Shaped cookies

There is a secret to making perfectly shaped cookies and its all about freezing the dough!  The recipe needs to be firm enough not to spread all over the place so the cookie holds it's shape.  This is a good recipe that makes about 24 medium hearts and stars, and 12 small hearts and bears!

Ingredients
3 cups Plain Flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter (225g) softened
1 cup sugar
1 cold egg
1 tbspn vanilla

Method
Preheat the oven to 165 degrees.

Mix the butter and sugar together for 5 minutes until pale and fluffy.

Add the egg.

Add the sifted flour, then vanilla.

Roll with 2 dowels to make each biscuit an even thickness.

Freeze the rolled out dough before cutting into shapes.

Bake for 12-14 minutes or until edges have browned slightly.


The best icing is royal icing as it sets hard.  You need to add the sprinkles before it dries!

Simple mini cheesecakes

These little beauties are so simple to make, yet big on taste - and look wonderfully impressive!

Ingredients 

1 packet Butternut Snap biscuits
2 x 250g cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind
3 eggs
Berries to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 160 degrees.  Prepare a large muffin tin with muffin wrappers, and squash a biscuit into the base of each wrapper.

Process cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, vanilla and lemon rind until smooth.  Add eggs, one at a time, processing until just combined.

Bake for 15-20 mins or until just set and centre wobbles slightly.  Allow to cool in oven, with door ajar.  Refridgerate for a few hours or overnight.

Serve with berries on the top, and ice-cream on the side!

Best chicken nuggets ever!

Annabelle Karmel's Chicken Nuggets





Ingredients

200g boneless skinless chicken breasts/thighs
100ml milk, plus 1 tbspn for dipping
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tbspn fresh lemon juice
45g Rice Kripies
15g mature Cheddar cheese, finely grated
1 tbspn grated Parmesan
1 egg
4 tbspn plain flour
3-4 tbspn sunflower oil, for frying
salt and pepper to season

Method

1. Cut the chicken into 1.5cm cubes and put in a bowl.
2. Mix together the milk, garlic, thyme, lemon juice, 1/4 tsp sale and some black pepper, and pour over the chicken.
3. Cover, and leave to marinate in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight.
4. Put the Rice Krispies in a food processor and whiz for 1-2 minutes, until reduced to fine crumbs.
5. Add the cheeses, plus sale and pepper to taste, and whiz to combine.  Transfer to a large plate.
6. Whisk the egg in a small bowl with the tablespoon of milk.
7. Mix the flour with a little salt and pepper, and spread out on another large plate.
8. Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade, shaking off any excess.  Toss in the seasoned flour then dip in the egg and then roll in the Rice Krispie coating.
9.  Put the oil in a large non-stick pan over a medium heat.  Fry the nuggets for 2-3 minutes each side, until golden and crisp.  Drain on kitchen paper and cool slightly before serving.

To oven cook:
1.  Pre-heat the oven to 230 degrees celsius.   Reduce the oil to two tablespoons.  Add one tablespoon to the Kellogg's Rice Krispie crumbs with the cheese and whiz to combine evenly (you may need to stop and stir a couple of times as the oil can clump a bit).
2. Grease a baking sheet with the remaining tablespoon of oil.  Coat the chicken (as above) and put on the prepared baking sheet.
3.  Bake for 15 minutes, turning over half-way through.

To freeze put unchecked, coated chicken nuggets on baking sheet lined with cling film.  Cover with more cling film and freeze until solid then transfer to a re-sealable box or freezer bag.  Cook direct from frozen, adding 1 minute extra cooking time for frying and 3-4 minutes extra for baking.

Low fat chicken curry

This is low fat chicken curry recipe is all over the internet so no surprise it is amazing!  This is for 2 servings and only 312 calories!

Ingredients

1g Olive Oil spray
1 medium onion
200g canned tomatoes
200g raw lean chicken breast
1 tblspn Tandoori Paste
1/4 cups liquid vegetable stock
80g canned red lentils, drained (or use brown lentils too)
1/4 cup light cream
4 medium pappadams

Method

Finely chop onion and chop chicken.

