Retro recipe : School dinner fudge tart

A couple of months ago, while looking for a way to use up a glut of cornflakes, I came across a retro-tastic circa 1970's school dinner recipe for Cornflake Tart over on the Littlestuff blog. The original recipe is here and if you want to see how my one came out, along with step-by-step photos, head over here. It's totally simple, uses nothing but kitchen cupboard staples and is delicious.

While I was over at Littlestuff, I spotted another school dinners recipes that I fancied trying - Fudge Tart. When I looked at how basic the ingredients are, I couldn't see this being nice, but I made it yesterday, the whole lot was gobbled up in one sitting and the kids have asked me to make it again !

If you're looking for a healthy recipe, move on - there's nothing to see ! But if you're after a nostalgic slice of comfort food, this is perfect. I don't remember having this (in this form at least) at school, but the filling is very similar to what they used to put in their custard slices.

I followed Littlestuff's recipe to the letter, so head over there for the ingredients list. Here's how I made it. (The classic topping is grated chocolate but I replaced that with chopped strawberries which were lovely too.)

School dinner fudge tart 

ingredients : see above

I used all margarine in the pastry instead of butter and lard so it came out a bit soft. It soon firmed up once it was cooked though. Bake blind for 15 minutes then leave to cool.

This does use a scary amount of butter (or margarine, as here) !

Melt the butter/margarine and half the milk together.

Mix the remaining milk and flour together.

Pour the flour mixture into the pan and stir your little cotton socks off to get rid of the lumps.

Add the sugar and vanilla essence - lots of vanilla essence or it's very bland.

A bit more elbow grease is required - keep stirring until it's nice and smooth and creamy. Use to fill the pie crust and leave to cool.

 Top with grated chocolate or sliced strawberries - or you could even use both together !

Book review : Child Taken - Darren Young

When you see high profile child abduction cases like Maddie McCann, it's hard to take into account that that little baby-faced girl from the poster campaign is gone forever. If she is ever found alive, she will be a young woman and probably won't really even remember her parents.

Child Taken focuses on a little girl who disappears from a crowded beach where she was playing with her brother and parents. When her hat is washed up on the shore, the police and the general public are quick to assume that she has drowned and the case is closed. Her mother is convinced that she was abducted and is still alive, but everyone says that she is trying to find someone else to blame to assuage her guilt and that she can't face the reality that her child is dead.

The case soon falls out of the limelight and is pretty much forgotten about until a young journalist, working on another local missing child story, uncovers the original case and decides to follow it up. When she starts receiving threats, she knows that she is on to something and goes all out to uncover the truth.

It's a fast-paced nail-biter that had me compulsively turning the pages, desperate to reach the end and I was totally blindsided by the unexpected twists and turns. It lost a bit of its realism in the final pages with Laura seemingly becoming as indestructible as a Hollywood action hero, but I was still gripped. There is a loose thread that I can only see as a plot fail because I can't find a plausible explanation however hard I try - the fatal crash near the beginning of the novel. You assume you know who was implicated right from the start but the final shock ending makes this highly unlikely if not impossible, while offering no other interpretation.

My only real disappointment though was discovering that this is Darren Young's debut novel - I loved it so much that I wanted to find out what else he had written. Definitely a new talent to keep an eye on.

Head over to see what other book bloggers thought on the Child Taken blog tour.

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : £8.99

Disclosure : I received a copy of the book in order to write an honest review.

Giveaway #624 : Win a pair of tickets to The Baby Show - closed - winner Lisa Taylor

This May get ready to enjoy a fantastic shopping experience at the UK’s leading pregnancy and parenting event of the year. The Baby Show with MadeForMums will be taking place from Friday 19th to Sunday 21st May, at the NEC Birmingham. Find everything you need for bump, baby and you - with amazing offers all in one place, for three days only!

The show is a great way to get hands on and try before you buy. Brand and product experts will be on hand to tell you everything you need to know, so it’s a great opportunity to compare products and find the right fit for you. There will be over 200 exhibitors showcasing a huge array of essential baby products from trusted brands as well as the latest innovations. All the major baby retailers will be there, alongside market leading brands such as iCandy, Stokke, UppaBaby, Chicco, Britax, MAM, Nuby, Mothercare and Italian brand Peg Perego! There will also be independent brands that you won’t find on the high street. And once you’ve shopped until you’ve dropped, don’t worry about all the carrying as you can take advantage of the free Emma’s Diary Collect-By-Car service where you can drop off all your purchases and continue until you’ve got a carful.

There will be a wonderful line up of speakers on The Baby Show Stage with MadeForMums including experts from the world of breastfeeding, sleep and nutrition!

It really is a must-attend show for mums and dads to be, parents, friends and family members.

