Fiesta! Home made chilli

I've blogged solidly about eggs for the last two weeks.

So it's high time I gave the chickens a rest and talked about something else. 

Tonight Sam and myself decided we'd have chilli. So as the football was on it was a great opportunity for me to cook all my myself aka get drunk in the kitchen without him nagging at me for "drinking again."

First up: pour glass of wine.

Chop up two carrots, two red peppers, two garlic cloves, two celery sticks and two onions and wang them in a deep casserole dish or frying pan. Add in a heaped teaspoon each of cumin, cinnamon and chilli powder and stir every 30 seconds for about seven mins. If you like yours extra spicy you can always add a fresh red chilli.

Throw wine away. It's disgusting, your brother bought it round last week and it tastes like vinegar.

Add to veggies a can of kidney beans and a can of chickpeas and two cans of chopped tomatoes.

Mix yourself a gin and tonic which is too strong for a Monday night.

Add to veggies your lean steak mince and stir. Add coriander and some water.

Put more tonic in G&T. It really is too strong for a Monday night.

Turn the heat up until the chilli starts to boil, then turn it down to simmer, and cook on a low heat for one hour.

Meanwhile make your guacamole. Chop up a few tomatoes and a chilli and blend with some avacado and corriander in a food processor. Drizzle some tortilla wraps with olive oil and put in oven for 5 mins. Give both to boyfriend for "half time snack."

Serve with rice, natural yoghurt and grated cheese.

Yet another egg based post

It is a well known fact amongst scientists (and hungover people) that eggs are one of the best cures for a night on the sauce.

It's something to do with protein getting broken down into amino acids in your body. Appaz amino acids are used to build something called neurotransmitters (brain signals???) which are screwed up by alcohol. 

Who knew!

So with that in mind, and the fact I had four (large) glasses of wine last night AND the fact I have to work today, dippy eggs for brunch was the obvious choice.

The internet didn't say anything about the benefits of eating cupcakes after you've eaten said eggs to cure said hangover, but this is all in the name of research you see. 

I feel better already.

Baking one off

Sometimes you merely need the tiniest excuse to bake a few cakes.

What's that, some bananas which are about three minutes over ripe? Better bake some banana muffins!

Preheat oven to 160c.

Mash up two bananas in a bowl, then in a separate bowl mix together an egg, salted butter, self raising flour, baking powder and caster sugar until smooth. 

Meanwhile on a chopping board, roughly chop up some milk chocolate. Tip: don't use the whole bar, keep one row for snacking.

Add the mashed up bananas and chocolate to the cake mix and fold in.

Separate the muffin mix into cake cases, and bake in the middle of the oven for 20 mins, or until the muffins spring back when gently pressed.

At this stage, do not do any washing up.

While the muffins are cooling prepare the icing. Mix softened butter, icing sugar and cocoa powder together in a bowl and beat until smooth. You can always add in a splash of milk if it's not coming together.

Tip: Wait until the muffins are completely cool before decorating! 

Now, time for the important stuff: the licking of the bowl. A rubber spatula is your best friend in this situation, wooden spoons just don't cut it. 

Love you forever Mary xxxx

And, as my mother always told me, if a jobs worth doing it's worth doing well, so don't be afraid to get right in there. 

Perhaps this technique is why I ended up with so many bowl hair cuts as a child. And an unhealthy attitude towards food, of course.

 

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter all!

May we all celebrate the rising of Christ.

But more importantly mum has bought us all chocolate bunnies, there's a chocolate cake ready to be cut, roast lamb in the oven and apple crumble ready to cook.

Before all that though we're off down the pub. If I make it to the end of the day without being sick it will be a miracle.

Another BBQ blog

Yes folks, we're almost in double figures with the amount of BBQ's we've had this year already. I'm barely out of my 100 deniers.

We over cooked as per, but you never can be too prepared. 

So folks, can you put too much food on a BBQ? No siree.

Easter starts early

Easter isn't for another week and yet I received my first Easter egg a week ago.

It's a miracle it's lasted this long really.  This is coming from the girl who opens bottles of wine and drinks them in one sitting (alone) for fear of them "going off" by the next day. Moi? Binge drinker?

Anyway, first Easter egg was from Thorntons. Super girly with a butterfly on the front. Nothing girly about the way I ate it mind. #inhaled 

Eggsellent

Supermarket eggs vs sister Liz's farm house eggs. Promise Liz isn't feeding her chickens grain infused with steroids. Say hello to Mummy Lesley everyone. She's about to cook us fried eggs on toast. Low cal appaz. Not interested.