Well, we had this thread in the old forum, so I thought I'd bring it back to life.. :razz: I absolutely LOVE cooking, and I know a few of you do too, so share what you will here, and discuss what you want here! :)

I'm actually very bad at giving recipes, because I learnt to experiment and used to watch over my mum's shoulder when she cooked. So I don't "measure" things out. I try it as I go along. And it makes me fussy when I'm trying to tell someone how to make something. I don't think I've ever stuck to a recipe that I read either. I always alter things! :S

Someone asked how I cook liver. And to be honest, when I cook it I just add butter, salt and pepper. Just fry it a little. Making an easy nibblesome snack (same with kidneys). Or I make a curry out of it (but very rarely). What do you do with your liver? (not literally your liver, lol).

For perfect poached eggs, place clingfilm in a mug, then break the egg into the clingfilm and seal it, then drop into boiling water for 4 minutes. The egg will come out perfectly round and cooked.

Ooo Liver, one of my favourites! (you can stop *barfing* at me!)

Ok, first off get the best liver you can by going to the butchers. Supermarket liver is pants. End of. Second, I don't like Lambs liver and use pigs but it's totally down to taste. Thirdly, soak your liver in milk overnight.

This is how I do mine to get it 'just right' Overcooked dry liver is just, eurgh. Anyway, preheat the oven to 200C (put a baking tray in too) and heat a frying pan. In the meantime, drain the milk from the liver, pat dry with kitchen roll and season with salt and pepper. Whe the pan's hot, add the seasoned liver and sear either side. If the pan's not hot enough, it won't quickly brown the outside as you need it to, you don't want to cook them, just brown them. Put the liver in the oven for 6 minutes (for thickness of around 1-2"). Put the frying pan pack on the heat and soften some onion, fry some streaky bacon (cut up) and add some beef stock and Lea & Perins. You can also add wine at this point. Quickly boil it down so it reduces. When the 6 minutes are up, put the liver in the sauce and keep it simmering for about 2 minutes. Et voila!

Ooo Liver, one of my favourites! (you can stop *barfing* at me!)

*barf* *barf* *barf*

Why on earth did Nerdy start a thread on cooking with a way of cooking liver? I can't bear the feeling of that stuff in my mouth.

*BARF!*

And don't start me on cucumber!

Or, seeing what ep wrote, the white of egg!

I'm so glad I didn't have any lunch.

Now, I know that there are alot of people who really do hate it. I know loads who can't even touch it, it makes them feel that ill but there are some people who would like it if it was cooked properlly. Liver should be buttery. I've had liver far too many times, like at the mother in laws or the grandparents. that's been cooked to death and is yuck! I reckon that's why so many people hate it. They've had really bad experiences with it.

/me snickers at flopsy's barfing.. :razz:
Cucumber is nice!
And the white of egg is nice too. I can only eat the yolk when it's boiled. Other than that, it makes me vomit :S Oh, and the smell when it's fried.. Eeek!

/me makes flopsy some pasta
I have to say, pasta is my favourite thing to make, because you can do 5783 different things with it :)

Hmm liver - I just chop it roughly - put it in the dog's dish and she eats it like it is - she seems to like it:twisted:

Here's my favourite:

INGREDIENTS:
3 eggs
some cheese
some sundried tomatoes chopped up
some fire roasted capsicum
some bread

METHOD:

Beat hell outta the eggs
Chuck em in the frypan stir them around a bit
Chuck the other stuff in (not the bread) and keep stirring a bit
Toast the bread - butter it if ya want
Bung it on a plate and empty the contents of the frypan onto it.

CHEF'S TIP:

Cook it like an omelette - Use camebert cheese with the rind cut off and call it:

Camembert and Sun Dried Tomato Omelette - sounds dead posh then.

And I half expected a recipe for BBQ'ed Shrimp :twisted:

That sounds excellent BM :biggrin:

I cook like BM. I love making egg & whatever I can find lunch.

Scrambled egg with vanilla is also really nice.

Tip:

Butter tastes better.

I'm still waiting for a decent recipe for Spanish meatballs...... anyone!?

Tip:

Butter tastes better.

Especially for curries :) I've tried oil a few times, but it doesn't quite cut it. It needs to be butter.

I always thought I hated liver, it turns out that I just hated the liver that my mother cooked, she got the thick cut, and cooked it forever. I found out that you need buy only very very fresh liver, cut thin, and dust it lightly with flour. Fry a few slices of bacon, and using the bacon grease, and fry the liver at a very hot temperature for only a couple of minutes per side, and it tastes nothing like the liver I hated as a child. Also, smother the hell out of it with sweet onions that have been cooked in butter, with the bacon crumbled into it. Now the problem is, I can't find really fresh liver, since butcher shops have sort of disappeared, due to the fact that everyone buys their meat in grocery stores, because it's cheaper. So, I haven't had liver in years.

