Microwave toffee

From Debbie M. 

Microwave Toffee (a.k.a. Heath Bar)

(No candy thermometer required!)

½ c butter

1 tsp salt

1 c sugar

¼ c water

Nuts

¾ cup chocolate chopped

Butter bowl then add butter, salt, sugar and water. DO NOT STIR. Microwave for 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop ¾ c of nuts (I used almonds) and toast slightly in a pan.

Spread butter paper (wax paper) or a silicon mat on the counter and spread ½ cup nuts on it. (The other ¼ c nuts are for the top.)

Check on toffee. After 7 minutes, stir slightly and add 30 more seconds until the mixture turns a nice tan color. (I had to cook it 3 minutes and 30 seconds longer in my microwave oven.)

Remove and pour over nuts. Be sure to oven mitts (this mixture is HOT).

Sprinkle ¾ c chocolate on top of toffee mixture. (I’ve used 1 ½ bars chopped Cadbury Bournville; about 120 grams or Amul Dark Chocolate 150 grams) Let the chocolate sit 1 minute…don’t spread just yet!

Now, after the minute, spread the chocolate and sprinkle with remaining¼ c nuts.

Let it dry (or put in fridge to dry quickly); Peel off toffee and break into pieces. Enjoy!

Homemade Graham Crackers

Here's a recipe from Debbie M. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup brown sugar, packed (if you use demerara or jaggery, grind it fine)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ cup water

Instructions

In the bowl add flours, sugar, salt, cinnamon and baking soda. Stir to combine. Add butter and mix until the mixture has turned to coarse crumbs. Add honey and water. Mix until incorporated and the dough is easily gathered into a ball.

.

Shape dough into a flat disk. (see tip below) Roll between two large pieces of butter paperuntil ¼ inch thick. Cut into desired shapes and sizes and poke with fork tines randomly. Place crackers on a greased baking sheet. Re-roll remaining dough until all of dough is used up.

Bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes, until slightly darkened around edges. They should be set but still slightly soft (they will harden as they cool). Remove crackers from sheet to cool. Store in an airtight container for 1 week, or freeze for longer storage.

Tip: some people just put the whole rolled dough on the cookie sheet and cut them after they came out of the oven.  I did this and it was so easy. I cut them with a pizza cutter when I pulled them out. It was quick! I also rolled the dough a little thicker to have soft crackers. We all loved them!

Recipe from: http://kitchensimplicity.com/homemade-graham-crackers/

Mango Chicken Pasta

Here is another recipe from DebbieR!  I've had this before, and it looks interesting, but it is really great!

Mango Chicken Pasta
16 oz. uncooked rigatoni pasta
1 T. olive oil, divided
3-4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
1 onion, sliced and separated into rings
1 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 mango, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 c. fresh cream
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 T. grated cheese, or more! : )

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Add rigatoni pasta, cook for 8 minutes until almost done.  Drain.

Heat 1/2 the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Place chicken in the skillet and cook 10 minutes, or until juices run clear.  Remove from heat, and set aside.

Heat the remaining olive oil in the skillet, and cook the onion and green pepper until tender.  Mix in the garlic, and mango, and continue to cook and stir five minutes, or until mango is soft.  Gradually mix the heavy cream into the skillet, and cook five minutes, until thickened.

Return the chicken to the skillet.  Cook and stir 2 minutes, until ingredients are well blended.  Mix in the cheese.  Serve over pasta.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Pudding

Here's a microwave pudding recipe from DebbieM!

Quick Chocolate pudding (for the microwave) (from Allrecipes)

1/2 c. castor sugar/bura

1/3 c. cocoa powder

3 T. cornstarch

2 c. milk

2 t. vanilla extract

1 T. butter

Chopped chocolate bar (optional)

In a microwave safe bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa and cornstarch.  Whisk in milk a little at a time so the mixture does not have any dry lumps.  

Place in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high.  Stir, then cook at 1 minutes intervals (important!), stirring between cooking times for 2-4 minutes, or until shiny and thick.  Stir in vanilla and butter.  If you want a little more richness, add a chopped chocolate bar. 

Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming, and chill in the refrigerator.  Or, if you like warm pudding, eat it right away!  4 servings.

Skillet Rice

Here's a quick and easy recipe from DebbieM.  I pretty much always have these things in my kitchen, so it's a good one to go to when you don't know what to make for dinner!

