Children’s Books: Five Roarsome Books about Dinosaurs!

I write about our love of dinosaurs quite a lot on this blog. We have toys, games, dino figurines, DVDs and stacks and stacks of books about dinosaurs. We have a good selection of non-fiction books about dinosaurs, but we also have a couple of fiction books about them too, like Dinosaurs love Underpants. For this round-up we’ve chosen five of our favourite non-fiction books about dinosaurs; because if there’s one thing we love, it’s a big book of dinosaur facts!

Children's Books: Five Roarsome Books about Dinosaurs!

Five Roarsome Books about Dinosaurs!

Lift-the-flap Questions and Answers about Dinosaurs by Katie Daynes has been one of our favourite dino books for a year or so now. It’s beautifully illustrated and wonderfully engaging. This interactive flap book will answer all kinds of questions. It’s great for young readers, my son sits for hours reading and lifting the flaps. It’s a real favourite!

Dinosaur Number Crunch! by Kevin Pettman is a snappily written, fact-packed overview of the world of dinosaurs. It’s jam-packed full of colourful, well-illustrated facts. It contains all the essential info that dinosaur fans need to know; such as where they lived, what they ate, how big they were, how fast they could run, how many teeth they had and their key weapons. You can read our full review of this book here, but it’s one of our favourites!

National Geographic Kids: Little Kids First Big Book of Dinosaurs by Catherine D. Hughes is for children aged 4- to 8-years-old who LOVE dinos! This fact packed book brings the prehistoric world to life with dinosaurs small, big, giant, and gigantic. The book is easy to read and contains lots of age appropriate information, better still, there’s an interactive element, so if you want to find out more, you can do!

The Complete Book of Dinosaurs by Dougal Dixon is the ultimate guide to 355 dinosaurs from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. It includes more than 900 illustrations, maps, timelines and photographs. It is the ultimate dinosaur guide for children who want to take their knowledge to the next level.

Usborne Pop-Up Dinosaurs by Fiona Watt is perfect for littler ones. This adorably illustrated book is ideal for mini dino fans. The book features all kinds of dinosaurs which pop up and move. Learn a little more about each dinosaur, from the long-necked Brachiosaurus, the triceratops with sharp horns, and the most famous dinosaur of them all, Tyrannosaurus Rex! It’s simply written and a delightful book to share with small children.

We are always looking for new books about dinosaurs to read at home. Have we missed any that we absolutely must get? Please let us know in the comments.

Children's Books: Five Roarsome Books about Dinosaurs!

This post contains affiliate links.

Toy Review: UNTAMED Raptors by Fingerlings

Last year, probably very high on most Christmas lists you’d find Fingerlings. They were cute little monkeys who would cling to your finger and be adorable. This is all very sweet; but for my son who favours a fearsome dinosaur over almost anything else, the thing he’s most been looking forward to this spring was the launch of UNTAMED Raptors – fearsome dinosaur fingerlings which roar, snap and snarl at you.

Toy Review: UNTAMED Raptors by Fingerlings

The UNTAMED Raptors which have just been launched in the UK are available in four different characters; each with its own name and unique personality. Choose from Stealth, Blaze, Fury and Razor. Each raptor has snapping jaws, gripping claws and they react to touch, motion and noise. They have over 40 different sounds and reactions. The UNTAMED Raptors are based on Velociraptors, so would tick some boxes for young dinosaur fans like my son.

We welcomed Blaze the Raptor into our home. We weren’t really sure what to make of him, until I spotted the on/off button on the back of his head. He immediately sprung to life, snarling and chomping.

Toy Review: UNTAMED Raptors by Fingerlings

I was a little worried that Blaze (our Raptor) would have pretty limited appeal; but he’s been a roaring, hissing part of our lives for a few days now. I asked my son what he thought of it, and he said he liked all the noises and the way it moves. He’s figured out more or less where to tap the Raptor to get it to react to him. Although he left it alone when he left the room and it lay there thrashing and roaring to itself for a minute or two which was quite funny.

It’s a sturdy figure, made of plastic and colourfully painted. It has moving parts such as its eyes, mouth and head and its legs are positioned so they wrap around your finger. The space where you put your finger is quite small, it is absolutely the right size for my son’s fingers, but a little too tight for my dainty digits.

Toy Review: UNTAMED Raptors by Fingerlings

It fits in really well with my son’s extensive dinosaur collection. What sets it apart is that it is so animated compared to the rest of his figures. It has a slightly cartoonish appearance, but with all the snarling, roaring and chomping, it makes it a little bit adorable, in a fearsome way.