Anyone who enjoys a curry needs to try my Mum's raita:

Mix a tub of fresh natural yoghurt with diced cucumber and sliced spring onions and a small amount of garlic. Serve with your curry. Works brilliantly with a really firey one. (Disclaimer: Will not prevent "afterburn" effects...)

When cooking meat, NEVER add seasoning until you've sealed the meat, so that the juices stay inside and make it a lot more tender.

lol!

'pologies, liver haters - twas I who was seeking advice!

By the time this thread appeared the dinner party was over and done with anyways :P

I soaked it in milk, rubbed a little flour in, cooked it along with the onions and mushrooms in a pan (using butter) and then made a sauce using the milk that it had been soaked in, plus a little cream, water, garlic, herbs, a little more flour and some salt. It melted in the mouth, and everyone loved it.

Wasn't a liver lover (lol) until recently, didn't do 'innards' but now I am converted. I might even try kidney's next!

Anyone who enjoys a curry needs to try my Mum's raita:

Mix a tub of fresh natural yoghurt with diced cucumber and sliced spring onions and a small amount of garlic. Serve with your curry. Works brilliantly with a really firey one

Yay, raita! :D That's the.. not-so-Asian way of making it :P
If you want to have an adventure with raita and make it the Asian way, a good recipe is this:
Pot of yoghurt,
diced cucumber, tomatoes, onions,
tad of salt, tad of pepper,
a pinch of cumin powder,
some garam masala
and a tad bit of mint sauce.

Grrreeeeat! If you like your curries on rice, the raita is a great thing to add on top of it :) (I always have it with rice.)

lol!
'pologies, liver haters - twas I who was seeking advice!
By the time this thread appeared the dinner party was over and done with anyways :P

lol, I was thinking of naming and shaming you, but you know I'm far too nice for that.. :twisted: We grabbed their attention with the liver though, heh.

I had coconut raita once. That was pretty poor really. Needs to have crunch in it.

Grabbed them by the liver, ouchie.

Here, once again, is my salad dressing recipe. Not enough people (in England anyhow) use salad dressings! I don't know how people can eat a naked salad.

For 4 people:

1 clove of crushed garlic
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar
couple of pinches of oregano
3 tsp balsamic vinegar
3 tsp white wine vinegar
12 tsp extra virgin olive oil.

ALWAYS add the oil last. I usually pour it into an empty mineral water bottle and give it a good shake around to mix it nicely. Yummy salad coming right up.

/me may learn to cook yet!

Ok, so I've made too much cheesecake mixture of the unbaked variety and I've one complete in the fridge and I have foil cases. Could I make a few up and freeze them? I'm the master of freezing things in advance but I've not done cheesecake before. Do you think it'll be ok?

Well, don't shoot me if it all goes horrible wrong, but I'd say you could freeze it. I wouldn't keep it for more than a month or two, but it should be alright :)

Freezing is okay, but it depends on the actual ingredients too. If there's a lot of cream in it, you'll find it goes all funky when you defrost it... not that I've done that before or anything, heh. XD

I'd say you're okay with freezing it :) better than wasting it.

Like MsNerd says, unless there's a swag of cream in it, cheesecake generally freezes quite well - they sell them in the frozen food part of shops so why wouldn't they freeze?

I have made cheesecake in square or rectangle slice tins so I can cut it into bite size pieces and freeze it. Works just nicely for those times when you don't want to eat a whole cheesecake by yourself........

nope, no cream! And there won't be any fruit topping on them either, I thought that might go a little funky too. I think the chunk idea's good BM but it'd make me eat alot when I shouldn't!!

I'm gonna go for it!

TY you three xx

To get lump free lovely gravy simply,,,,,.
Take some gravy granules, put in a jug, add cold water and mix in to a paste.
Then add boiling water and stir briskly, no more lumps.

To get lump free lovely gravy simply,,,,,.
Take some gravy granules, put in a jug, add cold water and mix in to a paste.
Then add boiling water and stir briskly, no more lumps.

That's if you use a mix Cherry. For lump free gravy without using a mix, make a roux.

