Piesang Brood

"Complete South African Cookbook":

500ml (2cups) flour
250ml (1cup) sugar
120g (8TBS) butter/margarine
2 eggs
3 large, ripe bananas, peels and mashed
65ml water
7ml (1.5tsp) baking powder
5ml (1tsp) bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt

1. Cream the butter or margarine and sugar in a bowl until light and creamy in texture.

2. Stir in the mashed bananas and beat to combine thoroughly.

3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, blending well.

4. Sift the flour and salt into the mixture and stir to blend well.

5. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the water and stir into the mixture, then stir in the baking powder.

6. Pour the batter into a greased loaf tin and bake in the oven at 180'C (350'f) until done, about 45-55minutes.

7. Let it cool in the tin for a few min, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

(Shared by Liezel Bohdanowicz)

Parade Magazine Pumpkin Soup

-3-4 pounds butternut, peeled/seeded/chopped into 1 inch cubes
-3 cups whole milk
-3 cups water
-3 slender/1.5 thick leeks, whites only, roughly chopped & washed
...-salt, fresh grated pepper, nutmeg

1.Add squash, milk, water, leeks and salt in large pot and raise to a boil. lower heat and cook for about 25-30 minutes or until squash is soft, best results if it's mashed in the pan before next step
2. Use a blender to puree small batches, season with pepper and nutmeg.
3. I didn't use any, but they say to garnish with creme fraiche or heavy cream, chopped hazelnuts/walnuts or diced tart apple.

(Via Jessica Perdue)

Cheesy Potatoes

10 russet potatoes or 32 oz. shredded potato hash browns
1 (16 oz.) sour cream
1/3 c. green onions, chopped
3 T. butter
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
4 T. butter, melted
Breadcrumbs or corn flake cereal

Boil potatoes, cool, peel & grate. Put in greased casserole dish. Heat 3 T. butter & sour cream, pour over potatoes. Stir in mushroom soup & onions. Top with cheese & cornflakes. Drizzle with butter. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, until brown & bubbly.

Quite bland.  Might be good to include some bacon/ham.

Ham & Potato Soup

1/2 c. peeled and diced potatoes (if using red, no need to peel)
1/3 c. celery, diced
1/3 c. onion, chopped
1/3 c. carrots, chopped (optional)
1 c. cooked ham, cubed
3 1/4 c. water
2 T. chicken bouillon granules
1/2 t. salt, or to taste
1 t. pepper
5 T. butter
5 T. flour
2 c. milk (or half & half or heavy cream)
1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.

2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.

3. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Put the shredded cheese in the soup to warm, or serve on top of each bowl of soup.

Serve immediately.

Makes about 3-4 portions.

Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
4 slices boneless ham, cut into chunks (about 2 c.)
Swiss cheese, shredded (1 1/2 c.)
1 c. corn flakes, crushed
1 T. rosemary
1 t. thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Sauce: 1 (16oz.) sour cream
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 T. lemon juice
Rice (side)


Cook the chicken until cooked through, and cube into medium size pieces. Cube the boneless ham into small cubes. Place the cubed chicken and ham in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Mix together sauce in a bowl. Season sauce with some rosemary, thyme and salt & pepper. Pour over chicken and ham. Spread shredded Swiss cheese (about 1 ½ c.) over the cream mixture. Sprinkle crushed corn flakes or bread crumbs over the top of the casserole dish and bake at 350 for 30 minutes (or until bubbly). Serve casserole over warm rice.

Lasagna with Sausage and Bacon

Regular Farfalle in Sausage & Bacon Sauce -- Decadent but delicious!

For the sauce:
1 onion, diced
1 lb bacon, diced
1 tsp fennel seed
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp kosher salt
A few grinds black pepper
2 28 oz cans tomato sauce
1 cup water

In a large skillet over medium heat, add bacon and onion. Saute until bacon is crisp and onion is translucent. Add fennel, oregano, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir well. Pour in tomato sauce and water. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 3 hours, until sauce is thick. Let sauce cool before layering with the lasagna.

For the fillings:
2 lbs bulk Italian sausage
1 pint ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp oregano
6 cups shredded mozzarella and provolone cheese blend
1 16 oz package lasagna sheets

In a large skillet over medium high heat, add sausage. Saute, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until cooked through. Pour sausage onto a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, egg, parsley and oregano. Stir well and set aside.

Set oven to 350 degrees.

Ladle 1/3 of tomato sauce onto the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Add a layer of uncooked lasagna sheets. Carefully spread 1/3 of the ricotta cheese over the pasta. Evenly sprinkle 1/3 of the sausage over the ricotta. And then sprinkle 2 cups of the mozzarella and provolone cheese blend over the sausage. Repeat two times.

Cover with foil and bake lasagna for 1 1/2 hours. In the last 20 minutes of baking, remove the foil, so the cheese can brown.

Yields 12 servings.

Rookie's Notes: If you are cooking this from the freezer, let it sit out for an hour before baking time. And then bake it for 2 hours.

