I Heart Comfort Food! :)

Hi everyone!

How nice and 'home comfort foody' does this look? :)

Shepherdess Pie :)

I made this for tea the last night (appropriately enough on National Womens Day!) and it has become a definate comfort food favorite :) I think It is the perfect antidote to the cold, miserable, rainy and generally dark and gloomy weather we have been having recently, and as the recipe makes loads, its perfect for portioning off and reheating in the microwave for a quick, comforting tea when you have finished work.

Although I adore the 'original' sheperds pie recipe, this version is cheaper, just as yummy, and is also very healthy, bonus!

I found its perfect for using up bits and bobs in the fridge, and its also very low in syns on the slimming world diet plan. (I actually just chucked in whatever I had lurking around, and it tastes devine!)

I thought I would do this as a tutorial, so here's how to make a vegetarian, healthy twist on an old favourite...

Ingredients (to feed 4):

• 1/2 chopped onion
• 1 grated carrot
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes or 1 carton of passata
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1/2 tsp dried herbs or 1 tsp fresh herbs (mixed herbs, basil or oregano)
• 1 small tin sweetcorn, drained
• I small tin/frozen garden peas
• 1 chopped red or yellow pepper
• 4-6 mushrooms, sliced or chopped
• 1 tin of beans or lentils, drained...haricot, black eyed, mixed beans, red kidney, whatever! (baked beans would be fine too)
• mashed potato (or mashed: sweet potato, carrot & swede, cauliflower - let your imagination run wild!)
• grated cheese (optional)

Method:

Fry onion and pepper in a little oil or fry light, for a couple of minutes, add carrot and mushrooms, then add tomato puree and cook for a couple more minutes.

Add tomatoes/passata and herbs and bring to the boil, then add sweetcorn, peas and beans (simmer mixture for around 10 mins if using as a pasta sauce).

Put in a casserole dish, top with mashed potato and top with grated cheese, if using.

Bung in the oven at about 180 C/Gas 4 for 30 mins, until cheese is lightly browned and bubbling.

DONE!

(You could also use the filling as a pasta sauce or to fill tortilla wraps. Vary the ingredients and chop finely or in big bits, depending on what you (or your kids!) like)

What is YOUR favorite comfort food?

 

100 follower Giveaway!

Hi everyone!

I cant believe I have over 100 followers! Yay!
I just want to say Thank You to every 'Follower' and all of you who takes the time to read and comment on my blog, I read and appreciate each comment, and every new follower really does make my day :)

So, with this in mind, I thought I would hold a little 'thank you' giveaway, with the prizes being things I would love to recieve myself, so hopefully you will too :)
Here is what is up for grabs:

* Cath Kidston 'Tips For Vintage Style' handbag sized book
* Handmade luxuriously softening Cocoa Butter Bath Melts (rose and lavender)
* Handmade fizzy bath bombs (rose and lavender)
* 'The best of Cadbury's Chocolate cooking' yummy recipe book
* Soap & Glory 50ml Flakeaway body polish
* Soap & Glory 75ml Clean Mary cleansing milk

*Bath bombs and melts are individually handmade by myself*


Rules:

For ONE entry:

* You must be a follower of this blog.

 *You must comment below, stating 'please enter me because..' and a reason why you would like to win

For EXTRA entries:

* You must post the above picture of the giveaway goodies, stating 'Fabulous Giveaway' along with a working link back to this page, and end date of giveaway in your sidebar.

*Blog about the giveaway in a post (you gain TWO extra entries for each, or FIVE entries if you do both!)

(Please let me know in the comments box which of the above you have done so I can check and make the correct number of enteries for you, and please leave your follower name, email address and your blog address :) 

Giveaway ends April 1st, First name randomly picked out of the hat will be the lucky winner, and  I   will announce said winner the following day :)

Good Luck everyone and thanks for entering! 

Slimming World low syn Chocolate Cake Tutorial

Hi everyone!

I was given this recipe for a very quick chocolate cake fix by one of the girls at my meeting, and after trying her cake, I was quick to take the recipe! This cake is perfect if you are in need of a sweet treat, and only chocolate cake will do!

The ingredients seem quite strange, but, trust me, although the slimming world 'version' is not up to double chocolate fudge cake standards, its really nice! (And lets face it, if I didnt love all things sweet and chocolatey, I wouldnt be needing Slimming World in the first place!)
So here is the recipe:

Slimming World Low-Syn Chocolate Cake

 Syns:  9 yummy Syns or 6 1/2 Syns + 1 Healthy Extra 'b' choice for the whole cake! 

