Tomato & red pepper soup

I wanted to make an easy lunch-time soup that I knew the kids would eat....they both like tomatoes & red peppers so I went for that and it was a big hit.

Tomato & red pepper soup

• 1 large onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 red pepper
• 2 tins tomatoes
• sprinkling of mixed herbs
• black pepper

I roughly chopped the onion & garlic and sauteed them in a large pan with a bit of olive oil until they softened. I then added the red pepper, again roughly chopped, followed by the tinned tomatoes. (As I used plum tomatoes, I roughly chopped them with a knife once they were in the pan).

I then added some mixed herbs and black pepper and allowed it all to simmer away for around 20 mins.

Once it had cooled a bit, I blended it till smooth in my food processor.

I served it with a swirl of cream, some chopped basil and French baguette - yum!!

Chewy white chocolate & cinnamon cookies

Made these delicious white chocolate chip & cinnamon cookies on Saturday with the help of my 3 year old. They were so easy to make and made the kitchen smell really Christmassy.

White chocolate chip & cinnamon cookies

The recipe said 100g of white chocolate chips but I probably only put in about 70g - just cause that was looking enough - and they worked out just right.

The one thing I have to remind myself when cooking biscuits is that they always look a bit under cooked when they come out of the oven. I'm often tempted to leave them in the oven a bit longer but if I do they become too hard when cooled!

Chocolate fairy cakes

It's school cake sale tomorrow so I knocked up some quick chocolate fairy cakes today.

I've got Mary Berry's Ultimate Cake book and it's fab - the recipes are simple and always work!! Once cooled, I decorated with melted chocolate and sprinkles...hopefully they'll go down well.

Chocolate fairy cakes with sprinkles

Gnocchi with halloumi

Gnocchi isn't usually something that I would go for. But for some reason, a packet of fresh mini gnocchi caught my eye when I was picking up a few bits in Waitrose (isn't that always the case, go in for a loaf, come out having spent a small fortune!).

I decided to make a homemade tomato sauce to go with it and for protein to serve it with halloumi cheese.

Tomato gnocchi with halloumi

Anyway, it was such a hit with the kids - oh and the husband of course! I should probably add at this point that my kids love halloumi so to a certain extent any dinner containing halloumi always gets a big thumbs up!!

The gnocchi I bought was this one.....Del'Ugo Tricolor Baby Gnocci. And it only takes 2 minutes to cook - wow!!!

Before the school run, I made an easy tomato sauce and then at time dinner, I simply made the gnocchi (according to the instructions on the packet) and whacked some sliced halloumi under the grill. And hey presto, a meal in minutes for hungry kids!!

Simple tomato sauce:

2 onions

3 cloves garlic

1 tin chopped tomatoes

8 mushrooms, chopped

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp mixed herbs

Ground pepper to taste

I added the onions and garlic to my mini chopper & whizzed until fine.

I then added a glug of oil into a large pan and tipped in the chopped onion & garlic. I cooked them for a few minutes on a low heat before adding the mushrooms, herbs & pepper.

Once the onions had some colour, I added the tin of tomatoes and gave everything a good stir. I let it all cook, again on a low heat, for another 10 minutes and then added the balasmic vinegar.

After a few more minutes, I turned the heat off and left the pan on the hob. Once it had all cooled down, I put a plate on top and left it there to go and do the school run.

Mixed in with the gnocchi, before adding the halloumi:

Peanut beef stir fry

I made a really easy yet tasty satay beef stir fry the other day. I love peanut butter / satay sauce dishes and this one was perfect for all the family. I tend to buy the no added salt peanut butter.

Funnily, the only peanut butter thing I don't like is those Reese cupcakes but everyone else seems to rave about them!!

Satay beef stir fry

This recipe is adapted from the Satay Beef Stir-Fry recipe in the Woman's Weekly Sensational Stir-Fries cookbook - have to say there are some great stir fries in there!

Ingredients

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 can coconut milk

1 onion, chopped finely

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground tumeric

500g beef steak, cubed

6 mushrooms, sliced

handful frozen peas

4 spring onions, chopped

Straight to wok noodles

Method:

1. In a small saucepan, add the peanut butter, half the soy sauce, garlic, coconut milk and stir over a low heat until mixed together & heated through.

