Scrumptious Trifle Loaf

Well, incase you haven't noticed, I've not been making many many bentos lately. None pretty much. I've just been so busy. There's something about having a one year old toddling about on newly walking feet that doesn't allow you much time! That, and I've been busy with other activities whenever there is any time. I do plan on getting back on the ball soon though! I just can't bare all the plain sandwiches! No, just kiddin'.

Here's a recipe for a dessert I 'threw' together recently that went over really well with the family so I wanted to share it here with you guys! Please excuse the poor quality of pics though - the lighting wasn't so great.

It's real simple. 

Buy or make a pound cake and slice into 1-inch thick slices (you only need about 6 slices in total so the pound cake doesn't have to be real big and you'll probably have some leftover)

Whip up some pudding (I loooove white choc flavor with this) with some heavy whipping cream until soft peaks.

Mix sliced fresh strawberries with fresh raspberries (or blueberries etc) and mix with some raspberry sauce. Make your own or do like me and buy a can of the pie filling.

Now to assemble.

Lay three slices of the pound cake on the bottom of a glass loaf dish and spread with half the fruit mixture.

Spoon over half of the pudding mixture.

Again layer three slices of pound cake plus fruit mixture. 

Then add 1/2-1 cup of cool whip to the remaining pudding mixture and spread on top.

To make it pretty you could pipe something with chocolate on top or decorate with some fruit.

It is so absolutely delicious. I have never seen a dessert disappear so fast.

Vanishing Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

I am back, after a fabulous week away on our cruise. It truly was a wonderful (and not-realized-how-much-needed) break which will hopefully hold me over till I can persuade Stephen to take me on another!

I spent a couple days after arriving home just trying to get the house back to normal after the mess we left it in – yes, it actually took days and it’s still not there yet. I've been enjoying my babies … wow I missed them SO much. Is it possible for them to grow even cuter in a week? Willow was fast asleep with Grandma when we got back home at night and I just had to wake her up and give her lots and lots of kisses. Of course the first thing she says is, 'can I have my presents now?' :)

One thing that I am having trouble getting back into is cooking. It was so nice having my meals made for me. The food was delicious too. But today I had a ladies night at church to go to and needed to bring a finger food. Normally I'd make something savory maybe but, for some reason, I just had the desire to bake some oatmeal raisin cookies after seeing the recipe on the back of the lid when making Willow's breakfast. So she and I made those together and they turned out very nice! Just the perfect amount of moistness. Stephen tried one and made a face like he was going to spit it out in the sink and then said they were the best oatmeal cookies he’s ever had. Anything to instill panic into his wife! The ladies at church also liked them so I think I will be hanging onto this one. Be fun to try making them with some other things besides raisins too… maybe chocolate raisins or m&ms ...mmmm.

Vanishing Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

Ingredients1/2  cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened 3/4  cup firmly packed brown sugar1/2  cup granulated sugar2  eggs1  teaspoon vanilla1-1/2  cups all-purpose flour1  teaspoon baking soda (I added a pinch more   'cause I'm tired of my cookies coming out flat)1  teaspoon ground cinnamon1/2  teaspoon salt (optional)3  cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)1  cup raisins
Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Appetizers

Willow went to Vacation Bible School at church everyday last week from 5.30pm to 8.30pm and loved it. It's the first year she has been old enough to take part. I was there taking a few snaps for the church web site on two of the days. I just loved getting to see her run around and have fun with her little friends. Made me feel so proud. And she's such a good girl too. She seemed to behave well and listen to the teachers when they were talking. Even won a little toy and certificate for good behavior :) Yesterday was the last day of VBS and I made some small appetizers to bring in to a meeting for all the new parents that were there. I did the above tuna salad stuffed cucumbers (garnished with a little fresh dill). I put corn in too which is something you don't see here (the US) much in tuna salad, if at all. If you haven't tried it, you should! Adds a nice bit of sweetness here and there. I also mixed in a tiny bit of grated carrot and chopped red pepper, just for color.

And these I almost kept for myself! Delicious little phyllo cups filled with chicken salad. Got lots of compliments on them so I think it's a keeper recipe. As I was in a rush to get out of the door  I asked Stephen if he would put little tiny cheese stars on a few of the cups. He misheard me and put them on the plate lol but I thought it looked pretty so I kept it that way.

I also made some mini cherry pies but didn't have time to get a good pic.

