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

 

Strawberry torte cake

Its June and the great British strawberry comes into its own, yesterday due to my work (its really hard you know ;) ) we went strawberry picking (hunter gatherer types can also find some in their local supermarket/grocer) at the most brilliant Secretts PYO, so what do you do with gorgeous fresh strawberries that's quick and easy? well try this simple but effective cake, 7 ingredients!

Strawberry torte cake

Ingredients:

• 400g or so of strawberries hulled and halved
• 150g of granulated sugar
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 115g of softened salted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 125g plain flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170/gas 4-5, and grease a shallow cake dish, I used a flan dish.
2. In a bowl (I use a stand mixer, effort and time saving) Cream the butter till light and fluffy, the add the sugar, again beat till fluffy
3. Then add one egg at a time, beating thoroughly in, then add the vanilla.
4. Then slowly fold in the flour and baking powder.
5. Spread the mixture in and then arrange the strawberries, right way up, either in a pattern or scattered with want and abandon.
6. Sprinkle some granulated sugar on the top and bake for 35-40 mins. or until a toothpick placed in the centre comes out clean.

Serve with cream, or warm with ice cream, or whipped cream with lemon juice and rind included xxx

Creamy Chicken with potato dumplings

At the sound of the title I can hear the slumping of shoulders and faces hitting palms across the world, fear not its really very simple and easy in fact total cook time is just  30 mins!

Creamy Chicken with potato dumplings

Ingredients:

•  1 onion diced
•  120 ml of white wine/dry vermouth
•  15 ml of chopped fresh tarragon
•  300ml double cream
•  225g main crop potatoes
•  175g suet
•  2 tbsp of dried mixed herbs
•  50 ml water
•  cooked chicken (approx 4 breasts worth)
•  300 ml vegetable stock
•  115g self raising flour

Method:

1. Place onion, stock, wine/vermouth in a deep sided pan and simmer for 20 mins, add chicken pieces for the last 5, remove chicken.
2. Reduce the stock by a 1/3, remove from the heat and stir in the cream and tarragon, reheat gently, stirring until thickened, season and lastly re-add the chicken.
3. Heat your oven to 190/gas 5.
4. put chicken cream mixture into an oven proof dish.
5. Bind potatoes, flour, suet, herbs and mix with the water, knead lightly to make a soft dough. Divide into balls (size depends on how big your dish is, however aim to cover the top allowing room for the dumplings to extend), place on top of chicken, and cook uncovered in the oven for 30 mins.

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