Homemade Chicken Pasta Bake

Hi guys!

So this year, i’ve really tried to make more of an effort with cooking meals. I’ve always made excuses like ” I don’t have time to cook” or ” I can bake, but i’m no good at cooking” but decided that if I want to loose weight and be healthier, then I need to start cooking things from scratch. Anyway, I love pasta – you can never go wrong with it. So after watching a Jade Billington vlog where she made a sausage and pepperoni cheesy pasta bake ( Sounds yummy, but no one in my house would like it except for me) I decided to make my own, but adapting it a little bit to suit my family. Heres how I made it.

Ingredients:

• Pasta ( I didn’t measure it, I just did it by eye)
• Sunflower Oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Paprika
• Chicken
• Tomato Ragu
• Mature cheddar cheese.

Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. Put some pasta in a pan and add sunflower oil (or any other cooking oil you may have) into a pan, before adding a pinch of salt and boiling water. Leave the pasta to simmer for 20 minutes.

Cut your chicken into small chunks so it cooks quickly ( or you can buy it readily prepared) and put it into a baking dish with a small amount of oil. Cook for 25 minutes, turning the chicken occasionally to ensure both sides are cooked.

When the pasta is soft, drain it and add a teaspoon of butter to add flavour. Mix thoughroughly. Take your chicken out of the oven, and coat it with a sprinkling of salt, pepper and paprika – before moving it to a different bowl.

In the same baking tray, pour a small amount of pasta sauce in the bottom of the dish so its covered. Then begin to layer it with pasta, then chicken, then cheese. Continue these individual layers until the pasta and chicken is gone ( It should create 2-3 layers.).

Bake for 30 minutes. Once its finished, take it out of the oven and serve immediately. I like to add serve mine with garlic bread and salad, but it’s completely up to you!

Final thoughts:

Although i’m a bit gutted that no one else wants to try this with sausage and pepperoni ( Like Jade did), it still tastes amazing with chicken and is super easy to make! I would definite recommend it for anyone who wants a easy, rich, filling and comforting meal!

Whats your favourite pasta dish? Let me know in the comments below!

Take care,

~ Emma x

Warm summer eyeshadow – Naked Honey tutorial and review.

Hey guys,

One of my favourite eyeshadow colours is gold. I have brown eyes, so find gold really compliments my eye colour. I’ve also had compliments on it, so thought it would be a good idea to get a nice gold eyeshadow pallete. I picked up the Naked Honey pallete and decided to try it out so I could share my thoughts with you guys. Lets get started.

Firstly, after applying concealer to my lid, I blended it out and dusted the shade Flyby all over the lid. Next, I took the shades sweet on a fluffy brush through my crease, before using the same fluffy brush to apply Swarm and Keeper over the top, and also run it along my bottom lash line. I then used a clean fluffy brush to soften the edges, before using my finger to apply the shade Amber all over the lid. To create a slight halo eye effect, I took the shade HBIC and tapped in the centre of my lid. Finally, I used a small angled brush and the shade String and placed this along my lash line – to make my eyelashes appear thicker before applying a black mascara.

My thoughts are that although I love my other naked palette, this one is definitely my favourite! I’ve worn this look on previous nights out and I’ve always had compliments on how it makes my eyes look – which I haven’t had with any other pallet before. I also find that these colours are quite special because they’re not just your normal matte browns and gold shimmers, they have a yellowy mustard tone to them which is something I haven’t seen before from other brands.

Aside from it being different, it’s also such an incredible quality – as all the Naked palettes are. Both the shimmers and mattes are very pigmented, blend beautifully and look stunning on the eye. They are also super creamy and buttery. My only complaint is I wish the first cream shade was matte as thats what I prefer, but I have lots of matte cream shades so that doesn’t matter really. Overall, this is a wonderful pallete that can be used all year round, and is definitely worth the money.

Whats your opinion on this pallete? Let me know in the comments below.

