Banana Blondies

These are from the book "Short and Sweet, the best of home baking" by Dan Lepard.

They are too delicious, even better than chocolate brownies.

These ones were made with Aero white chocolate, which is white covered with milk chocolate, so are a little darker.

325 g caster sugar
75g brazil nuts, roughly chopped
100g unsalted butter
200g white chocolate
1 egg
2 bananas, peeled (about 200-250g)
2 tsp vanilla extract
200g plain flour
¼ tsp baking powder

Firstly make the nut brittle.  Put 75g of the caster sugar into a pan with 2 tbsp cold water. Bring to the boil and let it bubble away until the sugar turns to a golden caramel and sets to a hard ball when dropped from a teaspoon into a glass of cold water. Stir in the nuts and spread onto an oiled tray to cool and set. Once cold, roughly chop. (As a cheat, you could use a bought bar of nut brittle, but making it yourself is so simple)

Line the base and sides of an 8"/20cm square tin with foil or parchment and preheat the oven to 190ºC/Gas 5.  Heat the butter and white chocolate in a pan over a low heat until melted then spoon into a bowl.  Add the remaining sugar (250g) and beat with the egg, bananas and vanilla until smooth.  Add the flour and baking powder and fold through the nut toffee. Spoon into the tin and bake for 35 mins until wobbly-set and golden on top.  Leave to go cold before slicing.

Butterscotch Banana Cake

This is my version of Dan Lepards Butterscotch Banana Cake.  It's from his book Short and Sweet. The recipe is below, it came from The Guardian.

• Dan Lepard
• The Guardian, Saturday 24 November 2007

My mate Jason Warwick, a talented baker in Sydney, taught me his way to boost the flavour and colour of banana cake, by simmering all that soft banana flesh in a frying pan bubbling with rich caramel, perfect for this sweet loaf. The cake takes on a sunburnt bronze hue and has a strong banana toffee flavour. Don't limit this to a loaf tin: it works as well as a slab, especially if a few handfuls of chopped blond walnuts are tossed in and stirred through at the end. Don't be stingy with the baking powder; bananas are very alkaline when they are ripe and this is often the cause of a heavy, dense cake.

250g caster sugar

250g banana flesh, chopped into 2cm pieces

1 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tsp vanilla extract

175ml sunflower oil

2 large eggs

150g plain flour

75g spelt, rye or wholemeal flour

2 level tsp mixed spice

2 level tsp baking powder

½ level tsp bicarbonate of soda

50ml plain yoghurt

Butter a 20cm square tin and line the base with non-stick baking paper. Tip 150g of the caster sugar into a frying pan with 25ml water, bring to the boil, then cook over a high heat until the sugar turns to a dark reddish caramel. Add the banana pieces, butter and vanilla, and simmer until the bananas break up in the caramel and the mixture is thick.

Spoon on to a plate and leave to cool. Beat the remaining 100g sugar with the oil and eggs until thick and slightly aerated, then beat in the bananas and the yoghurt. Sift the flours, spice, baking powder and soda together two or three times (throwing the bran back in), then fold this through the banana mixture.

Spoon the mixture into the tin, heat the oven to 180C (160C fan-assisted) and bake for about 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Tried and tested

'Went down really well. Even better the day after baking'

Thai Cook Class and a Thai Red Chicken Curry

So we saw this Thai cooking class advertised and decided it would be a different way to spend a Friday evening.  It was held at Blackfriars in Newcastle and there were 6 of us altogether.

We started off making some Thai Red Curry Paste.

Thai Red Curry Paste

6-8 large dried chillies, soaked in warm water for 30 mins
6 fresh kaffir lime leaves, chopped (dry ones are fine)
2 stalks fresh lemon grass, chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled
small knob of galangal, chopped
1 coriander root
2 shallots, peeled
1 tsp salt
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 generous tsp shrimp paste

Add coriander seeds into  the mortar and pestle and pound until the coriander seeds have turned to powder.  Add the dried chillies and pound until the pieces are quite small.  Add the rest of the ingredients, bit by bit, pounding in between adding the shrimp paste last.  Pound until the mixture is a paste.

You can do this in a machine, but it won't be quite the same.

Store in the fridge.

