new recipe saturday & Day 27

This is what we had for lunch, yes I admit it looks like a big pile of mess but it was quite tasty.

Baked Bean and cheese scrolls

Ingredients

2 sheets of puff pastry

200gms of baked beans (I think I used to much which is why mine exploded)

handful of grated cheese

Method

Spoon baked beans all over the pastry leaving an inch gap at one end. Sprinkle cheese over the baked beans, roll pastry length ways towards the end with a gap, seal the pastry with a little milk. Once rolled up cut into inch slices tip on the side and bake until golden around 150 Celsius. 

There is many recipes around for this but I was not making my own pastry just for lunch. Puff pastry works great and there are heaps of other things you can add to them but for a simple lunch these were perfect. 

(Note: my small people don't always eat lunch without a shirt, but they had been playing outside in the rain)

You know it's good when your children are quiet and eating. I even convinced my fussy eater (Jack) to try them and he said delicious. Gotta be happy with that! 

new recipe saturday & Day 20

It feels like forever since I did New Recipe Saturday. But today I'm back. When I'm sick I want comfort food. Today this was it. Jack decided half way through me cooking he couldn't stay awake any longer and went back to bed. He is still the sickest out of everyone. 

Ingredients

4 Large potatoes

200gms Bacon

A good handful of Cheese, grated 

2 tablespoons of Sour cream

Method
Give your potatoes a wash them bake for 1hr or until you can pierce them with a fork.
Cut a lid off the potato and scoop out most of the centre leaving a few centimeters around the edge. Mash the potato and add your bacon (I used around 200 gms but add to taste) sour cream and cheese mix together then pop back in the oven til its hot and the cheese is melted.
Eat hot or cold. *Guaranteed to make you want an afternoon nap.

*I cant back that up, it may just be because I'm pregnant and sick that I wanted to nap.

new recipe saturday

Vanilla Slice

Ingredients

• 2 bought puff pastry sheets
• 250ml (1 cup) milk
• 1 vanilla bean, split
• 3/4 cup cornflour
• 1/2 cup custard powder
• 220g (1 cup) caster sugar
• 750ml (3 cups) thickened cream
• 50g unsalted butter
• 3 egg yolks
• Icing sugar, to dust

Method

1. Preheat oven to 210°C. Line a 23cm square pan with aluminium foil, so that the foil comes up over the sides (this allows you to lift out the slice).
2. Place each pastry sheet on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper, then bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside to cool. Once cool, place 1 pastry sheet, cooked-side up, in bottom of pan. (You may need to trim it slightly to fit.)
3. Place milk in a pan over medium heat. Scrape in vanilla seeds and add bean too. Warm gently, then set aside for 10 minutes.
4. Place cornflour, custard powder and caster sugar in a pan. Strain milk, discarding bean, into pan with cornflour and whisk until smooth. Add cream, then return to heat, stirring constantly, over low heat until the mixture thickens and boils. Add butter, stirring well to combine, then remove from heat and whisk in egg yolks, one at a time, until smooth. Pour into pastry-lined pan and set aside to cool slightly before placing other piece of pastry, cooked-side up, on top. Refrigerate overnight.
5. Remove from pan, cut into squares and dust with icing sugar.

I have become a crazy baking lady since we've moved. Mostly cakes and cupcakes but i think this week I need to branch out to vanilla slice. Maybe some other slice as well. Jack's new school is nut free so I'm trying to make him stuff to take rather than muesli bars etc, that may contain traces of nuts. He's loving all this baked stuff in his lunch box and that's fine with me. I think vanilla slice has afternoon tea written all over it. Yumo. 

Are you baking anything this week? Tell me about it!

recipe and photo from taste

new recipe saturday

With the school holidays upon us I am going to have two hungry boys home wanting snacks. Too stop the continual raid of the cupboards I'll be doing some baking, well we will be doing some baking. These for starters, some plain biscuits that they can go nuts with the cookie cutters, probably a cake or two. Hopefully we'll have a few friends over to share morning tea, what's school holidays without a few play dates! 

