Weigh in Wednesday

Ok, so another of my resolutions is to lose weight!
Yes ive said it before...infact, yes, i say it every year!
This year I have so much happening that I really want to get into shape to enjoy - trip to Geneva with mum in March, Treking the Grand Canyon in October with little sis for Breakthrough Breast Cancer charity... to name just a couple!

I seriously can not imagine lugging round the extra weight im carrying and cant always pass it off as post baby fat - especially when Evie is coming up to 2!! lol

Today it all starts with my weigh in (im not divulging the actual amount as its THAT bad!!) However I will say I have a lot to lose and will use this as my weekly journal for keeping track of diet/exercise/done/not done and attitude towards it all (hopefully positive!) lol
I will be working out with Jillian Michaels on both the 30 day shred and the 6 week 6 packHowever.....I am aware she is a fitness expert and not a magician so im not expecting to end up looking like her within my deadline!! lol

Odeon Cinema Voucher Giveaway :)

I have been so lucky this past 5 months, what with winning prizes and trips away etc that I thought 2012 would be my year to pay it back :)

This will be the first giveaway of 52 this year - 1 every Tuesday. Today the first one will be listed - you have until Sunday night to pop your name down. Monday I will pick a winner and announce after the recipe post. Then we start again with the next one the following day :) Got it?! Yep?! Ok Here we go then! :)

I am offering up 3 x £10 Odeon Cinema vouchers. Yep £30 worth of vouchers for one lucky winner who pops their name down in the comment section - no signing up to twitter, facebook etc - just pop your 'yes please' in the comments section below to be in the running :)

Here is the Odeon Cinema finder to see if theres one in your area!

Winner announced on Monday :)

(All prizes are provided by myself - no sponsorship, affiliations with companies etc) If I do company giveaways they will be on seperate days and shown as sponsored posts.

Good Luck
xxx

Coconut & Lime Cake - Week 1

Ok ladies here we go :)

I will be posting the full recipe and ingredients list on a Monday as I have lots more to upload through the week too so no split Monday/Wednesday posting.

Ingredients:

Cake:

200g caster sugar
200g butter
4 eggs
200g self raising flour
1tsp baking powder
1 lime - rind and juice
20ml Malibu
100g desicated coconut

Frosting:

200g caster sugar
80ml water
5ml Malibu
half tsp cream of tartar
3 egg whites

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time scraping the mix down from the side between each addition.
Add the baking power to the flour and spoon into your mix until fully incorporated. Mix in the desicated coconut and add the Malibu folding gently.
Divide mix between 2 cake tins and smooth.
Bake in a preheated oven at 170 degrees for 25 minutes.
While the cake is cooling make up the frosting. Add the sugar, cream of tartar and water together in a pan and heat until clear and bubbling.
Pour into a mixer once cooled slightly and add the egg whites while mixing on high for approx 10 minutes.
While waiting for the frosting to cool fully you can toast the coconut until lightly browned.
(watch it doesnt catch the bottom of the pan - it literally takes 2 minutes to brown)
Place one of your cakes on the cakestand, top down to create a flat platform for the frosting.
Add the first layer of frosting and level out.
Add the second cake...
Cover the complete outside of the cake - top and sides.
Sprinkle the finished cake with toasted coconut.
Slice and serve :)
Enjoy xxx

Kerrygold Recip-e-book with Rachel Allen...

.....and featuring my PB&J cupcakes!! They tried out the recipe and loved it so they recreated the cakes for photo purposes and included them in the book with credit to me :)The book is available for free download from the Kerrygold facebook page (click on the link on the left hand side)
Check back tomorrow for week 1 of our CountryHeart&Home Cooks 2012! Remember to click on the facebook link to join in with chat and share your photos too - are you ready!?!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

I am so looking forward to 2012!!
So much happening!!
So much to do!!

See you soon!!
Debbie
x

Do you know what causes most arguments on Christmas day??

Personally i would have said lack of batteries!

Its actually carving the turkey!!

To give men a helping hand this year Colman’s have compiled the ultimate top 10 tips to carving the perfect Christmas bird as well as a carving masterclass video with TOWIE star Sam Faiers and Colman’s butchers.

The research found that

• 72%* of UK mums spend up to six hours (87%*) in the kitchen on Christmas Day
• Dads don’t want the job of carving the turkey - with almost half (47%) actually being forced to do the job
• Nearly half of dads (44%*) admit they actually don’t have a clue what they are doing when carving and 45% say they dread having to do the job on Christmas Day
• Almost a quarter of mums find having to tidy up by themselves to be the number one cause of arguments over the yuletide

What causes most arguments in your home over Christmas and what do you do to combat those humbug moments?? :)

Its getting closer!!

Are you prepared for the big day?

I still have a few little Christmas pressies to get then do the food shopping and im done! I will no doubt bake some more too before the day as my fudge didnt set (anyone know a foolproof recipe??) and the rocky road is going to be gone well before Santa arrives! lol

I made my usual rocky road but this time added dark and milk chocolate, Lebkuchen, whole dark cherries, brazil nuts, golden syrup and butter!! YUMM!!
I also tried something new - Panforte - wow! Its gorgeous but you could only eat a small bit at a time as its rather filling! It has lots of almonds, hazelnuts, mixed peel, chocolate, honey, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg!! Delicious!

Whats on your to do list?