Tina's chestnut stuffing and other secret and not so secret recipes

Brilliant thread.
In large casserole dish place
6/8 chicken fillets cooked
Broccoli (parboiled)
Sauce: 2 tins condensed chicken soup (and maybe a small mushroom as well)
Tub of natural yogurt, small carton of fresh cream, 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise, 2/3 tablespoons of curry powder (medium) or more depending on taste
Mix together and cover chicken and broccoli
Cover with breadcrumbs
Bake 180ish (gas mark 4 I think) for 30/40 mins
My family and friends love this for some reason

Brilliant thread! Thanks OP

Fab thread, can't wait to try some of these!

Roasted lamb chops and carrots with marmalade added for the last 5/10 minutes. Delicious.

My tomato salad always goes down well at BBQs etc and is always well received in particular by people who don't usually like salads:

Cut tomatoes (any type, any colour) into bite sized pieces. One normal size punnet is enough for about 6 ppl.
Half a red onion, very finely chopped
Bunch of parsley, very finely chopped.

Mix the above together well.

Then add generous splash of olive oil, sherry vinegar and salt. Stir. It's worth tasting the tomato at this point to check you've got enough sweetness and salt. But the onion will still be very sharp.

Leave to stand for at least 15 minutes (to allow the vinegar to work on the onion) but up to a couple of hours. But don't make it the day before as it becomes very liquid as I think the salt draws the liquid out of the tomatoes.

My guacamole often gets comments too which I don't really understand as it's very simple and, I think, standard. But possibly it's because most of us buy shop bought guacamole these days and it just isn't as good:

Mash up one ripe avocado with approximately 1/2 of cream cheese, preferably low fat (it gives it a slightly less creamy/more sour taste). Adjust amounts for texture etc. Add handful of chopped tomatoes, one small chopped chilli (optional - I often leave out if doing for kids) and LOTS of lime juice. Season with salt generously. Adapt the lime/chilli/salt to taste.

@AnneLovesGilbert

Thank you, I’m going to make these this afternoon! (Not sure about whisking the eggs until they’re mousey, but I’ll give it a shot! 😉)

Thanks again 😊

Blatantly placemarking as there are so many things in here I'm going to try....when I've lost this 10lb lockdown weight 🤦🏼‍♀️

My very very cheesy cheese straws always vanish very fast. They are a bit of a faff but worth it.

I always make a lot, not worth the faff otherwise - they will keep well for at least a week in a tin - good Christmas present for anyone you’re going to see at the time.

Quantities can be halved!

400 g extra mature Cheddar, grated
200 g SR flour
100 g soft butter
A good heaped tsp of English mustard powder
A good pinch of cayenne pepper

Mix all together well. It’s a crumbly mix so roll out in sections, I do a quarter at a time.
Have ready 2 or more well buttered, non stick baking sheets and oven heated to 200 C or 180 fan.
Mark and cut into thin strips - about a 1/4 - 1/3 of a cm thick and about a cm wide but it’s not critical - with a flat bladed knife, sprinkle with a very little extra cayenne if you like spicy, lift carefully on to baking sheet, spacing a little apart.

Set oven timer for 6 mins to check - it may take 8+ depending on oven. Should be light golden brown and slightly risen but you need to watch like a hawk since they’re all too easy to burn.

Slide gently on to wire racks to cool, and if your dh is anything like mine, stop him scoffing a load of them straight off.

Very quick and delicious ice cream with no stirring and no ice cream maker. It tastes really rich and luxurious and people can't believe it's so simple.

One jar posh apricot jam. Bonne Maman is good.
One tub of double cream ( same quantity as jam)
Lemon juice
Amarreti biscuits.

Whip the cream until it's just holding soft peaks. Add juice of half a lemon to the jam and stir. Fold the jam gently into the cream. Crush the amaretti and fold in gently.
Tip into a plastic box and freeze.

It doesn't last that long in the freezer, a few days say before it loses its taste and creamy texture, but I don't find that's a problem...

I drizzle marmite and butter over my roasties

Love the idea of making blinis PenguindreamsofDraco, I always buy them and they’re too dry but that’s my drop scone recipe so I’ll just use that!

Course you can freakydeaky

They’re really simple but just work. They work with gf flour as well.

