Just a girl who loves to cook

Christmas Baking and Making

2011-12-21T12:56:00.001+11:00

Well its christmas again and only two posts before it was christmas 2010 ... oops .... this year we did some handmade christmas presents to give to friends ... Merry christmas and a happy 2012 ..

This is Chocolate chip and oatmeal quick bread, the recipients just have to tip the contents into a bowl and add a few wet ingredients and then cook ... a great gift to give and very easy to assemble ..

Recipe can be downloaded HERE

Gingerbread cookies that are very simple to make .. the icing not so, I never seem to have much success with that lol ...

Recipe can be downloaded HERE

We had mixed results with this one, the chocolate cream was quite runny ... however everyone agreed is was yummmmmmy :)

Recipe can be downloaded HERE

Bacon and Cheese Quiches

2011-08-09T14:28:00.001+10:00

Well hasn't the blog been neglected .... thankfully winter is nearly over and all that beautiful spring and summer light will lend itself to lots more photographs ..

This recipe is a great idea for afternoon tea snacks for the kids when they come home from school, easy to prepare earlier in the day and heat up in the oven when they get home...

The rectangle plate and the gorgeous yellow candy striped paper straws are from emerald + ella .

DOWLOAD THE RECIPE HERE

Enjoy !

Baileys Rocky Road Fudge

2011-01-15T14:32:00.000+11:00

The last of the christmas baking .. a bit late I know :) ... but this rocky road was so yummy and popular that you could make it any time of year.

The white christmas I made, I left out the dried fruit and horrible glace cherries and replaced them with jelly snakes.

Enjoy !

RECIPE FOR THE ROCKY ROAD IS HERE

Cinnamon Sugar-crusted Macadamia Nuts

2010-12-21T21:18:00.000+11:00

Well hasn't it been the longest time since I posted here ... no excuses ... This Christmas we are travelling north, and my contribution to christmas day lunch, will be nibbles and the old christmas favourites with a few twists. We will start with nuts ... macadamia nuts ... these are so delicious I had to keep some out of the package for Chrismtas Lunch so we could nibble and not break into the goodies for the 25th :) ...

Enjoy !

DOWNLOAD THE RECIPE HERE

Lemon Melting Moments

2010-08-02T14:43:00.000+10:00

This recipe is taken from the Masterchef magazine. We have enjoyed going through the magazines picking all the things we want to cook :) ... some have been monumental mistakes others, like these yummy biscuits were a huge hit ... enjoy !

Lemon Melting Moments

200g (1 1/3 cups) plain flour
100g (2/3 cups) cornflour
225g unsalted butter, chopped, softened
80g (1/2 cup) icing sugar, sifted, plus extra, to dust
3 lemons zested
1 tsp vanilla extract

Passionfruit filling
4 passionfruit, pulp removed
200g (1 1/4 cups) icing sugar, sifted
1 tbs liquid glucose
80g unsalted butter, softened

1. Preheat oven to 170c. Sift flours with 1/4 tsp salt into a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add zest and vanilla then gradually beat in combined flours until mixture just comes together.

2. Roll 2 teaspoonsful of dough into balls, placing them on 2 oven trays lined with baking paper. Using a floured fork, mark biscuits with tines. Bake for 12 mintues, swapping trays halfway, or until biscuits are light golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Makes 40.

3. Meanwhile, to make filling, press pulp through a fine sieve, reserving seeds. Place 2 tbs juice, 3 tsp reserved seeds and remaining ingredients in the bowl of an electric beater. Beat of high speed until fluffy. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

4. Spread filling on 20 biscuits, then sandwich with remaining biscuits. Dust with extra icing sugar to serve.

Recipe from Masterchef Issue 3 July 2010

Lemon Melting Moments

DOWNLOAD THE RECIPE HERE

Chocolate Chip Slice

2010-07-30T13:47:00.006+10:00

The Masterchef series in Australia has been a phenomenal success, we religously watched it every night at 7.30pm, cheering on our favourites and enjoying looking at all the great food. One of the things to come out of the show has been the increase in the kids interest in food and cooking. In the holidays they all had turns at picking something we could cook together ... not surprisingly they picked sweet things :) ... So here is the slice Mr 12 and I cooked. Since Miss 10 has become free of most nut allergies we were excited to cook with almond meal, it really made such wonderful difference to the slice..Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Slice

150g butter, at room temperature
100g caster sugar
1tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs
250g Nestle Choc Bits dark
110g pkt almond meal
75g plain flour
75g self-raising flour
1tbs milk
80g white cooking chocolate, finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 160 c. Brush a 16cm x 26cm (base measurement) slice pan with melted butter. Line the base and 2 long sides with non-stick baking paper, allowing the sides to overhang.

2. Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition until combined. Stir in the choc bits, almond meal, combined flour and milk.

3. Spread the mixture over the base of the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Set aside in the pan to cool completely.

4. Meanwhile, place white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water ( make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water ). Stir with a metal spoon until chocolate melts and is smooth.

