How to make your own Plug-In refills (and save £££'s)

I do love my Ambi Pur pling-in air freshener but its enough to make me weep handing over £4.98 per refill every 4-6 weeks (especially when i have 2 of them). It works out at £79.68 minimum a year on air fresheners!!!!

Instead of buying refills i will show you how to refill the little bottles yourself for about £5 a year!! Not only will it save you lots of money but it means you can customise it to what ever fragrance you like ( i am currently on fresh christmas wreath and christmas pudding, getting in the festive spirit)

All you need is:-

Used Ambi Pur plug in
Pair of scissors
Bottle of baby oil
Any essential oils you like

• First of all pull the little bottle things out of the bottom of the plug in and using the scissors to grip the plastic bit around the top of each bottle that folds the wick in place plug them all out of the bottles. This leaves all the bottles open.

• now virtually fill each of the little bottles with the baby oil and add a few drops of your essential oils. You can either have all 3 one scent or a different scent in each bottle.

• Replace the wick and plastic stoppers and wipe the whole thing over with kitchen roll. Then give it a shake to help mix the essential oils with the baby oil.

• Replace the refill part back into the plug in unit and TA DAR your own refill
• Plug in and enjoy

Gingerbread Skeletons (and ghosts, bats and mummies)

While i had the ginger out from the Parkin and Pumpkin bread i have been making i thought i would share my gingerbread recipe and with Halloween just a few days away what better to do with it than make cute gingerbread skeletons (and other ghouls).

 
Ingredients

350g plain flour
2tsp ground ginger
1tsp bicarb soda
125g butter
175g brown sugar
1 egg
4 dessert spoons golden syrup

For icing

1 egg
icing sugar

Method

• measure out flour, ginger and bicarb and mix together in a bowl
• measure out the butter and add to the bowl

• rub the butter into flour mixture to form bread crumbs

• measure out the sugar and add to the butter flour mixture
• beat the egg in a separate bowl
• add the golden syrup to the egg and mix well
• add the eggs and syrup to the dry ingredients and mix to form a dough

• flour your surface and roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thick
• using cookie cutters cut out your gingerbread men (and bats and ghosts in my case)
• put on a lined baking sheet and put in pre heated oven at 160 degrees for 10-12 mins
• when lightly golden remove and leave to cool 

• once completely cool they are ready to ice
• separate the white from your egg
• whisk until white and fluffy
• add icing sugar until it forms a thick mixture (like lightly whipped double cream)
• put the mixture into a disposable icing bag and cut off a tiny bit at the end

• for mummies just drizzle the icing all over like bandages
• for skeletons you can use mine as a guide or create your own design
• for bats and ghosts i just pipe around the edge

hope you enjoy this recipe, its a great one to do with the kids

happy halloween x

Pumpkin Guts Bread

I told you not to throw away the guts of your pumpkin away after scooping them out to carve your pumpkin and this is the reason why.

This recipe is absolutely delicious (and i dont even like pumpkin), its kind of like a spiced carrot cake crossed with a banana bread and its so moist.

Ingredients

3.5 cups of plain flour
3 cups sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1tsp ground ginger
1tsp mixed spice
1.5 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups of pumpkin guts
1/2 cup of water
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts
large mixing bowl, measuring jug, wooden spoon, measuring cups and spoons, 2 loaf tins

• measure out flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and spices and mix together in the large mixing bowl
• measure out water, oil and eggs and mix together in the measuring jug

• mix the wet and the dry ingredients together
• using a pair of scissors chop up your pumpkin guts (just snip through the pump in a bowl)
• mix the chopped up pumpkin guts into the mixture
• add the chopped nuts and mix well

• line and flour your loaf tins

• divide mixture between the 2 tins

• place on he middle shelf of a pre heated oven at 200 degrees
• bake for 1 hour then check (put a skewer into the middle of the loaf if it comes out clean they are done)
• if not quite done return to over and check every 10 mins (mine took 1hr 20 mins)
• turn out of tins and allow to cool. 

From 1 large pumpkin i had enough guts to make 4 loafs so will be sharing them with my mum, gran and mother in law.

Hope you enjoy this easy recipe and it stops all that pumpkin going to waste xx

How to make fake scars and cuts

Well with Halloween just around the corner and all the kids wanting a cool costume i thought i would post a tutorial on how to make realistic cuts and scars that the kids (and adults alike) will love. They are a great way to add a bit of gore to any costume and are made from make-up you can pick up from any fancy dress shop, hobby and craft store and even most super markets at this time of year.

 The things you will need are:-

Snazaroo special FX wax
Snazaroo gel blood
Snazaroo blood cake
stipple sponge
Snazaroo black and red face paint (could use black liquid eyeliner and red eyeshadow)
Thick black cotton or thin black wool
(top 4 you can get in a pack together for less than £10)

• make sure where you are adding your scar is clean and dry
• take a small blob of the wax and roll into a sausage shape (its can be sticky so you have to work quickly)
• lightly push the wax onto the skin in the shape you want your scar (it looks more realistic if its not straight)
• smooth the sides of the wax down to join your skin

• with a plastic spatula (or butter knife) make a cut through the middle of the wax 
• with the black face paint or eyeliner paint a thin line down the middle of the cut in the wax

• pat the red over the whole scar and a little on the surrounding area
•  using the stipple sponge add some of the blood cake over the top of the scar
• add the gel blood down the middle of the cut in the scar
• cut small pieces of the black wool or cotton and lay them over the scar like stitches (add 1 or 2 in a cross for a bit of interest)
• carefully push the ends of the wool/cotton into the wax to hold it in place

• add a little dot of the red face paint/eye shadow to the stitches where they are pushed into the wax
• blend the edges of the red paint into your skin for a more realistic look 

hope you enjoy this tutorial and this bit of gore adds to your costumes. Have a happy Halloween xx

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds done 3 ways (salted, spicy and sweet)

As much as i love craving pumpkins with the kids i hate the fact that you are basically buying a vegetable just to let it rot and be thrown away, its just such a waste and those that know me know that i hate waste!

