Mushroom and Pesto Pasta

8 closed cup mushrooms sliced
3tsp pesto
1/4 pint of water from the pasta pan
300g pasta

Fry the mushrooms in some butter for about 8 minutes.

Boil the pasta and cook for 9 minutes.

Add the pesto to the frying pan with the water from the pasta and stir. Add the pasta to the pan and mix together on a low heat.

Serve with some Parmesan cheese sprinkled on the top.

This served 2 of us.

S'more in a Mug

S'more in a mug

2 tablespoons of soft butter
2 tablespoons of cocoa
1 medium egg
2 tablespoons of milk
3 tablespoons of caster sugar
3 tablespoons of Self raising flour
pinch of salt
30g crushed bisuits digestives or cookies
2 tablespoons of marshmallow fluff or marshmallows

Place butter in a mug and microwave for 10-20 seconds until melted

Stir in the cocoa until combined, add the egg and the milk and beat with a fork until combined

Add sugar, flour and salt and beat again until smooth

Press the crushed biscuits into the bottom of a 350g mug. Spoon over the cake mixture, and carefully cover with marshmallow

Cook in the microwave for 2 minutes for 600w, 1 minute 45 seconds for 800w or 1 minute 30 seconds for a 1000W.

Malteaser and Mars Bar Slice

Saw this on Facebook and like the look of it.

MALTESER AND MARS BAR SLICE

I will start with an apology – this possibly is the most amazing and naughty slice I have ever made, and if you can stop after just one piece you have more will power than me.

✿´¯`*•.¸¸✿ Share to Save on your Timeline ✿¸¸.• *´¯`✿

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of Maltesers plus extra to decorate (grab a 280g pack)
4 Mars Bars (4 x 53g bars)
1/2 cup Condensed Milk
1 pack of Chocolate Ripple Biscuits (250g)
2 blocks of Cadbury Milk Chocolate
100g unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:
Line the base and sides of a slice tin with baking paper.
Finely crush the Chocolate Ripple Biscuits. You can use a food processor or the end of a rolling pin if you are like me!
Roughly crush 1 cup of Maltesers.
Dice the Mars Bars into small pieces.
In a small saucepan over a low heat, melt the butter and condensed milk, stirring until combined.
Add the roughly crushed Maltesers and Mars Bars to the crushed biscuits and stir through.
Then add the melted butter and condensed milk and stir until combined – it will be very sticky!
Pour the mixture into the slice tin and flatten with the back of a metal spoon. Pop it in the fridge for approximately an hour until it has completely cooled.
Melt both of the blocks of chocolate and add 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil to the melted mixture, making sure you stir it in.
Pour the melted chocolate over the cooled slice and then decorate with remaining Maltesers.
Put the slice back into the fridge and cut into pieces before it has completely set.

Donut Muffins

140g Golden caster sugar plus 200g for dusting

200g plain flour

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

100ml natural yoghurt

2 large eggs beaten

1tsp vanilla extract

140g butter

12tsp raspberry jam for filling or nutella

Heat Oven to 190/170 (fan) gas mark 5

Lightly grease a 12 hole muffin tin

Put 140g Sugar, flour and bicarbonate of soda and mix

Whisk together eggs, yoghurt and melted butter

Fold in to the dry mixture to combine

Dive 2/3's of the mixture in the muffin holes 

Carefully add 1tsp of filling to the centre of each hole.  

Cover with the remaining mixture

Bake for 16-18 minutes until springy.

Leave to cool for 5 minutes before rolling in the extra sugar.

Bero Cornflake Flapjacks Recipe

NUTTY FLAPJACKS 
4.oz(100grams) Marg/butter 
1.tablespoon golden syrup 
40z(100grams)sugar 
2oz(50grams)oats 
2oz(50grams)Be-Ro self raising flour 
3oz(75grams) crushed cornflakes. 

1.Melt the marg/butter and syrup together gentle. 
2. Mix the dry ingredients pour on marg mixture and mix well 
3. Spread evenly in a greases swiss roll tin and press down firmly. 
4. Bake in a moderate oven 190c 375f. Gas mark 5 for 20 mins. 
5. Cut into fingers while still warm. 