5. Use a fork to drizzle the melted white chocolate over the slice. Set aside to set. Cut into pieces.

Recipe from Good Taste baking booklet

Chocolate Chip Slice

DOWNLOAD RECIPE HERE

Bacon and Tomato Soup with garlic croutons

2010-07-16T15:24:00.001+10:00

A long time between posts :) ... yes we still have been eating, but now its winter its dark when we have dinner. Natural light is so much nicer. Anyway, on the up side of winter is all the yummy slow cooked meals and soups we have. This soup is so easy to make and very quick to whip up at the end of the day. The best part according to the kids is the garlic croutons, and of course being the parmesan loving family that we are, we added some parmesan over the top just before eating. Enjoy !

Bacon and Tomato Soup with garlic croutons

2 tsp Olive oil
75g short cut bacon, finely chopped
1 large red onion
3 celery sticks, trimmed, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
3 x 400g cans no added salt tomatoes
500ml water
2 tsp garlic, extra, crushed
2 tsp olive oil, extra
2 slices of your favourite seeded bread
Fresh basil to serve

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the bacon, onion, celery and carrot. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and chilli and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic.

2. Add the tomato and water. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200 c. Combine extra garlic and oil in a bowl. Brush both sides of bread with the mixture. Break into pieces. Bake for 10 minutes or until crisp.

4. Place half the soup in a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a clean saucepan. Repeat with the remaining soup. Stir over low heat until heated through. Ladle soup amoung serving bowls. Top with garlic croutons and basil.

DOWNLOAD THE RECIPE HERE

Menu Ideas Number 1

2010-04-05T18:45:00.004+10:00

About time I suppose :) ..... after promising some menu ideas I go away and forget. Well here are some ideas, some recipes are already on the blog, some are not but should be relatively easy. You don't have to stick to these recipes,it really is just to give you some ideas, if meatballs are on my list, you could do Spaghetti Bolognaise or Lasagne. I hope this helps and gives you some ideas to answer the question "Whats for dinner mum?" Which thankfully I don't hear any more, the list goes up each week and they know to look on the board and not ask that annoying question :) ....

CARBONARA RECIPE

CHICKEN LAKSA RECIPE

LAMB AND SPINACH CURRY

To download the Menu Ideas One please click Here

Lemon,Honey and Chilli Prawns with Zucchini and Tomato Pasta ...

2010-03-15T10:57:00.003+11:00

A fabulous combination, taken from the most recent Donna Hay Magazine (Summer). I did cheat a bit though .. instead of fresh green prawns I bought frozen green prawns that were peeled all but the tail. I know fresh would better, but sometimes I just don't have the time.... another popular meal, even Mr 12 who is not a huge fan of prawns ate the lot .. ENJOY !

Zucchini and Tomato Pasta

2 tbsp olive oil

2 sliced garlic cloves

1/2 tsp chillit flakes

2 tsp lemon zest

250g cherry tomatoes

2 thinly sliced zucchini

spaghetti

lemon juice

basil

grated parmesan cheese

Add oil, garlic, chilli flakes and lemon zest and cook for a minute. Add 250 halved cherry tomatoes and zucchini and cook for another minute. Add cooked warm spaghetti, lemon juice, basil and grated parmesan, salt and pepper and toss to combine.

Lemon, Honey and Chilli Prawns

500g peeled and deveined green prawns

2 tsp finely grated lemon rind

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp honey

1 chopped red chilli (I left this out because of the kids)

2 tbsp olive oil

Combine all ingredients and set aside for 10 minutes. Thread prawns onto skewers and cook on a low char-grill or BBQ for 2 minutes each side, serve with lime wedges coriander.

Because of time contraints I didn't thread them on to skewers I just cooked them and added the prawns to the top of the pasta.

DOWNLOAD THE ZUCCHINI AND TOMATO PASTA HERE

DOWNLOAD THE LEMON AND HONEY PRAWNS HERE

Lamb and Rosemary Pies

2010-03-01T14:06:00.005+11:00

I thought this recipe was going to be too fussy with two different types of pastry and getting them out of a muffin tin, I expected a messy disaster .... but not to be, they were easy to make ... and keep together :) .... Kids thought they were great, although a little big for Miss 5. Try them, they are worth it .. ENJOY !

Watch out for the next blog post..... after I put of the menu planner, there were a few questions about when I was going to fill it in, lol .... so this week I am going to list our menu for the week, just to give you some ideas .. :)

Lamb and Rosemary Pies

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped finely
2 tsp fresh rosemary,chopped
1 tsp ground coriander
salt and pepper
350g Lamb Mince
1/2 cup beef stock
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup frozen peas
2 large sheets frozen shortcrust pastry, thawed
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten

1. Heat 1 1/2 tbsp oil in frying pan. Fry onion, rosemary, coriander and pinch of salt and pepper for 5 minutes. Add mince and fry for 3 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for 30 seconds. Add stock, tomatoes, and tomato paste.

