Fettuccine in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce

This is a simple mid-week meal I created when I had next to nothing in the house except for a few mushrooms. It was simple to cook and very yummy to eat!

You can use any mushrooms you like (or have loitering in the vegetable crisper) for this recipe. I used button mushrooms. You'll also notice that the sauce is not purely cream - I find using a mix of cream and stock reduces the richness and makes the meal a lot lighter.

Fettuccine in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce

(Serves 4)

400g fettuccine

50g butter

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/2 onion, finely chopped

350g mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup cream

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock

Chopped parsley

In a large saucepan of boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente.

At the same time, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and saute the garlic, onion and mushrooms until they have all softened (about 3-5 minutes - the onions will look slightly translucent). Add the cream and stock and simmer gently until the sauce has reduced a little.

Toss through the cooked pasta and parsley.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Everyone loves chocolate chip cookies (or biscuits, if you'd prefer to call them that.) Except when those chocolate chip cookies have about three chocolate chips in them. Per batch. Not cool!

The beauty of making them yourself is that you can control the chocolate content. And the type of chocolate! Tiny white chocolate chips, or large bitter dark chocolate chunks. The choice is yours.

Choc Chip Cookies
(Makes 36)

150g butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tspn vanilla extract (or 1 tspn vanilla essence)
1 egg
1 3/4 cups self-raising flour
1/2 tspn salt
125g chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180C and line two baking trays with baking paper.

In a mixer (or using a set of electric hand beaters) beat the butter, sugars and vanilla until it forms a thick, pale and fluffy mixture. Slowly beat in the egg.

Stir in the sifted flour and salt, then add the choc chips (or chunks ;p ).

Roll the dough into small balls (about two teaspoons full) and place on the baking trays. Don't squash them down - just leave them as little balls otherwise they'll spread too much and look like flat discs rather than chunky biscuits.

Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes in the oven, or until they look pale gold. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool (or be eaten, whichever comes first!)