Apple Muffins

• 255g (9 oz) plain flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 100g (4 oz) caster sugar
• 60g (2 oz) butter
• 225ml (8 fl oz) semi-skimmed milk
• 110g (4 oz) apple - peeled, cored and chopped
• Preheat oven to 200 C / Gas mark 6. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin, or line with paper muffin cups.
• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
• In a separate bowl, cream together sugar and butter. Stir the flour mixture into the sugar mixture alternately with the milk. Fold in the fruit. Pour batter into prepared muffin tin.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.

Fridge Cake

Ingredients

• 250g digestive biscuits
• 150g plain chocolate
• 150g milk chocolate
• 100g unsalted butter
• 150g golden syrup

Method

Put the biscuits in a plastic bag and bash them into pieces with a rolling pin.


Melt both kinds of chocolate, the butter, and golden syrup in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir well.


Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the broken biscuits,


Line a 20 cm (8 in) shallow, square-shaped tin with clingfilm. Spoon the mix into the tin and level it by pressing down with a potato masher.


Set the cake in the fridge for 1-2 hours. Then turn it out and peel off the Clingfilm. Cut into slices and serve

Irn Bru Cupcakes

For the cakes:
125g plain flour (sieved)
125g caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 egg
125ml buttermilk (or regular milk with a squirt of lemon juice)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
125g unsalted butter
85ml Irn Bru



Makes 12 cupcakes

What to do:
First pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C/160 degrees C (fan oven)/Gas mark 4, then line a cupcake tin with cases. So far, so easy. Now get yourself a large bowl and mix together the flour, sugar, bicarb, baking powder and salt. Next get a pan and gently heat the butter and Irn Bru on the hob until the butter has melted, then remove from the heat.

Next, get your buttermilk ready in a measuring jug. If you can’t find, or don’t have any buttermilk, use regular milk instead, add a squirt of lemon juice and leave for five minutes. Beat the egg and vanilla extract into the milk. Once you’ve done that, add the butter mixture and the egg mixture to the dry ingrediants and combine with a wooden spoon. I also added some orange food colouring paste at this point to enhance the colour, but it’s not essential. Now spoon the mixture into the cases, dividing it evenly between all 12.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. All ovens vary, so you might want to check on the cakes after ten minutes (without opening the oven door). They should be ready once they’ve risen and are firm but slightly springy to touch. If you want, you can double-check by inserting a skewer or cocktail stick into the centre of one of the cakes. If it comes out clean, they’re ready, if it’s covered in wet cake mixture, then they need longer. Once done, take the pan out of the oven and leave to stand for five minutes. After that, transfer the cakes to a cooling rack.

Once the cakes are completely cooled, you can ice with blue icing.

Pork/Apple/Cheese Burgers

• 500g extra lean pork mince
• 1 dessert apple, grated
• 50g cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil or chives, finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried herbs)
• 1 tablespoon dry breadcrumbs
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Ciabatta, salad and tomato relish to serve

1. Put the pork mince, apple, cheese and herbs in a large bowl and mix until well combined. Add the breadcrumbs, season with salt and pepper and mix again so the breadcrumbs are evenly distributed. 
2. Split the mixture into 5 evenly sized balls and flatten to make a burger shape. Put on a plate, cover with clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before cooking. 
3. Grill or BBQ the burgers for 5-6 minutes on each side until cooked through. Serve on ciabatta with salad and tomato relish.

Slow Cooked Pulled Pork with spices

SLOW-COOKED PULLED PORK

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped

3-4 large garlic cloves, chopped

1 cup chicken stock (I used Knorr jelly stock)

1 tablespoon of dark brown sugar (I used heaped)

1 tablespoon chilli powder (I used extra hot, not too heaped)

1 teaspoon of salt

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Boneless or bone-in-pork shoulder (remove twine/netting)

Optional – 2 cups barbecue sauce (I did not use this)

Method

  1.  Mix the onions and garlic and place in the bottom of the slow cooker, pour the stock on top.

  2.  Mix the sugar, chilli powder, salt, cumin and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Pat the pork dry with kitchen roll and rub the spice mixture all over the pork. Place the meat on top of the onion/garlic mix.  Cover and cook until the pork is tender (approx 6-8 hrs on high or 8-10 hours on low).   (I did 6 hrs on low and last 2 on high, depends on your cooker).