Source:  RookieCookie

Chicken French with Lemon Butter Sauce

Chicken French With a Lemon Butter Sauce
4 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 6 chicken tenders)
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP butter
1 can chicken stock (about 2 cups)
juice of 1 medium lemon
3 TBSP butter
salt and pepper to taste

In a Ziploc bag, mix together flour, salt, pepper, paprika and garlic. Place chicken in bag and shake until coated. In a large skillet, heat oil and 1 TBSP butter over medium high heat until hot and butter is sizzling. Gently shake excess off of chicken and place in pan. Cook about 7-10 minutes on each side or until center is cooked through. Remove chicken from pan and cover to keep heated. Pour about half the can of chicken stock into hot pan and whisk up the bits to deglaze the skillet. Add remaining stock and turn heat up just a little. Cook for about 5-6 minutes, stirring constantly until sauce is reduced by half. Add in lemon juice and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add chicken back in to heat up a bit and serve.

Source: MyNameisSnickerdoodle.com

Easy Cheesy Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups shredded colby-jack cheese
1 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter (I used salted)

Whisk together dry ingredients, then stir in cheese.
In a separate bowl, whisk egg, milk, and butter together. Pour milk mixture into dry ingredients and stir with a spoon to combine.
Bake in greased muffin tins at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
Makes 12.

Source: PDub

Ros' Notes:

I made these with cheese that was about to expire (Mexican, fine shredded taco flavored cheese).  This recipe could not be simpler and the outcome is so tasty!  Next time I might try and use a more corsely (gah, i give up trying to spell this...) grated cheese, but all in all these were so easy to make and tasted just deelish!

Oatmeal Crunchies

(First batch... too wet)

YUM!!!
Source: Vanielje Kitchen

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup dessicated coconut
1 cup organic plain (cake) flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup organic butter
1 1/2 Tablespoons golden syrup
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

In a pot slowly melt the butter and sugar
Add the bicarb and the syrup and stir ’til incorporated
Mix the dry ingredients
Pour the butter mix into the oats and mix well
Press into an oven proof pie dish and bake @180*C (pre-heated oven) for 20 minutes
That’s it. When you take them out you may find the tray of oats is soft and wobbly in the centre. It firms up as it cools. Crunchies are meant to be chewy, if you would like them more crisp, give them another 5 minutes in the oven. Cut while they are still slightly warm and store, like biscuits, in an airtight container.

(Chocolate Crunchie recipe here.)

Ros' Notes:

OMG!  These are (always were) delicious!!  Totally easy to make and bake - even without the dessicated coconut (Bleurgh).  Also, I only had instant oat packets with flavoring powder.  I sieved the flavoring out, and used them anyway and they worked just fine. 

Second batch was too dry:

Easy Strawberry Yogurt Cake

1 Box White Cake Mix
3/4 cup Water
1/3 cup Vegetable Oil
6oz Yogurt (Any flavor, but strawberry is best)

Preheat oven to 350F
Beat everything on low for 30 secs
Beat everything on medium for 2 minutes
Pour into cake tin and bake according to box directions/until knife comes away clean

Ros' Notes:

For the best flavor do not use a low-cal/sweetened yogurt.  The saccarine taste is (to me) unpalatable in this cake.  I prefer to use a full fat, full calorie yogurt, but you may not mind the artificially sweetened kind.  Either way, this is an easy cake and tastes great!

Braai Sarmies

Ingredients:
4 slices white or wholewheat bread
2 tablespoons softened butter
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tsp fresh parsley, chopped
Mrs Balls chutney (see below)
1 tomato, sliced
half a medium onion, very thinly sliced
grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Method:
Use about 2/3 of the butter, the garlic and the parsley to make garlic butter.
Spread the outsides of the sandwich with plain butter (this helps with browning and prevents sticking) and the insides with the garlic butter.
Spread some Mrs Balls chutney (another South African institution!) over the butter and then add thinly sliced tomatoes, onion and grated cheese and season with salt and pepper (or Aromat, my much-beloved daily source of MSG ;-)).
Press the 2 halves of the sandwich together before grilling. Make sure the fire is cool enough not to blacken the sandwiches before the cheese has had time to melt. Turn when the bread starts to brown and remove when both sides are browned evenly.

Hasselback Potatoes (SA Style)

Ingredients
6 large baking potatoes, scrubbed
about 15g of butter per potato
1 pkt brown/French onion soup powder

Method

Slice the potatoes (skin on) as thinly as you can but do not slice them all the way through! The potato should still retain an intact base I always struggle with this, but Anne helpfully suggests placing them in a wooden spoon while you are slicing - the curve of the spoon will stop you from slicing through. Thanks for the tip Anne :)).
Place the potatoes in an oven-proof dish which holds them fairly snugly. Melt the butter and drizzle all the potatoes liberally with it. Sprinkle each potato generously with the brown onion soup powder, making sure you get some on the skin and some in between the slices.
Place the potatoes in a pre-heated 200C oven (some recipes suggest loosely covering them in aluminium foil for the first 30 minutes, but I don't) for about 45 minutes, basting frequently with the butter that collects in the dish. Remove when the potatoes are cooked through and the topping is crispy.
(If you are trying alternative versions using breadcrumbs and/or cheese, you only add the crumb/cheese topping in the last 25 minutes of baking.)

Ros' Notes:

These were good.  I found slicing them somewhat painful... but skewering the bottom and then slicing down till you hit the skewer works better than a wooden spoon.  The most difficult thing was trying to ensure that the slices were getting some of the gravy powder between slices.  Also, not enough butter to continue basting with, and due to size variations in potatoes cooking time varied greatly.  But all in all pretty darn tasty!