Can you believe that Christmas is only a little over a month away? I know! Its crazy, and it feels like this year has just whizzed by.
Intellectually I know it hasn't, but it sure feels like it!
Every year I tell myself I am going to be ready well ahead of time for the holidays, and every year it sneaks up on me.
I spend the weeks before the big day like a chicken with it's head cut off, running here and running there getting all of my ducks in a row.
Of course my bad back having put me really out of service this past almost two months hasn't helped. I haven't really been able to go far or do much.
Thankfully I am starting to see the end of the tunnel there and things are vastly improved as to what they were pain-wise! Whew!
It is just as well my children didn't come over in November as originally planned as I wouldn't have been able to do very much with them.
So these things always happen for a reason! Hopefully when they come in April I will be 100% at my best!
This quick and easy skillet supper is sure to come in very handy over these next few weeks.
Its a rib-sticking favourite around here!
Todd enjoys it because it is hearty, filling, spicy and delicious!
I like it for all those reasons, plus the fact that it goes together in a flash and doesn't take a lot of prep doesn't hurt in the least!
And . . . there's only one pan to wash at the end of it all. BONUS!
It uses things I always have in my larder for occasions such as this . . . canned Chili with beans. I like the Stag Chili. Cooked white rice.
Over here you can buy it in pouches, all ready to heat up. A few companies make it. Notably Uncle Ben's, Veeta and Tilda.
Most shops have their own versions as well. Other than that all you need is some chopped onion and green pepper and a bit of cheese to scatter on top at the end along with sliced black olives.
It goes together quickly and in all truth, you can have it on the table in less than half an hour total. all you really need on the side is a salad and some crusty bread, if desired.
Fireside Chili Skillet Supper
Yield: 6
A quick and easy dinner that will warm your innards and fill your belly with yum, yum, yum. All you need on the side is perhaps a salad and some crusty bread. Perfect for busy days.
ingredients:
- 2 (425g) tins of chili with beans (15 1/2-oz tins)
- 1 pouch of ready cooked long grain white rice (2 cups)
- 1/2 of a small onion, peeled and minced
- 1/2 of a small green pepper, trimmed and finely chopped
- Sliced black olives
- 60g grated cheddar cheese (1/2 cup)
instructions:
How to cook Fireside Chili Skillet Supper
- Stir together the chili, rice, onion and green pepper in a deep skillet with a tight fitting lid. Place over medium low heat and cover tightly. Stir occasionally and cook for about 20 minutes until heated through and bubbly. Sprinkle with the cheese and olives and continue to cook until the cheese melts. Serve hot.
Don't let the simplicity of this dish fool you into thinking it's no good. This is really very delicious and its a real family pleaser of a supper. I kid you not! Perfect for these busy nights and days we have ahead of us over the next few weeks!
Growing up it was a real treat if my mom bought a box of Pudding Cake mix. It was like magic.
Everything was beaten together, spread in a pan and like magic, it baked a cake with a lush thick sauce on the bottom.
It came in a few different flavours. We weren't picky. We'd eat them all. Dessert wasn't something we had very often when I was growing up.
We might have a scoop of ice cream after supper on Friday night, and maybe on Sundays we would have ice cream with some tinned fruit on top, or our favourite . . . strawberry jam spooned over.
Other than that we got cake on our birthday (and ice cream), dessert at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter and when we had company for dinner, which wasn't very often.
Occasionally though, mom would let us have the treat of something like a pudding cake on Saturday night.
She had been overweight as a child and so was very careful about what we ate.
Here in the UK another name for dessert is Pudding.
In fact all desserts are called pudding, not to be confused with pudding in North America, which is a thick custard type of dessert that is cooked on top of the stove.
I can remember being asked in a restaurant not too soon after I moved over here, after my husband and I had gotten married, did we want any pudding.
I thought to myself . . . hmm . . . I didn't see any on the menu, so I asked the waitress, did they have butterscotch, which is my favourite.
She looked at me like I was from another planet! My husband explained that pudding was what dessert was called over here and it came in the shape of cakes, pies, bakes and puddings!
Usually slathered with additional lashings of custard sauce or pouring cream, or . . . shudder . . . both!!!
And it didn't stop there. Even ice cream was called pudding.
Because Pudding was a course and not a dish. Does that make sense? I hope so.
