Peanut butter rice crisps.

Grease and line an 18cm shallow square tin.
Melt 50g butter in a pan. Add 180g mini marshmallows and heat, stirring, until melted.
Remove from the heat and stir in 100g peanut butter until evenly mixed. Add 75g Rice crispies (or a store's own brand) and stir gently until they're all coated.
Put in the tin and level the top. Leave until cold, then cut into squares.

Makes 16

Per serving:

Calories - 116
Fat - 5.9g 
Sat Fat - 2.4g

Artichoke dip

Drain a 400g can Green Giant Artichoke Hearts and put in a food processor with 150g Plain soft cheese, 1tsp lemon juice, 4tbsp Mayonnaise, 2tbsp Greek style yogurt and small crushed garlic clove. Season well and whizz to a purée.
Serve with carrot, celery and red pepper sticks and breadsticks. For a more filling snack serve with pitta bread.

Serves 4

Per serving:

(without pitta bread)

Calories: 238
Fat: 22.2g
Sat Fat: 11.5g

Please note the nutritional values given will be slightly lower than the actual values as this recipe orginally used fat free and low fat versions of products but I replaced these with normal versions to increase calorie and fat contents.

Salmon and asparagus mini pies

560g salmon fillets
1½tbsp lemon juice
2tsp Blue Dragon fish sauce
150g asparagus
4tbsp creme fraiche
2-3tbsp chopped fresh dill
Finely grated lemon zest ½ lemon
2 eggs, lightly beaten
500g pack ready to roll shortcrust pastry
Flour for rollin out


Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5. Put the salmon fillets on a large piece of foil. Mix 3 tbsp water with the lemon juice and fish sauce, pour over the fish, then season. Fold up the foil to make a parcel but leave room inside for the air to circulate. Transfer to a baking tray.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the unopened parcel.
Meanwhile, bend the asparagus until they snap and discard the tough ends. Put on another sheet or foil and sprinkle with 2tbsp water. Make a parcel with the foil and put on a baking tray. Bake in the oven for 10 mins. Remove from the oven and cut the asparagus into 1cm pieces.
Drain the salmon cooking liquid into a jug and reserve. Skin and flake the salmon and mix with the asparagus. Mix half the liquid with the creme fraiche, dill and zest. Add 1 egg and whisk with a fork until evenly blended.
Roll out the pastry on a floured surface and cut out 8 x 8cm and 8 x 11cm rounds. Use the larger rounds to line the holes of a muffin tin. Fill with the salmon and asparagus mixture , then pour in enough sauce to come almost to the top.
Put the smaller rounds on top, pressing the edges together. Beat the other egg and use to brush the top of the pastry. Make a small hole in the top.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.

Makes 8

Per serving:

Calories: 360
Fat: 23.6g
Sat Fat: 7.2g

Calorific and on offer!

This blog post only applies to UK readers, sorry to anyone elsewhere.

Now I know some people won't be rushing to Tesco after recent events but for those who aren't too bothered I thought I'd let you know about this ready meal they currently have reduced from £3 to £1.50 and containing a hefty 925 calories!

Posh fish finger butties with mushy peas and potato wedges

To make fish finger butties:

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Break 100g of ciabatta (preferably tow days old) into bits and put into a processor with the grated zest of 1/2 an unwaxed lemon, 1/2tsp smoked paprika, a good pinch of cayenne pepper and a pinch of salt. Whizz into fine crumbs. Put in a shallow dish.
Lightly beat 1 large free range egg with 1tbsp olive oil and 15g melted butter and put in another shallow dish. Put 3tbsp flour on a plate.
Take 4 x 125g pieces line caught cod loin and coat one piece in the flour, shaking of the excess. Dip it in the egg mixture, then the crumbs, patting the crumbs on firmly. Put on a baking tray and repeat with the other pieces of fish. Discard any leftover crumb mixture.
Cook for 15-20 minutes until crisp and golden brown.
Split 4 Ciabatta rolls in half and fill with the fish, salad leaves and mayonnaise. Serve with mushy peas and potato wedges.

