where's it gone?

my mojo that is. it's been at least a week since i last felt like cooking...

i just have no desire to cook at the moment :(

tonight the kids had nuggets (we didn't even have chips and i absolutely could not be bothered to peel bloody potatoes) and i wasn't even going to cook for us but then got guilty. so our dinner was something they wouldn't eat (and was actually delicious).

inspired by a bagel i had in vermont in 1994 (lol)
Brazen's American-Style Eggs

1 tspn butter or oil
1/2 red onion, finely diced (i was too lazy for this tonight)
1/2 red & 1/2 green capsicum, diced
some ham, diced
sliced mushrooms (optional, i had them leftover from last night's pasta)
heaps of grated tasty cheese - i probably used around 2/3 cup
4-6 eggs
small amount milk or water

heat butter / oil, fry onion, capsicum, ham and mushrooms until softening and smelling good
lightly beat eggs and milk / water then mix in cheese
turn heat down in pan to low and pour in eggs
try to stir it only a few times so it cooks through but doesn't end up scrambled

serve on a bagel, buttered wholemeal toast, or toasted turkish bread like we had

PS: this is the first time i have done this on teh stove, generally i microwave it for a quick breakfast.

PPS: sorry aobut the photo, i didn't think to take a pic til i had nearly finished ;)

i need to come back and post about my thermomix, i've promised a friend i would (but i'm not sure if i'm in the mood atm !)

and one last catch up post...

some meals we have had in the past week...

the one with all the vegies was a tofu and vegie green curry. this was attempt #1 for iron rich foods for rora. it was a bit of a disaster, not a terrible disaster but not that nice either. the kids hardly ate any of it (only the rice) and it was too spicy for ryan. i had also put macadamia nuts in it too.

the other picture is of the pizzeria pot pie which wasn't too bad. it won't become #1 favourite but we will probably have it again. i think i would like to do it with more bits and pieces in it. we used the thermomix scone recipe to top it and it was a bit much.

i wanted to cook indian for dinner but am missing too many ingredients, plus i was going to start preparing the dried chickpeas now (at 5pm) oooop - too late!

i'm not in the mood for anything else on the menu...

Kid friendly links

(still cleaning out my links lol)
great ideas for lunchboxes and snacks :)

what's cooking at kindy?

4 creative ways to help your kid eat a healthy lunch

recipes for lunchboxes (sweet snacks)

nutritious lunchboxes - this one gives menu suggestions, tips on how to make lunchboxes fun as well as healthy and has HEAPS of ideas!

layered mexican dip

i've made this a few times and really you don't need a recipe, you just use whatever ingredients you have / you feel like at the time :)

eg:
sour cream
guacamole / avocado
diced tomato
salsa
refried beans or kidney beans
chopped olives (black is best but green or a mix would be fine)
taco spices
chopped red onion or green onions
grated tasty cheese
or anything else you like in mexican food :D

just layer it up - try not to make the layers too thick as then you can't get enough flavours on your corn chip lol - and serve with corn chips and any other dippers you want (carrot sticks and capsicum sticks would probably be nice too)


...or see here

Hungarian Potato Casserole

thanks to Sharon, an online friend :) (hi sharon!)

you can also use chorizo or i'm guessing most other kinds of salami like sausage

1kg potatoes chopped into bite size chucks...not too small or they go too smooshy
I tub tomato paste
4 rashers of bacon, chopped
I big onion chopped
2 Tbsp sweet paprika
3-4 cups water
250g Polish sausage quartered and sliced...how thick is up to you but I cut mine about 3mm?

I do it in my cast iron pot on the stove, but Mum used the electric frypan or a big saucepan.

Fry onion and bacon, add chopped potatoes and polish sausage.
Mix 3 cups water with paprika and tomato paste in a jug, pour into pan.
Bring it to the boil, turn down low and cover. you might need to add extra water...just check.
It's cooked when the potatoes are soft and kind of smooshy.

German Cookies

here's another i can't believe i haven't posted on here. this was given to mum by a family friend and while it is a little fiddly and time consuming it is perfect for christmas. be careful when they're in the oven as they overcook easily!

the kids like to help me cut them out

These cookies are lovely and spicy (even though there's no spice in them *lol*)

1 lb (approx 1 kg) SR flour
1/2 lb (approx 250g) brown sugar
2 tabs treacle
1/2 lb (approx 250g) butter or cooking margarine
1 egg
1 tspn bicarb soda
(add 1/2 tspn cream of tartar if you only have plain flour)
jam - raspberry or whatever flavour you prefer.

Method:
* rub butter into the dry ingredients
* mix to a paste with the egg & treacle
* knead well
* roll out (quite thin) and cut into rounds (or stars would be perfect for christmas!)
* cook in a mod oven (190-200'c / 375-400'F) for 10-15 minutes
* while warm stick two cookies together with jam (raspberry or whatever you like!)