Next came Chicken Satay and Peanut Dip

Chicken Satay

Serves 4

Bamboo skewers
½ cup coconut milk
2 tbsp curry powder
500g chicken breast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 finely chopped lemon grass stalks
½ cup condensed milk
1 tsp turmeric

Soak the skewers at least half an hour so that the ends don't burn on the grill. Slice the chicken into strips, each about ¼ " thick. Mix the remaining ingredients and marinate the chicken for about 30 mins.

Thread the chicken onto the soaked skewers and place under the grill or cook in the oven, 4 minutes each side or until the chicken is cooked.

You can use pork instead of chicken.

Peanut dip (Nam Jim Satay)

Serves 4

¾ cup coconut milk
1 tbsp Thai curry paste 
2 tbsp fish sauce
2-3 tbsp peanut butter
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbps tamarind paste

Add the coconut milk to a cold pan and start to heat over medium heat.  As it is heating, stir in the curry paste, mixing well. Once thoroughly mixed, add the peanut butter and the remaining ingredients.  Stir and taste, you should be able to taste fish sauce, sugar and tamarind paste.  If it becomes too thick, add a few drops of water to thin the paste.

The Chicken Satay was served with Yam Woon Sen, a salad of glass noodles with shrimps and pork.

Yam Woon Sen

1 bundle glass noodles (approx 50g)
1 tsp oil
500g shrimps
500g minced pork
1 lime
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp fish sauce
½ tsp sugar
1 fresh chilli, finely chopped
1/3rd cucumber, sliced
5-6 cherry tomatoes, halved
chopped fresh coriander

Put the noodles into a heatproof bowl. Pour boiling hot water over the noodles and leave to soak for 6 minutes.  Move the noodles around to make sure they are all submerged.  Drain the noodles and once the water stops dripping, put the noodles into a large bowl and cut them with scissors randomly to make the strands easier to eat.  The noodles should be soft not mushy.

Put a pan on medium heat and heat 1 tsp oil.  Add the pork and stir until fully cooked, then add the shrimps and stir for a further 2 minutes then take the pan off the heat.  Spoon the mixture into the bowl with the noodles and the fresh ingredients. To season the mixture, put the fish sauce and sugar into a small bowl, mix well and add to the mixture.  Lastly squeeze the lime juice into the mixture, toss and serve.

Finally we cooked and ate Chicken Pad Thai

Chicken Pad Thai

Serves 2

1 egg
chicken, raw (or other meat of choice)
1 tsp dried shrimps
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp shallots, finely chopped
1 tbsp salted radish
1 cube fried tofu, diced
1 handful dry, medium rice noodles
2 tsp fish sauce
1 cup fresh beansprouts
1-2 spring onions, cut into 1" pieces (2.5cm)
2 tbsp chopped roasted peanuts
1 tsp dried roasted red Chilli flakes
½ cup pad thai sauce
veg oil for frying
wedges of lime

Soak the rice noodles in warm water for about 15 minutes, leave until ready to use.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok over medium heat, add garlic, shallots, salted radish and tofu and fry for a few seconds.  Now add the chicken and stir until cooked. Add spring onions and noodles, pad thai sauce and fish sauce.  Stir fry for about 4-5 minutes.  Push the mixture to one side of the pan and add the egg, wait until the egg is cooked then add the beansprouts. Stir fry for another 2 minutes and serve with roasted peanuts on top, lime and chilli flakes on the side.

Use any meat you like instead of chicken.

Pad Thai Sauce

You can buy this ready made in jars or make your own.  Here's a recipe for making your own.

1-1½ tsp tamarind paste to taste
¼ cup chicken stock
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ to 1 tsp chilli sauce or use cayenne pepper to taste
pinch ground white pepper
3-4 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar

Place all ingredients in a cup and stir to dissolve both tamarind paste and sugar (note you will need lots of sugar to balance out the sourness of the tamarind). When taste-testing, keep in mind the following tips: In order to achieve the best results, your pad Thai sauce should taste sweet first, followed by spicy-salty and sour last. Add more sugar if it tastes too sour to you, or add more chili for more intense spiciness. Also note that the sauce will taste almost too strong at this point, but once distributed throughout the noodles, the flavor will be perfect.

Your pad Thai sauce is now ready to be used, or store it in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks. Note: this recipes makes 2/3 cup Pad Thai Sauce (enough for 1 batch of Pad Thai, enough for 9 ounces of noodles to serve 2-4 people)

Great British Bake Off

Well, it's over for another year :(  I've really enjoyed watching again.  I'd never heard of some of the bakes, Google to the rescue there!