To make mushy peas:

Put 350g frozen peas in a pan with 1/4tsp sugar and 2 mint leaves. Cover with boiling water, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain, reserving 1-2tbsp liquid.
Whizz in a processor together with the reserved liquid and 4tbsp reduced-fat crème fraîche to make a rough purée. Season to taste.

To make the potato wedges:

Cut 3 baking potatoes into wedges. Cover with cold water, bring to a boil, then simmer for 4 minutes. Drain.
Return to the pan and stand over a low heat for 1 minute to allow any moisure to evaporate. Tip into a bowl, add 1tbsp oil and toss to coat.
Spread on a baking tray and cook at 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6 for 35-40 minutes.


Serves: 4

Per serving:

Calories - 834
Fat - 36g
Sat Fat -12.4g

Sausage Meatballs

This is a great appetizer or snack. It can easily be frozen into individual servings that can be reheated at a later time.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 lb. pork sausage, raw
3/4 c. all purpose baking mix
2 c. grated cheddar cheese
1/2 c. onion, chopped finely

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
Form mixture into 1 inch (2 1/2 centimeters) balls.
Place on cookie sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cooked through. Center temperature of the sausage balls must exceed 165 degrees Fahrenheit (73 degrees Celsius).
Serves: 12

Serving size: 3 sausage balls

Nutritional analysis (per serving):

278 calories
12 g protein
23 g fat
571 mg sodium
151 mg calcium

Note: Nutritional analysis may vary depending on ingredient brands used.

Variations and suggestions:

This dish can easily be frozen before or after you cook it. Make some today and freeze half of the batch to serve at a later date.

Stilton and spinach strata

As Stilton is in abundance at this time of year, in cheeseboards and gift sets, this is a perfect way to use it.

15g butter, plus a little extra for greasing
2 leeks, white and pale green part only, trimmed
1tbsp sunflower oil
160g bag baby leaf spinach
175g bread or bread rolls, preferably unsliced and a day or two old
150g Stilton, crumbled
50g mature Cheddar, grated
4 large free-range eggs
600ml semi-skimmed milk
2tsp Dijon mustard

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Grease an ovenproof dish with butter.
2. Cut the leeks in half lengthways and rinse under running water. Slice finely and pat as dry as possible with kitchen paper.
3. Melt the butter and oil in a pan, add the leeks and stir to coat. Cover and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes. Uncover and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the spinach and stir until it wilts.
4. Cut the bread into 2cm cubes and put most of it in the base of the dish, reserving some cubes for the top.
5. Put the vegetables on top of the bread in an even layer. Scatter on the Stilton and then the Cheddar.
6. Lightly beat the eggs with the milk and mustard, then pour over the cheese topping. Scatter on the remaining bread. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
7. Remove the cover and bake for 40-50 minutes until the top is golden and the inside is set.

Serves: 4
Ready in: 1hr 40mins
Price per serving: £1.10

Per serving:

Calories - 546
Fat - 33.6g
Sat Fat - 16.8g

Mince pies

These mince pies will keep in an airtight container for two weeks, or you can freeze them instead.

2 level tbsp caster sugar
450g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
Good pinch salt
250g salted butter, chilled, cut into small cubes
50g Trex Pure Vegetable Fat, chilled, cut into small cubes
2 egg yolks from large eggs

1. Dissolve the caster sugar in 3tbsp hot water. Leave to cool, then chill further in the fridge. Sift the flour and salt into bowl. Add the butter and vegetable fat and rub in with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs. Mix the yolks with the sugared water and add to the bowl. Mix with a round-bladed knife until the mixture clumps together to form a dough.

2. Gather the pastry dough with your hands, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to the thickness of a pound coin. Cut out 28 x 8cm rounds and 28 x 7cm stars. Gather the leftover dough, roll out and cut out more shapes.

3. Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5. Use the rounds to line the holes of two 12-hole tins, easing them to fit in snugly. Fill each hole with a heaped teaspoon of mincemeat from a 822g jar. Dampen the edges of the pastry shells, place the stars over the mincemeat, and press their ends against the shells to seal.

