My Recipe Box

How to Eat Healthy (And What Foods You Should Avoid)

2011-11-21T09:58:00.001+11:00

By far, the healthiest I've ever been in my life was when I was trying to get pregnant for the first time. I took it rather to the extreme when it came to food - I went on a Pre-Conceptual Diet.

I bought a book by Dr Sarah Brewer called Planning a Baby? A Complete Guide to Pre-Conceptual Care.

In her book, Dr Brewer outlined the importance of getting maximum vitamins and minerals in your diet prior to conception so your baby would get the best start to life (and then continue the diet during pregnancy). She listed foods/beverages you should avoid and what foods could give your immunity a boost.

There were a bunch of foods I gave up six months prior to trying to conceive, and all through pregnancy, including:

- Alcohol
- Tea/coffee
- Chocolate
- Msg
- Refined sugar
- Highly processed foods
- Sweet, sugary carbonated drinks
- Animal skin (ie on roasted chickens)

I also avoided eating the following in case they had dangerous consequences on my unborn child:

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- Ripened soft cheese (eg Brie, Camembert)
- Blue-veined cheese (Stilton, Roquefort)
- Goat or sheep cheeses (eg Fetta, Chevre)
- Any unpasteurised cheese (eg anything imported - we pasteurise our cheeses in Australia)
- Shellfish
- Raw/undercooked meats
- Uncooked eggs (eg Chocolate Mousse, meringue)

In order to help 'detoxify' your body, Dr Brewer suggests you should:

- Ensure an adequate intake of antioxidant vitamins & minerals - especially vitamins C, E and betacarotene, zinc, selenium, chromium and manganese. (She included a really useful list of where to find these in which foods.)

- Eat organic wholefoods where possible.

- Avoid tinned foods, processed foods and excess salt.

- Eliminate all dietary additives.

- Wash all vegies, fruit & salad stuff thoroughly.

- To help reduce the absorption of dietary toxins, include garlic, yoghurt, bananas and pectin-containing fruits in your diet.

- Avoid using aluminium kitchenware and foil.

- Eliminate all non-essential drugs. (Easy. Was never in to drugs!)

- Stop smoking and drinking alcohol. (I have never been a smoker!)

- Reduce your intake of caffeine-containing drinks.

- Only have white dental fillings fitted.

- Be careful to drink clean water, preferably filtered.

- Avoid excessive traffic fumes where possible.

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At first, it was really hard to do, because I love my food. (Obviously.) But once I got in to the swing of things, I found I was able to easily work out what to order from the take away menu, in restaurants etc, and what foods would give me the biggest boost. I tried to make sure I ate at least two pieces of fruit, and three serves of vegies a day. I drank lots of water. I ate a handful of dried fruit, nuts and seeds every day as a snack.

And guess what? I never got sick and I felt GREAT.

I was thinking about this recently. I pretty much stuck to avoiding a lot of the same foods through all pregnancies, but I don't think my diet was as structured and as healthy with my second and third pregnancies. And it showed. I got sick more often during those pregnancies, and to be honest, I've never felt as healthy since.

These days, all that healthy eating has gone by the way side, but I've come to realise it might be time to start following Dr Brewer's 'diet' again. (Although, I don't really think of it as a 'diet' - more a healthy way of eating and living.)

I found my book recently when tidying up the study, and I've dusted it off and I'm reading through it again. (I was so organised back then, and so keen, I actually highlighted all the important bits!)

I'm not going to cut out soft cheese, shellfish etc, - and I certainly think it's fine to enjoy a cup of coffee and a cup of tea each day, and eat cake occasionally - but I could most definitely up my intake of fruit and vegies and water too. Couple that with more exercise, and I reckon I'll start feeling fabulous again.

I'll be back at some stage to tell you what foods contain all the vitamins you need for a healthy body.

Stay tuned, people.

Jodie

Tuna Salad with Roasted Carrots

2011-11-16T15:55:00.001+11:00

My husband does alright in the kitchen. Unlike me, he can think outside the (recipe) box. I measure. I follow instructions to a tee. Hubby will just throw something else in if he doesn't have a certain ingredient, or make up his own measurements.

Perhaps he should be the one to have the recipe blog? ;)

Anyway, this gorgeous salad he came up recently we've had twice now, and we both really like it. The vinaigrette he used is the same one from this recipe. You'll probably only use half for the tuna salad, but can then just keep it in the fridge. It's great to use over salad leaves with other recipes. Yummy.

Here's the recipe for Hubby's Tuna Salad with Roasted Carrots:

1 x 185g can of tuna in oil, drained
2 carrots, cut in to strips
Salt
Olive oil spray
100-150g mixed salad leaves, washed & dried
Half a punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved

Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (we use Vilux's Extra Strong Dijon Mustard)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 teaspoon brown sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 180oC fan-forced. Spray a baking dish or tray with the olive oil spray. Place the carrots on the dish then spray with oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Turn and do the same on the other side. Cook the carrots for approximately 12 minutes on each side, or until just tender.

2. Meanwhile, to make the dressing, place all the ingredients in to a jar, place on the lid and shake until well combined.

3. When the carrots are cooked, cool them slightly then place them in to a bowl with the tuna, salad leaves and tomatoes, then drizzle with enough of the dressing to coat the salad. Toss, then place on plates.

Serves 2

Enjoy!

Jodie

New Name, New Look: My Recipe Box

2011-11-14T16:58:00.001+11:00

Surprise!

I know. I've really just sprung this on you, huh? Welcome to my new look recipe blog.

If you haven't been here a while, and you're a little confused...well, I've decided (again!) to change my blog header. And not just the header, but its name. This is how it used to look...

I thought the heading was a bit of a mouthful, and I decided the new name also needed a new header. I hope you like it.

Anyway, I haven't posted here for a while. It's been a bit busy in the Ansted House, but I am planning some yummy recipes for you, including a new cocktail Hubby and I love at the mo, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, if you like, take a look around. Not much else has changed, so you should feel right at home.

Jodie

Celebrity Chef Fast Ed's Mexican Egg & Corn Fritters (for World Egg Day!)

2011-10-14T07:00:00.000+11:00

Today, 14 October, is World Egg Day. Did you know that? I had NO idea, until I received an email about it yesterday.

I LOVE eggs. Love them. One of my fave breakfasts is poached eggs on toast. I'm also partial to scrambled eggs when we eat out for breakfast or lunch. The kids love eggs with soldiers (me too - I sometimes have them for dinner when Hubby is out or away), and of course we use eggs in many, many recipes.

On behalf of the Australian Egg Corporation, celebrity chef Fast Ed has put together some recipes to help celebrate World Egg Day, and here's one he's sharing with us.

Here's Fast Ed's recipe for Mexican Egg & Corn Fritters:

6 eggs
2/3 can refried beans
400g no added salt corn kernels
1 stick celery, finely diced
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup plain flour
1 cup wholegrain breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil for frying
Light sour cream, lime wedges and salad leaves, to serve

1. Place 4 eggs in a saucepan of cold water and set over a high heat. Bring to a boil, then cook for 6 minutes. Turn the heat off and let stand for 2 minutes. Chill under cold running water, then peel and chop. Set aside.

2. Combine the refried beans, corn, celery and oregano in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Fold in the chopped eggs gently. Form into 8 patties, then place in the freezer for 1 hour to firm up.

3. Dip the patties in flour, then the remaining beaten eggs, then breadcrumbs. Fry in hot (180oC) vegetable oil for 4 minutes, turning several times, until golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper, then serve with light sour cream, lime wedges and salad leaves.

Serves 4

Sounds yummy, right?

NOW ENTER THIS COMPETITION...
This year, the Australian Egg Corporation is celebrating World Egg Day with a competition to make life just as easy as eggs do. For your chance to win a year's supply of groceries, babysitting or cleaning (yee-ha!), simply visit www.eggs.org.au where you'll also find more inspiring egg recipe ideas.

Do you like eggs? What's your favourite egg recipe?

MasterChef LIVE 2011

2011-10-07T17:31:00.000+11:00

Today I took the kids to the MasterChef Live Show that's being held today and over the weekend at Hordern Pavilion in Moore Park, Sydney. (We were invited by the PR company).

It would be a full-on dream for hardcore foodies, I reckon. There are lots of stalls showing off (and selling) the latest kitchen gadgets and food. And if you're a big MasterChef fan, you'll probably love watching some demos from ex-contestants as well as judges George and Gary do their thing in the kitchen (they'll be there on Saturday).

You may even meet one or two.

Kate Bracks was lovely. The 9yo took this pic. He needs to get

taller so that the camera angle isn't so low. Hello, double chin.

(He & his brothers had a photo with her too.)

At the 'How to...' stand, Kate demonstrated how to break up a chicken
in to pieces. (Cheaper than buying them separately.)

I loved the stands that had a lot of colour...

Party supplies. Love.

Yep. That's a cake, people.

After a pretty yummy pizza for lunch, consumed with a free sampler glass of red (that the nine-year-old managed to spill the most of. *sigh*), it was on to a cooking class for the kids. The seven-year-old decided to sit it out and watch with me instead, but his brothers were right in to it.

Getting ready to make a Watermelon & Feta Cheese Salad

I can't tell you how much the 4yo enjoyed using a knife. Scary.

(But completely safe.)

The 4yo puts the finishing touches on. It was nom.

To find out how/where to buy your tickets, head here.

I'll be back next week to run through how to make the salad the boys made. It was delicious, and easy-peasy for the kids to make.

What's Always in Your Fridge?

2011-10-06T13:13:00.000+11:00

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Our fridge at home is often filled with a variety of ingredients for whatever I'm planning to make for dinner that week. However, there are some items that are always found in our fridge. And if they're not there for any reason...panic stations, people!

Milk
We go through close to 9 litres of milk every week. We use it for cereal, drinking (with Milo or without - almost every afternoon tea after school we have milk, and it's my preferred drink with a piece of chocolate cake. Nom!), in tea, for coffee, hot chocolates and bubbaccinos for the four-year-old.

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Yoghurt
We always have three types of yoghurt in the fridge: Kids' fruit yoghurt, fruit yoghurt for Hubby and I and Greek-style natural yoghurt for curries etc. LOVE yoghurt.

Cheese
Okay, so by now you've worked out we're fond of dairy products around here. We always have cheddar cheese (the four-year-old loves it sliced to accompany his sandwiches at lunch every day, and we'll often have some sliced cheddar with wafer biscuits after our dinner), parmesan and some pizza cheese.

Cranberry Juice

I love a glass of cranberry juice daily, topped up with a little water. It's very good for women. Keeps the nasty infections away! ;) We also always have orange juice for Hubby and I, and apple juice for the kids. We really only drink juice with breakfast.

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Eggs
Not only used for cooking, I have poached eggs at least once a week for breakfast, but often more often than that. Hubby loves an omelette on occasion (and sometimes makes one for the dog!), and the boys will have eggs with soldiers on weekends some times.

Maple Syrup

With pancakes being made almost every weekend, and pikelets served for afternoon tea occasionally - together with my love of french toast for breakfast every now and then - we go through a lot of maple syrup. When it's on special, I always picks up a few bottles, because I know we'll get through it!

Ham

We love ham - on sandwiches, pizza, just rolled up and eaten with fresh slices of cheese. I often pick up a half kilo of double smoked leg ham from the deli counter at the supermarket and we'll see through the week with that. Ham & salad makes a quick dinner when we're busy with cricket training or swimming until evening.

Fresh Fruit & Vegies

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Always in the fridge: apples (green & red), mandarins (when in season), grapes (green & red), bananas, oranges, carrots, cucumber, tomatoes and more. The kids always get a piece or two of fruit in their lunch box, and the nine-year-old loves cucumber sticks for munch 'n' crunch at school!

Tobasco Sauce

Hubby likes a bit of bite in his tuna sandwiches or on other food, so we always have a little tobasco sauce on hand.

What's always in your fridge?

Ravioli with Tomato & Basil Sauce

2011-10-01T10:57:00.001+10:00

We recently purchased a pasta machine so we can make our own pasta. Hubby has made fettuccine a number of times, but we haven't tackled ravioli yet.

We often buy a fresh pack of ravioli from our local fruit and veg market. We've tried various fillings with this sauce that Hubby makes, but last week we had beef and it was super delicious. But of course, you can use any filling you like. (In my previous life before kids, I used to often buy a pumpkin ravioli from the local pasta bar, and that was super yummy as well.)

Here's the recipe for Ravioli with Tomato & Basil Sauce:

400g of diced, tinned tomatoes
Pinch of caster sugar
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
10 fresh basil leaves, torn
Handful of basil leaves, whole, for garnishing
Salt
1-2 500g packets of ravioli (any filling of your choice)
Fresh Parmesan, finely grated
Cracked black pepper

1. Place the tomatoes (and the juice) in to a saucepan, adding the sugar, garlic and a generous pinch of salt. Cover and cook over a very low heat for approximately 30 minutes, stirring only occasionally.

