Chedene's Nachos

Ingredients:

2x 150g Big corn bites/ Nachos chips
1x Bottle( +- 450g) spicy salsa sauce
2x Tubs( +- 250g) plain cream cheese
1x Avg block(+-250g) of cheddar cheese
2x Avocado pears
1x Tub( 250ml) sour cream
Salt and Pepper

How to make:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

1. Line casserole dish with corn bites
2. Spread salsa generously over crisps
3. Then spread cream cheese over the salsa
4. Add grated cheddar cheese to the top of the dish
5. Place in oven for until cheese is melted( usually about 10 mins)
6. Mash avocados in a small serving bowl to make guacamole
7. Add a tablespoon of sour cream to the guacamole and season with salt and pepper.
8. Remove Nachos from the oven and place guamole bowl in the centre and serve


Enjoy!!!!

Thai Noodles

Only need to cook the noodles, so I make this and take it to work for my lunch.

250g packet medium egg noodles
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp peeled and finely grated galangal ( I used ginger)
2 bird's-eye red chillies, chopped
2 tsp chopped fresh holy basil (not sure what holy basil is I used normal basil and tasted nice)
1 tsp chopped fresh coriander
1 lime, juice only (I used lemon juice and still tasted nice)
1 tsp clear honey
1 tsp sesame seeds (I did not add, as none in the cupboard).

Method
1. Cook the noodle according to the packet instructions.
2. In a large bowl mix together the remaining ingredients.
3. Drain and toss the noodles in the Thai mixture.
4. Serve. - Nice and quick

I also added cooked chicken to noodles.

Cauliflower, Bacon & Potato Soup

Cauliflower soup??? Sounds disgusting, but has been my best soup in the past few weeks.
You can tell it is now winter with all the pots of soup on the stove.

Ingredients
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large or 2 small onions, chopped
8 rindless streaky bacon rashers
2 potatoes, chopped (I used one large)
1 small cauliflower, cut in florets, leaves sliced (I thin I used just 1/2 a caulifower)
570ml/1 pint vegetable stock
290ml/½ pint milk

Method
1. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and fry for 5 minutes until softened. Chop bacon rashers, add to the pan and fry for a further 2 minutes.
2. Stir in the potatoes and cauliflower and mix well. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
3. Purée the soup in a blender or food processor, then return to the pan and stir in the milk. Reheat gently, taste and add salt and pepper.

I think this was from the good food magazine

Thai Beef Soup

This soup was amazing I think it was a Ken Hom soup:

450g/1lb fresh spinach (baby spinach would not work)
175g/6oz lean fillet steak, cut into thin slices about 5cm (2 in) long
For the marinade
2 shallots, finely sliced
2 tbsp finely chopped garlic
1 tbsp fish sauce
freshly ground black pepper
For the soup
1.2 litres/2 pints homemade chicken stock or good quality bought stock (I used homemade Veg Stock)
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
1 small, fresh red chilli, seeded and chopped

Method
1. Remove the stalks from the spinach and wash the leaves well.
2. Blanch the leaves for a few seconds in a large pan of boiling water until they are just wilted, then drain well and refresh in cold water to prevent further cooking. Drain again, squeezing out excess water. (if you over cook the spinach I think you may ruin the dish. It literally really does take 2 seconds).
3. Combine the steak with the shallots, garlic, one tablespoon of the fish sauce and some freshly ground black pepper, then set aside. (The soup can be prepared in advance up to this point.)
4. Just before you are ready to eat, bring the chicken stock to a simmer in a saucepan and season it with the remaining fish sauce, the lemon juice, sugar and chilli.
5. Add the blanched spinach and stir in the beef and its marinade. Bring the soup back to simmering point, add a few grindings of freshly ground black pepper to taste and serve at once.

Kaatjes Appel-Zuurkool ovenschotel (Original Dutch Apple - Sauerkraut oven dish – with a twist)

Ingredients: (Serves two hungry person as main dish – it’s always enough for us two)
Sauerkraut natural or in White wine (jar 680 gr, drained weight + 540gr)
4 – 5 reasonable sized potatoes (+ 900 gr)
1 jar of smooth applesauce (250 – 360 gr)
1 smoked (pork) sausages (230 gr – ready to eat variety,
like Unox rookworst

Empty sauerkraut jar into a large pan, add a tea-spoon water, place lid on pan and put pan on low fire on the gas. Stir regularly and add, only if really needed, more water to prevent the sauerkraut from cooking dry.