4. Bake the mince pies for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Leave in the tis for 10 minutes, then ease them out with a round-bladed knife and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Give them a light dusting of icing sugar before serving - hold the sieve above the pies and gently tap its sides.

Makes: 28
Ready in: 1hr 20mins plus cooling
Price per mince pie: 14p

Per serving:

Calories - 212
Fat - 11.4g
Sat Fat - 6.1g

Tips for making sweet shortcrust pastry.

Warm hands? Your ingredients and hands should be nice and cool when handling pastry o it might get crumbly and difficult to roll. Run them under cold running eater for a minute.

Hot kitchen? A steamy kitchen can have the same effect, so put the bowl of rubbed-in flour in the fridge for 15 minutes before adding the egg yolk and sugared water.

Christmas pudding ice cream

This creamy ice cream has all the taste of a traditional Christmas pudding and can be frozen in ramekins.

150g sultanas
100g dried cranberries
150g glacé cherries, quartered
150g ready to eat dried apricots, cut into pieces the size of a sultana
6tbsp Cointreau
100g pistachio nuts
150g dark chocolate (50% cocoa solids)
3 large eggs, separated
75g icing sugar
300ml double cream

1. Put the sultanas, cranberries, glacé cherries, apricots and Cointreau in a bowl and cover with clingfilm. Soak for 1-3 days.
2. Line 10 ramekins with a double layer of clingfilm. Chop the nuts.
3. Break the chocolate into squares and melt in a bowl over a pan of simmering water - don't let the bowl touch the water. Remove the bowl.
4. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Gradually whisk in the sugar, a level tablespoon at a time, whisking well after each.
5. In another bowl, whip the cream until it just holds its shape. Beat the yolks with a fork to break them up.
6. Fold the fruit and soaking liquid, nuts and yolks into the cream using a large metal spoon. Gently fold in the whites, turn into the ramekins and cover. Freeze for at least 4 hours.

Serves: 10
Ready in: 4hrs 40mins plus soaking
Price per serving: 80p

Per serving:

Calories - 509
Fat - 27.5g
Sat Fat - 13.8g

Toffee & pistachio meringue

Walnuts or pecans can replace pistachios. This dessert can be frozen for two weeks in a plastic container.

4 large egg whites
225g caster sugar, plus 100g for the toffee sauce
115g pistachios, finely chopped
75g unsalted butter
450ml double cream

1. Preheat the oven to 130C/110C/Gas1/2. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Draw a 21cm diameter circle on each, then turn the paper over. Whisk the whites to form glossy peaks. Add the sugar a heaped tsp at a time, whisking until stiff again after each one.
2. Gently fold in the pistachios. Put a small dab of the mixture under the paper in each corner to help it stick to the tray. Spread the mixture on the trays to make two rounds, using the pencil marks as a guide.
3. Bake in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes or until pale coloured and crisp. To test if it is cooked, peel off the paper at one edge - if it peels off easily the meringue is cooked. Cool on a wire rack.
4. Meanwhile, make the toffee sauce. Heat 100g caster sugar in a small pan with 2tbsp water until the sugar dissolves. Cook, without stirring, until golden brown, then remove straight away from the heat and add the butter and a small pinch of salt. Add 75ml of the double cream and stir until it's evenly mixed. Set aside until cold.
5. Lightly whip the rest of the cream until it holds its shape. Fold in the toffee sauce with a spoon so that you have a swirled effect.
6. Spread on one meringue and top with the other.

Serves: 12
Ready in: 2hrs
Price per serving: 32p

Per serving:

Calories - 398
Fat - 29.7g
Sat Fat - 16.5g

Celebration salmon

You can use Prosecco, Cava, Champagne or any dry sparkling wine for this wonderful sauce - plus you get to enjoy the rest of the bottle with your meal!