2. In a small chopper (or by hand), mix the onion, remaining soy sauce and spices until smooth.

3. Heat some oil in a large pan or wok and stir fry the beef and onion paste until the beef is browned.

4. Add the peanut butter sauce and the vegetables and cook on a low heat for 10 minutes.

5. Add the straight to wok noodles and serve as soon as they're ready.

Low calorie snacks

I've decided it's time to lose the summer tum and join the gym again. I do actually like exercising and love the idea of being super fit, it's just a case of fitting it all in.

For my new routine, I'm going to aim for 3x a week and a combination of different classes.

This means it's also time for healthy snacks. I've read it's best to try and stick to snacks with less than 100 calories so here's my top choices:

1. Nakd bars - I love these and always say I can sort of pretend the cocoa one is a chocolate bar! (Depends on flavour...some are 100 calories, some are a little bit more)

2. Blueberries with 1 tbsp Greek yogurt (around 80 calories)

3. 2 crackers with a bit of peanut butter (around 95 calories)

4. 5 organic prunes - I've just rediscovered prunes, they taste delicious! (around 100 calories)

5. 1 fun sized Milk Way - I must say Milky Way isn't my favourite chocolate but that's a good thing as I can have a bag of the fun sized ones in the house and not eat them all in one sitting. And if I need bit of sweet hit of chocolate they do the trick. (around 75 calories)

What are snacks of choice...hold on, you'll have to tell me later as I must dash to Zumba now. xx

Coffee & walnut cake

For me, coffee & walnut cake is up there in my list of favourite cakes....there always seems to be a nice slice of it at those slightly shabby chic cafes with the homemade cakes yum!!

Coffee & walnut cake

At the weekend, my husband knocked up a lovely tasty version of it. He used this recipe although a slight word of warning the topping was very runny and we had to rescue it with more icing sugar.

Talking of my favourite cakes, this is my top 5....what's yours?

1. Classic chocolate cake with chocolate ganache

2. Victoria sponge

3. Coffee & walnut cake

4. Carrot cake

5. Lemon drizzle cake

Baking....marble cake & cookies

My husband has recently got into cooking, and in particular baking. I don't know quite what happened...we've been together over 10 years and previously he's never showed any interest in the kitchen.

Then a few months ago, I went out to the gym one evening leaving him at home watching a TV cookery programme. And he caught the cooking bug which I didn't think could happen from the TV.

His cooking adventure is slightly curbed by lack of time but at the weekend he does try to make a least one thing.

Marble cake using Mary Berry recipe:

10 minute cookies using Hugh's recipe:

Plums, glorious plums

We're lucky to have a great plum tree in the garden. Each year, it happily provides us with handfuls of delicious plums that the kids get so excited about picking. We've no idea why it does so well as we do nothing to care for it (although it's right next to the compost bin which might help!).

And as soon as the plums are picked, they are gobbled up by the kids. It's fantastic that they are so keen to eat them but it would be nice, once in a while, to be able to use the plums to make something.

I've seen a couple of nice looking recipes such as this Plum & almond tart by Angela Hartnett and

Spicy plum & apple chutney by Sara Buenfeld. Of course, we all know they're never going to be made!!

Do you have your eye on any tasty plum recipes or does the same thing happen in your house (and it's not just plums here, it's strawberries, blueberries etc).

Meal plan - w/c 23 May

So what's on this week's meal planner? This week it's National Vegetarian Week so in honour of that I'm going to include a few new veggie meals. I normally try and do a couple of meat free meals a week anyway so it would be good to widen my repertoire!

Yesterday, we went to pizza express to celebrate a friends birthday so this is what I'm planning to do for the rest of the week:

Tuesday - pork stir fry & noodles

Wednesday - vegetable goulash

Thursday - chickpea & cashew korma

Friday - chicken casserole

Saturday - mixed bean chilli with wedges

Sunday - stuffed lamb roast dinner

What have you got on your meal planner?

