This is an old standby of ours. Something that I make quite often and something that we both really enjoy. I got it from a Good Food Magazine a number of years ago. You can't go wrong with a recipe from BBC Good Food in my opinion. They're the best.



I always have chicken breasts in the deepfreeze . . .



I often have cherry tomatoes on the vine . . . although to be honest, the vine part is more for aesthetics than anything else. Any tomato would taste good in this, even larger ones . . . quartered.



The tomatoes get all sweet and rich, and taste delicious mashed into the lucious cheese sauce that magically appears . . .



a delicious combination of melted cheese, cream and the juices from the chicken.



Make sure you cook something worthy of soaking of all those flavourful juices to serve up along side of this . . .



things like rice, potatoes, pasta and broccoli go really well.

mmmm . . . this is really scrummy.




*Cheesy Chicken Rarebits*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

One of our favourite meals. The chicken always turns out tender and you end up with a delicious cheesy sauce that is delicious spooned over the chicken and potatoes, rice or whatever it is you choose to serve with the meal. We like potatoes. Make sure you squash the roasted tomatoes into the sauce as well when you eat it. Fabulous!

4 skinless, boneless free range chicken breasts
140g strong cheddar cheese, grated (a scant 1 1/4 cup)
1 rounded dessertspoon of grainy mustard
3 fluid ounces single cream
4 small bunches of cherry tomatoes on the vine
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Slice the chicken breasts through the middle almost all the way, leaving a bit of a hinge at one end. Fan them out and place them into a lightly oiled shallow baking dish. (Make sure it is large enough to hold all of the chicken breasts in a single layer.) Season them lightly with some salt and pepper.

Mix the cheese, cream and mustard together in a bowl. Spoon this mixture evenly over top of the chicken. No need to smooth it down, it works fine in dollops. Place the tomatoes, leaving them on the vine, around the chicken in the dish. Bang it into the oven and bake it for 20 to 30 minutes, until the chicken is golden brown and the tomatoes are squashy and nicely roasted.

Serve the chicken divided onto heated serving plates, along with some of the roasted tomatoes and some of the deliciously cheesy sauce spooned over top.

Todd went in to town on his own today, and I was left here at home on my own. It was a beautifully sunny day, and he fancied a walk about the town. With my osteo-arthritis I am not so great at walking great distances these days. I don't really mind him going in on his own. I am happy that he is able to do it . . . although I do miss going in with him sometimes.



I stay behind most of the time these days, and putter about here in the house . . . drawing . . . painting . . . baking and cooking. We are content to please ourselves, and then we come together at the end of the day, him armed with his tales of what's going on in Chester, and me armed with a plate of cakes or some such.



Today I thought I would take advantage of his absence and make myself some pasta for my lunch. He had a McDonald's coupon for a quarter pounder with cheese and fries, so I knew he would be well fed regardless.



I just love pasta and I hardly ever have it because Todd hates it. I know . . . there's no accounting for some people's taste! It takes all kinds!



I'm just happy with a big bowl of buttered macaroni, mixed with some tinned tomatoes and a slice of bread and butter, but I thought today that I would do something just a bit fancier.



And so I did.  The recipe does feed four, but I was quite able to cut it back to make a single serving sized dish just for me.  It would actually look nice baked in four single serving sized casseroles or oven proof bowls for your family.  Who wouldn't like a casserole that was just for them?



Fussili coated in a delicously scrumptious tomato sauce, chock full of black olives and baked under a mountain of fresh mozzarella until the cheese is scrummily meltingly oozingly delish.

Need I say more?



*Baked Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

One of my little indulgences. A flavourful tomato sauce, with pasta and mozzarella cheese, baked in the oven until the mozzarella is meltingly scrummy.

1 TBS olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and minced
1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and minced
1 small carrot, peeled and minced
1 stalk of celery, trimmed and minced
1 tsp of freeze dried basil
1 tsp of freeze dried oregano
1 tsp brown sugar
pinch of cloves
1 tsp sherry vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 (400g) tin of chopped plum tomatoes in juice, undrained (14 ounce)
1 3/4 ounces of small black olives, pitted and halved (about 1/4 cup)
10 1/2 ounces of cooked pasta (I like fusilli or penne, but you can even use elbow macaroni)
1 ball of fresh mozzarella cheese, torn into bits

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter 4 individual shallow gratin dishes. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the carrot, celery and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for a further 5 minutes. Add the un-drained tin of tomatoes, basil, oregano, sugar, cloves and vinegar. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a quick simmer and cook for a further 5 to 10 minutes, until slightly thickened. Stir in the olives and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir this mixture into the cooked pasta.