Melt a tablespoon of butter in a pan. Add a tablespoon or so of flour. Whisk this over meduim heat until it gets pasty.
You can cook it a little longer until it dries out and starts to brown if you want the gravy to be darker or let the butter brown slightly before you add the flour, being careful not to let it burn.
Then you add your meat drippings and some water(A little at a time).
Cook this at a slow boil until it gets thick enough, using the whisk to scrape the pan and stir it in.
This recipe can be used for a whitesauce with garlic, onions or leeks over vegetables or pasta. (obviously with no drippings added)
You can make a sauce this way and use cheese as the flavoring for over macaroni for mac and cheese.(I like onion with mine.)
For a larger amount of sauce or gravy, increase the amount of butter and flour to start. You would be suprized though at how much water you can add to the tablespoon of flour and butter and still have it thicken.

A tiny variation of sam's lovely recipe above:

If you're making roast dinner with vegetables and you boil or steam the veg - instead of tap water, use the vegetabley water from the pan. Even if you hardly cook your veg the water will still have a bit more flavour than just regular water. It adds a little... jay nay say kwa (LOL!)

La Specialite de Ches - Beans sur la toast.

1. Take 2 slices of bread and put into a toaster or under the grill. If grilling remember to turn the bread over once the first side is a golden brown.

2. While the first stage above is underway, prepare some butter (put it on the table) and also begin the preparation of a can of baked beans. (Open it - tins nowadays may have a ring pull, or you may need to find a tin opener.)

3. Empty the baked beans into a microwave safe bowl and cook in the microwave for 1-2mins depending on amount and power of oven. (If you don't have a microwave then you're screwed... I think you can do something with hobs or pans or something, but that's far too complicated for me.)

4. Spread butter on toast (just one side)

5. Pour beans over buttered toast.

6. Slice the bread in half and serve with a bottle of beer for that extra touch of class if you have dinner guests.

La Specialite de Ches - Beans sur la toast.

1. Take 2 slices of bread and put into a toaster or under the grill. If grilling remember to turn the bread over once the first side is a golden brown.

2. While the first stage above is underway, prepare some butter (put it on the table) and also begin the preparation of a can of baked beans. (Open it - tins nowadays may have a ring pull, or you may need to find a tin opener.)

3. Empty the baked beans into a microwave safe bowl and cook in the microwave for 1-2mins depending on amount and power of oven. (If you don't have a microwave then you're screwed... I think you can do something with hobs or pans or something, but that's far too complicated for me.)

4. Spread butter on toast (just one side)

5. Pour beans over buttered toast.

6. Slice the bread in half and serve with a bottle of beer for that extra touch of class if you have dinner guests.

/me swoons.

Baked beans and beer? God. You're like above A class Ches.

/me books Ches as future Dinner party convenor.

Making Gravy seems to be such hard work.

I much prefer this stuff - 40 seconds in a microwave and you have perfect sauces in a range of flavours.

http://www.masterfoods.com.au/products/productimages/MF-FS-JUG-ROAST-BEEF-160.jpg<- <- CLICK ME <- <- (http://www.masterfoods.com.au/products/finishingsauce.asp)

And a range of preservatives (and probably too much pepper) with combine to make me ill :(

*Holy mother of bump* Hehe :P

Wow, this thread fell pretty low.

Anyway, I was wondering.. has anyone ever tried making homemade fudge? Or am I the only fool here? :| AJ almost had a fit at the thought of me even suggesting that I make it.. thinking that I'll ruin it for life and no one will eat it ever again :cry: Which could be a possibility, but I'd say I'm a good cook generally. And I'm up for the challenge :D

But first.. I've seen a few different recipes, so it's hard to actually *pick* one and hope for the best. So I thought I'd ask if anyone here has tried making it before and what your recipe consisted of? I wanted to start off with an original or vanilla one, but I'm open to anything, really - well, providing it doesn't have alcohol.

Mr nerdy loves his fudge.. so I wanted to be (dorkishly) romantic and make him some.. 'cause buying it can get pretty boring. So I wanna experiment. :X

Ok.. tons of fudge recipes out there. You can do it the old fashioned way witha chilled marble slab or you can do it the quick and easy modern woman way.

I choose the quick and easy and everyone raves about my fudge. Little do they know I get the can of sweetened condensed milk and follow that recipe... lol!

This is from the Nestle Sweetened Condensed Milk can

Estimated Times:
Preparation - 6 min | Cooking - 5 min | Cooling Time - 2 hrs refrigerating | Yields - 36
Ingredients:

2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels (http://www.verybestbaking.com/products/tollhouse/morsels.aspx)
1 can (14 oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Sweetened Condensed Milk (http://www.verybestbaking.com/products/carnation/sweet/default.aspx)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extracthttp://www.verybestbaking.com/graphics/recipes/icons/nutritional_info_wh.gif (http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/detail.aspx?ID=28655#)
Directions:
LINE 8- or 9-inch square baking pan with foil.