  3. Once cooked, turn off the cooker and place the pork on a board.  Strain the onion mixture and put the stock to one side.  Put the onion      mixture back into the slow cooker (this will be mixed with the meat, I did not do this as we are not lovers of lots of onion – use/not use depending on your personal taste).

  4. If you have a boned joint, remove the bone. Use 2 forks to shred the meat (remove any fat whilst you do this).  Return the meat to the slow cooker (mix with the onion mix if  used).  If using barbecue sauce, mix into the meat then serve.  If not using the barbecue sauce, skim any fat off the discarded stock and add a little of the stock at a time to the meat, stirring gently.

Cheese Scones

Ingredients

• 225g/8oz self raising flour
• pinch of salt
• 55g/2oz butter
• 25g/1oz mature cheddar cheese, grated
• 150ml/5fl oz milk

Preparation method

1. Heat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Mix together the flour and salt and rub in the butter.
3. Stir in the cheese and then the milk to get a soft dough.
4. Turn on to a floured work surface and knead very lightly. Pat out to a round 2cm/¾in thick. Use a 5cm/2in cutter to stamp out rounds and place on the baking sheet. Lightly knead together the rest of the dough and stamp out more scones to use it all up.
5. Brush the tops of the scones with a little milk. Bake for 12-15 minutes until well risen and golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Simple Slow Cooked Chicken Curry

Ingredients

4 chicken breast diced or thighs.

1 large onion roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped...

2 fresh green chilies, chopped

1 x 400g tin/jar of passata

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 or 2 red or green peppers roughly chopped

1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

 2 whole fresh red chillies (optional)

 2 teaspoons garam masala

 2 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

CHUCK IT ALL IN THE SC ON LOW FOR 6-7 HOURS.

Tesco's Millionaire Shortbread with Malteasers

• For the base
• 180g plain flour
• 125g salted butter
• 50g caster sugar
• For the filling
• 150g unsalted butter
• 150g dark soft brown sugar
• 397g condensed milk
• For the topping
• 200g milk chocolate
• 135g Maltesers

Preheat your oven to 160ºC/140ºC fan/Gas 3. Line a 20cm shallow square cake tin with non-stick baking paper.

Pop your flour, butter and sugar into a food processor and blend. When the mix comes together, remove and press into your tin.

Bake in your oven for 30 mins. Remove and allow to cool, and resist having a bite!

For the upper layers

Put the butter and sugar into a non-stick pan and heat, stirring until melted. Add in the condensed milk and stir continuously until the filling has thickened slightly. Immediately pour over the baked shortbread base.

Pop that in the fridge and while it sets, carefully melt the chocolate in the microwave, let it cool a little, then pour over the set caramel.

Top with loads of Maltesers®. Leave to set on the side, cut into squares and enjoy!

Slimming World Pancakes

1 vanilla muller light
40g quaker oats
3 eggs

 Method:
 The night before you want the pancakes, mix the muller light into the quaker oaks, then leave in the fridge overnight.

 In the morning, crack the 3 eggs into something and whisk them up until the yolks and whites are well mixed, then mix that in with the muller light and quaker oat mix until it looks like a thick batter.

 To cook, place a fairly large (10-15cm diameter) biscuit cutter into a fairly hot frying pan, then pour in some batter until it's roughly 4-5mm thick (the pancakes will come out a bit like scotch pancakes) remove the biscuit cutter when you think it's cooked enough on the bottom, then flip when ready to cook the other side, remove from frying pan and serve.

No Cook Truffles

Ingredients

 18 Digestive Biscuits
8 table spoons of drinking chocolate
1 tin condensed milk.
5 table spoons of dessicated coconut if desired Crush the digestive biscuits.
Mix with the drinking chocolate & if desired dessicated coconut. then stir in the tin of condensed milk. Roll into little balls and then roll in more dessicated coconut or chocolate sprinkles.
 Put in the fridge to chill.

