Jammie Dodgers

Very simple recipe

300gr plain flour
100gr icing sugar
250gr soft butter
plus any flavouring you want...i used vanilla

mix all together to a soft dough and place in fridge for 30mins
roll out to thickness of cookie you would like (on a floured board), cut out into shapes and put on baking tray and back in fridge for 30mins, this way they hold their shape. Place in oven on 160 fan/180 electric for 12-15mins.

Tip: if you have trouble rolling out due to the dough sticking to the rolling pin, lay a large sheet of baking/parchment paper on your dough then roll out on the floured board.

You can also cut into shapes and freeze for upto a month then bake them as you need them after they have thawed out

Millionaires Shortbread

To make these...
175grm unsalted butter
75 grm castor sugar
225grm plain flour
Put in mixer till it forms a soft dough and press into a lined 8" square pan, then prick dough with holes and bake for 5 mins on 180 degrees then 35 mins on 150 degrees. Leave in tin to cool

For the caramel
150grm butter
150grm castor sugar
1 can of condenced milk

Melt butter in a pan...add sugar and continue to stir till sugar is melted.
Add milk and bring to a bubbling simmer stirring all the time...then bring to a boil and stir continually for 8 mins....and it hurts...lol...really hurts but it has to be done...do not leave it for 1 sec or it will catch.
When it looks thick and fudgy pour ontop of cooled shortbread and spread to cover. Put in fridge to cool down.

For topping melt 300gr of chocolate and pour over set caramel.....and then put in fridge to cool and set.
Cut into squares and enjoy

Shortbread Stack

             For the shortbread stack:

• 45g/1¾oz icing sugar
• 90g/3¼oz palin flour
• 30g/1oz cornflour
• 1 tbsp ground almonds
• 125g/4½ oz butter, cut into cubes
• 1-2 tbsp icing sugar, for dusting
  
  

  For the filling:

  • 250ml/9fl oz double cream
  • 150ml/5fl oz fresh cold vanilla custard
  • 75g/3oz strawberries, finely chopped
  • 400g/14oz raspberries
  • 1-2 tbsp icing sugar
    
    
    
    
  • For the shortbread stack, pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
    
  • Sift the icing sugar, flour and cornflour together into a bowl and add the ground almonds.
    
  • Using your fingers, rub or mix the butter in until there are no visible lumps of butter.
    
  • Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times, to just form a smooth dough.
    
  • Roll the dough out, about 3mm/1/8in thick and cut out 12 rounds, 7.5cm/3in diameter. Place on a baking tray and bake until they are a light golden-brown, about 8-12 minutes.
    
  • Remove them from the oven and cool completely.
    
  • For the filling, place the double cream into a bowl and whisk to soft peaks, then fold in the custard and whisk until it just holds a peak.
    
  • Fold in the chopped strawberries.
    
  • Place half the raspberries into a food processor with the icing sugar and blitz to a puree.
    
  • Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl, then check the sweetness level and adjust accordingly.
    
  • To assemble, place one disc of shortbread into the centre of the plate and top with a spoonful of cream mixture.
    
  • Place raspberries around the edge of the shortbread to fill tightly, enclosing the cream in the centre.
    
  • Top with another shortbread disc and repeat with the cream and raspberries.
    
  • Top with one more disc, then dust with icing sugar and finish with a sprig of mint.

Pulled Pork

 I use a fillet or shoulder of pork, put in slow cooker with a chicken stock and onions for around 4hours ( i use my slow cooker)...then i pour the stock off. Take pork out of cooker and with 2 forks, pull the pork till its in shreds,  put back into slow cooker and add the sauce take the lid off the slow cooker put on med/low heat and cook for the 1hr 15mins

This is the sauce i use for the pork

• • 2 cups ketchup
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 5 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 5 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1/2 tablespoon ground mustard
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 
  • In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, for 1 hour 15 minutes.  
  • To serve....i use ciabatta rolls and corn on the cob and coleslaw. 

Lazy Sausage Rolls

This is a recipe i made up years ago and only just found it again...its a lazy version, no pastry making..

1pk puff pastry slices
4 Pork sausages
Rosemary
Thyme
Sweet Chilli sauce
1 med potato
1 med onion
Grated cheese
Paprika

Peel and chop potato into tiny squares and boil till par cooked.
Peel and chop onion finely and fry till caramalised.
When both are done, leave to oneside to cool down.
Remove skins from sausages and put the sausage meat in a bowl, add some dried rosemary and thyme, salt and pepper to taste and some sweet chilli sauce to taste, now with hands mix till all sausage meat is combined and there are no lumps.
Then form a roll down the pastry sheet.

Then brush top and bottom edges of pastry and roll into a sausage shape. Sprinkle top with cheese and hot paprika. You can either cut in half before or after baking,

Bake for 25 mins (if smaller version) or 30-35 mins for larger ones on 180c, 350F or gas mark 4

Lemon Yoghurt Cake

From the Barefoot Contessa, but i am adding poppy seeds

• • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, if you use self raising dont add the baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
  • 3 extra-large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

• For the glaze

  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 
  •  
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch load pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

    Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it's all incorporated. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
    Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.
    When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.
     

