No doubt about it my husband is a chop man.  He does love his pork chops so very much.   I can take or leave meat for the most part except for a good chop, I do love those, but Todd, he loves a good chop, and I like to accomodate him whenever I can.

  

Oh, I do love a good lasagne.   Oftimes we will sto ourselves from making it as it can be a somewhat complicated dish, but this simple lasagne can be whiped u any time and what I love most about it is the simplicity of flavours.   A simple tomato sauce, layered with bechamel and cheese . . .  amongst sheets of pasta, and baked until golden.   It is so good.   And it is the simplicity of the flavours which make it even more delicious.

 

We have an Elder serving us here in the Chester Ward area at the moment from Australia. Elder Van Dyken.  As you know I love to feed the missionaries and help them out whenever I can.   Last Friday Elder Van Dyken and Elder Allen were sweet enough to bring us a meal because they knew that Todd might not be feeling well after his procedure on Thursday, and so I thought I would do something for them in return.  I was always taught that you never give back a dish empty and so I decided to bake them some Azac Biscuits (cookies) in honor of Australia day which is on the 26th of January.  (Today as you read this.)

  

I have been making my own chicken stock for as long as I can remember.   Whenever we have the bones left from a roasted chicken I put them into a container in the freezer (if I am not going to use them right away).  That way I have them at the ready to use to make a delicious stock and then soup whenever I need them.  You can also use raw chicken backs and necks to make a stock, but there is a little bit more faffing required as you need to skim the broth frequently to remove any scum which rises to the top.  I prefer to use the bones leftover from a roast chicken myself.

 

Here I am today with part two of yesterday back to the basics post with a delicious idea of what to do with your roast chicken leftovers.  In all truth we eat a lot of chicken in this house and I have about a bazillion ways of dealing with it  I am truly the Queen of Leftovers!

 

I don't think there is  dish on earth that exemplifies home sweet home any better than a delicious roasted chicken.   We love it in this house and we don't have it near often enough.  Not only is it delicious, but its also economical as you are sure, with careful planning, to get at least three meals for your family from any good sized chicken.

 

I really, really like muffins.   I really, really, REALLY like chocolate chip muffins, and not the double chocolate chip muffins, but the yellow buttery cake type of chocolate chip muffins. 

 

There are a few things I always keep on hand.  One is a jar of Lemon Curd (I also make my own, but having a jar of ready made is a great store cupboard ingredient.)  Another is frozen all butter puff pastry.   The Lemon curd comes in handy for all sorts and the puff pastry is great for making impromptu tarts, or topping pies and one of my favourite things . . .  for making these fabulously tasty breakfast pastries!

 

I have been making my own granola since the mid 1980's.  My next door neighbor used to make her own granola and she taught me how to make my own.  I've been a huge fan ever since. 

 

I hesitate to post this as  a recipe, but it is just so darned simple and just so delicious that I cannot resist sharing it with you. 

 

Bangers and Mash have to be Todd's favourite meal of all time.   He is a meat and potatoes man through and through.  If both are on the menu then he is a very happy camper.  He hasn't been feeling the greatest lately.  Very, very tired.  He is a very thin man to begin with and it is a struggle to keep the weight on for him.  (I wish!)  In any case I decided to make him a comfort meal consisting of Sticky Maple and Mustard Glazed Bangers with Irish Champ! 

 

One of the most popular and favourite desserts here in the UK has to be Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake.  I can't think of anyone that wouldn't swoon at being presented with a nice bowl of Stocky Toffee Pudding slathered with lashings of cream.  It is just heaven in a bowl.   I first tried it when we were up in the Lake District.  You could buy it readymade in the chiller cabinets at the shops.  It is a Lake District original and considered to be a modern classic!

 

For those of you who don't know, my father is a French Canadian, bred and born in the Saguenay Region of Quebec where he lived until he joined the Canadian Military way back when.  My childhood was embroidered with the traditional foods of my mother's English/German ancestry and my father's French traditions.  

 

Some of the French dishes may have been slightly adapted to my mother's tastes and skills in translation, but I believe at the very essence they stayed the same.

 

 This was something which I made late last week and was it ever good.   I adapted it from a recipe I found on the Betty Crocker Site.  

It looked really tasty and like something we would both enjoy.  I didn't have all of the ingredients however and wasn't even sure what salsa con queso was, never having seen it myself.

 

I am the Queen of improvisation however and I went to the grocery shop in an attempt to find something I could use instead.  

The closest thing I could find was Taquito's Mexican Cheese Dip. 

 

 

I decided to mix it half and half with regular Taquitos Salsa.  It looked about right to me.  Although I can't really say for sure as I have never had Con queso.

 

The recipe also called for a tin of chopped roasted green chilies.  I used one fresh jalapeno, trimmed, seeded and chopped.  

Trust me when I say that it was just enough.  This was a spicy dish and any more jalapeno than that would have blown our socks off.

 

I used a smaller amount of cream/half and half because I didn't want it to be too runny.  It turned out really nice.  Spicy and nice.     

I had mine with some sour cream to cool it down a bit, but my husband ate his full on strength and went back for seconds.  He is made of sterner stuff than I am.  The sour cream made mine just right for me.

 

 

 

 Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Spray a 13 by 9 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.  

