I'm feeding the missionaries again tonight and you know how much I love to spoilt them! They're great lads who work really hard and they deserve a little extra TLC and some lovin from the oven.
They're out pouding the pavement on the Lord's errand every day, and at this time of year that is sometimes most unpleasant, what with wind and cold and rain . . . but they never complain. I admire them for that. (You can't even get me to walk the dog on a day like today. I am such a lazy cow . . . and I just hate cold wind!)
Today I thought I'd make them a tasty little treat that they could all enjoy, and at the same time get rid of a few Christmas bits and bobs . . . like chocolate and stuff . . . and biscuits. I mean . . . you can't have those types of things hanging around in January can you? January is supposed to be about casting off the old and putting on the new . . . about eating a bit healthier after all the excess of December . . .
Anyways, these tasty bars are the ideal way of using up some chocolate bits and bobs, and those last few biscuits in the tin, and whatever else you may want to throw in . . . just so long as it's scrummy and the flavours don't clash.
Sweet and buttery with little bites of crunch and then creaminess . . . the recipe doesn't call for the frosting . . . but I had some that I wanted to use up and I thought . . . why not throw a few smarties on top as well for even more colour and crunch.
Did you know that the orange ones taste like oranges??? I know! Genius! (Is it just me or are Smarties not as brightly coloured as they used to be when I was a kid???)
*Chocolate Chip Tray Bake*
Makes 12 large pieces
Printable Recipe
This is perfect for elevenses or after school!
250g of butter at room temperature (1 cup)
250g of golden caster sugar ( 1 cup plus 2 tsp)
4 large free range eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla essence
250g of self raising flour (2 cups)
2 tsp baking powder
75g of milk chocolate chips (1/2 cup)
75g of white chocolate chips (1/2 cup)
100g of sugar coated chocolate drops (ie smarties, M&M's etc., 1/2 cup)
5 biscuits, crushed (digestives, malted milk, oreo's, etc. whatever you want to use)
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter and line the bottom of a shallow baking tray, about 13 by 9 inches in size. Set aside.
Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Cream in the sugar, then beat in the eggs, one at a time. Sift together the flour and baking powder and then gently fold into the creamed mixture, taking care not to over work it. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Pour into the prepared tin, leveling off the surface.
Bake for about 45 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool in the tray. Cut into squares to serve.
Over in The Cottage today, I'm cooking Braised Kale, oh so delicious! (And healthy!)
One thing that I love most about the Holiday Leftovers is that deliciously meaty ham bone left from the New Year's ham. In these days of austerity, it only makes sense to get as much bang as we can out of the money we spend on our food budget.
I had a mom who could make a delicious soup out of anything, and often did. We never ever minded having soup for supper. It was one of our most looked forward to meals and even now when we go home to visit . . . a visit isn't complete without having a feast on one of her homemade soups at least once. One of our favourite soups that she would make was her Pea Soup. She always used the whole dried yellow peas . . .
I can't get them over here, but I can get the split yellow peas and they taste pretty similar. Mom would simmer the hambone in her special mixture of boiled water, herbs, and peas all afternoon until it was soooo deliciously comforting and filling.
She always put some carrot into it along with some peeled potato. The carrot gave it a bit of colour and an extra depth of flavour . . . she claimed that the potato absorbed any excess salt from the hambone.
We used to love it if we got a piece of the carrot and the potato in our bowl. We saw them as a real treasure. I always made sure that when I made this delicious soup for my family that there was a piece of carrot and potato for each person's bowl.
Coz I'm like that. Fair. This is delicious. Most recipes that are handed down from our mom's are. That's coz there is love attached and a beautiful history.
*Ham and Split Pea Soup*
Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe
This was always my favourite soup when I was growing up. My mother always used whole dried peas, but I haven't been able to find them over here. I just use the split and it always tastes pretty good regardless. It requires very little effort and more or less makes itself really.
