* Lazylol *

Raspberry Porridge

 

At last it's half term and I'm on day one of ten lovely days off.  I am planning to enjoy every. single. one. of. them.

We are planning to spend a few of the ten days at the coast and if today's weather is anything to go by, then I will be really happy.  It's still cold but at last it is bright and even the sun made an appearance.  Perfect for cliff top walking, one of my favourite pastimes

 

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I started the day with a bowl of raspberry porridge....yum. I love porridge and make lots of different flavours.  This one is healthy and my huge bowl full was only 268 calories.  I am cutting down and trying to eat a bit healthier but I am not on a diet ;)

 

:: For the Raspberry Porridge ::

In a large microwaveable container ( I use a 2 litre plastic jug) Mix 40g of porridge oats, with 100ml of milk, 50ml of water, a handful of raspberries and sugar, honey or sweetner to taste.  (I use Splenda).  I do like a big spoonful because the raspberries are very tart. Microwave on high for 4 minutes and then transfer to a bowl to cool down a little before eating.

 

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After breakfast I did some cleaning and then decided to have a bit of a pamper session.  I've had a bubble bath, face pack, washed and styled my hair and used some of the Body Shop Body Butter I received 3 tubs of for Christmas.  That should last me a while. I've had a pedicure & manicure and now i feel all soft and squeaky clean.

I tried this new Styling Oil from Got2b by Schwartzopf, it's really good for a low cost product and my hair is lovely and soft. 

 

Breakfast Banana Muffins

 

 

I have made these muffins a few times recently. They are very simple to make, cheap and great for using up over ripe bananas.

I still like to bake treats even though I am watching what I eat.  We all prefer homemade cakes and treats so I can't really punish the family just because I am cutting down.  Just because I have baked them, doesn't mean I have to eat them (all!).  So I just have one with a cuppa and count it in.  I am putting all my recipes on Sparkpeople so I can add them to my day easily.  I use Sparkpeople to log my food daily, it helps keep me in check!

These Muffins are approx 150 calories each. If I have one for breakfast I have a yogurt too or some fruit.

Breakfast Banana Muffins

2 ripe bananas

80g demerara sugar

4 tbsps sunflower oil

2 eggs

130ml milk

150g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

50g porridge oats

 

Method

Preheat oven 170c fan/190c/375F/Gas Mark 5

mash bananas in a bowl and mix in the sugar, oil. eggs and milk.

sift in the flour, baking powder, oats and nutmeg.

place mixture into 12 cases and bake for 20 mins

leave to cool in tray and then tranfer to airtight container.

 

I am going to freeze a couple out of my latest batch and I will update this to let you know how well they freeze. 

New Recipe #2

:: Creamy Potato Gratin ::

 

(recipe from free supermarket magazine)

1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced

1.5 kg of red potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced

25g butter

25g plain flour

600ml milk

250g tub of mascarpone

salt & black pepper

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 170 c /325f / gas mark 3.  In a large ovenproof dish, arrange alternative layers of potatoes and onions.  Melt butter in a small pan and stir in flour. Cook, stirring for 1 minute and then gradually add milk until you have a smooth sauce.  Whisk in the mascarpone and seasoning and poor evenly over the potato and onion slices. Sprinkle with ground nutmeg.

Cover the dish with a piece of lightly oiled foil, bake for 1 hour, remove foil and cook for a further 30 minutes, until golden and crispy.

Verdict - I served it with roast chicken and veg but it would go well with bacon or gammon.  The family all loved this and have asked for it again but if I'm honest, I found it a bit rich and I think I would have preferred it without the mascarpone.  Just a simple white sauce would have been better. 

 

New Recipe #1

CharlieP made the resolution to make a new recipe every week and end up with 52 new recipes at the end of the year.  Seeing as I love cooking, am always threatening to try new recipes and have zillions of cook books, I thought, like a few others,  I might join in. 

So here is my first new recipe (I often make soup as all the family love it but this is a new recipe)

:: Leek, Potato and Onion Soup ::

 

It's from my Delia Soup Cookbook - you can find the recipe online here

Verdict - super-easy to make, very yummy, everyone loved it and I have been told I must make it again this weekend!

Apple Muffins

Woohoo - it's half-term and I have been busy getting my jobs finished and packing lots of winter woollies. I am heading out to the caravan very early tomorrow morning and am so looking forward to the break, even if it is going to be cold.  We are planning to visit Scarborough and Hull for a spot of Christmas shopping and of course, lunch! A couple of evenings in the cosy pub will be on the agenda, as well as lots of beach walking, wrapped up warmly with scarves and gloves I expect.

I baked these lovely apple muffins that Ali shared the recipe for - they are totally delish and surprisingly easy to make. I didn't have any blackberries so I just used a little extra apple. I haven't made muffins before, I usually just make cupcakes but I now want to experiment with different flavourings because these were so good. I made them cupcake size too, just perfect to warm us up with a mug of hot chocolate. Yum.

Saturday Scones

I spent Saturday cleaning and catching up with the laundry, how exciting.  That will teach me to spend half the summer by the sea. Playing catch up is worth it though. Back to the coast Monday morning until Friday teatime.  The caravan is always spotless but the house is always a mess. I have been a bit fed up though because the boiler in the house is broken so we haven't got any hot water.  The plummer can't fix it until next week so we are visiting family for showers and boiling kettle after kettle of water for everything else.  It makes my wonder how they ever managed in days gone by! Plus it is going to be expensive, it looks like we could possibily need a new boiler. Bang go our savings! Oh well.

I thought I'd treat us to some scones for tea to cheer us up, baking is a great stress buster.

