Happy Birthday to Us. Today is our 1 year blog anniversary. 48 recipes later and here we are. Food blogging has been an incredible journey for us. Not only have we created an online presence but a virtual cookbook for our children to view as they get older. Cooking and food has become such an amazing part of our lives over the last 12 months. I have been asked to be a judge again this year at the Irish Quality Food Awards in July.Which is an absolute honour. Davinia still bakes her cakes and always has two little mouths to lick a spoon,three if you include Mani.This weekend Abigail,our 4 1/2 year old,is coming on her first rabbit hunt with her Dad. She is always asking us questions about where different foods come from and how to cook it. I can’t think of a better place for her to learn than in the field. Harriet at 22 months is mad to go hunting with Dad but in our house the eldest gets that right of passage. Maybe next year.Malcolm is 3 months old. He is thriving, guzzling 7oz bottles every 3 hours and probably on to solids this week. This little shepherd is going to be well able to take care of his clan as he gets older. Mani,our first born, is 7 1/2 years old. He is showing his age now with a little grey goatee. His appetite is as ferocious as ever.

This recipe is one of our go to dishes when we want the kids to get a nourishing meal in their bellies. There are a lot of ingredients in it and I know it sounds a bit excessive but this not from a jar, it is made from scratch.

The Ingredients:

300g lean beef mince

2 tins chopped tomatoes

200g cherry tomatoes

2 carrots diced

2 onions diced

3 gloves of garlic

Balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp

Tomato ketchup 1 tbsp

Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp

Cayenne sauce/Tabasco 1 tsp

Thyme 1 pinch

Basil 1 pinch

Mixed herbs 1 pinch

Salt 1 pinch

Black pepper 1 pinch

Stock cube, chicken or beef 1 cup

1 tbsp Honey or sugar

Olive Oil

The Make:

Chop cherry tomatoes, garlic, onion and carrots. Pour some oil in pot. Put in veg and cook off until soft. In a separate pot with some oil brown off mince. Drain off any excess juice. Pour in tins of tomato into softened veg. Blitz with stick blender until smooth. Mix in the honey, balsamic vinegar, herbs, tabasco, salt and pepper. Stir in 1 cup of stock. Add in the mince to the sauce and simmer 40 minutes. I like to simmer until the sauce just starts to catch on the side of the pot. Boil up some pasta and serve. Enjoy.

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