Beef Wellington with Prosciutto

Another Sunday, & we've invited the Grandparents down for lunch. Lloyd & I went our usual early morning walk and decided to get some Beef. Originally planning to cook some Chicken, we realised this can get quite boring sometimes so we needed a change - Beef Wellington. A traditional Beef Wellington contains a good-quality beef fillet however today we decided to get 1 Kilo of beef brisket (it was delicious for half the price!)
Once we returned home, I started on massaging the beef with plenty of olive oil, whole-grain mustard, garlic and fresh rosemary. The Beef required 3 hours of cooking so it gave me a perfect amount of time to prepare the rest of the dish! (I have never made this before!)
I accompanied my Wellington with home-made Yorkshire's, carrot & swede mash, roast potatoes, roasted red onion & asparagus. I decided the wrap my Beef with Prosciutto & Puff Pastry  - 30 minutes before it was ready.

When the meat was ready to be wrapped with pastry, I collected the rich juices from the meat and added cornflour to make into a Gravy (& a little red wine!) - Strained and topped up with water it was delicious & aromatic. Definitely made the dish.

For a successful Sunday lunch/dinner I believe that preparation is key! (Including washing up as you go!)

Peeling, chopping, cleaning & cooking!
This had saved half of my day clearing up after the meal - not what you want after you've cooked for 3 hours.

Everything went according to plan - had a glass of Merlot along the way. The house smelt wonderful!
In the next couple of week's I will be writing you a recipe of my Beef Wellington (Frugal & easiest way) - watch out for that!

Spring Lambs with Nanny & Grandad

Day at the Zoo & Park

Feature Wednesday 'Living Chandelier'

Thank you for everyone that got involved in yesterday's #Week5 'Feature Wednesday' Linky Party. 
You all have wonderful & inspirational ideas - it's so great to see your sharing them.

Congratulations!
This week's winner is Julia over at 'Positivity Glamorous' with her bespoke DIY 'Living Chandelier' tutorial.
Julia's recycled chandelier (found from a Barn sale) has been transformed to a beautiful floral piece, letting your potted plants grow in your home. An amazing tip to water the plants (with no mess) - Icecubes! So simple, so frugal, perfect for the new season!
For the full post please visit HERE.

'Feature Wednesday' #Week 5

#Week 5 of 'Feature Wednesday' has arrived. Thank you for everyone who entered last week's feature post. I hope you all enjoyed winner Janine over at  'Encourage Play' for her 'Stuffed Animal Jet-Pack' tutorial.
If you have a post you would like to share live on 'Mama Bee Simple', simply add your link at the end of this post. I have selected a small group of topics to cover this week's linky party.

I do like to create a theme each week however any links related to activities, food, lifestyle & children is fine.

#Week5 Theme: Homemade, DIY, Budget, Recycle, Frugal

The most suited link will be chosen by the end of the day and I will feature your post at 'Mama Bee Simple' as well as all my social network sites.

Mama Bee knows that you all have some wonderful creations and spend so much time wanting to share so here is a lovely opportunity!

Good Luck!

Mama Bee

OXO Tot's Divided Plate

Unquestionably the most useful product during the weaning stage!

Do you usually guess the portion when it comes to your child's meal time? Too much? Too little?
This divided plate (6m+) teaches you the correct portion of proteins, grains and vegetables. 'OXO Tot's Divided Plate' also features a central 'dipping tray', perfect for sauces and condiments.
There is also a removable 'outer ring', great for guiding food onto little one's utensils and keeping food ON the plate rather than falling on the floor!

We all know keeping a balanced meal for your little ones is important for growth and development, however portion control is also very important. We all need a balance of certain food groups in our meal- enough of the guessing!


OXO Tot have a wonderful weaning range on their website, all important for little ones' development stage and tools that truly will be handy.

I just had to test this fantastic product for Leon!

'A new plate for me? Yay!'

'Look at all those colours!'

I'm so pleased Leon loved his OXO Tot plate, the useful outer ring prevented the food from spilling out of the plate, yes! I highly recommend owning this divided plate. You know your child is getting that perfect portion and your children will understand the different food groups. You can find this plate HERE in various colours. 

