Breakfast Granola | Recipe

Hello,
It's exam season at the moment, which means everyone I know and I are completely snowed under with revision. There aren't many things more depressing than cutting a lovely pub trip short because you know you've got to be up at 7 if you have any hope of getting a space in the library!

So because of this I've become a little bit obsessed with breakfast recently. It started with an unnatural addiction to cereal and then quickly progressed into a need to make my own granola. I looked up loads of recipes online but loads included honey (yuck), weird nectar substances or a thousand different types of nuts.

 I decided this was all too much. I made up my own granola recipe and it was so delicious that I've since worked my way through two big batches of it. Thought I'd share the recipe because it was just too good to keep to myself.

So first, I put 125g of butter and 100g of brown sugar in a pan. I melted them together until I had a nice caramel-y syrup.
Then I took that off the heat and stirred in about 250g of porridge oats, give or take a few handfuls
Once all the porridge oats were coated in the syrup mixture I added a few decent handfuls of raisins. You can add as many or few as you liked but I added quite a lot because I love them!
I also stirred in a few mixed, dried fruits and nuts. I bought them in a pack that said "breakfast mix" on it but really you can add whatever you like (I bet dried apricots would be really nice!)
Then I smushed all the porridge mix into a oven dish, I pressed it down quite hard so that the oats would bind together.
I put the dish in the oven at 200 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, every 5 minutes or so I stirred the mix around in the dish so that the oats at the bottom would get the same amount of bake as the ones at the top.
And there you go, wait for it to cool, pour some milk over and enjoy!

Cup of tea is mandatory.

This granola is so, so delicious! It fills you up for the whole morning because of the porridge oats and the dried fruit makes it super tasty. As well as this I think it's really cheap, much cheaper than buying boxed granola. I really don't think this cost me more than £3 to make and it lasted ages.

Give it a go, tell me if you like it. Or do you have a different recipe? Let me know and I can add it to my cereal obsession!
See you soon, Maisie x

Quote Me On It #9

If you like this, there's more on my Pinterest board...

Really cheap, really easy, really delicious!

Heyyyya,

Got a candle in the background - am I fashion blogger yet?

No the title isn't referring to whatever you think it is...just wanted to write a super quick post about a lovely dinner I made myself the other day. I'm definitely no Delia but I am a student who lives in a very cold house so I like food to be easy and warm and most importantly CHEEEAP

So it doesn't look like much but this dinner was delicious!

Firstly I chopped up a big potato in little chunks. Then I chucked them into a pan of boiling water with some frozen sweetcorn and boiled them until they were cooked all the way through. Then when they were done I put them in a frying pan with olive oil, paprika, mild chilli powder, mixed herbs, piri piri oil and fried until the potatoes were a bit crunchier.

After that I tipped a tin of tuna in and fried that all up a bit more and there you go!

Might not look that pretty but tastes nom nom nom

This meal literally took me about 15 minutes to cook and it was lovely and filling! Basically like a big chopped up baked potato but even better! The photos aren't that flattering but trust me it was delicious!

Have fuuuun

Thrifty Butternut | Recipe

Hellllo,

Normally when I go food shopping I'm really good! I am an obsessive list writer so writing a shopping list and sticking it suits me down to the bone! However, about a week ago I went to Asda and was ambushed by a butternut squash. I'm not sure what came over me, I had never cooked one before, I didn't know what to do with it and it sat sadly in my cupboard for a week. (This is literally as exciting as my life gets...sorry)

Anyway, today I decided enough was enough and I cooked the damn thing! I roasted half of it and made the other half in to curry and they're both absolutely delicious and considering the squash only cost me 95p it's a pretty cheap week's worth of dinners.

Here's my recipe for roast butternut squash:

First thing first, chop the bloody thing in half! This was really difficult for someone with no upper body strength (e.g me) so use a big knife! Scoop out all the seeds and keep them

Chop your squash into decent sized chunks and then lay them in a dish. Try to only lay them in one layer so that they all cook the same.

In a little bowl mix together some chilli flakes, cinnamon, mixed herbs, salt and pepper. If you've got a pestle and mortar now's the time to use it. I didn't have one so I used the back of a big spoon to smash them a little bit

Add some olive oil to form a herby paste. I also added a squeeze or tomato puree and some garlic puree (if you can't get hold of puree then it might be nice to put some whole garlic cloves in so that they roast with the butternut squash)

Smear this paste all over your squash making sure every chunk has some on it. Also, sprinkle some of the seeds you scooped out earlier over the top. 

Wrap the squash tightly in tin foil and bake at 180 until the skin becomes soft (this took about 40 minutes for me because my oven is rubbish but it could take as little as 20 mins). Once it's soft take the tin foil off and bake for another 10 mins.

There you go then! It's a little bit spicey so if you're not a fan of the heat you might want to use less chilli. I'm going to have mine for dinner tonight with some noodles and a bit of soy sauce! I also made a curry out of the squash but I haven't tried it yet. If it's nice I'll stick the recipe up here

Let me know if you make this yourself...let me know if you like it! 

Where I've Been | European Adventure | Part Three - Berlin

Heyaaa,
So I've recently moved back to Norwich and settled into a new student house like a proper grown up, it means my blogs been a little neglected for the last week or so and my posts are in a bit of a mish-mash order (damn scheduling!) Anyway there will be posts on my new house soon! But first I wanted to finish my European Adventure photo diary before I venture into new ground...so here we go!

The last place we went was Berlin and it was easily my favourite place. Granted the people were not quite as friendly as the wonderful Dutch people we met but the food was incredible, it was fantastically cheap and, as a history student, I couldn't get over the sheer amount of history that surrounds the place! Definitely recommend it if you're planning a trip on a budget...

