April Birch box :D

Received my April Birch box a couple of days ago...really pleased with everything:D I got a sample of the Gerda Spillman Ranaissance Age Serum ( never hear of this brand??) a La Societe Parisienne De Savon Soap, a Mirenesse Glossy Kiss chubby lip stick thing, a sample of the Weleda Skin Food, a sample of the Green & Spring relaxing Conditioner ( smells amazing, really fresh and clean scent) and lastly a little extra mirror which is always handy for ur handbag:) so there it is...can't wait for next months now hehe:D x

Spicy pasta bake

This is my favourite dish:D very tasty with the thanx of the spices used. It does'nt take that long and it's one of those dishes you can prepare in the morning and then bake once ur ready for dinner. This is a rough guide as I tend to go by my eye with the ingredients.

You will need:

350g Lean mince beef
1 cup Passata
1 Onion
300g Pasta ( any type )
3 gloves of Garlic
1 tsp Mixed spices/ or curry spices ( I use a combination of dried coriander, cumin, garlic, turmeri, black pepper and salt)
1 Stock cube ( I use chicken)
1 pint Milk ( full fat)
2 tsp Corn flour
1 tsp Nutmeg
2 cups Cheddar cheese

Firstly cut up the onion and fry in some olive oil, once browned add meat and fry until cooked. Add spices, garlic and crumble in the stock cube. Combine and cook for a few mins, then add 1/2 a cup of passata. If you don't have any passata you can use a squirt of tomato purée and add some water instead. Also another tip if you don't use all the passata you can freeze what ever is left and use it next time. Let simmer for a few mins and while that's going on you can start cracking on with the white sauce. I make a super quick one. I poor the milk into a sauce pan add corn flour, 1 tsp salt & nutmeg and just keep stirring over a medium heat until thickened. Once thickened up I usually add a 1/2 cup of cheese too. Then I add a little of the white sauce to the mince mixture. I find this mellows out the mixture nicely. Boil some water with a tsp of salt and cook pasta until al dente. ( nearly cooked) once done drain and add mince mixture and throughly mix. Pour into a baking dish . Lastly top with white sauce and cheese. Place in oven and bake at about 180 degrees for about 30 mins or until nicely browned and bubbling:) yummy! I usually have a nice green salad on the side. Beware the topping is very moorish!!!:D

Reveiw on Elemis Frangipani Monoi Body Oil

If you want an indulgent treat for your boudoir then this is it.....the smell is amazing! Very exotic and flowery. I imagine Hawaii would smell like this scent, not that I've been there but hey a girl can dream:) The main underlying scent gives thanks to the delightful Frangipani flowers....beautiful.  I prefer to use body oils to your basic body lotions as I find they moisturise much better and the results are longer lasting. This is slightly pricey at £31.50 but I do find a little goes a long way so should last you a good old while. The only negative is it does solidify so you need to warm up the product in either some warm water or on a radiator. But usually by the time your out of the shower or bath the oil is ready to use:) The scent lingers on your body for hours too which is an added bonus. If your interested I purchased mine from here. Good tip is to sign up to their mailing list as they always have some sort of promotion going on. I got mine when they had a 20% off promo.

Old bananas?? No problem:D

If your like me and hate it when bananas start to brown then the answer to stop the waste of throwing them out is Banana Bread:D I love the smell while they cook, such a comforting smell! This recipe is really easy as you can just throw all the ingredients into a blender then presto it's ready for the oven.

Ok so here's what you will need:

1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
2 cups of flour
1 tsp of vanilla extract
2 large bananas
1 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of baking soda

Pre heat oven to 180 degrees

First peel bananas and place in food processor then add eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla extract, baking powder and baking soda. Give a good blitz then lastly add the flour and then give the processor a couple of pulses until the mixture just comes together. You don't want to over mix as you will end up with a heavy cake. This mix makes two loaf tins and since I'm a chocoholic I like to throw in some chopped up milk chocolate into one and leave the other plain ( my son prefers it plain...I know strange child!!:D )

Place in the middle of oven for about 30 mins, after the 30 mins keep checking by placing a knife in the middle of the cake to see if it comes out clean. If it comes out clean its done.

Enjoy warm with a cup of tea.....yummy!