The Crazy Kitchen

Dr Oetker Cake Decorations....not just for cakes

2013-05-18T21:00:00.000+01:00

Dr Oetker (pronounced Urtker) , founded in 1893, has a massive range of home baking products including baking powders, chocolates, icings, cake decorations and mixes.

I was sent a variety of cake decorations to use out in my baking, so, as you do, decided to make some fancy ice creams with them.

These are decorated with Soft Shimmer Pearls, Wafer Daisies and and Chocolate Hearts , so pretty.

I have been sent a selection of Dr Oetker products to use in my baking

Getting that hour back

2013-05-17T20:53:00.000+01:00

Dreams recently ran a competition asking the nation what they would do if they could win that hour back that we lost when the clocks changed at the end of March. There were answers such as 'stop playing Candy Crush', 'have a meal with a partner', 'get pampered' and 'spend extra time with a recently lost loved one'.

As a special treat I went here to spend my hour that Dreams kindly gave me back...

myself and a friend did a little bit of indulging, perfect for a Friday afternoon.....

The service was excellent, as was the food - do you see the size of those scones and we had 2 each! We of course asked for a doggy bag (is that the done thing in such establishments?) and the lovely friendly waitress popped a couple of cupcakes in the top of the bag too.

Time ran away with us and we didn't just enjoy our hour but instead spent a lovely blissful 2 1/2 hours relaxing and chatting whilst the husband held the fort at home with another sick child.

If you ever find yourself in the heart of Staffordshire with an hour or two on your hands I would definitely recommend checking out Weston Hall, it's a gorgeous location.

Thank you Dreams!

Cinnamon and Raisin Bread

2013-05-15T22:26:00.000+01:00

After watching a few episodes of Paul Hollywood's 'Bread' series I vowed I would get to grips with making bread by hand. I was then asked if I would like to put a Panasonic breadmaker through its paces so the handmade bread quickly went out of the window...I mean, why have a dog & bark yourself.

Feeling a little under the weather and in need of comfort food I wanted to get a loaf made straight away. Thankfully I had already stocked up on bread flour and yeast in preparation and decided upon a fruited bread, adapting a milk bread recipe from my Complete Book of Bread & Bread Machines, which has some great recipes in.

After a quick glance through the instruction booklet for the Panasonic machine it seemed straightforward enough, I just had to remember to add the dry ingredients to the pan first, unlike the machine I'd used previously. This one also has a yeast dispenser, to add the yeast only when it's needed, as well as a nut dispenser which adds nuts and dried fruit to the dough later in the process, to avoid being chewed up by the machine.

I was surprised that the loaf was going to take 4 hours to bake, rather than the 3 hours in my previous machine. I suppose breadmakers are a little like slow cookers, they are a great convenience but you do need a little forward planning & organisation.

I was a little confused when I started up the machine as it didn't appear to do anything, but after checking the booklet again it would seem that for the majority of the cycles there is a rest period of around 30 minutes before the kneading begins, I believe this is to regulate the ingredients.

Anyway, after the 4 hours (perfect timing just as we walked in from the school run) I was presented with this little beauty...

I say 'little' but it was actually huge - a whopping 8 inches in height! There are options to make smaller loaves, the quantities just have to be adjusted accordingly.

Cinnamon and Raisin Bread

675g Strong White bread flour
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp granulated sugar (I used Truvia baking blend instead)
2 tbsp melted butter
280ml milk
130ml water
3 tsp ground cinnamon
7g dried yeast
100g juicy raisins

Add the dry ingredients apart from the yeast and raisins to the loaf pan
Add the wet ingredients to the loaf pan
Insert the pan into the breadmaker
Add the yeast to the yeast dispenser & the raisins to the nut dispenser
Close the lid and start the machine - I used the raisin bread setting (03), with a medium crust and size XL
Once baked remove immediately from the pan

The raisins in the bread stayed completely whole & were well distributed. I think I will add additional cinnamon next time as it could've done with a little more flavour. Still very enjoyable sliced and buttered, or toasted, or as a banana or jam sandwich, or even toasted with caramelised bananas over and served with ice cream...

I have been sent the breadmaker to trial for a period of time

Chickens, Morris Dancers and Golden Syrup Cookies

2013-05-14T09:30:00.000+01:00

I've just returned from a great weekend with some of my amazing friends. There was lots of laughter and talking until the early hours, along with possibly too much eating and drinking.

Magaluf may be a bit tacky in places but it's not all burgers and chips and we found a nice little beach bar that served us morning, noon & night with salmon & scrambled egg, spicy chicken salads, fishfinger wraps with jalapeno tartare sauce (very nice) and even accommodated me with my requests of toast with sliced apple and a banana toastie with cinnamon.

We also took a short taxi ride to the very exclusive marina of Puerto Portals where the rich & famous hang out. We never spotted any but did enjoy some very nice food and drink overlooking the Marina.

Of course we ate some junk food as well and it became a bit of a ritual calling in at the chicken shop on the way back to the hotel, if only to take a break from the hill known as 'cardiac hill'.

Daytimes were spent lazing on the beach, laughing about the previous evening and catching up on gossip from home.

We all took supplies of food for eating on the balcony and beach, from apricots to tinned sardines (just don't ask!) and cheesy balls to homemade cookies, we had a good selection of snacks.

Oh and there was the costumes....one night we all dressed as chickens /flamingoes and the next as Morris Dancers. Well you can imagine the reaction to seeing 14 yellow chickens and 5 pink flamingoes walking down the street!

oh and if you're wondering how my husband & kids coped without me, they managed just fine - they went through sickness, a swimming gala, trip to a market (where they got lots of bargains) and a birthday party....who needs Mum hey!

Now back to those cookies. This is a recipe that I adapted slightly from one given to me by one of the Mums at school after she made some for Preschool afternoon tea a couple of weeks ago. I doubled the batch and took half with me and left the other half at home to keep the kids fed whilst I was away.

