Lamb Pie for British Pie Week

We all love a good hearty pie. It is such a fantastic winter meal that is a true comforting dish. This week is British Pie Week so it really would be rude not to celebrate with a pie!

When it came to deciding which type of pie to make I knew that I would find the perfect ingredients at Aldi. While I was shopping last week I saw some lovely lamb leg steaks that were so lean I could not resist. Lamb is a meat that we all enjoy but I simply do not use it as often as beef and chicken. Lamb can often be a more expensive meat and people often rave about New Zealand lamb but, personally, I prefer British lamb. Aldi stock 100% British lamb that carries the trusted red tractor logo and is at a fantastic price! When we buy British meat we are not only helping our economy but we are also reducing our carbon foot print and helping the environment!

The filling in today's pie recipe has been slow cooked so it really is full of flavour and the meat was so tender it literally fell apart. I have also used a rich pastry using eggs as I prefer the richer flavour and the golden colour you get as it bakes.

This is what I did...

#CookBlogShare 2017 - Week 10 Plus 4 Sweet Treats!

Welcome to week 10 of #CookBlogShare.

Last week the linky was hosted by Eb over at Easy Peasy Foodie. As always there was a fantastic variety of recipes shared, sweet, savoury, bakes and informative posts, there really was a bit of everything. That is what I love most about the Cook Blog Share linky, anything foodie goes!

Last week I had the pleasure of spending the evening in London with some lovely free from bloggers. We were invited to try the new gluten free range from Schwartz and learn a bit more about the new complete recipe mixes and sauces. The meal was outstanding and you can read all about our evening here. I love attending foodie event like these and especially love spending time with fellow foodie bloggers. A blogger event is really the only place that you can get away with taking so many pictures of food before eating!

Now back to CookBlogShare. This week the sweet treats definitely won me over. Following on from the gluten free event I have chosen free from sweet treats. Here are my favourite four recipes from week 9 of CookBlogShare...

#SimplySeasonal - March 2017

Welcome to a new month of #SimplySeasonal.

We are now in March and it is lovely to see the signs of spring finally beginning to show. With spring on the horizon we have also been buying seeds for our vegetable patch and greenhouse. We are looking forward to being able to get outside more and have got plenty of ideas for what we are going to grow this year. Now that we are in March our chickens are now out of quarantine for avian flu so they have, at long last, started to lay eggs again which means I will be baking more!

Last month 19 deliciously seasonal recipes were shared and selecting which to feature was extremely difficult so they all get a mention! But my favourite 4 recipes from February's Simply Seasonal will definitely make you hungry for more!

Weekly Meal Plan - #MealPlanningMonday Week 10 2017

Hello and welcome to week 10 of #MealPlanningMonday.

Last week flew by. Between the children returning to school, a visit to the gym, an event in London and a poorly husband I do not know where the week has gone!

Until Thursday the meal plan was going well. After a late night on Wednesday and the hubby being ill all we wanted on Thursday was an easy meal. So I did not make the fish pie, again, as I had planned. The event that I went to last week with Schwartz was to introduce us to their new gluten free range. You can read all about the food and the products here. But I am really excited about this range and trying out lots of ideas that I have floating around in my head!

I was delighted with my weigh in in Friday. Gone was the pound and a half that I put on over half term plus an additional pound. This now means that I have reached the 30lbs lost mark! I am feeling so much better and healthier in myself since starting my weight loss journey and have rediscovered my love of food again!

This weeks meals have mainly be chosen by the hubby. While I was sat with my books, looking for inspiration he joined me and had a look through too. I have to admit that I was pleased with his choices!

This is what we will be enjoying this week...

Introducing Gluten Free Flavours from Schwartz

Last night I was treated to a truly outstanding supper in central London. But this was no ordinary meal, it was a totally gluten free meal. The supper was held to introduce a brand new gluten free product that is now on the market. The herbs and spices experts, Schwartz, have released their very own range of cooking sauces that are gluten free.

We all live in a busy world and it is not always possible to cook a delicious meal from scratch. As much as we would like to, life has a habit of getting in the way. Whether it is because a child has an after school club or work has dragged on, there is many a night when we want nothing more than convenience. If either you or a family member follows a gluten free diet you will know how hard this can be. When cooking meals from scratch it is easy as you know exactly what you are putting into the meal. However when you are buying in a pre prepared packet mix or a ready meal it is essential that you check exactly what has gone into the meal. This can be such a time consuming and frustrating task. This is where the new packet mixes from Schwartz come in. Schwartz has recognised that there is a gap in the market for these type of sauces and that it is something that the consumers want. Approximately 45% of the food consumer market buy gluten free products, 30% of which is purely down to a lifestyle choice. More and more people are choosing to follow a gluten free diet and finally there are some convenient, family friendly, full of flavour options.

Schwartz have just released their brand new Gluten Free range which is made up of three pour over sauces and five complete recipe mixes. This range has been in development for two years and they have worked extremely closely with both nutritionists and Coeliac UK to obtain the certification of the Crossed Grain symbol. Having this symbol on the mixes ensures you that the product, the manufacturing processes and production sites have undertaken stringent tests to ensure that there is no chance of gluten contamination. When you see the symbol on a product you can be confident in what you are eating.

Fairtrade Fortnight with Aldi - Faritrade Granita

Monday 27th February was the first day of Fairtrade Fortnight 2017. Fairtrade is something that Aldi believe in. In 2015 Aldi sold a range of Fairtrade products that totalled a huge £12 million worth of sales from across the UK and Ireland. That is £12 million that has helped make peoples lives better. Products that have the Fairtrade symbol have been sourced using fairer trading conditions and ensures that the producers, farmers, workers in the developing countries have been paid a fair price for their products.

As consumers we can make small changes that really will make a big difference when added up. Aldi currently stock various Fairtrade products in store from coffee to tea from bananas to roses and even chocolate. Making a simple swap from non Fairtrade to products that carry the symbol helps more people than you can imagine.

Last year to celebrate Fairtrade fortnight I shared with you my Fairtrade Banoffee with a Difference Cake. This cake was made using Fairtrade coffee, bananas and chocolate all from Aldi. This year I am sharing with you a recipe that uses Aldi's Specially Selected Colombian 100% Arabica instant Fairtrade coffee. This full of flavour coffee has been grown in the highlands of Colombia. The coffee is Fairtrade certified which means that 100% of the coffee has been sourced from Fairtrade producer. Today I am sharing with you a delicious, Italian recipe that the hubby has asked me to make. This is a simple but time consuming recipe hence being a day later than normal. When you make this you need to begin preparing it the day before you would like to have it. But, wow, it is so worth the wait!

This is what I did...