Sabrina’s Easy To Make Pasta Dishes In Minutes

Sabrina’s Easy To Make Pasta Dishes You Can Make In Minutes

As some of you will know by following me over on my Instagram, I love food! No, I don’t just love it, I love making it, experimenting with it, but most of all I love eating it.

Lots of you seem to like my food related images, so I figured why not write a blog post about what I cook. And not only am I sharing photo’s of finished dishes, but I will give you some of my secret homemade recipes that I love to cook with too.

I am starting off this series of posts with Pasta, I adore it, it’s so versatile, quick to cook and simple to accompany as well.

Pasta Dish One – Homemade Sweet Chilli Beef Meatballs in a Tomato and Onion Sauce

This is one of my favourite dishes to make because meatballs are easy when you know how, and they can be so versatile in their use too. If you don’t like sweet chilli don’t put it in this recipe, instead why not try rolling the meatball around a small lump of cheese for a delicious centre inside when you cut into it. If you have difficulty with the binding of the meatballs you can use one small egg in the mixture.
The possibilities are endless, happy experimenting!

The Meatballs Ingredients to Serve 4 people (Approximately 16 Meatballs);
Beef Mince (you can use any kind of mince meat though such as Turkey) you will need around 500 grams.
Pinch of Salt and Pepper
Mixed Italian Herbs (two teaspoons)
Sweet Chilli Sauce (supermarket bought and you will need around two teaspoons of it – adjust to your own taste, more if you love chilli).

The Sauce Ingredients;
One Tin of Chopped Tomatoes 400 grams
Diced Onions (Fried) 150 grams
Salt and Pepper (To Taste)
Tomato Puree 30 grams
Garlic (To Your Taste)

Method
Mix the ingredients from above in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Then using your hands collect ping pong ball sized amounts of the mixture. Using your palms roll into a tight ball. Make as many as you can with the amount you have.

Once you have made your own meatballs, place them into a frying pan on a medium heat with a tiny layer of oil to avoid sticking. Always use tongs to lift the meatballs one at a time, and rotate them making sure all of the sides have around a minute of cooking against the pans surface. This seals the meat and adds flavour.

Now for the sauce, in a deep saucepan you add all of the ingredients as listed above, and simmer on a low heat for around twenty minutes. Once your meatballs are sealed you place them into the sauce, add a lid on top of the pan, and cook for a further ten minutes. The sauce should thicken and the meatballs should be cooked through.

Serve in a large bowl, with spaghetti or any shaped pasta underneath. Add Cheddar or Parmesan Cheese on top of the sauce for extra flavour.

Pasta Dish Two – Homemade Italian Style Peppers and Beans Pasta with Bacon*

This dish is a bit of a wild one. I made it up while using up ingredients in my fridge, like open meats and leftover vegetables. It was such a success I have decided to share it. If you are a vegetarian you can substitute the meat I used for more beans or perhaps courgettes or tomatoes. All of these choices goes well with my other ingredients.

Ingredients
Bacon* Lardons (You Can Use Any Meat, Ham, Bacon, Chicken etc OR add another Vegetable). 100 grams serves 2 people.
One or Two Chopped Peppers
Green Beans (Half a Cup Chopped)
Three Teaspoons of Mixed Italian Herbs
Tomato Puree 50 grams
Garlic / Salt / Pepper (To Your Taste)

Method
In a Saucepan fry the Meat, and once cooked add the Peppers and Garlic, fry until soft. Add the Tomato Puree, Herbs and Seasonings. Finally add the Green Beans and let them cook in the sauce for around five minutes with the lid on, Simmer on Low.

Once you have cooked your chosen Pasta in a separate saucepan then add it to the sauce one and stir thoroughly coating all of the pieces.
Serve in a warm bowl just as it is.

✩✩✩✩✩

Pasta Dish Three – Homemade Rich Tomato and Beef* Sauce

My take on this Classic style Pasta Sauce is a family favourite in my house, and it goes well with all sorts of Pasta shapes. Great with Garlic Bread or Homemade Garlic Dough Balls to accompany it as well.
Once again if you’re a vegetarian you can swap the beef for a protein such as Quorn Mince for example, and stick to the other sauce ingredients when possible.

Ingredients
Minced Beef* or Vegetarian Protein 500 grams
One Tin of Chopped Tomatoes 400 grams
Diced Onions (Fried) 150 grams
Tomato Puree 30 grams
Salt and Pepper (To Taste)
Garlic (To Your Taste)
One Beef Stock Cube (Or the adventurous among you can use Marmite or Vegemite to enhance the flavour too. You would need around two tea spoons but be aware of saltiness and always taste after final seasoning).
Two Teaspoons of Italian Seasoning, usually Basil and Oregano based mixes.

