Blog Sale #2

Roll up, roll up, please form an orderly queue! Included in this sale are some leftover items from last time, and some 'new' items that I've foraged from my collection. As before, I simply don't have the time, inclination or energy to play with make up as I did pre-Jamie, and I don't miss it as much as I thought I would. Hence my offering up my loot for others who can get some use out of it! 

**RULES**

• Items will be sold on a first come, first serve basis. If I do not receive payment within 48 hours of you requesting an item, it will either be re-listed or offered to anyone else showing interest. 
• Please leave a comment telling me what you want, and your PayPal email address so that I can send you an invoice. I will post your items 2nd class and all will be well packaged in bubble wrap. 
• Prices shown do not included the P&P charge.
• Postage will be charged at £2 per item unless otherwise stated, or combined if you buy more than one item. UK residents preferred, so please state if you are an international buyer and I will calculate the shipping costs for you.
  
• I can not be held responsible for any breakages or damage that occur in the post, I'm not Royal Mail (thankfully!). I will no accept returns and do not offer refunds - so if you don't want it, or can't pay, don't ask!
• Thank you! Happy shopping!

 MAC pan eyeshadows in Beauty Marked (top left) - lightly used; *SOLD* Wedge (top right) - lightly used, does have two small finger nail marks in, oops!; Steamy (bottom left) - lightly used; and *SOLD* Embark (bottom right) - lightly used, does have a little 'chunk' missing as you can see from the photo

£4.00 each

 Barry M Dazzle Dusts (from L-R) in 51 (which I think is Mushroom) - 90% remaining; 91 (not sure of name, is a gunmetal shade) - 90% remaining; and 24 (Old Gold) - 90% remaining

£2.00 each

 Stila It Glosses in 03 'enchanting' (top) and 06 'ravishing' (bottom) - both barely used, 95% remaining

£3.00 each

 Revlon Beyond Natural Skin Matching Makeup SPF15 (foundation with a light coverage) in shade 210 Light - hard to tell how much remains, but I don't think I've actually used it, so I'd say 90% + (it may well be unused!)

£2.00

 Bourjois Shimmering Shine Liquid Eyeshadow in shade 32 'brun magnetique' - 80% + remaining

£1.50

Origins Zero Oil - 60-70% remaining

£5.00

 17 eyshadow in Mardi Gras (good dupe for MAC Satin Taupe) - used a fair bit, but you only need a tiny bit, so there is probably 60% + remaining

£1.00

 Avon Nailwear Pro in Golden Twilight (left) and Splendid (right) - BRAND NEW NEVER BEEN USED OR SWATCHED

£2.00 each

 Avon Reversalist Renewal Night Cream - BRAND NEW IN SEALED PACKAGING

£5.00 + £3.00 P&P

Avon Anew Rejuvenate 24 Hour Eye Cream (top) - BRAND NEW IN SEALED PACKAGING; Avon Anew Rejuvenate Revitalising Day Cream (bottom left) - BRAND NEW NEVER BEEN OPENED; Avon Anew Rejuvenate Revitalising Night Cream (bottom right) - BRAND NEW NEVER BEEN OPENED

£4.00 + £3 P&P each

 Barry M Nail Paints (L-R) in Strawberry Ice Cream - BRAND NEW NEVER USED; Pale Yellow - used once; Mint Green - used once; Fuscia and Bright Purple - both used approx 5/6 times

£2.00 each

 Maybelline Pure Blush Mineral in shades 40 Quartz Peach (middle) and 20 Moonlight Mauve - both still almost as full as when I bought them, they are never full to the top so hard to say how much is left!

