Spicy honey-glazed chicken

I'm not a big meat eater, despite being constantly told that I need to up my intake of red meat I just don't enjoy it so I avoid it like the plague. I do enjoy chicken, although it does get a little bit boring after a while, this recipe was ridiculously easy to make and tasted delicious - hubby has requested it again which is always a good indicator that i'm on to a winner!!

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
3 tbsp honey
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
Pinch of chilli flakes

Method:
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6.
Put the chicken in a bowl and toss with the honey, the lemon juice, the olive oil and chilli.
Cover with cling film and leave to marinate for 20 minutes.
Heat a frying pan over a high heat and sear the chicken breasts for 2-3 minutes until golden.
Bake (on baking paper) for 15-20 minutes until the juices run clear.
Serve

I served with asparagus, spinach and baby tomatoes.

Enjoy!!

Oven baked risotto

I love risotto, it is up there as one of my ultimate comfort foods, what I don't love though is the amount of stirring and time involved in making a risotto, until I stumbled across this recipe which is quite simply one of the easiest risotto dishes I have ever made and what's more the husband loves it too!!

Ingredients:
1 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
300g risotto rice
100ml white wine (or extra stock - I personally prefer drinking the wine rather than putting it in dishes!)
400g can chopped tomatoes
200g frozen peppers
500ml vegetable stock

Method:
Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/Gas 6.
Heat the oil in an ovenproof pan
Fry the onion for a few minutes until soft
Turn up the heat, tip in the rice, stir, then fry for 1 minute
Pour in the wine/stock, stirring until absorbed
Pour in the tomatoes, peppers and 400ml of the stock
Cover and bake in the oven for 25 minutes until the rice is tender and creamy
Stir in the remaining stock

Serve!

This is obviously a vegetarian dish but i'm sure it would work well with chorizo, chicken or any meat you fancy.

Red Velvet Pancakes

I adore pancakes, I mean who doesn't? This year Stuart and I didn't get to celebrate Shrove Tuesday as he was away and I didn't want to make pancakes just for myslef. This weekend, however, we decided to indulge ourselves and I made red velvet pancakes. These were really easy to make and I am assured by Stuart that they are delicious too :)

Ingredients:
1 cup plain flour
1 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn salt
2 tbspn sugar
2 tbspn cocoa powder
1 egg
1 cup of milk
Knob of butter
Lots of red food colouring

Method:
Whisk all the pancake mixture together until you are left with a smooth mixture.
Add a generous amount of food colouring so the mixture turns red - I stupidly didn't have a lot of food colouring but they still turned out red so don't worry too much.
Leave the mixture to set for about 30 minutes in the fridge.
Cook the pancakes! I went for some that were Scotch pancake side and others that were larger and thinner - both were a hit!

Ours were served with Ice Cream but you go for whatever you fancied :)

Grilled Grapefruit

The other evening I was sitting around contemplating what to have for dessert, I wanted something fruity and warm and available pretty much instantly. With only grapefruit in I had to experiment and came up with quite possibly my most favourite grapefruit recipe ever, one which I  have already used 3 times since discovering it!

Ingredients:
Grapefruit - cut in half
1/2 Teaspoon of Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon of Cinnamon

Method:
Take a sharp knife and take it around the edge of the grapefruit and the individual segments (this makes it easier to eat later)
Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon over the grapefruit
Place under the grill for approximately 5 minutes, or until the sugar has started to crystallise

Enjoy!

I love grapefruit served like this, and it has easily become on of my favourite desserts/breakfasts/random snack in the middle of the day! Plus eating grapefruit makes me feel healthy so I can pretend it compensates for all the chocolate and minced pies I'm eating - hey it is Christmas!!

Fudge

I don't really have a sweet tooth but Stuart definitely does - one of his weaknesses is fudge so I thought I would give making it a go. This recipe was ridiculously easy and tasted delicious - it's definitely one I intend to make again and would make a wonderful gift for someone.

