Rasberry Sour Cream Pie

I made my own pie crust plus a little extra as below. The filling would not have done 2 unbaked pies but it did do my own 9 inch and 3 small ones. I shall freeze the large pie and instead of the breadcrumb topping will do the cream cheese one.

2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

2 eggs

1 1/3 cups sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup white sugar 

1 pinch salt

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups raspberries

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

¼ cup chilled butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and lemon colored. Whisk in sour cream and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix sugar, flour and salt together. Stir into egg mixture. Gently fold in raspberries. Pour filling into 2 unbaked pie crusts.

Bake the pies without the topping in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the center begins to set.

While pies bake, make the topping: In a medium bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour and chopped nuts. Cut in butter until crumbly. Set aside.

Sprinkle pies with topping and return to oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until topping is golden brown. Allow to cool before serving.

Pastry CASE:

·         1 cup all-purpose flour

·         2 tbsp sugar

·         4 oz cold butter

Cream Cheese TOPPING:

·         3 ounces cream cheese, softened

·         1/4 cup icing sugar

·         1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         ½  cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

1.    In a bowl, combine the flour and sugar; cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.

2.    For topping, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth; fold in whipped cream. Spread over top. Cover and chill. Store in the refrigerator

Banana Sour Cream Loaf

I used a liner for my loaf tin so did not dust with the top 2 ingredientsbut added chopped pecans. Was delicious while still warm. 

2 oz White Sugar

¼ tsp cinnamon

2 oz Butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

2 ripe bananas

4 oz sour cream

½ tsp cinnamon

Pinch salt

1 cup SR Flour

½ cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 300 and grease a loaf tin

Stir together op 2 ingredients and dust loaf tin

Cream butter and sugar

Mix in egg, bananas, sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon

Stir in salt, flour and nuts

Bake for 45mins to 1 hour until toothpick is clean

Chocolate Tart

I made this without the cherries and decorated with melted chocolate

Pie Crust

100 g dark chocolate, melted

1 tablespoon butter, softened

1 tin Nestlé® Sweetened Condensed or 397 g

1 cup ground almonds or 100 g

2 eggs

2 cups cherries or 300 g, stone removed and halved

Beat the melted chocolate with margarine and NESTLÉ Sweetened Condensed Milk.

Add ground almonds and eggs and stir well.

Add cherries halved and mix.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tart tin.

Bake in 185°C preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until firm in the middle.

Cool before serving.

Recipe from Nestle

Pollo in Potacchio

I did 14 chicken thighs for 7 of us and doubled all the sauce ingredients apart from the tomatoes so we would have plenty to go with fresh bread. I thickened the sauce with a tbsp of bisto granules. Cooked in the slow cooker for 8 hours.
Added  a few new potatoes (cut in chunks) but you could toss in any green veg as well.

12 skinless chicken thighs

6 mushrooms quartered

salt and fresh black pepper

1 tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, chopped

pinch red pepper flakes (optional)

2 cups Imported crushed tomatoes (Tuttoroso)

1/4 tsp dried marjoram

1/4 cup dry white wine (Pinot Grigio)

2 cups low sodium, fat free chicken broth

Chopped Parsley or Coriander to serve.

Lightly season the chicken with salt and fresh pepper. Place a Dutch Oven or large heavy pot on medium-high heat. Add 1 tbsp oil, when hot add the chicken and sear until browned on all sides, about 6-7 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to a dish and set aside.

Sauté garlic and onions (and red pepper flakes if using) in remaining oil; sauté until golden, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add carrots and saute on medium-low for about 2-3 minutes, until soft. Add the wine and chicken broth, scraping any caramelized bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon. 

Add tomatoes, mushrooms, marjoram, reduce heat to low, adjust salt and pepper to taste and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the chicken to the sauce, partially cover and cook slowly on low heat for another 25 - 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, adding water if needed.

For the Crock pot: 

Start with the same directions as the first two paragraphs up to adding the wine and chicken broth. Add the remaining ingredients to the crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours taking the lid off the last 30 minutes.

Espresso cake with fudge frosting

I used 2/3 of a Betty Crocker Sponge mix and omitted the sugar from the syrup as the icing is so sweet. As I did not frost all over the cake I just made half the frosting and used inside and on top with some chocolate dribbled over.

