Make this Father's Day recipe with the kids
Dads are some of the hardest people to buy for, especially when you want to show him how much he really means to you and the kids. So this year, instead of running around the shops to find a gift, why not spoil him with a home-cooked version of his favourite meal?
After all, they say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and nothing beats a hearty meal like lasagne, shepherd's pie or pasta bake for Dad. Our favourite is a cheesy chicken and mushroom pasta bake - see below for the mouth-watering recipe.
Getting the kids involved to give you a helping hand will not only be fun for them, but also give dad a break from their mischief for a few hours while he pops out for some me-time on the golf course or tackles that project in the garden.
But while the kids will have fun helping to make a feast for daddy, it may lead to the dish staying in the oven a bit too long or a few kitchen disasters might crop up, meaning you end up with food baked onto the dish or stuck on pots and pans - and you can be pretty sure the kids will be nowhere to be seen when it's time to clean up!
Don't panic, though - you're not going to be left scrubbing at burnt-on food all evening. And that's all because of the science behind dishwasher tablets like Fairy Platinum.
When you heat food, the water evaporates, and so the layer between the food and the dish is removed. On top of this, the heat causes a reaction that results in sticky, caramelised (and delicious) food clinging to the dish. Rinsing the dish helps, but it's not always enough to remove the toughest stains, and it can cause starchy foods like pasta to stick even harder.
Fairy Platinum's dishwasher tablets, though, speed up the water action on food, rehydrating and loosening any burnt-on crusty bits with its HydraFast system, allowing it to be washed away.
They also remove any marks and then the Shine Booster Technology ensures the dishes come out with a sparkle, no matter what your water type. So not only will your dishes come out like new each time, the tablets will also help to prevent any limescale build up.
So instead of scrubbing everything at the sink, you can simply pop in a Fairy Platinum tablet, turn the dishwasher on, sit back and relax in the knowledge you'll get the best first-time clean that also helps to keep dishes looking like new, no matter how the Father's Day dinner turns out!
Recipe: cheesy chicken and mushroom pasta bake
If you're looking for a delicious dish that any dad would love (and that's easy enough for the kids to lend a hand), look no further than this feast of chicken, pasta and gooey cheese. With just one dish for the cooking and Fairy taking care of the cleaning, it's a quick and easy way to his heart.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 53 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
225g of your favourite pasta shapes
25g of garlic butter
1 medium leek, trimmed and shredded
225g of button mushrooms, wiped and quartered
100g of spicy deli-style sausage such as chorizo or salami, chopped (optional)
250g of cooked, skinless, boneless chicken
500g of readymade cheese pasta sauce
50g of grated mature Cheddar cheese
50g of Mozzarella cheese, diced
Method
Preheat the oven to 190C (170C fan oven, 375F, gas 5). Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and cook the pasta in boiling water for five minutes. Drain well and place in the bottom of a 1.5 litre shallow baking dish.
Melt the butter in a frying pan and fry the leek and mushrooms for two to three minutes, stirring, until lightly browned. Stir into the pasta and mix in the sausage, if using, and the chicken.
Spread the sauce on top, making sure all the pasta is covered, then sprinkle with the cheeses. Put the dish on a baking tray.
Bake in the oven for 45 minutes until golden and bubbling. Serve straight from the dish.
What's your husband's favourite dish? Let us know in the comments section below.