Deviled Eggs

What's your favorite picnic food? Mine has got to be deviled eggs. It's always the first thing I go for. I made these for a picnic recently that we didn't end up going to, so hubby took them into work and they were all gobbled up.

I make mine the most basic way ...

Boil up some eggs (make more than you think because some will crack or not slice properly). Cool.

Peel and slice the eggs lengthwise (Martha Stewart does hers width-ways and it actually looks pretty cool).

Remove egg yolks to a bowl. And place the whites on a deviled egg platter/tray or, if you don't have one, a plate. Just cut a tiny slice off of the bottom of each egg to help them stay put.

Mix some mayo, salt, pepper, and a little mustard in the bowl with your egg yolks. Add a little milk to help get the right consistency (like a tsp or so). You don't want it too dry, but don't make it too runny or it won't pipe right.

Scoop the mixture into a ziplock bag (or you can use a piping bag) and cut a smallish hole in the bottom.  Then pipe into the holes of the whites. You can just use a spoon but piping is a bit prettier. To add color, I sprinkle mine with dried parsley (fresh even better), or a shaking of paprika. I think  I did both in the above pic.

Chicken Fingers on a Stick with Spuds in a Blanket

Here's our dinner the other night. The picture doesn't really do it justice but I definitely recommend trying out the recipe for Chicken Fingers on a Stick. They were yummy. I forgot to soak my skewers so they got a little burnt. But it's OK, we weren't going to eat them!

Also, have you ever tried wrapping potatoes in bacon? Delicious. These were fingerling potatoes and I just wrapped the bacon around them, secured with a toothpick and baked in the oven (with a little vegetable oil in the pan) at 375F for about 50 minutes.

Check out this cool giveaway over at a pocket full of buttons. It's a Jumpstart Get Moving game for the Wii. I want it! So if you're not going to enter, could you keep your fingers crossed for me? ;)

Pan-Fried Pork Chops

This recipe for pork chops might possibly be the best I have ever made. Willow and I had this for dinner on Tuesday while Stephen was at work. He doesn’t really like pork but I'll bet he would like this. I’ll have to try it out on him next week or some time. It comes from Hawaii's Bento Box Cookbook 2nd course which is one I ordered recently from Amazon. I love it, it's got so much good stuff in it. Anyway, try this one out the next time you're having pork. So simple but it really is delicious.

Pan-Fried Pork Chops

Ingredients:

4 (6 ounce) pork chops

Garlic salt, pepper, and paprika to season

1/2 cup flour mixed with 1/2 cup cornstarch

Oil for frying

Make small 1/4-inch cuts on the edge of the pork chops (the fatty edge) to prevent the pork chop from curling during cooking. Season each side fo the pork chop with garlic salt, pepper and paprika. Dredge each pork chop through the flour/cornstarch mixture. Shake off excess mixture and pan-fry in heated oil on medium heat until cooked through.

Dump Cake

This is the perfect thing to make when you need to throw a dessert together without much fuss. Because, like the name suggests, you just dump all the ingredients in and then bake until it's done. It's not the healthiest but it's surprisingly good! I made this the last time we had people over for dinner and everyone loved it.

You'll need one box of yellow or white cake mix. 1 can of crushed pineapple in juice, one can of cherry pie filling (you could use blueberry too) and 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter. But you could use 1 1/2 sticks.

Start by dumping your can of cherry pie filling into a greased 9x13 pan.

Next, dump the pineapple - juice too.

And mix altogether.

Pour the cake mix directly over the mixture and spread out evenly with a fork. You could add chopped walnuts or pecans too here.

Next, slice up the butter into 'pats'.

And lay them over the cake mix. Put the guilty thoughts aside ... keep reminding yourself how good it's going to taste when that butter melts into the cake mix, hee!

Plop this in your oven at 350F for about 50 minutes or until it's golden in color and beginning to bubble up. Then, eat it warm or cold. I prefer warm with vanilla ice cream.

I forgot to take a pic until there was only this left.

Pork Loin with Cranberry Sauce

Thank you to Pioneer Woman for sharing her recipe for Pork loin with Cranberry Sauce. We had it for dinner on Monday and it was delicious. I have another pork meal that Stephen will eat now :D

Ingredients

1 whole Pork Tenderloin, Trimmed Of Fat
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil, Divided
3 Tablespoons Butter, Divided
½ whole Medium Onion
½ cups Red Wine (optional)
¾ cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
½ a generous cup Cranberry Sauce - homemade or canned

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Generously season pork tenderloin with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a heavy, oven-proof skillet over high heat. Sear tenderloin on all sides, using tongs to move it around.

