Apricot, prune and nut balls

Ingredients

1 cup of shredded coconut

1 cup of almonds or other nuts

½ cup of dried apricots

½ cup of prunes, pitted

Method

Blitz up until fine and add a little water at a time until it comes together as a ball. Then roll into balls or press into a 20x 20cm lined tin and cut into squares. Keep in an airtight container.

Salted caramel snicker bars

This is just another version of a bliss ball:)

Ingredients

2 cups of roasted salted peanuts (300g) you can use raw unsalted if you want and add some salt at the end, start with ¼ tsp salt and add more to taste.

130g of pitted medjool dates- this is about 10

¼ cup (20g) of cacao powder

Method

Put everything in a food processor or similar and blitz up. Add 1 tsp of water at a time until it comes together in a ball. I used nearly 2 tbsp for this batch.

Then press into a 20 x 20cm lined cake tin (or roll into balls) Cut into 12 bars.

Slow cooked creamy mustard beef pie (spelt flakey pastry)

This can be a stand alone dish with the pastry as I was originally going to have it as. I was watching Masterchef the other night and they had a pie challenge. So I thought I would have a go at making my own pastry and so I ended up just topping the pie with pasty but didn't use pastry as the base.

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 kg piece of beef chuck steak, cut into 8, I only put this on at lunch time, took 5 hours on high.

2 tbsp dijon mustard

2 tbsp wholegrain mustard

300ml pure cream

5 cloves garlic, rough chop

2 red onions, rough chop

¼ cup of sherry or brandy (opt)

Method

You can either brown the beef, then add the garlic, onion and sherry (if using), reduce it a little and then add the mustards and cream, heat and add it all to the slow cooker or

Put in the slow cooker on low for the day. Take the meat out at the end and pour the liquid out into a pot and reduce all the liquid until nice and thick. Put the beef back in the slow cooker to keep warm while the liquid is reducing. Serve up wit steamed veg and pasta/rice/mash etc or use to make a pie

If you are using this for a pie filling mix

-the sauce and beef need to be used cold.

Chop the cooked beef into smaller pieces. At the end of cooking when you have reduced the cream and some cornflour with water and add a little at a time to the cream until it is really thick. Add to the chopped beef and leave to cool before using.

To make the pies 

1/2 the recipe below will make enough for 6 pastry circles or one big one- you might have a little leftover.

You can either fill ramekin dishes  with the beef and top with pastry using the ramekin as your guide

or you can use an big oven proof dish and top with pastry

Brush the pastry with milk or egg wash and you can sprinkle with poppy seeds, black sesame seeds or what have you.

To pastry needs to be rolled out thin to about 3mm and baked at 180 c fan forced or 200c normal for 25-30 minutes.

You can save leftover pastry put wrapping it and putting in the fridge to use within the week or store in the freezer.

Spelt flakey pastry

Makes 600g pastry

Ingredients

250g spelt flour

180g cold butter-diced small

70g cold butter-divide into 5 portions and then slice the butter in each portion-keep this in the fridge until needed.

½ tsp salt

Method

In a bowl put in your flour and the 180g cold diced butter and squash the flour and butter in-between your fingers, you can keep plenty of lumps in there. Then add 1 tbsp of very cold water (with ice) Using a bread knife mix in, add another tbsp of the water and mix, add enough water until you can press the dough together. Then put onto a floured bench, sprinkle over some flour as needed on the dough, knead until it just comes together and then roll out to about half an A4 paper (1/2 a printer paper size). The length needs to be a little bit longer though.

Over the top of your dough take 1/5 of your 70g cold butter and dot over. Then roll up your dough , and roll out to the half an A4 size again. Dot another 1/5 of the butter over the dough and roll up. Continue with this until all the butter is used. Then you can wrap and put in the fridge until needed. Have it in the fridge at least 30 minutes before you use it.

This is the video I watched to show you how to do it if my instructions are confusing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6mx254Zg44

Banana muffin sandwich

These are a cross between a muffin and a cupcake. I was going to call them muffcakes but my partner thought it was a bad idea...lol

With the filling in the middle the icing doesn't get stuck to your containers

Make 8-10 depending on size

Ingredients

4 eggs

1/3 cup of rapadura or similar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup of coconut flour

2 bananas, mashed

Pinch of salt

Method

Preheat oven to 180c fan forced

In a stand mixer or hand mixer whisk together the eggs and rapadura until light and fluffy. Then fold in the rest of the ingredients. Spoon into silicon muffin tray or muffin cases. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until firm to the touch.

When cold cut in half and sandwich together with the following date and lemon cheesecake filling. This makes a good amount for each muffin.

200g full fat cream cheese, softened

6 medjool dates, pitted

1 tbsp rapadura

Juice of ½ lemon approx.-put a little in at a time until you like the taste.

Blend together until nice and smooth.

Vegetable, tomato and barley soup

Ingredients

2 carrots

2 zucchini

2 stems of celery

1 brown onion

5 cloves of garlic

4 bay leaves

1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes or 400g tomato passata

¼ of a small green cabbage

½ cup of pearl barley

800-1000ml water/vegetable stock/chicken broth-800ml will be quite thick, add more liquid as needed

Optional ½ cup alphabet pasta shapes or similar

Chopped parsley and parmesan cheese for garnish

Method

I used a food processor and pulsed the vegetables to finely chop, not puree! Do the cabbage separate, this gets added later in the cooking. Or you can chop finely by hand.

