Showing posts with label family pleasers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family pleasers. Show all posts
I make no secret of the fact I am crazy about the flavour of ginger. Ginger tea, ginger cookies, ginger cakes, in stir fries, candied . . . in short however it presents itself. I am having a love affair with ginger. Combine it with lemon however . . . and I am totally smitten, ensnared . . . lost forever. It is combination I find very hard to resist.
When I was a young woman, I couldn't really afford to buy cookery books. With a growing family to care for and being a stay at home mom, cookery books were not in my budget. I used to handwrite out recipes gleaned from library books and friends and magazines into notebooks. This is one of those recipes and I can no longer remember if it came from a book, magazine or a friend, or if it was an exeriment of my own that worked out well. I tend to think that it is the latter due to the simplicity of it. Simple recipes are often the best ones don't you think?
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.
*Chicken Con Queso Bake*
Serves 6
120ml single cream (1/2 cup ha;f and half)
1 green jalapeno pepper, trimmed, seeded and chopped
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Spray a 13 by 9 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
Prepare
your chicken/turkey. Cut as required and then sprinkle the poultry
with the taco seasoning mix, patting it into the meat on both sides.
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!
All of the content you see here on this page, both photography and written, are the sole property of The English Kitchen, Marie Rayner. 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.
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.
We always said that my mom could make soup out of anything and its true. My mom makes the best soup in the world. Everyone always says I could make a meal out of anything, and that is also true. I am the Queen of Casseroles and best user-upper of leftovers you could ever want to meet. I guarantee that this recipe I am showing you here today will make you the Queen of Casseroles too, and that nothing edible in your kitchen will ever go to waste again!
With this basic Mix and Match Casserole recipe you will never find yourself at a loss as to what to do with your leftover veg, or meat . . . not even your leftover starches will be safe. You will be able to find a use for all of it, guaranteed!
And not only that, but your family will be gobbling up your leftovers pronto because these casseroles are just so delicious. Each casserole is simply a basic combination of protein, vegetable, carbohydrate, sauce, and toppings.
Which can be used in any number of combinations! For instance today, I used some leftover baked ham, leftover cooked potato, swede (rutabaga) and green beans, a bit of chopped celery, onion and frozen sliced mushrooms, half a tin of creamed corn, along with some cracker crumbs and grated cheese on top. Easy peasy and Todd said that it was the most delicious thing he had ever eaten.
And all it was, was . . . . leftovers. bits and bobs of this and that. Not enough of any one thing to do anything major with, but just enough of everything that put all together we had something pretty delicious. In fact I was wishing I had had some leftover turkey to throw in there as well because that would have been pretty tasty.
The combinations are endless. You don't need to use cream soups if you don't want to, you can make a simple white sauce using 1 TBS flour, 1 TBS butter and 1 cup of warm milk (for one cup of sauce) Simply melt the butter, whisk in the flour, cook for a minute and then whisk in the milk, along with some seasoning, and cook until thick. To make a cheese sauce just whisk in some grated cheese and a bit of tabasco. Another easy cream sauce can be made by whisking together 2 eggs (beaten) and 1 cup of milk. No need to cook. Just whisk it all together with some seasoning, and mix into the casserole. It will cook in the oven and make a delicious sauce.
Even mayonnaise works, or leftover gravy (so much the better!) or even half mayonnaise and half sour cream. All work beautifully. You can be your own magician and work the magic with whatever you have that is available for you to use. Like I said, the combinations are endless. Enjoy!
*Basic Mix and Match Casserole*
Serves 2
Select and prepare the ingredients of your choice. Place the protein, starch, and veg in a large bowl and mix together. Mix together the sauce, flavour ingredients and herbs which you are using in another measure. Fold this into the protein mixture and then spread the mixture into the prepared casserole. Sprinkle with the topping.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, covered. Uncover and bake for a further 15 minutes, or until bubbling and heated through.
This is very easy to multiply up.
Note: Today I used diced ham, green beans, mushrooms, swede, potato, onions, celery, creamed corn, thyme and parsley. I topped with cheddar and cracker crumbs. It was delicious!
I hope you are getting really excited now at that refrigerator full of leftovers and that the wheels are turning. What will you make? I would love to hear the combinations you come up with! Shoot me a comment below and share with us what you have done.
I needed to use up the leftover turkey from Christmas today and so I created a skillet supper with it. I used turkey, but you could use any leftover cooked poultry actually. Its a one pan dish that is not only simple and quick to make but also quite delicious!
These Quick Drop Danish are fabulously delicious breakfast buns that I have made over and over through the years. I think that the recipe originally came from Bisquick, but I have adapted it to use my own homemade baking mix and it works beautifully that way. (Recipe for both the buns and the mix below)
I adapted this recipe I am showing you today from a book I have had for a very long time entitled Bread for Breakfast, by Beth Hensperger. It is one of my favourite books when it comes to picking out special bakes for breakfast for when you have the whole family around, the holidays or just when you want to have something a little bit special and different for breakfast or brunch. Breads like this delicious Vanilla Breakfast Cornbread!
I just spent most of the day trying to do a video that I could post on line of this lovely breakfast cake. All the steps along the way, etc. It took me hours and hours, but I can't get it to load up and I am exhausted from trying. I don't know how these youngsters do it, I really don't! Never mind we can at least enjoy the fruits of my labours in this delicious breakfast cake. Apple Pie Coffee Cake!
Todd is so happy that the cooler weather has arrived, not because he likes the cold, but because he knows there will be fewer salads on the menu and more meat and potatoes, and my Todd, he is a meat and potatoes kind of guy! Especially when it is a tasty entree like these Sausages with Apple & Mustard. How much more autumnal can you get!
As soon as I saw this recipe on Spend with Pennies, I knew it was something I wanted to make for us. We love reuben sandwiches and we love croissants and I just knew that we would be really happy with these. I strongly suspect that the original recipe came from Pillsbury, but that is not where I found it. I did adapt it slightly to the kinds of ingredients which we have available to us here in the UK, but I have also included the North American ones in my recipe write up. ☺
Sometimes you just crave the flavours of a roast chicken dinner, but you don't want to wait to roast a whole chicken in order to get it. Or maybe you are only a few people and you want a roast dinner, but don't want all of the hassle of it and the leftovers. This recipe today solves both of those issues and is totally delicious, simple to do and a very easy and economical dinner fix!
I love hotdogs. I know they are not exactly gourmet food, and I know that they are a bit garbagy junk foody with what goes into them. I don't care what goes into them. I like them. They taste good to me, and they have their place in my kitchen, as a once in a while treat. When I was a child we often had hotdogs for supper on Friday nights and my mom made the best hot dogs on the planet. People used to vie for an invitation to dinner on hotdog night, no word of a lie!
Here in the Western world putting fruit in with meat isn't something which we do very often . . . however having said that we do like our pork with applesauce and our cranberry sauce with turkey . . . but fruit in a stew, its not a really common thing. In the Middle East it is a fairly common thing . . . just think of a Tagine with apricots or dates . . . really delicious dishes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons