Vegan,Pearl,Barley,Soup,With,Seasonal,Vegetables,In,Rural,Mugs

Chorizo and pearl barley soup

by RecipesSoups

This is the perfect soup to warm you up, fill you with goodness and is so easy to make, as it is so filling you can have this for a winter tea with warm crusty bread.

I used ASDA pearl barley which is 65p for a 500g bag, chorizo sausage which was £2.50 and the chopped tomatoes at 65p a tin. An inexpensive family meal under £5 or a weeks worth of lunches for 1 person.

This recipe will make up 6 generous bowls.

Ingredients

75g of diced chorizo

1 large white onion finely chopped

2 large carrots

2 celery stalks

2 cloves of garlic crushed

150g of pearl barley

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp harissa paste

1 tbsp turmeric

1 litre of vegetable stock

Method

Heat up some olive oil in a large pan and fry off the chorizo until it starts to look crispy. Add in the diced onion, celery and carrot and soften.

Add in the harissa paste and the turmeric, stir and fry for a few more minutes. Add in the 1 litre of stock, the pearl barley and tin of tomatoes. simmer for 30 minutes as this soup gets quite thick add in more boiled water if needed.

Part blend when you are happy with the consistency and serve.

I love soup especially in the cooler months so I have plenty more tasty recipes for you to make, just click here.

Thai basil minced pork. Rice topped with Thai basil minced pork, Thai food.

Sweet Chilli pork

by Recipes

A delicious low calorie pork mince recipe that makes a quick and simple midweek meal that the whole family will enjoy. This recipe serves 4 people.

Ingredients

500g lean pork mince

1 large red onion

1 large red pepper

1 large yellow pepper

2 garlic cloves

350g of sweet chilli low fat sauce

soy sauce

3 tbsp of tomato puree

To make

Chop your peppers, red onion and crush the garlic cloves.

Heat up your oil, add the onion and fry until soft. Then add in the minced pork.

Once the pork has browned add in the peppers, crushed garlic and stir into the mince. Cook for 5 minutes.

Add in the sweet chilli sauce, a splash of soy sauce and 3 tbsp of tomato puree. Simmer until nice and thick, approx 20 minutes and then serve with rice or noddles.

If you want to add in more vegetables sweetcorn or peas work really well

Enjoy

Woman's,Hands,In,A,Yellow,Rubber,Protective,Glove,And,A

Fridge Cleaning

by Cleaning Tips

When it comes to keeping the kitchen clean and organised at the top of most people’s list is the surfaces and cupboards But don’t forget one of the most used areas in your kitchen and that is fridge, so many people forget to clean and organise the fridge and just load foods in weekly without having a good sort through and clean.  Fridges can really smell if they are not looked after and a dirty fridge can lead to cross contamination and make us ill. . 

42% of UK people clean their fridge once a month, and a shocking 18% clean it only once a year. 

Keep on top of your Fridge with these very simple tips

Deep clean your fridge weekly

You are probably thinking to yourself why on earth is she suggesting this does she not realise I run a busy household and work full-time!  But this really doesn’t take that long at all.  By the day your food shopping arrives your fridge should be nearly empty so this task is automatically easier. Take everything that is left in out and clean shelf by shelf as you go.  Decide if the food you have left is still edible and then throw away the rest.

Wipe Shelves

Take the shelves out and simply wash them with warm soapy water. Dry and put back straight away.  If you have any sticky patches use a cold scrub daddy.

Check food dates

When cleaning use this time to check through any food that are left and check sell by dates. If you can’t remember how old something is then to be of the safe side I would chuck it out.  If sell by dates aren’t easily visible stick a sticky label on the jar/packet with the month and date clearly written.

Leftovers

Keep leftovers in small plastic containers labelled. I find the containers you get after having a Chinese or Indian are really handy and a great size too.  Also label the portion size and the date you put it in the fridge.

Wipe down the shelves with warm soapy water and dry. No matter how careful you are, invariably food can drizzle out or spill down the side of a container onto a refrigerator shelf. Clean it all up so you’re ready to reload.food zones. It might seem silly to have zones in your refrigerator, but this is helps me not only remember where things belong, but it’s helpful to other family members and guests who are helping out in the kitchen. You can even use actual labels for the shelves so everyone should know where things go! There are some cute repositionable ones that can make it look nicer toon too. Take note of the height of your items that will go back in so that you can group like items adjust shelf heights if necessary. Another idea is to use bins or plastic baskets to organize items by group. For example, you can keep your entire sandwich making condiments in a bin and when it’s time to make sandwiches, you can pull it out and have everything handy for all preferences without having to open the refrigerator several times.

Food Zones

It’s very important to keep your food in the correct area to avoid food contamination and e-coli.