5 Minute Fresh Fruit Flan

Fresh Summer berries on a bed of Greek yoghurt and moist flan base. Drizzled with honey, this incredibly basic recipe could have been created by my 1 year old.
Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and any other berries you can think of are a perfect way to get your children to eat and enjoy fresh fruit. We all want our children to eat as much of their '5 a day' but sometimes this can be a struggle for those 'picky eaters'.
This flan contains calcium, plenty of vitamins and is a treat to eat!

Your child can learn different fruits, colours and textures. Eating should be enjoyable and also educational - who knew a flan could do this?!

Scroll down for recipe:

Leon enjoying his flan! 'Yum'

Ingredients:

Flan Base
Greek Yoghurt (full or half fat)
Blueberries
Strawberries (cut in thin slices)
Raspberries
Drizzle of honey (to taste)

Firstly you want to prepare your flan base onto a plate. Using a large spoon, dollop your Greek Yoghurt in the centre of the flan and spread out to the sides. Chop your strawberries (thinly) and arrange them around the base. Fill in the gaps with the blueberries and raspberries. Finally drizzle honey and let it rest to allow the flan to moisten.
Enjoy!

Rustic Apple & Cinnamon Porridge

Breakfast. Does it seem quite repetitive or even boring? Not having enough time in the day probably means you've gone for the easiest option rather than the best option! If your a porridge fan you must try this recipe. Grated dessert apple drizzled with a touch of 'runny honey' is toddler approved and a family favourite! (My son even scraped the bowl!) Really simple to make, low-cost and your house smells so warm and cosy!

'Because this is a 'rustic' bowl of porridge, perfection is off the cards.'
Scroll down for the recipe:

I think there is no right or wrong way of making porridge. If you don't use cow's milk, use an alternative. If you use water, then you know it's not as creamy but still the porridge you love and know. Having time on my hands, I like to use the microwave to cook my rolled oats.

Ingredients:
Rolled Oats (serving portion)
(Milk/Milk altern/Water) - Your choice
Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Dessert Apple (Grated)
Drizzle Honey

Because this is a 'rustic' bowl of porridge, perfection is off the cards.
The rules are simple, cook your porridge either on the stove top or in the microwave. You know it's ready when the porridge is creamy and glossy. If you have used water you will know the consistency that suits you! Whilst your porridge is piping hot, quickly peel and grate your dessert apple. Mix your apple into the porridge followed by a pinch of cinnamon and a drizzle of honey.
Ready, get, set, EAT! 


Enjoy

The Royal Garden Hotel

London. Very rarely has a trip to London not been action-packed! The vibrant red buses, the busy streets of flawless fashion & coffee shops every where you look. Of course,  using the London Underground, seeing Buckingham Palace and going on the London-Eye are pretty much the top 3 things on the list when you first visit. What's on the top of your list when you think of visiting the Capital?
How about visiting Kensington? One of the wealthiest, family-friendly parts of London? You might be wondering where this is leading to. Tots100 are giving UK mum Bloggers a wonderful opportunity to be a guest at the Royal Garden Hotel! Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps - what a fantastic treat that would be for our family.

Kensington is surrounded by plenty of museums such as the Science and Natural History Museum. I can just see my son pointing at everything and overwhelmed by how our world works. My son (& fiance) love 'stars' 'dinosaurs' 'aliens', you name it. Not sounding soppy - being away from my partner half of the year always gets to me. I can never get used to the fact he is away at sea every other week - nor our 1 year old son! It's a wonderful time when he comes home from the Ferry and we always try to cram in as many activities as possible. As soon as I saw Tots100's competition I just HAD to enter.

Lloyd and I love to travel, in the UK, abroad, or even down to the beach. The company and family time is always so important. One of the things I have learnt since being a mother is that time is precious. Too precious. 

Thinking that we wouldn't have to do the 'same old' chores means we can have that quality time to enjoy ourselves - and use that expensive rucksack for Leon to sit in on day-trips. (Hardly used). 

The idea of enjoying a spa treatment not worrying about play-dough drying up on the carpet would be a bonus. Come on, Mother's Day was brilliant but wouldn't this be the icing on the cake?

If you'd like to have a chance to win a trip to the Royal Garden Hotel, click HERE.