The Verdict: Really cool dino figures who respond and react to you. They seem to be really good quality, they’re certainly lots of fun and they’re very appealing, especially to dinosaur fans. We think they’re roarsome!

The UNTAMED Raptors Fingerlings are suitable for ages 5+ and cost £16.99 each.

Toy Review: UNTAMED Raptors by Fingerlings

We have been sent the UNTAMED Raptor for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

A little catch up – March 2018

Last month I wrote a little catch up post and I really enjoyed writing it and I think people liked reading it too, so here I am again with all our news from March.

On paper March was supposed to be quite a peaceful month with not much going on. By the end of the month I was wishing it would all be over soon and hoping someone would let me find a dark room to lie down in for a few days.

It’s not all been bad, in fact most of it has been lovely. Mother’s Day was a peaceful affair. We just chilled out at home, I got a card and some flowers and that’s all I wanted and needed. The boys know I’m a woman of simple tastes, thankfully.

After a year of mostly hibernating and hiding from the world, I booked two social events which I knew would be good for my old soul. The first was an afternoon at the Gin Festival at Manchester’s Victoria Baths with my good friends Karen and Jen. It was a really lovely afternoon of good food, good gin and great company. It was just what I needed.

A little catch up - March 2018

The second trip out was an evening at an embroidery workshop at a new craft shop in Didsbury. It’s called Crafts and Makes and is on School Lane. I made a really cute Scandinavian Fox and learned lots of things about embroidery – something I’ve not really done since school. It’s a great little shop and one I hope to visit again very soon. I do love a good craft workshop!

So that was the good, now for the not so good. Last weekend my son who has glue ear woke up in lots of pain, soon after one of his eardrums perforated and he was really quite poorly. We tried to get him antibiotics but the GP wouldn’t prescribe them.

Two nights later his other eardrum perforated, the infection had spread and he started vomiting; he had an aversion to light and his skin went all grey and mottled. We instantly went from quite worried about our poorly son to OH MY GOD LETS GET HIM TO HOSPITAL. The Doctor was brilliant, we were seen pretty quickly too. He was given a really good check over and we were sent home with a list of red flags to watch out for and some antibiotics.

It’s been four days since our hospital adventure and his infection seems to be clearing up. I am glad we’re off school for the next two weeks, he’s absolutely shattered. He’s sleeping 14 hours a night and too tired and weak to do very much at all during the day. It’s hard seeing my normally bouncy boy like this.

One thing which has cheered him up was a visit from the Easter Bunny. Like most things with us, Easter was a pretty low-key affair. My boy was too ill to be dragged about doing stuff and a quick Easter egg hunt in the garden was about as much as he could manage.

A little catch up - March 2018

I’d spent most of the previous week inside looking after the boy, so I took the chance to escape to church for a really special Easter service in the church yard. It was well worth the 5am alarm and creeping out of the house in the dark. I got home again about 7.30am and grabbed the dog and took her for a really long walk. I was loving the fresh air, the bright, clear spring day and the fact that there was no one else around. We walked for miles and I managed to tire her out, a virtually impossible task. I felt so much better for getting out and having a bit of space to myself.

So that was March, a gin filled, crafty little month. I think in time I’ll look back on this month mostly remembering my heart being in my mouth when my son was being checked over by the Doctor. Lets hope April shows significant signs of improvement!

What have you been up to this March?

Recipe: Cornflake Tart – a school dinner treat

School dinners in the 1980’s were never really going to win many awards for excellence. I do have fond memories of a few select dishes – spam fritters and mashed potato being one. But mostly I remember grey slivers of liver in a murky sauce and most puddings served with a side of tinned prunes. One stand out dish I remember with significant fondness is Cornflake Tart, or cornflake pie.

Recipe: Cornflake Tart - a school dinner treat

Cornflake Tart is simple, cheap, sweet and filling. There’s not a lot that’s healthy about it, but for nostalgia’s sake I had to recreate it. Served with a ladle of steaming custard, this school dinner treat really hit the spot. Crisp shortcrust pastry, a thick layer of raspberry jam topped with sticky golden syrup smothered cornflakes. Was that the bell for dinnertime?

It’s best if you can make this ahead to allow the golden syrupy cornflakes to set a little, but even if you can’t wait, it’s so good impatience can be forgiven!