Dairy products and juices should be placed in the side where cold air blows, this area is cool but not too cold.

Meats and fish should be on the mid-tier shelf

Cheeses and cold meats should be placed in a fridge drawer.

Salad and vegetables can be in one of the drawers, still cool but not too cold so they do not freeze. One of these drawers usually has a humidity control.

Eggs and butter should be placed in a compartment protected by a cover so that they do not get too cold (eggs) or too hard (butter).

If you fridge doesn’t have many compartments use these handy fridge storage baskets and fridge fresh will eliminate bad odours.

Exterior

The exterior of your fridge can get pretty dirty from constant use. Any good general purpose cleaning product should work, and a spray bottle is essential. If you have a stainless steel refrigerator, make sure you read the cautions before you buy a cleaner, so that you can be certain it won’t damage the finish. For a simple cleaning solution, use a mixture of white vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Buff dry using a Stainless Steel e-cloth

Schedule your fridge clean in your cleaning schedule. I like to clean out my refrigerator weekly, before rubbish collection day and before the shopping is delivered.

Want more cleaning tips then grab a copy of one of my books and I will show you how to clean your house and tidy up your life

egg

The messiest stains at Easter Time

by Laundry

Who doesn’t love chocolate Easter Eggs?

The Easter weekend is a traditional a time to give out chocolate eggs and let the kids go crazy with Easter Egg hunts and mountains of delicious chocolate and Easter cakes.

As yummy as chocolate is, Chocolate will stain over the easter period along with other stains such as grass stains, mud, butter from delicious hot cross buns and sticky finger marks.  

If you catch the stains quickly they don’t tend to be a problem and my stain busting guide has most of them covered.

But when left untreated for a few hours they can become hard to shift as the stain will absorb itself into the fabric.

I have put together a few very simple tips to help you tackle those Easter weekend stains.

Grass Stains

To remove ground in tough grass stains from children’s clothes.  Simply add a Stain remover and leave to soak for at least 15 minutes before washing as normal.

 If you don’t have a stain treatment to hand then good old washing up liquid or using a liquid laundry detergent as a pretreat should work.  Once you have left the soap to soak into the garment then, get a toothbrush and gentle rub over the stain to work the liquid into the area. Finally add to your washing machine and pop on the highest temperature the garment will take.

If you are out and about when the stain hits, grab your hand sanitiser and cover as much of the stain as possible.

If your stain has not been completely lifted after washing, you may want to consider using rubbing alcohol or hairspray. The reason why is that the alcohol found in these products breaks down the green pigments in grass stains.

If you are using rubbing alcohol, dab a small amount onto a clean cloth, and gently sponge it over your stain. When you see the colour lifting, rinse your garment in cold water and continue with the usual removal process. 

To use hairspray, spray a liberal amount over your stain and wait for it to completely dry. Once it has dried, used a soft-bristled brush, such as a toothbrush to scrub at your stain. When you notice the colour begin to fade, flush out the hairspray with cold water. 

Butter 

Hot cross buns are complimented perfectly when topped with a generous amount of butter. If you accidentally drop some butter on your clothing, don’t panic, simply follow these instructions. 

If your butter stain has been caused by a blob of butter, begin the removal process by using a butter knife or spoon to gently lift as much solid butter as possible.

After you have removed any solid bits of butter, use a clean white cloth, or paper towel, to gently dab the stain. Make sure that you are dabbing and not rubbing, as rubbing will cause your stain to set further into your clothing.

Once you have removed as much excess oil from the stain as possible, sprinkle a generous amount of either cornstarch, bicarbonate of soda, chalk or talcum powder over your stain. Allow your powder to sit on your stain for at least 15 minutes to give it an ample amount of time to absorb as much oil as possible. After 15 minutes, gently brush the powder off of your item. 

Next cover the stain with either your liquid laundry detergent or washing up liquid and gently work into the stain using your fingers.

Finally, wash your item as you usually would. If your stain has not been removed, repeat the process. 

Mud Stains

Pre-soak the garment as soon as possible in a bowl of cold water with 3 heaped tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda for approx one hour.  Then pop in the wash as normal with the highest temperature the garment will allow.

Chocolate stains

Gently wipe as much of the excess chocolate as you can, taking care not to push the stain deeper into the fibres. You can use a blunt knife or credit card for this. Then flush out as much chocolate as you can using cold running water from the back of the stain. Make sure that you are using cold and not hot water because hot water will only set your chocolate stain further into your clothing. 

Soak in a solution of detergent and warm water for at least 30 minutes before washing as usual at the highest temperature allowed.

Want to learn more crazy cleaning tips then then grab a copy of one of my books and I will show you how to clean your house and tidy up your life