Golden Syrup Cookies - makes approx 20-24

115g Butter, softened
230g Caster sugar
35g Golden syrup
1 Egg
230g Self Raising Flour
1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

Beat the butter and sugar together
Mix in the golden syrup & egg
Stir the flour and bicarbonate of soda together and add to the butter/sugar mixture
Roll mixture into small balls (approx tbsp) and place on a greased baking sheet, spaced well apart
Bake in a preheated 170 C oven for approx 10-12 minutes, until golden brown
Cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack
Store in an airtight container

How to make the perfect cup of coffee

2013-05-13T23:00:00.000+01:00

Guest Post written by Sarah Phillips on behalf of Tassimo

The idea of a 'perfect cup of coffee' is difficult because it can mean so many things to different people.

You might be one of those who likes coffee to come in very small china cups, be thick and dark and almost like treacle. You could be someone who thinks of coffee as something in a tall Styrofoam container with lots of frothy milk and different hints of flavour combinations.

Whatever style of coffee you go for, it can be difficult to learn how to make it at home, which is why there are so many coffee shops on our high streets today.

Buying a coffee when you are out used to mean taking pot luck as to whether it would even be drinkable or not. The French and Italians have always had the knack of being able to make a perfect cup of coffee seemingly everywhere you could want one, but the K has taken a long time to catch up.

Although it's now relatively easy to get a decent cup of coffee anywhere in the country, it isn't likely to come cheap. The cost of paying for a coffee each day can soon mount up over a month.

So the news that you can now make the perfect cup in the comfort of your own home is to be welcomed. No matter whether you prefer a Latte, Cappuccino or Americano, the Tassimo coffee machine can give you exactly what you want, when you want it.

Not only does a Tassimo look great in any kitchen, but thanks to manufacturer Bosch’s innovative 'flow heater technology' there’s virtually no heat-up time, so you don't have to wait, you can brew your drink right away.

The process also means that it only heats water only on demand, and then switches off immediately after each brewing cycle, so it's a green machine that has extremely low consumption levels.

You simply choose a 'pod' (the machine also makes a great cup of tea or hot chocolate), pop it into the machine and off you go. The XL size water tank also means that no matter how many people you are entertaining, no one has to wait long for their perfect cup.

There's a full range of coffee tastes and styles available in the pods, and there's even a special 'cleaning pod' tucked away in the back of the machine for a simple and straight forward cleaning regime.

The really clever bit is the 'Intelligent barcode technology' which reads the information on each pod and then goes into action with just the right amount of water, length of time and temperature to brew your cup of choice in precisely the right way.

Bank Holidays and Girls Holidays

2013-05-07T19:45:00.001+01:00

If I'm being totally honest I wasn't really looking forward to the bank holiday weekend. The thought of a weekend at Pontins in Southport did not fill me with excitement. I can honestly say now though that it doesn't matter if your accommodation resembles a prison camp with leaky showers and mouldy windows, as it's all about the company that you're with.

We went to Pontins for a football tour, Sam and 14 of his 11 and 12 year old team-mates, along with some of their parents, some of whom I had only met briefly and some that I hadn't met at all. First of all they had a team presentation where Sam picked up the Parent's Player of the Year award.

The boys then went on to do us all proud, over the 2 days of the tournament, winning all of their 8 games and then going on to win in the final after a very tense penalty shoot out. The boys were all so well behaved and proved themselves to be such great sportsmen when they not only picked up a trophy almost as big as some of the players, but also walked away with the Fair Play award.

We all had such a great time, with lots of laughs amongst the children and parents.

Hanna and Jack also had a great time, getting together with friends and making new ones. Jack is in his element playing with the boys from the football team, it's like he has 15 big brothers not just 1.

We enjoyed time on the beach, despite the cold northern winds

and lots of football playing

but now the time has come for my girls weekend away so I'm packing up and shipping out for 4 nights in Majorca. As usual I've left a few essentials for the family - a pan of bolognaise, a fully stocked fridge, cake and homemade cookies in the cookie jar.

Catch you on the other side.....

Walkers Hoops & Crosses {Review}

2013-05-07T11:50:00.000+01:00

Kids are experts at spotting ads for new products so a couple of weeks ago when Hanna spotted an ad outside Asda for new Walkers Hoops and Crosses she of course asked if we could try them. I gave my standard answer of "we'll see".

As we came towards the end of our shop I thought I'd got away without buying the snacks, when right in front of us was a huge display of the multiplack crisps - marvellous! My daughter certainly knows how to say the right things "they've only got 85 calories in each pack Mum, and they're made from wholegrains". Well to be honest I wasn't really thinking about the wholegrains at that point, quickly calculating that I could have a whole multipack of these on a fast day "oh ok then, I suppose" I said, tossing a pack of each of the three flavours (Roast Beef, Prawn Cocktail and Salt & Vinegar) into the trolley.

I only managed to try the Salt & Vinegar as the other flavours where snapped up quickly - one swimming gala and a week of the kids making their own lunchboxes and they were gone, so when I was asked a few days later if I wanted to try out these new crisps I decided to keep the information to myself - what the eye doesn't see and all that.

I received some of the Roast Beef flavour in the post and, although I'm not a fan of meaty crisps, they were really good and I scoffed them whilst the kids were all at school. Apparently all the flavours are suitable for vegetarians (not sure how that works to be honest, something involving soya protein), and don't contain any artificial colours or preservatives either, plus the 18g pack size is a good size for lunchboxes too.

My kids would like to thank Walkers for the cuddly monkey but thought it strange that there weren't any Hoops & Crosses with it!

