#CookBlogShare Week 26 - Plus 4 Summer Recipes

Hello and welcome to week 26 of Cook Blog Share.

Well a lot has happened during the last 4 weeks. I have started my new job and loving it! But next week it is changing again. Until the end of term I am doing full days. So I have a feeling I will be well and truly ready for the six weeks summer holiday to come!

Last week the Cook Blog Share linky was hosted by Monika at Everyday Healthy Recipes who, like me, could not resist the lovely summer feeling! As the weather has been glorious it is no surprise that summer dishes won again this week. I am hoping for plenty more lovely weather and lots of eating al fresco. The meals that I have decided to feature are all perfect for outside dining with the family or friends.

Here are my four favourite recipes from week 25 of #CookBlogShare...

Birthday Gift Round-up

It is official, I have been well and truly spoilt with both gifts and love! I thought that I would share with you some of my gifts and some things that I plan to treat myself to with some of my birthday money!

My family know that with Cath Kidston items they simply cannot go wrong. This is a brand that I love! So when I opened this beautiful British Birds Curved Saddle Bag I was over the moon. This is a bag that I had pointed out in the past to the hubby. It is smaller than my other bag and is perfect for me to take to work. As the bag is smaller he knew that I would also need a smaller purse, so also wrapped me up this lovely little leather Cath Kidston purse. As I have recently started my new job I also wanted some new work shoes. I like my shoes to be a bit different. If I am wearing all black I like a pair of shoes that give it a bit of contrast. These Elvington Rose Embossed Ballerina Shoes are a fantastic addition to my shoe collection!

Anyone that knows me knows I love gin! So receiving a bottle of Thomas Dakin small batch gin got the thumbs up from me! This is a gin that I have not tried before which made it even more exciting! For my coffee at work the kids also gave me this quirky quote mug that says "Do more of what makes you happy" this is a perfect quote for life!

#CookBlogShare 2017 Week 18 - Plus 4 Delicious Dinners!

Hello and welcome to week 18 of CookBlogShare.

It feels like a long time since I have written a CookBlogShare post. I have had a lovely couple weeks off and return with some big news! Last week I had an interview and was offered the job, which means that my blog time is going to become more limited and more precious. As both Jacqui from Recipes Made Easy and Monika from Everyday Healthy Recipes did such a great job covering the linky while I was away they will be joining Eb from Easy Peasy Foodie and I on a regular basis! I am currently planning the future dates but once they are confirmed I will be sharing them on the CookBlogShare Facebook page and on my CookBlogShare page. 

Now on to this weeks post. I loved looking through all of the delicious recipes that were shared last week. The only theme for this weeks post is that they are all delicious dinners!

Here are my favourite four recipes from week 17 of CookBlogShare...

#CookBlogShare 2017 Week 14 - Plus 4 Yummy Bakes

Hello and welcome to week 14 of #CookBlogShare.

Where have the weeks gone? We are now in April and this is my last #CookBlogShare for the next 3 weeks. Next week the linky will be hosted by Eb at Easy Peasy Foodie then the following two weeks will be guest hosted by Jacqui at Recipes Made Easy and Monika at Everyday Healthy Recipes. We have got a week away which overlaps the linky so instead of trying to cram everything together I am going to have a couple of weeks off, go away and have a bit of time off with my family. I am confident that Jacqui and Monika will keep everything ticking over while I am away.

Back to this weeks CookBlogShare, last week there were so many delicious recipes shared, but again the Easter, spring inspired bakes won. Here are my 4 favourite recipes from week 13 of CookBlogShare...

#CookBlogShare 2017 - Week 13 Plus 4 Delicious Easter Treats

Hello and welcome to week 13 of #CookBlogShare.

Week 13 means we are finally getting more hours of sunlight! Even though we lose an hour of sleep I am always so happy to see the days lengthening and welcoming in the better weather. During the weekend there was a lovely feeling of spring in the air. Everything seems so much better with the extra hours of sunlight. We spent a lot of time in the garden and I even got my bake on. Baking bread is something that I have not been doing recently. But on Friday the twins, who had the day off school due to illness, wanted a pizza and as they had not been eating much I could not say no. Even though I had no pizza, I did have bread flour so I made some fresh pizza dough and rediscovered my love of baking. I adore the whole bread making process, how the ingredients come together and how you can feel them change as you knead. After my pizza baking I made more dough on Saturday and also made a focaccia as well as a banana bread.

On Mother's Day I was treated to a day off from cooking. The hubby made an amazing meal, he slow cooked a joint of beef in red wine with carrots, onions, garlic and fresh bay leaves from the garden. If he agrees I will definitely blog the recipe!

Last week the CookBlogShare linky was hosted by Eb from Easy Peasy Foodie. There were so many delicious recipes shared and as Easter gets closer there are more and more lovely Easter recipes coming through. This week I could not resist featuring Easter treats and I am sure that you will also find them all irresistible!

Here are my four favourite recipes from week 12 of CookBlogShare...