Chick Pea Patties with a Chilli and Tomato Salsa

i made these a few years ago and we LOVED them! however i don't think i've done them since :( a good one to try again soon as chickpeas are high in iron. i'm going to C&P all my fave recipes here now because too many of my links are broken now and i don't want to lose any more good ones!!!

this recipe is originally from the Women's Weekly


Chickpea Patties With A Chilli And Tomato Salsa

Serving size: Serves 6
Cooking time: Less than 30 minutes
Special options: Kid friendly, Lactose free, Low cholesterol, Low fat, Vegan, Vegetarian
Course: Lunch, Main

INGREDIENTS

2 cups tinned chickpeas, drained
¼ cup coriander leaves
¼ cup mint leaves
1 tablespoon grated ginger
2 green chillies, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
sea salt and pepper
½ cup fresh corn kernels
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 red capsicum, roasted, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil

Salsa
4 ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
splash balsamic
1 teaspoon brown sugar
¼ cup coriander, chopped or basil leaves

METHOD

Combine chickpeas, coriander, mint, ginger, chillies, cumin and seasoning in a food processor. Pulse until coarsely chopped and add the corn. Pulse briefly and transfer to a medium mixing bowl.

Stir in the breadcrumbs and capsicum until well combined. Form into 12 patties. (It may help to have wet hands when forming patties).

Combine all the salsa ingredients in a small bowl. Season.

Heat oil in a non stick pan and fry patties for 3 minutes on each side or until well browned and cooked through. Drain on absorbent paper. Serve patties with the salsa.



hmmmmm i think this will be a good one to convert to the thermomix ;)

Bread Pudding Muffins

this sounds like a great way to use up stale bread - which could be handy as our neighbour usually brings over a bag of day old bakers delight loaves a few times a month (i think he gets them through his church and he seems to share them out around his neighbours)

i got it from here and originally from here

Bread Pudding Muffins
350'F 35-45 minutes

8 cups packed cubed bread
1 cup milk
4 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup dried cranberries, cherries or raisins

Butter and flour nonstick muffin pan or line with paper cups. Mix bread cubes with milk in a bowl. Let sit for about 10 min. until milk is soaked up.

Combine eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla and cinnamon in separate bowl. Add dried cranberries and mix. Combine egg mixture and bread mixture. Spoon into prepared pan, filling to the top press down and fill to the top again. Bake 350� 35-45 minutes. Let cool in pan for about 15 minutes, then remove.

Tips: Muffins can be rewarmed in the microwave for about 20 seconds.

Beef and Guiness Pie

just clearing out my crazy collection of recipe links and will be putting some recipes in here.
i'm pretty sure i made this last winter and it was delicious, taken from here. you can easily do the filling in the slow cooker (which i'm sure is what i did)

INGREDIENTS:
6 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
2 onions, halved and sliced
225g medium size chestnut or button mushrooms, cut into quarters
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1kg braising steak/chuck steak/stewing steak/casserole steak ( whatever you want to call it lol ), trimmed of fat and cut into 2.5cm chunks
5 tbsp plain flour seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper
500ml Guinness
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme
salt and freshly ground black pepper
500g puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten

( 6 strips of bacon is optional ---very tasty though , also optional is a third cup of sultanas )

PREPARATION:
1. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large, oven-proof casserole dish and gently fry the onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft. Remove the vegetables from the pan and place in a large bowl.

2. Place the seasoned flour in a bowl and toss the meat in it, a handful at a time. Heat a little more oil in the pan and fry the flour-coated chunks of meat over a medium-high heat until browned on all sides. Do this in batches, coating each new batch of meat in the flour and adding more oil to the pan when needed. Transfer the browned meat to the onion and mushroom bowl while you fry the rest.

3. When all the meat is browned, return everything to the casserole dish and pour over the Guinness. Add the bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer very gently, partially covered for 1� to 2 hours or until the meat is tender and the sauce slightly thickened. Alternatively, you can cook in a 170C/325F/gas mark 3 oven for the same amount of time. Check the liquid level occasionally to make sure it doesn�t become too dry, adding a little water if necessary.

4. When cooked, remove from the heat and tip the mixture into a wide baking dish, at least 5cm deep. Allow to cool to room temperature or store in the fridge.

5. Roll out the pastry and cut out 6 circles, each about 10cm in diameter, and lay them on the beef mixture so they overlap slightly. Brush with the beaten egg.

6. When ready to bake and serve, preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6 and cook for 30 minutes or until the pastry is risen and golden and the pie heated through.

Links - BBQ ideas (marinades, salads etc) #2

some more great ideas for BBQ's :D

chickpea salad with roasted red peppers

cranberry walnut chicken salad

dani's potato salad

silverbeet & orange salad

thermomix moroccan carrot salad

the canberra cook's potato salad

spicy honey chicken

spicy garlic shrimp

Date Slice

mum just made this and it's DELISH and perfect for the cake stall...

