New and Improved Galaxy Chocolate Goodies

I received a lovely bundle packed with some fantastic Galaxy goodies to try out.  As a self-confessed chocolate lover, I was only too delighted to test out the range of new and improved Galaxy grocery products which included a selection of drinks and spreads!

The package looked so lovely,  presented in the bright pink organza bag, that I thought it would make a wonderful Christmas gift for chocolate lovers, which would make a change from a conventional box of chocolates!

The package included:

Galaxy Chocolate and Hazelnut Spread

Milky Way Stripey Spread

Mars Thick Shake

Galaxy Caramel Thick Shake

Maltesers Thick Shake

Galaxy Iced Coffee Mocha Latte Single Shot

Galaxy Iced Coffee Mocha Latte Double Shot

Galaxy instant Hot Chocolate

Galaxy Frothy Top Hot Chocolate

Imagine your favourite chocolate as a spread in a squeezable tube ready to be enjoyed!  The spreads are a convenient way to enjoy delicious Galaxy squeezed directly on bread, toast, fruit, desserts or biscuits.  The creamy, rich Galaxy and Hazelnut Spread would be a great topping for a cupcake or muffin.  The Milky Way Stripey Spread is a really fun product for little chocolate lovers to enjoy!

The Thick Shakes come ready to drink from the bottle and come in Mars, Galaxy Caramel and Maltesers flavours.  They are ambient products so are great for taking out and about but are best served chilled.  The kids made short work of the shakes and declared them as delicious!

The Galaxy Iced Coffee Mocha Lattes have been rebranded and improved.  They combine two of my favourite things - delicious coffee with the smooth taste of chocolate and are my hands down favourite Galaxy product.  They are indulgent and delicious, giving me a perfect pick-me-up when I fancy something yummy.  At just over 200 calories they aren't too calorific, but taste like a real treat.

The hot chocolates are a perfect warming drink for the winter and are so convenient.  Just add to hot water to make a deliciously chocolatey drink.  The Frothy Top Galaxy gives you a lovely, creamy top to your drink...perfect for giving you a hot chocolate moustache as you sip it!  You can make it with hot milk for an even creamier hot choccie.

The New and Improved Galaxy and Mars products are excellent.  They are delicious and add a bit of luxury and indulgence to everyday life.  Find them in the supermarket and give yourself a treat!

Hotel Chocolat Classic Christmas Selection Review

Hotel Chocolat have sent me a Sleekster box of their Classic Christmas Selection chocolates to try out. The beautiful red box is decorated with silver embellishments and looks positively festive.  It contains 28 individually crafted chocolates in milk, dark and white, perfect for sharing.

The box has a sleeve which has the chocolate menu printed onto it.  These are the chocolates in the Classic Christmas Selection:

Chambord Royale -A real Champagne truffle blended with black raspberry liqueur.

Christmas Mess - Fruity cranberry ganache and strawberry mousse with meringue sprinkles.

Cranberry Cup - Tangy cranberries blended in a more-cocoa white chocolate ganache.

Rum Punch -A creamy milk truffle with ginger and orange and premium Jamaican rum.

Nutmeg & Almond Praline - Almond praline flavoured with nutmeg.

White Chocolate & Vanilla Bell - Cast in  creamy white chocolate with vanilla essence and seeds.

Dark Christmas Tree - Cast in  smooth dark chocolate with deep aromas and punchy cocoa notes.

50% Milk Bauble - Deeply chocolaty but still milky – made with less sugar and more cocoa.

Pistachio Praline Crunch - Pistachio praline with cherry and a hint of rose and a whole pistachio nut.

Mulled Port - A warming truffle with  ruby port, spiced with Pimento leaf and bitter orange.

Marzipan & Amaretto Truffle - Fine almond marzipan softened with a splash of mellow amaretto.

Caramel Supernova - A star of oozingly soft caramel paired with 70% dark chocolate.

Praline Crisp Star - A contrast of smooth, mellow praline and masses of nibbly feuilletine.

The chocolates look beautiful, with some vibrant festive colours and Christmas shapes.  The flavours are all very seasonal featuring fruity cranberries, boozy port and rum, spicy nutmeg and rich marzipan.  The flavour combinations are very imaginative and sophisticated, providing an exciting taste journey for discerning palates.

The textures and tastes were all very interesting and fans of Hotel Chocolat will not be disappointed by this festive selection with its combination of seasonal flavours, which are on a whole adventurous and surprising.

My favourite chocolate was the Praline Crisp Star with smooth praline and crispy feuilletine enrobed in milk chocolate and shaped like a Christmas star.  It was lovely and looked beautiful.  This is perhaps the most mainstream of all the chocolates in the selection, but the quality was exceptional. 

The Sleekster box fits through most letterboxes so can be delivered even if no-one's home and costs £23.00.  If you buy three or more seasonal Sleeksters the price is discounted to £21.00.

See more chocolate gifts from Hotel Chocolat at www.hotelchocolat.com

Give IKEA Soft Toys this Christmas and Support the IKEA Foundation

This year  a selection of the IKEA soft toy range takes inspiration from children’s fairy tales.  Featuring dragons, billy goats, fairies, elves and unicorns, the quirky, cute and cuddly range is really delightful.  

