Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 package butter softened 

1 cup sugar 

1 cup brown sugar 

2 eggs 

2 teaspoons vanilla 

3 1/2 cups flour 

2 teaspoons baking soda 

2 teaspoons baking powder 

1 teaspoon salt 

chocolate chips 

Cream butter and sugars add eggs and vanilla add everything else.  Roll dough into balls or scoop and cook for 8 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Pizza Dough

Pizza Dough

1 1/2 Cups warm water
1 T yeast
2 T sugar
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour
1 t salt

Mix the water, sugar and yeast.  Let it sit for 5 minutes or until the yeast starts to grow.  Add the flour and salt and knead (or use a kitchen aid) for 5 minutes.  Cover and let rise for about an hour.

Apple Crisp

INGREDIENTS:

10 cups all-purpose apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1 cup white sugar 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 cup water

1 cup quick-cooking oats 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup packed brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C).
2.	Place the sliced apples in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over all.
3.	Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.
4.	Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes.

 Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

(my favorite weekend breakfast lately)

You will need the usual ingredients for your favorite pancake batter.

Ingredients for the cinnamon roll part of the pancakes

 Cinnamon Filling:
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Cream cheese icing:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) salted butter
2 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

It might look like a lot of steps and be really fiddly but it isn't.

 Method

1. Prepare the cinnamon filling: In a small bowl- mix butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Whisk the filling ingredients together and then pour it into a sandwich-sized zip baggie. Zip up the baggie and lay it on the counter while you prepare the pancake batter.

2. Prepare the Icing: In a medium microwave-safe bowl, heat butter and cream cheese 30 to 60 seconds, just until butter has melted and cream cheese has softened. Whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla and combine until smooth. Set the icing aside.

 3. Check on your cinnamon filling: Open up the baggie again and give it a good stir to re-incorporate any butter that may have separated. You want the mixture to thicken a bit- it's best when it's similar to the squeezing texture of toothpaste (which will eventually happen if you leave it on the counter long enough, but refrigerate for a few minutes if you need to). Don't try to use the filling for the pancake swirl unless it has thickened as it will be too runny! Snip off a small piece of the corner of the baggie. 

4. Cook the pancakes: Preheat a large skillet or griddle to medium, and spray it with nonstick spray. Pour the pancake batter into pan (as you usually do).  Pick up your cinnamon filling baggie and squeeze the filling into the corner. Starting at the center of the pancake squeeze the cinnamon filling on top of the pancake batter in a swirl (just as you see in a cinnamon roll). Cook the pancakes 3 to 4 minutes, or until bubbles begin popping on top of the pancake and it is golden brown on the bottom. Flip and cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until the other side is golden as well. When you flip the pancake onto a plate, you will see that the cinnamon filling has created a crater-swirl of cinnamon. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, and repeat with the remaining pancake batter and cinnamon filling. Serve pancakes topped with a drizzle of cream cheese icing.

*These pancakes can be changed to Apple Spice or Pumpkin Spice too. Yummy!

* This recipe if from the blog http://www.recipegirl.com/

Mango Avocado Salsa

Ingredients

1 mango - peeled, seeded and diced 1 avocado - peeled, pitted, and diced 4 medium tomatoes, diced 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

3 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1/4 cup chopped red onion

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a medium bowl, combine the mango, avocado, tomatoes, jalapeno, cilantro, and garlic. Stir in the salt, lime juice, and red onion. To blend the flavors, refrigerate for about 30 minutes before serving.

Bananoffee - the Irish Delicacy!

Ingredients

Serves: 12

         For the caramel sauce layer:

         1 (405g) tin of condensed milk – cook in a pressure cooker, or boil ( covered with water for 3 hours.  Alternatively you can buy pre-made doce de leite.

         Base:

         350g of digestives or biscuits of your choice ( in brazil, I used oatmeal cookies )

         150g of butter, melted

         1 (284ml) pot of double cream ( in Brazil, that is fresh whipping cream)

         3 bananas, sliced ( I used about 5 last time I made this)

         grated chocolate to sprinkle on the top layer

Preparation method

Prep: 1 hour | Cook: 2 hours

To make the toffee sauce, remove the label of the condensed milk and immerse it in boiling water. Boil the tin for 2 - 3 hours. The longer you boil it, the darker and thicker the toffee will be. Make sure that the tin is FULLY immersed in water, otherwise, the tin will explode.

For the base, crush the digestives and mix it with melted butter. Using a pestle or fork, press the digestives onto the pan. Make sure that there are no holes. Chill. Meanwhile, whip the cream until it's stiff.

There are three ways to arrange:

Simple: Mix toffee and banana then pour onto the base. Sprinkle instant coffee then spread cream on top.

Layer - spread cream onto the base, sprinkle a little bit of instant coffee then arrange the sliced banana, spread toffee then repeat.

Layer 2 - spread cream onto the base, arrange the sliced banana then add another layer of cream. sprinkle some coffee powder and drizzle it with toffee.

Tip:

I suggest using a spring form or loose bottomed cake tin. If not, line your tin with either a cling film or parchment paper so it will be easier to lift the whole pie out without breaking it.

BBQ pulled chicken

1 onion diced
1 pineapple thinly diced
1 bottle bbq sauce
chicken breast

Put everything in the crockpot and cook for 6 hours.  Shred chicken and add any remaining bbq sauce.  Enjoy.