Simple Scrambled Egg

I wasn't sure if this post would be condescending but if it does anything at all, it will hopefully inspire you to fill yourself up with some delicious scrambled egg in the morning! And since breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it seems only fitting to add my favourite fresh herb to it to make it taste even better.

Serves two

- 4 eggs

- splash of milk

- pinch of salt

- black pepper

- handful of fresh parsley, chopped

- butter

1. In a jug, beat the 4 eggs until smooth.

2. Whisk in some milk, salt, pepper and parsley.

3. Heat a saucepan, and melt the butter. Pour in the egg mixture and stir intermittently over a low-medium heat, making sure the egg doesn't stick to the pan and turn into an omelette, but scrambles.

(don't forget to prepare the other parts of your breakfast!)

4. When scrambled (varies from person to person - I like my eggs fairly solid but still a bit soft and moist), serve with some hot, buttered toast, or a full English!

Enjoy :)

Rocky road

I didn't know whether to call this rocky road or refrigerator cake - but either way it's biscuity, chocolatey goodness. I didn't put raisins in which I would prefer, and there are no nuts either since I'm not that keen, but the good thing about these is that you can basically add anything you want to them. They're so quick and easy to make with no baking at all!

Makes 8 squares

- 50g butter

- 100g milk chocolate

- 1 tbsp runny honey

- 100g dark chocolate digestives, crushed

- handful of marshmallows, chopped

1. Simply melt the butter and chocolate in a pan over a low heat. Stir in the honey.

2. Mix in the crushed biscuits and chopped marshmallows.

3. Line a baking tin with grease proof paper and pat down the mixture into it. At this stage I decorated it with edible glitter and chocolate hearts.

4. Refrigerate for about two hours then cut into squares. 

Enjoy :)

3 simple pasta dishes

Spaghetti bolognese, carbonara, macaroni cheese, and even pasta and pesto can get boring (can't believe I just said that!) so I have come up with 3 really easy pasta meals that taste delicious. They may not be the lowest in fat but they are still fairly nutritious with chicken or tuna, and a variety of different veg. Give them a try - they will not disappoint!

1. Chicken and bacon pasta with garlic and herb cream cheese

This is so delicious, I had this tonight and the flavour is amazing from the smoked bacon and garlic. It was really filling as well and contains a variety of different vegetables. 

Serves 2

- olive oil

- 1 chicken breast, sliced

- 3 rashers of smoked bacon, chopped

- 175g pasta

- 1 onion, chopped

- 1 clove of garlic, crushed

- handful of mushrooms, sliced

- green beans, cut in half

- 1/3 200g pack of garlic and herb Philadelphia cream cheese

- handful of fresh spinach leaves

- sprinkling of cheddar cheese

1. Fry the chicken breast in olive oil until browned, add the bacon and stir for a few minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to packet instructions.

3. Add the garlic and onion to the bacon and chicken - cook until softened, then add the mushrooms.

4. Add the green beans to the pasta water about 5 minutes till the end of cooking time. Then drain and add to the chicken and bacon pan.

5. Stir in the garlic and herb cream cheese until all coated, and serve on a bed of fresh spinach leaves (or stir them in if you prefer them more wilted) with a sprinkling of cheddar cheese. Voila!

2. Cheesy, tuna pasta

This was a really thrown together meal when I couldn't decide what to have. I had some leftover tuna and mayo that I had in a sandwich the previous day and decided to have this with pasta. This was such a delicious meal but fairly naughty with butter and lots of cheese. Thinking about it, I should have added peas or sweetcorn, or both, to make it a bit more exciting and nutritious. I really love tuna and mushrooms together but for those of you who don't like mushrooms, you don't have to add them!

*This is an instagram photo so sorry for quality - follow me on instagram for photos of food, fashion etc. my user name is 'lottierainbow'*

Serves 1

- 100g pasta

- olive oil

- 1 clove of garlic, crushed

- handful of mushrooms, sliced

- 1/2 tin of tuna mixed with little bit of mayo

- knob of butter

- big handful of cheddar, grated

1. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions.

2. Meanwhile, heat some olive oil and fry the garlic and mushrooms until softened.

3. Stir in the tuna and mayo. Drain the pasta and add to the pan.

4. Stir in the butter and cheese and serve!

3. Creamy pesto pasta

The basis for this recipe came off the campbells condensed, creamy chicken soup tin! It is just a more interesting way to enjoy pesto, since it's really creamy and comforting. I decided to add peas and onion as well, and I used turkey instead of chicken.

Serves 2
- 175g pasta
- 1 chicken/turkey breast, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tin of campbells condensed cream of chicken soup
- 120ml milk
- 1/2 jar of green pesto
- peas
- cheddar cheese, grated

1. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions.
2. Fry the chicken and onion in some olive oil then add the soup and milk, stirring. Bring to the boil then simmer.
3. Add the peas to the pasta about 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
4. Stir the pesto in with the chicken and soup mix and simmer for around 5 minutes.
5. Drain the pasta and peas and add to the sauce, stirring until all mixed together.
6. Serve with grated cheese on top!

