One thing that children really enjoy for their suppers in the UK are Fish Fingers, Chips and Beans.  Its a simple meal and quick to throw together, making it a firm favorite with mums as well.  You don't always have the time or the energy to put together a big meal.

I confess that from time to time, I also enjoy it.  It can be as simple as opening frozen packets and tins, popping the fish and chips into the oven and the beans into a saucepan to heat up. I, however, always like to add a little twist to my baked beans which I am sharing with you today. 

 

My secret recipe for dealing with a tin of baked beans to dress them up a bit and make them taste just like New England Baked Beans, is to treat them like baked beans!

I don't think I am the first person to admit that tinned baked beans can be a little bit lack luster in comparison to the real thing!  I was really spoilt as a child. Mom always used to bake our beans from scratch.

Every Saturday without fail we could count on them for most of my growing up years. Occasionally she would open a tin, but more often than not we had the real deal.

 

Baked long and slow in a low oven, all day.  She would soak the beans the night before and then get them into her bean crock early in the  morning.  The smell of them baking would tantalize us all day.

By the time supper rolled around we were more than ready to tuck in with delight. And there was always plenty extra that she would freeze in containers for us to enjoy at future dates.

My sister bakes her own beans from scratch nowadays as well, but she uses her crock pot/slow cooker.  They may not get quite as dark as mom's but the flavor is there, and we love them.

 

You don't always have time to bake your own beans however.  And you don't always want to resort to opening a tin, wanting to feed your family something a bit more tastier than that.

Thankfully, I do know how to fix tinned beans up to taste very close to my mother's home baked beans with the addition of a few simple ingredients.

  

Its not very hard to do at all and this method works with any type of canned baked bean. All you need are a few simple ingredients . . . apple cider vinegar, molasses, soft light brown sugar, and tomato ketchup  . . .

To complete the meal you will also need a quantity of frozen fish fingers/sticks, and I am not promoting any one kind in particular. You know what your family like and enjoy.  Personally I prefer cod fish fingers.  But you pick whatever you like.

You also need a four serving size bag of frozen French fries, or in the UK a chippie that is close by where you can buy ready made chips/fries.   Again, you know what it is that is available to you and what your family enjoys.

 

While you are heating up your fish fingers and or chips in the oven, you can get on with cooking your beans. They are so simple.

 You just stir all of the additional ingredients into the beans and let them simmer for about 15 minutes over low heat. This will infuse them with that delicious home baked bean flavor we all love and enjoy.

  

I like to  buy the best fish fingers and frozen oven chips that my money can buy, and only very occasionally, will I pick up ready made deep fried chips. It was much easier to do so in the UK.  

This combination really does  make for a tasty and quick occasional supper from time to time, and it not all that hard on the budget. For larger families it can be a real boost to the food bill! 

If I am using deep fried chips from the local chippy I will also add a slice of cheap buttered white bread. Not only does it go well with the baked beans, but until you have tasted a chip butty (sandwich made from a slice of buttered white bread wrapped around hot chips) you really haven't lived

A true carboholic's dream!

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Not having a hob/cooker to use for the last half week or so has certainly been a challenge for me.  I really hope that when the Engineer comes tomorrow, it is an easy fix! 

 

We did purchase a portable hot plate, but with only two small burners on it, it doesn't really lend itself much to cooking gourmet meals  It is however, fab for browning things and heating things up, like soup.  I haven't actually cooked any pasta on it yet, but I did cook carrots on it the other day.

 

It required a bit of difference in planning as I am used to the instant heat of gas.  This electric hot plate takes much longer to heat up and it doesn't cool down instantly either, so I keep having to warn Todd that the burner was just on as it is not really obvious by looking at it, but if you set something on it, you would sure know in a hurry, especially if it was your hand or something plastic! 

 

Today (Sunday as I write this) I  used it to make our favourite Mexi-Melts, working with it in tandem with our Microwave. Tandem cooking!  It works well!  We are huge fans of Tex Mex food!  I heard rumours that we are supposed to be getting a Taco Bell in Chester, but that was months ago and there isn't one yet, although there is supposedly one in Liverpool.  I can't wait!

 

This is a riff on their Mexi-Melt sandwich, which is kind of like a burrito/wrap.  I did make a few changes, so technically they are not identical, but I don't think anyone will really mind.  They are fabulously delicious!

 

We try not to eat a lot of red meat here, so I used ground turkey instead of beef. You can use ground turkey thighs, but I like the turkey breast meat. 

  

This gets simply browned in a skillet.  Because I am using turkey breast which is ultra low fat, I add a bit of oil to help keep it from sticking. We like ground turkey so this really works for us. If you are not a fan of ground turkey, you can use ground beef, but do try to use an extra lean one.

 

Once you get the turkey browned and seasoned (I give my homemade taco seasoning recipe below) you simply layer the meat and two kinds of cheese in a flour tortilla, along with some tomato salsa.  How spicy you choose to use, is up to you!  I like the mild one myself.

   

Once you get all of the tortillas filled and rolled, you wrap them up in some damp paper towelling and then nuke them in the microwave for a minute.  This is just long enough to heat everything through nicely and melt the cheese. 

