Baker & Foodie Content Creator
My name is Lee, welcome to my pages. I hope we can have fun together?
When I’m not developing recipes for others, writing guest blogs, writing my own blog, or even trying to learn how to paint, I’m usually spending time with the amazing Mr G (my husband) or with my lovely daughter or my lovely son (very proud mum).
What is this all about? Great question. This site is about real cooking and baking, real recipes and real mistakes.
No filters here, (although i’d love to find a filter that can take ten years worth of laugh lines away. Just me, whats happening, and whatever cameras or phone i have to hand .
There are many things that get under my bonnet and wiggle around, one of those is food waste. If i buy ingredients specifically for a recipe, and i only need a small amount of the ingredients, i want to be able to use the rest up and not have to throw them away. My mum used to say , “Waste not Want not” is that still a saying ?
For me, waste is not just about using up all the ingredients. What about leftover food? If i’m able , i hope to give ideas as to how to use up any leftovers too.
Be Brave
Cooking isn’t hard , neither is baking, its all about being brave and being ok with making mistakes
No Yeast Orange Raisin Cinnamon Buns with glaze. Why wait for all that rising, this recipe doesn’t use yeast so no need to wait to eat these fabulous baked buns. Using Greek yoghurt and self raising flour for the dough means that the rising is done in the oven. A crispy top with melted butter and cinnamon sugar makes these pull apart cinnamon buns perfect for Christmas..But don’t wait until the festive season to enjoy them, bake them all year for a delicious treat.
Conchita’s Chipotle Chocolate Christmas Shortbread , the perfect Christmas recipe for friends , family and for the Christmas table. Shortbread should be crisp and moreish, and this recipe is just that. Chilli and chocolate are flavours made in heaven, and using the slightly smoky Conchita’s Chipotle tips it over the edge.
Bacon, Pumpkin & Potato Soup with Garlic & Herb Croutons , perfect for this November weather and a way to use up any leftover pumpkin insides that you might have left over from all that pumpkin carving. This soup is quick, easy and super tasty
Ricotta, Mascarpone, Walnut & Honey Samosa the perfect light dessert for everyone. Replace the filling with Nutella, and you’ve got yourself another crowd pleasing dessert.
Folding a samosa the easy way , with pictures and description
Perfect for freezing too .
Chicken Soup & Bacon Tortilla Pie - A pie but not pie! A super easy pie using soft tortillas instead of pastry. This easy pie uses soft tortillas as the pastry and still tastes great. No need to spend ages making pastry , just use pantry ingredients to make this inexpensive, budget, low cost family pie that will make everyone in the family smile and say Yummmm!
Orange Chicken thighs, the easiest and tastiest recipe you’ll ever need. Succulent chicken thighs used in this recipe means that it retains its juiciness and is perfect to add to your family recipe book.
Lijena Pita od Jabuka i Oraha - (Lazy Apple & Walnut Pie), a Croatian base with a twist of Lee & The Sweet Life. Light crumbly pastry with a thick filling of apple and walnut made with love for a better pie. Croatian lazy pies are a must have in every Croatian family recipe book, this one is doubly special , with both apple and walnut, its moist and yummy. Not just any apple and walnut pie!
Prawns in Tomato & Gin Sauce - Using Country Market Ribble Valley Gin . Soft tender prawns in an aromatic tomato sauce made with Ribble Valley Gin. A perfect recipe to welcome in the autumn with big chunks of your favourite break to sop up all that fabulous sauce.
Focaccia with Black Olives, Artichokes, Red Onions & Rosemary made for September baking . With an easy recipe like this, making focaccia is easy. Once you’ve a good recipe, add what you want to the top and make it good with every meal.
Plums are in abundance right now, so it.s time to step it up and make a plum, lemon zest and frangipane tart with almond pastry. Perfect with ice cream, or custard if thats your thing.
This recipe is simple to make and once you have, you’ll have it in your baking arsenal to bring out when nothing else will do.
Apple pie shouldn’t be boring. This Apple Pie with Orange & Bo Tree Red Pepper is anything but. Served in Linda Bloomfield pots, its’ perfect for weather thats on the turn, and with a gout of apples on the trees right now, i’m always looking for more recipes to use up those amazing apples. With ice cream , cream or custard, the glorious pastry , sweet and spicy filling will soon become a favourite .
Parmesan & Rosemary Gougères with Goats Cheese & Mascarpone Filling - Easy parmesan and rosemary gougères are perfect for any occasion. Savoury little mouthfuls. filled with a creamy filling. Find out how to make them here.
Gin, rhubarb and tomato chicken thighs may sound a little strange, but added together, it gives a sauce that you’ll have to get out the chunky bread to dip. Don’t waste a drop of it! I used G & Tea Cream Tea Gin, but whichever gin you like to drink, is perfect to make this sauce.
This roasted cauliflower is perfect to eat hot or cold, so don’t be afraid to buy yourself a bigger cauliflower than you would normally need for the meal and enjoy it in lots of ways for the next day’s meal.
I couldn’t resist using Linda Bloomfieds manufactured plate, in very subtle green, to serve it on. It looks so pretty with the sauce running over the plate. I did have to resist having a finger dip :) If you want to see more of her amazing pretty ceramics, go over and have a browse.
Baklava with Orange Zest, or at Least My Version of It. A great thing about making a baklava, is the make ahead factor. This is often on my dessert list when I’ve a lot of other things to be made because it ticks two of my good recipe boxes. Tastes great and can be made a few days ahead giving me lots of time to get those last-minute things together.
Flourless Chocolate Cake with Whiskey & Date Ganache. This Gluten Free and easy recipe means it’s a cake thats so good, in fact more than good. It’s a recipe that you can make your own and will have people begging for more . Make it with or without the ganache, its up to you , but if you have some whisky to hand, i’d thoroughly recommend you try it.
Parmesan Corn. This recipe has a little bit of crunch, a little bit of spice and a creamy yet sticky parmesan coating, so i think i need to keep making it until sweetcorn is out of season.
Millionaires Chocolate Pots with Toasted Hazelnuts. Chocolate, caramel and toasted hazelnuts, a difficult combination for me to just walk passed and these little pots are so good i can never eat just one, so i have been known to hide an extra one (or two) ready to sneak off to eat them alone, in a quiet room whilst watching something on a box set.
Crispy Chive Picnic Patties with Camembert Filling. Picnic season is here again, if the nice weather holds out, and that means I get to think about food for the outside. BBQs or picnics, I’m not too particular about the occasion but thinking about the food is what it’s all about for me. Who doesn’t love a sensational home-made burger full of fresh herbs and juicy from the barbie?
