Apple Pie French Toast

I just love it when I open a carton of eggs and there is a feather stuck on one of them. I only ever buy free range eggs, and it makes me think of happy chickens browsing around the farm yard. I would love to have our own chickens . . . but as Todd reminds me . . . it's difficult enough to get someone to watch the dog when we go away, let alone a yard full of chickens!



I had some apples that I really wanted to use up the other day, and so I decided to make this old family favourite . . . Apple Pie French Toast. Kind of like apple upside down french toast I guess . . .



Sliced apples coated in a delicious brown sugar caramel sauce, with egg soaked slices of thick french bread on top, dusted with warm spice and then baked until it's all fluffy, scrummy, delicious!!



This is an overnight french toast casserole, so do plan ahead . . . although I am sure that if you did it up in the morning it would make a fantastic supper along with some browned sausage and bacon.



Breakfast for supper. I like it!



You'll love this. Trust me on this. It's fabulously good! But then every recipe in my Big Blue Binder is actually pretty wonderful.



*Apple Pie French Toast*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

This is one of those overnight breakfast casseroles that you make up the night before. So easy to bake in the morning and incredibly delicious.

204g of soft light brown sugar (1 cup)
115g of butter
2 TBS golden syrup
(can use golden corn syrup or maple syrup if you have it)
3 large granny smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
6 large free range eggs
250ml of whole milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 loaf of french bread, cut into thick slices (you may not need all of it)
cinnamon, ground cardamom and ground nutmeg to dust

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. SLice the butter into a 9 by 13 iinch glass dish. Sprinkle the brown sugar over top along with the golden syrup. Place into the heated oven and bake until the butter melts. Remove from the oven. Whisk all together and return to the oven. Bake until the mixture begins to bubble, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn the oven off. Arrange the apple slices over the caramel iin the dish.

Beat together the eggs, milk and vanilla. Dip slices of bread into this, coating liberally. Place the bread slices over top of the apples in the pan. Use just enough to fill the pan snuggly. Pour any remaining egg mixture over top. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon, ground cardamom and nutmeg. Cover with plastic cling film and then place in the refrigerator overnight.

The next morning take the dish out of the fridge for about half an hour to take the chill off. Reheat the oven once more to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Remove the cling film and bake the casserole for about 45 minutes, or until puffed, set and golden brown. Divide amongst 6 heated plates, with the apples on top.

Serve with additional syrup if desired.

Mrs McNevin's Goulash

When I was a very young bride I moved far away across the broad expanse of Canada to live on the wild Western frontier . . . ok, so it was really a vast urban centre . . . but it might as well have been the wild Western frontier, because I was young and away from my mom and dad for pretty much the first time in my life. I had nobody to call on for advice or help or company.



That is until I met Lil. Lil was the mother of one of my ex husband's best mates. She lived in a small town in Alberta called Olds. She was the salt of the earth. She was rather robust and had no teeth . . . but her heart was filled with the milk of charity and she gathered me into her home and her family.



I loved to go and spend the weekend at their place. They had an old British Bulldog that used to pull our daughter around in her walker by holding gently on to her hand with his mouth . . . and Mr McNevin, Lil's husband, was very much a grandfatherly figure to my son. He had flown helicopters for heli-skiing and was just loaded with interesting and colourful stories! They had a houseful of girls, each one more colourful than the last . . . it was there that I learned how to play Canasta and it was there that I ate pistachio nuts for the very first time. To a young mum and wife, away from her parents for the first time, their home was a wonderful haven.



Lil was a fabulous cook, a very unpretentious cook. Her food was lumberjack food . . . as robust and loveable as she was, filling, uncomplicated and quite, quite delicious!



This was one of the things she used to cook. She gave me her recipe and it has been a firm favourite in my home for many, many years. My kids absolutely loved this when they were growing up. Lil and Mrs McNevin have been gone for many years now, but the memories of them live on in this delicious and unpretentious supper . . . it's goulash . . . Mrs. McNevin's Goulash . . . from the pages of my Big Blue Binder.