Giving IKEA soft toys means you are giving more than just a gift to your child because for every soft toy and children’s book sold between now and the 4th January 2014, IKEA Foundation will donate €1 to children’s education through UNICEF and Save the Children. Since 2003, the campaign has reached more than 10 million children through 90 projects in 46 different countries.

FLYGDRAKE £8

In store at IKEA, you can also purchase a soft toy directly for a local child who might be in need of some extra cheer this Christmas, and pop it into the Donation Box. With toys starting at just 40p and some at £1, it's an easy way to spread the joy of Christmas.

GETDJUR £1.50

IKEA sell a great range of soft toys and dolls in all sorts of shapes and sizes, so you will be able to find something to please everyone.  I love their cuddly animals which are so soft and the hobby horse toys are perfect for active kids.

LOJLIG £8.00

The little elf toys (pictured below) at just £1.50 would make a lovely 'Elf on the Shelf' toy for Christmas so you could could join in and make this a new Christmas tradition for your children. There are cuddly foxes, sharks, snakes and dogs for animal lovers. They even have a cuddly Broccoli toy for children who love their greens!

MINDRE £1.50

IKEA toys make great stocking fillers, under the tree presents or gifts for your children to give to their friends. Knowing that you are helping children living in poverty around the world to lead better lives, through buying a toy to give as a gift, is a lovely way to give a little back this Christmas.  

**We are big fans of IKEA at Christmas!  They have lots of family activities to join in with and Santa will be in store at weekends between 11am and 4pm!  Plus if you buy a Christmas Tree for £25 you receive a £20 voucher to spend in the New Year!  Check the details at your local IKEA!**

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

This Christmas is going to be a full on affair as my family descend upon us for a day filled with fun, food and festivities. A big part of Christmas to me is making the house look and feel as Christmassy as possible.

This year, Freddy who is four has got a real grasp of Christmas and is learning all about the traditions and beliefs associated with Christmas Day at school.  He will be performing in his school Christmas play on stage at our local theatre, and he is going to see his first proper pantomime. It has taken him to a whole new level of excitement, but he is adamant that he does not want to talk to Father Christmas when he visits to give out presents at the school disco!

My grandson Ted is one a week before Christmas so this year will be his first proper Christmas and we are so excited to have him here with us, along with his mummy and daddy.  I can't wait to see his little face when he sees his little pile of presents wrapped in pretty paper, the twinkling lights outside and the house all decorated with Christmassy things.

With these two precious little boys ready to enjoy Christmas Day, I want to create a magical setting and give them a day to remember filled with love and laughter.

Last year, I made a big Christmas display in the alcove of my living room with festive teddy bears, books stood on the window sill, candles, ornaments and a rather large, real Christmas tree festooned with baubles, decorations and candy canes.  This year, said alcove has become home to a second sofa which provides extra seating for my ever increasing family.  This has posed a bit of a problem to my usual Christmas decorating arrangement.  Space is going to be very limited this Christmas with all the extra bodies and the extra furniture.   There is nowhere obvious to put a full size tree in our living room.  Also, with Ted just getting up onto his feet and becoming more mobile, I don't want him to get injured by the needles of a real tree.

So I have been looking around at all the different tree options online such as artificial trees, fibre optic trees, cascading snow trees, pre-lit trees, ready decorated trees and pop-up trees and thankfully I think I may have found the ideal artificial Christmas Tree for us among the trees for sale at The Range.  It's a slim tree for use when space is limited. It stands six and a half feet tall but has a much smaller diameter than normal artificial trees, so I can put it in the narrow space between my corner sofa and the wall where it will be out of harm's way, yet still look fabulous covered from top to bottom with decorations and lights. It could work!

Failing that I can buy lots of little potted trees and dot them around the room.  Or maybe go all modern and spray paint a big, bare branch in silver and suspend it from our ceiling covered in baubles? Or maybe I should go all out and have a giant inflatable tree in my back garden?  Ian has suggested a Christmas tree on wheels so we can wheel it out of the room when we need the extra space!

I'm quite enjoying having to think outside the box and get a bit more creative with my Christmas decorating this year and I'm certain there is the perfect tree out there for us.  Whatever I do, I'm sure it will be enjoyed and appreciated by the two precious little boys and the other members of my wonderful family that I am honoured and blessed to be spending my day with!

Fireman Sam Advent Puzzle from Jumbo

If you want to avoid the chocolate filled advent calendars this year, take a look at the Advent Puzzle from Jumbo.  Featuring Fireman Sam or Peppa Pig, each of the 24 puzzle pieces has a window that children can open to countdown the days until Christmas Day.

The puzzle pieces are made of high quality card and are thick and sturdy, perfect  for little hands.  The finished puzzle is 50cm x 20cm and features Fireman Sam in his engine Jupiter, alongside some of his Pontypandy friends in a festive snowy setting.

Children can make up the puzzle at the start of advent and keep it in a safe place, returning each day to open the window.  I think it would even work by adding one puzzle piece a day sequentially and watching the puzzle grow day by day.

