Christmas Balls

Christmas Balls

makes approx 30

• 4 cups desiccated coconut
• 395g can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
• 1/2 cup (100g) red glace cherries, finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan - forced.
2. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
3. Combine coconut, milk and lemon rind in a bowl.
4. Add cherries.
5. Stir until coconut mixture turns pink.
6. Using 1 level tablespoon mixture at at time, roll mixture into balls.
7. Place balls, 3cm apart, on prepared trays.
8. Bake, swapping trays halfway, for 12-15 mins or until balls are lightly browned.
9. Cool on trays.
10. Serve.

A simple recipe that looks great on any Christmas table...

Potato Salad

• 550g small potatoes, washed
• about 4 pieces 120g short-cut bacon, finely diced
• 3 large eggs, hard-boiled and peeled
• 2-3 shallots finely chopped
• 3/4 cup good quality mayonnaise
• salt to taste

1. Place unpeeled potatoes in a large saucepan. Add water to cover potatoes. Cover saucepan and bring to the boil. Cool until potatoes are just tender. Drain potatoes and cool to room temperature.


2. In a small frying pan or saucepan, fry bacon over medium heat until cooked and lightly browned. Set aside to cool.


3. Remove skin from potatoes, if desired. Chop potatoes into bite sized pieces. Chop boiled eggs.


4. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir gently to combine.


5. Can be served immediately or refrigerated until cold.

This is a very easy very tasty salad.....

Banana Muffins/Loaf

• 3 or 4 ripened bananas
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 2 tablespoons milk
• pinch salt

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease muffin tin or you can use loaf pan if you want to make banana loaf instead.


2. Beat eggs and bananas together, then add all other ingredients and mix well.


3. Fill muffin tin or loaf tin.


4. Cook for approx 20 mins until risen and golden.

Enjoy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Double Choc Chip Muffins

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 3/4 cups plain flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup choc chips
• Extra choc chips to sprinkle on top (if desired)

1. Preheat oven to 200 C and prepare muffin pan by greasing or fill with paper liners.
2. In bowl, mix well the eggs, oil, milk and vanilla.
3. In another bowl, mix well the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt and choc chips.
4. Combine wet and dry mixtures and fold together gently until just mixed.
5. Spoon into prepared muffin pad and sprinkle choc chips on top of each (if required).
6. Bake at 200C for 15-20mins.
7. Remove from muffin pan and cool.
8. EAT THEM !!!!

Easy Pasta Salad

• Shell pasta
• crumbled bacon or ham
• hard boiled eggs
• halved cherry toms
• ranch dressing ( I used low fat)

This one is too easy...........cook the pasta and drain, then place pasta, bacon/ham, chopped hard boiled eggs, halved cherry tomato's into a bowl. Add ranch dressing to taste...add a little salt and pepper and you've got a nice pasta salad to serve on a bed of lettuce or it would be delicious with a nice piece of steak........

Sticky baked chicken drumsticks

• Olive Oil


• 10-12 drumsticks


• sea salt & pepper

Glaze

• 6 tbsp honey


• 3 tbsp fish sauce


• 1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce


• juice of 1 1/2 lemons


• 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar


• 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil

1. Heat the oven to about 180. Lightly oil a large baking dish. Season the drumsticks with salt and pepper and arrange in the dish in a single layer. Drizzle over a little olive oil and bake in the hot oven for 20 mins.


2. Prepare the glaze in the meantime. Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl until evenly combined.


3. Take the chicken out of the oven and pour over the glaze, to coat each drumstick. Return to the oven and bake for another 20-30 minutes, turning several times, until the chicken is tender and nicely glazed.


4. Let the chicken rest for a few minutes before serving. For a balanced meal, serve with steamed rice and purple sprouting broccoli or green beans.....I served with my potato bacon bake........yummy

An absolutely gorgeous Gordon Ramsay recipe.....

Potato Bacon Bake

• 4 or 5 potatoes, thinly sliced


• 1 onion, thinly sliced


• 2 cups grated tasty cheese


• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley


• 4 bacon rashers, chopped


• 1 cup thickened cream

1. Lightly grease a 22cm square, dish (4 cup capacity)


2. Layer half the potatoes, onion, cheese, parsley, bacon and cream into prepared dish. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients.


3. Place in 180 oven for about 40 mins or until potatoes are cooked.

This is a great recipe, so easy and delicious...great for barbeque's too..

Enjoy...

Choc Chip Muffins

This Australian Institute of sport recipe is sooooo simple...Give it a go !!

