Chicken and Leek Lasagne

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 leek, trimmed, washed, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
500g chicken mince
150g fresh ricotta (or feta)
salt and pepper, to season
40g butter
2 tbsp plain flour
1¼ cups skim milk
700g bottle Italian tomato sauce
400g fresh lasagne sheets
2 tbsp finely grated parmesan

Method:

1 Preheat oven to 180C. Heat oil in a large, heavy-based pan over medium heat. 
Add leek and cook for 4 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. 
Add chicken, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up mince, and cook until brown. Remove from heat and stir in ricotta. Season with salt and pepper. Cool.

2 To make white sauce, heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When melted add flour and stir until well combined. Cook for 1 minute or until bubbles form. Remove from heat and slowly add milk, stirring constantly, until well combined. Return to heat and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

3 Pour ¾ cup of the tomato sauce into 
a lasagne dish and spread evenly. Cover with a layer of pasta. Top with a third of the meat mixture and then a third of remaining tomato sauce. Cover with pasta. Continue to layer with meat mixture, tomato sauce and pasta, ending with a layer of pasta and tomato sauce. Spread white sauce over top and sprinkle with parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe: www.mindfood.co.nz

Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

3/4 cup blueberries

2 cups self - raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp brown sugar (caster will do fine too)

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

50 gms butter melted

3/4 cup milk

Method

1.Heat oven at 200 degrees. Grease a 12 hole muffin pan.

2.  Put the blueberries in a bowl and stir in the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.

3. Beat milk egg and butter and pour into the flour mixture. Stir to just moisten the flour. Do not over mix.

4. Spoon the mix into the muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes or till golden.

Blueberries can be substituted with chocolate chips, cranberries, nuts etc. for other varieties of muffins

Savoury cheese muffins

Ingredients
1/2 cup red/green peppers chopped fine
1/2 cup celery chopped fine
1/2 cup cheddar grated
2 cups self - raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 large pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
50 gms butter melted
3/4 cup milk

Method
1.Heat oven at 200 degrees. Grease a 12 hole muffin pan.

2.  Put the veg and cheese in a bowl. stir in the flour, baking powder, salt and cayenne pepper.

3. Beat milk egg and butter and pour into the flour mixture. Stir to just moisten the flour. Do not over mix.

4. Spoon the mix into the muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes or till golden.

You can add pieces of ham or some relish to the mix if you want to try different flavours.

Cottage Pie with Guinness

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
900g lean minced beef
Sea salt and black pepper
3 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
A few thyme sprigs, leaves only
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp tomato puree
330ml bottle of Guinness
5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
300ml chicken stock
1kg floury potatoes, peeled and roughly cubed
50g butter
2 tbsp finely grated parmesan or cheddar cheese, plus extra for grating
1 large egg yolk

Method
1. Place a large frying pan over a high heat and add a thin layer of olive oil. Season the mince with salt and pepper and fry, stirring, in two or three batches, until nicely browned. Once cooked, tip the mince into a sieve or colander to drain off the fat.

2. Place another large pan over a medium-high heat and add a little olive oil. When hot, fry the onions, with the garlic and thyme, for 8-10 minutes until soft and golden. Add the browned mince, tomatoes and tomato puree. Stir constantly for 4-5 minutes.

3. Add the Guinness and Worcestershire sauce and boil until the liquid has reduced by half. Pour in the stock and return to the boil.

4. Turn the heat down and simmer for 20-25 minutes, by which time the mixture should be thick and glossy.

5. Continue to simmer for another 5-10 minutes if it doesn’t seem quite thick enough. Remove from the heat.

6. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Meanwhile, add the potatoes to a pan of salted water, bring to the boil and cook until tender. Drain and return to the hot pan for 15 seconds or so, to dry out, then take off the heat. Pass the potatoes through a potato ricer back into the pan or mash smoothly. Mix through the butter, cheese and egg yolk. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

7. Spoon the mince mixture into the bottom of a 2 litre pie dish. Spoon the mashed potato on top and rough up the surface with a fork. Grate over some extra cheese and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until bubbling and golden brown.

Recipe: Gordon Ramsay

Chocolate Guinness Cake

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CAKE
250ml Guinness
250g unsalted butter
75g cocoa
400g caster sugar
1 x 142ml pot sour cream
2 eggs
1 tablespoon real vanilla extract
275g plain flour
2 1/2teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

FOR THE TOPPING
300g Philadelphia cream cheese
150g icing sugar
125ml double or whipping cream

METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C, and butter and line a 23cm springform tin.
2. Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter – in spoons or slices – and heat until the butter’s melted, at which time you should whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the brown, buttery, beery pan and finally whisk in the flour and bicarb.
3. Pour the cake batter into the greased and lined tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Leave to cool completely in the tin on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.
4. When the cake’s cold, sit it on a flat platter or cake stand and get on with the icing. Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth, sieve over the icing sugar and then beat them both together. Or do this in a processor, putting the unsieved icing sugar in first and blitz to remove lumps before adding the cheese.
5. Add the cream and beat again until it makes a spreadable consistency. Ice the top of the black cake so that it resembles the frothy top of the famous pint.

Recipe from www.Nigella.com.

Little lemon raspberry swirl cheesecakes

Ingredients:
40g butter, elted
½ cup frozen raspberries, thawed
2 Tbsp icing sugar, sifted
375g traditional cream cheese
1 cup caster sugar
3 eggs (size 6)
finely grated rind 1 lemon
1 cup finely ground gingernut biscuits (about 11) use any other hard biscuit if you wish
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method
Preheat oven to 160°C. Line a 12-muffin pan with paper or foil cases. Mix the finely ground gingernuts and butter in a bowl. Divide mixture among the paper cases, pressing down firmly. Bake for 5 minutes, then remove from oven and cool. Turn down oven heat to 125°C.

To make the raspberry purée, mash the raspberries to a pulp with the back of a fork then strain through a sieve into a bowl, pressing down well with the back of a spoon to get as much juice as possible. Discard seeds. Stir icing sugar into purée.

Place the cream cheese and caster sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat just until the mixture is smooth, light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until combined after each addition – you may prefer to do this with a hand whisk, to avoid overbeating. Finally, add lemon rind and vanilla essence.

Pour the cheese mixture over the biscuit bases, filling right up to the top of the cases. Place small drops (about ½ tsp) of the raspberry purée on top of the cakes and, using a wooden skewer, carefully swirl it through the cheese mixture. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until just set and no longer wobbly. Open oven door and allow the cakes to cool completely in the switched-off oven. They do shrink as they cool, but that is perfectly normal.

~ Recipe from Taste Magazine.

Garlic prawn couscous

Serves 2

1 cup couscous
1 cup water
1 1/2 tbsps oil
salt to taste

3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 medium - large onion finely chopped
1 small bowl frozen peas and sweet corn
8-10 small of 6 large prawns

1. In a bowl pour the water, 1/2 tbsp oil and some salt to taste and bring to boil.
2. Stir in the couscous and keep aside covered for about 15 mins or till all the water is absorbed.
3. In a pan, heat the rest of the oil and fry the onions and garlic.
4. The onion needs to be translucent. add the prawns and saute.
5. Add the peas and corn and cook.
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper and maybe a little chilli powder if you want.
7. With a fork, fluff out the couscous.
8. Once the veg and prawns are cooked, add the couscous to the pan and mix throughly.
9. Garnish with chopped coriander.

Serve hot & Enjoy!