My pre-Christmas Bake-a-thon and the Best Ever Gingerbread

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you all had a fabulous day. We enjoyed a lovely relaxing Christmas at home which was perfect as there is no way the boys would have wanted to leave their brand new trampoline behind.

Did anyone else have a Christmas Eve bake-a-thon? I spent most of the day in the kitchen and then crashed in the afternoon before heading out for the evening. Don't get me wrong I really enjoy the baking and cooking (I wouldn't be here otherwise!) it's just the cleanup that gets me down. I am so grateful to have a dishwasher, we couldn't get by without it.

I was trying not to leave everything to the last minute but some things can really only be made the day before, and other things I sort of forgot about so ended up doing those too!

I know you are probably all totally over Christmas food but I wanted to post at least this one recipe so I can keep track and make it again next year (and probably before that too) because it was totally amazing.  

I didn't have much cooking to do this year but I did lots of sweet things.

On Christmas Eve I made 2 types of custard to take to my mother in laws house (the pudding was already prepped thank goodness). Then for our trifle I made a lemon and orange curd, a spelt genoise sponge, more custard and a mango and coconut jelly. Yum! I also made a double batch of this pumpkin gingerbread for our Christmas breakfast, a batch of my dairy-free rum balls and a batch of gingerbread men so the boys would have something yummy to leave for Santa. Whew!!

For me this gingerbread was the absolute highlight of my Christmas baking. It was everything you want in a gingerbread - packed with warm spicy flavour, incredibly moist and tasted even better the next day when you can't be bothered cooking anything. We had it Christmas morning with some homemade peach and chia jam.

While I think it would be more suited for our Christmas in July celebrations rather than a hot summertime Christmas, I would happily eat this any day and am glad to have half a loaf still stashed in the freezer.

Apologies for the less than stellar photo - cake for breakfast waits for no man! Had to snap one quickly and then get it on plates for the hungry horde. 

Best Ever Pumpkin Gingerbread 
Adapted from Simply Recipes

400g white spelt flour
1 1/2 ts bicarb soda
1 tbs ginger
1 tbs cinnamon
1/2 ts nutmeg
1 1/2 ts salt
2 cups pumpkin puree
225g melted butter
2/3 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup rice malt syrup
1/2 cup molasses
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C / 160 degrees C fan forced. Grease and line 2 loaf pans (mine were pyrex) and set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, bicarb, salt and spices.

In a separate large bowl or jug, whisk together the remaining ingredients until smooth.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold through until just combined.

Pour the mixture evenly into the prepared pans and bake for 45-60 minutes (mine was done at 45 minutes so start checking then). It is done when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Leave in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Delicious served warm with butter but it's even more amazing the next day if you can wait that long.

Christmas Menu 2015

Image source

I'm a little later with my Christmas menu planning than I was intending but I've still made it with 4 days to spare!

We spent most of the day today celebrating an early Christmas with my dad's side of the family. As usual the food was spectacular - ham off the bone, maple glazed chicken, quiche and 8 different salads including my Rice Salad, and followed by cheesecake, a chocolate and raspberry ice cream pudding and a very boozy trifle. The kids were spoilt rotten and we also came home loaded with homemade Christmas cake, chutneys, shortbread and rum balls. Whew!

Yet again for the big day though we are going for low-stress and fuss-free so our menu is quite pared back. No roast turkey again this year just lots of seafood, salads and fruit. We are planning on doing a roast pork belly for Boxing Day.

We are going to my mother in law's house for Christmas Eve and then hosting at home for Christmas Day. I'm very excited to have our first Christmas in our new home, plus the boys have a BIG present coming to the backyard on Christmas Eve!!!

Christmas Eve

Nibbles
Cheese, crackers, nuts and truffles

Main
Barbecued chicken and witlof salad
Grilled prawn, chorizo and corn couscous salad
Sweet potato salad
Ham
Sourdough rolls

Dessert
Steamed orange pudding
Dairy-free Custard

Christmas Day

Breakfast
Gingerbread Loaf
Mango smoothies

Nibbles
Pate, crackers and nuts

Main
Seafood platter with tiger prawns, smoked salmon and condiments
Barbecued side of salmon
Ham
Crunchy duck fat roast potatoes
Avocado, mango and walnut salad
Coleslaw

Dessert
Dairy-free Mango and raspberry trifle


I still have a few more festive recipes to post over the coming days but now that the official Christmas menu is set I feel ready to go. I'm doing our final Christmas shopping kid-free first thing in the morning and then it should be smooth sailing!