 

I make my own Chipotle mayo dip for serving with them.  Its a really simple to make also. If you are not fond of mayo, you can use sour cream.

  

These are oh so delicious, especially when you serve them with the mayo which adds a touch more flavour and a hint of creaminess.  I like to sprinkle the dip with black olives and spring onions for even more flavour.

 

Authentic or not, these are really delicious.  Simple ingredients.  Easy method. Quick to throw together.  These are big winners all round, especially if you are a fan of Tex Mex!!  Bon Appetit! 

 

With Valentines Day coming up this week, and my stove being out of commission, I thought it would be fun to do something different and create a delicious picnic for my sweetie pie and I to share for the occasion.  Its really fun to do and really doesn't take a lot of work.  

The weather has been right miserable lately, but that doesn't mean we can't still enjoy a picnic.  Some of the nicest picnics can be shared right within the four walls of your comfy home!

 

The centre piece of my picnic was a delicious Buffalo Chicken Salad that I threw together.  You will find the recipe below for a basic chicken salad and 10 variations.  This is just one of them, and I can tell you it is really tasty!

 

 

I had a good old rummage around the refrigerator this morning while my husband was out and by the time he came home, I had a picnic feast for two more than ready.  

We had some leftover potato salad and coleslaw from the other day, so that was packed  into a container for sharing . . .  

  

I always have lots of cheeses on hand, chutney's and crackers and so I did up a small cheese tray for us to enjoy.  I used some vintage white cheddar, Danish blue, wensleydale with cranberries and boursin cheeses.  

I put the chutney into a small Bonne Maman Jar and an assortment of crackers and some butter for spreading in a sandwich container. Be sure to include a knife for cutting up the cheeses and a spoon for the chutney.  

  

You will want a toasted baguette or crisp breads to have with the chicken salad, or even some salad greens.  My husband isn't one much for salad greens, so I had soft baguettes for him. No toasting today as there is no oven.

 

There was a Melton Mowbray Pork Pie in the refrigerator (his favourite pie) and some cheese and onion rolls, so I added a container with them, as well as some English Mustard for him to enjoy with a slice of pie.  I also had some black and green grapes, so I washed some of them and put them into another container.  

Something sweet is always welcome, so I added a container of his favourite biscuits/cookies and some fruit yogurts. 

 

I also added the required cutlery, dinner plates and glasses, along with some tea light candles (for romance),  a blanket to sit on, a book of poetry to share with each other and a fun game to play. 

  

A bottle of sparkling apple juice was the finishing touch.  I then packed it into our picnic basket . . .  its a red metal one with chrome handles that I bought several years back.  

I think its really pretty, although in all truth a wicker one is better as this one is quite heavy once you get it packed.  It didn't all quite fit inside, but no matter we weren't going very far . . . 

 

And with there being two of us, we carried the juice separately along with the bread, games and poetry.  

As I said, we did not have far to go!

 

My husband was pleasantly surprised when he got home.  I put some nice music on for us to listen to and in all truth, we sat at the table  . . .  these old bones of ours are not fond of floor sitting, not anymore  . . . 

 

It was a really nice spread . . . 

  

 

I had my chicken salad on salad greens . . .  my husband, of course,  did not.  Oh well . . .

 

The star of course was the chicken salad.  I did the Buffalo Chicken version and it was absolutely fabulous. 

The recipe comes from a magazine on chicken that I bought at the grocery store the last time I was visiting Canada.  Its a lovely basic recipe . . . . 

 

And then of course there are ten different variations . . .  sure to suit every taste!

 

This really was a lot of fun! And it didn't really take a lot of effort on my part.

 

It made a change from the usual Winter bill of fare  . . . 

  

And injected a bit of sunshine and romance into what was simply a cold, blustery, rainy day! 

 

Even if you don't want to do something like this for Valentines Day, it would be fun to just do it on any day to help chase away the Winter doldrums's and blues.   

Happy Sunday and Bon Appetit! 

 

There is not a lot of cooking going on here at the moment with our cooker being out of service!  We have an engineer booked to come and have a look at it on Monday, and God willing, he will be able to fix it!  Fingers crossed! Cookers are big ticket items!  In the meantime after  figuring out what it would cost to eat out for five days, we purchased a counter-top hot plate, which will be great for heating up soups, scrambling eggs, etc.  I don't think there will be any real cooking going on, but you never know.  Today we had some delicious Roast Beef, Horseradish and Baby Rocket Sandwiches, along with some Deli potato Salad and Cheese Slaw.  They went down a real treat.  I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you my rules and tips on how to make a better sandwich.

 

I can tell you that the whole time I was growing up, I never had a horrible sandwich made by my mother.  Mom made the best sandwiches and I learnt a lot from watching her.  Even a humble sandwich of white bread and Heinz sandwich spread was a feast. 

How many times have you been disappointed with a purchased sandwich . . .  dry bread . . .  lack of filling . . .  tasteless filling, etc. Too many times for me to count, in my experience.  I don't know how they can get something which is so simple so very wrong, but more often than not they do! 