2. Mash the tomatoes with a wooden spoon or potato masher, then continue to cook on low heat for a further 10-15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, following the packet instructions, cook the ravioli. (This won't take long once your water is boiled, so leave it until the last minute.)

4. Remove the sauce from the heat and allow to cool a little. Stir in the olive oil and basil.

5. Serve over the ravioli (or spaghetti also works well), and top with cracked black pepper, freshly grated Parmesan and whole basil leaves for garnishing. Serve with garlic bread if you wish.

1 x 500g packet will serve make 2 small adult servings and 3 kids' servings.
2 x 500g packet will make 4 large adult servings. (But double the sauce.)

Hopefully, we'll give the homemade ravioli a go soon. I'll keep you posted. :)

Buon appetito!

Pancakes with Summer Fruits, Maple Syrup & Marscarpone

2011-09-28T14:50:00.004+10:00

I know I've mentioned this more than once on Mummy Mayhem, but the nine-year-old is our pancake man around here. Every weekend (usually on a Sunday at the moment because of Saturday sport) he gets up, makes the batter, then calls us when the batter is ready to be cooked. He often helps with the cooking as well.

They are delicious! Here's the recipe for Pancakes:

2 cups self-raising flour
2 cups milk (we use Lite milk)
2 eggs, lightly whisked
Dash of milk, extra
1 punnet of strawberries, sliced
1 teaspoon caster sugar (optional)
1 punnet of blueberries
Maple syrup (the real stuff is best - not the flavoured maple syrup)
Marscarpone

1. Sift the flour in to a large bowl.

2. Combine the whisked eggs and milk in to a separate bowl.

3. Pour the combined milk and eggs in to the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.

4. To make the batter a little smoother, add a dash of milk; using a whisk, beat until smooth and there are no more lumps.

5. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

6. Remove the batter and heat a frying pan on medium heat. Add a small amount of butter or spray the pan with a little cooking spray. Pour enough batter to form a pancake approximately 15cms in diameter (like a big pikelet!). When air bubbles form, check the pancake by lifting slightly with a spatula. Turn when golden, and cook the other side. Set aside on a plate rested on a bowl of boiling water to keep warm. (We use two frying pans at a time to reduce the total cooking time.) Keep making pancakes until all the batter has been used!

7. Meanwhile, prepare strawberries by slicing and sprinkling with the caster sugar (the sugar will soften them and make them a little sweeter if they're not fully ripe - but this is optional).

8. Serve pancakes topped with sliced strawberries and blueberries. Drizzle maple syrup over the top. Top with a spoonful of marscarpone in the centre.

Makes approximately 10 pancakes

Bon appetite!

Shortbread Biscuits

2011-09-24T13:52:00.000+10:00

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I love biscuits. Especially with a cuppa. I'm quite happy with fairly plain biscuits most of the time, but occasionally I feel like something a little richer and buttery and sweet. Like...shortbread.

Yes, it's fattening. It's also a biscuit that not everyone loves because of how buttery it is, but admittedly, I kinda like the stuff.

The great thing is: it's easy and quick. I recall making it for my friend, Teresa's, kitchen tea. That time, I made love-heart shaped shortbread. Natch. :)

I've had the following recipe for years and years. I probably got it from my Mum, and I'm sure it's nothing new for some of you, but for those who have never attempted it, here's the recipe for Shortbread:

250g butter
2 cups plain flour
1 cup cornflour
1 cup icing sugar

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, then remove from heat.

2. Sift flour, cornflour and icing sugar in to the saucepan. Mix well with a wooden spoon until a dough is formed.

3. Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for 1 minute, or until well combined.

4. Roll the dough out to approximately 1.5cm thickness and shape as desired, using cutters. Repeat until all dough is used.

5. Place on a greased oven tray. Prick with a fork. Bake at 150oC for 30 minutes or until lightly golden.

The Art of Baking

2011-09-22T07:00:00.001+10:00

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My Mum's cooking has always been good, but her baking skills are exceptional. Growing up, I always remember her baking something or other every couple of days, whether it be biscuits, slices, puddings, cakes...you name it.

Strangely, I didn't have much of a sweet tooth when I was younger. Yes, I ate biscuits etc, but I didn't eat a lot of dessert. (Actually, it depended what it was. If Mum made crepes with lemon & sugar, I was always interested in eating those!)

I would say my general cooking is better than my baking. I'm forever over-cooking cakes. I just can't seem to get it right. But I'm convinced all I need is practice. I felt the exact same way about cooking fish once upon a time, but I continued to try and try again, and now I'm fairly confident when I cook it. I think the same will go for baking. Try and try again. (Hubby will be pleased. Or not. Depending what week it is - he loves sweet treats, but tries not to indulge too much!)

I was recently sent a copy of a new fortnightly magazine called Baked & Delicious.

The magazine features a lot of sweet baked items, but also covers savoury as well. Each mag comes with some silicone bakeware, so you can collect a whole set of the stuff. Then you get a recipe that uses the bakeware.

I made the cupcakes featured on the front of Issue 1, and it was great following the step-by-step instructions:

And guess what? They turned out perfectly and the kids loved them....

I obviously didn't go with the raspberries on top.

Now I'm inspired to try my hand at some more baking.

Check out Baked & Delicious out at your local newsagent, or to subscribe and/or order any missing issues, go to www.baked-and-delicious.com.au!

Do you bake? What's your favourite thing to bake?

For the Kids: Junior MasterChef Australia - The Cookbook (Vol 1)

2011-09-15T12:43:00.001+10:00

I bought his cookbook recently. The 9yr old, especially, has taken a keen interest in cooking, so I thought this would be perfect.

I recently made San Choy Bau, and I used part of the recipe from this book. Unfortunately, the recipe itself was missing information as to when to add the sauce, so I had to figure that out for myself. Interesting, considering there was a whole episode on MasterChef this year which went through putting together recipes for a cookbook and what sort of care is involved in doing so! Tsk, tsk.

Still, there are some great recipes throughout the book that I can't wait to try with the kids. I love that the book is broken up in to sections, like: Pasta Night, Cupcake Party, Ultimate Chocolate, Pizza Night, Edible Gifts, Pool Party etc.

There's also some helpful Cooking Notes at the end of the book and a handy Menu Planner.

I'll let you know how we get on. ;)

I picked up my copy from Coles for about $15, from memory. Keep an eye out for it!

San Choy Bau

2011-09-06T14:23:00.001+10:00

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With the weather (finally) warming up, my taste buds want something light, tasty and crunchy. San Choy Bau is a yummy Chinese dish with crispy lettuce. It's a meal the whole family can enjoy - as does mine. :)

I've used a couple of recipes for San Choy Bau in the past. (The image above isn't mine, BTW. I forgot to take a photo!). Donna Hay has one, and the new Junior Masterchef Australia Cookbook (Vol 1) has one too. Although, in the latter recipe, a major step was left out - when to add the sauce! Nor did it say to serve the sauce separately, so I included it during the cooking.

This following recipe is a combination of both above mentioned recipes, and it is DELICIOUS!

Here's my recipe for San Choy Bau:

1 cos lettuce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon caster sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons sunflower oil

1 small brown onion, chopped finely

500g pork mince

1 teaspoon finely grated ginger

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 stalk of celery, finely chopped

1 carrot, grated

1 cup bean sprouts

3 spring onions, sliced finely

1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander

1. Separate the lettuce leaves from the core, then wash, pat dry and cut the ends off to make nice and straight. (If the lettuce isn't overly fresh, you can soak it in icy water for about 15 minutes.)

2. In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil and sugar. Set aside.

3. Heat a wok over high heat, then add 1 tablespoon of the sunflower oil. When hot, add the onion and stir-fry until softened. Add the pork mince, ginger and garlic, then stir-fry over high heat until the meat is browned. Break up any lumps. When cooked, transfer to a bowl.

4. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of sunflower oil to the wok and stiry-fry the celery and carrot until they start to soften. Return the mince mixture to the wok, and add the sauce. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes or until heated through. Add the bean sprouts and spring onions. Stir briefly to combine.

5. Remove the mixture from the heat, then stir through the coriander. Serve the mixture in the lettuce leaves (you can pop everything on the table and you and the kids can help yourselves).

If you like a little spice, add some sliced red chillies.

Serves 4

Do's & Don'ts for Dinner Parties

2011-08-08T12:40:00.000+10:00

Hubby and I love entertaining, but to be honest, we haven't done a lot of it this year. It's quite difficult to have people over now that everyone's kids are getting bigger! Our house isn't huge - three boys in it is noisy enough. ;)

However, we've still had the odd dinner or lunch here, and I go to other's houses on occasion and I thought I'd put a list together of tips for creating great dinner parties:

- Check if your guests have any allergies, intolerances, food preferences (eg Vegetarian) or keen dislike to any foods before preparing your menu. You don't want to serve up anything your guests can't eat! Serving up a roast lamb to a vegetarian probably wouldn't be very thoughtful. ;) To be honest, when asked this question myself, I would never disclose, say, that I don't like brussel sprouts or oysters. I figure, I'll just take a bite or two if that ends up on the menu, and I'm sure I could eat them if I really had to. There's nothing worse than when people give you a list of things they just don't like - just being fussy! - but it's always good manners to ask anyway. For me, it's more about finding the foods they simply can't eat, or don't want to because it makes them unwell. (Shellfish for example, is not for everyone.)

- If you invite children, make sure you have kid-friendly options. Generally, if kids are pretty young - as in babies through to young toddlers - parents will often bring their own food along for their kids. But older toddlers and preschoolers etc are your responsibility if you're inviting adults who have kids. As kids are fussy, I always check a menu idea (which almost always involves sausages!) with the adults. You just have to accept that not all kids will like the same thing. Their palate is different to ours and that's fine. (I would suggest keeping the kids' meals quite simple.)

Some parents are quite particular (especially with their first child) about what they will and won't allow their kids to eat, so having a healthy option (eg a fruit platter) is always a good idea (although, I've always been of the opinion that one night of hot dogs and ice cream isn't going to hurt anyone!). And remember: check for allergies too. If a child can't eat peanuts, for example, don't serve nuts - including nut-filled food (eg satay) to the other children or the adults. It's best to keep them well away for the night.

- Don't serve spicy food unless you know your guests like it. Spicy/chilli hot food isn't for everyone, and unless you know your guests like it, you should avoid it. Not everyone's palate is able to cope!

- If you're a guest, make sure your kids sit during their meal time. If you're at a dinner party and you take your kids, make sure they sit at the table until finished, then wash their hands afterwards (and have paper serviettes available for the kids too). It's just thoughtful to the hosts to make sure your kids aren't putting their greasy hands over your hosts' furniture - or spilling tomato sauce on it! A friend of mine used to put out a picnic rug for her son and his toddler friends to sit and eat on, which is a great idea - especially if you're eating outside.

- Make a time plan if you have a complicated meal planned and kids to deal with! I wrote about Time Plans here. They can be really useful if you have kids to coordinate and, like me, get distracted and off-task very easily! If you have both adults and kids are coming, it's ideal to serve the kids before the adults so that they can run off and play with full tummies. They're more likely to leave you alone during your meal then!

- Set the table before your guests arrive. It's nice to have the table looking pretty before everyone arrives. Besides, your guests won't then feel obliged to help you set it AND you get to set it your way. If you're anything like me, and someone turns the knife outwards...you won't spend the night wishing you could turn it the right way without offending your guest! ;)

- Make sure you have napkins/serviettes on the table. I can't tell you how many times I've eaten at other's houses and napkins or serviettes haven't been made available. There's nothing worse than having to use your fingers - or worse, your tongue! - to remove food from around your mouth or from your hands that will inevitably find itself there.

- Don't overdo the pre-dinner food. Especially if you're serving a three-course meal, don't have too much food available beforehand. A dip or two with vegetables and/or some nuts (if there are no allergies) or chips is enough to tie guests over. The last thing you want is for them to feel stuffed before the entree has even made an appearance!

- Choose a menu that doesn't keep you in the kitchen. There's nothing worse than feeling like you've spent the whole night in the kitchen whilst your guests have had to amuse themselves at your home. Try and choose a menu that allows you to mingle with your guests and requires only the occasional appearance in the kitchen!

Image from here

- If guests bring the wine, open it. I've tossed this over and over before. Do I open our own wine? Open theirs? If we don't open theirs, do I offer it back to them (which I used to do all the time) at the end of the night?

I've come to the conclusion that the wine guests bring is for you to enjoy on the night. If you don't open it during dinner (for example, if a bottle is already open on their arrival and no one wants any more), then keep it. I've never taken a bottle of wine to someone's house and expected it back at the end of the night. If you happen to know it's a very good bottle of wine, try and make sure you use it so you can all enjoy it together, or promise your guests you'll open it on their next visit.

