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!

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.

Lentil spaghetti bolognese

Made lentil spaghetti for dinner yesterday. It was a recipe on Netmums which I'd never tried before. Very easy to make and surprisingly tasty!! A great budget meal.

Recipe: Apple & cinnamon cake

Apple & cinnamon cake

Ingredients:

225 g soft margarine

225 g light muscovado sugar

3 medium eggs

100 g walnut pieces, chopped

100 g sultanas

225 g self-raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

400 g cooking apples, peeled, cored and grated

1 tsp ground cinnamon

light muscovado sugar for sprinkling

extra chopped walnuts for sprinkling (optional)

icing sugar for dusting (optional)

1) Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Lightly grease and base line a 9 inch (23 cm) deep round cake tin with greased greaseproof paper.

2) Measure the margarine, sugar, eggs, chopped walnuts, sultanas, flour and baking powder into a large bowl and beat well for about 2 minutes until thoroughly blended.

3) Spoon half the mixture into the prepared tin then spread the grated apple and ground cinnamon in an even layer on top.

4) Spread the remaining cake mixture on top, level the surface then sprinkle generously with light muscovado sugar and walnuts.

5) Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours or until the cake is well risen and golden brown.

6) Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out and leaving to cool completely on a wire rack.

7) Dust with icing sugar to serve.

Apple picking

Apple season is fast approaching and I'm lucky to have a fabulous apple tree in my garden. In previous years, we've been a bit lazy and not done much with them but this year I'm determined to use them in lots of different ways.

So yesterday, I was out picking my first batch:

and decided to make an apple & cinnamon cake using a Mary Berry recipe:

Recipe:

Apple and Cinnamon Cake

Ingredients:
225 g soft margarine
225 g light muscovado sugar
3 medium eggs
100 g walnut pieces, chopped
100 g sultanas
225 g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
400 g cooking apples, peeled, cored and grated
1 tsp ground cinnamon
light muscovado sugar for sprinkling
extra chopped walnuts for sprinkling (optional)
icing sugar for dusting (optional)

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Lightly grease and base line a 9 inch (23 cm) deep round cake tin with greased greaseproof paper.
2) Measure the margarine, sugar, eggs, chopped walnuts, sultanas, flour and baking powder into a large bowl and beat well for about 2 minutes until thoroughly blended.
3) Spoon half the mixture into the prepared tin then spread the grated apple and ground cinnamon in an even layer on top.
4) Spread the remaining cake mixture on top, level the surface then sprinkle generously with light muscovado sugar and walnuts.
5) Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours or until the cake is well risen and golden brown.
6) Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out and leaving to cool completely on a wire rack.
7) Dust with icing sugar to serve.