Recipe: Cornflake Tart - a school dinner treat

Easy Recipe: Cornflake Tart

Ingredients:
For the pastry –
114g plain flour
56g butter, cubed
A pinch of salt
2-3 tablespoons of cold water
-or- a packet of ready rolled shortcrust pastry

For the filling –
110g golden syrup
80g butter
30g sugar
100g Cornflakes, though add more if you think it needs it
100g raspberry or strawberry jam

Method:
Put the flour and butter in the mixing bowl and rub the flour and butter together with your finger tips until they look like breadcrumbs. Add the water but do not make it wet or sticky. Knead gently together and wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill in fridge for about 20 minutes.

Roll out your pastry and line a greased tart tray with the pastry and trim the edges. Prick the pastry all over and bake blind, for around 20 minutes at Gas Mark 6/400’F/200’C/180 Fan.

Melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a large heavy bottomed saucepan, remove the pan from the heat then stir in the cornflakes.

Spread a thin layer of jam over the bottom of the pastry case and tip the cornflake and syrup mixture evenly on top of the jam. If the jam is too thick to spread, warm it slightly in microwave for a few seconds.

Put the tart back in the oven for 5 minutes to allow the mixture to set. Serve in thick slices with as much custard as you can cope with.

Recipe: Cornflake Tart - a school dinner treat

School dinner bliss, and you don’t hear that every day!

If you enjoyed this recipe, you might like some of my other cakes, bakes, puddings and pies which you can find here.

Recipe: Cornflake Tart - a school dinner treat

Easter Weekend: Cadbury Easter Eggs and tall tales

We were sent a selection of Cadbury Easter Eggs and a copy of The Tale of The Great Easter Bunny in return for this post.

Hurrah! The Easter weekend is finally here! We’ve been busy getting ready for our own Easter Egg hunt. We are also excited to be spending a long weekend together as a family. Easter is a really special time of year for us; we have a weekend full of family traditions ahead of us and of course the biggest tradition of all – eating lots of Cadbury Easter Eggs!

Twenty years after Cadbury first published The Tale of The Great Easter Bunny; singer-songwriter and mum of two, Frankie Bridge from The Saturdays has adapted this famous Easter story book for modern readers. To celebrate this, Cadbury have made it available as a free download on their website, the perfect Easter story for little egg hunters!

Easter Traditions: Cadbury Easter Eggs and tall tales

The story follows the adventures of brother and sister Jack and Molly. They discover a series of mysterious clues and embark on an exciting Easter Egg Hunt with their parents; Tom and Sarah. What the family don’t know is that there is a secret, hidden rabbit-hole at the bottom of their garden. Is that where the Easter Bunny really lives?

I will be reading this lovely story to my son on Saturday night so he can go to sleep getting in the mood for our Easter egg hunt on Sunday morning. If you want to join an Easter egg hunt; Cadbury have partnered with the National Trust again this year. There are over 300 hunts to choose from across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; guaranteeing a fun-filled Easter for everyone!  To find the nearest hunt to you, visit cadbury.co.uk/Easter.

Of course, for us, Easter wouldn’t be Easter if the Easter Bunny didn’t pay us a visit and hide lots of Cadbury Easter Eggs around our garden. Easter egg hunts are the most fun, and you get to eat what you find too! Happy Easter!

Easter Traditions: Cadbury Easter Eggs and tall tales

We were sent a selection of Cadbury Easter Eggs and a copy of The Tale of The Great Easter Bunny in return for this post.

Easter Crafts: 3 Ideas for Eggcellent Painted Eggs

When I got an email from school reminding me that entries for the Easter Egg Painting competition needed to be handed in this week, I went into a slight panic. Although we love doing crafts together, he can be a bit easily distracted if something isn’t done and dusted in one session. We chatted about what we could do and between us we came up with three easy ideas for painted eggs.

This was very much a two-day job. We needed to paint our hard-boiled eggs a few days in advance so they could dry properly, then finish them off another day.

We had decided to make ladybird, a strawberry and a flowering cactus painted eggs. We’ve painted stones and ladybirds and strawberries before, so I knew we could probably do them easily.

I hard-boiled three eggs and left them to cool overnight. The next day the boy painted two of them red and one green; we left them to dry overnight. I’d left them in the little painting bowls we used, so I needed to turn them so they’d dry evenly.

Painted Eggs – A Strawberry

We started off with the strawberry which he had painted red. While he used a black marker pen to draw dots on for seeds, I cut out some green tissue paper for the leaves and made a pipecleaner stem which I bent at the bottom. Using a glue gun I glued the leaves and stem to the top of the strawberry and left it to dry. To present it, we nestled it in an egg try on top of some shredded yellow paper for straw.

