Cookies

Oh yes, yummy yummy cookies!  Everyone loves cookies don't they.  I have a recipe for lovely gooey cookies and last year found a similar recipe on SJ's Blog.  Only difference was the sugar.  I had always used 200g of caster sugar but SJ's recipe uses 100g of soft brown sugar and 125g of caster sugar.  Tried this and must admit they are even more gooey.

Ingredients

125g softened butter

100g light brown soft sugar

125g caster sugar

1 egg

225g self-raising flour

Flavours

Chocolate Chip - 200g chocolate chips

Chocolate Cookies - use 200g of flour and 25g of Chocolate plus 200g white chocolate chips

Smartie - 2 tubes of smarties
Toblerone - 1 large or 5 mini bars

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C

Cream butter and sugars

Beat the egg and add to sugar/butter mix

Sift flour and add to the mixture.

Mix

Now add your chosen flavour and mix

Break off small amounts, roll into a ball and place on greaseproof paper.  

Push down flat 

Place in the oven for 7 to 8 minutes

When cooked, press the tops down with a spatula and allow to cool.

The cookies will apparently last for 3 days in an airtight container, for some unknown reason they last about 15 minutes in our house ;0)

If you want to try something different, roll the dough in to block, wrap in greaseproof then a plastic bag and freeze.  When frozen serve with ice cream!


Been very busy scrapping today - Made 6, yes you are reading that correctly, I've made 6 LO's.  Will be back in the week to show you those as I have something important taking me away from blogland the next few days and I need to get bags packed.

Homemade Tomato Soup

Last year I started a series of blog posts about easy cooking for working parents.  I personally did continue to cook homemade meals for my family as I always have done but the blogging of the recipes sadly dropped off due to the pressures of being a working Mom and all that comes with that.  I am hoping to re-start these posts but plan to do a couple of posts a month as opposed to committing to every week.

This week I am showing you a wonderful simple recipe for homemade tomato soup.  I really cannot tell you where this recipe came from as I have been making it for years.  I remember fondly my student days when we made huge pans of this for the whole house of 6 and it cost very little yet filled us up.

Ingredients

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

stock cube (chicken or vegetable)

squeeze of tomato ketchup

3 slices of bread (great for using up stale bread)

Splash of cream or milk

This will feed a family of four.  I have made double the quantity here as we will be having it for lunch and as a starter tomorrow night.

Method

Pour tomatoes in pan

Fill the can with water twice and add to pan

Crumble stock cube into the pan

Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes

Cut crusts of the bread and cut or break up into small cubes

Add the bread to the pan, stir and simmer for another 15 minutes

Blend the soup

Return to the heat and simmer for further 5 minutes

Add small amount of cream or if none in the house or prefer low fat version add a little drop of milk

Serve & enjoy!

A Cup Of Tea & A Slice Of A Passion Cake

Yesterday before I started on the housework I had a cup of tea and slice of cake.  As you all know it is very lazy just to sit and drink tea and eat cake.  Not wanting to be lazy I did a bit of scrapping whilst having my tea and cake.  I just have to say the cake was delish!  I'd got the recipe off the internet for a carrot cake last year (sorry don't know where).  That word 'carrot' cannot be uttered in this house as for sure the kids would go running to the hills, so I renamed it passion cake and the fact there are carrots in are never ever mentioned!  Being a sharing sort of person, I thought I would share such yumminess with you all.

As it is a healthy cake - got fruit, veg, nuts and fibre - I can't possibly cook it with the kids in the house, so with much sadness I had to leave the ironing yesterday afternoon in order to bake some cakes.

(Healthy) Ingredients

8oz wholemeal self raising flour (fibre)

5oz soft brown sugar

1/4 pint sunflower oil 

2 eggs 

4oz walnuts (nuts)

4oz sultanas (fruit)

2 ripe bananas (fruit)

1 carrot (vegetable)

2 tea spoon baking powder

1/2 tea spoon ground cinnamon

If you don't like nuts or sultanas they can be left out.  As you can see I didn't add walnuts, as I didn't have any.

This recipe makes a 1lb loaf and 3 muffins or 2 x 7" round cakes or 12 muffins.

Method

Heat oven to 160

Grate carrot.

chop/mash bananas

Place everything in a bowl and mix.  

That simple!

Cook for 45 mins to 1 hour for loaf/cake.  

Muffins 25 to 30 mins

Leave to cool

Yummy Frosting

(the not so healthy bit)

6oz full fat soft cheese 

2oz softened butter

4oz icing sugar

couple of drops of vanilla essence

Place all of the ingredients in a bowl & mix.

Spread over the cooled cake

If you like it can be decorated with walnut halves or marzipan carrots (at this point I'd got some walnuts!)

Slice & enjoy with a lovely cup of tea (at this point you can think about doing some housework but it is really NOT recommended)

Tuck In Tuesday - Chocolate Tiffin

Tuck In Tuesdays - home cooked food for busy working parents!

