Puff Pastry Chicken Pie Recipe

Puff Pastry Chicken Pie (with lid!)

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves 2 adults and 2 children

To serve: seasonal steamed vegetables

2 chicken breasts, sliced or diced thinly

500g puff pastry

3 tbsp Crème Fraiche

Juice of 1 lemon

Zest of 1 lemon

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

Large knob of butter

Handful of mushrooms

½ leek thinly sliced

Ground black pepper to season

1 pepper, sliced

1 egg, beaten

1.      Pre-heat the oven to 200°c / 180°c Fan / Gas mark 6

2.      In a large bowl mix the lemon juice, lemon zest and garlic with the crème fraiche 

3.      Slice (or dice) your chicken breast then stir it into the crème fraiche mixture, season with the black pepper and leave to marinade

4.      Meanwhile heat some butter over a low heat and gently cook the mushrooms and leeks until soft then stir them into the crème fraiche mixture

5.      Roll out the puff pastry on a well floured surface

6.      You want the pastry to be quite thin but big enough to cut out 4 rectangles (your choice of size depending on who will be eating them).  As a rough guide I cut out a 25cm x 15cm rectangle for an adult portion (then you could halve it for a small child's portion)

7.      Once the rectangles have been cut out place them onto a greased baking tray then spoon the mixture into the centre of each piece of pastry and spread it out, ensuring you leave a 1cm border around the edge

8.      Brush the beaten egg around the 1cm borders and then pinch the corners together and fold the sides inward so as to create a wall around the chicken mixture.  Then brush them with the beaten egg

9.      With the remaining pastry cut out 4 smaller rectangles, brush with beaten egg and place onto a greased baking tray

10.  Place the baking trays into the oven and cook for 20 minutes

11.  Once cooked place the pastry pies onto a plate and place a plain puff pastry rectangle on top, thus creating a lid

Tip: This recipe has proved a hit with little ones showing signs of being in the Enveloping schema. Playing hide and seek, wrapping toys in blankets and enjoying dens are all hints your little one could be in this phase.

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We like to set our little ones a good example and encourage sharing. We don't mind you using any of the information, recipes and tips from our website, all we ask is that you credit us hard-working mummies here at Yummy Discoveries. 

Thank you x

 

  ©Yummy Discoveries Ltd.

Welsh Cakes Recipe (sugar-free)

Welsh Cakes Recipe

This recipe is especially for one of our Facebook followers: Shelley Hanley who was looking for a welsh cake recipe without the sugar. Admittedly, it ended up being a bit of a cross between our Gingerbread People and Drop Scones recipes (both in Yummy Discoveries: The Baby-led Weaning Recipe Book) but hope you enjoy them as much as our little ones do.

Makes 12-16 small cakes

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients

300g / 10.5oz of self-raising flour
100g / 3.5oz  of unsalted butter
1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground mixed spice

Pinch of ground ginger
1 egg

2-3 Big Splashes of apple juice

1 grated apple (we used pink lady variety)

2-3 handfuls of sultanas / raisins

1. In to a mixing bowl chuck the flour, butter, cinnamon, mixed spice, ginger, egg and apple juice
2. Mix it altogether with your hands and then add the grated apple, kneading it with your hands to make a pastry-like texture
3. Add more apple juice to make it wetter and flour to make it drier
4. Add the sultanas or raisins and mix it together again
5. Pop a frying pan on the hob with a blob of butter just to grease the surface and allow to heat up
6. Meanwhile, pop the mixture on a floured surface and pat it out so it’s around ½ inch thickness and using a cookie cutter, cut out your cakes.
7. Pop them in the frying pan and leave to cook for 5 or so minutes until they’re brown underneath and flip them over. Give them a bit of a squidge when you turn them over to flatten them out a bit if you like
8. Cook for another few minutes until the underside is also brown and when you squidge the top there’s no give – that means they’re done
9. That’s it! They’re cooked and ready to cool and munch.

 Serve with a smear of fruit puree to make a yummy scone or just great as a snack on its own!

