5 Of Our Favourite Kids Easter Eggs

It seemed like as soon as the clocks struck midnight on New Year the shops were stocking their shelves with Easter Eggs and other delicious goodies. A little early perhaps but I couldn't help but wander down the isle's dribbling at all the delicious chocolate and sweets on offer for this Easter.

There definitely seems to be more and more Easter egg varieties every year and this year is no exception. Easter goodies for kids don't just come in the simple egg shape anymore, they come in a variety of cute, fun and extravagant designs and shapes. Ranging from your cute classic Easter animals to kids favourites film characters such as Frozen and Minions!

As well as an Easter egg hunt, I like to get the kids one or two big eggs each to enjoy which they love so I thought I would share some of my favourite ones I have seen on the shelves so far this year.

Aldi Dairy Fine Mini Chocolate Eggs Easter Egg

Our Favourite Products For The Best Easter Egg Hunt!

Easter is quickly creeping up on us and the shops seem to have been ready for months with their shelves stocked high with Easter eggs and chocolate goodies as far as the eye can see.

Every Easter my favourite part has to be setting up an egg hunt for the kids when they wake. Its lots of fun seeing them hunting together and seeing their excited little faces when they find an Easter treat. Of course with them both getting older my hiding places are having to get more creative but that's all part of the fun right!?

When I was little my nan used to hide the little foil covered chocolate eggs and I remember just how excited I was at seeing that little glimmer of foil peeking out from a drawer. But I have noticed that in the last few years there are so many more products on the market now designed for these kind of Easter hunts and it definitely makes it more exciting for the kids not knowing what goodies they will find!

With that in mind I thought it would be a good idea to put together a list of the best Easter Egg hunt goodies I have seen this year, so here are some of my favourites...

Divine Milk Chocolate Speckled Eggs

Price - £4.75
Pack size - 170g

These cute speckled eggs are made from Solid Divine milk chocolate mini eggs encased in a crisp sugar coated speckled shell in an array of pastel colours. These eggs don't have a wrapper so would only really work for an indoor hunt, however they are so cute (and delicious) I had to include them. These eggs are fairtrade and suitable for vegetarians. They are also Free from artificial flavourings, colourings and preservatives.

6 Of The Best Easter Eggs For Grown Ups!

When it comes to Easter us grownups don't want to be left out! There are so many Easter eggs out there for the kids, but what about the grownups? Well fear not there are lots of eggs out there aimed at us adults so we too can get out Easter chocolate fix!

Here are some of my favourites I have seen in the shops and online this year.

Divine Milk Chocolate and Tangy Orange Egg.

Price - £5.95
Pack size - 100g

If you love chocolate orange, then this is the egg for you! This egg features a delicious smooth fair trade milk chocolate shell which has been infused with a natural orange flavour giving it the perfect tangy taste. The chocolate egg is a decent thickness, and you can really taste the orange taste and the milk chocolate when you bite into the egg. The citrus tang to this egg was really good, it made the egg stand out to me from others out there as the orange flavour made it really moreish but not too sickly.

Pancake Day Fun With Num Noms!

Who doesn't love pancake day!?! My kids love pancake day and always ask to have a go at making their very own pancakes every year, with varying degree's of success but always lots of fun! This year our pancakes are getting a fun twist thanks to Num Noms and the kids couldn't wait to get started.

In case you were wondering what Num Noms are they are adorable squishy and scented collectibles with endless scented combinations when you take them and stack them together to create your own unique scents and flavours. All Num Noms have their very own name which ties in with their scent and this is what we used to help us create our pancakes!

Lakeland Chocoholics Hamper **REVIEW**

We all have that one person in our circle or friends or family that we struggle to buy for at Christmas time, but have you ever considered buying them a hamper?

There is a fantastic range of hampers to suit all tastes at Lakeland including a Cornish teacup hamper, a cheeseboard hamper and even a gourmet hamper packed full or gourmet delights! I have to admit though when the lovely people over at Lakeland offered to send us one of their hampers it was the Chocoholics hamper that caught my eye!

