Tag Archives: family

Clock it! Guess the card against the clock – Review

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Clock it! is a new game from Ideal Games this year that is fast paced and fun for all the family. Aimed at ages 8+, although I think slightly younger could easily join in if they are keen, this is actually a game that is fun for all ages the family.  It’s basically a guessing game in which players have to guess what one player is either describing, drawing or miming – but remember you are against the clock – how many can you guess before the alarm sounds?

The game consists of:

  • 1 Clock It! light up alarm clock (this does require 3 AAA batteries)
  • 1 key
  • 80 double sided challenge cards
  • Clock It clock shaped board
  • 1 wipe clean drawing board
  • 1 wipe board pen

The first job is to put the batteries in the clock which does require a screwdriver, don’t they all these days!  And you obviously need to have the batteries but if you are a family household like mine, we have a permanent stash for any toy or gadget that enters the house and requires batteries.

The Clock it! clock although looks a little basic at first, is actually what adds all the fun to the game and is quite clever in the way that it works.  You can select various modes on the back using the key, either just drawing, just describing, just miming or a combo of all three.

You control it by pressing on the yellow handle at the top and the relevant action and number light up.

Onto the game play for Clock it! of which there are number of variants depending on how many players you have and whether you want to mime, draw, describe or do a combo of all three.

Decide on a number of rounds you wish to play and see which team or individual wins the most.  Firstly you need to set the cards out around the clock it board.  The cards are double sided, one side with a word of an item, the other with a picture of an item.  You can either stick to one or do a mix of both.  Then place twelve cards around the clock, one by each number.

One player is picked to be the first describer and they take control of the clock and need to hide the front from the other players so they don’t see what number the describer is performing.  A top tip in the instructions is that the describer and the people guessing are sat at opposite sides of the table – we found this worked really well!

Once you’ve guessed correctly, you take that card away from the clock and the describer presses the handle down to give them another number to describe.  Play continues until you have either guessed all twelve cards or the alarm bells sound so the quicker you are the more cards you can collect.

The timer clock with it’s ticking sounds and alarm bells really add excitement and fun to the game, keeping everyone on their toes during play.  Once the round has ended you move onto another player or team to be the describer until your desired amount of rounds has ended when you can declare the ultimate winner!

Our pro’s for the Clock it! game:

  • If you like charades style games then this is perfect for you whether you are acting, drawing or describing
  • The alarm clock adds so much excitement and tension to the game and keeps everyone on their toes.
  • The bright coloured cards are eye catching and engaging and with 160 different objects you rarely see a repeat within a round of games
  • There are many variants of the game to keep interest and change up the way you play
  • It’s a game for all ages and can be played with just 2-3 people or 2 larger teams
  • Perfect for Christmas, parties or just all round family weekend fun

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions. We are not paid for reviews although we do receive the product to try out and enable us to write the review.

Dough Nab – The Fast Paced Family Card Game Review

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Dough Nab is a fun new game from Ginger Fox based around doughnuts!  It is essentially a card game with some fun props that can be enjoyed by all the family, with a suggested minimum age of 8 years.

boxed dough nab game on table

The game comes with:

  • 60 doughnut shaped cards
  • 3 doughnut playing pieces
  • turn tracker
  • head baker winner’s hat
  • rule sheet

We played as a family including my two children age 11 and 8 who both love playing games and were super excited at the prospect of a doughnut themed game.  The large, durable doughnut playing pieces particularly appealed to them and they couldn’t wait to get started.

In each round the players are dealt 10 doughnut shaped cards with the large doughnut playing pieces sitting in the centre of the table. You then take it in turn to turn over a card and this is repeated around the table with all your eyes on the upturned cards and as soon as you spot certain things you step into action.  For example if you can see 3 cards of the same coloured doughnut then you all race to grab the same colour doughnut from the centre.  The first person to get it can then offload their ‘nab pile’ of discarded cards onto another player.

