Biscoff Granola

Hello! Okay, so I have a confession to make, I am absolutely 100% addicted to Lotus Biscoff spread, smooth AND crunchy, i'm not fussy. I keep dreaming of ways that I can incorporate it into every bake (every meal!!) I make. So ,at the weekend I made a yummy Biscoff Cheesecake for dessert on Sunday but that left me with half a jar left, hmmm what to do with that? Yes, I could just have eaten it with a spoon, as I have done oh so many times before but then I had a lightbulb moment, why not make GRANOLA with it, then I could have it for breakfast too. So, in short if you love Biscoff as much as me, keep reading...

Ingredients

4 tablespoons of Biscoff/lotus spread (smooth or crunchy)

4 tablespoons of butter

5 Biscoff/lotus biscuits, bashed into crumbs

2 tablespoons of Demerera Sugar

a pinch of salt

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

250g of oats

Method

1. Melt butter and Biscoff spread on a low heat.
2. Mix oats, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.
3. Pour in the Biscoff/butter mix and mix until combined.
4. Spread granola mix unto a baking tray lined with baking paper.
5. Pop in the oven at 180 degrees for 20mins, mixing and turning the granola over half way through.
6. Leave to cool then mix through the Biscoff crumbs.
7. Enjoy however you like.

There you go, you can thank me later!! I know it's not the healthiest thing in the world but life's about balance and sometimes you just need to treat yourself and feed your Biscoff addiction. You could also add whatever you like to the recipe, some nuts would be delicious or dried fruit, but I'm a purist and just like the Biscoff flavour, I also like the crunch of the crumbled Biscoff biscuits, okay I will go, my mouth is watering now. Thank you so much for reading, i'm away to dream up some more Biscoff recipes,

Rachael xx.

Rhubarb and Strawberry Gin

Hello again! Hope everyone is well. So i'm back with a much requested recipe from my Instagram (@rachheron1, come say hi if you like!) for my home-made Strawberry and Rhubarb Gin. If you have been reading my blog for a while you will know that I am a little bit of a Gin obsessive. I don't really drink very much but when I do, I love nothing more than a REALLY NICE gin and tonic. So, I thought why not make my own. This is such a delicious gin recipe and is so easy to make, it is also much cheaper than buying a fancy bottle of gin.

We were lucky enough to be given the home-grown rhubarb from my father in law but if you grow your own fruit and veg you could make this even cheaper. Now that it's Blackberry season here in Northern Ireland i'm already planning to make a blackberry version of this gin. You could also substitute other fruits into this recipe and really make it your own. Some ginger with the rhubarb would be delicious or you could make a cranberry and orange gin for Christmas (now that would be delicious!). Anyway, let's get on with the recipe...

Ingredients

400g fresh rhubarb, chopped

400g fresh strawberries, chopped

300g caster sugar

a few juniper berries

a few star anise

a vanilla pod

any 700ml bottle of gin (we used a cheap one but you could also use your favourite brand)

Method

• Mix the strawberries, rhubarb, star anise, juniper berries, vanilla and sugar together in a large airtight jar and leave to macerate for 24 hours.
• After 24 hours add your bottle of gin and give it all a good mix. Leave this mixture in the fridge for 4 weeks.
• At the end of the 4 weeks remove the fruit from the mix and there you have it, your very own Rhubarb and Strawberry gin.

So my husband and I took on the very arduous task of discovering what this gin needed to be mixed with to make the best drink ( I know, I know but someone has to do it!). Cue a few Saturday nights worth of gin tasting ( my kind of night haha!). Anyway, here are the best combinations which we came up with. My personal favourite was gin, prosecco and a frozen strawberry in a champagne glass, it was just perfect.

