AMAZING CADBURY'S CREME EGG BROWNIES!

What you will need:

• 185g unsalted butter 
• 185g best dark chocolate 
• 85g plain flour 
• 40g cocoa powder
• 3 large eggs 
• 275g golden caster sugar 
• 6 Cadbury’s Crème eggs cut in half

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160C and grease a 20 cm square baking tin. 
2. Melt the butter and dark chocolate together either in the microwave or in a bowl over boiling water. 
3. Break 3 large eggs into a large bowl and tip in 275g golden caster sugar. With an electric mixer on maximum speed, whisk the eggs and sugar until they look thick and creamy, like a milk shake. This can take 3-8 minutes. You will know it's ready when the mixture becomes really pale and about double its original volume. 
4. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the eggy mousse, and then gently fold together. 
5. Hold a sieve over the bowl of eggy chocolate mixture and sift the cocoa and flour mixture, shaking the sieve from side to side, to cover the top evenly. Gently fold in to the mixture. 
6. Pour into the baking tin and cook for 15 minutes then take out of the over and gently press the cadburys crème egg halves into the mix, spacing them apart evenly. Put back in the over for another 5-10 minutes. 
7. Leave to cool before removing from tin and cutting into squares. 

Recipe found via a Facebook friend.

CubbyKit Mushy Martians - FAIL!

Today me and Jack decided to make Mushy Martians which came in our CubbyKit.
I think Jack was more excited than I was - we have never made play dough before.

All the ingredients we used were supplied in the CubbyKit, along with instructions.
2 pots of flour
1 pot of cream of tartar and salt mix
oil and food colouring mix

We added the cream of tartar and salt mix and added the 1 cup of water along with the food colouring mix and warmed on the cooker.

Once the liquid had warmed we removed from the cooker and proceeded to add the 2 pots of flour. It became just a pan full of flour gloop!

Either the amount of water stated was wrong or there wasn't enough flour. What a shame as Jack was looking forward to creating a martian.


I have found a play dough recipe online which we will be making and hopefully this time it works.


Play Dough Recipe (involving cooking)


Basic ingredient ratios:2 cups flour2 cups warm water1 cup salt2 Tablespoons vegetable oil1 Tablespoon cream of tartar (optional for improved elasticity)food colouring (liquid, powder, or unsweetened drink mix)


Mix all of the ingredients together, and stir over low heat. The dough will begin to thicken until it resembles mashed potatoes. 

When the dough pulls away from the sides and clumps in the centre, remove the pan from heat and allow the dough to cool enough to handle.

Keep stirring and cooking until the dough is dry and feels like play dough.
IMPORTANT NOTE: if your playdough is still sticky, you simply need to cook it longer! 

Turn the dough out onto a clean counter or silicone mat, and knead vigorously until it becomes silky-smooth. Divide the dough into balls for colouring.
Make a divot in the center of the ball, and drop some food coloring¹ in. Fold the dough over, working the food color through the body of the playdough, trying to keep the raw dye away from your hands and the counter. You could use gloves or plastic wrap at this stage to keep your hands clean- only the concentrated dye will color your skin, so as soon as it's worked in bare hands are fine.
Work the dye through, adding more as necessary to achieve your chosen color.
¹ If you use unsweetened drink mix for color, test on a small ball first- it won't go as far as the "real" food colouring.


Play with your play dough- I really don't need to help you there. It's entirely edible, if a bit salty, so it's kid-safe.
When you're done, store your playdough in an air-tight container.- If it begins to dry out, you can knead a bit of water in again to soften the dough back to useability. Once it's dried past a certain point, however, you'll just have to start over; thankfully it's not terribly difficult.- If it gets soggy, you can re-heat it to drive off the extra water the dough absorbed overnight.  This is usually the result of high humidity, but is fixable!You can also bake it in the oven to make hard dough figures and ornaments, then paint or otherwise decorate the surface.

A quick and healthy dinner idea using Jus Roll pastry.

I thought I would share with you something which is rather yummy! I like to include lots of vegetables!
You can easily change the toppings you use on this. It's like a pizza but a lot yummier! You could serve with a nice salad, jacket potatoes or even home made chips!