Banana Muffins

200g (7 oz) plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large bananas, mashed
150g (5 oz) caster sugar
1 egg
75g (2 1/2 oz) butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas 4. Place 12 paper baking cases in a muffin tin.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
Combine mashed bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold into the flour mixture, and mix until smooth.
Spoon evenly into baking cases in muffin tin.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until muffins spring back when lightly tapped.

Gingerbread Men

350g plain flour
1-2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
100g butter or margarine
175g soft light brown sugar
1 egg
4 tablespoons golden syrup
Makes about 20 biscuits.

Put the flour, ginger and soda into a bowl and rub in the butter.

Add sugar and stir in the syrup and egg to make a firm dough.

Roll out to about 5mm thick and cut out your gingerbread men. If you don't have a gingerbread man cutter then use whatever you have - stars and hearts are just as tasty.

Bake at 190 C /Gas 5 on greased baking trays (spaced out, as they will spread) for 10 to 15 mins until golden brown. Leave to firm up for a couple of minutes before placing on a wire rack to cook.

Variations: Swap the ginger for cinnamon or a few drops of vanilla essence if you don't like ginger. Swap golden syrup for treacle, if preferred.

Easy Microwave Fudge

This recipe for microwave fudge has a crumbly texture (like butter tablet), rather than a chewy one, and is much quicker and easier to make than traditional fudge.

100g (4oz) milk or plain chocolate, broken into pieces
100g (4oz) butter, melted (not low fat spread)
450g (1lb) icing sugar
45ml (3tbsp) milk
a few drops of vanilla or other flavouring essence (optional)
Place the chocolate into a glass heatproof bowl and heat on medium for 2-3 minutes. Stop the cooking time and stir every 30 seconds or so, until just melted.

Add the butter, icing sugar, essence and milk, mix well.

Heat on high for 3-4 minutes, take out of the microwave and beat well every minute.

The mixture and bowl will be very hot, so take care.

When the mixture starts to set around the edges of the bowl and becomes thicker, it's ready to pour into a greased, 20cm x 15cm (8" x 6") dish.

Allow to set for a few minutes before marking into squares using a knife, and leave to cool before removing from the tin.

Place in paper sweet cakes and keep in an airtight container for upto a week.

POTATO AND CHICKPEA CURRY

4 medium potatoes cut into large chunks
2 tins of chickpeas
2 medium onions chopped finely
2tsp garam masala
48
3tsp curry powder
1tsp turmeric powder
1tsp cumin seeds
2 pods of garlic crushed
1tsp fresh ginger roots grated
frylight spray
1/2 tin of tomatoes
1/2 tsp of chilli powder
1/2 pint of water


Method


Put onions cumin seeds in non stick pan add frylight and cook till brown.

Add garlic, ginger then fry for 2 min.

Add all spices then tin tomatoes, cook again for about 5min on low heat.

Add potatoes and a 1/2 pint water cook 10 mins.

Then add chick peas cook till potatoes are cooked, watching the water at all
times.

Sprinkle with fresh coriander.

Chicken and Chickpea Curry

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 900 g boneless chicken thigh fillets
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 red peppers, deseeded and chopped
• 2.5 piece root ginger, peeled and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 6 tbsp Tikka Masala or medium curry paste
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste
• 2 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 300 ml chicken stock
• 225 g frozen chickpeas
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Method

1. Cut each chicken thigh fillet into four. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan or wok, add the chicken and sauté over a high heat for 10mins or until golden. Transfer to a plate.
2. Add the remaining oil, onions and peppers to the pan and sauté for 3 mins or until soft.
3. Stir in the ginger, garlic, tikka masala and tamarind pastes and cook for 1 min.
4. Add the chicken, tomatoes, chicken stock and chick peas, then bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 20mins or until the chicken is tender.
5. Remove the lid and simmer uncovered for a further 10mins or until the sauce has thickened slightly.
6. Stir in the yogurt, sugar then season to taste. Stir in the coriander and serve with rice.