Mixers:

Fentimans Rose lemonade

Bundaberg Ginger Beer

Fever Tree Elderflower Tonic Water

Prosecco

Garnishes:

Lots of Ice

Cucumber slices

fresh strawberries

slices of pear

So there you have it, a delicious gin recipe. If you think pf any more combination ideas please do let me know, I would love to hear your ideas. And, if you give this a go, I would also love to know what you think. Anyway, hope everyone is having a good week, as always, thank you so much for reading my little blog,

Rachael xx.

Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Oat Energy Balls

HELLO! So, it's been a while since I last visited my little corner of the internet. Nothing much has happened I just was having a little break from blogging. In my break from the Tea Cozy Kitchen I have been on holiday to Croatia, which was so beautiful and the food and drink was amazing. I celebrated my 27th birthday (shock! horror!) with a very tasty triple layer biscoff and caramel cake (pics to follow!), we also celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary and our wee tiny pup turned 6 months old! Time just keeps marching on!

Anyway, today i'm sharing a very simple, tasty and a little healthy recipe for you. Chocolate, peanut butter and oat energy balls are a new discovery for me but a great one at that! I love one or two mid-afternoon with a big cuppa coffee to beat those 3pm energy slumps. So here goes...

 

Ingredients

makes 16 (two-bite) energy balls

150g oats,

50g raisins,

3tbsp smooth or crunchy peanut butter,

1.5tbsp honey,

0.5 tsp vanilla extract,

100g white chocolate,

90g dark chocolate,

cocoa nibs and ground almonds to decorate.

Method

• Use a food processor to blend the oats, raisins, peanut butter, honey and vanilla together until you get a paste that can be easily rolled into balls.
• Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and roll the mixture into 16 evenly sized balls setting each one on the tray.
• Put the tray of balls in the fridge to set for 15mins.
• Melt the chocolates and roll each ball in the chocolate until it is evenly covered and setting each ball back on the tray with a sprinkle of your desired topping, I used cocoa nibs and ground almonds.
• Pop the tray back in the fridge for the chocolate to set for another 15mins then chow down!

These can be kept in the fridge for a few days. This is a great base recipe as you could easily change the nut butter, swap the raisins for dates, add chopped nuts or change the toppings. I really enjoyed this recipe so I would really love it if you let me know how it goes for you, thanks so much for reading,

Rachael xx.

Meal Plan Monday

Hello, it's Monday and that can only mean one thing, it's meal plan day! I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. I had a rather busy weekend doing some baking for a first birthday party and I will be sharing with you what I baked on the blog this week, if you're interested. So this week, the diet/health kick continues with a lot of healthy meal inspiration courtesy of BBC Good Food and a couple of my own recipes too. If you want the recipes for any of these dishes, check out the BBC Good Food website as a lot of these can be found there. Anyway, on with the plan...

MON: Sweet Potato Tex Mex Salad, Good Food.

TUES: Slow Cooked Spanish Chicken, Good Food.

WED: Kidney Bean Curry, Good Food.

THURS: Penne Arrabiatta, Good Food.

FRI: Sardine and Broccoli Traybake, Good Food.

SAT: Veggie Stir-fry, my own recipe.

SUN: Goan Pulled Pork, Good Food.

And there you have it, everything that I will be cooking and eating this week. Do you have a meal plan for the week? I would love to know what you will be cooking and eating. Thanks so much for reading,

Rachael xx.

Sweet Potato, Feta and Tomato Mini Frittatas

Hi everyone and welcome back to the Tea Cozy Kitchen. I hope you all had a wonderful week, we finally made it to Friday guys, YAY! Today i've got another easy recipe to share with you. These frittatas are so easy to make and taste delicious, perfect for summery buffet style lunches, packed lunches, picnics or even as a post-workout snack. Another great thing about them is they are so easy to change up depending on what ingredients you have to hand.  You should definitely give these a try!

INGREDIENTS

(makes about 4 mini frittatas)

2 medium eggs,

50ml of milk,

1/2 tsp of dried oregano,

2 small sweet potatoes, chopped into small chunks,

1/2 tsp paprika,

a small handful of plum tomatoes, halved,

50g feta, crumbled,

a drizzle of oil.

