Bellissima

Bonjourno from Milan

In true italian style i thought i'd do a little Italian recipe thats gluten and lactose free

Ok so firstly just a little praise for Heinz Gluten Free Pasta!!! Its amazing and tastes just like the real deal! Well done Heinz not even Nick can taste the difference!!!

Ok so as a mum i find pasta is my go to dish! Like its easy, quick and my children love it so its a win win! They both love Pesto but Rocco can no longer have it so here are our favorite quick pasta dishes!

1. Bacon and Chorizo.
So i chop an onion up in small pieces and lightly fry in some oil with some bacon cut up and some gluten free chorizo cut up - fry for a bit until all cooked - add a dolmio or tin of chopped tomato sauce and then once the pasta is cooked mix it in!  This is so simple!! Chorizo lasts a really long time in the fridge too so its always ready to go!

2. Plain spaghetti
I love spaghetti - i've been trying it with different things and my favorite is: cook the pasta then toss with a little olive oil, after searching for good gluten free breadcrumbs i came across this idea from glutenfreegoddess
I toast 2 or 3 gluten-free plain waffles and break them apart; then I process them in my Cuisinart food processor, pulsing on and off until they resemble classic breadcrumbs (not too fine).

I add in several dashes of dried Italian herb mix, or a simple combo of dried basil, parsley and marjoram.

I drizzle in some high quality extra virgin olive oil as I pulse - just until they are moist and begin to stick together a bit.

So i use these for breadcrumbs, i also add garlic powder and some lactose free parmesan like parmigiano reggiano. This is lovely with extra crispy bacon too.

3. Prawn and sweet chili pasta

Again this is a spaghetti dish or a penne dish - cook your pasta, then cook your prawns with garlic and onions and some cherry toms and bobs your uncle!! 

I think pasta is the best food ever! Its so simple and easy and you can throw anything in it !!! 

Enjoy your Saturdays we are off to Lake Como for a romantic lunch 

Apple Pie Pops

Jades mummy ran a coffee morning this Wednesday for The White Lodge Centre in Chertsey. It was a lovely day and turn out despite the rain and lots of pennies were raised!

As with any coffee morning there were lots of delicious treats on offer! I had offered to make something to bring too and decided to make some apple pie pops and oreo truffles!

Im going to share with you the apple pie pop recipe on todays blog!

Now i must say that i totally made this up and as i'm on another crazy diet this week i couldn't actually taste any of them but i was assured they were yummy and they look super cute so thats all that matters right?

So to make 24 pops heres what you need:

2 packets of ready rolled shortcrust pastry

1 jar of apple sauce

Granulated sugar

cake pop sticks

Circle biscuit cutter.

So basically this was the easiest thing ever, all i did was on some baking paper sprinkle some sugar then place on one circle of cut pastry (cut with the cutter) then spoon a small amount of apple sauce into the middle. Then sprinkle some sugar then place another pastry circle on top then sprinkle some more sugar. Then you need to put your cake pop stick in the middle and get a fork and press down all the way around to seal the edge of the pie. Next thing to do is to pull out your cake pop stick! Don't put them in the oven with the apple pies like i did on first batch!! Pulling out the stick will leave a little hole ready for you to pop the stick back in when they are fresh out of the oven.

One you have filled your tray with your baking paper on it, pop them in the oven on a medium heat for about 20-25mins but be sure to keep checking them! When they look ready pull them out of the oven and pop the cake pop sticks back in. Then leave to cool and bish bash bosh your all done!

These would be super cute at a party or for little party favours! You could even add some cinnamon or choose a different filling?

Let us know if you try them!

Love 

L xx

Slow Pulled Pork!!

Happy Saturday but most importantly Happy 6 Year Anniversary to my wonderful best friend Leeanne and her equally lovely husband Chris!!! 6 years!! xxx Its 7am i wonder if Lee has cried yet? my money is on yes xxx

"I don't eat pork" This is what i always always say! I hate pork chops or roast pork with a passion! When i was at school my best friend Victoria said it had worms in it and from that day forward i never ate it!!! Gross!!! So therefore my nieces and nephews don't eat it as i wiggle my fingers at them like worms whenever pork is mentioned haha!

On Christmas day we normally go to my Godparents and we normally have Pork and Turkey (I don't eat either) so my Godmother always makes me beef or chicken.  I'm like the difficult child! 

