Most nights I find myself cooking two meals. My hubby & I probably only eat with the kids once per week. This is just something that has always been, maybe not great but works for us. Ours kids have always had an early bedtime and he is a shift worker, so many nights hubby isn't home. I like to get the kids into bed and eat in peace. Now they are old enough to not need my help to eat I will often use the time they are eating to prepare our dinner. Sure it is more work for me to make two meals but at least I know they are eating well and we aren't fighting over meals.
Anyway tonight I made my super easy Chicken Soufflé. It is a dish my nana used to make when I was a teenager (very scarily nearly 30 yrs ago!) My Nan learnt to make this when she went to a council run how to use your microwave course when she first got her microwave (that had a dial knob for the timer!!!) Cooking it tonight it brought back memories of being in the kitchen in Caringbah as a girl watching Nan cook. I learnt so much about cooking and my love of creating meals and cakes that bring smiles to those I love from those days spent watching Nan. I look back and realise that whilst it felt boring to me the life Nan lead, she was a beautiful homemaker, she sewed school uniforms for the local uniform shop from home for extra money for her & Pop. I realise now that they lived a frugal life but boy we were loved.
There are so many things about my childhood I miss and one of them is the opportunity to tell my grandparents all four of them how much I loved em and how much of an impact they all had on my life. Very sadly both of my grandmothers and one grandfather passed away befor ei was married or had children. One thing that probably make me saddest is that neither of my grandmother's met my children especially my gorgeous girls. I watched one of my grandmother's my Nan slip away from us ever so slowly with Alzheimer's it robbed her of so much but allowed me to appreciate how fragile life was. My other grandmother Nannie was taken suddenly in a car accident with my Pa. That was the day my life changed forever. I don't think that you ever really recover from that kind of shock.
My Pop was a beautiful gentleman someone whom I had the privilege of spending lots of time with after my Nan passed and before he died because I was in a fortunate position of not working and being available to take him places. Pop was in a wheelchair towards the end and he knew that I would take him shopping to Miranda Fair at Christmas time because I could park in the disabled spot if I had him with me. I'm sure he really hated shopping but went so that I could get a good parking spot!
I'm so lucky now that my parents have an amazing relationship with my three children and I hope that they grow up with the beautiful memories I do.
Whenever we would go to dinner at Nan & Pop's I would be asked what did I want for dinner I would always say chicken soufflé. I am slowly introducing different meals into our kids diet and tonight they had chicken soufflé, which sounds gourmet but its not really.
Here's the recipe in case you want to sound gourmet one night.
Chicken Soufflé
Ingredients
1 onion finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
3 rashers bacon chopped
125g mushrooms sliced
2 tbspns shallots chopped
Chunk of butter
Can cream of chicken soup
Ctn sour cream
3 cups cooked chicken (a BBQ chicken shredded)
1 cup SR flour
1 cup grated cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
Method
Combine the first six ingredients in a microwave proof bowl cook on high for 10 mins
Add soup, sour cream, chicken cook for a further 6 mins on high
In a mixing bowl combine flour, eggs, milk, cheese spread across the top of the chicken mixture
Cook for 8 mins on high
Serve with salad or greens or alone whatever works.
Nb this recipe is for a 500w microwave (this was the best 30yrs ago) I adjust times to suit my microwave for the first two but find 8 mins on high in my 1000w microwave for the topping is needed to cook it.
I hope you enjoy our family chicken soufflé. What are some of your fond childhood memories?