METHOD

1.Preheat oven to 180 degrees.  Put the chopped sweet potato in a baking tray and toss with the paprika and oil. Roast in oven for about 35mins or until soft and coloured slightly. I didn't peel my potatoes as I like the skin but it can work either way.

2. When the potatoes are done, leave to cool slightly and mix up the eggs with all the other ingredients.

3. Grease (grease REALLY WELL as they can be difficult to get out) 4 holes in a muffin tray and pop a few sweet potatoes chunks in the bottom, pour over the egg mix and top with the remaining sweet potato.

4. Cook in the oven for about 15mins until they look nearly set, then turn your grill to high and grill for 5mins to brown and crisp up the tops slightly.

5. Leave to cool for packed lunches or scoff straight away for a tasty snack/lunch.

Anyway, that's it for today! Happy weekend all! Do you have any exciting plans for the weekend? I will be spending mine gardening (as per usual) and baking a very special cake for a very special person's first birthday. I'm so excited to share this cake with you, it's quite unusual. Thanks so much for reading,

Rachael xx.

Greek Pasta Salad

HELLO! The sun is STILL shining here in Northern Ireland, which is pretty much unheard of. So, today I've got a lovely summery and healthy recipe to share with you guys. This recipe is so easy to make and is perfect for summer picnics, work lunches or just as a healthy snack. I just threw this together for my lunch today and thought it was really tasty so just had to share because lunches can get pretty boring (am I right?!). Can you really go wrong with these ingredients?

GREEK PASTA SALAD

INGREDIENTS (makes enough for one hungry person)

a handful of dried pasta, I used penne

a handful of black olives, halved

a couple of plum tomatoes, halved

1/4 of a cucumber, cut into small chunks

about 50g of feta, crumbled

1/4 of a red onion, finely diced

3tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

1/2 juice of a lemon.

METHOD

1. Boil the pasta according to packet instructions.

2. Chop all your veg and mix the lemon juice, olive oil and a little salt and pepper together.

3. When the pasta is done, mix everything together. Save a little feta to top the dish.

4. You can eat it now or leave it to cool and have it cold, either way it's delicious.

And there you have it a quick and easy lunch recipe. If you try this I would love to know what you think! Anyway, i'm off to watch more Riverdale now (i'm completely obsessed!). Hope you have a lovely day! Thanks so much for reading,

Rachael xx.

Meal Plan Monday

Hi all and welcome back to another meal plan Monday. I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. We have gorgeous weather in Northern Ireland at the moment so I'm attempting to get a little colour on my pasty ginger skin! This meal plan is a little healthier than normal as I'm on a little bit of a health kick at the minute. My husband and I are heading away in a couple of weeks to Croatia and we are both so excited, we haven't had a proper summer holiday in two years. But alas, I went to try on a couple of my favourite summer pieces and let's just say they were a little more snug than I would like. So, I'm hoping to just drop a couple of pounds before the holiday but nothing drastic, there will be no detox teas or juice cleanses here. I'm just going to be choosing better snacks, less coffee, more green tea, more walks and less desserts but I will still be having my little bit of chocolate every evening with my cup of tea! Anyway here's what I will be cooking and eating this week!

MON: Healthy Mac 'n' Cheese.

TUES: Moroccan Squash, Chickpea and Kale Stew.

WED: Tex Mex Eggs.

THURS: Pea and Broad Bean Shakshuka.

FRI: Pea and Broad Bean Risotto.

SAT: Spanakopita.

SUN: Halloumi Flatbreads.

All the recipes for these dishes come from the current issue of BBC Good Food magazine, the May issue. This issue has some really tasty dishes with loads of veg which is just what I need before this holiday! So I would definitely recommend picking it up if you are in need of some inspiration! I am particularly looking forward to the Spanakopita and the healthy-ish mac 'n' cheese. Are you making anything exciting this week, I would love to know. Until next time, thank you so much for reading,

Rachael xx.

