Chocolate Chip Cookies

125 gms         Butter (unsalted & softened)

1 ¼ cups         Brown sugar (tightly packed)

1 tsp                Vanilla essence

1                                            Egg, lightly beaten

1 ½ cups         Flour

½ tsp               Baking powder

1 ½ cups         Chocolate bits

A pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.  Place butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until light and creamy.  Add vanilla and egg and stir to combine.  Stir in the sifted flour, baking powder and salt until just combined.  Fold through chocolate chips.  Place spoonfuls of cookie mixture on a greased and lined baking tray, allowing room for spreading.  Cook for 15-20 minutes, until they turn pale gold.  Allow to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before placing biscuits on a wire rack to cool further.  

Crunchy Lemon Muffins

2 cups   Self-raising flour

¾ cup    Sugar

75 gms  Butter

1 cup     Milk

1            Egg

Grated rind of 1 large 
or 2 small lemons

¼ cup     Lemon Juice

¼ cup     Sugar              

Mix flour and sugar in a bowl.  Melt the butter, add the milk, egg and lemon rind and beat well with a fork to combine.  Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and combine only until the dry ingredients have been lightly dampened but not thoroughly mixed.

Place mixture into 12 medium-sized muffin tins.  Bake at 200ºC for 10 minutes.

Stir together lemon juice and sugar without dissolving the sugar, and drizzle this over the hot muffins as soon as they are removed from the oven.  Leave to stand in the tins for only a few minutes (otherwise the syrup may harden as it cools and will stick to the tins).

Beef & Pineapple Casserole

750 gms         Steak (can be more)

2                      Onions 

1 cup              Tomato Pulp (or1 tin whole peeled tomatoes)

2 Tb                Flour (to thicken)

1 Tb                Sugar

1 tsp                Mustard powder

1 Tb                Vinegar

2 Tb                Worchestershire sauce

¼ cup             Cold Water

1 small tin      Pineapple chunks

Mix together in Crock pot and boil as a casserole on slow for one day.  Before serving add 1 small can of pineapple pieces (if added too soon the pieces will lose their flavour). 

For variation, you can add chopped kumara, courgette or carrot.