*Mrs McNevin’s Goulash*
Serves 4 - 6
printable recipe

I have an old blue binder that holds recipes that I have collected from friends and family and magazines throughout the many years. This one is a real treasure and I never make it but what I don’t think of Mrs. McNevin. The mother of a friend of ours, she was so kind to me, a young bride living far away from the bosom of my own family. She took me under her wing and treated me just like one of her own. This deliciously spicy stewed meat goes very well with rice or noodles.

2 pounds of stewing beef, trimmed of any fat and cut into cubes
2 TBS cooking oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
½ cup tomato catsup
2 TBS Worcestershire Sauce
1 TBS soft light brown sugar, packed
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika
½ tsp dry mustard powder
¼ cup flour
1 cup water

Pre-heat the oven to 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Season the meat lightly and coat it in the flour.

Heat the cooking oil in a large skillet and add the meat. Brown it very well on all sides. Add the onion and garlic, Cook for a few minutes longer until the vegetables are softened and quite fragrant.

Add the catsup, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, paprika and dry mustard. Stir it all together well. Stir in the water.

Tip it all into a casserole with a lid and then put it into the oven to cook for 2 hours or so, until the meat is very tender and the sauce is thickened. Delicious!

Breakfast Oatmeal Muffins

Here's an oldie but a goodie gleaned from the depths of my Big Blue Binder. I've been making these tasty muffins for years and years.



Hands down they have to be my absolute favourite Oatmeal Muffin of all time. I've tried lots of different ones . . . but I always come back to this recipe. These muffins are moist and stogged full of raisins and nuts, with just enough spice and vanilla to make them oh so scrummy delish.
They make great use of leftover oatmeal so you need never throw out any that's left in the pot after the family has eaten ever, ever again.



In fact . . . I dare say that after you try these tasty little babies, you'll make sure you always have enough oatmeal leftover just so that you can treat yourself and your family!!



Do make sure you butter the pan well though . . . as they do stick. I don't like to use paper liners with them either as they stick to them too and I want to have all that muffin scrumminess in my tumminess! (haha . . . I know . . . don't quit my day job!)



*Breakfast Oatmeal Muffins*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe

These muffins are a great way of using up leftover cooked oatmeal. I often cook extra oatmeal for breakfast so that I can treat us to a batch of these the day after!

100g of plain flour (1 cup)
200g of soft light brown sugar (1 cup packed)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
125ml of vegetable oil (1/2 cup)
2 large free range eggs beaten
180g of leftover cooked oatmeal cereal (about 1 cup)
150g of raisins (1 cup)
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans (optional)
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Grease a 12 cup medium muffin tin very well. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Whisk together the leftover oatmeal, eggs, and vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients only to moisten. Fold in the raisins and nuts (if using). Spoon into the greased muffin cups, dividing the batter evenly amongst them.

Bake for 18 minutes, until well risen and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let sit in the pan for about 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool somewhat before eating.



Cooking in The Cottage today, some delicious Light and Crispy Fish Fillets.

Porkie Pies

These little tasty treats have been somewhat of a Christmas Tradition in my home. It's a very old recipe that I have had kicking around in my Big Blue Binder for yonks and yonks . . . so long that I no longer know where it came from.



The page that is is written on is tattered and torn from years of use . . . and splattered too. I don't know what's up with that because I generally don't see myself as a messy cook! I'm not sure how that happens!



The title is underlined in red, denoting that it is a "Christmas" recipe . . . a recipe saved to be made only at that special time of year . . . which somehow makes these "Christmas" recipes taste even better, because they are a once-in-a-year treat!



They are very impressive to look at, and yet . . . so very simple to make. (This is a real bonus at Christmas when our days are busy and hectic!)



They are also incredibly delicious, with a crispy buttery cookie crust that you simply press into mini muffin tins and bake . . . a sweet date filling and a topping of a dab of delicious buttercream icing, which you can either make yourself or purchase ready made.



I always make my own, as it's very simple and quick and completely natural. (2 TBS softened butter and 280g of icing sugar (2 cups) beaten together with just enough milk to create a fluffy creamy mixture. You can also add a few drops of vanilla extract if you want.)