How is your planning going? Any family favourites that you just couldn't have Christmas without?

My Fruit Mince Tarts

The first day of the school holidays was unexpectedly cool and rainy so what better way to spend it than to with some Christmas baking! My husband has been dropping not so subtle hints for fruit mince tarts over the past few weeks so that was first on my list.

Before I got into my wholefoods groove I used to make fruit mince tarts with packet pastry and a jar of pre-made fruit mince. Not any more. I love making pastry and after a few years of practice I feel like I understand it a little more and can prevent some disasters. And honestly how amazing is homemade pastry?  If you don't feel up to making your own, the Careme brand pastry in Australia is really good and they even have a gluten free version.

I used my go-to spelt pastry recipe and developed my own fruit mince recipe which was SO delicious I couldn't help taking lots of sneaky spoonfuls for 'just to check if it was ready.' Ha!

The kids were hanging around by the oven waiting for them to bake because they smelt so amazing and then each had 3 for afternoon tea. So that's a big tick of approval.

The pastry recipe makes enough for one batch of 12 tarts and I rolled the scraps out into some little biscuits which we snacked while waiting for the tarts to cool enough to eat.

The fruit mince recipe makes enough for 2 batches of 12 tarts and is stashed in the fridge to make some more next weekend. As I was making these for kids I cooked the brandy in with the fruit to get the flavour but cook off most of the alcohol. You can add the brandy at the end once the fruit is cooked for a bit more of a kick.

My Fruit Mince Tarts

Fruit mince:

500g organic mixed dried fruit
5 granny smith apples (peeled, cored and diced)
1 cup fresh orange juice, pulp and all
1/2 cup rice malt syrup
1/4 cup brandy
zest of 1 orange
1 ts cinnamon
1/4 ts nutmeg
1/4 ts clove
1/4 ts allspice

Place all ingredients into a pot over medium heat. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer until the apple has completely softened and the mixture is thick and sticky. This will take around 20 minutes or so. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely.

Pastry:

250g white spelt flour
20g coconut sugar
125g cold salted butter
1 egg yolk
2-3 tbs iced water, as needed

Place flour and sugar into the thermomix or food processor and mix just to combine and break up any lumps. Add the butter and process for a few seconds at a time, until the mixture resembles rough sand. Add the egg yolk and 1 tbs iced water and process again for a few seconds at a time until the dough starts to clump together. Add extra water 1 tbs at a time only if needed.

Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and press into a disc. Wrap well and place into the fridge to rest for at least 20 minutes before rolling.

To assemble the tarts:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C / 160 degrees fan-forced. Grease a 12 cup tart or muffin tray and set aside.

Roll out about 2/3 of the dough (leave the rest in the fridge) about 3mm thick. Using a round cutter (mine was 7cm), cut out 12 circles for the bases of your tarts. Choose a cutter that is just a little wider than the diameter of each hole in your tray and they will fit perfectly. Press each circle over the base of your prepared tray and set the scraps of dough aside.

Place a teaspooful of fruit mince mixture into each tart base, being careful not to overfil or the edges won't seal. Using your finger, dab some water around the edge of pastry of each tart.

Roll out the remainder of the dough from the fridge in the same way, but use a slightly smaller cutter (mine was 6cm) to cut 12 circles for the tops of your tarts. Place a piece on top of each tart and then use a fork to crimp and seal the edges. Use the fork to pierce the top of each tart to allow steam to escape.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the tarts are golden brown and smell amazing. Cool in the tray for 5 minutes before turning out onto a rack. Delicious warm or cold.

Buttery pastry surrounding sweet and spicy fruit, there's a reason these are a classic!

Bacon, Spinach and Garlic Pull-apart Bread

Aaaand so it's December! Things have been very quiet around here lately as I attempt to overhaul my blog. After lots of messing around I have ended up with 2 sites that aren't linked up and there's a whole lot of work to get things ready to go. I will keep you posted but I hope to launch in the New Year.