Remove pan from heat and place in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until thermometer inserted registers 155 to 160 degrees. Set pork on a cutting board to rest.

In a separate skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook for a minute, then pour in wine (if using) and chicken broth. Add rosemary. Stir together, then add cranberry sauce. Heat mixture over medium heat and cook for two or three minutes. Add more chicken broth to achieve desired consistency.

Check seasoning and add more salt or pepper if needed. Slice pork loin and place on a platter. Spoon cranberry sauce over the top. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Chile-Chicken Enchiladas

The other day I did what I don’t normally do and made a new recipe when we had company over. Normally I like to test recipes out on my husband first (bless him!), especially if they contain cheese because I can’t try them myself (I don’t eat cheese). But Stephen insisted he wanted chicken Enchiladas when we had some friends and family coming the other day for a 'Mexican night' so, having never made them before, I looked on the internet for a good recipe. I decided to try Betty Crocker’s Chile-Chicken Enchiladas.

There were mixed reviews on it. Most people agreed it was good but that it needed less sour cream (I didn’t measure and may have got a little happy with it!) Stephen said he's going to help me with the proportions of everything next time.

I also made Rachel Ray’s Tacozanga for the second time and that was very good but, due to playing hostess, I didn’t get a pic. I’ll have to remember to take one the next time I make it. And for dessert I made a simple Dump Cake which I intend to make another post about.

Here's the recipe for Chile-Chicken Enchiladas:

1 can (19 oz) enchilada sauce (any variety)
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (6 oz)
1 cup sour cream
1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles
1 package (11 oz) flour tortillas for burritos (8 tortillas; 8 inch)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
Chopped avocado or green onions, if desired

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom of 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 1/2 cup enchilada sauce in bottom of baking dish. In medium bowl, stir together chicken, Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream and chiles.

Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken mixture down center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas; arrange, seam sides down, in baking dish. Top enchiladas with remaining enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese. Spray sheet of foil with cooking spray; cover baking dish with foil, sprayed side down.

Bake 35 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 to 10 minutes longer or until hot and cheese is melted. Top with avocado or green onions. If desired, serve with lettuce, chopped tomato and additional sour cream.

Classic Crepes

Classic Crepes

My mum used to make me these crepes when I was young for Shrove Tuesday, which is Pancake day in the UK. I always wished she would make them on other days of the year, and I don't know why she didn't, but I guess it made them more special. I have fun memories of tossing pancakes in the air trying to flip them over. She used to sprinkle mine with sugar (and I say sprinkle lightly because she didnt lol). And a big blob of strawberry jam. I still eat mine this way today and now I can make them whenever I want!

Ingredients:

4 eggs

1 1/3 cups milk

2 tbsp butter, melted

1 cup all purpose flour

½ tsp salt, if desired

2 tbsp sugar (omit if making savory crepes)

Directions:

In a medium bowl, beat eggs slightly. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until smooth. Probably best to add the flour slowly. They say to let the batter sit for a couple of hours in the refrigerater but I don't know how necessary it is. Alton Brown doesn't think it is! And I've never noticed a difference. 

Heat crepe pan or 7 to 8-inch skillet over medium-high heat. A few drops of water sprinkled on the pan sizzle and bounce when heat is just right. Grease pan lightly with butter. Pour scant ¼-1/3 cup batter into the pan, tilting it to spread evenly. When the crepe is light brown and set, turn to brown other side. Fill with the desired filling. And there are many!

(This is a Pillsbury recipe)

On a random note: check out gourmetmomonthego's giveaway. Isn't it just the cutest necklace you ever saw?

Fried AND Baked Chicken

The other day we had chicken with rice for dinner and I thought I'd take some pictures so I could share how I make it. I have been making this chicken for years and love it, it's always tender and juicy. Technically it's my mother in law's recipe but I know I don't make it exactly the same as hers because she never does it the same way twice!

Flatten 1-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts with a meat mallet. Or a heavy can, however you prefer.

Pour some flavored store-bought breadcrumbs in a dish and heavily season (I have made it bland before by not using enough seasoning). I usually use Italian seasoning, seasoning salt, garlic powder, and a little dried tarragon. But mostly whatever I have on hand. Stir to combine.

