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.
I think one of my very most favourite ingredients to work with has to be lemon curd. Well, actually one of my very favourite things to eat is Lemon Curd. I could eat it right out of the jar with a spoon. Yes . . . I am a glutton!
Lemon and Ginger are one of those flavours that go together just like peas and carrots. I would say jam and peanut butter, but that is not a combination they seem to like over here in the UK. The Toddster says we might as well eat fish and custard as eat peanut butter with jam. I guess it's a cultural thing!
Even though it's Winter and it's cold . . . I still find myself longing for the salad days of summer . . . there are some days when stodge just doesn't cut the mustard. I want lettuce, and I want it now! Sadly there is a bit of a shortage of lettuce (and other veg) just at the moment with all of the bad weather they have had in Spain. Thankfully I was able to get a lovely head of Cos lettuce to make this. Whew!
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!
It doesn't take much to mak the Toddster incredibly happy. He's a simple man with simple tastes. Rice pudding does it for him every time. I am one of those cooks who can't leave well enough alone however . . . and today I just about outdid myself with this lovely version of rice pudding I created just for him. I had been sent a lovely jar of Manuka Honey a while back and I decided that it would be perfect for both sweetening and flavouring this delicious dessert.
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.
Invariably, if you are like me, the beginning of the week finds me wondering what I can do with the leftovers from the weekend roast dinner. I do often make a hash or pot pies, and sometimes sandwiches . . . but every so often I like to shake things up a bit and do something different.
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!
I have a confession to make.
I am one of those obnoxious people that walk around the grocery shops, tut tutting and taking note of things that look delicious, all the while telling myself that I could quite easily make them at home . . . not only cheaper but somehow tastier too.
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.
I love winter food . . . comfort food, warming and filling. Indoor food. Foods like earthy root vegetables and potatoes . . . leeks and cabbage. Cabbage is a real favourite around here, and I'm not picky about the variety either. I love all types, although in all honesty I really had only ever eaten red or white cabbage prior to moving here to the UK. I was incredibly naieve as to the many delicious varieties of this fabulous member of the Brassica family.
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 did us some lovely Lamb Chops for our New Years Eve Supper last week. I simply rubbed them with a mixture of rosemary, thyme, garlic, sea salt, white pepper, olive oil and a bit of good balsamic vinegar that I mashed together with my mortar and pestle. I let them macerate for a good hour or more while these delicious potatoes were baking and then I quickly grilled them in a hot skillet with a bit of butter for about a minute and a half per side. They were done perfectly!
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!
*Hot Cocoa Cookies*
Makes about 4 dozen
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!
*Swedish Apple Pie*
Serves 6
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!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
This was the potato gratin I made to go along with our ham for our New Years celebrations. It is not only delicious but very simple to make. It is not low in calories however, so it will remain a once in a blue moon treat!
One of my favourite things has always been the Beef Dip Sandwich. A beef dip is a sandwich composed of shaved roast beef in a toasted baguette that you dip in a hearty beef broth to eat. Scrummo! I love em!
This is a great dish to make on those nights when you are wanting to make something quick and easy but something that the family will still enjoy. Macaroni and Cheese is a popular dish with most people, but when its also a pie, that's a win/win!
Mac and Cheese pie fits the bill on all counts!
Plus it is done in one dish, the mixing the baking, etc. You don't have to cook the macaroni first.
Like magic it cooks in the casserole dish along with everything else.
I use my homemade baking mix for this. I always have it in the cupboard. You can find the recipe for that here. Or you can just buy it ready made.
You could use Bisquick or Teabisk. I just use my own homemade one though.
Once it is baked it cuts easily into squares (if you have baked it in a square dish) or wedges if you have baked it in a pie dish.
Just look at how tasty that looks. Pass me my fork!
All you need on the side is some veg or a salad. I like to serve it with meatloaf, or hot dogs. You could also serve it with fish fingers or chicken nuggets, fingers, etc.
Kids love this. Grownups do too. Its really, really good.
*Mac and Cheese Pie*
Serves 6
salt and pepper to taste
30g additional grated cheddar cheese (1/4 cup)
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Buter a 10 inch pie dish or an 8 inch square baking dish, or six custard cups.
Mix the first amount of cheese with the macaroni. Spread out in the prepared baking dish. Combine the milk, tabasco sauce, eggs, baking mix and seasoning until well blended. Pour over the macaroni in the dish.
Bake, uncovered for about 40 minutes. A knife inserted near the centre should come out clean. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake for an additional several minutes until the cheese melts. Let stand for 10 minutes before cuting ito squares or wedges to serve.
This makes the perfect weeknight supper. Your family will love it. Bon appetit!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
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