I have received the products pictured as well as compensation for writing this review

5 Tips for Shopping with Children [guest post]

2013-05-06T22:02:00.000+01:00

You might share a love for shopping with many, many other mothers out there. But what if your toddler makes the whole experience harrowing rather than fun? While you can always indulge in some online shopping using discount codes such as the Bebe coupon to get the best deals, you will still have to go out to the shops from time to time. This is the time when you need to really know how to handle your child so that your shopping doesn’t get affected. In the following article we look into a few tips that you should keep in mind when shopping with kith kids...

#1: Remember Kids Have Limits

One of the things that many forget is that like adults, children have needs. And when you’re out shopping with them, you need to be aware of their needs. They can get hungry, tired, overexcited, etc. Or they may simply need a nice, warm hug from you. Know their limits.

#2: Team Up with a Mum Friend

It’s a fact that you’ll have more fun taking your toddler shopping with you if you make the whole experience social. Yes, what you can do is buddy up with another mum friend of yours so that you both can share the joys, the challenges or the adventure of shopping with kids. Besides that, you won’t have a problem trying out that outfit as your shop-mate keeps an eye on your young one.

#3: Bring Along that Pushchair

If you are looking to spend a few hours shopping with kids, then it makes sense to use a full size pushchair. No we’re not talking about the “umbrella stroller” but the real thing. A big and sturdy pushchair not only helps you with your child but also proves to be a good place to keep your purchases. Having such a comfy, roomy ride will definitely help your toddler keep calm and steady.

#4: Break Up the Shopping Trip

A challenge that many mothers tend to face is to have their toddlers wait while they do the shopping. The solution to this problem is take some breaks between shopping/browsing, in which you can have a snack in the cafe or the food court or take your child and let him/her have fun at the indoor playground. Plus all this activity may get your toddler tired, so it’ll be easier for you to get him to snooze whilst you carry on shopping.

#5: Make Time for Some Fun Time

Most of the shopping centres out there have a nice play area where the children can have real fun and calm down, especially if they’re uncomfortable and crying. But what if there is no such area? In such a scenario go and visit a book shop when you think it’s time for a “break”. This should make your child feel better as he or she gets to spend time with Curious George or The Hungry Caterpillar. Some child clothing or toy stores may also have “playground type” amenities so stopping here can make things easier for you and fun for your child.

So, while searching for the best discount deal at NerdWallet's coupon directory is the easy part, the hard part is actually doing offline shopping with your children. The tips above can help you get the most out of your shopping experience - even if you take your kids along with you. So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and apply these tips to see real-world results.

Consideration was received for the editing and publishing of this post

Laptops, Photography and Thai Turkey Curry

2013-05-02T15:50:00.000+01:00

I've been a little quiet on here this past week, not completely quiet but anyone that knows me knows that I'm never completely quiet. You see, my laptop died a miserable death a few days ago with the blue screen of death announcing its sudden demise. The timing was impeccable, happening just as I'd entered all passport details for myself and my friend for our flights next week for our few days away with other friends. I blame Ryanair totally.

I immediately called upon a very helpful local man who sounded quite positive that he would, at the least, be able to retrieve all the data from the hard drive. Well he sounded positive until I mentioned the noise coming from the machine when I turned it on. His upbeat tone disappeared slightly to be replaced by his 'let's try and be positive' voice. Two days later the bad news call came, despite numerous efforts the data couldn't be retrieved from the hard drive, it was well and truly stuck. For an extortionate amount of money it could be sent away for one last attempt, but with no guarantees. I decided not to go down that route and instead I am learning by my massive mistake of not backing anything up. I don't think I've lost any photos as one of the many useful things I learnt at the weekend whilst on a photography course is that even if you delete photos from your SD card you can still retrieve them with some special software.

Talking of the photography course, here is a selection of photos that I took during the day on the grounds of Shugborough Hall, Staffs.

I now know how to take reasonable photos off the Auto setting, so just need to practice lots. I think Jack was sick of me practising on him so he decided to set up a few props for me to photograph instead.

Now onto the main reason for this post before I wittered on about laptops and photography, Thai Turkey Curry. This is an amazingly simple recipe, and very quick to prepare and we all loved it. Oh and did I mention that I have a new laptop, but not just any laptop - I have a Macbook Pro, thanks to my good friend Hannah and her eagle eyed husband who spotted a great deal.

Thai Turkey Curry - serves 4

1 tbsp Olive oil
1 red onion, sliced
2 tbsp thai red curry paste
1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
350g turkey breast, cut into bite sized pieces
200g cream cheese
50 ml water
150g baby corn
Handful of fresh coriander

Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion and fry for 2 minutes until softened
Stir in the curry paste, sliced pepper and turkey pieces and cook for 4-5 minutes on a low heat until the turkey is cooked
Stir in the cream cheese, water and baby corn and heat through
Stir in the coriander just before serving

Chocolate Soreen Ice Cream

2013-04-30T17:24:00.001+01:00

We're rapidly running out of Chocolate Soreen as the kids love it - especially warmed up as it goes really gooey in centre. With our second to last loaf I decided to make something a little bit different.....

Chocolate Soreen Ice Cream

1 loaf of Chocolate Soreen Malt Loaf

397g Condensed milk
600ml double cream
150g dark chocolate - I used Dr Oetker Fine Cooks chocolate*
25g Cocoa Powder
25g Dark soft brown sugar
3 tbsp boiling water

Bake the malt loaf in a 180C oven for approx 10 minutes and then allow to cool
Meanwhile melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of boiling water, or in the microwave on short bursts, then allow to cool for a few minutes
Mix the cocoa powder, sugar & boiling water together until you get a smooth sauce
Whisk the condensed milk, double cream, chocolate & cocoa powder sauce together until you reach soft peaks
Cut the malt loaf into small pieces (I used scissors for ease)
Stir the malt loaf into the ice cream mixture
Pour into a freezable lidded container for around 4 hours

You will end up with a rich chocolate ice cream with chewy crispy chunks of delicious malt loaf.

