Brown Bread Muffins
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (70g) all purpose plain flour
- 1/2 cup (70g) whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup (85g) yellow cornmeal
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 6 TBS molasses
- 2 TBS cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup (180ml) milk
- 1 TBS butter, melted
- 1/2 cup (75g) raisins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter 9 muffin cups well. Set aside.
- Whisk both flours, cornmeal, soda and salt together in a bowl.
- Whisk the milk, molasses, vinegar and butter together in another bowl. Add all at once to the dry ingredients, and quickly mix to combine. Stir in the raisins. Spoon into the prepared muffin tin, filling them 3/4 full.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Serve warm. These can also be frozen.
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To be honest I am not really sure why this is called Swiss Chicken. Yes, there is some Gruyere or Swiss cheese involved, but really that is the only thing Swiss about it!
Like I said, no cream of whatever soup. Instead there is a lush and creamy rich sauce which gilds those perfectly golden sautéed pieces of chicken breast meat. Flavoured only with cream and Tarragon and some seasoning.
Creamy Swiss Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 (200g/7oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- salt, pepper and plain flour to dust
- 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
- 1 TBS butter
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1/2 pound (200g)mushrooms, sliced
- 1 TBS chopped fresh Tarragon (or 1/2 TBS dried)
- 1/2 cup (120ml) whipping cream
- 1 TBS brandy
- 4 large slices Gruyere or Swiss Cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Have ready a baking tray.
- Place your chicken between two pieces of plastic cling film and pound lightly until they are each about 1/2 inch thick. Season with salt and black pepper and dust lightly with flour.
- Heat half of the olive oil and butter in a large skillet. Add the chicken breasts presentation sides down, and brown on one side for approximately 3 minutes until golden. Flip over and brown on the other side for a further 3 minutes.
- Place onto the baking tray and pop into the oven while you make the sauce.
- Add the remaining butter and oil to the pan drippings. Throw in the mushrooms and garlic and cook over medium heat until the mushrooms have softened.
- Add the tarragon, cream and brandy. Stir over high heat for about 2 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced and thickened.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and spoon the hot sauce over top, dividing it equally amongst the four pieces.
- Top each with a slice of cheese and pop back into the oven for about 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Serve immediately.
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Easy peasy this is. Actually it is beautiful dinner party fare, and would make a brilliant option for Valentine's Day Supper. It is quick and easy to make, and yet tastes like you have been slaving all day over it. I served with English petit pois and roasted potatoes. Yum.
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!
You unroll the pizza dough and cut it into four equal sized rectangles. You will need to cut the string cheese in half also. Right down the middle lengthwise.
A hot dog gets laid on the end of each rectangle of pizza dough, with a piece of string cheese laid on either side of it. You then roll the dough up to cover both the weiner and the cheese completely.
You don't really need much on the side, if anything. You could serve this with coleslaw or a salad if you were wanting to get some vegetables into you family. I especially like coleslaw and have a really yummy recipe for that here. You can't go wrong.
These always go down a real treat with the family. Hearty and delicious, quick and easy to make. What more could a person ask for!
Baked Chili Cheese Dogs
Ingredients
- 4 all beef hot dogs (You can freeze any leftover frankfurters for another time)
- 5 pieces of string cheese (cheddar)
- 1 can of refrigerated pizza dough
- 2 14-oz (400g tins) of chili con carne
- 2 TBS butter, melted
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp parsley flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5.
- Butter a 6 by 10 inch baking dish or lightly spray with low fat cooking spray. Spread the chilli out into the dish evenly.
- Unroll the pizza dough and cut into 4 equal sized rectangles.
- Cut the string cheeses in half lengthwise. The fifth one will be used to make up the length of the hotdogs in the four main ones, so cut it again cross wise into 4 bits, divided in half)
- Lay a frankfurter at one short edge of each rectangle with 1/2 slice of cheese string placed on either side of it, plus one fourth of the fifth one to make up the length. (If your hotdogs are short you may not need a fifth one.)
- Roll up beginning at the hotdog side, to cover the hot dog completely, and place on top of the chili in the baking dish, seam side down.
- Mix together the melted butter, garlic and onion powders and parsley flakes. Brush evenly over top of the rolls.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the dough is well risen, the chili is bubbling and the rolls are golden brown. Enjoy!
notes:
The original recipe only called for one tin of chili. I felt that it needed more and so I have used two tins. Even better, use leftover homemade chili if you have any.
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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!
Cottage Pie for Two

Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (200g) leftover roast beef, roughly chopped, or browned ground beef
- 1/2 TBS butter
- 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 stick celery, trimmed and chopped
- 1/2 small carrot, peeled and grated
- a 2-inch cube of swede (rutabaga) peeled and grated
- 1/2 TBS tomato paste ( tomato puree)
- 1/2 TBS plain flour
- 1 tsp brown sauce (HP sauce)
- 3/4 cup (200ml) well flavoured beef stock
- 1/4 tsp summer savoury
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup (50g) frozen peas
- 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
- warm milk
- a knob of butter
- salt and pepper
- 1 TBS grated cheese (Parmesan or cheddar)
- melted butter to brush (optional
Instructions
- First make the potatoes for the thatch topping.
- Put the potatoes in a pot of lightly salted water and
- bring to the boil. Boil for 10 to 15 minutes until soft. Drain well
- and then return the potatoes to the pan. Shake the pan over the residual heat of the burner to dry them out a bit and then mash the potatoes well until smooth with some warm milk, and a knob of butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir in the cheese. Set aside and keep warm.
- To make the filling, melt the butter in a skillet. Add the
- onion, celery, carrot and sweet. Cook, stirring frequently over medium low heat until softened and the onion is translucent. Stir in the flour. Slowly stir in the beef stock and bring to the boil.
- Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils and thickens. Stir in the tomato puree, brown sauce, and summer savoury. Season to taste with salt and black pepper and then stir in the chopped beef.
- Pour this mixture into the bottom of a buttered 1/2 litre (3 cup) shallow baking dish. Sprinkle the frozen peas over top evenly.
- Spread the mashed potatoes on top tocover. Rough up the potato a bit with a fork. Brush with melted butter.
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Bake the casserole in the heated oven for 45 minutes until the potatoes are golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Let stand 15 minutes prior to serving. Serve hot with your favourite sides.
notes:
If you are using ground beef brown it in the skillet along with the onion, carrot, celery and swede. Proceed with the remaining recipe as directed.
I sometimes like to add a bit of creamed horseradish to either the topping or the filling depending on how I feel.
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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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