Spray a non-stick frying pan with oil and heat over medium-low heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until soft.

Increase the heat to medium-high.  Add the chicken and cook, stirring often, for 3-4 mins or until golden.  Add the curry paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant.

Add tomatoes, stock and lentils and bring to the boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 15 mins or until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickens.  Stir in the cream and cook for 1 min or until heated through.

Lightly spray the pappadams with oil and cook on a sheet of paper towel in the microwave for 45 secs or until puffed.

Divide the curry between dishes and serve with the pappadams.

Chicken Udon Soup

This recipe is one of my all time favourites as everyone loves it in our house (yippee, only one meal to cook!) and it is so super, super quick to make - half an hour and its ready!  It is from my most favourite recipe book, Vegie Smugglers (visit them at www.vegiesmugglers.com.au).  This series has so many delicious, quick, and easy options for all the family - you must get a copy!

Picture sourced from vegiesmugglers.com.au

Udon Soup

2 chicken stock cubes

3 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp mirin

1 tsp crushed ginger (fresh is best but bottled is ok)

2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp ground white pepper

1 star anise (optional, but highly recommended)

500g chicken thigh fillets, fat trimmed

3/4 cup frozen peas

1 small carrot, peeled, cut into long matchsticks 

1/2 green capsicum, finely diced

Corn kernels from 2 ears of corn, kernels sliced off

260g packet of udon noodles

Pour 6 cups of water into a large sacepan and place over medium-high heat.  Add the stock cubes, soy, mirin, giner, sugar, pepper and star aniese (if using). Bring to a gentle boil.  Remove from the heat, add the chicken and cover.  Leave chicken to poad 10-15 minutes until just cooked through.

Remove the chicken and set aside to cool slightly.  Once it is cool enough to handle, slice the chicken into thin pieces.  

Return the pan to a low heat and bring to a simmer.  Add all of the vegetables and chicken and simmer for 4-5 minutes until the vegetables are cooked to your liking.

Meanwhile prepare the udon noodles according to the packet directions.  Divide between the bowls and pour soup over.

Serves 2 adults and 2 kids.

Rainbow cake

Source: Martha Stewart

We recently made a rainbow cake for one of our dear friends, and I must say it turned out fab!  It was pretty simple to make also, albeit a little fiddly cooking 4 separate layers of cake, yet very effective.  Here were some tips that we picked up...

1)  Firstly we just used 1 batch of cake batter, and divided into 4 portions using the kitchen scales to help make them equal.  Four portions was good for the size cake we made, but certainly could have made more.

2)  We cooked each portion separately in a casserole dish (as we didn't have a small enough cake tin!).  It was a good size and you don't want the cake to be too squat.  You need to wash and dry the cake tin between uses.  The first cake I cooked for about 14 mins, and then removed a minute for each subsequent cake on the basis that the tin and oven were hot!

3)  The cakes were stored overnight in an airtight container.  I should have put baking paper between the level though as they sweated a bit and stuck together slightly.

4)  The next day we made the meringue icing.  It was very effective having pure white icing and it was so soft and fluffy, like meringue!  You make a sugar syrup with 1 cup of caster sugar and 1/3 cup of water.  After it has boiled for about 3-5 mins, it needs to be tested.  You do this by putting a small amount on a teaspoon into a glass of water; it is done when the syrup is like a tacky toffee.  Take it off the boil, let the bubbles subside before pouring slowly into 2 beaten egg whites.

5)  We used 1 tablespoon of icing for each layer of cake but could easily have used 2 tablespoons.  The icing generously covered the cake.  And ta da...

Admittedly it didn't QUITE look like Martha Stewart's when cut, but then we had 4 hungry and excited little girls demanding some cake so the cutting was done under pressure!

Mango Eton Mess!

This is a very simple yet delicious summertime dessert. So easy to make and everyone loves it! It has been adapted from a Masterchef recipe.