Well this year i was determined this wasn't going to be the case so after much searching i have found ways to use the seeds and the guts of the pumpkin so wanted to share in the hope that less pumpkin will go to waste this Halloween season. First i split the seeds from the guts as they are used separately

this post is dedicated to the seeds and the yummy things you can do with them.

Ingredients

Pumpkin seeds
oil
sugar
mixed spice
mild chilli powder
smoked paprika
salt

• wash the pumpkin seeds to get off any left over guts
• put them in a pan of salted water and boil for 20 mins (this makes them go crisper when cooked)

• drain the seeds and pat dry
• split the seeds into 3 bowls and add a little oil to each

• add 1 tsp of salt to one bowl and mix so all seeds are coated
• add 1 tsp of mixed spice and 1tsp of sugar to another bowl, mix to coat
• add 1 tsp of mild chilli powder and 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika to the 3rd bowl, mix to coat
• tip the seeds into 3 different baking tins as flat as you can (try not to have any on top of each other)

• put them in a pre heated over at 200 degrees for 10 mins
• shake the tins to move the seeds around and put back in over for a further 10-15 mins
• remove from oven and allow to cool 
• put in 3 air tight tubs and snack away

These are so tasty and there is a favour for everyone in the family. The kids will love the sweet ones and mum and dad will love the salty and spicy ones and best of all no pumpkin seeds in the bin xx

Pumpkin Carving

Well its that time of the year again when everything gets all spooky, children get dressed up for trick or treating, houses get done up and the pumpkins get carved so i thought i would share some of my hints and tips for carving your pumpkins.

All you will need is a pumpkin (obviously) a large knife, a hacksaw blade (or pumpkin carving saw) and a spoon.

• Start by cutting the lid off your pumpkin in a large circle

• next take your spoon and scrape out all the seeds and guts of the pumpkin
• then decide which side is going to be the front on your pumpkin where your design will be
• scrape the inside of the pumpkin until its about 1 inch thick

• where you will be carving your design keep scraping until its only about 1/2 inch thick (this is where a lot of people go wrong and find it difficult to carve as they leave this side too thick)
• draw your design onto your pumpkin (i have pinched this design from a similar one i have seen on the internet)
• if you are not great at drawing you can pick up great cheap templates at this time of year

•  take your hacksaw blade (or carving saw) and start cutting out your design
• start with the little thin bits as its more stable before you have taken big chunks out of it)
• don't try and turn corners with the saw, when you have to change direction take the saw out and put it back in at the right angle

• make sure the inside base is flat (as this is where your candle will stand)
• put your candle in and light it
• turn off the lights and enjoy your creation

DO NOT THROW AGAIN THE SEEDS AND GUTS

I will be doing 2 more blog posts with yummy things you can make from what you would usually throw away.

Traditional Yorkshire Parkin Recipe

Autumn is by far my favourite time of the year, not only does everything look so pretty with all the yellows, golds and browns of the leaves and everyone wrapping up warm in new hats, scarf's and gloves but its also the time of the year for the yummiest food.

I love all the thick warming soups and the slow cooked chunky meaty stews as well as all the stodgy comforting foods like root vegetable mash and roasted squash, but most of all i love the puddings, desserts, sweets and treats. Along with the treacle toffee, bonfire lollies, gingerbread and spiced carrot cake this recipe is just the taste of autumn.

It has been handed down my mums side of the family from my Great Grandma to my Grandma to my Mum and now to me and its just to scrummy for me to not share so here it is.

Ingredients

1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup oatmeal (or normal porridge oats will do, whiz in a blender if you have one to make them finer)
1 cup sugar
1.5 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
2 tbsp black treacle
4oz margarine (not butter)
1 cup of boiling milk

Method

• Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix them together
• Add the butter and the black treacle

• bring the milk to the boil in a saucepan
• pour the hot milk onto the rest of the ingredients
• mix well together until all the margarine has melted and all ingredients are well combined

• line a loaf tin (or a square cake tin in my case as couldn't find my loaf tin)
• pour mixture into tin (don't worry if it quite runny its supposed to be)
• put in a pre-heated over at 180 degrees for 45 mins
• remove from tin and leave on a large piece of grease proof paper to cool

• wrap the cooled Parkin in the grease proof paper and LEAVE IT ALONE
• DO NOT EAT

Ok maybe i need to explain the last to points.

You can eat it straight away if you want (and i usually do) but if you leave it wrapped in the grease proof paper in an air tight tin for a week it gets even yummier and stickier. If you can resist this little package looking at you everytime you open the cupboard i promise it will be worth it.

hope you all enjoy this as much as me and my family do and hopefully you will pass this recipe on just like we have xx