pizza making and friends.

our renovation work in the house has finally been completed!!! praise the lord!! though there are still some bits and pieces left to be done, the majority is out of the way and i was able to invite some friends over during the easter for...you guessed it...more birthday celebrations! (18 is a big number yano ;))

dyu know bout the cheesy crusts?

dinner is always a hard one if you want to entertain your friends and accommodate everyone's palettes simultaneously. so i came up with the idea of pizza making for dinner! i rounded it off easily with a bowl of pasta and some salad and ta-da, something for everyone!

the pizza dough base recipe was obtained from the martha stewart website and worked out fabi-docious. i made two batches of dough just to be sure we had enough food, and mannnn did we end up with about 8 pizzas, lots of dough balls (perfect with pesto) and a few chicken bites!

for toppings, i had a quick pop to tesco and came back with tomato puree, LOTS of cheese, sausages (the big fatty ones), bacon, sweetcorn, ham, chicken pieces, meatballs, peppers, salad leaves, spinach and mushrooms.

the result? a food coma with my new bday toy sloth and a mega pizza feast which filled us up so much we had no room for ice cream....

the evening consisted of more snacking, banagrams, some polaroids and many crazy games of wii tennis. wow have i missed having friends over.

and here's to many more fab pizzas!

Cheesy Egg Pots

eggs have always been a favourite food of mine. and so has cheese. so when i discovered these beauties, my heart skipped a beat! i've always loved the idea of making nice healthy breakfasts every morning, and pretend i do in my head when i start pinning breakfast photos on pinterest. but the choice between the snooze button and a good breakfast.......i mean...

anyhow, this post isn't to brag about how much i enjoy my sleep, but rather admiring these creamy pots. they sure have the health factor (handful of spinach, come on!) and they sure have the cheeeeeese factor!

feel free to change up the bases of these egg pots and put your own spin on it!

the flavour of the tomato purée came out the most when diving into this, probably because it's got a much stronger taste than the cheese i used. perhaps sprinkle some extra cheddar or mozzarella if you fancy a cheesier flavour and some tanginess. 

life has been busy lately with the building of our house extension, and we're now left with no hob and no sink. thankfully, i still have a halogen oven (almost a portable oven type gadget thing), so am able to at least cook up something scrummy for breakfast!! (oh, what a perfect time to decide not to snooze in!)

Cheesy Egg Pots - makes 3

Ingredients: 

45g cooked spinach

1 slice ham

1 tomato

pepperoni

3 eggs

30g cream cheese with chives

3 tablespoons natural yoghurt

Salt and pepper to season

Method:
1. Layer your chopped tomato, ham/pepperoni and spinach at the bottom of the ramekins
2. crack one egg into each ramekin
3. divide the cream cheese and yoghurt amongst each ramekin
4. bake at 160C fan/180 for about 15 mins
5. season and serve hot!

Tomato and Philly Bruschetta

I don't know whether this post should be placed under a scrumptious brekkie or a light lunch. Maybe a brunch?!

It is definitely a recipe worth doing, especially if you have a tub of Philadelphia cheese on hand! They are so very easy to make - 5 minutes and you've got a sassy dish. It involves no cooking whatsoever (although I prefer to cook my onions in a bit of butter :P) - chuck the bread in a toaster and jam everything together....literally. *no pun intended*

This recipe serves two but it would most certainly make a great party dish or be served as mini "finger bites"! Go get your apron on - you hardly need any cooking skills for this one!!

Tomato and Philly Bruschetta
Ingredients:
6 tomatoes, chopped
half a small onion, finely sliced
2 tsp olive oil
1tsp vinegar
2 slices bread
60g Philadelphia Light with Chives
mixed salad leaves to serve

Method:
1. Stir the tomatoes and onion with the olive oil and vinegar
2. Toast the bread, cut in half and spread with Philly.
3. Top with the fresh tomato salsa and serve with a green salad.

Proud of her/it.

 I know I haven't been blogging much lately; I'm sorry. I know I haven't been cooking much of a storm up lately; I'm sorry too.

But no worries! My sister is here to save the day with her most amazing pizza! Its her first time cooking lunch and I'm pretty proud of her.

Well done!