Divide the pasta mixture evenly among-st the gratin dishes. Dot each with some torn mozzarella. Place on a baking tray and slice into the preheated oven. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

The people at Eddingtons recently sent me some lovely new products to try out and review.  I've spent a few days using them now and am ready to tell you all about them.

First up the Salt Genie  . . .

























The new Salt Genie dispenser has been specially engineered to prevent salt from clogging and to keep it free flowing.

Humidity and moisture in the kitchen and food preparation area can cause salt to clog. With its innovative Dri-Shoot design, moisture never reaches salt kept inside a Salt Genie. This means even if your work top is wet or your kitchen is humid the salt remains free flowing.





















The Salt Genie is also the healthier way to season food as it will evenly, but not excessively distribute salt over your food, preventing too much salt from being poured as can often be done with traditional salt shakers. The internal Dri-Shoot eliminates clogging in humid conditions making the Salt Genie the ideal kitchen gadget to take with you on camping holidays, sailing trips or when abroad.

 Made from clear plastic the dispenser is easy to clean and because it is a closed unit there is less likelihood of dirt contaminating the salt. The Salt Genie is simply to fill and refill, the base simply unscrews.

As a person with High Blood Pressure, I think this is a great way to help me limit my salt intake.  I've been using this for several days now and the salt has stayed free flowing also.   That can be a problem here in the UK where we have a very damp climate.  It's an attractive design as well, with sleek lines, it looks nice sitting on the table.

Salt Genie, available at Play.com for £6.99

























Another new product are the Sage Cutting Boards.    I was sent the 6 X 8 inch Bar Board.





















Sage is the professional choice in durable food prep surfaces. Sage culinary surfaces are the essential work platform of professional kitchens. Extremely durable & dishwasher safe, Sage surfaces offer the character and performance of wood. They come with a lifetime guarantee so you know you can count on the quality. Sage wood fiber laminate is environmentally friendly, made from FSC Certified wood pulp.

These boards are American made, knife friendly, dishwasher safe and heat resistant, and available in two colours . . .  slate and natural. The Bar Board is perfect for slicing the lemon or lime for your pre-dinner drink. The Chop Board comes in two sizes and these boards are perfect for using daily for all your food preparation. If you enjoy making your own bread or pasta then why not treat yourself to the Scraper. Fitting easily into your hand the Scraper will help you to combine your wet and dry ingredients and help to ensure you get all the mixture out of your mixing bowl or off your work surface.


There is nothing worse than a chopping board that moves when you are chopping vigorously. To help prevent this from happening many cooks place a damp cloth underneath their board however Sage has the answer with their Non-Skid Chop Board. Thanks to the boards non-slip base , the board won’t move whilst it is being used.  




















The Sage range is stylish enough that the boards can be used to take food to the table. With its in built groove to catch meat juices the Carving Board is ideal for carving your Sunday joint. If you’re a fan of pizza why not treat yourself to the Pizza Peel (available in Slate only), it’s the perfect way of serving up your favourite slice of Italy.  

























The fact that I can just pop them in the dishwasher and sanitize them really appeals to me.  I am a bit pedantic about my cutting boards, especially after using them for poultry. The bar board is small but so convenient to grab for small tasks. The little leaf cut out in the corner is very handy for holding or hanging it up.

I really like that the surface will not dull my knives and yet is dense enough to not allow deep slice marks that can harbor bacteria. With a Lifetime Warranty, I am very impressed that this is a surface that will last at least twice as long as wood, bamboo, cork, or plastic boards.

Available from Knives and Tools in a varying price range.

Many thanks to Eleanor and the people at Eddingtons for sending me these new products to try out!

We love banana loaves in this house.  I am not overly fond of eating bananas themselves, but bake them into a loaf or pie or cookie and I am all over them.  The Toddster could eat a raw banana every day.  I actually have to hide bananas so that I can bake with them . . .

 

This is my all time favourite banana bread.  Okay . . . I know . . . I say that about every banana bread I bake.  I guess I just love banana breads and this one shines!



Stogged with beautiful jewel-like dried cranberries, and crunchy toasted English walnuts, it is pleasing on many levels!