Date Slice
90g butter, at room temp
4 weet-bix, crushed
1 cup chopped dates
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp bicarb (baking) soda
1 cup boiling water
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup SR flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
icing sugar, for dusting

1. grease 18x228cm slice pan, line base and sides with baking paper
2. cut butter into small cubes. place in large bowl with weet-bix, dates, sugar, bicarb and water. mix until thoroughly combined, cool
3. stir in egg, flour and walnuts. mix well. pour into pan, smooth top with a knife
4. cook in a mod oven (180'c) for about 30 mins or until cooked when tested. cool in pan
5. lift out of pan, cut into rectangles. serve dusted with sifted icing sugar

from the New Idea

Camping Menu - first draft

Tuesday (arrive first campsite)
lunch - bread rolls with ham, cheese, & salad
dinner - hamburgers (frozen burgers)

Wednesday
breakfast - scrambled eggs & bread rolls or weetbix
lunch - buy on the day or baked beans or sandwiches
dinner - vegie nachos (frozen nacho mix)

Thursday
breakfast - french toast & bacon or weetbix
lunch - buy on the day or spaghetti or sandwiches
dinner - chilli (frozen) & steamed rice

Friday (travelling between campsites)
breakfast - pancakes (with bacon, bananas, syrup, whatever is left) premix dry ingredients
lunch - buy on way
dinner - gnocchi with broccoli & pesto

Saturday
breakfast - sausages, bacon, tomatoes, eggs & rolls
lunch - baked beans or buy
dinner - bbq sausages & marinated chicken with rice salad

Thermomix Pullapart with Cheese & Olives

my team's turn for morning tea at work again today so i decided on waking just after 6 to make a pullapart. remind me not to attempt that on a work morning again will you? LOL i was pulling it out at 815 and racing out the door with it still hot!

i followed baf65's pullapart recipe, which she got from a TMX demonstrator - thank you to you both! i'll copy and paste it here to make it easy to find next time (there will definitely be a next time, just not before work ;))

i got soooo many compliments at work and people were having 2nds and 3rds! they were impressed at how light and fluffy it was and that i had made it myself ;) i think next time i will try a pesto one, yum

thsi recipe makes a large quantity - probably twice the size of the $5-ish bakers delight ones. (i said i should sell them at a profit lol)

750g Bakers Flour
450g lukewarm water
15g yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
5 tbs oil

Filling - 120g herb butter (you can use herbs, garlic, sundried tomatoes, whatever takes your fancy mix in with the butter)

Prepare yeast dough and leave to rise
Roll dough out into a big rectangle
Spread butter over the dough
Cut rectangle in half widthways then cut 3-4cm wide strips lengthways
Fold strips into a concertina and arrange in a springform tin (lined with baking paper on the bottom)
Bake at 180c for 40-45mins (you can put straight into a cold oven without proving again or you can leave to rise and then put into warm oven)

my flavours were
- maybe half a cup of sliced black olives, half of those mixed with the butter on reverse in the tmx and the other half just sprinkled over
- half a block of feta i had left in the fridge, crumbled
- a small amount of tasty cheese sprinkled over the inside and the top

i could have easily doubled the olives and feta, and think brushing the top with milk would have looked nicer :)

Menu Plan

little bit late this week because i wasn't very inspired, plus i didn't feel up to stopping at choku bai jo after work yesterday, especially with it pouring cold rain and none of us dressed for it :(

tonight - a thai soup with tofu and bottom of the fridge end of week vegies lol inspired by the crockpot lady :)

pizzeria pot pie with vegies of some sort on the side
frittata - sweet potato, spinach and nuts of some kind (trying to get those iron levels up for rora!)
curried sausages (will get g to make this one and give more feedback on my recipe lol)
spice crusted pork fillet with salad and quinoa - finally going to try the quinoa lol oh, i've lost the pork recipe i wanted to use :( i think it was a fennel crusted pork fillet - if anyone recognises this can they please share?! otherwise i will have to invent lol
spag bol from the freezer ;)

Mum's Boiled Fruit Cake

I can't believe I haven't blogged this already - how remiss of me!!!! Mum always makes this for christmas, and occasionally in between (when she can be bothered lol) . i like to make them as gifts for people (as they are quite expensive to make) and often people ask for the recipe.

I've put my name down to bake for ryan's preschool's fundraising cake stall, however when i was putting it in my calendar today i realised that i will be away that weekend! (ahhhh queensland, child free weekend, i CANNOT WAIT). so then i didn't know what to make that would still be fresh after being made on wednesday, but not sold til saturday - they're after cakes and slices so i was assuming that biccies and cookies and toffees etc were out.

anyway, what i'm going to do is to make a batch or two of this (it stores really well), cook in muffin tins (so enough for probably 2 serves), wrap in cellophane with a nice ribbon :) should be good :D

this cake is also ok to decorate (not made too far in advance as it's fairly moist). i decorated one years ago for christmas as a trial run for our wedding cake, but unfortunately that was before we owned our first digital camera!


Mum’s Boiled Fruit Cake

2 cups raisins
2 cups sultanas
2 cups currants
1 cup water
250g butter / margarine
2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
1 cups SR flour
1 cup plain flour
1 ½ tspn bicarb soda
1 tspn mixed spice
3 tabs brandy

Put fruit, water, sugar & butter in saucepan. Boil & simmer. Take off heat & let cool slightly.
Add flour, spice, soda, eggs, brandy.
Grease & line cake tin. Cook in a slow oven (150’C / 300’F)

there's a buzz in the air...

foodbuzz ;) i joined it yesterday and i really have NO clue what i'm doing LOL anyone got any tips for me?

in other news i was soooo full still this morning. i think it's why i didn't sleep well last night (plus being too hot). today i am going to eat much less lol (despite me only having a salad for lunch, i didn't actually eat lunch til 2:30pm. i doubt a whole bottle of omni helped the situation lol)

i think g can cook today...

