Corned Beef Hash

(pic taken before it went into oven)
This is my Mums corned beef hash as we dont like the traditional one...
Its simple easy and cheap and is proper comfort food.

2 x tins corned beef...Princess is the best
1 large onion
teaspoon thyme
1 small tin tomato puree or more if you need it...do it by taste

Gently fry off the onions till translucent, then chop the corned beef into small pieces and add to the onions and cook gently till the corned beef cooks down to a thick mixture, season to taste with pepper dont add salt...this is the time you can add more puree, it should taste fresh and tomatoe'y.

Put into a pyrex dish and top with mashed potatoe and cheese...this can me made in the morning and put into the oven 180 degress till cooked. Cook as you would a cottage pie.

Lemon Bars

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• 
  
• For the base:
• 200g (7 oz) plain flour
• 75g (3 oz) icing sugar
• 175g (6 oz) butter, softened
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• For the lemon filling:
• 3 eggs
• 300g (11 oz) caster sugar
• 3 tablespoons plain flour
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 5 tablespoons icing sugar for decoration
• 1.

  Preheat the oven to 190 C / Gas mark 5. Grease a 23x33cm baking tin.
  2.

  Combine the base ingredients and pat dough into prepared tin.
  3.

  Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until slightly golden. While the crust is baking, whisk together eggs, caster sugar, flour and lemon juice until frothy. Pour this lemon mixture over the hot base.
  4.
  Return to the preheated oven for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Dust the top with icing sugar and cut into squares.

Scones

Ingredients

• 500g/1lb 1oz strong white flour (bread flour) plus a little extra for rolling out

• 80g/3oz softened butter plus a little extra to grease the baking tray

• 80g/3oz caster sugar
  

• 2 free-range eggs

• 5 tsp baking powder
  

• 250ml/8½fl oz mile
  

• 1 free-range egg beaten with a little salt (for glazing)

• Preheat the oven to 220C (200C fan assisted)/425F/Gas 7.

• Lightly grease a baking tray with butter and line it with baking or silicone paper (not greaseproof).

• put 450g/15½oz of the flour into a large bowl and add the butter. Rub the flour and butter together with your fingers to create a breadcrumb-like mixture.

• Add the sugar, eggs and baking powder and use a wooden spoon to turn the mixture gently. Make sure you mix all the way down to the bottom and incorporate all of the ingredients.

• Now add half of the milk and keep turning the mixture gently with the spoon to combine. Then add the remaining milk a little at a time and bring everything together to form a very soft, wet dough. (You may not need to add all of the milk.)

• Sprinkle most of the remaining flour onto a clean work surface. Tip the soft dough out onto the work surface and sprinkle the rest of the flour on top. The mixture will be wet and sticky.

• Use your hands to fold the dough in half, then turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat. By folding and turning the mixture in this way (called 'chaffing'), you incorporate the last of the flour and add air. Do this a few times until you’ve formed a smooth dough. If the mixture becomes too sticky use some extra flour to coat the mixture or your hands to make it more manageable. Be careful not to overwork your dough.

• Next roll the dough out: sprinkle flour onto the work surface and the top of the dough, then use the rolling pin to roll up from the middle and then down from the middle. Turn the dough by 90 degrees and continue to roll until it’s about 2.5cm/1in thick. ‘Relax’ the dough slightly by lifting the edges and allowing the dough to drop back onto the work surface.

• Using a pastry cutter, stamp out rounds from the pastry and place them onto the baking tray. Dip the edge of the pastry cutter in flour to make it easier to cut out the scones without them sticking. Don’t twist the cutter – just press firmly, then lift it up and push the dough out.

• Once you’ve cut 4 or 5 rounds you can re-work and re-roll the dough to make it easier to cut out the remaining rounds. Any leftover dough can be worked and rolled again, but the resulting scones won’t be as fluffy.

• Place the scones on the baking tray and leave them to rest for a few minutes to let the baking powder work. Then use a pastry brush (or your finger if you don’t have a brush) to glaze them with the beaten egg and salt mixture. Be careful to keep the glaze on the top of the scones. (If it runs down the sides it will stop them rising evenly.)

• Bake the scones in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes, or until the scones are risen and golden-brown.

• Leave the scones to cool, then split in half and add butter, jam and clotted cream to serve.

Cauliflower Cheese Cottage Pie

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

• 450g/1lb beef mince

• 1 onion, finely diced

• 1 carrot, finely diced

• 1 garlic clove, crushed

• 2 tbsp tomato purée

• 200ml/7fl oz stock (veal, game or beef)

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

For the topping

• 450g/1lb floury potatoes

• 75g/2½oz butter

• 750g/1lb 10oz cauliflower florets

• 150g/5oz crème fraîche

• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

• 1 free-range egg

• 150g/5oz strong cheddar

• Preparation method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

  2. Heat half of the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over a high heat. Add the mince and fry until browned all over. Remove with a slotted spoon.

  3. Add the remaining oil to the pan and gently fry the onion, carrot and garlic for eight minutes, or until the vegetables have softened.

