Rosemary Cheddar & Broccoli Scones

A lot of my earliest memories as a tot involve my mum taking me to cafes and letting me share her cheese scone :) It may sound silly but they're such comforting memories and even now when we galavant off for a girly shopping day, we'll head straight to John Lewis for a cheese scone and a cuppa before beginning any kind of retail therapy.

I've been feeling a little under the weather- January's chill has finally caught up with me, so I wanted to bake something homey, buttery and warm to cheer myself up. So with a little improvisation with the Broccoli, a lack of rolling pin and round cutter - I sort of improvised with dough squashing and heart shaped cutters! They tasted delicious regardless!

My scones came out a little flat - I had squashed them too much due to lack of rolling pin so I recommend rolling your dough out to 2cm thick!

What You'll Need //

220g self raising flour
50g salted butter
100g strong cheddar
20g brocolli heads
95ml milk
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 tbsp dried rosemary
pinch of cayenne pepper

What to do//

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C (fan) with baking tray inside.

Sift together the flour, cayenne pepper and baking powder. Mix together well.

Rub in cubes of butter with your fingers.

Tip in the grated cheddar, (leaving a little for topping) broccoli heads finely chopped and salt. Mix well.

Gradually pour in the milk (leave a little for topping), stirring with a wooden spoon until a soft dough is formed. 

Flour a surface and roll out the dough to 2cm thick (mine were too flat! So yours should be double the height of these). Cut into shapes of your choice and place on the hot baking tray.

Brush the tops with milk and sprinkle on cheddar and rosemary. Bake for 15-18 minutes.

Spread a thick layer of butter onto a halved scone and enjoy whilst still warm!

Have the loveliest weeks everyone. Hope you're all staying warm and cold-free! These will cheer you up on a rainy day :)

Betty x

Ps. Are we friends on Instagram? Pop over and say hi!

Baked Chorizo Scotch Eggs

Chorizo. Baked. Scotch. Eggs. I mean…as far as eggs go…these are pretty much the king of the eggs.

My mum is the queen of making homemade scotch eggs, always supplying a freshly baked batch when she has people over, along with her homemade sausage rolls (but that's an entirely different post - watch this space). They never fail to go down a storm, so I thought I'd give them a whirl and throw some chorizo into the equation because, well, chorizo!

Now these are slightly healthier than your average scotch egg as they are baked not fried and do not involve any extra oil. I enjoyed mine with a great big bowl of avocado salad and tzatziki for dipping :)

TIP: The Scotch egg fairy (my mum) advises to pre-make your sausage meat the day before to give it chance to cool in the fridge. I however forgot this step, cooled it in the fridge for 15 minutes, got bored of waiting and carried on making them. They still tasted scrummy, my mum's a wise owl though…so it's up to you really.


What You'll Need //

6 quality sausages!
6 eggs
half a red onion - finely chopped
chorizo (about the length of your thumb)
mugful of breadcrumbs
mugful flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried rosemary


What to do//

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (fan)

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and lower in 5 of your eggs. Boil for 5 minutes, remove and place in a bowl of cold water before peeling and leaving to one side.

Finely chop and lightly fry your red onion for 2-3 minutes. Leave in a mixing bowl to cool.

Push the sausage meat out of each sausage skin and dispose of the skins…nobody wants to look at those! Either by hand or in a food processor, mix the sausage meat with your onion, finely chopped chorizo, salt & pepper and rosemary.

Lightly roll your eggs in some flour. Make 5 flat round discs of sausage meat and wrap securely around each egg.

Now you need 3 stations. First a bowl of flour to dip each scotch egg into. Secondly- beat your final egg in a separate bowl and dip your scotch eggs in. Thirdly, a bowl full of breadcrumbs to roll & cover your eggs in.

Place on a gridded baking tray (I'm not sure of the technical name but one like this) and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. I advise using one with a grid as a lot of oil comes out of the sausage meat, so this will avoid your scotch eggs sitting in their own oil, (I made this mistake).

Enjoy your tasty treats! William was chief taster and was very impressed - his face resembled that of a Cheshire cat.

Happy baking!

Betty x

Ps. Are we friends on Instagram? Pop over and say hi!

BBQ Chicken Loaded Sweet Potatoes

A guilt free dinner crammed full of the tastiest flavours. A creamy avocado, crumbly feta, sweet BBQ chicken and wholesome sweet potato, what more could you ask for.

