slow roasted tomatoes >>>>

i love slow roasted tomatoes, in a wrap or a salad, or added to homemade soup for some depth. they're easy and inexpensive to make, i try and keep a jarful {or three} in at all times.

you'll need:
tomatoes, as many as you like!! halved or quarted depending on how big they are
sea salt
olive oil



halve or quarter your tomatoes, place them skin side down on a baking sheet. brush with a little olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. roast in teh oven at 140C, 275F, gas mark 1 for 3-5 hours, until they look sun-dried and all the moisture has gone.



allow to cool and store in an airtight jar in the fridge.

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cookies

 there's nothing better than cookies fresh from the oven. yesterday the kiddos and i did a spot of baking, though i think they could make these without my help now! this is my go to cookie recipe, simple, tasty and very adaptable :)

ingredients

1 egg

120g brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

80g butter

100g flour {all purpose}

1 tsp baking powder 

100g quick cooking oats {i tend use steel cut oats, blitzed in my blender}

1 tbsp milk

*preheat oven to 180C, 350F, gas mark 4 grease a large baking tray. 

*whip egg, sugar & vanilla, then beat in the butter.

*mix in the flour & baking powder, then stir in the oats & milk.

*shape into balls, place on the baking tray & flatten slightly. bake for 15 minutes.

 yesterday we made half with choc chips & half with peanut butter chips in. you can experiment and try whatever you like - grated apple & cinnamon, mixed spice & cranberries, butterscotch chips, marshmallows are all ones we've tried and liked.

 

 

 

 

 

enjoy x

p.s if you're Laura from Blue Eyed Night Owl - congrats!! you're the winner of the valentines giveaway!! send me an email to claim your prizes!

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meal planning

source

one of my goals for 2012 was to clean up my diet. lack of time and lack of money had led me to eating to much junk and processed foods. way back when, i used to meal plan. not only did it allow me to budget better, but also plan healthy meals and save time - as knowing in advance what we were going to be eating that day meant no last minute panics over what to cook for dinner.

it also encouraged me to try out new recipes and foods that were in season. and it meant the mr didn't have for lunch what i was planning on making for dinner.

so, this week i finally got around to starting meal planning again. and of course - a pretty meal planning sheet is far better than a scrap of paper right?! i made this cutie - i'm planning on putting one in a pretty frame, and using a wipe-off marker so i can use it over and over. 

click on the image to download the full size print

i tend to only plan out our evening meals, but there's space on the sheet for breakfasts and lunches too if you wanted. a typical weeks evening meals might look something like this:

mon: spaghetti & veggie meatballs

tues: hassleback potatoes & veggie chili

weds: stir fry veggies & rice

thurs: home made pizza & wedges

fri: veggie pot pies & salad or veg

sat: pasta bake with garlic bread
sun: veggie roast, with roast potatoes, veggies, gravy & yorkshire puddings

i'm in the middle of transfering all my recipes from the scraps of paper to these cute recipe cards {again, click on the image to download a full size, printable size}

 

Do you meal plan?? If not, it's a great time to start!

p.s I have a guest post over at Miss Indie today if you want to check it out :)

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Chocolate covered candy canes

We made these last weekend. Lola and Kiki wanted to take some gifts to give to their friends at their Brownie and Rainbow groups before they break up for the Christmas holidays. I needed something that was fairly quick, that we could make lots of and didn't cost too much!

So we grabbed a bag of candy canes, dipped the ends in melted chocolate, then decorated them with an assortment of sprinkles, coloured sugar and melted pink chocolate. Grouped in sets of three, tied with a christmas ribbon they make a cute gift! {we put each set in a cellophane bag and tied that with a ribbon ready to hand out!!}

They're a perfect last minute gift to make too

Thankfully there were a few extras.... we had to make sure they tasted good, right?!

