Valentines Treats Recipe

Hello There !

So with valentines day just around the corner , there love chocolate everywhere ! It's brilliant being in love and eating tonnes of chocolate on valentines day but It's important to remember to practise a little self love over this loved up season. One way to practise self love and increase your physical wellbeing is to make yourself some delicious valentines day treats that won't leave you feeling bloated and in desperate need of an intensive workout ! So here's how to make Cranberry FlapJacks .

Step One : Weigh out 125g of sunflower spread, 100g of soft dark sugar and 3/4 ( depending on how much of the syrup you ate off the spoon , I know you did ! )  table spoons of golden syrup, into a bowl .

Step Two : Boil some water in the kettle and fill about a third of a sauce pan with it and put in on the stove to heat with the bowl resting on top of the sauce pan .

Step Three : Stir until the sugar has melted and the mixture is smooth and golden brown

Step Four : Weigh out 250g of rolled oats and add them to the mixture about 2/3 table spoons at a time ,mixing them in as you go

Step Five : I could probably say weigh out some dried cranberries about now .. but if I'm honest I just threw them in until there was enough to suit my taste ! But if you want a measurement , about 3 tablespoons :)

Step Six : Grease a baking tray and the grease the inside of a heart shaped cookie cutter.

Step Seven : Place you cookie cutter on the baking tray and spoon in the flapjack mixture and once it's filled up , slowly lift up the cookie cutter and the flapjack mixture holds the shape !

Step Eight : Repeat this with the rest of the mixture

Step Nine : Place the baking tray in the oven at about 180 C for 15 minutes

Step Ten : Take out , leave to cool ( If you're more patient than me ) and enjoy !

 YOU deserve your love this valentine day so why not try this super yummy gluten and diary free flapjacks and maybe pack them up in a box and enjoy when on a self date ! You could even go on a lovely picnic with them . Alternatively , box them up with a bow and give them as gift to a loved one ! These are especially perfect for those who are diary intolerant and can't enjoy the usual chocolates :) For more easy and delicious, healthy alternatives this valentines day visit Nuts.com  for loads of great ideas !

What are your favourite healthy treats to make ? Let me know in the comments :)

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :) 

Lots of love, Marianne xxx

Popping Candy Apple Pops !

I absolutely LOVE bonfire night ! The fireworks, the pretty lights, that wonderful feeling of being with all your family and friends stood around a bonfire and ... Toffee Apples ! I've always loved eating toffee/chocolate apples but they're impossible to eat while looking in anyway dignified hehe . So when I saw the idea of making apple pops and making them into mini caramel apples on Pinterest I was beyond excited ! But I always hate the idea of working with hot caramel because it can be dangerous, it's easy to get burnt and I'm ( not to brag or anything ;) ) generally quite talented at being a safety hazard in the kitchen even without boiling hot sugar flying around everywhere hehe ! So I was thinking about how I could make these better and make them in a way that would be safe and fun to make with children ... Then it hit me ! I should mix all the yummy things in the world together , add it to the dignity retaining idea of bite size apple pieces and Bamm ! Chocolate, Popping Candy, Toffee Apples ! And that .... was something I HAD to share with you hehe :)

What You'll Need :

• Apples
• Toffee Sauce
• Popping Candy
• Chocolate
• Cake pop sticks
• Melon Baller

Step One : Use a melon baller to get a small ball of apple !

Step Two : dip the apple ball in toffee sauce

Step Three : Roll the apple in popping candy ( The toffee sauce will make it stick )

Step Four : Melt some chocolate in a bowl and dip a cake pop stick in it to make sure the apple stays on then put the apple on the cake pop stick .

Step Five : Cover the apple pop in the chocolate and then sprinkle with a little popping candy for decoration !

Leave to dry and voila ! The perfect fireside treat with your dignity fully in tack hehe :) I'd show you a picture of the ones I made but I sort of, ever so slightly.. ate them ... Umm sorry ;)

Have a great bonfire night and let me know in the comments what your favourite part of bonfire night is !

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :)

Lots of Love, Marianne xxx

Autumn Activities On A Budget !