And under no circumstances, if you're a guest, should you ask for your unopened bottle of wine back.

- Prepare as much of the food in advance before your guests arrive. I've been known to be terrible at this! I'm usually so busy running around trying to get the house in order, organise the kids etc that by the time people arrive, I haven't even looked at the food. Chopping, washing of vegies, even part-cooking the meal up to a certain step means you have more time to mingle and drink with your guests. Bonus. :)

- Offer your guests a drink on arrival. Then it's up to you to make sure they're never without one for the rest of the night. Not just alcohol, of course! Wine, beer, water, tea or coffee. If you're hosting as a couple, then allocate the drinks to one of you (the person doing the least amount of the cooking works best), or if a large party, ask a friend to do this for you.

- Don't force alcohol on guests. If they reply they're sticking to water or the like, respect that. They might be thoughtful about drinking and driving, pregnant or an even an alcoholic. You just don't know! A quick, "Are you sure?" is fine, then check again when dinner is served, then that's it. Leave it alone. ;)

- Make sure there's water on the table at meal time. This is an obvious step that is often forgotten at dinner parties. You should always have at least a jug of water - as well as clean glasses - available for guests. It's also nice (and thoughtful) to have a sparkling option, but not essential.

- Don't accept an offer for help to clean up at the end of the night. I'm very much of the thought that the guests are there to enjoy themselves, and not there to work. I always refuse an offer to help clean up afterwards, but mostly, people understand that this is the responsibility of the host, and don't often offer any more. I don't either!

I try to have the dishwasher empty ready to put my plates straight in to after the meal, and the silver cutlery soaks in a bowl of water & dishwashing liquid until my guests leave.

How about you? Do you have any tips to ensure a good dinner party? Have you ever had a guest or host do - or not do - something you wish they had/hadn't?!

~image~

Chunky Winter Soup

2011-07-25T07:25:00.002+10:00

With the flu season fast approaching (that's right, it's not 'officially' here yet!), a great way to boost your immunity is with some delicious, healthy soup packed full of yummy vegies.

I found a recipe for winter soup in this month's issue of Good Health Magazine. However, after making it the other night, I've made a few changes to it. The original recipe called for 2 chillies - I like a bit of heat, but found this too hot (even though I removed the seeds). Also, even though I used more than the minimum suggested amount of water, there was hardly any liquid at all in my soup. I would definitely add more next time (the original recipe called for 2 cups or 3 to make it more diluted. I used around 2 and a half cups - and there was pretty much no liquid left)!

In any case, it's delicious and it feels great to eat something so good for you. Here's the recipe for Chunky Winter Soup:

1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 brown onion, diced
1 long red chilli, seeds removed, chopped finely
1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, grated
1/2 bunch celery, diced
1 x 400g can of diced tomatoes
1 cup barley, rinsed (you will need to soak the barley for 6-8 hours in cold water beforehand)
2 cups butternut pumpkin, diced
1 x 400g can kidney beans, rinsed
3 cups of water (minimum)
1 head of broccoli, finely chopped
2 large handfuls of baby spinach leaves
Parmesan cheese, grated

1. Drizzle the olive oil in to a large pot, then add the garlic, onion and chilli. Cook until softened.

2. Add ginger and celery and cook for a few minutes until fragrant.

3. Add tomatoes, barley, pumpkin, kidney beans then water and simmer for 20 minutes, covered (I simmered my soup uncovered, so perhaps that attributed to not much liquid left after cooking).

4. Add the broccoli and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Remove the soup from the heat and stir through the spinach leaves.

6. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Because of the barley and kidney beans, you don't need to serve bread with this soup - it's filling as it is - but up to you!

Serves 4 large serves. Would probably easily serve 6 small serves. (Would be more than adequate for a family of 5.)

Fab Food Find - Smith's Chips

2011-07-20T17:48:00.000+10:00

For all you new followers, firstly WELCOME. Secondly...occasionally I post a Fab Food Find of mine that I want to share. A product I've discovered and want you all to know about!

During my pregnancies with all three boys, I tried to be very good by not eating foods that were considered best avoided during that time, such as MSG. (I can't recall why MSG was supposedly best avoided, but there you go.)

Anyway, I love potato chips, so my chips of choice was always Smith's Original flavoured chips, because they're just chips and salt. (My salt intake is fairly low in general, so I wasn't worried about the odd packet of chippies during pregnancy!) Also, I don't mind at all putting in a small packet of Smith's chips as an occasional lunch box treat for my boys - or as a pre-dinner snack at home.

Recently, I received an email about Smith's chips now using a healthier sunflower oil for its potato chips range, making them 75% lower in saturated fat! (That's worth putting in bold, people.)

Smith's sent us out some of their new chips to try*. My boys couldn't taste any difference at all. I could taste a slight difference, but I couldn't put my finger on it, and can't describe it. But that doesn't matter, because they were still yummo!

So, next time you're at the shops, keep an eye out for the new range - they have the 75% LESS sign you can see on the one pictured above. ;)

You can check out more Fab Food Finds under the tab of the same name at the top of my homepage.

* Please note that although I was sent a free sample of Smith's chips, opinions here are my own! :)

Scones

2011-07-18T15:52:00.000+10:00

I wrote a post last week on Mummy Mayhem about the fact I hadn't made scones for ages, and had actually forgotten the recipe I'd used from the age of 14 when my teacher had us make a batch in Home Economics class! (It's because I'm 40 now, isn't it? The mind is going...)

Anyway, they've not been great since I started using other random recipes, but here's the recipe I used recently based on what I could remember and another recipe I'd found and written down about a year ago, and they turned out okay! (There they are pictured above.)

I love scones with jam and whipped cream. They make a yummy, easy morning or afternoon tea, and I almost always have everything I need at home to make them (even the cream)! They also make a nice after school snack or lunch box treat for the kids.

Here's the recipe for Scones:

2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
Pinch of salt
30g butter, chopped roughly
Combined: 1/2 cup water & 1/2 cup milk (reserve 1 tablespoon)
1 teaspoon baking powder

1. Preheat the oven to 200oC. Sift the flour and baking powder in to a bowl and add the salt. Rub the butter through the flour until there are no lumps. (Occasionally, tap the bowl on the kitchen bench top so that any remaining butter will rise to the top, then you can simply rub that through.)

2. Add the combined milk and water and stir with a knife until well combined. (My Home Ec teacher told us to use a knife. I'm not sure why! Probably something to do with aeration of the dough.)

3. Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface. If the dough is still sticky, add some more flour - a bit at a time. Knead lightly until the dough is quite smooth.

4. Starting with a ball, push the dough out with your hands then roll it out until it is 2cm thick. (My Home Ec teacher told us to handle the dough as little as possible after kneading it.) Then cut out circular shapes using a cookie cutter. Place the scones close together (lightly touching) on a greased oven tray, then brush lightly with the reserved milk and water. Bake for about 20 mins or until golden brown on top. Serve with jam and freshly whipped cream, if you like (I do!).

Makes around 16 scones

Yum!

Lamb Biryani

2011-06-16T12:07:00.001+10:00

My husband's mother always cooked a lot of Indian food during my husband's youth. When we first moved to Sydney in 1995, he was suffering a little bit of 'too much of a good thing', and so we avoided Indian food. Which suited me just fine at the time, because I was not a fan of Indian food at all back then.

I'd never grown up with spicy food, let alone anything slightly exotic. It was all lamb roasts, stews, meat and three veg in our house. In fact, I found too much pepper difficult to eat, so you can imagine how it all went down when I had my first meal with my husband's family, and his mother cooked a curry. I just remember being thankful that his younger brother (12 at the time) asked for tissues. I didn't want to be the only one wiping tears from my eyes!

However, after a break from the Indian food, Hubby started to crave it again, and so we started cooking it together. We started with mild curries like Chicken Korma and gradually, my palate became used to the heat and these days, I can even eat a Vindaloo!

Lamb Biryani is a dish his mum has cooked over the years, and flicking though a copy of a Women's Weekly magazine at home, Hubby found a recipe for it. I made it on Wednesday night, and it was delicious!

It's a little time consuming to make. I chose I night I knew we didn't have to go anywhere to make it. All in all, the cooking time is around 2.5 hours, but the end result was worth it.

I made half the following ingredients, and I had the butcher cut my lamb shoulder in to cubes for me. (Then I kept the bones for the dog!) It cost me $20 for a 1.35kg lamb shoulder, which easily gave me 750g of cubed lamb, and some left over (as well as the bones).

This recipe serves 8, so by halving it, I easily got two meals' worth for Hubby and I out of it. (Gotta love a night where you don't have too cook!)

Here's the full recipe for Lamb Biryani (which can also be found here):

1.5kg boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 2cm cubes
5cm piece (25g) fresh ginger, grated finely
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 small fresh red chillies, chopped finely
3 teaspoons garam masala
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
large pinch ground turmeric
½ teaspoon ground chilli powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (280g) thick yogurt
80g ghee (clarified butter) (I used butter instead)
1 cup (140g) flaked almonds
⅓ cup (55g) sultanas
3 large (600g) brown onions, sliced thickly
1 cup (250ml) water
salt and freshly ground black pepper
500g basmati rice, washed, drained
large pinch saffron threads
2 tablespoons hot milk
fresh coriander leaves, for serving

1. Combine the lamb, ginger, garlic, chillies, garam masala, coriander, turmeric, chilli powder, salt and yogurt in a medium bowl; cover and refrigerate overnight.

2. Heat half the ghee (or butter) in a large heavy-based saucepan; fry almonds and sultanas until browned lightly, remove from pan with a slotted spoon.

3. Heat remaining ghee (butter) in the same pan; add onion, cook, covered, over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until onion is soft. Remove lid, cook for a further 5 minutes or until onions are lightly browned. Remove half the onion mixture from the pan.

4. Add the lamb mixture to onion in pan, cook, stirring, until lamb is browned lightly. Add water, bring to the boil then simmer, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Remove lid, simmer, uncovered, for a further 30 minutes or until the lamb is tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Meanwhile, cook the rice in boiling salted water for about 5 minutes or until half-cooked; drain.

6. Combine the saffron and milk in a small bowl, stand for 15 minutes.

7. Preheat the oven to moderate (180oC/160oC fan-forced). Spread half the lamb mixture into a greased ovenproof dish (3.5 litre/14cup capacity), top with half the rice, then remaining lamb and rice. Drizzle saffron and milk mixture over the rice; cover tightly with greased foil and lid. Bake in a moderate oven for about 40 minutes or until rice is tender.

8. Serve biryani topped with reheated reserved onions, almond mixture and extra coriander leaves.

Suitable to freeze.

Enjoy!

~ image credit ~

Cookies with Lemon Icing

2011-05-08T16:49:00.000+10:00

The 9yo gave me a set of biscuit cutters for Mother's Day. Well actually, the 7yo purchased them on his behalf at the Mother's Day Gift Stall at school last week because the 9yo was a little unwell that day and stayed home with the 4yo and I. In any case, the official reason for purchasing the gift was, "Because you like to cook, Mum." However, I'm not convinced that's the whole reason. You know what I mean? ;)

Anyway, today we had some fun cutting out cookie/biscuit shapes with them. I chose a really easy recipe so the whole process wouldn't be too drawn out. Firstly, because my boys have a limited attention span with such tasks, and secondly because my patience levels are well and truly tested when it comes to cooking with the kids. It's important to remain as patient as possible, and try not to take over when cooking with young ones, otherwise they're more likely to give up and not bother trying in the future. And hey - I'm expecting three course meals from them by the time they're 16. ;)

Here's the recipe for Cookies with Lemon Icing:

250 grams chilled, unsalted butter - chopped
2 cups plain flour
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Place the butter and flour in a food processor and blend until the mixture becomes crumbly. Then add the caster sugar and pulse until combined. Pour in the egg and process until the mixture comes together.

2. Place the mixture on to a floured surface and knead it for approximately 1 minute, or until it's smooth. Press the mixture slightly flat, then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to firm up.

3. Preheat the oven to 180oC (fan forced). Line a couple of baking trays with baking paper. Roll the dough out on to your floured surface to approximately 5mm thick. Use shapes to cut out the dough and place on the trays. Continue this process until all the dough has gone. (You might have to do a couple of baking loads.) Bake the shapes for approximately 10 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown. Allow to cool.

4. Combine the icing sugar and lemon juice using a mini whisk or knife (you can always use lemon cordial instead of juice if you have that - but may need to dilute with a little water). Spread it over the cookies and allow to set before eating.

They were a hit! (With Hubby too.)

The 9yo used some of the leftover mixture to make his own jam drop...

He said it was DELICIOUS!