I haven't been doing much cooking of note lately. I've been sick for the past 3 weeks with a throat and chest infection so quite apart from not having enough energy to cook, I also haven't felt like eating. Tragic I know!

But even I can't resist the aroma of freshly baked bread. We've massively cut back on the amount of bread we buy so I've been baking more. Usually just sandwich loaves (recipe to come!) or a quick focaccia but sometimes you just want something a little fancy.

This bacon, spinach and garlic pull-apart was amazing. AMAZING. These sorts of bread are normally dripping with butter and cheese but I needed a dairy-free version and this worked perfectly. It is so packed with flavour from the bacon, garlic and olive oil that you don't miss the cheese, or in fact even notice that you were expecting some.

I made the dough and filling in the thermomix but you absolutely don't need to. Making the dough by hand (or breadmaker or however you normally make dough) and the filling on the stovetop will work just fine, it may just take a bit longer.

Bacon, Spinach and Garlic Pull-apart Bread

Dough:
450g water, room temperature
1 tbs instant dried yeast
1 ts salt
750g baker's flour
100g extra virgin olive oil

Filling:
50g extra virgin olive oil
4 rashers bacon, roughly chopped
1 big handful baby spinach or 2 large leaves silverbeet, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed

Grease a 9 inch cake pan and set aside.

TMX instructions to make the dough - place the water and yeast in the mixing bowl and heat for 2 minutes / 37 degrees / SP 2. Add the salt, flour and oil and mix for 6 seconds / SP 6, then knead for 2 minutes / interval setting.

Remove the dough, shape into a bowl and leave to prove in a covered and greased bowl for around 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Meanwhile make the filling - in the thermomix add the garlic and chop for 2 seconds / SP 7. Scrape down the bowl, add the bacon and chop for 3 seconds / SP 6. Scrape down the bowl, add the oil and cook for 3 minutes / varoma / SP 2. Add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes / 100 degrees / SP 2. (To prepare filling on the stovetop just chop all ingredients and fry together in the oil for 5 minutes or so until softened and fragrant). Tip the mixture into a heat proof bowl and leave to cool until required.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F.

To prepare the bread - knock down the dough and tip it out onto a floured surface. Roll out into a large even rectangle, about 1cm thick. Spread over the cooled filling evenly to the edges.

Using a sharp knife, slice the dough into 4cm wide strips. Fold each piece into a concertina and place into the prepared tin, cut side up. Repeat with remaining dough until the tin is full. Leave to prove for another 15 minutes.

Bake for approximately 45 minutes. It will be risen, golden brown and smelling delicious. Leave in the tin for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

It's ready to eat as soon as it is cool enough to handle.

Cardamom Pear Muffins (SRC)

It's Secret Recipe Club time again! Each month a dedicated group of bloggers are assigned a blog in secret to peruse and cook from, and then we all post on the same day. Today is reveal day for group D.

This month I was assigned Nicole's blog Hapatite and wow was I in for a treat. Hapatite ("hapa" meaning half or of mixed racial heritage and "tite" meaning appetite) is an absolute treasure-trove of amazing recipes, all drawing upon her family's Chinese, Cherokee, German and Hawaiian American background. As you can imagine this makes for some fabulous food!

One dish that really caught my eye was Nicole's take on char siu chow fun which is served for Chinese New Year.  But then I also loved her Baked Onion Rings and homemade Filet-o-Fish which was my go-to late night meal back in my uni days!

Nicole is also something of a tea connoisseur and has reviewed some really interesting tea blends. My favourite was the Candied Chestnut Tea and I wish it was available here! I really love tea and have an ever-growing collection of herbal teas so this made for some great reading.

As usual though I was on the hunt for kid-friendly snack ideas and you can't beat a muffin. Enter these Cardamom Spiced Pear Muffins.

Cardamom is one of those spices that seems to get overlooked. I remember making a cardamom cake years ago that I absolutely loved but I haven't really used it since, apart from in curries.

These muffins were absolutely delicious. The cardamom added a complexity of flavour that I wasn't expecting yet it wasn't overpowering, probably because it was paired with cinnamon and nutmeg (and the clove that I added because I love it). My boys loved these and as usual I wished I'd made a double batch because they disappeared way too quickly.