Well done to Nancy for winning, but bother Richard and Luis were worthy finalists.

Chicken Liver Bolognese from Save wth Jamie

Is liver the stuff of nightmares for you? This is well worth a try and surprisingly non-livery.  It's from Save with Jamie.

Ingredients (serves 6):

• 250g chicken livers
• 1 red onion
• 1 carrot
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 100g button mushrooms
• 2 springs of fresh rosemary
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 0.5 tsp chilli flakes
• 2 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
• olive oil
• 1x400g tin of lentils
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 480g dried spaghetti
• parmesan cheese (to serve)
• optional: a few springs of fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. soak the livers in a bowl of water for a few minutes
2. peal onion, carrot and garlic, than pulse in a food processor with the mushrooms, rosemary leaves, fennel seeds, chilli and parsley stalks (if using), until finely chopped
3. finely slice bacon and put it into a large pan on a medium heat with a good lug of oil
4. add the pulsed mixture from the processor to the pan and cook for around 15 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally and adding a splash of water to help it along, if needed
5. Drain the chicken livers, then pulse in the food processor until finely chopped
6. use a spatula to scrape them are veg into the pan, then fry and break up for a couple of minutes
7. drain and add the lentils, followed my order to the tomato puree and vinegar
8. crumble in the stock cube and add 700ml of boiling water *
9. reduce to a low heat and simmer gently for 40 minutes
10. with 15 minutes to go, finely chop the parsley leaves (if using)
11. Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water According To packet instructions, then drain, reserving a cupful of cooking water
12. Season the sauce to perfection, then tip in the pasta and toss together, loosening with a splash of cooking water, if needed.
13. sprinkle chopped parsley over the, finely grate over a little Parmesan, toss and serve

Lentil, burghul and spinach soup

Have you ever started making something and wondered why?  Ended up with something quite different and better for the sake of not wasting the ingredients?

This is what happened here.

I had half a pack of spinach I wanted to use up. A quick search of my books on "Eat your books" found me this recipe in a book called Lebanese Cooking, an Australian Women's Weekly.  I envisaged a nice spiced soup, warming and tasty.......

2 litres water
1 cup (200g) brown lentils
1 cup (160g) burghul
1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
350g spinach, shredded finely
2 tbsp chopped parsley (I didn't have any so omitted it)

Bring a pan of water to the boil in a large pan, cook lentils, uncovered until just tender.  Add burghul, cover, simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasonally.

Meanwhile, heat oil and cook the onion and garlic, stirring until browned lightly.  Add spinach, cover and remove from heat.

Just before serving, add spinach and onion mixture, stir over llow heat until heated through.  Serve sprinkled with parsley and if desired, topped with yogurt.

Now, sorry, but that lot was just a bit tasteless.  I'd already added carrot to the veg mixture, and seasoned with salt and pepper.  So I added some spice mixture, a chilli mixture with herbs. Whizzed it with a stick blender to blend only part of it. A squeeze of lemon juice to lift it slightly and served it with a dollop of sweet chilli sauce stirred through.  Now it is much tastier than it looks!

Greekish Chicken with Orzo and Spinach

This is another of my "make it up as you go along" dishes, which turned out pretty tasty.

For 2

Orzo about 120g
Baby spinach
Courgette cut into wedges
Red pepper cut into slices
Fresh thyme
Oregano
Garlic clove
1 tsp oil
2 chicken breasts
1 lemon

Half cook the orzo in boiling water for a couple of minutes.  Drain and put into the bottom of a casserole dish. Sprinkle with lemon juice, stock or water (about 1-2 tbsp).

Top with baby spinach, a couple of big handfuls as it wilts down as it cooks. Top with the courgette and peppers.

In a mortar and pestle, grind the garlic, thyme and oregano with the oil.  Rub this over the chicken breasts.  (You could leave this on for a couple of hours for more flavour).  Place on top of the veg and top with a lid.

Cook for approx 20-25 mins until the chicken is cooked through.  Check it doesn't dry up during cooking, adding more liquid if required.

Top with a few cubes of feta if you fancy it.  Add some olives too if you like them.

Creamy Crab Soup in the style of the Jolly Fisherman in Craster

I had this soup for lunch at the Jolly Fisherman in Craster, Northumberland. 

It was so delicious I wanted to make it for myself.  This is my version.

