It’s been an exciting few months in the Millin household, learning the ropes of being new parents. The feeding, bathing, playtime, teething, endlessly growing out of clothes, routines or lack thereof, sleep or lack thereof and our latest adventure – starting solids! Stef is obviously keen to start Stella on some meat as soon as possible!
Easy Dinner Skills
One of the less often considered skills I’ve had to master as a new mum is organisation. Having everything ready to go to cook an easy dinner, in amongst the evening routines and trying to get a baby down to sleep, has become so much more important than it used to be.
When we were both working full time, we could handle having dinner a bit later, spending the time enjoying cooking as a way to relax and wind down, or both getting home late and chucking something together. Now, we both need to be asleep ASAP, streamlining the dinner process is the only way to keep our sanity . . . and I’m sure this only becomes more important as time goes on and children grow!
Something for the Mums
At least half of our customers at Millin’s Free Range Butcher are mums, and Stef and the team definitely keep this in mind when coming up with their new creations, making life as easy as possible for everyone. For Mother’s Day I thought I’d share some of my personal easy dinner favourites from the shop from one mum to another!
Tuscan Chicken
They don’t call this Mrs Millin’s favourite for nothing! This is my absolute go-to when the brain won’t work and has become a firm favourite with a lot of my friends too. I can’t even begin to tell you how juicy and delicious this chicken is – better than any roast chook you’ve ever tasted, just goes in the oven for 45 minutes and pretty much goes with anything you can rustle up from the fridge.
Scotch Fillet
Somehow your body seems to know when it’s run down and needs some red meat. When you get that undeniable steak craving, a scotchy is my favourite cut because it’s so tender and has that little bit of fat through it to make it taste amazing and really satisfy.
I have become a Webber-master, ducking outside just four times – none of this standing around the BBQ business – who’s got time for that! Once to turn the BBQ on to preheat it nice and hot, once to chuck the steak on, once to turn it over and once to take it off – too easy. Again, it goes with anything you’ve got in the fridge or cupboard and I personally love a good Dijon mustard with it.
Parmesan Chicken Schnitzel
These beauties beat a pub schnitzel any day! Somehow they stay juicy, even when I’m not paying attention and the parmesan in the crumb always manages to cook to a nice golden crisp.
Best served with mashed potato and homemade mushroom sauce, just like at the pub so you can reminisce – I can’t give you the recipe for my sauce because I just make it up as I go, differently every single time! We’ll be starting to stock fresh veges in the shop in the next week or so, which will mean you can grab your mushrooms and potatoes as well as other staples while you’re there.
What’s happening for Mother’s Day
There’s nothing better than cooking with sharp knives – for a mum that means efficiency! This Saturday in the shop we’ve got the knife sharpener back again and he’ll be sharpening your first knife for free with a $30 purchase or $6 per knife after that. Drop them off anytime this week and they’ll be available to pick up on Monday 15th May. Stef can also pick them up or drop them off to you with your home delivery order.
Stella Update
We have been so overwhelmed by the gifts and best wishes from our customers for our darling Stella. I know Stef is so proud of her and talks about her in the shop all the time, so thank you all so much for your support and love. From starting off pretty tiny, she’s growing well and is now over 6kg, loves her tummy time and definitely loves her Daddy. She’s just a hilarious, smiley little girl and I promise I’ll bring her into the shop for more visits now we’ve settled into mum life!
Stef and I would love to also give a special Mother’s Day shout out to our own amazing mums – Lynne, Stef’s very proud Mum over in Auckland – my Mum Chrissie, always excitedly bringing us lots of shop ideas from Brisbane – and Nikki, my Step-Mum who’s just placed 3rd in her age group in the Ironman 70.3 in Vietnam! All inspiring women who we’re very proud of.
Wishing you all lots of love for a wonderful Mother’s Day shared with your family and the special super-women in your lives!
Angie
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