1 ham hock, or leftover bone from a roasted ham
(make sure there are lots of meaty bits still clinging to the bone)
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise
and then cut in half again so that you have four pieces
1 large potato, peeled and cut into four large chunks
(my mom always said that the potato absorbed any excess salt from the ham)
1 bay leaf, broken in half
1 tsp of summer savoury (if you cannot find savoury,
use a combination of marjoram and thyme)
freshly ground black pepper
8 cups of boiling water
2 cups split peas (I prefer the yellow ones myself,
but you could also use green ones if you like)
Put all the ingredients into a large pot on top of the stove and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and then skim off any scum that may float to the top, and discard. Partially cover and simmer for an hour and a half or so, until the peas are quite soft and the meat is falling off the bone.
Remove the ham hock from the pot. Discard the skin, any fat and the bone. Cut the meat into large shinks and put it back into the pot. Skim any fat off of the top of the soup that you can and discard. Fish out the bay leaf and discard as well. Taste and adjust seasoning as required, adding salt and pepper to taste. I normally find it doesn't need any salt, but a healthy grinding of black pepper goes down well.
Spoon the hot soup into heated bowls, trying to give each person a piece of potato, carrot and some meat. Enjoy!!!
Note - If you find your soup is too thick, you can add some boiling water to it, adjusting the seasoning as required.
Over in The Cottage today some delicious Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies!
Time for another recipe that I have had kicking around in my Big Blue Binder for years and years. Meat Loaf Pie!
When I was a child I did not like meatloaf at all. I didn't like minced meat at all! My mom always bought the really cheap stuff that was full of grease, gristle and bits of bone.
I hated it. Every time we had it I wanted to gag . . . it was not my favourite thing at all.
I could never understand the false economy of buying cheap mince . . . half of it gets drained away in fat . . .
I'd rather pay more and get my money's worth. I always buy extra lean minced steak and it is worth every extra penny.
We do like meatloaf in this house, but sometimes I want the flavour of a good meatloaf, but in a lot less time than it takes to cook a regular meatloaf!
This tasty Meatloaf Pie recipe fits the bill on all counts. You get all the yums from meatloaf, but in half the time and with a lot less faffing about!
You press the meatloaf mixture into a pie tin so it cooks in about 1/3 of the time.
I still use the traditional toppings of a tasty ketchup and brown sugar glaze, some cheddar cheese and streaky bacon.
It is some delicious. I serve it cut into wedges along with some fluffy homemade mash and green beans or cabbage.
It always goes down a real treat. This is a doddle really.
Family Food = Comfort Food. It's a real favourite with the missionaries too!
*Meat Loaf Pie*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
A lot quicker to make than a regular meatloaf and delicious as can be! A real family favourite!
1 tin (5 ounces) evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed)
2 ounces dried fine bread crumbs (1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 single serving envelope of cup of soup (I like to use the cream of
mushroom or the onion)
1 pound of extra lean minced beef
To top:
2 ounces tomato ketchup (about 1/3 cup)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried mustard powder
1 dessert spoon of brown sugar
4 ounces strong cheddar cheese, grated ( 1 cup)
6 slices of streaky bacon, partially cooked and cut in half lengthwise
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 5. Lightly grease a 9 inch pie tin and set aside.
Whisk together the evaporated milk, bread crumbs, garlic salt, pepper and soup mix in a bowl. Crumble the meat over top and then mix it in, combining everything together well. Spread into the prepared pie tin, pressing it onto the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Whisk together the ketchup, oregano, mustard powder and brown sugar. Remove the pie tin from the oven. Spread this on top of the meatloaf. Top with the grated cheese and the bacon. Bake 5 to 10 minutes longer until cooked completely through and the bacon has crisped somewhat and the cheese has melted.
Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into wedges to serve. We like to have mashed potatoes and a green vegetable with this.
Note : This is also very easy to double. You can bake one and put the other, minus the toppings, in the freezer so that you have a delicious meal ready at your fingertips whenever you need one! You can cook from frozen, but of course it will take a bit longer.
There are purists out there that would call foul at anyone who stoops so low as to use a tin of creamed soup in a recipe. If you are one of those people . . . then look away now.
