The December Witches by Jennifer Claessen Blog Tour

 I am beyond happy to be a part of the blog tour for Jennifer Claessen's novel The December Witches. Take a look at the blurb:

 December is Clemmie Merlyn’s favourite month as it usually begins with birthday cake and gifts. But as she turns thirteen, it begins with a Clemmie, and Clemmie alone amongst all witches, is full of magic. So full of magic she might not make it to the end of the month. As the snow spirals down, anxious Clemmie and the young hags will have to find some way to stop her exploding.

Because someone, or something, has chosen Clemmie and made her their One True Witch. But magic is meant to be shared and no-one can survive being filled to the brim with starry power. Can the Merlyn and Morgan covens finally take on the ancient twisted magic of their ancestors? And can they do it in time for Christmas?

Chocolate Orange Cognac Cake - Recipe

A while ago I shared with you a rather lovely recipe for a Gin flavoured cheesecake, well this month I've been getting my bake on and I have another scrumptious recipe to get your taste buds going, introducing my chocolate orange cognac cake.

Gin, Lime and White Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe

There are two things in life that I really quite like, food and alcohol so what could be better than combining the two? The guys over at 31Dover.com recently sent a rather delicious bottle of gin and I thought rather than just doing a quickie review to let you all know just how refreshing a G&T it can make, I'd go the extra mile and get a little creative and that's when I came up with the idea for the gin, lime and white chocolate cheesecake.

Now I'm no master baker so the good news with this recipe is that it is there aren't a lot of ingredients, it is super easy to prepare and it requires no baking whatsoever, the only downside is that you need to wait for it to set bbboooooo. Now considering the alcohol content this isn't a dessert for the kiddies, oh no, this one is just for us adults and guess what it's jolly nice when enjoyed with a refreshing glass of gin and tonic accompanying it....

Num Noms are Creating Wacky Bakers in the Kitchen

Num  Noms are fun and quirky collectable toys that all have wonderful scents, this allows your child/ren to mix and match the smells to create some delicious combinations. Now with the Great British Bake Off back on our televisions these cute treats are back with their aptly named campaign Wacky Bakers.

Chocolate and Banana Coins Recipe

It's been a while since I shared a recipe on here so I thought I would show you one of my favourite treats right now, chocolate and banana coins. They make a great alternative to ice creams in the Summer months because they are frozen and of course with the fruit element they are relatively healthy too so perfect for both kids and adults.

Cauliflower Pizza Recipe

It's been a while since I've posted a recipe on the blog so I thought it was about time that I shared one with you. On my continual journey to lose weight and tone up I am forever trying out new things with my diet. One food that I struggle to give up is bread even though it really makes my stomach bloat. 

Something that contains this is pizza, whether frozen or made from scratch, it is a meal that is relatively quick and easy to make but as well as the bread giving that bloating affect, it is also laden with calories so I've been on the look out for a good alternative, you know fakeaway style and then I discovered cauliflower pizza bases.

10 Easter Themed Recipes

Easter is only a couple of weeks away and the Easter bunny is getting ready to bring the chocolate eggs but whilst we wait patiently (or eat some you've already bought, hides boxes), I thought I'd share with you some Easter themed recipes. Some getting you ready for you to use up those left over chocolate eggs, I know what your thinking sure left over chocolate can't be possible but just incase…. There are also breakfast ideas, scrummy cakes and delightful cocktails so read on and see which recipe takes your fancy.

Christmas Bark Recipe

I love chocolate and I love Christmas so what could be better than combining the two? This simple Christmas bark recipe I'm about to share with you can easily be adapted and changed to your own tastes.

Boozy Christmas Mug Cake Recipe

I wrote a post last week about Christmas cakes gone wrong but this week I have one that went oh so right so I thought it was only fair to share the recipe with you.

My love of mug cakes is no secret. A quick and simple cake to make, one that you don't have to share and one that can be made in a variety of flavours, win, win, winning!

When Christmas Cake Goes Wrong...

I've always had the best intentions when it comes to baking. Infact I'll go as far to say that some of my ideas are quite good. However what is pictured in my head doesn't always come look the same in reality, this can definitely be said for my latest attempt, a Christmas cake.

In my head I envisioned a small cake that in the end would turn out to look like The Snowman. I bet there are loads of you thinking well that's easy, how could that possibly go wrong? One word, icing!