• 2 1/2 cups self-raising flour
• 3/4 cups caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons margarine, melted
• 1 cup nestle choc bits
• 310 ml (1 1/4 cups) skim milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1. Preheat the oven to moderate 180c. Lightly grease a 12 hole nonstick muffin pan.
2. Sift flours into a large bowl. Stir in sugar and choc bits.
3. Make a well in the centre of the mixture.
4. Whisk the margarine, milk, egg and vanilla together with a fork, then add to the flour mixture.
5. Stir gently until the mixture is just combined, don't over beat or the muffins will be tough.
6. Spoon mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 15-20 mins or until muffins are well risen and spring back to the touch.
7. Leave in the pan for a few minutes then lift out onto a wire rack to cool, or eat while still warm.....YUMMO.

Seriously easy and yummy.

Sheppard's Pie

This is one of my families favourite dishes...Sheppard's pie. It's my Mums recipe. I thought I would share it with you....

approx 1kg mince
1-2 onions
7-8 spuds
4 carrots
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons (or to taste) tomato sauce
pepper
2 oxo cubes
1 tablespoon plain flour
1 cup tasty grated cheese

Chop onion and carrot and place in fry pan with about 1-2 tbsp of marge. Cook until onion is soft. Peel spuds and boil. Add mince to fry pan of onions and carrots, cook until browned. Add tomato sauce, pepper and worcestershire sauce to taste. Add plain flour and mix for 1 minute - stirring so it doesn't stick.

Fill a jug with boiling water with 2 oxo cubes in, mix then add to frying pan, turn heat down and simmer for few minutes...keep stirring.

Place fry pan mixture in heat proof dish, mash spuds and place on top of mince, then sprinkle cheese on top and place in oven until cheese melts and browns....Then enjoy....It's simple and delicious...try it yourself !

Toblerone Chocolate Mousse

• 1 x 200g Toblerone chocolate bar, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tsp gelatine
• 1 1/2 tbsp hot water
• 250ml thickened cream, whipped
• extra, 1/4 cup thickened cream, whipped
• 6 fresh strawberries for decoration

1. Place chocolate and water into a heatproof bowl. Place over a bowl of simmering water. Stir until the chocolate melts. Remove from the heat. Allow to slowly cool down to room temperature.
2. Combine the gelatine and hot water. Stir over simmering water until the gelatine dissolves. Stir into chocolate mixture. Gently fold whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Spoon into serving dishes. Chill 2-3 hrs or until firm.
3. Top with the extra whipped cream and a strawberry each.

Yogurt Berry Muffins

• 1 cup vanilla yogurt or d-lite berry flavoured yogurt
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 125g unsalted butter or Margarine melted
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups self-raising flour
• 500g frozen mixed berries or your favourite berries
• Icing sugar mixture, to decorate
  

1. Line 24 holes of 2 x 12 hole muffin pans with paper cases.



2. Place yogurt, sugar, butter and eggs in a bowl. Stir until combined. Add flour and frozen berries to mixture and stir again until just combined. Divide mixture evenly among cases.



3. Cook in a moderate oven (180c) for 25-30 minutes. Stand in pans for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.



4. Serve cakes dusted with sifted icing sugar mixture.

Note...These muffins can be made up to two days ahead and stored in an airtight container. Cakes can also be frozen for up to one month.

Crispy & sticky chicken thighs with squashed new potatoes & tomatoes

This recipe came from the Jamie Oliver cookbook "Cook your way to the good life"

800g new potatoes, scrubbed
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
12 boned chicken thighs, skin on, preferably free-range or organic
olive oil
600g cherry tomatoes, different shapes and colours if you can find them
a bunch of fresh oregano, leaves picked
extra virgin olive oil
red wine vinegar

Put the potatoes into a large saucepan of salted boiling water and boil until cooked. While the potatoes are cooking, preheat your oven to 200C/400F/gas 6. Cut each chicken thigh into three strips and place in a bowl. Rub the meat all over with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper, then toss.

Heat a large frying pan, big enough to hold all the chicken pieces snugly in one layer, and put the chicken into the pan, skin side down. If you don't have a pan that's big enough, feel free to cook the chicken in two batches. Toss and fry over a high heat for 10 minutes or so, until almost cooked, then remove with a slotted spoon to an ovenproof pan of dish.

Prick the tomatoes with a sharp knife. Place them in a bowl cover with boiling water and leave for a minute of so. Drain and when cool enough to handle, pinch off their skins. You don't have to, but by doing this they will become lovely and sweet when cooked and their intense flavour will infuse the potatoes.

By now the potatoes will be cooked. Drain them in a colander, then lightly crush them by pushing down on them with your thumb. Bash up most of the oregano leaves with a pinch of salt in a pestle and mortar, or a flavour shaker if you have one. Add 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, a good splash of red wine vinegar and some pepper and give everything another bash. Add to the chicken with the potatoes, the tomatoes and the rest of the oregano leaves.

Toss everything together carefully. Spread out in a single layer in an appropriately sized roasting tray, and bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven until golden.

Lovely served with a rocket salad dressed with some lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil and a nice glass of white wine...Brown Brothers Moscato is my choice!