While I never ever would eat a tin of cream soup as, well . . . a bowl of soup, they do have their uses.
Having been brought up on the odd tin of Campbell's myself, I am not so much of a culinary snob that I am adverse to using a tin here and there in a recipe.
There are some recipes where nothing else will do. And I embrace those from time to time. I don't see it as cheating, or being lazy. It's a part of my heritage. I don't apologize for it.
Especially when it comes to making these delicious meatballs! Ok, so they are more like tiny beef patties, but . . . we'll just call them flat meatballs and give them the respect that they are due!
These are wonderful. After all the turkey and ham and fruitcake and Christmas Cake and mince pies of the past few weeks . . . they were also a very welcome respite!
Cream of crud soup or no. They spell comfort. C-O-M-F-O-R-T
Yes . . . I did have a Campbell's Soup Doll when I was a kid. I saved up soup labels and pennies for months to get one and I cherished it.
That's what you do to things you really have to work hard to acquire . . . you cherish them. And I cherish the memory of Campbell's soup on a cold winter's day.
Especially Tomato with a Grilled Cheese Sandwich on the side. I can't help myself.
So back to the meatballs. They are deliciously, dare I say it again . . . S-C-R-U-M-M-Y!
Another winner from my Big Blue Binder. Perfect for these early days of January when you want to get as far away from Christmas food as possible.
*Flat Meatballs & Gravy*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
This is a recipe I have had kicking around in my big blue binder for a long time. Simple ingredients, easy to make but fabulous flavours!
1 pound extra lean minced steak
1 egg yolk, beaten
1/4 cup whole milk (60ml)
1 heaped dessertspoon of flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 small onion, peeled and grated
Also:
a bit of butter and oil for frying
1 tin of condensed cream of mushroom soup
1
25 ml of milk (1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp summer savoury
the other half of the onion, grated
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.
Mix all the meatball ingredients together in a bowl, mixing it together with your hands.
Melt a bit of butter together with some oil in a skillet over medium heat, until the butter starts to foam.
Scoop out the meat mixture using a dessertspoon and shaping it into balls. Flatten the balls slightly and then brown them on each side in the heated pan.
Repeat to brown all meatballs. Keep warm.
Whisk together the soup, milk, summer savoury, grated onion and worcestershire sauce. Pour into a shallow casserole dish.
Add the browned meat balls, turning them to coat. Bake in the heated oven for 30 minutes, turning them once during the baking period.
Serve hot with some cooked rice and a vegetable on the side. Delicious!
All week I have been pondering what will be the first recipe I post on here for 2012. Ohh . . . so many recipes to choose from . . . I could drive myself mad with choice you know! I have that many cook books.
My favourite cook books though are not the ones that come with the fancy covers, filled with pretty and delicious looking pictures . . . written by this month's flavour of the month celebrity chef or otherwise . . .
They are my Big Blue Binder and a couple of notebooks where, throughout the years, I have laboriously copied out the creme de la creme of recipes . . . recipes gifted to me by friends and family. Recipes developed and tweaked through years of trial and error, until I have gotten them just so . . so . . . perfect. Well, perfect for me at any rate.
This is simple food using simple ingredients with wowsa wowsa flavours. Tried and true. Family and husband tested . . . our absolute favourites. I did write a book with some of the best ones in it a few years back. You can find it here. I'm quite proud of it as I did it all myself . . . I know a publisher would have done a better job probably, but I did my best, and that's what counts.
Anyways, so back to the recipe. I decided to make these apple dumplings for several reasons. One . . . they aren't something that I make very often, like maybe only ever 5 or 6 years. (They are good artery cloggers and hip expanders!!!)
Two, I wanted to spoil my husband with one of his favourite things for the New Year. He loves anything with apple in it.
Three . . . the crunch is on to get ready for two family weddings in June/July . . . so . . . diet time starts today . . . I have to really cut back on the goodies now. I thought . . . why not go out with a real humdinger!