Me and William were having one of those lazy, hungover induced Sunday's, which I have to admit - happen once in a blue moon. The last thing I wanted to do was prise myself from the warmth of my duvet to make a Sunday roast….so I didn't.

Instead we walked the 10 steps to Sainsburys local to pick up ingredients - actually, I tell a lie - William did…I stayed indoors in my jammys…

These took about 45 mins to make (as I cheated and used the microwave). You're probably thinking I'm the worst girlfriend in the world, but in my defence William did then precede to sit and watch the football whilst I cooked so, I think I'm allowed to cut corners a little…non?

They were belly warming and delightful to say the least. I will be making these weekly me thinks.

What You'll Need //

For 2 People

2 Sweet Potatoes
2 Chicken Breasts
Big squidge of BBQ sauce
Red Onion
Salt & Pep
Avocado
Feta for crumbling


The proper way to do potatoes - stab your tattys with a sharp knife several times, rub the skin with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for an hour (ish depending on potato size)
Betty's cheat way to do potatoes - repeat the stabbing and rubbing of condiments, microwave for 10 minutes then finish off in the oven on 180 degrees C for 15 minutes.

Dice the chicken into small bits and finely chop your red onion. Pour a glug of olive oil into your saucepan and brown the onions for approximately 2 minutes on a medium heat before adding the chicken to cook through.

Squidge in the BBQ- as much as you want really, to cover the chicken and then a bit more so it's not too dry when it reduces. Stir and simmer for 5 mins.

Slice open your tattys and stuff in your BBQ chicken. Crumble some avocado & feta on top and away you go.

The only down side was I was super full so there was no room for desert :( … there was room for a few Quality Streets though…does that count as pudding?

For more scrummy comfort food check out my Roasted Butternut Squash & Goats Cheese Lasagne

What's you favourite guilt-free comfort food?

Betty x

5 Favourites // December Edition

Festive round up time - 5 favourite things which have made me beam this frosty December. I hope they make you happy too! Scout says Happy New Year everyone, woof x

Urban Outfitters Gifts

I found the majority of my girlfriends' gifts this year in Urban Outfitters. From selfie sticks to tortoise and elephant ring dishes, prosecco candles to funky jewellery. I was in my element in there! Must keep in mind for upcoming birthdays.

Lily Flame Candles
Boy oh boy, they smell good enough to eat. I used to be really bad with candles in that, I'd buy them and then never burn them. Does anyone else do that? I just didn't want them to end. I've been burning a Lily Flame Grapefruit scented candle for a whole year now! Only for special occasions :) But in my stocking this year Santa had bought me a Fairy Dust scented one…I don't think I'm going to be able to resist it. It smells incredible!
Image                                                                     







                                               

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes 

Holy guacamole. I can hand on heart say that this is the only book I've ever read which has nearly brought me to tears. Even when Dumbledore died I didn't cry (heart of stone) (apologies if I gave away the ending…but I'm sure you've all read that by now!) Anyway, I digress. This is such a beautifully written book, you become so attached to both hero and heroine and so need for them to be together. I won't spoil anything because if you read it you will understand.

It is the story of a man named Will who, after a motorcycle accident is left a Quadriplegic, and the life of Lou who is hired to care for him- or so she thinks. Until she realises the real reason his mother has hired her to be there…

I wish I could say more as to why you should read this, but it is just simply the most heartbreaking, incredible story. Get the Kleenex at the ready!

                                                              Paperback Link - Me Before You, Jojo Moyes

Kindle Link - Me Before You, Jojo Moyes 

Playing My Ukulele

I got given a ukulele by my lovely friends on my 20th birthday and it's taken my until now, (4 years later), for me to learn an entire song- living on a ship for a year with a lot of spare time helped! I've found it so satisfying teaching myself a new skill from scratch and I'd recommend it to everyone. If you're wanting to learn a new skill in the new years then a ukulele is quite simple to pick up. You can find them for pretty cheap if you want to road test one before trying the real deal. 

Homemade Winter Decorations          
Nothing beats making your home feel all cosy and festive especially when you've made the decs yourself. I'm a bit of an arts & crafts geek, yes- I need to get a life, but I really do find it quite therapeutic hand making things. Next year I want to make festive bunting :) Have a gander at my festive treats page to see what I made this year. 
Image

                                                                                                                              

I hope you all had the merriest nights celebrating last night and enjoyed your mocktails and cocktails :)

If you get a mo, take a look at last month's 5 Favourites // November Edition

What's been your favourite things this December?

Betty x