However at my cousins childrens birthday my aunty did a slow pulled pork dish which everyone had in a bap with apple sauce! I was starving so thought oh its worth a go! Well i now love pulled pork!!! Granted i still can't bear pork chops but pulled pork is my new fave meat!!!

I don't normally do the roasts in my house - Nick is so much better so here is his favourite recipe from Jamie Oliver!!!! I hope you really enjoy this easy dish! Nicks trick is prepare pork and pop in over early doors then go to golf knowing he has enough time not to worry!

The best things about this dish are its easy, fool proof, can be used for a roast, bar b q, party, lunch in a bap or dinner! perfick

Love
J xxx

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 2 kg higher-welfare shoulder of pork, bone-in, skin on
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 red onions, halved
• 2 carrots, peeled and halved lengthways
• 2 sticks celery, halved
• 1 bulb garlic, skin on, broken into cloves
• 6-8 bay leaves
• 600 ml water or organic vegetable stock

Method

Preheat your oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7.

Place your pork on a clean work surface, skin-side up. Get yourself a small sharp knife and make scores about a centimetre apart through the skin into the fat, but not so deep that you cut into the meat. If the joint is tied, try not to cut through the string. Rub salt right into all the scores you've just made, pulling the skin apart a little if you need to.

Brush any excess salt off the surface then turn it over. Season the underside of the meat with a few pinches of salt and pepper. Place your pork, skin-side up, in a roasting tray and pop in the preheated oven. Roast for 30 minutes, until the skin of the pork has started to puff up and you can see it turning into crackling. At this point, turn the heat down to 170°C/325°F/gas 3, cover the pork snugly with a double layer of tinfoil, pop back in the oven and roast for a further 4 and a half hours.

Take out of the oven, take the foil off, and baste the meat with the fat in the bottom of the tray. Carefully lift the pork up and transfer to a chopping board. Spoon all but a couple of tablespoons of fat out (save it for roast potatoes!).

Add all the veg, garlic and bay leaves to the tray and stir them into the fat. Place the pork back on top of everything and return to the stove without the foil to roast for another hour. By this time the meat should be meltingly soft and tender.

Carefully move the meat to a serving dish, cover again with tinfoil and leave to rest while you make your gravy. Spoon away any fat in the tray, then add the water or stock and place the tray on the hob. Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to scrape up all those lovely sticky tasty bits on the bottom of the tray. When you've got a nice, dark gravy, pour it through a sieve into a bowl or gravy boat, using your spoon to really push all the goodness of the veg through the sieve. Add a little more salt and pepper if it needs it.

Serve the pork and crackling with your jug of gravy and some lovely roast potatoes (As a treat, you can try roasting them in the fat you spooned out of your roasting tray. Some stewed red cabbage and a dollop of apple sauce will finish this off perfectly.)

Thank you Jamie Oliver - your cooking rocks our world haha! xxx

Banoffee Pie (my fave)!

Wow i do so love a Banoffee Pie - i would say its my favourite dessert but i think all desserts are my favourite haha!!!

This is an amazing dessert on 3 counts!!

Firstly its so quick to make you can make it within 15 mins and take to bar b q or event!
Secondly its so easy and no baking or boiling so even toddlers can make it
Thirdly it tastes and looks amazing!!!

Ingredients

4 Bananas
300ml Whipped Cream
250g pack of Digestives
1 or 2 cans of Carnation Caramel
100g melted butter
Chocolate to decorate

Firstly crush the biscuits into crumbs - I normally put mine in a ziplock bag and get honey to hit and roll them with a rolling pin! Place the crumbs into a bow and add the melted butter to the biscuits.  Once mixed press onto bottom of a lightly greased 20cm cake tin.  Pop in fridge for 10 mins.

During this 10 mins (which is an eternity for an impatient 3 year old) i get Honey to cut the banana with her special plastic knife!

Take the base out of the fridge and spread the carnation caramel over the base - ive said 1 or 2 cans depending on how caramelly (i know thats not even a word but i like it) you like it! I would then place this in the fridge to harden up!

Then place you banana slices on top of the caramel - try not to leave many gaps.

Spoon the cream on top and then grate some chocolate on top!

Taaaaa Daaaaa !!!! Fool Proof quick and easy dessert!!!

You can also use condensed milk and boil it however with toddlers in the house and a previous burn incident i just try not to over complicate things! It does seem to set better though!  Also you could make these into little ones in fairy cake wrappers and make them in a 6 cake tin for the children!

Hope you all enjoy
Love
J xxx

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