Feature Wednesday 'Stuffed Animal Jet Pack'

Thank you for everyone that got involved in yesterday's #Week4 'Feature Wednesday' Linky Party. 
You all have wonderful & inspirational ideas - it's so great to see your sharing them.

Congratulations!
This week's winner is Janine over at 'Encourage Play' with her 'Stuffed Animal Jet Pack' tutorial.
Janine's inspired and recyclable 'Jet Packs' are a hit for the kids! I love knowing that the children will be running around all day, role-playing and having fun! (Not to mention it's all recycled!) - this just had to be a Feature Wednesday winner!

For the full post please visit HERE.

Liebster Award

I'm thrilled to be nominated for the 'Liebster Award'. Thank you Kelly from 'A Toddler and a Broken Foot'. This is Mama Bee's first award and have chosen 11 top reads/inspirational blogs that I highly recommend visiting. (With 11 questions I have written for them all!)

As part of my nomination, Kelly has written 11 personal questions for me to answer so here they are:

1. Where would you like your blog to take you? As a lifestyle/family blog, there are many subjects to talk about and directions to take. Originally I wanted to share my ideas and experiences to my readers.Now? I still do this but have a goal to start an e-book and progress to writing a book. Maybe you can help me follow this journey. 2. What album are you listening to in your car/home at the minute? Music is always on in the house - A mixture of classics such as Abba or new artists such as George Ezra. 3. What is your favourite type of takeaway? A classic Italian Pizza! 4. How would somebody close to you describe you? Always keeping busy. 5. What can’t you miss on tv? Dinner Date! 6. How often do you check twitter? Since blogging, regularly. 7. If you could be on holiday anywhere in the world right now where would you be? New Zealand 8. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? I can't remember, it's been that long. How sad. 9. What was the last concert/gig you went to and when? Oh dear.. I honestly can't remember! 10. How long have you been blogging for? Since the beginning of the year! January 2015 - New Year's resolution! 11. What 3 things can’t you live without? My son's favourite Mickey Mouse toy, my son & my fiance!

Mama Bee's Top 11 inspirational reads: Artful Parent Crafty Morning Little Worlds The Preschool Toolbox Every Star Is Different Crystal and Comp Learning and Exploring Through Play Danya Banya A Little Pinch of Perfect Back to the Book Nutrition Sugar & Cloth

My questions for you all:

1. What made you decide to blog? 2. What inspires you?
3. Are there enough hours in the day for you? 4. What makes you relax? 5. Do you like your routine? 6. Favourite recipe? 7. Most used social network? 8. Is blogging a big part of your life? 9. Where in the world are you? 10. Do you often share posts? 11. Favourite show?

The Rules!Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.Answer the questions above and post on your blog.Nominate 11 other blogs with less than 400 followersAsk 11 questions of your ownLet all nominees know you’ve nominated them.

'Feature Wednesday' #Week 4

#Week 4 of 'Feature Wednesday' has arrived. Thank you for everyone who entered last week's feature post. I hope you all enjoyed winner Anik over at  'Frog in a Pocket' for her 'Texture Painting on Canvas' activity.
If you have a post you would like to share live on 'Mama Bee Simple', simply add your link at the end of this post. I have selected a small group of topics to cover this week's linky party.

I do like to create a theme each week however any links related to activities, food, lifestyle & children is fine.

#Week4 Theme: Spring, Colour, Solar Eclipse, Science, Explore, Experiment,

The most suited link will be chosen by the end of the day and I will feature your post at 'Mama Bee Simple' as well as all my social network sites.

Mama Bee knows that you all have some wonderful creations and spend so much time wanting to share so here is a lovely opportunity!

Good Luck!

Mama Bee

A Big Thank You!

To have such a passion when cooking is one thing, to have people use my recipes is another.

A big thank you to everyone who has supported Mama Bee and been inspired to experiment in the kitchen, whether it be for your taste buds or your family!

These delicious 'Cheesy Bites' have been cooked by Holly. If you want my original recipe, click HERE.

If you are keen to try one of my recipes, please send me a photo so I can share them!