Meal planning - what we ate.....

All of last week, I kept on meaning to jot down what was on our meal plan but forgot!

So this is what we ate:

Monday - chicken risotto
Tuesday - salmon, corn on the cob & salad
Wednesday - burgers with wedges

Thursday - lentil spag bol

Friday - sausage tomato pasta

Saturday - fish pie (cooked by hubbie using River Cottage cookbook)

Sunday - dinner out with friends

Salmon, corn on the cob & salad

Homemade burgers (uncooked)

Fish Pie served with broccoli

Beetroot - do you love or hate it?

Is beetroot simply a love it or hate it veg or are there those indifferent to it?

As a child, I used to absolutely hate it. I always remember going round to a friend's house and her Mum used to serve it with everything & I could never understand why. My clearest memory is of being served spaghetti bolognese (which I loved) with a portion of beetroot on the side. I was brought up "old school" so was under strict instructions to eat whatever I was given....and I used to dread it!

Fast forward a few years (well, go on then a few more than that!) and I absolutely love it. I tend to buy the organic ready cooked version and bung it into any salad or side dish going. But I do also buy it raw and either juice it up or add it to dishes. (Or I cheat completely and buy this).

And now, to feed my addiction I've discovered this site completely dedicated to beetroot. Some of the recipes look delicious especially this one for radish & beetroot chutney.

So beetroot - do you love it, hate or couldn't say either way?!

DId you have a happy Mother's Day?

I hope you did.

I had a lovely low key Mother's Day complete with the £15 meal deal from M&S. We went for the lamb, potatoes, mixed veg, choc & salted caramel torte with a bottle of red and it was all most enjoyable (& good for the budget!).

Easy chicken casserole

I love tasty yet easy to do cooking.....this chicken casserole fits the bill perfectly!! It's quick to throw together and can then just happily sit on the hob for an hour cooking away.

Half term breakfast pancakes

My kids love eating pancakes all year round. So this morning with
nowhere to rush off to they requested pancakes for breakfast.

So simple, three easy ingredients (and sshh a bit of nutella - it is
the hols after all) makes a delicious breakfast. And my three year old
loved helping me make them.

New recipes books - bargains!

Look what I picked up yesterday! Two great sounding recipes books for £7!

Was really pleased - what a complete bargain?!

I'm really hoping that they will help with my budget recipe planning efforts.

I know, I know why does trying to budget always involve more spending?! With this though, I'm hoping that with great meal planning (so not wasting food or resorting to bought out food) that I'll recoup the £7 in no time at all.

Well, in the first week actually would be nice :-)

P.S. And that says "Bumper" in case any one was wondering.....!!

Filtered water bottle - the Bobble!

I've just come back from the gym (I'll polish my halo now!!) and thought I must tell you about my water bottle.

It's not just any water bottle, it's a Bobble. Now I can't really take any of the credit for finding this great invention because I got it as a present at Christmas from my sister. But it serves me well, is environmentally friendly and matches my gym outfit (only joking, I don't wear pink lycra!!).

Bobble water bottle

If you've not heard of it before, it's a reusable, portable water bottle that filters tap water as you drink - a single Bobble filter equates to at least 300 water bottles. And of course it looks very cool!!

P.S. Excuse the poor photo - taken too late at night!!

Meal planning

Meal planning is a great way to feel organised (I love lists of all kinds) and can help with budgeting (my other new big thing!!).

I tend to collect recipes from all kinds of places - online, magazines, supermarkets etc and have sort of a filing system to keep them altogether. Next on my list is to make a pretty recipe binder link the one on this fab blog.