Cardamom Pear Muffins
Slightly adapted from Hapatite

2 cups self raising flour (or 2 cups plain flour + 1 tbs baking powder)
1/2 cup coconut sugar
85g softened butter
2 large eggs
1 ts vanilla extract
1 ts ground cardamom
1 ts cinnamon
1/2 ts nutmeg
1/4 ts ground cloves
1/2 cup buttermilk (I used 1/2 cup rice milk soured with 1 ts apple cider vinegar)
1 large pear, just ripe, cut into small dice

Line a 12 cup muffin tray with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius fan-forced.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the spices and mix well.

Fold through 1/2 the flour followed by 1/2 the buttermilk, then repeat with the remainder.

Fold through the pear pieces.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tray and bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean.

Cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely (or just eat warm as they are amazing straight from the oven!!).

Thanks for a great month and a delicious recipe Nicole!

An InLinkz Link-up

Creamiest Dairy Free Chocolate Ice Cream

Happy November everyone! I never intended to be absent so long but life got busy, as it tends to do this time of year. Anyway you'll be glad I'm back because this ice cream is awesome and perfect for the stinking hot weather we're having at the moment (33 degrees C right now if anyone else is a weather tragic like me!)

So ice cream without dairy can be a little tricky, it can swing between too icy or too coconutty (totally a word) pretty quickly. But as 3 out of 5 of us are dairy free I've done a lot of experimenting. You're welcome.

My kids claimed this was the best chocolate ice cream ever and their chocolate covered faces spoke volumes. It was smooth and luscious and intensely chocolatey. The perfect antidote to a hot summer's day.

The weather made it impossible to get a picture before it melted (that and the kids kept opening the freezer every 5 minutes to check if it was ready!)

Make this. It's really good.

Creamiest Dairy Free Chocolate Ice Cream

400g tin coconut cream
400g rice milk (or any dairy-free milk you like)
2 eggs
2 heaped tbs raw cacao
2 tbs arrowroot
120g rice malt syrup (or maple syrup)
2 ts vanilla extract
pinch salt

TMX - place all ingredients in mixing bowl and cook 9 minutes / 90 degrees / SP 4.

Don't have a thermomix? Warm the milks in a large saucepan over medium heat and bring it to a simmer. Meanwhile in a medium heatproof bowl, beat together all remaining ingredients. Pour the warmed milks into the other ingredients whisking continuously. Tip the mixture back into the saucepan and stir over medium heat with a wooden spoon until it thickens and coats the back of the spoon, 5-10 minutes.

Pour the custard into a heatproof bowl and cool to room temperature before placing into the fridge and leaving to chill for at least 4 hours. Make sure you press some baking paper over the surface of the custard to stop it drying out.

Once the custard is completely cold, pour into your ice cream maker and churn for approximately 15 minutes or according to the manufacturer's instructions. It will be soft-serve consistency at this stage so pop it in a glass container in the freezer for a few hours before serving (if you can wait that long).

Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter Cookies (SRC)

 

The last month has been really busy around here. We're 2 weeks into the term and still feel a bit all over the place and not back into our usual routine. My recipe choice for this month's Secret Recipe Club is perhaps indicative of my state of mind at the moment. Here Spring has arrived with a vengeance - the weather has warmed up and the jacarandas are in full bloom - but I'm still making soups and stews and feeling like hibernating. I think it's the stress and busy-ness of moving house that has finally caught up with me!

So when I was assigned Palatable Pastime by Sue for SRC this month it wasn't her amazing array of salads like Apple-Fennel Salad with Almonds that I was drawn to, it was heartier fare like Corned Beef Hash and Rustic Tortellini Soup. As usual though I needed an idea for an after school snack so I started looking for something sweet and ended up making 2 related recipes.

Pumpkin really hasn't caught on here in Australia as an ingredient for sweet dishes. You will never find canned pumpkin or pumpkin pie spice on the shelves. I decided to finally remedy that and make my first batch of pumpkin pie spice to enjoy whenever I like.

Pumpkin Pie Spice
Recipe from Palatable Pastime

1/2 cup cinnamon
5 tbs ginger
1 tbs nutmeg
2 ts allspice
2 ts ground cloves

Makes 1 cup (I plan on using lots of this over the coming months but Sue's post also gives instructions for smaller quantities as well).