well that was fun LOL

cooking under the influence that is !

luckily it still tasted ok ;)


the Menu:
butter chicken (i used extra cardamom pods, i love it! and a little tomato paste)
potatoes with sugar snap peas
spinach daal (i had some kind of red spinach which had a slight beet-y taste about it)
and naan breads ( i still need to blog this)

i am a bad bad blogger!

i have cooked heaps today (breakfast pizza, a vietnamese style tofu salad for lunch) and i keep forgetting to take pics!!

i am abotu to go and cook another indian feast (butter chicken, the potatoes with spinach again and probably something with sugar snap peas, but not sure yet what - perhaps i'll do them with th epotato and spinach with the daal?)

i am current drinking a glass of omni citrus as a treat (we rarely drink) and i think i'd better start to cook very very soon or i won't be in a fit state to do it LOL!!

some new links...

i'll sort them into my categories later but wanted to share them first (they're clogging my bloglines lol)

savoury zucchini bread from aayi

everything in A Mad Tea Party's post caught my eye! but the recipe is for a pumpkin curry with coconut

just about out of season for us now, but a morroccan lentil soup recipe for the slow cooker from A Year of Crockpotting

sweet & sour chicken from jaden hair of steamy kitchen, on simply recipes (she seems to get around as a guest blogger lol) anyone wanna be my guest blogger? ;D

pistachio white chocolate chip cookies also on simply recipes

the best lemon squares ever from cookie madness

from deb at smitten kitchen: wheat bread without a timetable, and how to make a baguette

from cheap healthy good, a camping recipe - yay! camp stove veggie chilli - nearly time for me to plan our camping menu!

soemthing i've always wanted to try and haven't yet - a white chilli! here's a creamy white chilli from Full Bellies, Happy Kids (for the aussies, great northern beans are cannellini beans :))
She's also shared a Molasses oat cookie recipe

an english muffin recipe from the Domestic Goddess in Training - we haven't eaten them in years becuase of preserviative 282

this sandwich looks soooooo yummy it makes me hungry everytime i see it!!!

apple spice bars from good things catered...
garlic roasted cauliflower...
and also her easy cheesy beer bread

i LOVE figs so these caught my eye - fresh fig and walnut cookies from Sugar & Spice

the lovely and clever ingrid's orange breakfast muffins

and last but not least sauteed spinach with potatoes from hooked on heat

i'm almost inspired to cook tonight - except we have more turkish leftovers to eat! LOL

and for those who love their vegie gardens, i was very taken with dani's - mainly because it looks so similar to ours in size and shape lol i LOVE the wonky pavers, that was something i wanted to do in ours originally (when we had money for landscaping lol!)

Which came first?

Poached eggs with tomato sauce and greens
it was an eggy dinner tonight. needed another quick and easy, thursdays are the last day of my working week and we are all always exhausted.

This recipe from deb at smitten kitchen had me drooling when it turned up in my bloglines, so i decided that was dinner tonight. i knew the kids wouldn't be interested so their dinner was thermomix scrambled eggs *

i pretty much followed the recipe (mostly, you know me :p) for ours, though i had a bunch of greens in the fridge i wanted to try, i suspected it was Kale. as it turned out i'm pretty sure it is (the crone tells me it's the portuguese national vegie lol). anyway, i have a new love <3 YUM!!!!!!!!!! geoff wasn't as keen on teh kale but that's too bad because i'm the vegie buyer and mostly the vegie cooker and he eats what he's told or has to cook instead LMAO!!!

we ate it with leftover turkish bread from our dinner last night (which was also today's lunch and will be tomorrow's dinner LOL i LOVE turkish banquets!)

i also forgot to report back on my baking on the weekend...
the golden oat muffins are delish! so far the kids havne't got to try them ;p (they are not muffins fans anyway) i did share with g tonight but he's not a big golden syrup fan either.
the apple cake was a bit bleh, so-so, boring. not much of it was eaten and i think it will end up in teh compost (i am such a bad example of how not to waste food)
the orange cakes have been an occasional treat for the kids and they love them (except rory who seems to be anti cake atm)

oh and in other food related news rora had her paediatrician apmt this week and as soon as we can get her iron levels up to a safe level for a general anaesthetic she will be tested for coeliac disease. i'll also be asking for a proper diagnosis of my IBS as there is apparently a formal test for that too, but my gp just told me i had it. poor possum, i hope she doesn't have it. (we suspected a dairy / lactose / something intolerance)

* i still had trouble with cookign the eggs. finally got it to work, but had to up the temperature more and more. i think i did 12 minutes at 80', then 3 minutes at 100' and then 2 minutes at varoma. i also had to turn the speed up for all but the last few minutes

Pasta with Prosciutto & Peas

needing a quick dinner after work on monday i decided to give this a go, based on Celeste's recipe at Sugar and Spice. of course i made a few changes lol (and totally missed the bit about the lemon zest and juice, will have to try that next time!)

serves about 4-6

500g spiral pasta (spirals catch the sauce better :))
8-12 slices proscuitto
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
freshly ground black pepper
1.5 cups baby peas, frozen
2-3 tspns cornflour
1 tin evaporated low fat milk **
parmesan

cook pasta according to packet directions
lightly fry the proscuitto, onion, garlic and pepper until proscuitto is crispy and onion and garlic are soft. *
add peas and gently fry, stirring occasionally, until peas are starting to soften.
add cornflour and mix well so everything is coated
add evaporated milk and cook until thickened, stirring most of the time.
immediately mix through pasta, top with parmesan to serve.