2. Bring mixture to boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in peas and leave to completely cool.

3. Preheat oven to 200 c. Grease a 6 hole Texas muffin tray. These are the really big hole muffin trays.

4. For pie bases, cut shortcrust pastry sheets in 4 and press down well into muffin cups. Trim. For pie lids, make 6 x 12cm diameter puff pastry circles.

5. Spoon mince into pastry cups, then brush rims with a little water. Top each pie with lid, pressing edges together to seal. Using fork, crimp edges and pierce a small hole in centres. ( I must admit, I didn't get to fussy hear with cripming extra .. i just pushed down the puff pastry onto the cups and they sealed ok)

6. Brush pie tops with egg. Bake for 20 minutes, let pies cool for 5 minutes.

Recipe from Real living magazine.

DOWNLOAD THE RECIPE HERE

Salmon ....

2010-02-05T14:12:00.006+11:00

Salmon is a treat at our place, given there are 5 of us, it turns out an expensive meal. Lucky this recipe turned out so yummy that everyone ate it. I have all these types of spices in my pantry, if you don't they are available in small packages, so if you don't use these things very often then you won't have much left over. So here is salmon poached in a spiced soy broth... ENJOY !

Salmon poached in spiced soy broth

250ml (1 cup) chicken stock
250ml (1 cup) dry sherry (or I use Shao Hsing chinese rice wine)
125ml (1/2 cup) soy sauce
85 g (1/3 cup) coarsely chopped palm sugar (in other recipes they have
substitued brown sugar, just not tightly packed)
2 strips orange rind, white pith removed
2 whole star anise
1 cinnamon stick (if unavailable use a large pinch on cinnamon)
1 tsp fennel seeds
4cm piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
4 skinless slmon fillets, halved
Steamed rice and chinese Broccoli to serve

1. Preheat oven to 180 c. Stir the stock, sherry,soy sauce,sugar,orange rind,star anise,cinnamon stick,fennel seeds and ginger in a saucepan over a medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium. Bring to a simmer.

2. Place the salmon, in a single layer, in a large roasting dish. Pour over the stock mixture. Cover tightly with foil. Bake for 6 minutes. Set aside, covered for 5 mintues for medium, or until the salmon is cooked to your liking.

3. Transfer the salmon to a plate. Strain the poaching liquid through a sieve into a jug and reserve. Serve salmon with steamed rice, drizzle over a little reserved poaching liquid.

Recipe from Good Taste magazine Feb 10.

DOWNLOAD THE RECIPE HERE

Beetroot Tzatziki

2010-01-13T12:57:00.005+11:00

Who would have thought making a dip was so easy ... lol ... i have always bought dip thinking they were too hard to make. Well i was wrong. Last night for dinner we had Lamb and Feta Kofta with Beetroot Tzatziki, and we all loved it. I don't imagine that this is the authentic recipe given that it uses canned beetroot, but it turns out so yummy I am sure we can gloss over that part .. ENJOY !

Beetroot Tzatziki

225g can sliced beetroot, drained
90g (1/3cup) Greek style natural yoghurt
2tbs chopped fresh mint
1 small french shallot, chopped
1 garlic clove

Process the beetroot, yoghurt, mint, shallot and garlic in the food processor until smooth.

DOWNLOAD THE RECIPE HERE

Easy Basil Pesto

2010-01-12T13:26:00.006+11:00

As we have nut allergies in our house, its almost impossible to buy Basil Pesto over the counter because of the nut content ... so for the first time I have made it myself. It was so easy :) ... Even though this recipe has nuts in it, I have just omitted them. I am sure it won't taste like traditional Pesto should, but everyone loved it ... We had the pesto with Fish and roasted cherry tomatoes and red onions ... ENJOY !

Basil Pesto

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Ramano cheese
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. ( If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

2. Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Makes 1 cup.

Next time I think i will grate the cheese a little finer, the photo shows I put in a little more parmesan than the recipe said :)

Recipe from www.simplyrecipes.com

DOWNLOAD THE RECIPE HERE

Really Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-12-22T13:01:00.003+11:00

The kids are home for the holidays and baking is always a popular activity and this recipe is so easy the kids can definitely get in there and help. So with flour everywhere, the extra choc chips tasted and the spoons and beaters licked here is our result :) ENJOY !

The recipe ..

125g unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups tightly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180 c. 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 mintues, until they turn pale gold.

Allow to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before placing biscuits on a wire rack to cool further. Makes 16.

Recipe from Bill Granger ..... “Bills Sydney Food”

DOWNLOAD THE RECIPE HERE

Tarts ....

2009-12-03T15:49:00.006+11:00

Here is the Fruit Mince Tart/Pies recipe ... Its very easy, even the pastry part, if you really don't think you can do the pastry, Woolworths (and other supermarkets I assume) sell pastry shells that you could use instead. Also another recipe I tried out on unsuspecting guests on Sunday :) .. Baked Orange and Ricotta Tarts. These were just as easy, although there is pastry involved again. And take note of the 2tablespoons of Icing suger in the pastry of the ricotta tarts, not 2 cups like I put in the first time lol ..

