One thing that I miss from home that I really, really used to love is the Robin Hood Oatmeal Muffin Mix.  It was something which I always bought and my family enjoyed.  We often added chocolate chips to it or raisins, and they went down a real treat!  They were family favourites.

  

I have never quite been able to replicate the flavour of those muffins, and I have really tried! 

  

This recipe I am showing you today is adapted from one which I found in this little book, Muffinss, by Susan Reimer.  I did add some grated nutmeg to the mix because I was thinking that  might be the elusive flavour that I keep missing  . . .

 

They still don't taste quite the same, although . . .  in truth they are very VERY good, nonetheless! 

 

Today I used a mix of both milk and semi sweet chocolate chips.  If you are not fond of chocolate chips you could use chopped dates, or sultanas, dried apricots or even currants.

 

Whatever you choose, I think you are in for a real breakfast treat!

 

 

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5.  Line a 12 cup medium muffin tin with paper liners, or butter very well.  Set aside.

Measure the oats into a bowl and add the milk.  Set aside while you put together the remaining ingredients.  Sift the flour into a bowl with the baking powder, salt and nutmeg.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Add the beaten egg, brown sugar, oil and vanilla to the oat mixture.  Add all at once to the dry mixture and stir to just combine, so no dry bits of flour are left.  Don't overcombine.  Divide between the muffin cups, filling about 2/3 full.

Bake for 20 minutes, until well risen and the tops feel quite firm.  They should also be golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre of one should come out clean. (There might be melted chocolate on it however!)  Tip out onto a wire rack to cool.

 

These would also make great lunch box additions for the kiddles, or even to bring to work for coffee break.  They would also be great served afterschool with glasses of cold milk.  Now my taste buds are tingling!  Bon Appetit! 

 

This recipe I am showing you here today is a prime example of how we eat here in Casa de Rayner, most of the time.  Its fast.  Its easy and . . .  most importantly . . .  its delicious!

 

I like to think its also fairly economical in that it uses things I generally have in my freezer and storecupboard, like rice, milk, chicken stock, frozen vegetables, onions and I confess  . . .  frozen mushrooms.  I always keep frozen sliced mushrooms in my freezer.  They are perfect for dishes like this where appearance doesn't really matter that much.

 

I picked up some packs of fresh cubed turkey breast the other day.  One of them was perfect for this dish.  The other was frozen, so now I have some cubed turkey breast for the future when I want to make something quick and easy for another meal.

 

You could of course use cubed chicken breast meat, or even leftover cooked turkey or chicken from the Sunday roast!

  

All are put together in a simple way and in one pot, making it an easy put together not to mention an easy clean up!

 

Yes, it all gets cooked in the one pan . . . first the turkey . . .  then the onions, mushrooms and garlic . . .

  

Some flour and seasonings go next, and then you add some chicken stock and milk . . . bring it to the boil, where it thickens a bit  . . . nice and creamy  . . .

 

And then finally the rice.  Covered, it cooks to perfection over very low heat in about 15 minutes or so.  A bit of salad on the side, maybe a crusty bun if you are so inclined and dinner is served!

 

 

Melt the butter in dutch oven (with a lid). (I use my medium La Crueset pan.)  Add the turkey and cook, stirring until it is no longer pink.  Add the onions, garlic and mushrooms.  Cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes until they begin to soften.  Stir in the flour, seasoning salt, black pepper, and thyme.  Cook, stirring, for a further minute.  Slowly stir in the chicken stock and then the milk.  Add the rice and bring to the boil.  Reduce to a very low heat, cover and simmer  for 15 to 20 minutes until tender.  Stir frequently to prevent the rice from catching on the bottom of the pan. Because I use gas, I always have my pan on a heat diffuser, which helps to keep the temperature down.  Stir in the frozen vegetables, recover and take off heat.  Let stand for a few minutes to  heat through.  Serve immediately.

 

This is the kind of weeknight supper that will have both you and your family jumping up and shouting for joy!  The family because its delicious and you because it is quick, easy and not a lot of faff involved!

 

Soft white buns . . .  spread with a horseradish mayo, topped with tender juicy BBQ Beef, and then slathered in a delicious cheese sauce . . .  mmmm . . .  what's not to like about that!

 

When you  first look at the list of ingredients, you might be tempted to think its far too much trouble to put it all together, but each element is very simple and doable, and once you get them all done and in place, the rest is a doddle!

 

The horseradish mayo is simply some mayo whisked together with horseradish sauce, this gets spread on the bottom bun . . .

 

The BBQ beef as well is really quick and simple.  Just whisk the sauce ingredients together in a pan, bring to the boil, then add the beef and reduce the heat until the beef is heated through.  Buy the thinnest sliced roast beef that you can buy!  At the deli-counter if possible!

 

The cheese sauce is also very simple . . .  as simple as whisking together some grated cheese, corn flour (cornstarch) and evaporated milk and heating it up in the microwave until the cheese is melted and its all blended together and smooth. Yum yum!!