Chocolate, Oat and Raisin Cookies

HELLO! How is everyone? We just had a lovely sunny bank holiday here in Northern Ireland (hence why there is no meal plan Monday!). I spent the whole day in the garden planting, painting, playing with the pup and of course drinking a G&T or two! But today, I've got a really tasty recipe to share with you. These cookies are one of the best cookies I've ever made ( a very bold claim I know!) but they are just the perfect combination of crispy, soft and chewy, not to mention so easy to make. I made these one afternoon as I was really craving cookies but didn't have any eggs, and voila, such a yummy cookie was born. They are the perfect afternoon snack with a cup of tea or coffee. Or they would also be delicious with ice-cream sandwiched between them for an easy dessert. I really recommend you give 'em a try!

Ingredients

Makes about 10 big cookies

110g butter,

105g light brown sugar,

1tsp vanilla extract,

95g plain flour,

a pinch of salt,

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda,

30ml boiling water,

80g porridge oats,

40g ( a large handful) of raisins,

100g dark chocolate, chopped into chunks.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees for a fan oven. Beat the butter with the sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.

2. Stir in the flour and salt.

3. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in boiling water and add to the mix along with the oats, raisins and chocolate chips.

4. Roll into 10 equal size balls and flatten each slightly on a baking try lined with baking paper. Make sure to spread the cookies out as they well spread in the oven.

5. Bake for 12 mins or until golden and crispy.

And there you go, a delicious cookie recipe to try! Let me know if you give them a go, I would love to know what you think! Until next time, thank you so much for reading,

Rachael xx.

What I Eat in a Day 22

Hello everyone and happy hump day! Today I have a what I eat in a day post for you guys! Yesterday was a pretty stressful day for me, I had lots of car madness and ended up stranded in Costa by myself for most of the morning, not fun! Basically what happened was that I took our car for it's service when it wasn't actually booked in until the next week but the kind folks they were, they said they would fit me in that day! I hope you all had a better day than I did and your week is going well.

BREAKFAST

Carrot, Banana and Mango Smoothie.

Another day, another yummy smoothie combination!

MORNING SNACK

Hot Chocolate and a Cherry Bakewell Tart at Costa Coffee.

No picture of this as it was scoffed in a few seconds, sorry, I just can't hold back when I get a yummy bun put in front of me.

LUNCH

 Mushroom, Broccoli and Mangetout Stir Fry.

Leftovers from the night before, this was such a tasty stir-fry. Stir frys are one of my favourite tasty, easy and healthy meals to make. You can just throw in whatever veg you have, this stir fry had a yummy Nasi Goreng paste in it too, which totally amped up the flavour.

DINNER

Quinoa Stuffed Roasted Peppers.

I love stuffed peppers as they are such a summery dish. These peppers were stuffed with Halloumi, quinoa, spring onions and kidney beans and topped with chopped cherry tomatoes and a drizzle of olive oil. This was such a yummy dish and pretty easy to prepare after my stressful day.

And there you go that's everything I ate yesterday! Did you eat anything tasty yesterday, I would love to know? Also, please give me some new breakfast recommendations, I seem to be stuck in a smoothie rut. Thanks for reading,

Rachael xx.

Meal Plan Monday

Hi all and welcome back to another Meal Plan Monday post, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I had a rather relaxing weekend filled with lovely walks with the puppy in THE SUN!! (Yes you heard me correctly, we had SUN in NORTHERN IRELAND! and it was glorious!). What did you get up to this weekend? Anyway enough rambling, I have a very busy week planned this week and am glad i've got my meal plan to follow as I know I would definitely just go for take-away every night if I didn't! Here's everything I will be eating this week...

MON: Falafel Pittas, A Girl Called Jack.

TUES: Red Lentil Burgers, A Girl Called Jack.

WED: Ham, Pea and Mint Casserole, A Girl Called Jack.

THURS: Veggie Stir Fry, Save with Jamie.