The object of the Dough Nab game is to get rid of your cards so the more on the ball and observant you are, the better chance you have to win.  Other than the three main colour doughnut cards there are cards with different meanings such as a galaxy covered doughnut that represents any colour so helps you to find a full colour set even quicker.  Then there’s the crumbs cards which simply mean you are unable to grab a doughnut if a colour set comes up in the cards. You then also have NAB! and DON’T NAB! cards to add extra fun into the game.

We found the game to be fast paced and the children loved it.  We found it easier to play and work out some of the rules as we went along and probably played slightly our own version of it but Dough Nab was definitely a game that we all enjoyed and the kids asked to play it again and again.

The lucky winner of each game get’s to wear a baker’s hat!

The Dough Nab game by Ginger Fox is available from Debenhams and would make an ideal present under the tree this Christmas for fun and games over the festive period.  A game for all to join in, the more the merrier up to 6 players for an entertaining and competitive bit of fun – who will get rid of their Dough Nab pile first?

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions. We are not paid for reviews although we do receive the product to try out and enable us to write the review.

 

 

A Review of Diggerland Devon – A Great Day Out For Kids!

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If you are looking for a fun day out for the kids this Summer then I can highly recommend Diggerland Devon as a thoroughly fun and entertaining place that will keep the children occupied throughout the day.  I took my daughter age 11 and son age 8 and found they were both of the optimum age to enjoy the majority of rides, even driving solo which was amazing although there was plenty going on for younger ones too!

With four Diggerland parks located across the UK, from Devon to Durham, Yorkshire to Kent there’s somewhere for everyone to visit across the country.  With the Devon park just a 70 minute drive for us, we arrived for the 10am opening on a fabulously sunny day.

Top Tip: Don’t forget your suncream if it’s a sunny day as you will be outside for the majority, if not all of you time in the park !

After passing through the Diggerland reception and onto the main park layout we first came across some smaller style but real life diggers that have really fun games attached to them.  Providing you are the minimum height even fairly young children can control these and you can sit there playing Hook a Duck, Skittles or search for Buried Treasure.

Here they are playing Dippy Duck,

And when it came to skittles, it was a game of fastest first!

Or if you really want to get stuck in, how about jumping on board a JCB digger and digging up piles and piles of mud! My two both had fun controlling these for a while.

For a bit of fun the family can all enjoy at the same time is the Groundshuttle where you sit in a special carriage on the front of a JCB Teleporter and get bumped and elevated as it drives around an uneven course raising you a little higher every now and again.

The Mini Tractors were an instant hit with my two as they could physically drive these by themselves around the track.  Miss M was fairly good but I went in the back of Mister B’s drive and I think he managed to hit every bump along the track, but it was all good fun and they loved being in control of a vehicle.

Joyrider, a Diggerland Police 4WD SUV was an amazing opportunity for the children where they got to sit in the driver’s seat and drive around the small course, twisting and turning their way behind the wheel.

Continuing on the kids self drive theme are the Dumper Trucks which have a good size muddy track to drive around. I have to be honest I was surprised that they are allowed to drive these on their own subject to minimum height restrictions but my 8yr old did brilliantly – I think it’s a fantastic opportunity for them.  Even if your child is below the required height or perhaps just a toddler, they can always travel around on your lap so everyone gets a chance to ride around.

Although if you think that looked cool, apparently these JCB Robots are the best!  Absolutely awesome to drive over the bumpy, muddy course, these were definitely a winner with my two and I have to say we returned to them many times over the day.

A big highlight of Diggerland is Spindizzy a ride not for the faint hearted as you take a secure seat in the bucket of this digger and get spun around high up in the air.  To keep you on your toes it suddenly stops every now and again before starting to spin in the alternative direction.

One of my personal favourites is the Skyshuttle, a JCB that extends 50 feet into the air giving you amazing views across the entire park.

Stack Attack was a fun but challenging ride in which you drive about in your own digger trying to move tyres from one stack to another.  This is something my 8yr old, 11yr old and my husband all enjoyed having a go of several times across the day.