COMBINE morsels and sweetened condensed milk in medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Warm over lowest possible heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat; stir in nuts and vanilla extract.

SPREAD evenly into prepared baking pan. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan; remove foil. Cut into pieces.




Yummy! Try it out!

Anyone like Mexican Food?

Disappearing Guacamole

6-7 ripe* avocados
1 - 8oz package cream cheese
1 medium to large tomato diced
1 small to medium onion diced
1 small can of diced roasted green chiles
garlic salt to taste
pepper to taste
dried or fresh cilantro(optional)

Skin and debone the avocados setting one bone to the side. Put the prepped avocados into a large bowl with an airtight lid. Using a potato masher, mash the avocados a little bit then add the cream cheese. Mash until it is of the consistency you like. The less you mash the chunkier it will be, the more you mash the creamier it will be. Add the tomato, onion and chiles, mix till incorporated. When adding the spices it is best to add some then taste then add more if you like. Taste will be best in an hour or overnight stored in the fridge. Keep it from changing colours badly by putting the bone halfway in the middle of the mix before storing. Some people use a teaspoon or 2 of lemon or lime juice to retard discolouring but I think it drastically changes the flavour. It can always be remixed to hide any discolouration when ready to serve. Best served with corn tortilla chips and/or topped on mexican food. Will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container, but I doubt it will last that long.

*ripe avocados are green-black to black and give slightly to a press of the thumb. If its brown and feels hollow in spots or alltogether, its no good. Green and hard avocados are never yummy and will take about 3 -5 days to ripen in a brown paper sack in a warm place. Always pick similar looking avocados when using immediately or ripening.

Heh this is silly of me but... I'm requesting a cooking tip? :/ I would give one, but I really have none to offer, as I'm a horrid cook.

Is there any good frosting recipes out there? Or does all frosting pretty much taste the same? I was wondering if I could make my own vanilla frosting instead of just buying the store-carton ones (since my sister doesn't like chocolate frosting, pfft).

Is there any good frosting recipes out there? Or does all frosting pretty much taste the same?

I don't really follow a recipe... but this one is good for cookies or cakes. Make it slightly stiffer for cookies and creamier for cakes. This recipe would be enough to frost a regular-sized cake.

2-3 Tbsp Butter or Margarine, softened to room temp
3 Tbsp or so of milk (I never measure, just kind of splash it in)
1 tsp or so of vanilla

Beat to creaminess.

Add in 2-3 cups of powdered (confectioners) sugar.
Beat in

If it is too thick- add in more milk
If it is too thin- add in more sugar

After it is mixed, then stir in food coloring.

I'd like to share my special Christmas recipe with everyone...

1. Lift phone

2. Ask for an invite to Chrimbo dinner at the mother-in-laws.

3. Wait about a week....

4. Voila! Christmas dinner is served.

Merry Christmas xx :biggrin:

Here's a holiday contribution but Ive made it at other times of year.

Sweet Potato Bread

2 cups all purpose flour(better: bread flour)
3 teaspoons baking power
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup chopped pecans, walnuts or slivered almonds
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
about 1 1/2 - 2 lbs sweet potatoes; 1 cup pureed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake(best), microwave, or boil sweet potatoes till cooked. Peel and puree them. Set aside. In a mixing bowl add everything but the puree, butter, milk, eggs and vanilla and thoroughly incorporate. In a separate bowl slightly beat the eggs then add the puree, butter, milk, and vanilla and stir together. Then, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to thorougly incorporate till the batter is relatively smooth. Pour into a buttered/greased(spray works too) large loaf pan, Bundt pan or 13x9 cake pan and bake for 30 minutes(cake pan) to an hour(Bundt pan). Toothpick inserted should come out clean.

You can also use self-rising flour but omit the baking powder & soda and add 1 teaspoon salt. 1 cup brown sugar can also be used instead of white sugar and changes the flavour a bit. You can also add some cinnamon or pumkin pie spice. Ive done this recipe so many different ways and actually you can use a different base ingredient than the sweet potato... pureed raw carrots, apples, pineapple or 4 mashed bananas are all nice and the same recipe works for all of them, even grated zucchini! You can also change the nut, for example, if you use pineapple, you can put macadamias in. Pine nuts are wonderful as well. Using 3 eggs instead of 2 makes it fluffier. Wanna make a chocolate banana nut bread(my creation), add 6 tablespoons unsweeted cocoa powder and up the sugar to 1 1/4 cups and omit the raisins, of course. Hope you enjoy making this for friends and family as much as I do.