Ingredients

• 125g butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon finely grated orange rind
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups wholemeal self-raising flour
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup sultanas

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Line two 24-hole, 1 1/2 tablespoon-capacity mini muffin pans with paper cases.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and orange rind until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until just combined. Stir in flour, orange juice and sultanas. Spoon into prepared pan holes.
3. Bake for 22 to 24 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of 1 comes out clean. Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Recipe and picture from Taste.

new recipe saturday

I am actually drooling just looking at this picture. If I had any bacon/avocado/turkish bread in the house I would be eating this right now. In fact I could see this being a delicious Sunday morning breakfast. Yum. Were so boring we are having sausages chips peas and gravy. Easy but boring. 

If you'd like to make this delicious burger here is the recipe courtesy of Taste 

Ingredients 

• 1 large ripe avocado, chopped
• 1/2 small lime, juiced
• 350g Primo shortcut bacon rashers
• 4 eggs
• 4 Turkish bread rolls, split
• 1 baby cos lettuce, trimmed, leaves separated

Method

1. Place avocado in a bowl. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. Using a fork, roughly mash. Cover surface with plastic wrap.
2. Preheat a greased barbecue plate on medium-high heat. Barbecue bacon for 2 minutes each side or until just crisp. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel. Crack eggs on barbecue plate and cook for 2 minutes for soft yolk or until cooked to your liking.
3. Toast or grill Turkish bread rolls until crisp. Place bases on serving plates. Spread with mashed avocado. Top with lettuce, egg and bacon. Season with pepper. Cover with roll tops. Serve.

So what are you having for dinner? Tell me it's more exciting than sausages! 

 

new recipe saturday

Massaman Beef Curry 

How good does that look? This was my plan for dinner tonight. Then yesterday I had a sick Jack home from school. I'm not game to make such a rich spicy dinner in case we all end up with what he's got. But if you are living in a healthy household here is the recipe!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 650g gravy beef or chuck steak, trimmed
• 1 cup coconut cream
• 2 tablespoons massaman curry paste
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled, cut into 3cm pieces
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 cardamom pods, lightly crushed 
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate 
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce

steamed jasmine rice to serve

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until hot. Add beef. Cook, stirring constantly, until evenly browned. Transfer to a plate. Add 2 tablespoons coconut cream to pan. Cook over medium heat for 20 seconds or until hot. Add curry paste. Cook for 1 minute or until aromatic.
2. Return beef and juices to pan. Add coconut milk, stock, peanuts, potatoes, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, cardamom pods, sugar, tamarind concentrate, fish sauce and remaining coconut cream. Stir to combine.
3. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until beef is tender. Serve with rice.

Recipe and picture from Taste

New Recipe Saturday

This is my new recipe for the week, I made this for Michael's lunches and by the sounds of it he liked it. It was meant to be quiche, but I had too much ingredients and my dish was too small so its more of a spinach pie. Oh well.

Ingredients:

A 250gm packet of frozen spinach.

4 rashers of bacon (rind removed.)

3 shallots

3 eggs

1tbsp cream

1 sheet of shortcrust pastry

salt and pepper

Method:

Fry the bacon, shallots and spinach until the bacon has some colour, set aside to cool. Whisk egg and cream together and add to the cooled mix with a generous helping of salt and pepper. If you have a bigger pie dish than I do maybe use a few more eggs. Line a pie dish with the pastry (I had no shortcrust so used puff instead, it still works) I'd suggest using baking paper as well so it will come out easily. Add mix to pie dish cook at 180 for around 45 minutes or until the middle is set and no longer wobbly (very technical cooking term). Serve with your favorite sauce.

If you'd like to see how to write a proper recipe and some nice pictures of food head over to see Rhi.