Method
Firstly fry off the meat and onion until browned and soft. Transfer to a deep Saucepan where you will add the tomatoes and puree, mix until coated before adding the stock or sauce enhancers. Finally season with garlic, salt and pepper. Add in the Italian Herbs last and simmer on a low heat for around twenty minutes allowing the sauce to thicken up.

Serve in a bowl once again on a bed of Pasta, Shells, Fusilli or Spaghetti all work well I think.

And that my friends is it! Thank you for joining me for this post, I have enjoyed sharing my secret recipes with you (not so secret now) and I hope you have enjoyed this lifestyle and cookery post.

If you liked the food images and recipes or you decided to try one of my recipes yourself, then please leave me a comment below, I would love to know your thoughts and if you cooked please tag me in any photo’s on social media! Any questions leave me a comment!

Have a great rest of your day and if you did like this then look out for more of my cooking posts in the future 🙂

✩ Sabrina 

Severn Wishes One Year of Blogging and Big Giveaway

♡ One Year of Blogging, Over 100 Posts Celebration and A Giveaway ♡

When I realised I was getting close to a year of blogging I knew that I wanted to hold a giveaway to thank everyone who has been supporting me this far. Whether you follow me on a social media or you just read my blog regularly, it’s you who have helped me to be a better writer and photographer. I have been collecting items for this for quite some time, so I hope you’ll like the selection that I’ve gathered…

I have been so lucky in my first year, I have worked with many companies including Spectrum Brushes, Gift Company and many more. Not only that but I already have so much lined up for the Spring and Summer of 2017 to share with you all as well.

During the past thirteen months of Severn Wishes being live, I have posted more than 105 articles, most have been reviews and reveals, but other posts have been about my Lifestyle and Travel experiences.

During the next year I hope to continue writing in my honest fashion and to bring you even better photography as my knowledge and learning increases.

What can you expect over the Summer months from Severn Wishes?
Jewellery, Makeup, Homeware, Games, Fashion, Cooking and Craft posts, and so much more besides.
I am already speaking to some companies who want to collaborate with me, and I cannot wait to bring all of this excitement to my blog for you all to enjoy!

So from the bottom of my heart, thank you for supporting me and my blog.
♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

✩♡✩♡✩ Giveaway ✩♡✩♡✩

Without further ado I am going to tell you exactly what you can win in this new and latest Severn Wishes giveaway!
If you saw some of my recent posts you will have read the clues that I left revealing some of the items you could win!
Featuring Soap and Glory, Primark, Nivea AND Makeup Revolution!
I give you my One Year Giveaway bundle!!!!

✩♡✩♡✩ What You Can Win ✩♡✩♡

✩ Marble Soft Cover Bag ✩
✩ Nivea Lip Butter – Vanilla and Macadamia ✩
✩ Soap and Glory – Super Tonic ✩
✩ Makeup Revolution I ♡ Unicorns Unite Mini Gem Brushes ✩
✩ ‘Flawless’ Makeup Mirror and Keyring ✩
✩ Heart and Stars Hair Bands Selection ✩
✩ Marble and Rose Gold Stationary ✩
✩ Wooden Craft Flowers – Be Creative ✩
✩ Lots of Sweet Treats – Yum! ✩

 If you don’t know the drill by now click the link below to enter on rafflecopter, and all of the terms and conditions can be found at the end of my post!

♡ Good Luck! ♡

Severn Wishes One Year Blogging Celebratory Giveaway!

✩♡✩♡✩ Enter Here ✩♡✩♡

✩ Sabrina 


Terms and Conditions
This competition is running from April 23rd until May 31st 2017.
The winner will receive their prizes in June 2017.
This giveaway is only open to entrants from the UK.
Severn Wishes reserves the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions without notice.
No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason, and all entries subject to verification.

Primark Clothing, Footwear, Accessories and Stationary Haul

Primark Clothing, Footwear, Accessories and Stationary Haul in April 2017

On my most recent trip to my local Primark I found so many lovely items I just felt the need to share them all with you. As most of you will know Primark always go all out with their clothes, there’s always a huge supply of sizes and colours of tops, jeans and footwear, to name but a few.