Easter Crafts: Three Ideas for Eggcellent Painted Eggs

Painted Eggs – A Flowering Cactus

Next we moved on to our flowering cactus. This was quite simple. While I made a pink flower out of a couple of scraps of pink tissue paper, he drew X’s all over to look like cactus prickles. Once he’d finished, I used the hot glue gun to stick the tissue paper on top. Then we turned an empty cardboard kitchen roll tube into a plant pot for the cactus. We cut it down and taped up the bottom so the egg wouldn’t fall out. We then filled the pot with tissue paper and then nestled the cactus on top.

Easter Crafts: Three Ideas for Eggcellent Painted Eggs

Painted Eggs – A Ladybird

Finally we painted up the ladybird. I drew the line down its back and made a circle for its face, he coloured the face in black and added the spots. Then I used the hot glue gun to fix some googly eyes to its face and it was done.

Easter Crafts: Three Ideas for Eggcellent Painted Eggs

I think these are really simple to do and they look great too. My son and I enjoyed working on them together. I could probably have easily used PVA glue instead of the glue gun; but it was quicker and the glue dries much faster. Plus I wanted to try out my new toy (I have the burnt fingers to show for it too)!

If you enjoyed this, you might also like these other Easter Crafts:

Easter Crafts: 3 Ideas for Eggcellent Painted Eggs

Blogger Board Game Club: Codenames Pictures

I am part of the Asmodee UK Blogger Board Game Club run by Playtime PR. Each month 50 bloggers are sent a board game to play and put to the test. This month we were sent Codenames Pictures card game to play.

Blogger Board Game Club: Codenames Pictures

Last month we struck Blogger Board Game Club gold with the Timeline British History Card Game. It was easy to set up, the rules were simple, everything fit into a little tin so you could take it anywhere easily. This month we were sent the much more complicated Codenames Pictures game which comes with a 12 page set of rules and instructions.

Ideally you need a minimum of four people to play this game, we tried with just two and it wasn’t as exciting as we suspect it could be. In teams of at least two people, one of you plays the role of Spy Master, the others, are Field Operatives. The spy master has to give cryptic clues and the field operatives have to guess the answer correctly. Innocent bystanders can get hurt or your rival spy team could get the upper hand. Either way, it’s complicated.

Blogger Board Game Club: Codenames Pictures

Codenames Pictures is described as a simple guessing game, but it’s harder than that. The spy master has to give the field operatives a codeword relating to one of more of the picture cards on the board. For example there might be a fish in a glass of water. The spy master might give the clue “gills”; the field operatives then have to touch the card or cards they think they relate to. If this is guessed correctly then the picture card is covered with a red or blue spy card. This depends on what the pattern on the key card is, see, it’s complicated.

I’m not even going to try to explain how the game fully works, there’s a 12 page booklet you can read if you want the full rundown.

Blogger Board Game Club: Codenames Pictures

Codenames Pictures is aimed at people aged 10+. I think once you’ve got a small group of players together and everyone has read the rule book several times, then it could be quite fun. But it is quite complicated and the kind of thing you need to absorb yourself in for a few hours. Each game is quite quick really, it should take around 15 minutes per game. But if you’re going to go to the trouble of mastering the rules, then it’s worth playing a few games in one sitting.

I probably sound quite down on Codenames Pictures, but I’m not really. It’s not the kind of game I would normally go for. I like quick to set up games with simple rules. This is fairly quick to set up, but all the rules are a bit much for me.

Would I play Codenames Pictures again? Probably, but only with a group of friends and with a bottle of wine.

Find Codename Pictures on Amazon today, rrp £15.99.

We were sent the Codenames Pictures card game for review for the Asmodee UK Blogger Board Game Club. All images and opinions are our own.
Find other board game and toy reviews here.

How a chore chart motivated my son to help around the house

A few weeks ago I was having a look around The Works and stocking up on craft bits and pieces and interesting books. While I was in there I spotted a magnetic whiteboard chore chart for £1 and I thought it would be worth buying just to see if it encouraged my son to help out a little more.

My 7 year old son is fairly helpful. Admittedly he will never do anything without being asked, but we are trying to get him to take some responsibility for himself and get him to tackle a few basic chores around the house. He’s at that age where he’s started to ask for a little bit of pocket money to buy things, and it wouldn’t kill him to put his dirty clothes in the laundry basket each night.