10g butter, plus 25g extra
480g lightly smoked salmon fillet
4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
200ml Prosecco
2 shallots, finely chopped
25g plain flour
150ml single cream
1tbsp dill, chopped, plus 4 sprigs to garnish
Brussels sprouts and roast new potatoes, to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Grease a roasting tin with 10g butter. Add the fillets and put a parsley sprig on top of each one. Gently pour on the Prosecco - it will foam up at first. Then cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the fish flakes easily.
2. Discard the parsley. Lift the fillets out and put them on a plate. Cover loosely with foil and keep warm. Reserve the Prosecco juice.
3. Melt the rest of the butter in a saucepan and cook the shallots, over a medium heat, until soft, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from the heat and stir in the flour. Cook over a low heat for a minute, whisking with a wire whisk. Remove from the heat and whisk in the juice. Return to the heat whisking until thickened. Simmer for 2 minutes.
5. Whisk in the cream and chopped dill, then season and reheat. Pour over the salmon and garnish with the dill sprigs. Serve with Brussels and roast new potatoes.

Serves: 4
Ready in: 50 mins
Price per serving: £2.74


Per serving:

Calories - 456
Fat - 27.6g
Sat Fat - 11.5g

Cheese & vegetable pies

The cheese pastry in these pies make them taste really special but if you're short of time you could use ready to use ready-to-roll shortcrust pastry instead.

150g butter, cut into small cubes, plus extra for greasing
300g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
A pinch each of dry mustard powder, cayenne and salt
50g extra mature Cheddar, finely grated
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1tbsp mild olive oil
1 small leek (white and pale green part), finely chopped
160g baby spinach
150g frozen petit pois
200g plain soft cheese
1tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1tbsp fresh sage leaves, chopped
1 medium egg, beaten


1. Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5. Grease the holes of a four-hole Yorkshire pudding tin with a little butter. Sift the flour, mustard powder, cayenne and salt into a large bowl. Rub in the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the cheese and egg, then mix to a firm dough. You may need to add a couple of teaspoons of cold water.
2. Make the dough into a flat slab, then wrap it in clingfilm and chill for 20-30 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the leek over a medium heat, until soft. Add the spinach, stirring until it wilts.
4. Tip into a large bowl stir in the frozen petit pois. Stir in the soft cheese, parsley and sage, the season well.
5. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface. Cut out 4 x 12cm-diameter rounds and use to line the pudding-tin holes. Cut out 4x 10cm-diameter rounds for lids and cut a star out of the centre of each one.
6. Divide the filling between the tins and dampen the edges of the pastry with a little water. Put the lids on top and pinch to seal the edges.
7. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Serves: 4
Ready in: 55 mins
Price per serving: £1

Per serving:

Calories - 767
Fat - 49.7g
Sat Fat - 28.4g

Cherry almond trifle

Make this the day before then add the toppings on the day. You can also use Madeira cake instead of baking the almond cakes or muffins

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Put 4 paper muffin cases or 6 paper cupcake cases in a muffin tin or bun tin. Put 50g softened butter, 50g caster sugar, 50g self-raising flour, 1/2 level tsp baking powder, 1 large egg and 15g ground almonds in a bowl and beat until creamy and mixed evenly. Divide between the paper cases and bake for 15 minutes for the cupcakes or 20 minutes for the muffins, or until the tops spring back when pressed lightly. Cool.
Stone 250g fresh cherries and put in a pan with 100ml cherry juice. Simmer for 5 minutes. Cool.
Cut the cakes in half and sandwich with 3tbsp Cherry Conserve. Break the cakes into pieces and put in the base of a large trifle bowl.
Mix together 2tbsp cherry brandy and 4tbsp or the cherry cooking juice. If you don't want to use brandy, replace it with more cherry juice. Drizzle over the cake. Drain the cherries and scatter evenly on top.
Put 250g mascarpone in another bowl and stir to soften. Gradually add 500g custard until evenly mixed. Spread on top of the sponge and cherries.
Whip 450ml double cream until it just holds its shape and put on top.
Put 25g flaked almonds in a dry frying pan and cook over a medium heat and toss until golden. Tip on a plate to cool.
Decorate the trifle with the flaked almonds and more fresh cherries.