£2.00 each

 Barry M Dazzle/Glitter Dusts (L-R) in 22 - 80% remaining; 85 (possibly, number has worn off - it's white!) - 90% remaining; VIP Ltd Edition (lilac colour) - 85% remaining - THIS ONE IS FREE, I GOT IT FREE, SO FIRST PERSON TO BUY A DAZZLE DUST GETS THIS FREE (IF THEY WANT IT!); No number on the bottom, colour as shown above - 80% remaining; 24 (fine glitter) - BRAND NEW NEVER USED; Number has worn off this one, it's a goldy colour - 95% remaining

£2.00 each

 Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipsticks in 770 Brown Attitude (left) - never used, only swatched on hand; 338 Midnight Plum - used2/3 times max

£2.00 each

 Playboy lipglosses in 79 Liquid Luxe Grenadine Dream (left) and 90 Hef's Favourite Playmate Pink - both barely used

£2.00 each

 Gosh On Stage Cool Lip Jam in 101 (top) - 80% remaining; Illamasqua Sheer Lipgloss in Torture (middle) - 90% remaining; and Nicola Robers Dainty Doll Plumping Gloss in Hibiscus - 90% remaining

£2.00 for GOSH

*SOLD* £4.00 for Illamasqua

£2.00 for Nicola Roberts

Stila eye shadows (L-R) in Evergreen - used once; Jade - used 5 times max; Shore - used 5 times max

£2.00 each

Recipe: Maple baked beans with maple and thyme toast

Essentially, this recipe is just glorifed beans on toast - but so much better, and probably a lot healthier too (approx. 328 calories per serving). I actually replaced the toast with diced chicken (my man likes meat!), and I reckon it'd go well with chopped up sausages too...this meal is really delicious (and all the beans count as 3 of your 5 a day!). 

Maple baked beans with maple and thyme toast

Serves 4-5

You need:

1tbsp olive oil

1 onion, sliced

1/2tbsp Dijon mustard

2tbsp Worestershire sauce

3tbsp tomato purée

2tbsp maple syrup

1 can of chopped tomatoes

400ml of vegetable or beef stock

1 can of butter beans

1 can of red kidney beans

1 can of haricot beans

10 thin slices of crusty bread

4tbsp maple syrup

thyme sprigs

Method:

Heat the oil in a pan, add in the onion and allow to soften for approx. 2 mins, then turn the heat up and allow the onions to brown and caramelise. Add in the Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, tomato purée and maple syrup and cook for approx. 2 mins, then add in the chopped tomatoes and the stock, cooking for a further 2-3 mins. Drain and rinse all the beans (I did this beforehand to save time!), then add into the pan, and season to taste - I added black pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook gently for approx. 15 mins, stirring occasionally. [If you add in chicken/sausages you will obviously need to pre cook this - I added my chicken in with the onions, and skipped the caramelising step]. For the toast, preheat your oven to 180ºC. Place the bread on a baking tray, and sprinkle over the maple syrup and thyme sprigs. Bake for 5-1o mins, until golden and crisp, then serve with your beans on the side. 

There you have it, posh beans on toast :)

Recipe: Lamb and butternut squash stew

A slow cooker is one of the worlds best inventions in my opinion! It's the easy, lazy way to cook fantastic tasty meals, and if you get a big one, you can also batch cook and freeze some portions up for those days when you just can't be bothered!

One pot meals don't have to be done in a slow cooker of course, you can slow cook on the hob too, and in less time, but most recipes can be adapted to make them more slow cooker friendly, and I find the beauty of slow cooked meals is you can literally chuck anything in and it'll taste nice. I love a good, hearty and warming stew or casserole in the colder months, and when I got home from Zumba last night it was lovely to be welcomed by the comforting smell of dinner, just waiting to be served up!

Lamb and butternut squash stew

Serves 2

You need:

350g diced lamb (I only had lamb steaks, so just chopped most of the fat off and used those)

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

3/4 medium new potatoes, peeled and chopped

1/2 a small butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and diced (I used a whole squash)

1/2 large onion, chopped 

1tsp ground coriander

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated (I used powdered, I don't tend to buy fresh ginger)

1 clove of garlic, chopped (I used a heaped tsp of lazy garlic)

1tbsp tomato purée

1 tsp ground cumin (I used turmeric because I couldn't find the cumin!)

200ml lamb stock (I used beef because to my knowledge Tesco don't sell lamb stock!)