Packet Cake mix made up using 2 eggs

1/3 cup hot, freshly brewed espresso
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup dark rum

In a bowl, stir together the espresso and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Add the rum and let cool to room temperature. Spread over the sliced cake.

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
4 cups confectioners’ sugar (no need to sift)
8 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 tablespoons half-and-half or whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Combine all of the ingredients until the frosting is smooth and decorate the cake.

Cookie Dough Cheesecake

This came from a YouTube video by Tasty - I have adjusted the amounts here to get 6 slices

1 package pre-made cookie dough 300g
1 8-oz packages of cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.

Press 3/4 of the package of pre-made cookie dough into a loaf pan.

In a bowl, mix the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix.

Add the egg mixing thoroughly.

Pour into pan. *optional* drop half teaspoonfuls of remaining cookie dough on top of the cheesecake batter.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, cool completely, then refrigerate overnight. 

Decorate with swirls of cream and chocolate sauce

Fresh Tomato Tart

I bought 1 store made pie crust so halved all of the ingredients; there was no way 8oz of mozzarella would go in and leave room so I had to halve it to just 4oz. Also could only get fresh coriander so used instead of basil.

      1 tbsp Butter
2 small onions sliced thin.
salt & pepper, to taste
2 Storebought Pie Crusts OR 1 Good Sized Homemade Crust
 16 oz. grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. grated pecorino or parmesan reggiano cheese
3 cups cherry tomatoes
2 eggs
 1/4 cup milk
 8 basil leaves

1.      Heat a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add the butter, onions, salt, and pepper and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and deep golden brown. Set aside.

2.      Preheat the oven to 450˚.

3.      Roll dough into a rectangle.  If you’ve never worked with pie dough before, this is so much easier than you think. Ina’s secret to rolling out dough is to start with a floured counter and roller, begin rolling out from the middle and then turn the dough piece slightly to ensure it’s not sticking to the counter.  Dough can also be pieced into place in the pan.  Lay onto a shallow small 13×9 sheet pan, a tart pan, or cut in half and use 2 standard pie pans.

4.      Sprinkle on the cheeses in a single layer, then lay on the caramelized onions, then sprinkle the tomatoes over the cheese.

5.      Mix together the eggs and milk in a small bowl and pour on top.

6.      Bake the tart for 15 to 18 minutes, watching carefully to make sure the crust doesn’t burn.  If the crust is getting brown too fast, reduce the heat to 425 F.

Chicken and Bacon Alfredo Pasta

Did half of this for 2 of us with penne pasta  - yummy

200 g fettuccine
2 chicken breasts cooked and diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic (or 2-3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped)
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup cream
3-4 cups chicken broth
8 rashers crumbled cooked bacon
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Place pasta, garlic, parmesan cheese, cream and broth in a saute pan. Cover and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cook for 12-15 minutes, stirring frequently, until pasta is tender. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir in chicken and bacon and cook for 5 minutes. Garnish with parsley. 
2. To thin sauce add a little milk.

Egg Tartine

These can be done with either Smoked Salmon or Ham; could also make the toast optional

6 Eggs
4 tbsp mayonnaise
1 1/2 tsp whole grain mustard
3/4 tbsp minced dill
pinch salt & pepper

Boil the eggs then chop when they are cold
Add mayonnaise, mustard, dill, salt and pepper
Combine lightly with a fork
Serve at room temperature on top of smoked salmon or ham which can be on top of toast
Sprinkle with chopped chives or fresh dill
Serves 4

Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake

I made half of this recipe in a loaf tin - it cut into 8 slices and was very rich; Recipe from facebook website Tasty

16 ounces cream cheese, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup sour cream (or cream and tsp lemon juice)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
⅓ cup butter, melted
½ cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoon. cinnamon
1 pack refrigerated cinnamon rolls with frosting (8 regular sized)

1. Preheat oven to 325°F/160°C.
2. In a bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
3. Add the sour cream and vanilla, and beat until there are no lumps.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing completely after each one. Set aside.
5. In another bowl, mix the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon until fully combined. Set aside.
6. In a greased springform pan, press all of the cinnamon rolls flat, until they completely cover the bottom of the pan. 
7. Evenly spread the cheesecake batter, then drop spoonfuls of the butter mixture onto the cheesecake batter. 
8. Swirl the butter mixture into the cheesecake using a knife (try to keep it away from the edges!).
9. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the cheesecake is firm around the edges but still slightly jiggly in the middle. Remove from oven and cool completely. 
10. Top with frosting from the cinnamon rolls.
11. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Duck a l'orange

I did this with 4 duck breasts which were plenty for 5-6 people; pan fried for 10 minutes then finished off in the oven for 20 - still quite pink in the middle but very tender. I would double the sauce next time.