Serves: 12
Ready in: 1hr 10mins
Price per serving: 59p

Per serving:

Calories - 450
Fat - 36.7g
Sat Fat - 22.1g

Stilton and nut bites

Great for cheese lovers! Store in an airtight container and keep for up to two weeks.

Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5. Line three baking paper. Sift 175g plain flour, a pinch of cayenne pepper amd dry mustard powder, plus pinch of salt into a bowl and stir. Rub in 125g cubed butter.
Add 50g grated Stilton, 75g extra mature Cheddar and 75g finely chopped walnuts and stir to mix evenly. Beat 1 large egg and add half to the walnut mix. Mix with your hands to make a dough. Shape into 40 small balls. Put on the trays, leaving a small gap between each one, and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand.
Brush the tops with the rest of the beaten egg, then sprinkle with 2tbsp poppy seeds.
Bake for 15 minutes. Cool the bites on the baking trays for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to finish cooling.

Makes: 40 bites
Ready in: 40mins plus cooling
Price per bite: 7p

Per serving:

Calories - 50
Fat - 3.5g
Sat Fat - 2.1g

Spiced mix nut selection

These spiced nuts are perfect for parties - keep them in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Preheat the oven to 140C/120C Fan/Gas 1. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Mix 50g caster sugar with 1 level tsp salt, 1/2 level tsp ground cumin, 1 level tsp chilli powder, 1/4 level tsp ground allspice and 1/2 level tsp cayenne.
Whisk 1 medium egg (white only) in a large bowl until foamy. Add the spice mix and whisk until just evenly mixed.
Add 500g mixed raw nuts (such as almonds, pecans, macadamia and cashews) and stir to coat. Lift the nuts out using a spoon and spread out on the trays.
Bake for 35 minutes, then stir around on the tray using a large spoon to break them up. Take while doing this as the coating will be very hot. Return to the oven for 15 minutes. Carefully lift the paper and nuts onto racks to cool completely.

Makes: 500g
Ready in: 1hr 35mins
Price per 12g serving: 40p

Per serving:

Calories - 50
Fat - 3.5g
Sat Fat - 2.1g

Or try...
For a sweeter variation, use double the amount of sugar and use spices such as ground cinnamon, ground allspice and ground cloves.

Chocolate truffles

Make two variations - one dark chocolate, one white. They'll keep in the fridge for four days or in the freezer for two months. You can leave out the alcohol to make them kid-friendly.

For dark chocolate truffles, chop 225g dark chocolate (50% cocoa solids) and put in a bowl. Heat 150ml double cream until just simmering. Immediately remove from the heat and pour onto the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.
Stir in 2tbsp Drambuie (or Tia Maria, Cointreau or brandy) and chill for 2 hours.
Put 4tbsp cocoa on a plate. Using 2 teaspoons, shape the mixture into small balls and roll in cocoa. Put on another plate and chill.

Per serving:

Calories - 76
Fat - 5.6g
Sat Fat - 3.4g

For white chocolate and coconut truffles, make the truffle mixture as above using 225g white chocolate and 75ml double cream.
Stir in 2tbsp of white rum (or Malibu) and 40g desiccated coconut and chill for 4 hours.
Put 4tbsp desiccated coconut on a plate. Shape the mixture into balls as before and roll them in the coconut to coat. Put on another plate and chill

Per serving:

Calories - 77
Fat - 5.5g
Sat Fat - 3.5g


Makes: 24
Ready in: 30mins plus chilling
Price per truffle: 12p

Christmas Leftovers

A few ways to use up your christmas leftovers, all with butter for extra calories.


Christmas Bubble & Squeak

Mash together any leftover vegetables from christmas dinner with a spoonful of butter, some chunks of Christmas ham and a grating of any cheeseboard leftovers. Shape into burger sized patties, melt a little butter in a frying pan and cook on both sides until golden and heated through. Delicious with a poached egg, for brunch or supper.