I was after some new t-shirts for the summer (hopefully we’ll get a decent one this year) and when I came across a couple of other things I knew I just had to have them. I learnt a long time ago that if you see something you want or like, and it’s available to you, both in your budget and your situation of course, then you should purchase it. No point in going back a fortnight later hoping it will be there, because in my experience it very rarely is!

So what can I talk about first, I think I should show you my new tops, and when I say they have a range, I mean there were around one hundred different slogans and pictures and designs, so much that it took you a while to go through them all. They also have varying styles and necklines which I will go into more detail about below.

Summer T-Shirts

Here is my list of t-shirts from the images above, the prices ranged from £2.00 – £3.50.

Navy Blue Feathers – Stretchy Vest

Green Daisy Tee – Slouchy Top

Green French Quotes Butterfly / Moth Design – Crew Tee

Grey Paris and Eiffel Tower ‘J’adore Paris’ Design – Crew Tee


White with Red Stripes and Black Sketch Hearts – Crew Tee


Navy Blue and white heart symbol and ‘Kind Heart, Fierce Mind, Brave Spirit’ – Crew Tee

The details on several of these t-shirts were the reasons behind getting them. Especially the ones that have a design covering the entire piece of material. I also love anything with either French wording or something Paris related on it.

The Crew Tee style is a rounded neck which has short sleeves, they are usually true to size especially on the shoulders and arms, although there isn’t much difference in waist between a 6 and an 8. I purchased both sizes this time around.
The Slouchy Tops often have a more casual feel to them, slightly less fitted and have three quarter length sleeves, I can often wear two sizes in these as well.
And the Stretchy Vests have no sleeves but often have the higher levels of detail on them, often thicker material and they are definitely true to size.

My Overall Average Review Scores for All Tops Mentioned

Value for Money 4/5
Fit To Size 5/5
Comfort 5/5
Detailing 5/5
Durability 4/5
Appearance 5/5

Overall I am very happy with my purchases. I think if you’re between sizes it can be difficult to choose something that will suit you, but I think the range that Primark supplies is one that can usually be accessible to everyone. They don’t discriminate whatsoever and ensure they stock their exact same tops available from sizes 4 to 20 (that I have seen in my local store).

These tops always wash and wear well, and when they do eventually fade they are easily replaced with a new design, Primark never fail to have enough choices.

I look forward to using these tops in a variety of outfits this year, and they are perfect still to layer up as it gets colder in the Autumn. Keep a look out for me wearing them in my social media.

Such Pretty Shoes

Next I want to show you these incredibly great looking ballet or ballerina shoes (or as I like to call them dolly shoes). They came in a range of metallic colours but I preferred these three, aren’t they fabulous?!

As you can see the colours are vibrant, they have had improved comfort inside this year (thanks Primark!) and they have such cute details with the bows and beads on the front. The bases all have a little grip and they have small heels as well.

If that wasn’t enough to draw you in then perhaps the price will. At just £3.50 a pair! I think they are some of the best Dolly Shoes on the high street right now! (I always get mine in Primark or New Look).

Available in Silver, Gold, Space Grey (I sound like I’m giving out the iPhone colours right?) as well as Metallic Purple, Pink and Blue. They also had a Nude and a Black shiny shoe too.

So a part from looking amazing what did I like about these enough to buy them. Well, I live in this type of shoe during the summer months. They go perfectly with dresses, skirts, shorts and jeans, and these colour choices are so versatile too. Also if you’re heading away this summer, they are lightweight and almost flat, easy to slide into your suitcase.

My Review Scores

Value for Money 5/5 !!!
Fit To Size 4/5
Comfort 5/5
Detailing 4/5
Durability 5/5
Appearance 5/5

These shoes are all (in my opinion) fitted to size and are great value for money. So far they have been durable with very little wear and tear on the base, I have walked almost 10km in one pair since I got them, and a part from the usual bits that stick to the bottom of your shoes, no visible wear of the soles. They are comfortable to wear too, although easy to scuff so be aware of that and where you’ll be wearing them out to. The general appearance is very nice, the details on the Gold and Space Grey with the little beads are very sweet and grab your eye. Shame that the Silver didn’t have any too, so they loose a point for that. I really have enjoyed purchasing and testing these for review, now I just have to hope for some sunshine!

Overall I think these are great shoes, the range is excellent and I would consider getting more when these wear out or if more colours become available.
My final score for them averages at 5/5 and I can recommend you taking a look when you’re next at your local store.

Accessories

Finally on to the accessories, I bought this cute headband in the hope of doing some creative hairstyles with my curly locks on a summer afternoon, weaving the floral hair band in them. Here’s hoping, isn’t it sweet! I’m not going to any festivals this year, but this would also be perfect for that if you like that sort of thing.

