Easy Cooking

To celebrate the return of the Premier League tonight we decided to do some match food, because of course at some stage this week football lovers are going to sit at home and have a beer and watch the game so we have to eat something tasty to go with that beer. This is quite simple not much cooking involved either if you tried the slow cooker roast beef and had some leftover use it, it will last in the fridge for 3 days. Enjoy these with one of the big games on over the next couple days.

Ingredients
• Jar of Salsa or Sour Cream
• 12 mini sweet rolls
• 1 pound roast beef shredded
• 6 slices Swiss cheese
• 1 cup fried onions
• 1/2 cup garlic butter spread melted
• Poppy Seeds for garnish

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13-baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Using a sharp knife, without separating the rolls, slice them in half. Place the bottom portion inside the prepared baking dish and spread with Salsa. Top with an even layer of cheese, roast beef, fried onions, and the remaining roll tops.
3. In a microwave-safe dish, melt garlic butter spread and brush on the top of the rolls.
4. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and top with additional Dean’s French onion dip. Cut sliders and serve.

Healthy, simple and no cooking involved. You can choose the fruit if you wanted to make this with chocolate and jellys or nuts feel free to do so it also works great. It’s also another great way to fruit into those little tummies.

Ingredients

• 1 cup vanilla yogurt (245 g)
• ½ cup fresh berry, chopped (90 g)

Method

1. Line an 8×8 (20×20) baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Evenly spread the yogurt over the bottom of the pan. Top with berries.
3. Freeze at least 2 hours. Remove from freezer and break into pieces.

An extremely popular dish would you believe. If you like creamy pasta sauce of course this is the way to go.

This Creamy Carbonara recipe is a plate of heavenly, creamy pasta. Silky spaghetti with crispy pancetta in a super creamy and cheesy sauce. So easy to make at home.

INGREDIENTS

• 8 ounces spaghetti uncooked
• 6 oz pancetta chopped
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups Parmesan Cheese  freshly grated, plus more for garnish
• 1 tsp pepper freshly ground
• 4 tbsp basil chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
• Add the pancetta to a large pan and saute over medium-low heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer the pancetta to a bowl using a slotted spoon.
• Add the Cream to the pan and bring to a simmer. Whisk the egg yolks into the sauce. Whisk in the Parmesan cheese. Stir in the black pepper. Taste for salt and season if needed. I find no salt is needed since the cheese adds plenty of saltiness.
• Add the cooked spaghetti, bacon and basil to the skillet and toss well to combine. 
• Garnish with more Parmesan cheese if desired and serve immediately.

Sweet and just a tiny bit spicy , the first hot chocolate of this series comes from Mexico.
Before we go any further for the adults if we are not making this for the children, rum or baileys goes perfectly fine with this 😉. Everyone loves a hot chocolate every now and then however sometimes its nice to spice it up and this what this recipe does. It takes minutes to make and you can use any Hot chocolate mixture you wish.

Ingredients
• 3 cups whole milk
• 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 300g bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 140g sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS:
• marshmallows (regular or mini)
• whipped cream
• pinch of cinnamon
• drizzle of chocolate sauce
• grated chocolate

Method

1. To a large pot, add all ingredients and heat over MED heat. Whisk as it heats, to combine all ingredients until smooth. Bring to a low boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes.
2. Pour into mugs and top with desired toppings. My usual preference is whipped cream, grated chocolate, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

With a lot of people heading back to work this week and last week, slow cookers are a life saver pop it on in the morning before you leave and its ready for when you come. With super soft meat, today its roast beef, someone asked me for advice recently and the best way to cook it in a slow cooker. This is how I do it everyone has their own different way, but the meat comes out perfect every time. Of course, you can add your own vegetables and trimmings if you like that is down to you. Enjoy 😊

Ingredients
• 500ml of beef stock
• Salt and pepper to taste
• A cut of Roast Beef, (Size of your choice)
• Vegetables of your choice.

Method

1. Season beef with salt and pepper.
2. Place in slow cooker and cover with beef stock,
3. Cook for 7-8 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high.
4. Add any vegetables into the slow cooker with the beef if you wish or you can cook the normal way of roasting or boiling,

Happy Monday we are going to be slightly healthy to start the week , we all know how to make scrambled egg of course this recipe is just to show that you can add little ingredients to give it more flavour and of course the smoked salmon to top it all off. Now I’m serve it on bagel, but you can have it with toast or just on its own.

Ingredients
• 4 medium eggs
• 1 tbsp of butter
• ½ cup of milk
• 1/2 gruyere cheese
• 1 tsp paprika
• 100g of smoked salmon
• Salt and Pepper to taste.
• Chives for Garnish? (optional)
Method

1. In a bowl beat your eggs and milk together.
2. In a pan of medium heat place the butter in and allow to melt, pour in the egg mixture, and allow to cook. (I am not going to give you a cooking time because everyone likes their eggs cooked differently, so until you happy with them.
3. Take off the heat and add the cheese and allow to melt and paprika, mix well.
4. Place your eggs on your choice of bread with a slice of smoked salmon on top, garnish with some chives and enjoy.

