Archive for October, 2010

Halloween Treats

Monday, October 18th, 2010

Halloween Treats

Ingredients

  • 100g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 1 free-range egg, lightly beaten
  • 275g plain flour
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

 To decorate

  • 400g icing sugar
  • 3-4 tbsp water
  • 2-3 drops food colouring

 

Preparation time: less than 30 minutes

Cooking time: 10 to 30 minutes

Preparation method

1.      Preheat the oven to 190°C. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

2.      Beat the butter and sugar together in a bowl until combined.

3.      Beat in the egg and vanilla extract, a little at a time, until well combined.

4.      Stir in the flour until the mixture comes together as a dough.

5.      Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of 1cm.

6.      Using Halloween-style biscuit cutters, cut biscuits out of the dough and carefully place onto the baking tray.

7.      Bake the biscuits for 8-10 minutes, or until pale golden-brown. Set aside to harden for 5 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.

8.      For the icing, sift the icing sugar into a large mixing bowl and stir in enough water to create a smooth mixture. Stir in the food colouring.

9.      Carefully spread the icing onto the biscuits using a knife and set aside until the icing hardens.

Italian-style beef stew

Monday, October 4th, 2010

An easy, super healthy stew full of vitamin C.

 Ingredients:

  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, sliced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 300g pack beef stir fry strips, or use beef steak, thinly sliced
  • 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
  • 400g can chopped tomatoes
  • Sprig rosemary, chopped
  • Handful pitted olives

 Preparation and cooking times

 Prep 10 mins                                       Cook 20 mins

 Method

1.     In a large saucepan, cook onion and garlic in olive oil for 5 mins until softened and turning golden.  

2.     Tip in the beef strips, pepper, tomatoes and rosemary, then bring to the boil.  

3.     Simmer for 15 mins until the meat is cooked through, adding some boiling water if needed. Stir through the olives and serve with mash.

Make it vegetarian – Leave out the beef and cook 1 chopped aubergine and 1 chopped courgette along with the pepper. Finish by sprinkling over some feta cheese.

Per serving:    225 kcals, Protein – 25g, Carbohydrate – 7g, Fat – 11 g, Saturated fat – 3g, Fibre – 2g, Sugar – 6g, Salt – 0.87 g