1 tsp Olive oil
1 tsp Butter
Tomato puree
Onions
Garlic
Celery
Carrots
Bay leaf
Salt and Pepper
Pot of crabmeat, white and brown (approx 400g)
fish stock
Double cream

Heat the oil and butter, gently fry the tomato puree for a minute or two to cook off then add the onions.  Fry a couple of minutes then add chopped carrots, garlic, bay leaf and celery.  Cook for 5 mins then add the fish stock.  Bring to the boil, then simmer until the veg are soft.

At this point you could sieve out the veg and discard, but I didn't, I just removed the bay leaf then blended them until smooth.  Again you could pass it at this point if you want a nice smooth soup.  Taste and adjust the seasoning.  Add the crab and cream and heat gently until hot.  DO NOT BOIL.

Very Quick Thick Pea Soup

Very Quick Thick Pea Soup

This is the sort of soup that sticks to your ribs. Another of my thrown together efforts.

Get a bag of mushy peas from the freezer department in the supermarket, empty it into a large pan, add about 1 litre veg stock.  Bring to the boil, season the soup to your taste and eat.  Thin it down to the thickness you like.

It's nice with mint added, use fresh mint if you have it, but dried will do fine and even a dollop of mint sauce if you want.

Of course, you can fancy it up if you want, by adding spinach or other veg.  

Spiced Autumn Fruit

I love this spicy fruit warm with yogurt.  However, other members of the family are not keen......hence the name "Minging Fruit".  


Spiced Autumn Fruit

Serves 4

6 ripe plums, stones removed and quartered
3 ripe pears, peeled cored and quartered
2 dessert apples, cored and quartered
250 ml diet lemonade
1 cinnamon stick
2.5 cm (1") fresh root ginger, unpeeled and sliced
1 star anise or 3 cardamom pods cracked

Place all ingredients into a saucepan.  Cover, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 10 mins until the fruit is soft and the juices reduced and syrupy.



You can stick it all in a casserole dish and bake, covered in the oven instead of in a pan.

Lemon Curd

Lemon Curd

I first made lemon curd at school but recently revisited it.  This recipe is the one I used at school.

This recipe makes a large Kilner jar.

4 lemons, zest and juice
4 eggs, beaten
100g butter
450g sugar

Put the ingredients into a large basin, on top of a pan of simmering water. Don't let the bottom of the basin touch the water.

Stir constantly until thick and the curd coats the back of a spoon.

Pour into the sterilized jar, cover, seal and label.  Cool then store in the fridge.



This is delicious made with limes, or use a mixture of citrus fruits.

Baked Eggs in Spicy Sauce

Baked Eggs in Spicy Sauce

A Weight Watchers recipe, but don't let that put you off.  Its delicious!

Serves 4

low fat cooking spray
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, de-seeded and roughly chopped
1 courgette, chopped
1/4 tsp chilli powder (or to taste)
300ml vegetable stock
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
25g jalapeno peppers, roughly chopped
handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
4 large eggs

Preheat oven to Gas 3/160'C

Spray a large pan with low fat spray and fry the vegetables for 5 mins until softened.

Stir in the chilli powder, stock and tomatoes.  Cook for 10 - 15 minutes.

Stir in the jalapenos and coriander.

Spoon into an ovenproof dish or 4 individual dishes and make 4 hollows in the sauce. Break the eggs into the hollows, season with salt and pepper and cook for 15 - 20 minutes or until the eggs are cooked as you like them.

Serve.

You can add more or less chilli powder, or use herbs like oregano and thyme instead, use harissa paste and cinnamon with the chilli for a moroccan style flavour. Try different veg as well, aubergine is good in this mix.

Quick Saucy Chicken Breasts

This is one of those recipes that tastes different every time you make it. There's just so many combinations you can have.


Quick Saucy Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Serves 4

Take 4 chicken breasts and make a little pocket in each one.

Stuff the pocket with cheese...... mozzarella is good, so is a blue cheese.  You can also use a soft cheese like Boursin.

Use a skewer or cocktail stick to close the pocket, or wrap the chicken breasts with bacon or proscuitto/parma ham.

Place the chicken breasts into a baking dish.

Take a jar of your favourite sauce..... I like Reggae Reggae sauce, but choose whatever floats your boat.

Pour the sauce over the chicken, cover and bake for 20-25 mins at Gas 4/180'C 

Remove the foil and cook for another 5 mins or so.

Serve with veg and rice/couscous/potatoes.