Ingredients:
400g Dark or Milk Chocolate
397g Condensed Milk
25g Butter
100g Icing Sugar

Recipe:
Break the chocolate into pieces and place in a non stick saucepan with the milk and butter.
Melt the ingredients together until they are smooth and silky, stirring occasionally.
Sieve in the Icing sugar and make sure that it is mixed together thoroughly .
Press the mixture into a lined tin, smoothing over the top with the back of a spoon.
Chill in the fridge for an hour until set.
Cut into squares.

Enjoy!!

I pressed some mini marshmallows into the fudge once it was smoothed over in the tin. I think you could also try dried fruit/nuts/silver balls - Anything that takes your fancy really!!

5 Minute Dessert

No your eyes do not deceive you, last night I really did make a dessert which took 5 minutes to prepare, bake and pretty much eat! I found this recipe months ago on Pinterest and whilst I pinned it I didn't really have much intention of ever baking it, you see I have a fear of the microwave, yes the small rectangular object in many a kitchen scares me! I think it comes from being a child, my parents very rarely used a microwave, actually I can't remember them EVER using one. When I left home for University my wariness of the microwave stuck, it was great for heating up a heat bag and the occasional bag of rice but that was it. It wasn't until recently that I discovered that people used the microwave for actual cooking. This recipe for me was my introduction to cooking with the microwave and I can honestly say I'm hooked - this dessert was amazing! I told Stuart what I was doing and he was pretty jealous so I think this dessert is pretty much going to become a regular in our house.

Chocolate Nutella Cakes (makes 4):

Ingredients:

(now I have to admit I wasn't too precise with these measurements, but it worked!)
1/2 cup Plain Flour
8tbsp Caster Sugar
4tbsp Cocoa Powder
2 Eggs
80g Butter (melted)
2tbsp Nutella
1tsp Vanilla Extract

Method:
Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and whisk until they are thoroughly mixed
Fill 4 ramekins/mugs/bowls with the mixture (just under half full)
Microwave on high for 2 minutes, until they have risen and are puffy.

EAT!!

That's it - super easy, let me know if you give it a go.

Chocolate chip cookies

I love cookies but refuse to buy them as I can easily demolish a whole packet in one go! I stumbled across this message a few months ago and after making it and tweaking it I think it is now pretty perfect - I made them recently for Stuarts birthday BBQ and they were eaten before the actual food!

Ingredients:
100g Soft brown sugar
100g Golden caster sugar
100g Butter (softened)
1 Egg
1tsp Vanilla extract
225g Plain flour
70g Melted milk chocolate
85g White chocolate (I use chips but you could smash up a bar of chocolate with a rolling pin & use that!)
85g Plain chocolate (same as above)

Method:
Heat oven to 200C/180 fan/Gas 6.
Line 1 or 2 baking sheets with baking paper and leave to one side.
Mix the sugars and butter together.
Add the egg, vanilla, flour and melted chocolate and mix everything together.
Stir in the chocolate chips (or chunks).
Use a tablespoon (or ice cream scoop) to scoop out balls of cookie dough and drop them straight onto the trays.
Bake in batches for 8-9 minutes until pale golden and still soft to touch - don't worry they firm up as they cool.

Try not to eat them all straight away - they are delicious eaten warm though!

Enjoy :)

Strawberry tart

I made this over summer and it was a roaring success. Admittedly it is probably very much a summer dessert, but I find it to be a perfect accompaniment after a heavy dinner. This uses strawberries as the fruit, but I think it would work just as well with raspberries, peaches or any number of fruit.

Ingredients:
175g Crunchy biscuits (I used an own brand which worked perfectly)
75g Melted butter
400g Strawberries (or whatever fruit you are using)
284ml Double cream
5 Soft toffees (I used Wether's Originals, although I'm sure any kind of toffee would be fine)
200g Greek yoghurt

Method:
Line a flan tin with baking parchment
Put the biscuits in  strong food bag and bash with a rolling pin until they are finely crushed
Tip into a bowl and mix in the melted butter
Press the mixture over the base of the tin
Chill for at least 30 minutes until it feels firm
Slice/halve the strawberries - depending on the size
Remove the biscuit base from the tin and slide onto a flat plate
Put 2tbsp of the cream into a small bowl with the toffees
Whip the rest of the cream until it holds its shape in soft folds
Fold in the yoghurt then spoon over the biscuit base
Cover the mix with the strawberries
Melt the toffees and cream together in a microwave on medium for 30secs - 1 min, then stir until it forms a sauce
Drizzle over the tart

Enjoy!!