What I love about Diggerland is that there is something for everyone, whether your child is younger or older, you know that they can sit on your lap on some rides or depending on height can drive diggers independently which is a pretty cool thing to do.

For the younger guests there are Mini Landrovers which my boy just managed to sneak into being on the borderline height (but he loved them!).  Further to that for toddlers is the most amazing Little Tikes area – I have to say I was super impressed with this area, there were far more vehicles than my photo shows but for little ones it’s pretty amazing.  On top of that is a sand pit literally packed with little play diggers – for my boy a few years ago this would have been paradise!

As well as the above you have an indoor play area complete with soft play and bouncy slides but we didn’t even venture inside there is so much to do outside which is where my children would rather be.

There is also an extensive outdoor play area with picnic tables and a large grass area, ideal for a lunchtime break from digging!

I’ve left one of the little hidden gems until last – Crazy Carts were in the top 3 rides for my children. They are little electric carts that little whizz across the metal surface allowing you to do crazy spins.  My children found them so much fun and we ventured over to them multiple times during the day so that they could have another go, a ride that could easily be missed so if you do go to Diggerland, be sure to check these out!

I think you can tell my children thoroughly enjoyed their day at Diggerland Devon.  It is packed with rides that are unique and thoroughly entertaining giving children some fantastic and different opportunities.  I also found the park really clean and tidy and being in the countryside it had a peaceful atmosphere.  We did get the perfect sunny weather for being there which helped make it a fantastic family day out but it is definitely somewhere that I would recommend visiting with children as I’m sure that would love it as much as my two did!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions. We are not paid for reviews although we do receive the product to try out and enable us to write the review.

Kersplatt! – The Fun Family Board Game

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Kersplatt! is a fun new game release from Paul Lamond Games and one that has been thoroughly enjoyed here with the exciting aspect of splatting other players dough pieces!  The game consists of a brightly coloured playing board, a deck of cards and four coloured pots of dough.  Requiring 2-4 players and a suggested age of 6+, my two children aged 7 and 10 were keen to play along with mummy and daddy and see if they could splat our pieces and win.

The board for Kersplatt! is well made and folds into quarters for storing in the box.   Each player needs to choose a colour, red, blue, yellow or green and the idea is to make yourself some dough characters and move these around the board without being splatted.  Once you get two onto your home space you are declared the winner. To play you take turns in turning a card over and this determines your move to a space of either the colour or number you turn over.  Or you may turn a card that allows you to Kersplatt! another persons playing piece.  The kids loved this element of the game and thought it was hilarious splatting another player on the board.  All of the squashed pieces remain on the board and those squares are out of action which means it makes it quicker to get your pieces around to the home spaces as the game goes on.

With two kids ready to play, we got started.  With four of us playing it made it fun and competitive and was actually a game we all really enjoyed and would happily play again (well we already have a few times!).  The kids thought it was great to create your own pieces and we ended up with some fancy creations that they were sad to see get Kersplatted! but that’s the nature of the game.  A great family friendly game that is simple to play but fun and keeps kids entertained on rainy days, evenings or just when you are looking for something exciting to play!

For your chance to win a copy of the board game Kersplatt!, just fill in the entry form below:

Kersplatt! game

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write an honest review.

Play Fun Speedy Doc Game

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Play Fun Speedy Doc is a family friendly game aimed at ages 8+ with quick paced rounds of questions where you all have to think of answers until someone duplicates or can’t think of one.  The Doc himself runs the games and controls who starts, how much time you have and how many ‘zeros’ the loser of each round should take.

The game required no setting up other than batteries being inserted and the ‘zero’ cards being pushed out of the perforated card.  I love that there is a handy storage space in the back of Speedy Doc to keep them safe and use as required during play.  There is a simple on/off switch on the back of the doc and then he is ready to go.  You don’t really need to read the instructions other than how to get him to repeat something or pause the game as he guides you through and takes control of the game.