Wash the chicken breasts but don't dry, just let them drip off. Then roll in the breadcrumbs. I don't bother with dipping in milk or egg first.

Heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. I put enough to coat the bottom of the pan. When hot and sizzly, add the chicken breasts to the skillet. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan or the temperature will go down.

Cook 'till crispy on the bottom and then turn over.

And cook till crispy and golden on the other side. Then remove the chicken to a baking dish.

Pour away most of the grease from the skillet and then stir in some water or stock - about 1-2 cups, depending on how much chicken you made and sometimes I use cooking wine with the stock. Bring to a boil, scraping up the flavor from the bottom of the pan and turn down to reduce a little.

Pour the gravy over the chicken breasts in your baking pan, just don't completely cover them. A few dried bay leaves would go nicely on top too. Then cover the dish with foil and bake in a preheated oven at 350F for at least an hour.

We usually have it with rice and glazed carrots. There's always some leftover too which is great the next day too.

Scrambled Egg in Toast Cups

Scrambled egg in a 'cup' of buttery toasted bread. Yum.

Start by preheating the oven to 350F. Trim the crusts off of two slices of bread and brush both sides of each with melted butter.

Then press them into small custard cups. Put the custard cups on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, till their nice and crispy.

Meanwhile, make up some scrambled eggs on your stove. Whisk two eggs with a couple of tablespoons of milk. Heat a tablespoon of butter in a medium skillet and pour the egg mixture into the skillet.

Cook until the eggs start to set. Then stir 'til their soft and fluffy. Shake in some salt and pepper. Fill your toast cups with the scrambled eggs.

If you wanted, you could sprinkle over some crumbled bacon or fresh parsley (I only had dried, but it works). And you could take the little bread baskets out of the ramekin, they will hold up. But it's less messier to eat the scrambled egg in the cup.

Breakfast Sundae

Breakfast Sundae

A nice healthy treat for breakfast!

Ideas for fruit: apples, apricots, bananas, cherries, seedless grapes, strawberries, melons, oranges, peaches, pears.

If your mornings are a bit rushed, you could prepare the fruit the night before and keep it in a container in the refrigerator over night.  Except banana, which needs to be sliced the morning of.

Layer the fruit alternately with your favorite flavored healthy yogurt and top with cereal, granola or raisins and nuts.

Grilled Potato Skins

To make the potatoes I mentioned in the last post ... start with some large potatoes. I used russets but Idaho would probably be good. Bake them up in the oven. Or do like me and microwave for a few minutes before baking to get them started and speed up the process. Once they're baked, cut the potatoes in halves and carefully scoop out the pulp (I say carefully because they'll be hot!).

Try to leave a 1/4 inch or so shell for the toppings. You could cut them into quarters as Paula Deen suggests doing but I prefer to leave mine in halves.

 Brush them with some melted butter and sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Place them on a medium grill for ten minutes or so to crisp them up.

Then remove them to a cookie sheet and sprinkle with shredded cheddar and crumbled bacon. At this point you can either put them back on the grill until the cheese is melted or put them back in the oven, which is what we did.

  When they are done, place the potatoes on serving plates and top with green onions, chopped tomatoes and sour cream. Delicious! 

Chicken Fajitas

I meant to post this the other day but between then and now I don't think there's been a second when Ryder has let me put him down! I was trying to come up with a fast meal for dinner (for the same reason - I'm not real good at one-armed cooking!) and Stephen suggested chicken fajitas. This may not be the typical way to make them - I didn't use any fajita sauce or anything, but it's how we like them and nothing beats fast and simple!

Chicken Fajitas

Ingredients:

2 boneless chicken breasts, seasoned with a little salt, pepper and taco seasoning

Soft tortillas

Red and green bell pepper

1/2 a large onion

Grill chicken breasts

Meanwhile stir fry the peppers and onions in a little veg oil until beginning to soften. Pat off any grease with paper towels.

Slice up the chicken when done and serve all on a tortilla with any extra toppings you like such as: cheese and sour cream etc. I like to just drizzle mine with some taco sauce.

Mexican Beef Curry

It's nice to see I still have a few readers despite my long absence from here. Life has got really busy for me lately and blogging has had to take a bit of a backseat :( Even if all I do is post a few pics of food!