I LOVE Autumn ! I'm a brunette so all burgundy, fall clothes look much better on me than the pastels of summer and I get to spend endless nights snuggled up, next to the fire drinking Hot Chocolate while cocooning in a duvet that I've dragged downstairs from my room. But the main thing I love about autumn is that because the cold weather makes us inclined to stay at home more, I get to spend a lot more time with my family. There are plenty of ways I have fun with my family and friends, and there are tools which can help you manage your money better going into the holidays which would be especially useful in the build up to Christmas !

The first thing that springs to mind when I think about family activities on a budget is something that my mum used to do for me and my sister when we were younger . My mum is a brilliant cook and she'd often help me and my sister bake yummy cupcakes or cookies together ( Okay, I did more licking out the bowl than cooking but that's not the point hehe ) and then we'd decorate them to fit the season. While we were decorating, she'd put together a little picnic which homemade jam sandwiches and other yummy treats that she'd lay out on a blanket next to the fire place where we'd sit and enjoy it whilst cuddling up and watching a Disney film ! So today I thought I'd share a cake pop recipe that is really easy to make with younger members of the family and great fun to decorate at this time of the year especially with little ones and I guarantee they'll love enjoying them with a movie and an indoor picnic.

Ghostly Cake Pops  !

All you need to do for the cake mixture is cream 125g of caster sugar with 125g of butter together in a bowl. Then break two eggs into a cup and whisk the with a fork until they're, as my mother would say, " Light and fluffy" ( no, I don't know how a liquid can be fluffy ... but her cakes taste great so we'll go with it hehe ). And the eggs to the sugar and butter mixture, whisking it in a little bit at a time. Now just sift in 125g of self raising flour, stir it all together ( The mixture tastes really good at this point... just saying ) and VOILA ! A Cake mixture, done in about 5/10 minutes ! Making your own cakes doesn't need to be expensive, I always use the cheapest supermarket versions of the ingredients and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference :)

To make them into cake pops I used my cake pop maker which I'll link to here . But you can by silicon cake pop moulds for a few pounds at supermarkets and they do the same job !

Now all you need to do is decorate them ! I was inspired by a cake pop design I saw on a magazine a few weeks ago to make my cake pops look like ghosts. This would be a brilliant design for a Halloween party and will definitely amuse the kids :)

 So that the icing will still to the cake pops, you need to dip them in melted chocolate first ( I again used a cheap supermarket brand chocolate because you can't tell ! ).  To melt the chocolate I filled a saucepan about one third of the way up with boiling water and then break the chocolate in pieces in a bowl that you can put over the saucepan and stir until it melts :) Now just dip the cake pop stick into the chocolate and then pop a few cake pops into the melted chocolate at a time to cover them before popping them on the cake pop sticks and leaving them in a glass .  Roll out some roll out white icing and cut circles from it . Pop the icing over the top of the cake pops and let them fall into the shape of the ghosts :) Now use an edible ink pen to have loads of fun drawing different scary faces over on the icing and it's as easy as that !You have your ghosts :)

They look brilliant and are great fun to make with your kids or little brothers and sisters . Baking with your family gives a great opportunity to have a catch up and find out all the stuff in there lives that you'd miss if you were all out doing different things ( that all probably cost the Earth ) and sometimes you just need to spend some time together reminding each other of how much family means !

All that's left to do now is set them up as part of a yummy family picnic with marshmallows, sandwiches, some cut up carrots with dips and of course your ghost cake pops ! Then just one of your favourite fall movies like Hotel Transylvania, Casper the Friendly Ghost or Hocus Pocus and you're all set to go :)

Enjoy  !

Let me know in the comments what you love to do in Autumn to have a great time on a budget and be sure to check out Personal Capital for some great advice and help handling your money :)

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :)

Lots of love, Marianne xxx

Recipe : Hot Chocolate !

Yesterday ( The 23rd September ) It officially became Autumn in England and I'm very VERY excited ! I love Autumn because I love all the colours and the clothing and the cuddling and most importantly, I can start preparing Christmas DIYs for my blog which I'm so eager to start doing ! So to celebrate the official start of the half of the year where you can snuggle up in bed with Sherlock on and drinking endless hot chocolates. I wanted to share with you my own recipe for the best hot chocolate ever ! But as we're nearing the end of the week and getting tired I thought we might need something stronger ... so I'm adding edible glitter !!!

