Quick and easy pasta sauce

This week I wanted to feature something quick and simple, and something I make nearly every week. When you've run out of ideas, or food, or you just want something easy to make, pasta is always the answer for me. It's filling, delicious and really quick to make. I was sick of buying different pasta sauces as they were always either expensive for a little pasta sauce or the sugar content was always way too high for a sauce. So I just started making my own. This one is really easy and the ingredients will probably be some of the things you already have in the press or if you need to buy them, then they should last you for a really long time. Now I know I'm not an Italian chef, or know much about cooking really, but I make this enough times during the week that I can guarantee that it tastes good!

You'll need:
1 box of Cucina Passata Sieved Italian Tomatoes (500g)
1/2 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 teaspoon of basil
1/4 teaspoon of parsley
1/2 teaspoon of pepper (coarse)
2 pinches of sea salt
1/3 teaspoon of chilli flakes (if you want it spicy)
1 clove of garlic (finely chopped or crushed)
1 fresh tomato (diced)
3 mushrooms (chopped)
olive oil
Also any added ingredients you like such as onion, peppers, etc.

What you need to do:
In a bowl add the passata sauce along with all the herbs and spices, and mix. Leave to one side.
In a pot add a small bit of olive oil and wait for it to heat up a bit.
Then add in your garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, and any extra ingredients you like.
Wait around 3-4 minutes for the ingredients to cook a bit, then add your sauce.
Leave to simmer on a medium to low heat while you make your pasta.
Be sure to stir it every now and again so nothing sticks to the end of the pot.
When your pasta is ready, drain off the water and mix in the sauce on a low heat.
Then serve!

I hope this recipe comes in handy whenever you need a nice filling meal, or are too lazy to cook anything else. This is also a great recipe to have, as most of the ingredients will expire quickly so you can always have the basic recipe in your press. This sauce can also be used as a pizza sauce too for the base of your pizza, just leave out the whole ingredients such as the whole tomato and mushroom, and keep them as your toppings instead. There's also no need to cook it if your going to use it as a pizza sauce, just mix the passata, herbs and spices and add on the pizza base!

Enjoy!
Jess x

American Style Pancakes

Almost every weekend, either before work or on my day off, I make american style pancakes for us as a treat. I started off using a basic recipe online but changed it a little bit to make it better. This mix should make around 10-12 pancakes. I usually add some chocolate chips to the different ladles of pancake mix, or marshmallows. You can add whatever ingredient you can think of, but make sure the added ingredient is mixed into the pancake mix or covered by the mix, so it doesn't burn on the pan.

You'll need:
1 tablespoon of baking powder
A pinch of salt (I use sea salt)
1 teaspoon of granulated white sugar
2 (medium or large) free range eggs (beaten)
30g irish butter (melted and cooled)
300ml whole milk
225g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon Madagascan vanilla
Some butter to use for pan.

What you need to do:
Melt butter in microwave and leave to cool.
Mix all dry ingredients (flour, salt, sugar and baking powder) in a bowl.
Add milk and mix thoroughly.
Add butter and mix.
Add eggs and vanilla and mix.
Heat butter on pan until melted (on a medium heat), and pour a soup ladle almost full of pancake mix onto the pan.
Wait until blisters appear on pancake and then flip.
Repeat this process.
Each pancake will take around 1 minute to make.

To keep pancakes hot while making the whole batch, turn grill on to a low settings and make sure the tray is as low as it can be. Put a plate on the tray and add pancakes to it as you go, to keep them warm. Top with cream or maple syrup, or anything you can think of. I usually use maple syrup and raspberries, which makes a delicious combo on a stack of pancakes.

Enjoy,
Jess x

Granola

I'm a big lover of breakfast and brunch, or anything snack like really. But my main obsession at the minute is making some homemade granola and having it with natural greek yoghurt, raspberries and honey. I mainly started making granola myself as there was always something in the ones you can buy in the shops that I didn't want to eat, such as dried strawberries (Bleh!) or hazelnuts (not a fan!) So I wanted to share the recipe for the granola I make at home. This is also a recipe where you can add whatever you want to as well, e.g. more seeds, less seeds, dried fruit, etc. This mix will fill a medium Ikea jar.

So here's what you'll need:
3 cups large porridge oats
A handful of almonds (pop them in a sambo bag and beat them, saves time on chopping)
3 tablespoons of honey
Some butter
Any extra ingredient you'd like to add

Let's get started:
Add oats and almonds, and rest of dry ingredients to a bowl and mix.
Add your honey and mix altogether.
Add a bit of butter to a pan on a high heat. 
Add granola mix and continuously mix with a wooden spoon.
(May need to do 2 batches depending on size of pan)
Mix in pan for 5-7 minutes until mix is golden brown.
Add to an air tight jar (I used this Ikea one), leave jar open until mix is cool.
Mix will store for 1-2 weeks (if you can even leave it that long).

Enjoy!
Jess x