New Recipe Saturday~Verdict

It doesn't look very good but it was yummo! Were going away on Tuesday night so to empty the fridge I added a few things to the original recipe, diced bacon, gravy granules, mushrooms, 1kg of pureed veg and 2 tins of Italian herb and garlic tomato's.

The end result covered in pizza cheese, my boys love stringy cheese, so why not. My picky eater James wolfed down his then ate Jack's. Gotta be happy with a result like that!

Don't forget to share what you've been making this week with the beautiful Rhi, but be careful you may want to bake the night away!

New Recipe Saturday

Yes I am well aware its Sunday but I have a very good excuse, my beautiful children decided while I was cooking their dinner they would switch some keys on my computer so I couldn't even log on let alone blog. Thank you beautiful children.

So after some resetting and default settings (grr) set I am back to normal.

So this is what I'm cooking tonight with a few slight modifications. I'm going to puree the veg before I add it to the mix and I'll be adding more veg to it so no need for veg on the side. I do love a one pot dish.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
600g beef mince (we like heart-smart)
3 rashers short cut bacon, chopped
8 button mushrooms, wiped and halved
2 tablespoons tomato paste
400g can peeled tomatoes
1 cup beef stock
1 teaspoon dried oregano or mixed herbs
1 cup frozen peas

Potato mash
1kg potatoes, peeled and chopped
50g butter
¼ cup milk
½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook the onion and carrot for five minutes or until soft. Add the mince, bacon and mushrooms and cook for three minutes or until mince is browned. Stir through the tomato paste, tomatoes, stock and herbs. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, then uncover, and simmer for a further 15 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the peas and cook for another couple of minutes.

To make the potato topping, boil the potatoes in water until soft. Drain well and mash with butter, milk and parmesan.
Pour the meat mixture into a 1L capacity ovenproof dish and top with the mash. Bake for 35 minutes or until the potato topping is golden brown

I will be back later to tell you the verdict.

Recipe and picture from here

What are you cooking this weekend?

New Recipe Saturday

My name is Kate and I have wife guilt.

I used to make Michael's lunch everyday. Then we had a baby, then we had one more, then you guessed it, we had one more. I fell off the good wife wagon and left my husband to fend for himself. It wasn't pretty or nutritious.

So I've been tying to make sure there is something in the fridge for him, either leftovers or if he's majorly lucky I will spend valuable nap time in the afternoons and make him something. So today I whipped up some ham cheese and tomato muffins. I changed them a little because I didn't want to go back to the supermarket. I used bacon instead of ham and I added a can of corn. I made a double batch and used texas muffin trays insted of normal muffin trays.

Before:

After:

Ingredients:

90g shaved ham, chopped
2/3 cup cheddar cheese, grated
3/4 cup self-raising flour
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tbs flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/3 cup milk
2 tbs olive oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
salt and pepper

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200°C.

2. Place self-raising flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
3. Place egg, shaved ham, cheddar cheese, olive oil, milk and flat-leaf parsley in a separate bowl. Mix until combined. Pour the ham and cheese mixture into the flour and fold lightly until just combined.
4. Spoon the mixture into a lightly greased 12-hole mini muffin pan. Press a cherry tomato half into the top of each muffin. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden. Serve warm or at room temperature.



They look pretty good hey?
 
So tell me what are you cooking this week anything yum like Rhi?

New Recipe Saturday

OK so it's hardly what you'd call a new recipe, but I'm sick, can hardly breathe sick, and I was only cooking for Charlie and I so I thought packet mix would definatly do.

Chicken Chasseur

Ingredients:

8 Chicken Peices (1kg)

1 onion sliced

1 1/2 cups of mushrooms sliced.

2 tbsp tomato paste

Method:

Heat 1 tspn of oil in a pan brown onion chicken and mushrooms for 2 minutes.

Add recipe base, 1 cup of water and tomato paste, bring to the boil stirring.

Cover and simmer for 30 minutes until cooked.

Serve with potato's and steamed vegetables.

