Apple & Mincemeat Crumble - MS Word document for downloading

I began to sort out the freezer at the weekend. With half - term coming up, I needed to make room for some Christmas dishes. I found two small containers of mincemeat left over from last Christmas. I had completely forgotten they were there! I decided I’d make an Apple and Mincemeat Crumble on Monday evening. It could cook while the Spicy Chicken casserole was re-heating. Preparing the apple wouldn’t take more than a few moments and I already had the crumble mix ready made in the fridge,(from the extra quantity I’d made when making the Apple and Blackberry Crumble).

After the day I had yesterday, I was so grateful for such a quickly prepared meal. It was cold and drizzling as I arrived home, so a Crumble seemed like real comfort food. The meal smelt wonderful as it cooked. As I was really tired, it did seem an effort to prepare the veg, so I opened a can of sweet corn . While that was heating, I made the custard in the microwave. It was a really delicious meal, with minimum effort on my part. (By the way, the sauce from the Spicy Chicken is good with pork and lamb, as well). Read more »

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No-Cook Chocolate Cake - MS Word document for downloading

This versatile recipe can be used either as a cake or as a dessert and you can use any biscuits, broken or other wise. Bear in mind that if you don’t have a processor, ginger biscuits can be very difficult to pulverise! For No-Cook Chocolate Cake, the biscuits can be chopped as much or as little as you want. The raisins add an extra flavour which is very pleasant.

Serves 6-8

Preparation time: 5 minutes

One 7″ (18cm) round tin

Chilling time 1-2 hours

If served as a dessert, I like a little cream with it (you might have guessed!). Read more »

Banana Custard - MS Word document for downloading

My husband loves this dessert! Banana custard is so quick and easy to make, especially if you make the sauce in the microwave. Raspberry, strawberry and black currant jam are the ones we prefer in the bottom of the dish, but why not experiment?

Serves 2 - so you might want to double the quantity

Preparation time: 3 minutes

Cooking time: about 8 minutes, in a 750w microwave (cooking times will vary for a higher or lower wattage microwave)

Custard forms a skin very quickly when cooling. In “proper” (i.e. staged) food photography, they usually use yellow paint for custard, as it looks smooth and glossy! “Proper” food photographs would also have used a lit cigarette behind the dish to give the appearance of steam. Read more »

Chocolate (Walnut) Brownies - MS Word document for downloading

Measuring out the ingredients accurately does take a few moments with these delicious Chocolate Brownies, but then you just mix them altogether ever so quickly, even if you are not using a food processor. This recipe makes two trays - pop one batch in the freezer, where it will stay happily for 4-6 months, if it gets the chance!

This also makes a delicious pudding, served warm, with a little cream.

A friend asked me yesterday how I had the energy to do all the cooking I do when I get in from school and where do I find the time? It’s simple, really. I try to make good use of oven heat and my time. So, if, for example, I was reheating one of the casserole dishes, like the Devilled Chicken, I would only need to prepare vegetables to accompany the first part of the meal. I might decide to make these Brownies and cook them in the main oven with the chicken, serving a small portion as a pudding that evening. Read more »