In a large pot put in some olive oil and fry off your carrot, celery, zucchini, onion and garlic for 1 minute, then add your tomato, broth/water, bay leaves and barley. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the barley is tender, should be a little chewy in texture. Then add in your cabbage and pasta if using. Simmer a further 5 minutes or until the pasta is cooked. Add plenty of salt and pepper. Serve with chopped parsley and grated parmesan cheese.

Salted honey and cinnamon roasted nuts

Ingredients

2 cups of nuts, I have used one cup each of raw almonds and macadamias

2 tbsp honey

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp coconut oil, or a similar oil

1 tbsp water

Method

Roast your nuts on a lined oven proof dish/tray at 180c for 10-15 minutes stirring once, should look golden brown and nice and toasty.

While than is cooking put your other ingredients into a medium pot, melt gently together. When the nuts are done put them in the pot and simmer stirring until all the liquid is used up. Then put back onto your tray, spread out and sprinkle over sme salt and leave to cool. Break up and store in an airtight container.

Chicken with lemon and thyme

To serve 4-6 depending on how hungus you are :)

Ingredients

6 big chicken thighs

1 red onion, rough chop

5 cloves of garlic, chopped

A few sprigs of thyme or lemon thyme

5 fresh bay leaves, you can this is the herb section from the supermarket or you can use dried

Zest of one lemon

1/4 cup of verjuice

300ml chicken broth

Method

In a large pan heat some butter and olive oil. Cook your chicken until brown on each side. Put in your garlic and onion and cook another minute. Season really well with salt and pepper.

In an ovenproof dish put in your browned chicken, onion and garlic, put in your bay leaves, lemon zest, verjuice, thyme and broth. Cover and slow cook at 160c for 60-75 minutes. Or you can do it faster at 200 c for about 30-35 minutes. Or you can chuck it all in the slow cooker for the day.

When the chicken is cooked take out the chicken and put on a plate. Put all the liquid put into a pot, no need to strain yet.  Put the chicken back into your empty ovenproof dish, cover and keep warm in the oven. Turn the oven down to 100c.

Let the liquid in your pot reduce down until it is thick like gravy. This should take about 10 minutes. Then you can strain it before you serve over your chicken and veg.

I served with grilled zucchini, steamed broccoli and carrots.

Bon appetite!

Slow cooker chicken stroganoff

 –serves 6

Ingredients

700g chicken thighs

2 leeks, white part only, washed 2 cm slice

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped-if you are in a hurry you can leave this out

1 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp sweet paprika

300g button mushrooms, some sliced, some cut in half, you can even leave whole as well.

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 cups chicken broth

Sour cream to stir in at the end-as much as you like!

Method

Put everything (except the sour cream) into your slow cooker and put on low for the day. No need to cut up the chicken

When cooked strain all the liquid into a pot, put all the chicken etc back into the slow cooker to keep warm. Bring all the liquid to the boil, then turn down a little and cook until it has reduce by at least half, should be nice and thick like a gravy. By reducing it concentrates all the flavours, and we like flavour right? Then add your gravy back to the slow cooker and stir in your sour cream.

 Serve with your favourite steamed veges and rice, pasta , mash etc if you want.

Slow cooked lamb with rosemary and garlic, classic lamb flavors with jus

Here I have used a 10g pack of rosemary, leave whole, plus a tonne of chopped garlic and 1 cup of broth from the freezer and some salt and pepper. You can use a leg or shoulder.

Put on low for the day with the fatty skin side facing up.

When done carefully lift out-watch out it doesn't fall apart! Then you can put under a medium heated grill to brown the top and render the fat down some more. Gently scrap off the rosemary and garlic first (garlic will burn otherwise)

To make the jus

With all the juices in the slow cooker strain into a pot (you can add some spare red wine here too if you wanted (what is this spare wine you speak of?)

SImmer these juices until reduced right down and is thickened and tastes amazing. I reduced by about 3/4, this means if you start with 500ml, reduce down to 125ml. I threw in some chopped mint at the end too, for some freshness.

Gravy is really just broth and pan juices which is thickened with a flour, good but not as good as jus!

A jus, is broth that has been reduced, or simmered continuously until it is thick, the flavors will concentrate and you get that smooth gelatinous feel in your mouth.

Stir fried oats with apple, sultanas and cinnamon

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 cup of rolled oats

1 egg

2 tbsp coconut flakes or shredded coconut

2 tbsp slivered or flaked almonds

2 tbsp sultanas

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ cup of water or milk

1 apple, cored and cut into 8 wedges

2 tbsp coconut cream (opt) for the topping

Honey or maple to taste for the topping

Method
Mix oats together with the egg, set aside.

In a pan with some butter fry your apple wedges until golden brown and set aside. In the same pan, add more butter if needed and add your coconut, almonds, cinnamon and oat mix. Stir fry until golden brown and nice and toasted, then add your milk and sultanas. Keep stirring until there is no more liquid, about 1 minute. Serve up in 2 bowls and top with your apple, coconut cream and honey.