* actually you don't need to fry proscuitto as it does not require cooking, however i actaully had half proscuitto and half pancetta, which does require cooking ;)
** you can of course use cream like celeste, but i rarely have cream in teh house and get enough calories from other sources lol

WHAT was I thinking?????

when i put an inedible beef curry in my freezer?????!!!! (speaking of food waste!)

geoff was looking for the lamb i'd requested when he came across what looked like a lamb curry. turned out to be a beef curry but smelled not that great (not off but not that nice). i added a tin of tomatoes to it and set it to simmer on low to try to tenderise the beef.

got cooking and made (are you ready for it?)
whole orange cupcakes - experimented with lowering the sugar & oil content with apple puree, seems to have been a success :) added an extra orange too.
golden oat muffins - seem to be a bit dry but we havne't actually tried them yet
cinnamon apple cake - i think i had it in too narrow and deep a tin and had trouble cookign it through (had to finish it by wrapping foil around it on the bench as it was burning everywhere but the middle)
thermomix naan - inspired by this recipe but modified in technique somewhat (will post it soon!)
saag aloo - which we ended up eating with rice, would have added chickpeas for protein (without a meat dish) but we have none :( i added a little yoghurt to it as it was very dry.

I'm exhausted now!!

anyway, back to the meat. by the time i finally got to taste the beef and discover that it was WAY TOO salty to eat, as well as spicy, sour and tough beef, it was too late to do anything about it. i just can't think what on earth i was thinking saving it for later!!! BLERG!

i forgot to report that last week it was my turn for making morning tea at work. as i wasn't feeling well on wednesday i wasn't going to make anything, but then when i woke up early on thursday i decided i would bake a whole lemon cake, using lemons one of the girls at work had given me. it was a huge hit! all gone by lunchtime which is always a good sign ;) ryan wasn't impressed i was taking it away though lol

yogo

You need:

40g cocoa powder (halve this!)
40g cornflour
120g sugar
800ml milk

Sift the dry ingredients together.
Mix dry ingredients with 300ml of the milk.
Heat the remaining 500ml of the milk in a saucepan until you hear it get hot - you know, that dangerous 'I'm about to boil over' sound!

Pour the chocolatey milk into the hot milk and whisk until the mixture thickens. By this I do mean WHISK, no stirring with a spoon or fork, otherwise you will get little lumps that won't please the kids!

Remove from heat and pour into a bowl that you can place cling wrap over securely. The plastic wrap must touch the surface of the pudding with no air trapped beneath, otherwise a skin will form.

Place the bowl in the fridge overnight. The kids can enjoy the next day!

http://members.essentialbaby.com.au/index.php?showtopic=539473&hl=chocolate+yogo

New Indian food blogs

http://www.quickindiancooking.com/archives/

http://www.sailusfood.com/

http://www.hookedonheat.com/

http://www.aayisrecipes.com/

Chicken & Ricotta Crepe Bake (Thermomix)

Crepes
make a batch of crepe mix according to the TMX book
cook and cover with foil to keep warm

Filling
1 sml onion
2 garlic gloves,
1 tbs olive oil
1-2 chicken breasts, cut into 2-3cm dice
1 large container low-fat ricotta
shredded spinach (frozen, defrosted and well drained, or fresh)
any other vegies desired, finely chopped in tmx before starting to cook
good pinch nutmeg
salt & freshly ground black pepper

chop onion and garlic on speed 4 until finely chopped. add oil and cook 2 mins on 100' speed 1
add chicken and mince (check directions in book, suggest speed 6-7 for 10 seconds at a time, stirring in between)
cook 8 minutes 100' reverse speed 2
add remaining ingredients and mix for 2 mins reverse speed 2 until well mixed

Topping
700g bottle italian tomato sauce - sugo or passata (or 2 tins of pureed tomatoes)
1/2 cup low fat grated cheese

Spread half tomato sauce evenly over the base of 1 large baking dish.
fill each crepe with several spoonfuls of mix, roll and place in dish
Spoon over remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Serve with salad leaves

Variations: for vegetarians replace chicken with 500g diced pumpkin.

note: some changes made after geoff cooked it and commented for me :)

Chicken & Ricotta Canneloni

thanks for this one Jackie :)

Chicken and Ricotta Cannelloni that I made last night:

serves 4

1 tbs olive oil
1 sml onion, finely chopped
2 garlic gloves, crushed
400g chicken mince
30 low-fat ricotta
good pinch nutmeg
4 fresh lasagne sheets
700g bottle italian tomato sauce
1/2 cup low fat grated cheese

preheat oven to 180C. Heat olive oil in non-stick frypan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cooking for 2 min until soft. Add chicken mince. Cook until it changes colour, breaking lumps with a wooden spoon. Transfer to bowl and allow to cool. Add ricotta and nutmeg, season with salt and pepper. Mix well.

