SWEET CHILLI CHICKEN WITH PANTRY INGREDIENTS

Ingredients......4 chicken marylands with skin on, flour to coat, 4 tbs of apricot jam, 4 tbs of tomato sauce, 4 tbs of soy sauce, 4 tbs of sweet chilli sauce. Coat your slow cooker with cooking spray, turn on high and cover. Pat the chicken dry with paper towelling. Place the chicken marylands in a plastic bag along with enough flour to coat the pieces when the bag is shaken. Shake off excess flour and place the pieces on paper towelling. Mix the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and add the chicken pieces to coat. Arrange the chicken pieces, skin side up in the bowl of your slow cooker, pour any left over mixture over the marylands. Cover your slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours , or low for 8 hours. Serve over rice and or with vegetables, spoon over any remaining juices. Simple , inexpensive and delicious.

THE BEE’S KNEES.

Ingredients..... 225gm of butter/ marg, 300gm of runny honey, 100gm of dark muscovardo sugar, 250gm of self raising flour, 3 large eggs , lightly beaten, For the icing....200gm of icing sugar, grated zest of 1 lemon. Preheat your oven to 160 deg C. Grease and line a 20 x 20 cm square cake pan. Put the butter/ marg and sugar into a small saucepan and heat over a low heat, stirring until the butter/ marg has melted and the sugar is dissolved. Remove the pot from the heat and set aside to cool, about 15 minutes. When the mixture has cooled stir in the eggs and flour. Don't worry if the mixture looks a little runny, what is important is that it is smooth. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Place a sheet of baking paper over the pan if the cake is browning too much. When cooked through , remove the cake from the oven and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. To make the icing, add a few drops of water to the icing sugar and mix to a spreadable consistency. Spoon the icing over the cooled cake and decorated with a sprinkle of grated lemon zest. Slice and enjoy.

HOT BEEF BORSCHT

Ingredients......600gm of beetroot, 1 kg of chuck steak, 2 tbs of oil, 8 cups of beef stock, 1/2 small red cabbage, shredded, 500gm of tomatoes, skinned and chopped, 1 onion, chopped, 3 tbs of minced garlic, 2 potatoes , peeled and chopped, cracked black pepper to taste, sour cream to garnish. Peel the beetroot and cut into cubes. Slice the beef into small cubes. Heat the oil in the bowl of your slow cooker on high, add the beef and cook, until browned. Add the stock ,the beetroot, cabbage, tomatoes, onion, potatoes , cracked pepper and minced garlic. Cover and cook on high for 3.5 hours. Serve laddled into bowls and garnished with sour cream.

CARROT SOUP

Ingredients.....600gm of shredded carrots, 1 large onion, peeled and chopped,80gm of butter/ marg, 1 tbs of plain flour, 5 cups of chicken stock, 3/4 cups of cream, 1 tbs of minced ginger, salt and pepper to taste, dried chives for garnish. Heat the butter/ marg in a large pot, add the chopped onion and shredded carrots. Stir over a low heat until the onion softens. Add the flour and stir until combined. Remove the pot from the heat and add the stock, stirring until combined. Return the pot to the heat and continue stirring until the mixture boils and thickens. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pot and simmer until the carrot is tender. Use a stick blender to process the soup until smooth. Now stir in the cream, minced ginger, salt and pepper. Stir until heated through. Serve the carrot soup sprinkled with the chives. You may have guessed , I love soups . Please note , you can add the finely grated rind of 1 orange and the juice of 2 oranges to the above recipe, to make carrot and orange soup. Both versions are delicious.

NUT LOAF

Ingredients....125gm of butter/ marg, 1 cup of granulated nuts, 2/3rds of a cup of brown castor sugar, 3/4 cup of milk, 2 cups of self raising flour, pinch of salt. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Liberally grease 2 , nut loaf pans (20 x 8 cm), including the lids. Melt the butter/ marg in a small saucepan. Add the granulated nuts and stir over a low heat for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer the nuts to a medium bowl. Add the sugar and milk to the saucepan and stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Cool. Now add the flour to the milk mixture and mix till just combined, lastly stirring in the granulated nuts. Divide the mixture between the 2 preapared loaf pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.( standing loaf pans upright). Remove 1 pan and remove a lid to test with a skewer, the loaf is cooked if the skewer comes out clean. Serve sliced and spread with butter/ marg.

KIWI FRUIT AND PASSIONFRUIT CHEESECAKE

I25gm of plain sweet biscuits, crushed,60gm of margarine, melted,375gm of cream cheese, 1/2 cup of castor sugar, 375ml of evaporated milk, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, 2 dsp of gelatine, 1/4 cup of hot water, 2 kiwi fruit, peeledand cut into 8 pieces each, 1/4 cup of passionfruit pulp. Mix together the biscuit crumbs and the melted margarine. Press into the base of a 22cm springform pan, refrigerate until firm. Beat the cream cheese with the sugar until smooth. Graduall beat in the evaporated milk and vanilla extract until smooth. Now dissolve the gelatine in the hot water, cool and then finally add to the cheesecake mixture. Sprinkle the kiwi fruit pieces over the crumb base. Pour the cheesecake filling evenly over. Refrigerate until set. To serve , spoon the passionfruit pulp over the top.

SWEET POTATO AND ZUCCHINI PIE

Ingredients.....300gm of chopped bacon pieces, 2 cups of quinoa grain, 2 cups of water, 2 tbs of oil, 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped, 2 tbs of minced garlic, 400gm of zucchini, coarsley grated/ chopped, 500gm of sweet potato, cooked and mashed, 4 eggs lightly beaten, 1 cup of tasty grated cheese, 1 packet of cherry tomatoes. 1 tsp of fennel seeds, 1 tsp of ground cinnamon. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Lightly grease an ovenproof dish or as I did 3 medium aluminium trays, (convenient for sharing ). Place the quinoa in a small saucepan with the water. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer until all the water is absorded. Heat the oil in a small pan and fry the onion until tender and golden. Place in a large bowl and add the cooked quinoa, minced garlic, zucchini, the sweet potato mash, the fennel seeds, ground cinnamon, grated cheese, cracked pepper to taste, and the beaten eggs, the chopped bacon pieces. Mix thoroughly to combine. Pour the mixture in the prepared ovenproof dish or in between smaller trays. Sprinkle sparingly with any left over grated cheese. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half lengthways and place on top. Bake until the pie is set and golden on top. All that is left is to enjoy.