Peel potatoes and cut in small pieces. Boil in water with a sniff of salt added until done (kruimig).

Cut sausage, straight from the packaging, into small slices.
Pre-heat oven, gas mark 5
Wipe some olive oil into (glass) oven dish.

Just before potatoes are done, cover bottom of oven dish with the sauerkraut (don’t add left-over liquid in the pan with it) and cover sauerkraut with the sausage slices.

When the potatoes are really done, pour water from pan and put pan back on low fire to evaporate remaining moist until potatoes are crumbly (kruimig). Carful not to burn them!

Mash potatoes with the apple sauce (*) and spread over the sausage slice in the oven dish. (You can write a greeting or someone’s initials on the mash with a fork, surprise your guests!)
Place in gas oven for 20 – 25 minutes. Serve piping hot.
(Or place in gas oven for 10 minutes and switch to grill oven for 3 – 4 minutes to add ‘golden’ colour. Serve piping hot)

Eet smakelijk.

* = in the original recipe the potatoes are mashed with milk and the apple sauce is spread over the sauerkraut before the sausage slices are added. But since in our home we don’t drink milk, besides loads of coffee-milk, one day I forgot to buy milk for the mash. That’s why the applesauce now ends up in the mash, had to think of something!
To be honest, we both find my ‘twisted’ recipe better ;-)

Steak Casserole

From our new butcher we were sold some stewing steak, which was just one big piece of prime steak chopped up. No fat just pure steak cubes, which stewed amazingly.

This is what I did to to the beef:

Fried the beef along with 2 onions (sliced), added a beef oxo cube, fried some more then added a tin of sliced tomatoes (which already contained oregano and basil).

This was it, a let it simmer for a couple of hours and then served with some wild rice.

(The sliced tomatoes worked really well, I was supposed to buy chopped but we had picked up the wrong tin, although sliced were perfect as they clumped together nicely when cooking).

Springbok Sausage

This isn't really a recipe as you put the sausage on the BBQ (or braai seeing as it's springbok).
Then cut open a soft bread roll and put the sausage in.

We have just discovered a new butcher on Kloof which is looking like a great find. This is where the sausages came from.

Now every Saturday we take a drive to pick up the weekly meat, and mike gets treated to biltong.

Ciabatta (Part 2)

This bread was amazing and so easy to make, you can easily impress at a dinner party with very little effort.

Further Ingredients:
250g Bread Flour
10g yeast
190ml water
12g salt

To finish the bread, add the flour and yeast to the bread mixture and mix well. Gradually add the rest of the water, when the water has nearly been added, add the salt and mix together for a further 5 mins, until sticky dough formed.

Transfer the dough into a large oiled bowl and leave to rise for 1 hour

Transfer dough to a heavily floured work surface and leave to rest for a further 30 mins.

Preheat oven to 240c

Cut the dough into 3 strips and stretch them out to make long flat ciabatta loafs. Mine got a bit skinny so I made fat ciabatta sticks (which we actually great - like the ones that you can buy in woolworths).

Place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and leave for 10 mins.

Transfer the dough to the oven to bake for 25 minutes, or until risen and golden brown.

Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

We had these for lunch and they were very very good, would be great as a accompliment bread
to a starter, soup, pasta dish, or just for lunch with good ham and cheese.

(sorry no pics as we eat them too quick)

Spinach, onion & Prosciutto Focaccia: Part 2

This was amazing, so I am definitely adding this to my cookbook.

I must warn you this is not a recipe from Ready Steady Cook, it's a bread to be made when you have a whole afternoon to potter around the house.

The next day remove the started bread from the fridge about 2 hours before you need to start.

Ingredients:
500g all purpose flour
360ml warm water
2tsp sea salt
75ml olive oil
200g baby spinach roughly chopped
100g spring onions roughly chopped
200g parma ham chopped
80g butter
1 sachet dried yeast (10g??)