Method:

Chop, dice and slice all of the ingredients (except the tin of chopped tomatoes, which you should probably use a tin opener for!), add them all to the slow cooker, slosh them around and give a good stir. Turn your slow cooker on high if you want the meal to be ready within approx. 4-6 hours, or low if you want the meal to be ready within approx. 8 hours. As you can see, I adapted this recipe to suit the ingredients I had in the cupboard, and it still tasted delicious - Colin had a big bowl of seconds - and although the recipe states it serves two, we got four portions from this! If you would like the full step-by-step, non slow cooker version of this recipe, click here. 

As an aside, that website is a really great resource that I've recently discovered, so have a nosey around if you need some more inspiration.

Baby by Mummy, caption by you!

I need a caption...can you come up with one please?!

Love Jamie xXx

Recipe: Courgette and roasted chicken risotto

Since being on maternity leave, the kitchen and I have become more accustomed to one another. I'd even go so far as to say we're pretty good friends - although the sink and I aren't really on speaking terms (someone invent self cleaning dishes please)!

In fact, and to those of you who know me, this may come as quite a shock, I actually enjoy cooking now! I really like flicking through my (expanding) recipe book collection or researching online for new recipes to try, and planning our meals for the week ahead...it's becoming more of a hobby than a chore - simply because I have the time. 

Cooking food from scratch really is the best way to eat better, simple as, and it's nowhere near as hard as it looks! You are totally aware and in control of what you're putting into a meal, rather than choosing something pre-made and processed which is full of unnecessary ingredients, not to mention full to the brim of excess salt and sugar. I'm no angel - those jars and sachets of sauces etc are great for when you're really pushed for time, or really would rather just be laid on the sofa in full slob mode, everything has it's place. However, I've found that through cooking my meals from scratch, my whole family is eating and feeling better - result! 

Not convinced...I fed Colin (carb junkie) brown rice, vegetables and plenty of pulses the other day, and he didn't even raise an eyebrow, now that's a result! I don't mean to preach, I just wanted to share with you all my new philosophy on food and life...after all, you are what you eat!

Enough twittering away, on with the food...

Courgette and roasted chicken risotto

Serves 2

You need:

2 skinless chicken breasts

  1 small courgette, diced

1 small onion, diced (I cheat and use frozen onion because I can't abide the eye watering from chopping fresh onions!)

150g of Aborio risotto rice

40g grated Parmesan cheese

2tbsp butter/margarine

3tbsp olive oil

600ml chicken stock

1 clove of garlic, crushed

Salt and black pepper

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180ºC. Heat 1tbsp of olive oil (I used garlic oil) in a large saucepan and cook the courgette until tender (approx. 3-4 minutes), then remove from the pan and set aside. Add 1tbsp of olive oil and 1tbsp butter/margarine (to the large saucepan) and fry the onion and garlic over a low heat until the onion is soft (approx. 5-6 minutes). Whilst the onion and garlic are cooking, heat 1tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan and season your chicken breasts with salt and black pepper. Fry the chicken breasts for approx. 2-3 minutes until they are lightly browned, then transfer to a baking tray and put in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Once the onion has softened, add the Aborio risotto rice and stir well to coat the rice in the oil/butter mixture, cook this for approx. 1-2 minutes. Over a medium heat, add in 50ml of the stock, simmer and stir until the rice has absorbed all of the liquid. Repeat the previous step, adding 50ml of stock at a time, until all of the stock has been absorbed and the rice is tender (if you run out of stock just add in some boiling water). This should take 25-30 minutes, but remember to keep an eye on your chicken if it takes longer! Turn the heat down to low and add the courgette, stirring constantly and heating through. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the grated Parmesan and 1tbsp of butter/margarine. Taste the risotto, season (I added a tiny bit of black pepper, but the taste was fantastic without it) and serve! Slice up your roasted chicken breasts and place on top of the risotto. Et voilà!

I loved this meal, it was sooo tasty, and really filling, so no need to reach for the sweet treats after dinner!