straight away.  It takes a bit longer out at the line...but then again it's quicker than a giant Mt Washmore.
 

2. Devil Spawn has a bath for at least 30 minutes every night. I use this time to talk to Papa Devil on the phone. Also when I'm up to it, I use the time to tidy away Devil Spawns toys and do the washing up. He's happy and I get some quiet time. It's a win/win situation.
 

3. On days that I know are going to be hectic or just plain hard I make dinner in the slow cooker. It means that we get a decent dinner and there is usually left overs that I can freeze for easy dinners later.
 

4. When Devil Spawn goes to daycare, I make his lunch the night before.  I am not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination, this means I have to do as little as possible when my brain is still foggy.
 

5.  After Devil Spawn has a bath at night, I dress him in a shirt for the next day. Then again, in the morning while still in a foggy, not really wanting to be awake daze I can leave the house at a reasonable time. At least on the days when we have to go somewhere.
 

6.  Daycare Days are my days. I do what I want, when I want it.  I don't pressure myself to do anything. I take them as my days to relax and regain myself. 
 

These are my sanity savers. They help me get through the week, the day, the hour.  I don't pretend to have all of the answers...I just do what works for me.
 

What are your sanity savers?
 

Linking up with #IBOT

I kinda suck at being a housewife

I'm linking up again this week with Kirsty for 'I must confess'. This weeks prompt is 'What household chores do you hate most'. I'm really glad that Kirsty said chores because I think I would struggled to just come up with one. 
 

Washing up: Most of the time it's just Devil Spawn and I so I have to do the cooking AND the cleaning. I would be happy to cook dinner if it meant that I never ever had to wash up again.  Sadly at 3.5, Devil Spawn is a little too young to start washing up.  He loves playing in the sink but I don't think I would have any plates left afterwards!
 

Clothes washing: It really is the chore that seems never ending. There is the putting it on, hanging it out, taking it off the line and then the folding and putting away. It really should be outlawed.  Although if you have my shitty washing machine, then there is an extra step of repositioning the clothes every spin.
 

Cleaning the toilet: I actually didn't mind this up until recently. When it was generally only me using the toilet and because I remain seated for the whole experience I don't piss all over the floor.  Now that Devil Spawn is toilet trained (well as well as any male can be) the toilet is cesspool of piss and skid marks.
 

Mopping: I live in government housing.  In someone's 'wisdom' the house I life in has cream tiles and lino.  I live on a road that leads to the industrial area of town. So that means that there is fuck tonne of trucks going past at all hours of the day. That also means that my nice cream floors are a nice grey most of the time. Even 30 minutes after I mop. 
Ironing: I don't do it. Ever. I have an iron that I was given as a birthday present. Thanks Granny.  I think my Mum has used it more often than I have.  My desire to use it is so low that I don't even have an ironing board lest it be easier to use.
 

Taking the bin out: I always forget (writing this post at 11pm actually reminded me) so have to do a mad dash at ridiculous o'clock to make sure it's on the gutter reading to be emptied.  It always stinks. I usually do the mad dash while holding my breath. Did I also mention that I am scared of the dark. 
 

What are your most hated household chores?  Head on over to My Home Truths and check out everyone's confessions!

Creamy Cheese Chicken Pasta

I pretty much suck at all things housewife.  Give me a hammer and some tools and I might be a bit more comfortable.  When I do have a bit of a housewife win though I just have to share it with someone! You lucky devils!  Today's housewife offerings are a recipe for Creamy Cheese Chicken Pasta.  I got the basic recipe off the jar of Cheese Spread. Who knew you could use it to cook with!? Then I added my own little lazy housewife touches.
 

Creamy Cheese Chicken Pasta
 

Ingredients:
Cheese Spread. (Yes I'm serious, trust me on this)
Mustard (I used Honey Multigrain)
Chicken Thighs. ( I used two but if you are feeding more than 1 adult and a fussy toddler I would suggest more)
Onion (I used brown onion but it would be nice with spring onions or red onion)
Ham (or bacon)
Splash of milk
Veggies (I say veggies but all I added was corn)
Pasta (Because I am mum to a toddler all we had was simpsons pasta, it would taste nice with macaroni though)
Shredded Tasty Cheese.

Method:
1.  Dice the chicken and place in a frypan. Cook until heated through. Put the pasta on at the same time. Or if you are lazy like me just chuck them in the microwave.
2.  Add diced onion. Cook until onion is soft.
3.  Add Veggies.
4.  Add the Ham. If you chose to use bacon then it would probably be a good idea to add it earlier but ham is so much easier to use. 
5.  Add a splash of milk, 3 massive tablespoons of cheese spread and mustard to the frypan.
6.  Mix well, until everything is coated nicely with the cheese spread mixture. 
7.  Add a hanful of shredded cheese and mix well.  You will have a nice cheesy mixture.
8.  Combine the pasta and cheesy chicken.
9.  Take your pants off before consuming.

This whole meal took me 20 minutes to make. If you wanted to cut a few corners you could use a cooked chicken.