Hmm - never saw an avocado with a bone in it........

I just had grilled cheese on toast with a slight variation

2 big slices of bread
Some avocado
Some semi-dried tomatoes
Some cheese

Grill one side of the bread.
Turn it over and spread avocado on it
Roughly chop the semi dried tomatoes and bung them on top of the avocado
Bung it back undr the grill for a minute
Chuck the cheese on top and grill until it melts or until it starts to go brown if you like it a bit charcoally

Hmm - never saw an avocado with a bone in it........

lol... bone = seed... Weve always called em bones in my family.
.................................................. .

Tips for making great salmon....

Using spices heavily will make salmon taste great as well as turn the top of it nice and crusty.

I use seasoned salt, garlic power, onion powder, pepper and parsley flakes in that order and put it on liberally unless it happens to be a rather thin peice of salmon which is rare. I top the salmon with one pat of butter then bake it in a pie tin with a half inch of water or halfway up the side of the salmon at 425 degrees for up tp 20 minutes. Dont overcook the salmon and you will be very pleased. Make a rice and vegetable side and voila.

/me turns the lights down and lights a candle

Anyway, I was wondering.. has anyone ever tried making homemade fudge? Or am I the only fool here? :| AJ almost had a fit at the thought of me even suggesting that I make it.. thinking that I'll ruin it for life and no one will eat it ever again :cry:

I choose the quick and easy and everyone raves about my fudge. Little do they know I get the can of sweetened condensed milk and follow that recipe... lol!

This is from the Nestle Sweetened Condensed Milk can.... Yields - 36

Yummy! Try it out!
See now that sounds nice and it seems oh so easy.... fancy making fudge now nerdy, I'm on a break until some time next week :razz:

btw Sam, yields 36 what exactly? Mouthfuls of fudge? Sorry for the dummy question :embarrassed:

Anyway, I have something to add.... Macaroni and cheese!
Not just any mac and cheese, it has more stuffs in it!

Creamy cheese sauce:
flour
salted butter
milk
cheese
salt and pepper for flavouring.

I add loads of pepper cos I love it and personally I think it livens up the whole meal. There is not specific quantity for the ingredients, I just chuck everything in and make enough depending on how much many I'm cooking for. There should be enough sauce to almost fully submerge the macaroni.

To the cheese sauce add sausages. Yes, sausages! Not whole. First cook them then slice them into nice bite sizes (don't be stingy!) How many you add depends on the amount of mac and cheese you're making and how much you love sausages.

Then separately fry up some sliced onions in some butter, no flavouring needed. When this is done, add it to the cheese and sausage sauce.

Boil some macaroni, whack it in a tray, add the cheese sauce mixture and bung it in the oven. I tend to stick it in the oven on high cos I like the top of my mac and cheese to be crispy.

I estimate everything by eye and it comes out perfectly. I don;t bother faffing about like Delia or Gary Rhodes; sorry, no time to count strands of grated cheese, macaroni or specks of salt and pepper :p

If you're vegetarian, then veggie sausages go really well too, I advise Linda McCartney sausages cos they're nicely flavoured.

This is to die for! :D not literally... :|

/me gently pats her tummy and wanders off :)

Here's a German recipe. Very tasty!

Ingredients:
2 shallots
300 grams mushrooms
50 grams white breadcrumbs
2 eggs whites
parsely, nutmeg, marjoram
garlic
400 grams potatoes
12 pork medallions
100ml cream
a little butter, salt and pepper

Pre-heat oven to 180°

Finely chop the mushrooms and shallots and then fry them. Once fried, put them into a bowl to one side to cool.

Peel and thinly slice the potatoes. Rub a metal oven dish with garlic, and put the sliced potatoes in it, so that the bottom of the dish is covered. Pour over the cream, season with salt, pepper, marjoram and nutmeg. Pop the dish into the oven for 20 mins.

While the potatoes are in the oven, add the egg whites, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and parsley to the mushrooms and shallots and mix it all together.

Briefly fry the pork medallions in oil to seal them (they should still be a bit pink inside) and then take them off the heat.

Once the potatoes are done, take them out of the oven, put the pork medallions over the top in a layer, and spread the mushroom mixture over the top of that. Pop it back in the oven for 15 mins. Serve with fresh green beans.

This dish is reeeeeeeeeally worth making, it's so yummy!

EDIT: To answer Nay's question beneath - I'd say 3 hungry tummies, or 4 tummies with a nice portion of veg and maybe a bit of dessert :P I make it for two sometimes and we always get a ton of left-overs.

