Slow Cooker Pork Ribs with Apples

I often make these on a weekend, just leaving them to do their thing together in the slow cooker while I go about my day. They are DELISH. I just throw everything together into the pot, and cook 'em on low for the whole day. They're great served with mashed potatoes and coleslaw, or pickled red cabbage, but this time I had 'em with a celery and sweet corn casserole and sour cream mashed potatoes. (I'll be blogging the casserole separately)

What you need:
1 rack of baby ribs (cut to fit into your pot)
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup brown sauce
1/2 cup tomato purée
1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup dark muscovado sugar
1/2 cup red wine (or water)
1/2 cup vinegar
2 eating apples, chopped
( I don't use salt, as I don't feel it needs it, and I have salt on everything usually, but you decide!)

What to do:
Mix everything together and pour over the ribs. Place in slow cooker pot and put lid on. Turn slow cooker onto Low setting. Put your feet up/go out/go to bed/whatever. Approx 8 hours later you have a pot of deliciousness waiting for you! Eat it.

Blue Cheese Mushroom Stacks

I made these for dinner and they were scrum-diddly.
Can be served as a starter or serve two with a salad for a main course.
They also work with any other cheese but I am having a bit of a blue cheese obsession at the mo!

Make 'em:

Large mushrooms
Cherry tomatoes, halved
Red pepper, chopped
Blue cheese, sliced or crumbled
Oil
Bread, sliced
Garlic granules
Black pepper
Oregano

I haven't put quantities of anything as it's all up to you, also you can change up what veggies you use too. I used 2 cherry toms and about 1/4 of a small red pepper per 'shroom, and enough cheese to cover. I sliced my bread from the end of a crusty loaf to make my croutons but you could also use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes from a slice of bread.

Oven at 200'c (fan)

Lightly grease the bottom of your roasting tray and sit the mushrooms in cap-side down. If they have long stalks trim these first.
On each mushroom place the tomatoes and peppers and top with your cheese. Gently drizzle your pieces of bread with oil and sprinkle with the garlic, pepper and oregano. You shouldn't need any salt due to the cheese. Stack these on top of the mushrooms and cook for approx 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and transfer to plate. Then make lots of "mmmm" sounds as you chow down.

Super easy one pot potato bake

This is one of those "chuck it in a dish, chuck it in the oven, chuck it on a plate and chuck it in your gob" kind of dishes. My favourite.
Not only is it easy, but it's cheap, and low in fat if you only use a tiny bit of cheese on top. WIN.
Oh, and it tastes pretty lush too.

So:

You need-
4 medium potatoes
4 bacon medallions ( or 4 rashers trimmed of all fat)
1/2 small jar pitted black olives
1 red pepper
1 carton passata
Garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper
Grated cheese (amount depends on how fat you want it to be!)
A little water

Do this-
Preheat oven to 200'C
Slice potatoes into 1/2 cm approx slices
Slice olives in half
Chop pepper
Chop bacon
Add all this into a oven proof dish
Add the olives
Mix the seasonings into the passata and add some water (about a cup) and pour over the potato mix. Grate a little cheese over the top. (Or don't, whatevs.)
Bake in the oven for about 50 mins. The spuds will soak up all the tomatoey goodness and be browned on top. Serve with salad to make oneself feel even healthier.
Also great reheated so take some to work for lunch the next day!

White Chocolate Macaroons

You'll need:
150g (or 1 cup) white chocolate
200g (or 2 cups) dessicated coconut
2 free range eggs, separated
3/4 cup caster sugar
Rice paper sheets, cut into 4's

Make em:

Beat egg whites to semi stiff peaks, add yolks and then sugar 1/4 cup at a time.
Chop the chocolate in a mini processor so you have chunks of different size and add to the egg mix with the coconut. Fold together until completely combined.
Lay rice paper squares on a baking tray and use a small ice cream scoop to place even blobs of mix on each paper square. Flatten a little with damp fingers.
Bake in a preheated 160'C (fan) oven (I turned mine round halfway through to colour evenly) for 15mins. Move to a wire rack to cool, then trim the rice paper round the macaroons. Shove into face before anyone else sees you've made them, cos then you'll have to share.

I got the idea for this recipe from the 4 ingredients cookbook, but added the rice paper.

A Tart For Tea (or lunch, or whatever)

Ok, so I've blogged a quick tart recipe before, but that was ages ago and this one was too lush not to share.

Dead quick n easy to make and a right little treat for your taste buds. The best bit is you can change up the ingredients to fit what you've got in your fridge/cupboards. Perfecto.

The Stuff:
1 sheet of ready made puff pastry
Some kind of tomato sauce (or pesto)
Roasted peppers from a jar
Half a small red onion thinly sliced
Small piece of chorizo thinly sliced
A few sun dried tomatoes
A small wedge of Brie
Sprig of rosemary finely chopped

What to do:
First score your pastry like in the pic. Slap it on a lightly oiled baking sheet.
Next spoon on your sauce and spread thinly. Then just chuck on the other ingredients, and a bit of seasoning and bosh it in the oven at 180'C for about 20 mins depending on your oven (until browned and puffy and gorgeous). Cut it up (a pizza wheel is best for this job) and devour.