Mama Bee

Cheesy Easter Bites

These beautiful soft cheesy bites are an excellent treat for Easter. Simple to make and child friendly, it's definitely something to add in the lunch box! Mature Cheddar and a pinch of Italian herbs bring out the most wonderful fragrant smell. From start to finish this recipe took me 20 minutes to make. (Get your children to make these with you!) They will love them.

Scroll down for my recipe.

You will need:
Easter shaped cookie cutters
Rolling Pin

Ingredients:
Self raising flour 70g
2 tsps butter (softened)
Handful of grated cheese
Pinch of Italian mixed herbs
2 tsps of water

To make these charming Easter cookies, preheat your oven to 200'C. You will need a mixing bowl and some scales. Measure out your dry ingredients first followed by your grated cheese and butter. Start crumbling the mixture with your hands, until they appear in a breadcrumb form. Finally add your water to combine into a dough. If it's too dry add a little more, if too wet add a little flour.

Roll out your cheesy dough about half an inch thick. With your cookie cutters press firmly on the dough and place on a baking sheet ready for the oven. Once you've used up all the dough and happy with your shapes, place them in the oven for 5-8 minutes.

They should have risen into a golden colour, perfect! Simply let them cool on a cooking rack. Once cooled, they are ready to eat. Perfect on their own or with a red onion chutney!

Feature Wednesday 'Texture Painting on Canvas'

Thank you for everyone that got involved in yesterday's #Week3 'Feature Wednesday' Linky Party.
You all have wonderful ideas and it's great to see your sharing them.
Congratulations!
This week's winner is Anik over at 'Frog in a Pocket'
Her wonderful post exploring texture and paint was a lovely activity. Anik has shared her post about 'Texture Painting on Canvas'. Not only does your child feel like a true artist, they are learning to explore & touch. Lean about texture and design.
For the full post please visit HERE.

Well done to everybody who entered, please come back again next Wednesday for #Week4 of Mama Bee's Linky Party.

Good Luck!
Mama Bee

'Feature Wednesday' #Week 3

#Week 3 of 'Feature Wednesday' has arrived. Thank you for everyone who entered last week's feature post. I hope you all enjoyed winner Susen Kuchta over at 'Dabbling Momma' for her 3D Spring art.
If you have a post you would like to share live on 'Mama Bee Simple', simply add your link at the end of this post. I have selected a small group of topics to cover this week's linky party.

#Week3 Theme: Garden, Spring, Mother's Day, Craft, Painting, Flowers, Nature

The most suited link will be chosen by the end of the day and I will feature your post at 'Mama Bee Simple' as well as all my social network sites.

Mama Bee knows that you all have some wonderful creations and spend so much time wanting to share so here is a lovely opportunity!

Good Luck!

Mama Bee

'Just Corkered' Corkers Crisps

Best friends since childhood, Ross Taylor and Rod Garnham co-founders of 'Corkers Crisps', took a daring approach launching their brand during the heat of recession. Family run farm since the 1800's, Ross was passed down all the knowledge of their tasty spuds. Originally selling their potatoes to the fish & chip industry, that soon changed to the crisp world. These clever entrepreneurs have a reason behind why they are so successful. Your probably thinking another bag of 'posh' crisps - Oh how very wrong you are. 

Supporting British Farmers

The success of this 'all-natural' British Crisp brand is by growing their own product - Signature ingredient: The Naturalo Potato. With perfect frying qualities, this is what creates the unique taste and crunch unlike the average brand. Taylor and Garnham have so much passion for the Naturalo potato it definitely shows in their delicious range of award winning crisps. 

Mostly found at Supermarkets and village shops, you might also recognise 'Corkers Crisps' if you have been a passenger on British Airways.

Corker's have given me a lovely opportunity to taste the full range of their brand. These hand cooked crisps are so unique and distinctive in flavour, definitely my first choice of crisps.

'Gressingham Duck & Hosin Sauce flavour'. - Hand cooked in sunflower oil , Corker's have partnered with Gressingham to combine their Naturalo potatoes and remarkable Duck.
Read more about their partnership.

Mama Bee says - Mouthwatering & Fantastically Crisp.

Full range please visit : www.corkerscrisps.co.uk

Come support & follow Corker's Crisps on Twitter & Facebook