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Dinner of the week

Posted on by April-Rose Appleby
Roast chicken thighs with mega mushroom risotto

So this weeks outstanding dinner was a mushroom risotto with chicken. Reviews were that is ‘banging’ and worth making again.

So here’s what I used… (plus chicken thighs that were roasted plain) I admit I cooked this in a wok.


2 chicken oxo, large white onion, olive oil, small cup white wine, 1 tsp of mixed herbs, garlic granules, onion granules, about 2 punnets of mushrooms, small bit of lemon for juice
Mushrooms (1 punnet chestnut, white and even a punnet of shitake because we could get hold of them), frozen peas, risotto rice

So how did I do it? Well I started with the onions gently frying them until they turned translucent and then added risotto rice I had to eye ball it because I’m lazy.

It’s not a big tub like around half a litre at most!
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Tonight’s success

Posted on by April-Rose Appleby

Tonight I made pork chops.

Is it possible to eat pork chops with no gallbladder? Yes and no. I take regular medication now before I eat. It’s the only way I can eat an almost normal diet. Truth be told I doubt I will ever be able to tolerate stuff like kfc or McDonald’s again. Unless they stop deep frying every thing. God I miss McDonald’s and cottage chicken (prefer it to kfc less reactive for some reason). Any way I waffled enough.

Sorry I didn’t take pictures if I’m honest I only thought about posting this as a recipe in the shower just now so you know… I liked them enough to want to share. Plus we ate dinner like we literally inhaled it kind of thing.

If you like a good pork chop try this out

Get a frying pan that can go in the oven.
Preheat to gas mark 6 (I think that is around 180/200)
Pork loin steaks (no bones yay)

In a small bowl
1 chicken oxo cube broken up
1 tsp each of mixed herbs, garlic granules, onion granules
1/2 to 3/4 tsp of medium peri peri Nando’s seasoning
Mix it up and use half the mix to coat one side of the chops give it a little rub in
With the frying pan on hot a small amount of olive oil put the coated side down of the chops
While they caramelise sprinkle the rest of the seasoning on the other side of the chops and carefully pat it in
Once the chops have had about 2 mins and the bottom has caramelised flip them over
Drizzle some honey on each one individually
Put the pan into the oven for around 15 odd minutes maybe a little longer if you like the caramelised edge crust.

Remove the chops from the pan throw in some gravy granules and hot water and use the pan residue for gravy.
I served with simple roast potatoes, sweetheart cabbage and green beans
Would be lovely with Yorkshire puddings too but they often make me ill so gave them a miss.

Let me know if you try this I would love to see photos, not just because I didn’t think to take any I would just like to know if it works for you.

Dredging up the past

Posted on by April-Rose Appleby

Well if I cant write… I can share some work that I loved writing. So for now, my posts will be looking back at my first real writing that wasn’t a skewed attempt at avoiding therapy *Cough* Breathing Smog *Cough* (It didn’t work, I’ve been in therapy for yeaaars now).

So without much further waffling … keep your eyes peeled for my next post!! On 3rd June!!! In honour of my best friend and brother Harry.

I thought I was ready

Posted on by April-Rose Appleby

I thought I was ready, ready to begin writing again. That would happen, if I had time, however, Little One is a time vacuum for sure.

But I think I forgot something important, to write I need more than time, I need energy and motivation and determination to fill a blank space. I need inspiration and the story ready to flow and pour. At the moment a bulk of my mind is being used to keep a little tiny human alive and well.

So maybe its better I work on being able to focus longer than 5 minutes on something. Focusing on anything is hard enough as it is. Right now I am meant to be doing something else… Turns out I cant even focus doing that!

But seriously. I hope that sometime soon, there will be a day where everything just falls into place and I feel that perfect alignment to write and write with complete focus and actually produce something worth reading, worth writing.

You would have thought with lock down I would have done more writing but mat leave does has proven unproductive when looking after this tiny ball of energy and crazy.

Right Little One is demanding a bit of fuss and attention so I had better go put the mummy hat on and say see you soon!

Lockdown Life

Posted on by April-Rose Appleby

Well, I know that many are struggling with lockdown. For me, I’ve been on lockdown almost since Little One was born. I was so ill for the first 3-4 months of her life I barely left the house, if I did it was to the doctors or hospital. That was my life.

Except now I am pretty much mostly healed and able to do more, and now I am in lockdown of a different kind. Yes its mentally taxing, but its not as bad as the first few months of mother hood. Traumatic would be an understatement. Thankfully though I have a wonderful partner who is keeping me strong. As for Little One you wouldn’t know it, by how well LO thrives.

I am slowly trying to build stamina daily. Though lets face it what new mum really has the energy to exercise.

I am planning more walks daily slowly. Though it will take a while to develop the habit probably. Mind you I’ve got less weight to loose than just after birth thanks to being so ill.

Low fat diets, not very flavourful, hard work without a doubt. It’s not like it is even by choice, it is very much a case of not having the choice to eat what I like, I end up quite ill, which can be exhausting. There is hidden fats in lots of things.

This week my aim is to add a walk in that wouldn’t normally happen at least once this week. We will have to wait and see.