Betty's Bakewell Tart

Everyone in the world needs a Betty. If you could bottle her spirit it would be the best tonic in the world! I'm talking about my friend Betty Wilson. When trying to think of how to describe what she does I'm at a loss to find the words. Yes, she used to do tarot readings, yes, she speaks with spirit and yes over the years of her life she has helped many people dead and alive but to me she is so much more than a clairvoyant, medium or psychic. She has been a rock, a guide and a guardian angel! My life has had many ups and downs and I've often felt very different to everyone I meet, that was up untiI I met Betty. She gave me a reading years ago and it was full of lovely things that were coming my way, low and behold it all turned out to be true. I'm happily married now with 3 children and 2 step-children. Thanks to the wisdom, guidance and a general shoulder to cry on that Betty offered over the last few years, I truly believe I have grown more as a person than I had in my life before she was in it. I do things now, that I wouldn't have dared or even imagined I could do, all because she tells me I can. She has been such a rock to me and never asks anything in return, as all she tells me is she gets all the happiness from seeing how I grow. The one thing she loves is a bakewell tart and I promised her I would make her one, it's the least I can do. She is a true friend, a real life angel and my guiding star so Betty's tart is my tribute to her.

For the pastry:

200g plain flour

100g unsalted cold cubed butter

100g icing sugar

30ml milk

Place all the ingredients in a bowl.

Run your hands under the cold tap for a minute as this helps with the rubbing process.

When you have dried your hands rub the butter into the flour until there are no lumps left and the mixture resembles crumbs.

At this point pour in the milk and stir with a blunt knife for roughly a couple of minutes until the dough forms a ball.

Knead the dough on a floured surface and make a smooth ball.

Clingfilm and pop into the freezer while you make the filling.

For the filling:

100g unsalted softened butter

100g sugar

100g ground almonds

Tsp almond essence

2 egg yolk

2 tbsp jam mixed until runny

Flaked almonds to top.

Beat the butter until it is soft and add the sugar.

Mix until fluffy and add the ground almonds, almond essence and egg yolks and combine.

Roll out your firm pastry ball until nice and thin.            

                                       

Carefully draping the pastry over your rolling pin place your dish underneath and trim the edges.

Spread your runny jam over the base.

Spoon in your filling and spread evenly and preheat the oven to 200.

As I had enough pastry left I rolled a long rectangle and cut out some lengths to make a lattice topping for the tart. Before assembling the top sprinkle on the flaked almonds.

Bake for 15 minutes at 200 then turn the oven down to 150 for a further 10-15 minutes.

Dust with icing sugar, serve with a fresh cup of coffee and say a little thank you to Betty Wilson for this fine treat!

Cheap Chicken Fajitas

We love a Mexican night in our house. It certainly helps with the decision of what to have for tea. As with my Banging Bargain Burritos, I wanted to show you with the same few spices you can make the fajitas without buying the kits. Don't forget to buy the wraps from the bread aisle, not the section near the Mexican food kits they do cost more. These are so tasty and can be altered to almost anybody's liking. Like B.B.Q fajitas? Use half B.B.Q sauce and half passata. Like them hot? Throw in some jalapenos or up the heat of the chilli powder. Play around with food and make it your own, experiment with flavours and involve the family. Have a themed night each week to help with tea ideas, we tried Mexican Monday, Meat free Wednesday and Fish Friday!

For the fajitas:

3 chicken fillets cut into strips

3 peppers sliced

2 red onions sliced

300ml passata 

3 tsp cumin

3 tsp garlic powder

3 tsp paprika

3 tsp mild chilli powder

Tbsp oil

Wraps

After you cut the chicken shake all the spices onto the meat to marinate for 30 minutes or more covered in the fridge.

In a frying pan with the oil fry off the chicken for 15 minutes.

Add the peppers, onions and passata and cook for a further 15 minutes until the sauce reduces.

Spoon the mixture into a warm serving dish and take to the table with the wraps, salad and trimmings for everyone to make their own.

Summer Survival Tips

As parents stock up on headache tablets, sugary bribes and copious amounts of alcohol, this can only mean one thing, it’s the summer holidays. I know this strikes the fear of dread into a lot of parents, as they wonder how they can possibly keep their children entertained without going bankrupt and keeping their sanity at the same time. It’s not impossible to do with a little imagination and a bit of effort….and some wine. Just remember to keep to a budget of what you can afford, don’t be spending money you haven’t got on days out that cost a fortune, just because you know that everybody else will be taking their children. Watch out for offers and coupons for money off family days out. The main thing is don't be afraid to let them get bored, in fact I encourage it, it’s when they are bored that they will show how creative they can be. Sticks become guns, daisies become chains and that blanket becomes a fort. Stretch things out as much as you can. I refer back to my Easter Holiday post How to Fill Three Days With One Picnic

Have a family sleepover one night in the living room, build a den and enjoy some old movies together, the children will love it and most likely remember it forever. Enjoy a 'no media day' where you and the family are forced to actually interact! Interview each other, you might find out a few things you didn't already know about one another. It could also come in handy for present buying in the future. Set a loose plot line and characters for a story and give everyone a part to write. Either the beginning, middle or ending and at the end of the day read it together and see who has the wackiest imagination.  Tune in to BBC TEES breakfast show with Neil Green and Amy Oakden for more tips on how to have fun with your family for free, or very cheap...It doesn’t cost money to create memories.

