Here is a little sneaky peak at our wedding!!
Friday, 8 November 2013
Makin' baking is back!
Well I can't believe how long I've been away from here! July was my last post before it all went crazy with the wedding. But very very good crazy! I have plenty of material for you guys! Can't wait to get back to makin' baking!
Wednesday, 3 July 2013
Baked Falafal
Here is another healthy one for you guys. Healthy and absolutely AMAZING!
Since discovering this recipe on Thursday I have made this three times. They are brilliant to pop in a salad for lunch and are only 46 calories in a serving! Ive been putting them with a few spoonfuls for giant couscous in a salad, making a fantastic Moroccan salad.
Makes 14 (3 in a serving)
Ingredients
1 can/240g drained chickpeas
1 small white onion
40g wholemeal flour
Handful of fresh parsley
1/2 tbsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic granules
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cal spray oil
Directions
1. Pre-heat your oven to 200C / 400 F & put all ingredients into a food processor and blend until the ingredients start to combine and are well mixed.
3. Use a spoon to scoop out some of the mixture and roll into a ball using your hands. Placing on the baking tray and pressing down slightly.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, turning over after 10 minutes.
Since discovering this recipe on Thursday I have made this three times. They are brilliant to pop in a salad for lunch and are only 46 calories in a serving! Ive been putting them with a few spoonfuls for giant couscous in a salad, making a fantastic Moroccan salad.
Makes 14 (3 in a serving)
Ingredients
1 can/240g drained chickpeas
1 small white onion
40g wholemeal flour
Handful of fresh parsley
1/2 tbsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic granules
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cal spray oil
Directions
1. Pre-heat your oven to 200C / 400 F & put all ingredients into a food processor and blend until the ingredients start to combine and are well mixed.
2. Cover a baking tray with baking paper and give it a spritz with 1 cal spray
3. Use a spoon to scoop out some of the mixture and roll into a ball using your hands. Placing on the baking tray and pressing down slightly.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, turning over after 10 minutes.
Monday, 24 June 2013
Simply Scrumptious Sausage Rolls
My Sister-in-law to be has just had a baby so I wanted to make them a few meals that they could grab quickly, heat up and enjoy with little effort. I also made some simple sausage rolls as a quick snack or lunch and they turned out fantastic!
They are so simple to make and take just 15 minutes to prepare. I am going to confess that I didn't make my own puff pastry but I don't think there is anything at all wrong with shop bought! Like I've said in the past, pastry is something that I am working myself up to making so one day I will have a post on here for my own puff pastry!
Serves 9
Ingredients
Sausage Meat
Puff Pastry
Tabasco
Worcester Sauce
Thyme
1 Egg
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 175°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4
2. Combine the sausage meat, thyme, Tabasco and Worcester sauce and give it a good mix.
3. Open out your puff pastry, cut into 9 portions and lay out onto a baking sheet.
4. Make sausage shapes with the meat and pop onto one side of the pastry, leave about 3cm at the end for crimping.
5. Brush the edge of the pastry with beaten egg and fold the pastry over the sausage meat. Using a fork, push down the edges so they make a seal.
6. Using a knife, score slits into the top of the sausage rolls and then brush with the remaining beaten egg.
7. Pop in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Pop your feet up and enjoy!
7. Pop in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Pop your feet up and enjoy!
Saturday, 15 June 2013
Cottage Quiche
With our wedding fast approaching and a wedding dress to get into, watching what I eat is definitely something I have to do at the moment. So even though some of my dishes may not be friendly to the waist line, I do like to bake the occasional healthy options and that is something you will probably see a little more of over the next few months.
On tonight's menu it was definitely time for something light a healthy and my Cottage Quiche is exactly that! Packed full of vegetables and topped with egg on cottage cheese, it has the tastes of your favorite Quiche without the calories and fat of the pastry base!
Eating healthy doesn't have to be boring. Stick with me and I'll make sure to have plenty of healthy meals to sink your teeth into!
Serves 2
Ingredients
1 Courgette
1 Onion
1 Pepper (any colour)
110g Low Fat Cottage Cheese
2 medium Eggs
5 mushrooms (I used shiitake but you can use any)
1 Leek
Chili Flakes
Tarragon
Chili Flakes
Tarragon
Directions
1. Turn oven on to 180°C / 350°C / gas mark 4
2. Chop up all of your vegetables.
3. Sauté the vegetables in a little water until al dente and add pepper, few chili flakes to give it a bit of a kick and some tarragon.
