Easy Gingerbread

I've never made gingerbread before, but was feeling in the festive mood and had a free day dedicated to Christmas chores so thought I'd give it a shot! My origibal intention was to make some gingerbread men as party of a secret Santa present in work, but ended up making quite a lot!

I followed a BBC Goodfood recipe, however half way getting through the recipe and feeling as though I had made a mistake as it was resembling breadcrumbs, I realised that a lot of the reviews of the recipe were the same - not good! However I managed to save it by adding a bit more golden syrup and a splash of milk.. Here is what I did:

Ingredients

100g soft brown sugar

100g golden syrup

225g plain flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 heaped tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp cinnamon

50g unsalted butter

Splash of milk

Additional tbsp of golden syrup 

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 160C and 2 baking trays with baking paper.
2. Sift together all of the dry ingredients (excluding sugar). Heat butter, sugar and syrup on a low heat until dissovled then leaver to cool. Then mix into dry ingredients when cooled to make a dough. ** At this point is where it started to resemble breadcrumbs for me, if that does occur I added a splash of milk and the additional tbsp of golden syrup. (some people suggested adding another 50g of melted butter instead.)
3. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill at room temperature for around 30 minutes.
4. Cover a surface with flour and be sure to cover rolling pin as well and roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thick and cut into gingernread men. Place on trays allowing space to spread.

1. Cook for 7-10 minutes until your desired bake. I waited until around 7 so they were just golden and still chewy! I was really pleased with these and they taste so good too!

I then decorated with icing! 👍🏻

Original recipe here

Sweet Potato Risotto

This was a relatively quick meal to make especially considering that it's a risotto! I used this recipe, however did not use any wine! Instead I used some of the veggie stock for that part and left a few pieces of in mashed potato to leave on top.

Overall this was a great recipe to use, and I will definately make it again!

Sweet Potato and Banana Muffins

I was going to make a similar banana muffin recipe, and then discovered I had no flour! Ahh!! But luckily I managed to find a recipe online which didn't require flour - hurrah! This recipe can be found here.

For this I used:

1 small sweet potato

1 banana

1 egg

2 tbsp peanut butter

1 tsp cinnamon

1 handful of raisins diced

1 handful chia seeds

Preheat the oven to 200C. Line a baking tray with cupcake papers or alternatively grease a muffin tin ready.

Peel and dice the potato. Boil in a pan on a medium heat until cooked. Then drain and mash, then add the banana and mash together. 

Place into a bowl and add all the other ingredients.

Then mix together. 

And evenly distribute in muffin cases.

Cook for around 18-20 minutes until muffins are golden.

And voila! These are perfect for packed lunches and can be frozen! They also taste great too! 

Quick Pasta Sauce!

These days I find myself with less time to cook as this boy is so active and doesn't have the patience to wait around for me! Today's lunch was a rushed one, and I made this recipe up on the spot. Luckily it tasted quite nice!

For this I used:

Olive oil

1 clove garlic diced

1 spring onion diced

3 tbsp tomato purée paste

50ml water

A sprinkle mixed herbs

Pasta

First I got my pasta on to cook by following the packet instructions. Whilst that was on I heated up a little oil in a pan and added the onion to soften. Then I added the garlic and cooked for one minute. Then I added the tomato purée and water a mixed together. Then added the herbs and cooked on a low heat until the pasta was fully cooked through. This recipe definitely worked well for the lack of time I had to prepare! And the boy enjoyed! 

Simple Tomato Pasta Sauce

This is a recipe that everyone needs to know! A basic pasta meal is always a winner with my boy, and is very adaptable too.

For this you will need:

1 tin of tomatoes (I used plum tomatoes)

2 tbsp tomato purée paste

1 white onion diced

Herbs of your choice. Great ones to use are Italian seasoning, basil, oregano, mixed herbs etc.

1 clove garlic diced

Olive oil

Salt and pepper for seasoning (optional)

Heat a little oil in a pan and add the onion. Fry until soft and add the garlic. Cook for a further minute and add the tinned tomatoes followed by the tomato purée. Break up the tomatoes as well as you can. Add a sprinkle of herbs and season with salt and pepper if using. Reduce the heat to a simmer and leave until sauce has thickened. Meanwhile you could start to cook your pasta as per the packet instructions. Once pasta is cooked, drain and mix into the sauce. Then serve! 

Aubergine Meatless Balls!

I can't believe I never thought to replace meat mince with aubergines! The texture is so similar and they mould into balls really well. I can feel an aubergine burger recipe coming soon! I found a recipe for this on Pinterest, however changed up the quantities/ingredients a bit to match what I already had.

For this I used:

3 small aubergines (one large one would probably be enough)

2 cloves garlic diced

Breadcrumbs 

1/2 tbsp Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Fresh basil chopped

Dried Italian seasoning 

40g Mature cheddar cheese (Parmesan or similar would also work well)

1 egg for binding (optional)

Dice the aubergine into pieces and drizzle with olive oil a little salt and pepper. Heat a griddle pan on a medium heat, then cook the aubergine until charred marks appear on both sides. Then leave to one side to cool.

Once cool place into a food processor and pulse into a paste. When you have an almost smooth consistency, place mixture into a bowl and add breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic and herbs and mix together. The recipe I followed used an egg to bind, however I found this mixture to be wet enough so did not add one. 

Form mixture into ball shapes and place onto baking paper lined tray. Bake until browned - approximately 20-25 mins. 

Then make a simple tomato sauce with pasta to go with it and you have yourself a meal! Sorry I didn't take many photos, I completely forgot! Hope you enjoy!

Welsh Rarebit

A lovely Welsh classic! This is a great alternative to cheese on toast, which is what it is basically... But with a twist!

For this you will need:

1 piece of bread (toasted)

40g grated cheddar cheese

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp English mustard powder (optional)

3-5 drops Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp milk

Mix all ingredients (excluding bread) together in a bowl. Toast the bread and spread mixture over the top. Under a medium heat grill, cook until cheese starts to bubble and turns golden.