Ingredients

4 eggwhites

1 cup caster sugar

4 large ripe mangoes

2 cups (500ml) thickened cream

8 scoops of vanilla ice-cream

4 large bananas

4 passionfruit

Method

To make the meringue:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Then beat the eggwhites with electric beaters until soft peaks form. Add the caster sugar gradually and continue to beat until the mixture is stiff and glossy.

Spoon large dollops of the mixture onto the tray. Bake for 5 mins before reducing the temperature to 150 degrees and cook for another 40 mins.

Peel the mangoes and puree the flesh in a blender. You may need to add a little sugar if the fruit isn't particularly sweet.

Whip the cream until soft peak form.

Break up the meringues into 8 serving glasses and top generously with cream, and a scoop of ice-cream. Cut the bananas into slices and place on top. Drizzle the mango puree and top with passionfruit pulp. Voila!

Prawn and mango lettuce cups

These make great starters during summer as the flavours are so refreshing and tasty.

Ingredients

1 small red chilli, finely chopped

1 tbs sweet chilli sauce

2 tsp fish sauce

1 tbs canola oil

1 lime, juiced

2 tsp grated palm sugar or brown sugar

1 tbs chopped coriander roots

4 spring onions

1/2 kg cooked, peeled prawns

1 large mango, cut into bite-sized pieces

8 inner leaves of butter lettuce

Method

Place the chilli, sweet chilli sauce, fish sauce, oil, lime juice, sugar and coriander roots in a large bowl and whisk to combine.

Add the prawns, mango and spring onions (leave a few for garnish) and toss to combine. (I usually leave this mixture in the fridge to marinate an hour or so, but you can use straight away.)

Spoon the mixture into a lettuce cup and garnish with the reserved spring onion.

Better than your average bog!

Bolognese that is! This recipes uses a mixture of minces and some other non-typical bolognese ingredients that create a big impact! This recipe was derived from the Masterchef magazine and is always a winner.

Picture sourced from donnahay.com.au

INGREDIENTS

75g pancetta, finely chopped

20g butter

2 onions, finely chopped

1 large carrot, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

500g minced beef

500g minced pork

160ml (2/3 cup) dry white wine

375ml (1.5 cups) milk

500ml (2 cups) chicken stock

1 pinch grated nutmeg

400ml bottle passata

400g can Italian chopped tomatoes

50g tomato paste

2 bay leaves

METHOD

Heat a large heavy-based casserole pot over medium high heat Add butter and 2 tbs oil, then add onions, carrot, celery and garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, for 8 minutes or until the mixture starts to brown. Add pancetta and cook for 5 minutes.

Heat 1 tbs oil in a fry pan over high heat. When the oil is almost smoking, add beef mince and flatten to cover the pan. Leave mince undisturbed for 2 minutes or until browned underneath, then turn over and repeat. Continue cooking and turning, breaking up mince with a wooden spoon, for 4 minutes or until browned all over. Transfer the mince to casserole and repeat the process with the pork mince.

Place the casserole over medium heat. Add wine and cook for 2 minutes or until nearly evaporated, then add milk and simmer for 5 minutes or until reduced. Add stock, nutmeg, passata, canned tomatoes, tomato paste and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and cook uncovered for 3 hours, stirring frequently to ensure the sauce does not catch on the base. Alternately, place casserole in an oven heated to 150 degrees celsius and cook uncovered for 3 hours, stirring every 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese, pasta, crusty bread and green salad.

Donna Hay's super quick chicken dish

Image taken from lifestylefood.com.au

This is such a quick recipe that everyone in our family loves, including my 1 year old!

Ingredients

3 cups (750ml) chicken stock

6 slices ginger

4 cloves garlic, halved

1 long green chilli, sliced

1 1/2 cups jasmine rice

4 x 125g chicken thigh fillets, halved

4 green onions, sliced

1 cups coriander leaves

soy sauce to serve

Method

Place the stock, ginger, garlic and chilli in a large pot and bring to the boil.

Add the rice and stir once to distribute evenly throughout the pan. When the stock returns to the boil add the chicken.

Cover, reduce the heat and cook on low for 20 mins or until the chicken is cooked tender.