Anyways, this is a Pudding that is actually a Pudding! haha
A tasty cake pudding that makes its own sauce and it blows those pudding cakes from my childhood right out of the water.
What you end up with is a lush maple flavoured sauce, topped with a maple and apple cake, filled with chunks of sweet/tart Granny Smith apples.
Make sure you don't leave the apple in too big a chunks or they won't cook all the way through.
You want it chopped coarsely, but medium to small coarse.
The sauce is a mix of maple syrup, brown sugar, butter and boiling water which gets poured on top of the cake in the baking tin.
Don't mix the cake or the syrup together no matter what. They are meant to be cake and liquid on top. Make sure your dish is deep enough or the sauce may boil over.
Like magic when it bakes it forms a fluffy cake on top and a lush sauce underneath.
Perfect spooned into bowls and served warm with some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, or yes . . . hubbie's favourite, custard. Delicious!
Yield: 6
Caramel Apple Self-Saucing Pudding
A delicious apple filled pudding that sauces itself. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream on top!
ingredients:
For the cake:
- 175g self rising flour (1 1/4 cup)
- 50g soft light brown sugar (1/4 cup)
- 100g melted butter (scant half cup, 7 TBS)
- 1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
- 120ml milk (1/2 cup)
- 60ml maple syrup (1/4 cup)
- 1 granny smith apple, peeled and coarsely chopped
For the Topping:
- 240ml maple syrup (1 cup)
- 200g soft light brown sugar (1 cup, packed)
- 240ml boiling water (1 cup)
- 60g butter (1/4 cup)
- (cinnamon sugar garnish optional)
instructions:
How to cook Caramel Apple Self-Saucing Pudding
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a six cup deep baking dish. Set aside.
- Whisk together the flour and sugar for the cake part. Whisk together the melted butter, egg, milk and maple syrup. Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Whisk together to combine. Stir in the apple and spread into the baking dish.
- Put all of the ingredients for the topping together in a saucepan. Bring just to the boil stirring to melt the sugar. Pour evenly over top of the batter in the baking dish. Do NOT stir to mix together. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. The liquid mixture will have sunk to the bottom creating a sauce.
- Dust with cinnamon sugar and serve warm, spooned into bowls and topped with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.
NOTES:
Make sure you cut the apple into smallish chunks or it may not cook through. You may find grating it works better.
This would make a fabulous dessert alternative for the holidays, rather than pumpkin pie, or Christmas pudding. Simple and very delicious!
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.
Its funny how your tastes change when you get older and all grown up. When I was a child pumpkin pie was at the bottom of the list when it came to pies that I enjoyed.
I come from a long line of pie aficionados! We love pie in our family and we always like to say that if it is in a crust we are the first in line to enjoy. Although I wasn't terribly fond of Pumpkin Pie growing up, I still ate it because well . . . it was a pie!
I have come to really enjoy the flavour of pumpkin pie as an adult . . . with its rich velvety texture and those warm baking spices . . .
I think perhaps what did not endear me overly much to it as a child was the fact that the crust never quite baked properly and could often be a bit doughy rather than crisp.
Impossible pies are not technically pies . . . but rather velvety smooth custard desserts that separate into a thin crust like bottom and a rich flavourful topping . . . baked in a pie dish and shaped like a pie.
Normally they use a baking mix but this one doesn't. It uses a mix of flour, baking powder and warm baking spices. These are beaten into a rich pumpkin and egg custard mixture . . .
then the whole thing is poured into a buttered pie dish and baked. I quite like this version of pumpkin pie . . .
Its rich and velvety . . . that custard is dense and filled with lovely flavours . . .
Creamy pumpkin . . . cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger . . .
Its just plain delicious! But what I like even more is its ease of creation . . .
You can't ask for much easier than beat, pour and bake!
The hardest part is waiting . . . while the smell of those warm baking spices makes your whole home smell like, well . . . . Grandma's Kitchen and Home Sweet Home!
It needs nothing more than a garnish of softly whipped cream to lift it to perfection!
