I never did get very far with my weekly Mummy & Me meal posts, but I have decided to start again!
Tyne is a great little eater - there is very little that he doesn't like (tuna is pretty much it, actually!) and he will give anything a go.
To encourage him to continue like that, I want to make sure that he's constantly exposed to different kinds of meals.
We try to vary our meals every night - sometimes we'll have spicy foods (which he loves!), sometimes we'll go for more traditional "Meat & veg" style meals - we try to make sure that each week there is a good mix of different flavours and textures on offer.
With winter setting in, warming hearty meals are the order of the season for me and I LOVE to get as much use out of my slow cooker as possible as it just makes life so much easier to pop a meal in the morning and come home to all ready to serve in the evening!
Tyne is now eating whatever we eat, and he doesn't need to have it altered in any way - I do still cut up his veg and meat to smaller chunks than ours, but other than that everything is the same.
This week I'm sharing my recipe for good old traditional SCOUSE!
If you're not from Liverpool you may well not be familiar with the dish - though it is pretty famous!
There's a long backstory to how Scouse came in to existence which you can read here if it interests you - but basically it was a recipe from the 19th century which was popular with sailors and so found its way to the port of Liverpool where it remains popular to this day.
Generations of Liverpudlians were brought up on scouse - it is such a thrifty meal as it is basically a stew which can feed a whole family and any old veg can be thrown in!
Every Scouse family has their own Scouse recipe - you will never find one Liverpool families Scouse recipe the same as their next door neighbours!
Some people use lamb, some people use stewing steak....the veg is always changing....but one thing never changes...Scouse is the ULTIMATE comfort food for any true Liverpudlian!
So on with the McLean Family Scouse recipe!
Ingredients: *One medium pack of minced beef *One onion - sliced *One swede - diced *4 or 5 carrots - Sliced *Handful of brussel sprouts *5 or 6 good sized potatoes - Quartered *2 oxo cubes *Beef gravy powder *Water
Method:
1) Put mince into a pan, cover with water and bring to the boil until mince changes color. Drain mince, and transfer to slow cooker.
2) Add all of the veg, raw.
3) Pour in water until all veg and meat is well covered, sprinkle in two oxo cubes and stir well.
4) Cover and cook on low for 5/6 hours or on high for 2/3 hours. Stir well, and sprinkle in gravy powder to thicken until it reaches a consistency you like.
And there you have it! McLean Family Scouse!
I sometimes change the dish up a bit by sprinkling in some curry powder once its cooked - but this is the standard traditional version.
Scouse should ALWAYS be served with crusty bread, pickled beetroot and lots of pepper!!
On this occasion we also had Yorkshire puddings with it, but that's not a requirement (The crusty bread, beetroot and pepper are!!!)
Tyne tucked right in, and after his first taste said "Nice!"...so there you have it, straight from the horses mouth!
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