Put flour in a bowl and add the water, yeast and the mix you left overnight. Then add salt and olive oil. In food processor mix for 1/2-1minute or until get a clear dough. (or work by hand).

Now add spinach, onions and parma ham. Mix into the dough and put in a lightly greased bowl, and cover with cling film (or put bowl in a plastic carrier bag). Wait until the dough has risen threefold.

Punch the dough back and give it another rise. (15mins??)

Sprinkle flour onto worktop and tip dough onto surface. Cut into 3 and and shape each into a ball. Place on a baking sheet and cover gently with cling film. When slightly puffed up (30 mins??), put balls back on to floured surface. Dip fingers repeatedly into melted butter and massage the butter into the ball. As you work the dough, flatten it out and dimple until it is flat 3/4inch disk with dimples.

Put back onto a greased baking tray. Let it recover and prove for 30 mins and put it into the oven at 200c and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

(once baked you can drizzle a bit more melted butter over the top).

These were great, we ate one with a salad and then took the remainder cold the next day for a picnic.

Focaccia with Spinach, Onion & Parma Ham (Part 1)

This is also a 2 part operation as with the Ciabatta (both found on the BBC website).

Tonight:

Mix 60g flour with 60ml of water (luke warm) and 15g of yeast.
Mix this all in so no lumps, then leave for a couple of hours then transfer to the fridge over night.

If there is no part 2 then everything went wrong.

Ciabatta: Part 1

Hopefully if this all goes OK there will be a Ciabatta Part 2.

Tonight:
Mix 250g of Breadflour with 190ml (7floz) of water and 15g of dried instant yeast. Whisk for 3 minutes in a large bowl. Cover and leave to rise over night.

Lynda's Milk Tart

Pastry

2 cups flour
1/4 of 250g butter
2 TSP caster sugar
1 TSP cooking oil
1 egg

Bake in oven until golden brown +/- 20 minutes (prick with a fork).

Filling

1l milk bring to the boil

In a separate bowl beat together with cold milk:
1 TSP flour
1 heaped TSP mazinia
3 egg yolks
3/4 TSP caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

Beat 3 egg whites together and fold into cold mixture, add cold mix into boiling milk, stir consistently until thick, pour into pie shell.

Leave to set at room temperature, sprinkle with cinnamon.

The Bartrum's Bar One Chocolate Sauce

410g can Evaporated milk
4 x 100g bars Bar One (Mars bars) chocolate

Place evaporated milk in a mixing bowl, microwave on 50% power (Medium)
for 3-4 minutes until heated
Cut chocolates into small pieces, add to milk.
Microwave on 50% power (Medium) for 3-4 minutes or until melted and
thickened, stirring frequently

Freddie's Orange & Lemon Sorbet

8oz (225 g)granulated sugar
3/4 pint (15fl. Oz)water
1/2 pint (10fl. Oz)fresh orange juice
juice of one lemon
zest of two oranges

Put the sugar and water into a saucepan and stir over a gentle heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Bring to the boil and boil for about 8 minutes, or until you have a light syrup. If you are using a sugar thermometer to 115 C, 230 F. Leave until it is at room temperature and stir in the orange and lemon juice and the orange zest. Pour the mixture into the ice cream maker and freeze/churn for approx 25 minutes.

Rachel's Chocolate Brownies (very goooeey!)

110g (40z) Butter
110g (4oz) Plain Chocolate
225 g (8 oz) Caster Sugar
2 Beaten eggs
110g (4 oz) Plain Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
a pinch of salt

Set the oven to 180C/350F
Grease a shallow oblong tin

Break the chocolate into a bowl and add the butter. Place the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. When the butter and chocolate have melted, take the bowl off the heat and stir in all the other ingredients.

Spread the mixture into the tin and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Let the mixture cool in the tin for 10 minutes. It will sink a little in the middle. Cut the brownies into squares and cool on a wire rack.

Vicky's Cow Pat Pie

If you do not have any chocolate in the house or do not want to head out, do not read this recipe as it will start your chocolate cravings.