Chocolate Coconut Mug Cake Recipe

I bought a bag of coconut flour a while ago. At the time I didn't realise how different it was to other flours. It makes for quite a dense cake and you can't use the same measures so you can't just go copying a recipe and switching the flour suggested for coconut instead.

                  

Individual Coconut Flapjack Recipe

I love a good flapjack. I'm quite partial to one filled with nuts and I would never say no to one covered in yoghurt. I think that is what makes it so nice because the recipe is easy to adapt to your own personal taste. As long as you have the basic ingredients in the cupboard you can quickly knock up a batch in next to no time.

Bernard Matthews Lunchbox Challenge

The girls were recently set a challenge by the lovely people at Bernard Matthews. The task, they needed to suggest some fun ideas for food to pop into their school lunchboxes using the range of 100% British Bernard Matthews cooked meats.

Now this was a challenge that my daughters were eager to participate in. They have always been very independent and will quite happily pack their own lunches but it is normal mum who decides what they eat, I was just hoping they'd make some good choices.

This task coincides with Bernard Matthews having a fresh new makeover recently as you will see in the pictures.

Below are three recipes that the girls came up with, I helped to make these ideas a reality but I have to admit they were all pretty tasty.

Turkey Stuffing Wheels 

#KetchupCreations With Homeserve

Homeserve recently launched their new lifestyle blog, Ketchup. A great name, one picked because lets be honest Ketchup tends to be an essential ingredient in most homes. To help celebrate I've joined in with their #KetchupCreations. I had to pick one of six recipes containing that all important ingredient. I opted to make BBQ pulled pork.

This is something I've posted about before, my recipe called for a slow cooker so I was interested to see how this one would turn out as it was entirely cooked in the oven.

Ingredients:
2 Onions (sliced)
3 Bay Leaves
1 tbsp Smoked Paprika
Pork Shoulder
140 grams Tomato Ketchup
4 tbsps Red Wine Vinegar
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
3 tbsps dark brown sugar
4 Rolls
Coleslaw, to serve

Blueberry and Nut Loaf Recipe

The colder months bring out the baker in me. I love to bake cakes, cookies etc. I'm yet to attempt a pie but I am going to rectify that this year. I think one of the best things to do is eat something you've baked straight from the oven, just something so homely about that. My latest recipe which I'm sharing with you all is a blueberry and nut loaf. Packed full of fruit and fibre it makes a brilliant breakfast or a wonderful accompniament to your afternoon cuppa.

Spooktastic Halloween Recipes

It's nearly time for Halloween so the kids have been requesting to bake some spooktastic cakes and cookies. I thought a nice easy recipe would be for some scrummy gingerbread biscuits, gingerbread for me is one of the foods that seem to go hand in hand with the colder months.

These biscuits are easy to make so make a perfect recipe for the whole family to join in making, including any little ones.

We followed the simple recipe provided on the BBC website, they made gingerbread men instead of anything spooky but this is easily adapted by using whatever cookie cutters you may have to hand.

Egg & Bacon Breakfast Cups

I love breakfast. There I've said it. I'd personally eat breakfast foods not only at breakfast time but at lunch and dinner too. From porridge to cereal (mmm coco pops), there is something that appeals to everyone and what I really like is that nothing seems to complicated to make.

So today I'm going to share with you a really simple recipe which takes very little time to make and gives you time to get washed and dressed while it is cooking in the oven.

                  

Getting Messy In The Kitchen With Persil

Persil recently launched their Cook with the Kids campaign. The aim, to get parents and kids cooking and getting messy in the kitchen. So of course my kids and I were happy to join in. I mean my moto is that the more mess the more you've enjoyed yourself.

Coconut Matcha Porridge Recipe

I love when the colder weather sets in, for many reasons but one is that I get to eat warmer breakfasts, move over chia pudding and overnight oats, step in good old porridge. But I don't like to have the same porridge every day, I like to mix up flavours and textures. Today I'm sharing with you my recipe for coconut matcha porridge.

Easy Peasy Protein Balls Recipe

Over the past 9 months my love for exercising has really grown. The trouble is I need to fuel my body with plenty of protein so that my muscles have a chance to recover before I delve into my next workout. Fitting protein into my meals has been quite easy but snack wise was more difficult. I've leaned towards eating things like quest bars but these get quite costly so I have been trying to find ideas for things I can make myself. Protein balls are just that, small balls packed full of protein and I've finally put together a recipe that is easy to make and low in cost too.