Wispa flapjacks

100g honey, 
100g demerera sugar &
100g unsalted butter
200g oats 
2-3 diced wispas
* Heat honey, sugar and butter in a pan until dissolved.
 Stir in oats & Wispas
* Bake at 160°C for 20 minutes
* Leave to cool, then cut into squares

Double Chocolate Orange Loaf

Possibly my favorite chocolate cake recipe from Lurpack- it is like a brownie in cakey form!. I have successfully used yoghurt instead of sour cream, just because I tend to have yoghurt around more often and I don't really bother with the syrup due to extensive laziness on my part...

Ingredients

• For the cake:
• 275g caster sugar
• 175g Slightly Salted Lurpak butter at room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 200g self-raising flour
• 50g cocoa
• 280ml sour cream
• 100g dark chocolate chips (or chopped up bar)
• For the syrup:
• 100g caster sugar
• 125g water
• 1 orange

1. Butter the tin (990 ml loaf tin) and line with greaseproof paper. Heat the oven to 160°C/140°C Fan/Gas 3.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and continue to whisk until well combined.
3. Gently fold in the flour and cocoa then the sour cream and chocolate chips. Spoon the ingredients into the loaf tin and bake for 1hour 15minutes until the loaf is risen and springs back when you gently press the top.
4. While the cake is cooking make the syrup and candied peel. Using a vegetable peeler remove the outer skin from the orange, leaving the white pith behind, and cut it into thin slivers. Set aside the orange for later.
5. In a saucepan heat the water and sugar together until boiling, add the orange peel and simmer for 5-6 minutes until the liquid is reduced and syrupy.
6. When the cake is cooked make several skewer holes in the top. Remove the orange peel from the syrup, add the juice of half the orange and drizzle over the cake. When the cake has cooled remove from the tin and scatter over the candied peel.

Balsamic Chicken

4-6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
2 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 onion thinly sliced (Not chopped)
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 T olive oil
1 tsp each: dried oregano, basil, and rosemary
1/2 tsp thyme
ground black pepper and salt to taste

Pour the olive oil on bottom of crock pot
place in chicken breasts, salt and pepper each breast
put sliced onion on top of chicken
then put in all the dried herbs and garlic cloves
pour in vinegar and top with tomatoes

Cook on high 4 hours, serve over angel hair pasta

Nigella's fully loaded potato skins

Makes 20 stuffed potato skins

INGREDIENTS

• 10 baking potatoes
• 225g strong cheddar or red leicester
• 250ml sour cream
• 4 spring onions
• 1 teaspoon Maldon salt or
  ½ teaspoon table salt or to taste 

• good grinding of black pepper

• 1 x 15ml tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• 10 rashers American-style or thin-cut streaky bacon
• oil for frying

1. The day (or up to 2 days) before you load them, preheat your oven to 200C/180C fan/400F/gas 6 and bake the potatoes (pricking them first) for about 1½ hours, or until the skins are crisp and the insides fluffy. As soon as you can bear to tackle the hot potatoes, cut them in half lengthways and scoop the insides into a bowl.
2. Put the husk-like skins of the potatoes on a tray and, when cool, cover until you are ready to fill them. Let the potato cool in the bowl, and then cover until needed.
3. When you are ready to fill the potatoes, preheat your oven to 200C/180C fan/400F/gas 6. Grate the cheese, and add 200g of it to the cold potato along with the sour cream. Chop the spring onions and add to the potato, with the salt, pepper and worcestershire sauce.
4. Spoon the potato filling into the potato skins, and lay each half on a baking tray so they fit snugly together. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese, giving each potato skin a light covering, and cook for 20-30 minutes until golden.
5. Fry (or grill) the bacon rashers in oil until crispy, then crumble them and sprinkle half a rasher’s worth over each potato skin to make them fully loaded.

MAKE AHEAD TIP Fill the potato skins, as directed, and sprinkle with the cheese and crispy bacon (or add the crispy bacon after cooking if preferred). Cover loosely and keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. Cook as directed.

FREEZE AHEAD TIP Fill the potato skins as above, wrap in clingfilm and freeze for up to 1 week. To cook, lay the frozen potato skins on a baking sheet and cover loosely with foil. Cook in the oven for 35-40 minutes, removing the foil after the first 15 minutes.

Daddys vegetable patties

• A cube of frozen spinach
• 1 small turnip
• 2 small potatoes skin on
• 1 grated carrot
• half grated fennel
• some olive oil
• 2 tblsp plain flour (or more until right consistency)
  

Boil everything together in as little water as possible, until the vegetables are soft.
Drain and mash the vegetables.
Add a bit of olive oil, and enough flour to make sticky dough. Mix with a fork.
Leave to stand and cool.
Make into burger size patties
Place on greased baking tray
Cook in a preheated oven at 200C for 10-15 minutes

Recipe was called Daddys when I found it online so I thought it was amusing to leave the name as my hubby hates anything vegetably. First time I made them with parsnip instead of turnip and no fennel and should have added more flour as it was a bit soggy but delicious nevertheless...

Chocy chip biccies

• 1 cup (225g, 8oz) sugar
• 2 cups (300g, 10oz) plain flour (sifted)
• 1 cup of butter (200g, 7oz) melted
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 1tsp of baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• Smashed Chocolate bar or chocolate chips
  

Method

1. Add the sugar and melted butter in a bowl and mix together - a wooden spoon is fine, no need for a whisk.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, vanilla and salt together and add to the sugar and butter mixture. Add the chocolate chips at this stage if you're making chocolate chip cookies.
3. Mix together using your hand. Once you get a dough texture, add the egg and knead using your hand again.
4. Spread some butter onto a baking tray. Take some of the dough, roll into ball then flatten a little. Nate likes to help with this bit -he takes a handfull, rolls it into a ballish then pops it in his mouth... Keep them on the small side as they spread out during baking. Also, don't keep biscuits close to each other otherwise they will get stuck together.
5. Place in the oven and bake on a low heat 180ish. They're ready when the edges are a bit golden 10 minutes ish.

Ali's Peanut butter cookies

Four large (tablespoons) sugar. Brown gives a richer flavour.
Four large (tablespoons) fat. Butter, again, will give a richer flavour. Add to sugar and cream them together.
Add small(dessert spoon) peanut butter
Add seven large (tablespoons) self raising flour. Mix to dough. If too sticky add flour if too dry add water (or orange juice) if feeling luxurious add chop chips at this stage
Place walnut sized balls on greasproof paper or silicone sheets and flatten into rounds
Dip hands in flour to stop it sticking too much
Bake for 10-14 minutes at 180

if stuck together seperate with a knife then leave on tray for 5 mins then transfer to rack to cool

EAT!

To see Nate and I making these go here

2010-09-28 - making peanut butter cookies

2010-09-28 - making peanut butter cookies