You will need:

• Jus Roll puff pastry
• Baking sheet
• Small amount of oil
• Herbs
• Tomato puree
• A choice of toppings (sweetcorn, ham, peppers, tomatoes, chorizo, mushrooms)
• Cheese
• A little milk and a pastry brush

First I un-roll the pastry and lay it on a greased baking sheet and spread a think layer of tomato puree onto leaving about 2 cm gap around the edge. This will create a lovely crispy edge. 

I then chop up all the toppings. I have found it's best to cook the sweetcorn before using it as it lets out a lot of water and this makes the base soggy. Then, I start to layer the toppings onto the base. Once all the toppings are on the base, I then sprinkle a little cheese over the top.

Chorizo, sweetcorn, green pepper and plum tomato

Ham, green pepper, sweetcorn and plum tomato

I use a little milk on a pastry brush and start to brush it around the edge of the pastry, this will give it a nice golden colour.

Then I put it into the oven on gas mark 7 for about 18 - 20 minutes or until the pastry edges have turned golden.

Once it's cooked I like to sprinkle it with some ripped basil and serve it warm. This can also be enjoyed cold.

Today...

... we baked cakes!

I got a cake mix when we went to Tesco's yesterday. It is by Greens and called Thomas & Friends Vanilla Cake Kit. It was only £1.00 and I knew Jack would enjoy mixing the cake mix and decorating the cakes with the train sprinkles.

Jack helped by mixing the butter into the cake mix. We then added the egg and milk and Jack gave it a good mix. He then spooned the mixture into the cake cases. We put them into the oven for 8 minutes and waited for them to cook. While they were in the oven Jack mixed up the icing sugar to decorate the tops with. Once the cakes had cooled we set to work decorating them. I spread the icing and Jack stuck on the rice paper trains and sprinkles. You can see our lovely cakes below!

Very Lazy; Posh Sausage Casserole Review

Very Lazy; Posh Sausage Casserole cooking concentrate

Have you ever come home from a long day at work and wondered what to cook for dinner? You obviously want to eat something healthy and something which won't take forever to cook as you have tired and hungry little ones. Look no further; why not cook a Posh Sausage Casserole?
Very Lazy have come up with a fantastic solution. They have done all the preparation for you; all you need to do is add the sausages and an onion then add the jar of cooking concentrate.

All you need is sausages, an onion and a jar of Very Lazy cooking concentrate

I was a little unsure that this would taste nice and cook in one hour. After all, I didn't make the sauce or add the flavour. Well, I tested it out one evening when I returned home from work and Jack was tired and hungry after a long day at nursery. I set to work to prepare something yummy!

Start time: 6:10pm

I started by frying the sausages in a little oil until they turned golden brown. I then chopped and fried the onion until soft.

Onions and sausages sizzling in the pan!

Once the onion and sausages have been cooked I then transferred them into a small casserole dish. I added the jar of sauce plus the same jar full of water, put the lid on the casserole dish and popped it in the oven. 

Sausage casserole before going in the oven

While this was cooking I went and bathed Jack. The hour flew by and when we were done we came downstairs to a wonderful smelling sausage casserole. I popped a bag of microwaveable rice in for a minute while the casserole cooled. I served it with rice as I thought this was a lighter and quicker option; you could serve it with whatever you fancied. I even sprinkled a little parsley on the top to give it the posh restaurant look!

Finish time: 7.20pm

This cooking concentrate surprised me. I thought it would be bland with no flavour or to over powering. I will eat my words; this was one of the best cooking sauces I have ever used! It was truly a Very Lazy way to cook a sausage casserole; but didn't skip the lush flavour. I will defiantly be buying more of these cooking concentrates.

Easy Easter Cooking

I love easter and now that Jack is a little older I can't wait to arrange egg hunts! I used to love running around the house looking everywhere for eggs which had been hidden by the Easter bunny.
I have found a few simple recipes I would like to share; most you toddler can help you with. You will remember making most of these when you were a child! I remember making Easter Nests at first school and the misshapen nests I took home were obviously a delight to my family as they were eaten that night after dinner (and still are today!)