Christmas Mince Pies

2 cups Plain Flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
185g unsalted butter, chopped
1/4 cup caster sugar
1-2 tbsp lemon juice or iced water
1 cup fruit mincemeat (see additional recipe)
1 eggwhite, lightly beaten
Icing supgar to dust

1 Preheat oven to 200c. Grease 2 x 12 hole patty tins (muffin tins are a too deep as I found out) To make pastry, sift flour and baking powder into a bowl. Rub in butter using fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in sugar. Add egg yolks and enough lemon juice or iced water to bring the ingredients together to form a dough.

2. Knead dough gently on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Halve dough, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Roll out one of the pastry parcels between two sheets of baking paper until 3-5 mm thick. Using a 6.5cm round cutter, cut out 12 rounds. Place the rounds into the prepared tins. Spoon 2 tsp of fruit mince into each. Reserve scraps for decorating the tops; reknead, wrap and chill until required. Repeat the process with second portion of dough, fillng remaining patty tin.

3. Reroll reserved scraps of pastry and cut into small stars. Top each pie with a star and brush with eggwhite. Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Leave to cool, completely in the pans. Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with a little icing sugar, if desired.

This recipe is from Home Beautiful December 09 issue

DOWNLOAD THE RECIPE HERE

Baked Orange and Ricotta Tartlets

Melted butter for greasing
2 cups of plain flour
2 tbsp pure icing sugar
125g butter, cubed
1 egg, lightly beaten
Extra flour for kneading
Extra 1 egg, ightly beaten
Pure icing sugar sifted for dusting

Filling

250g fresh ricotta
1/4 icing sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
Finely grated rind of 1 Orange
1 tsp orange essence ( I couldn’t find the essence anywhere so I used the juice of
1/2 an orange ... I am sure the taste would be different but they tasted great with the juice)
1 tbsp plain flour

1. Preheat oven to 200c. Brush 12 hole patty cake tin with melted butter. Process flour and icing sugar in a food processor for 30 seconds. Add butter and process until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add egg and process until dough comes together. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and gently knead. Form dough in to 2cm thick disc; wrap in baking paper and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

2. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 5mm thick and cut out 12 rounds using a round fluted 8 cm biscuit cutter. Line each hole of prepared tin with a round. Prick base of each pastry shell with a fork and put tin in freezer for 5 mintues. Form Pastry scraps into a disc and reserve for later use. Put tin in oven and bake for 10 minutes or until light and golden. Stand tin on wire rack to cool. Reduce oven to 180c.

3. To make orange filling, put ricotta and icing sugar in a medium bowl, add egg, orange rind, essence and flour and whisk to combine. Spoon ricotta mixture into each cooled pastry shell.

4. Roll out reserved pastry until 5mm thick. Cut pastry into 5mm wide strips. Cut strips long enough to reach from one side of tarts to the other. Top each tart with 2 pastry strips, to form a cross. Brush pastry with extra egg. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until ricoota mixture is form and crosses are golden. Trasfer to a wire rack to cool. When cold, dust with icing sugar and serve.

This recipe looks long and involved but really, its not...

DOWNLOAD THIS RECIPE HERE

Christmas is coming ...

2009-12-01T12:43:00.004+11:00

The is one of my favourite times of the year ... I love the whole build up, the kids excitement is infectious :) ... One of the best parts of christmas is the cooking and baking .... I don't often venture down the route of making my own mince pies, but this I have :) AND I am organised .. its December 1st and the Fruit mincemeat is made. What I failed to read in the recipe was that it made a generous portion, so we may be eating Fruit mincemeat till Easter lol :) The recipe is a Margaret Fulton recipe, so you know it will all work out :) So here is the recipe for Fruitmince and the Fruitmince Pies recipe is to follow ... ENJOY !

Fruit Mincemeat

3 cups of Raisins
3 cups of currants
3 cups of sultanas
3/4 cup blanched almonds, chopped
2 large cooking apples (such as granny smith), grated
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
150g melted butter
3/4 sup brandy or rum
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 oranges, zest grated and juiced

1. Process dried fruit and almonds in batches in a food processor. Pulse to coarsely chop ( I actually didn’t do this as I wasn’t including the almonds, I just added the fruit as is). Spoon into a bowl and combine with grated apple, sugar, butter, brandy or run, spices and orange rind and juice.

2. Cover and chill, stirring daily, for at least 2 days before use.

Note: This recipe makes a generous quantity of fruit mincemeat. If a smaller quantity is required, the recipe can be halved.

DOWNLOAD THE RECIPE HERE

Fish in Coconut milk ..

2009-11-30T16:21:00.004+11:00

This past Sunday we had a great afternoon with some friends, the kids had a great time playing and swimming ... don't you just love summer :) .. We cooked the usual sausages for the kids and some yummy teriyaki marinade steaks, but this time I thought we would have some fish. Not on the BBQ, something easy I could do mostly before people arrived .. This recipe was a hit .. and I will definitely be cooking it again as a weekly meal. Enjoy ... This recipe was from the Good Taste Magazine Christmas 09 issue ...