 

Making your own Sandwiches doesn't really take a lot of effort or time. There are a few rules to follow however, which will help to make your sandwiches/butties/sarnies to be the best darned ones on the block!  These are my tips and secrets, and now they can be yours too! 

 

Any sandwich worth making, or eating is worthy of only the best ingredients. If you start with the best, you are well on your way to a fine eating experience.  I like to use quality bread, and the freshest bread that I can.  I also like to use interesting bread.  Sour Dough loaves, whole grain breads, seeded buns,  French Baguettes, and even the humble sliced white bread can make for a really great sandwich if you start with the best and the freshest you can find.  Today I used fresh store baked Croissants.  The starch/bread/wrap is one of the key factors in your sandwich.  Why stint on quality, when to do so can make a huge difference between making a sandwich, or making a SANDWICH!  Just make sure that the bread you choose is sturdy enough to stand up to the filling you are going to use.  Quality and care can make a huge difference between a sandwich that isn't worthy and a sandwich that will hold up to a journey and be able to stand for several hours prior to eating.

Fresh meats, fish, or cheeses . . .  fresh vegetables . . .  quality condiments, all of these things go a long ways towards building a better buttie.  Do NOT stint on any of these items.  

 

Choose the right bread for the right filling.  Chewier, crustier bread works well with study fillings, softer bread works best with soft fillings.  For instance serving an egg salad on a very chewy crusty bread doesn't work. By the time you have chewed through the bread, half of your filling is escaping from the edges and falling into your lap. Not all breads and fillings are created equal.  Texture is important. On a softer bread you might be able to get away with more filling, but on a super crusty bread this can be disastrous. Be judicious about balance between your choice of bread, your filling and the amounts you choose to use.

 

So now you have gathered all of your ingredients, and they are the best, and balanced, and you are ready to begin . . .  in all truth, even with all of these factors in place, you can still ruin a sandwich by not treating it properly.  Spread any sandwich which is going to have a wet filling generously with butter, or mayonnaise, and right to the edges of the bread.  This helps to provide a barrier which can prevent a soggy filling from soaking into the bread.  It also helps to prevent dry corners which will only end up being discarded in the trash, uneaten.  Don't be chintzy with any of your condiments really, but do remember there is a fine line between just enough and over the top.  You also don't want them to overwhelm the sandwich.  So a thin even spread of butter works well, and then any other condiment you are using, bearing in  mind that strong flavours need to be used sparingly or they will completely take over and can even create an inedible sandwich.  When I first moved here to the UK, I had no idea of how really strong English Mustard was.  I was slathering it on my husband's sandwiches just like regular American Mustard.  It was only once he told me that it was blowing his head off I realised that less was actually more. 

  

When using sliced meats and cheeses, I find that they work much better when thinly sliced.  It is easy to layer them, and you can create something much more visually beautiful. They are also easier to bite through, when they are thinly sliced.  Also layer them evenly so that you don't end up with more in the middle than you do at the edges.  I like to put any vegetables on first, after the mayonnaise or horseradish or mustard, chutney, etc.  

Make sure your vegetables are washed and dried.  I slice tomatoes super thin and then layer, it is the same with cucumbers, or pickles, lettuces or any other vegetables.   I often use my  Essential 5-in-1 vegetable shredder to slice my vegetables. It is  a really handy tool to have in the kitchen.  Easy to use, clean, store and maintain.  I love it and use it a lot.  You can find out more here. 

 

If you are taking your sandwiches on a journey, either to school, or work, or even on a picnic, you will want to make sure that you have cut them into manageable shapes and sizes. I like to cut them either in half diagonally or horizontally, depending on where I am going with them.  If I am going on a picnic, cutting them in half horizontally makes them much easier to pack.  

If I am eating them at home, cutting them in half diagonally is perfect, and if you are using them for a tea party, removing the crusts and then cutting them into smaller sized shapes is best, not much more than two bite size. 

If you are packing them to go, make sure that you wrap them well in either greaseproof/waxed paper, plastic cling film, or even bees-wax wraps (best for the environment) to help to keep them fresh. Make sure you store them in a sturdy container or box to help prevent them from being crushed.

If you have some really wet ingredients/add-ins you might even want to store them separately, ready to add to the sandwich at the last minute.  That way you can be really sure that your sandwiches won't be soggy. 

If you are making sandwiches ahead to serve for something like a tea party, I cover them with damp paper towels or tea towels.  Just wet the towels with cold water and then squeeze out as much of the water that you can.  Lay the towels gently over the top of the sandwiches, covering them completely, and store in a refrigerator, until you are ready to lay them out, uncovering them only at the last minute.  They will stay fresher longer.

 

By choosing the right ingredients, layering them proportionately, and with care, you can always be assured that you are going to have a great sandwich, that everyone will be able to enjoy.  Look for a balance in flavours and structure.  Its never pleasant to eat a sandwich that is falling apart as you are eating it, or whose fillings are slipping out the sides and back.  Its also not nice to eat a sandwich whose flavour is completely over-powered by the strongest flavoured ingredient in the mix! By following these simple hints and tips you can be sure that every sandwich, even a simple one,  is a feast to be enjoyed!  Bon Appetit!