My son is a busy boy, what with school and a few after-school activities, I don’t like to push him too hard. In many ways I just want him to chill out and be 7. But I’d also like him to not leave a trail of mess and chaos everywhere he went.

How a chore chart motivated my son to help around the house

His chore chart is fairly simple. It lists in general terms the homework he has to do each week –

  • Homework for school
  • Homework for his tutor
  • Learn his spellings
  • Read his school books

I also threw in “Get ready for Beavers”. He loves going to Beavers, it’s one of the highlights of his week, but every single week we have a battle to get him into his uniform. If rewarding him for getting ready with no fuss is the secret to a peaceful household, then it’s totally worth it.

I’ve also added the following chores –

  • Empty the dishwasher
  • Put your dirty clothes in the laundry basket
  • Do the recycling

The first two are things we think he needs to do to help out. They take a few minutes each day and he knows he will get some pocket money at the end of each week for doing it. The recycling is something he needs to do to work towards a badge for Beavers. It’s a chore my husband hates, but my son seems to love it. Recycling will stay on the chore chart until he gets his Beavers badge.

He does love helping out around the house. I think it’s important to get kids involved in looking after their home. He’s not great at keeping his room tidy; but he is only 7 and I’m absolutely delighted with the contributions he is already making around the house. I hope it will help him to have a little bit of pride in his surroundings.

I couldn’t find our chore chart online, but I’ve found something similar on Amazon. 

How a chore chart motivated my son to help around the house

This post contains an affiliate link.

What’s on in Manchester this Easter?

The two week Easter break is looming ever closer and the “fancy a playdate?” texts are flying thick and fast. Two weeks is a lot of time to fill; my son needs to relax and chill out after a busy term, but he also wants and needs to do some fun things too. I’ve picked out some fun and interesting things to do in and around Manchester over Easter 2018.

Easter Egg Hunts

Local Easter Egg Hunts are being advertised all over Facebook. It’s well work keeping an eye out for what’s on local to you, but I’ve spotted they’re happening at Abney Hall in Cheadle, Didsbury Park, Wythenshawe Park, Heaton Park and lots more locations.

What's on in Manchester this Easter?

Elizabeth Gaskell House

Visit Elizabeth Gaskell House this Easter for some springtime fun. With Easter egg trails, Easter crafts, visits from our Victorian servants, and more throughout the Easter holidays.

The House is open from 11-3pm on Easter Sunday and on Wednesdays and Sundays throughout the Easter school holidays. For more information about what’s on and when, visit their website.

Museum of Science and Industry

There’s always so much going on at the Museum of Science and Industry, you could go at any time and find lots of things of interest. For space fans, they’ve got some real treats in store this Easter.

Space, the final frontier, is waiting to be explored this Easter holiday with activities and shows packed with more fun than an astronaut’s freeze-dried dinner. Families can make their own space mission patch, race DIY space rovers, and help decide which is the best space invention. Plus they can take a (virtual) trip from the International Space Station to Earth with everyone’s favourite spaceman, Tim Peake, in Space Descent VR. Then see his actual Soyuz capsule and spacesuit up close in the superstar display. And don’t miss the Soyuz demonstration to find out more about how Tim came home. With all this and more, any visit is bound to be ‘out of this world’.

Tim Peake science

Waterside Arts Centre, Sale

We always try to take a trip to the theatre during school holidays, so I’ve already booked tickets to go and see The Sagas of Noggin the Nog at Waterside Arts in Sale. They always have an interesting programme of shows and events on for all the family.

The Sagas of Noggin the Nog (on Tuesday 3 April at 14:30) is based on the original stories and films by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin. A company of rather English Vikings tells a story in live action, with puppetry, live music and projection of clips from the original films in this delightfully different theatre show for families and Noggin the Nog fans. The show consists of two 35-minute stories with an interval in the middle.

On Easter Saturday catch a new spin on the classic tale – Red Riding Hood. Robyn starts to read the classic fairy tale and, frustrated with the story, she begins to tell her own version, featuring her beloved wolf at its heart and told from his perspective. He’s not big, bad or scary – he’s an all-round nice guy. And Red Riding Hood is not what she seems. The play is suitable for ages 7 and above and there are performances at 11:30 and 14:30.

intu Trafford Centre

The intu Trafford Centre has so much going on this Easter, it’s impossible to fit it all into a couple of paragraphs. As well as LEGOLAND Discovery Centre and SEA LIFE, there are lots of events for Easter 2018 in store.

