Chelsea Buns

Recipe & image taken from www.bbcgoodfood.com

Buns

450g strong white flour, plus extra for dusting

2 x 7g packs easy-blend yeast
50g caster sugar

150ml warm milk
1 egg beaten
50g unsalted butter , melted, plus extra for greasing

oil , for greasing

Topping

25g softened butter , plus extra for greasing

85g dried apricots , finely chopped

85g toasted flaked almonds , plus a few extra to decorate

25g caster sugar

2 tbsp apricot jam

Put the flour, yeast, caster sugar and 1 tsp salt into a large mixing bowl and mix well. Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm milk, 50ml warm water, the beaten egg and the melted butter. Mix everything together to form a dough - start with a wooden spoon and finish with your hands. If the dough is too dry, add a little more warm water; if it's too wet, add more flour.

Knead in the bowl or on a floured surface until the dough becomes smooth and springy. Transfer to a clean, lightly greased bowl and cover loosely with a clean, damp tea towel. Leave in a warm place to rise until roughly doubled in size - this will take about 1 hr depending on how warm the room is.

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and grease a deep 21 or 23cm cake tin. Tip the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few secs. Roll out the dough to a rough 20 x 30cm rectangle. Spread the butter evenly over the dough, then sprinkle with the chopped apricots, almonds and sugar. Roll up firmly like a Swiss roll from one of the long sides - dampening the open edge to help it stick if you need to. Cut into 8 even slices with a sharp knife, shape into 8 round pinwheels, then arrange in the tin, cut-side up. Cover with a clean, damp tea towel and prove in a warm place for about 20 mins until roughly doubled in size.

Bake the buns for 10 mins, then lower oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Cook for 10 mins more until golden brown. Melt the jam with 1 tbsp water, brush all over the buns, then sprinkle with a few more flaked almonds.

Maple & Bourbon Glazed Pork Chops

Recipe & Image taken from  http://www.howsweeteats.com

4 boneless center cut pork chops

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon smoked papika

1 tablespoon canola oil

1/4 cup low-sodium chicken stock

3/4 cup bourbon (I used a cherry bourbon – yum!)

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small saucepan, combine bourbon, sugar, maple syrup, garlic, worcestershire, vinegar and mustard. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then reduce to a simmer and let cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring every now and then. Remove from heat and let sit to thicken.

Pound pork chops with a meat tenderizer, then season on both sides with salt, pepper and paprika. Heat a cast iron (or oven-safe) skillet over medium-high heat. Brush with canola oil and once hot (I let my skillet heat for almost 5 full minutes), add pork chops. 

Sear on one side for 2-3 minutes, or until golden Flip and cook for 2-3 minutes more. Turn off heat, add chicken stock to skillet, then place in oven and bake for 15 minutes. My pork chops were about 1 inch thick, so if yours are a bit thicken they may need to bake a little longer.

Once finished, pour glaze over top and serve immediately.

Baked Mozzarella Sticks

Recipe & image taken from www.olivetheingredients.blogspot.co.uk

12 wonton wrappers, at room temperature

12 light mozarella string cheeses

Preheat over to 400 degrees 

Take out your room temperature wraps and wrap each one around a cheese string.

Bake in the over for 10-12 minutes, turning once until golden brown.

Slimming World Pulled Pork

Image & recipe taken from http://group.slimmingworld.com

In a small bowl, mix passata, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, mustard powder, garlic, sweetener and seasoning. Transfer to a small pan and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.

Meanwhile, trim and remove all visible fat from the pork and sear all sides in a hot frying pan sprayed with low calorie cooking spray. Transfer to a roasting tin lined with aluminium foil and pour the sauce over the pork making sure all the meat is covered. Cover with the foil and bake on 160°C for 4-5 hours.

Remove the pork from the oven and place on a cutting board. Allow the meat to cool for approximately 15 minutes, then shred into bite-sized pieces using two forks.

Cinder Toffee

200g caster sugar
4 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda

Line a 20cm square tin with baking parchment.

Place the sugar & syrup in a large pan and mix together.  Place on a medium heat and slowly bring up to the boil, simmer the caramel until it darkens slightly.  Never stir the caramel once its on the heat.

When the caramel is the desired colour, remove it from the heat and quickly stir in the bicarb.  The mixture with froth up a lot.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and allow to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes before cutting into squares.

Plum & Almond Crumble

For the fruit layer:

800g ripe plums, stoned & quartered
50g demerera Sugar
1 tbsp plain flour

For the crumble layer

150g ground almonds
150g salted butter (room temperature)
150g demerera sugar

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C (fan oven)

Place the plums in a pudding dish and cover with the sugar & flour.

Mix together the crumble mix by hand or in an electric mixer being sure not to over mix.  Place mixture on top of the fruit layer and sprinkle a bit of extra sugar on top.

Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

** I actually made this with light muscovado sugar and the crumble wasn't as 'crumbly' as it should have been! Still absolutely delicious though!

Slow Cooker Bacon Wrapped BBQ & Apple Chicken

Recipe & image taken from http://www.closetcooking.com

2 small boneless skinless chicken breasts

4 slices bacon

1/2 cup BBQ sauce (homemade or store bought)

2 large apples, peeled and cut into small pieces

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Wrap each chicken breast in 2 slices of bacon and place in a slow cooker.

Mix the BBQ sauce, apples and lemon juice and pour it over the chicken.

Cook on low for 8 hours.