Hot Spiced Apple at Home

 Last year, I was totally hooked on the Costa Hot Spiced Apple drinks, and this year, I've been loving the new Starbucks Mulled Spiced Apple drink, which is becoming problematic (you know that emoji of the flying wads of cash? Yeah, that), so I decided to have a little kitchen experimentation to come up with my own.

Turns out these kind of drinks are SO easy to make! And you can swap out ingredients as you please, so you're almost guaranteed to find a version you like.

You need:-

An apple drink: Bog standard apple juice is what I've used here and it works a treat, but I like this even more with cloudy apple juice. If you fancy a little tipple, you can also use apple cider, but I'd recommend dumping in a few extra teaspoons of brown sugar, because otherwise it'll be quite bitter. I've also tried this with a fruity white wine before, and that was delicious too!

Sweetner: I like to use Agave Nectar, but honey works, and brown sugar gives it a really lovely taste. You only need a teaspoon or two depending on your personal taste, but it really pulls the drink together.

Spices: You'll definitely want cinnamon sticks and star anise. I also found some Mulled Wine Spice bags that are a bit like tea bags, which are totally delicious in this too. I've also added Vanilla Chai teabags and that was awesome as well!

Fresh fruit: Apples are the obvious choice here, but oranges work really well too for some reason! 

It's literally as simple as dumping everything in a pan and heating it on a medium heat for 10-15 minutes. I like to drop the Star Anise in close to the end otherwise I find it a bit too strong, but you can go off your personal taste!

I think I'm hooked!

Easy Gingerbread Chai Lattes

 I like a pumpkin spice latte as much as the next girl, but my real weakness is Chai lattes. Thick, creamy, spicy and topped with whipped cream, preferrably. This time of year a chai latte habit gets expensive, so I've found the most simple way to create delicious chai lattes at home (you knew it'd be simple because I'm not a good chef!).

The key to this drink is the Drink Me Spiced Chai Powder, which you can pick up for a couple of pounds in most supermarkets (I got mine in Tesco) or on Amazon. This stuff makes much nicer lattes than just a chai teabag does, and it's got the perfect balance of spices!

Now I'm allergic to dairy, so I use a dairy substitute, but I often make this for the boyfriend using normal semi skimmed cows milk and it works just fine. I usually make this for myself with almond milk, but I use soy milk when I want a decadant treat, something about soy milk makes it extra creamy!

You want to fill your chosen cup just over halfway with your chosen milk, and then pour that into a saucepan, and gently bring to the boil on a low heat. While that's simmering, boil the kettle, and add three teaspoons of Drink Me Chai to your mug. Pour the boiled water into the mug, up to just under halfway, and stir until all the powder has dissolved. Take two or three teaspoons of Gingerbread Syrup (I like this one from Monin, which again you can get on Amazon or in supermarkets) and stir that into the milk, before pouring the milk into the mug. Give it all a good stir!

Then top with whipped cream (fellow dairy-free friends, or vegan friends, I like the Soyatoo Spray Cream), and cinnamon powder! It's also good topped with caramel drizzle, chocolate shavings and marshmallows, take your pick!

Autumn perfection!

Monday Meals: Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

It's been a while since I posted a recipe, mostly because I've done approximately zilch cooking over the last few months. What with being back home and travelling, I've been out of the kitchen and mostly in, well, Giraffe actually. However, last week I had a real craving for soup and I figured it was the perfect time to share this recipe with you! Not very seasonal I know, but sometimes you just want a big old bowl of comfort food (especially when the Great British Summer has arrived and the rain is lashing down). 

If you've been reading my blog for a while you'll know that I'm not much of a whizz in the kitchen. I like easy meals that preferably have under five steps and involve minimal washing up! This is a bit of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants recipe, I don't do exact quantities, but this will make three good servings (or two if you're really hungry).