Step One : Pop about four teaspoons of chocolate chips into a mug and add an extra one because... chocolate tastes nice ;) Then add about 5/6 mini marshmallows in and mix it all together !

Step Two : Refrain from eating the marshmallows and chocolate chips mixture you've just made .

Step Three : Repeat Step One because I know you ignored Step Two ;)

Step Four : fill your mug about a quarter of the way up with milk

Step Five : Microwave in for thirty seconds and then stir until the chocolate in melted into the milk. Then fill the rest of the mug up with milk .

Step Six : Microwave again for two minutes. To stop the milk from boiling over your mug and ruining your mothers microwave ( sorry mum ) I found that it's best to microwave it for thirty seconds, stir, another thirty seconds, stir and then one minute and stir again !

Step Seven : You don't really need to add edible glitter at this point but I got over excited about the sparkles and did but you can see how pretty it looks :)

Step Eight : Okay, this is the cool bit, you might be confused, think I'm going mad or both but honestly just try it ! Add some chocolate ice cream on top of your hot chocolate and then sprinkle some edible gold glitter on for extra magic . As you drink it the ice cream cools down the hot chocolate on the way into your mouth just enough to make it the perfect temperature and oh my gosh it tastes so SO good !!!

Let me know if you give this a try ! I promise you'll love it and it's great for treating yourself after a rough day or when you just have a craving for chocolate :) I hope you like it !

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :)

lots of love, Marianne xxx

Recipe : Lemon Drizzle Cake

I LOVE home-made cake ! My mum is amazing at baking so I've always been used to lots of yummy home-made goodies. I was shocked at how different it was, when I first tried shop bought lemon drizzle cake. It made me realise just how good my mums recipe is ! So I made her one to say thank you for all the ones she's made me and I thought I'd share the recipe with you so that could also enjoy a Lovely Lemon Drizzle Cake !

Ingredients : 

• 2 eggs 
• 4oz (110g) of caster sugar 
• 4oz (110g) of self raising flour
• 4oz (110g) of margarine 
• 1 table spoon of milk 
• 2-3 un-waxed lemons 
• A lil bit extra sugar for sprinkling 
• Annnddd another 2 table spoons of sugar for the lemon sugar syrup that makes it taste so yummy !  

 Other bits and bobs you'll need : 

• Mixing bowl 
• Two mugs 
• A spoon ( I'm not entirely sure if that counts as equitment ... but you need one haha ) 
• A loaf tin 
• A loaf tin liner ( If you don't have one don't worry! You can just grease the tin instead ) 
• A whisk 
• A fork 
• Zester/Grater

This should make one lemon drizzle loaf cake :) Before you start cooking pre-set your oven to 180 degrees... I mean you don't have to, I can't make you or anything .. it would just probably help haha :) 

Step One : Cream your sugar and margarine until the mixture has a white sheen to it. ( It is socially acceptable to eat the mixture as long as your hands are clean and nobody sees you ... I checked ;) )

 

Step Two : Carefully break both your eggs into a mug so that, if you accidentally get some shell in it then you've not ruined your mixture ! Then use your fork to whisk the eggs until they're light and fluffy .. at least that's what my mum used to say . I'm not entirely sure how an egg can be fluffy but I'll take her word for it !

 

Step Three : Add your egg and whisk it into the mixture a little bit at a time. By adding it bit by bit it avoids the mixture curdling . Although I was making this mixture with my boyfriend once and he somehow managed to curdle it before we'd even added egg ! But hey , at least no matter what you do to your mixture I can pretty much guarantee you wont do that because it's not technically possible .. unless you're him, clearly ;)

 

Step Four : Sift the self raising flour into the mixture and whisk until everything's combined ( It tastes really good at this point ) 

 

Step Five: Using the zesting side of a grater to zest two of your lemons and then add the zest to the car mixture and stir !

 

Step Six : Line or grease your loaf tin and spoon in the cake mixture ! Then pop it in your pre-heated oven.

