Basil and Mozzarella Salad

Sometimes all you want is something super quick, easy and tasty. I always have herbs growing on the kitchen window ledge, basil is one of my favourites.
I also had an email asking what was the salad I had with my last post with the Chicken and Mushroom Rounds and this is it :)

Ingredients

• Fresh basil leaves
• Cherry or baby plum tomatoes
• Small Mozzarella cheese balls (or just tear a large ball up by hand)
• A little olive oil (your good stuff)
• Seasoning of choice (if required)

I used small bowls to serve my salad but you could make yours on plates or a large bowl.
Pre-rinse your basil leaves and tomatoes







Place the basil in to the bowls









Add the mozzarella cheese balls









Add your tomatoes



Sprinkle with a little olive and seasoning and that's it you done :) eat and enjoy

Chicken and Mushroom Rounds

Tasty chicken and mushroom rounds in a light puff pastry. You can make or buy your puff pastry, I made rough puff pastry and added a handful of dried herbs for extra flavour.
The rounds can be eaten hot or cold and are prefect for picnics in the summer or for adding to a lunch pack.
The ingredients are all cooked before baking the pastry, I find by doing it this way I don't have to worry about under cooked chicken (yuk) or having to overcook my pastry to make sure all the ingrdients are cooked. When the pastry is risen and brown the rounds are cooked  and ready to eat :)

Preheat oven 180 C / 375 F / Gas mark 5

Ingredients

• 2 sheets puff pastry (or homemade puff or rough puff rolled out)
• 1 Large chicken breast (or 2 - 3 chicken thighs)
• 1 Onion (chopped)
• 1 packet Mushrooms (chopped)
• Chicken stock cube
• 1 tablespoon Plain flour
• 1 Tablespoon milk ( you can use water)
• A handful of fresh herbs of choice (I used basil)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

In a frying pan, add the oil and chicken (I chopped the pieces into large chunks), brown the chicken and continue to cook until just cooked. Remove the chicken do not clean the pan. 

Add the onions and mushrooms to the same frying pan and cook slowly until the liquid comes out of the mushrooms (you are not browning them). Add the milk, stock cube and flour and cook stirring well for a couple of minutes.

Break up the chicken into pieces and add to the frying pan and stir. Set aside until cooled.

Cut rounds out of the puff pastry and place half  onto a prepared baking tray/ s, brush the edges with water. Add a dessert spoonful of the chicken/ mushroom mixture to your rounds. Don't over fill (also don't under fill)

Add the top piece and using a fork go all around the edge to seal. using the fork pick the tops of the rounds a couple of time (this lets the hot steam out as they are cooking). You can brush the tops with milk or beaten egg to graze for an shiny brown top.

 

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until pastry is puffed up and brown. Serve 1 or 2 with a salad hot or cold.

Enjoy :)

Coconut Cupcakes Cakes with Coconut and Chocolate Buttercream

Coconut and chocolate a perfect taste match, these cupcakes always disappear extra fast :)

Pre-heat oven to 190C/375F/Gas mark 5

Ingredients :

• 3 oz/ 75 grams softened butter
• 3 oz/ 75 grams  caster sugar
• 1 large egg
• 4 oz/ 100 grams self-raising flour
• 1 tbsp dessicated coconut
• 1tbsp milk

Beat the butter and the caster sugar together until light and fluffy
Add the egg and mix well.
Fold in the self-raising flour, dessicated coconut and add the milk, fold until just mixed.

Spoon mixture in oiled fairy cake/ muffin tin or place paper cases into the fairy cake/ muffin tins.

Bake for approx. 8-12 minutes (or until brown, push a strew into a small cake and if it comes out clean the little cake is cooked). Remove from oven and leave to cool.

To make buttercream - Beat together 3 oz softened butter (or margarine) with 5oz sifted icing sugar and 1 heaped tablespoon cocoa powder (not drinking chocolate) when mixed well add 1 heaped tablespoon dessicated coconut

Cover each little cake (when cooled) with the buttercream mixture, I added a small chocolate button to each cake for an extra decoration  :)

Cream Horn

Sometimes you want something sweet and naughty thats also light and speedy to make. Cream Horns are quick and easy pastries that I used to make with my mother when I was a child, she always made her puff pastry, it was magical watching her adding the butter and rolling and turning the pastry around but than having to wait while it cooled in the fridge seemed to take ages. You can save time by buying your puff pastry, but may sure it is cold for best results.