The Baby Show is taking place on Friday 19th May – Sunday 21st May inclusive, open from 9.30am to 5pm each day. Standard on the door tickets are £20. For more information please visit www.thebabyshow.co.uk.

I’ve teamed up with The Baby Show to give away a pair of tickets worth £20 each! Enter via the Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ticket Competition Terms & Conditions

No purchase necessary. Entrants must be aged 18 years or over. Competition is open to UK residents only.

UK only. Closing date : 10/5/17

T & C's : Entries close at midnight on the closing date. Winners will be selected with a random number generator and announced on facebook and in the giveaway post subject line. Please note, you will be contacted by email and/or twitter and if I haven't heard from you after 28 days, I'll have to pick another winner. Prizes will be sent out by the companies or their PR directly to winners. Madhouse Family Reviews cannot be held responsible for any prizes that go astray !

You may also like to enter my other giveaways :

Giveaway #623 : Win Bob The Builder : Dig This dvd - closing date 4/5

Madhouse recipe : Chicken Potat-razzini

While idly browsing through google's suggestions for "American comfort food", I saw several mentions of Chicken Tetrazzini. Despite the Italian-sounding name, this is apparently an American invention, which was created for Italian opera star Luisa Tetrazzini. It combines chicken (or tuna, if you prefer) and mushrooms in a buttery, creamy sauce (often made with a can of cream of chicken or mushroom soup), served on pasta and baked in the oven with parmesan and breadcrumbs on top. As we'd eaten pasta the day before and I had some leftover baked potatoes to use up, I adapted it, replacing the spaghetti with potatoes. It was delicious !

 Chicken Potat-razzini

ingredients :

drizzle of olive oil

3 chicken breasts

salt, pepper

4 mushrooms

1 onion

4 cooked potatoes (or raw, and adjust cooking times)

1 cup frozen peas

20cl crème fraîche

the end of a pack of cream cheese

a handful of dried breadcrumbs

a handful of grated parmesan

a handful of grilled onions

Heat the oil and gently fry the onions and mushrooms for a few minutes, until soft but not coloured. Remove to a plate and reserve.

In the same pan, brown the chicken. Season with salt and pepper.

Drain off excess cooking juices and add the sliced potatoes.

After 5-10 minutes, when the potato has started to take on some colour, return the mushrooms and onions to the pan.

Add the frozen peas and cook for a further 5-10 minutes.

Add the crème fraîche and cream cheese and cook until it is all melted and combined.

Remove from the heat, sprinkle with breadcrumbs, parmesan and grilled onions.

Pop under the grill for a few minutes until the breadcrumbs have browned and the parmesan has melted.

Eat with crusty bread (or garlic bread) and a salad.

Adding to this month's #KitchenClearout linky because it used up some leftover baked potatoes, as well as the end of a tub of cream cheese.

#KitchenClearout recipe : Creamy Sweetcorn Chicken with Rice

Since starting secondary school in September - a school which is literally opposite our house - Juliette has decided to come home for her lunch break, rather than stay at the school canteen. (There's no such thing as packed lunches in France - you have to eat the food that is provided by the school.) She's allowed to use the microwave, the kettle and the Optigrill but isn't allowed to use the oven or the hob - although she's been helping me out in the kitchen lately and I think that might change soon. She often resorts to a pouch of microwaveable rice, but there is always about an inch or two of rice that doesn't get eaten - not enough for another serving but too much to throw away. This means that, by the end of the week, I often have this looking at me when I open the fridge door !

As I was making Balmoral Chicken (I keep nearly typing Balamory Chicken !), which is chicken stuffed with haggis and wrapped in pancetta, I guessed the kids wouldn't be keen, so I decided to make something using their portion of chicken breast and the leftover rice. This was the quick and simple result using nothing but kitchen basics.

Creamy Sweetcorn Chicken with Rice

ingredients :

drizzle of olive oil

2-3 chicken breasts

4 mushrooms

salt, pepper, herbes de Provence

20cl crème fraîche

tin of sweetcorn

leftover cooked rice

Chop the chicken into chunks.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the chicken for a few minutes until it turns white, then add the mushrooms and continue cooking for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the chicken in cooked through. Season with salt, pepper and herbes de Provence, or whatever you have in your spice rack.

Add the sweetcorn, crème fraîche and rice and cook, stirring, until it is completely warmed through.

It's up to you if you want lots of sauce left in the pan or if you keep cooking until it is partially absorbed into the rice, but still creamy.

Serve immediately, sprinkled with parmesan or grated cheddar, if you like.

