Easy Peasy Bacon & Egg Pie
3 sheets of savoury pastry
6 eggs
5 eggs
Milk
About 8 rashers of bacon
1/2 onionLine a pie or quiche dish with pastry. Line 6 (or more) muffin (tray) with pastry.
Chop onion and bacon. Sprinkle bacon and onion into mini pies and into the larger pie.
Mix the first quantity of eggs with a little milk and beat, then pour into large dish.
Mix the second quanitity of eggs with a little milk and pour into muffin cases.
Bake at 180 for approx 40min or until cooked.
Filo Parcels
Use a frypan to cook mince. Very thinly slice some cabbage and grate a carrot. Add to pan with a teaspoon of ginger and some soy sauce (I use Kokkoman). Season to taste. When the mince mixture is cooked, turn it off.
Lay out filo pastry. Use melted butter or cooking spray between layers. Put three layers together for each parcel. Slice the pastry lengthwise to create two long strips. Put a large tablespoon of mince mixture at one end of the pastry and fold it down. Fold the parcel down the length of the pastry to form triangles at each fold. Seal with butter or cooking spray and repeat.
Bake the parcels at 180 deg until golden.
These teeny little cheesecakes will be a hit when entertaining – baby showers, birthday parties and naming ceremonies!
Lemon & Apricot Mini Cheesecakes½ pack (approx 100gm) of plain biscuits (like superwines or girl guide bikkies)
50gm of melted butter
500gm cream cheese (2x 250gm tubs)
1 lemon
½ cup of caster sugar
2 eggs
½ cup of apricot jam
Handful of dried apricotsTurn oven to 150deg and line muffin tin with 12 paper cases. Smash biscuits (or use a blender) and mix into butter. Press into muffin cases and refrigerate.
Grate the rind of the lemon and squeeze the juice. Combine with cream cheese, eggs and caster sugar until smooth. Divide mixture into cases with biscuit base, taking care not to overfill (should be ¾ full max). Bake for about 25min, and then cool.
Melt the jam in a small saucepan or in microwave and pour over cooled cheesecakes. Place in fridge for a couple of hours until set. Use kitchen scissors or a knife to chop the dried apricots into halves and use to decorate cheesecakes
Sweet Chilli and Basil Hamburger Patties
(these are also lovely made-up as meatballs!)
500gm mince ½ cup of sweet chilli sauce 2 tablespoons dried basil 1 egg ½ cup breadcrumbs
In a bowl, mix together ingredients and use your hands to mix. Really mush the mixture through your fingers as the more mixed up you get it, the better the patties hold their shape.
Fry until cooked, turning once (there should be no pink inside).
Serve on hamburger buns with lettuce, tomato, beetroot, cheese, onion, pineapple and fried egg for the ultimate kiwi burger!
G I N G E R P I S T A C H I O S L I C E
For the base
1 cup raw, unsalted pistachio nuts, shelled
125g butter
1 packet vanilla wine biscuits
1 cup coconut
50g finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ cup sweetened condensed milk
Lightly roast the pistachio nuts on a tray in 180oC oven for 5 minutes (I didn’t bother with this bit!) then chop coarsely. Set aside half for the topping.
Melt the butter and leave to cool. Crush the wine biscuits. In a bowl mix all the ingredients, except the reserved pistachios, then press the mixture into a sponge roll tin lined with baking paper. Refrigerate until firm.
For the ginger butter icing
2 cups icing sugar 80g softened butter 2 tablespoon golden syrup
2 teaspoons ground syrup 2 tablespoons milk
Using an electric beater, beat all the ingredients together until smooth and creamy. Spread over the chilled base then sprinkle the top with the reserved pistachio. Refrigerate to firm the icing then, using the paper, lift the whole block out and slice into neat pieces.
H E A L T H Y S N A C K I N G
These fantastic low-fat recipes take the guilt out of home baking! They make great additions to the pre-school lunchbox, your hubby’s packed lunch, your own on-the-go morning tea or this weeks coffee group!!