Take care

~ Emma x

Dating App Detox

Hi guys

So today I felt like talking about a topic that I haven’t really spoken about before, but feel it may be good to share as I feel like it isn’t spoken about too often. In May, I decided to delete all my online dating apps after nearly a 2 years of using them on and off.

This was something i’d been thinking about for a long while, however I always found excuses to keep the apps and keep swiping. I guess the constant swiping became a bit addictive. Just the thought of knowing there was so much possibility and potential out there made me feel good, and the surprise of seeing how many matches I got excited me.

I went on my fair share of dates, most of them with lovely people – however it never really worked out for a variety of reasons. Yet there was a constant ticking in my mind that from the age of 21, I needed to try harder and put myself out there to get in a relationship – because I believed that if I wasn’t married by 30 or sooner then that makes me a failure. This is still a mindset that i’m working hard to drop every day, but it really put pressure on me to keep trying with these apps for so long.

Of course, this attitude along side no dates ever really going anywhere became exhausting. I can’t pinpoint when exactly, but it became very clear that it was making me feel quite down about myself. I’d question my self worth a lot, like if I was pretty enough, or if I was good enough, or if I was ever worthy of having a healthy, loving, romantic relationship.

In may, my last… thing… ( not really a relationship but nearly a relationship) ended, so decided it was time to quit dating apps and start putting myself first. I was tired of being so down and it was becoming too much of a distraction, so didn’t feel worth it anymore. If anyone has been througb this, you’ll understand me when I say the first week was a struggle. I looked at dating apps multiple times through the week, and I downloaded a few.. but never logged into them. I just deleted them again and decided I needed to keep myself busy as it was constantly on my mind.

The second week was similar, I thought about them constantly when I was bored. I knew exactly what I was missing, and although I know they aren’t great for me – I missed the swiping and the short term feelings of excitement. Instead, I found myself having to make a conscious effort to stay busy to distract myself from these thoughts.

However, after the two week mark it got so much easier. I kept my head down and got on with my own projects, such as this blog and getting my driving theory finished. ( I passed first time, yay!). I also learnt how to cook, excersized both at home and the gym, and really made an effort to make more friends and reconnect with my existing ones. I feel like this was the massive turning point, where it all suddenly clicked in my head that I am better off taking a break from dating apps. I just needed to spend more time with myself and stop obsessing over my mental ticking clock and live in the present because I am good enough, with or without a partner.

It’s now a two months later, and i’m very proud of the progress i’ve made. I can safely say that although I definitely have lonely nights on the odd occasion ( Putting youtubers on in the background easily fixes that), I don’t miss dating apps as much anymore. I actually feel a lot more at peace without them, and even feel a relieved when I hear of guys not treating their girls right… because for once its not me and my life is actually quite peaceful without men right now. If anything, I just wish that I’d have taken this break sooner. I am very proud of what i’ve achieved so far, however I can’t help but imagine how much quicker I could’ve gotten my driving theory and other tasks out of the way – had I just put my head down sooner and stopped wasting so much time on apps.

Maybe in the future, when I have my own house and car I may consider looking into dating apps again, depending on how I feel when I get there. However i’ve had this time to reflect so will definitely take a different approach. I will ensure that I don’t neglect myself in the process, and try to not take it too seriously. Things like this are not worth feeling sad over, if it works then great, if not then no biggie – life goes on. Life will always go on, because you are really stronger than you think.

Have you guys ever been on datings apps? If so, what did you think?

Take care

~ Emma x

Making Friends In Your 20s

Hi guys!

This isn’t something I talk about much, but I over think a lot. I’m sure we all do, but honestly theres always that little part in my brain that that wonders what people might be thinking of me. Or what would happen if i’d have taken a different path in life? Would it lead me to be now married with a baby yet? Would the change mean I’d have my own house, or would my carreer be different? Would I even be blogging at all? All of these thoughts go through my mind from time to time, but one thing I really think about a lot is making friends in my 20s.