•             Zest and juice of 1 one large orange or two small oranges

•             150ml of pineapple juice

•             1 tablespoon of white sugar OR marmalade

•             1 teaspoon of corn flour mixed with water to make a paste

•             4 orange segments

•             1 table spoon of flat leaf parsley roughly chopped

1.            Place the oranges, pineapple juice and sugar in a pan.

2.            Bring to the boil and reduce by a third.

3.            Stir in the corn flour.

4.            Simmer for 5 minutes until the mixture thickens.

5.            Serve with your cooked duck, garnish with orange segments and parsley.

Loaded Potato Salad

This makes enough for 3 of us to go with pork escallops, salad and coleslaw - was lovely

2 medium potatoes

1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp sour cream
1 or 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
3 rashers cooked bacon, chopped
3 green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
Paprika

Peel and cut potatoes into pieces and boil for 20 minutes; allow to cool and chop into small bite size pieces

Mix vinegar, pepper, mayonnaise, sour cream and mustard

Combine bacon, eggs and spring onion with potatoes and mix in sauce

Sprinkle paprika on top and chill

Pikelets

My mum used to make these for us as kids and toss in some currants. They are wonderful fresh with a little butter.

1 cup Self Raising Flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup milk

Mix flour and sugar
Whisk egg and milk
Beat egg mix into flour
Heat some oil in a frying pan and when hot spoon dollops of the mix into the oil
Should make around 16-20
Add currants if desired
Cook for 3-4 minutes; Once brown turn over and cook the other side

Cheesey Chicken Rolls

Recipe adapted from SoDelicious. I just made 8 using half a puff pastry sheet but did use 2 chicken breasts.

1 puff pastry sheet

1/4 cup (60 grams) barbeque sauce

2 cooked chicken breasts

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1/2 cup (55 grams) shredded mozzarella

1/4 cup (30 grams) shredded Cheddar cheese

1 egg

Preheat the oven to 365 degrees F/185 degrees C. Gas5

Flour your workspace.

Roll out the puff pastry sheet and stretch it.

Coat it with barbeque sauce.

Tear strips of the grilled chicken breast.

Spread the chicken strips, the chopped parsley, and the cheeses over the puff pastry sheet.

Starting to one edge, roll the puff pastry sheet.

Slice the rolled puff pastry.

Put a parchment paper on a baking tray.

Put every pastry on the baking tray.

Whisk the egg.

Coat them with whisked egg.

Bake them for 20-25 minutes.

Chocolate and Vanilla Cheesecake (Nanaimo)

I made the full amount for the base but only half the amount for the cheesecake and ganache. I tried to do white chocolate feathering on top of the ganache but it didn't work. Tastied very nice but would probably make 2/3 for the base next time as it was quite thick.

4 tbsp butter, melted

3 tbsp cocoa powder

3 tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups chocolate digestives crushed

For the Cheesecake

4 (8oz) bricks of cream cheese, softened

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

3 tbsp vanilla custard powder

For the Chocolate Ganache

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the biscuit crumbs,  cocoa powder, and sugar in a food processor and process until fine crumbs. Pulse in the vanilla and melted butter until moistened. Press into the bottom and a little up the sides of a 10 inch springform pan. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven, but keep oven on.

Place a 9x13 baking dish on the bottom rack of your oven and fill with warm water.In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add one egg at a time, beating in-between, and scrape down sides of bowl occasionally.

Add the sour cream, sugar, vanilla and vanilla custard powder. Mix until smooth. Pour onto the prepared crust. Bake on the rack above the pan filled with water for 1 hour.

Turn off the oven, crack it open slightly and leave in oven for 1-2 hours. Remove from oven and let come to room temperature completely. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge to chill for 2 hours. 

For the Ganache:

Place the chocolate chips in a bowl, set aside. Heat the cream in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes, then pour on top of the chocolate chips. Let sit for 30 seconds, then whisk until smooth. Let cool slightly, then carefully pour on top of the cheesecake. Refrigerate again until set.

