Meal For One - Creamy Salmon Tagliatelle

The majority of the time I cook for myself. I find I don't feel like putting a lot of effort or time into the meals I make, because, you know, they are just for me. I think a lot of people these days also have to cook just for themselves so I wanted to put some recipes together which are suitable to make when you're on your own.

This recipe doesn't involve very much, the majority of it can be made in one pan and it doesn't have very many ingredients, and what it does have can be used for any other recipe you may want to make that week. It's a very delicious dish with very little effort. A perfect meal for one.

You will need:

1 ball of Tagliatelle // 200ml Milk // 1 salmon fillet // 3tbls cream cheese with chives* // pepper // half a lemon // 2 broccoli // 3 asparagus

* I bought Philadelphia with chives. Any cream cheese will do, and you can add in your own chives. I think fresh chives would give the best taste

What do do:

1 - Wrap the salmon in tin foil and put it in the oven at 190C fan for about 30 minutes.

2 - At about 15 minutes in, add the tagliatelle to a medium pan of boiling water over a medium to high heat. Cook as directed on the packaging (it's usually about 10 minutes). 5 minutes before the tagliatelle is due to finish, add in the chopped broccoli and asparagus.

4 - when finished take of the heat and drain. Leave in the colander for the time being.

5 - In the same pan, prepare the sauce. Add in the milk, cream cheese and a bit of lemon juice until it all melted in, add in the tagliatelle and veg and take off the heat once it is all covered in the sauce.

6 - Finally remove the salmon from the oven, flake it up and fold it into the pan. 

7 - Plate up, and then they're done! Eat and enjoy!

April Favourites

April has gone by so quickly! It doesn't seem so long ago that I was writing my favourites for March, but here I am now at the end of April. It has been a very busy month for me as there's been a lot of work to do. But on the plus side, there has been a fair amount of indulgence in chocolate. This is the only time of the year they sell Cadbury's Cream Eggs, so I couldn't let that opportunity pass me by.

Without further ado, here are my favourite things in April. It has been a good month, so there was a lot to like. But here is a breakdown of just a few of the things I loved this month.

Favourite Beauty:

This month I am most definitely loving my Bobbi Brown correcter and concealer which you can read about here. It has quickly become a staple of my everyday routine. It is so creamy and just covers up the darkness under my eyes so well. As much as I love highstreet products, I think you have to have at least one high-end somewhere in your make-up kit.

Favourite Tea:

I've been trying to drink less caffeine in April and generally be more healthier. Of course it didn't help with the abundance of chocolate at Easter. I have tackled this by drinking my new favourite tea: Mango and Lychee Green Tea. I love mangos, and I love lychees so it was hard not to love this tea. It is so incredibly delicious and refreshing with the warmer weather.

Favourite Film:

At the end of March Frozen was released on DVD and The Muppets Most Wanted began showing at cinemas. I have tried, but I really can't decide between them. Frozen has been stuck in my DVD player and has quickly become my favourite Disney Film. A privilege that has not moved since Aladdin. I just love the story, the songs and the positive messages throughout. The Muppets Most Wanted however, is just hilarious and fun. Ty Burrell in particular is brilliant in the film and truly makes it what it is. It also includes some brilliant songs. The Interrogation Song and I'll Get You What You Want have been played repeatedly. Seriously, how could you not love The Muppets?



Favourite TV:

I've not been watching as much television as usual this month. In fact, I am even still behind on Game Of Thrones but catching up slowly. Despite this there has been one show I have been watching the most. My favourite show this month has to be Modern Family. Sky 1 is still airing series 5 and has been showing it in double bills. I absolutely love Modern Family, as it's just so funny. There are not many other shows that will make me laugh out loud.



Favourite Music:

This month I have been on a Tinie Tempah kick, and I quite like this particular song. I couldn't even say why, but you got to love a bit of Tinie, right?

Birch Box - April 2014

Yesterday I finally received April's Birch Box. Because the March one was so good, I was excited to see what little surprises April's would bring me. It is fast becoming a favourite part of the month. I love finding new things that I wouldn't have considered purchasing at all otherwise. It is great for trying out new products. And this month in no exception. There were some great items in the box.

Yes to Cucumbers Facial Wipes: I'm saving these for when I go away this year, as it is just the perfect size pack away with me.They look great, and with them being cucumber,it means they will be extra refreshing. I'm looking forward to trying these out.

Thebalm 'How 'bout Them Apples?' Cheek and Lip Cream: I absolutely love this product. The palette I received came in the shade 'Pie', and it is just the right size to keep in my bag to be able to top-up on the go. It is very creamy and goes on lovely. And first I thought the shade would be too bright on my lips and cheek, but it enhances them perfectly. A added bonus is the cheeky packaging. I'm definitely considering a full size of this one.

