Recipe for a sweet weekend treat

I made these for a friends Birthday BBQ recently and thought I'd share the recipe with you.

Fancy Chocolate Cornflakes.

This is a recipe that I've had for years... stolen from my mum's recipe book once upon a time and now imprinted on my brain forever. It's so easy and so much tastier than just stirring cornflakes into melted chocolate.

I'll be honest... These aren't all that healthy or good for you... they are a little bit naughty and bloody lovely.

You will need



2 Ounces (57g)  unsalted Butter
2 Tablespoons Golden Syrup
2 Ounces (57g) Drinking Chocolate powder
Cornflakes

*These measurements don't make a massive amount but it's really easy just to double or triple the measures as needed. You could also make them with Rice Krispies, they work just as well and are also really tasty.

For this batch I doubled the quantity.

Method:

- Melt the butter and golden syrup in a saucepan over a low heat.

- Once it has all melted and starts bubbling like this, take it straight off the heat.

- Stir in the the chocolate powder.

*I always use something like Cadbury's drinking chocolate or supermarket own brand. Nothing too fancy. I tried Galaxy hot chocolate powder once and it didn't work too well.*

- Once everything is nicely mixed you can start adding the cornflakes. I start with a big handful first and stir... then add more gradually until all the flakes are nicely coated. Really scrape the bottom of the pan when mixing so you don't miss any good bits.

- Press into a baking tray, dish or into individual paper cases. Refrigerate for around 30 - 60 mins depending on how set you want them.


make sure you really press it all in so it doesn't crumble when eating! 

- Eat the bits that are stuck to the spoon while you wait.

- Once chilled and set, cut up into chunks and serve with a nice cup of tea.

And there you are... they're that easy.
Let me know if you make any and how they went down!

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Anything Goes

My last recipe post seemed to be quite popular and especially after the lovely Victoria from Lily Loves Lola mentioned it. So I thought I'd share another favourite pasta dish of mine and see what you think...

Mum taught me how to make a variation of this way back when I was at uni... It has changed a lot over the years with taste and what I have in the fridge/cupboard at the time. Hence the name...

Ingredients....

- Put the kettle on and get a pan ready for your pasta

- Chop up your bacon and throw it into a frying pan on a medium heat with a little glug of oil and your chopped garlic. After a minute or 2 you can pop in your peppers and mushrooms... they can all sizzle for a few minutes until slightly coloured. I personally like the peppers with a bit of crunch still and the bacon evenly done... not cremated. Totally up to you. Just make sure you don't burn the garlic as it'll taste really bitter. 

- Put your pasta on. The dried penne I used takes about 10 mins so works out pretty well for timings... Obviously if you want to used fresh then put it on the heat a bit later...

When I made this I had a bottle of white wine that happened to be open, so I put in about 100ml along with about half a teaspoon of wholegrain mustard. Again, this is up to you, if you don't want to, don't put it in... you could substitute the wine for Cider (which also works well) or just leave both out altogether.

Once the wine (if you've used it) has reduced down then you can add the cream. I'm not going to give you measurements as it's just a case of personal taste. I like it quite creamy and put the thoughts of calories to the back of my mind. 

- Season with some black pepper... I tend to not add any salt in as the bacon is naturally quite salty and I always put a bit in with the cooking pasta.

- Drain off your pasta but keep a teeny bit of the starchy water. Mix both into the creamy sauce... let it all heat through and you're ready to get munching...

It doesn't take long at all and it's so versatile you can pop anything in. A really nice addition are a few  cherry tomatoes as they add a little sweetness... mum often uses homegrown courgettes and instead of wine and mustard she adds a few fennel seeds. If you're a veggie then leave out the bacon... or if you like an extra meaty dish then you could use up that left over roast chicken. There are lots of possibilities so I hope it's given you some ideas.

Let me know if you make it and if you do, what will you add?

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Not just for Halloween

I'm not a huge fan of Halloween, but with the 31st October fast approaching, I thought I'd share the closest thing to a Halloween ish recipe I have! I make it with Butternut Squash but you could easily swap it for Pumpkin if you fancied. This is one of my favourite dinners, I seem to make it more than anything else as it's just so easy.

Squashy Pasta

When I first started making this, I didn't use the Chorizo and it was still as delicious... So if you're a Vegetarian don't worry, just leave it out!

- Preheat the oven to about 200 degrees Celsius / Gas mark 6.

- Chop up the Butternut Squash and onion into chunks and put into a roasting tray. 

- Pop in a couple of chopped garlic cloves, salt & black pepper and drizzle it all with some olive oil. Stir it all so everything is nicely glistening in oil. 

- Roast in the oven for 30 minutes. 

- Around 10 mins before the time is up, put your pasta on to cook (depending on how long yours takes!) 

- At this point you also want to put your chopped up Chorizo into the pan with the squash etc. 

- Once pasta is cooked, drain it but leave a teeny bit of water left in the pan. Put the contents of the roasting tin in with the pasta and add a couple of big spoonfuls of Creme Fraiche. 

- Give it all a good stir over a low heat just so the creme fraiche heats through. It's totally up to you how much you put in... I tend to add a bit more as I like this dish quite creamy. 

- You're ready to serve. Grate some fresh Parmesan over the top with some more black pepper and enjoy! 

It's not the best looking dish I grant you but it's so yummy. I find it such an easy dish to make and I always end up making too much. It's nice the next day too heated through in the microwave. 

Let me know if you give it a go and I hope you like it! 

(Apologies for the shoddy photos... iphone and bad lighting in my tiny kitchen)

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Autumn Sounds

Via

Bestival has been and gone... Our crappy little English Summer has been and gone. ..Autumn is here folks.

This morning I woke up to the sound of pouring rain and a slight chill outside of the duvet which made me strangely quite cheery. Don't get me wrong, I love Summer and the happiness that comes with it... but Autumn is just as beautiful. The colours are gorgeous and the leaves are crunchy to walk on. Plus it also means my extensive scarf collection comes out to play... Big bonus. Even on a rainy day like today, I found comfort and joy in my huge grey over-sized cardigan, fluffy slippers, several cups of tea and knowing I didn't have to go out in the wind and rain.

Today, along with a few chores and craft sorting in the warmth of my flat, I finished the next step of my homemade Raspberry Gin.

My mum made some last year and it was amazing. Harry loved it too and was so happy when I told him I was making some for us this year! You can get the recipe here on mum's blog and try it for yourself.

I bought frozen raspberries and left them out to defrost for a couple of hours before using. This is an easier and cheaper option if you plan to make it later in the year like me, as the last remaining fresh ones in supermarkets & farm shops work out very expensive. Next year I'm going to go fruit picking during the summer and pick my own... Organisation is key!

I don't usually like Gin at all but this is so good. We can't wait to have our first sip in December.... until then, these 2 big jars are going to stew for a few months.

Are you happy Autumn is here?

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