Parsnip & Roasties soup

Gently cook a diced onion in a knob of butter, add your leftover roast potatoes and parsnips along with any other vegetables remaining from Christmas dinner, cover with veg stock and simmer. If you have leftover gravy you can add that too. Add in a good grind of pepper then whizz until smooth. Serve with chunks of bread and butter and if you have some Christmas cheese to use up, grate a little on top.

Panettone & Butter pudding

Spread wedges of Panettone with butter and nestle them in an oven dish. Whisk together eggs, cream, milk and sugar and pour over the Panettone. Bake in the oven until golden and crisp on top.

Refrigerator Cake

Melt leftover Christmas chocolate together with butter and honey and combine with unused mixed nuts, such as brazils, hazelnuts and almonds, broken up biscuits and chopped glace cherries. Press it all into a brownie tin and chill before cutting into squares.

Lets make... stained-glass biscuits

These stained-glass biscuits aren't the most calorific recipe I've posted on Calories and Creon but they are fun to make which, especially for a CF child, makes them more fun to eat. Plus they can be used to hang on the christmas tree... I'll bet they'll all be gone by the big day though ;)

300g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
1 level tsp ground ginger
1 level tsp ground cinnamon
175g butter, cut into cubes
100g golden syrup
24 Fox's Glacier Fruits


1. Preheat the ovento 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Line three baking trays with baking paper. Sift the flour, ginger and cinnamon into a bowl.

2. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs.

3. Add the golden syrup and mix with a knife until big lumps form. Using your hand, finish mixing to make a dough. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes.

4. Lightly flour a work surface and a rolling pin, then roll out the dough to about 3-4mm thick. Cut out large stars and rounds with cutters. Use your smallest cutters to cut a hole in the middle of each biscuit.

5. Gather up any leftover dough, then roll out and cut out again. Put the biscuits on to the baking trays using a fish slice to support them. Use a skewer to make a small hole in each if you want to hang them.

6. Put the sweets in a freezer bag and bash with a rolling pin to break them into smaller pieces. Children may need an adult to help as they're hard to break.

7. Put the broken sweets in the biscuit holes. Bake them in the oven for about 15 minutes or until they start to brown and the sweets have melted.

8. Cool on the baking trays for 10 minutes, then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.



Per serving:

Calories - 273
Fat - 12.3g
Sat Fat - 7.6g

Adding even more calories to Christmas Dinner

OK I know it's only the 2nd of December but I found these few tips for using butter to add extra flavour (add calories) to christmas dinner so I thought I would share.

Make Sprouts Special

Quarter your sprouts and pan fry them in a knob of butter. Heat the butter until it's bubbling, add the sprouts and cook until they're tender inside and browned on the outside, then season. Add some Walnut or Chestnut pieces as well, for an extra festive flavour.

Moreish Moist Turkey

Keep turkey succulent and moist throughout cooking. Mash half a pack of room temperature butter together with thyme, a crushed clove of garlic and the grated zest of a lemon. With the Turkey's legs pointing towards you, gently loosen the skin around the cavity. Ease the butter under the skin, spreading it over the breasts. It will flavour the turkey, keep it moist during cooking and leave a layer of herbs under the skin that looks quite special when you carve.

Smashing Mash

Peel and chop your carrots and swede, then cook together in boiling water until tender and mash with a knob of butter. Spread them into an oven dish and lovingly top with a combination of breadcrumbs and grated parmesan then dot with a little more butter. Pop it under a hot grill until the top is golden and crisp. Try this with parsnips, squash or sweet potato too. You can make this the day before and reheat it in the oven to save time on the day

Homemade Brandy Butter

This is simple and quick to make but adds a special something to mince pies. Simply beat together half a pack of room temperature butter, slightly less weight of icing sugar and a few drops of vanilla essence then whisk in a few tablespoons of brandy a little at a time. Add more sugar and brandy to your taste. Serve with warmed mince pies. You can try this with any liqueur you like.

