As a parent, we know exactly what the summer holidays will be like. The kids love the first few weeks but as it’s starts to tail off, the boredom kicks in and then it’s ‘there’s nothing to do’, ‘I’m bored’ so trying to find things for the kids to do to keep them occupied and entertained is the way to go.
My sons love helping my cook and I find that if they do actually help prepare dishes, then they more than likely eat them too. So as it comes to the end of the holidays, I start to get creative with the way we make things, to add a different slant to their meals and to keep them entertained as they help to make them.
We love being set challenges and so it has been great to get involved when Iceland challenged us to discover new products that can make cooking with kids easier with their #PowerOfFrozen challenge. We grabbed our reusable bags and off we went to Iceland, to see what we could find.
The boys love pastry, in fact they’ll probably eat anything if it wrapped in the delicious stuff. And it’s so easy to work with, I buy the frozen puff pastry and use it all the time as it’s just there, in the freezer for when I need it. So, we decided to base our challenge around it.
Walking around Iceland, it took us a while to decide what to create. I mean, with so much food to choose from, it’s hard to not get sidetracked by a big wedge of cake. But eventually we found the perfect make. The 2 meat items that the boys adore and that work together so well.
Today I’m bringing you my super easy recipe for making Sausage and Bacon Rolls.
Sausage and Bacon Rolls
What you’ll need
1 block of Frozen Puff Pastry
A pack of Frozen Sausages
A pack of Bacon
1 Egg
What you need to do
1. The pastry needs a good few hours to defrost thoroughly so take this out the night before you plan to make these. Take one block out and wrap in some clingfilm in the fridge.
2. Pre-heat the over to 200c. Gently fry the sausages in some oil in a frying pan. The amount of sausages you need to cook depends on how many rolls you wish to make. I usually stick with the how many pieces of bacon are in the pack as you’ll need one piece for each roll. Once cooked, set aside to cool. 
3. Roll out the puff pastry to about 0.5cm. To stop it sticking, put a little flour on the work surface and the rolling pin. The kids love this part as it’s like play-dough.
4. Cut out each piece of pastry to about 3″ x 6″ and set aside.
5. Now a fun part. Place a piece of bacon flat on your work surface and get the kids to roll a sausage up in the bacon. 
6. Do the same again with the pastry around this, washing the end with the egg so it will stick it down. Use a serrated knife to slice the top of the pastry to stop it exploding whilst cooking.
7. Use the rest of the egg to all around the pastry to give it a glaze. 
7. Use the rest of the egg to all around the pastry to give it a glaze.
8. Keep going until all the bacon is gone and then pop in the oven for 20 minutes.
Take out and set aside to cool. I usually serve these will a side salad or we sometimes pop them in a Tupperware box and take them on a picnic with us.
I like that they are super easy to make and offer and nice flavour. They are also great if you’re feeling a bit adventurous as you can add extras such as chillies etc into the mix. And there you have it, homemade and super simple sausage and bacon rolls.
But it doesn’t stop there. Those blocks of pastry are usually so big that a lot of it is wasted. Well, not in my house as I like to use every scrap of it. Once I’ve finished sorting the sausage and bacon rolls, I get to work making my super scrummy chocolate and nut plaits.
Chocolate and Nut Plaits
What you’ll need
1 block of Frozen Puff Pastry
A jar of Chocolate Spread
A jar of Peanut Butter
1 Egg
What you need to do
1. Defrost the pastry and then pre-heat the oven as mentioned above.
2. Roll out the pastry to about 0.5cm in thickness and then cut out rectangles nearly double the size of before, at around 6″ x 10″.
3. Add 3 spoonfuls of peanut butter down the centre of the pastry making sure not to go too close to the edges. Do the same with the chocolate spread but place this on top of the peanut butter.
4. Cut down either side to give you the strands that you’ll plait with and then took the top and bottom in.
5. Plait the pastry over the filling making sure to use egg to seal each part. Use a plaiting motion to tuck each piece in. Cover the complete pastry in egg.
6. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until brown and then take out to cool.
Serve with cream, ice cream or even custard. I even sometimes make these and then divide them up for lunchboxes. It’s a great homemade alternative to other foods.
How’s that for simple ways to cook and entertain the kids this summer. Not only do you get the lunch but you get the dessert too and they are easy to make. All thanks to Iceland for challenging me to get creative with the kids.
Do let me know if you try any of these recipes as I’d love to see your results…
My kids would probably love the sausage rolls and I would have to hide the nutella!
Oooh both of these sound amazing! I will need to try this with gluten free pastry!
http://www.sparklesatmidnight.com
Made these both yesterday
It was fun and they were delicious
That looks delicious! Must try this
As I don't have kids we rarely bother with frozen, but these look delish!
Never mind the kids, I want and need to try both, Nutella and Peanut butter – wow!
I bet my kids would love these! I wish we had an Iceland up here in Shetland.
Wow. Both of these look amazing! Beastie would love the sausage and bacon rolls and all 3 of my kids would devour the chocolate plaits! Think I need to stock up 😉
My kids would love both of these, especially the nutella! We have an Iceland literally across the road from us so I'm constantly shopping in there, it's fab for food
Wow these are some fantastic ideas and so simple! I bet I could also made a veggie version of the sausage recipe – great for summer picnics
Laura x