Lazy tired day

Flowers I picked in the fields when walking the dog. So pretty and they smell lovely.

Just lazing as I have had only 3 hours sleep after a night shift. Why do parcels always get delivered when I'm in bed? Too lethargic to blog x

Menu plan Monday 10/06/2013

MONDAY - Hairy Bikers Easy crispy chicken, roasted veg pasta and salad

TUESDAY - Spaghetti bolognese and homemade garlic bread

WEDNESDAY - Roast chicken, yorkshire puddings, mashed potato, steamed veg & gravy

THURSDAY - Omelette, salad, homemade coleslaw and jacket potatoes

FRIDAY - Fish chowder and savoury scones or crusty bread to accompany

SATURDAY - Beefburgers, garlic & herb wedges and coleslaw. All homemade

SUNDAY - Freezer use up day. Bits and pieces from freezer to clear it out

So today's meal is one of the gangs favourites, a recipe from The Hairy Dieters cook book. It's basically chicken breast dusted in flour then dipped in low fat yogurt then coated in a mix of dried bread crumbs (used my own bread to make these), parmesan and lots of dried oregano. This chicken is oven baked and is always  lovely and succulent.  The pasta dish is also a low fat recipe from a weight watchers cook book I have. Roasted vegetables are stirred through cooked pasta with a little parmesan cheese and low fat fromage fraise. We had this with a large salad. I made myself a couple of quorn fillets marinated in  soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ketchup and chilli powder which were baked in the oven. Very nice they were too.

Decided on this meal today because I had 1/3 of a pot of yogurt and 1/3 of a pot of fromagie frais that had been in the fridge over a week that needed using up. I do find these products do last for a long time in the fridge. Pleased I got these used up before they went off.

Chocolate butterfly buns

I have read on a couple of occasions about baking using the method of weighing eggs then weighing the same amount of sugar, margarine and flour. This weekend I decided to give it ago. I did not want to make a large quantity of mixture in case it did not work out so I started by breaking two eggs into a bowl which I set on scales. The two eggs weighed 102g. I added to this 102g sugar and 102g margarine. I wanted to make chocolate buns so needed to substitute some of the flour for cocoa powder. I added a heaped tablespoon of cocoa powder into the bowl and topped it up to 102g with SR flour. For good measure I added 1/2 tsp baking powder. I whisked this all together then popped the mixture into 9 muffin cases and baked. 

They came out really well and were lovely and moist. After cooling I whisked some double cream and a little vanilla extract until soft peaks then piped into my butterflied buns. Finished off with a grating of dark chocolate.

Will definitely try this method again. Think I will double the eggs next time and try a cake. Not a good idea baking when I'm trying to watch my weight. I want to taste food I bake to see if they taste right  and if not decide where to change a recipe so I just HAD to try one for quality control. Only thing is, I think I've eaten 3 altogether, oops!