Fish poached in Coconut milk with pineapple & crispy noodles

2 x 270ml cans coconut milk
60ml (1/4 cup) fish sauce
1 tbs mild red curry paste
4 fresh kaffir lime leaves
2 x 1cm-thick slices fresh ginger
1 stem lemon grass, halved lengthways, bruised
650g white fish fillets, cut into pieces
200g (1 cup) chopped fresh pineapple
1 cup of fresh mint leaves
1 cup fresh coriander leaves
50g (1/2 cup) Changs Original Fried Noodles
2 shallots, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 long fresh chilli halved, seeded, thinly slices

1. Combine coconut milk, fish sauce, curry paste, lime leaves, ginger and lemon grass in a wok over high heat. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 5 minutes or until liquid thickens slightly.

2. Reduce heat to low. Add the fish and simmer, covered, for 3-4 minutes or until just cooked through. Stir in the pineapple.

3. Use a slotted spoon to divide fish and pineapple amoung serving dishes. Spoon over some poaching liquid. Top with the mint, coriander, noodles, shallot and chilli.

DOWNLOAD RECIPE HERE

A Lunch with Friends ....

2009-11-18T14:57:00.007+11:00

Last weekend I had lunch with some old friends and some new friends :) .. of course a love of photography had bought us together, and team that together with food we had a fabulous lunch with many camera's documenting the day... It always seems to take me the longest to get any photo up on the sites, so, finally, here are my shots for the day. My offering for the lunch was the Strawberry and Blueberry Tart. I got this recipe from Masterchef Australia. It was cooked in one of the masterclasses, but as a Rasberry Tart. Since raspberries are expensive at the moment I improvised :) The Tart was so easy to make yet it makes quite an impact .. the recipe is below ..

Strawberry and Blueberry Tart

450ml thickened cream (I have used the light version but I think thats why it turns out a bit too runny)
1 and 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste (believe me it makes a difference)
1/4 cup of icing sugar, plus extra to serve
3-4 punnets of strawberries and blueberries (or raspberries as the original recipe asks for)

Pastry

2 1/4 cups plain flour
1/4 cup icing sugar
125g butter, softened
2 x 59g eggs

1. For sweet crust pastry, combine flour and icing sugar in food processor, process to combine. Add butter and process to fine crumbly texture. Add eggs and process until pastry comes together. Knead lightly on floured surface until base is smooth, pat the top to flatten slightly then wrap in baking paper and refrigerate for 20 mintues or until firm enough to roll out.

2. Preheat oven to 200 c (180 c fan forced)

3. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface, use pastry to line base and side of 3cm deep, 24cm loose based tart tin. Trim off any excess pastry, prick the base all over with a fork, then refrigerate for 10 mintues.

4. Place sheet of baking paper over the pastry and three quarters fill with raw rice or beans. Bake blind for 15 mintues or until edges are light golden. Remove paper and rice and bake further 10 minutes or until base is dry and pastry golden. Set aside to cool in tin. Transfer pastry case to serving plate.

5. Whip the cream, vanilla and icing sugar together until thick. Spoon whipped cream into pastry case then spread evenly. Scatter with your chosen fruit and sprinkle with icing sugar.

If you are pushed for time, sweet shortcrust pastry shells can be bought from the supermarket, they just tend to be a bit thick, but it saves heaps of time.

DOWNLOAD RECIPE HERE

Chilli and Lemon Prawns

2009-10-19T16:56:00.005+11:00

Another hit in our household and at BBQ's. I never have any leftover ...

Chilli and Lemon Prawns

1 tbs olive oil
2 tsp dried chilli flakes (I leave this out if the kids are having the prawns)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tbs lemon rind, julienned
1kg raw prawns
1/4 cup lemon juice

1. Place the oil, chilli flakes, salt and the lemon rind in a bowl. Remove the shells from the
prawns, leaving the tail on if possible. Stir the prawns into the mixture and leave to
marinate, for 2-3 hours, if time permits.

2. Heat the BBQ or grill until hot. Add the prawns and cook for 4-5 minutes or until
opaque and cooked through. Pour over the lemon juice.

Removing the black intestine... Although this is a yucky job, it makes the prawns look so much nicer. Once peeled, just run a sharp knife along the back edge of the prawn from top tothe tail, and just pull out the black icky stuff. Once cooked they look great prepared
like this.

Peeling the prawns is a time consuming job, but it always a popular dish at our BBQ’s.

DOWNLOAD THE RECIPE HERE

Chicken Korma

2009-09-22T14:14:00.005+10:00

You are going to love this recipe....It is so easy to cook and it is really yummy, even the kids say so.

Chicken Korma, it isn't spicy so don't worry about adding the 1/4 cup of paste. The dip, of course, is optional. I have cooked this now 4 times and only last night did I make the dip. The kids weren't that fussed, but I think that was because it had visible green bits in it ... lol ...