Spinach and Cheese Cannelloni

Spinach and Cheese Cannelloni

A nod to healthy eating here, with a tasty recipe originally from Weight Watchers.

Low fat spray (or use a little oil if you prefer)
2 shallots, diced
1 red pepper, deseeded and diced
1 celery stick, diced
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
8 fresh sage leaves, chopped, or a pinch dried
475g frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
3 spring onions, sliced finely,
pinch of nutmeg
300g very low fat soft cheese, eg Philadlephia extra light
160g tubes cannelloni (16 tubes)

Preheat the oven to Gas 6/200'C/400'F

Spray a non stick pan with the low fat spray and cook the shallots, pepper and celery for 3-4 mins.  Add the tomatoes, 100ml cold water and the sage and simmer for 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the drained spinach into a bowl and mix in the spring onions, nutmeg, cheese and some salt and pepper to taste.

Stuff the cannelloni tubes with the spinach mixture.  Spoon quarter of the tomato mixture onto the bottom of an ovenproof dish. Place the stuffed cannelloni on top and pour over the remaining sauce.

Bake for 30 mins and serve straightaway.

For the weight watchers amongst you, this is 3.5 points per serving. (Thats UK points and not propoints)

Chilli Jam

Chilli Jam

Nigella Lawson made this on one of her tv shows.  I think it was Nigella's Christmas. I made it the next day and have made it a couple of times since. 
You can make it as hot as you like by adding more chillis, but to be honest it's quite hot as it is.  A bit like sweet chilli sauce, but instead of a stingy bottle, you get a whole big jar (or maybe more).

If you like sweet chilli sauce, give this a go, its fab.

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/chilli-jam-2692

Chicken Breast stuffed with Haggis

Chicken Breast Stuffed with Haggis

This is a recipe I made up as I went along. I don't suppose it's unique but it was very tasty with some mash, turnip/swede and gravy.

Break up the haggis. Make a pocket in the chicken breast and stuff it with some of the haggis.  Wrap loosely in foil and bake at about 180'C for 20-25 mins until the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Open the foil and cook for about 5 mins further to slightly brown the chicken.

Porridge with Maple Bananas and Greek Yogurt

Porridge with Maple Bananas and Greek Yogurt

This recipe caught my eye one day as I browsed the Great British Chefs website.  It was a tasty breakfast.

Thank you Marcus Wareing for the recipe:

http://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/porridge-recipe-maple-bananas-greek-yoghurt

Orange and Cranberry Drizzle Cake

Orange and Cranberry Drizzle Cake

Another tasty cake from Simon Rimmer on "Something for the Weekend"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/orange_and_cranberry_08976

Cheese and Olive Loaf

Cheese and Olive Loaf

This recipe is quick to make as it doesn't use yeast.  It is great with my Tomato & Pepper Soup.

For the loaf:

100ml olive oil
250g self raising flour
100g cheese,  try mozzarella or gruyere, cut into cubes
100g cooked ham, diced
50g stoned olives, sliced
black pepper to taste
3 eggs

Heat your oven to 200'C/400'F/Gas 6

Grease a 22cm x 12cm loaf tin (thats a 2lb/1kg one)  I also line the base.

In a mixing bowl, mix the flour, cheese, ham, olives and pepper.

Beat the eggs and oil together.

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry.  Spoon into the tin and bake for 30 mins.

Tomato and Pepper Soup

This soup is a bit of a throw together affair.  Add the bits you like and leave out the bits you don't. 

I throw into a pan, 1 jar tomato passata, 1 tin chopped tomatoes, 1 chopped onion, 1 red pepper from a jar of peppers in vinegar, some salt and pepper. Add stock or water if it is too thick for you.

Heat to boiling, then simmer until the onions are soft.  Add a pack of fresh basil (about 30g) stalks and all.  Let the basil wilt in the soup for a minute or two then blitz the lot to a nice smooth soup.

If you want to be posh for a dinner party, pass it through a sieve.

You could add chilli, or Worcestershire sauce.

Pork with Smoky Pepper Sauce

Pork with Smoky Pepper Sauce

This is one I made up as I went along.

400g piece pork for roasting or a pork fillet

3 slices serrano ham

Sauce

2 roasted red peppers from a jar (the vinegary ones)

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 clove garlic

1 spring onion

about 1 tbsp vinegar from the jar of peppers

1 tsp olive oil

Wrap the pork with the ham.  Heat a non-stick fry pan and brown the piece of pork on all sides then put into a dish in the oven.  180ºC/Gas 4 for 25-35 mins.