Schleich Eldrador Poacher review

Generations of children have been fascinated by the magic, mystery and power of dragons. I can remember in my own childhood, first creating imaginative stories of dragons and fairies with my friends at school playtimes, then becoming obsessed with the Choose Your Own Adventure Dungeons and Dragons books in my teens. Unicorns and mermaids seem to be the biggest on-trend mythical creatures lately, but I predict that dragons won't be far behind.

 Schleich have recently added some new dragon figurines to their Eldrador range, described as "the wonderful knight’s adventure in a world of fiery volcanoes, icebergs and huge castles". The new additions are Dragon Night Hunter, Dragon Ice Hunter and Dragon Poacher, which is the one that we received.

The wings have a ball and socket joint so they are completely moveable and your dragon can be positioned in lots of different poses.

Maybe he will swoop down to attack with his razor-sharp claws at the ready or perhaps he will join his wings above his head in a defensive pose. The options are limitless so they are perfect for imaginative make-believe play. No batteries required : just a child's boundless creativity.

As always, we were very impressed with the attention to detail, even on the underside, where the scaly belly and leathery claws are less likely to be seen. Pierre always loves pointing out the intricate hand-painted details - you may remember he was totally intrigued by the baby chimpanzee's rear end when we received a previous play set ! It's always a great way to learn about animals, because they are so realistically recreated, or in this case, inspire imaginative curiosity, maybe making up some more features that other dragons may have. The Schleich website gives you further creative inspiration : "Angry and extremely aggressive, the dragon poacher swoops down at every foe. It is incredibly strong, with razor-sharp teeth and claws and fearsome dragonfire. Fun fact : The dragon poacher only has one weak spot, which is hidden beneath its crest."

RRP : £14.99

for more information : www.schleich-s.co.uk

Disclosure : We received the product in order to write an honest review.

#KitchenClearout April roundup and May linky

The great thing about all the unpredictable weather this month was that you could switch from winter warmers when it was freezing cold and hailing to summery salads when it was T-shirt weather, making it a lot easier to use up whatever was lurking in the fridge. As usual, we've all come up with a very eclectic mix of dishes and I've also noticed that I often seem to have the same leftovers as everyone else ! This week is a bumper roundup with fourteen recipes to help you turn your odds-and-ends into tummy-fill rather than land fill.

Sweet Potato, Pork & Chorizo One Pot Wonder was a surprisingly tasty way of using up all the odds and ends that were lurking in the fridge after my work trip to Norway.

Alison from Dragons and Fairy Dust made some lovely Simnel Muffins which were perfect for Easter and used up some royal icing.

Chicken Frito Pie was a #readcookeat recipe inspired by Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn that used up some American-style seasoning sachets. The kids loved the idea of having Doritos on their dinner too ! (I couldn't find Fritos.)

Cheesy Toast Topped Bolognese started out as a way of using up a pack of cheesy bread (like garlic bread) in the freezer and was as tasty as it was pretty.

A pack of dried porcini mushrooms was made into a Bacon & Porcini Mushroom Omelette.

Cranberry and Coconut Oat Biscuits were a twist on Anzac biscuits and used up some more of my stash of oats.

A kitchen disaster led to the ever resourceful Jane from Onions & Paper coming up with a double whammy of exotic cuisine that both look delicious : Fridge Raid Gado Gado

and Chicken Sort-Of Nasi Goreng.

A fridge raid was needed at The Madhouse too, to assemble a salad to go with the first barbecue of the year : Brie & Bean Salad was the colourful result.

Curd Cheese Cake with Buttercream was Galina from Chez Maximka's first creation for this month and hmmmm I could just bite into a slice of that right this minute !

Another throw-it-all-in-and-see-what-happens meal that went down very well was One Pot Sweet & Sticky Noodles - it used up various packets of instant noodles that I'd received in Degustaboxes, the leftover meat from the Sunday roast and whatever vegetables were looking forlorn in the bottom of the fridge. Add lashings of kecap manis, sweet and sticky soy sauce, and Bob's your uncle. (He really is actually - I do have an Uncle Bob, although technically he's my great-uncle !)

These squishy Peanut Butter Brownies used up the end of a tin (yes, a tin !) of peanut butter and were rather tasty.

Another dish that naturally evolved from clearing out the fridge was Smoked Sausage Couscous - not authentically North African but the plates were cleared nevertheless !

American comfort food with a twist : Pizza Style Meatloaf used up some seasoning sachets.

Galina finished off this month's collection with Spaghetti with Rocket Pesto, a beautiful vibrant green plateful.

Top marks for creativity this month, once again.

Fancy joining in? Have a rummage through your kitchen cupboards, spice rack, freezer or fridge and see if there's anything that needs using up then come and share your creations with us. Or if it's way past its sell-by date, throw it in the bin and come and tell us what you found ! It would be great if you could add my badge and a link to this post for anyone else who wants to get involved.