Make sure you get the Chocolate Soreen soon as its limited edition and won't be around forever. It should currently be available in Asda, although unfortunately not in our local one. If you tweet @SoreenHQ they should be able to tell you where your nearest stockist is.

I have been paid to spread the word about new Chocolate Soreen. All words and recipes are my own.

Thank you to everyone that nominated The Crazy Kitchen in the Britmums Brilliance in Blogging awards. Thanks to you I have been shortlisted in the Food category and would now appreciate a vote.....pretty please!

You can vote here : Bibs shortlist

*I was sent the Dr Oetker Cooks chocolate to use in my recipes

Lemon curd ice cream

2013-04-27T07:43:00.000+01:00

This is another very easy ice cream recipe, using the same basic ingredients as previously used (Nigella Lawson's genius idea) here, here and here. It's a great one for the Summer (when it finally arrives), and is lovely with fresh strawberries and meringue.

Lemon curd ice cream
600ml double cream
397g condensed milk
275g lemon curd

Whisk the cream, condensed milk & 125g lemon curd until it forms stiff peaks
Spoon into a freezable container
Stir through the remaining lemon curd, to leave ripples rather than combining it
Freeze for at least 4 hours

You can vote here : Bibs shortlist

5:2 Diet Low Calorie Ideas

2013-04-26T10:14:00.000+01:00

On a fast day I like to try and make my paltry 500 calories stretch as far as possible, giving me as much food as possible. I'd prefer to have five 100 calorie snacks in a day than one big 500 calorie meal, although most days I have 3 small meals.

It's no good eating biscuits as a 75 calorie digestive is not going to fill much of a gap and will probably leave you craving the rest of the packet. Instead here are a few ideas that I eat on a regular basis that help me to get through the day, especially when I haven't got much time to prepare something.

Bowl of sweets - 52 calories
well, frozen Morello cherries to be precise. Perfect for sweet lovers craving a fix - if you close your eyes & suck real hard they remind you of sour Haribo's.......sort of

Cheese on toast - 80 calories

I discovered Laughing Cow blue cheese triangles and then forgot about them. At only 25 calories each they give you a little bit of cheese without being packed full of calories. Spread one on a slice of toasted Nimble & top with a few slices of cucumber for a very light lunch.

Frothy Cappuccino - 16 calories
If you like a cappuccino but want to cut down on the calories then use unsweetend almond milk. Blue Diamond almond milk only contains 14 calories per 100ml, which is plenty for a coffee. I warm the milk up in the microwave and then add a shot of freshly brewed espresso, and top with a sprinkling of cinnamon - perfect for a cappuccino fix

Mushrooms on toast - 84 calories
1 slice of toasted Nimble with 200g of mushrooms (that's a lot of mushrooms) dry fried. I love this to start my day, along with a cappuccino

Continental breakfast - 144 calories
Another of my breakfast or mid morning favourites is a cappuccino along with 2 crackerbread with a slither of peanut butter (6g) and half a medium banana, and a sprinkling of cinnamon on the top. This feels like a real treat!

Coffee & Cake - 111 calories
Soreen lunchbox loaf really, at 95 calories and individually wrapped it's perfect for a fast day. Do not make the mistake of opening a loaf of chocolate Soreen on a fast day though - it might also be 95 calories per serving but have you ever tried cutting a malt loaf into 8 pieces and not shoving the squidged piece in your mouth.....I rest my case.

You can vote here : Bibs shortlist

Saving the Rainforest with SIGG

2013-04-26T07:30:00.000+01:00

A while ago I wrote about being a 'SIGG Mummy' and the SIGG reusable drinks bottles that we have. That was back in November 2011 and I can honestly say that those bottles are still used on a daily basis. Jack & Hanna take them to school in their lunchboxes as well using them in the house and out and about. Apart from being a little dented from being dropped on numerous occasions they've lasted well and have by far outlived cheaper reusable bottles.

We have now been lucky enough to receive some of the new 'Save the Rainforest' SIGG bottles. SIGG have teamed up with Cuipo (pronounced "Kwee-po") in an effort to save the Panamanian rainforest from deforestation. Cuipo's founders purchased rainforest land in a bid to permanently preserve it by allowing individuals to save the land in small increments, 'one meter at a time'.

This is where SIGG comes in, as for every reusuable SIGG bottle that you buy you will save one square metre of rainforest via Cuipo. Each bottle has a unique code that can be redeemed on the Cuipo website, and you can even see the piece of land that you've saved on a map.

As it is for all the SIGG bottles, they are of the usual high quality aluminium with flip caps or screw tops, which can also be bought separately and interchanged.

I have been sent 3 SIGG bottles for the purpose of this review

Gooey Malted Chocolate Slices

2013-04-25T19:32:00.001+01:00

Today we took delivery of some squidgy deliciousness that is the new Chocolate Soreen. There was much excitement in the Crazy Kitchen household, but on the promise of being able to try it later the kids were packed off to school with a Soreen lunchbox loaf.

Soreen have been around for 75 years did you know, creating malt loaf with the same unique recipe ever since. To celebrate this achievement they've decided to give their customers a little treat, and create a chocolate malt loaf - still all the squidginess of the original loaves but with the added luxury of chocolate chips.

I handed a few out at the school gate, and took some into preschool for the staff to share. A couple of the comments were 'so wrong, yet so right!' and 'it's not cake, it's not bread....it's just so lovely'.

I then came home, rummaged in the cupboards and made dessert that was gooey and squidgy and malty and chocolatey and.....bloody lovely!

