You all know that I love making cupcakes, and Nigella really inspired me to do so!  I made another batch the other day, and I think they came out brilliantly...

What do you think?  Please post a comment...:)

Ever heard of pork sausages with butter beans and tomato sauce?  I guess we have all thought about a combination like that at some point.  I tried this for Michael and I last night.  Turned out really good.  The trick is to ensure that the beans and the sausages are cooked through, so I would fry them in some olive oil first before you put them all together in a baking tray and roast for 20 minutes in a moderate oven...

Really awesome and easy food!  :)

I have always heard of welsh rarebit, and I have even seen Nigella prepare it before, but because of my weirdly dark aversion to English mustard, I have avoided the mere thought of it.  BUT, last night I found the strength to just take the dive and make it!  So I did... English mustard and all...and guess what?  It was fantastic!  It really is SO nice and SO easy!  All you need is bread (ciabatta or normal bread), cheese, eggs and yes, English mustard.  Bang it all into the oven and hey...:)

Thank you Nigella again for changing my cooking life!

Hi everyone!  Again, the Italian in me inspired me to create something special for supper last night.  I have always liked the idea Nigella has to use turkey meatballs and pasta.  Unfortunately, I was out of turkey last night, so I had to grab the next best thing, which was mini pork sausages.  All I did was put a pot of pasta on the stove, and brought that to the boil.  Then I snipped the mini pork sausages in half and fried them in some olive oil.  I added some fresh chopped tomatoes (flesh and all), some garlic, oregano, and vinegar.  I also added some salt and pepper to taste.  I banged all this into a large bowl, tossed it all together and hey presto!  :)

I find more and more that learning from Nigella makes me feel more confident in the kitchen.  You can obviously follow the recipe exactly, but dwell a little and see what you can come up with!

Here is a pic of the Italian dish...:)

I spent Saturday making a batch of Nigella's famous cupcakes for a friend's birthday party!  I also decided to make a cake out of the same batter and see how it would turn out...here are the results...

Thanks Nigella!!

I have found making chicken (on the bone) so much easier since trying out numerous Nigella chicken recipes   And somehow, every time the meat is incredibly tender and even sweeter to taste.  I made some baked chicken covered in bacon, but added some crushed garlic and lemon between the chicken and the bacon.  The lemon permeated the entire piece of chicken and made the entire meal fresh and satisfying!  I served this up with some vegetables...:)

I made Michael's favorite last night again...chicken, mushrooms and bacon pie...it is always a winner, but I realized something about the gravy...the more flour you add, the thicker the gravy becomes...to many of you this might be obvious, but I learned that last night for the first time.  That fact is going to help me in future stews, pies and gravy en devours!  :)