Cut each lasagne sheet in half crossways, forming two small rectangles. Place 1/3 cup of chicken mixture on one long side of pasta, about 2cm from edge. Roll up.

Spread half tomato sauce evenly over the base of 1 large baking dish. Arrange cannelloni in dish. Spoon over remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake for 35 minutes until pasta is cooked. Serve with salad leaves

Variations: for vegetarians replace chicken with 500g steamed spinach.

Links - Sauces, preserves, miscellaneous

NEW homemade ketchup

Links - Pasta & Rice

baked ziti with rapini & chicken meatballs

broccoli, sage & bacon pasta sauce

pasta with proscuitto and peas

Sweet:
indian spiced rice pudding

Links - Sweets (cakes, slices, pancakes etc) #2

ran out of room in the last list of 'want to makes' so here's part 2 :) part one can be found here

blueberry & yoghurt crumble cake

Chocolate pecan cheesecake bars

double lemon bars

easy apple pie

healthy pumpkin bread

light cranberry oatmeal bars

majestic and moist honey cake

maple huckleberry coffee cake

moist gingerbread cake from the crone

orange cranberry walnut loaf

parkin

peanut butter crispy bars

peanut butter oatmeal bars

pumpkin cake roll

pumpkin pecan scones

raspberry spice cake

sour cream coffee cake with chocolate and nuts

sour cream coffee cake

Thermomix Report - Buttermilk Bread

tonight i was too lazy to cook and geoff has hurt his back so unable. we had a little leftover spag bol (bought *blush* we have pizza but the kids prefer the spag) that the kids wanted so i raided the freezer.

talking about food waste... i have a shameful confession. i have 2 freezer full of food but i have no idea what 90% of it is as i never remember to label it *bigger blush* so tonight i found one that i thought looked like chicken cacciatore and sure enough it was (phew!)

it was sooooo good, the chicken was so tender but not overdone.

anyway, to go with it i decided to try the buttermilk bread in the TMX. less than 3 minutes and the dough was done. i set the timer for it to rise for 30 mins but with my ears (infected and having trouble hearing) i missed the timer lol no idea how long it rose but it didn't need long to double in size after i kneaded it down and shaped it LOL (long enough for us to walk to the field across teh road and for me to be licked by a cow, and then by a bull and then warned by the bull to GET OUT NOW!!! we walked quite quickly to the gate, listening to him bellow all the way! yikes!)

it also cooked MUCH quicker than the book said (in about 20 minutes)

it was quite nice! fluffier than the TM31 bread, similar to the foccacia but less oil and a bit crunchier outside. will definitely make it again :)

Wasting Food...

i just found the winos and foodies blog via the new thermomix forum. reading back through old posts i found this one on food waste which caught my attention. i'm sure Eilleen wrote one over at her consumption rebellion blog (though i can't find it atm)

in my life i have been a terrible food waster. throwing out masses of F&V in particular, as well as other foods. even now i have a container of beetroot dip in my fridge leftover from saturday's party which needs to go. at least we have a compost bin to put that sort of thing in now!!!

i do try much harder now not to waste food. i try to meal plan as often as i can and i am pretty creative in using up things that will otherwise go to waste.

how much food do you waste?
what do you have in your fridge now that is just waiting to go? (i also have about 1/8th of a red cabbage that needs to go that i was supposed to use in coleslaw but didn't get around to...)
what are your favourite meals for using up bits and pieces, especially in summer when soups just don't cut it!?
do you have special ways of buying / storing your food to make sure it's fresh?
if you do have to throw it out what do you do with it?

Quick, easy and healthy - oh and yummy!

spaghetti with vegetable and bean sauce
Originally uploaded by brazen20au

spaghetti with vegetable and bean sauce

serves 6

1 packet spaghetti (cook and drain according to directions)

around 1 tspn olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
several garlic cloves, chopped as desired
1 red and 1 green capsicum
1-2 sticks celery, finely diced (we have a lot of celery leftover from teh party lol it wasn't a very nice bunch :()
4 baby zucchinis, diced into 1cm pieces
several mushrooms, sliced (i use my tupperware egg slicer, done in seconds ;))
3 medium tomatoes, cut into 2cm dice
1 jar pasta sauce (i was going to use more tomatoes but they weren't ripe enough to make a nice sauce)
few tablespoons tomato paste
around 1/3 cup white wine
1 stock cube (chicken or vege)
1/2 tspn italian herbs
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

heat oil over medium heat and cook onion and garlic til starting to soften
add vegies except mushrooms and gently fry for 5 or so minutes
add the rest of the ingredients and simmer covered until the vegies are softened but not soggy (about 15 mins).
serve spaghetti topped with sauce and a little cheese (tasty or parmesan)

making banana bread!

making banana cakes!
Originally uploaded by brazen20au

this morning we made banana bread!

the room leader in ryan and emelia's daycare room was leaving to go overseas with her parther and we hadn't had a chance to do anything over the weekend (plus i forgot!)

since i was up early this morning i decided that i'd make this banana bread and we'd take it down for Aimy as a gift. I'd jsut started when the girls got out of bed and wanted to help :)

i had trouble with the breads cooking! (i had doubled the recipe, but cooked it in two tins) it took longer than i thought adn then when the skewer finally came out clean i took them out of the oven. after being out all morning for various appointments and dropping the other bread to aimy, i got home to find what looked like a mini cow pat under our cake :-0 turns out it wasn't cooked through and all the uncooked guts of the cake had slowly dripped out through a crack in the top of the cake!!! i am just hoping aimy's (which was wider and flatter than ours) was cooked through properly!

some of you might know that i'm on the quest for the perfect banana bread. this one comes pretty damn close! it is a VERY nice banana bread! the only thing that lets it down is perhaps that i'm looking for something a little extra in it, and it is not all that healthy lol but it really is the absolute best contender so far! thanks to nigella and alicia from posie gets cosy ...