Guest Blog - Smart Snacking :)

Everyone with CF knows the relationship with food is very much a love/hate thing so here is a guest blog from the lovely Laura with a little guide on how to pack in the high calorie snack when not really feeling the love!

I think we all have those moments when we don't want to eat anything, but know we should. Too full, too sick, too fed up. Me? I love food, I love eating, but I just can't fit in as much as I used to. The thought of calories and my high calorie diet fill me with a serendipitous joy - sometimes (when other tedious ailments aren't plaguing my mind) I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Who wouldn't want a high calorie diet?! I have the keys to the gates of Eden where all that forbidden fruit is mine to pluck whenever I desire - a guilt free, fatty paradise. 

I wake up, plant myself at the table in front of the TV, and embark on a long and idyllic journey through the Eden that no doubt every person would wish to visit. Hey, I live there. My favourites at the moment are toasted sandwiches filled to the brim with cheese and ham and more cheese, smothered in butter (both sides), fried, the gooey-er the better. Popping candy chocolate spread is like a new years eve party in my mouth, every day, minus the hangover. Bacon drenched in maple syrup on top of eggy or fried bread, butter with toast, sugar with tea. Double cream cheesy carbonara, with a McDonalds starter. Chicken dippers, garlic baguettes, re-fried chips. Sausage in batter on a whim. Spam. When I do calories I aim to do them on an Elvis Presley scale. My mum bought me an Elvis cook-book once, I should really look that out again... 

But we all know that sometimes it just isn't that easy. Whatever your reasons may be, sometimes we just can't stomach stuffing in those calories. The very thought of food makes you growl and moan - our great pleasure has transformed into a source of relentless torture. But like the ghosts of Christmases past, present and future, an amalgamation of your parents', your dieticians' and your consultants' voices start to haunt your sweetly saturated mind - "you must have more calories, keep snacking, gain weight!", enough to make you puke and run and hide in a salad bar - definitely NOT go buy a big fat Turkey like Scrooge. 

I've been trying to find food that I can eat despite feeling like I'm about to burst, which is becoming increasingly more often much to my despair. My mind is pulling me towards the fridge, yet I can hardly get up off the sofa as I feel so deceivingly stuffed. It is a conflict I don't really understand and utterly boggles my mind, but that still causes me endless grief. My well trained CF appetite is unrelenting in its will to get me munching, but this tiny frame and squished stomach is just not allowing me the space to fulfil these gluttonous dreams. So to banish those haunting, niggling voices in these desperate times, I've compiled a list of snack food that is packed full of calories, but don't fill you up like an expanding sponge! These slip down with unnoticeable ease, and even though they may not be on the same Presley type scale, when not functioning at your best they still pack quite a punch.  

-Crispy bacon (300 cals a pack)

-Juice

-Coke (142 cals per 330ml can)

-Old Jamaica Ginger Beer (211 cals per 330ml can) Fizzy drink with the most cals I've found

-Mattesson's Fridge raiders (140 cals a pack) - airy, light and mushy! 

-Mini pepperamis

-Mini babybell

-Mr Kipling slices (The country slices and lemon icing ones are yum)

-Cashew nuts - all nuts are jam packed with cals, great to nibble

-Sainsbury's peanuts, raisins and chocolate chips - (200g pack has 928 cals. Not kidding!)

-Milky Ways - the mush inside makes them not too dense.

-Milky bars - lovely and thin

-Maltesers - have one, have many!

-Mars Refuel Milkshake - (400ml bottle = 340 cals) Thinner than most other milkshakes, and the sports top makes it easier to slurp/sip.

-McDonalds chips - (Small 230 cals, Med 330 cals, Large 460 cals) So many cals, but hardly any substance...!

-Taramasalata - (A quarter of a 211g pot of Tesco's tara has 275cals) So many calories even a little is perfect... Have with strips of pitta bread for something light(ish).

Just um, don't forget the creon eh, otherwise you may end up more like Elvis than you had planned to. We all know where he spent his last living moments... ! 

Follow Laura's journey on the waiting list for a liver and pancreas transplant on her blog, Ludicrous Bunglings.