Chicken Korma (Serves 6)

90g (1/3 cup) Greek style natural yoghurt
60g (1/4 cup) korma curry paste (This is not spicy, so good for the kids)
1 tsp garam masala
pinch of saffron threads *
800g chicken thighs fillets, cut into pieces
60ml (1/4 cup) vegetable oil
2 brown onions (I only use one), finely chopped
125ml (1/2 cup) pouring cream
1 tbs vegetable oil, extra
55g (1/3 cup) raw cashews
50g (1/4 cup) raisins
12 fresh curry leaves

* I don't use these

1. Combine the yoghurt, curry paste, garam masala and saffron in a large glass or ceramic bowl. Add the
chicken and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to marinate.

2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the onion. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes
or until golden.

3. Stir in the chicken. Reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 5 mintues. Add the cream and simmer for a
further 5 mintues or until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickens. Season with salt.

4. Meanwhile, heat the extra oil in a pan over medium-low heat. Add cashews, raisins and curry leaves.
Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the cashews are golden and the raisins are plump.

5. Transfer the curry to a serving dish. Top with cashew mixture to serve.

Coriander and mint chutney with pappadums

70g (1/4 cup) Greek style yoghurt
1/4 cup fresh coriander sprigs
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
2 tsp tamarind chutney (available from the supermarket)

Place all ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth. Season with salt. Prepare the pappadums according to the packet. (My food processor wasn’t working so I just chopped the herbs, still turned out nice)

DOWNLOAD THE RECIPE HERE

Menu Planner

2009-09-03T16:05:00.017+10:00

A while ago, a magazine I subscribed to had attached to it a Menu Planner ... out of all those 'bits' you get along with magazines these days, this has got to be the most useful to me. Do you get tired of wondering what s for dinner at the end of the day, and you stand in front of the fridge or the pantry and you are missing just one ingredient? I used to, constantly ... the kids would always ask "whats for dinner?" .. I was so sick of that question. So after a visit to a friends place who had her weekly meals up on a board in her apartment and the attachment from the magazine, it was a sign to do the same. It has made such a difference. I plan at the beginning of the week whats for dinner, shop for the week and best of all no more "Whats for dinner, mum" ... So I not only save on my shopping bill because I buy only what I need, and my sanity is saved too :) .... So here is a menu plan, for dinners, and an empty shopping list, so you can do your own menu plan, then fold away the shopping list and pin it to a board or the fridge, so you and the kids know exactly whats for dinner that night ..

Under the links section is also a link to a printable version...

Hope it helps you ...

DOWNLOAD MENU PLANNER HERE

Chocolate Crackles

2009-08-25T17:04:00.011+10:00

It has been such a long time since I have posted ... throughout winter it was too dark to photograph dinner, and when I did they were all starting to look the same. So I have taken a break of dinner photos ... today though its chocolate crackles ...

I don't know about you but if Kelloggs stopped putting the chocolate crackle recipe on the Rice Bubble cereal box, I would be lost ... :) ... so I had to make some so Miss 9 could take them too school for a leaving morning tea .. and thought I would post the recipe here, just in case Kelloggs do the unthinkable ...

So .. Chocolate Crackles ..

I don't need to put any ratings here, because we all know kids love them.

Chocolate Crackles

4 Cups of Rice bubbles
1 cup of desiccated coconut
1 cup of icing sugar
250g Copha
2 Tblsp cocoa

1. In a large bowl, mix Rice Bubbles, icing sugar, coconut and cocoa.

2. Slowly melt the copha in a saucepan over a low heat.
Allow to cool slightly. Add to the Rice Bubbles mixture, stirring until
well combined.

3. Spoon mixture into paper patty cases and refrigerate until firm.

DOWNLOAD THE RECIPE HERE

Citrus Delicious Pudding

2009-06-10T14:22:00.003+10:00

Its not often I cook dessert, however, since hubby and I didn't go out for our 13th Wedding Anniversary I decided we should do something special ... well .... dinner didn't turn out quite how I had planned. It was supposed to be a yummy lemon and oregano chicken. The chicken was nice but the sauce was nothing short of awful LOL .... almost a night for cereal ... :)

I have never cooked a lemon delicious pudding, but I thought they were supposed to be like a sponge with a lemon sauce .. well this wasn't quite sponge like. I yummy crispy top with some sponge underneath, but then it got a bit mushy :) .. not sure if that is how its supposed to be....

RATINGS

Ease of cooking 10 .. Chuck it all in the food processor and then into the dish .. easy as ..
Yumminess as voted by the kids ... 8.5 a bit lemony for the older two, and the youngest gave it a rating of 30 out of 10 lol :) I think she liked it ..

Citrus Delicious Pudding

90g butter, softened
1 1/2 cups (330g) caster sugar
1 1/2 cups (375ml) milk
3 eggs
1/2 cup (75g) plain all purpose flour
1/2 cup (125ml) lemon juice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon finely grated orange rind
icing (confectioners) sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Place the butter, sugar, milk, eggs, lemon juice, flour, baking powder and orange rind in a bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Pour into a lightly greased 5 cup-capacity ovenproof dish and bake for 1 hour or until golden. Dust with icing sugar to serve. Serves 6.

