Carbonnade of Beef with Double Potato Topping

During the winter months I think there is nothing more welcoming than a good hearty stew or casserole to hit that comfort spot. The real beauty of casseroles is how easy they are to make. All you need to do is combine the prepared ingredients in a casserole dish, then cover and place in the oven to cook. For me Sunday's is the perfect day for this, when all you want is to laze about and look forward to a plate of winter comfort food. As you know I am working my way through various recipes from Secrets from a Country Kitchen cookbook for the month of January and this wonderful recipe is from the book. I have made this dish before and it's been a success every time. "Carbonnade" means a casserole of beef cooked in beer and the double topping is a combination of sweet potato and normal potatoes, yummy!

Auntie Jill's Chocolate and Orange Cake

I can only describe this cake as a choc/orange lover’s idea of heaven. If you love Terry's Chocolate Orange then this cake will blow you away. This cake is really moist because of the evaporated milk and the icing also has evaporated milk, making it really dreamy and unlike any icing you’ve tasted. I’ve made this cake today for my son who absolutely adores this and put a request in for his favorite cake. It normally doesn’t last long from the moment it’s baked, assembled and the first bite is taken! The recipe comes courtesy of Secrets of a Country Kitchen cookbook.

Golden Flapjacks

I think everybody loves flapjacks, they are sweet, satisfying and healthy. I love the fact that you can add just about anything to them for delicious alternatives to the basic recipe. I have gone for a basic recipe today of 100g butter, 100g demerara sugar, 100g golden syrup and 225g porridge oats. Flapjacks normally come in squares but i decided to be different today and make them in a round tin. If you are thinking of making these i would suggest using the breakfast porridge oats, i.e. rolled oats. Avoid the jumbo oats as they are too large for these flapjacks. This recipe also comes courtesy of Secrets from a Country Kitchen. I am on a mission this month to only cook recipes from this book, which i find is a great way of getting round to using the cookbooks sitting on my book shelf lonely and gathering dust.

Banana and Cinnamon Muffins

This morning I woke up and decided that some baking was much needed after a short stint of no baking since xmas. So while browsing through my cookbooks i came across this easy but wonderful recipe for Banana and Cinnamon Muffins in my Secrets from a Country Kitchen by Lucy Young cookbook. I've tried a few banana muffin recipes in the past but this recipe is by far the best, the combination of banana and cinnamon is gorgeous and the added bonus is your kitchen is filled with that wonderful cinnamon aroma whilst the muffins bake away. These are breakfast style muffins, as they are not overly sweet, but i think these are perfect for any time of the day with a cup of coffee or tea and kids will love these in their pack lunches, as will hubbys ;o)

Banana and Cinnamon Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients
225g/8oz self-raising flour, sieved
100g/4oz light muscovado sugar
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 rounded teaspoon baking powder
1 ripe banana, peeled and mashed
125ml/4fl oz milk
2 eggs, beaten
50g/2oz butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 200oC/400oF/Gas 6. Grease 12 non-stick muffin tins, or line the tins with paper muffin cases.

Measure the flour, sugar, cinnamon and baking powder into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the banana, milk and eggs together until smooth. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture with the melted butter, and mix together with a wooden spoon until completely smooth. Spoon evenly into the muffin tins or cases. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until well risen and golden brown. Serve cold or, even nicer, just warmed.