I am not sure what the female equivalent to Bro’s before Ho’s is, Chicks before Dicks perhaps? In any case, there is an unwritten rule that girl friends are supposed to stick together and support the sisterhood in times of disagreement with their significant other. I am not very good at it. Sometimes I deliberately jump ship to side with a friend’s husband in a discussion and other times it is completely unintentional.
Like last weekend.
Actually our weekend was great, my mum and dad came over and finished installing the lighting in the garage and carport, we caught up with many of our friends and Sunday afternoon eased into a relaxing session of hot chips and beers, but the best part for me was the chance to sample some of the exclusive Kopi Luwack (or cat poo coffee) at a friends house. Baby Crisis friend’s husband recently had a surfing holiday in Sumatra where the beans are produced which meant that the asking price was far cheaper than the $1400 per kilo tag it usually has here. Mr Bond wanted nothing to do with it, the whole concept totally grossed him out but I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, and I have to admit I was a bit taken in by the wanker factor too!
Something I remember quite vividly from those first few weeks and months of being a new mummy was how annoying it was to have to think about what to have for dinner and then finding the motivation to cook it. Fortunately I had been organised enough beforehand to cook some meals and have them ready in the freezer for those “I just can’t muster cooking a meal tonight” moments and they really helped to take the pressure off.
For my 2 friends who recently came home with their new babies I thought this would make a great welcome home present. It didn’t have to be anything complicated, just something that could be pulled out of the freezer and reheated, the only cooking required would be to add rice or pasta and you are ready to go. I chose to make Spaghetti Bolognese (minus the onion for breastfeeding) and Lamb Ragout in the slow cooker because I knew they both froze well and the flavours shouldn’t cause any protests by the newborns. Thank you to everyone on Twitter who offered suggestions for suitable meals too!
This week I tried a new easy dinner option and was pleasantly surprised by how easy yet tasty it was! Sometimes I find bottle simmer sauces to be a bit overpowering and plastic in flavour, but this one had just enough flavour without being overpowering. I will be keeping a jar of it in the pantry at all times from now on!
Ingredients
Jar of Honey Mustard Chicken Simmer Sauce (Aldi brand)
500g diced chicken breast
Half a Bag of Frozen Stir Fry Mixed Vegetables
Boiled rice to serve
Method
1. Heat oil in large frypan over high heat.
2. Brown chicken
3. Add vegetables and simmer sauce
4. Simmer for 15 to 30 minutes
5. Serve with long grain rice
The fiddliest bit was cutting up the chicken which of course could be eradicated by buying pre-diced, or using a BBQ chicken if you are really in a hurry. It made enough to serve 4, but I made a double batch and took some down to my friend who had arrived home with her new baby on the same day (cos I’m awesome like that).
I am a bad friend, and I feel awful about it. I have no excuses other than I am slack and have the brain capacity of a goldfish so I tend to forget things as soon as I see something shiny, or you pour me a glass of wine. A couple of months ago it was birthday party central in our group and we seemed to have a gathering of some kind (sometimes more) every weekend. Here I was merrily dancing on stages and high fiving people in expensive restaurants and all the while I had forgotten about another friend who had invited me to her 30th birthday that same weekend.