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6

You will need:
A set of horn moulds they normally come in sets of 4 or 6 (usually made of metal if anyone has seen silicone one please let me know)
1 sheet puff pastry or homemade puff pastry
Whipped cream
Strawberry jam (or preferred flavour)

Roll puff pastry out into a retangle and cut lenghtwise into 2½cm/ 1in strips.
Grease your moulds with butter or I sprayed mine with vegetable oil its quick and less messy.
Brush pastry lighty with water (the wet side touches the mould) and starting at the top of the mould wrap the pastry slighty overlapping around leaving a 1cm/ ½in space at the end (this helps when removing the cooked pastry)
Place on a greased baking tray (I use a non-stick sheet so don't need to grease)

You can brush the pastry with an egg wash or milk for an extra shiny pastry. For decoration you can also sprinkle with a little sugar.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the pastry has risen and is golden-brown. Leave to cool than remove carefully from moulds.

Now add a little strawberry jam inside each cream horn, topping with whipped cream.











You can experiement instead of jam brush the inside of the pastry horn  with melted chocolate this forms a lining and add a mixture of chopped fresh fruits (anything you fancy) - strawberries, blueberries, cherries mixed with a little whipped cream.

Or for adults dip the rim of the pastry horn into melted dark chocolate, whip the cream with a liquor or flavouring of your choice (coffee is good)

Lemon Sponge Cakes

Very simple little sponge cakes flavoured with lemon zest and a little lemon oil. Because these are made without fats (butter or oil) the cakes should be eaten on the day they are made.

Ingredients: 

• 3 oz/ 75g of caster sugar
• 3 eggs (room temperate)
• 4 oz/ 100g of plain flour
• Zest of a lemon (unwaxed)
• Few drops of lemon oil

Electric whisk/ mixer

Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4

Put the eggs and sugar in a big mixing bowl and whisk an electric whisk is best until the mixture turns paler and is light and fluffy this take between 4-6 minutes usually for an electric whisk by hand a lot longer.

Add the lemon zest to the flour and fold it into the mixture using a metal spoon you can also add the lemon oil folding until just mixed, don't over mix it or you will lose all the air you added with the whisking.
Oil your cake moulds (I even used a little oil on my silicone mounds) or mixture put into paper cases, cook for approximately 10- 15 minutes or until golden brown and will risen. Remove from mounds as soon as you can, this stops the bottom of the cakes becoming wet and soggy. I just lightly dusted with icing sugar (powdered sugar)
Instead of lemon use orange or lime zest and oil or a mixture of citrus fruits :)

Teapot Shortbread

Buttery crisp shortbread biscuits in the shape of little teapots, these are quick and super tasty

 I have had these cute teapot cutters for a while I bought them in a sale and have never used them so decided it was time to play with them.
I have not made shortbread for ages and thought it would be prefect with the cutters.



 
Pre-heat oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5

Ingredients:

• 50g/ 2oz Caster Sugar
• 100g / 4oz Butter
• 150g/ 6oz Plain Flour

Beat the butter and the sugar together until smooth.

Stir in the flour to get a smooth paste, wrap and place in the fridge for 20 -30 minutes.

Place on to a work surface, gently roll out until 1cm/ ½in thick, using a fork prick the pasty all over.

Cut into your desired shapes and place onto a baking tray (I used a non stick liner on my baking tray, if you do not have one lightly oil the tray to prevent sticking)

Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until pale golden-brown. 

after removing from the oven leave on the baking tray for 5 minutes than place biscuits to cool on a wire rack. 

Can be eaten as they are or decorated :)

I used basic water icing and with food colouring

Basic water icing = Approx 2 heaped tablespoons icing sugar (also known as powdered sugar) add a little warm water approximately 1 tsp than a few drops at a time until about runny as single cream, add food colouring of choice. You can play and add chocolate drops, sugar sprinkle, glace fruit, sweets have fun :)

Veggie Sausage & Onion Rolls

I made these veggie sausage rolls with Quorn sausages but you can use any sausages you like (even meat). I cook the sausages and onions first as I think it adds flavour. You can make your own puff pastry or buy it.

Ingredients makes approximately 6 rolls

• 1 sheet puff pastry (or make own puff or quick puff)
• 2 medium onions
• 6 Sausages of choice (I used Quorn sausages)
• Approximately 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil for browning/ cooking sausages and onions

Lightly cook sausages with a little oil if needed until browned leave to cool
Slice onions and cook with a little oil until soft (don't crisp or burn) season and leave to cool

Slice the pastry sheet into 6 rectangles (depending on the size of your pastry sheet you may get more or less) you want the pastry to be just better than the sausage on the short size and able to roll around the whole sausage with a little to over lap on the larger size of your rectangle.
Brush around the edge of the pastry rectangle with water. Add 1/6th of the softened onion to the left hand size edge and add a sausage, roll the pastry careful overlapping the pastry.



Transfer to a baking tray putting the overlapped edge underneath. Slash the rolls a few times with a sharp knife. You can brush the sausage rolls with milk or egg if you want extra browning and shine.






Halfway through cooking turn the sausage rolls over so the underside also cooks.
The rolls are cooked when your pasty is golden brown and well risen.
Best eaten warm with a little mustard