Playdough

2011-03-17T13:52:00.000+11:00

We have always enjoyed making playdough in our house. Not because we refuse to buy the stuff - just because the act of making it holds so much entertainment value for the kids.

Kids love cooking, and making playdough is like doing that - without having to use the stove top! It's easy, quick and lasts for ages if you store it well. The kids can also choose their own colours, and mixing primary colours to make new ones with the food colouring is a great way to teach your child about colours. Win/win.

The 4yr old and I made some today, and in celebration of St Patrick's Day, we made it green, of course!

Here's the recipe I've used for years for Playdough:

2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup salt (that's a lot - make sure you buy a big container of the stuff!)
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 cup water
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
food colouring

1. Place the flour, salt and cream of tartar in to a large bowl and mix it together. Then add the water and oil and mix to combine.

2. Turn the dough out on to a wooden board and knead to combine, adding a sprinkle of flour if need be. Then, add a little food colouring. (You might want to divide up the dough if you want to do more than one colour.)

3. Continue to knead until your dough is nice and smooth.

If you simply place your dough in to a plastic freezer bag, and seal it well, it should last for aaaages. Enjoy.

The Weekly Meal Plan

2011-03-16T13:04:00.000+11:00

Before the 4yr old was born, I had gotten in to the very good habit of planning our weekly meals in advance. It made shopping easier, and we stopped wasting so much food and stocking our pantry with unnecessary items.

Then I fell in to a very tight schedule with three sons -including the nine year old starting school - and I said (unintentionally) goodbye to the Weekly Meal Plan.

Well, the Meal Plan is finally back, thanks to my iPhone.

I found a great application called MealBoard. It allows me to plan my weekly meals for Hubby and I, as well as for the kids on those nights they're eating something different. However, if I wanted to, I could also plan every meal for each day - including snacks (I don't bother with this).

You can use recipes that are already included in MealBoard to add to your Meal Plan, or you can create your own recipes that are stored and able to be accessed over and over again. (I tend to list just the ingredients, and then under 'Notes', I include where I can find the recipe, but having recipes in your phone is great if you need them when you're traveling.)

And this is the best bit: with all the ingredients listed from your recipes, you can then - at the press of a single button - sync all your ingredients in to a grocery list, which you can then take with you to the shop and tick off each item as you place it in your trolley! If you list your ingredients the right way, you can allocate sections of the store you'll find each item in (eg, Dairy, Bakery, Meats & Seafood, Spices & Condiments etc), which makes finding things on your list easier. It also adds up the ingredients from each recipe to give you the total of items you need (eg It will say something like, '5 tomatoes for multiple recipes').

But that's not all...you can also save your Meal Plans as a template and use them over and over again! That way, if you're having a busy week and don't have time to start a new one, just choose the template of your choice, sync your ingredients and you're good to go.

You can also add to your grocery list anything else you need (eg dishwasher powder, shampoo etc), so it's not limited to just what's on your food list.

Of course, if you don't have an iPhone, never fear, another way of putting together a Meal Plan is to do it on your computer. Excel is a great way to make lists, and there's no reason why you couldn't put together formulas to automatically add up your ingredients. A bit more labour intensive than the iPhone, but possible.

If that's too technical for you, then stationery stores have some great Weekly Meal Planner sheets that you can write your meals out on and put together a shopping list with. Or, you can simply put together a meal plan on a piece of paper. In any case, having a Weekly Meal Plan takes out a lot of extra stress of wondering what to have for dinner each night, then realising you'll have to shop for some extra ingredients you missed buying earlier in the week!

But if you have an iPhone, I'd highly recommend MealBoard. It will save you time...and money!

Grilled Snapper Fillets with Fennel & Onion Salad

2011-03-06T16:06:00.000+11:00

I recently cleaned up my recipe book cupboard and put aside some old recipe books for the school's fundraiser book stall later this year, because I never use them. The rest went in to the recycling bin. There's not much point keeping them all if they just sit there taking up space. Right? (I'm de-cluttering around here one step at a time. It feels GOOD!)

The recipe books I find I use the most (and subsequently didn't throw any out of) are The Australian Women's Weekly cookbooks. The WW recipes just seem to work well, are really easy to follow and taste great. I'm a big fan.

And yet, there are still so many recipes I haven't tried from them that I really need to. So, I've decided to choose a new recipe each week and give it a go.

This week, I chose a fish dish with a fennel and onion salad. Firstly, I wanted to try a different cut of fish to our usual flathead or salmon fillets we eat. Secondly, I'd never used fennel before and wanted to see what I thought of it. (Note that fennel is also referred to as Aniseed - as it was in my local fruit & vegie shop.)

Anyway, I thought I'd share the dish with you, as Hubby and I both loved it, and it was SO quick and terribly easy to make. I was able to whip up the salad and the dressing, then cook the fish in minutes when Hubby arrived home from work.

Here's the recipe for Grilled Snapper Fillets with Fennel & Onion Salad:

1 medium red onion (170g), sliced thinly
4 green onions (scallions), sliced thinly
1 large fennel bulb (550g), trimmed, sliced thinly
2 stalks celery (300g), trimmed, sliced thinly
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/3 cup (80ml) orange juice
1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons sambal oelek (chilli paste)
4 snapper fillets (1kg), skin on

1. Combine both onions, fennel, celery and parsley in a medium bowl.

2. Place juice, oil, garlic and sambal in a screw-top jar; shake well.

3. Cook fish on a heated oiled grill plate (or grill or barbecue) until browned both sides and cooked as desired*.

4. Pour half the dressing over salad in bowl; toss gently. Serve salad topped with fish; drizzle with remaining dressing.

Serves 4

* I actually panfried our snapper, using a little light olive oil spray in the pan.

Delicious!

This recipe came from The Australian Women's Weekly - 100 meals in minutes.

There are lots of great looking recipes in there that I'm going to give a go soon.

Pasta & Egg Salad with Ham

2011-02-23T21:21:00.000+11:00

Once again, my apologies for not being around here a bit more often. Once the boys go back to school, it's busy, busy, busy...but I'm finding some ways to get more organised - especially around meal time - which I'll share soon.

In the meantime, here's a yummy recipe I found on taste.com.au.

The other night, I really felt like a pasta salad, and after doing a quick Google search, this was the first one I found.

Delicious.

It made a nice meal for Hubby and I, then the following night we had some more of it with my hamburger patties (and, of course, skipped the bun and trimmings).

The original recipe recommends using leftover ham or turkey etc (probably originally posted around Christmas time), and I added ham to ours. But of course, leave it out if you wish!

Here's the recipe for Pasta & Egg Salad with Ham:

250g dried spiral pasta

4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled, chopped
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
1 small red capsicum, finely chopped
4 green onions, chopped
1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
2/3 cup whole-egg mayonnaise
3 teaspoons wholegrain mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4-6 thin slices of double-smoked ham
1. Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water, following packet directions, until tender. Drain. Allow to cool.
2. Combine pasta, eggs, celery, capsicum, onions, parsley and ham in a large bowl.
3. Whisk together mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Add dressing to pasta. Toss until well combined.

Serves 6 (as a side salad)

Serves 2-3 (as a main meal)

Entertaining - Time Plans

2011-01-31T18:44:00.000+11:00

For the most part, when we entertain, I don't have to bother with a time plan. It's fairly relaxed and we just go with the flow.

However, back in late 2008, I hosted my very first sit-down lunch for 7 friends. I had to get the eldest son to school, the middle son to daycare and look after the youngest at home that morning (then not quite 2) as well as get the house in order before my guests arrived. Everything I had to do was flying around in my head. When should I do this? When should I do that? What time should I put the chicken in the oven? And so on.

Consequently, because I'm not the most organised person in the world (even though I like to think that I am - HA! Yeah, right) I sat down and wrote out a Time Plan for myself. It included everything I had to do, and you know what? It was brilliant. I was able to get lunch on the table at the right time and we even had time for a quick cuppa and a chockie before heading down to collect our munchkins from school.

Here's how it looked:

Ladies Lunch Time Plan

Of course, the only thing that I couldn't plan for, was what time the toddler would wake up. Fortunately for me, I got lucky that day and he only woke as we sat down for our cup of tea. Perfect.

The key is setting a realistic timeframe for all of the tasks. If you underestimate, it'll throw the whole Time Plan out of whack - so I suggest assuming you'll need more time for most things.

Following a Time Plan just makes the whole organisation easier. Since then, whenever I've entertained a larger amount of people, I've written one up.

The actual lunch I served on that day back in 2008, I'll be posting here soon....

A Girl's Allowed to Change Her Mind

2011-01-27T10:44:00.000+11:00

So, not that long ago I relaunched Mummy Mayhem's Recipe Box with a new banner and all...and then I got my makeover done over at my blog Mummy Mayhem (which I LOVE) and decided I really wanted to use my caricature on this blog.

The lovely, and incredibly talented, Kim of Flufflepot - who designed my blog banner for Mummy Mayhem - agreed to pop a new top and apron on my caricature and VOILA! My new banner above was formed. (Her blog is fab, so if you haven't already, check it out!)

I've also moved things around a bit so stuff is easier to find. I add the main ingredients from each recipe to my tags, so if you scroll down the RHS of my homepage, you'll see a list that will take you to the recipes that include those items. Easy.

Anyway, hope you like this mini-makeover. I LOVE it. Now this place feels like home. I anticipate this will be the final change for a while!

I'll be back with some more recipes next week.

Until then...

Menu Planner - Australia Day BBQ

2011-01-22T15:39:00.000+11:00

Fingers crossed the weather will be great for this year's Australia Day celebrations, and we'll be able to enjoy a bit of a BBQ lunch with the kids!

I recently shared the following menu with Uncle Toby's so they could use it on their Facebook page, but for those of you who aren't yet addicted to the social networking site and can't access the recipes, here is the menu for you. You're welcome. ;)

And so here is this year's menu planner for an Australia Day BBQ:

To find all the recipes, just click on the links below....

Granny's Garlic & Chilli Prawns
Jodie's Easiest Burgers Ever
Melon Fruit Platter with Mint & Yoghurt

Happy Australia Day!

Jodie's Easiest Burgers Ever

2011-01-22T15:38:00.003+11:00

I don't know anyone who doesn't enjoy these burgers. Even the kids like them. (Although, I make their fillings with the burger patties a little less interesting, otherwise they complain!)

So quick to put together and cook. A real winner.

Here is my recipe for Jodie's Easiest Burgers Ever:

Burger patties

500-600g lean beef mince

1 medium white onion, chopped finely or grated

1 small to medium carrot, chopped finely or grated

½ celery stick, chopped finely

1 whole egg

2 teaspoons mixed herbs

1 tablespoon continental parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon garlic pepper

1 clove of garlic, crushed

A good dash of Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon tomato sauce

A small dash of soy sauce

Fresh bread crumbs made from 3 slices of bread (crusts removed)

Pinch of salt

Burger extras

Lettuce leaves

Dijon mustard

Tomato relish/sauce

Whole egg mayonnaise

Thin slices of cheese of your choice

Thin slices of tomato

Hamburger buns

1. Place the mince in a large bowl. Add all the other pattie ingredients and mix together well, using your hands.

2. Shape mixture in to burger patties (I like to keep them fairly thin).

3. Place on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes (to firm up).

4. Heat the BBQ hot plate to quite hot. Spray or brush with a little olive oil and cook patties for 3-5 minutes each side until cooked through, turning once.

5. Meanwhile, prepare your hamburger buns by spreading the bottom half of the bun lightly with some Dijon mustard and tomato relish/sauce. Spread the top to the hamburger with a little mayonnaise.

6. When the burger patties are cooked, place the pattie on top of the bun with the mustard and sauce, then top with cheese, then lettuce, then tomato. Place top on hamburger. Cut in half and serve.

Will easily make 6 burgers

Granny's Garlic & Chilli Prawns

2011-01-22T15:38:00.002+11:00

I am so fortunate my mother-in-law handed this recipe down to me. It is so DELICIOUS!

At this stage, my kids won't eat them ("too spicy!'), but that's ok. There's more for me. ;)

They are a perfect entree or main served with a salad. Nothing says summer to me more than prawns, so here in Oz at least, it's the perfect time to throw 'em on a barbie - or in a wok.

Here's the recipe for Granny's Garlic & Chilli Prawns:

500g uncooked green prawns, de-veined, shelled with tails intact

4 cloves of garlic (3 crushed, 1 finely chopped)

1 large red chilli, finely chopped (remove seeds to lessen heat if you like)

½ teaspoon chilli flakes for extra heat (optional - recommended)

2 tablespoons sunflower or vegetable oil

Salt and cracked black pepper

Coriander leaves for garnish

Lime wedges to serve

1. Rinse the prawns with cold water, leave to drain thoroughly.

2. Place garlic, chilli, 1 tablespoon of the oil and a good pinch of salt in to a small dish. Combine.

3. Add prawns to a bowl ready for marinating. Throw over garlic, chilli, oil and salt mixture. Give the prawns a good mix to coat thoroughly.