4. Whilst the vegetables are cooking, beat the eggs and cottage cheese together. Add some pepper.
5. Put the vegetables into a shallow glass dish and pour the egg mixture on top.
6. Cover with foil and place on oven for 10 minutes. Remove foil and cook for another 10 minutes.
7. Serve with a side salad.
Healthy, tasty and guilt free!
Tuesday, 11 June 2013
Croque Madame Muffins
There is nothing I love more than a Sunday morning lie in followed by a spot of bunch!
It was time to see what Rachel Khoo had to offer. What could be more perfect for Sunday brunch than Croque Madame Muffins? I hadn't seen something like before but what an awesome idea!
Croque Madame is a grilled ham and cheese sandwich served with a fried egg on top. The Croque Madame Muffin combines all of the ingredients of a Croque Madame into an individual muffin.
The best part of these muffins is the béchamel sauce. Béchamel to me sounded quite tricky when I first heard the term but it is simply a classic way of making a white sauce. Made from using a mixture of butter and flour to make up a roux which is then cooked with milk to form the creamy yummy white sauce.
Serves 6
Ingredients
6 Slices of white bread with crusts removed
6 Small eggs
6 Slices of ham
3 Tbsp melted butter
Sauce:
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
200ml Milk
1/2 Tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 Tsp Nutmeg
30g Grated gruyere
Directions
1. Turn oven on to 180°C / 350°C / gas mark 4
2. Brush a muffin tin with some melter butter
3. Melt the butter in a pan and add flour. Beat until it forms a smooth paste. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 2 minutes.
4. Whisk the milk in slowly until there are no more lumps. Place the pan back on the heat and add the mustard and nutmeg. Allow to simmer gently whilst to move back onto the bread. Keep an eye that it doesn't catch though.
5. Flatten your white bread with a rolling pin until nice and thin and brush the front and back of each slice with melted butter.
6. Push each piece of bread into the muffin tin, making sure to push down into the inside edges of the bread.
7. Put a slice of ham at the bottom of each muffin and then top with an egg. If you think the egg may be too big, pour away some of the egg white and just pop the yolk and a little of the white into each muffin.
8. Remove the sauce from the heat and add the cheese, be sure to leave some to sprinkle on the top later. Stir the sauce until the cheese is melted. The sauce shouldn't be too think and should run off the spoon quite thick but doesn't get stuck! If it is too think, just whisk in a little more milk.
9. Spoon 2 tablespoons of sauce over each muffin and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and pepper. Before adding the sauce, I placed a piece of sliced tomato on top of each one but that is completely up to you how you like it.
10. For the finishing touches, brush the corners of each muffin with melted butter and pop in the oven for 15 minutes. (20 minutes if you like your yolks a little harder).
Finally, server immediately and enjoy.
It was time to see what Rachel Khoo had to offer. What could be more perfect for Sunday brunch than Croque Madame Muffins? I hadn't seen something like before but what an awesome idea!
Croque Madame is a grilled ham and cheese sandwich served with a fried egg on top. The Croque Madame Muffin combines all of the ingredients of a Croque Madame into an individual muffin.
The best part of these muffins is the béchamel sauce. Béchamel to me sounded quite tricky when I first heard the term but it is simply a classic way of making a white sauce. Made from using a mixture of butter and flour to make up a roux which is then cooked with milk to form the creamy yummy white sauce.
Serves 6
Ingredients
6 Slices of white bread with crusts removed
6 Small eggs
6 Slices of ham
3 Tbsp melted butter
Sauce:
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
200ml Milk
1/2 Tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 Tsp Nutmeg
30g Grated gruyere
Directions
1. Turn oven on to 180°C / 350°C / gas mark 4
2. Brush a muffin tin with some melter butter
3. Melt the butter in a pan and add flour. Beat until it forms a smooth paste. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 2 minutes.
4. Whisk the milk in slowly until there are no more lumps. Place the pan back on the heat and add the mustard and nutmeg. Allow to simmer gently whilst to move back onto the bread. Keep an eye that it doesn't catch though.
5. Flatten your white bread with a rolling pin until nice and thin and brush the front and back of each slice with melted butter.