Yield: 8
Impossible Pumpkin Pie
Perhaps one of the easiest pumpkin pies you will ever make. Simply stir everything together and bake. It magically forms a light crust on the bottom as it bakes, with a dense, creamy and beautifully spiced pumpkin filling
ingredients:
- 70g plain flour (1/2 cup)
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 150g caster sugar (3/4 cup)
- 3 TBS butter, softened
- 2 large free range eggs
- 1 (425g) tin of pureed pumpkin (15-oz tin)
- 250ml single cream (1 cup light cream)
- 1 TBS pure vanilla extract
- lightly sweetened whipped cream to serve
instructions:
How to cook Impossible Pumpkin Pie
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 inch pie glass pie plate really well with butter. Set aside.
- Sift together (in a small bowl) the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice, ginger and nutmeg.
- Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs. Stir in the pumpkin, cream and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients, beating them in well until the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie dish.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack and then chill for several hours prior to cutting into wedges to serve. Garnish with whipped cream to serve.
Todd really loves this dessert. He loves anything that even remotely resembles custard! If this type of pumpkin pie isn't your thing, I have a few others to choose from.
You are now spoilt for choice!! I highly recommend them all!
Garlic Butter Pineapple Chicken. I needed something quick and easy to cook for our dinner today as I had a day chocker-block full of appointments! You can't beat stir fries for being quick and easy!
I love chicken and I have to say this Pineapple Chicken Stir fry is fabulous! The chicken is tender and juicy and bursting with lovely savory sweet flavors.
If you are looking for a chicken dish which is bursting with flavor and a tasty way to cook chicken breasts which will keep them moist and flavorful and full on delicious, then this is the recipe for you!
I adapted this tasty chicken stir fry from one I found on Eating Well 101. I had pinned it several weeks ago and today was the perfect day to try it out!
Simple ingredients are whisked together to form a simple sauce. It uses honey, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, seasoning, parsley flakes and sweet chili sauce (my own addition.)
I love sweet chili sauce. It allows you to pack in a little bit of heat and some garlic as well, without it going over the top.
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are cut into thin slices or fingers and stir fried in a mix of butter and olive oil.
How simple can you get?
Don't be tempted to over cook them. The cook times suggested are perfect.
Only one minute per side does the trick.
You then add some pineapple chunks, well drained if you use tinned.
You can use fresh pineapple also. Both work perfectly.
Stir fry that with the chicken for a few more minutes.
I like the pineapple to get a bit golden . . . caramelized a bit on the edges. Oh so tasty.
Then you just stir in that flavorful sauce you whisked together at the start!
Lemon juice, honey, 1 TBS of olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, parsley and sweet chili. Simple ingredients most of us have in our larder all the time.
A brief cook time to glaze the chicken and pineapple and dinner is served!
It doesn't get much easier than this!!
I steamed some white rice and broccoli to serve along side . . .
I love rice with dishes like this. Usually Basmati rice, but any rice will do. Today it was tender stem broccoli. Love, LOVE the stuff!
This was colorful, delicious and healthy!
What more could you ask for?
If you are a fan of tender, juicy and flavorful chicken, then you are going to be a fan of this! I guarantee!
Yield: 4
Garlic Butter Pineapple Chicken
Tender, juicy and delicious. I like to serve this with some steamed rice and broccoli for a quick and simple supper!
ingredients:
- 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
- 1/2 pineapple, peeled, halved and cut into chunks (you can also use a well drained tin of pineapple chunks)
- 1 TBS butter
- 2 TBS light olive oil, divided
- 1 TBS runny honey
- 4 large cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 2 TBS fresh lemon juice
- 1 TBS dried parsley flakes
- 1 TBS sweet chili sauce
- salt and black pepper to taste
instructions:
How to cook Garlic Butter Pineapple Chicken
- Whisk the lemon juice, honey, 1 TBS of olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, parsley and sweet chili sauce together in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Heat the remaining TBS of olive oil in a large skillet along with the butter. Once the butter begins to foam add the chicken strips in a single layer. Season lightly. Cook for approximately 1 minute per side turning them over halfway through the cook time. Add the pineapple chunks and cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the honey garlic sauce from the bowl and cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring to coat the chicken and the pineapple with the sauce.
- Serve hot with steamed rice. Enjoy!
I am thinking slices of pork tenderloin would also be wonderful done this way as would gammon. I really hope you will try it. Its pure deliciousness!
Note - if you want it a tad spicier you could add some Sriacha sauce!
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.
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