Simple peanut butter cookies!

I like to cook things that are a) as simple as they can be b) with simple ingredients, because I at my core am very simples too. 

So here is the best most simplest peanut butter cookie recipe borrowed from over the pond from a very close friend of mine

Ingredients:

• 2x cups of crunchy peanut butter
• 2x cups of coconut sugar (I used caster from the cupboard)
• 2 large eggs
• salted peanuts

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180/170 fan.
2. Whisk the eggs until light and frothy.
3. In a separate bowl combine sugar and peanut butter till fluffy
4. Fold in egg mixture until full incorporated
5. Place a dollop (yup that's a technical term there!) on a lined baking tray, sprinkle extra peanuts on the top and cook in the oven until golden brown.
6. Cool slightly and eat

 

Deep filled lunch rolls.

I hate making lunches, I find it tedious and repetitive. I also get fed up with the moaning about what I have made them, so I now do this........

Deep filled lunch rolls

So to start with you need some rolls, any will do however I have found that the plumper the roll the easier it is to fill, crusty rolls are the best, however any will do the job.

Slice the top of the roll off, thickly enough to use as a lit, but not so that you loose most of the roll.

Then carefully strip the inside of the roll out, making a well in the middle (save the bread removed for a later use (will blog that later))

Then start to layer in your fillings.

 Now I cant stand a dry sandwich, so mayonnaise or salad cream is a must, so I always put in a filling such as, tuna mayonnaise, egg and mayonnaise, cream cheese. you can be as inventive as you like. Below is mini cooked sausage sliced, with grated cheddar and 1 tbsp of mayonnaise.

Layer this in.

Then, pop the lid back on, wrap quite firmly in clingfilm, I add labels, just to save the complaints of the sandwich roulette! 

A few hints and tips:

• Ensure you buy/use things that will not go out of date in the week the rolls will be used
• Wrap entirely to ensure the bread does not dry out
• Thin slicing of ingredients mean you can get more in
• Use up stuff in the fridge, you know that rouge courgette, thinly slice and fry gently in oil and drain, then use as a sandwich layer
• Make several different ones, so 3 of one, 3 of another etc
• Make as many as you need, or go over so that if you fancy a quick lunch you can grab one yourself
• Perfect for those impromptu picnic!

Why this blog, essentials and the basics..........Part 1!

My Foody Bloggy 

Why?

Okay this blog is a demand blog from some friends of mine (Lucinda and Jube!)

Due to financial reasons I have to food plan, I have always done it and have some cracking recipes, of which most look like the most complicated thing ever yet are really simple things to make with the simplest of ingredients.

My essentials

  Kitchen equipment:

• Slow cooker
• Scales/measuring cups (handy if using American recipes)
• Electric mixer with whisk attachment
• Cheese grater
• measuring spoons
• plastic and ceramic mixing bowls (several as I am a messy cook and can have several things on the go at any one time)

Cupboard essentials:

To be fair I don't stock pile things, I tend to buy whats required if I don't have it or have run out, but like most things, they last a while and if you only use a pinch of this and that......!

however a a rough guide

• Worcester sauce
• Tabasco/hot sauce
• light/dark soy
• mustard powder
• mustard English/wholegrain/Dijon
• Vinegar, red wine,white wine, cider, balsamic
• all herbs
• all spices
• All types of stock cube
• breadcrumbs
• Flour plain/self raising
• Baking poweder
• Arrowroot
• cornflour
• cocoa powder
• all sugars
• all pasta types
• chopped tomatoes
• passata
• canned beans
• canned veg

Fridge essentials:

• Butter (salted/unsalted)
• Pasty any kind
• milk
• dounble cream
• cheese 
• fromage frais
• cream cheese 

The essentials .................... part 2

Time to get..........

Organised!!

 

Cook books, recipes, food apps and other such things. 

To start with you need to meal plan, to do this you will need a selection of recipes for inspiration, to make life easier in the beginning, get a selection of cook books and start to sift through them, later on you can use apps and websites to source out possibilities, then just make note of ones that you like etc

Apps

Some are good, I like free apps (who does not!). Some are okay and will offer up free stuff but then require finances to access more (my opinion on this, meh, ambiguous). Some require a fee or subscription, Why? dont get this bit, as 99.999999 % of recipes are available online, in a blog etc anyway, so why????

I like Yummly 
Just as an example ........

Websites

 

There are loads, loads and more loads!

Sooooooo

oooooooo there are 7 days in a week (feels like 12 sometimes!), plan your meals around when you like to go shopping, mine tends to be on a Friday when its my day off, so Friday morning I sit down look through the cookbooks and decide what I fancy cooking. 

Make things easier by mixing in a slow cooker recipe with a 30 min meal, with a 2 hr preparation meal, then I can cherry pick what suits me best on the day.

So an example this is this weeks menu :-

Beef and Bean hotpot bake

Pork and Garlic bread bake

Fish and leek grills

Bacon and tomato risotto

Sausage and butter bean bake

Turkey and macaroni

BBQ pulled pork

As I said I don't specify a day as this allows flexibility as sometimes you don't know how your day will go xxx