6. Push each piece of bread into the muffin tin, making sure to push down into the inside edges of the bread.
7. Put a slice of ham at the bottom of each muffin and then top with an egg. If you think the egg may be too big, pour away some of the egg white and just pop the yolk and a little of the white into each muffin.
8. Remove the sauce from the heat and add the cheese, be sure to leave some to sprinkle on the top later. Stir the sauce until the cheese is melted. The sauce shouldn't be too think and should run off the spoon quite thick but doesn't get stuck! If it is too think, just whisk in a little more milk.
9. Spoon 2 tablespoons of sauce over each muffin and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and pepper. Before adding the sauce, I placed a piece of sliced tomato on top of each one but that is completely up to you how you like it.
10. For the finishing touches, brush the corners of each muffin with melted butter and pop in the oven for 15 minutes. (20 minutes if you like your yolks a little harder).
Finally, server immediately and enjoy.
Thursday, 6 June 2013
Secret Wedding Cake
I am so excited because yesterday we finally ordered our 'wedding cake'! Now I use the term wedding cake lightly as we are not going down the traditional wedding cake route. To be honest though we aren't really going down the traditional wedding route!
I am not going to give too much away as we want it to be a surprise for everyone!
Me and Jamie got engaged in Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida in September 2011 so our wedding will have been in planning for 2 years. And as you can imagine we have had many ideas going through our minds. I was certain that I didn't want a traditional tiered wedding cake. And then I saw a pretty nice cake from Marks and Spencer's and thought that it was a bit edgy so would be different for our not so traditional wedding.
Then as time passed that idea was overridden by designing our own cake with each tier displaying a different part of our life together but the whole cake idea just wasn't us!
 |
| M&S Milk Chocolate Ribbons Wedding Cake |
Then as time passed that idea was overridden by designing our own cake with each tier displaying a different part of our life together but the whole cake idea just wasn't us!
We then started to see Cake Pop wedding cake displays that looked amazing and having had Cake Pops at our engagement party we knew that was for us and we were finally set on this idea......... until I found Delish! I spent the whole of Saturday looking though all of their amazing facebook photos and then there was something we saw that instantly changed our mind. Now don't be deceived by the fact that Cake Pops feature heavily on their website. There will be no Cake Pops at our wedding.
We threw a few ideas around with Neli who makes these fantastic treats and placed our order!
Cannot wait to show you the final display on the day! My mouth is watering just thinking about it!
In the meantime, please go and check out all of the delicious photos on their facebook page and website. Here's a few to get your mouth watering!
We threw a few ideas around with Neli who makes these fantastic treats and placed our order!
Cannot wait to show you the final display on the day! My mouth is watering just thinking about it!
In the meantime, please go and check out all of the delicious photos on their facebook page and website. Here's a few to get your mouth watering!
Tuesday, 4 June 2013
Spinach and Feta Filo Pie
After a long day at work, the last thing I want to do is spend hours in the kitchen making an evening meal. I like to be able to come home, throw together a nice delicious meal and relax for the rest of the evening.
One great recipe book I have come across that is prefect for this is Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals. I have tried a few recipes so far but our favourite that we have made a few too many times but never gets boring is the Spinach and Feta Filo Pie.
The end result of this pie is fantastic. It looks like so much work has gone into it but you literally combine all of the ingredients, layer the filo and then fold it all over. Simple, quick and delicious!
Now I know this recipe comes from Jamie's 30 Minute Meals and i'd like to say I can make it in 30 minutes but unfortunately I can't and it does usually take me a bit longer.... but it's totally worth the time!
This dish also lasts for a few days is the fridge and is great hot or cold. I like to serve it cold with a nice fresh salad. It is also great to take on a picnic or just pop it in your lunch box for work the next day!
Serves 4 - 6
Ingredients
100g pine nuts
5 free range eggs
300g feta cheese
50g Cheddar cheese
Dried oregano
1 lemon
A knob of butter
400g prewashed baby spinach
1 x 270g pack of filo pastry
Cayenne pepper
1 whole nutmeg
Directions
1. Turn oven on to 200°C / 400°F / gas mark 6
2. Put the pine nuts into a dry ovenproof frying pan and toast, tossing occasionally - make sure you keep an eye on these. I usually toast them for about 3 minutes.
