Last week we had the Elders over for supper one night. I wanted to do them a real treat and so I decided that I would do them a BBQ Supper.   I had just gotten a lovely BBQ pack from Chadwick's Butchers and so it was the perfect opportunity to try out some different meats and to treat the lads.  I only did hot dogs and burgers and so I also created some delicious toppings to have with them.

We really love chicken in this house.   It's quite an affordable meat and very adaptable, which is why I was really happy to receive the latest cookery book by Paul Gayler to review, entitled . . . "Chicken & Other Birds, from the perfect roast chicken to Asian-style duck breasts.  Photography by Kevin Summers.   This is a book that will get a lot of use.

Usually on Sundays I try to put something into the crockpot for dinner before I leave for church.  We are always so starving by the time we get home, which usually isn't until about 2 PM!  If I haven't been really organized and used the crockpot, we end up eating things we shouldn't because lets face it . . .  by that time we don't care what goes into our mouths.  We just want to fill that gap!   Not to self . . .  perhaps carry an apple in your church bag . . .



Sister Johansen who is another Senior Missionary here in the UK, said she really wanted to make this Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing recipe that she found on Pinterest, but wasn't sure if she actually could because they don't do boxed stuffing mix here.  Well  . . .  they do, but it's not like any stuffing mix we are used to in North America.  Over here in the UK, it is like cracker crumbs . . .  I think it's called crumbled rusk.  Anyways, like Sister Johansen, I didn't think it would work in this recipe.



And so I promised Sister Johansen that I would find a way to make it work.  And guess what???  I did!  I created my own stuffing mix.  (You will find the recipe below.)  And you know . . .  it has to be better than anything storebought with artificial ingredients and additives.  Well, that's my theory anyways!

 

It worked really well!  Really, REALLY well.   This was delicious and so simple to put together.  All I had to do was add some potatoes and vegetables.   Boiled baby potatoes and some steamed veg were just the trick.  The leftovers the next day were even tastier.




Place your chicken in the bottom of your crock pot.   Pour the chicken broth over all and then lay a slice of cheese over top of each.  Whisk together both of the soups and the milk.  Pour this over top ov the cheese and chicken.   Top with the stuffing mix.  Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or high for 4 hours.   Serve with your choice of side dishes.  I recommend steamed baby potatoes and broccoli.



To make stuffing:  combine 1 tsp instant chicken boullion stock powder, along with 6 ounces of boiling water.  Melt 6 TBS of butter in a skillet and saute one medium onion (peel and chop) with 4 stalks of celery (chopped) until softened.  Toss together with the chicken stock and 7 cups of the stuffing  mix.    Use to stuff a chicken or turkey prior to roasting, or bakd in a lightly buttered casserole for half an hour at 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  You can also use it to stuff pork chops.

One thing we really enjoy eating in the summer months are great grilled steaks.  There is nothing nicer than a steak cooked properly and served up with something scrumptious on the side.   Today I cooked our favourite Creamy Garlic Mushrooms to have with some simple grilled steaks that I had grilled on our electric grill.   They went down a real treat!

When I was growing up my mother never bought mayonnaise as such.  I don't know why, only that she didn't.  There were only type such things that she did buy.  One was Miracle Whip and the other was Salad Dressing.   Both were very mayonnaise like, but couldn't be considered mayonnaise per se because they contained ingredients which were not considered proper in a mayonnaise.  A proper mayonnaise should only contain egg yolks, mustard, some vinegar and oil and perhaps some seasoning.

My husband is a died and true Meat and Potatoes man.   He's not bothered with having anything fancy.  Simply prepared, meat and potatoes . . .  he's a happy camper.  It comes from having been brought up during WW2, during rationing, etc.  He's happy with most things you put in front of him, but simple food pleases him most of all.

Some days you just want to bury your face into an indulgent fruity dessert, but having no fruity fruit to hand, you make do with what you do have  . . . and today it was bananas.  

We always have bananas in this house, them being one of the Toddsters favourite snacks . . .  the fact that they are loaded with potassium and good for you not withstanding . . .



 

I've never been overly fond of raw banana, unless they are sliced on top of my rice crispies, or in a banana cream pie.    I do love a Banoffee Pie also . . . a quintessentially British Dessert, composed of Bananas and caramel in a buttery digestive crust and topped with whipped cream!  

I suppose it is a British version of Banana Cream, but in true British fashion . . .  over the top!   ☺  In a very tasty way.



This recipe today is a play on a traditional British indulgence known as Eton Mess  . . .  a dessert composed of red berries, whipped cream and crushed meringues, all folded together into a . . .  well a splodgy mess which is oh so delicious!   

In doing some research just now to tell you  where the name Eton Mess came  from, I have discovered that they have also been known to use Bananas in this indulgent dessert, so I may not be as innovative as I thought I was!