Whisk 2 eggs with 235 caster till mousey. Melt 125 butter with 100 dark chocolate - works great with chocolate with bits in E.g. orange peal etc - and cool.

Combine eggs and chocolate. Fold in 90 plain flour. Add handfuls of chopped pecans if you like. If you’re feeling fancy break up 100 more chocolate on top before baking.

Bake in lined tin at 170 for 30-35. Cool in tin.

Just remembered another brilliant recipe I sometimes serve brownies with as a pudding.

200ml double cream, 6 tbsp soft brown sugar, 2 tbsp butter. Melt till combined and cool. It’s incredible.

A great side (my take on nando's macho peas) which is nice hot or cold, and gets compliments.
Cook peas and/or green beans. While they are cooking roughly mash up olive oil, lemon juice, garlic cloves, a little salt and pepper and either some fresh red chilli or some chilli flakes, with a squirt of tomato puree. I use a pestle and mortar but you could blend it. Leave it a bit lumpy, not completely smooth. Pour over the cooked peas/beans and mash it all about to break the veg up a bit, but not smooth. Eat hot or leave to cool for a salad. Really quick and easy.

Oh yes, and a couple of diagonal slits in the pastry across the top lets the pastry rise well.

I add stuffing mix to sausage rolls too, preferably one with dried apple or chestnut in. I just mix the dry packet in. Make really chunky sausage rolls with plenty of filling. I also milk wash the top and sprinkle a few dried chilli flakes on. I use ready made puff pastry.

I always do these for any work cake morning etc, and people really love them. I dont think many people have had proper sausage rolls before, just the sad dry shop ones or greasy Gregg's.

Mine is one for ease rather than spectacular-ness. But they are perfect every time: easy pancakes.

I egg
I mug flour
I mug milk

Whisk

Fry

Demolish.

Mine is also a sausage roll one.

I make different flavours so when I do a batch I normally do.
Mature cheddar and pickle.
Stilton.
Apple and Mustard.
Cranberry (Christmas)
Sage and Onion (with the stuffing cooked first).

@AnneLovesGilbert
I can just about resist peanut butter, but I absolutely love chocolate brownies! Any chance of your star recipe please? 😊

Philadelphia Chicken & Bacon bake is always a winner for me:

• slice potatoes so they're about the thickness of a £1 coin
• add to a pan of slightly salted water and boil for 5 mins
• transfer potatoes to a colander and rinse with cold water until cooled
• 1 chicken breast per person or thighs cut in to bite size pieces
• chopped up bacon (1 rasher per person)
• fry chicken until browned all over
• add bacon until cooked
• stir through a quarter of a small tub of philadelphia garlic and herb per person and around 75ml of milk per person, until philadelphia is melted
• transfer to ovenproof dish and add sliced potatoes on top
• top with grated parmesan and a sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg
• bake for 25-30 mins until nice and golden brown on top

Shamelessly weak contribution as an excuse to follow -

Emergency dip for crisps:
Big splodge (as in, a dip-sized amount) of mayonnaise
30 turns of the pepper grinder
Pinch of salt

Makes a surprisingly tasty spicy dip, goes extremely well with pretzels

My mid-week gravy, which is less complicated than it sounds. It always gets asked about, and it's kind of a cheat.

fry 1 chopped onion & half a stick of celery in butter
add i heaped spoon of good gravy granules
add white pepper & 2 Knorr stockpots of choice
add half parts water & wine (white for chicken, red for beef)
add 1 glove of garlic and small pinch of thyme for chicken, rosemary for beef
reduce it down to half volume & blitz with a stick blender

Three ingredient lentil soup:

Sweat off a load of chopped leeks.
Add a load of diced carrots
Add half a pack of red split lentils
One kettleful of boiling water

Cooks in about half an hour, I add marigold bouillon or whatever stock cube I have, plus dried thyme. Stir it regularly or it sticks.

These are fantastic. Mines really simple but lovely. I make a big bowl for an impromptu dinner solution for one sometimes.

Add a few spoons of sugar to a bowl of frozen berries and microwave for a minute or so. Juices should be running and mixture bubbling a little at the sides.

Take a bowl of Greek yoghurt and mix in a few spoons of honey. Pour the microwaved fruit on top. Top with toasted slivered almonds or other nuts. A big bowl of it is a perfect lunch or lighter dinner solution.