Chocolate Chip Cookie n’ Oreo Knock your socks off Brownie Bars

These are super decadent but soooo good! I left out the caramel as I thought it was rich enough and would only need to eat green veg for 18 hours ;-)

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups chocolate chips
•  1 package of oreo cookies
• 1 package of brownie mix (to be prepared as directed on the box)
• 1 can Caramel (totally optional)

Preheat the oven to 180 and line a 22 x 32 cm pan with parchment paper

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs followed by vanilla and mix well.

Add the flour, baking soda and salt and continue to beat until well combined.  Fold in the chocolate chips.

Press the cookie dough evenly into the pan.

Now place the oreos on top of the cookie dough.  Surprisingly enough, there are just enough oreos to top the whole thing!

Dollop the caramel on top of the oreos.

Prepare brownie batter as directed 

Pour brownie batter on top and smooth it around with a spatula.

Bake for 40-50 minutes.  They should look slightly under baked.  The edges will likely puff up and dry out a bit but you can trim them off afterwards and still have way more than enough gooey chocolatey squares to go around!  Some of the comments in this post suggest that 40 minutes is too long to bake, so it’s recommended to start peeking in on them after about 30 minutes. 

For a hugely over indulgent decadent treat, top with ice cream and hot fudge.  (Then eat nothing but green vegetables for a full 24 hours!)

Enjoy!

http://betchacanteatjustone.wordpress.com/2011/07/04/chocolate-chip-cookie-n-oreo-knock-your-socks-off-brownie-bars/

Chocolate & chestnut roll

I didn't use the filling as per the recipe, I just whipped up some cream and used a tin of caramel ..... delicious!

Make this type of sponge whenever you want a Swiss roll-style cake

FOR THE SPONGE
4 medium free-range eggs
125g castor sugar
1tsp vanilla paste or extract
60g self-raising flour
40g cocoa, plus 1tbsp for dusting

FOR THE FILLING
300ml cream
230gtin chestnuts, pureed and sweetened
100g milk chocolate, melted

Heat the oven to 180C. Line a 20x30 cm Swiss roll tin with non-stick baking paper.

Whisk together the eggs, sugar and vanilla paste until pale and creamy, the whisks should leave a ribbon trail when lifted, about 4 mins. Sift over the flour and cocoa, then fold in with a metal spoon.

Pour into the tin and gently ease into the edges. Bake immediately for 12-15 mins, until risen and springy to the touch. Cool in the tin for a few mins, then turn out onto a sheet of baking paper dusted with cocoa. Cool completely.

For the filling, lightly whip the cream until it holds soft peaks, add chestnut puree and melted chocolate and mix until marbled. Remove the paper from the cake and spread with filling, leaving a 3cm margin along one short edge. Roll up from short end to the naked short end and put on a serving plate. Don't worry if it cracks a little.

Chicken, Bacon & Ratatouille Rice Bake

This meal is very easy and economical to make and combines the tasty flavours of chicken, bacon and brown onion.

15 millilitre oil
1 kilogram Chicken pieces
1 Red onion chopped
½ Packet bacon, chopped
400 gram Tin ratatouille
250 millilitre Uncooked rice
1 KNORR Brown Onion Soup
600 millilitre cold water

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Heat oil in a frying pan and fry chicken pieces until browned.
3. Place in a casserole dish.
4. Fry onion and bacon until lightly browned, add ratatouille and rice.
5. Mix KNORR soup powder with 600 ml water.
6. Pour over chicken and bake in a preheated oven for 1½ hours.

http://www.whatsfordinner.co.za/recipes/chicken-bacon-and-ratatouille-rice-bake/282

Cajun Braaied / Barbequed Fish

My hubby got this recipe from his colleague, Robert, we tried it today and it was really good.  Yellow tail or angel fish works very well but you can try this the fish of your choice.

Fresh Fish (of your choice) - filleted and deboned
Olive Oil
Louisiana Cajun Spice
Butter
Garlic
Lemon Juice

Pour some olive oil on both sides of the fish and liberally sprinkle it with the Cajun spice. Let it marinade for 30 minutes.

Melt the butter and add garlic and lemon juice to taste.

Once braai (barbeque) is hot, place the fish skin side up for a few minutes before turning it skin side down for the remainder of the cooking time (approx. 10 minutes depending on fire heat and thickness of fish).  Baste the fish with the butter mixture after turning.

Enjoy!!
 