4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes, but preferably for about an hour.

5. Remove prawns from fridge approximately 10 minutes before cooking.

6. Heat the bbq hot plate so it is nice and hot. Drizzle with remaining oil. (Alternatively, if you have a wok attachment on your bbq, you could cook the prawns in the wok.)

7. Add prawns and stir frequently until cooked – approximately 3-5 minutes (or until prawns are opaque).

8. Place on a warmed serving platter. Drizzle with juices if cooking in wok. Garnish with coriander leaves and lime wedges then serve.

Serves 6

Melon Fruit Platter with Mint & Yoghurt

2011-01-22T15:38:00.000+11:00

Here's an impressive looking dessert that's also incredibly healthy.

I find the kids love the melon balls so this is a hit with both adults and the littlies.

I would suggest scooping out the melon balls, cutting the rockmelon and washing and drying the mint before your guests arrive. Then place them in separate bowls/on plates and cover with plastic wrap before putting in the fridge. Then when it comes time to serve, just arrange and away you go. (Arranging it first and refrigerating it will make the melon juices flow on to the plate and it just won't look as pretty.)

Here's my recipe for my Melon Fruit Platter with Mint & Yoghurt:

Half a rockmelon, cut in to slices, skin removed

¼ to ½ watermelon

½ honey dew melon

Small mint leaves for garnishing

Greek-style Natural Yoghurt for serving

1. Arrange the rockmelon on a long platter, spacing the pieces evenly (cut bottoms flat so they stand).

2. Using a melon baller, scoop out balls of watermelon, then do the same with the honey dew melon.

3. Scatter the watermelon and honey dew melon balls over and around the rockmelon slices.

4. Tear off the smaller leaves from a bunch of mint and scatter over fruit.

5. Serve your platter with a bowl of natural yoghurt.

Serves 6

Mixed Green Salad with Vinaigrette

2011-01-18T15:03:00.000+11:00

My apologies for not posting much from here lately. I've been on holidays. :)

Here's an easy, tasty side salad that's perfect with anything, and works really well as a 'second' salad, if you like. It's so simple, yet so tasty. My friend, Mardi, recently said, "The vinaigrette tastes like restaurant quality." Woot! Thanks, Mard!

Serve with your fave fish, chicken or red meat with some other vegies on the side.

In a few weeks' time, I'll be putting together a lunch for you and your girlfriends that will include this salad. So look out for that!

Here's my recipe for Mixed Green Salad with Vinaigrette:

300g mixed salad leaves
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 teaspoon brown sugar

1. Wash your salad leaves and dry them well (I use a salad spinner, then leave them out for a bit to dry fully). Place in a serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap then refrigerate until ready to serve.

2. Combine all the vinaigrette ingredients in to a jar, pop on the lid and shake well.

3. When serving the salad, add enough of the vinaigrette to lightly coat the leaves and toss gently.

Serves 8-10

Jodie

Fab Food Find - Bonta Divina's Tiramisu

2011-01-04T09:34:00.000+11:00

It's time for another of my fab food finds.

I don't know exactly when it happened, but one day I went from not being a Tiramisu fan at all, to suddenly craving it.

If I can't get the real deal, there's a dessert I discovered in my local Coles supermarket that I buy on occasion to satisfy my Tiramisu cravings.

Allow me to present to you Bonta Divina's Tiramisu!

It comes in a double pack in the refrigerated section of your supermarket. I love it.

Of course, I surely won't be eating much of it now I'm on my Healthy New Year kick. Ahem.

Buon appetito!

Jodie

Pizza - The Perfect New Year's Eve Dinner

2010-12-27T11:01:00.000+11:00

The best thing about New Year's Eve dinner is that it doesn't have to be formal and can be anything you darn well please.

Personally, I think pizza is perfect! You can jazz it up and make it fancy, or stick with easy toppings.

Using my pizza dough recipe, you can make the perfect base. It's so quick, easy and fresh that once you get in to the habit of making it, you'll never bother going back to purchased pizza bases.

Then, make yourself a pizza sauce - whole skinned tomatoes pureed up with some salt, pepper and oregano flakes - and you're good to go. (Don't bother cooking the pizza sauce. You don't need to.) Alternatively, you can just buy bottled passata. Avoid the 'pizza sauces' on the market - they're full of sugar and too thick. You want a fresh tasting pizza!

Here's a pizza we made the other night that we call the Mediterranean:

Mediterranean
- Passata
- Oregano flakes
- Pizza cheese (mixture of mozzarella, paremesan and cheddar)
- Semidried tomatoes, cut in to smallish pieces
- Pitted Kalamata olives, sliced in half
- Anchovies, cut in to smallish pieces
- Goat's cheese fetta, cut in to cubes (the goat's cheese is much nicer than the cow's milk fetta)

And after it had cooked, we threw some fresh rocket leaves on top, cracked some black pepper over it and it was ready to EAT!

Sometimes, we add spanish onion to this one as well, which is delicious - we just didn't have it in the pantry at the time.

Other toppings we love around here:

Margherita
- Passata
- Oregano flakes
- Pizza cheese
- With or without thin slices of fresh tomato

Margherita with Basil
- Passata
- Oregano flakes
- Pizza cheese
- Thin slices of tomato
- Fresh basil leaves

Ham, Mushroom & Cheese
- Passata
- Oregano flakes
- Pizza cheese
- Thin slices of ham
- Thin slices of button mushrooms

Really - you can put pretty much anything you like on your pizzas. Just let your imagination run wild with ideas!

Happy New Year everyone!

Jodie

Stawberries Romanoff

2010-12-20T10:48:00.010+11:00

If you're a fan of orange liqueur, fresh strawberries and cream - here's a dessert for you.

This recipe has been around a long time - there's a number of variations, but here's the easy one.

Here's my recipe for Strawberries Romanoff:

750g strawberries, cut in to quarters
90mls orange juice
3 tablespoons icing sugar mixture
3 tablespoons of Cointreau or Grand Marnier
450ml thickened cream

1. In a bowl, combine the strawberries, juice, icing sugar and orange liqueur. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. With an electric mixer, beat the cream in a small bowl until soft peaks form.

3. Divide the strawberry and liqueur mixture among six glasses (around 3/4 cup to 1 cup capacity).

4. Using half the cream, divide it between the glasses.

5. Repeat the layering of the strawberry mixture / cream.

Serves 6

I don't serve mine with anything, but you could serve with a sponge finger if you like.

Enjoy!

Jodie

Menu Planner - Christmas Day Lunch

2010-12-20T10:48:00.009+11:00

Growing up, the one food that was a staple for Christmas Day lunch was Mum's Roast Pork.

I remember that my niece, nephew and I (we're all pretty much the same age) would always complain when my Mum gave my brother-in-law most of the crackling! We loved it, and it was the first thing we ate off our plates.

These days, Hubby and I also make roast pork. It's a little different to the way my Mum used to make hers.

My mother-in-law has always made very good roast pork too, so last year, when she came to stay with us during the Christmas season, I was a little worried about making our roast pork for her. It hasn't always been perfect. Some years, the crackling has been great, but the meat is too dry, or the meat is moist and the crackling mediocre. Anyway, the last couple of years, I think we've got it down to a fine art, I'm happy to say.

I've put together a Christmas Day Lunch menu for you. It serves 6 people. It's a guide only. You should eat whatever you want on Christmas Day - it's a day to celebrate!

Here's this year's menu planner for Christmas Day Lunch:

I'll leave it up to you to sort out your selection of cheeses and crackers, but here are the links to the other recipes:

Roast Pork with Apples, Pears & Parsnips

Maple-roast Kumara

Strawberries Romanoff

With the Broccolini - just steam it either with a steamer or in a bag in the microwave until bright green, and serve.

Serves 6

Merry Christmas everyone!

Jodie

Roast Pork with Pears, Apples and Parsnips

2010-12-20T10:48:00.002+11:00

Image borrowed from www.mindfood.com

I've always loved roast pork. Mum always made a leg of pork. We love pork loin.

I wrote this recipe in my "Cook's Favourites" recipe book - like I do many of my fave recipes - and, of course, have no idea where I got it from. Most of my recipes I get from magazines or friends, but usually if from friends, I just stick a copy of their email or their hand-written recipe in my book or my recipe folder. My bet is on a mag!

Anyway, here's the recipe for Roast Pork with Pears, Apples & Parsnips:

This recipe takes about 1 hour and 10 minutes to make. You can get your butcher to score the rind of your pork loin - about 1cm apart.

When preparing your pork, we've found washing it well, then letting dry really well helps with the crackling. When you buy it, wash it, dry it with paper towel, then place on a plate, in your fridge with paper towel over it until you're ready to cook it. I know that sounds like it will dry out, but it really makes a difference with the crackling, and the meat will be fine.

2 kg piece boned pork loin (not rolled)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons sea salt
2 large (360g) parsnips, peeled, quartered lengthways
2 large (660g) firm pears, quartered, cored
2 large (400g) red apples, quartered, cored
4 cloves garlic, unpeeled, extra
1/4 cup brown sugar

1. Preheat your oven to very hot (250oC fan-forced). Rub the pork flesh (not the rind) with combined crushed garlic, rosemary, sage and 1 tablespoon of the oil. Place the pork on a wire rack in a large baking dish. Rub scored rind with salt.

2. In a separate medium-sized baking dish, combine the parsnips, pears and apples, extra garlic, sugar and remaining oil; toss gently.

3. Roast pork and the pear mixture, uncovered, in a very hot oven for 25 minutes or until pork rind blisters. Reduce the temperature to moderate (180oC fan-forced) and roast the pork and pear mixture, uncovered, for a further 40-45 minutes or until cooked as desired. Turn or shake the pear mixture occasionally during cooking and remove the apples when tender.

4. Remove the pork and pear mixture from the oven, cover dishes with foil. Stand the pork for about 15 minutes before slicing.

5. Skim fat from pan juices; serve with pork and pear mixture.

Serves 6

Tip: If your crackling doesn't turn out - it's just not crackly enough! - then my friend Jen told me a tip. Just remove the crackling from the pork and pop it in the microwave for about 30 seconds. It should crackle a little bit more. I tried that one year - and it worked!

Jodie

Maple-Roast Kumara

2010-12-20T10:48:00.001+11:00

Photo from http://www.eatingwell.com

I wrote this recipe in my "Cook's Favourites" recipe book years ago because it is so easy and so yummy. I'm not sure where I got it from - probably a magazine.

Here's the recipe for Maple-Roast Kumara:

4 small kumara (sweet potatoes)

60 ml olive oil

60 ml pure maple syrup

1. Preheat the oven to 160oC or 140oC fan-forced.

2. Halve the kumara lengthways, then crossways. Line a small to medium baking dish with baking paper. Combine the kumara with the oil and maple syrup.

3. Roast, uncovered, for 40 minutes. Then, increase the temperature to hot (220oC or 200oC fan-forced). Roast for a further 20 to 30 minutes, or until browned and cooked through.

Serves 6

Jodie

* I've used a pic that's not mine - once again, haven't had a chance to take a pic of mine yet!

Kid's Fruit Platter

2010-12-16T10:12:00.001+11:00

One way to get kids totally interested in eating what's prepared is to encourage them to make it themselves, or at least help you make it.

My kids LOVE making fruit platters. (Sometimes they make "Fruit Castles" which is similar - they just stack the fruit rather than lay it out.) I love that they want to eat it, and that they think of it as a 'special treat' to make their own. They've even made fruit castles for family guests! They feel so special contributing to the meal, and it's good to see their parents and family members enjoying something so healthy.

Basically, you just choose any fruits you like - cutting up some that perhaps the kids can't cut themselves - and then give them a platter and let them go for it. We often serve ours with natural yoghurt.

Here's the finished platter my boys made the other night, and then quickly devoured:

Ok, so it's not the prettiest thing ever, but they were proud of it, and that's what counts!

We used blueberries, mango, apple (Granny Smiths and Pink Lady ones) and watermelon.

Delish!

Jodie

Mum's Lemon Butter Tarts

2010-12-14T11:30:00.000+11:00

You know what? I never did get around to making my Mum's Lemon Butter Tarts as I promised, but I'm going to post them now.

I had an ill 6yr old all of last week, followed by a busy weekend which included my 3yr old son being rushed off to the hospital with an injury, a wedding, and taking our family Christmas card pic that we do each year. No time to bake. But I can't put it off any longer!

The pic I've used is not a photo of my Mum's Lemon Butter Tarts, but gives you an idea of what they'll look like. (Yes - this pic is of fruit mince pies - but look remarkably like what the Lemon Butter Tarts look like.) When I finally do get around to baking them, I'll update this recipe with my own pic.