That's a lot of medallions there, Vik! How many hungry stomachs can you fill with that recipe?


Here's a little addition to your normal tomato soup, whether it be powder-based, from a tin, or made completely from scratch.

Get yourself a can of tuna
And a jar of olives (I prefer green, and you can even get ones with some kind of filling. Just make sure they don't have stones in them)
And a fresh basil plant (you won't regret buying it -- though you can add dried basil too)
And finally some pepper

Make the soup like you always do. When it's just about done, take the olives and the tuna and put it in the soup (sans liquid from the can and jar). As much as you like. Grind some pepper. Put the soup in bowls/plates. Chop up the basil leaves and put them on the soup.

Enjoy :)

Wow, I'm bringing this one back from the dead!

Ever had the situation of too much bread, going stale really fast? Here's your answer!

Bread Soup

150g left-over bread
1.5 liters veggie stock (cooled)
60g butter
1 onion
2 egg yolks
Salt, nutmeg, chives
handful of flour
100ml cream

Thinly slice 100g of the bread. Melt butter in bottom of a pan, throw in bread and fry for a min or two. Add onion, fry for another min. Coat with the flour and stir. Add veggie stock, stir around, and simmer for 30 mins, covered.

Beat egg yolks in bottom of soup tureen. Add cream.

Once the simmering is done, pour the contents of the saucepan into the tureen and mix together. Add the remaining 50g of bread (cubed), and the salt, nutmeg and chives to taste.

Eat! Yummier than it sounds.

This is a great salad.
If you are serving for guests toss all the ingredients together just prior to serving. I love this salad and eat it several times a week so I store the dressing (refrigerated), in an air tight jar and add it to my salad just prior to eating. I also store the toasted noodles and nuts in an airtight container. Both will keep for several weeks.

Crunchy Green Salad

1 head of Romaine Lettuce
1 head of Broccoli
1 bunch of Green Onions

Prepare normally for a salad.

Dressing

1 C. sugar
1 C. Oil
½ TSP salt
3 TBLS Soy Sauce
½ C. Apple Cider Vinegar

This can be blended, mixed, or put in a plastic baggie to mix. Blend until sugar is dissolved.

Topping
2 PKGS Romaine Noodles
¾ C. Slivered Almonds
½ C. Sunflower Seeds

Spray cookie sheet with Pam
Break up noodles on sheet (discard seasoning packet)
Put almonds & sunflower seeds on too

Bake @ 400F until noodles are golden brown (turning occasionally) About 10 minutes or so.

Toss salad with dressing
Sprinkle on toasted noodles and nuts on top

Does anyone have a recipe for Butterscotch tart......like they used to make at schools?

Does anyone have a recipe for Butterscotch tart......like they used to make at schools?

I dunno.. which school did you used to go to? :razz: Lol, sorry, I don't know any, anyway XD But speaking of school.. *sigh* my primary school had the best school dinners, ever! None of this ready made stuffs that schools serve nowadays (God, I'm making myself sound ridiculously old!). I miss school dinners. If I could, I would love to get hold of some of the recipes that they used to serve. *sigh*.

Sorry, I just had to spam!

When I can be bothered, I'll add in a recipe for citrus pouched salmon with spaghetti (and other stuffs). Inspired by a healthy living dish that I bought from tescos, lol :)

Does anyone out there love to cook, well here is a small gift idea when your invited to a christmas meal in the future.
Its so simple but looks really effective.


Buy a large cheap xmas pudding
Buy some cooking chocolate i bar will be enough.
White icing in a tube x1
Glazed cherries in green and the normal red.
Get a pretty decorated christmas box any size you care to fill.
Or a small tin you dont mind giving away.
Lastly some small cake cases, the smallest ones you can find, as many as you need ect.

Right cook the christmas pudding in the microwave, when done break it all up in to a mixing bowl so its consistancy resembles crumble mix.
You may have to mix it with your CLEAN hands to get the texture right.
Next melt the chocolate in a bowl either in the micro or over a pan of water.
When melted pour it in the xmas pudding mix, then stir in to a mixture that can then be shaped by hand.
Next make balls out of the mixture to fit your cake cases.
Then squeeze your tube of icing out in to a saucer and stir it a bit to get in room tempreture so its managable.
Then carefully add a icing top to each of your mini puddings makeing it look as real as you can to an iced topped pud.
The next stage is the time consuming part, cut your red and green glazed cherries in to little leaves and cherries eg tiny bits to decorate the top of your ouds to look real christmasy.
Then when all done leave to cool in the fridge
When ready to go to a friends place for dinner or a xmas visit simply put your mini choccy puds in the box or tin you have got with a light sprinkling of icing sugar to add decor.
I did this christmas 2008 and people simply loved them, so this year im doing them for the kids school bazaar all boxed ready for people to buy good way to raise money for the school.:razz:

Darn it all Nerdy, I want you to post your salmon recipe!!! I made salmon with spaghetti once and I didn't enjoy it at all.