Baked Potato with Ranch Dressing Dish

I made this recipe as a side dish for my sons braai/party, gosh the guys just could not get enough.

Ingredients:

• 6 -8 medium potatoes cut into 2cm cubes 
• 1 bottle ranch dressing
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
• 1 1/2 pkts crumbled, cooked bacon
• 2 tablespoon dried dill weed
• 2 medium onions, chopped and cooked
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a Large bowl mix all the ingredients except the cheese,  until the potatoes are completely covered with the sauce.

Transfer to a baking pan, spread out to a single layer,  cover with foil and bake between 55-75 minutes.

During the baking time, turn over the potatoes couple of time to insure even baking.

Remove the foil and set the oven to 400 degrees and bake for 15 minutes more.

Mix in the cheese and bake a few more minutes until you see some brown spots on the cheese.

For serving, garnish with scallions.

Spiced pork belly squares with juicy plum sauce

I got this recipe from my sister, they are a hit in her house and I will be trying them myself very soon!

Pork belly is great value, and cutting into squares looks restaurant-chic.

2 kg pork belly, skin scored

1 tsp ground allspice

1 tbsp fennel seeds

1 tbsp brown sugar 

400ml hot chicken or pork stock

250ml white wine

6 ripe plums, halved

Heat oven to 180@C. Very slowly, pour a kettleful of boiling water over the pork belly and cut into squares. Pat dry, then rub the allspice, fennel seeds and sugar over the flesh side.

Line a roasting tin with greaseproof paper, lay the squares of pork belly snuggly inside, then pour the stock and white wine in around the pork belly with the skin out of the liquid. Cover with foil and roast for 2 ½ hrs.

Take the roasting tin out and turn oven up to 220@C. Gently pour out the cooking liquid into a gravy strainer to drain off the fat. Pour back into the roasting tin, sprinkle the skin with sea salt, add the plums to the tin, then put the pork back in the oven, uncovered, to crisp up the skin for 25 mins. Leave to rest for 10 mins, then serve the meat with the sauce.

Best Lemon Meringue Pie

Don't be put off by the long method description, I am simply giving you all the tips to avoid the usual pitfalls of:

• A raw tasting filling
• Meringue slipping off the filling and pulling away from the sides
• Meringue weeping sugary tears etc.

Makes 1 x 24cm pie Serves 12

CRUST
1 x 200 g pkt tennis biscuits

¼ cup (60 ml) real butter, melted

FILLING
2 x 397 g tins of full cream sweetened condensed milk
½ cup (125 ml) boiling water
1 T (15 ml) grated lemon rind
½ cup (125 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 egg yolks
pinch of salt
2 t (10 ml) cornflour

MERINGUE LAYER
4 egg whites
2 t (10 ml) lemon juice
¼ cup (60 ml) castor sugar
¼ cup (60 ml) icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 170ºC. Use a non-stick spray (this is one of the very few times that I use it) to spray the inside of a 22cm pie dish. Crush the biscuits or whiz them in a food processor until broken. Add the melted butter and blend very briefly until just mixed through.

Scrape the mixture into the prepared dish and spread out. Work the crumbs up the sides of the dish and flatten with the back of a tablespoon. Put in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to firm while you prepare the filling.

Beat the condensed milk (use the boiling water to get every bit out of the tins), lemon rind, lemon juice, egg yolks and salt together until thoroughly mixed.

Remove the crust from the freezer and pour the filling gently over the back of a spoon so as not to disturb the crumbs of the pie crust.

Bake the pie (without the meringue for 20 minutes).

 To make the meringue beat the egg whites in a spotless glass or stainless steel bowl until just beginning to foam. Add the lemon juice and beat until the mixture forms stiff peaks. Add the castor sugar, a spoonful at a time, while beating hard. Sift the icing sugar over in 3 batches and also beat it in hard.

The meringue mixture must now be stiff and shiny and be able to hold its shape. Remove the pie from the oven - sift the 2 t of cornflour over the filling (this acts as glue to hold the filling and the meringue together). Spoon the meringue over the hot filling in great big blobs - working right up and over the edge of the crust. Fluff the meringue up with a spatula and return the pie to the oven. Bake for another 25 minutes. Open the oven door 1cm, switch off the oven and leave the pie in the oven to cool down.

When the pie is cool transfer it to the fridge to store - this will prevent 'tears' forming on the meringue - the air in the fridge is much drier than the regular atmosphere outside.