As school has wrapped up and I'm finding more time on my hands, now I have time to spend with friends - hence the Cookie Social. Its great to be off as I can truly look up new recipes, browse cookbooks for inspiration and have random events where food is the focal point!
Back to the making of the Cookie Social, the idea was for each of the group to cook a different cookie and basically drink wine, munch on cookies while catching up. While scrolling through Instagram I saw top YouTuber Tanya Burr promoting her new baking cookbook. One of her sneak peak recipes were for Salted Nutella Cookies. The book wasn't going to be released in time for the Cookie Social, so instead I found this Nutella Stuffed Oatmeal, Hazelnut and Choc Chip Cookies online and I was ready to bake!
Yay or Nay: Yay
SOOOOO good! I even managed to convert a sweet-hater to a cookie lover. I mean what's not to love? Nutella, toasted nuts, chocolate chips, chewy oats and a touch of saltiness to balance out the sweet. What are you doing reading this - go make them!!!
TIP: Mine
were slightly thicker in size as I tried to fit all of them on one baking sheet (made 15 not 16 like the recipe states) so I cooked them a little longer than the recommended 12 mins
and the nutella rolling was tricker than it sounded - prepare to get your
hands dirty. Do each step one by one rather than per cookie to reduce the mess!
Some call it Chow Fun, I am more familiar with Ho Fun and some probably know it as beef noodles. Whatever it's called to you, it makes for a top pick for a Saturday night take-away (take-out). I remember a cheap dive in London's Chinatown called Wong Kei where my cousin and I would go for a uni lunch. The service was poor, infamous in fact, but the food was cheap and delicious (especially as money poor students). You could order this wet (with a sauce or gravy) or dry depending on your mood. This version of Ho Fun/Chow Fun promised the taste of a take-away and the ease of a ready meal so I definitely wanted to give this a go.
Yay or Nay: Yay
Tasty and satifying it is well worth the effort to make the marinade and then cook. I did only marinade the beef for 15 minutes while I exercised so maybe I will try a little longer next time. I cooked the noodles but didn't bother to chill them as she suggested and it made for a sticky layer of noodles semi-permanently stuck to my sieve. Don't panic if the noodles don't separate as adding the leftover marinade helps break it apart nicely. Also, does flank steak cost an arm and a leg where you are???
UPDATE: Here are the missing pics I promised!
While surfing Pinterest for dinner ideas I must have come across cashew chicken as an option. I was either looking for slow cooker/crock pot ideas or just anything that would jump out. I asked the Hubby what he thought and it was a surprising yes! Originally I found a recipe somewhere else, but after endless scrolling and clicking just to find it again I found Cookie Rookie's version; 1. It was easy to follow, 2. It was similar to the one I found initially and 3. I couldn't be bothered to look elsewhere at that point.
Yay or Nay: Yay Yay Yay!
It's always good to find something unexpected that is easy, tasty AND is exactly what the recipe promises. Cookie Rookie says that it is SUPER EASY and it is exactly that! I would say it is not worth searing the chicken beforehand if you're short on time as you can leave it in a little longer in the crockpot to cook. Also, I had an excess of ginger so I put waaaaaay more than is in the recipe and I have to say it does add more of a spicy flavour. Apologies for the rushed and dodgy plate pictures! TRY THIS NOW!!
We all know you can lose many hours scrolling through Pinterest and I was on the search for something to bring along to a work potluck breakfast. At first I thought this would be a nice healthy dish to bring but decided against it as I realised that the 'Surprise Entree' might have to be savoury rather than sweet. I made these Individual Baked Oatmeal muffins anyway as a tester for the actual day (even though I didn't use it in the end!)
Yay of Nay: Yay-ish but I'll reserve judgement until I try them again!
I did doctor the recipe as I thought 1/4 cup of honey was quite a lot, but it ended up being that they did need that extra sweetness and no amount of choc chips or berries would help that. I would also up the amount of berries in each portion to really get the flavour of it. Fresh raw cranberries so add a lovely tart dimension to it!