To control Speedy Doc you press lightly on his head, so to start a game someone presses his head and then he starts the first round.  He will tell you which player should start by saying something like ‘the player with the longest hair’ and tell you whether to continue left or right.  He’ll then ask a question such as ‘name a sport you can play at school’ or ‘name countries beginning with B’ and then you go round giving your answer.  After you speak you need to press the doc’s head and then it’s the next player but beware, if you take too long to give your answer, he will time you out and that will be the end of the round.  He’ll then tell you how many ‘zeroes’ to take before proceeding with the next round.  After several rounds he’ll declare the end of the game and the person with the least zeroes is the winner!

To keep things interesting Speedy Doc with make random changes in the game such as switching the order of the players or telling the player who just got a ‘zero’ to give it to another player.  We found the game fast paced and fun, with lots of silly answers coming out as we tried to think of ideas for the answers.  You can tell the doc if someone duplicates or says a wrong answer and he’ll end that round.  Being suitable for ages 8+ is probably right as younger ones aren’t able to think of enough answers to keep up, although my almost 7yr old joined in and we let him off for some of his answers to involve him in the game.  My 9yr old enjoyed it though (well maybe not when she got a zero) but it does bring out the competitive side in people but also gets you using your brain and thinking of things to answer the question. We enjoyed it and think it’ll be a great game to bring out on Saturday nights and at Christmas when we can have lots of family fun!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write an honest review.

Scotland Yard Board Game for National Unplugging Day

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This year’s National Unplugging Day is being held on Sunday 25th June 2017 and they are asking parents around the UK and beyond to pledge to #GoGadgetFree and spend the day from morning till night without any technology.  I think this will really help bring families together for some fun without glancing at their phones or tablets every five minutes!  To celebrate going gadget free we have been trying out the Scotland Yard game from Ravensburger and I have to say we spent most of last Sunday playing this, laughing, having fun and enjoying each other’s company.

Notorious criminal Mr X is on the run in Central London. Can Scotland Yard’s finest detectives track him down, or will he escape forever?

One player takes on the role of Mr X, whilst other players take on the role of detectives and work as a team to try to find him. Mr X only reveals his location every 5 moves, but the detectives can get clues as to his location by looking at his travel log, which reveals his chosen method of transport. The detectives also move around the board using taxi, bus and underground tickets, and must try to surround Mr X, and then move to his hidden location to catch him and win. But the detectives don’t always win and Mr X can escape to any of the 199 locations shown on the detailed map of Central London!

The game consists of a large quality playing board depicting the streets of London.  Between the 200 stops are taxi routes, bus routes and train lines.  Mister X has unlimited use of any of these but each of the detectives has a limited amount of tickets so has to use their method of transport between destinations wisely as they try to locate Mister X

Mister X has a board on which he records his movements but all the other players can only see is his mode of transport before he pops up on the board at certain points.  Everyone wanted to be Mister X so we took turns on each game.  You get a special cap to wear to try and hide your eyes from the board so other players can’t guess by your eyes where you are looking.

The game was faster paced than I expected and actually a lot of fun.  We all loved the game and played it over and over.  Both children and adults found the game appealing although you do need to be the recommended 8yrs plus to really get to grips with strategies when moving in order not to get caught out.  We did play a simpler version for our youngest little boy and he loved joining in on the action.

I’d really recommend this game for families as it offers something for everyone along with a bit of healthy competition between the detectives and Mister X.  The detectives can discuss tactics between each other which gets the family talking and the time soon went buy and none of us had touched any technology throughout the play.  Scotland Yard is a great game to play for National Unplugging Day with the aim to #GoGadgetFree.  Give it a try, it’s lots of fun and great to get back to good old fashioned board game family times!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write an honest review.

Sharing La Famiglia at Prezzo – Family Pasta Bowl

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La Famiglia is the latest addition to the menu at Prezzo, one of our favourite family haunts when looking for a restaurant that caters for all the family with food that we enjoy.  Fortunately our local Prezzo is set in a stunning waterside location so it’s always a pleasure to enjoy a meal there and we couldn’t wait to try out the latest offering that they have introduced for families.

