Spinach, Tomato and Mushroom Mini Frittatas

We had our neighbours round at the beginning of December for pre-Christmas drinks and nibbles. I made some festive bites which were quick and easy to do and tasted delicious. Initially I planned to make a quiche but I came across this recipe on Italian Food Forever and decided to give it a go. I used spinach and cherry tomatoes for their festive colours and added in some mushrooms. This recipe is so versatile as you can basically add whatever ingredients you fancy. They keep well too and tasted great for breakfast the next day. 

I'm sending this to a few blog challenges this month. 

AlphaBakes hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes and myself on alternate months. The letter this month is N and I am using it for 'Noel' as Caroline is accepting any Christmas related entries. 

Treat Petite hosted by Stuart from Cakeyboi and Kat from The Baking Explorer. The theme this month is Red and Green aka Christmas. 

Extra Veg guest hosted by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary on behalf of Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and Michelle from Utterly Scrummy.

Simply Eggcellent hosted by Dom from Belleau Kitchen. The theme this month is Anything Goes and this recipe uses 8 large free range eggs.

 eggs, milk, spinach, mushroom, tomato 

 egg and milk mixture 

 add in the filling 

Makes 12 mini Frittatas

8 large free range eggs
250mls milk
salt and pepper
180g baby spinach, sauteed and drained
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
handful of chestnut mushrooms, chopped and sauteed

• Preheat the oven to 180C
• Grease a non stick 12 cup muffin tin.
• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and milk and season with salt and pepper. 
• Pour evenly into the muffin cups. 
• Add in a spoonful of mushrooms and a handful of spinach to each cup.
• Add 2 cherry tomato halves. 
• Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until set. 
• Allow to cool before serving. 

Lindt Chocolate Creams and a giveaway

I love Lindt chocolates especially their dark chocolate truffles. I was really excited when I was asked if I wanted to review a copy of Lindt Gold Bunny recipe book. Lindt's Maitres Chocolatiers have compiled some of their best recipes in this really cute and fun book. My favourite part is that it is shaped just like the famous Lindt gold bunny and comes complete with a bell! The book is really beautifully presented with 26 recipes in total. Each recipe is really easy to follow and accompanied by a beautiful colour photograph which is a must for every recipe book. 

 How cute is the book? The bell works too :) 

 Some sample pages 

 Sample page inside with a recipe on one page and a colour photograph opposite. 

 Another recipe page

The recipes included in the book are

• Chocolate lollies with a caramel centre
• Chocolate cheesecakes
• Milk chocolate and hazelnut mousses
• Crispy chocolate eggs
• Chocolate and pecan barquettes
• Greedy chocolate mice
• Chocolate mini choux buns
• Chocolate brioche toasts
• Chocolate dulce de leche
• Chocolate fondue with French toast fingers
• Home-made hot chocolate
• Chocolate-iced madeleines
• Petits beurre millefeuilles with chocolate cream
• Chocolate spread
• Fizzy chocolate lollies
• Choco-mint brownies
• Hot bananas with chocolate squares
• Soft chocolatey caramels
• Chocolatey meringue layers
• Coconue-chocolate cigars
• Chocolate tiramisu
• Chocolate eggs with meringue bursts
• Florentines
• Muffins with chocolate cream filling
• Chocolate creams
• Panna cotta with praline cream

I decided to make the chocolate creams recipe as I liked the sound of it and it was the accompanying photograph on the contents page. It was really easy to make and tasted really chocolatey. I brought it to a friend's house to serve as dessert and it was very well received. It's not overly sweet due to the dark chocolate and yoghurt and feels like a healthier version of chocolate mousse as it contains natural yoghurt.

If you like the sound of this book and want to get your hands on a copy then you are in luck. Jacqui Small Publishing have very kindly agreed to giveaway THREE copies to my readers. The closing date is 23rd March 2015 so that the prize can be delivered in time for Easter. 

Terms and Conditions

Entry is via the rafflecopter widget below.

You have to answer the question which is a mandatory option to unlock further entries to the giveway.
This GIVEAWAY is open to all readers over 18 with a postal address in the UK.
Closing date is 23rd March 2015 at 12 midnight GMT.
The WINNER will be chosen at random via Rafflecopter and will be contacted by email. If no response is received within 48 hours, another winner will be selected at random.
I am running this COMPETITION on behalf of Jacqui Small Publishing who will be sending out the prize directly. By entering you are giving me permission to pass your email address on to them so they can contact you for delivery of the prize.
All entries will be checked and verified.

Recipe reproduced with kind permission from Jacqui Small Publishing

Serves 4
Preparation time 10 minutes
Chilling time 3 hours

160g Lindt Excellence Cocoa 70%
200ml milk
25g caster sugar
1 heaped teaspoon vanilla sugar
375g natural yoghurt
sugar sprinkles to decorate

• Roughly chop the chocolate and melt in a bowl in a bain-marie. 
• Add the milk, caster sugar and vanilla sugar.
• Mix together gently.
• Quickly beat the yoghurt with a fork and add to the chocolate mixture.
• Divide between 6 small glass dishes and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. 
• Decorate with sugar sprinkles before serving. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of Lindt Gold Bunny for review purposes. A positive review was not required and all opinions expressed are my own. This is not a sponsored post. 

Baked Stuffed French Toast

For J's birthday brunch, I made these baked stuffed french toast. It's a proper meal on it's own as it contains bread, ham, cheese, tomato, spinach, eggs and milk. We also added a drizzle of maple syrup for decadence and it works really well with the french toast as it gives the perfect balance of sweet and salty. You can prepare the french toast in advance and bake them when required which is ideal if you have guests staying over or just for a lazy weekend brunch. 

I'm sending it to Calendar Cakes hosted by Rachel from Dolly Bakes. The theme is Bank Holiday Bakes and we are asked to share what we make to relax, share with friends or take on picnics.

 

 Make a slit in the bread 

 fill it with ham, cheese, spinach and tomato or fillings of your choice 

 let it soak in the egg/milk mixture for about 30 minutes 

 turn it over and soak again or place in the fridge overnight 

 For extra decadence, I added a slice of ham and cheese on top before baking 

 Fresh from the oven - the cheese melted beautifully on the outside  

 With a drizzle of maple syrup 

Makes 2 large servings (enough to feed 4 or 2 very hungry people)

2 large slices of bread from a large loaf (I used a poppyseed bloomer)

4 slices of ham

2 slices of cheese

2 tomatoes, sliced

handful of spinach

4 eggs

2/3 cup milk 

salt and pepper to taste 

Maple syrup to serve (optional) 

• Whisk the eggs in a bowl and add the milk and stir.
• Pour into a large shallow dish.
• Prepare the bread by making a slit in each slide of bread - you need quite a thick slice of bread to fit the fillings
• Fill your sandwich with fillings of your choice -  used a slice of ham and a slice of cheese, some sliced tomatoes and a few spinach leaves
• Place the bread in the egg/milk mixture and let it soak for about 30 minutes.
• Turn the bread over and soak for a further 30 minutes. You can wrap it in clingfilm and place in the fridge overnight at this point if required. 
• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• Place a slice of ham and cheese on top of the sandwich (optional)
• Bake in the oven for approximately 20-25 minutes until the cheese has melted and the egg mixture is set. 
• Slice and enjoy with a drizzle of maple syrup.