There’s the Sylvanian Families Town Roadshow will take place at intu Trafford Centre from 10am to 5pm on Saturday 31st March. The character performances will be staged on lower Peel Avenue. Sylvanian Families fans and fashion lovers alike will love this free family event featuring the world’s smallest catwalk on Saturday 31 March. Throughout the day, children can watch their favourite characters singing and dancing or pose for photographs with them between the shows.

On Friday 30 and Saturday 31 March, Selfridge’s will be hosting an Easter Eggstravaganza for children ages 3 – 10 years old. There will be eggciting games, a delicious breakfast and the annual Selfridges’ Easter Egg Hunt.  For more information and tickets visit – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/easter-eggstravaganza-selfridges-trafford-tickets-43445533761

Plus John Lewis have a whole range of events on in store. In the toy section on Friday 30th, Saturday 31st and Monday 2nd April you can join in with story time; colouring for fun and Easter card making.

What's on in Manchester this Easter? Easter Eggs

Dobbies Garden Centre

I love a nice family breakfast at Easter, just before the onslaught of chocolate eggs!  Why not head down to your local Dobbies Garden Centre for a Family Easter Bunny Breakfast? Enjoy a delicious breakfast; then afterwards children will get to meet the Easter Bunny and receive a free Lindt chocolate bunny to take home and enjoy. These breakfasts are available from Friday 30th March until 2nd April and are £8.95 per child and £4.95 per adult. For more information, visit their website.

Have I missed anything? What will you be doing during Easter 2018?

Recipe: Easy Pesto Baked Fish – family meal favourite!

If you were to ask my family what their favourite meal is, it would be Pesto Baked Fish. If you were to ask me what the quickest, healthiest meal I make is, it would be Pesto Baked Fish. It takes me about 2 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook. The fish just seems to evaporate from their plates as soon as I put it in front of them. It’s a speedy-dinner winner!

We are very lucky to have a good traditional fishmonger in our village. I always try and buy my fish from there; it’s good to shop local when you can and the fish is incredible quality. It’s so fresh and they can bone it and prepare it any way I want. For this recipe I use one fillet of white fish per person. I was cooking for the boys so I needed two fillets of skin-on white fish. The sea bass looked great, so I opted for that. I have also bought some plaice fillets and put them in the freezer for another week.

Recipe: Easy Pesto Baked Fish - a family meal favourite!

If you don’t have a fishmonger local to you; you can buy packets of skin-on fillets of fish from the supermarket. You can choose any white fish you like the look of. I’ve made this with plaice, sole, cod, haddock or bass. If you’re cooking a thicker fillet of fish like cod, make sure you cook it for a bit longer to allow for the extra thickness of the fish.

The NHS recommends that we eat two portions of fish each week, with at least one portion being oily fish such as salmon. I’m sure this recipe would also work well with salmon, but my boys find it a bit boring and much prefer the white fish. The white fish I choose is low in fat, an excellent source of protein and contains some of those omega-3 fatty acids which are essential to our diet.

Pesto Baked Fish

Ingredients:
1 fillet of fish per person
Freshly ground pepper
1 heaped spoon of pesto, red or green pesto work equally well
1 teaspoon of breadcrumbs
A small knob of butter

Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 200°.

Check your fish over for bones and remove any that you find. Put your fish skin side down on a baking tray which has been covered in baking parchment. Grind some black pepper over the top and put a dab of butter on the paper either side of the fish.

Spread a heaped teaspoon of pesto over the fish. You can use red or green pesto, whichever is your favourite, both work well. Scatter your breadcrumbs over the pesto. I have a tub of dried breadcrumbs in my cupboard, but I have used fresh breadcrumbs. Both kinds are fine, use whichever you have to hand.

Recipe: Easy Pesto Baked Fish - a family meal favourite!

Bake in your pre-heated oven for 15 minutes (or longer if your fish fillets are thick). Check they’re cooked through, they should be starting to brown slightly at the thin edges. Once they’re cooked, take them out of the oven and serve.

Recipe: Easy Pesto Baked Fish - a family meal favourite!

As you can see I’ve served my fish today with creamy mashed potato and vegetables. In the summer it is accompanied by new potatoes and a lovely fresh salad. It’s a flexible, simple summer which is guaranteed to be wolfed down every time by my hungry boys.

If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also enjoy my 55 ideas for family meals your kids will actually eat.Recipe: Easy Pesto Baked Fish - a family meal favourite!