Inside we sat down and the children were given paper menus with plenty of activities on the back that always keep them occupied although as we were visiting during lunchtime it was fairly quiet so it wasn’t long before our Garlic Bread starters arrived.  We had two pizza style breads topped with garlic and cheese.  You can have caramelised onions but we opted without to save the children picking them off!  They were thin with a perfectly baked crispness to them and plenty of cheese – we all devoured these until the plates were empty, always a winner with the whole family!

Next up was the main course, the La Famiglia Sharing Bowl, which we were really excited to try.  You have a choice of four different pasta dishes:

  • Penne Arrabiata
  • Spaghetti Bolognese
  • Spaghetti Carbonara
  • Penne Alla Rusticana

We (or should I say I) opted for the Penne Arrabiata being vegetarian myself but knew everyone else would enjoy it just as much. The bonus of this option is multiple, not only do you not have to mess around waiting for people to pick their menu options, but it means it’s quicker to order so less hungry children and also no bickering when the food arrives as we all have exactly the same!  An added bonus is that the main dish works out a lot cheaper at £18.90 by sharing the family dish between four as opposed to buying four separate meals.

We served up the mains and all tucked in, it was thoroughly tasty and we all came back for seconds with each of us having as much or as little as we wanted.  This is the bonus of a sharing dish, you can serve up smaller amounts for little guests and daddy can have a bigger portion.  There really is a generous amount and by the time we had cleared the dish we were all quite full, but still had a little bit of room for dessert.

We all had ice cream which was the perfect finish to our meal, as you can see we are all rather fond of the chocolate flavour and it went down a treat!

We all really enjoyed trying out the La Famiglia sharing bowl, it certainly made the meal seem like proper family time with us all eating the same thing and serving it out of one bowl.  The kids got involved in helping themselves and we all enjoyed the same food.  We’d definitely go back again to enjoy eating out together as a family with a sharing dish – a great way to bring families together, especially fussy eating children as they watch everyone else eat the same food and tuck in the same!

This post is an entry for the #PrezzoLaFamiglia Challenge, sponsored by Prezzo

Is Creating a Work, Family Life, Me Time Balance Always Possible?

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Is it always possible?  That’s the question running through my head right now.  At the moment life is a juggling act, our routine changes from day to day due to the husband’s shift work, the endless kids activities after school, in the evenings and at the weekends and depending on whether I’m working or not each day.  Since 2009 when I returned to work after a year’s maternity leave with my first born, I cut my hours down to just 20 a week having previously been full time.  I also chose to work two and a half days a week, the first half so my working week finishes at Wednesday lunchtime.  This has been working well for me in my home, family, work and me time balance but unfortunately with significant changes at work this option is being taken away from me.

My future feels just like this rock I encountered in the Grand Canyon back in 2006, a balancing act that could topple either way, will it make it, will it fall?

In just a few weeks I’ll be required to spread my hours across five days a week, that means working Monday to Friday every week.  To add an extra twist to the equation I currently work in the road next to my children’s school which has its obvious advantages. I’m also able to walk to work (albeit a 2 mile hilly hike! lol) but it keeps the fitness up and enables us to juggle being a one car family and my husbands shift work – he takes them to school more often than not whilst I head to work, if he’s late shift he leaves the car at my work and walks home ready to cycle to work at lunchtime etc. (He always rides a bike to work so has no need for a car).

In the Summer the building I’ve been employed at for the last 15 years is closing its doors and being sold off, whilst the staff are being relocated almost 4 miles away across the city to another of the company buildings, on a route that’s accessed by a road bridge that is renowned for being gridlocked at not just peak but various others times during the day (should there be a breakdown or accident, you can forget arriving at your destination any time in the near future!).

So here’s my dilemma – in just a couple of months I will not only be working 5 days a week but I’ll also be responsible for all the school runs in order that I can have the car to travel to work.  It means my start time will be some point after school drop off and when I have managed to navigate my way through the city centre traffic and prayed that the bridge is clear.  My finish time will be 4 hours later and by the time I return home I’ll hopefully have 1 whole hour of child free time, yes you heard it right, instead of a couple of hours Wednesday afternoon and all of Thursday and Friday, I’ll now get a measly hour each day after a shift at work.