FRI: Chicken Curry, Save with Jamie.

SAT: Spiced Sausage Cassoulet, Save with Jamie.

SUN: Mac 'n' cheese, Tesco Recipe Card.

And that's the menu for this week! I'm so looking forward to the mac 'n' cheese as it is one of my favourite dishes! Are you cooking anything exciting this week? I will be back on Wednesday with a slightly different version of my what I eat in a day post, so stay tuned for that! Happy Monday, thanks so much for reading,

Rachael xx.

What I Eat in a Day 21

Good Morning everyone and happy hump day! I am having a pretty busy week this week and the puppy is certainly testing my patience haha! He just seems to love to chew up my recipe books, I would actually prefer it if he chewed my shoes! But, he has his first puppy class tonight so hopefully that will knock some sense into him, or at least he'll just get to burn extra energy playing with puppies. I'm back today with my What I Eat in a Day post and I was trying to be a little healthier yesterday as I am practicing making wedding cakes at the moment for an upcoming wedding which means that there is a lot of cake about (not that i'm complaining, i'm a cakeaholic!). I might do a wee post on this soon to show you the cakes that I made for the wedding, if you would like to see this!Anyway, here's everything I ate yesterday...

BREAKFAST

Blueberry, Banana and Pineapple Smoothie.

A new combination for me, I hadn't tried blueberries in my smoothies before as I am not the biggest fan but this was so delicious. I'm still pretty much having smoothies everyday and loving them. I usually add at least one vegetable but I had pineapple that needed using up. I will definitely be having blueberries in my smoothies more often as I have heard that they are very good for the old brain :).

LUNCH

 Bacon, Broccoli and Blue Cheese Pasta with 3 clementines.

I decided to treat myself to a bit of a fancy lunch as I was very hungry and needed a wee bit more of a feed. This pasta dish was so easy to make, the recipe is an adapted version of a BBC Good Food recipe. Here's how I made it...

Ingredients (Serves 1/2)

A few broccoli florets

a handful of frozen peas

2 rashers of bacon

a tablespoon of mascarpone

50g blue cheese

about 50-75g dried rigatoni pasta

Method

1. Put the pasta on to boil for 5mins in salted water.

2. Chop and fry the bacon until crispy.

3. Put the broccoli florets in with the pasta for another 5mins and add the peas for the last minute.

4. Drain the pasta and stir in half the bacon, half the blue cheese and the mascarpone and season to taste.

5. Serve topped with the remaining bacon and blue cheese.

This would work really well for dinner too and as you can see is so quick and easy to make. It is also full of flavour and you feel like you are having a rather fancy meal.

DINNER

Italian Chicken Tray bake.

This recipe came from the new issue of BBC Good Food and was so tasty and simple to make. I love tray bake meals as they are so easy, everything cooks in the one tray and there aren't many dishes, that's a definite win in our house, I hate doing dishes. The tray bake comprises crispy skinned chicken thighs, plum tomatoes, bacon, baby potatoes herbs, garlic and olive oil, what could be better?

I also had a wee cup of peppermint tea and a few squares of dark chocolate with sea salt in the evening. Ha ha I just wouldn't be me if I went a whole day without chocolate.

Ta da! That's everything I ate yesterday, it was such a tasty day! Let me know if you try any of these recipes I would love to know how they worked for you! Wish us luck with the puppy class, haha hopefully Ralph will learn how to behave :). Thanks so much for reading,

Rachael xx.

Meal Plan Monday

HELLO! Welcome back to the Tea Cozy Kitchen! I hope you had a lovely weekend! I spent my weekend taking the puppy out for some of his first exciting walks and of course I baked a wee bit too. This weekend I baked a lemon yoghurt cake and a batch of double chocolate mocha muffins for Sunday's breakfast, yum yum! What did you get up to this weekend? Today, is meal plan Monday so I will be sharing with you everything that I will be cooking and eating this week, so here we go...

MON: Squash and Spinach Pasta Rotolo, Save with Jamie.