Gooey Malted Chocolate Slices - serves 4 (ish)

1 loaf of Chocolate Soreen

8 slices of banana

8 Rolo's

2 tbsp Nutella

Slice the Soreen into 8 pieces
Lay 4 slices into a small buttered ovenproof dish
Lay the banana slices on top, and the Rolo's on top of those
Lay the remaining 4 slices of Soreen on top of the Rolo's and press down with the back of a fork
Spread the Nutella over the top
Cover with foil and bake in a 180 C oven for approx 20 minutes until the bananas have softened

This would be great served with ice cream but that will have to be next time as we had none. The Soreen was all gooey in the centre but crispy on the outside, a very similar texture to brownies.

Limited Edition Chocolate Soreen is available in Asda from today (25th April) for 6 weeks, and in Morrisons from 20th May for 3 weeks and Sainsbury's from 23rd May for 3 weeks - get them whilst you can!

I have been paid to spread the word about new Chocolate Soreen. All words and recipes are my own.

You can vote here : Bibs shortlist

Out with the Old

2013-04-25T14:36:00.001+01:00

Have you ever seen that tv show 'The Hoarder Next Door'? Some of the houses are shocking they really are. There are bedrooms that haven't been slept in for a decade due to the piles of clothes on the bed, dining tables that haven't seen the light of day since the turn of the century for all the newspapers covering them, and then there was one lady that collected anything with ladybirds on. She must've had half a dozen brooms with ladybirds on, all brand new.

It got me thinking though, as I'm a bit of a hoarder. Not anywhere near these extremes but I do have lots of 'I'll keep that just in case' things. The thing is we're running out of room. Don't get me wrong, you can still see my dining table, my bed is (mostly) free of clothes and I don't have any ladybird brooms, but I'm afraid to touch anything in my wardrobe for fear of an avalanche.

Enough was enough earlier in the week when I delved into my wardrobe to look for some summer items for my upcoming girls weekend away (it's currently raining in Majorca so I may not need them after all), & I got rained on by jeans.

Do I even need that many pairs of jeans?

Will I even wear most of them again?

Will this stop me buying more?

The answer to these questions is quite obviously a big fat NO. Will that make me get rid of them all? again, probably a no. I need to bite the bullet though and pile them all up, get out the laptop and make a bit of money via a website where you can sell your clothes, just by entering the details, packing them up and sending them off, for free. No getting up at the crack of dawn to set up a stall at the local carboot sale, no expensive auction or postal fees to deal with...simple.

I can then use the cash to go on a spending spree.......

for more jeans

image courtesy of next.co.uk

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2013-04-24T09:38:00.000+01:00

When you get asked if you want to try out some new chocolate it's a no brainer really, especially if it's connoisseur chocolate from Elizabeth Shaw. I could've kept the chocolate to myself but being the kind and generous Mum that I am I decided to make some cookies with one of the bars - dark chocolate Blackberry & Ginger. I didn't add any other flavour to the cookies to see how much the flavour of the chocolate would come through. You could definitely taste a fruitiness of the blackberries in the cookie, backed up with a mild ginger flavour, and the kids loved them!

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

100g Butter, softened
125g Caster sugar
1 Egg
150g SR Flour
100g Elizabeth Shaw Blackberry & Ginger chocolate (ok maybe it was less than 100g as it's the cooks prerogative to try a little first), chopped

Beat the butter & sugar together until creamy
Beat the egg & add to the butter & sugar
Mix in the flour and the chopped chocolate
Take spoonfuls of the mix and place on a greased baking sheet, approx 5cm apart
Bake in a preheated 170 C oven for approx 8-10 minutes
Cool on a wire rack

I was sent some Elizabeth Shaw chocolate but wasn't obliged to write about it

You can vote here : Bibs shortlist

Red Thai Turkey Pizza

2013-04-23T09:30:00.002+01:00

Once again I've had the pleasure of being asked by Lean on Turkey to come up with a creative turkey recipe to prove that turkey most definitely is not just for Christmas. This time the challenge is to come up with a pizza or pasta recipe using fresh turkey. The first recipe that sprang to mind was spaghetti bolognaise using turkey mince but it didn't seem very adventurous so I decided to go down the pizza route. Instead of scattering cooked turkey breast on the top, which would seem the obvious choice, I used it instead of the tomato base, spicing it up slightly with a Thai paste.

It's a very quick meal to cook, especially as the base doesn't contain yeast so needs no proving time - only about 15 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.

Red Thai Turkey Pizza - serves 4

1 tbsp Olive oil
225g Turkey thigh mince
50g Red Thai paste
150g SR flour
1 tbsp Olive oil
100ml milk
150g grated Mozzarella cheese
1/2 small red pepper, sliced
2 mushrooms, sliced
4 mini corns, sliced
few slices of fresh red chilli

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan
Add the turkey mince and thai paste and cook on a medium heat until the turkey is cooked through, stirring regularly

Make the pizza base by mixing the flour, olive oil and milk together to form the dough - you may not need all of the milk so keep a little back until the dough is almost mixed and add it if it seems too dry
Roll the dough out onto a floured surface to fit your baking tray or pizza stone - mine was 30cm in diameter
Flour the baking tray and lay the rolled out dough on top

Spread the turkey mince over the base

Top with the mozzarella, then the pepper, mushrooms, corn and chilli

Bake in a preheated 180 C oven for approx 18-20 minutes until browned on top

A family meal enjoyed with chips and salad....

This is a sponsored post, however the recipe is my own

Thank you to everyone that nominated The Crazy Kitchen in the Britmums Brilliance in Blogging awards. Thanks to you I have been shortlisted in the Food category and would now appreciate a vote.....pretty please!
You can vote here : Bibs shortlist

A So-pisticated Afternoon Tea

2013-04-22T11:17:00.000+01:00

At the weekend I hosted an afternoon tea for a group of friends. Of course, with this particularly loud group of friends, it was never going to be a sophistcated affair. To the outside eye it certainly looked it though, we had sandwiches with the crusts cut 'orf' and cakes galore, not to mention the pretty little teaset and a collection of teapots.

