Chicken Pesto Tray Bake

This chicken pesto tray bake is not only the ultimate comfort meal but is packed full of flavour. The juices from the chicken compliment the green pesto so well and it is delicious!

I created this recipe using mainly ingredients from the new Morrison's gluten free food box which was kindly gifted to me.

Like all the recipes I have, I try to make things as easy as possible for you guys, so I hope you find this quick and easy like I did.

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts
• 7 baby potatoes
• 4 carrots
• 1 red onion
• Olive oil
• Green pesto

The above ingredients totally depend on how many people you are cooking for - this was enough for 2 people. The carrots that I used also were quite small carrots, they were from Morrison's wonky vegetable range.

Method:

1. Firstly, pre-heat your oven to 190 degrees.
2. Then you need to prepare your vegetables - chop the baby potatoes into quarters, peel and chop your carrots into small chunks and then peel your red onion and chop into large chunks.
3. Next, place your vegetables into your baking tray and drizzle over with some olive oil. Then place them in the oven for 15 minutes.
4. Once the 15 minutes is over, give your vegetables a nice stir and create some space in the middle of your tray for your chicken breasts. Then cook your chicken breasts with the vegetables for 35 minutes (totally depending on what it says on your chicken breast packet, but mine said 35 minutes and to cook at 200 degrees, so I upped my temperature to 200 degrees) With about half way to go, flip your chicken breasts so they cook nicely on both sides.
5. Next, when there is about 7 minutes to go, put your red onion on the baking tray with your chicken and vegetables. 
6. Finally, once your 35 minutes is over, spread your pesto over your chicken and mix in with your vegetables. Give this another 3 minutes in the oven.
7. Once thats all cooked, serve! 

I hope you enjoy making this as much as I did! 😊

If you do decide to make this dish, please tag me on your social media!

Danielle x

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have been craving chocolate chip cookies so much during lockdown! So I decided to buy some ingredients on my shop to have a go! Hopefully you have some of these ingredients in your cupboard/fridge already if you bake often, I tried to make the cookies with the simplest ingredients as possible! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did 😊

Ingredients:

1. 100g melted butter
2. 1/2 a teaspoon of xanthan gum
3. 1 teaspoon of baking powder
4. 80g caster sugar
5. 1 medium egg
6. 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
7. 320g gluten free plain flour
8. 100g milk chocolate chips

Method:

1. Firstly, mix together your melted butter, caster sugar, 1 medium egg and vanilla extract
2. Once all mixed in, then mix in your flour, xanthan gum and baking powder.
3. This will then form a sticky dough - once all mixed in, then mix in your chocolate chips
4. Once all your dough is mixed together, put some cling film over the bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour
5. Next, once your dough has been refrigerated, place 6 small balls (depending on how big your baking tray is) onto a grease proof paper lined baking tray and flatten them slightly so they will create a cookie shape.
6. Then, bake your cookies in the oven for 15 minutes on 190 degrees celcius. If you like really soft cookies then I would bake for about 13 minutes. 15 minutes creates still a soft cookie but slightly harder top which I personally prefer!

And there you have it! Gluten free chocolate chip cookies - enjoy with a glass of milk!

Don't forget to tag me in your posts on social media if you do make these 😊

Danielle x

Cheesy Pasta Bake with Chicken & Bacon

*Original post on Instagram is an ad

This dish is the ultimate cheesy chicken & bacon pasta bake, I promise you! It's the perfect home comfort, warming meal and it's great if you have a family or even cooking for just two people like I did. It is also really easy to make, taking around 45 minutes in total. The good thing about it is that we had left overs for both of us for lunch the next day😊

Ingredients for the Pasta Bake:

1. Pasta - I used the M&S Penne Pasta for mine but of course you can use whichever types of pasta you prefer. I used around 3/4 of a bag for my dish for two people but if you are feeding a family you will probably need to use a full bag.
2. 1 pack of diced chicken breasts - I bought mine from Aldi but if you do not have diced chicken breasts, I would recommend using around 3 and chop them up into chunks.
3. 1 table spoon of tomato puree
4. 1 large onion
5. 1 red pepper & 1 yellow pepper
6. 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
7. 3 x rashers of bacon
8. 100g cheddar cheese
9. 100g mozzarella cheese
10. 2 tea spoons of very lazy chopped garlic
11. 1 teaspoon of oregano
12. 1 teaspoon of thyme
13. 100g spinach
14. Small handful of chopped parsley
15. 100ml of double cream
16. Olive Oil

