I like to buy whole chickens and cut them up myself. It's not all that hard to do really and you can really save a lot of money by doing it yourself!

 

 This is a really good video showing you how to do just that. I had contemplated doing one myself, but this lady does it very well and I just figured . . . why mess with success!

I always pack the parts together into separate freezer bags . . . one for legs, one for breasts and one for the wings and the backs ( to be used to make stock when I get enough of them.) I usually buy two or three chickens at a time.

I completely bone out about half of the breasts, and then I leave the bone and skin on the other half. Nothing tastes better or is moister than chicken breasts which are roasted on the bone with the skin intact.

This is a delicious marinade that I like to use when I am roasting them on the bone. It's nicely flavoured with lemon, garlic and a variety of herbs. 

 You don't really need to let them marinate for that long, about an hour will do it . . . but of course the longer you marinate them the more flavour will be imparted from the herbs into the chicken.

Keeping the skin on helps to keep the herbs next to the flesh and also to keep in a lot of that moisture. I've eaten far too many dried up chicken breasts in my lifetime. 

 There is a fine line when cooking boneless chicken breasts between perfect and dried out as heck!

This recipe is also very easily cut in when there are just two of you, like there is with me and Todd. When I am only cooking two, I like to cut some potatoes into wedges, toss them with some spices and a bit of olive oil and roast them right along with the chicken. 

 Oh my . . . but it all tastes so very good at the end!!

Just look at that moist chicken meat. So tender and flavourful. I would have to say that this is one of my absolute favourite ways to eat it.

Oh yes . . . Nom Nom!!

*Herb and Lemon Roasted Chicken Breasts*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This is a delicious way of preparing chicken breasts which keeps them moist and very flavourful. I like to buy whole chickens and cut them up myself. Plan ahead as the chicken needs to marinate for about an hour before cooking.

4 bone in chicken breasts, skin on (you can do this yourself, or ask your butcher to do it for you)
2 fluid ounces of extra virgin olive oil
the finely grated zest of two unwaxed lemons (cut the remainder of the lemons into thin slices and set aside)
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
4 TBS finely chopped fresh chives
4 TBS finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
4 TBS finely chopped fresh tarragon
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mix together the olive oil, lemon zest and minced garlic. Remove the leaves from the thyme and rosemary and mince. Stir them into the olive oil along with the chives, parsley and tarragon. Mix all very well together. Lift the skin from the chicken breasts and rub half of the herbe mixture underneath and replace the skin over top. Rub the remainder of the herb mixture over all of the chicken. Lay each breast in a flat plastic container, placing each one on top of two lemon slices. Lay another two lemon slices on top of each breast. Cover and chill for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 5. Have ready a shallow baking dish. Place the chicken breasts into the dish, keeping the lemon slices on the bottom of each breast and the slices on top of each breast. Sprinkle with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Roast in the heated oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken breasts are cooked through, with the juices running clear and the skin is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for about 5 minutes before serving. These go very well with oven roasted potato wedges and purple sprouting broccoli. I sometimes roast the potato wedges in the pan with the chicken, which gives them a fabulous flavour as well. Delicious!

I decided to whip up an Eve's Pudding, which makes a quick and easy dessert, and is quite a traditional pudding here in the UK.  

This recipe, however, is not just an ordinary Eve's Pudding, but an Apple and Blueberry Eve's Pudding. Slightly different then the original traditional Eve's Pudding, but incredibly delicious!

Eve's pudding is a  traditional British pudding  made from sliced cooking  apples with a sponge cake mixture spooned over top.  

The apples are allowed to stew at the bottom of the baking dish while the cake mixture cooks on top.  In this case, I sprinkled some blueberries over the apples to give it a bit of colour and variety!

You could add some spice to the apples if you wished, perhaps a bit of cinnamon, but that day I left them plain.  

I like to start the apples cooking in the dish in the oven while I whip the sponge mixture together.

 





The sponge mixture goes together very easily . . . .  and results in a lovely sponge with a moist crumb.  I flavoured it with a bit of orange, both some juice and some finely grated zest.

Served warm from the oven with lashings of cream, it went down a real treat, but custard, or vanilla icecream would also be delicious!

 

 *Apple and Blueberry Eve's Pudding*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe



A slightly different version from the traditional Eve's Pudding.  Easy Peazy, and oh so scrummy yummy! Serve warm with lashings of cream or custard poured over top each serving.



1 1/2 pounds cooking apples, peeled, quartered,
cored and cut into thick slices
4 ounces blueberries, fresh or frozen (1/4 pound)
3 ounces of caster sugar (a scant 1/2 cup)
1 TBS water



Topping:
4 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature (1/2 cup)
4 ounces of caster sugar (a generous half cup)
2 large free range eggs
4 ounces self raising flour (a scant 1 cup)
2 TBS fresh orange juice
the grated zest of one small orange



Icing Sugar for dusting
Warm custard, or cream for serving

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



Place the apples and cranberries into a 2 1/2 pint baking dish, at least 2 inches deep.  Sprinkle the caster sugar over top along with the water.  Place into the heated oven and allow to cook for about ten minutes while you make the topping.

To make the topping measure all the ingredients into a bowl and then whisk together until smooth with an electric whisk.  Remove the fruit from the oven and spread this batter evenly over top.  Return to the oven and cook for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown and the top springs back when lightly touched.



Dust with icing sugar and serve warm with custard or cream.

The dish I used to bake my Eve's Pudding in was the Wade Ceramics 12 inch Oval Pie dish. It was the perfect size and shape for this dessert.  Its really meant for pies, but worked very well for this as well.