This my friends will become the one hour a day in which I can do my child free housework, child free food shopping, child free nip into town for errands, child free ironing, child free gardening, child free blog photos/writing, child free house renovation planning, child free DIY (yeah like painting a room in an hour is gonna happen), child free coffees with my friends/mum and most of all child free ME TIME.  Yes and by me time I don’t mean sitting with my feet up, painting my nails and reading a magazine, by this I mean getting to dye my ever increasing grey hair in peace, having a bath without constant interruptions and just being alone in the house being able to sort things out and concentrate without the constant nattering, interruptions of the kids!

So as you can see the chances of my new house being fully decorated are ebbing away, my small window of opportunity each day is limited and squished between the morning school run, a dash across the city and 4 hours at work, then breath before school pick up, after school clubs, cook dinner, read school books/homework, bath kids, bedtime routine and then to be honest I’ll be shattered and my bed will be calling, well after I’ve had time to make pack lunches, get school uniform/work clothes ready, clear up the house, get a wash iron, squeeze some ironing in and dash the vacuum round!

Really I’m finding myself in a bit of a quandary, working 5 days a week isn’t the part time working lifestyle I envisaged and I’m not sure how successful it will rank in balancing the duties of a household, family life and me time.  Daddy will form a lesser part of the children’s lives, missing out on all of the school runs, after school trips to the park on days mummy used to work and if you remember he works shifts so is often not there in the evening when we come home, works many weekends and will find his work free time alone in the daytime when the kids are at school and mummy is at work!

With this configuration of part time working – is it even worth it?  As much as I need the money for my new mortgage/house renovations – will I be comprising family life/child free time?  I don’t want to end up super stressed and feel like I never get a break/can’t get household things done (kids just don’t appreciate you being on the phone to utilities/insurance companies, endless trips around bathroom/kitchen shops)… time will tell, fingers crossed for now!

Emojito Party Game from Tactic Games – Family Fun

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Emojito party game from Tactic is a fun family game where you imitate emotions whilst the other players guess which one you are trying to be.  With a game board, set of full colour emotion cards and player pieces, it’s a fun, fast paced game that certainly brought smiles, giggles and lots of “Can we play again?” comments to our house.

Recommended for ages 7+ I knew my two children would enjoy Emojito.  My daughter is 9 and my son is 6 but he is very humourous, funny and enjoys things such as making faces so I knew he’d be able to join in and we could accommodate the game around him.  The children were eager to set the game up which consists of a game board, player pieces, a dial for each player to mark their guess on (this stops any cheating or people changing their mind) and a good sized deck of emotion cards.  The cards are really bright and colourful using animals to demonstrate each emotion. 

The idea of the game is to pick a card and that is the one the player has to try and imitate, and then you place that along with a further six cards around the board.  The other players then have to guess which of the seven cards you are trying to be and put the relevant number on to their dial.  Everyone then shows each other the number they have chosen and anyone that guesses correctly gets to move around the board.  Each time you pass the chequered line you collect a ‘trophy’ card (any card that is in play on that round) and the eventual winner is the first person to collect five trophy cards.

Once we got into play mode, the kids loved it.  Making and imitating faces was so funny and the other players were giggling away trying to guess which card they were trying to be.  We had lots of fun and ended up playing this many times over consecutive days and it’s now a regular game that comes out to play several times a week.

We found the Emojito game to be really fun, creating great interactions with each other and caused lots of laughter and enjoyment.  Both children loved creating different emotions and it was certainly a bit different from other games we already own which maintained interest and kept them engaged in the game play!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write an honest review.

Dolmio 3 Ways – Family Meals to Enjoy

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Recently I was inspired by Britmums to make tasty family meals that included a jar of Dolmio.  From Spaghetti Bolognese to Mushroom & Spinach Cannelloni and a Vegetable Moussaka we’ve been enjoying delicious vegetarian dishes that are simple to put together and provide really hearty family meals packed full of healthy vegetables along with Dolmio.

With a delightful array of ingredients sent to us, I was excited to get cooking.  Being vegetarian I used soya mince in the bolognese which the kids enjoy (even though they are meat eaters) and the other dishes were purely vegetable based. I was surprised to learn that each jar of Dolmio provides a family of four each with 1 of their 5 a day.

Dolmio Bolognese Original 500g sauce is 100% natural. In each jar, you’ll find at least 10 juicy diced tomatoes, a dollop of tomato puree, half an onion, a tablespoon of sunflower oil, a couple of cloves of garlic, a handful of herbs including basil, a teaspoon of cornflour, a teaspoon of salt, a pinch of pepper, two teaspoons of added beet sugar for taste, a squeeze of lemon juice, a splash of water and nothing more.

Spaghetti Bolognese

We had to start with a traditional style bolognese – one of the kids favourite meals and one that the family all really enjoying sitting down to on a weekday evening.

Not being one to measure my quick dinner ingredients, I used approximately:

  • 2 diced onions
  • 1 grated carrot
  • 1 diced courgette
  • half a diced red pepper
  • 1 jar of Dolmio
  • appropriate quantity for 4 of wholemeal spaghetti
  • sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese

Mushroom & Spinach Cannelloni

Now when I saw cannelloni tubes in my shopping delivery, I did think what on earth am I going to do with those?  As much as I love an M&S spinach and ricotta cannelloni for a lazy meal, I’ve never braved cannelloni tubes myself.  So looking at the ingredients I had and knowing the husband is rather fond of mushrooms I decided to concoct a rather simple vegetarian cannelloni with the added help of some Dolmio.

  • Mushrooms
  • Frozen Spinach
  • Half a jar of Dolmio
  • Cannelloni tubes
  • Bechamel sauce (made with Cheddar cheese, milk, flour)
  • Parmesan cheese

I lightly fried some mushrooms along with some of the frozen spinach balls.

And then came the tricky part….  stuffing it into the cannelloni!  Clearly I hadn’t thought this through and as I pushed the hot mixture into the tubes they started going slightly soft.. arghh!  But not to worry, a little perseverance and I soon had all the tubes well and truly stuffed!  I layered a little Dolmio under the tubes then another layer on top before adding some grated cheddar and topping with Parmesan.

Thankfully the dish looked rather scrummy as it made it’s way out of the oven and the husband thoroughly approved! (Result for mummy!)

Vegetable Moussaka

I rather enjoy Moussaka and don’t really follow a recipe, just throw in any vegetables I have around.

For this one I used:

  • Dolmio
  • Chickpeas
  • Red Pepper
  • 2 white onions
  • Courgette
  • Aubergine
  • Bechamel sauce (made with flour/butter/milk/Cheddar cheese)

I started off my slicing and lightly roasting the courgette and aubergine slices and whilst they were cooking I drained the chickpeas, lightly fried the onions and made the cheesy Bechamel sauce.

I then simply layered Dolmio with roasted vegetables, lightly fried onions, a handful of chickpeas and then repeated.  To top it of I poured over the Bechamel sauce, added some grated Parmesan and black pepper and cooked in the oven until done.

Voila! One delicious, homemade, vegetarian Moussaka!

Bonus Extra Quick Cheat Meal – Kids Pasta

Having enjoyed Dolmio so much we popped a couple of jars in the trolley when we next visited the supermarket.  When the kids need a quick tea between school and evening clubs we just cook up a bit of pasta with some chopped ham, cocktail sausages and grated cheese and that’s their quick bite to eat that they love.

This week however they asked me if I could put some of that ‘yummy’ sauce on it (aka Dolmio), they are a bit fussy with ‘other’ jars of pasta sauce, so I added a few spoonfuls of Dolmio to their cooked pasta, heated it up and there you go – two incredibly happy filled little tummies!!

This post is an entry for the #Dolmio #ThankGoodness Challenge, sponsored by Dolmio.