Honeycomb Rocky Road September 7, 2009

Not a recipe as such… but to make these, just melt chocolate (I made 2 separate lots in milk and white chocolate)….  then pour a layer about .5cm thick onto a tray (you might want to use non-stick baking paper or a silicone sheet)…. use about 1/3 of the amount of choc you have, then top with marshmallows – pretty close togther.  I used one pack of pink & white marshmallows…. the whites went into the white choc one and the pink ones in the milk chocolate one.  Then crush some honeycomb chocolate bar (I used “violet crumble”) and sprinkle between the gaps in the marshmallows.  Then top with the rest of the melted chocolate and sprinkle more honeycomb on top.  Allow to set then cut into chunks with a heated knife.

Pastry Pizzas June 14, 2009

These are simple and make great party food.  Just take sheets of frozen puff pastry, spread with tomato paste or pesto, add toppings and bake!

Simple toppings work best,  because the pastry is thin you can’t have too much topping.  Try:

• Ham, cheese & tomato paste (with olives or pineapple on top)
• Basil or olive pesto with cheese
• basil pesto with ham, cheese, mushrooms & olives

You can cut the pastry into shapes before adding toppings if you like.

Savoury Crackers (Biscuits) June 14, 2009

I made these crackers by adding multigrain mix (linseed, oats, rye, cornmeal etc.) that I bought from a store selling breadmaking supplies. This made a multigrain cracker, which I felt was more wholesome, but you can make it without this.

Ingredients:
1 cup wholemeal SR flour
Pinch Salt
3 tb butter
1/3 cup grated cheese
1 tb dried chives (or other herbs)
¼ cup water

Optional:
¼ cup multigrain mixture (or linseeds, bran flakes etc.)
dash of water extra

Method:
1). Put the flour and salt into a large bowl, and rub in the butter.
2). Mix in the cheese, chives and any additional grains.
3). Make a well in the centre, and add in the water. If you have added extra grains, you may need to add a little more water to make the mixture come together into a dough-like consistency (it should be fairly dry not sticky).
4). Knead until mixture has come together and is smooth.
5). Turn out onto a floured surface, and roll out as thin as you can, to about 2-3mm thick. Use cookie cutters (or cut squares with a knife) to cut shapes out and lay them on a greased or lined baking tray.
6). Brush the tops with milk, and bake in a preheated oven at 200ºC for 10 minutes, or until they are golden brown (mine in the image above were probably a touch overcooked).

Allow to cool completely before putting in an airtight container.

Fish fingers June 9, 2009

Pretty much the same as my chicken nuggets recipe Just take a piece of fish (I personally only buy Australian fish, as imported fish can not only take a while to be shipped here, but also swim in less clean water than ours)…. make sure it’s deboned and skin removed…. stick it in a food processor with some bread, any spices you like, and blend to a minced consistency…. Roll out into little logs, flatten them, roll in breadcrumbs, place on a greased tray and cook at 180ºC for about 15-20 mins, turning halfway through.
You can freeze them and reheat as needed…. then you have the convenience of fishfingers, but you know exactly what is in them.

Chicken Nuggets June 9, 2009

Ingredients:
6 chicken thigh fillets (skin removed)
2 slices wholegrain bread
1 garlic clove
1tb spices (I used lemon pepper & cumin)
Breadcrumb mixture (breadcrumbs, sesame seeds + spices)

Method:
Pop everything but the breadcrumbs into a food processor, and blend until it forms a paste-like consistency. Take spoonfuls and form into nugget-like shapes and toss in a breadcrumb mixture. Spray a baking tray with oil, and bake the nuggets at 180ºC for about 15-20 mins, turning over halfway through.
You can freeze these and reheat as needed. Makes about 25 nuggets

Pork & Turkey Meatballs March 24, 2009

Ingredients:
500g Pork Mince
200g Turkey Mince
50mls brandy
3 eggs
5 slices wholegrain bread
2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp allspice
2 tsp salt
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 small onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Method:
Mix all ingredients together. Form into golf-ball sized balls. Cook for 50 mins at 190ºC

(Recipe from a friend)

Risotto Cups March 22, 2009

Good for a party or entertaining. Simply take flatbread (“Mountain bread” type very thin bread works best), cut it into squares and put them into rammekins, muffin tins or some sort of bowl shaped heatproof dish (depending on the size you want), put a piece of baking paper inside then fill with beans or rice, to “Blind Bake” until the bread starts to go golden brown and crispy. This makes an edible “bowl” you can serve the risotto in!

Then fill with the risotto. If making muffin sized ones, you may need to give the guests a fork to eat with as the rice could be too messy to eat as a pie.

Savoury zucchini muffins February 22, 2009

Ingredients:
150g bacon or ham (chopped)
1 small onion (chopped)
1 cup of self-raising flour
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs
1 teaspoon mustard (optional)
1/2 teaspoon paprika (optional)
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup grated cheese

Method:
1). Lightly fry the bacon and onion.
2). In a large bowl, combine the flour, oil, eggs, mustard and paprika. Mix well.
3). Add the cheese, zuccini and (cooled) fried mixture. Stirring well to combine.
4). Pour mixture into muffin tins, and place in a preheated 200C oven until golden brown and cooked through. 15 mins for mini muffins or 20-25 mins for larger muffins.