The rim of this dish provides ample support for a pie lid; seals pastry and prevents pie from shrinking back during cooking.  There is also an indented space to place pie funnels. Pie funnels work effectively to release steam which helps in keeping the  pie crust crisp  

It is made from the finest porcelain, in an attractive off white colour for a timeless classic look.  It has an accurate depth design which is created to contain various ingredients ensuring that the pie filling cooks well and evenly.  It is microwave, oven and dishwasher safe.









Another handy piece of kit I was able to use on the day was was the Daisy Food Cover. This particular item is designed to protect food from pests, whilst adding that finishing touch to picnic and barbecue tables.  

This is going to come in really handy during the warm weeks ahead.  I love eating out of doors, but I hate the idea of flies and other assorted pests crawling over my food prior to our eating.

 As you can see it was large enough to amply cover this 12 inch pie dish with plenty of space overhead and around.  And it's really pretty.  I love it.  

This really was a beautiful pudding. Not only was it quick and easy to make and very, very attractive . . . but it was quite, quite delicious! 

Note - although I was sent free product from Eddington's to use and review, I was not required to write a positive review.  Any and all opinions are entirely my own.

Generally speaking, I like to cook simple and easy things for dinners here in our house.  I had more than my fill of fancy cooking when I cooked at the Manor, enough to last me a lifetime.  Todd and I are simple folk with simple tastes.  Ordinary food suits us just fine!







That doesn't mean that I don't  cook delicious food of course.  I think all of my meals are delicious . . .  but then again I am a tad bit biased.  

Delicious needn't be complicated or expensive.  Delicious food comes in many forms.

My husband  thinks so too.  He was just saying to me yesterday about how lucky he was that he has a wife who loves to cook and who is good at cooking.  

Mind you if you asked him on a pasta night, his opinion might be a tad bit different!

 

These Lasagna Buns are fun, fun, fun!!! Easy and quick to make, and oh so very delicious!!    

You could eat them with your hands, if you really wanted to get down to earth . . . but I recommend being a bit more civilized  and eating them on a plate,  with a fork and a knife!!




 

Crisp bread shells holding all the elements of a delicious meaty lasagna, minus the pasta. 

 Ohhh soooo cheesy and rich and scrumdiddlyummy!!!

Your family is sure to love these hearty fun buns.   I guarantee they will become a real favourite and much requested entree!  

Simple enough for every day, but something you also might want to feed friends when they come for dinner.

 

*Crusty Lasagna Buns*
Makes 8
Printable Recipe

Crisp hollowed out crusty rolls filled with a mixture of a delicious meat sauce and a variety of cheeses, and then baked until the cheese is ooey gooey and scrumdiddlyumptious!!

8 round crusty rolls
350g of extra lean ground beef
1 small jar of pasta sauce
(your favourite kind. I like one with a gutsy flavour such as an
arrabatia or a puttanesca)
garlic powder to taste
2 tsp of dried oregano
2 tsp of dried basil
1 tsp onion powder
pinch of cloves
salt and black pepper to taste
250g packet of ricotta cheese
8 ounces strong cheddar cheese grated
8 ounces grated mozzarella cheese
2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese

Cut a thin slice off of the top of each bun. Hollow out the centres, leaving a 1/4 inch thick shell. (Discard the centres and tops, or feed to birds, or make breadcrumbs with them and put them in the freezer.)

Brown the ground beef in a hot skillet, cooking and mashing with a fork until it is nicely browned. Stir in the garlic powder, oregano, basil, onion powder, cloves, salt, pepper and pasta sauce. Allow to simmer for 5 to 10 minutes over low heat until flavours meld.

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark4.

Mix together the ricotta cheese with half of the cheddar cheese and half of the Mozzarella cheese, and all of the Parmesan.. Stir together well.

Place the hollowed out buns on a shallow baking tray. Divide the meat sauce between them. Top with equal amounts of the cheese mixture. Cover loosely with foil and then pop into the heated oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the foil and top with the remaining cheese and then bake for another 5 minutes or so, or pop under a hot grill for 3 to 4 minutes.

Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Delicious!

All you need on the side is a bit of salad!  Quite simply delicious. Bon  Appetit!

For the cake:

140g of plain flour (1 cup)

1tsp baking powder

 1 tsp ground cinnamon

120g of butter, at room temperature (1/2 cup)

190g of sugar (1 cup)

2 large free range eggs, separated

120ml milk  (1/2 cup)

For the icing:

60g butter (1/4 cup)

80g of maple sugar (1/2 cup, can use 1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar)

2 TBS milk

130g of icing sugar (1 cup)

HOW TO MAKE SPANISH CAKE

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Butter an 8 inch square baking tin and line with baking paper.  Set aside.

Beat the egg WHITES until stiff and set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into a bowl.  Set aside.  Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the egg YOLKS one at a time.   Beat in the flour along with the milk making alternate additions.  (3 dry and two wet)  Mix well.  

 

Fold in the egg whites.  Spread the batter in the prepared baking tin.  Bake in the heated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top bounces back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.  The cake should also have begun to pull away from the sides a bit.   

 

Remove from the oven.  Cool in the pan for five minutes then lift out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Place the butter for the icing in a saucepan and melt.  Add the maple sugar and heat gently over low heat for 2 minutes, until the sugar  has melted.  Add the milk.  Bring to the boil, then remove from the stove and let cool.  Beat in the icing sugar and spread onto the cooled cake.

Note - I like to sprinkle chopped toasted walnuts on top, but that is the Canadian in me liking the flavour of maple walnut.


 I hope you will make this cake.  When you do I think you will agree that Spanish or not, its one very delicious cake.