Hi my name is Aimi and I have a pie caption addiction

It started harmlessly enough, the kids letter cutters were out on the side, there was pastry left over, it just sort of happen. 

But once just wasn't enough. 

My pie caption addiction is out of control. I sometimes only make pie because I have a caption in mind and captions have now turned into pie puns.

It's getting worse every time. 

And my next pie caption is already lined up.......Live and let pie!

Baked mini cinnamon doughnuts

These doughnuts are sooooooo tasty, you'll want just one more. 

Finding a good baked doughnuts recipe has taken me ages.

My first attempts I made in muffin tins ( nicknamed muffnuts ) although tasty these were quite big, in a lightbulb moment I wondered how they would turn out in my cake pop mould. 

Being very impatient I tried to remove my first batch without letting them cool properly and I was left with twice as many half moon doughnuts, undeterered my second batch I left to cool for about 30 minutes in the mould and they all popped out perfectly.  

70g Butter

200g Caster Sugar

1 Egg

200g Plain Flour

1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

125ml Milk

100g Sugar

1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon (for coating)

I'm a massive fan of Mary Berry's all in recipes. So I put everything in the mixer and beat it for a few minutes until I'm happy with the consistency (doughnut mixture should be a little thicker than a cake mix).

Melt some butter (I do a small amount in a cup in the microwave) and using a pastry brush coat your cake pop mould on both sides. Be generous, you don't want them getting stuck. 

Fill half the mould with your mixture, pop the top of your mould on and bake in the oven on a baking tray at 190 for 20 minutes. Then leave to cool in the mould for a further 30 minutes.

Once out of the moulds. Melt some butter in a bowl. Mix your sugar and cinnamon in another bowl. Then you coat your doughnuts in butter, then coat straight away in the sugar mixture. 

Then the waiting is over and the eating can begin. 

If your not a fan of cinnamon, simply leave it out of the mixture and you could dip half your doughnut in melted chocolate. Equally scrummy. 

Summer health kick with our smoothie maker.

So I bit the bullet and bought a Nutribullet.

Buying smoothies at almost £3 a pop when fruit and veg is so cheep in the supermarkets is just not cost effective, and if you can shop clever you can really get the most out of your pennies. I picked up a pineapple in aldi for 69p. Chopped it into chunks and chucked it in the freezer. I can just add a few chunks to my smoothies for weeks, without any waste. I have done the same with strawberries and blueberries. 

I started today with a delicious breakfast smoothie.

Porridge oats

Strawberries

Blueberries

Natural yogurt

Almonds

Milk

A quick blitz (and the nutribullet is very quick) and it's done. The porridge oats make it really filling and it is soooooo tasty.

We did get a few smoothie recipe books, but to be honest you soon get the hang of which fruits and veg work well together and what works for you. My husband and I really love the green smoothies, we normally use. 

Spinach

White cabbage

Carrots

Green apple

Green grapes 

Banana 

Top up with water

This is really refreshing and you can feel smug all day long as it's got so much good stuff in it.

Really loving my Nutribullet and use it every day and as someone who spends most of my free time baking cakes and biscuits it's lovely to have a kitchen gadget that you know is super healthy and I can know eat my cake guilt free. 

summer Holidays in the Sun

So with the  holidays approaching and having booked 2 weeks off work I am very much looking forward to spending some quality time with the kids and with the gorgeous weather set to continue I am hoping to be able to enjoy the holidays on the cheap ( who would book their holiday a week before pay day).

Lots of paddling pool, picnics, days at the beach and anything else that's fun in the Sun. it feels like years since being able to enjoy the holidays in the sun without a long list of rainy day activities. So I want to know what your top tips for perfect picnic food is and what your most looking forward to in the holidays?

Luvli moshi monster birthday cake

This years birthday cake task was a moshi monster cake.

Was actually not as hard as I thought, I buy my coloured icing ready made so I made my cake and frosting as normal, then I simply drew an outline of luvli's shape then added the features so all I needed to do was use the paper as a pattern and cut out the icing and cut away the excess cake.

It took around an hour to decorate and she loved it, she didn't want to eat it it was so pretty.

Veggie Burgers

One of our family favourites is meat(less)balls in goulash, it takes an age to make so I only ever do it for special occasions, however whilst doing the meal plan for the week I realised that we had about 5 bags of veggie mince in the freezer and being the week before pay day I was going to have to be inventive with mince for the week.

I decided to try burgers, I did them mostly the same as the meatballs, mixed a bag of mince, 4 slices of bread made into breadcrumbs, half a large onion finely chopped and a clove of garlic. Because vege mince doesn't have a natural stickiness like meat I add a good splash of hot water and an egg. Now simply shape your burgers cover in flour then seal in a hot frying pan till they are a nice golden brown colour. Pop in the oven on about 200 for an hour (cover with foil so they don't burn, just so they are cooked through).

They taste lovely, especially with melted cheese on top.

I have read a recipe in a Linda McCartney cook book for meatless meatloaf and think I might try these burgers in a meatloaf shape then wrap pastry round a bit like a beef Wellington. If I try this out will post results or if anyone else fancy' s having a go let me know what it was like.

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Horse meat scandal from a Vegetarian's point of view

So it would appear this horse meat thing isn't going away any time soon and I have to say from a vegetarians point of view I have mixed feelings.

On the one hand meat is meat. I made a decision 18 years ago that I didn't want to eat meat, for me I don't separate a cow from a horse or a dog from a lamb, they are all beautiful animals that I wouldn't want on my plate, and to hear carnivores complaining that eating horse turns there stomach but a cow would be perfectly delicious from the outside looking in is quite bizarre.

However my second view ( which I think is what most people are feeling) is that it's not the horse meat but the fact that we have been lied to, I religiously stand and read ingredients labels, I check everything for the vegetarian symbol, and if I find out that what was in my food was not what I had been told I would be furious too. I don't buy ready meals but I do buy meat substitute products and have to put my trust in the manufactures that these are being produced under strict regulations. So although the horse meat scandal doesn't effect me directly I share with everyone else a feeling of distrust with supermarkets and food manufacturers.

I suppose the real question is will this change are shopping habits or will we all forgive and forget?