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luscious lemon cake

i love lemon cake... and this one is for a perfectly moist spongy cake that's imbued with lemon icing. perfectly delicious with a cup of tea - feed it to your guests and they will love you forever ;)

Plus - it's an incredibly easy recipe to make!

here's what you need:

4oz self-raising flour

1tsp baking powder

4oz softened butter

4oz caster sugar

2 large eggs

grated zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lemon

for icing:

2oz icing sugar

2tsps water

1tsp lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C/Gas Mark 3. Grease a loaf tin.

Sift flour and baking powder, then add all the other ingredients and mix well. Spoon into loaf tin.

Bake for twenty minutes. This isn't quite long enough - the cake should be yellow, not brown. But not damp inside. As as soon as you take the cake out of the oven. Allow to cool and then enjoy :)

Foodie post: mushroomy lunch

This is my favourite lunch right now - I could (and do!) eat it everyday it is that delicious!!! Quick and easy to make, it's a winner!

Ingredients:

Mushrooms
Cherry Tomatoes
Bread
Cheese (I used Caerphilly)
Butter/Oil for cooking


If I'm making this just for me, I use around 4 mushrooms and half a dozen cherry tomatoes, but you can adjust the quantities according to how hungry you are and how many people you are feeding!!

Slice the mushrooms and half the tomatos. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat, then add the mushrooms and tomatoes.

Cook for 10 minutes or so, until the mushrooms are cooked, and the tomatos squishy.

Meanwhile, toast your bread (I use a delicious seeded bread), spread with your usual butter/marg (I like to add a thin spreading of wholegrain mustard too)

Spoon the cooked mushrooms and tomatoes on top, and grate on a little cheese.

 
Enjoy!

Foodie Post: Turkish Flat Bread Pizza

This recipe was originally posted over at Parenting Miracles as part of the Ultimate Blog Swap - but I though I'd repost it here as it's so darn yummy!!!

**What You'll Need**

Cumin Flatbread Dough

275g/9 1/2oz plain white flour (all purpose flour)

1 tsp cumin seeds

225ml/8fl oz natural yogurt

Pinch Salt

Topping (suggestions)

Cherry Tomatoes

Roasted Peppers

Feta

Olives

Olive Oil

Red onion, sliced

Lemon to squeeze

**What To Do**

1. Halve the tomatoes and prep any toppings you are using. On the ones I made here, I just used cherry tomatoes, roasted red peppers and feta.


2. Make the dough by mixing the sifted flour, cumin, yoghurt & salt. Roll into a ball. Divide into 8 for mini pizzas, or 4 for slightly larger ones.


3. One portion at a time, lift carefully onto a dry hot pan. Cook 1-2 mins each side till lightly browned


4. Remove, sprinkle with the topping and a little olive oil. Sit under the grill for 2 minutes.


5. Eat open or folded - I served mine with a side salad and sweet potato fries.

Happy baking!!

Super Easy Carrot and Courgette Muffins

2 cups flour

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 medium carrot, finely grated

1 courgette (zucchini) finely grated

1/4 cup oil 

1 1/4 cup milk

Mix dry stuff in a bowl, wet stuff in a jug. Then combine the two and mix quickly, mix should still be a little lumpy. Spoon into prepared muffin tins, bake at 200 degrees C (400 F, Gas mark 6) for 20 - 25 mins.

I use this basic muffin mix alot. Remove the veg and cinnamon, then add whatever you fancy - a tbsp cocoa powder and some chocolate chips, a little cinnamon, ginger and pinch of nutmeg and some grated apple... or whatever you want!

 

The girls love helping me bake .... mainly I think so they can lick the bowl out at the end!

List 2: Yummy things I like to eat

• These delicious little earth balls that I discovered here
• cherry and almond tart
• oatcakes and houmous
• No Cheese Vegetable Pizza
• greek salad

• BBQ food
• Bagels
• Avocados
• Blackberries

2 down; 50 to go!!!

Sledging

After a morning baking and then sampling our baked goods, it was off to the park to burn it all off with a couple of hours of sledging fun. We had a great time, even Baya enjoyed a little sledge :D Back in the warm now, ready for some butternut squash and sweet potato soup to warm our bellies up (and maybe some more of that chocolate cake for pudding ;-) )