Did I mention that the teapots were filled with cocktails? Cocktails were the basis for the afternoon tea idea after I was sent a couple of pouches of ready made cocktails from the MyCocktails range to try out. Remembering my friend telling me that she enjoyed cocktails in teacups poured from little china teapots a while ago my brain went into overdrive.

I decided that as well a serving the MyCocktails I would make a couple of others based upon tea, and came up with Cheeky Chocolate Chai and Flirty Summer Fruit cocktails (recipes below). I chose to serve a selection of sandwiches that I hoped would suit both my meat eating and vegetarian friends, as well as the odd fussy one that likes plain and simple, along with a selection of home-made cakes.

The MyCocktails are a genius concept for those that don't have a cupboard full of spirits but still like to enjoy the occasional cocktail in their own home. The 1.5 litre pouches have a dispensing tap making it easy to pour straight into the glass, or teacup in our case. The pouches also mean that they can be taken along to outdoor events such as festivals and concerts (drinking responsibly of course). We tried Cosmopolitan's and Woo Woo's and they were both a really pleasant drink, although quite sweet. You could certainly taste the alcohol in them and after a couple of teacups of each I managed to drop a tray of sandwiches whilst getting them out of the fridge - unfortunately I couldn't apply the 5 second rule as my friends were laughing so much and taking photos to post on all available social media outlets!

Apart from the small mishap with the sandwiches all went well and we had an amazing afternoon and evening with lots of laughs, lots of food and possibly too many cocktails, including the locally famous Flip Flop, invented by a friend whilst on holiday last year, and my favourite Kir Royale's (Chambord Raspberry Liquor and Champagne - introduced to me by fellow Chambord lover Heather).

I decorated the room with tissue paper Pom Poms, and bunting made from a pack of 'afternoon tea' paper that I found in Dunelm whist shopping for my bunting table covering. I also found some mini bunting in there that I used to decorate my cake stand and made some washi tape bunting which was hung between 2 paper straws to decorate the Victoria sponge. I bought a couple of bunches of flowers and popped them in empty jam jars which I decorated with a few strips of washi tape, and placed around the room.

Here's the menu for the afternoon, many of the items can be made in advance, such as the meringues and choux buns, and then filled with cream just before serving. I made the carrot cakes the day before, as well as the Victoria sponge and then filled it with cream on the day. Scones were made fresh a couple of hours before my guests arrived, as were the chocolate strawberries which were a last minute addition as I'd bought such a big punnet of strawberries. I also made the chai tea cocktail a couple of days previously and kept it in the fridge, along with the base for the fruit cocktail.

Sandwiches

Roast Beef & Rocket
Grilled Aubergine and green Pesto
Chicken Tikka
Cucumber
Ham

Cakes and Pastries

Victoria Sponge filled with fresh strawberries & whipped Cream

Raspberry Choux Buns

Chocolate Meringues

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Mini Carrot cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Fruit Scones with Jam and Clotted Cream

Cocktails

Cheeky Chocolate Chai

Flirty Summer Fruits

Cosmopolitan

Woo Woo

Kir Royale

Cheeky Chocolate Chai Tea Cocktail

per person you will need:

75ml boiling water

2 Chai teabags

35ml dark Rum

35ml Baileys (or equivalent cream liquor)

20ml Double cream

1 tsp Nutella

Pour the boiling water over the teabags and leave for approx 20 minutes
Use a little of the tea to mix the Nutella to a sauce
Remove the teabags and allow to cool
Once the tea is cool mix with the rum, Baileys, cream & Nutella
Chill in the fridge before serving

Flirty Summer Fruit Tea Cocktail

per person you will need:

100ml Boiling water

2 fruit teabags (I used Twinings Strawberry & Raspberry)

30ml Vodka

1 tsp Chambord raspberry liquor

Sparkling Rose wine / Cava / Champagne

Make the tea up with the boiling water and teabags & leave for approx 20 minutes
Remove the teabags and allow to cool
Stir in the vodka and Chambord
Chill in the fridge until you're ready to use
To serve pour equal amounts of the fruit cocktail and sparkling wine, Cava or Champagne

As the afternoon drifted into the evening there may have been a small amount of singing and dancing, some of which may have taken place on a table. Any likeness in these pictures to anyone that you may see in a respectable day job is purely coincidental, it's definitely not them....honest.

I was sent 2 pouches of MyCocktail for the purpose of review. All other food & drink shown in this post was provided and paid for by myself.

MyCocktails are available from Asda for £13.99 with up to 14 servings in each pouch. On their Facebook page there is the chance to win a cocktail pouch weekly.

Oven Baked Tortilla

2013-04-18T12:43:00.000+01:00

We get through a lot of eggs in this house, used in a variety of ways. I use most in baking but when the husband is on cooking duty (which isn't very often) he can be known to use a box of eggs or more cooking up one of his specialities of either 'egg on beans on cheese on ham on toast' or 'Dad's omelette', which are apparently better than 'Mum's omelette's'. I must admit, my omelettes aren't great and usually stick to the pan and fall apart before they get to the plate, which is why I'm more of a Tortilla (Spanish Omelette) kind of person. Oven baked ones are the best as it's easier to get them cooked evenly all the way through without burning the bottom and ending up with an uncooked top.

This is one of my favourite dishes to cook up when on holiday as it's really easy to prepare, and the kids love it. You can either use an oven proof frying pan or a large shallow cake tin, as I have here.