(i will have to experiment with my apple sauce substitution trick)

and another cake made today...
this afternoon i made an orange and poppyseed cake for my dad for fathers day (as you know i wasn't feeling up to it on sunday). i didn't get to taste it (or to ice it) but it smelled good! (and the batter tasted good - shhhh!)

i will let you know what he thinks ;)

I <3 Spring!!! and I <3 salads!

today is just such a divine day and i am soaking up every minute of it! salad weather is just about here, and i've been getting inspired with salad recipes. salads are soooo easy and ideas are only limited by your tastes and available ingredients.

here are some ideas to get you started:

Potato, Bean & Bacon Salad

Asian Noodle Salad

Grilled Lime Chicken with Thai Salad

Cabbage Salad with an Asian Dressing

a few assorted salad links
and a few more

and the eb thread that started me thinking salad thoughts...
plus a million other salad ideas from eb

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there!!!

I asked the kids to plan breakfast this morning and this is what i'm about to go and make :)

originally posted here (seems to be becoming a fathers day tradition ;))

Light & Fluffy Pancakes

just made these for fathers day - they are not diet friendly but they sure are delicious ;) and sooooo easy to make!

1/4 c. butter, melted
2 c. flour
2 tbsp. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
Salt
2 eggs
2 c. milk

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. In separate bowl beat together milk, eggs and melted butter. Stir wet ingredients into dry - just until combined. Lumps are o.k. Cook as usual!

http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,194,150175-228206,00.html

PS: i recommend not doubling the recipe unless you have a lot of people to feed - like 12 or so LOL anyone want a pancake??? ;)

By special request ;p

Emelia's 4th birthday disco party!

the Barbie cake report (but shhh don't tell my kids yet!)

it could have been a raging success but instead it was a bit of a disaster :( i know emelia and the other kids won't know so that's good but *I* know!

first i checked the height of the stacked cakes against barbie and then evened them off. Hot jam to stick them together and a hole in the middle with barbie wrapped in baking paper and voila, she is wearing a huge cake lol

i then rolled out the marzipan layer. i had gone to the 2 biggest supermarkets in belconnen and couldn't buy the orchard icing i usually use, or the orchard marzipan. the only marzipan i could get was about half the size of usual, so the layer i ended up with was paper thin and not going to achieve anything in smoothing out the lumps and bumps in teh cake!

after googling "fondant" icing and not having gelatine, i found an 'easy fondant icing' recipe based on condensed milk - BIG mistake!

it was sooo wet so i kept adding more icing sugar, and then when i went to roll it out and pick it up i discovered it just fell to pieces. it was soooo soft.

by that time it was after 10pm so i had to go with it. i put it on the cake but i couldn't even get it to cover the cake and stay on :( i tried to decorate it with pretty little hearts and silver cachous but no luck.

so off to the sewing machine to make a skirt (thank goodness i'd bought this fabric to make a skirt for rory to wear to dancing, which we never ended up doing!) quickly to cover up the mistakes!

all would have been well except g's aunt laughing at it - humph!

as it turned out the butter cake was divine (remember iwas complaining it wasn't a good recipe? i think i needed to leave it for a day or two before eating) and i hadn't mixed the mud cake well enough.

and as i thought the kids didn't notice a thing!!

Honey Soy Braised Chicken Wings

from my favourite cookbook, Charmaine Solomon's Complete Asian Cookbook

1kg chicken wings
2 tabs peanut oil
1/3 cup dark soy sauce
2 tabs honey
2 tabs chinese wine or dry sherry
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tspn finely grated ginger

cut wings into 3, reserve tips for making stock
heat oil and fry wing pieces on high heat til lightly browned
add rest of ingredients, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 mins until wings are tender. stir frequently and make sure the glaze does not burn
serve warm or at room temperature, either with steamed rice or as an appetiser

i'm planning on doing these in a slow cooker for tonight just to make life easier ;)

we used to make this ALL the time about 15-20 years ago! but to be honest i'm not a fan of chicken wings so i haven't made them in a long long time!

Welcome to my blog!

I set up this blog so i had a place to store all my favourite recipes, but also to share them with friend, family and the world :)

Please feel free to use or share my recipes, but if you do 'borrow' them, please post a link back to my blog where you found it.

Thanks and enjoy!

Basic Butter Cake

do you have a favourite recipe for a basic butter cake? this one is not as good as the one i remember my mother using when i was a child so i'm on the lookout for a better one.

this one is an AWW recipe, doubled.

