Creamy Carbonara

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 4 rashers bacon, sliced
• 250g mushrooms, sliced
  
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 300ml thickened cream
• 1 egg, beaten
• 250g fettucine cooked

Method

1. Heat oil in a large frying pan, saute onion and garlic until tender.
2. Add bacon, cook until beginning to brown. Stir in mushrooms, cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Blend in stock and cream, bring to the boil and reduce heat. Simmer until you see the sauce beginning to thicken.
4. Take the saucepan off the heat, and whisk the egg through. Return to the heat and add salt and pepper, still stirring. Simmer for 30 seconds.
   
5. Stir through cooked pasta.

Serve with garlic bread and salad!

Chimichangas

Ingredients

• 8 flour tortillas
• 2 grilled chicken breasts, thinly sliced
• One onion, and 2 red or yellow peppers sliced and sautéed until soft
• 250g of mozzarella, cheddar or Red Leicester, grated
• Refried beans
• Vegetable oil for frying
• A flour and water paste mixed to make thick "glue"

Directions

1. Lay out all 8 tortillas on a work surface. You're going to put all the ingredients onto these and roll them up for frying. You want to pile all the ingredients in the very center of the tortilla, not edge to edge as you would for a burrito; this is so you will be able to roll it up and seal it later.
2. Add a couple of spoonfuls of refried beans into the center of your tortillas, and then divide up all the other filling ingredients into piles on top of the beans.
3. Take one of the tortillas, and roll it over once. Add some of your flour glue to the two ends, and fold them in towards the center. Roll it again, and use some more glue to seal off the edge. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. If your tortillas are breaking, you can warm them up in the microwave a bit first, to make them more pliable.
4. Heat some oil in a skillet. You can either deep fry these, or shallow fry them in a skillet. The deep fry method is better, but most people at home prefer the shallow fry method. (These instructions are for the shallow frying method.) You want to add about an inch of oil to your deep skillet, and heat it up over medium heat. When hot, (a little piece of tortilla starts bubbling immediately when dropped into the oil), add your chimichangas.
5. You will probably need to do this in about three batches, as you don't want to over crowd the skillet and drop the oil temperature down too much. Fry for about 2 minute's per side, or until crispy and golden brown.

Serve these with salsa, sour cream, guacamole etc.

Easy Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup self raising flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg

Directions

1. Whisk all ingredients together, til even in texture.
2. Cook in a hot frying pan.

Makes 10

Ham & Pea Soup

Ingredients

• 500g split peas


• 1 large ham hock (or 2 small ham hocks)


• 2 bay leaves


• Chicken stock

Directions

1. Add peas to a large pot, cover with stock and add extra.


2. Add hocks to the pot, and boil til meat is falling off the bone.


3. Cut off all meat and add back to the pot, discard bones.

Serves 6

Chocolate Mud Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 300g plain chocolate chips
• 300g unsalted butter
• 5 eggs
• 115g castor sugar
• 115g self-raising flour
• 2 tbsp cocoa OR icing sugar, for dusting
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Place 12 baking cases in a muffin tin.
2. In a medium bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter together, stirring well. Leave to cool a little.
3. Beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl until pale and thick. Fold the flour into the egg mixture and then stir in the melted chocolate and butter until well blended.
4. Spoon the mixture into the cases and bake for 20 minutes. The cupcakes will be soft and gooey in texture and appearance. Remove tin from oven and cool for 5 minutes.
5. Remove cupcakes and dust with cocoa or icing sugar.

Makes 12

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

cupcakes
Ingredients

• 225g self-raising flour
• 4 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 225g caster sugar
• 225g unsalted butter, softened
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp mint essence
• 100g plain chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Place 18 paper baking cases into muffin tins.
2. In a medium bowl, sieve the flour, cocoa and baking powder. Set aside.
3. Beat the sugar and butter together in a large bowl until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture gradually, stirring until well combined. Stir in the mint essence and chocolate chips.
4. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the tins from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack.

icing
Ingredients

• 115g unsalted butter, softened
• 225g icing sugar, sieved
• 1 tsp mint essence
• green food colouring
• 100g plain chocolate chips

Directions

1. Beat the butter and icing sugar in a small bowl until smooth and creamy.
2. Stir in the mint essence and just enough food colouring to turn the icing a mint green.
3. Ice the cupcakes and decorate with chocolate chips.

Makes 18

Raspberry & White Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients

• 1 pack Granita biscuits, crushed
• 75g butter, melted
• 500g block Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 2 teaspoons gelatine dissolved in 1/4 cup boiling water, cooled
• 200g white chocolate, melted
• 1 cup cream, lightly whipped
• 200g raspberries, fresh or frozen
• icing sugar

Directions

1. Combine the biscuits and butter and press into the base of a greased 22 cm spring form pan.
2. Beat the Philadelphia cream cheese, sugar, and lemon rind until smooth. Stir in the gelatine mixture and fold in the melted chocolate and cream.
3. Pour the filling into the prepared base and refrigerate 3 hours or until set. Garnish with raspberries and dust with icing sugar.

Serves 10