#CookBlogShare Week 11 2017 - Plus 4 Showstopper Cakes

Welcome to week 11 of #CookBlogShare.

Now that March has arrived there is a definite feel of spring in the air. The seasonal change is also reflected in many of the recipes that were shared in last weeks CookBlogShare. But last week it was definitely the cakes that stood out. The recipes that I have chosen today are all showstopping cakes. Unfortunately cakes will not be on my meal plan for a while. I bravely signed up to complete Race for Life in June so as of this week I am in training. At the moment I really cannot run, but I am going to the gym and am building up my fitness! But that does not stop me reading about luscious cakes and wanting them!

Here are my 4 favourite showstopping cakes from week 10 of #CookBlogShare...

#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!

#CookBlogShare 2017 Week 7 - The Food of Love

Hello and welcome to week 7 of #CookBlogShare.

Last week the linky was hosted by Eb at Easy Peasy Foodie. For me last week was a wipe out hence me being quieter than usual. The dreaded cold bug returned and returned with a vengeance. Thankfully I am back on the mend and raring to go.

As today is the day of love, Valentine's day, my round-up is all about the food of love. Valentine's and romance was felt in many posts that were shared last week so I had plenty to choose from. As always the hard part was narrowing it down to just four recipes. The four recipes that I have chosen are a delicious selection of sweet treats that will keep you wanting more.

Here are my favourite four recipes from week 6 of #CookBlogShare...

#CookBlogShare Week 5 - Plus 4 Lovely Lunches

Welcome to week 5 of CookBlogShare.

Things are changing a little bit with the CookBlogShare team. Unfortunately Mandy from Sneaky Veg is stepping down as a host. Mandy has been a fantastic part of the team and was with me from the start. But I am sure that we all wish Mandy the best and hopes that she continues being a big part of the community! 

As Mandy has stepped down, from now on it will be just Eb and I hosting. I will be hosting Mandy's slot as well as my own and Eb will continue hosting every third week. As I am going to be hosting more I will not be continuing with my Monday round-ups of CookBlogShare but will simply share it with the linky. I am hoping that this will give me one less job to do and I love reading through all the delicious posts that you share each week.

Now onto this weeks linky and four featured posts. This week is all about lovely lunches. Here are my four favourite recipes from week 4 of CookBlogShare...

International Chocolate Cake Day

As it is International Chocolate Cake Day I thought it would be fitting to share with you my favourite chocolate cake bakes. All of these will leave you craving some chocolate cake, you have been warned!

My Well Done Celebration Chocolate Cake was a huge success and certainly helped to cheer J up after he had finished a stressful week at school doing his SATS. The sponges contain golden syrup which gives the cake some extra richness. The cakes have then been sandwiched together using chocolate butter icing and finally the top has been covered in marshmallows and chocolate stars.

My White Chocolate and Lime Cake is a decadent combination of Madagascan vanilla chocolate and sharp lime which leaves you wanting more. Sometimes white chocolate gets overlooked but it is a delicious alternative to traditional milk or dark chocolate and one that we love!

If you are looking for a birthday cake for a chocolate lover then you need to check out this Tunnock's Teacake Birthday Cake. This traditional chocolate cake bake has been revamped into this chocoholic delight, it has been drizzled with chocolate sauce that has been sprinkled with Flakes then topped with the ultimate marshmallow treat, Tunnock's Teacakes!

The next chocolate cakes contain a sneaky vegetable extra! My Chocolate, Lime and Courgette Cakes will leave you astounded, you simply would not know that they contain courgette, but you are getting all of the goodness that they provide. Again, the lime and chocolate are a perfect combination.

#CookBlogShare Week 3 Round-up

Last week the CookBlogShare linky was hosted by Eb at Easy Peasy Foodie. 35 delicious recipe posts were shared and I had a lovely relaxing weekend so had plenty of time to sit and read through them. My round-up selection has changed this week. You have probably noticed that the last few weeks my round-up's have ended up being, more or less, the same as the either Eb or Mandy. What can I say, great minds think a like! So when Mandy told me what her round-up was going to be I was not surprised that we had both, again, selected the same theme! But as there is always such a great variety of posts and recipes, selecting four different ones was not hard.

The last couple of weeks my round-ups have been all about the savoury dishes, but not today. Last week the sweet treats certainly bowled me over! Here are my four favourite sweet treats from 2017 week 3 of #CookBlogShare...

#CookBlogShare 2017 Week 2 Round-up

Week 2 of the CookBlogShare linky was full of delicious recipes. From cupcakes to salads, from soups to dips, there really was something for everyone. There was such a great variety to the recipes hence this weeks round-up having no particular theme apart from all being deliciously tempting dishes.

Here are my four favourite recipes from week 2 of CookBlogShare 2017...

#CookBlogShare Week 2 - 2017 Plus Veganuary Round-up

Welcome to week 2 of CookBlogShare 2017.