Enjoy ! .... we did .... oh ! we had a bit of ice cream with it :)

Chicken and Mushroom Pies

2009-06-02T20:28:00.007+10:00

Another yummy dinner :) ..... This recipe is from the Good Taste magazine that Woolworths sell. This recipe could be done in one big baking dish if you like, but I thought it would be fun to have individual dishes (ramekins).

RATINGS

Yumminess rating by the kids ... 8 ... they don't like mushrooms :)
Ease of Cooking 10 ..

Chicken and Mushroom Pies

600g potatoes, peeled, coarsely chopped
40g butter
125ml (1/2 cup) pouring cream
1tbs wholegrain mustard
2 tsp Olive Oil
600g single chicken breast fillets, cut into pieces
1 leek, trimmed, halved lengthways, washed, thinly sliced
250g cup mushrooms, halved
125ml (1/2cup) dry white wine
1 tbs flour
250ml (1 cup) chicken stock

1. Preheat oven to 180c. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Cook the potato in a large saucepan of salted boiling water for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and return to the pan. Add half the butter and half the cream. Mash until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the mustard.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the chick to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until golden brown almost cooked through. Transfer to a plate.

3. Melt the remaining butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until foaming. Add the leek and mushroom, and cook, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes or until soft. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes or until the wine has reduced by half. Add the flour and cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture bubbles. Remove from heat. Gradually add the stock, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until smooth. Place over medium-high heat. Stir with a wooden spoon for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens and comes to the boil. Remove from heat. Stir in the chicken and remaining cream.

4. Divide chicken mixture among four 310ml (1 1/4 cup) capacity ovenproof dishes. Use a spoon to spread the potato mixture over the chicken mixture.

5. Place on the lined tray. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly before serving.

Enjoy ...

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Baked Coconut and Coriander Fish ...

2009-06-01T16:51:00.007+10:00

You have to try this dish ! ..... its easy and so very yummy. I always struggle with fish dishes, in that I can never find recipes that everyone likes and are quick and easy. This one is a definite repeat dinner.

RATINGS

Yumminess as judged by the kids .. 10 .. their plates were empty.
Ease of cooking 9 .. only because I hate cutting up raw fish :)

Baked Coconut and Coriander Fish

1 x 270ml can light coconut cream (although I used coconut milk)
1 bunch broccolini, cut into 3cm pieces
1 x 250g SunRice long grain white rice in 90 seconds (I used 1 cup long grain rice and pre cooked it)
4 shallots, trimmed, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander
2 tsp fish sauce
400g Basa fillets, cut into 4 cm pieces (Basa is a firm fillet, so an equivalent fish would do, I don't know my fish so I can't offer an alternative)
30g (1/3 cup) dried multigrain breadcrumbs
2 tsp finely grated lemon rind

1. Preheat oven to 200c. Place the coconut cream in a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Add broccolini, rice, shallot, coriander and fish sauce. Stir to combine. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. Stir in the fish. Transfer to a 2L (8cup) capacity ovenproof dish.

3. Combine breadcrumbs and lemon rind in a bowl. Sprinkle over the fish mixture. Bake, covering with foil if necessary to prevent overbrowning, for 20-25 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden. (I found I had to cook it a bit longer to make sure the fish was cook)

Thats it ! Enjoy ...

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Meatballs ..

2009-05-29T14:30:00.004+10:00

One of the staples on our dinner menu is Meatballs .... all the kids love them and they are so easy to make. Tonight we are going to a 'Cocktail' Party .. really just a eat and chat kinda thing :) .... so girls parents have to bring a plate of something. I find that lots of people bring sweet things... so tonight I am taking the meatballs, just not with pasta and sauce ....

Meatballs with Chilli and Lime Dip

Yumminess is off the scale .. this dip is fantastic ... the kids haven't tried it though ..

The Meatballs .. I probably don't need to tell you how to make meatballs, but here is the way I do it ..

Mince 500-700g I use around 600g for the 5 of us.
1 egg
A generous amount of breadcrumbs I use the ones from the box, I generally don't have any spare bread around.
Mixed herbs probably around 1-2 teaspoons
A good dollop of tomato sauce
and I sometimes put in around 1/2-1 teaspoons of curry powder ... just gives a little something I think ..

Mix and squish around with your hands, make into small balls and cook in a frypan.

The dip recipe is from a very old Family Circle Fabulous Mince Recipes

Chilli and Lime Dip

Combine :

1/4 cup (60ml) sweet chilli sauce
2 teaspoons of soft brown sugar
1 teaspoon of finely grated lime rind
3-4 teaspoons of lime juice **
1 tablespoon freshly chopped basil

I put the 4 teaspoons of lime juice in and found it a little too much so I put in a good squeeze of honey.

** HINT ... to make it easier to squeeze citrus, I put the limes into the microwave for 10-20 seconds and then roll on the bench ... cut them in half and squeeze and you will find that you get much more juice out of it ..