It was actually pretty tasty. I didn't have any onions which is weird for our house, but being a Saturday the supermarket was shut before I started cooking so we missed out.

I made it with chicken thighs but I think chicken on the bone would be great. I served it on mash with carrots and broccoli, Charlie and I liked it and there was enough left over for Michael's lunches for next week, gotta love that!

So tell me or show me what are you cooking this week?

New Recipe Saturday~THE VERDICT

I'd just like to inform you my kids aren't huge fans of fish, unless it is almost still breathing fresh and cooked to perfection. So when I told Michael I was making fish cakes with tinned salmon he asked what I would make for the kids, this didn't charge me with confidence but I did it anyway.
I am trying to broaden their horizons, they like Mexican food they'll eat curry, poppadoms are bribery tools. But were in a real rut with food, salad is non-existent they know what they like and unfortunately what they don't like. They definatly got both their mothers and fathers stubborn streak. Sorry boys.

Now although you can see the lemon rind in them you couldn't really taste it. They tasted very much like they look, boring and bland. I added a serious amount of salt and pepper a heap of herbs and once cooked doused with tomato sauce.

Told you mine wouldn't be as pretty.. I realised rather to late that we didn't have any breadcrumbs left so mine are only egged and floured.

James and Charlie scoffed theirs, so did Michael, not that hes a very good judge he would eat just about anything I put in front of him, Jack and I weren't so impressed.  Oh well you win some you lose some.

Now I'm off to look for next weeks new recipe!

Playing along with the lovely Rhi at Hummingbirds Song 

New Recipe Saturday

This is what I'm making tonight. 

Although mine will not look this pretty.

Ingredients (serves 4)

500g potatoes (such as pontiac or desiree), peeled
440g can red salmon
1 small onion, peeled, grated
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
1 tbs chopped fresh dill
1 tsp grated lemon rind
20ml (1 tbs) lemon juice
2 eggs, lightly beaten
40ml (2 tbs) milk
1/2 cup plain flour
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
Sunflower (or similar) oil, to fry
Mayonnaise, to serve

Method


Cut the potatoes into rough chunks. Boil or steam until tender, then mash until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl to cool.

Drain the salmon and remove any bones. Add to the potatoes with the onion, celery, dill and lemon rind and juice. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well together, then use your hands to form into 8 patties. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Beat together the eggs and milk in a bowl. Place flour and breadcrumbs in separate bowls. Dip each patty in the flour, then in the egg mixture and lastly in the breadcrumbs. Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat. Add patties (in batches) and fry both sides until golden brown. Serve with a dollop of mayonnaise and the cucumber salad.

Sounds good yes? I will post my dodgy pictures and the verdict from the tribe tomorrow.

Recipe and photo  

What are you making this weekend? Tell me!

New Recipe Saturday

When Michael and I made our 20 to do in 2011 one I really wanted to do was new recipe Saturday. Now its February and I'm just getting my bum into gear, slack I know.

This is technically Fridays recipe because Saturday were shopping all day, so there. A few weeks ago I made the mistake of introducing my husband to chorizo and now he's obsessed, so I was a very good wife and I made him lunch, chorizo sausage with asparagus garlic basil and spaghetti. Bad idea but was oh so tasty.

What you need:

2 chorizo sausages

1 bunch of asparagus

Garlic cloves to taste, (I used 3 cloves but were garlic people)

Spaghetti or pasta of your own choosing.

fresh basil

lemon juice

Pop your spaghetti in a pot of boiling water cook as per packet instructions.

Pan fry chorizo until the oil seeps out of the sausage and colours the pan, at this point add garlic and cook but be careful you don't burn it. Slice asparagus and chuck in with sausage and garlic until warmed through and a little soft, drain pasta and add to pan rip up basil and toss through with a good squeeze of lemon. If your a porker like us add a dash of cream.

If you'd like to share with me your new recipe leave me a comment with a link to your blog, I'd love to see some other peoples recipes!