Easter Nests

You will need:

Cereal (cornflakes or shredded wheat) 

Cooking chocolate 

Mini eggs

Method:

Combine cornflakes (or crushed shredded wheat) with melted chocolate and shape into nest shapes in bun cases. Before the chocolate has set, place 2-3 mini eggs into your chocolate nests.

For a simpler alternative, cover Rich Tea biscuits with icing (mix icing sugar with a little water and colouring if desired). The children can then decorate them with a variety of small sweets and sprinkles.

Easter Rainbow Cake

(You could even make mini rainbow cakes; just divide the coloured mixture between cake cases)

You will need:

Vanilla cake mix (mix according to package directions)

Food colouring (pink, green and blue)

Vanilla icing or frosting

Method:

Divide the vanilla cake mix into 3 separate bowls.

Colour each bowl a different colour using the food colourings.

Grease and flour 2 cake tins and layer the different coloured mix in the tin.

Once the cake has cooked (follow cake mix packet instructions) allow to cool before spreading a thin layer of frosting between the 2 cakes.

Put one on top of the other and cover in icing sugar or frosting.

Easter Bunny Biscuits

They are also brilliant for wrapping up as Easter gifts for friends and family.

You will need:

125g butter, softened

75g caster sugar

1 egg (separated)

200g plain flour, sifted

Quarter tsp of ground cinnamon

Quarter tsp of mixed spice

Zest of 1 lemon

75g currants

2 tbsp milk

Method:

Preheat oven to 200°C/329°C/gas 6. 

In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar together using a wooden spoon or electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk, keeping back the whites. Using a round-bladed knife gently stir in the sifted flour, spices, lemon zest and currants. Gradually stir in the milk until the dough starts to come together.

Tip the dough onto a lightly floured worktop and knead gently until smooth. Roll out to about 5mm thick the cut out the biscuits using a rabbit-shapped cutter or a cutter of your choice.

Place the biscuits on 2-3 greased baking trays and bake each tray in batches for 10 minutes and the remove from the oven.

Whisk the reserved egg whites very slightly, brush lightly over the biscuits then sprinkle with sugar. Then return to the oven for a further 5 minutes until golden. Remove biscuits from baking tray and place on a cooling rack.

Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day!

Pancake Recipe

Yummmmmy!

Ingredients

For the pancake mixture:

110g/4oz plain flour, sifted
pinch of salt
2 eggs
200ml/7fl oz milk mixed with 75ml/3fl oz water
50g/2oz butter

To serve (optional):

Caster sugar

Honey

Chocolate Spread

Lemon juice 
Lemon wedges

Preparation method

Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl with a sieve held high above the bowl so the flour gets an airing. Now make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Then begin whisking the eggs - any sort of whisk or even a fork will do - incorporating any bits of flour from around the edge of the bowl as you do so.

Next; gradually add small amounts of the milk and water mixture, still whisking (don't worry about any lumps as they will eventually disappear as you whisk). When all the liquid has been added, use a rubber spatula to scrape any bits of flour from around the edge into the centre, then whisk once more until the batter is smooth, with the consistency of thin cream.

Melt the 50g/2oz of butter in a pan. Spoon 2 tbsp of it into the batter and whisk it in, then pour the rest into a bowl and use it to lubricate the pan, using a wodge of kitchen paper to smear it round before you make each pancake.

Now, get the pan really hot, then turn the heat down to medium and, to start with, do a test pancake to see if you're using the correct amount of batter. 2 tbsp is about right for an 18cm/7in pan. It's also helpful if you spoon the batter into a ladle so it can be poured into the hot pan in one go. As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter. It should take only half a minute or so to cook; you can lift the edge with a palette knife to see if it's tinged gold as it should be. Flip the pancake over with a pan slice or palette knife - the other side will need a few seconds only - then simply slide it out of the pan onto a plate.

Stack the pancakes as you make them between sheets of greaseproof paper on a plate fitted over simmering water, to keep them warm while you make the rest.