The Chocoholics hamper contains -

• Grandma Wild’s Milk Chocolate Coated Cranberry Biscuits (150g.)
• English Tea Shop Chocolate Rooibos & Vanilla Tea Bags (20 bags)
• Euro Confectionery Belgian Cocoa Truffles (150g.)
• Arden & Amici Chocolate Chip Panettone (100g.)
• Buttermilk West Country Luxury Chocolate Fudge (100g.)
• Beech’s Milk Chocolate Bar (60g.)
• Chocca Mocca® Drinking Chocolate (150g.)
• Atkins & Potts Decadent Milk Chocolate Dipper (100g.)
• Joe & Seph’s Smooth Caramel & Belgian Chocolate Popcorn (32g.)

Chocolate Caramel Tart - Great Blogger Bake Off!

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Despite not being the best of cooks I love watching The Great British Bake off and it always inspires me to want to get out in the kitchen and bake.

For those of you who watch the program you will have seen that last weeks theme was pastry and so this week I decided to attempt my own pastry creation in the form of a chocolate caramel tart! The tart featured on Bake Off was actually a bakewell tart but since nobody in our house is a fan of Jam except me it seemed a waste, hence the chocolate caramel tart.

So here is the recipe and how ours turned out, please do let me know if you have a go I would love to see your creations too over on Facebook!

Rice Krispie Christmas Puddings!

Me and the kids have been busy in the kitchen today making up some very cute little rice krispie marshmallow Christmas puddings! They are really easy to make so even the kids can get involved in making them, they require no baking and minimum ingredients here is how we made them.

You will need -

- Rice Krispies (or supermarket own brand),
- 50g Unsalted butter,
- 150g mini marshmallows,
- Milk and White Chocolate,
- Decorations for the top (optional).

Start by melting 3-4 tablespoons of butter slowly, use a large pan as you will need the room to add the rice krispies later. Once the butter has melted add in the marshmallows and gently heat stirring occasional to ensure the butter encorporates with the marshmallows. Once they are all melted you should be left with a smooth thick slightly sticky marshmallow mixture.

Leave your marshmallow mixture to cool for a few minutes and then add in your rice krispies, I added mine a cup full at a time until I reached my desired stickiness so add your slowly until you are happy with the consistency. Remember you need them to be sticky enough to form balls.

Leave the mixture to cool slightly then form balls from the mixture, you can make them as big or as small as you want I went for smaller palm sized ones perfect for the kids. Now set these aside to cool.

Next take your milk chocolate and melt in the microwave (be sure to keep an eye on it and stir regularly as you don't want it to burn). Carefully dip each ball in to the melted chocolate removing any excess with your fingers. Place in the the fridge for around 30 minutes for the chocolate to harden.

Finally melt the white chocolate in the microwave (again being careful not to over do it) and using a teaspoon (or piping bag if you have one) place a small amount of white chocolate to the top of your chocolate balls and allow it to run down the sides slightly. Once the chocolate has begun to set (but before it completely hardens) apply your decorations to the top, I chose these holly and berry sprinkles from Morrisons which were under £1 for mine!

Do let me know how you get on if you have a go at these! Do you have a favourite sweet treat you bake at Christmas?

xXx

Quick and Easy Chocolate Orange bread and butter pudding!

I am always on the look out for quick and easy dessert recipes and this chocolate orange bread and butter pudding is a great way to use up bread they may be going a little stale! It uses up simple ingredients that are usually found in the cupboard and if you don't have the chocolate or marmalade you can substitute it for a different flavour such as jam or chocolate chips! 

For this recipe you will need - 

• 2 eggs
• 50g caster sugar (+ extra for sprinkling on top)
• 60ml of double cream
• 250ml full fat milk
• approx 8 slices of bread 
• marmalade
• 100g dark chocolate (we used Divine) 
• appox 50g unsalter butter ( + extra for greasing your baking tin)

 Pre-heat your oven to 180C and then start by buttering your slices of bread with a good layer of unsalted butter, make sure you get right to the edges! If you are using marmalade then also cover your bread in a layer of marmalade at this stage too. 

Cut your prepared bread into triangles and layer into your greased baking tin. If you are adding chocolate now is the time to add chunks of your chocolate within the bread triangles. 

Now add another layer of your bread triangles and more chocolate. 

Next beat together your eggs and sugar until they become pale and slightly fluffy. Whilst doing this gently heat together the milk and cream but DO NOT let it boil. Once heated through remove from the heat and slowly add the milk and cream mixture to your egg and sugar mixture, ensuring that you mix the mixture as you do this. 