We like to set our little ones a good example and encourage sharing. We don't mind you using any of the information, recipes and tips from our website, all we ask is that you credit us hard-working mummies here at Yummy Discoveries. 

Thank you x

 

  ©Yummy Discoveries Ltd.

Allergies - Peanuts under 1

Allergies – Peanuts under 1

We often get asked at what age little ones can be introduced to seafood or nuts and parents are often astonished when we reply:

“You can introduce these foods from 6 months”!

Historically, you may have been encouraged to wait before introducing foods which are high allergens as this will help prevent your child developing an allergy to it. This has never made any sense to us, for reasons we will explain later, but it’s down to basic physiology.

“There is no evidence that waiting until your child is older will prevent them from developing a food allergy.”

Now research conducted by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology shows that actually following these rules and delaying  exposure to these foods may actually increase your little one’s chances of developing an allergy to them.

OLD NEWS: Introducing high allergen foods when weaning may INCREASE risk of allergy developing

LATEST NEWS: Introducing high allergen foods when weaning may REDUCE risk of allergy developing

Why?

To be honest, we don’t actually know but we have a theory:

During the first 12 months, your little one’s immune system is developing rapidly. It is working out which things coming in to the body are goodies and baddies. It’s like a game of cops and robbers (but with food it’s a case of mistaken identity!)

When a new substance (such as a prawn) is eaten, the immune system, which is like a big army of cops, approach the prawn to see if they recognise it. If it’s the first time they have seen it they presume it’s the enemy (bacteria or virus) and so attack it. The cops now know the prawn so when he comes back again another day, chances are it’s a new friend so they will probably call off the attack. 

However, it may take a few meetings for a true friendship to form and the attack to be abandoned.

After 12 months, the immune system has matured and decides it’s probably got enough new friends and there’s no room for more and so is more likely to attack new baddies which come in.

Now, we’re not saying that ALL new foods introduced after 12 months are going to be treated as a baddy, but some foods just look suspicious and more likely to be attacked. Peanuts, Eggs, Shellfish all look a bit dodgy and so the immune system is more likely to attack them –hence they are common allergens. Broccoli and Cucumber however look very innocent  and are normally allowed to pass through without any bother.

Now, I know we’ve simplified this but hopefully this helps you understand why possibly introducing these prime suspects before 12 months could help the body recognise them as friends and not attack them – thus preventing allergies.

"Insufficient evidence exists for delaying introduction of solid foods, including potentially allergenic foods, beyond 4 to 6 months of age, even in infants at risk."

What are common allergens?

·         Cow’s milk

·         Eggs

·         Wheat

·         Gluten

·         Seeds & Nuts (including peanuts and peanut products)

·         Fish & Shellfish

So how do I introduce common allergen foods?

This information comes from the Department of Health (UK):

·         Always wait until your little one is 6 months

·         Introduce one common allergen food at a time

·         Offer them in very small amounts (1 tsp / handful)

·         Watch for signs of an allergic reaction

What are signs of an allergic reaction?

·         Skin reaction: Red rash, blotchy, itchy, swelling of the mouth, itchy eyes

·         Stomach upset

·         Runny nose

·         Breathing difficulties

If ANY of these occur, talk to your GP.  If you think your is baby is suffering a severe allergic reaction, always call  999 and ask for a paramedic.

Felicity's Story: When my little munchkin was 8 months old he developed an allergic reaction to a food. I still have no idea what food it was but it began by my noticing a small rash on his cheek which rapidly spread to his eyebrows and forehead. We went to urgent care and the GP prescribed anti-histamine and that was that. I've popped a picture of him below to see what he looked like during this reaction.

References:

NIAID-Sponsored Expert Panel. 2010. “Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Food Allergy in the United States: Report of the NIAID-Sponsored Expert Panel.” The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Volume 126, Issue 6, Supplement, Pages S1-S58, December.

Reddy, Sumathi. “Food Allergy Advice for Kids: Don’t Delay Peanuts, Eggs.” The Wall Street Journal 4 March, 2013.