To serve, sprinkle each pancake with freshly squeezed lemon juice and caster sugar, fold in half, then in half again to form triangles, or else simply roll them up. Serve sprinkled with a little more sugar. Try this step with chocolate spread or honey to make a yummy sweet treat. You could even add strawberries or oranges!

Have fun with your toddler in the kitchen!

Hi everyone!
I thought I would share with you a two actives you could do with your toddler. 
The obvious activity is letting your toddler help you. Maybe you could make some cakes together and let them mix the mixture or even let them scrub any dirty vegetables you may need for the evening meal. Toddlers love helping you out. Asking them to get something out of the fridge is rewarding for them as they have clearly identified what they have been asked to get. Teaching them kitchen safety, such as what's hot and what's cold, from an early age will help them feel more comfortable when in the kitchen. You could even leave plastic containers, inexpensive pans, plastic silverware and wooden spoons on a bottom shelf in your kitchen. Toddlers will learn the kitchen isn't totally off limits to them and while you are cooking they can join in the fun with their own dishes.


Next up is Marshmallow Magic! 
You will need some dark paper, white PVA glue, a saucer/plate and mini marshmallows!

After studying Art & Design I know that the contrast of black and white makes the use of space all the more obvious to the developing artist. Pour a small amount of glue into a saucer/plate and show your child how to dip a marshmallow in and stick it in patterns to the dark paper. You could try make little snowmen by gluing the marshmallows 3 high, take turns in gluing the marshmallows in a long line or even just go around the edges of the paper with the marshmallows. Your little one will enjoy sticking down the soft marshmallows and playing the game with you.
If you have any marshmallows left over you could put a few onto a cocktail stick and dip in melted chocolate then decorate with hundreds and thousands or sugar strands. 

Yummy!!

Have you ever tried giving your teething toddler frozen vegetables?
Maybe you should give Vegetable Teethers a go!
All you will need is a pack of frozen mixed vegetables. You can serve your teething toddler frozen mixed vegetables straight from the freezer. Most children like them better uncooked and they can be a quick fix for those fussy times!

Frozen carrots, peas, green beans and sweetcorn!

A 'Yummy Scrummy' Recipe!

Hi everyone!
I thought I would share with you a rather tasty recipe. Now that summer has ended; it's time to get cooking all the yummy comfort foods!
This recipe is for blackberry muffins and it makes 12. You could go blackberry picking to get the berries for this recipe (an excuse to eat loads of blackberries!). You could also experiment and add apple (that would be scrumptious!), or maybe add some chopped hazelnuts?

250g wholemeal plain flour

3 tsp baking powder

75g butter

100g caster sugar

2 eggs

250ml natural yogurt

200g blackberries

First you need to heat the oven to gas mark 4, 180°C, fan 160°C. You also need to line a muffin tin with cases. Next you need to put the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl, add the butter and rub into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Then stir in the sugar and hazelnuts (if using). Then Mix the eggs and the yougurt together and stir into the breadcrumb mixture with half of the blackberries. Divide the mixture between the muffin cases and push the remaining berries into the top of each. Bake for 20 minutes until well risen and golden brown.

Yummy.....blackberry muffins!

Quick and easy cake tray pizza bites

Hi everyone!!
Thought I would share with you a yummy pizza recipe I made today. Jack helped me pat the dough into flat circles! (All measurements are estimates as I just chucked the flour and water into a bowl!) All you need to do is make it into a dough!

For the dough:
4oz of self raising flour
4oz of strong wholemeal flour
Water
2 tablespoons of oil
A pinch of salt

Sift the self raising flour into a bowl and add the strong wholemeal flour. Add oil and water until a dough is formed. Work the dough for about 5-10 minutes. Tear the dough into small balls and pat out until flat. Fit into a cake case tin.

For the topping:
Tomato pure
Anything you fancy!

Spread the tomato pure thinly, then sprinkle on the topping you fancy. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

These are ideal for toddlers as a snack. They are small, tasty and fun!!
Enjoy!!!

Cake tray pizza bites!

Ham and Cheese pizza bites!