And what to make with this fabulous blend of spices? I couldn't go past Sue's Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter Cookies (yep I definitely have a bit of a peanut butter obsession but lucky my kids do too!)

Whether you have access to canned pumpkin puree or not, it is so, so easy to make your own. Simple steam or bake some pumpkin, throw it in a blender or food process and puree until smooth. That's it!

Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter Cookies
Adapted from Palatable Pastime

60g softened butter
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1 tbs pumpkin pie spice
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups white spelt flour
1/2 ts sea salt

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.  Line 2 trays with baking paper.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until well combined. Add the egg and beat well.

Add the pumpkin puree, peanut butter, salt and spice and mix until well combined.

Next fold through the flour to form a thick and sticky dough.

Roll tablespoons of dough into balls and place on the prepared trays.

Dip a fork into some extra coconut sugar and press the cookies flat with a criss-cross pattern.

Bake for approximately 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool on the tray for a few minutes then place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 24 cookies.

Thanks for 2 great recipes Sue! My kids and I LOVED these crispy edged-chewy middle cookies and I am such a fan of the pumpkin pie spice.

An InLinkz Link-up

Noah turns 2! and a Frozen Raspberry Cheesecake

You know what they say about best laid plans? Well that was us this week. I had planned the most delicious carrot, orange and ginger layer cake for Noah's birthday and guess what happened. Our oven died. Right in the middle of cooking pizza for dinner 2 days before his birthday. We saved the pizza by cutting it into pieces and cooking them individually in our sandwich press. Bit hard to make a cake like that though!

After a bit of panic and a lot of searching I decided it would be easiest to make a frozen cake of some sort and Wholefood Simply came to the recipe. If you haven't visited this gorgeous blog then you are really missing out.

The recipe I chose was a raspberry cheesecake with chocolate crust which I tweaked a little and decorated to suit a birthday. On that note, a huge happy birthday to our beautiful boy who has filled our lives with such joy these past 2 years. We love you Noah!!

Frozen Raspberry Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust
Slightly Adapted from Wholefood Simply

Crust:
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup raw almonds
10 dates, seeds removed
1 tablespoons raw cacao

Line the base of a 20cm springform pan with baking paper. Place all ingredients in a food processor or high speed blender and blend until sticky and well combined. Press firmly into the base of the prepared pan and place in the freezer until required.

Cheesecake – Step 1
2 cups frozen mixed berries
8 dates, seeds removed

Blend all ingredients until well combined, spoon into a bowl and set aside.

Cheescake – Step 2
2.5 cups raw cashews (preferably soaked for a few hours first then drained well)
3 heaped tbs coconut oil
2 ts vanilla extract
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup coconut milk (you may need a little more or less liquid than this so don't add it all at once)

Blend all ingredients until smooth and very well combined. Scrape down the sides of the blender and keep blending until you are happy with the consistency. Add the berry mixture and mix until well combined.  Spread the cheesecake mixture over the base, smooth the top and place in the freezer.

Topping:
1 1/2 cups cold coconut cream
2 tbs maple syrup
2 ts vanilla extract
1 tbs gelatin

Blend all ingredients until thick and smooth. Pour over the cheesecake mixture and return to the freezer for 4 hours or overnight.

Remove from the freezer at least 20-30 minutes before serving.

To make the number 2 on top I simply printed a big number 2 and cut it out to form a stencil. Lay the stencil over the cake and dust on some cocoa. Make sure you remove the stencil very carefully (you might need an extra pair of hands for this). Very simple but very effective!

Changes are coming and I need your help!

You may have noticed things have been a little quiet around here lately. Well that is partly just life becoming very busy but also because things have been happening behind the scenes at this little blog and there are changes coming!

I've been realising that I actually have a lot to say and that the blog in it's current state doesn't really allow me to say it. I'm passionate about whole foods, kids health and eating well on a budget so that is the direction I will be going in.

To do that I would really, really, REALLY appreciate some feedback from you, my lovely readers. I want to know who you are, why you are here and what your challenges with food are.

The direction I'm going in is very different from where I first started when it was all about baking and lots of sugar! Perhaps if you've been reading for awhile you have also been taking steps to change the way you eat.