From http://alteredcutlery.blogspot.com/2007/11/muffins.html

Savoury Zucchini Mini Muffins February 22, 2009

Ingredients:
2 cups self-raising flour
1 tsp mustard powder
2 tb chopped chives
1 cup grated cheese
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 medium zucchini, grated
1 cup Stock
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tb olive oil

Method:
1). Mix flour, mustard, chives, cheese and zucchini together.
2). In a separate bowl, add the stock, eggs and oil, mix well.
3). Pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture, and stir gently to combine
4). pour into greased muffin trays and bake in a preheated 200°C oven for 20 mins, or until they are golden brown.

From http://www.girl.com.au/savoury-zucchini-mini-muffins.htm

Healthier Kids Party Foods December 13, 2008

Dried fruit in place of lollies – you could thread onto thread or bamboo skewers (cut the pointy end off) to make it more interesting.

 
Fruit Kebabs – Cut fruits and slide onto skewers. Use things like banana, kiwi fruit, strawberries, grapes, shapes cut from melon/apple, pineapple, mandarine segments etc.

 
Homemade chips – thinly slice (can use a potato peeler) potato and sweet potato and spray with olive oil then bake in the oven until crisp.

 
Toast Fingers - Remove crusts from wholemeal bread, and spread with margarine/low fat spread, a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and grated cheddar cheese. Grill until golden brown and cut into strips.

 
Colourful dips – Make colourful dips (beetroot, guacamole etc.) and serve with melba toasts, rice crackers, vegetable sticks, tortilla chips or toast fingers.

 
Curly celery – Cut celery into desired lengths then cut slits through the celery stalk about 3/4 of the way down. Place into ice cold water in the fridge for around 10 mins and the slits should curl up

 
Funny Face Sandwich – Slice of wholemeal bread cut into a circle shape. Spread with cream cheese and decorated into a face (alfalfa hair, egg slice sultana eyes, carrot nose, tomato mouth etc.)

 
Punch - Use a small amount of low calorie fruit based cordial or a tin of fruit salad with natural juice, a few drops of food colouring and mineral/soda water to make it fizzy. Or use fruit juice and mineral water. Float cut up fruits on top for interest. (You can freeze fruits in icecubes too)

 
Magic Drinks – Serve drinks in clear plastic cups with a drop of food colouring (or pureed fruit like raspberries, blackberries and blueberries) already in the bottom…. when clear drink is poured in, it changes colour like magic.

 
Slushies – Blend melon (watermelon, rock melon etc.) with crushed ice and other fruits if desired.

 
Mini Pizza - spread pita bread or homemade pizza base cut into small rounds with tomato paste and top with toppings kids like. or have kids make their own.

 
Homemade Party Pies – Use a vegetable and mince mixture. You can cut shapes with small cookie cutters to put on top for fun, or pipe on mashed potato.

Savoury Pastry Tarts December 13, 2008

Vol-au-vents are those pastry things that are like a pastry doughnut with filling in the middle. Normally you either buy Vol-au-vent cases, or make your own. Buying them is easy, but they have a lot of pastry (so are more fattening), and every time I see them in the supermarket, some cases are always broken.. making your own is tedious (to say the least) as you have to cut rings out of pastry and lay them ontop of eachother on one circle) to form the case. This way is a cheater’s way of making a similar thing, that is slightly less fattening as it has less pastry

 
Ingredients – Salmon & Corn:
Puff Pastry sheets
Corn
Garlic
Onion
1 tin smoked salmon (generic brand is fine)
Milk
2 tablespoons (approx) Plain flour
cheese (optional)
Curry powder
Salt and pepper

 
Method:
1). Get your frozen pastry out and let it defrost while you make the filling.
2). Put about 2 tablespoons of flour into a saucepan, and add about 1-2 cups of milk, mix well to remove lumps, and bring this to the boil. It should thicken nicely. Your white sauce shouldn’t be too runny, or when people eat the pies, the filling will oooze out and burn them on the chin…. not nice…
3). Fry garlic an onion until soft.
4). Add the (drained) salmon, corn and Garlic and onion. You can add a touch (1/2 teaspoon) curry powder if you like, and cheese too if you like. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.
5). Allow it to cool (you can use it while still warm, but its best not to be hot).
6). Cut pastry sheets into 9 squares and place each square into a lightly greased muffin tin. The corners will poke up – leave them (it makes little “handles” to hold onto when they are cooked). Fill the pastry cases with the mixture and bake at about 200C for around 15 minutes, until the pastry has cooked.

 
 
Ingredients – Chicken & Mushroom:
Puff Pastry sheets
Garlic
Onion
3 large mushrooms
1 chicken breast (or 3 thighs) cut into very small pieces
Milk
2 tablespoons (approx) Plain flour
cheese (optional)
Salt and pepper

 
Method:
1). Get your frozen pastry out and let it defrost while you make the filling.
2). Put about 2 tablespoons of flour into a saucepan, and add about 1-2 cups of milk, mix well to remove lumps, and bring this to the boil. It should thicken nicely. Your white sauce shouldn’t be too runny.
3). Fry chicken and mushrooms until chicken starts to brown, add garlic an onion, fry until soft.
4). Add the chicken mix to the sauce and cheese too if you like. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.
5). Allow it to cool (you can use it while still warm, but its best not to be hot).
6). Cut pastry sheets into 9 squares and place each square into a lightly greased muffin tin. The corners will poke up – leave them (it makes little “handles” to hold onto when they are cooked). Fill the pastry cases with the mixture and bake at about 200C for around 15 minutes, until the pastry has cooked.