Ingredients for the garlic bread:

1. 1 pack of made without wheat sourdough thins from M&S
2. 'Very Lazy' chopped garlic - you can crush a couple of cloves of garlic up if you do not have the very lazy chopped garlic
3. Handful of mozzarella cheese
4. 100g of butter

Method for the Pasta Bake:

1. Firstly, fry your 3 rashers of bacon in some olive oil until they are cooked. Then, chop them up into small pieces and set aside.
2. Secondly, start cooking your pasta on the hob and pre-heat your oven to 190 degrees celsius.
3. Next, I used quite a big wok pan for this which I would recommend as you are going to put a lot into the pan. Cook the chicken for around 5 minutes in the pan.
4. Then, add your onion and cook for around another 3 minutes until the onion is slightly soft. Once the onion is slightly soft, then add your chopped up peppers, your tomato puree, add some salt and pepper for seasoning and then your herbs (thyme & oregano) 
5. Next, once you have cooked them for another 3 minutes, add in your tinned chopped tomatoes, cream and your spinach. Make sure to have the heat not too high, just around a medium heat.
6. Cook for around another couple of minutes on your medium heat, then you can add in your cooked pasta and your cooked chopped-up bacon. Leave to cook for a couple of minutes and make sure everything is really mixed in together.
7. Once everything is mixed in together and you have cooked it for a couple of minutes - transfer everything into a baking dish. I used a glass baking dish for mine that was quite deep, but you can use anything that you would usually use for a dish like this.
8. Then, top the mixture with your mozzarella and cheddar cheese.
9. Next, bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the cheese turns golden.
10. When cooked, remove the bake from the oven and top with a handful of chopped parsley.

Method for the garlic bread:

This can be done whilst your pasta bake is cooking in the oven.

1. Lay 4 of the sandwich thins (that are split in half) on a baking tray (I used 4 so there was two each for us, but if you are cooking for more, then use more sandwich thins)
2. Next, in a bowl mix together about 100g of butter, a handful of mozzarella cheese and 3 tea spoons of the chopped garlic. 
3. Once all mixed and soft, then spread onto your sandwich thins.
4. Then, when the pasta bake gets around 5 minutes left to cook, put your sandwich thins into the oven to cook.

I really enjoyed making this so I hope you do too! Make sure to tag me if you do make this dish and post on social media 😊

Danielle x

My Gluten Free Christmas Round-Up 2019

So I thought I would get the swing of things going for Christmas early since a lot of the supermarkets are now bringing their gluten free Christmas products out! I am sooo excited about all of this so I thought I would write a blog post for you all, so (hopefully) the majority of them are all in one place for you to have a scroll through and decide what you are going to be buying this Christmas!! I will continue to add to it as well once more products are brought out onto the shelves!

So first, let's start off with M&S as I have posted the picture above! 😁

1. Refrigerated gluten free mini chicken & garlic kievs

These are a returning favourite and I am very excited about these. Perfect for party food and nibbling on! They are also freezable which is fab if you want to buy them early and wack them in the freezer! However, they do have some in the freezer section as well so keep an eye out for them!

2. Pigs in blankets & spanish pigs in blankets!

Again a returning favourite of the gluten free pigs in blankets! I am not sure if I have seen the spanish version before but they look really yum! Again freezable if you want to grab them in advance.

3. Mini santa hats

I believe these are a returning favourite as well and they are in the frozen section. Naturally no gluten containing ingredients, which is fab! They have a crisp meringue base topped with vanilla cream and raspberry jelly.

4. Boneless turkey breast joint

I found this in the freezer section also with that lovely gluten free symbol on the front. Naturally you would hope that this is gluten free (unless it's stuffed with some gluten-full stuffing etc) but this is great! I will definitely be buying something like this for my Christmas dinner!