Enjoy :)

Creamy mustard pappardelle with leek and green beans

This is a bit of a cheat, because I didn't actually make this - my mum did - but we put together our ideas to whip this up as a quick but delicious dinner. As I've mentioned before, I love adding green vegetables like green beans to pasta because it's a yummy way to incorporate the nutrients. Having said that, this meal is not particularly healthy since it has double cream in it... I like how the creamy mustard sauce just coats the pasta rather than being an actual sauce, which shows how not much cream is actually used - it would be too rich with lots of sauce. This is a really delicious meal, and will impress even though it only takes about 15 minutes to make!

Serves 2
- 200g pappardelle pasta
- knob of butter/margarine
- 1/2 leek, chopped
- handful of fine green beans, cut in half
- 100ml double cream
- 2-3 tsp wholegrain mustard
- handful of parmesan, finely grated

1. Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water according to packet instructions (about 10-15 minutes)
2. Melt the butter in a pan, and cook the leeks.
3. Add the green beans to the pan with the pasta in when there is about 5 minutes of cooking time left.
4. Drain the pasta and green beans and add to the pan with the leeks, stirring.
5. Pour in the double cream and the mustard and mix together until combined and the pasta is coated in a sauce.
6. Serve with fresh parmesan on top!

Enjoy :)

Brie and cranberry parcels

These make perfect starters and are actually more ideal for Christmas time, but I had all the ingredients in the house so couldn't resist! They're really messy and all oddly shaped (as you can see...) but I love that they're a bit different. The filo pastry I used was the jus rol brand and had actually been opened for quite a while so had dried out a fair bit, making these harder to shape - so if you use the pastry fresh then they will probably look neater and more appealing. 

*I'm not going to put exact quantities because it becomes pretty obvious when making them and it depends how many you want to make for however many people*

Ingredients

- Filo pastry cut into squares

- butter, melted

- brie, sliced

- cranberry sauce/jelly

1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5 / 190 degrees.

2. To make one parcel, take 3 squares and brush them with melted butter. Layer them on top of one another with the points sticking out at different angles, like a star shape.

3. Place a slice of brie in the middle and a teaspoon of cranberry sauce and lift the pastry corners up to form a parcel, pushing together gently with fingers.

4. Brush the outside with more melted butter and place on a baking tray.

5. Repeat as many times as you desire!

6. Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the filling is hot and melting, and the pastry golden brown and crisp.

Enjoy :)

Easter nest crispy cakes

 These are really quick and easy Easter treats to make! Everyone has probably eaten or made a chocolate crispy cake before but I thought I would post a recipe that I used today so you can all whip these up tonight or tomorrow to finish off the Easter weekend nicely. They are not just for Easter however, these are yummy treats all year round, with or without the mini eggs. I used cornflakes but you can use any cereal really, such as rice crispies, special k etc. I used some summery cupcake cases to brighten these up and get in the Easter/spring spirit!

Makes about 8
- 30g butter
- 50g milk chocolate
- 25g dark chocolate
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp runny honey
- few handfuls of cornflakes (or other cereal)
- Cadbury's mini eggs, to decorate

1. Melt the butter and chocolate over a low heat.
2. Once melted, turn off the heat and stir in the sieved cocoa powder and honey.
3. Stir in handfuls of cornflakes at a time until completely coated in the chocolate mixture.
4. Spoon into cupcake cases, placing a mini egg in the middle of each.
5. Refrigerate for half an hour or until solid!

Enjoy :)

Mince and rice

This is one of my favourite things to cook at uni!

It's quite simple, and uses a lot of store-cupboard ingredients which is always handy

Ingredients: (serves 2)

- 15g butter

- 250g beef mince

- 1 small onion, chopped

- 2 rashers of bacon (preferably smoked), sliced

- 50g mushrooms, sliced (I usually use more than this)

- 100g rice (I use wholegrain)

- 1/2 tin of chopped tomatoes (I use a whole tin otherwise it would go to waste...)

- 1/2 beef stock cube, dissolved in 200ml of water

- 1 tsp mixed herbs

- Handful of grated cheddar

1. Brown the mince in the butter, then add the bacon and onions.

2. Once cooked, add the mushrooms, then stir in the rice until coated in the mince mixture.

3. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and the stock cube mix.

4. Add the herbs and season to taste.

5. Stir, bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes, or until the rice is cooked (no crunch).

6. Don't forget the grated cheese!

Simple as that! Enjoy :)

Simple tomato and mozzarella tarts

All you will need is puff pastry, mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, dried italian herbs, and a beaten egg.

You can use ready-made puff pastry, I use Jus-Rol pastry. Simply roll it out and cut into circles, or any shape, with a cookie cutter or something similar. 

Brush the outsides of the circle with beaten egg, and place a slice of mozzarella in the middle, topped with a slice of tomato. Sprinkle with herbs and bake in the oven for around 10-15 mins on about gas mark 4 or 5 (180-200 degrees)

I made these to take to a buffet once, they were easy to re-heat in the oven and tasted delicious.

Enjoy :)