Our final one for today’s theme is an instant classic, which doesnt need much introduction. Its been around for centuries and is still a popular today.

Ingredients
• 200g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
• 200g caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extra
• 4 medium eggs
• 200g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
• about 6 tbsp raspberry jam
• 250ml double cream, whipped
• icing sugar, for dusting
Method

1. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Grease and flour two 20cm sandwich tins.
2. Place 200g softened unsalted butter, 200g caster sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract into a bowl and beat well to a creamy consistency.
3. Slowly beat in 4 medium eggs, one by one, then fold in 200g self-rising flour and mix well.
4. Divide the mix between the cake tins, place into the oven and bake for about 20 mins until risen and golden brown. The cakes should spring back when gently pushed in the middle.
5. When ready, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 mins in the tin, before turning out onto a wire rack and cooling completely.
6. Spread 6 tbsp raspberry jam onto one cake and top with 250ml whipped double cream. Sandwich the cakes together and dust with icing sugar.

Our second recipe as part of our baking theme today, you know by just reading the title you want to try them. It’s not complicated and of course always good for the kids.

Ingredients
• 250g all-purpose flour
• 2g baking soda
• 170g unsalted butter, melted
• 220g packed brown sugar
• 100g white sugar
• 15ml vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 335g chocolate chips
• Pinch of salt
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift the flour and baking soda into a bowl, then add the salt and set aside.
3. In a bowl, mix together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar thoroughly. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Then mix in the reserved sifted ingredients until mixed. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon.
4. Pour 1/4 of the cookie dough at a time onto the prepared greased sheets. The cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
5. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Folks there is no way around it you can’t beat quality meat from your local butchers and they need your custome now more than ever ,We are back with a recipe from Tuites in Drogheda after showcasing their lovely Cider infused Sausages. We have a beautiful piece of lamb to roast, a lot of people find lamb very daunting to cook. Another thing people do when they cook any piece of meat is take out of the oven and stab it with a knife to carve then all the beautiful juice and flavour runs out of the meat. Please do not do that let your meat rest for `10 – 15 minutes before serving it to allow all those juices to get back into the meat. Tuites providing us with this fantastic piece of lamb to which they were fighting over the last piece of it in our house when sitting down to enjoy it. Low and slow is the key here folks and I can promise you will have beautiful tender meat all the time. We have your Sunday dinner sorted with some roasted vegetables, a simple marinade to allow flavour to get into the lamb along with a simple gravy.

Ingredients

For the marinade.
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 1 tbsp of lemon zest
• 4 sprigs of rosemary
• 2 cups of good rapeseed oil
Vegetables (Any veg is good for roasting for the recipe we used Potatoes and Carrots)
• 250g potatoes
• 5 carrots cut into chunks
• 2 onions chopped
The Gravy
• ½ cup of Water
• ½ cup of Chicken or lamb stock
• 1 tbsp of cornflower.

Method

1. In a large bowl place, the lamb skin side up, in a blender blitz all the marinade ingredients together pour over the lamb and cover with clingfilm. Leave in the fridge to marinade for 4 hours.
2. Pre heat the oven 200 degrees, place the carrots and onion into a roasting dish season with salt and pepper and pour over some oil, Place the lamb on top and pour over the rest of marinade,
3. At 200 degrees cover the roasting dish with foil and cook covered for 1 hour 30 minutes. Add the potatoes after 1-hour season with salt, pepper, and flour (to make them crispy).
4. After 1 hour 30 minutes good time remove the foil and lower the heat to 150 degrees and cook uncovered for another 1 hour and 30 minutes.
5. Once done take the lamb out and cover with foil to rest for 15 minutes. Remove the vegetables onto a plate and cover with foil to keep them warm.
6. For the gravy place the roasting dish on two hobs on your cooker on a low heat, allow add the water and chicken stock to deglaze the roasting pan to lift all those delicious bits. Add the cornflower and allow to cook for 5 minutes until it thick and ready to serve.
7. Carve the lamb into slices and add all the trimmings and enjoy.

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Starting off with something nice and simple today, something to get the kids involved, as part of todays baking theme. Of course, you can use any toppings you wish. Fairy Cakes are a nice simple treat to have. Enjoy making these. 😊

Ingredients
• 125g caster sugar
• 125g self-rising flour
• 125g softened butter
• 2 beaten eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Icing
• 225g icing sugar
• 2-3tbsp warm water
• Sweets or sprinkles to decorate

Method
• Mix icing sugar and water in a bowl.
• Mix until you have a stiff icing.
• Spoon over cakes to decorate.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C / Gas 4.
2. Cream butter and caster sugar. Add beaten egg bit by bit and mix well. Fold in self-rising flour mix until smooth. Add milk and mix. Add vanilla extract and mix.
3. Place 12 cake cases onto baking tray. Spoon the mixture into the cases.
4. Place cakes in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and leave to cool. Add icing sugar and toppings once completely cool, if wanted.