Doughnut Muffins

Doughnuts and muffins are two of my favourite cakes to eat, so imagine my delight when I stumbled across a recipe which combined the two, after a few tweaks of my own I found something which tasted delicious. These are currently one of my favourite things to bake (and eat) and have bee used in many a hamper, thank you presents and even a job interview earlier this year.

Ingredients:

140g Caster Sugar

200g Plain Flour

1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

100ml Natural Yogurt

2 Large Eggs - beaten

1tsp Vanilla Extract

140g Melted Butter

12tsp Jam (Or nutella if you want to make chocolate ones!!)

Method:

Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/Gas 5

Put sugar, flour and the bicarb in a bowl and mix to combine together

In a jug whisk together the yogurt, eggs and vanilla extract

Tip the jug contents and melted butter into the dry ingredients and quickly fold with a metal spoon to combine

Divide two-thirds of the mixture between the cases

Add 1tsp of jam (or nutella) to the centre of each

Cover with the remaining mixture

Bake for 16-18 minutes until risen, golden and springy to touch.

Try not to eat them all in one go -Enjoy!!

Brown Bread Ice Cream

I love ice cream - who doesn't (?!) but I have never wanted to own an ice cream maker as it always seemed like a bit of a waste of money. I have spent many hours researching different ways of making ice cream that was quick, easy and above all delicious, a few weeks ago I found what I thought was the perfect recipe, I added a few tweaks of my own and made it this weekend.  I have to be honest when I told Stuart what I was making he looked slightly horrified, I mean brown bread ice cream perhaps doesn't sound as appealing as it really is.
This is an old-fashioned English flavour which has been popular since the Victorian times, brown bread ice cream has a rustic, nutty, satisfying flavour with a hint of caramel. Make sure you use interesting types of bread - seeds,nuts, oats etc to give the ice cream a different flavour each time you make it.


Ingredients:

2 slices of brown bread/bread rolls
85g brown sugar
2 egg whites
2 egg yolks
1tsp vanilla extract (not flavouring which doesn't taste as nice)
85g icing sugar
300ml double cream

Method:

Whizz the bread in a food processor to make crumbs.
Combine the bread with the sugar and mix well.
Spread the mixture thinly on a baking tray (I put tin foil down first to protect the tray) and grill under a moderate heat for 15 minutes - try to keep stirring it until it is caramelised and crunchy.
Put to one side for later.

Stuart checking the egg whites were stiff!

Whisk the egg whites until stiff in a large bowl.


Add the vanilla extract to the egg yolks and then combine with the egg whites.
Whisk together the icing sugar and double cream until floppy - be careful not to over beat it otherwise it will be too stiff.
Fold together the double cream mix, egg white mix and the bread mix.
Pour into a container and freeze for at least 5 hours.
Enjoy!!




The basic ice cream mix can then be adapted to make lots of different flavours, try adding cocoa powder to the icing sugar and melted chocolate to the cream for a yummy chocolate ice cream - the choices are endless.
Let me know how you get on with this recipe, you won't believe how great it tastes!

Spicy butternut squash soup

“To feel safe and warm on a cold wet night, all you really need is soup.” Laurie Colwin

I love soup, it is one of my favourite things about Autumn, to me there is nothing better then a lunch of homemade soup and thick crusty bread to chase away the coldness that the changing weather brings. This recipe is one I tried this weekend and is one that I will definitely be making again.

Ingredients:
1 Butternut squash peeled and deseeded
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 tbsp Butter
2 Onions - diced
1 Garlic clove - thinly sliced
2 red chillies - deseeded and finely chopped. Add more or less depending on spice preference
850ml Hot vegetable stock

Method:
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas mark 6.
Cut the squash into large cubes, then toss in a large roasting tin with 1 tbsp of the olive oil. Roast for 30 minutes, turning once during cooking.
Melt the butter with the remaining oil in a large saucepan.
Add the onions, garlic and chilli.
Cover and cook on a super low heat for 15 minutes until the onions are completely soft - be careful not to burn the onions as this gives a bitter taste, not nice!
Tip the squash into the pan, add the stock and stir.
Pour the mixture into a liquidiser and blitz in batches (you can also use a stick blender).
Return to the saucepan to gently reheat ready to eat.