So I guess that means all the summer fun is over, back to Uni, back to work! Pah, who am I kidding? It's Freshers weeeeeeek - next post will have been written on a horrendous hangover!

Bakewell Slice | Recipe

Heyaaa,

The other day my mum bet me that I couldn't make a Bakewell Slice, so the next day I did. I now realise that this was probably some kind of trick, she knows I can't resist a bet and wanted Bakewell Slice. Damn my competitive attitude!! Anyway I forgot to take any photos of the actual process but here's the recipe so I'm sure you can work it out for yourself!

Happy Baking!

For the pastry
Mix 300g of plain flour with 125g of cold unsalted butter and 30g of caster sugar until you get a fine breadcrumb texture (you can do this in the blender or by hand whichever is easiest for you)
Add one egg and mix until you get a rough pastry. If this is too dry add a drop of milk.
Wrap the pastry in cling film and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, take the pastry out of the fridge and line a square tin with it. Then chill in the fridge for another 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200c/Gas Mark 6
Line the pastry case with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans or lentils or anything else that will weigh down the pastry case whilst you bake it. Bake until the pastry is a light golden colour, this should take about 15 minutes.
Take the pastry out of the oven, remove the baking beans and paper, brush over with a beaten egg or milk and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes.

For the filling
Beat together 225g of butter and 225g of caster sugar until they are light and fluffy.
Add 225g of ground almonds (I actually used 150g because I read my recipe wrong so you can change this depending on how almondy you want your slice) and 3 eggs. Make sure you fully beat in each egg after you add it.
To this, add the zest of one lemon and 50g of plain flour.

To assemble
Spread a good helping of raspberry jam over the pastry case (you'll want nearly a whole jar, I put in just over half a jar and it definitely needed more!)
Spread the almondy mixture over the top of the jam and sprinkle some flaked almonds over the top
Bake at 180c for around 20 minutes, until the mixture is golden and set
Allow the tarts to cool in the tin, then cut into squares and have with a cup of tea! Yum Yum!

Grey Day Flapjacks | Recipe

Heyaaa,

Today was a pretty grey, rainy day. I'm really missing the sunshine, I regret moaning about it. I thought I'd do a little bit of baking just to cheer myself up. I decided to make flapjacks because I'd never made them properly before...but I loooove eating them.

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I really do Heart Holi!

Paint splattered Tatty Devine...

Hulllllo,
Last night I was lucky enough to go to Tatty Devine's 'I Heart Holi' party! I applied for the free tickets online and I really wasn't sure what to expect - I lucked out and had a really great time!

Me and my friend Jennie after the paint...

The party was to celebrate Holi also known as the 'festival of colours' which is a Hindu festival which celebrates (among many other things) the beginning of spring. The night started with everyone wearing white in a huge white room in I Heart Studios in Bermondsey. I had opted for a very cheap £5 dress from Primark which I saw at least a dozen other people wearing that night (obviously someone had sent out a memo!). When we were queueing outside in the freezing cold I suddenly got worried that maybe this was a wasted journey and it wasn't going to any good but as soon as I walked in I knew we were going to have a brilliant night! We were greeted with complimentary cocktails provided by Midori, a melon flavoured liqueur. I of course tried all 3 cocktails on offer and my favourite was the rainbow one, pretty and tasty! I didn't think they were that alcoholic but my squiffy head this morning begs to differ...

Rainbow cocktail

Midori cocktails

There was also make overs provided by Llamasqua, nail art from Nancy Mc, an Iheart photobooth and loads of Tatty Devine give aways so all sorts of lovely stuff! Considering the event was free I was totally gobsmacked by the amount going on!
Halfway through the night came the really fun part! It's a tradition at Holi do throw coloured powder paint at eachother. Paper bags of powder were passed around and mayhem broke out! It was totally beautiful with bright colours everywhere. Everyone's white dresses were now a big mix of pink, greens, blues and oranges! Although it was safe to say I was left wishing I hadn't worn my glasses because I couldn't see a thing...

Colourful flowers

Delicious rice - seriously couldn't get enough of this stuff

Looking a bit more colourful after the paint...still with a cocktail in hand

22 days to go | Chocolates

In winter it gets cold (that's an actual fact that is). So I have taken a leaf out of the seal's and walrus' book and decide to invest in an extra layer of blubber - no need to buy a winter coat yay! 

Maybe not a diet plan that's going to catch on? Ok but we all need a little indulgence around Christmas time be it splashing out on a big, fancy selection box or rootling your hand around in the last of the Quality Street (*please not Strawberry Cream, please not Strawberry Cream*)

I've gone for a mix of chocolate styles today ranging from the all together fabulous but a little pricier Hotel Chocolat chocolate wreath (probably not advised to hang this on your front door - although it might make your carol singers very happy) to the cheap and cheerful Cadbury's Santa! Christmas is just not Christmas without an abundance of cheap chocolate you shove in your gob! As an all round mince pie hater (I know, shock horror) I absolutely love the idea of Hotel Chocolat's alternative mince pie and it's at the cheaper end of their price range which is great! And who doesn't love a classic Lindt golden reindeer perching on their mantlepiece!?

So what are your favourite Christmas time snacks? Sweet or Savoury? 

L-R: The Festive Wreath, Hotel Chocolat. Ronnie Reindeer, Thorntons. Chocolate Coins, Divine. Alternative Mince Pies, Hotel Chocolat. Gold Reindeer, Lindt. Angel Lolly, Chocolate Trading Company. Chocolate House, Betty's. Chocolate Santa, Cadburys