Each advent window can be opened by removing a small semi-circular piece of puzzle from the edge of the window and then lifting the piece out.  Revealed underneath is a different Fireman Sam Christmas Adventure  illustration everyday.

The puzzle can be used year after year if you keep all the window pieces safe in the box once removed!

The Advent Puzzles, in both Fireman Sam and Peppa Pig designs are suitable for ages 3 and up and are £7.99 RRP.  You can find them on Amazon.

Broccoli, Mushroom and Cheese Pie Recipe

For my mum's birthday last week, I spent the day spoiling her!  She enjoyed homemade chocolate and marshmallow teacakes, a Mocha birthday cake and a birthday meal of homemade pie, mashed potato, carrots and swede with gravy.  

The pie I made was another of my open topped, puff pastry pies, filled with a cheesy, broccoli, mushroom and spinach filling.  It's quick, easy and really tasty.  I love making these pies because you can use up anything you have in the fridge along with a sheet of ready rolled puff pastry and you're sorted!  It makes a really hearty, comforting meal, perfect for this time of year without being too heavy.

Recipe

1 sheet of Jus rol pastry

1 crown of Broccoli

4 cubes of frozen spinach

100 g button mushrooms sliced

4 large Portobello mushrooms sliced 

2 cloves garlic crushed

1 teaspoon mixed herbs

half a tub of cream cheese

75g grated cheese (I used smoked cheddar but Stilton would be perfect)

Ground pepper

Method

Cut the broccoli into florets and boil for about 5 minutes.

Fry the mushrooms and garlic in a pan until softened.

Add the defrosted spinach cubes.

Add the cooked, strained broccoli florets.

When all cooked through and combined reduce heat and stir through the cream cheese.

Add grated cheese and seasonings and stir.

Remove from heat when combined.

Put pastry on a baking sheet.

Put filling in the centre.

Fold up edges.

Glaze with milk.

Put in pre-heated oven at GM6 for about 20-25 minutes.

Serve with mash and vegetables for a wonderful comforting autumnal meal!


And here is a photo of the Mocha birthday cake; marbled chocolate and coffee flavoured sponge with chocolate fudge icing, coffee glace icing, grated chocolate and mini malted chocolate balls to finish.  It was lush!

Christmas Day Panics

OK, in just over a month it's Christmas Day.  How did this happen? It seems like only yesterday I was pulling pine needles out of my carpet from last year's Christmas Tree and here I am ready to do it all again!

This year we are going to have a full-on family affair with the whole family descending upon us for some festive fun.  My parents are spending Christmas with us for the first time ever and I'm so excited!  They usually do Christmas Day on their own and then spend a 'second Christmas Day' with us a few days before or after the big day, but this year I managed to twist their arms and get them to come to us on the 25th.  It's also our turn to have Jade and Joe for Christmas, which means I'm getting to spend the day with my gorgeous grandson who will have just turned a year old.  Megan is home for the whole week and Ian's sister is also on the guest list.  This means there will be twelve of us for Christmas Dinner, a mixture of carnivores, vegetarians, vegans and fussy eaters!

Needless to say, Christmas Dinner is going to be a challenge.  Joe keeps trying to convince me to cook a three bird roast, but unfortunately I draw the line on cooking meat and so Quorn will be the closest thing to meat on my festive menu.  With Megan being a vegan, I'm working on plans for a luxurious, indulgent meal that suits her needs and which pleases the veggies and meat eaters too.  I've been online and found some vegan festive roasts which might just make my life easier on Christmas Day if I decide not to cook from scratch.  Decisions, decisions! I'm also wondering how on earth I'll be able to cook everything using my single oven and just four gas rings. (How I wish I had a big country kitchen and a range oven!)

But perhaps more of a challenge for Christmas day is our seating arrangements.  Our living room and dining room are completely separate rooms, neither one big enough for seating 12.  (How I miss my old house's layout with both rooms knocked through with an archway between them, allowing us to spread between both rooms but still be together!)    So we need to get a  new extendable table to use alongside our small fold down dining room table so everyone can sit down together for dinner.  It will be a good investment though, allowing us to use this as our main table and using the fold down one for the kitchen.  Our family is only ever going to get bigger as more grandchildren and future in-laws become integrated into the fold. So this Christmas has become an opportunity for us to have a bit of a furniture rethink!

With a big family I wouldn't be without a big sofa.  We have an old, tired leather corner sofa, which has done us great service for over a decade, but it is definitely coming to the end of its natural life.  It has suffered years of abuse and has doubled up as a climbing frame, trampoline and even an impromptu bed for unexpected sleepovers. I'm sure it will do us proud on Christmas Day if we all snuggle up really tightly to watch some festive TV, but 2014 will be the year to get a brand new corner sofa - hopefully in the sales!

We've already bought four extra dining chairs that we stash away in the garage for when we have extra guests, so with those and a few scatter cushions thrown on the floor, we should just about cover the seating. Now I just need to work out where I can put the Christmas tree!!?

Maybe I should ask Santa really nicely if I could win the Euromillions  and then I could buy a massive, fully furnished mansion?  Problem solved!