 

Mix together the cream,  cheese dip and salsa dip in a bowl.  Stir in the jalapeno and red pepper.  Remove one fourth and reserve.   Stir th cooked rice into the remainder.   Pour into the prepared baking dish.   Lay the browned chicken/turkey cutlets on top.  Pour the reserved cream/cheese/salsa mixture over all.  Sprinkle with the grated cheese.  Cover the casserole dish tightly with a sheet of buttered/sprayed foil, sprayed side down. 

Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove the foil and discard.  Bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes, until the chicke/turkey is cooked through and the sauce bubbles.   Cool for 10 minutes then garnish as desired and serve. 

 

 

This was a really tasty family pleasing one dish dinner.  True confessions, I didn't have chicken and used turkey steaks cut in half instead and it worked very well.   If you are fond of tex mex flavours and don't mind a bit of heat this is sure to please!  All you would need is a salad on the side and dinner is served!  Bon Appetit! 

 I love muffins.   They are like portable breakfast foods and so delicious enjoyed for breaktimes.  I Love Chai Spice as well and so when I saw a recipe for Chai Spice Donut Muffins on My Baking Addiction, I knew I wanted to bake them.  Dougnuts?  Chai Spice?  Muffins?  Sounded like a winner/winner/winner to me!

 

I actually baked these cookies in early December and am only now just getting to where I can show them to you.  There were just so many other things in the queue!  That's the holidays for you!

 

So, Hot Cocoa Cookies.   I have adapted this recipe from one that I found on The Recipe Critic.  From the moment I saw them, they were cookies that I really wanted to bake.

 

She got the recipe from Rachel Ray, and well, who knows who Rachel Ray got it from.  Maybe Martha Stewart.  As they say there is really nothing new under the sun, only new ways of doing things.

 

With these you get a lovely fudgy, almost "brownie-like" cookie . . . soft and chewy in the middle, just like a good brownie should be  . . . Take care not to overbake them . . .  to do so would take away from that brownie-ness.   There is some more chocolate tucked underneath the marshmallow.  You bake the cookies first and then add the chocolate to the top and cover with half a marshmallow, returning them to the oven very briefly to melt the marshmallow.

 

Mmmm . . . these are so good.  Just like a warm mug of hot cocoa and a hug.  I dusted them with a bit of cocoa powder just to dress them up a bit.  I thought it looked quite pretty and so did the people I gifted them to.   Delicious was the verdict!  

 

 

Melt the butter along with the chocolate chips over low heat in a large saucepan.  Remove from the heat and set aside to cool for about 15 minutes.  Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.  Beat the sugar into the melted chocolate and butter mixture.  Beat in the eggs one at a time.  Stir in the vanilla and the flour mixture until you have a smooth mixture.  It will be like a thick batter but not stiff like a cookie batter.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour until firm. 

Preheat the oven to 170*C/325*F/gas mark 3.  Line several baking sheets with baking paper.  

Shape the dough into 1 inch balls and place on the baking paper lined baking sheets, leaving 2 inches of space in between.  Press down lightly with your fingers to flatten the balls slightly. 

Bake for 12 minutes or just until the cookies are puffed and begin to crack.  While they are baking cut the marshmallows in half.  Top the cut side with 3 or 4 chocolate chips.   Take the cookies from the oven and top each with a marshmallow half, cut/chocolate side down.  Return to the oven for a further 4 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool.  Dust with a bit of cocoa powder.  Store in an airight container with wax paper in between.

 

These are sure to become a real favourite with the family.  I hope you will give them a go!  Bon Appetit!

 

I had some apples which I needed to use this week and I was tired of doing the same old same old and so I did a search on google and came up with this.  I confess I had my doubts when I encountered this recipe on cooks.com.

 

It was so simple . . .  no crust per se, and no leavening.   How could this work?  Its been my experience however, that simple things are oftimes the best things, and so I crossed my fingers and went with the flow!  I took a chance.

 

Wow!  This was so simple and quick to put together.  You just slice the apples and dump them into the pie tin, sprinkle them with a little bit of sugar and cinnamon and then pour the batter over top and bake.

 

Leave it to the Swedes to come up with something which is totally streamlined and totally tasty.  That is their hallmark in design and clearly with cooking also!

 

The batter is simply melted butter, sugar, an egg and flour.  It shouldn't work, but it does . . .  amazingly! 

 

The apples are sweet and soft, without being overly so.  You will want them to be a bit tart because there is pleny of sweetness in that crisp and buttery batter topping.  

 

Oh boy, oh boy.   It is a day later and I cannot walk by this without wanting to dig in and have just a smidgen more.

 

It is one of the  MOST delicious apple desserts I have ever baked.  Seriously.  Talk about Hygge.  Comfort.  

 

Sweet comfort.   I know you probably only just started a diet and its too soon to break it, but hey.  Some things you just don't want to miss!

 

 

 

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  

Butter a 9 inch deep fill pie dish.   Put the apples into the dish.  Sprinkle with the sugar and then the cinnamon.  Whisk together the butter, sugar, egg flour and salt until smooth.  Stir in the nuts and then pour this over top of the apples to cover.  Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes until set and golden brown.   

Allow to cool until just warm before serving.  Cut into wedges to serve.  Serve warm with ice cream if desired.

 

Seriously you really do WANT to bake this.   I wouldn't couldn't lie about something as serious as dessert.  I guarantee it will become a firm favourite in your repertoire.  If you  ever find yourself in need of a quick and simple dessert that will blow your guests socks off . . .  this is THE one!

 

Happy Weekend! 

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