I hope you enjoyed the other two recipes using my Mum's Lemon Butter - my Baby Pikelets with Lemon Butter & Summer Fruits and my Chicken Schnitzel with Tangy Lemon Butter Sauce.

Here's the recipe for my Mum's Lemon Butter Tarts:

Firstly, you need to make my Mum's Lemon Butter. You need some time for the lemon butter to thicken up in the fridge, so make it at least 2 to 3 hours before you start on the pastry for the tarts. Here's what you need:

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
125 grams butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
A dash of milk

1. Rub butter in to flour. Add sugar and mix.

2. Add milk and egg (make sure it's only a dash of milk). Mix together. If too dry, add more milk. If too moist, add more flour.

3. Roll out pastry fairly thin. Cut out medium sized circles and place in a greased patty tin (rather shallow one).

4. Place a small amount of lemon butter in to each (about a teaspoon or so). (The lemon butter will spread when the tarts are cooked.)

5. Cut out some tops for the tarts from the pasty using a small sized cutter. Place on top of tarts. Press to pinch bottom and top of tarts together.

6. Bake in a hot oven until golden brown. Cool and sprinkle with icing sugar before serving.

Makes approximately 20

Enjoy!

Jodie

Chicken Schnitzel with Tangy Lemon Butter Sauce

2010-12-08T16:43:00.000+11:00

As promised, this week I'm giving you three recipes using my Mum's Lemon Butter.

If you missed it, yesterday I posted a delicious finger-food dessert: Baby Pikelets with Lemon Butter & Summer Fruits.

Today, I'm giving you a recipe for lunch or dinner.

I should warn you that this recipe is rather sweet - but also tangy. It's not something you'd eat all the time, but occasionally, it's rather delicious! I think the sauce could also go well with fish. I haven't tried that yet, but think I might just do that. ;) Also, if you wanted to make this a finger food, you could make smaller schnitzels and serve the sauce in a bowl for dipping. Delish!

Here's my recipe for Chicken Schnitzel with Tangy Lemon Butter Sauce:

1 large (double) chicken breasts or 2 smaller (double) chicken breasts
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon milk
Packaged breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons sunflower or vegetable oil
30 grams butter
Pinch of salt

Tangy Lemon Butter Sauce:
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 small chicken stock cube, crumbled OR 1 small teaspoon chicken stock powder (eg Massel)
2 tablespoons cornflour
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon brown sugar
60 grams butter
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon butter
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1. Slice each breast in half so you end up with four breasts fillets (or 8 small ones if you're using the smaller chicken breasts). Pound chicken to flatten.

2. On one plate, add the egg, milk and pinch of salt together. Stir to combine. On another plate, pour out the breadcrumbs. Dip each breast fillet in to the egg & milk mixture, then coat with the breadcrumbs. Set aside.

3. Head oil in a large frying pan (medium to high heat). When oil is heated, add chicken breasts, turning after approximately 3-5 minutes. Cook until both sides are golden and the chicken is cooked through. Drain on absorbent paper, then arrange on plates.

4. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Combine juice and stock cube in a jug and set aside. Add cornflour to the melted butter and stir quickly. Once combined, add the combined juice and stock, water, garlic, sugar and lemon butter and bring to the boil, stirring regularly. Reduce heat and simmer for about five minutes, uncovered - stirring regularly. Sauce will thicken slightly.

5. Once thickened, add the parsley then pour over chicken schnitzel.

Serves 4

I like to serve this dish with a crisp green salad, with maybe a dressing of extra virgin olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar. Hubby likes a small baked potato with his.

On Friday, I'll post my Mum's Lemon Butter Tarts. They are a REAL treat - so don't miss them!

Jodie

Baby Pikelets With Lemon Butter & Summer Fruits

2010-12-07T10:51:00.000+11:00

Last week, I posted a recipe for my Mum's Lemon Butter and promised three recipes this week that you could use it in. Here's the first one.

I once had something like this at a party. I can't quite remember where/when (the old memory isn't what it used to be), but I'm quite sure it was fairly similar. I just made up my own version!

These are great served at a morning or afternoon tea, or at a cocktail party as a yummy finger food dessert. The kids might like them too!

Here's my recipe for Baby Pikelets With Lemon Butter & Summer Fruits:

Homemade lemon butter (recipe link below)
Pikelets (recipe link below)
1 punnet of fresh blueberries
1 punnet of fresh raspberries
Icing sugar for dusting

1. Make my Mum's Lemon Butter. (If making for afternoon tea, you will need to make the lemon butter in the morning at least, or even the day before.)

2. Make my Pikelets - use the batter to make small, bite-sized pikelets and allow to cool.

3. Wash the fruit well in cold water. Allow to dry, or pat dry with some kitchen paper. (It's best to have the fruit at room temperature, otherwise, if they are cold they will sweat and your icing sugar will just disappear when you sprinkle it on!)

4. Arrange the cooled pikelets on to your serving tray. Place a dollop of lemon butter on each pikelet, then arrange summer fruits on top.

5. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Once again - another easy recipe that looks great and will impress your guests!

Look out for my other two recipes using lemon butter coming up this week!

Jodie

Mum's Lemon Butter

2010-12-02T16:32:00.000+11:00

Borrowed this pic from
www.redcordialrevolution.com

Growing up, my Mum would make these things called Lemon Cheese Tarts. But they weren't really tarts. (Nor did they contain cheese!) They were like delicate buttery type cakes with lemon butter inside. A top was put on, then icing sugar sprinkled over the top.

I don't know one person who didn't love them back then - in fact, friends used to deliver to Mum lemons just so she would make a batch for them - and now that I make them, everyone remarks how delicious they are.

How many of you have made your own lemon butter? It's so easy. I never realised how easy it was until I made it myself. You can use it in so many ways!

Today, I'm going to give you Mum's recipe for her lemon butter (I've decided not to call it Lemon Cheese - too confusing for some). Then next week, I'll give you three recipes you can use it in. One of them being my Mum's Lemon Butter Tarts. (Believe me - they're not to be missed.)

(You will notice that the measurements in this recipe are rather strange. I think Mum must have converted them from the Imperial measurement system at some stage. Don't let it put you off. It's quite easy to work with them. I've added a couple of notes for you.)

Here's the recipe for Mum's Lemon Butter:

2 eggs
1/4 + 1/8 cups caster sugar (I just measure two amounts of sugar!)
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/8 cup water
63 grams butter (I make it roughly 60-65 grams!)

1. Combine egg and sugar in a microwave safe bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients.

2. Cook on HIGH for two minutes. Stir, then cook for 4-5 minutes on medium, or until the lemon butter thickens - stirring regularly.

3. Once thickened, cool then put in a glass jar or jug, cover with plastic wrap and allow to thicken up further.

See? Easy!

Jodie

Christmas Gingerbread House

2010-12-01T10:46:00.000+11:00

Every year, a bunch of (mostly) women get together for a gingerbread house making night, organised by our local parish. To be honest, the first year I heard about it, I was hesitant to go. I thought, 'Surely only old people do stuff like that?' Well, no. They don't actually. Loads of hip, young(ish) Mums like myself (*cough*) get together with a glass of wine and chat and build their houses. We sit side by side, sharing our stash of lollies, building our houses and having a chin wag. It's such a fun night, and one I hope to be participating in for years to come.

And the finished product is a hit with the kids! More is more for my boys when it comes to lollies, and last year I made a gingerbread house that was lolly filled indeed. This year, I tried to tone down the lollies a little, mostly at Hubby's request. He loves gingerbread, but doesn't love all the icing and lollies all over it, and to be honest, I'm rather with him on that. But the house has to look festive, you know? Otherwise, what's the point?

We didn't bake the gingerbread. It would take too long. Instead we were given a cake board and our gingerbread house in pieces, ready to construct. Firstly the walls of the house had to be built by piping some icing on to the bottom of each wall, and the sides and putting them together on the board. I tried to position mine close to one edge of my board, so I could have a 'front door' at one end with more space around it. Then the roof went on, once again, using icing to join up all the edges where the roof met with the walls. The walls and roof were held together with dress-making pins, which are removed once the icing has set. Whilst the icing was firming up, we had some supper (which was delicious)!

Then came the fun part. The decorating! Here's my completed house:

Apart from lollies, I also used:

A packet of The Simpsons themed Christmas decorations.

An earring (new) - shaped like a Christmas wreath - for the front door.

A Santa Claus ceramic figurine.

A Snowman Christmas tree decoration.

The roof

As you can see, I piped icing in the joins of the house, and I used raspberry lollies along the top of the roof. I stuck Smarties on the roof by piping icing on each one before sticking it on. I used coloured choc-bits to stick in the icing (snow!) along the roof edges, and sprinkled them on top of the icing that I piped as fallen snow on the ground, surrounding the house.

The Christmas wreath is an earring!

I used Christmas tree-shaped marshmallows outside the front door, which was built using green musk sticks. I piped more icing around the door to make it appear that snow had fallen on it. See my Christmas wreath? My friend, Jen bought the earrings for me. I used candy canes for each corner of the house as well.

I used chocolate bullets to build a log pile

The sides of the house (as well as the top of the front door) are decorated with chocolate freckles. I used a few mint leaves in the corners to act as greenery. I built a log pile made from chocolate coated licorice bullets. (I ate at twice as many of them as I built it too. Yum.)

The back of my house was rather rushed from memory - left to the end - so my Smarties are not very coordinated. I know - I'm funny like that! My snowman looks cute though, huh?

The Simpsons were a hit with my boys.

Then The Simpsons were put in place. The kids loved seeing The Simpsons on their house! (I bought the decorations from Big W. They also had Sesame Street decorations as well, but I decided to keep it just to The Simpsons.)

The last thing we did was sift icing sugar all over to create the look of snow. I didn't use too much this year, so there was only a light dusting for me. Then it was time to wrap it up, like this...

So, it's not perfect. A bit wonky to be honest and icing doesn't meet in parts, but as my Dad would say: A blind man and a galloping horse won't notice that! The main thing is that I had fun and the kids think I'm a legend. ;)

Gingerbread House packs can be bought in various stores, so if you see one, why not grab it and give it a go? Or, if you're really game - why not bake one yourself? I'm sure there are some amazing recipes on the Internet you could find.

Jodie

Fab Food Find - Nestle's Club Dark Chocolate, Mint Infusion

2010-11-24T12:40:00.000+11:00

\Hubby and I quite like a bit of chockie in the pantry, and dark chocolate is our chocolate of choice. We're quite happy with the plain stuff, but we started trying a few different flavours recently and I've found one we both really love.

Nestle Club make a dark chocolate with a hint of mint. Delicious! The flavour is fairly new, so if you haven't tried it yet, go out and get yourself some.

And if Nestle want to send me a truckload in thanks - feel free. (Cheeky, huh?)

Got a chocolate you love that you want to share with us?

Jodie

Banana Muffins

2010-11-22T13:35:00.000+11:00

We're fairly big fans of muffins in this house. I love that they're pretty quick to make and I almost always have bananas in the house - they're my fave fruit!

Here's my recipe for Banana Muffins:

2 1/2 cups self-raising flour
3/4 cup fairly firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup of lite/low fat milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 large or 2 small to medium sized bananas

1. Preheat the oven to 180oC.

2. Combine milk, egg, butter, vanilla essence and bananas in a large jug or bowl and blend with either an electric beater or hand-held blender.

3. Place flour and sugar in a large bowl. Combine then mix in ingredients from step 2.

4. Place mixture in to a greased muffin tray (or use patty pans).

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until muffins are golden and skewer placed in to the middle comes out clean.

6. Stand for 5 minutes in muffin tray. Remove and allow to cool before serving.

Notes:
* If you don't want to use butter, you can use margarine instead.
** My boys don't like an overwhelming banana taste, so I just use 1 medium-sized banana. Use what you think is best for you and your family!

Jodie

Hubby's Chilli Mussels

2010-11-08T14:04:00.000+11:00

Hubby and I used to live in Perth, and one of our fave dinners to have together back then was Chilli Mussels. You could get some seriously good Chilli Mussels in Perth, and we really missed them when we moved to Sydney, because we just couldn't find them on the menu here! It was all Mussels in White Wine and similar.

So, Hubby came up with his own recipe, and they are delicious. When he made them again last night, I made sure I got down the recipe...just for you!

Here is the recipe for Hubby's Chilli Mussels:

1 white onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 x 400g tins of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 large red chilli, deseeded & chopped finely (keep some seeds in if you like it hot)
1 to 1 1/2 kilo black mussels
Salt

1. Heat the oil in a large stock pot.

2. Add the onions and cook until soft. Add garlic and stir until fragrant (about 1 minute).

3. Add tomatoes, wine, chillies and oregano and a few pinches of salt. Stir often, gradually bringing sauce to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 15-20 minutes.