Viola ... very easy finger food to take to a party ... The red dip you see int he photo is just plain tomato sauce(ketchup), why? its still tastes good with meatballs :)

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Enjoy !

Carbonara ...

2009-05-25T20:11:00.005+10:00

This recipe is very quick and easy, great for nights like tonight where i forgot to get any meat out of the freezer early enough ..

The recipe comes from a book I bought when I lived in Malaysia ... The author is Australian, Jane Strecker, living in Kuala Lumpur and the photographs were taken by the photographer, Sarah Grasset, i used to work with when i lived in KL....

The idea of her book is a fantastic one, its called Family to Fabulous, so each recipe has a family recipe and then on the next page is a fabulous recipe .. so the same family recipe pimped up to look very flash lol ... for those dinner guests over the age of 10 :) ...

I have change the recipe a bit to suit us ... I will type up the recipe as in the book and let you know what I change ..

Spaghetti Carbonara

RATINGS

RATINGS for ease of cooking 10
RATINGS for yumminess from the kids 9

Ingredients

8 rindless bacon rashers, chopped into small pieces
4 eggs (I only use one egg, I can't stop it going scrambled egg like so I stick to one)
1 cup cream (low fat is suitable)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (the grated parmesan in the bag is ok too)
4 spring onions (I only use 2)
400g spaghetti
Parmesan cheese, grated, to serve
(I also add mushrooms, this just adds a bit of extra flavour and yumminess - probably around 100g, chopped)

1. Fry the bacon in a frying pan, then add mushrooms. Drain on absorbent paper and set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, cream, cheese and spring onion. Add the bacon and mushroom mix and stir through.

3. Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling water until al dente. Drain and return to the saucepan.

4. Pour the sauce mixture over the spaghetti and stir through over low heat until the sauce mixture is just warmed through. Avoid heating too long as the egg will start to resemble scrambled egg.

5. Serve with extra parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top ...

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Enjoy ....

Chicken Laksa

2009-05-24T17:26:00.022+10:00

The first recipe :) ... This recipe is taken from "Australian Womens Weekly The New Classics" cookbook .... The kids loved this because they like soup, chicken and noodles ... It's not a hard recipe but if you don't do some Asian cooking then you may have to get a few ingredients....

RATINGS OUT OF 10

RATING for yumminess according to me 10
RATING for yumminess according to the kids 6

Ingredient List

1 litre (4 cups) of water
12 fresh kaffir lime leaves (from the fruit and vege section)
2 cloves of garlic (i use the jar stuff if i am in a hurry)
800g of chicken thigh fillets
1/2 cup laksa paste (i have used varying amounts according to how hot the kids like it,
if your kids don't like hot food just use a tablespoon or so)
3 1/4 cups of coconut milk
2 fresh chillies. chopped finely (I don't add these)
150g dried stick noodles
175g singapore noodles
2 tablespoons of palm sugar (this comes in little handy sachets in the asian section of the supermarket, brown sugar would do if you can't find it)
1/3 cup (80ml) of lime juice
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
80g fried tofu puffs, halved (I don't add these)
1 1/2 cups (120g) bean sprouts
1/2 cup loosely packed coriander leaves (I love coriander so I add more)
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh vietnamese mint leaves (i just use normal mint if I can't find these)

1. Place the water in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Add 4 lime leaves, garlic and chicken, reduce heat;simmer covered for about 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Cool chicken in liquid for 15 minutes. Slice chicken thinly;reserve. Strain stock through muslin lined sieve (I just use a sieve like a large tea strainer) in a large bowl;discard solids. allow stock to cool;skim fat from surface.

2. Cook laksa paste in large saucepan, stirring, until fragrant. Stir in stock, coconut milk, chilli and remaining torn lime leaves; bring to a boil. Reduce heat;simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, place rice stick noodles in a large heatproof bowl, cover with boiling water, stand until just tender;drain. Place Singapore noodles in separate bowl cover with boiling water, separate with a fork, drain. Divide both noodles among serving bowls.

4. Stir sugar, juice, sauce, tofu and chicken into laksa. Ladle laksa over noodles; sprinkle with sprouts and herbs.

Serves 4 ... we are 2 adults and 3 kids and it does us well.

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So here is what it looks like .. with all those extra herbs :)

Welcome

2009-05-23T21:17:00.014+10:00

Well ... here we are in the blogging world again ..... I still have my photography Blog however this blog is for more for the food and recipes, but there will be some photography too .....

I am no chef ... but I am a mother that has to think of what's for dinner and make it pretty much every night ... so I am qualified to enough to write about the culinary pursuits in my own kitchen ... be they successes or complete horrible failures where we end up with cereal for dinner ... believe me its happened on a number of occasions. :)

So here you will find recipes that have been a big hit, hopefully some photographs of those hits and hopefully some involvement from you the reader as time goes on :)

Enjoy ....

Of course I can't post without a photo ... and since I missed out on photographing the Roast Lamb for dinner ... you get this crazy looking flower that I captured on a walk through Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden ..