Cheesy Kale & Walnut Pasta

We love pasta in this house and this comforting cheesy dish is a favourite family meal in the colder months. I have used delicious garden fresh kale, runner beans and spelt spinach pasta. Its a comforting but healthy dish!

The recipe can also be made dairy free by using olive oil and dairy free cheese.

You could also use spinach instead of kale and mix up the green vegetables a bit to create a variety of different meals. The walnuts add additional healthy fats and crunch but pine nuts would work well too.

I have used oat cream for the sauce because it is my fave cream but you can also use plain single cream for this recipe too.

I hope you enjoy experimenting with this dish!

Ingredients

2 tbsp of butter or olive oil

2 handfuls of chopped fresh kale

2 cloves of chopped garlic

2 small cartons of Oatly oat cream (about 2 cups) or single dairy cream

Grated cheddar cheese (about 2 handfuls)

Nutmeg (about 1tsp)

S & P

Pasta

Green beans or other green vegetables

Gently heat the butter or oil in a large pan and add the chopped garlic. Stir in the chopped kale and cook lightly for around 5-10 minutes.

Add the pasta to boiling water with the chopped green vegetables, I used runner beans because that’s what was in season at the time but use whatever you fancy here, green beans or broccoli also work well.

Add the oat cream to the sauce and heat gently. Add in the grated cheddar, around two handfuls, but please use more or less if you prefer. It really does depend how cheesy you like it. My kids like a cheesy pasta and if it means they will eat more green vegetables then I am happy with that.

Heat the cheesy creamy sauce until all the cheese has melted. Add the walnuts and season with salt, pepper and the nutmeg.

Drain the pasta and vegetables and add to the cheesy sauce, mix through and serve.

My kids like to add extra Parmesan to the top but I prefer it without. A green salad on the side goes really well too with some cucumber, tomatoes and other salad items.

Enjoy! x

Apricot Chicken & Spinach Pilaf

This delicious one pot slow cooker wonder is so easy and quick to throw together. The chicken and rice go really well with the fragrant spices, sweet apricots and velvety super green spinach. I dolloped a tablespoon of fresh live yoghurt on the top and it worked really well. Plates were empty so I’m guessing it was a hit with the kids!

I like to use chicken thigh meat because I think it has better flavour, especially from an organic chicken. You could also use chicken breast if you prefer but the breast does create a slightly drier texture. I also like to use the unsulphured dried apricots which are darker in colour and sometimes brown rice for this recipe.

You will need the following ingredients:

    Ingredients

    1 tbsp of coconut oil or ghee

    1 finely chopped onion

    4 chopped garlic cloves

    2tsp of cumin seeds

    2 tsp of ground coriander

    2 tsp of tumeric

    1 cinnamon stick

    A small handful of chopped dried apricots

    1 1/4 cups of basmati

    3 chopped up chicken breasts or 6 chopped up thighs

    700ml of vegetable stock

    3 cubes of frozen spinach

    Live yoghurt to serve

    Set the slow cooker to high (2 -3hrs cooking time) or low (4-5 hrs cooking time) depending on the length of time you have to cook the meal. I like to prep my meals late morning or around lunchtime so that everything is ready for dinner around 5pm.

    Add the coconut oil or ghee to the slow cooker and let it melt. Add in the onion, garlic, spices and chopped apricots and give it a stir around to coat everything evenly.

    Add the chopped up chicken meat into the rice mixture and stir evenly to coat in the spices, apricots and rice. Add in the hot stock, frozen spinach cubes and stir once more.

    Pop the lid on and leave to cook for the required time as above – high setting (2 -3hrs) or low setting (4-5hrs).

    Serve with fresh greens or other seasonal vegetables and add a dollop of live yoghurt on top to serve.

    Autumn Fall Cookbooks My Faves!

    I love cook books! I love the photographs, the graphics and even the smell of a good book, lol! I thought I would share my fave family cook books that I bring out in the Autumn Fall season to stay warm and to keep the family nourished! I hope you find some inspiration here in this video for your own family.

    There are links at the bottom of the page where you can buy the books from Amazon, (they are affiliated links and I should probably notify you that I might earn 10p or so if you click it lol!!!!) If you have an independent book shop, order them in there and support small local business instead!

    With love x


    Granny’s Gingerbread

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    I love a hot latte style drink and a thick slice (emphasis on the thick!) of this delicious sticky gingerbread. I use this to create a hearty and warm filling breakfast with some stewed slices of apple on the top and a sprinkle of additional walnuts. It also makes a great after school snack or wrapped in a little beeswax a school break time piece.

    Follow the recipe below for a delicious addition to your Autumn faves!

    Ingredients

    125g of butter

    50g golden syrup

    175g molasses

    225g spelt wholemeal flour

    2tsp of baking powder

    1 tsp of ground ginger

    75g of soft brown sugar

    2 eggs

    50g chopped walnuts

    150ml almond milk

    1/2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda

    Turn on the food mixer or processor and cream the butter, golden syrup and molasses. Add in the flour, baking powder, ground ginger, brown sugar and mix further. Whisk the eggs with a fork in a cup and add to the mixture, mix further on a medium setting. Add in the chopped walnuts and milk and bicarb, mix further and pour ino a lined or buttered loaf tin. Bake at 160oc for 1hr and 30 mins. Remove, cool and serve.

