Baking kit for Dummies

Hello to all. I would like to start by saying that I hope I haven't offended anybody with my title. I bought this baking kit and I have been loving it so far. If you have seen the books 'For Dummies' series this is an other spin of it but in a baking set. The original price of it was E 39 and came down to E 12.50 I thought it was a great bargain. If I seen it for the original price there would be no way that I would have got it. In saying that if you had to purchase all them individually it would cost you a lot more. I have compered the prices a muffin tray is 7.50 and the spoons and cups are between 5-7 euro each, but I don't think that it would cost you 39 euro either if you had to buy it on the original price.

This kit includes:

• 9-inch found nonstick cake pan
• 6 cup nonstick muffin pan for muffins and cupcakes
• 9x5 inch nonstick load pan for breads and pound cakes
• Four piece measuring cup set
• Five piece measuring spoon set
• Silicone spatula

A lot of receipts that I have tried to make that I found online they have cups for measures and it was hard to find out whats a cup? Now I don't have to worry. Its also very handy that the cups have mls measurement  on the handles. One cup of flour should weigh about 112 grams. That's of course if you don't pack the cup. There is a little knife look a like on the loop of the cups, I think that's for leveling the cups and spoons. An info sheet came with the kit but it says nothing about it so that's what I used it for anyway. The only that is disappointing about this kit it the muffin tray is 6 and now 12 muffins. Don't get me wrong I am not complaining about the kit its a great kit to have in the kitchen.  I would recommend this handy kit for any kitchen. The leaflet that I mentioned has 3 receipts, they are as follows Basic Chocolate cake, Banana Bread and Blueberry Muffin. It gives you handy tips to great baking skills. In over all I think that this is the best thing that I have purchased so far this year. 

Happy Baking! :)

Butternut Squash Soup

Hello to all my cooks and chefs. Today was an exciting morning I bought some butternut squash and I didn't know what to do with it. So I made soup with it and I have to say that it was absolutely fantastic. I never tasted butternut squash before so it was a challenge for me as I am not too good on tasting of new vegetables. I have to say that I'm glad that I bought it. An other thing that you need to know is that I love love soup. This is how I made this delicious and very healthy soup.

Ingredients:

• 1 Leek
• 2 Sticks of celery
• Half of a large onion
• 3 Cloves of garlic
• 1-2 potatoes
• Chicken stock
• 50g of butter

Method

1. Cut all the leek, celery onion into small pieces
2. Crush garlic
3. Peel potatoes
4. Cut butternut squash into pieces
5. Saute leek celery garlic and onion
6. Add butternut and saute with the rest of the veg
7. Add chicken stock and gently simmer for 20 minutes
8. When cooked blend 
9. Serve and Enjoy

A Curry In 20 Min

I do my food shopping on Mondays, so that way I have everything for the week. Mondays are really hectic and I don't really get to cook a proper healthy dinner that's why Mondays is our lazy day. By the time I come home and get all the bags unpacked, feed the child put him to bed and all that, its after seven when I get started on the dinner. An Indian curry of some sort is most likely on the menu. Nobody say's anything as they all like this curry. You may say that its not a true curry but what the hell its a curry of some sort. Yes its a jar but they are really nice and extremely easy to make and is ready in 20 minutes. This is how I make it!

• Have a pot of water to boil on for the rice.
•  Cut up the chicken into pieces all the same size.
•  Have a little oil heating up and fry the chicken until brown all around. 
• When water is boiling add your rice and gently cook for about 10-12 mins (follow cooking instructions on box)
• When chicken all brown in all sides add jar of curry 
• Reduces the heat and gently simmer for about 10 minutes
• When all is ready serve and ENJOY!

HAPPY CURRYING! :D

Poached Eggs

Today was a huge step for me I actually poached an egg and had. For some strange reason I would never poach eggs, well to be honest with you I never heard of poached eggs. You might say 'sure you went to college surely you did poached eggs'. We did, well it wasn't even 'we' I had given up at that stage. I did a little research on it. I looked up on YouTube. This is how I did it.

