Cooking with kids – Baked Spaghetti Cake – like a spaghetti frittata!

When I saw this baked spaghetti cake recipe (like a spaghetti frittata) in ASDA magazine I tore it straight out.  It looked tasty and interesting, and I thought it would appeal to my kids, who pretend spaghetti is worms!  My kid-friendlier version contains spaghetti, eggs, cheese, asparagus, spinach, dried herbs and chorizo (optional).  You could experiment with it further – it would work with lots of different vegetables and is a great way of using up leftovers.

My kids enjoyed helping to make the cake, breaking the eggs, pouring the ingredients in, stirring, and ‘painting’ (greasing) the cake tin.  The result was as tasty and interesting as I thought it would be, and I was very impressed at how well the cake held together, with a slightly crispy top and a firm, creamy middle. It would also work well cold in a picnic.

The cake takes about 15 mins to prepare (or longer if the kids are helping!) and 40 mins to cook.   The ingredients come to about £6 in total and provide 6-8 servings.

We cut the cake in to wedges once out of the oven.  We all enjoyed it, apart from my oldest son, who wasn’t so sure.  3 out of 4 is a success in my book though!

Baked Spaghetti Cake (serves 6-8 people)

Butter/marge, for greasing

300g spaghetti (can be gluten-free spaghetti)

200g low fat soft cheese (e.g. Philadelphia or cheaper alternative – I use the value soft cheese)

4 eggs

Shake dried mixed herbs

125g cheddar cheese, grated

Very large handful of asparagus tips, chopped small

150g spinach, roughly chopped

Optional – handful finely chopped chorizo or ham

Optional – salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees/gas mark 5.  Grease a (roughly) 23cm round cake tin.

Boil the spaghetti as per the pack instructions.  Drain well and put in a large bowl.

Beat the soft cheese and eggs with a fork until smooth and shake over some dried herbs.  Add to the spaghetti.  Stir in the cheddar cheese,  asparagus, spinach and chorizo.  Season with salt and pepper if you like, mix well and pour the mixture in to the cake tin.  Cook for 30-45 mins (this will vary according to your oven), until the cake is pretty set and the top is a little golden and crispy.  Wait five mins then cut in to wedges and eat.

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Strawberry and lime tart (20 mins effort plus 1 hour chilling/baking time)

We ate this last night.  All of it between three adults.  The beautiful combination of strawberry and lime together with the crispy (shop-bought) pastry and the creamy mascarpone makes for a fresh, indulgent summer tart.   It takes about 20 minutes of straightforward hands on effort plus an hour to chill and bake.

You don’t have to make the glaze – it’s a nice finishing touch but is not essential and the tart looks really pretty anyway!

For an even simpler recipe idea, you could just top digestive or shortbread biscuits with the lime, icing sugar and mascarpone and strawberries (make sure the mascarpone mixture is slightly thicker so it doesn’t fall off).

Strawberry and lime tart (serves 6-8 if you are sensible, or three if you are really reckless!)

300g ready to use puff pastry sheet (available from supermarkets)

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

Zest and juice of most of a lime

1/3 jar strawberry jam

200g mascarpone cheese

1 tbsp cold water

2 tbsp icing sugar

250g strawberries, hulled and cut in half

Roll out the pastry on to a baking tray and fold over the edges to make a 1/2 inch border.  Brush the border with the egg yolk (use your fingers if you don’t have a brush).  Prick the centre all over with a fork to stop it puffing up too much when it bakes.  Chill for 30 mins in the fridge.  Preheat the oven to 190 degrees/gas mark 5.  Bake the pastry for approx 35 mins or until cooked, with the edges a golden colour, pressing the centre firmly down halfway through if it rises too much.  Cool.

Squeeze the lime juice and strawberry jam in to a saucepan and heat gently until starting to bubble.  Set aside to cool slightly.

Beat half the lime zest with the mascarpone, 1 tbsp water and the icing sugar.  Spread over the tart base up to the border.  Arrange the strawberries on top.  Brush or spoon the jam glaze carefully over the strawberries and grate over the remaining lime zest.  Eat more than you meant to!