But for now heres what's on my meal planner this week (with the emphasis being on cheap but healthy!):

Monday: chickpea curry with pittas

Tuesday: roast veggie moussaka with feta

Wednesday: grilled fish with wedges & veg

Thursday: pancakes filled with cheesy veg

Friday: chicken & mushroom pie

Saturday: lamb koftas in tomato sauce with rice

Sunday: lentil spaghetti bolognese

Veggie moussaka

The roast veggie moussaka with feta recipe is from the BBC Good Food magazine May 2008:

Serves 4

Prep: 10 mins; Cook 45 mins

Per serving: 223 kcals

2 yellow peppers, cut into chunks

2 red onions, cut into wedges

2 medium courgettes, cut into chunks

1 large aubergine, cut into chunks

1 tbsp olive oil

85g/3oz feta

1 egg

200ml tub Greek yogurt

700g bottle passata

2 tsp dried oregano

1. Heat the oven to 200c/fan 180c/gas 6. Scatter the vegetables into a large roasting tin. Toss with oil, season, then roast for 25 mins until softened.

2. Break up the feta with a fork, then mix well with the egg, yogurt and seasoning. When the veggies are ready, tip them into an ovenproof dish, then stir in the passata & oregano. Spoon over the creamy topping, turn the oven up to 220c/fan 200c/gas 7, then bake for 20-25 mins until the filling is hot and the topping is beginning to brown & bubble.

Enjoy!

P.S. You might notice I swapped out some of the veg...you can basically use whatever is in your fridge!

Yummy tomatoes

My son (5yrs) is of the eat anything & everything type....he's always hungry and will happily munch anything offered. You can really tell when he starts to get hungry as he starts to wilt and needs an energy boost of food to get him going again!

My daughter (3yrs) on the other hand is a lot more fussy. She's the classic toddler that will one day love something and the next day hate it! Most annoying when you've specifically gone to the shops to replenish an absolute favourite only for it to be snubbed.

Tomatoes fall into this category....the other day she was into them and on one of our regular jaunts to Costa she enjoyed a babycino and a selection of tomatoes. The perfect combo.....although perhaps not what I'd choose ;-)!

Easy bread sticks

I met with a friend for coffee yesterday and she mentioned she'd been baking the big, fat salted bread sticks by Lorraine Pascale. I've seen various previews and clips about her TV programme but for some reason have never managed to catch it.

So, never one to pass up a foodie recommendation I thought I'd check them out for myself!

And my friend was right, they're really simple to make & taste great! They'd also be a good one for the kids to help make.

Budget recipe week - chickpea curry

We had a great weekend celebrating my husband's 40th birthday. It involved a night out in Covent Garden eating at Tamarai restaurant (would highly recommend as the food was delicious) and then Pizza Express with the kids on Sunday.

So this week is detox week in lots of ways.....it's time to give the liver & the wallet a rest :-)

So for dinner today, we're going to be having cheap & cheerful chickpea curry.

3 cloves garlic, peeled & crushed
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 inch garlic, peeled & finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp black pepper
2 tins chickpeas
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 tin tomatoes
1 tsp tomato puree

Rather than chopping, I bunged the garlic, onion & garlic in my mini-chopper & whizzed them up.

Add them to a pan with a dash of oil with the cumin, tumeric & black pepper and saute for 5 mins.

Add the chickpeas & carrots and stir to coat in the spices. Cook for a few minutes.

Add the tinned tomatoes and the puree.

Cook for an hour, adding water when necessary to ensure it doesn't dry out

Easy meatballs

My kids love meatballs and I tend to base them on Jamie Oliver's meatball recipe with a few added extras!

My daughter can often turn up her nose at veggies so this time I've added in a whole courgette grated. Once cooked, the kids don't notice yet it all adds up towards their 5-a-day.

Sizzling in the pan - yum!

Spicy bean stew

Like lots of people, we're trying to have a cheap January....so out come the beans!!

Beans are a great way of cooking up tasty, yet cheap, meals.

Today for dinner we're having spicy bean stew - I simply looked through my cupboards and used what tins I had....in this case green lentils & black beans.

• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tin green lentils
• 1 tin black beans
• 1 tin tomatoes
• handful fresh parsley

I put a glug of oil in a pan on a low heat then whizzed up the onions, garlic & ginger in my mini chopper. I added them to the pan and let them cook for a couple of minutes. I then added the cumin seeds and turmeric and allowed to simmer for a while longer.

I then added the lentils, beans and tomatoes and a bit of water and allowed it all to cook for about an hour. To serve, sprinkle of some fresh parsley.

Serve with rice or bread.