Oven Baked Tortilla - serves 4/5

500g (approx) sausages, cut into bite sized pieces

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 Small onion, chopped
1 tsp Dried mixed herbs
1/2 red Pepper, chopped
1/2 Courgette, chopped
4 Mushrooms, sliced
100g sweetcorn
6 Eggs
200ml semi skimmed Milk
175g mature cheddar cheese, grated
1 tomato, thinly sliced

Oven bake the sausages in the cake tin for approx 20 min at 180 C
Heat the oil in a pan
Add the garlic & onion & soften for 2-3 minutes
Add the dried herbs, peppers, courgette, mushrooms & sweetcorn & cook for a further 10 minutes until softened
Drain any excess oil from the sausages, making sure there is enough oil left to lightly coat the sides & base of the pan
Add the vegetables to the sausages & mix
Beat the eggs & milk & add half of the cheese
Pour into the pan over the sausages & vegetables
Cover with the remaining grated cheese & tomato slices
Return to the oven for 30 minutes until golden brown & firm in the centre

Serve hot or cold with salad...or baked beans!

I'm entering this into April's Swallows Charity Recipes for life challenge as it includes the 3 ingredients of pork, sweetcorn & tomatoes. You can find out more about the challenge here.

I'm also entering the recipe into the BritMums #eggmainsinminutes competition.

Blinded by the sun {sponsored post}

2013-04-18T11:49:00.000+01:00

Finally we seem to have a touch of Spring in the air. In between the the rain showers I've caught sight of that big yellow thing in the sky which, when the wind dies down a little, actually feels quite warm. The buds are just about sprouting on the fruit trees in the garden and the husband is preparing to dust the lawnmower off for the first grass cut of the year.

When the sun comes out I love nothing more than sitting in my conservatory kitchen with the doors thrown open to the garden. It's a really peaceful place to be midweek when all the children are at school and there are no sounds apart from birds singing and the gently hum of the washing machine.

It's not all relaxing with my feet up watching the world go by though and I'm grateful for my venetian blinds at the windows, enabling me to carry on working on my laptop even when the sun decides to show its face. I've got off white wooden blinds, just like some of the ones you can get from Web-blinds, and, despite being up for 3 years now, I've not tired of. Blinds are a great way to help regulate the temperature of your conservatory, keeping it warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, as well as giving you privacy, especially if you’re overlooked by neighbours. They also look pretty good too, I love the look of these pale green pleated blinds for a country kitchen.

This weekend I’m having friends around for afternoon tea where we shall partake in the the sophisticated act of drinking cocktails from china teacups and stuffing our faces with cream cakes. I’m decorating my windows with bunting and hanging paper pom poms (which I first spotted here) from wherever I can to give my kitchen that tea shop feel. This is how it’s going so far….

In our case the blinds also act as a screen, shutting out the ever increasing pile of garden toys and the tatty trampoline which is destined for the tip very soon.

This is a sponsored post, however all the words are my own and I am having an afternoon tea this weekend, although it may be far from sophisticated.

Sausage Pesto Pasta

2013-04-16T13:54:00.000+01:00

I often get near tea time and realise that I haven't given what we're going to eat a single thought. This is one of those fail safe recipes that I often fall back on at times like that. It can be whipped up in no time and everyone loves it. I've even been known to cook it for friends after a few drinks in the pub instead of getting a takeaway, as it's quicker, especially if you have sausages already cooked.

It can be made with whatever cooked meat you have really, leftover bbq pork chops or chicken are a favourite, along with roasted peppers, mushrooms and olives. It's a great dish for a family meal or with friends as it can be placed in the centre of the table and everyone can help themselves - I love an excuse to use my lovely big bowl!

This time I used pork & sweet chilli sausages and added fresh tomatoes and baby sweetcorn, because those are the 3 ingredients in the Swallow's Recipes for Life challenge this month. You can read more about the challenge on their website here (where you will see that little ol' me gets a mention) and on Bangers & Mash, who's hosting the challenge.

Sausage Pesto Pasta - serves 4-5

375g dried pasta - I used tricolour fusili
454g Sausages - I used pork & sweet chilli
150g Baby corn, each cut into 3
150g Baby plum toms, halved
75g Red pesto
Grana Padano or Parmesan to serve

Cook the sausages in the oven, grill or even barbecue them - I use a cast iron griddle pan - until they're cooked through & browned on the outside
Boil the pasta as per the directions on the pack, adding the corn 1 minute from the end. I usually cook pasta for around 1-2 minutes less than stated otherwise the it can fall apart.
Drain the pasta & corn & stir the pesto through it
Add the tomatoes & sausage & serve with grated Grana Padano or Parmesan

Afternoon Tea for 8

2013-04-15T14:43:00.000+01:00

Next weekend I'm hosting an afternoon tea for my friends. Sounds very civilised doesn't it? For this very civilised event I knew that my cheap mismatch mugs just wouldn't do. We need to drink our *cough* tea from proper china, with saucers and everything.

I've been in local charity shops looking for teacups and saucers before and never managed to pick up any of those bargains that I see others mentioning. You would think a Staffordshire market town would be the ideal place to pick up a few Staffordshire pottery teacups wouldn't you. I decided to have a browse on Ebay in the hope that I would find a bargain and I could maybe pick it up locally. I saw lots of pretty tea sets but a particular one caught my eye. What I liked about it was that it didn't match, kind of all mismatch but matching in it's own special way. A mismatch tea set is perfect if you're a bit clumsy as you can easily replace a broken teacup with another, as long as it's similar colours.

I bought this 21 piece set for £22.50 + £8.80 p&p, which I thought was a good price, but as I was looking for an 8 serving set I asked the seller if they had any additional trios (a term for a cup, saucer & plate that I learnt whilst on my tea set search) that would go with the set. Luckily she did and sent me an invoice for the 21 piece set plus the 2 extra trios - £33 for the lot, including postage, which I thought was a bit of a bargain (please don't tell me that you think I've been overcharged!). The parcel arrived the next day and I was thrilled with the contents, carefully wrapped in bubble wrap.

I am now the proud owner of 8 tea cups, 8 saucers, 8 side plates, a milk jug, sugar bowl and cake plate.

Including this set, which is my very favourite.