My little one is doing really well. He's three weeks old now and getting cuter by the day! Just a couple of weeks away from that first smile ... can't wait! The only issues I'm having are with sleep! I know; pretty normal when you've had a newborn. He refuses to go down in his bassinet and just wants to lie on me to fall asleep, which makes me feel close to him and it's nice and all but I worry about him rolling off of me all the time. And he has a couple of times but fortunately onto the pillows that I put there. I once read or heard someone say that anything - good or bad, doesn't usually last longer than 3 months with babies. And that always gave me comfort with Willow. I found it to be true too. Hopefully by 3 months he'll find the bassinet more appealing. And then it will be time for the crib!

Anyway, onto food. I got this recipe from Sandre Lee of the Food Network channel and changed it up a bit. It was originally for fajitas too but it's great over rice as a sort of curry.

Mexican Beef Curry

1-2 lbs beef round steak (I find 1 lb is enough for 2 people)

1 pkt Fajita seasoning mix plus 1 or 2 tbsp Ortego Chipolte taco seasoning

1 onion, thickly sliced

1 ½ red peppers, thickly sliced long (they disintegrate while cooking)

1 green pepper, thickly sliced long

Seasonings: salt and pepper, a little garlic powder and a little onion salt (feel free to change these up)

½ cup water

Rinse steaks with water and pat dry.

Season both sides of the steak with ½ the Fajita mix pkt.

Place the onions and peppers on the bottom of the slow cooker.

Slice the steaks quite thickly and place on top of the vegetables.

Pour over the remaining fajita mix, the chipotle taco seasoning, a sprinkle of regular taco seasoning, remaining seasonings and ½ cup water. Stir together.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Drain off some of the liquid and serve with yellow or basmati rice. If making fajitas, drain off all the liquid.

Shepherd's Pie

So technically this isn't Shepherd's pie cause Shepherd's pie is made with ground lamb, this is actually Cottage Pie but the two names are often used interchangeably and my family have always called this Shepherd's pie. And, for some reason, it's always a weekend meal to me. I think my Mum must have made it on Saturday's a lot or something. I see lots of recipes on the internet that include tomato paste or sauce of some sort. These must be American recipes cause I have never heard of it being made with a tomato ingredient in England. I think Americans just tend to prefer food with a bit more flavor and that would do it. But I like making mine without!

I took a couple of pics of one I made recently. The bottom pic is of Willow's serving.

Shepherd's Pie

Brown about 1 lb ground beef in a dutch oven or skillet. Drain off the grease.

Add 1/2 - 1 chopped onion and fry a little more.

Add a stock cube and a little water (i use gravy granuals). Plus some frozen veggies, if desired.

Meanwhile boil up potatoes and make mashed potato (not too creamy).

When the ground beef and veggies are cooked, pour into a greased baking dish and allow to cool a little.

Spread mashed potato on top and fluff or score with a fork to make it look pretty on top.

Bake in a preheated 375F oven for about 40 minutes or until beginning to bubble around the edges. I turn mine up to 400F about half way through sometimes.

Buttermilk Roast Chicken

And yesterday's dinner is credited to Nigella Lawson. I have made this before, it's delicious hot or cold. The ingredients sound strange but it works! Especially good with bone-in chicken but a little dry with boneless breasts I think. Now what to do with all my leftover buttermilk?

Buttermilk Roast Chicken

Yield: Serves 6

Ingredients

 • 12 chicken drumsticks (approx. 3 lbs total weight)

 • 2 cups buttermilk

 • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

 • 2 cloves garlic, bruised and skins removed

 • 1 tablespoon crushed peppercorns

 • 1 tablespoon kosher salt or 1½ teaspoons table salt

 • 1 teaspoon ground cumin

 • 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Directions

1. 
   
   Place the chicken drumsticks in a large freezer bag, and add the buttermilk and ¼ cup of oil.
2. 
   
   Add the bruised garlic cloves to the bag with the crushed peppercorns and salt.
3. 
   
   Sprinkle in the ground cumin and finally add the maple syrup, and then squish everything in the freezer bag around to mix the marinade and coat the chicken.
4. 
   
   Leave the buttermilk-marinated chicken in the fridge ideally overnight or out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
5. 
   
   Preheat the oven to 425°F. Take the chicken pieces out of the bag, shaking off the excess marinade, and then arrange them in a roasting pan lined with aluminum foil.
6. 
   
   Drizzle over the 2 remaining tablespoons of oil, and then roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until brown, even scorched in parts, and juicily cooked through.