TUES: Roasted Cauliflower and Hazelnut Carbonara, Good Food April.

WED: Springtime Minestrone, Good Food April.

THURS: Italian Chicken Traybake, Good Food April.

FRI: Chorizo and Barley Stew, Good Food April.

SAT: Spicy Pie with Sweet Potato Mash, Good Food April.

SUN:  Veggie Chilli, Good Food April.

As you can see I got my Good Food Magazine subscription through the post, it's always like Christmas when this arrives. This weeks meals mainly come from the April issue which looks like it has some super tasty recipes, I can't wait to try them. There is also some super tasty Easter baking ideas in there which I really want to make! This week though I am particularly excited about the pasta rotolo, which is for dinner tonight, it's a recipe I have done many times before and is one of my favourites. I am also excited about making the spicy pie ( I love pie in any shape or form!).

And there you go, that's everything I will be cooking this week. Do you have any exciting meal plans for this week? I would love to know in the comments below! Thanks so much for reading,

Rachael xx.

Spring Mini-Egg Popcorn Bars

Hi everyone and welcome to a pretty exciting recipe post! As you probably know by now I am obsessed with Spring and with Easter right around the corner, I get free reign to do all my super sweet, brightly coloured sweet recipes! So today, being a bit of a popcorn connoisseur, I have been inspired by SkinnyPop popcorn to make these super-easy and yummy mini egg popcorn bars! Go on give them a try, you won't be disappointed!

Ingredients

25g Popcorn ( I used SkinnyPop naturally sweet flavour)

50g white chocolate, chopped

100g mini-eggs

any brightly coloured sprinkles

50g mini marshmallows

20g butter

Method

1. Melt butter, 25g white chocolate, and mini marshmallows in a pan over a low heat.

2. When melted and smooth turn off the heat and stir in the popcorn and sprinkles until evenly distributed.

3. Press into a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper until flat and then press in the mini eggs into the top. Leave to cool for 5mins.

4. Melt another 25g of white chocolate and drizzle over the top of the tray.

5. Cut into bars and scoff!

And there you go, that's how you make them, I told you they were very simple to throw together! Feel free to add whatever you would like into the mix, I think Smarties or Lucky Charms would work really well too but I love this combination! They would be perfect for an Easter Afternoon tea or a yummy treat to get your kids to make over the Easter holiday! Thanks so much for reading,

Rachael xx.

What I Eat in a Day 20

Hello everyone and welcome pack to What I Eat in a Day! Hope you are all having a fabulous and productive week. This week i'm still trying to adapt to having a rebellious puppy in the house, it can be quite difficult to get stuff done as he is always getting in my way, so I am feeling a little de-motivated and unproductive at the moment! Any tips for this would be greatly appreciated??? But I have made a plan and hopefully things will pick up. What are you up to this week? Any exciting plans?  Anyway, the rant is now OVER, so on with yesterday's food...

BREAKFAST

Green Smoothie- Banana, Apple and Spinach.

Just the usual smoothie breakfast, I think I might actually be addicted to smoothies haha! I just love how many fruit and veg I can get in there :).

LUNCH

 Broccoli and Pea Dip on Home-made Wheaten bread, sprinkled with feta and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

We didn't have any leftovers for lunch today so I had to come up with something different and let me tell you this was pretty tasty! Here's how I made the dip/spread:

Broccoli and Pea Dip/Spread Serves 1

1/2 Broccoli head ( I used frozen broccoli florets which worked really well)

handful of frozen peas

a clove of garlic

extra virgin olive oil

fresh mint

salt and pepper

1. Put broccoli in a small pan with a splash of boiled water, the crushed garlic clove, cover and steam until soft.

2. Add in frozen peas for last minute.

3. Drain the veg of all the water.

4. Add seasoning, a drizzle of olive oil and a bit of fresh mint.

5. Blend with a stick blender (or potato masher) until kind of smooth but still a bit textured.

6. Use as a dip for crudité or spread on some nice toasted bread, drizzle with more olive oil and sprinkle with feta just like I did.