Based on a recipe from Sainsbury’s magazine

Mini make-ahead fish pies (15 mins prep/25 mins cooking)

I am trying to make the most of my time and freezer at the moment, preparing big meals and then freezing some for later.   These yummy little fish pies can be cooked and served in small containers (I use recycled ramekins from shop-bought desserts) or in one big casserole dish.  I like using ramekins because they look sweet and my kids feel they are having something special.  Plus if you want to freeze some then you can freeze the pies in portions (I put the ramekins in a freezer bag).  Adults or older/hungrier kids may need at least two portions per meal though!

The fish pies are simpler to make than most – you chop and boil some potatoes (I don’t bother peeling them) and mix with chopped fish, torn spinach, onion, parsley, soft cheese and a stock cube.  Make sure some of the fish is smoked to give the pies a particularly delicious flavour.  My kids and partner love smoked fish and wolfed their meal down!

If freezing, Freeze the pies once they are in the dish but before cooking, then you can simply take them out and put them in the fridge in the morning to defrost (or overnight if having for lunch), and cook at mealtime!

Don’t laugh, but I have decided to serve the kids a pretend ‘restaurant’ meal at home every so often, with posh napkins (tea towels).  We did this yesterday and they loved it.  They actually said things like ‘oh this waiter is very nice and her food is delicious’ and ‘thank you very much’.  They would NEVER say that normally..!

Mini make-ahead fish pies (fills 8 ramekins or a casserole dish)

8 small potatoes, chopped small and skins on

40g spinach, torn or roughly chopped

1 small onion, chopped small

300g fish pie mixed fish, chopped (or a combination of smoked fish and non-smoked fish.  Smoked river cobbler is particularly cheap and tasty.  You could also use smoked pollack, trout, cod, salmon etc).

Small handful parsley, chopped or shake of dried herbs

150g soft cheese (I use the value one)

1 stock cube

Good shake of dried mixed herbs

Preheat the oven to gas mark 6/200 degrees.

Boil the potatoes for about 8 minutes, until tender.  Drain and put in a large bowl.  Add the spinach, onion, fish and parsley and mix.  Add the soft cheese and a little hot water and mix until the right consistency (see photo above).  Crumble in the stock cube and mix again.  Put the mixture in to individual ramekins/containers or a large casserole dish.  Cook on an oven tray for 20-25 minutes until bubbling and the fish is cooked through.  This may take longer in a casserole dish. Serve with a sprig of parsley on top.

If freezing, do this when the fish are in their containers but not cooked yet, then take out the night before or in the morning and cook as above (or maybe a little longer to ensure the pies are cooked through).

My fuss-and-mess-free carrot cake! (15 mins prep/50 mins cooking)

I wanted to come up with a quick, healthy ish carrot cake recipe that can be eaten on the go with minimum mess.  Much as I love the frosting on traditional carrot cakes, it’s not great when you are on the bus on a hot day with two clumsy (yet lovely) children!

I tried a few recipes and here is a simple, frosting-free and lower sugar version. It’s light, moist, tasty and has become quite a staple in our house. Best of all it takes only 15 minutes to prepare (plus 40 mins cooking time) and is a great way of using up those one or two remaining carrots and getting some veg in to kids.

Hope you like it!

My fuss-and-mess-free carrot cake (approx 12 portions)

175g plain flour

110g light brown soft sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1 large carrot, grated

70g chopped nuts (any is fine)

80g raisins

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Glug of milk

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5/190 degrees.  Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, grated carrot, chopped nuts and raisins in a bowl until well combined.  Add a good glug of milk to the eggs then pour in to the bowl and mix.  If the mixture needs to be more moist (as per the photo above) add a little milk until happy with the consistency.   It needs to be a little sloppy.

Put the mixture in to a greased cake tin and bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown at the edges and a knife inserted comes out pretty much clean.  If the cake goes brown at the edges quite early on then cover the tin with foil to reduce the possibility of burning. Eat!