YOU WILL NEED:

• Eggs
• Salt
• Vinegar (optional)
• Saucepan
• Water
• Spatula

METHOD

1. Boil water in a saucepan
2. Add salt and vinegar if using
3. Crack an egg(s) into a glass one by one.
4. When water is boiling vigorously turn it down to a medium heat
5. With spatula gently move the water and gently drop the egg into water
6. If egg is separating and is very messy bring it together with spatula 
7. Cook for at least 3 minutes max of 7 ( depends on how you like your eggs)

I forgot to take a picture of how it turned out, I was so excited about eating it. :D

Make sure to try it

Love Christina

Mouth watering scones

I love making pasties. I loved it when I was in college and making at home is even better. If you make a mistake there is no one looking down at you saying 'you did this wrong'. Scones are the things that I love and  hate making as its very easy to put to much milk into the mixture, then your trying to make it better by adding more four you have to kneed it more. The more you work on the mixture the harder the scones with get when your baking them. I always, always have to make two batches so that if I make a mistake I will have an other one, but today I cheated a little and I bought a packed. I wanted to see how it would work out and also the taste would they be nice to the ones make from scratch or worse?

Add 8oz of milk or water and mix with the a wooden spoon in a mixing bowl. Have a little extra milk just in case you need it. Add a little of milk at a time, this is prevent on pouring to much and making the mixture to wet. When you have it all mixed together and it all combines well put a dust of flour on the surface that your working on, and tip the dough on to it. Dust your hands too so that it won't be to sticky. Flatten until about 2-3 cm think and cut with a scone cutter. If you don't have a scone cutter use a glass or cup. Have some flour on the side so that you can dust your cutter, that way it will be much easier to cut the scone. Preheat oven to 200oC. I used parchment paper on my tray I think this is much easier and very easy to clean too. Bake for 15-20 min.

 Once the scones are baked put them on a cooking rack. When cooled cut in half and enjoy with your favorite jam.

To be honest I wouldn't know the difference between the pack and the scones you make from scratch. They are fab! Enjoy x

Birthday Treats

Today I celebrated my 23rd birthday with my boyfriend baby Rhys and family. As it was the day that's in it I took a day from the hob and put up my feet, well not really as I was running around with my son in the park trying to catch him. Over all it was a very enjoyable day as always. My boyfriend Jeff ordered an Indian. I chose the lamb bhuna and so did he. Doesn't that picture just make you so hungry by looking at it!!! Delicious I'm in HEAVEN. 

I got a beautiful bunch of roses from my son and a box of chocolates. (I love love chocolate). I am not going to go into all my presents but thought I'd mention a few. See you all tomorrow for an other dish of my kitchen. x

Keep a Well Stocked Food Cupboard

A well stocked food cupboard is most important in your kitchen because it mean you will have some ingredients to make good meals for you and your family with out having to stress yourself out thinking 'what I am going to cook today'. Always plan ahead and make a list for the week. If you do your shopping on a Friday make out your list on Thursday night. Go through your favorite cook book and write down all the meals that you want to make during the week. For each receipt make a list of what you have, what you need, what extras you want to add to them or your husband or kids don't like, so that you can make changes of your own to suite everyone's taste. You should have at least 1 or 2 cupboards that you can store your food in, that way you can organize them in a  way is most easiest for you to work with, so that you can find all your ingredients easy and fast with no hassle or stress. 

These are some of my suggestions.