  4. Return the mince to the pan with the tomato purée and cook for a further 6-8 minutes.

  5. Add the stock, bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Stir in the parsley, remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

  6. Meanwhile for the topping, boil the potatoes until soft. Drain and mash in a saucepan with the butter.

  7. Blanch the cauliflower florets for one minute. Drain, refresh in iced water and pat dry.

  8. Beat together the crème frâiche, mustard, egg and cheese in a bowl. Fold in the cauliflower.

  9. Spoon the mince into the baking dish and top with the mashed potato, then spoon over the cauliflower mixture and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

  10. Preheat the grill to high, then grill pie until the top is golden-brown and bubbling around the edges.

Carrot Cake

Wonderful Carrot Cake recipe and very easy to do...HERE

Buttercream Rose Cake

Made this today, bit of experimenting....turned out great

Melting Moments

Quick and easy to make and

• 250g butter, cubed
• 55g (1/3 cup) icing sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 260g (1 3/4 cups) plain flour
• 50g (1/3 cup) cornflour

• Filling

• 60g butter, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 orange, rind finely grated
• 110g (2/3 cup) icing sugar, sifted

• 1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.

  2. Beat butter, icing sugar and vanilla essence in a medium bowl with electric beaters until pale and creamy. Sift together the flour and cornflour, add to the butter mixture and mix with the beaters on the lowest possible speed until just combined and a soft dough forms. Lightly flour hands then roll the mixture into small balls. Place on the prepared baking tray about 5cm apart. Use a fork that has been dipped in flour to flatten each ball to about 3cm in diameter and 1 cm thick. Or pipe out into rounds, as i did.

  3. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until cooked through. Cool on baking tray. Repeat with the remaining mixture.

  4. To make the filling, beat the butter, vanilla essence and orange rind in a small bowl with electric beaters until pale and creamy. Add the icing sugar and beat until combined. Refrigerate until required.

  5. To assemble biscuits, spread the base of a biscuit with filling and then join with another biscuit. Repeat with remaining biscuits and filling. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Meatloaf

Ingredients
900g minced beef
2 onions, peeled
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 celery stalk
4 slices of stale white bread
3 eggs
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons mustard
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon Cajun Seasoning
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (optional)
3 tablespoons chopped coriander
2 teaspoons dried mixed herbs
12 streaky bacon rashers


Method
1. Place the minced beef in a large bowl and set aside. If you don’t have a hand blender or food processor, you will need to chop all the vegetables finely by hand, but the easiest way to make a good meatloaf is to chop them into rough chunks, then put them in a bowl and blend them together with a hand blender.
2. Crumble in the bread and add the eggs, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning, chilli flakes, if using, coriander and mixed herbs. The mix should be quite sloppy and wet.
Make sure your hands are clean, because I believe the best way to make meatloaf is to get your hands into the mix. Pour the chopped vegetable and bread mixture into the mince and combine well.
3. Line a 900g loaf tin with bacon rashers, then press the meatloaf mixture into it. Or 2 500gr tins and freeze one.
4. Place in an oven preheated to 180oC/Gas Mark 4 and bake for 40 minutes for the small loaves or 1 hour for the larger ones.

English Crumpets

Ingredients:

• 12 fl oz/350ml semi-skimmed milk, warmed but not boiling
• 1 lb/450g all purpose or plain flour
• 1/8 oz/5g dried yeast
• 2 tsp sugar
• 12 fl oz/350ml finger-warm water (approx)
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1tsp baking powder
• Vegetable oil for cooking

Preparation:

• Whisk together the milk, flour, yeast and sugar. Once combined add half the water and beat into the batter, continue to add more water until the batter is thick and smooth. Stop adding water once it reaches the consistency of thick cream. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm draft free place until foaming - about 1, up to 2 hours.
• Whisk the salt and baking powder into the batter then heat a heavy based frying pan on the stove to hot but not smoking.
• Dampen kitchen paper with a little oil and grease the base of the pan and a crumpet (or pastry) rings measuring 3"x 1 ½" (8 X 3.75cm) approx. If you don't have any pastry or crumpet rings the use a small, washed food can to the same measurements.
• Place one ring in the heated pan, add enough batter to fill just below the top of the ring. Cook for five minutes when there should be many tiny holes on the surface and the crumpet is setting. Flip the crumpet over and cook for another two – three minutes.
• Repeat with the remaining batter until used up. Rest the crumpets on a wire rack until cool and reheat in a toaster or under the grill before serving. Serve with lots of butter and/or jam.
• NOTE: If the batter seeps from under the ring it is too thin, whisk in more flour. If the crumpet is heavy and without holes, the batter is too thick, add more water.

Easy Peasy Garlic Bread Pizza

Buy a ready made plain base or make one, but why bother...lol

Garlic Bread Topping
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
2 to 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 teaspoons sliced fresh flat-leaf parsley
freshly ground black pepper and sea salt
Bake for 10 mins in med to hot oven