Now that the children have returned to school I am definitely back into my routine after the Christmas holiday. As much as I love the holidays, I crave to get back into a routine. A routine around the house, a routine with my blog and most of all a routine with my food. Once all of the celebrations are over all I want to eat is healthy clean meals. At the moment, thanks to Veganuary, there are so many deliciously healthy meals and recipes out there. With that in mind it was easy to select a theme for my round-up of last weeks linky. 

Last week the linky was with Mandy at Sneaky Veg. As always there was a fantastic array of recipes shared. Sweet treats, savoury dishes and plenty of mouth watering food. But it was definitely the vegan, Veganuary, recipes that won. So many of the recipes last week were vegan, so narrowing it down to just four really was a challenge. But one that I did enjoy!

Here are my four favourite recipes from week 1 2017 of CookBlogShare...

2016 - A Year of Food

Now that we are almost at the end of another year I thought it would be nice to look back over 2016. Over the year I have shared so many recipes I thought that it would be fun to pick out my 12 favourite recipes. It has been lovely looking back over the year and reading through the various recipes and trying to narrow it down to one favourite recipe per month. But I have done it and here are my 12 favourite recipes of 2016!

#CookBlogShare - Week 50 The Party Buffet Round-up

Hello and welcome to what is my final #CookBlogShare round-up of 2016. What a delicious year it has been thanks to everyone that joins in with the CookBlogShare linky each week. I have now been running the linky with the help of other bloggers for 17 months and love how the community has grown.

Last week the linky was with me on Hijacked By Twins and what a treat I was in for. 39 delicious recipes were shared and it certainly was a difficult week to narrow my favourites down to just four recipes. There were so many festive treats both sweet and savoury, bakes, puddings even foodie edible gifts! For this weeks round-up I have decided to go for recipes that would be perfect for a party buffet. At this time of year, especially between Christmas and new year, we tend to have lighter meals and when people visit, a buffet is the ideal meal. The four recipes that I have chosen are ones that I know we would all love and I am sure you will too.

Here are my four favourite recipes for a buffet from week 50 of CookBlogShare...

#CookBlogShare - Round-up and Week 50 Linky

Hello and welcome to week 50 of CookBlogShare. I cannot believe that we have almost had another year of CookBlogShare! As this is my last CookBlogShare of 2016 be prepared for me to get sentimental!

Thank you so much for supporting the linky over the last year it has been a pleasure to host and read all of your delicious recipes. Next year the linky will continue with Mandy from Sneaky Veg, Eb from Easy Peasy Foodie and myself and we look forward to continuing this lovely foodie blogger community.

This weeks round up is all about chocolate. I simply could not resist the four chocolate delights that I have chosen as my favourite recipes. They are all irresistible, some are even healthy but all four will want you wanting more!

Here are my four favourite recipes from week 49 of CookBlogShare...

#CookBlogShare Week 48 - Festive Treats Round-Up

Now that we are in December I am in full Christmas mode. I am loving all of the Christmas foodie treats that are everywhere. But what I enjoy most is reading each unique twist on the good old traditional recipes that we all know and love at Christmas. That is the beauty of them, they can be made to suit all tastes.

Last week CookBlogShare was hosted by Eb at Easy Peasy Foodie. As always there was a lovely variety of recipes shared, but Christmas was definitely coming through and I expect to see more and more over the next couple of weeks.

This weeks round-up is all about four festive treats. One is all about how to style your fondant, another is a firm traditional favourite, one has been given a complete new twist while the fourth is a fun family activity!

Here are my four favourite recipes from week 48 of CookBlogShare...

#CookBlogShare - Week 47 Perfect Party Pieces

Welcome to #CookBlogShare week 47's round-up. Last week the linky was hosted here on Hijacked By Twins. There were so many delicious recipes shared. It is fantastic to see so many of you joining in each week, along with new blogs. I have said it before, and I will say it again, this has become a lovely little foodie community and this is a post which I always look forward to writing. Thank you! As we are almost in December it is fantastic to see more and more Christmas recipes coming through. The way that the year has gone so far, Christmas will be here before we know it!

For this weeks round-up I have chosen four recipes that would make perfect party pieces. Over the coming weeks I am sure many of us will be thinking about entertaining and preparing buffets. The four recipes that I have selected will keep your guests returning for more!

Here are my four favourite recipes from week 47 of #CookBlogShare...

#CookBlogShare Round-Up and Week 47 Linky

Week 47! Wow the weeks are flying by!

Last week the CookBlogShare linky was hosted by Mandy over at Sneaky Veg and there was, as always, a lovely variety of recipes shared. Now that we are nearing the end of November we are starting to see more and more Christmas inspired recipes coming though. I have also loved seeing some of the River Cottage posts being shared after the event that was run by Foodies100. I am planning to share my post this week so keep an eye out for it!

When it came to selecting my four favourite recipes this week there was no common theme to go with. So this week my round up is simply called 'The Delicious Round-Up'.

Here are my four favourite recipes from week 46 of #CookBlogShare...