Mermaid Flower Headband £2.00

Here are my scores…

Value for Money 4/5
Comfort 4/5
Detailing 4/5
Appearance 5/5

A very nice item that I would wear again, and I hope to make use of it over the summer.


Primark Stationary

I was impressed with the range of items in my local Primark this month. The range was massive but I just chose a few items, some are for me to keep and some are for upcoming giveaways I am holding. There were these gorgeously soft ‘pencil cases’ in marble, but I am using my one as a eyeliner holder. I have many pencils and to stop them getting battered by larger items in my two makeup bags I thought why not have a small case just for them. Because they are long like pencils this works brilliantly.
The marble notebook is stunning, I could use it as a background for macro photography of small review-able items as well.

The other set is a Union Jack one, I haven’t used them yet, but I love that it represents Great Britain, I am proud to be British, that is basically why I got them. They will be used as blog backgrounds in images I think.

Before I show you my detailed images, here are the prices for anyone wondering.

Marble Pencil Case / Makeup Bag – £3.00
Marble ‘A5’ Notebook – £2.50

Union Jack Flag Pencil Case (flat)  – £2.00
Union Jack Flag ‘A5’ Notebook – £2.50

✩ (Look out for my next Giveaway for a chance to win something featured in this blog post). 

Until the next time I decide to do some shopping (which let us be honest is usually once a month at somewhere or other), then thanks for reading this review post. If you have any comments or questions feel free to post them in the section below 🙂 Have a wonderful day!

✩ Sabrina ✩

Click Here for Primark Site

April 2017 Treatbox Reveal

It’s time to Reveal the contents of the April 2017 Treatbox.

This month is the start of Spring and I associate a lot with this time of year. Blossom trees are opening and birds and singing as they raise their young. Lambs are running about in the fields and what seems like a billion chocolate eggs line the shelves in supermarkets.

Arriving in the new plastic packaging once again I could see star sequins escaping from my box as I began to do my video reveal and unboxing. (See Video Here).

I was met with the usual pretty tissue paper, this time a delightful midnight blue shade. Stars were everywhere and the April Print calendar was sat upon the paper with a sticker that read ‘All it takes is faith, trust and a little Pixie Dust‘. I recall in my memory that this was a Disney quote from Peter Pan.

Inside the box I found a variety of items and most of which celebrated a ‘Fairy’ related theme. Now I saw what the Peter Pan sticker meant, Fairy this and Fairy that! The cookie biscuit inside also quotes Peter Pan too! There was also an overall theme of blue in the box as well.

What stood out most for me was the sign and the pin. The cookie looks delicious and I will enjoy that for elevenses over the weekend.

The admission ticket (view my reveal video) that was supplied with the Scent Circus wax melt, I believe is a ticket you can use towards purchasing a box of melts from them. Check out their website for more products (link at the end).

Here is the full list of 9 items available, and remember there are always variations in the type and the colours, so that everyone gets a slightly different combination inside their box…

Calendar Print for April with Rose detail
‘Live Like There’s No Midnight’  Blue Font Print

‘You’re the Fairest of them All’ Compact Mirror
Fairy Shaped Wax Melt by Scent Circus ‘Pixie Dust’ Smell

Rainbow Pin with Quote ‘If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It’
Blank Pages Book – Cover reads ‘Once Upon A Time’ and the back reads ‘The End’ In Quotes
Wooden ‘Fairy Garden’ Sign in Teal
Trinket Dish – Blue – Quote ‘I Love You Fairy Much!’
Cookie Biscuit (Vanilla) which has the Disney Peter Pan Quote ‘Second Star on the Right, & Straight on till Morning’

Here are more detailed images of all the items contained within my box.

My favourite items in this April Treatbox are the Pin and the Book. Both of these items are unusual and both are my kind of things. They are pieces I could see myself wearing and using.

The Fairy Sign is sweet too and I love the colour. It will no doubt be used one day, perhaps if I can make a nice pot in the garden with a house to pretend there were actually fairies dwelling there. It’s more of a piece for creative and imaginative customers, or perhaps those with small children who are full of imagination.

I have to be honest about this box now though, because I was slightly disappointed to see some very similar items inside. By similar I just mean variations on ones in recent previous ones. I already have several compact mirrors from Treatbox, and although this one is just as lovely, I really didn’t need another one. Also the trinket dish, I have already received two in recent Treat boxes, and I have no use for a third. Finally we have yet another wax melt, and sadly with an asthmatic husband and two cats, they are not something that I can use in my home. I have a box of them from previous boxes that just go to making my wardrobe smell nice. I would hope we would have one month where we don’t get a candle or a wax related product and receive something completely different.