And so . . . I did. I don't regret even one mouthful. So there.
*Old Fashioned Apple Dumplings*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe
I don't know anyone who doesn't love these. They're fantastic, and they're not as difficult to make as one would suppose.
6 medium sized firm cooking apples (I used granny smiths)
2 TBS lemon juice
3.5 ounces granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
soft light brown sugar
2 TBS butter
enough pastry for 2 10-inch pie crusts
For the sauce:
500ml of water (2 cups)
5 ounces granulated sugar (about 3/4 cup)
2 TBS butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
Cream for serving
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Have ready a 9 by 13 by 2 inch baking pan, which you have lightly buttered.
Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle measuring 14 by 21 inches. Cut into six even squares. Whisk together the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
Peel and core the apples, leaving whole. Put the lemon juice in a bowl and roll the apples in this, then roll them into the bowl of cinnamon sugar to coat. Place each apple into the centre of one pastry square. Fill the cavity of each apple with 2 TBS soft light brown sugar and 1 tsp of butter. Pull up the sides of the pastry squares to cover each apple, crimping the edges tightly shut. Place into the prepared pan.
Bake for 1/2 hour.
In the meantime, combine the sauce ingredients in a saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to the boil and cook rapidly for 1 minute. After the dumplings have been cooking for 1/2 hour, pour the sauce over top and then return to the oven, continuing to bake for a further 1/2 hour, basting occasionally.
Serve warm with cream for pouring. Delicious.
Over in The Cottage today, the extreme opposite from such decadence . . . Green Beans Almondine!
Source: google.com via Stephanie on Pinterest
Well, here we are at the end of another year! I don't know how it happened. This year has just flown by with amazing speed! It's been a wonderful year though . . . with lots of good cooking and happy times shared with loved ones, friends and YOU!
Food shared with friends is the best food ever and I have really enjoyed sharing my culinary repasts with each of you over the past twelve months. I thought it would be a fun exercise today to go back over some of the most popular recipes posted in 2011, and so . . . without further adieu I bring you the deliciousness that was 2011!!
January . . .
One of my favourite posts in the month of January was the one where I did a proper English High Tea for the Toddster . . . just to break the monotony of a boring month! Oh we did have a very tasty repast with Finger Sandwiches, Jam Tarts, little Cake Fancies, Florentines and a glorious Victorian Sponge. It was great fun and something we both really enjoyed. I may do it again this year. It sure pepped up what is usually a pretty dull month!!
February . . .
Aside from the usual Valentines treats in February, I treated us to a delicious Lamb Stew with Feather Dumplings. We're both big stew nuts in this house, and this lamb stew was most delicious with it's rich gravy, tender lamb and those feather dumplings which are to die for! You can never go wrong with a delicious stew. It's my husband's favourite dish . . . next to a hearty meat pie that is!
March . . .
March brought with it the tease of spring on the horizon and with it some sunnier and brighter days. My favourite recipe that I made that month, hands down had to be the Apple and Blackberry Crumble Pavlova! Oh my but it was scrumdiddlyumptious and oh so pretty! Apple and Blackberries together, plus Crumble has to be one of my favourite combinations and to have them all together in a delicious Pavlova, well that was pure genius, if I don't say so myself!
April . . .
April brought with it some very mild temperatures and a fabulous Royal Wedding. I don't know who wasn't glued to the telly on the day that Prince William and Kate got married! It was a great day of celebration the world over and I think they are just the sweetest couple ever . . . and the sweetest recipe that month had to be The World's Best Gingerbread Cake with a Spiced Lemon Sauce. In fact I do believe that it is one of the most popular recipes on my site, getting the most hits on average. And to tell the truth, it is indeed very scrummy!! I am not in the habit of calling something the World's Best unless I actually think it is the world's best!!
May . . .
Spring had truly arrived and we were in the midst of busily planting the garden out and enjoying the warmer sunnier days. I do believe spring is one of my favourite seasons and we celebrated it deliciously with these scrummy Cranberry, Pecan and White Chocolate Flapjacks. Flapjacks are not something I had ever run across before moving over to the UK, but I have to say that I have totally embraced them with all of my heart. They are indeed such a wonderful treat, and these Cranberry, Pecan and White chocolate ones are the best!