5. Gluten free turkey feast sandwich

I posted this one a couple of weeks or so ago and not going to lie I have probably had 3 or 4 of these since 😆 This again is a returning favourite from M&S. I buy this every year and it's my absolute favourite. The flavours are just amazing. It is £3.50 however, so it is fairly pricey.

6. Christmas Cake & Mini Christmas Pudding

I put these in the same section as they are fairly similar in terms of what they are. But again, returning favourites from M&S. 6 months matured christmas pudding which seems to be packed full of flavour and their christmas cake which contains lots of fruit as well.

And now we go onto Tesco which is one of my favourites!

1. BBQ Mini Ribs

A perfect party food option, with no gluten containing ingredients! I am sure these are a returning favourite as well, I am sure I spotted them last year! These look absolutely amazing.

2. Ham and cheese croquettes

Another fab party food option from Tesco! Lovely gluten free sign on the front. They have in them smoked ham, with mozzarella, cheddar, coated in a parsley breadcrumb. What's not to like about these!!

3. BBQ Chicken Wings

These are a must for any Christmas party really aren't they! You've got to love BBQ chicken wings! No gluten free symbol on the front, however they do not contain any gluten in the ingredients. They are covered in a sticky BBQ glaze, how yum!

4. Green jalapeno coated peppers

Now these look spicy! I am really not good with spice, so this is not something I would buy. However, another great party food option with no gluten containing ingredients! They do sound really yummy.

5. Belgian chocolate coated shortbread

Now these are really up my street! And not only did I find them in the Tesco superstore, I found them in the Tesco express as well! Which is really handy as I don't have a big tesco near me. They come in such cute packaging as well, really love what has been done there!

6. Deep filled mince pies

Another returning favourite from Tesco! Got to love a pack of mince pies! They are not only gluten free but dairy free as well which is fab for anyone who's also dairy free! Again found in a Tesco Express which is very handy!

7. Fruit cake slices

Some returning favourites as well.. fruit cake slices! Again they are not only gluten free, but they are dairy free and egg free! Again for anyone that's allergic to dairy and egg.

8. Turkey stuffed tortilla chips & maple bacon tortilla curls

Really fab party nibble options here! I mean they both sound absolutely delicious don't they! M&S do similar curled crisps and they are sooo good so I am hoping these will be similar! Tesco have also brought out onion ring crisps which you may have seen me post about on my instagram. I can confirm these are incredible!!

9. Mini cheese snackers

These are again another party snack favourite of mine! These are perfect to wack out when you want a few nibbles!! I haven't seen these last year so they must be a new one this year!

10. Free from selection box

So not alot of selection boxes are usually gluten free and dairy free so this is really good for anyone that's dairy free also. It comes with 2 chocolate bars and some golden coins which I think is really cute! Again found in a Tesco express so really handy!

So that's it for now! I am looking forward to bringing you some more gluten free finds once more hits the shelves! Enjoy x

My Gluten Free Guide to Rome

I recently visited Rome for a little weekend away and I was amazed by the amount of gluten free options out there. I genuinely thought it was better than the UK for finding gluten free food. I thought I would put together a few tips and recommendations for you all on my blog. I hope you find them helpful and if you are reading this and you have booked or decide to book a holiday in Rome, you will not be disappointed!

I wanted to start with my top tips, so if you are just here for the recommendations scroll down the page for them 😊

My top tips for Rome:

1. If you follow my Instagram you may have noticed from my Rome posts that I have been talking about the Italian Coeliac Association (AIC) that they have there. You will notice on some restaurant windows that they have this brilliant sticker:

The air conditioned part is obviously a bonus with this restaurant!! However if you notice this sticker on the restaurant windows then they have been accredited by their Coeliac association there, just like Coeliac UK do in the UK 🙂 so you know you are in for a treat if you find this!!

2. The translation for 'gluten free' in Italian is 'senza glutine'. This phrase will be really helpful if you are searching for restaurants, or in supermarkets etc. 

