Cupcakes

I asked a while ago on my Instagram poll if people wanted to see non SW food on my blog and the majority did so here is one to start off with. This is a very easy and simple cupcake recipe, my go to recipe, it is so easy to make that even my younger kids can make them (they’re 8 & 10 years old) without any supervision from me. Obviously if your children have never cooked before, please make sure you supervise them at all times.

If you’d like to work out the syn values for the cupcakes, you’ll need to work out the syn values for each ingredient and then divide it by the number of cupcakes made. The recipe below makes 12 cupcakes and I’ve worked out the syns value for you this time (without the icing) but that is not something I will be doing for future recipes – I have a lot of dessert and cake recipes to share and knowing the syn values will shock me and you! I will leave that for every reader to work out for themselves.

So, when using a light margarine such as Flora light to make these, the syn value for each cupcake will be 5.5 syns. If you choose to use regular margarine then the syns go up a little, each cupcake will then be 7 syns each. It is not that high to be fair and homemade goodies always taste so much better than shop bought, so definitely worth the syns. You could potentially have 2 cupcakes within your daily syns allowance!

The kids decorated the cupcakes simply by mixing icing sugar with water (until they got a sightly runny consistency) and topped them with sugar strands and balls and mini marshmallows. You can buy halal mini marshmallows from your local Asian supermarket but I like to get mine from Leicester – from a place called Mr. Burger! (yeah it is not a restaurant, they sell a whole range of frozen goodies and things from South Africa too, as well as tubs of halal sweets).

Don’t forget to tag me on your posts when you make these, I love looking at everyone’s posts, and feel free to share the recipe x

Cupcakes made & decorated by the kids

Cupcakes made & decorated by the kids

 

Makes: 12 cupcakes

Time Taken: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 115g margarine
  • 115g self raising flour
  • 115g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Beat the sugar and margarine together till light and fluffy.

Add in the eggs, one at a time, and mix thoroughly after each addition.

Add the flour and try not to overmix at this stage. Add the vanilla.

Pour the mixture into 12 muffin cases and cook in a pre heated oven for 15 minutes on gas mark 4.

You can check if the cupcakes are cooked by inserting a toothpick in the middle of one cupcake. If it comes out clean, then your cupcakes are done! If not, then leave them to cook a little longer. Try not to be tempted into opening your oven door too early, this may result in sunken cakes!

Firecracker Chicken

Last night I decided to try another one of Spicentice kits – Firecracker Chicken! I adapted the ingredients slightly to adjust to what I had at home and it was delicious.

I thought Firecracker Chicken sounded spicy and was worried that the hubby would find it too spicy but it had just the right amount for him and the kids. I added chilli flakes to mine as I love hot food! I eat super spicy food so for me this was a mild spice kit but I know many will probably find this just right for them. Below is the list of ingredients you will need to make this recipe with the spice kit, it is quite a straightforward recipe.

I used Crucials Chilli Ketchup for an added spicy kick but you can use just regular ketchup. Remember to double check syn values for yourself as different brands of sauces vary in syn values.

We all loved this meal and would have it again.

Enjoy x

Spicentice Firecracker Chicken

Spicentice Firecracker Chicken

Serves: 4

Syns: 2 syns per serving

Time Taken: 45 minutes (plus marinade time)

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 3 chicken breasts
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 1 tbsp ginger/garlic paste
  • 1 cup peas
  • 1 pepper
  • 1 lime
  • Spring onions
  • 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
  • 4 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • Spicentice Firecracker Sachet
  • Jasmine rice to serve

 

Firecracker Chicken with Jasmine Rice

Firecracker Chicken with Jasmine Rice

Method

Chop the pepper and onion into quarters, and chicken into bite sized chuncks.

In a large bowl add the tomato ketchup, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, the juice of 1 lime, 100ml water and Spicentice Firecracker Sachet. Then add 1/2 tbsp. ginger/garlic paste and the chicken. Mix all ingredients together and leave to marinade for at least 15 minutes.

Heat low cal spray oil in a wok over a medium heat. Add the remaining ginger/garlic paste and stir fry for a few seconds. Scoop out the chicken from the marinade and stir fry until the chicken is almost cooked through.

Add plain flour to the leftover marinade sauce and whisk thoroughly. Add to wok with extra water if needed (100ml). Allow to simmer, then add the onions, peppers and peas. Stir fry for 5-10 minutes and then garnish with spring onions.

Serve Spicentice Firecracker Chicken with Jasmine Rice.

Spice-N-Tice Meal Kits

I came across Spice-N-Tice when one of my lovely members and friend gave me a very thoughtful gift – Chilli Rocks! Some of you may know that I absolutely love chillies and spicy food, so when the lovely Halimah (@Halimah_official on Instagram, please check her out and give her a follow) gave me this, I was just over the moon.

The chilli rocks came in a pack of 6 different types of chilli pots ranging from an earthy, sweet and mild heat from Sweet Ancho to the world’s hottest chilli on record – Carolina Reaper! Perfect gift for chilli lovers like me and those who like it hot, hot, hot!

Chilli Rocks

Chilli Rocks

The fab people at Spice-N-Tice got in touch with me and kindly sent me some of their Meal Kits to try out . I was hoping to have tried a few of the kits by now but have been super busy with the summer break and have only tried one so far and it did not disappoint!

Spice-N-Tice Meal Kits

Spice-N-Tice Meal Kits

 

I tried the shawarma style Turkish Doner Kebab and even my fussy younger children loved that. All of the spice kits came with a shopping list and a very easy to follow cooking instructions. All of the meal kits I was sent were gluten free, vegan friendly and Slimming World friendly.

Shawarma Style Doner Kebab

Shawarma Style Doner Kebab

 

Keep an eye out for more about these spice kits on my instagram page – @Rahema_m

For a 20% discount code you can use the code RM20. Let me know in the comments which of the spice kits you have tried and is your favourite. Feel free to share the code with friends x

Bulgur Wheat

Bulgur wheat is a great alternative to rice or couscous. It is a Free Food and quite easy to make.

I used 120g of bulgur wheat and cooked that in with 600ml cold water for around 15 minutes. I also added one vegetable stock pot to it for flavour.

After the 15 minutes, I drained the water and added chickpeas, some garlic granules and chilli flakes.

Bulgur Wheat

Bulgur Wheat

When I made it again the other day, I added feta cheese to it and it was amazing!

We had it served with Peri Peri chicken and salad. It was delicious! You can add anything to the bulgur wheat – peppers, cherry tomatoes, sweet corn etc.

How do you have bulgur wheat when you make it? Comment below with your ideas.