4. During simmering, prepare mussels for cooking (clean, de-beard, empty water if purchased in a packet).

5. Once the sauce has simmered for required time, turn up the heat until the sauce is boiling again. Add mussels gradually (and carefully!) by hand. Put lid on stock pot. Cook for approximately 10 minutes until mussels are cooked (and open), stirring a couple of times during cooking.

6. Place cooked mussels in to heated bowls, discarding any unopened ones, and serve with fresh, crusty slices of bread.

Serves 2 to 3

Hubby would also say: serve with a good beer. :)

Absolutely DELICIOUS! Give it a go. Easy-peasy stuff.

Jodie

And the Winner of The Dettol No Touch Hand Wash System is...

2010-11-05T10:36:00.000+11:00

It's time to announce the winner of the Dettol No Touch Hand Wash System...

Thank you to all the lovely MM's Recipe Box readers who participated in the competition to WIN their very own Dettol No Touch Hand Wash System (valued at $19.95).

I had the 8yo read all the entries this morning, and I am pleased to announce he picked the following comment (based on, no doubt, the fact that his fave colour - green - was a theme, and also that the story involved 'poo'. Win/win and all that):

Congratulation, Aly! I hear you're new to the blogging world. Isn't this a nice way to start?

Just send me an email to mummymayhem@bigpond.com with your address details, and I'll make sure the good people over at Dettol get that and send out your very own pack ASAP!

Once again, thanks all for participating. Here's hoping we have some more giveaways in the future! ;)

Jodie

Alex Herbert's Grilled Beef Burgers with Tomato Salsa

2010-11-04T13:14:00.000+11:00

I was recently sent the new Braun Multiquick Cordless (RRP$249.95) to try out for myself (you can read about that over at Mummy Mayhem). With it, came a few recipes developed by acclaimed Sydney chef from Bird Cow Fish, Ready Steady Cook regular and mother of two Alex Herbert.

We tried out her Grilled Beef Burgers, and they were SO delicious. The kids loved them too. I thought I'd share the recipe with you. We didn't get around to making the Tomato Salsa, but I will definitely try that next time, because it sounds yummy. I've included the recipe for the Tomato Salsa so you can give it a go. If you do, let me know how it works out for you!

Here's the recipe for Alex Herbert's Grilled Beef Burgers with Tomato Salsa:

Burger Patties (Makes 8 x 150g burgers)
750g minced beef chuck steak, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped thyme
1 whole egg
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
10g chopped parsley
30g fresh bread crumbs
100g chopped carrot
100g chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
50g chopped celery

1. Chop the vegetables (I used my Braun Multiquick Cordless chopper for the herbs, the onion, the carrot, the bread - even the garlic (but had to chop it a bit finer afterwards, but a good start - fabulous!). Combine all ingredients for the burger together and gently slap together to form a cohesive mixture. Shape into 200g discs and chill for at least 30 minutes for them to firm up and cool down.

2. Preheat a heavy pan or BBQ and lightly oil the surface. Cook the patties for about 10 minutes, turning twice, and allow to rest for three minutes before serving.

Here are the burgers all put together ready for cooking...

Tomato Salsa
750g fresh tomatoes, blanched and peeled
1 sprig of fresh thyme leaves removed from the stalk
1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1. Chop the tomatoes.

2. Warm the olive oil in a frypan and add the garlic and thyme. Now add the tomatoes and cook gently until they have broken down and their excess water has evaporated.

3. Season with salt and pepper and add a little sugar to taste if required.

4. Blend to a smooth consistency (the Braun Multiquick Cordless is perfect, but if you have a food processor - that'll work too).

Serves a family of four

Jodie

GIVEAWAY: Something Handy for the Kitchen

2010-10-28T09:43:00.000+11:00

Something I've found handy in the kitchen, and a great GIVEAWAY too!

The people over at Dettol recently sent me my own Dettol No-Touch Hand Wash System (pictured). You've probably seen the ads on tv.

The system senses when your hand is underneath and dispels the soap, so you don't have to pump it yourself. I've actually found this particularly handy in the kitchen, because often I'll have, say, raw mince or sticky pizza dough or cooked chicken I've just shredded on my hands, and if I use my pump soap, the food gets all over it and I find myself cleaning that as well as my hands! Ugh. Who has time for that?

With the Dettol No-Touch system, there's no more messy soap pumps to clean! AND the soap kills 99.9% of pesky germs too. (Bonus.)

I actually started off using mine in the bathroom, and of course, the kids loved it. A little too much at first (it made me realise how good it would be for encouraging kids who don't wash their hands - they'd love the novelty of it!), but after a week, they went back to washing their hands a normal amount of times a day (phew). Here's some pics of the kids painting, followed by the 3yo demonstrating the Dettol system. (Bonus: for the first time after painting, I didn't have to wash the soap pump as well as my kids' hands!)

Pebble painting

3yo covered in paint

The Dettol No-Touch Hand Wash System in action

Bye-bye paint!

Here's some good news for you...the people over at Dettol are offering one lucky reader the chance to WIN their very own Dettol No-Touch Hand Wash System (valued at $19.95 - and available at all supermarkets throughout Australia).

All you have to do is leave a comment below, and tell me in 25 words or less what's the messiest moment you, or your kids, have had in the kitchen?

I'm going to ask my 8yo to choose the winner.

The competition is open to all Aussie readers (sorry all my o/s followers!) and will be open until Midnight EST Wednesday 3 November. The winner will be announced on Friday 5 November!

Good luck everyone!

Jodie

Pork with White Mustard Sauce

2010-10-27T13:17:00.000+11:00

Here's a recipe Hubby and I love, but I hadn't made for aaaages - until last night, that is.

We don't eat pork often. I guess I forget about it sometimes. A shame, because it makes such a nice change from chicken, beef and lamb. Hubby tends to go nuts over pork during Christmastime (and I'll be posting a really great pork roast we do closer to then), so I guess I often think of it as a Christmas meat. Not so.

Anyway, here's a yummy meal. I've made the servings for two, so just up the ingredients depending on how many you're making it for.

Here's my recipe for Pork with White Mustard Sauce:

2 cuts of pork (eg pork loins or chops - whatever you like) or 4 small cuts
Olive oil spray
Garlic pepper
2 teaspoons of butter
2 teaspoons of plain flour
1/4 cup of hot milk
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
2 teaspoons mayonnaise
Cracked black pepper

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and mix well.

2. Remove from the heat and stir in the hot milk and stock. Return to the heat and keep stirring until the sauce thickens. (This will take a little while, so do this part first before starting your pork.)

3. Spray a frying pan with olive oil spray. Heat on medium heat.

4. Sprinkle pork cuts with a little garlic pepper. When the pan is heated, place the pork in the pan and cook to your liking (turning once).

5. Meanwhile, keep an eye on your sauce. When it is thick, add the mayonnaise and mustard and stir well. Remove from heat.

6. When the pork is cooked, remove from heat, cover in alfoil and let rest for a few minutes. The place the pork on plates and pour white mustard sauce over top. Sprinkle with a little cracked black pepper. Serve with steamed vegetables or a green salad.

Serves 2

Enjoy!

Jodie

Fab Food Find - Harris Farm Three Fruit Marmalade

2010-10-25T15:42:00.000+11:00

I thought I'd occasionally post a fabulous food item I've found that I really love.

When I was a kid, and even in early adulthood, I was not a fan of marmalade. Fast forward to my mid to late 20s, and a friend gave Hubby and I a homemade marmalade I felt obliged to try, and I was hooked!

Hubby loves blackberry jams and the like usually, but is currently going through a marmalade phase, and bought this jar of Three Fruit Marmalade from our local Harris Farms that is quite delicious!

As you can see, we've dug in to ours.

It's quite tangy and is so yummy on toast.

How about you? Got a fabulous food item you've recently discovered?

Jodie

Pumpkin Coriander Soup

2010-10-20T08:16:00.000+11:00

~image~

Well, it may be spring here in Australia, but unfortunately it hasn't always felt that way. We've found ourselves turning to curries and soups in the evenings, including this one, which is delicious.

I've had this recipe for years and can't remember who gave it to me, or what recipe book or mag I got it from. Doesn't matter. I'm sharing nonetheless...

Here's the recipe for Pumpkin Coriander Soup:

30g (1oz) butter
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 large potato, peeled and chopped
500g (1lb) pumpkin, peeled and chopped
3 cups chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup cream
chillies or sprigs of fresh coriander for garnish

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over moderate heat. Add the onion and coriander, cook for 3 minutes.

2. Add the potato, pumpkin, chicken stock and nutmeg, cook until potato and pumpkin are tender.

3. Place the pumpkin, potato, onion and 1 1/2 cups of the stock in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

4. Add the cream and blend for a further 30 seconds. Return soup to the heat and garnish with chopped chives or coriander if desired.

Serves 4

Jodie

Spiced Lamb, Couscous and Spinach Salad

2010-10-13T10:38:00.000+11:00

I've written here before of my love of lamb. In fact, lamb for dinner reminds me of my beautiful childhood - Mum used to make a roast lamb every week!

Whilst I still love a lamb roast, I love how there are so many different ways you can enjoy lamb these days: Indian curries, with Moroccan spices, grilled with vegetables and a salsa verde...you name it. Lamb is pretty darn versatile.

Here's a gorgeous recipe that I tried recently. To me, this is a real Spring or Autumn dish. Warm when served, but not piping hot. Just right. It's from my very chunky recipe folder filled with magazine cuttings. This one was originally published in Women's Weekly (Jan 2007).

Here's the recipe for Spiced Lamb, Couscous and Spinach Salad:

3/4 cup (180ml) olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 small fresh red Thai chilli, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 (600g) lamb back straps (eye of loin)
1/3 cup (80ml) lemon juice
2 large (360g) carrots
1 1/2 cups (300g) couscous
1 1/2 cups (375ml) boiling water
400g can chickpeas, rinsed, drained
75g baby spinach leaves
1/3 cup fresh mint, chopped finely
1/3 cup fresh coriander leaves

1. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the oil; combine remaining oil, sugar, paprika, cumin, chilli, garlic and salt and pepper to taste in a small screw-top jar; shake well. Place 2 tablespoons of the dressing in a medium bowl with lamb; cover, refrigerate for up to 3 hours. Add lemon juice to remaining dressing.

2. Boil, steam or microwave carrots until tender; drain. Place hot carrots in large serving bowl with half of the dressing; toss to coat.

3. Heat the reserved oil in a large frying pan. Cook lamb for about 10 minutes or until browned all over and cooked to medium. Transfer to a plate; cover to keep warm.

4. Meanwhile, place couscous in a large heatproof bowl; add boiling water and salt to taste. Stand, covered, for about 5 minutes or until water is absorbed. Fluff couscous with a fork.

5. Combine sliced lamb with remaining dressing, couscous, chickpeas, spinach and herbs in same bowl with carrots. Toss gently.

Serves 6

Yum!

Jodie

And The Winner of The Chef'n VeggiChop is...

2010-10-12T08:22:00.002+11:00

It's time to announce the winner of the Chef'n VeggiChop after the relaunch last week of Mummy Mayhem's Recipe Box...

Just like I did on my main blog's giveaway, I had to do this the old fashioned way of writing out all the names on a slip of paper, and putting them in a hat bowl and drawing out a winner! You know - I found it all quite exciting to be honest.

And so, I am now pleased to announce the winner of the best little kitchen gadget I've purchased in YEARS (even above my popcorn maker, and that's really saying something because I use that all. the. time.)....

Congrats Marita! In your case it was first come, first served...being the first comment on my Relaunch of MM's Recipe Box post! Just send me an email or DM me on Twitter your postal address and I'll get that in the post for you ASAP. Promise.

Thank you to everyone who participated. I hope you'll enjoy some upcoming recipes here, starting with a yummy Spiced Lamb, Couscous & Spinach Salad coming up later this week!

Until then...

Jodie

Relaunch of Mummy Mayhem's Recipe Box

2010-10-07T09:04:00.000+11:00

Well, hello there.

I know. It has been a while since I've updated my recipe blog. I'm sad about that, because I LOVE sharing recipes. Life just got busy, ya know?

Anyway, I'm very proud to wave my arms around like a showroom model on The Price is Right and say, "Welcome to the new-look Mummy Mayhem's Recipe Box!" Do you likey? I hope so.

To celebrate, and to coincide with a year of blogging since starting my main blog, Mummy Mayhem, (although it's not quite my recipe blog's 1st anniversary just yet), I'm doing a little giveaway here (and over there too, so if you haven't come here from Mummy Mayhem, go and check the giveaway I'm having there - after you finish reading this of course)!

I despise cutting onions. I really do. My eyes tear up as soon as I've made the first cut, so I found the Chef'n VeggiChopTM recently and fell in love. Behold...