In any case allow me to present Banoffee Mess  . . . an indulgent dessert composed of whipped cream, crushed meringues, sliced bananas, toasted pecan nuts and a delicious toffee sauce . . . all moreishly folded together.   

 Light.   Delicious.   Satisfying for the sweet tooth.  Easy and quick to throw together.  Need I say more?     Dig in!

Pour the cream into a large chilled bowl.  Whip just until soft peaks form.  (Don't be tempted to over whip)  Crumble in the meringue nests, then gently fold in the sliced bananas.   Swirl in the toffee sauce.   Divide the mixture between six dessert dishes and then scatter over the toasted pecans and drizzle with a little more toffee sauce.   Delicious! 

When I was growing up my mother used to treat us every now and again to a steak supper called Swiss Steak.   It was delicious and one of my father's favourite meals.   Easy to do . . .  it involved beating tougher cuts of steak to tenderize them, browning them and then braising them in a mix of tinned tomatoes and onions.   When I had my own family, I added peppers and herbs to the mix.   Everyone loved it.

We had the most delicious chicken for lunch last week when we went to our friend's house.   It was incredibly tasty, and I think it's pretty safe to say that nobody was worrying about calories that day!  (What with this chicken dish and the Malva Pudding and all!)  It's nice to indulge once in a while and this chicken was incredibly tasty.  My friend Tina got the recipe from her daughter Kim and it was sooo good that I had to make it for the Missionaries when they came for tea.   Once again no complaints.  I am calling it Kim's Chicken Dish, but it really should be called the Flippingly Amazingly Delicous Chicken Dish!!

We were invited to have lunch with some friends earlier this week in their home.  Tina and Tony.   We love spending time with them.   They are a fascinating couple and good people.   They've lived  several places in their lives, including South Africa and Australia and now they live in Wales.  They're retired just like us and just like me, Tina loves to cook.  You can be certain that when you are invited to theirs for a meal, you are in for a real treat, and boy oh boy was lunch the other day a treat!




Dessert was this fabulous pudding which is South African in origin.  Hands down the most delicious pudding I have ever eaten.  I just had to ask for the recipe and one of the nice things about Tina is she doesn't mind sharing, which is great!



This dessert was soooooooo delicious that I ended up making it for the Missionary Elders when they came to us for tea on Thursday evening and it went down a real treat then too!


It's like a dense, sticky rich cake.  You make a batter first, which you bake in a casserole dish in a slow oven for about 45 minutes, covered with foil.


While it is baking, you make a rich buttery sauce with cream, which you then pour over the baked batter as soon as you take it out of the oven.


The sauce soaks into the batter adding to it's moistness . . .  rich, sticky . . .  scrumptiously delicious.  Almost dangerous.



Tina served hers with warm custard, but I served it with pouring cream . . .  mostly because I ran out of time and didn't have time to make custard . . .


There were no complaints.  'Nuff said.


Remove the cake from the oven and pour the sauce mixture over top, allowing it to absorbe as you pour it.   Serve warm or at room temperature with custard, pouring cream or ice cream.

If there is one thing that prevents me from becoming a vegetarian, it's the idea of a delicious steak dinner  . . .  okay bacon does it too, but today's recipe is all about steak.   I do love a nice steak, but it can sometimes be a bit on the expensive side.   Today's recipe shows you how to make a delicious steak dinner, using one of the cheaper cuts.

Minute, or "Cube" steaks  as I believe they are called in North America are from a tougher cut of beef, usually the round or rump or so called frying steaks  . . .  but they have been tenderized by the butcher running them through a tenderizing machine, which dimples them and makes little cuts in them all over.  You can do the same thing by pounding them to within an inch of their lives.



This is a fabulous way of turning a relatively cheap cut of meat into something which tastes anything but cheap.  All it takes is a bit of effort on your part and proper cooking.



The pounding helps, but so does the method of cooking.   The way to ruin any steak, even the most expensive cuts . . .  is to over cook them.  By cooking these quickly and for a minimum time at a relatively high temperature you preserve the flavour of the meat . . .  searing in all of the tasty juices.  Of course when you mingle those juices with a few pats of a delicious garlic and parsley butter . . . well the result is sublime.


Delicious flavours which belie their inexpensive price tag.   I paid less than £2.50 for two and they were gorgeous.  Cheap eats that feel like a treat.  I love it when that happens!

We like to have mashed potatoes and a green vegetable with this.  Delicious!

Weeknights I try to keep things really simple.   I am very busy during the week and after having worked as a chef for many years, I quite  honestly don't want to spend all my days in the kitchen cooking.   Simple, quick and easy works well for me . . .  but simple, quick and easy doesn't mean that food has to be tasteless or even unhealthy.   It is more than possible to cook a delicious meal without a lot of effort and from scratch.