I had already decided that saving money on food shopping was an essential change we needed to implement when we moved home last February. We use lots of tips and tricks to do this, but two of the most useful and effective tips we have adopted are: home cooked meals and meal planning.

My partner loves cooking and who doesn’t love a man that can cook, right? Since we moved into our new home, we have had the space in the kitchen to try out lots of new foods and ingredients. Previously, we didn’t experiment much because we simply didn’t have the room! I’ve shared a few recipes in the past, and today, with the help of Lio Licious freeze dried ingredients, I’ve got another to share too!

While my lovely man is very much master chef, he’s not the world’s best baker. When it comes to all things sweet, that’s where I step in. I was gifted a whole bag of apples not long ago and it presented me with the perfect opportunity to experiment with some of the Lio Licious range of foods. I decided to make an apple and raspberry pie – absolutely perfect served with custard or ice cream.

Apple and Raspberry Pie Recipe

For The Pastry

400g flour

200g soft butter/lard

Up to 100ml cold water

• Cube the butter/lard and add it to the bowl of flour. Mix with you fingers to make bread crumbs.
• Slowly add the water until the pastry starts to come together. It should end up looking like play dough. Cover and leave in the fridge if not using straight away.

For The Apple and Raspberry Pie Filling

6 apples – peeled, cored and cut into chunks

2 tablespoons of Lio Licious Freeze Dried Raspberry Powder

A sprinkling of sugar

Method:

• Pre heat oven to 200°C. In a big pan, put your apples, sugar and raspberry powder together with a little water. Cook them on a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the apples soften up.
• Divide your pastry into two halves. Roll out one half so the pastry is thin and wide enough to cover the base of your pie dish. Make sure you flour the work surface and rolling pin, otherwise the pastry will stick.
• Once the apple and raspberry pie filling is cooked, pour into your pastry.
• Roll the rest of your pastry out flat and place on top of the pie. Crimp together the edges and cut away any excess pastry. With a knife, cut a cross in the middle of the pie lid so air can escape.
• The extra pastry you have can be used to make decorations – I made traditional leaves.
• Stick the decorations to the pie lid using milk and brush milk over the whole pie lid to glaze. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Serve with custard, ice cream, yoghurt or cream!

Thoughts on the Lio Licious Range

I have never used freeze dried fruit before – to be honest, I thought the cost probably wasn’t worth it. But how wrong was I? These bags are resealable, which means the products can be kept in the cupboard without going soft and without you needing to transfer them to different storage containers. They also last a lot longer than I thought they would. With the raspberry powder, I found I didn’t need loads of it in order to give the apple and raspberry pie a full flavour and delicious smell. I was pleasantly surprised that the freeze dried fruit packets that I received were quite full (we all know the disappointment of opening a packet of crisps, only to find there’s only 10 in there!). If you’re into baking treats, such as muffins or pancakes, then the freeze dried option actually makes a lot of sense. I wish I had thought more about it sooner.

The Lio Licious Freeze Dried Range

Over the course of the last month, I have used a variety of ingredients from the Lio Licious freeze dried fruits and freeze dried savoury ranges.

Not only have I used their raspberry powder in the apple and raspberry pie, but I’ve also used the freeze dried strawberry slices to spruce up both my breakfast cereal and fruit yoghurt. Over Easter I’m planning on making cranberry and white chocolate cookies with Luke using the Lio Licious freeze dried sliced cranberries. I’m also very keen to broaden my baking horizons and venture into the world of bread, using the Lio Licious black olive granules.

More Recipes

I have a tonne of recipes I want to try that use the Lio Licious range – there’s so much potential for these little bags! Over the next coming months, I’m going to be doing a lot more baking and cooking in the kitchen. The Lio Licious website also has a handy recipe list, filled with amazing and delicious looking food that’s guaranteed to make your mouth water. My advice? Don’t scroll through it if you’re hungry!

*The Lio Licious products were sent to me for review purposes. All thoughts, opinion, photos and recipes are my own.*