Mmmm... Christmas puds sound yummy.

Penny - that salad sounds great.

Not a recipe, but a tip that really is great - to spice up your spag bol sauce, add whatever hot spices you like, plus a teaspoon of honey. Somehow the honey turns a boring spag bol into a 'this is the best spag bol I ever had' spag bol. lol

Anyone have a good 'recipe' for pre-dinner drinks?

I was thinking along the lines of some kind of punch, preferably containing champagne.

Anyone know a good one?

When I can be bothered, I'll add in a recipe for citrus pouched salmon with spaghetti (and other stuffs). Inspired by a healthy living dish that I bought from tescos, lol :)
Citrus pouched? :p

I poached my salmon in milk lol :/ And FYI, mum liked my salmon spaghetti better than yours! (But I do think she was just saying that to make me happy O.o not that I minded, it was nice but I wasn't fussed cos I don't like salmon so much xD

When I'm bothered I'll add my recipe too :$

Oh, I forgot that I said I'd add my recipe.
Meh.. okay, here goes:

wait.. lol @ pouched. Hehe :$

Anyway..

You can add lots of different vegetables to this.. it's really up to you, but the last time I made it, this was the list of things I added into it:

Salmon steaks
Green peppers
Red peppers
Yellow peppers
Cauliflower
King Prawns
Spinach
Sweetcorn
Linguine pasta

Cut the peppers into square type shapes (or whatever) and season well with a bit of oil and stick it in the oven so it can roast a bit.
Poach salmon in some boiling water with fresh lemon juice. Take it out, and flake it into bits. Do the same with the cauliflower (except you can't flake it :P lol) Sort out the pasta and mix that in. btw.. you'll need an oven dish to put this all into.

Cook the spinach in butter, salt and pepper, and add that in. With the prawns cook 'em in a bit of butter/oil, salt, pepper and chili, and then add that into the oven dish too. Add the sweetcorn.

Now, for a white sauce that's not meant to be heavy at all. It's meant to lightly coat the pasta and sit at the bottom of the dish:

I don't do measurements, haha. So I'm just gonna state that I use a tiny bit of plain flower into melted butter. And then add in a lot of milk. Season with salt, pepper and fresh lemon. It really does need to be really runny (not a thick sauce you'd do for mac n cheese, for example) 'cause I've found that a runnier sauce works 10 times better. Anyway, mix that into the dish, and just put it into the oven to heat through properly.

It's a bit long winded when you cook the things individually. I guess you could just add all the veggies on a oven tray and cook 'em. Or fry them. It's really up to you. Btw.. the whole recipe in general.. the more lemon the better :) mmhmmm!

Btw.. this is why I don't give recipes out. LOL. I suck at it :( I'd prefer if someone just watches me cook. Then I don't have to explain anything. 'cause I'm no Delia. I don't measure things. I just throw things in and taste.

OK, re: the pre-dinner drinks post I made on the previous page, I found a GREAT recipe online :D

A couple of hundred grams of strawberries
juice of 1 lemon (or a few squeezes of juice from one of those plastic lemon things, lol)
70g granulated sugar
3/4 bottle dry white wine
1/2 bottle Champagne

Put the strawberries, sugar, lemon and wine in a punch bowl and refrigerate for 3 hours. Right before serving, add Champagne! Easy, and it's sooooo good.

It's a good idea to have toothpicks in hand for people to spear the strawberries in their glass, and you could freeze the rest of the white wine in an ice-cube tray to pop in to keep it cool.

Anyone have a fooproof recipe for muffins? :)

buy some from the store? :D (thats my recipe:)

That's not half as fun, jen!

tsk.. its more fun if when you try to make a muffin, you burn something....

cooking tips? hmm

think I'll let motherdear do mine. I'm afraid I'm not up to it like these professionals


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ-Ukh_Eaa8

But I'm for hell sure, I don't do this when asked to cook
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfAPXwcGECc

buy some from the store? :D (thats my recipe:)

Yeah my recipes are along the lines of "buy a bag of dry ramen, open the top of the bag, sprinkle some of the flavor sauce on top of the noodles (optional), and start gnawing away on the dry noodles."

Made myself balsamic vinegar roasted veg with grilled chicken and red pesto. Was really nice and foolproof simple to boot.