So if you have a couple of minutes to spare could you please complete this short survey for me? It will be completely anonymous and won't take much of your time. If you have any problems with it or would like to share anything else with that I haven't asked please email me at food.baby.food.baby AT gmail DOT com.

Thank you so much and stay tuned!

Create your own user feedback survey

Smoky BBQ Pork Ribs

These smoky pork ribs were a seriously delicious dinner! I actually made these for Fathers' Day way back at the start of September and then with the move forgot to post them. Now there are probably thousands of rib recipes out there and I must have looked at dozens before deciding to just wing it and make something up myself. I didn't want anything too spicy and I didn't want to buy weird ingredients like liquid smoke.

While I'm all for making things from scratch I did use bought sauces for this, namely the Fountain Good Choice tomato and barbecue sauces which I reviewed earlier this year.

I wasn't able to find the American style ribs anywhere (admittedly I left it until the last minute!) so used these Aussie pork spare ribs instead and they worked just as well.

The cooking is done in three stages. First they are left to marinate in the fridge overnight which starts to tenderise the meat, then they are baked in the oven and lastly they are grilled and basted with marinade which makes them charred, sticky and luscious. So good!

I served the ribs with coleslaw, avocado, homemade potato wedges and corn on the cob. Hubby and kids all loved it and there lots of sticky smiles and licked fingers.

Remember to start this recipe a day ahead!

Smoky BBQ Pork Ribs

1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup coconut sugar
4 cloves garlic
2 ts smoked paprika
2 ts mustard powder
salt and pepper to taste

1.5 kg pork spare ribs

Combine all marinade ingredients in a large dish and combine well. Add the pork and mix well, massaging the sauce into the meat. Cover the dish with 2 layers of plastic wrap and leave in the fridge overnight.

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees celsius, Line a large baking dish with foil and place a rack on top. Lay out the ribs on the rack, reserving the marinade, season with salt and pepper and cover with foil.

Bake for 1 1/2 hours, turning and basting with marinade every 20 minutes or so.

Meanwhile tip the remaining marinade into a small pot and bring to the boil for a few minutes, until it has reduced and thickened.

Increase the oven temperature to 200 degrees. Remove the cover from the ribs, brush with extra marinade and bake for another half an hour, turning and basting again halfway OR cook the ribs on a barbecue grill over a flame, turning and basting every 5 minutes or so (this will give best results!).

Remove from the heat and allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Serves 4

Back to school baking

The last 2 weeks have flown by and here we are on the official last day of the holidays. Which means there are only 10 weeks until Oscar has finished grade 1 and Charlie has finished kindy and then it will be Christmas! Wow. So much to do before then though which is why I made a kickstart today with a marathon of baking.

Today I made:
1 x big batch Chocolate Granola
1 x Banana Bread
1 x Grain free Banana Cupcakes
1 x Almond and Chia Protein Bliss Balls
2 x Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I find having a stash like this in the freezer makes life so much easier. I can quickly grab something sweet to pop in lunchboxes for a treat, there is always something for afternoon tea even if we are home late and I can take a snack for myself if I am going to be out and about (saves buying something!).

Only half the banana bread actually made it to the freezer though as it smelt so good while it was baking and the kids needed morning tea so lucky things enjoyed it still warm with lots of butter (delicious!).

Then later I also prepped some savoury meals to help with lunch and dinners. The back to school routine is always a bit of a shock to our systems and I find dinner ends up getting pushed back later and later which then affects bedtime. So I love having dinners either completely prepared ahead of time, in the slow cooker or half-prepped because it just saves so much time.

For lunch today I cooked some chipolata sausages and saved 6 for Oscar's school lunches. My tip is to always separate out the leftovers you want to keep first before you dish up the meal because that way it's there ready to go and doesn't mysteriously get eaten!

Next I made a huge double batch of meatballs using 1 kg of beef mince, a tin of mixed beans and loads of veggies and herbs. Shape them into balls and place on a tray lined with baking paper and then pop them straight into the freezer (seal them in a bag once they are frozen). We will have some for dinner tonight, have leftovers for hubby and the boys lunches tomorrow and then still have another full dinner's worth in the freezer for another night. I like to bake my meatballs as it lets me cook the whole batch at once and saves on the mess.

Anyone else doing some back to school baking? Do you have any tips for make-ahead cooking and baking?