For the sauce, put everything into a blender and blend until smooth.  Warm gently in a pan and serve with the pork.

Sizzling Garlic Prawns with rice and peppers

SIZZLING GARLIC PRAWNS WITH RICE AND PEPPERS

This is a quick recipe from Weight Watchers.  

For the weight watchers amongst you it serves 2 at 9 propoints a serving.  For anyone else, it's a very tasty dish so don't be put off by the WW tag.

20g butter
1 clove garlic crushed
1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
200g raw King Prawns
spray oil
1/2 onion chopped
1 medium green pepper, finely chopped
1 medium red pepper, finely chopped
250g bag Tilda Brown Basmati Steamed Rice
1 tsp cayenne pepper
4 tsp lime juice, fresh
1 spring onion, sliced

Very gently melt the butter, add the garlic and gently cook the prawns for 2 mins each side until pink and cooked through.

Mist a separate pan with spray oil ad cook the onion and peppers until soft but not coloured.

Cook the rice in the microwave according to the pack instructions, then add to the pan with the onion and peppers. Add cayenne pepper, lime juice and spring onion. Stir in parsley and serve topped with the prawns.

You can use already cooked prawns, just make sure you don't overcook them or they will be rubbery.

Cook your own rice if you prefer.

Courgette and Soft Cheese Frittata

COURGETTE AND SOFT CHEESE FRITTATA

This recipe came from a weekly booklet given out at weight watchers, so for those ww amongst us it serves 4 at 5 propoints per serving.

Ingredients

Cooking spray
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
1 garlic clove, crushed
200g courgettes, chopped into chunks
4 heaped tbsp sweetcorn
handful of chopped fresh parsley
6 large eggs, beaten
100g weight watchers soft cheese with roasted onion and chives or use as I did, Philadelphia extra light

Mist a frying pan with spray oil, add the onion and cook for 5 mins or until softened. Add the garlic and courgettes.  Cook stirring occasonally for 6-8 mins until golden.

Add the corn and parsley.  Season beaten eggs with black pepper and pour over vegetable mix, then add the soft cheese in spoonfuls.

Cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes until the bottom is set, then transfer to a preheated grill and cook 5-8 mins until set.

Cut into 4 wedges and serve.

Good hot or cold.

Malteser and Mars Bar Slice

Now I am not going to claim this recipe as my own.  I got it from Facebook and just had to keep it. Thanks to the originator of the post.

This is the version my nephew made:

I will testify that it is very sweet and chocolatey.  Nuts or dried fruit would be a great addition, especially dried fruit which is less sweet like sour cherries.  You could use Snickers instead of Mars Bar and any biscuits of your choice to make it your own.

MALTESER AND MARS BAR SLICE

I will start with an apology – this possibly is the most amazing and naughty slice I have ever made, and if you can stop after just one piece you have more will power than me.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of Maltesers plus extra to decorate (grab a 280g pack)
4 Mars Bars (4 x 53g bars)
1/2 cup Condensed Milk
1 pack of Chocolate Ripple Biscuits (250g) / Most people seem to think Maryland Chocolate Chip Cookies are the nearest alternative so I'd put them tho we used double choc digestives and they were scrummy!
2 blocks of Cadbury Milk Chocolate
100g unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:
*Line the base and sides of a slice tin with baking paper.
*Finely crush the Chocolate Ripple Biscuits. You can use a food processor or the end of a rolling pin if you are like me!
*Roughly crush 1 cup of Maltesers.
*Dice the Mars Bars into small pieces.
*In a small saucepan over a low heat, melt the butter and condensed milk, stirring until combined.
*Add the roughly crushed Maltesers and Mars Bars to the crushed biscuits and stir through.
*Then add the melted butter and condensed milk and stir until combined – it will be very sticky!
*Pour the mixture into the slice tin and flatten with the back of a metal spoon. Pop it in the fridge for approximately an hour until it has completely cooled.
*Melt both of the blocks of chocolate and add 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil to the melted mixture, making sure you stir it in.
*Pour the melted chocolate over the cooled slice and then decorate with remaining Maltesers.
*Put the slice back into the fridge and cut into pieces before it has completely set.

Gammon with an egg

A nice tasty meal of gammon steak, veg and home-made potato wedges. Lovely served with a poached or fried egg on top.