3. Crack 5 eggs into a mixing bowl and crumble in 300g of feta cheese.
4. Grate in 50g of Cheddar cheese and add a pinch of pepper, a couple of pinches of dried oregano, the zest of 1 lemon and a lug of olive oil.
5. Once the nuts are light golden, add them to the egg mixture and mix well.
One great recipe book I have come across that is prefect for this is Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals. I have tried a few recipes so far but our favourite that we have made a few too many times but never gets boring is the Spinach and Feta Filo Pie.
The end result of this pie is fantastic. It looks like so much work has gone into it but you literally combine all of the ingredients, layer the filo and then fold it all over. Simple, quick and delicious!
Now I know this recipe comes from Jamie's 30 Minute Meals and i'd like to say I can make it in 30 minutes but unfortunately I can't and it does usually take me a bit longer.... but it's totally worth the time!
This dish also lasts for a few days is the fridge and is great hot or cold. I like to serve it cold with a nice fresh salad. It is also great to take on a picnic or just pop it in your lunch box for work the next day!
Serves 4 - 6
Ingredients
100g pine nuts
5 free range eggs
300g feta cheese
50g Cheddar cheese
Dried oregano
1 lemon
A knob of butter
400g prewashed baby spinach
1 x 270g pack of filo pastry
Cayenne pepper
1 whole nutmeg
Directions
1. Turn oven on to 200°C / 400°F / gas mark 6
2. Put the pine nuts into a dry ovenproof frying pan and toast, tossing occasionally - make sure you keep an eye on these. I usually toast them for about 3 minutes.
3. Crack 5 eggs into a mixing bowl and crumble in 300g of feta cheese.
4. Grate in 50g of Cheddar cheese and add a pinch of pepper, a couple of pinches of dried oregano, the zest of 1 lemon and a lug of olive oil.
5. Once the nuts are light golden, add them to the egg mixture and mix well.
6. Pop the empty frying pan back onto the heat, add a little olive oil and a knob of butter and pile in half of the spinach. Gently move the spinach around, adding more as it wilts down. Make sure it doesn't catch and keep on adding the rest making sure to stir frequently.
7. Meanwhile, take the pastry out of the fridge and lay a large a large sheet of greaseproof paper, approximately 50cm long on your work top. Rub it all over with olive oil and scrunch it into a ball and then lay it flat out again.
8. Pop 4 filo pastry sheets in a large rectangle, overlapping at the edges so that they almost cover the paper. Rub some olive oil over them. Sprinkle over a good pinch of salt & pepper and a pinch of cayenne. Repeat until you have 3 layers - don't worry about any cracked bits.
9. Once the spinach is nice and dense, take the pan off the heat and add the wilted spinach to the egg mixture. Grate in ½ a nutmeg and mix well.
10. Carefully move the greaseproof paper and filo into the empty frying pan so the edges spill over. Push it down into the sides of the pan, then pour in the egg mixture and spread it out.
11. Fold the filo sheets over the top and let them fall where they will. Put the pan back on a medium heat for a couple of minutes to get the bottom cooking, then put the pan into the oven on the top shelf to cook for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp.
7. Meanwhile, take the pastry out of the fridge and lay a large a large sheet of greaseproof paper, approximately 50cm long on your work top. Rub it all over with olive oil and scrunch it into a ball and then lay it flat out again.
8. Pop 4 filo pastry sheets in a large rectangle, overlapping at the edges so that they almost cover the paper. Rub some olive oil over them. Sprinkle over a good pinch of salt & pepper and a pinch of cayenne. Repeat until you have 3 layers - don't worry about any cracked bits.
9. Once the spinach is nice and dense, take the pan off the heat and add the wilted spinach to the egg mixture. Grate in ½ a nutmeg and mix well.
10. Carefully move the greaseproof paper and filo into the empty frying pan so the edges spill over. Push it down into the sides of the pan, then pour in the egg mixture and spread it out.
11. Fold the filo sheets over the top and let them fall where they will. Put the pan back on a medium heat for a couple of minutes to get the bottom cooking, then put the pan into the oven on the top shelf to cook for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp.
If you don't have a frying pan that you can put in the oven, you can also use a pie or cake tin (I use an 18cm spring form cake tin and it works perfectly). Just be careful when putting it on the heat before putting it in the oven as the paper may catch and the tin will be hot!
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