3. Rome airport - When we left Rome, I did not have anything to eat prior to getting to the airport so I was on the hunt for food when we got there! I found this cafe which had a fridge full of gluten free sandwiches just like this one which I bought:

It was actually really tasty! I also went to the WH Smiths that they had in the ariport and I bought some lays crisps (cannot remember the exact flavour but they are a green packet and say 'senza glutine' in the top corner!) So I was basically stocked up for the flight with my sandwich and crisps 😊

4. This is not particularly food related however you may find this helpful! In Rome they have an underground and also they have hop on and hop off busses. We honestly did not use any transport (except from Taxi to and from the airport) whilst we were there because literally every corner you walk round there is something to see - whether it be architecture, shops and so on. Everything is just so preserved there, a lot of ruins have just been built around which is so amazing to see! Rome is really not that big, everywhere is pretty walkable if you are mobile so if you can do it, walk everywhere! 😊

Now for the food recommendations which is obviously what you are reading this for! 😆

1. Voglia Di Pizza - Via Dei Giubbonari, 33, 00186 Roma RM, Italy

This place was the first place that we ate for dinner and we loved it that much we went again on our last night! Voglia Di Pizza has a gluten free menu and basically everything in their restaurant can be made to be gluten free. They have an amazing 'gluten free' sign on their window and they also have the Italian Coeliac Association accreditation. 

We sat outside on both occasions and it had such a nice vibe to it! I mean who doesn't like sitting outside on holiday when having your dinner!

On the first night I went for the carbonara as I had to try a carbonara in Italy.. it was a must for me! It was sooo creamy and just amazing! And then on the last night because I had eaten a lot over the holiday I really couldn't eat much on the last day so I just had a light dinner of Caprese and some potato croquettes 😊 this place is a must visit if you go to Rome! It was just a 5 minute walk from our hotel so was in a great location for us!

2. Mama Eat Street Food - Borgo Pio, 28, 00193 Roma RM, Italy

This place is actually a godsend - a 100% gluten free street food restaurant!!

It even has this brilliant 'no problem gluten free' sign outside the front and obviously they are also accredited by the AIC 😊 Their menu was massive, it was extremely hard to pick what to have but I knew that I had to pick something savoury and sweet to try! So this is what I went for....

Gluten free fried chicken strips and fries with nutella and sugar donuts. I know.. my mouth is watering just looking at those pictures! This place is another must visit if you are in Rome.. it is literally just around the corner from St Peter's Basilica so if you are in the area.. do visit!

3. Mama Eat Roma - Via San Cosimato 7/9, Roma, Italy

Mama Eat also have a restaurant in Rome which is in the Trastevere area (what our Receptionist at the hotel described as the 'social area') - this is another must visit place if you are in Rome. They have a huuuge gluten free menu and the best part is they actually have a fully seperate kitchen for gluten free food! So cross contamination is literally a no go here as they are so careful.

Again this place is accredited by the AIC and again I had such plenty of options to choose from! Another thing also, they bring all their gluten free food out on clear plates and the gluten filled food out on ceramic plates - so you know that there is definitely no mix up with the food!

So this is what I went for...

The most delicious pesto, cherry tomato, mozzarella and sausage pizza. It was so tasty and you literally could not tell it was gluten free! It's fair to say this was demolished very quickly! I was really debating on whether to try a dessert, but I just had to! (Even if I had a huge IBS flare up straight after this meal because I ate too much that day!!) I went for the white chocolate and hazelnut sauce crepe and again.. just amazing!

You know exactly what you are getting with this place, the fact they have a fully separate kitchen and separate plates for gluten free... the UK should take a leaf out of their book!! They also have quite a few dairy free options as well so another reason to visit if you are both gluten free and dairy free!

4. Fiocco Di Neve - Via del Pantheon, 51, 00186 Roma RM, Italy

Another place that I stumbled upon which is literally 2 seconds from the Pantheon.. a 100% gluten free gelato shop! And I couldn't believe how much of a great location it was in!!

You walk in and there is a huuuge amount of flavours and a few different cones to choose from. I instantly decided on what I wanted because they are literally my favourite flavours to have...

