Wild And Windy Staffordshire!!!

Boy is it windy here this morning.
I wouldn't dare hang washing out in it else I'd be fetching it back from the next village...lol.....plus it keeps thrashing it down with rain.

The minted lamb meatballs turned out really nice.
No photo as they were gone before I could blink.

400g minced lamb
1 Tsp salt
1/2 Tsp ground black pepper
2 Tsp dried mint

Mix the ingredients thoroughly and shape into balls.
I got 16 good sized ones from my mixture.
Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry the meatballs until browned all over.
Transfer to a saucepan and add 2 pints of lamb stock.
I used one stock cube.
Simmer until meatballs are cooked and then thicken the gravy with lamb gravy granules which you can now get from T***o. They are quite strong which is why I only used one stock cube in two pints of water for simmering.

Miss Doodle will be here tonight after school so we always have something that she will eat and tonight it is pizza and salad and as it is quite cold I am making a jam sponge and custard for pudding.
I don't often make puddings so I thought I would treat us tonight.
After tea....a little more crafting on the papier mache Christmas tree that Ruby is making and then it will be time for home 😢

DD and I are watching another box set....Lucifer season one which we have watched before but we are refreshing our memories before we start on season two which she picked up the other day.
The heating will be on, we will light my beautiful Goose Creek Maple Butter candle and that will be us cosy for the night.

Hope you all have a lovely day and a nice cosy evening.
Sheila-x-

Tasty!!!

The Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash bake we had last night was absolutely delicious so I thought I would share with you how I made it and show you what it looked like.
The original recipe from Sue was her way of using up a glut of courgettes but as I can't abide courgettes I decided to do a bit of swapping on the veg front.
It really is one of the nicest dishes I have ever made.

1 small or half a large butternut squash
2 medium sweet potatoes
1 large red onion
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tsp salt
1/2 Tsp ground black pepper
1 Tsp garlic granules
1 440g jar tomato and basil sauce or the equivalent homemade tomato sauce.
2 slices bread
1 handful of grated cheese.

Peel the squash and potatoes and cut into chunks.
Peel the onion and cut into eighths.
In a large bowl mix the olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic granules. 
Add the vegetables and stir to coat and tip onto a baking tray.
Alternatively you could just spray the baking tray and the veg with a light oil spray.
Bake at 180C (Fan 160) until the veg are slightly charred but still hold their shape.

Tip the veg into an ovenproof dish and top with the tomato sauce.
Make the slices of bread into breadcrumbs, mix in the cheese and then spread over the veg.
Bake at 180c (Fan 160) until the top is browned and crispy.

Serve with extra veg.

I think this would also be lovely served as a side dish to grilled chicken or pork chops.

Today I am cooking for the meat monster.
Minted Lamb Meatballs in Gravy with new potatoes, dark green cabbage and cauliflower in white sauce and mint sauce.
That should keep him happy until break time at work....lol.

......and that is about me today....being mostly a kitchen slave but with the alter ego of a Dark Defender.....fighting off huge and monsterous flies......wooden spoon in one hand and fly swatter in t'other. Just have to make sure I don't get them mixed up....lol.
The evil damned things are out in force today.

Hope you are all having a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

For Mamas Mercantile-Bread Sauce Recipe!!!

One litre of milk in a microwavable jug with two small onions cut in half, two bay leaves, a good scattering of whole cloves and a good pinch of either whole black peppercorns or coarse black pepper.
Heat in the microwave on full power until just coming to the boil.
Remove, cover and leave to one side for a few minutes for the flavours to develop and then strain to remove the onion, bayleaves, cloves and pepper.

Place a good heap of white breadcrumbs into a saucepan. I use up all the ones I have in the freezer and then have some unfrozen spare in case needed.
Slowly add the milk until the bread has taken all it can....I freeze any leftover for use in another batch when needed.
Over a medium heat stir until nice and thick then add a knob of butter a pinch of ground cloves and a pinch of nutmeg and beat thoroughly.
We like ours quite clovey so I just add a pinch at a time of both cloves and nutmeg until it tastes right.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For a richer flavour I sometimes whizz two halves of the partly cooked onion and add it to the sauce.

This can be used straightaway or frozen for future use.
If freezing defrost and reheat thoroughly before serving.

Hope you try it and find it ok. I've been making this for over thirty years and not had a complaint yet 😊