It's moreishly moist . . . with sticky little sweet bits and crunchy nutty nobbles scattered throughout.   It's lovely eaten plain and out of hand . . .



Or gently warmed and spread with cold butter . . .

 

It's gorgeous toasted and spread with butter . . . the stale bread makes great French Toast, or bread pudding . . . I hardly ever have any that goes stale however, it's that good.



It's also my next door neighbors' favourite banana bread that I bake for them.   I usually send half of it over to them every time I bake it.  They love it and I love to give.  It's win/win really!  Put it this way, they've never turned the gifting of  it down . . . never.

I was recently sent a lovely selection of the Nielsen Massey flavored extracts to use in my baking.  I have long been a fan of their Vanilla extract.  It's one of my favorites and it's been nice trying out some of the other flavours such as the Lemon, Peppermint, Almond and Chocolate!    I decided to make some waffles using the chocolate and vanilla flavors, along with a salted caramel sauce, also using the vanilla.



This is just my regular waffle recipe with a few additions.  One this lovely Nielsen Massey Chocolate extract, to give it a bit of chocolate ooomph!  And some pure chocolate chips.  I used my heart shaped waffle iron because I was making these for my sweetie pie and I do like to remind him of how much I love him every chance I get!



These are the perfect waffle.  Crisp and light, slightly moist.  The chocolate chips melted perfectly into them . . .  kind of making them taste like big crisp buttery chocolate chip cookies, except better . . . because they're waffles.



The salted caramel sauce was the perfect go with . . . sweet and a little bit salty and oh so caramel rich.  Chocolate and salted caramel . . .  the perfect combination.  



Just look at how it hugs all those crisp little waffle nooks and crannies . . .  crevices and corners . . . deliciously oozing over that buttery goodness . . .



The most difficult part was in trying to decide if these were breakfast or dessert???  With just the caramel sauce . . . breakfast . . .



A bit of squirty cream and they became dessert.   Breakfast or dessert . . .  hmmm . . .  the choice is yours!  I loved them both ways!  But then again . . .  I am somewhat of a glutton.  Good thing this is a once in a blue moon treat!



*Chocolate Chip Waffles with a Salted Caramel Sauce*












 Nielsen Massey Extracts and Flavorings are enjoyed by restaurant and bakery chefs, manufacturers of premium foods, gourmet food shops and grocers and discriminating home consumers looking to enhance their fine cooking and baking.  Family owned and now being operated by a third generation  of Nielsens they are available at fine shops all over the UK and throughout the world. They use the finest ingredients and methods to produce what I think is an excellent and quality product.   I have long used their vanilla and am now a big fan of their other flavors as well.  Watch this space!

Many thanks to Joanna for sending me this lovely selection and to Nielsen Massey.

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For more recipes and information check out their website.

We don't have a fourth of July Celebrations here in the UK, probably because it was one of the wars we lost.  If we did have one, it would probably be rained out anyways.   

Have you ever seen  a recipe which made you want to run into the kitchen and immediately make it?  That is how it was for me the other day when I saw this recipe for Navaho Tacos on a site called Cooking Classy.  Actually I have seen several versions of this through the years, but for some reason her's just made me want to make them NOW.



I actually didn't make her filling.  I had some ground turkey which needed using and so I made my own ground turkey filling, but I did use her recipe for the Navaho Fry Bread.   My first couple of breads were a bit haphazard and oddly shaped, but I had it sorted by the time I had done a few and the rest were perfect.



The trick it to use a lightly floured rolling pin, a lightly floured surface and to turn the dough a quarter turn with each roll.   They turned out perfect once I got into my stride.  I was cooking one and rolling another one as I went along.



If you want to make a beef filling you can substitute ground beef for the turkey in mine, or you can go over to Cooking Classy and make hers.   We don't have things like fire roasted tomatoes or canned green chilies here in the UK.   I adapt and make my own substitutions for these things.  I love my homemade taco filling, beef or turkey.  It's nice.



I like to use black beans in mine.  They're smaller and I like their colour.   I topped them with grated cheddar, shredded lettuce, sliced black olives, chopped tomatoes and spring onions.  They were delicious.  I don't know why I waited so long to make these.  They were easy to make and quite, quite scrumptious!  I can see me making these the next time we have the missionaries over for their tea.  I think they would LOVE them!