Egg & Bacon Bread

Egg & Bacon Bread

Servings: 16

8 oz (250 g) streaky bacon
1/4 cup (50 mL) grainy or Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp (1 mL) each pepper and hot pepper sauce (optional)
Pinch salt
Buy a bread mix and "do" to dough stage and prove once.
4 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
1-1/2 cups (375 mL) shredded extra-old cheddar cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten

Grill the streaky bacon thill crispy. Chop or crumble into small pieces.
In small bowl, combine mustard, garlic, pepper, hot pepper sauce (optional) and salt.
On floured surface, roll out dough to 14- x 12-inch (35 x 30 cm) rectangle. Brush with mustard mixture, leaving 1/2-inch (1 cm) border; sprinkle bacon, hard-cooked eggs and 1 cup (250 mL) of the cheese over mustard. Starting at long side, roll up jelly roll-style; pinch seam to seal. Place, seam side down, in greased 10-inch cake tin. Cover with greased plastic wrap; let rise until doubled in bulk, 30 minutes.
Brush loaf with egg. With serrated knife, cut slashes in top; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake in centre of 375°F (190°C) oven until golden and loaf pulls away from sides of pan, about 45 minutes. Let stand in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Turn out onto serving plate; let cool for 20 minutes to set cheese.

Sloppy Joes

Photo and recipe from Simply Recipes

Sloppy Joes Recipe

The trick to this recipe is to brown the meat well, on high heat. Don't crowd the pan, work in batches, and don't stir the meat until it is well browned on one side. It helps to use a large cast iron pan, or an anodized aluminum pan, as these pans can handle the heat and are relatively stick-free.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup minced carrots (can sub chopped bell pepper)
• 1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium onion)
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt
• 1 1/4 lb ground beef
• 1/2 cup ketchup i use HP brown Sauce
• 2 cups tomato sauce (or 1 15-ounce can whole tomatoes, puréed)
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• Pinch ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 2 turns of freshly ground black pepper
• 4 hamburger buns

• Method

  1 Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add the carrots and sauté for 5 minutes. (If you are using bell pepper instead of carrots, add those at the same time as the onions.) Add the chopped onion and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally until onions are translucent, about 5 more minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 more seconds. Remove from heat. Remove vegetables from the pan to a medium sized bowl, set aside.
  2 Using the same pan (or you can cook the meat at the same time as the vegetables in a separate pan to save time), generously salt the bottom of the pan (about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon). Heat the pan on high. Crumble the ground beef into the pan. You will likely need to do this in two batches, otherwise you will crowd the pan and the beef won't easily brown. Do not stir the ground beef, just let it cook until it is well browned on one side. Then flip the pieces over and brown the second side. Use a slotted spoon to remove the ground beef from the pan (can add to the set-aside vegetables), salt the pan again and repeat with the rest of the ground beef.
  If you are using extra lean beef, you will likely not have any excess fat in the pan. If you are using 16% or higher, you may have excess fat. Strain off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat.
  3 Return the cooked ground beef and vegetables to the pan. Add the ketchup, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and brown sugar to the pan. Stir to mix well. Add ground cloves, thyme, and cayenne pepper. Lower the heat to medium low and let simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.
  Serve with toasted hamburger buns. Serves 4.
   

Chocolate Cherry Fridge Cake

For the chocolate fridge cake:

• 200 g good quality dark chocolate
• 1 heaped tbsp golden syrup
• 120 g unsalted butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 90 g amaretti or digestives (also ginger nuts will do)
• 1 tsp kirsch
• 50 g Marcona almonds, coarsely chopped
• 50 g walnuts, coarsely broken
• 25 g shelled pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped
• 50 g Morello cherries from a jar, drained of syrup, halved
• Line a 900g loaf tin with foil or greaseproof paper.  Melt the chocolate, golden syrup and butter together gently in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir to combine and take off the heat. Let cool slightly, then stir in the beaten egg. Break the amaretti into large chunks, place in a bowl and sprinkle over the kirsch. Add in the chopped almonds, walnuts, pistachios and cherries. Pour the warm chocolate mixture over, stir gently until evenly mixed and the into the loaf tin. Place in the fridge for 4 hours to set (or longer if you want to make it in advance). A quick cheat is to place it in the freezer for 30 minutes. When ready to serve, remove from the fridge (or freezer) and turn it out onto a board. Peel off the foil or paper and cut the cake into thin slices, using a sharp knife. It's lovely served with cream  or creme fraiche and red berries on the side.

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies

Made these today, i used honey instead of sugar and thanks to Sonya for this recipe she uses
Makes 16 Servings

• One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed very well
• 3 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons canola oil (i dont use canola oil so used sunflower)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract, optional
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil or coat an 8 x 8-inch baking pan or dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Place the black beans in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth and creamy.  Add the eggs, oil, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, peppermint extract as desired, baking powder, and salt and process until smooth.  Add ¼ cup of the chips and pulse a few times until the chips are incorporated.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top with a rubber spatula, and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips.
4. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before slicing into 2-inch squares.