Personal Faves

Hi!

I thought it might be a good idea to write out a few of my fave recipes that I have only posted to my FB page.  This way, you can find them easier :)

First up, my homemade BBQ sauce recipe.  Not only do I like the flavour of this sauce, I also like knowing what has gone into it.  There can be a lot of additives to store-bought sauces.  This recipe will make a few small bottles (approx 250ml size).

Homemade BBQ sauce 😀

3C water
3Tbsp tomato paste
8Tbsp raw sugar
1C apple cider vinegar
1/2tsp garlic powder
1tsp Manuka salt
3Tbsp golden syrup
1/2tsp sweet paprika
4Tbsp soy sauce
2Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4tsp cinnamon

Bring to the boil and simmer until reduced and thickened.
You can also mix a little cornflour with cold water to add to thicken the sauce.

Pour into sterilised bottles and store in the fridge.

Now for my absolute fave burgers!  You all know how much I love Jamie Oliver, and this is where I got these recipes - though I've changed them a smidge.

Firstly, you don't need to add anything fancy to your meat, just shape it into the size you want - without over-handling it.  Season with salt and pepper.  That's it!  (this works for both beef and lamb)

I like to use a cast iron griddle pan for these.  Make sure they are nice and hot and oiled before you add the meat.  With a lamb burger, I just cook on each side until cooked through.  With beef, I like to turn them a few times, adding a brush of American/hot dog mustard to each side once browned.

After both sides have been coated in mustard, add a slice of cheese and cover with a lid or some tin foil to help it to melt.  If you can get a really good smokey cheese, that's even better!

While the meat is cooking, you want to finely slice some red onion and place in a bowl with a pinch of salt and a splash of raspberry vinegar (red wine vinegar works too).  Give it a bit of a scrunch and leave to sit.

In a large bowl, combine about 1/2C good mayo (I like to use Best Foods) with a splash of peri peri sauce, a splash of balsamic vinegar and a splash of BBQ sauce.  Give it a mix.

Finely chop some lettuce - good old iceberg lettuce is fine - and add this to the mayo mix.  Mix it all together and place a decent splodge onto the bottom of each burger bun.

*this will have a slight kick, so children may want a more plain mayo mix

Place your meat on top of the lettuce/mayo mix, top with some of the red onions, a slice of tomato and then the top of the bun - already smeared with BBQ sauce.

Voila!

*If making lamb burgers, a slice of apple under the meat is super tasty! 

Now for a dessert!  I made this for a friend's baby shower and it went down a treat!  It is super sweet, so you don't need a lot.

Two sheets of puff pastry

1 block of caramello chocolate

marshmallows

Lay a sheet of puff pastry on the counter.

Place the chocolate block in the centre.

Place marshmallows on top.

Cut slits in the sides of the pastry and fold across each other like a plait.

Place the whole thing on top of another sheet of pastry and fold up the sides to prevent any leakages.

Bake at 180C until puffy and oozy.

*This can be a bit messy to eat!

So there you have it!  A few of my faves :) I will try and post a few more like this over the week.  Have a good one!