At my house TAG

Hello! 

I saw this tag recently on Lived With Love and thought it was a fun one!

House hold chore i actually enjoy?
Hoovering! i have to vacuum every single evening after the kids are in bed as they just make such a mess!

Biggest House disaster?
We live in a rented house so we cant do very much to be able to cause any disasters! I will say though, we suffer with mould quite a bit in the house! I hate it and its so annoying as iv lost a lot of clothes, shoes and even prams to the pesky stuff!

Before company arrives, i hide....
As much mess and clutter as possible!

Most recent music download?
I dont download music really but that last album i bought and listen to constantly was Taylor Swift 1989!

The last thing i bought online?
Apart from my online groceries, its probably a sneaky Hotel Chocolat easter sale order!

I hate to shop for...
Well i love shopping so there isnt much i hate to shop for to be honest! I guess it would have to be something boring like cleaning products!

Favourite family ritual?
Hmmm im not sure! we do try to go out for a meal as a family on payday which is rather nice :)

A trip to Wagamama is always a good one!

I sleep in...
Pjs! i cannot sleep naked, i just cant!

One of my fave pairs of Pyjamas!

I have style crush on? 
I really like Emma Willis' style actually!


How did i ever live without?

My Iphone 5c! I rely on this bad boy waaaay too much, to which i quickly realised a couple of weeks ago when it broke and i had to go without! Lets just safely say, i was lost!

Mel xo

Perfect Chocolate Brownies

Picture the scenario last night, its that time of the month, i NEEDED a chocolate hit!  i eat some sort of chocolate every single day guaranteed! though for some unknown reason i had no chocolate stash in the house! 

So i turned to my trusty baking cupboard and a Google brownie search.

 The result was that i discovered possibly the easiest and most delicious Brownie recipe i have ever made! 

I have always made Brownies in the past using a combination of both dark chocolate and cocoa! i have also never really been able to bake them perfectly, normally i have either over baked them or they come out way too gooey, although still delicious!

This recipe only requires cocoa and it creates the most dense, chocolatey, chewy, perfect Brownie.

I found the Recipe from a blog linked Here

I slightly altered it and subbed some flour for ground almonds which i really enjoy in Brownies but obviously its completely up to you!

Enjoy :)

                                                               

            Firstly you will need to preheat your oven to 160c(Fan).180c. 325F

                                                                  
                                                                You Will Need

8inch Square Brownie pan

Baking paper

145g Unsalted Butter (i only had flora buttery and it worked fine)

250g Golden Caster Sugar

65g Cocoa powder

1/4 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp  Vanilla extract

2 Large eggs

50g Plain flour

20g Ground almonds

Nuts- Optional, i added in a couple handfuls of chopped hazelnuts as that's all i had in the cupboard.

Line your pan with baking paper.

Melt together the sugar, cocoa and butter in a heat proof bowl, over a pan of  gently simmering water. Once melted together, remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.

Then beat in the eggs, one at a time.

Add vanilla extract and mix again.

Finally, fold in the flour, almonds and toss in nuts.

The mixture is supposed to be very thick so pour into your tin, you may need to spread the mixture out to the edges, i did.

The original recipe said to bake for 25 to 30 mins, i took mine out after 25 mins and they were perfect!

If unsure, insert a cocktail stick until it comes out almost clean!

Mel XO

Degustabox February 2015

Hello,
My February Degustabox arrived this morning so i thought, why not make this my first blog post!
If you have never heard about Degustabox, it is basically a monthly food subscription box. We like to get it every now and again as it allows us to try things that we wouldn't necessarily be drawn to and pick up in the supermarket. Find out more about Degustabox by clicking here.

Here is what was in my box

 Lily O'Briens Cocoa cookie crunch, i have tried a couple of these already and they are very nice! 

RRP £2.60

 Melba Thins, described as a "crisp toast" these will be nice for both sweet and savory snacking

RRP £1.39

 American Muffin Company, these choc chip muffins are gluten free, individually wrapped and mini sized so will be perfect for popping in my bag for the kids when we are out.

RRP £2.50

 Whole Earth peanut butter with seeds, i have had this brand before and its not my personal favourite but im looking forward to trying it with the added nutritional benefit of all the seeds.

RRP £ 3.19

 Peanut Hottie, this is a peanut butter flavoured hot drink which i am yet to try but i have been eyeing it up for a while in Waitrose so i was happy to see it in the box.

RRP £3.00

 Beet It, these are basically protein flapjacks made with beetroot! This is something i would never think to try so will be interesting to taste.

RRP £1.85 x 2

Jack Link's Beef Snack, this is some sort of dried beef snack, iv never tried anything like this before but have always wondered if i would like Jerky! ill try anything once :)

RRP £1.39

 Schwartz Flavour shots, i wasn't too interested when i saw these as they have been in past boxes and we have never really used them! Will probably end up giving them away to someone who will put them to use.

RRP £1.40 x 2

 Laimon Fresh, 100% natural lemon, lime and mint sparkling drink, sounds nice!

RRP £1.99

i received this Little Miracles Organic Energy drink as an added extra in my box, its really nice and refreshing, good for you too which is always a bonus! 

Again, another extra in my box was this Original Nutty energy bar.

Overall i paid £12.99 for the box, including delivery and the contents came to £19.96 plus the 2 added extras they threw in as an apology. There was some sort of mix up and i was never sent my January box so they sent me February's instead, which worked out well really as January's didnt seem as good as this one! 

I would recommend trying Degustabox as a little treat every month, or every now and again like me. Plus you can generally get your first box discounted as there is normally some sort of offer on their website.

Let me know if you have tried any of these things before?

Mel xo