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