This was such a tasty lunch and so simple to make. I sort of think of it like an alternative to avocado toast. Bold claim I know because it definitely isn't as hipster but it is equally delicious. You could also drizzle a little pesto over the top which is SOOOO yummy.

DINNER

Sweet Potato and Spinach Frittata with Green Veg.

This frittata recipe comes from 'Save with Jamie' by Jamie Oliver. It is one of my favourite recipes in the book as it is just so easy and very very delicious. There's quite a bit of cheese in the frittata which is always a winner with me as I am a complete cheese addict. I served it with some more green veg, as I really don't think I had enough green in my diet yesterday haha!

EVENING SNACK

Hot chocolate with marshmallows and some cookies.

I was feeling a little emotional and down last night and in need of some comfort food. So hot chocolate it was. I'm sorry there is no picture of this, it was demolished pretty quickly. Just imagine a HUGE hot chocolate, loaded with mini marshmallows and a big stack of cookies and you've got it!

And that's everything I ate yesterday, a pretty good food day for me :). I will be back on Friday with a pretty exciting recipe so stay tuned for that! Thank you so much for reading,

Rachael xx.

Meal Plan Monday

Hello my lovelies! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! The sun was shining here in Northern Ireland, which is always a rarity, so we spent a lot of time outside enjoying some Vitamin D! I also spent a large part of the weekend baking! I baked a red velvet cake, mini-egg cookies, cherry bakewell slices, biscoff cupcakes and oreo brownies! Haha! We had plenty of treats to munch on over the weekend. But, it's back to porridge today and my regular healthy meal plan. Did you get up to anything fun over the weekend or bake anything nice?  Here's everything that I will be cooking and eating this week...

MON: Sausage and Beer Casserole.

TUES: Falafel and Pittas.

WED: Spring Piggy and Mash.

THURS: Sweet Potato and Spinach Frittata.

FRI: Chicken and Chorizo Paella.

SAT: Squash and Chickpea Stew.

SUN: Squash and Spinach Rotolo.

The recipes this week again are mainly coming from 'A Girl Called Jack' by Jack Monroe and 'Save with Jamie' by Jamie Oliver. These are my two favourite budget recipe books, the recipes are so cheap but so tasty as well. Are you eating anything exciting this week? I would love to know in the comments :) Thanks so much for reading,

Rachael xx.

February Favourites

Hiya all and Happy Friday! Yay, we made it to the weekend! I am particularly excited about this weekend as, you may or may not know, we are picking up our new puppy on Saturday! Eeep! We just can't contain our excitement. So, the weekend should be filled with puppy cuddles and maybe a wee bit of training too! I also have a load of baking to do for an event on Sunday night, so that should be fun with a new puppy! I can't wait to show you him, expect lots of puppy spam in Monday's post! Do you have any exciting plans for the weekend?

Today's post is my February Favourites and i'm a little late with this post, I just had so many other posts I wanted to share with you first! This a brief summary of a few of the things I have been loving in February both foodie, fashion and of course Netflix! Here we go....

-Twining's Cherry and Cinnamon Tea

I mentioned how much I loved this tea in this post. It tastes so sweet and yummy, just like a cherry bakewell. I found that I kept turning to this tea time and time again for my evening cuppa! You should definitely give this tea a try if you're not into traditional teas and need something to curb your sweet tooth upon an evening!

-Tesco Recipe Cards

These have been amazing for my meal planning throughout the month! I love trying new recipe resources, especially free ones, and these cards are just amazing. I've tried a few of them and they are so tasty. If you have a look through some of my 'what I eat in a day' posts you can see my review of the individual recipes.