Seriously, you just throw your veggies in (it's not just for onions), and pull the drawstring until everything is cut to the size you need. Done! See it here...

When I was buying this one the other day, a couple of women were ooohing and aaahing over it, with one of them even going as far to say she had found it 'life-changing'. Well, I'm not sure about life-changing, but certainly one of the best gadgets out there!

So, now I'm offering one of these, normally valued at $49.99, to one lucky reader. Here's what you have to do to win...

1. Become a follower of this blog.
2. Leave a comment below by Monday 11 Oct, 6pm.

That's it. My boys and I will draw the winner next week, and I'll publish the winner on Tuesday 12 Oct. (So make sure you pop back then to see if you've won!)

In the meantime, look out for recipes coming soon here, as well as more Menu Planners, including a "Lunch with the Gals" I'm currently working on for you. ;)

Good luck! Hope to see you here again soon. :)

Jodie

Mum's Chocolate Cake

2010-05-22T16:14:00.000+10:00

~image~

Here's another recipe from my Mum's recipe file!

I've always been a fan of chocolate cake. Always. I have to force myself to try something else at cafes because if there's chocky cake on the menu, I'm far more likely to choose it over anything else. It seems I have passed this on to my children. Well, at least some of my genes have been handed down!

My Mum's recipe makes an incredibly yummy chocolate cake. Who knows where she pulled it out of? A magazine? A book? No clue.

The full recipe makes a HUGE cake, so Mum has always halved it. Hence, this is half the mixture.

Here's the recipe for Mum's Chocolate Cake:

1 cup water
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
125 grams butter, chopped
1/2 of a 1/3 cup cocoa, sifted (I know! You just have to go with it.)
1/2 teaspoon bi-carbonate soda
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs, lightly beaten

1. In a large saucepan, combine water, sugar, butter, cocoa and carb soda. Stir over heat without boiling until sugar dissolves.

2. Once sugar has dissolved, bring to boil, simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.

3. Transfer to large mixing bowl. Cool for 10 minutes.

4. Add sifted flour, baking powder and eggs. Beat until smooth. Pour into greased cake tin and bake in a pre-heated moderate oven at 180oC for approximately 30 minutes.

5. Ice with chocolate icing.

Hmmm. Feel like a piece right now!

Mum's Egg, Bacon & Tomato Muck-Up

2010-05-02T00:09:00.001+10:00

Here's the traditional bacon, eggs and tomato for brekky served in a slightly different way...

When I was a kid, and I wasn't feeling overly well, Mum could always bribe me with her "Muck-Up" for dinner. This is Mum's special take on a cooked breakfast. The first time she made it for me, I'm sure I was horrified by its appearance. It's certainly not the prettiest of dishes, and it's name doesn't do it much justice either.

But it's a taste sensation.

I don't quite know what it is, but for some reason it just works. I guess it's kind of like an omelette - but there's no milk, so it's not quite the same. In any case, next time you feel like bacon and eggs, why not try this version? Here's the recipe for Mum's Egg, Bacon & Tomato Muck-Up:

Small knob of butter

4 rashers of short-cut rindless bacon, diced

1 large tomato, diced

3-4 large eggs

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Melt the butter in to a saucepan on medium to high heat.

2. When the butter is melted, add the bacon. Fry until almost crisp.

3. Add tomatoes and fry until soft.

4. Break the eggs in to a bowl, then without beating, add straight to frying pan, reduce the heat to medium to low and stir with a wooden spoon. Cook for a sort time, then flip over mixture with a spatula to cook on other side. (Be careful not to overcook the eggs. Finish cooking when they are still slightly runny.)

5. Serve on toast. Add some cracked black pepper over top.

Serves 2

Other notes:

- You can change the amount of bacon and eggs etc to your liking.

- Although I didn't have any when I took the photo above, if you want to pretty it up a bit, add a sprig of continental parsley on top. ;)

Jodie

Orange-Marinated Chicken

2010-04-25T10:15:00.003+10:00

I found this recipe in New Idea Magazine the other day. It's one of those "Reader Recipe Favourites", and the person who sent it in was Suzanne Morgan from Port Macquarie, NSW. Thank you, Suzanne! I tried it the other night and it was DELICIOUS!

Apart from that, it's also so darn easy and quick (5 minutes to prepare, then throw in the oven for 1 hour) and uses so little pots etc - hence, barely any washing up - and that's always a winner around here.

And so, without further ado, here's the recipe for Suzanne's Orange-Marinated Chicken:

12 chicken legs, skin removed

2cm piece fresh ginger, finely grated

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons Chinese five spice

1 cup orange marmalade

2 tablespoons honey

1/3 cup kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)

Steamed rice and bok choy, to serve

1. Combine the chicken, together with all the remaining ingredients (except for the rice and bok choy) in to a large ovenproof casserole dish (20-cup capacity). Cover with lid. Refrigerate for 2 hours, or overnight to marinate.

2. Remove casserole dish from the fridge.

3. Cook in a moderate oven (180oC) for about 1 hour, or until chicken is cooked through, turning chicken halfway through cooking.

4. Serve orange-marinated chicken with steamed rice and bok choy.

Serves 4

Other notes:

- We have a rice cooker which has a steaming basket. Once the rice was cooked, I threw the steaming basket in with the bok choy in it, and 3 minutes later the bok choy was perfect!

- To add a little extra flavour to the rice, I added a teaspoon of Massel Chicken Stock powder before cooking. Yum.

Jodie

Chocolate Pudding

2010-04-04T11:37:00.001+10:00

~image~

Happy Easter! And really, what is Easter without a bit of chocolate?

We actually had this pudding on Good Friday. Hubby whipped it up last minute - so there's proof in the pudding right there that it's easy! (Ha ha - corny, I know!)

Anyway, I know this one is a favourite of a few friends - it's from the Australian Good Taste Magazine. Not sure of the issue or year though. Doesn't matter. Give it a go! Oh, and of course, the kids will love it!

Here's the recipe for Chocolate Pudding:

Melted butter, to grease
150g (1 cup) self-raising flour
100g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
2 tbs cocoa powder
125ml (1/2 cup) milk
50g butter, melted
1 egg, lightly whisked
Thickened cream, to serve

Chocolate sauce:
155g (3/4 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
2 tbs cocoa powder
375ml (1 1/2 cups) boiling water

1. Preheat oven to 180oC. Brush a 1.5L (6-cup) capacity ovenproof dish with melted butter to lightly grease.

2. Combine the flour, sugar and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Make a well in the centre. Combine the milk, butter and egg in a large jug. Gradually pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir until well combined. Pour into the prepared dish and use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface.

3. To make the chocolate sauce, sift the sugar and cocoa powder into a bowl. Sprinkle over the pudding mixture in the dish. Gently pour the boiling water over the cocoa mixture.

4. Bake in oven for 40-45 minutes or until a cake-like top forms and a skewer inserted halfway into the centre comes out clean. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Serve with thickened cream, if desired.

Serves 6

Jodie

* Photo from www.australiangoodtaste.com.au

Mushroom Pate

2010-03-27T11:21:00.000+11:00

~image~

Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? It has just been so busy around here at Mummy Mayhem, that I've managed to neglect this blog. But I'm back.

I had planned to post another of my planned Menus - a Ladies Lunch - but we have some painting going on at home, and I can't download the photos at the moment, so I'll post that soon. But in the meantime, I have a yummy recipe, not only for the vegetarians out there, but for everyone!

I love pate. Love it. The only pate I steer away from is pate de froie gras, because a friend once told me that they force feed the geese/ducks (made with both, I believe) to enlarge their livers. Yikes. I've never checked out this info, but have chosen to avoid!

And when I was pregnant, I avoided pate, because of the liver containing a high level of Vitamin A (which should be avoided during pregnancy), not to mention the increased risk of Listeria. (Read more about that here.)

But then I found a recipe for a pate I could make fresh, without the livers, and I was excited. Admittedly, it doesn't taste like the "real thing", but it's tasty nonetheless.

So, here's the recipe for Mushroom Pate:

30g butter

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 brown onion, halved, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

300g cup mushrooms, chopped

1 tbs dry sherry

1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

125g cream cheese, at room temperature

1/3 cup loosely packed chopped fresh continental parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 (about 30cm) baguette (French stick), thinly sliced crossways

60ml (1/4 cup) olive oil

1. Heat butter and oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until onion softens. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant.

2. Increase heat to high. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes or until tender. Add the sherry and thyme and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the liquid evaporates. Remove from heat and set aside for 10 minutes to cool.

3. Transfer mixture to the bowl of a food processor. Add cream cheese and parsley and process until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge for 1-2 hours to set.

4. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180oC. Brush bread slices with a little of the olive oil and place on a baking tray. Cook in oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden. Serve pate with toasted baguette.

Bon appetite!

Jodie

Jane Kennedy's Tandoori Chicken

2010-03-12T15:56:00.005+11:00

About a month ago or so, I picked up a copy of Jane Kennedy's book Fabulous Food, Minus The Boombah.
In there is a recipe that Jane herself tweeted to me one day that they eat pretty much every week in her house (after I tweeted how much I enjoyed it). And I can see why. It's absolutely delicious! (I think I've made it about four times now. To be honest, I think it gets yummier every time I make it!)

I first saw this recipe on Jane's blog (you can link to her blog from my "Other Foodie Blogs I Like" list on the RHS), which is slightly different from the book version; only in that it didn't include the salad leaves really.

This is only one of many great recipes that I've tried. Some of the other hits here in our house include Jane's:

Spicy pork loin with Thai apple salad
Chilli, lemon, lime and coconut chicken
Moroccan chicken tagine

All of Jane's food is minus the "boombah" which is, as per Jane's own definition, a "word to describe food that makes your arse huge." 'Nuf said.

In any case, if you're in a good book shop some time soon, take a flick through (or you can order a copy of it HERE). There are lots of recipes including ideas for breakfast, starters, party food, dinner, sides, desserts and a great section on takeaways - food you'd normally get from your local takeaway outlet, minus the boombah, of course!

Here's the recipe for Jane Kennedy's Tandoori Chicken:

2 lean chicken fillets

1 tablespoon tandoori paste

1 tablespoon Greek yoghurt

squeeze of lemon juice

few iceberg lettuce leaves, shredded

drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil

splash of red wine vinegar or lemon juice

lemon wedges

RAITA

2 tablespoons Greek yoghurt

1/4 continental cucumber, seeded and finely chopped

1/2 tomato, seeded and finely chopped

few mint leaves, finely chopped

1/4 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 210oC. Line an oven tray with baking paper.

2. Wrap the chicken fillets in clingfilm and use a rolling pin or heavy can to bash them flat. Don't be too vigorous - you don't want them to fall apart. Cut each fillet into around 3 pieces

3. In a mixing bowl, combine the tandoori paste, yoghurt and lemon juice. Add the chicken pieces and mix with the marinade until well coated. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for 10 minutes for the flavours to infuse.

4. When ready to cook, place the chicken on the oven tray and cook for 25-30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

5. To make the raita, combine all ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve.

6. Toss the shredded lettuce with the olive oil and vinegar (or lemon juice). Serve the chicken with the salad, lemon wedges and raita.

Serves 2

Jodie

Jodie's Easy Bean Nachos

2010-02-25T23:40:00.009+11:00

When I was pregnant with my eldest son, Hubby travelled a lot. And because I was working, I just wanted something really quick, easy and fairly healthy to make. And I made these nachos a LOT! Besides, I'm an avocado lover. I luuurve it. When I found one in the vegetable crisper the other night, I suddenly thought I may just have the other ingredients handy for this recipe. I did!

Anyway, here's the recipe for Jodie's Easy Bean Nachos (you'll love them):

A couple of good handfuls of natural corn chips

1 tin of Mexican Chilli Beans (try Mexican section of supermarket)

1 tomato, diced

Mozzarella/pizza cheese, grated (amount to your liking)

1 avocado

Cracked black pepper

salt

2-4 tblespns natural Greek-style yoghurt or sour cream

1. Divide the corn chips between two microwave safe bowls.

2. Empty half a can of the Mexican chilli beans on top of of each.

3. Place half tomatoes on top of each.

4. Top with cheese (amount to your liking).

5. Place in microwave (1 at a time), and microwave on HIGH for 2 1/2 minutes, or until cheese has melted. (Time will depend on your microwave.)

6. Meanwhile, scoop out avocado, place in bowl, mash with a pinch of salt and a good amount of cracked black pepper. Stir until smooth.

7. Top corn chips with avocado and then a tablespoon or so of yoghurt (or sour cream - I prefer yoghurt)

8. Sprinkle with cracked black pepper. Serve!

Serves 2

Notes:

- I find the corn chips are fine in the microwave, but you could always place under the grill if you're concerned about them getting soggy. Just make sure your dish is oven proof!

Jodie