You get 3 scoops with a cone for 5 euros but they literally pile it on so high.. it was actually really difficult to eat! 😆 but honestly this place is a gem and I highly recommend it if you are visiting Rome! The staff are so friendly as well and of course with it being 100% gluten free, again, it is accredited by the AIC 😊

5. La Pasticceria - 43, Via Varese, 00185 Roma RM, Italy

This place is a 100% gluten free bakery located around a 5 minute walk from Termini station in the centre of Rome. What a little gem this is!

You instantly walk in and know you are in for a treat! Unfortunately there is no seating area so you do have to either perch inside or take out. There are sooo many goodies here from savoury to sweet.. they all looked delicious and I was definitely spoiled for choice!

This was the same day that I really didn't feel like eating so I just went for a slice of pizza but I really enjoyed it. My friend went for a pastry filled with pistachio which looked amazing! This is a really convenient place if you are in the termini area!

6. Pandalí - Via di Torre Argentina, 3, 00186 Roma RM, Italy

Pandalí is a 100% gluten free bakery located not too far from the Pantheon. This was another place that was just a 5 minute walk from our hotel so was so convenient for us! This place is also a little gem just like the other bakery - they had loads of sweet and savoury options. 

This was such a cute little bakery with a seating area and the seating area also had quite a modern twist to it. They had just brought a pizza out of the oven and someone bought half so me and my friend had to buy the other half...

The pizza was amazing, it was sooo cheesy as well which made it!

Mcdonalds in Rome -

Sadly I did not get to try a gluten free Mcdonald's in Rome, everytime I walked past one I was so full!!

But I know that they do gluten free buns in Rome in their Mcdonald's so you should definitely try one if you never have before!

So that is my gluten free guide to Rome! I hope you all enjoy it and you will definitely not be disappointed food wise when you are there! 😊

Gluten Free Delishio Rocky Road

I was kindly gifted the new Schar gluten free delishios so I had to make something with them to celebrate! I thought what recipe do I miss the most that generally has malteasers in it? And it has to be rocky road!

So I hope you enjoy this recipe and tag me in your photo's if you do make them!😁

Ingredients:

1. 2 packs of the Schar Delishios
2. 250g gluten free milk chocolate (I used Galaxy)
3. 50g soft butter
4. 5 gluten free digestive biscuits (I used Asda's own)
5. Pack of mini marshmallows
6. Icing sugar for the finish
7. 20cm square baking tin.

Method:

1. First of all, you need to melt your chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of boiling water. You can do this by adding your butter in first to melt it and then gradually add small chunks of your chocolate into the bowl to mix it. It is much easier to use a glass bowl than a ceramic bowl which I have tried before.

2. Next, once all your chocolate has melted, put this to one side for about 20 minutes just to cool down as when you put your chocolate, marsh mallows etc in you do not want it all to melt.

3. Then, whilst your mixture is cooling you can then put your biscuits into a sandwich bag and bash them with a rolling pin until they turn into crumbs.

4. Once all crushed, on a separate plate/chopping board, I chopped my delishios each in half.

5. Once your melted chocolate is cool, you can then add all your ingredients into it (the marshmallows and the delishios) you can add anything else that you would like to put in i.e. fruit, nuts etc!

6. Then, line your square baking tin with parchment paper.

7. Next, you will need to scoop your mixture into the baking tin and flatten down (not too flat as you want your rocky roads to be fairly chunky)

8. Then, sprinkle a tiny bit of icing sugar over the top to give it a finish.

9. Next, refrigerate your rocky road for atleast 30 minutes in the fridge.

10. Finally, cut your rocky road into squares and serve!

Enjoy! x

Gluten Free Sausage Rolls

I have been craving sausage rolls for a long time now so I decided to make my own! They are so simple and quick to make and taste delicious! I hope you all enjoy them as much as I did!

Ingredients:

1. Gluten free puff pastry (I bought the Asda refrigerated already rolled one)

2. Pack of 6 gluten free sausages (I bought Asda's own gluten free caramelised onion ones as they are my favourite and I wanted a bit more flavour in them)

3. 2 medium eggs

Method:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees celsius/180 degrees fan
2. Roll out your puff pastry and cut it in half length ways
3. Skin your sausages and place them in a line in the middle of the pastry
4. In a seperate bowl, whisk your two eggs and once it is all whisked, use your pastry brush along the edges of the pastry
5. Next, roll your pastry over the sausages so it kind of looks like a wrap
6. Press the edges down with a fork so it is all secure
7. Then, with your brush again brush over the sausage rolls so they will come out golden.
8. Then, chop the sausage rolls into whatever size you like.
9. Finally, place your sausage rolls onto a baking tray and bake for 25 minutes.