It's really simple! You want to chop up eight tomatoes and three red peppers (I used two red and one yellow this time because it was all I had!) into big chunks, and chuck them in a dish that can go in the oven. Drizzle in olive oil, and add a big old handful of fresh basil, a generous shake of thyme, and a few bay leaves. Roast in the oven for around thirty minutes at 200c, and give them a good shake halfway through. Remove from the oven, and add to the blender, making sure you remove the bay leaves first. Blitz the lot, and add a splash of apple cider vinegar, a generous squeeze of tomato puree, and about a half cup of water, or as little as you need to get a good consistency. And that's it!

I like to serve it with a drizzle of olive oil, a few fresh basil leaves, lots of cracked black pepper and sometimes a handful of fresh spinach too! The Boy likes to add a good shake of Tabasco too. It keeps in the fridge for around 3 days, and freezes really well too! 

Deliciously healthy, and oh so comforting. Best consumed on a squishy armchair with a cozy blanket and a good book.

Monday Meals: Easy Tabbouleh Salad

I know quinoa is all the range right now, but I've gotten really into Tabbouleh salads, I slightly prefer them over quinoa I think! 

I like to make up a tabbouleh salad at the beginning of the week, and keep it in the fridge to bulk out salads for lunch. It's super filling and it lasts well throughout the week, and it's super tasty. I don't get bored of it either which makes a nice change!

It's also SUPER easy to make, you know I'm no chef, and technically there's no cooking involved!

It's really simple, you just take a handful of Bulgar Wheat in a bowl, and cover it with boiling water. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to stand for thirty minutes. After that time, use a sieve to drain the bulgar wheat, and place it back in the bowl. Add a handful of chopped parsley, and a handful of chopped mint, some cherry tomatoes chopped up super small. Add a crushed clove of garlic, three teaspoons of olive oil, the juice of one lemon, and some chopped cucumber if you're a fan of that too! Give it a good mix, and you're done! 

Super easy to make, and it's really filling!

Monday Meals: One Pot Turkey Chilli Cheese Mac

So, shall we talk about food?

I like cooking, but I don't have time to cook. I try to eat healthy, but I love junk food. I love fancy food, but I'm really freaking lazy.

You can see the issue here, right?

So I've kind of come up with a ton of meals that are easy to cook, tasty, not too bad for you, and that I make in bulk and freeze, or have for lunch later in the week too. 

Enter stage left, the One Pot Turkey Chilli Cheese Mac. Not the catchiest name I know, but it sums it up quite perfectly. It combines three of my favourite loves, Chilli, pasta and cheese. Good stuff.

The real appeal of this is that it can all be cooked in one pot (as the name would suggests) which means less washing up. Bonus.

There's no specific recipe for this, it's kind of a fly by the seat of your pants sorta dish (NEVER understood that phrase), which is a good thing, cause it means you can kind of add whatever you like/fancy/have in the house!

Essentially you need a GIANT pan, and start by frying off onions and mince, I like to use turkey for this recipe since it's lower in fat and somewhat healthier, but you can use beef or lamb too. Once all the meat is cooked, you want to add a BUNCH of liquid, because you're gonna cook the pasta in it. I generally like to use one tin of chopped tomatoes, one box of passata, a good old glug of red wine, and about 300ml of beef stock. Add in herbs & spices as you like, I normally use basil, oregano, cumin, coriander and hot chilli powder. At this point I like to add a random assortment of sauces too, usually barbecue, chipotle hot sauce and some worcester sauce too. Then add your fresh chilli peppers to taste, I like mine spicy so I add two or three whole chillis!

At this point you should have a TON of liquid! Then you want to add in your beans of choice (I love butter beans in this but kidney beans work well too) and pasta. I've tried this with normal pasta, wholewheat pasta and gluten free pasta, and it all works really well. I do generally make it with gluten free cause I find it less bloating, but it's totally personal preference!

Then all you do is give it a good stir, and leave it to simmer on a medium heat for around thirty minutes if you like it slightly al dente, or 40 if you prefer soft pasta! 

At this point all that is left to do is add a BUTTLOAD of cheese to cover it, and I like to add some fresh Coriander too! And serve!

This keeps really well in the fridge and freezes well, it's incredibly filling and it's tasty too!