SERVES 4
Ingredients
125g/5oz self raising flour
15g/5oz cornflour
15g/5oz cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
75g/3oz butter
75g/3oz caster sugar
1 large beaten egg
5-6 tablespoons cold milk
for mixing

Method
Sift flour, cornflour, cocoa powder and salt into bowl
Rub in butter finely
Add sugar. Mix to fairly soft consistency with egg and milk
Stir briskly until well combined.
Transfer to 1/2 to 1 litre (1 1/2 - 2 pint) buttered pie dish. Put into the centre of moderately hot oven (190C/375F) and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to moderate (160C/325F) and bake a further 35-40 minutes (or until wooden cocktail stick inserted into centre of pudding comes out clean). Remove from oven and turn out on to warm plate.
Serve with fresh cream or a sweet sauce (We usually use a chocolate sauce which, you will understand, has been given a similarly appropriate name!)

UNMENTIONABLE SAUCE
SERVES 4-6
Ingredients
1 level tablespoon cornflour
300ml/ ½ pint milk
50g/2oz grated plain chocolate
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
15g/1/2 oz butter
1 to 1 1/2 level tablespoons caster sugar
Method
Mix cornflour to smooth paste with a little of the cold milk
Put remainder of milk into saucepan and add chocolate. Heat very slowly until chocolate melts
Pour onto cornflour paste and mix well. Return to pan
Cook, stirring, until sauce comes to the boil and thickens
Add vanilla, butter and sugar. Simmer for 3 minutes

Grandmother (Bab's) Bartrum Genoa Cake

3oz Brazil nuts
8oz sultanas
4oz glace cherries
4oz candied peel
1 lemon rind and juice
12oz flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
8oz margarine or butter
8oz caster sugar
3 eggs

Line an 8” square cake tin. Pre-heat oven to 375F. Cream the butter, add the sugar and beat again, add the eggs slowly beating thoroughly. Chop the cherries and nuts keeping a few aside to put on the top of the cake before baking. Grate the lemon rind into the flour and baking powder. Fold all the dry ingredients into the mixture with the lemon juice. Place into the tin and decorate the top. Bake for 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hrs. Test with a skewer if in doubt.
Leave to cool in the tin before turning out.

Pip's Apple Cobbler

Ingredients
225g/8oz self raising flour
Pinch of salt
75g/3oz butter
50g/2oz castor sugar
1 egg
4 tablespoons milk
4-5 large cooking apples
Sugar for apples

Method

•Sift flour and salt together into mixing bowl.
•Rub in butter then add sugar
•Use fork to stir in lightly mixed egg and milk and mix into a rough dough in the basin
•Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Kneed lightly for a minute to make a soft scone dough
•Roll dough out to 1/2” depth.
•Use a round cutter to cut out as many scones as possible (9 or more).
•Peel, core and slice apples thinly and arrange in a deep pie dish
•Arrange the scones with the seams slightly overlapping to cover the top of the fruit.
•Brush with a little extra milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Place in centre of hot oven (200C/400F) and bake for 15 minutes.

Then lower the heat to 180C/375F for a further 15 minutes.

Serve hot with custard (Pip’s favourite) or cream.

Grandma Moorhouse Apple Cake

Unsure how Grandma Moorhouse fits into the family tree, but here is her apple cake:

6oz butter
6oz flour
6oz sugar
1 tspn mixed spice
1 egg
1 cup sweet apple sauce
2oz raisins or chopped nuts
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
(optional)

Cream the butter and sugar, add the egg and cream again. Put the bicarb into the apple sauce and add to the creamed mixture slowly, alternately with the flour and spice. Mix thoroughly and turn into a well greased 2lb loaf
tin. Bake in a moderately hot oven 375F for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Allow to cool and turn out very carefully.

Oma's Unfloppable Raisin Bread

3 cups self raising flour
small 3/4 teaspoon salt
1 small cup sugar
currants or cake mix
1 egg
Optional: Nuts, cherries, marzipan

Beat together 1 egg and one and half cup warm water.
Mix together dry ingredients and bake for 1 hour at 160/180 degrees.