Oreo cookie brownies

My mum brought me an Oreo brownie back from America recently, it was delicious .... probably because of all the hydrogenated fat and e numbers! Anyway once i'd eaten it I wanted more, so I decided to make my own.  The recipe I used was peppermint cookies n' cream brownies from Baking Bites blog.  I used plain Oreo's as opposed to the peppermint ones used in the original recipe.

Makes 36 brownies (or 48 bite-sized brownies)

1 cup butter
6 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups roughly chopped peppermint oreo-type cookies (approx 18)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, and grease lightly.
In a medium-large saucepan over low heat, melt together butter and chocolate, stirring occasionally. Whisk in sugar, salt and vanilla, then turn off heat. Whisk in eggs one at a time, waiting until each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Stir in flour and cocoa powder until mixture is uniform. Stir in peppermint oreo cookies and pour batter into prepared pan. Crush 3-4 additional cookies finely and sprinkle on top of batter, if desired.
Bake for about 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs, but not coated with batter.
Cool brownies in pan for about 20 minutes, then lift brownies in the foil out of the pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Lentil shepherd's pie with smoky cheese mash

I haven't blogged for a while because my oven has been broken!! I have been craving this since the weather has become baltic, so as soon as that oven was fixed I set to work on this!

I know meat eaters will turn their noses up at the lentils, but you have to try this.  It's so good you will not even notice it's vegetarian!

The recipe is taken from Vegetarian Supercook by Rose Elliot.

Serves 4

1.1kg potatoes, peed and cut into even sized pieces

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 large onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

400g can chopped tomatoes

410g can green lentils, drained

50g sun-blushed tomatoes, chopped

1 tablespoon tomato ketchup

15g butter

200g smoked wensleydale or cheddar cheese, grated

salt & pepper

Put the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil.  Boil for about 20 minutes, or until tender.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add the chopped onions, cover and fry for 15 minutes, or until very tender, lightly browned and sweet.

Remove from the heat and add the garlic, chopped tomatoes, lentils, sun-blushed tomatoes and tomato ketchup.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Drain the potatoes, reserving the water, then mash with the butter and enough reserved water to make a creamy consistency.  Stir in two-thirds of the cheese.

Pour the lentil mixture into a shallow casserole dish and spread the potato on top.  Scatter with the remaining cheese and bake in a preheated oven , 200oc (400oF), Gas mark 6, for 40 minutes, until golden brown.