Serve with onions, coriander and soy sauce on the side. We like to add broccoli, beans and baby carrots also!

Beautiful Banana Cake!

This is a really easy recipe for a deliciously moist banana cake. It was given to me by a friend and I use it all the time!

Photo sourced from womensday.ninemsm.com.au

Ingredients

125g unsalted butter, softened
330g (1.5 cups) caster sugar
2 (1 cup) very ripe bananas, mashed
1 tspn vanilla
2 large eggs
100ml buttermilk (or 1/3 cup milk and 3/4 tspn white vinegar)
225g (1.5 cups) SR Flour
1/4 tspn salt
1/2 tspn bicarb soda

Method

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees celcius. Grease and line 22cm plan.

Place the butter, sugar, banana, vanilla and eggs in bowl and beat for 2 mins. Add buttermilk and pulse to combine.

Sift the flour, salt and bicarb soda together in a large bowl. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and process to combine (only just).

Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 50-60 mins or until skewer comes out clean.



Cream Cheese Icing


Ingredients

90g cream cheese, softened
45g unsalted butter, softened
210g (1 2/3 cups) icing sugar
1 1/2 tspn lemon juice


Method

Beat cream cheese and butter with electric beater until creamy.

Add sifted icing sugar and beat until smooth.

Add lemon juice and beat to combine. Spread over cooled cake.

Moroccan Lamb Shanks

Photo sourced from Femail.com.au

This is a perfect recipe for feeding a group. You can make a day or two prior and reheat if necessary as it will only intensify the moroccan flavours.

Ingredients

1 tblspn olive oil

4 lamb shanks

2 medium onions, chopped

420g can chopped tomatoes

2 tbspns grated ginger

2 tbspns chopped coriander

3 cups water

1 tbspn brown sugar

1 tspn ground cinnamon

1 tspn salt

1 cup seeded dates

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.

Heat oil in a large pan.

Add lamb shanks and cook until well browned all over. Transfer to a large ovenproof dish.

Cook onions in the same frying pan, sitrring until soft and golden. Add the tomatoes, ginger, coriander, water, brown sugar, cinnamon salt and dates. Bring to the boil and then pour mixture over lamb shanks.

Cover the dish and cook for at least 2 hours. Then remove the lid and cook for another 30 minutes or until lamb is very tender.

Serve with cous cous or soft polenta and vegetables or salad.

Moussaka without eggplant!

This is not a traditional moussaka as it contains carrot, potato and chickpeas but let me tell you it is delicious! It is pretty hard to mess up as well and looks great cooked and served in individual ramekins. I stole this recipe from my husband!

Ingredients

4 washed potatoes, cut into 5mm slices

1 large carrot, peeled and grated

2 tbspn olive oil

1 onion, finely diced

4 cloves of garlic, diced

650g premium lamb mince

1/2 tspn ground cumin

1 cinnamon stick

100g tomato paste

1 tblspn plain flour

1 punnet roma tomatoes

400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

5 egg yolks, separated into 2 yolks and 3 yolks

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

400g ricotta

500g greek-style yoghurt

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Grease 8 ramekins with butter or spray oil.

Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil, and cook potatoes for 10 mins or until soft.

Heat oil in a pan and add onions and garlic. When the onions are starting to brown, add the mince and cook until brown. Add cumin and cinnamon stick and cook for a minute or so before adding tomato paste and flour. Cook for another few minutes before adding chickpeas, carrot and tomatoes. Cover with a lid and let simmer for 20 mins or until tomatoes are soft.

When the potatoes are cooked, drain and let cool. Place the potato slices into a large bowl with 2 egg yolks and a quarter of the parmesan cheese. Toss the ingredients carefully, then place enough into each ramekin to make a 1cm base.

Place the remaining 3 yolks, half the parmesan, yoghurt and ricotta in a bowl and whisk to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the cinnamon stick from the mince mixture and spoon over the potatoes. Spoon the yoghurt mix over the top, and then sprinkle the remaining parmesan over the top. Place the ramekins on an oven tray and pop in the oven for 30 mins or until the tops have browned.

Enjoy!