Bread, Cereals and Potatoes

10kg bag of potatoes

Rice

Pasta

Noodles

Breakfast cereals

Porride

Fruit and Vegetable

Fresh vegetable i.e cabbage sweet potatoes

Fresh fruit i.e apples pears

Canned vegetable i.e sweet corn

Canned Fruit i.e strawberries in own juice

Frozen Vegetable i.e mixed veg

Milk Cheese and Yoghurts

Cheese

Milk

Butter Milk

Ready made custard

Dozen of eggs

Meat Fish  Peas & Beans

Fresh meat (can be frozen)

Frozen fish

Tinned Fish i.e tuna

Baked beans

Others

Stock cudes/pots

Gravy granules

Tomatoe puree

Garlic puree

Herbs and spices

Canned Tomatoes

Tea, coffee

Sugar

Jelly

Pain flour/self raising flour

Plain biscuits

Cooking chocolate

I hope this was helpful to you all. Leave me any comments if I have left out anything that you should think I should have included.

Beef Stew

As this is my first receipt I have to say that I'm really excited about sharing it with you all. This is very easy to do and most of people who cook who have probably have make this already, but I thought that I would share it anyway and let ye all see how I did it. I'm not used to taken pictures of what I cook so unfortunately I have only one picture when its done. I promise for the next one I will have pictures step by step. This beef stew should take about one hour to an hour and a half to cook. Cooking times depend on the cooking appliance that your working on.

To start of with I bought my beef at my local butchers that way I know that its fresh and Irish (very important).

The ingredients that I used:

1.5 lb stewing beef
1-2 dessertspoons of vegetable oil
1 Knnor stock pot in beef dissolved in 1pint of water (575mls)
pinch of salt and pepper
1-2 bay leaves
1 red onion sliced
frozen mixed veg
potatoes

• Gently fry the meat on all sized until brown
• Dissolve Knnor stock pot in hot water
• Add stock to the beef and bring to the boil
• Reduce heat to gentle simmer for 30 min
• Add potatoes
• Cook until potatoes half cooked
• Add sliced onion, bay leaves cook for 10 min
• Add frozen veg and gently cook until all veg are cooked
• Season to taste
• Serve

Utensils needed

1. Frying pan
2. Saucepan
3. Chopping board
4. Knife

New Easy Food Magazine.

As I was during my weekly food shopping I seen that the new Easy Food Mag is  out for a week now and I didn't have it!! AAAAHHHH. but now that I have it, its all good. The Snowy Cake Pops look absolutely fab. I am looking forward to cooking all the scrumptious receipts, I am hoping that my boyfriend will just taste them. He is such a plain eater and I can't seem to change that. I wonder would any of ye have any ideas of how to change a plain eater to try good food. All he wants to eat is chicken and more chicken. As I was looking through the mag I have already picked out some lovely receipts that I'm going to try out anyway. These are some of them:
-Plum Chicken Lichen
-Creamy Salmon Gratin
-Winter Crumble
-4 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake
I'll keep it all updated on my blog. If anyone does not have this magazine Ill be putting up the receipts on the blog so that ye can try them all out too.

Starting my first Blog

Today is the 'D' Day. I have started my blog. I didn't know what to write for my first blog and then I thought why not start my blog with telling you all why I decided to start a blog and whats its going to be about, so he is goes. My name is Christina and I am a mum of one. About two weeks ago I was watching Julie and Julia and I really wanted to start a blog and just wanted to share my experience of cooking. I am not a chef but I do enjoy cooking at home. I did a cooking course I really enjoyed the first year of it but the second year was very focused on the industry side of things and for Michelin star restaurants and five star hotels. The hotel that was working at was a 3 start hotel in the country side and didn't serve rabbit or veal or any other fancy dishes like that. I also noticed that in college that they have a lot of waste and its OK for them as they are not paying if you get me, while in industry they don't like waste because its money that they are wasting. Anyway enough of that. I am going shopping today so i am going to buy and lots of goodies. I have something in mind to cook and I think its going to be 'beef hot pot' I'll update ye all sometime tonight or tomorrow morning. I would also like to say that I will be taking pictures but for the time being they will be taken on my iPod as my camera isn't working and is getting fixed. I hope that ye all enjoy my receipts.I don't have any receipts that are my own so I will be taken them from magazines that I have and the books that I own. I hope that ye all enjoy them. I am looking forward to hearing from all of ye.