And fingures crossed they should come out like this! If you find that any sausage is hanging out the edges and you want to neat up the presentation a little, just push the sausages further into the sausage roll.

Enjoy! 😊

My Gluten Free Rainbow Piñata Cake

I decided to make this rainbow piñata cake for Coeliac Awareness Week 2019 to spread positivity about Coeliac Disease as there is always a rainbow at the end. Once you start your gluten free diet it is just something you get used to and learn as you go along. I personally feel a lot healthier since I was diagnosed Coeliac two years ago.

I posted this a couple of days ago and it was SO popular and a lot of you requested the recipe so here it is! This cake was so moist and delicious, sometimes with gluten free cakes they are really crumbly but this one wasn't, I hope it goes well for you guys!

Ingredients for the cake:

• 390g soft butter
• 390g caster sugar
• 6 eggs (I bought medium)
• 390g self raising flour (I used doves farm)
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 5 colours of food colour flavouring (I bought a pack from Sainsburys which was called 'gel food colours' and it has been designed for making rainbow cakes, it was something like £2.25 which was a lot cheaper than buying the food colouring individually) I used green, blue, pink, orange and yellow.
• 3 x 20cm round cake tins (I bought mine from TK Maxx, but if you don't have any loads of shops sell them like supermarkets, amazon etc)
• Baking parchment paper 
• Sweets (I bought haribos, haribo strawbs and minstrel for mine but you can put whatever sweets you like in it!)

Ingredients for the butter cream icing:

• 400g soft butter
• 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 800g icing sugar

Method:

1. Firstly, pre-heat your oven to 160c fan or 180c conventional oven.
2. Secondly, you will need to grease your 3 cake tins and line the bottom of them with baking parchment paper.
3. Next, mix all of your cake ingredients together and make sure that you mix until you get a smooth consistency. With your flour I would use a sieve to get this into the bowl so there are no lumps.
4. Once all the cake mixture is mixed and is smooth, you will then need to divide the cake mixture evenly between 3 bowls.
5. Once you have divided the cake mixture evenly, you then need to put one colour in each of your bowls (I used first the green, blue and red but you can use whichever colours you like first!)
6. You will then need to pour your 3 different coloured cake mixtures into each cake tin.
7. Next, bake your cakes in your oven for 25 minutes. You will know they are cooked if you put a knife into cake, if it comes out with mixture on the knife it is not quite cooked yet, but if it comes out with no mixture on it will be cooked. I would also not open the oven door whilst the cake is cooking.
8. Then, you will need to take these out to cool. I left mine for about an hour to cool.
9. Next, make your second batch of cake mixture these will be for the next two cakes.
10. Repeat the separating process into two bowls and use your final two colours.
11. Then, put these into your cake tins and bake again for 25 minutes.
12. Next, once baked take these out to cool down for about an hour again.

Method for the icing and decoration:

1. For the icing, you will need to mix all of your icing mixture together until it makes a smooth consistency into butter icing.
2. Next, put one of your cakes on your cake stand and cut the middle of that out with a cookie cutter or anything you can get your hands on!
3. Then, spread some of your butter icing over the top of the cake.
4. Next, cut out the middle of 3 of your other cakes, repeat the process of putting icing on top of the cake and placing the other cake on top.
5. Then, before you put the final cake on top, fill the middle of the stack of cakes with all of your sweets.
6. Finally, put your 5th cake on top of the stack of cakes (you do not cut the middle of the cake out on this one)
7. Then, spread the rest of your icing all over the cake and I sprinkled coloured stars all over but you can use whatever you like to decorate it with!
8. I then left the cake overnight to set in the fridge, once set you can then cut a slice out of the cake and your sweets will fall out like a piñata!!

I hope you enjoy this recipe and remember to tag me in your posts if you do make it! 😁

Danielle x