Lemon Tart

yet again an easy but delicious and pretty impressive!

I cheated with ready made pastry which made it like 50x easier!
What you need to do is ...
Blind bake your pastry ... for about 15 mins on gas mark 6/200 degrees
Whilst it's in the oven ...
cut up 200g of fresh strawbs into whatever shapes you want really then ...
whisk together ...
3 medium eggs
75g caster sugar
220ml double cream
finely grated zest and juice of 3 lemons

and that's it really ...  when the pastries done pull out the shelf and place your strawberries on the pastry, then pour your mixture ... if you fo this on the oven shelf you'll hopefully have no spillage.

Then bake it on 180 degrees or gas mark 4 for 30 mins - 40 mins ... keep your eye on it and check it with a skewer. Dust it with icing sugar if you fancy.

strawberry cider

this was the lovely 'aperitif' at our mothers day banquet ... I sort of made it by accident ... but it turned out like a dream!

all it was was a apple and raspberry J2O and a large bottle of cider, and some cut up strawbs ...
pour the J2O  in first (but i think you could use any store bought raspberry fruit juice.
throw you strawbs in the jug, then you pour the cider in exceptionally slowly so that the drinks don't mix .. et voila ... one little word of warning ... this is very VERY drinkable !!
ENJOY !!

Gorgeous lamb chops

delicious and pretty easy ... this was the meal i made for my lovely mum as it was mother's day here in the uk last sunday.

I forgot to take photos so this was a quick shot before the last bit got eaten.

I cooked a bit of a feast so i used a lot.

ingredients:
14 lamb chops
125 g streaky bacon
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 large onion
4 cloves of garlic
2 sticks of celery
2 carrots
1 tin of tomatoes
225ml of red wine
225ml of stock
2 sprigs of rosemary

it's this easy ... cut up all the ingredients into chunks ... and throw it all into a casserole dish apart from the chops (set them aside in the fridge for later)

Put the covered dish in the oven on gas mark 2 //150 degrees for about 2 hours
then get a griddle pan and seal the lamb on all sides and seal in all the flavour!
Then place the lamb on top of the casserole leaving it uncovered in dish and leave in the oven for between 20 mins and 40 mins depending how well cooked you like it ...

easy freezy meals for mamas to be

ok ... well i'm off work this week (still living with the mother in law - but hopefully i'll have my own kitchen soon and then the blogs will be back) so i've got a bit more time to be in the kitchen (even if it isnt my own :( ) anyway ...

Both my best friends are at the baby stage of life! one had a baby just before christmas and the other has 3 weeks to go !! It was the baby shower on saturday which was fun! anyway .. I'm going over later and i'm taking a few freezer meals for her and her hubby incase she just can't be bother to cook or just incase Baby Girl Groeneweg comes early !! so i thought i'd give you a few ideas of what you can cook really easily for your friends freezer (or for your own)

I did cheat though as it had to be simply as today was all about doing the long list of jobs !!

So i did for meals for two and all you need is:

one pack of mince meat (pork mince/turkey mince or beef - it doesnt matter)
one pasta sauce
one tin of tomatoes
one egg
one pack of bacon
three large potatoes
a potato bake sauce (or you could make your own thick smokey cheese sauce)
one red onion

and some herbs ...

literally all you need to do is make your meatballs and brown them ... then place them in a pot (I use disposable for my preggy friends so they dont have to wash up)

then i also made two trays of Cheese and Bacon Potato Bake ... yummy but easy peasy.

Literally buy the sauce and it takes about 10 minutes to prepare and 40 mins to cook.

Slice you potatoes and layer them up with cooked bacon and diced onion.
Then when you've filled you dish up to half way use one quarter of the sauce in each dish and pour over.
Then layer up to the top again and pour over the rest of the sauce. I always get the dregs of sauce out with about 2 cm of water in the bottom of the jar, put the lid back on, and shake ... then pour over and bake for 40 mins.

Then write your instructions on the lids so your friends know what to do to finish baking there dishes !

and there you have it ... easy peasy blessings for friends !! 

my favourites to make and my favourites to eat ...

this was a relatively easy decision ... I thought picking 5 would be harder ... but i guess cos i'm a relatively new blogger theres not that many to choose from.

These are in no order whatsoever !! there just my favourites ...

Chocolate Snowballs ... literally a hit with eveyone at the party and everyone at my office the next day ...
see the recipe

Fougasse ... the best bread i've ever tasted.
see the recipe

Apple Cinnamon Butter Crunch Muffins ... don't know what else to say but DE-LI-CIOUS !!
see the recipe

White Chocolate Cheesecake ... my only ever attempt at a baked cheesecake ... turned out great :)
see the recipe

Jambalaya ... childhood memories all in one dish
see the recipe

Chocolate Snowballs ....

Christmas parties have started ... these were a real hit!! 

seeing as so many people have been asking ... i'll share the recipe !! 

Ingredients: 

4 oz dark Chocolate (melted and cooled)

4 oz milk Chocolate (melted and cooled)

1 + 1/2 cups plain flour 

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)

1 + 1/3 cups light brown sugar

2 large eggs1 tsp vanilla essence

1/3 cup of milk

1 cup granulated sugar (for rolling)

1 cup icing sugar (for rolling)

in a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt until well mixed

in a large bowl beat butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium high speed until light and fluffy.

add eggs and vanilla extract and beat well until combined

add chocolate and beat until blended

with mixer on low add flour and milk bit by bit alternating between the two until just combined

divide the dough into quarters and wrap in cling film and stick it in the fridge for at least two hours (i left mine overnight)

preheat oven to 180 degrees and line cookie sheets with baking paper

place your sugar into two separate bowls

roll your mixture  into balls i got bout 12 out of each portion of mixture (leave the mixture until the very last minute, do one packet at a time as it melts quickly especially if your a hot blooded creature like me)

roll each ball through the granulated sugar and then through the icing sugar

place on your tray about 2 inches apart - they grow massively in the oven

cook for about 12 - 15 minutes 

leave them to cool on a cooling racks and store in airtight containers for up to a week - but trust me - you'll struggle to keep them that long

3 ways to sterilize you jars

The Oven Method 

   Heat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4 - don't be tempted to heat the oven any higher or you may risk the glass breaking. Lay a double layer of newspaper on each oven shelf but not the floor of the oven. Arrange the jars on the shelf making sure the jars are not touching each other. Close the oven door and sterilize the jars for about 20 minutes. Using thick oven mitts, remove each jar from the oven as needed onto a heatproof mat or heat pad, making sure you fill while the jam or preserve is hot as is the jar. Do NOT add cold food to hot jars, or hot food to cold jars.

Use you Dishwasher 

Fill your dishwasher with clean cold jars and run a minimum or rinse wash to time the ending with when your jam, preserve or pickle will be ready. Use the jars one at a time from the dishwasher needed making sure you fill while the jam or preserve is hot as is the jar. Do NOT add cold food to hot jars, or hot food to cold jars

Or your Microwave ... 

     Clean the jars as normal, rinse but leave the jars a little wet. Microwave for no more than one minute.

a few extra tips ...

1.                 Do NOT add cold food to hot jars, or hot food to cold jars.

2.                 Remove jars from the oven or dishwasher only when needed or they will cool down too much.

3.                 Always sterilize more jars than you think you will need. Should you have more mixture than anticipated it is too late to start sterilizing once the food is ready.

4.                 Leave jams, preserves or pickles to settle for 15 minutes before sealing