Sticky Sausages!

 

Sticky Sausages

 (much better than honey & mustard!!)

Ingredients:

2lb little sausages

2 tablespoons of clear honey

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon tomato purée 

1 tablespoon of sesame oil

1 tablespoon olive oil

Few drops Tabasco.

 

This recipe was passed on to my by my friend Heather and was definetly a winner at her drinks party!

Put sausages in roasting tin. Mix everything else together. Pour mix over sausages & toss them around to cover them in the mix. Bake at 200degC for 20-25 mins. Turn sausages several times to keep coating them in the sauce.

I make sure I make plenty!!

Me Ol' Fruitcake!!

 

Ingredients

• 400 g mixed fruit (with cranberries and apricot)
• 250 ml water
• 250 g butter  - melted in the microwave
• 350 g sugar
• 260 g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs (small - medium)

• Preheat oven to 160°C (140 fan)) conventional. Line a 20 or 22cm square cake tin with greaseproof paper.
• Place dried fruit and water in a large saucepan and bring to the boil over high heat. Boil  most of the liquid has been absorbed.
• Remove from the heat and add the melted butter. Stir through until all the butter is mixed in. Add the sugar and stir in well. Set mixture aside to cool for 20-30 minutes. 
• While the mixture is cooling, sift the flour and baking powder together in a bowl. Once the mixture has cooled down, add the sifted flour and baking powder and stir together with a large spoon. Add the lightly beaten eggs and vanilla extract and continue to stir until everything is fully combined.
• Pour the mix into the prepared baking tin. Bake for about 1 hr 25 minutes or until the middle is cooked and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. I like the top of my cake quite dark but cover with foil is that is not to your taste. Last time I left the cake in the over as it wasn't cooed and turned the heat off. After we returned from the pub, the cake was perfect! Allow to cool in the tin for 15-20 on a wire cooling rack to continue.
• Once cooled, cover the cake with cling film and place in an airtight container - or like me, you can delve straight in. The cale gets better if left overnight!!

Spicy mixed nuts

 

Spicy Nuts

 

Ingredients:

1kg mixed nuts - walnuts, hazlenuts, cashew, pecan etc etc

75g butter

50 ml water

100g soft brown sugar

2 tbsp chinese 5 spice

1 tbsp salt

2 tsp cumin powder

2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tbsp chilli powder

 

Heat oven to 180 degrees

 

Melt butter in a pan with all the other ingredients. Stir until dissolved. Add nuts & cook stirring frequently for 5 mins. Spread on baking tray & cook for about 15 mins but check that the nuts are not overcooked. Leave to cool (they should be hard and not sticky), separate the nuts & add more salt if you like them a bit saltier. Enjoy