At last....

...yay another post.  Right I've got half an hour while the boys are on the x-box to get up to date.  Its been a funny ol' time and I'm sort of looking forward to the boys going back to school - just so I can get in some sort of routine again - I've been doing odd days here and there at work to fit in with Ians shifts so we didnt have to rely on others for childcare. 

We've had some lovely days out of which I've got no photo's because I either forgot the camera or then took it but forgot I had taken the memory card out - doh!!!  But we've had great days at Whitby, away in our Caravan, Saltburn and Stockton Show with combined food festival.  It doesnt seem much but our days seem to have been full???

I've also been busy at home when I have had the chance.  We had an emergency birthday card make for the little boy over the road - when I realised I had no fall back cards I decided to have a couple made 'just in case':

These are just a couple of bugaboo images coloured with promarkers and one with an embossed background.  I need to get a couple of young girls ones made too - just in case!!


I've also been building my confidence in the cooking department too, so a few photos and shout outs to blogs who've helped either with baking or recipes to liven up tea times - as I am sick of cooking the same old stuff!!

My first attempt was this easy chocolate cake:

 Yum, easy to do and with  Nutella (or Asdas version) in the centre and a sprinkling of icing on the top - this went down very well and didnt last long - a big thank you to Froogs for this recipe.

Next were some Banana & White chocolate Muffins from Rosie :

Now these didnt really turn out looking anything like Rosies muffins - not sure why, unrefined sugar maybe???  But they taste delicious - now can anyone help here with a bit of a query  - now these seemed cooked tops springy and golden and had been in the necessary time but when I tried one (purely for quality control you understand - erm with a nice coffee (of course)) the bottom seemed to tear away and stick to the muffin case - does this mean they werent properly cooked???  I didnt like to leave them any longer as they were quite golden - they didnt taste uncooked???  Any help would be appreciated.

Right now for something savoury, tonights tea was BBQ Pork Burritos - this recipe came from a new blog I've found with a great name: Jenny Eatwells Rhubarb & Ginger there are some great family friendly recipes on there and I laughed when reading how her son has a thing about eating things a certain colour - hmmm sounds familiar - lol - anyhoo, here is a pic of my Burrito filling bubbling away:

I had to make a few alterations to the recipe i.e. Paul Newmans bbq sauce and  NO kidney beans  that really would have been pushing it -  I only JUST got away with the red onions - pah! I would have done if they werent so long - lol.

Right I think thats most of it caught up to date - I've got a few more cards to blog - I've managed to get Toms done - at last we've moved on this year and managed not to make an army one we've gone zombies and captain america (not on the same card though!!) - I've probably bored you to tears now so I'll do them another night. 

Okey doke, off to have a rummage through my cross stitch basket and get that started again as I havent picked my needle up for ages - lovely hubby is taking me to Harrogate on Saturday for the Great Northern Needlework & Quilt show and I know I'll want to buy something but will feel a bit guilty if I havent done any for a while - if you know what I mean - lol.

Enjoy the rest of your night - thanks for looking

Ali
xx