Jmac's Chocolate Chip Cookies-

3/4 cup Brown Sugar
3/4 cup Sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup crisco (butter flavored)
1/2 cup butter (softened)
MIX
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
MIX
1 cup flour
MIX
1 1/2 cups flour (for 2 1/2 cups total)
MIX
1 bag chocolate chips (about 1 1/2 cups)
MIX

make into balls and place on baking sheet and cook in oven at 350 degrees Farenheit for 15 mins. (I live at a high altitude, 6000ft above sea level, so it may be slightly different baking time, but not much)

For optimal results, use a stone pan to cook with and leave cookies on pan for a few minutes after removing from the oven to let the bottom of it seal up.

Note: cookies should be 'gooey-ish' so its ok if they are not completely hardened when you take them out of the oven. Also, they usually stay soft that way. Let me know if you have questions! (also, i wrote this recipe while at work and off the top of my head, so if it looks like something is obviously missing, please let me know and i will add it)

(I know this is a double post, but they are two seperate recipes, so i feel its ok)
For those wishing for an easy, good tasting dinner awaiting you when you get home from a long day away-
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/8-1/4 c brown sugar
1 c beef gravy
1 pkg Lipton onion soup mix
2 T vinegar
1 T soy sauce
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/4 t salt & 1/4 t pepper
1/4 t garlic powder
Combine all ingredients with a roast and veggies in crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours. I usually double this recipe for my large crock pot.

I usually make some mashed potatoes to go along with it, it tastes pretty good.

Homemade tacos (kids love these, because you can put what you want on there.):

Taco shells or wraps (your choice)
Ground meat -- the less fat the better -- so look for the "high number" ground meat. If you don't know what I am talking about, ask the meat guy in the grocery store or some old lady buying food in the grocery store.
cottage cheese (optional)
lettuce (optional)
tomatoes (optional)
shredded cheese (optional)
salsa (optional)

1) Take a frying pan and slowly heat up the ground meat. It will turn brown, and ooze out the fat. Keep stirring and breaking up the meat with a spoon. When the meat is all brown, pour out the oil/fat.
2) Cut up the tomatoes into slices (or if you are really good, little cubes).
3) Tear enough lettuce leaves for the tacos.

Preparation time: about 10 minutes. Throw the leftovers in the refrigerator and eat for tomorrow.

Hmm looks like I have a bit of time right now...soooo...

Casta's Chocolate Death Cookies :twisted:

4 squares/ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
9 squares/ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 large eggs
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 Tbsp instant espresso powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
9 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (I had converted this to grams but I can't remember how many it was lol)

1. In a double boiler, melt unsweetened and semisweet chocolate with butter. Remove and stir when 2/3 melted.
2. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar for 10 minutes (no, that is not a typo!) at high speed, then add espresso powder and vanilla and beat another 2 minutes.
4. Fold in the flour mixture, then fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Refrigerate batter for 20 minutes while preheating oven to 350°F, and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto sheets, 2" apart.
6. Bake one sheet at a time, for 8-10 minutes. Do not over bake! Cookies should be puffed, shiny, and cracked on top. Let cool a few minutes on the sheets and then transfer to cooling racks.

Store airtight, preferably in the freezer!

Yield: 3 dozen, although I only got 30 out of my batch.

I've only made them once, but they turned out beautifully. And that is an accomplishment for me, who is normally inept at making cookies! I'll just say that these are no ordinary cookies...the extra long beating of the eggs is very important, as the fluffy egginess basically makes up the entire batter other than the chocolate and miniscule amounts of dry ingredients.

These are super noodles.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01429/Super-Noodles_1429363i.jpg

There are instructions on the packet telling you to boil them. Instead, follow these instructions for a quick snack!

1) Eat the block of noodles.
2) Refer to it as a 'noodle biscuit'.

There we go.

OH I just thought of a good optional extra. You can use the powdered flavouring (in the image above, this would be bacon) to make SOUP as a starter. Simply add water and mix until the powder is dissolved.

Now, I know that nothing can top Fox's meal of noodle surprise....but here's an awesome hummus recipe that I have...I made it yesterday and it was divinely terrific!

1 cup cooked garbanzo beans (chick peas)
4 tbsp toasted sesame seeds OR 2 tbsp tahini
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp cumin powder
salt 'n' pepper to taste
chopped parsley to garnish

- Save liquid from beans (either water from cooking, or liquid from can)
- In a blender, mix beans, tahini (or sesame seeds), oil, lemon juice, garlic, and cumin.
- Check consistency often and add bean liquid as needed.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, and garnish with parsley

Voila!