 

Step Seven : Whist the cake is cooking, juice the lemons with a fork or a citrus juicer. Sift out the pips over a microwavable mug so you're left with only the juice in the mug :) Add two table spoons of caster sugar ( or to taste ) and microwave until the sugar dissolves into the lemon juice :) If it's too sour, add more sugar ! You can .. and probably should do this bit over the hob, It was just easier and quicker for me to use the microwave !

Step Eight : Take the cakes out of the oven when they're golden brown and springy to the touch. To check that they're cooked, poke a clean knife through the middle, if it comes out clean then the cakes done. If not then pop it back in the oven for another five minutes an check again !

Step Nine : When your cake is cooked, poke lots of holes in it with a fork whilst it's still warm an pour your hot lemon-sugar mixture over the cake ! Finish off with a sprinkling of sugar and VOILA ! Your very own lovely lemon drizzle cake ! Way better than the shops ;)

Did you know that lemons are technically classed as berries, not a fruit ! So are oranges and watermelons! You can tell that to all your friends when you invite them round for a slice of lemon drizzle cake ... or you know, just tell them on the phone while you eat the whole thing yourself ;) Whichever takes your fancy !

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :)

lots of love, Marianne xxx

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Recipe : Apple Pie

Hello !

One of my favourite foods has always been apple pie ! I mean who doesn't like that warm lovely-ness on a cosy evening in ? So I finally decided to get my mum to teach me how to make one myself seeing as she's far better at baking than I am ... along with most 5 years old kids ! But don't worry this recipe is super nice and easy even when it's made by me and it was edible , I checked ;) Actually It was pretty yummy :) It's even decorated with cute pastry stars !

Starry Apple Pie

What You'll Need :

• 12 oz / 340g Plain Flour 
• 6 oz / 170g  Butter 
• Caster Sugar to taste 
• 1lb and a half / 680g of apples ( It will be about 1lb once they'll peeled, cored and sliced ) 
• 1 egg yolk 
• Water 
• A lil bit of milk 

Step One : Peel, core and cut up your apples into thick slices . Then once you weigh them there should be around 1lb :)

Step Two : Pop them in a pan with some water and stir until they're soft. Different apples need different amounts of water depending on type and how ripe they are but just add a little bit at first and if the apples start to stick then add some more ! Once they're soft add caster sugar to taste . If you have too much mixture , you can freeze it and just used it another time .

Step Three : Put your apple filling to one side and get out a mixing bowl and some scales because now it's time to make the pastry ! First weigh out the flour and then sift it into a bowl .

Step Four : Next weigh out your butter, you might want to melt the butter in the microwave slightly for a few seconds to make it easier to do the next step ! 

Step Five : Rub the butter and sugar together between your fingers until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs :) Once you've done that add, a dessert spoon of sugar and mix it in .

Step Six : Crack your egg into a bowl or cup, then separate the white from the yolk by tipping the egg white into a different cup :) 

Step Seven : Put the egg yolk in the bowl with the mixture and add a small amount of water and mix it all together, keep adding water a lil bit at a time until the mixture forms a ball !

Step Eight : Sprinkle some flour over a clean surface and onto a rolling pin to stop the pastry from sticking the it :) Now roll out the pastry to about 5 mm thick . 

Step Nine : To get the pastry into the pie dish, hang the pastry dough over the rolling pin and use this to lay it over the dish. Then just gently press the pastry down to fit the dish, being careful not to rip it !

                   

Step Ten : Go round with a knife to trim of the edges on the pastry and fill up the bowl with the apple mixture, before dabbing a lil bit of water around the edge of the pastry :) 

Step Eleven : Use the left over pastry ( That you trimmed off the edge ) and cut out little stars and build them up around the edge of your pie, circling into the middle :) 

Step Twelve : Paint over the top of your pie with a lil bit of milk to give it a nice golden coating when it comes out the oven. 

Step Thirteen : Pop the apple pie into the oven at 180 degrees and cook until golden brown :) 

Step Fourteen : Enjoy ! 

If you make one I hope you enjoy it and let me know how it goes in the comments ! If not then let me know what your favourite comfort food is ? :) 

Check back on Thursday for a top ten pins post !

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley 

Love Marianne xxx