It’s tough, to say the least. Don’t get me wrong, I do have some friends and i’m super grateful for them as they’re all amazing – and I hope to keep them in my life forever. However, sometimes I wish I had more friends that were local, as life can get a little lonely sometimes.

One thing I have learnt is that it may be nice to go to more events and activities to make friends – it’s also important not to loose track of who you really are in the process. For example, I thought I would try classes at the gym to make friends however in all honesty – I dont enjoy them so prefer to continue working out alone. The same thing can be applied with drinking and nights out, as although I like a drink it’s a rare occasion, not a weekly thing.

Therefore, it’s just better to do what you feel most comfortable with and not push too hard, as it will give off a lack of genuiness – making it harder to make friends. Obviously dont ignore people, just try and get a balance so you can still enjoy what youre doing, without anything coming acrossed as forced.

Another thing I have tried is Bumble (not sponsored). I guess I was drawn to bumble because a lot of my friends are scattered across the UK and not particularly close, so I wanted friends close by. Although this can be challenging and still continues to be, it can be so worth it if you find the right person. I find starting conversations and opening up to new people quite hard in some situations, but love that bumble offers a range of starter questions in order to help get conversation going if you’re stuck. I’ve spoken to some wonderful people on there and have made a few friends, it’s just a case of remembering to get the right balance, so you’re still talking to all of your current friends as well as the new people you meet.

This next point is similar but you could also start reaching out to people on apps such as twitter and insta. For example, if someone is asking for recommendations on a topic you’re knowledgeable about, then send a friendly reply. Or if someone says something funny and you have a witty comeback to make it funnier, then try it. 95% of the time people will respond well, and if you continue to do this then over time it can help to begin a friendship. The worst that can happen is that they ignore your tweet, and in that case, it may just mean you’re not a great match and that it’s for the best. Either way, you’ll never know until you try.

Finally, don’t forget that this can be a long process, and its important to embrace being alone sometimes too. There will sometimes be days where your friends can’t meet up with you, so you’ll need to become okay with being in your own company. Althoiugh that can be hard at first, it can be a really great opportunity to not only learn more about yourself, but also put more time into things like hobbies or acts of self care. So put the kettle on and switch on netflix, because you deserve to feel happy and content. You are enough.

That’s all guys, I hope you liked these tips. How do you find making friends, and do you have any advice regarding this?

Take care

~ Emma x

Baking Chocolate Crunch

Hi guys!

So lately, all I’ve spent a lot of time binge watching Sophie and Dave vlogs on YouTube. ( They’re so sweet, you should really check them out.) In one of their vlogs, they made chocolate crunch and I felt really inspired to try it myself. It’s quite difficult to describe, you have to have tried it to know what i’m on about. I think the best way to describe it is if a bourbon biscuit and a brownie had a baby, that is how it would taste.

This is such an easy, effortless recipe to make! If you would like to make it, you will need:

• 300g Granulated Sugar
• 300g plain flour
• 80g cocoa powder
• 180g butter

To make chocolate crunch, you will need to:

• Sift the sugar, cocoa powder and flour into a bowl.
• Melt the butter, then pour it into the dry ingredients. Mix it together until combined.
• Pour it into a greased baking tray, and pat it down firmly. Bake for 30 mins at 180 degrees.
• Once out the oven, sprinkle sugar over the top and wait for it to cool, before serving.

Final thoughts:

This tastes amazing! Although i’m not really sure what you’d class this as, (its not really a biscuit or brownie), I think this is my new favourite treat! I remember eating this in primary school and completely forgot that it existed until now. Its super easy to make, and you can either eat it alone or add warm custard to it, its completely up to you. It’s definitely worth a try if youre short on time, but really want a chocolatey sweet treat!

Whats your favourite dessert?

Take care,

~ Emma x