Nigella's Mini Meatloaves

Nigella is the one of my favourite authors when it comes to cookbooks, her food is tasty and simple. I had an impression that she was a bit of a lightweight and it was just about good television, but having received as a present Nigella Express, I'm a convert!
I have her recipes dotted throughout my blog  and this is a firm favourite. Now just so you know I used ordinary rolled oats in this recipe, the Sausagemeat was skinned sausages and I've replaced A1 steak sauce with BBQ sauce, all for handiness. You can eat these hot or cold we've done both, plenty of times waiting for my husband to registered for a run, we've happily sat and eaten these as a picnic. Your choice, enjoy either way.

Serves 6
Ingredients
500g Sausagemeat
500g Minced Beef  (Iused Quorn Mince)
80g Quick Cook Oats
70g A1 Steak sauce
2 Eggs, beaten
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 Table salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 Degrees C/ Gas mark 6. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl really well with your hands or a fork.




Divide the mixture into 12 balls, and then shape into mini loaves. Sit the mini Meatloaves on a lined baking sheet with space between each and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.

Traditional American Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

This recipe comes with an urban myth: A woman in New York met a friend at a small coffee shop, where they ordered drinks and cookies. They liked the cookies so much that she asked for the recipe. The owner of the coffee shop said that she could have the recipe, but she would have to pay something for it. The woman agreed, and paid for the coffee, cookies and the recipe on her credit card. When she got her next credit card statement, she realised that she had been charged a massive $200 for the recipe. She was furious! She called the restaurant, which refused to refund the money, saying that it was a fair price for the recipe. The woman said that, for that price, she must have bought the copyright for the recipe and she would send it out worldwide. She passed the recipe on to everyone she knew, and asked them to do the same. So here it is; pass it on!

These are delicious, so much so, that I'm fairly sure my sister-in-law is addicted to them, you know who you are!!!!!

Makes 18 -20

Ingredients
100g Porridge Oats
125g Plain Flour
1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
50g Milk chocolate, grated
100g Butter, softened
100g Soft brown sugar
100g Caster sugar
1 Medium egg, beaten
1/2 tsp Vanilla
115g Chocolate Chips

Method
Preheat oven to 190°C and line two large baking trays with baking paper. Put the oats into a food processor or liquidiser and whizz to a fine powder , add flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt and whizz again to mix together, add grated chocolate (or break into chunks and whizz again) Put both sugars into a large bowl with the butter, cream them until light and fluffy. Beat the egg and vanilla into the creamed butter mixture.

Add chocolate chips and dry ingredients, mix well with a spoon until everything is mixed in and you have a dough. (The softer your butter is the softer your dough will be, therefore the bigger your cookies will spread out on the baking tray)

Use your hands to roll into balls the size of ping-pong balls and put them, 5cm apart, on to non stick baking paper on a baking tray, shown below.

Bake in the oven for about ten minutes. They should have a golden colour, but still look a little underdone (this is what makes the lovely chewy soft texture). If you like them crisp, keep them in a bit longer. Leave them on the tray for a couple of minutes to firm up, then use a fish slice to lift them onto a wire rack to cool.

My tip:
When the weather is a bit cooler the dough is a bit firmer so the cookies don't spread out as much (pictured below), you can gently press each uncooked cookie with a pallet knife to flatten them out if you wish before baking.

 

Jumbo Oat Granola

I was somewhat put off by this recipe when I saw it first because it had so many different ingredients,but to my surprise my local German discounter stocked almost all of the ingredients (which lets be honest is much simpler than going from shop to find specialised ingredients). The honey acts as a preservative so this keeps for weeks at a time.

Makes 1.4kg

Ingredients
500g Jumbo rolled oats
125mls Sunflower Oil
200g Honey
100g Flaked almonds or chopped walnuts
100g chopped cashew nuts
50g Desiccated coconut
100g Pumpkin seeds
100g Sunflower Seeds
1 Tsp vanilla extract
200g - 300g Dried Fruit (Raisins, Pineapple, Sultanas, Apricots, Cranberries)

Method
Preheat the oven to 150C degrees. In a small saucepan (or using a microwave), heat the oil, honey and vanilla extract until warm. Put the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the dried fruit in a large bowl and mix well.

Add in the oil and honey mixture and stir well to ensure it evenly mixed. Spread out on a large baking trays and bake in the oven until golden brown (approx 30 minutes).

 

 

Stir in the oven every 5 minutes or so to brown evenly. Allow to cool fully and add the dried fruit. Store in an airtight container.

 

 

Irish Brown Soda Bread

I found this recipe in an old cook book and I've been using it ever since. It contains buttermilk which is available beside the milk in the larger supermarkets. I get three loaves per carton of buttermilk so I freeze the remaining two loaves. If you're baking and washing up you might as well get three loaves for your trouble!

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients

200g Plain flour
200g Plain wholemeal flour
50g rolled oats
2tsp bicarbonate of soda
1tsp salt
300mls buttermilk
Extra flour for sprinkling
                             
Method
Preheat oven to 200C/ 350F or Gas Mark 5. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Flour your work surface and tip the wet sticky dough out.

Place the dough into a oiled and floured 1lb tin and slash with a knife or if you don't have a loaf tin, with floured hands shape the dough into a round and use the handle of your wooden spoon to make a deep cross. Transfer to a floured baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes or until risen and golden.

Your brown bread should make a hollow sound when tapped underneath and most importantly wrap the bread in a clean tea towel and cool upside down (it's much easier to slice it later if you let it cool like this).

Beautiful served with Homemade Butter and Rhubarb and Ginger Jam.

Recipe Tip: For non ROI readers Saint Ivel Cultured Buttermilk 284ml is available at www.tesco.co.uk for less than 60p. If needed top up the St. Ivel with full fat milk. Alternatively mix half plain yogurt with half full fat milk. I usually make two loaves at a time and freeze one.

Chocolate Chip Flapjacks

  

These flapjacks are ideal for lunches and for the weeks when you'll be too busy to bake more than once, because they will keep all week in an airtight container. My children love them and so do all their friends but also lovely with a cup of coffee.

Makes 48

Ingredients
450g Porridge oats
Pinch of salt
150g Plain Chocolate chips
300g Softened butter
70g Caster sugar
6tbsp or 90g Golden Syrup


Method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a 32cm x 34cm baking tray with parchment paper. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl or stand mixer until combined. 

Spread the mixture into roasting tin and press it down firmly with a fork.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden. Cool slightly in the tin and cut into squares (it's important to cut the flapjacks while they're still warm). 

These Flapjacks freeze beautifully but I find that they keep happily in an airtight tin for a week.