Pour you egg and milk mixture over your prepared bread and push down on it slightly to ensure all of the bread is covered and soaking in the mixture, allow this to soak for around 20 minutes. Sprinkle the top with some sugar then pop it in a pre-heated oven for around 35-40 minutes until golden brown like above. 

Then slice, serve and enjoy with or without cream (or perhaps you prefer ice-cream or custard?)

xXx

April Degustabox **REVIEW**

As the end of the month approaches everyone in the houses gets excited about our Degustabox arriving and discovering what is going to be inside!

This months Degustabox had an intriguing theme - The International Box.

Degustabox is a monthly subscription box that is delivered to your door at the end of each month. Each month your box will be filled to the brim of delicious food and drink products to try in which many of the brands will be new or new products from existing large brands. The cost of Degustabox is £ 12.99 a month (although you will find a discount code at the bottom of this post!) and the contents of the box always far outweighs the cost you pay!

Here is what was inside our box this month -

Veetee rice

Veetee is a brand that is regularly included in the Degustabox.This months box included these microwavable rice pots, I really like these rice tubs as they are so quick and easy to pop in to the microwave. This month we received 2 new flavours to try Peri Peri and Spicy mexican style. Both had a hint of spice to them but both were delicious especially the spicy mexican style rice served with warm taco's!

Barrys tea

I personally don't drink tea so I would love to see something different in next months box as we do seem to receive tea in most boxes. It doesn't go to waste though my mum loves tea and has said she loves trying all the new flavours and Barry's Tea was lovely.

Cirio

This months box contained not 1 but 2 products from Cirio, tomato fillets and double concentrate tomato puree. My dad used the tomato fillets to top a delicious home made pizza and said they were perfect for job. The tomato puree came in 4 handy sized pots, I used one in a spaghetti bolognese and it came it a lovely rich tomato flavour.

Kinder chocolate 

Of course James eyes lit up when he saw these in the box and I have to admit so did mine! We were sent 2 varieties of Kinder chocolate in our box the chocolate with cereals and the choco bons. The choco bons wereso mourish the bag was gone with 24 hours of opening it. I wasn't a huge fan of the chocolate with cereals, they tasted a little like chocolate sugar puffs.

Kingfisher beer 

My husband snagged this one as soon as it appeared out the box. He had tried it before when we visited an Indian restaurant some time ago but had not had it since, he said it tasted great! He said it was easy to drink and had a slight citrus taste to it but not overpowering at all. (This was included in the alcohol option for the Degustabox).

Schwartz curry sachets

I was excited to see these in the box as James favourite meal is a curry so we often have curry once a week. We received the Korma and Balti flavours in our box and we have already tried the Korma which was really nice. Im not a huge fan of coconut but it offered up the perfect amount of heat for the kids to enjoy.

Nando's potato chips

I will admit I am probably in a minority when I say I have never been to Nando's! but judging by the taste of these crisp's I need too! These Nando's grooves were packed with flavour and crunch and came in a range of interesting flavours including smokey bbq, spicy chicken and sizzling hot.

Debeukelaer cookies

Debeukelaer cookies are inspired by traditional family bakeries in Greenwich Village, New York. Each Cookies comes individually wrapped in a quirky newspaper style wrapper and sealed inside is a delicious soft cookie with a melty chocolate centre, simply delicious! The Debeukelaer cookies come in 3 flavours creamy cookies, crispy cookies and brownie cookie.

Scheckters energy drink

This is the first energy drink I have tasted that tasted fruity and not of just pure sugar and an added bonus is that it is organic and offers 100% natural energy! I really enjoyed this drink and will certainly be looking out for it in the future.

IdrinQ generation drink

The InrinQ is a new generation of drink, which is designed to help you think smarter. Things that were challenging become simpler and everything seems clearer. They did have a bit of a funny after taste though and probably not something I would buy.

We loved the fact that Degustabox gave us the chance to try out products from all across the world for just £12.99 a month!

If you fancy trying Degustabox for yourself you can use the code XP1PP to receive £3 off your first box!

Find out more about Degustabox via one of their pages below -

http://bit.ly/DBhomepage - Website
http://bit.ly/DBUKfacebook - Facebook
http://bit.ly/DBUKTwitter - Twitter

Is there anything that caught your eye in this months box that you would love to try?


xXx

* I was not paid for this review. All opinions given are my own.

* If you would like me to review your product or service, please email me on xJessLegresleyx@hotmail.com.