Campos De Ibiza Almond Body Milk: This smells absolutely delicious and it is in a really great sample size. Unfortunately, the big down to this product is that it is full of parabens. The ingredients lists five, so it has made me reluctant to use it. I'm not sure whether I'll try this one or not.

Colour Club Nail Polish: I received mine in the colour Heirloom Pearls, which is such a beautiful shade. It's a lovely pearl colour which paints on opaquely. It has a beautiful shimmer to it. I'm looking forward to using this one throughout the summer.

Lord & Berry Eye Pencil: To me, this product is what it is. It's a pencil. I'm not sure I could justify spending £10 on a pencil which I could get a similar quality for a much cheaper price, especially when I don't use eye pencils that often. It is nice to have a little extra one handy though.

Proper Corn: This is a healthy alternative snack. The flavour of this is Sweet Coconut and Vanilla. What a delicious sounding flavour combination. I cannot wait to try this!

Easter Nest Cupcakes

Happy Easter Everyone!!

Today it is Easter Sunday, which is notoriously the time of year for indulging in chocolate. This year I have five chocolate eggs all to myself to scoff, as well as a whole batch of cupcakes that I made. They are very, very easy to make, but look really effective for Easter, whether it's for afternoon tea or a buffet. And best of all, they taste delicious.

You will need: 5oz/140g self raising flour // 100g plain chocolate // 4oz/110g caster sugar // 1 or 2 packets of mini eggs // 5oz/140g icing sugar // 3oz/85g cocoa powder  //4oz/110g butter for the cake and 4oz/110g for the buttercream // 2 medium eggs

What to do:

1- Firstly melt the chocolate in a bain marie. The best way to do this is to boil water in a pan. Placing a glass bowl over the top, melt the chocolate in bowl using the heat from the steam. You can always melt chocolate using the microwave, but you have to be very, very careful not to burn the it. Once it's all melted, take it off the heat and put it aside to cool.

2- In a mixing bowl, beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, adding a little bit at a time into the mixture stirring well as you go. Next, fold in the flour a bit at a time until it is all incorporated into the mixture. Finally, pour the cooled chocolate into the mixture and mix in very, very well so that it is all one consistent colour

3- Line a muffin tin with cupcake cases (or double up on a baking tray if you don't own one). I used yellow as I thought there is no other colour as apt for Easter. Fill up the cases by about 2/3, then place on the middle shelf of a pre-heated oven at gas mark 4/ 180C for about 20 minutes. When they are springy to touch, take them out of the oven and leave them on a wire rack to cool.

4- Time to make the buttercream! Firstly, beat the butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Mix the icing sugar and cocoa powder together, and then sift this in a little at a time into the bowl, mixing well. Keep mixing until all has been incorporated, and you should get a good piping consistency.

5- To make the nests, using a large star nozzle, pipe a ring around the edge of each cupcake. Fill in the centre of each cake with 3 mini eggs. I tried to use different colours for each until I ran out!

Finally, eat and enjoy!

My Tea Stash

It's no secret that I love tea. I mean, don't just love it, I looove it. So I thought I'd take you through some of the delicious teas I have in my cupboard

Most drank

1 - Tesco Finest Earl Grey Leaf Tea // 2 - Twinings Everydat Tea // 3 - Twinings Awake Tea

Twinings Eveyday is, as the name suggests, the tea I drink everyday without fail. I find it is the best of all the everyday teas. The Awake one is a new addition to my tea stash. It is a really great tea to start the day with. It is blended with ginseng, ginger and rooibos, so it is caffeine free which is an added bonus! And the Early Grey? That's a classic staple of my cupboard. It's also loose tea, so I get to use my cute house shaped infuser.

Summer Teas

1 - Twinings Mango and Lychee Green Tea // 2 - Twinings Mixed Berries Selection // 3 - Whittard Lychee and Mango Instant Tea

It might be apparent here that I love mango and lychees. Lychees are quite possibly my favourite fruit, though I haven't been able to find them at the supermarket for a while. The Whittard tea is incredibly sweet but it makes an excellent summer tea. The berries selection includes five pouches of five delicious fruit teas, of which only one of the flavours include mango!

Calm teas

1 - Twining Moment of calm selection // 2 - Twinings Christmas Tea // 3 - Clipper Organic Sleep Easy Tea

Tea is great for keeping you calm. I like to drink the Sleep Easy tea before I go to bed, and it really does give me a good nights sleep. The Moments of Calm Selection is great for winding down too. I particularly love the cinnamon and apple falvour which is incredibly delicious. I have one pouch left which I am reluctant to drink, as then it'll all be gone, which is the same for the Christmas tea. I don't even know if that's available any more!