How to deliver a cheap and tasty meal

Another tasty, cheap and filling recipe courtesy of my lovely dad, you will be famous soon dad! He's always told me how he fancies a plate full of liver and onions-the very thought always made me want to be sick-but as he's been such a great dad, I put my queasiness aside for a day and made him the treat he's been wanting. I read that if you were to get liver to avoid pigs liver as it could be quite bitter, I have since realised this is all just personal preference. Pigs liver is cheaper and if you don't like the taste if you soak it in milk for 30 minutes it's supposed to combat the bitterness. I used lambs liver, it cost £1.34 and there was enough for two big plates full. As well as being cheap, it's actually quite good for you, it contains a large amount of high-quality protein, an easily absorbed form of iron and all of the B vitamins-including B12 and folic acid in significant amounts. I have to say I didn't like it myself however, the gravy was delicious and my dad said it was the best he had tasted so that's good enough for me!

Lambs liver

Onion sliced

2 rashers streaky bacon

300ml beef stock

Tbsp flour

Worcester sauce

Tbsp tomato ketchup

Tbsp oil

 In a frying pan on a medium-high heat with the oil, fry the onions and chopped bacon until the onions are soft and the bacon is crispy.

Slice the liver into cm thick strips and fry for 2-4 minutes until cooked and remove from the pan and keep warm while you make your gravy.

  Add the flour to the onions and bacon and stir, gradually add the beef stock stirring constantly so you don't get lumps until it's all added. You may need to keep adding more water depending on how thick you like your gravy. Add a dash of Worcester sauce and the ketcup and stir in. Return the liver to the pan and let bubble away for a couple of minutes.

Serve on its own or with a pile of mashed potatoes and peas. Enjoy!

Life isn't perfect

As I was sitting on the sofa, browsing Facebook admittedly, Chase decided to run in with the pastry brush and a cupcake case shouting "mixy mixy mummy!" This in no uncertain terms means he wants to make a mess in my kitchen, how could I refuse? I thought I would kill two birds with one stone (I do wonder where this expression came from? Which psycho is going around killing birds with stones?) and looked for a simple recipe that I could share with you all afterwards. That's when I thought of those lovely, soft, melt in your mouth biscuits Viennese fingers. They only use five ingredients that most cupboards contain. Oh how I wish I had seen the carnage that was about to follow the crumbs, chocolate everywhere and a rather pathetic batch of failed fingers!

I won't be posting the recipe as it was rubbish, well maybe the recipe wasn't rubbish, it was probably something I did, but the fact is we all mess up sometimes and that's okay. It's even more okay to tell people that you did. In this day and age where everything on-line is portrayed to be perfect, I think it's refreshing to show the not so perfect side of things too. Maybe if we all posted a few of our mistakes, or not so flattering pictures, or shared how life was not as great as it looks to everyone, then the younger generation will learn that you don't have to be a supermodel, or own the most expensive things or indeed be happy all the time. There are days it's okay to look like you just got up all day, or walk around in old trainers or have a good cry, after all everybody does it. They just don't show you. I proudly share with you my mistake today and yes I failed at creating anything but crumbs, me and my son had a lovely morning together, we still ate them and they tasted lovely and I thought I would drink my tea out of the Christmas mug to prove life doesn't have to be perfect!

Cool to be kind

It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. That’s one of my favourite quotes and how true it is. In a world where popularity is regarded as the be all and end all, the amount of likes you get determines your worth and having a massive amount of ‘friends’ on the internet makes you appear to be the coolest cat around. I quite clearly, am obviously not the coolest cat around, for having just used that phrase. How do we stop our children from believing this is how we make it in life? It makes me sad to think people would prefer to be well known than nice. The thought of them getting excited, because lots of people they don’t know want to be their ‘friend’ on the internet scares me. How can you teach your children to be kind? Is it something they just are?  My daughter Neve, told me about a girl at her school people had singled out because she was new. Neve said, she had told the girl she would be her friend, and she didn’t care if anyone else wouldn't talk to her because of it. Proud mum moment! I have never been a follower. I have always stood up for what I believe, even if that meant going against the grain, so I suppose leading by example is the best way. Focusing on the good things people do and acting really impressed when you see an act of kindness, will make them want to do it too! We really need to make it clear to our children it’s not how well known you are, but how kind you are that matters.

Banging bargain burritos

I'm wondering how many of you buy the Mexican food kits that cost around £3 each and then 'only' require you to add the most expensive ingredient, the meat? I used to before I realised buying it separately and making your own sauce was way cheaper, just as tasty and you know exactly what you're eating. I did burritos but the principal is the same with fajitas, enchiladas, tacos in fact any of the kits you see ready made. They only include wraps and a sauce, so buy the wraps separately but make sure you get the supermarkets own brand, usually found on the bread aisle, not the ones they advertise near the ready done kits as these are more expensive to fool you into thinking you get a better deal buying the packs. The sauce is easily made with a few spices, again buy the cheap ones and once you have them in you can make a whole range of different recipes that you might normally buy a packet/ jar of sauce for, saving you loads of money in the long run. These went down a treat with my family last night, you could add sweetcorn, peppers or even baked beans if you don't like kidney beans.

500g minced beef

Pack of 8 wraps

2 x cartons passata (just use the cheapest supermarkets own brand)

Large onion

Tin kidney beans

Grated cheese (just to sprinkle on top of the burritos)

Tsp cumin

1-2 tsp garlic powder

Tsp chilli powder

Tsp paprika

On a high heat in a frying pan brown the mince and drain off any fat.

Dice the onion (and peppers if you are using.) 

In a separate pan on a medium heat with some oil, cook the onions and all the spices together until they are soft.

Add the onions and spices to the mince with the kidney beans and one of the jars of passata.

Cook these all together for ten minutes on a medium heat.

Place a serving spoon full of the mix into a wrap and fold the top and bottom into the middle and then each side creating a parcel.

Place the parcels into a roasting tin.

Pour over half the other carton of passata then sprinkle with cheese.

Cook for 15-20 minutes at 180 or until the cheese is bubbling and serve with a fresh salad, wedges or as they are!