Chicken with Creamy Bacon Mushroom Thyme Sauce

I did this without the bacon as I was doing bacon wrapped green beans - very tasty

·         4 chicken thighs or breasts

·         1 tablespoon vegetable oil

·         salt and pepper

·         1 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning (dried thyme, oregano)

Mushroom sauce

·         6 oz white mushrooms

·         5 slices bacon, cooked, chopped

·         1 cup heavy cream

·         1/8 teaspoon salt

·         5 sprigs snipped fresh thyme

1.      Preheat oven to 350 F.

2.      Season both sides of chicken thighs generously with salt and pepper and Italian herb seasoning mix (usually a combination of dried thyme, oregano and other herbs). Heat vegetable oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add chicken thighs skin-side down. Cook for about 5 minutes, on the skin side until nicely browned.

3.      Transfer chicken thighs, skin side up, to the foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes or until chicken thighs are completely cooked through and no longer pink in the center. Breasts may take longer depending on their thickness.

4.      In the mean time, make the mushrooms sauce:

5.      Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add sliced mushrooms (without salting - to ensure the mushrooms get caramelized) and cook on medium heat for about 3 minutes flipping once.

6.      Add chopped cooked bacon to the skillet.

7.      Add heavy creamy, 1/8 teaspoon salt and snipped fresh thyme, bring to boil, stir, immediately reduce to simmer and simmer for about 2 minutes on very low heat for flavors to blend and sauce to reduce a bit. Taste and add more salt if needed.

8.      When chicken is done baking and chicken thighs are completely cooked through, add cooked chicken thighs to the skillet and spoon the sauce and the mushrooms on top of chicken thighs.

Apple Sponge Pudding with Custard Ice Cream

This was lovely with home made Custard Powder Ice Cream; I used a mix of cooking and eating apples and this amount served 4.

4 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
4 tbsp sugar
2 eggs
70g self-raising flour

4 tbsp water
1 tsp mixed spice

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4 and grease a 1.5-litre baking dish. Place the apples in a pan with 2 tbsp of the sugar and the water. Cover and cook, stirring now and then, for 8 minutes until the apple breaks down. Spoon into your dish, leaving the excess liquid in the pan. 

2. Beat the eggs with the remaining sugar until fluffy. Sift in the flour and spice and fold in. Pour the batter over the apple and bake for 30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean from the sponge. Dust with icing sugar and serve hot with ice cream or custard.

For the Custard Ice Cream
2 1/2 cups milk

1 tbsp vanilla flavoured custard powder

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup  fresh cream

Dissolve the custard powder and sugar in ½ cup cold milk and keep aside.

In a non-stick pan bring the milk to a boil.

Add the custard powder mixture and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes till the custard is thick. 

Strain the mixture if it appears lumpy.

Cool completely, add the cream and mix well.

Pour into an ice cream maker and beat for 20 minutes

Transfer into a shallow container. Cover and freeze till firm.

Stuffed Pork Chops

Found this recipe on Facebook and it was delicious - did a plain one for Ricky

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ tablespoons garlic powder
¼ cup chives, chopped or 4 spring onions
½  cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
4 strips cooked streaky bacon, crumbled
4 boneless pork chops
Salt
Pepper
1 cups flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons oil

Preheat oven to Gas 5 / Fan 160.

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, pepper, garlic powder, chives, mozzarella and bacon, stirring until thoroughly mixed. Set aside.

Season all sides of the pork chops with salt and pepper. Carefully cut a pocket through the side of the pork chop in order to create a cavity. Stuff the cavity with a generous spoonful of the cream cheese mixture and press around the edges of the pork to seal it in. Repeat with the remaining pork chops.

Dip the stuffed pork chops in the flour, shaking off excess, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs. Repeat with the remaining pork chops.

Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry the pork chops for about 4-5 minutes, then flip. Remove from heat and bake for 20 minutes, until cheese is bubbly starting to brown. Serve!

Pineapple Mousse

I have done this before with a fresh lemon but saw an internet comment about how nice it was with pineapple

Milk, Evaporated, 200g                     

Jelly, Lemon, Unprepared   

Tin crushed pineapple or liquidize rings

Save some pieces of pineapple for decoration

Make up jelly with pineapple juice and allow to partially set
Whisk evaporated milk till thick and creamy
Whisk in jelly and pineapple; allow to set slightly
Pour mousse into dish
Chill until required; decorate with pineapple pieces and crushed nuts