Sweet Pepper and Tomato Soup

Sweet Pepper and Tomato Soup

This tasty soup packs a flavoursome punch. It is low fat (which could be reduced further by cooking the vegetables with cooking spray rather than oil), making it perfect for mealtimes in the run-up to your summer holiday (I for one am kind of struggling to get my body Beach-ready!!). I puréed half of the mixture so that I could have a smooth and a chunky soup. As I plan to be eating this for lunch for a week, I didn’t want to get bored too quickly! Personally, I preferred the chunky soup. ;)

Oh, and I'm sorry for the lack of pretty picture!

Jumbo Bitter-Sweet Cupcakes with Chocolate Malt Buttercream

I made jumbo-sized cupcakes a while ago. They are dense and chocolaty and absolutely delicious.

Mediterranean Vegetable and Mozzarella Bake

This warming dish is packed full of goodness. And when it's cold and gloomy outside, the colourful mix of Mediterranean vegetables make it sunshine in a bowl.

Mid-Week Meals: Cajun Chicken with Spicy Wedges and Coleslaw

Not to ruin the surprise, but I will be making a version of this meal for The Girls when they come round for dinner on Saturday. I have been struggling to stick to the diet the last couple of weeks (what can I say? My body just wasn't meant to be skinny!) but figure if I cook a Slimming World menu, I can't go too wrong?! I will actually be using the Slimming World recipe for Barbeque Chicken (which I will add next week), rather than Cajun, and will add Sweet Potatoes to the mix too, all served alongside a big, green salad (and no bread!!) This recipe serves four and is only 2 Syns per serving on the Extra Easy plan.
Fingers crossed it tastes as good as it looks!

Mid-Week Meals: Chicken and Potato Curry

As I'm sure is the case with most women in the lead up to summer, I am currently in Battle With The Bulge and am trying to get myself Beach-Ready before I have to don a bikini again in three and a half weeks. This is a Slimming World recipe and is 0 syns on the Extra Easy programme.

Saturday Drinks Menu: Sparkling White Peach Sangria

With Summer finally seeming within our reach and the promise of a warm (and dry!) weekend, what better way to while away the hours than with a pitcher of ice-cool, refreshing Sangria? This one, a twist on the traditional red wine Sangria, is courtesy of The Kitchn. 

Boston Beef and Baked Bean Hotpot

I love this Weight Watchers dish; it's tasty and hearty and doesn't feel like 'Diet Food' at all. However, as I'm now doing Slimming World, I adapted the recipe slightly to make it Syn free. You can see below the recipe for a list of ingredients that I actually used.

Sunday Bake Club: Mince Pie Cheesecake

I made this Festive cheesecake last Christmas and it makes a LOT of cake!! It’s also quite rich and dense so a little goes a long way, making it perfect for entertaining fairly large numbers. I used mincemeat, rather than crumbled mince pies, in my cake, making sure I added an extra slug of Brandy to the fruit before stirring it in.

Saturday Drinks Menu: Mulled Wine

This is Jamie Oliver’s recipe for Mulled Wine, which I will definitely be trying this weekend, even though a warming drink isn’t exactly called for here in NZ!!

Sunday Bake Club: Melting Snowmen Biscuits

Sunday Bake Club: Badam Katli (Almond Fudge)

Happy Diwali!

Little Weekend Projects: Bonfire Night

Tuesday is Bonfire Night and I can’t help thinking that it might be nice to embrace some British traditions for a change at this time of year and perhaps to tone down the rather over-commercialised (and perhaps more typically American) tradition of Trick or Treating at Halloween. How much nicer for everyone to come together, as a community, to enjoy fireworks and a warming bonfire instead of children demanding sweets from strangers?!

Mid-Week Meals: Courgette Carbonara

I LOVE this recipe! It's relatively quick and easy and, personally, I think it's delicious; I think I've probably cooked it for most people who've come to dinner at least once? What makes me love it even more is that this recipe makes a LOT of carbonara, meaning there are always left-overs for when everyone has gone home. And it tastes just as good when it's cold!

Sunday Bake Club: Red Velvet Cupcakes

So, I made these chocolaty cupcakes for my birthday party this weekend and, let me tell you, they went down pretty darn well!

Saturday Drinks Menu: Prosecco

I’m planning on drinking plenty of bubbles this evening so I thought I’d have a little look at some ways to make them a bit more interesting (you know, if I were to get bored!)

Little Weekend Projects: Party-Pimped Balloons

This weekend I will be surrounding myself with family and friends and celebrating (hopefully in style) for a dual-purpose: My birthday and my leaving for My Awfully Big Adventure.

Mid-Week Munchies: Nigella’s Calabrian Lasagne

Nigella’s Calabrian Lasagne

I have made this delicious lasagne a number of times for friends and family and it has always gone down extremely well. The recipe says that it is for six to eight people but, as it is rather a dense lasagne, I would recommend serving slightly smaller pieces with a large, fresh green salad.

And when everyone has gone home and I have finished all of the washing up, I like to treat myself to a slice of the cold leftovers; Yum!

Sunday Bake Club: Tarte Au Citron

I have used this recipe from The Great British Bake Off’s Mary Berry a number of times and I think it’s absolutely delicious! In fairness, mine never looks quite as beautiful as Mary’s but surely the proof of the pudding’s in the eating so as long as it tastes good, I’m not overly fussed about the appearance (although a crack-free surface would be nice once in a while!)

Saturday Drinks’ Menu: Apple Crumble Cocktail

With schools celebrating the Harvest Festival at the moment, what better way to join in the celebrations than with this autumnal, apple-crumble-inspired cocktail – fruity, spicy and warming.

Perfect for a wet and chilly evening in front of the fire (or just the X-Factor!)? 

Mid-Week Munchies: Basic Pizza Recipe

This is a recipe from Jamie Oliver’s website that I’ve used on a few occasions. You can also use the dough for bread making so it’s a useful ‘Basic’ to have! I always use Strong White Bread Flour, rather than Semolina. Apparently it works just as well!