Choc Fudge Brownie
4T flour, 4T wholemeal flour, 1/2c cocoa, 1/2tsp salt, 1/2c finely chopped pecans or walnuts, 4T apple puree, 60gm canola oil, 1c sugar, 4 egg whites, 1tsp vanilla. In a bowl place flours, 1/2 the sugar, cocoa, salt, walnuts & apple puree. Add oil and stir till combined. In separate bowl beat egg whites till foamy then add in rest of sugar and beat to meringue. Fold this thru the flour mix. Pour batter into a 20cm square lined pan. Bake @ 170° for 20-25mins. Cut into squares when cool & serve dusted with icing sugar.
Honey, Sultana and Bran Slice
1 1/2c wholemeal self raising flour, 1 1/4c sultanas, 2c bran flakes, 3/4c honey, 1/4c oil, 2 eggs lightly whisked, 1 tsp ground nutmeg, 1T sesame seeds. Line a slab pan with baking paper. Place flour, sultanas and bran flakes into food processor. Process in short bursts until sultanas are roughly chopped. Place honey, oil, eggs & nutmeg into med. bowl. Add the flour mix and stir to combine. Spoon mix into pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake @ 180°C for 30 mins till cooked through. Cool slice in pan before cutting.
Blueberry Banana Loaf
1/2c mashed overripe banana (1 1/2 med bananas), 1/2c caster sugar, 140gm apple puree (use the Goulburn Valley ones), 2 eggs, 1/2c trim milk, 1T oil, 3/4c wholemeal flour, 3/4c white flour, 3/4c blueberries. Combine banana, sugar, apple, eggs, milk and oil into large bowl. Sift over flours & add husks as well. Fold mix together gently till just combined, Add blueberries (best if frozen) and mix carefully, Spoon into lined loaf tin and bake @ 180°C for 1 hour or until skewer comes out clean.
W I N T E R W A R M E R S
Cold nights, crackling fire, hot chocolate – and of course, the CROCKPOT! Here are a few different ideas for dinner – the best thing is you can put on during the morning sometime and there is little preparation come evening!!
Roast Chicken
Place a whole defrosted chook in the crock-pot. Where desired, sprinkle with herbs. Surround with chunky potato, pumpkin, kumara etc and place on auto (or low for 6-7 hours). Use the juice to make a yummy gravy!
(you can make your chicken crispy by grilling for ten minutes before serving!)
Beef Stroganoff
1 kg blade steak, 1/4 cup flour, pepper, 1 onion peeled and grated, 2 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed, 1 420g tin tomatoes in juice, 2 Tbsp tomato paste, 1 tsp dried beef stock, 1/4 cup water, 2 Tbsp dry sherry, 200g mushrooms sliced, 1 cup sour cream.
cut the beef into thin strips, dredge in the flour seasoned with pepper, and put in the crock-pot, add the onion, garlic, tomatoes and juice, tomato paste, dried beef stock, water and sherry, stir well to combine. Cover with lid and cook on low/auto for 8 to 10 hrs, or high for 4 to 5 hrs. Twenty minutes prior to serving turn the control to high and add the mushrooms, cover with lid, complete the cooking, stir in sour cream, turn off heat and serve. Serves 4 – 5
Chocolate Fudge Pudding
1 cup flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup sugar, 3 Tbsp cocoa, 2 tsp baking powder, dash salt, 1/2 cup milk, 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, 1/2 tsp vanilla. 3/4 cup brown sugar, 2 Tbsp cocoa, 1-3/4 cups hot water.
In large bowl, combine first 6 ingredients and stir to combine. Add milk, cooking oil and vanilla and stir well. Pour into crockpot. In a medium bowl, stir second amount of brown sugar and second amount of cocoa together. Add hot water and mix well until blended. Pour over batter in crockpot; do not stir! Cover crockpot and cook on high about 2 hours or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.