You will need:

5 Scan Bran, (available from Slimming World meetings) or All Bran
3 beaten eggs
1 level tbsp golden syrup
1oz cocoa powder
Half a mug of sweetener


Method:

1.  Soak the Scan Bran/All bran in boiling water to soften. Then drain and mash.

2.  Mix all the ingredients together and pour into a microwavable bowl.

3. Microwave on high for 7 minutes. When cooked the cake will be springy to the touch. and will have pulled away from the side of the bowl.

4. For a free topping, pile with (defrosted) frozen forest fruits and fat free creme fraiche  or, for extra Syns, top with chocolate spread. Tips - to make different flavours, when weighing the cocoa powder, add an Options sachet (the one in class tonight was hazelnut, mint is a good one, or if you want to try chocolate orange, I'd add a bit of orange essence too; or use a Cadbury's Highlights sachet, the fudge one is particularly nice) to the scales, then top up to one ounce with the cocoa powder, this makes the whole cake 10 syns.

To serve - It's nice warm or cold, to warm up put a piece in microwave for 20-30 seconds, I usually have the cake with a small pot of Ambrosia Light Custard (5 1/2 syns), or you can have it with a free yoghurt of your choice, Mullerlight Banana & Custard is good to get the custard flavour, or the vanilla one.

Enjoy!

Please let me know your thoughts if you make this 'cake' :)

Yummy Homemade Chocolate Fudge (Tutorial)

Hi everyone!

As I am going to see a foodie friend for lunch and xmas present swap tomorrow, I thought I would take along some of my scrummy (if I do say so myself!) homemade chocolate fruit and nut fudge, partly as a thankyou for lunch, and also as a sort-of apology, as I havent seen her in a while and keep having to cancel our get-together arrangements, sorry Emma!

Its a Nigella Lawson recipe (I think) and I originally found it on another blog (but Im really crap and cant remember which one, sorry!) and its really easy to make, and involves absolutely NO cooking (besides melting the chocolate, does that count?) Bonus! As its so easy to make, I thought I would take pictures and do a sort-of tutorial so you can make it and amaze everyone/wow them with your fabulous baking skills :) Its amazingly squidgy and yummy, makes loads, and would make a fantastic (cheap/lastminute/homemade) Christmas prezzie (arrange in a pretty glass jar, line with tissue paper and tart up with festive ribbons and a cute bow, or something like in the pics below, and Voila! Who wouldnt want to recieve that?)

This recipe is actually adapted from the original, (which I think was chocolate pistachio fudge) so its a question of taste - you can make a basic chocolate fudge or add anything you want - I have made mixed nut fudge, white choc chip fudge, mixed fruit fudge in the past - the possibilities are endless!

Anywhoo, here is the tutorial :)

INGREDIENTS:

350g of plain chocolate, at least 70% cocoa
1 can of condensed milk
30g butter
pinch of salt
150g of mixed fruit and nuts (or whatever!)

Step One

Put on the radio/CD of your choice, then take the chocolate and break into pieces (one piece for the bowl, one for my mouth!)

Step Two

Place the chocolate, condensed milk, salt and butter into a pan and melt over a very low heat until it looks like a pool of delicious melty chocolatey scrumminess

Step Three

get a clean square shaped tray, add the melted chocolate, and stir in your mixed fruit and nuts. Smooth the surface using a wet knife and place in the fridge until set - at least 30 minutes. Whilst your waiting, lick the spoon and pan :)

Step Four

Once set, cut the fudge into squares, arrange on a cute plate and there you have it - delish scrummy chocolate fruit and nut fudge, the perfect present for a foodie friend (or to eat all by yourself!)

Finished!

Here is the finished present I will be taking for Emma:

The jar cost £1 from a charity shop, and I just filled it with the fudge, added gold curling ribbon to the neck, stuck a matching gold bow tag to the lid and I think the finished product makes a fab frugal festive gift!

 I hold no responsibility for any weight gained from eating this fudge :)

Let me know if you make my/Nigella's version. Fudge recipes of your own are more than welcome, a person can never have enough fudge recipes! :)

PS - lilyribbons.blogspot.com  and birdsdecoratebranches.blogspot.com are both holding amazing giveaways - check them out :)