250g soft butter
2 tspn vanilla essence
1.5 cups caster sugar
4 eggs (room temperature is best)
3 cups self raising flour
1 cup milk

cream butter, sugar and vanilla
add eggs one at a time and beat in
add 1 cup flour, mix
add 1/2 cup milk, mix
continue until all flour and milk have been added
beat to make mixture light and fluffy

hmmm i can't find a cooking temperature in the book, but i'll do mine at 160'c (which is the equivalent of around 180'c, my oven cooks hot) and i'll set the timer at 40 minutes to check, but expect it to take around 50...

this is a nice firm cake suitable to decorate.

Thermomix recipe conversion is here.

Nigella's Choc Berry Pav

and thanks to jen for sharing this recipe!

From Nigella - www.nigella.com/recipes/recipe.asp?article=210

Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova

for the chocolate meringue base:
6 egg whites
300g caster sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder, sieved
1 teaspoon balsamic or red wine vinegar
50g dark chocolate, finely chopped

for the topping:
500ml double cream
500g raspberries
2-3 tablespoons coarsely grated dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 180?C/gas mark 4 and line a baking tray with baking parchment.

Beat the egg whites until satiny peaks form, and then beat in the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue is stiff and shiny. Sprinkle over the cocoa and vinegar, and the chopped chocolate. Then gently fold everything until the cocoa is thoroughly mixed in. Mound on to a baking sheet in a fat circle approximately 23cm in diameter, smoothing the sides and top. Place in the oven, then immediately turn the temperature down to 150?C/gas mark 2 and cook for about one to one and a quarter hours. When it's ready it should look crisp around the edges and on the sides and be dry on top, but when you prod the centre you should feel the promise of squidginess beneath your fingers. Turn off the oven and open the door slightly, and let the chocolate meringue disc cool completely.

When you're ready to serve, invert on to a big, flat-bottomed plate. Whisk the cream till thick but still soft and pile it on top of the meringue, then scatter over the raspberries. Coarsely grate the chocolate so that you get curls rather than rubble, as you don't want the raspberries' luscious colour and form to be obscured, and sprinkle haphazardly over the top, letting some fall, as it will, on the plate's rim.

Serves 8-10.

Jo's Spinach & Ricotta Rolls

thanks Jo!!

these are so easy it's embarrassing.

I make these a lot because S and K like to take them for work / school lunches. I usually make bigger ones, but cut them smaller for the party so they'd go further. You can do them however you want. Also, note I put garlic in. That's not in the original recipe, so you can leave it out if you don't like garlic. To make them more interesting you can also throw in sundried tomatoes / fetta / whatever you want. But I'll just put it exactly as I made them for the party.

Usually I throw extra in so they aren't too bland, but knew kids were coming, and sometimes they like bland

Ingredients:

4 sheets puff pastry (defrosted, just separate them and lay on bench for 20 mins)
1 box frozen spinach (defrosted - make sure you squeeze ALL the water out of the spinach or it will be awful)
1 tub ricotta cheese
1 tsp minced garlic
Sesame seeds (optional)

In a bowl mix together spinach, ricotta and garlic
Spread mix over pastry sheets
Roll up (from one side to the other)
Pinch in the ends with your fingers
Cut to desired size
Place on a baking tray covered with baking paper
Brush tops with milk (very important or the pastry doesn't crisp)
Sprinkle with sesame seeds, or with cheese, or whatever.

Bake in oven at 200 degrees c for 20 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and puffed up.

my note: it's so easy to get all the liquid out of frozen spinach with a salad spinner - no surprise i have the tupperware one lol

Using up leftover cake

Bakerella's mini cupcakes - just too cute! apparently there is also a cake crumb truffle recipe on there somewhere too, but i haven't had time to look for it.

cake / bread pudding

and my version:

Almond & White Choc Pudding


100-150g white chocolate, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten with
1/2 tpsn ground cinnamon
1/4 tspn ground cardamom
1/4 cup ground almonds
1 1/2 cup milk
(i think some sort of liqueur in this would be delish!)
in a cooking dish big enough to cook the pudding, mix the chocolate into the other ingredients (it will set slightly but that's fine)

cut into 2cm dice around 2 1/2 cups of cake - i used butterscotch almond cake - and add to the egg mix. let sit for a few minutes then gently stir to ensure all cake gets soaked in egg mix

sprinkle the top with some dark chocolate chips if desired, and around 2 tspns of brown sugar

bake for about 25 mins in a 160' oven, until it is just set but still soft in the middle. serve warm or cold.

oh and Sal and Dixie - how do you do that blog follower thing? i can't work it out! lol

Menu plan

Baked potatoes with bolognese sauce, coleslaw, sour cream & cheese (geoff's request)
beef in red wine (slow cooker)
mussamun beef (slow cooker)
Thermomix pumpkin risotto - tonight!
spaghetti with a vegie sauce (mushrooms, capsicums and baby zucchinis)
and we'll try for the sweet potato and chickpea patties again ! (sweet potatoes were mouldy last week :()

i also need to make the pizza scrolls (with scone dough)
spinach and ricotta rolls
pumpkin loaf
beetroot dip

and plan the rest of the party menu!