    August Faves 2019!

    I love the end of Summer…the weather is still warm during the day but I love the cooler evenings and the prep for the Autumn/Fall ahead! Autumn and all the colour it brings is my favourite season of course!

    Click the video below for some of my favourite products for household, baby, reading, kitchen and foodie items! There are links at the bottom of the page where you can find them if they inspire you!

    Love Angie x 😉

    Bio D Cleaner – https://amzn.to/2MCq5G5

    Kite Clothing – www.kite-clothing.co.uk

    Frugi – www.welovefrugi.com

    Sweet sleep book – https://amzn.to/2ZgSiJm

    The Art of Hygge – https://amzn.to/322CNl4

    Fruity Fruits – https://amzn.to/2Zucoz3

    Neals Yard Hair Treatment – https://amzn.to/2KThJI0

    Silicone Trays – www.lakeland.co.uk

    Apple Butter Recipe

    1 Comment

    I made this super delicious apple butter recipe at the start of the week last week and used it in over 3 recipes! We had apple butter on banana bread, apple butter filled oat bars and oat muffins with apple butter as an ingredient. It was a real time saver and it was enjoyed by all the family. You can also spread it on toast, dip fruit in it, serve it with ice cream or even use it for pie filling! mmmm pie! 😉

    Below is the recipe for this super delish apple butter!

    Ingredients

    8 Large Granny Smith Apples

    3 cups of apple juice

    1 cups of sugar

    1 tsp of cinnamon

    1/2 tsp of ground cloves

    1/2 tsp of ground allspice

    Peel and chop all the apples up and pop into a large pan with the remaining ingredients. Bring to a quick boil then lower to a simmer for 30mins, stir frequently and mash at the end. Store in a kilner type sealed jar in the fridge to use as needed. Enjoy!

    Aug – Family Breakfast Ideas

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    We are still in August but to be honest it feels more like September with the colder temperatures and rain we have been having. Below you will find my ‘week of breakfasts’ video which I created from our weekly breakfast meal plan.

    We decide on 5 breakfasts for Monday to Friday and repeat those throughout the month. This way I find we eat more variety (yes more!) and we are prepared for breakfast in the morning. Meal planning also helps a lot with budgeting and meal planning and has helped us stick within our budget and even save money from it too.

    Click the video below to watch our week of breakfasts in August, I hope you find some ideas for your own family:

    Monday – Peanut butter bagels with bananas

    Tuesday – French toast sticks with berry topping

    Wednesday – Granola and yogurt bowls with fresh fruit

    Thursday – Omlette with spinach and cheese

    Friday – Granola with almond milk and fruit

    With Love

    Cheesy Sweet Potato & Bean Quesadilla

    In an attempt to hide some extra vegetables in my kids meals I made these super delicious sweet potato and bean quesadillas with lots of melted cheese. I added jalapenos and chopped chilli for the adults and they also work well with dairy free cheese.

    They literally take a few minutes to prepare and are great served up with a healthy side salad including all the family faves, tomato, cucumber, lettuce and dressing.

    Once all the ingredients are packed into the slow cooker these are so quick to put together quickly at meal times and are great for busy families.

    Ingredients

    3 chopped cloves of garlic

    1 finely chopped onion

    A bag of frozen sweet potato or two large diced up small

    1 can of pinto beans

    Cumin seeds

    Salt & pepper

    Cheddar cheese or dairy free cheese

    Coriander, chilli, jalepenos etc. for toppings

    Tortilla Wraps

    Add the garlic, onion, sweet potato, beans, cumin and S&P to the slow cooker, cook on low for several hours or until sweet potato is soft enough to mash.

    Heat up a large flat frying pan or I personally use my electric pancake maker. It’s so easy to use. Place one tortilla wrap in the pan or pancake maker, sprinkle with cheese and add a few spoons of the cooked sweet potato mix.

    Mash the sweet potato and beans onto the tortilla, add grated cheese and another tortilla on top like a giant tortilla sandwich and leave to cook for a few minutes until the cheese has melted. Flip over for a quick browning on the other side.

    Serve and slice with a pizza cutter into quarters. Serve with salad.

    Almond Milk Recipe

    1 Comment

    If your after super easy homemade Almond milk check out this recipe video below. I’ve also given you a quick tour of my new Nutramilk nut milk machine, its pretty awesome and has saved us loads of money so far making our own dairy free milk and will continue to do so in the future.

    We are loving the machine so far, I would recommend checking the company out by clicking the Nutramilk link below.

    I’ve used my Nutramilk machine to make the almond milk and it comes with a hard back high quality cookbook containing around 200 recipes.

    https://nutramilk.co.uk/

    Click the image above to view the Almond Milk recipe video


    Natural Lip Scrub Recipe

    This is a super easy recipe for a natural homemade lip scrub that nourishes and soothes the lips especially in the colder weather. It’s particularly good for dry lips and is safe for the kids to use also.

    The ingredients are completely organic and natural and are even edible so you don’t need to worry about it accidentally being swallowed! It tastes good too!

    Check out the recipe video below for full details.