-Netflix's 'The OA'

My husband and I started watching this after we finished 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' (also SO SO AMAZING!) on Netflix. It is such a different style of program for us to watch, quite similar to 'Stranger Things' but also very different. You couldn't put this show into a particular genre, it's got a bit of everything in it. I loved it a lot but it was pretty mind-boggling in places. Give this show a watch if you liked 'Stranger Things' and if you like to have your brain a bit melted upon an evening.

-Daffodils

Need I say more? Daffodils just embody spring to me and have been making myself and my house feel particularly cheery on a dark and dreary February day.

- Sainsbury's Tu Spring clothing collection

Tu's spring clothing collection is on point, it is so good! I've never been one to buy clothes in a Supermarket before except in emergencies but I think in future I will always check them out first. Firstly, the prices are amazing and they often do promotion weekends, when I went I got 25% of everything I bought (quite a lot ha, so the discount adds up!). And secondly you can get everything in the one place and get your groceries at the same time, win win! I bought this gorgeous embroidered grey jumper and blush pink long woollen cardigan for about £20, both of which are HUGE trends for Spring! I also picked up a navy pleated midi-skirt, a Breton tee and a few bits for the husband.

And there you have it a couple of my favourites for the month of February. Is there anything that you have been loving lately or you think I should try? Let me know in the comments! I'm away now to get my bake on, have a lovely weekend everyone and thank you so much for reading,

Rachael xx.

What I Eat in a Day 18

Happy Wednesday everybody. It's only three days until we pick up our new puppy, i'm so excited!! I hope you are having a lovely week and are looking forward to an exciting and fun-filled weekend. Today I've got my 'what I eat in a day' post. I'm really enjoying moving away from the comfort food and into more springy and more colourful dishes for the new season! What are your favourite dishes to make you feel more spring-like? Mine is definitely smoothies, they just remind me of summer! Anyway, I digress, as usual, on with yesterday's food...

BREAKFAST

Strawberry, Banana and Carrot Smoothie.

Back on the smoothies again! This is my favourite combination at the moment, you really can't taste the carrot! The strawberries and banana are so sweet that they hide the carrot flavour. To make my smoothies I just fill my Nutri-ninja cup with a chopped banana, frozen strawberries and a peeled and chopped carrot. I then just fill to the mark with cold water and blend until smooth. They are definitely one of my favourite breakfasts as you get loads of vitamins and nutrients in first thing in the morning, winner! What are your favourite smoothie combinations?

LUNCH

Veggie Couscous salad and clementines.

This is a bit of mix and match lunch. Food was low in the house so I had to be a bit inventive with ingredients and raid the fridge. So my couscous salad has sweetcorn, peas, raisins, flaked almonds, feta and a touch of cinnamon and olive oil. As a bit of a random mix it was pretty tasty and hit the spot.

AFTERNOON SNACK

 Slice of Banana Bread with Nutella and a cup of coffee.

So it was that time of the day where I needed my daily treat. I have been craving banana bread for a while and decided to rustle up a loaf using some frozen bananas I found in the freezer. My favourite recipe is definitely this one. Nigella definitely knows how to make a good banana bread. This recipe is also delicious with a rather thick layer of Nutella spread on top, it's also a great addition to the banana bread mix (you're welcome!). This was the perfect afternoon treat, I may have had a few slices!

DINNER

Burrito Bowl.

This was such a yummy dinner although the picture does not do it justice. The Burrito bowl contains some boiled white rice, chopped tomatoes, red onion, avocado, coriander, lime, wilted spinach and some chipotle black beans. I love Mexican food, I think it might be my favourite after Italian! This was such a delicious meal and a great way of getting fruit and veggies in. It also goes great with a nice glass of beer. It was very easy to prepare but did involve a few pans on the go at once, one to wilt the spinach, one for the black beans and one for the rice, but doesn't really involve much skill otherwise and is ready pretty quickly!

That's everything I ate yesterday, a pretty tasty day I think you'll agree! Did you eat anything delicious yesterday? I would love to know! Also thanks so much to the people who left puppy tips on my last post, please keep them coming! Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this post,

Rachael xx.