June . . .
The warm days of June brought with it more light foods, salads and the like. We were enjoying harvesting young beans and peas from the garden. I created this deliciously delightful Summer Pea, New Potato and Pesto Tart which was one of my absolute favourites, because not only was it different, but it was beautiful to behold and oh so delicious as well!
July . . .
July brought a delightful trip down to Ipswich and Jimmy's Farm along with my friend Julie. What a fabulous couple of days we had together, touring the farm, meeting Jimmy, taking a lovely butcher class and eating some fab food. I was ever so impressed with his animal husbandry and farm and restaurant. It was just a wonderful experience altogether, and of course we all were able to bring home some fabulous meat. The Toddster is a real pork chop afficionado and he absolutely delighted in these wonderful Grilled Chops with a Hoisin Marinade and Glaze that I made with some of that lovely pork I brought back from the farm.
August . . .
We really didn't have much of a summer weather wise really. It was cold and wet and gloomy. I think we actually had our summer back in April . . . but shhhh . . . I'm not complaining. If it wasn't for the bad weather we'd never be able to truly appreciate the good! One of the favourite things I cooked in August had to be this Apple and Blackberry In and Out dessert that I got from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's mom's cookery book, The Great Granny Cookbook. It's one of my favourite cookbooks, and for good reason . . . it's filled with a lot of fantastically tasty recipes! This was the perfect dessert in which to make good use of the early season apples and those blackberries which ripened early due to having had such an early spring!
September . . .
We were away to Cumbria on our holidays with Mitzie in September . . . a holiday which just happened to co-incide with Katrina the hurricanes visit to our beautiful Sceptred Isle. It was a holiday filled to overflowing with rain, wind, rain, wind and ever more rain and wind. We still managed to enjoy ourselves anyways, even if we did arrive back home here a few days earlier than planned. (There is only so much you can occupy yourself with in a cottage in the middle of nowhere when you have an antsy cocker spaniel with you and you have left your warm coat and boots back home!) In any case we did enjoy some fab food, which is always a plus. Something that I did cook that we really enjoyed back home though was this delicious Gratin of Chard, created with some fabulous Rainbow Swiss Chard I received in my bi-weekly Vegetable box at the end of the month. My but it was some good!
October . . .
October brought us lots of deliciousness with Blue Cheese and Cheddar Stovies and the like. My favourite recipe of the month though had to be the Apple Pie Roll Ups with Custard! It was so easy and soooooo delicious! I always welcome the cooler months and the heartier recipes that come with them, don't you? I like salads too . . . but I am a glutton for autumn and winter food!
Oh please, I must show you two . . . as these were real winners as well . . .
Baked Hot Dogs Cooked one week for some hungry missionaries who really enjoyed!!
November . . .
November was full of delicious things as well, not the least of which was this fabulous Chocolate Cola Cake. The Toddster is not a real fan of chocolate cakes, but I tortured him anways because I just adore Chocolate Cake and I had some cola that I needed to road test. Oh my but this has to be the creme de la creme of chocolate cakes. SOOOOO fabulous!
It wasn't all about cake and chocolate though . . .
This Pan Roasted Butternut Squash Lasagne also went down really well . . . ahem . . . rich, delicious and very, very addictive!
Which brings us to
December . . .
There was plenty of deliciousness in December too, with all of the holiday foods and treats, but I think the Rumpled Pizza Buns deserve an honorable mention . . . coz . . . one, I love Pizza . . . two, they were easy to make . . . and three, most important of all . . . THEY WERE DELICIOUS!
So that was 2011 . . . 372 recipes . . . each one delicious in it's own right. I do hope that you enjoyed the journey through the year right along with me. Here's to 2012 and even more deliciousness!!
Happy New Year one and all!
Over in The Cottage today, the Perfect Lemon Tart!
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