Bacon and vegetable stir fry

One of those meals you make from stuff that's in the fridge, "Ready, Steady Cook stylee".  Bacon and cabbage is a classic combo so why not make a meal of it?

This is a combination of bacon, stir fried with lightly cooked green beans and broccoli, onion, garlic and finely sliced cabbage.

Add a little soy sauce or maybe oyster sauce for a nice savoury kick and enjoy.

A stir fry always seems to make a huge plateful......suits me!

Christmas Mincemeat Cupcakes

Christmas Mincemeat Cupcakes 
Ingredients

175g self raising Flour

100g light muscovado sugar or light brown sugar

1tsp mixed Spice

175g butter, softened

3 eggs

2tbsp milk

140g mincemeat

Icing sugar to dust or to make icing with

Sprinkle if you like

Heat your oven to 190ºC  Gas 5 . Line a 12 bun cake tin with cake cases. 

Put the flour, sugar, butter, spice eggs and milk in a bowl and mix with electric mixer or wooden spoon for 2-3 mins until light and fluffy. 

Put a spoonful of cake mix in each cake case then a rounded tsp of mincemeat. Cover the mincemeat with a spoonful of cake mix and smooth. 

Bake for 15-18 mins until golden brown and firm. Dust with Icing sugar and serve.

I made glace icing for mine, just add a tiny amount of cold water at a time to icing sugar until it is the thickness you like.  Top the cakes and add the sprinkles before it sets.

Soup

Here's three simple soups that I made back in December.  Great for taking to work for lunch.

 Leek and Potato

For this I put onion, leek and potato into a pan of stock, brought to the boil, simmered until the veg were soft and blitzed with a hand blender.  season to taste and enjoy.

Butternut Squash

Similarly, put chopped butternut squash (no need to peel if you don't want to), carrots and onion into the pan with stock. Simmer until soft and blitz with the hand blender.  season and enjoy.

Add chilli or curry powder for a different flavour.

Tomato

Nice and quick, just put tinned tomatoes or a jar of passata into the pan with stock and onion.  Add garlic if you like.  Cook until soft and blitz as before.

Nice with the addition of peppers from a jar (the ones in vinegar), or chilli or ginger.  Herbs like basil are good too, if they are fresh ones, add add the end just before blitzing.

Braised steak dinner

Here's a comforting dish, rich and tasty with tender beef, creamy mash and peppery turnip. (Actually swede, but it's turnip where I come from!)

I use braising steak for this dish, trimmed of fat, lightly browned and placed in a casserole with lightly fried onions and mushrooms.  Add stock, I use one or two oxo cubes, but you can use whatever stock you prefer, season and add herbs if you fancy them eg thyme.

Cover and cook for about 1-1½ hours at about 180ºC Gas 4, until the meat is tender.  You can also do this in a slow cooker, just leave it on low, while you slave away at work!

Once it's cooked, I like to thicken the gravy, use gravy granules or cornflour to do this.

Enjoy.

Turkey Soup

What would the post Christmas period be without Turkey Soup.

Everyone makes it differently and with different ingredients, and what does it matter?  Use up the veg you have left, maybe a tin of tomatoes an add some pulses like lentils and the leftover turkey and "Bob's your uncle".

How virtuous do you feel eating this after the Christmas period?

Amazing Cadbury's Creme Egg Brownies

185g unsalted butter 

185g best dark chocolate
85g plain flour
40g cocoa powder
3 large eggs
275g golden caster sugar
6 Cadbury’s Crème eggs cut in half.

Preheat the oven to 160C and grease a 20 cm square baking tin.

Melt the butter and dark chocolate together either in the microwave or in a bowl over boiling water.

Break 3 large eggs into a large bowl and tip in 275g golden caster sugar. With an electric mixer on maximum speed, whisk the eggs and sugar until they look thick and creamy, like a milk shake. This can take 3-8 minutes. You will know it's ready when the mixture becomes really pale and about double its original volume.

Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the eggy mousse, and then gently fold together.

Hold a sieve over the bowl of eggy chocolate mixture and sift the cocoa and flour mixture, shaking the sieve from side to side, to cover the top evenly. Gently fold in to the mixture.

Pour into the baking tin and cook for 15 minutes then take out of the over and gently press the Cadburys crème egg halves into the mix, spacing them apart evenly. Put back in the over for another 5-10 minutes.

Leave to cool before removing from tin and cutting into square