I'm linking this up to Lizzie's Magpie Monday.

Bacon and Three Cheese Scones

2013-04-14T15:46:00.001+01:00

One food that I love is cheese. I only usually buy Cheddar and a block of Grana Padano unless it's Christmas as it's all too tempting if it's there in the fridge. As this month the One Ingredient challenge on Franglais Kitchen is cheese I thought it would be only right to treat myself to some nice cheese, and picked up some Dolcelatte. Dolcelatte, which translates as 'sweet milk' is a soft and creamy veined cows milk cheese, is lovely spread onto crusty bread.

I decided to use it, along with my 2 usual cheeses and make some scones. I saved a little crispy bacon from breakfast and added this too, to make a really cheesy savoury scone

Bacon and Three Cheese Scones - makes 10-12

350g SR Flour
1 tsp baking powder
85g Butter
100g mature cheddar cheese, grated
50g dolcelatte, crumbled
50g Grana Padano, grated
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp Dijon mustard
110-120ml milk
2 rashers of cooked crispy bacon, cut into small pieces

Mix the baking powder into the flour
Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs and stir in the cayenne & mustard
Stir in half of the cheddar along with all of the dolcelatte, grana padano & the bacon pieces
Stir in the milk gradually until you've added enough to bring the mixture together (you may not need all of the milk)
Roll out onto a floured surface to approx 1 1/2 - 2cm thick
Using a round cutter cut out scones and lay onto a greased baking tray, re rolling and cutting any remaining dough
Brush the tops with milk and sprinkle with the reserved cheddar
Bake in 1 preheated 180C oven for 12-14 minutes until crispy & golden

The One Ingredient Challenge is hosted alternately by Nazima at Franglais Kitchen and Laura from How to Cook Good Food, and they have a different ingredient for each month.

5:2 Diet & Family Friendly Vegetable Curry

2013-04-12T21:03:00.002+01:00

It's been a long old week (on Tuesday I thought it was Thursday) and it feels like the kids have been off school forever. Two weeks of Easter holidays plus a week beforehand where they took it in turns to be ill adds up to a Mum whose eardrums are about to burst. We've not done a lot this week, husband has been off work with a bad knee, Jack has Impetigo and Hanna has had a routine hospital appointment so trips out have involved sitting in NHS waiting rooms.

Today there wasn't anything exciting in the fridge for dinner and I didn't fancy one of my usual fast day stir frys, and instead wanted something hearty and warming, but not soup. I decided to chop up the veg that was left and throw it in the slow cooker for a curry that we could all eat as I couldn't be bothered with making two different meals. I weighed all the vegetables as I added them into the pot and calculated the calories. The total calories of all the ingredients added up to around 472 (I wasn't too sure about the spices) so if you wanted to you could cook up a batch of this and munch your way through it the whole day if you're doing the 5:2 diet. Alternatively you could add a big spoonful of peanut butter, for a whopping additional 272 calories, and share it with the family. The peanut butter not only adds extra flavour but it also thickens the sauce - I often add the odd teaspoonful to a stir fry (not the 5:2 ones though).

If you're doing Weight Watchers I'm pretty sure that if you leave the peanut butter out it would be a no point curry.

5:2 Diet & Family Friendly Vegetable Curry - serves 4

1 onion (94g) - 36 cals
1 1/2 courgettes (269g) - 48 cals
mushrooms (161g) - 26 cals
1/2 small Butternut squash (226g) - 101 cals
2 Green peppers (208g) - 62 cals
Carrots (226g) - 77 cals
1 can chopped tomatoes (400g) - 90cals
1 tsp Garam Masala - 5 cals
1 tsp ground coriander - 5 cals
1 tsp ground cumin - 5 cals
1/2 tsp turmeric - 3 cals
1/2 tsp chilli powder - 3 cals
1/2 tsp paprika - 3 cals
1 tsp garlic paste - 4 cals
1 tsp ginger paste - 4 cals
1 heaped tbsp of smooth peanut butter (44g) - 272 cals

Total : 744 cals / 186 per portion (1/4)

Chop all the veg into small pieces
Add all the spices along with the ginger & garlic paste to a small bowl & mix to a paste with a little hot water
Add everything to the slow cooker with 1/4 empty can of boiling water and give it a good mix
Cook on high for a few hours until everything is cooked to your liking
Stir in the peanut butter before serving

I had mine with cauliflower rice, whilst everyone else enjoyed it with Basmati rice and home-made Naan bread...

and this little man couldn't get enough of it, and ate the lot, including thirds of naan bread!

Aubergine and Rocket Salad [5:2 diet recipe}

2013-04-09T19:14:00.000+01:00

When shopping at the weekend I noticed some lovely plump and shiny Aubergines that were only 50p each so I couldn't resist buying one, thinking that I might make some ratatouille for a fast day. I then spotted a recipe for an asparagus and courgette salad in this month's Good Food magazine and thought I'd make something similar and 5:2 friendly. 20g of Feta cheese doesn't seem much, and it's not, but crumbled into small pieces & scattered through the salad it just adds an extra flavour, but if you want to save a few calories it could be left out or replaced with some cottage cheese.

Absolutely delicious as a light lunch or add some extra vegetables or some lean chicken or fish for a more substantial dinner.

Aubergine and Rocket Salad - serves 1

144g Aubergine - 24cals
Tsp olive oil - 40 cals
20g Rocket - 5 cals
Zest & juice of 1/2 a lemon - 5 cals
20g Feta cheese - 58 cals
a few chilli flakes & salt & pepper to taste

Total : 132 cals

Slice the aubergine lengthways and brush both sides with the olive oil
Mix any leftover oil with the lemon juice
Cook the aubergine on a griddle pan (or bbq) until charred & softened
Toss the aubergine and rocket in the lemon juice/oil, season & serve with the crumbled Feta