Chocolate Tiffin

Ingredients

1 pack of digestive biscuits (300g)
150g of Unsalted butter
3 tbsp Maple or Golden Syrup
4 tbsp of Cocoa
Marshmallows
150g chopped milk chocolate or chocolate buttons


This is one of those nice, simple recipes that the kids can make with very little supervision.  My two are aged 6 & 8 and have great fun making this.

Melt butter & syrup in a pan (adults)

Crush biscuits

 

Mix in cocoa

Pour in melted butter & syrup (adults)

Mix

Add marshmallows & chocolate

And mix

Pour in tin (unless you want it all over the floor, advised that adults do this part - I speak from experience!)

Press down with the back of a spoon and place in the fridge for at least an hour

Cut into slices

And end up looking like this!

Now TUCK IN & enjoy!

Lets Make Things Easy

This takes less than 15 minutes to make, even when you have two kids 'helping' or should that read fighting over who does what!

So I am pleased to say it doesn't come much easier than this.

Great for that simple pud, parties, lunch boxes (child & adult) and lovely pressie for Gran - whats better than home cooked sweet goodies that the kids have made themselves.

Meal Alternatives

Instead of marshmallows what about adding:

Crushed maltesers
Flaked coconut
Chopped nuts & glace cherries

Don't forget to come back next Tuesday for

Pork & Mushroom Cobler

Tuck In Tuesday - Pork with Crushed New Potatoes

Tuck In Tuesdays - home cooked food for busy working parents!

Pork With Crushed New Potatoes

Ingredients

8 chops
12 mushrooms
750ml of stock
tbsp flour
100ml of milk or cream
750g New potatoes
fresh chopped mint
150g butter
2 tbsp oil
cooking apple
2 tbsp sugar
salt & pepper to taste

Yes I know, that does read 8 chops.  But what we are doing is making things easy for ourselves.  We are actually making 2 meals here.  Once cooled we will freeze half of the pork in mushroom sauce for another meal in 2 weeks time.

Pre heat oven at 190 degrees

Boil the new potatoes in salted water with half the chopped mint.

Melt 50g of butter & 2 tbsp of oil in large pan.  Add chopped pork and cook until browned

Add mushrooms and cook for further 5 mins

Should now look like this

Add flour & mix

Slowly add stock & milk or cream, stirring all the time.  Simmer the meat & sauce mix to reduce the liquid.

Melt 50g of butter in a small pan, add the sugar and chopped cooking apple

Keep an eye on the apple sauce & mix regular.  Continue to cook until apple is soft.

By now the potatoes will be cooked but check with a sharp knife & drain.

Gently press a potato masher down until you hear them 'pop'

Place on a baking tray, add salt & pepper and remaining butter chopped.

Place in the pre heated oven for 15 mins, you are just slightly crisping them and melting the butter.

Serve potatoes, apple sauce & half the meat & sauce

Now TUCK IN & enjoy!

Lets Make Things Easy & Meal Alternatives

Freeze the remaining pork & mushroom sauce once cooled.
Come back in 2 weeks and I'll show what you can make with this

Don't forget to come back next Tuesday for

Chocolate Tiffin

Tuck In Tuesday - Apple & Caramel Pie

Tuck In Tuesdays - home cooked food for busy working parents!

Apple and Caramel Pie

4 Cooking apples - peeled, de-cored and sliced
30g unsalted butter
Pack of shortcrust pastry
Tin of Carnation caramel (face it, its midweek, I'm a working Mother, who has time to make caramel from scratch????)
handful of sultanas
Milk and caster sugar to glaze

Vanilla Ice Cream, cream or custard to serve

Pre heat oven to 190 degrees

Melt butter in a large pan and add apples, cook until still slightly crunchy. 

 Pour in half the tin of caramel, mix and put to one side to cool.

All you are doing is melting the caramel, takes less than a minute.

Roll out half of your pastry and line greased and floured pie tin - I use my Nan's glass pie plates, seriously these plates are older than me!

Add cooled apple mixture & sprinkle sultanas over the top

Roll out the second half of the pastry

Brush the edge of the pastry in the tin with water, place top half of pastry on top and 'pinch' the two layers together

Remember to cut a cross in the top of the pie to allow air to escape.

Brush milk on the top and sprinkle a little caster sugar over the top of the pie (caster sugar optional, a bad habit inherited from my Nan!)

Cook until golden brown

Serve with ice cream, cream or custard

Now TUCK IN & enjoy!

Lets Make things easy

Its ready made pastry & caramel, doesn't come more easier!  To save time you could make more than one pie and when cold cut into family sized potions and freeze in clingfilm and tin foil.  Lasts for one month.

Meal Alternatives

Try adding toasted almonds or chopped walnuts instead of sultanas.

Don't forget to come back next Tuesday for

Pork With Crushed New Potatoes