Showing posts from March, 2014

Fudgy Chocolate Brownie

This brownie has THE BEST fudgy texture. It's also quite a frugal bake using only store cupboard ingredients ....just don't look at the butter and sugar content, it might give you a fright! Definitely a weekend treat kind of bake and not for those watching their waistlines. I added a few tablespoons of peanut butter to the mix but if you don't like peanut butter substitute for dessicated coconut or dried fruit. Enjoy the weekend! I will be back on Sunday with my weekly meal plan. print recipe Fudgy Chocolate Brownie by Beth Sachs March-21-2014 A fudgy chocolate brownie Ingredients 250g Butter 450g Caster Sugar 100g Cocoa Powder 4 TBSP Peanut Butter 4 Eggs 100g Self Raising Flour Instructions Step 1: Preheat oven to 170c and line a 20cm square tin. Step 2: Melt the butter, sugar, cocoa and peanut butter over a low heat. Once melted take off the heat and beat in the eggs then the flour. Pour into tin and bake for 45


Wild Garlic Pesto

We have a whole bank of wild garlic growing at our new house - kindly pointed out to me by my Mother in Law! Wild garlic - or bunny ears as the kids call it -  makes an appearance at the end of Winter and grows throughout the Spring until it bursts into flower with delicate white blossoms. In terms of taste, its very much like domestic garlic but perhaps a little bit milder. You can use it in salads and stir frys but I thought I'd whizz up some pesto to stir through pasta and spoon on top of fish and chicken. The pesto will keep in the fridge for a good couple of weeks but I also like to freeze it in ice cube trays to enjoy through the year. WILD GARLIC PESTO Wild Garlic Pesto Yield: 6 Author: Beth Sachs Print Recipe Pin it With Image Without Image Wild Garlic Pesto A pesto recipe using wild garlic prep time: 10 mins cook time: total time: 10 mins ingredients: 2 large handfuls  Wild Garlic Juice of 1  Lemon 2 handfuls  Grated Parmesan 1 large


Easy Graffiti Biscuits With The Kids

The biscuit dough for these Graffiti biscuits is made using the rubbing in method, so Lowen and Rory were able to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in from the word go. I let them measure out the ingredients on the digital scales and left all the 'creative decisions' up to them. They decided they wanted heart shape biscuits, which they rolled and cut out themselves - hence every one is a slightly different thickness! They then drizzled the three different colours of icing on (after a long deliberation over what colours to use) and left them to set. I think they turned out pretty good and they were so proud of themselves for making them all on their own! This is a great recipe for getting the kids in the kitchen as they can be as adventurous as they want - changing the shapes of the biscuits, icing colours and also flavouring of the dough. We used lemon here but you could easily substitute for vanilla or cinnamon. GRAFFITI BISCUITS Graffiti Biscuits Ba


Cheddar, Spring Onion and Smoked Paprika Scones

Cheese scones are great thrifty lunchbox filler in this house. The kids take them to school, halved with a spreading of butter and a slice of cheese. The adults take them to dunk in their soups, although I also like them with some cream cheese and slices of cucumber and cherry tomatoes. I blitz the ingredients in a processor so the dough literally take 5 minutes to make but if you didn't have a processor just use the rubbing in method in a large bowl, adding the liquid once breadcrumbs are formed. CHEESE, SPRING ONION AND PAPRIKA SCONES Cheese Scones Baking Yield: 9 Author: Beth Sachs Print Recipe Pin it With Image Without Image Cheese, Spring Onion and Paprika Scones A frugal cheese scone recipe flavoured with spring onion and paprika. prep time: 15 mins cook time: 12 mins total time: 27 mins ingredients: 200g  Self Raising Flour 100g  Plain Flour 2 TSP  Smoked Paprika 1 TSP  Baking Powder 50g  Cream Cheese 50g  Butter 100ml  Milk 3 


Madeira Cake

I make this Madeira cake most weeks for a lunchbox treat. Madeira cake keeps really well in an airtight tin but if by the end of the week the slices are getting a bit dry I just spread some raspberry jam on (and if they’re lucky some whipped cream) and sandwich two slices of the cake together. MADEIRA CAKE Madeira Cake Cake Baking Yield: 10 Author: Beth Sachs Print Recipe Pin it With Image Without Image Madeira Cake A simple Madeira cake recipe prep time: 15 mins cook time: 1 hour total time: 1 hours and 15 mins ingredients: 240g  Butter, softened 150g  Caster Sugar 50g  Light Brown Sugar 1  Lemon, Zested 2 TBSP  Milk 3  Eggs, beaten 210g  Self Raising Flour 90g  Plain Flour Caster Sugar for sprinkling instructions Step 1: Preheat the oven to 170°c and line a 2lb loaf tin. Step 2: Cream the butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs, lemon zest and milk. Step 3: Fold in the flours until combined. Pour into the tin and spr


Apple and Raisin Oaty Bars

On a week day my alarm goes off at 5:45am - I don't mind, I'm an early bird. Hubby and I get up and dressed then I bundle the kids, still in their PJ's, into the car and drop them at my parents house on my way to work. I try and get into the office for 7:30am but due to tractors, caravans, lorries and pot holes its usually closer to 8am. As you can probably appreciate by the time I get there I'm absolutely STARVING hungry having had no time for breakfast beforehand. In order to stop me snacking on naughty office treats (of which there are always many!) I tend to take oat based cereal bars to keep the hunger pangs at bay until lunchtime. These apple and raisin oaty bars are perfect for filling my tummy with something relatively healthy and nutritious. Lovely and moist, thanks to the diced apple and soft squidgy raisins and great for kids lunchboxes too. If you wanted you could substitute the apple for more dried fruit like apricots or figs, or even add some