'I Can Cook' Recipes

'I Can Cook' images (From BBC website)

I seem to watch CBeebies everyday with my little one and there are a number of programs I have seen a hundred times! The one program which I actually enjoy watching is 'I Can Cook'. I think the recipes which Katy cooks with the children are really easy and simple. The recipes help you encourage healthy eating as they all include fruit and vegetables; it also teaches children to discover the full cycle of food as they learn to connect what's on their plate everyday with the world around them. I thought I would share the recipes I found with you all!
I found SAVOURY and SWEET recipes. I can't wait until Jack is a little bit older and we can cook together. Enjoy cooking with your children!
My favourite recipes are Spicy Baked Wraps, Fish Triple Decker and Chunky Banana Bread.

Cheesecake.... Yummy!!

For a week I have been wanting to make my own cheesecake. Well, today I thought I would give it a go.
I melted the butter and chucked in the crushed digestive biscuits and mixed it around. Pushed the biscuits into the tin and then popped it into the fridge to cool. I then went on to make the cheese top. I used a family sized pot of philadelphia, icing sugar, lemon juice and caster sugar. Mixed it until fluffy and spread on the top of the biscuit base. The whole thing went into the fridge and will remain in there for 2/3 hours; ready for pudding tonight.

-----------------------

Recipe for lemon cheesecake.


INGREDIENTS

110g digestive biscuits
50g butter
25g brown sugar
350g cream cheese (full fat, I use Philadelphia)
75g castor sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 3 lemons (you need about 6 tablespoons)
150ml double cream (optional)

METHOD

1. Crush the biscuits thoroughly to fine crumbs.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan and mix in the crushed biscuits and brown sugar.
3. Press into an 8 inch loose bottomed cake tin (I have found it much easier to turn out using one of these).
4. Chill in the fridge while you make the topping.
5. Beat together the cream cheese, castor sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice until smooth and creamy.
6. Whip the double cream until you have soft peaks.
7. Mix together the cream cheese mixture and the cream.
8. Spread over the base and chill for a couple of hours.
9. Enjoy!

Cooking, cleaning and chocolate!

Today was pritty much a stay at home day. Boring!!
I had planned to cook a lovely dinner for me and Jack. It was to be Turkey, roast vegtables and a potato gratin. I cleaned the house up; hoovered and dusted round but was there any point when you have a one year old toddler who is into everything??!! No! He just came and got everything I put away back out!! Little monkey. The Pop'n'Gro nappies went into the wash; and I chilled on the sofa. I must have dropped off after putting Jack to bed and to my horror when I woke up it was 5.30pm. I would never have time took cook my potato gratin as it takes over an hour and a half to cook!!
The turkey had been on slow cook all morning and I had prepared the roasted vegtables. I didn't know what to do!
I googled how to make one and thought if I boiled the potatos in the milk, cream and butter; it shouldn't take long in the oven; only about 20 minutes. So I boiled up half a pint of milk and chucked in a few lumps of Anchor butter, then added the potatoes. Boiled until soft, but not to soft; poured everything into a glass dish, sprinkled some cheese over the top and put in a very hot oven. Once it was ready I took it out and served it up; it tasted good, yummy but not as good as my Nan's. Think I may have to pinch her recipe!!



-------------------------

My recipe for Quick and Easy potato gratin.

Amounts feed four quite generously

Pre-Heat oven to 200.C/400.F/Gas6

Four good sized potatoes
200 mls milk
200 mls cream
1 clove of smushed garlic
Black Pepper ( a good grinding)
Handful of grated parmesan

Place the cream, milk old bay seasoning, black pepper and garlic in a fairly large saucepan and bring to the boil.
Remove from the heat and put the lid on to let the flavours infuse.
Peel and slice the potatoes into approximately 1cm slices.
Pop them into the saucepan with the milk and cream mixture and bring to the boil.
Simmer gently until just cooked.
Pour this mixture into a buttered oven proof dish and bake for about 15-20 minutes until turning golden and bubbling
About five minutes before the end of cooking scatter over the parmesan..
Allow to stand for a few minute before serving.