Here is the recipe I used, so simple and delicious (Jane Hornby's recipe from Good Food Magazine) - I followed the recipe exactly, the only thing I changed was that I made smaller ones so that gave 16 in total.

350g self-raising flour

¼ tsp salt 

1 tsp baking powder

85g butter , cut into cubes

3 tbsp caster sugar

175ml milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

dash lemon juice

beaten egg

1. Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Tip the flour into a large bowl with the salt and baking powder, then mix. Add the butter, then rub in with your fingers until the mix looks like fine crumbs. Stir in the sugar.
2. Put the milk into a jug and heat in the microwave for about 30 secs until warm, but not hot. Add the vanilla and lemon juice, then set aside for a moment. Put a baking sheet in the oven.
3. Make a well in the dry mix, then add the liquid and combine it quickly with a cutlery knife - it will seem pretty wet at first. Scatter some flour onto the work surface and tip the dough out. Dredge the dough and your hands with a little more flour, then fold the dough over 2-3 times until it's a little smoother. Pat into a round about 4cm deep.
4. Take a 5cm cutter (smooth-edged cutters tend to cut more cleanly, giving a better rise) and dip it into some flour. Plunge into the dough, then repeat until you have four scones. By this point you'll probably need to press what's left of the dough back into a round to cut out another four. Brush the tops with beaten egg, then carefully place onto the hot baking tray.
5. Bake for 10 mins until risen and golden on the top. Eat just warm or cold on the day of baking, generously topped with jam and clotted cream.

If freezing, freeze once cool. Defrost, then put in a low oven (about 160C/fan140C/gas 3) for a few mins to refresh.

Roll on Friday!

Friday can not come around soon enough for me.  I have been mega busy lately. Work has been and still is crazy.  No time to blog, read or comment - I apologise!  (plus we are no longer allowed online at work during lunch - what a cheek!) Of course it will all change on Friday when I have 6 glorious weeks off - yippee!  So after I have spent the first 10 days at the caravan, I will then be back home for 4 days and then 4 days back at the caravan, right up until the end of the holidays.  I am so excited because I really need the break! I haven't even had time to write my 'to do' list, let alone tick anything off it! But it will include lots of cliff top walking, BBQs and picnics (cross your fingers for some sunny days!) plus watching Big Brother and also catching up with hours and hours of TV i've recorded yet haven't had a minute to watch. One programme I'm looking forward to is BBC2's Chinese Food Made Easy.  I love Chinese Food and want to learn to make it myself so it will be cheaper and healthier.

Saturday morning and I have the whole weekend off!  I am planning on getting my housework done this morning and then finishing the book I'm reading at the moment....

The Mistresses Daughter by A. M. Homes.

Tomorrow I am going to tackle my huge ironing pile and then do some baking for the week.  I have been thinking a lot lately about the rising cost of my grocery bill.  With four adults to feed I spend quite a bit. Although I do cook most of our meals from scratch which is cheaper and more healthy than buying ready made food, I am interested to see how much more I can do.  Last week I made pizzas for the first time and my family have been begging me to make more.  It was so much cheaper than buying them.  I am going to experiment with freezing some to see how they are when cooked from frozen.  I am also thinking about making my own yogurt and flavouring it with fruit.  This should cost a lot less than buying  yogurts and they will be better for us, shop bought yogurts are full of sugar & additives. I have a recipe to try for banana cookies which uses up over ripe bananas.  I already make a banana cake every week so this will be a nice change. Good for the four lunch boxes I pack up every day.  I have lots of other ideas. I have recently dicovered these blogs which have given my lots of ideas on how to save money at the supermarket checkout, along with the inspiration to try out some new ideas.  There also seems to be loads of programmes and magazine articles around at the moment on this subject so it seems many people are feeling the pinch.

Tagliatelle Carbonara

One of the things on my 'to do list' is to cook some different meals for the family and try some new recipes. 

 

Last night I made this, a recipe I have made before but not for a long time. It is a very simple, fast and economical meal. 

 

 

Quick Tagliatelle Carbonara - Serves 4 - 5

 

Ingredients

Tagliatelle - I used one packet of fresh tag but you can use dried or even make your own.

100g grated white cheddar

250g pack rindless streaky bacon, cut into  chuncks

4 eggs

4 tblsps low fat double cream

garlic, 1 glove, chopped very finely

salt and black pepper

 

Instructions

 

Cook pasta in salted boiling water

meanwhile,

fry the bacon for five minutes until browned and then add garlic, fry for another few minutes and set aside.

In a small bowl combine the cheese, cream and eggs and mix together. Season with salt and black pepper to taste

Drain pasta and return to pan, add the bacon, mix and then add the cheese mixture, mix well over a very low heat for a couple of minutes.

Serve (optional - sprinkle on a little parmesan or black pepper)

 

It's very tasty - we had salad and a bit of garlic bread with it. Goes very well with a nice glass of wine! I must make it more often.  My son also ate the leftover portion for his lunch today.

 

 

Chocolate Fondue

It is really windy today.  I went out for a walk and was nearly blown into the middle of the road! Good job I have plenty of weight to hold me down -lol!  Speaking of which, I weighed in today and am down another pound.  I am happy to settle of a pound or two a week now.  I have been drinking lots of water and walking everywhere. Feeling much better for it too.  I've had to cut out drinking copious amounts of tea in the late evenings though as I couldn't sleep due to caffeine overload! I will have to buy some Tetley Decaf or try some herbal teas instead!

My family are starting to whinge about lack of baked goodies - so I suppose now they have had a month healthy eating I will have to make something today.  I've found a recipe for chocolate coconut squares that I'd like to try and I will have to make the recipe below for myself to help me resist the bad stuff!