I believe the original name was Cape Breton Pork Pies, but . . . a lot of our Nova Scotian recipes come from over here in the UK, so I am just calling them porkie pies . . . the term porkie pie being Cockney rhyming slang for telling lies . . . and what are these but a delightful little lie and surprise for your guests as they are not pork pies at all, but delicious little date tarts!



Enjoy!




*Porkie Pies*
Makes 24
Printable Recipe

"Porkie Pies" is Cockney Rhyming slang for "telling lies." These are a sweet little lie as they are not pork pies at all, but tasty little tartlettes with a crisp cookie crust, a sweet date filling and a creamy buttercream topping!

For the shells:
8 ounces butter, softened (1 cup)
4 TBS icing sugar
280g flour (2 cups)

For the filling:
375g chopped dates (2 cups)
255g of soft light brown sugar (1 1/2 cups)
250ml of water (1 cup)
1 TBS lemon juice

White butter cream icing(your own recipe or premade)

Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Have ready two mini muffin pans, each holding 12.

Beat the butter, flour and icing sugar for the shells together until you have a smooth mixture. Divide into 25 evenly sized balls and drop each into the muffin tin holes. Use a wooden dowel or something similar to tamp the centres down and force the edges up into a crust shape. Bake in the heated oven for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly browned. Remove and let cool before popping out of the tin completely.

To make the filling combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

To assemble spoon a portion of the date filling into each cookie cup and top with a bit of butter cream. You can pipe the buttercream on if you wish, but I am lazy and just spoon it on. These are fabulous!

These would also be great artistically plated up and taken over to the neighbours during the holidays as a gesture of love and friendship. Why not put on your apron and baking shoes and go on a bake-a-thon of neighbourly love. I know it's not really British to do that, but I bet your neighbours would be pleasantly surprised and really pleased! They may even put their own baking shoes on and return the favour!


Over in The Cottage today a delicious Sour Cream Cake!

Baked Top Hat Pork Chops

I found some really lovely rack pork chops in the freezer the other day and decided to cook a real treat up for the Toddster. He does love himself a good pork chop.



This is a recipe I have had for many years. I got it out of an old cookbook of my mother's, called Martha Logan's Meat Cookery Book. It's a book that she got when she was first married, back in 1954. When I was about 17, I copied down, in hand writing, every recipe in the book that I found interesting, and this particular one has become a real favourite of ours through the years.



When I first moved over to the UK, Creamed Corn was not something that I could very easily find. It's quite readily available now though, which pleases me to no end. I just couldn't make my corn chowder without Creamed Corn and this delicious recipe wouldn't be possible without it either.



Imagine delicious tender meaty pork chops, baked beneath an herby corn and bread stuffing. Nom Nom!! We love this. You can use either ready made stuffing crumbs for the bread stuffing or dried bread crumbs. If you are using plain dried bread crumbs, do add some herbs as they give it a lovely flavour. I would suggest 1/2 tsp of dried sage and 1/2 tsp of dried thyme. A bit of onion would also be a nice addition.



With some potatoes on the side and a vegetable or two, it goes down a real treat with the men in the house . . . and I confess . . . this woman is mighty fond of it as well!




*Baked Top Hat Pork Chops*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Moist and delcious pork chops baked beneath a delicious corn stuffing. Quick, easy, economical and very tasty.

4 thick centre loin pork chops, fat and rind trimmed off and discarded.
1/2 of a 418g tin of creamed corn (1 cup)
2 ounces of dried bread crumbs, or seasoned stuffing mix (1/2 cup)
1 stalk of celery, washed, trimmed and chopped
1 TBS finely chopped parsley
salt and black pepper to taste
butter

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a shallow baking dish. Set aside.

Dust the pork chops lightly with some salt and black pepper. Place into the baking dish. Combine the bread crumbs, creamed corn, celery and parsley. Mound an equal portion on top of each pork chop. Dot with butter.

Cover lightly with aluminium foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes longer, until lightly browned. Serve hot, with your favourite side dishes.