A great deal of this box will unfortunately for me, be re-gifted or given away, which I have found to be a real shame. So far in over a year of boxes I have wanted to have kept the majority of things for myself.

The box itself is really well thought out, the running theme of the fairies and the Disney quotes aspects are both wonderful, and any fan of these two elements will no doubt praise its contents. However I cannot help but see the duplication in pieces, just with different colours and quotes on, and I was really hoping for something a little different.

Because it became Spring this month in the UK I would have loved to have seen a Spring scarf, or a false flower that we could put in our hair or in a vase. Don’t get me wrong, this has been a nice box, but for me it just isn’t up to the usual standard of items inside.

I understand that not everyone will agree with me, and that’s fine, because at the end of the day I am here writing my honest and open review on this box. After having some boxes that I have truly adored, this one for me, just didn’t live up to that expectation. It hasn’t put me off from receiving next months box, however I think I will be reevaluating in the summer just how much longer I will be purchasing.

I do love receiving and reviewing these boxes because so much thought is given to them, and I respect how much effort goes into producing them too. They are always well presented and well distributed as well.

But if the contents become very similar I don’t want to be purchasing a box that gives me the same thing every month or two months in rolling duplication’s. I really hope I will be more impressed by the May Treatbox, and you will have to come back to my blog that first week in May to find out my thoughts.

Are you thinking of ordering a TreatBox for yourself or for a gift for someone?
Then you can find Treatbox subscriptions and build your own box at their website https://treatboxuk.com/

If you aren’t sure on whether to try a TreatBox for yourself or not I would say order a one off box, and then if you’re happy with it you can always subscribe afterwards. Check out my previous posts on the Treat Boxes I have received so far, in this unique category of my website called ‘Treatbox’ especially for these box reviews and reveals – Severn Wishes – TREATBOX

Thanks for reading my reveal today, if you have any of your own thoughts you would like to share or you may have purchased a box I would love to hear your thoughts, why not leave me a comment below 🙂
Also if you have any questions about any of the items please get in touch I am more than happy to answer them if I can do.
Until next time Severn Wishes followers, thank you for reading this reveal today.

Sabrina 

Oh and if you want to watch the Treatbox Reveal Video for the April box then please check out my channel here on YouTube

Scent Circus
Treatbox
Sass and Belle

Navy Blue Boots and Accessories from Dorothy Perkins this Spring

Navy Blue Boots and Navy Blue Block Hand Bag

On a recent trip to Dorothy Perkins I came across a gorgeous large hand bag, and some beautifully coloured suede boots in the Spring sale. I liked both so much to buy them so I thought I would review them for you.


The boots have a slight heel and decent grip on the bottom. The stitching details are simple but I really like the shape around the front and the ruched ankles to them. The colour is a strong navy blue shade, with a black base. They would compliment skinny jeans well, or a pretty summer dress if you can match the blue.

I got them with 30% off in the sale, they were usually £29.00.
Some sizes of these exact boots are still available in stores and online, the link to which is here


The hand bag is a lovely design, it has a main zipped pocket which has two additional slip sections inside it. Plenty of room to be a large bag for long days  out or even an over night bag in the summer.
It has decent sized shoulder straps and also contains metal loops sowed into the top, an additional long strap that can be used as a shoulder one. This handbag has a variety of navy blue shades in both the straps and the panels, the block colours compliment one another and gives the bag an illusion of being even larger than you’d think. It even has a cute little luggage tag detail.
I do wish there was an extra zip pocket instead of one large area inside, but it’s an excellent bag and I’ve already used it several times.
I got this in the sale at £20.00, but it would usually be priced at £35.00.
This hand bag is still available in the sale in some stores and also online, if you would like the link to it you can find it here


Handbag

Storage 4/5
Durability 4/5
Detailing 4/5
Value for Money 4/5
Appearance 4/5

Boots

Fit To Size 4/5
Comfort 5/5
Detailing 5/5
Durability 4/5
Appearance 5/5

Over all I am very happy with both of these items. I loved the choice that was available at Dorothy Perkins as well, all the shapes and colours of boots, lots of good sized bags to choose from too.

If you love the DP Boots you can see the current range by clicking here

You can see the full range of accessories by visiting a store near you or by clicking online here

Until the next time I decide to go shopping, thanks for reading this review post.

Sabrina