Skillet Rice

¼ cup oil

½ medium onion

½ bell pepper chopped

½ lb. ground beef or chicken (or 1/4 kg.)

1 cup rice uncooked

2--8oz. Cans tomato sauce (2 boxes tomato puree)

1 ¾ cup hot water

1 tsp. salt

Dash pepper

1 tsp. prepared mustard

Cheese for topping

Heat oil in skillet and add onion and bell pepper. Cook for several minutes then add the meat. Stir on medium high heat until browned. Add rice, tomato sauce, water, salt, pepper and mustard. Mix well. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Cheese can be added just before serving. Makes 4 servings.

Hot Chocolate Mix

Here's a great recipe from DebbieM:

"We love Hot Chocolate this time of year. The kids really like those little packets but they are SO expensive here. So, I searched and tried many kinds of recipes. Most have powdered milk and creamer in them. Creamer is not always available and powdered milk like Everyday or Milkado have added sugar. (There is a kind without sugar called Anik Spray but it is not easy to get.) Here is an EASY recipe that passed my kids taste test! : )"

Hot Chocolate Mix

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons fine castor sugar (also called Bura)

¾ cup cocoa

1 tsp. salt

Mix together. Store.

Microwave or heat a cup of milk (about 1 to 2 minutes). Add two tablespoons of the mix and enjoy!

If you like the recipe, you can triple it:

3 ½ c. sugar

2 ¼ c. cocoa

1 Tablespoon salt

Just Like the Box Brownies

DebbieM is to credit for this recipe. These brownies are honestly just like out of a box. They are so delicious, and so easy.

Brownies

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Cadbury is great)

2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup chocolate chips (or 1 Cadbury Bournville chocolate bar chopped)

1 cup butter melted and cooled (I've started using 1/2 c. oil and 1/2 c. water instead)

3 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x9 inch baking pan. (If you want thinner brownies, use a 9x13 pan.) Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa and sugar. Mix in melted butter and eggs. Mix thoroughly and add chocolate chips. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool completely in pan before cutting.

Chik-Fil-A Sandwiches

I know lots of us are from the south and REALLY miss Chik-Fil-A. DebbieM sent me this recipe for a copycat Chik-Fil-A recipe for chicken breasts, but you could use it for chicken nuggets, too. Debbie's notes:

"I used regular Sundrop oil (couldn’t find peanut oil, but I know they have it here!) I used 4 chicken breasts (cut a little of the skinny side off.) You can definitely make more than that! The salt in the flour mixture sounds like too much. It was really OK. It was not too salty. The powdered sugar was a surprise!! I used a thermometer to see the oil temp. Sadly, mine doesn’t go to 375 so I had to guess if it was right. I double dipped the chicken like it mentioned. That was a good idea…make it very crunchy.

When I put the lid on the pressure cooker, it would not close all the way. It still was good and definitely kept the oil from spraying all over the place. I cooked for 4 minutes. Oh, there was plenty of flour mixture and milk/egg to fry more. I really wished that I had made more…they were good!!"

3 cups Peanut oil
1 Egg
1 cup Milk
1 cup Flour
2-1/2 Teaspoons Powdered sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
2 Tablespoons Salt
2 Skinless, boneless chicken breasts, halved
4 Plain hamburger buns
2 Tablespoons Melted butter
8 Dill pickle slices

Mix together the egg and milk. Place the filets in this mixture, and let
sit for at least an hour.

While the breasts are sitting, mix together the flour, sugar, pepper, and
salt.

Once the sitting is done, dredge in the flour. (For ourselves and our
favourite customers, after the first dredging, we would put them back in the
milk bath for a few seconds, and re-dredge! This is not company policy,
however!)

Place the Peanut oil in a deep fat fryer, and bring up to a high heat.
Once up to 375 F., gently drop into the oil, and let cook until golden
brown. (This is for those of us who do not have a pressure cooker. If you
do, follow the note below!)

Note: Chick-Fil-A actually uses a Pressure Cooker to cook the Filets in. If
you have one, use the peanut oil according to the instructions for frying in
it. Desired heat is 400 F. Place chicken in it and put the lid on. Cook for
about 3-4 Minutes. Be VERY careful removing the lid…you have to make sure the steam is released.

Lightly butter the buns, and grill until heated through. Place two
pickles on each bun, and place a hot breast on each!