 

 

First make the horseradish sauce. Whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.  For the cheese sauce, mix the cheese and cornflour together in a bowl. Stir in the evaporated milk.  Heat in the microwave on high, stirring every 30 seconds, until the mixture comes together and is smooth.  Keep warm. (If you think it is too thick, you may whisk in a bit more milk and reheat.)

Whisk the tomato ketchup, water, brown sugar, vinegar, all seasonings and hot sauce together in a pan. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a low simmer.  Add the roast beef and heat through gently until heated thoroughly. 

  

While the meat is heating, split your buns, wrap in foil and warm in a hot oven for about 8 minutes. 

To serve spread the bottom of each bun with a portion of the horseradish mayo.  Top with a portion of the BBQ Beef, and finally the cheese sauce.  Place the top of the bun on top and serve immediately. 

 

We had some oven chips on the side with this, but coleslaw would be great or a salad.  This is a real winning sandwich.  Hearty and delicious!  Bon Appetit! 

 

I have a fabulous recipe for a Lemon Drizzle Loaf.  You just bang everything into the food processor and blitz it together, scrape it into a pan and bake.  I went to make it yesterday, got everything into the food processor and went to add the lemon curd which is uses and guess what . . .  NO lemon curd in the house.  Oh me oh my!  What to do, what to do . . .

  

I had recently picked up a jar of Bon Maman Salted Caramel Spread and after a bit of soul searching I decided that it was of somewhat the same consistency as lemon curd and I would use that instead!  The thought actually sounded quite delicious.

 

And so I went with it, and threw it into the food processor, scraped the batter into my loaf tin, banged it into the oven and then crossed my fingers.

  

Necessity is often the mother of invention.  It smelled gorgeous when it was baking.  It did take a bit longer than the lemon one to bake, but not a problem really . . .

 

The Lemon one does have a lemon drizzle topping on top, so while the cake was baking I put my thinking cap back on . . . .

 

I wanted a drizzle topping that would soak a bit into the cake, with flavours that wouldn't jar too much with the salted caramel . . .

 

I decided to go with coffee . . .  and so I mixed together a bit of hot coffee, some coffee liqueur, and granulated sugar . . . . it tasted pretty good.  You could use vanilla if you didn't want to use the liqueur.

 

I brushed this grainy syrup onto the cake as soon as I took it from the oven, and kept spooning it on a little bit at a time, until I had used it all up and it had soaked into the surface of the cake.  It also smelled heavenly!  The end result was incredibly edibly tasty indeed!

 

 

 

Some might bemoan the fact that they didn't have any lemon curd in the cupboard, and I will be rectifying that shortly, but in the mean time I am very grateful for the opportunity my lack thereof provided for me to discover something quite, quite tasty!  I think you will be grateful also.  You simply must bake this!  Bon Appetit!

 

One thing we like to eat a lot of in the winter is soup.  I am not a huge fan of tinned soup.  In all truth I just don't think many of them taste very good, with the exception of a good quality tomato soup.  I quite like that, but the rest of them do nothing for me.  I prefer homemade soups most of the time.

 

This Bean & Bacon Soup is one of our favourites.  I always have what I need in the store cupboard to make it and it goes together very easily.  I always have an assortment of tinned beans in the larder.  This soup takes haricot beans, or great northern beans as I believe they are called in North America.

 

Carrots, onions, celery . . .  I also always have them in my larder  . . .  chicken stock (same thing) and tomato passatta (tomato sauce) . . .  those things are also always in my larder.

 

Streaky smoked bacon is also used.  I didn't have any today so I used bacon medallions, which are like Canadian bacon and they worked fine. In fact they are quite lean and so I had to use some cooking spray to cook my vegetables which made it a tiny bit healthier I guess, or at any rate it  reduced the fat content somewhat. 

 

Simple to make, hearty and delicious.  I don't know what else a person could ask for than this!

 

 

Cook the bacon in a soup pot or dutch oven until crisp.  Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon to some paper kitchen towelling to drain.  Discard all but 2 TBS of the bacon fat.  Add the chopped onion, carrot and celery to the pan.  Cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat until they are beginning to soften.  Add the garlic and cook for a further minute. Stir in the chicken broth and drained beans.  Add the bay leaf and mixed herbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Bring to the boil,then reduce to a slow simmer and simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes.  Remove the bayleaf and discard. Remove half of the soup to a blender and puree.  Return it to the soup pot along with the tomato passatta (sauce) and 3/4 of the bacon. Simmer for a further 15 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasoning as required.  Ladle into heated bowls and garnish the top of each serving with some of the remaining bacon and a bit of parsley if desired.

 

I enjoyed mine with some crisp crackers I've been hoarding (coz I love soup and crackers) and Todd enjoyed his with a soft roll. We were both very happy.  Hot soup on a cold day. Now that's comfort.  Bon Appetit!