Vanilla Cupcakes with Nutella buttercream

Oh these were divine!!!
I made them for Mollys pre-school fundraiser - they were a mixture of my award winning cupcake recipe courtesy of Mary Berry that I found on the Mother and Baby website
 ( still very excited to have won and still people stop me in the street to say they have seen me in the paper!) and the Nutella icing was from one of my favourite blogs Holly Bell - Recipes from a normal mum

I am getting much better at piping! I love it! Helps if you have a big nozzle I have found.....

Meal Planning Monday - 15th February 2016

Hello!

Another successful meal planning week! I have signed up for the free month delivery saver from Tesco and I love it - I try to be ahead of myself and plan meals but I am normally sat on a Friday Night only just deciding to do an online shop and the delivery charges can be £6 for next day ( which is always when I need it !) for me that is a lot so this saver is great as you only pay a monthly fee and with the option I have chosen you can order anytime and its free. Love it!! I will continue with it after my free trial as shopping with these 2 monkeys is still annoying!

Back to meals! Last week the Smoked haddock and mushroom pie was my favourite and I forgot to do the Piri Piri prawns so make sneak these in at the weekend. As it was valentines weekend we ate a lot so trying to do a healthy one this week and all my recipes are from this months Weight Watchers magazine.

Monday - Chestnut mushroom and chickpea curry.

Tuesday - Baked Cod with a red pesto crush, New potatoes and green beans

Wednesday - Roasted Mushroom Pasta

Thursday - Ginger Salmon with spicy dhal

Friday - Sausage and lentil braise.

Its making me hungry already....

February Foodie Penpals

This month my parcel came from Lithuania! I love getting any food parcels but it is always exciting to get one from a country I am not really familiar with.
My Pen Pal Greta sent these lovely things .....

There were some lovely items - there wasn't anything that I didn't really like....

 Aha - No not the Norweigian pop band! When I first opened these I expected them to be cheesy like our version of Wotsits but they aren't they are a sweet version of Wotsits - The children love them!

 I love that Greta has sent a cake mix what a clever idea! I might send one in my next foodie box! - I haven't made this yet but really looking forward to having a go.

Some lovely sachets of herbs that Greta says are lovely for soups and some fruit bars which were delicious a bit fudgy but have no idea what were in them!

I thought the children would like these as they are rice cakes and they love them normally but neither were keen - they had a yoghurt coating on in fruit flavours I liked them so I have eaten them... all!

These 2 packets were the best of the parcel - the yellow ones look like shreddies but tasted like custard creams - they vanished in hours! The Karuna were some lovely squidgy chocolates and also vanished fast.

Finally some cheese! I haven't had cheese in a parcel before and this was a lovely treat - tasted a bit like a very creamy version of parmesan if that makes sense!

Overall one of the best food parcels I have had yet! But I say that every time!! Next months parcel is coming from Germany! Can't wait!
If you would like to join have a look HERE

Meal Planning Monday - 8 Feb 2016

Ooops I seemed to have missed a week of meal planning - Last week just seemed to have run away with me! I can't even remember what we had to eat! So today is the start of a new week ... Its an exciting foodie week - Chinese New Year , Pancake day and I have my Monthly baking club which this month is all about Chinese New Year so lots of eating this week! Oh and top of that I have promised to bake some cakes for Molly's pre school on Thursday.... And if  I can will sneak in some brownies for my sewing group on wednesday...! Think I need a lie down just thinking about it all!
So here is this weeks Meal Plan

Monday - CHINESE NEW YEAR!  I'm going to cheat and get a meal deal from a supermarket!

Tuesday - SHROVE TUESDAY! - Stir Fry (bought all the bits for this before I realised it was Chinese new year!) Pancakes for pudding!

Wednesday - Smoked Haddock and Mushroom Pie - from Nigel Slater

Thursday - Baking club for me and we always eat lots so I shall go there hungry and nibble all the yummy bits all evening!

Friday - Jacket potatos - Sweet jacket potatos with Piri Piri prawns


Hopefully this is what is happening this week with some yummy cakes and bakes thrown in as well.
I have joined up with At Home with Mrs M - if you would like to have a nose as to what everyone else is making this week then have a look HERE