Enjoy!

There is no picture of this soup (other than the one on Sundays post) as I never got a photo in a good light where the soup looked as nice as it tasted, you'll just have to trust me on this one guys!

Anyone else have any good soup recipes I can try?

Listening to - The Big Bang Theory
Feeling - a bit meh, bad weather means staying at home
To do - get ready for work tomorrow - a whole day of tap, jazz and pointe work!

Chocolate Tart

I love chocolate but i've never found a chocolate tart that i've really enjoyed. This one hit all the right spots though, it was sweet without being sickly and was incredibly tempting - neither Stuart nor I could resist going back to the fridge over the weekend to have another small slice, which makes this tart a winner in my books!!

This recipe doesn't use home made pastry - i'm yet to completely master that skill, it's on my to do list and I am determined that by Christmas all the pastry around my mince pies will be home made!

Ingredients:
375g Sheet of ready-rolled sweet dessert pastry, any you can but in the shop will do!
300g Milk chocolate (you can use dark chocolate if you prefer)
300ml Double cream
3 Large eggs

Method:
Line a 23cm round, loose-bottomed tin with the pastry, leaving any extra hanging over the edges and chill in the fridge for 30 mins.
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6.
Line the pastry case with baking paper, fill with rice or baking beans and bake for 15 mins.
Remove the baking beans/rice and paper and bake for another 5-7 minutes until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and turn the oven down to 140C/120C fan/Gas 1.
Put the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Leave to melt.
Put the cream in a small pan and bring to the boil.
Whisk the eggs in a bowl, pour over the cream mixing the whole time.
Add the chocolate to the cream mixture and mix well to combine it all together.
Pour the mixture into the tart case, place it in the oven and switch it off.
20 minutes later take it out the oven and chill to let it set (I left it over night in the fridge but i'm sure it would set in about 3 hours)

Serve - I served mine with the honeycomb from yesterdays recipe, but it also tasted delicious with some fresh berries. I'd also recommend serving with a spoonful (or 2!) of Ice cream - Ice cream recipe coming soon!!

Listening to - Lucy Spraggan, Love her and her music, although I worry that she might not do well on the x factor, i'd prefer to listen to her sing her own stuff rather than other people's!
Feeling - Full, Just eaten a yummy pasta bake followed by a baked banana.
To Do - Have an early night!

Honeycomb

For a long time i've shied away from recipes which require honeycomb as so many people had told me how hard it was too make. Saturday I bit the bullet and gave it a go and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with how easy and straight forward it was too make - plus it made the whole kitchen smell like Crunchies, never a bad thing in my book!

The honeycomb is pictured below when it was cooling and also on top of a chocolate tart (recipe coming tomorrow!) My husband was the taste tester and he gave it a thumbs up and has taken a tupperware pot full of honeycomb back up to Norfolk for the week!

Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons of Golden Syrup
200g Caster Sugar
1 Tablespoon Bicarbonate of Soda

(Thats right just 3 ingredients!!)

Method:
Line a baking tray with baking parchment and leave to one side for later.
In a saucepan heat the golden syrup and caster sugar until the sugar has melted. I found that the mixture went from being crystallised to a runny consistency fairly quickly so make sure you keep a watchful eye on it!
Increase the heat and boil the mixture until it becomes a dark caramel colour, then remove it from the heat and leave to cool for 2 minutes.
Add the bicarbonate of soda and whisk/stir like crazy. The mixture will be extremely hot so take care to not splash any on to you.
Pour the mixture onto the baking tray and leave to cool and set.

Enjoy!!

I am sure there are many ways to use the honeycomb you will have made - on top of a tart, dipped in chocolate, as a decoration for any dessert you have made, the choice is endless! Let me know what you use the honeycomb for.

Listening to - Last nights Downton Abbey

Feeling - Cold!! Autumn has definitely arrived in Canterbury.

To Do - Brave the weather and head into town to pick up a few essentials.