Stuffed Peppers

This is an easy way to cooked stuffed peppers packed with beef or is this case Richmond meat balls , roasted veggies, passata and melted cheese , quite simply delicious.

Ingredients

2 red ,orange or green peppers

375g/12 oz lean beef mince/ 1 packet of Richmond meatballs.

15ml/1tbsp olive oil

1/2 small onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 garlic loves, peeled and finely chopped

1 celery stick, finely chopped 

250g/9 oz antipasti prepared roasted

200ml/7floz tomato passata

15ml/1tsp dried oregano

Salt and freshly milled black pepper, to taste

50g/2oz grated reduced -fat cheese

Fresh thyme springs, to garnish

Adjust recipe to suit taste

Method

Preheat the oven to 200c/400F/gas mark 6

Cut the peppers in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds and membrane.place in a baking tray, drizzle with the oil and roast for 15 -20 mins.

Meanwhile, heat a large non -stick frying pan and dry fry the mince with the onion and garlic for 3-4 mins, until the mince is brown, breaking up any lumps with the back of a spoon.

(Though I at this point crushed up 10 Richmond meatballs)

If cooking with the beef mince drain any excess meat juices from the pan and transfer to a large bowl.

At this pointed add the roasted prepared vegetables, passata, celery, oregano and seasoning to either the beef mince or in my case the crushed Richmond meatballs.

Remove the peppers from the oven using oven gloves, add the filing , cover with foil and continue to cook in the oven for a further 10 mins.

Sprinkle over the cheese and return to the oven fir a further 5mins or until the cheese melts. Garnish with the thyme leaves and serve immediately.

And as my son doesn't like peppers I made him spaghetti and meatballs with the remaining passata mixture and just added some cooked spaghetti.

 This enabled me to adapt one product into 2 meals making this dinner time a real family occasion.

Disclosure (I was sent a voucher for the Richmond meatballs the recipe is my own which I have adapted for the meatballs. I have not been told what to write and all thoughts, words and opinions are my own)

This post is an entry for Britmums’ Hungry to Happy Challenge sponsored by Richmond Mini Meatballs.

Women on Banknotes

They say as a blogger to never never work with animals, children or banknotes that of course if a complete lie. What defines us as human beings are many things , no one thing or aspect of our personality can really define us. One thing that does help shape our character is our school days, the halcyon days of our lives for the most part.

The first school I went to was Livingstone named I presume after the Victorian explorer Dr Livingstone  , I was then moved onto another school which was called Edith Cavell a name which at 5 or 6 meant nothing to me at the time. The history was drilled into as is obligatory in the education of the 1980s, along side my memories of having to wear a school tie and wash the recorders in Milton fluid.

Are you aware that  Edith Cavell was in fact a very brave and courageous lady who as well as being a nurse helped smuggle allied soldiers out of Belgium and was executed by the Germans for doing so. And this ladies name became the name of the school where I attended we were saturated with the history , well it worked didn't it as I am telling you now!

Edith Cavell Image credit Wikipedia

 I became aware of that women were not going to be on banknotes at a bloggers conference 'Cybher' who to put on a banknote that is of a notable character and has made an impact on society mmm a tough choice. 

Then there those ladies who worked with my Grandad in a secret capcity be it from the cabinet war room to Bletchley park meaning they there are the unsung lady heroines of whom you don't see a face.

Politics and femist issues is something I usually stir away from but today I dip my little toe in the water and then politely run away.

Oxo Good Grips French Press Carafe

For those days I wish to languish in my garden with a pot of coffee the then the Oxo Good Grips French Press is just the idea, whilst I am not on a Parisian boulevard it is relaxing none the less. The OXO Good Grips French Press carafe takes the strain out of those brewed coffee grounds with an innovative ladle that catches the brewed coffee grounds and removes them in one easy step. Sturdy stainless steel housing contains a traditional glass carafe to ensure a pure brewing and serving experience.

The coffee I used was Dowe Egberts and it was "Morning Americano" which just suited my vibrant tastes it's bursting with flavour and it packs a zing. Ideal for those who crave a more lively coffee experience. Morning Americano is as jack my cat thought (the one cat bombing the third photo) is the "purrfect" coffee to give you a boost.

The Oxo Good Grips French Press usually retails at a suggested rrp off £34.99 but if you hurry at the moment Selfridges has this very one for only £10 it does say its low stock so get a wriggle on if you to want to inject that Parsian lifestyle into your lives too.

Disclosure ( I was sent the Oxo Good Grips French Press and Dowe Egberts coffee for review my opinion and my words are my own and I am influenced in any way)

Secret smile

Ever tried a "secret smile " you know that enigmatic Monarch Lisa smile I like to think of it as smile bombing. You'll get those who think that you are weird and just shuffle away, those who ignore you and retreat back in their own little world.

Try next time you are out "smile bombing" not every one will smile back and there will be those who are sad for personal reasons  and this is wear you can try a understanding smile. Life is also too short to worry about nasty people and what they are doing with their life some people are just too short sighted so just move on and think "that's their problem "so don't let it be yours!

Live life and live it to the full I ' ve just spent a few days in London and I smile bombed people . I also noticed when I looked glum, people smile bombed me. In particular there was this one chap on the tube whose smiled just cheered me up when I was feeling glum for no particular reason , though travelling on the tube does that as its hot,and the hustle and the bustle gets to me.

Mr Happy ( Mr Men)

And look I have a very happy umbrella full of Mr Men and little Misses !

Smile and the world smiles with you ....

Plenty of ideas : Plenty Kitchen Towel

The humble kitchen towel is a martyr to many a domestic situation from cleaning up kitchen spills, getting the paw prints of the cat flap to cleaning put the microwave when you've not been watching your soup.

But did you know it is SO much more than that, it is essential in craft projects and science experiments. I used it in my very own craft project which you can read all about here.

Juan Sheet is the star of the show , I've not met him but my good friend Jane Willis who blogs at Onions and Paper  . I think she was rather taken with him and blogged about her meeting with the very dapper gentleman and hearts were a flutter that day !

Plenty kitchen roll is more like a cloth than a paper kitchen towel and and such lasts a a very long time.
When the kitchen towel arrived it arrived with a box of shopping , I am sorry I haven't got a picture to show you but with a rugby mad son chocolate was on his radar that day to aid his recovery. Also I was able to do a slow cooker pasta dish ready for when we got back from a long hard day at a rugby festival. And of course I used my Plenty kitchen towel to clean up any spillages which is obligatory when serving up a tomato pasta sauce!

I shall be adding Plenty Kitchen towel to my shopping list  as it our performed any kitchen towel I had previously used also I think perhaps Jane might like me to add Juan Sheet to the list too!

Disclosure ( I was sent the Plenty kitchen roll and a box of shopping all thoughts, words and opinions are my own . I was not told what to write about )

Photo used with permission from Jane Willis at Janesgrapevine.