Author Archives: Penny

Potato and Egg Salad

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Potato and Egg Salad
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Ingredients
  • 4 large potatoes
  • 2 hard boiled eggs - chopped
  • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
  • 2 tablespoons chopped chives
  • 2 tablespoons chopped gherkins
  • ½ cup finely chopped celery or green capsicum
  • ½ cup French dressing
  • salt and pepper
  • 1½ cups mayonnaise
  • small tomatoes to decorate
Method
  1. Chop eggs, chives, parsley, gherkins, celery (or capsicum) in food processor.
  2. When potatoes are cooked leave to cool until you can handle them. Peel off skins and mash.
  3. Minx in the remaining ingredients and season to taste.
  4. Place into dome mould lined with gladwrap.
  5. When cold, turn out and coat with mayonnaise and decorate base with mini tomatoes

 

Chicken, tomato and eggplant stew

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Chicken, tomato and eggplant stew
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Ingredients
  • olive oil
  • 8 chicken thigh fillets
  • 2 eggplant, cut into 2cm pieces
  • 2 red onions, cut into wedges
  • 3 level teaspoons garlic pastes or 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 2 x 400g can cherry tomatoes in juice
  • 5 tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • ½ teaspoon chilli powder or 1 red chilli finely chopped
  • ½ cup fresh ricotta
  • basil (fresh or dry for garnish)
Method
  1. Heat oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Cook chicken, turning, for 7 minutes or until browned. Transfer to slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper.
  2. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Cook eggplant, turning, for 7 minutes or until browned. Transfer to slow cooker.
  3. Add onion, garlic, tomatoes and the chilli to slow cooker. Cook, covered, on low, for 4 hours or until chicken is falling off the bone (or cook covered in oven 2 hours@180C
  4. Serve with pasta (or grated zuchinni) and other veg including beans and carrots.
  5. When plated top with ricotta and sprinkling of basil
  6. Based on original recipe here:
  7. http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/chicken-tomato-eggplant-stew/5b3fec20-f587-4bf4-a461-aeeaa49ca1c3

 

Spiced moroccan tomato and red lentil soup

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Spiced Moroccan Tomato and Red Lentil soup
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Ingredients
  • 1 large onion , peeled and chopped finely
  • 40g of olive oil
  • 1 tsp (each) of ground ginger, coriander, cumin and paprika
  • ½ tsp (each) ground black pepper, cinnamon and tumeric
  • ¼ tsp chilli powder
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • 750 chicken or vegetable stock
  • 100g red lentils
  • 2 x 400 cans crushed tomatoes
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • ½ cup coriander , coarsely chopped
Method
  1. Saute onion in oil for about 2-3 mins until soft
  2. Add all spices to onion and cook for 1-2 mins to release flavours
  3. Add stock, lentils and tomatoes
  4. Cook for 20 - 30 mins until lentils are soft
  5. Season with all and pepper and sprinkle with coriander

Apple Crumble Pie

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Apple Crumble Pie
 
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Recipe type: Dessert
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A delicious apple pie with a crumble and walnut topping. Served great with cream or ice cream.
Ingredients
  • 1 Cup rolled oats
  • ¾ Cup plain flour
  • 1¼ cup brown sugar
  • ¾ cup coconut
  • ½ cup crushed walnuts
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • ½ cup self raising flour
  • 5 Granny Smith apples
  • Premixed pie dough
  • Rice or Cooking beads for blind baking of pie dough
Method
Pie Base
  1. Use a premixed pastry mix sweetened with sugar or one used for pies. Roll out dough into pie dish and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Ensure the dough is weighted down with either cooking beads or rice on top of baking paper. Once cooked leave to cool.
Pie Topping
  1. Mix together 1 cup rolled oats, ¾cup plain flour, ¾cup brown sugar, ¾cup coconut, ½ cup crushed walnuts and 1 tbsp cinnamon.
  2. Melt 100g butter with 1 tsp vanilla essence.
  3. Mix all together and set aside.
Apple Filling
  1. Peel, core and quarter apples.
  2. Slice apples into ½ cm thick pieces
  3. Mix together in a large bowl, apples, ½ cup self-raising flour, ½ cup brown sugar and tbsp cinnamon.
  4. Lay filling on pre-cooked pie dough.
  5. Cube 50g butter and spread on top of filling.
  6. Place crumble topping ontop of filling.
  7. Cook at about 180 C for 30-40 minutes.

 

Apple tarte Tartin

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Apple tarte Tartin
 
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Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: French
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A yummy French upside down tart.
Ingredients
  • 1 sheet puff pastry
  • 5 granny smith apples peeled, cored and quartered
  • 100g brown sugar
  • 100ml brandy
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 50g butter cubed
Method
  1. Preheat oven to 190C.
  2. Lay out puff pastry sheet to defrost.
  3. Using an ovenproof pan combine sugar, brandy and vanilla extract on medium heat. Let sugar dissolve and cook until mixture is smooth.

  5. Add apples to mixture and carefully stir until they are fully coated. Allow this to cook for about 5-10 minutes or until the apples soften.

  8. Add butter and cinnamon onto apples.
  9. Lay pastry over mixture and tuck edges to cover the mixture.

  11. Bake in oven about 25 minutes, until pastry is golden brown.

  13. Remove from oven, hold the serving dish over the pan like a lid (make sure this dish is bigger than the pan). Quickly and carefully flip the pan and dish upside down. The pastry will become the bottom of the tarte.

  15. Allow to cool then serve with cream or ice-cream.

 

Greek yogurt labneh

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Greek yogurt labneh
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Ingredients
  • 500 gm Greek yogurt
  • 1 small red chilli, seeds removed
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled
  • any other herbs to taste
  • pinch salt
Method
  1. Pour yogurt into a bowl and add pinch of salt
  2. Wash the yogurt container in hot water and thoroughly dry
  3. Finely dice the chilli, garlic and herbs
  4. Place mixture into cheesecloth and hang to drain over a bowl for 4-5 hours
  5. Put drained mixture into the cleaned yogurt container.
  6. Refrigerate - it will keep until the yogurt original use by date.
  7. Serve as a dip, spread or to accompany salad etc.

Scones

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Scones
Recipe type: Cakes and biscuits
Cuisine: Australian
Prep time: 
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Ingredients
  • 1 egg
  • 1 dessertspoon sugar
  • 30gm melted butter
  • ¾ cup milk
  • 2 cups self raising flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • milk for glazing
Method
  1. Beat eggs and sugar together until thick
  2. Add melted butter to milk
  3. Sift together flour and baking powder into a bowl and make a well in the centre
  4. Stir in egg mixture, then milk mixture
  5. Mix to a soft dough
  6. Knead on floured board
  7. Cut with 2cm round cutter
  8. Bake in hot oven 10-12 minutes

Sausage rolls

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Sausage rolls
 
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Recipe type: Mains
Cuisine: Australian
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Ingredients
  • 8 sheets puff pastry
  • 2kg sausage mince
  • Some dried herbs (coriander or similar)
  • Water
  • Milk
Method
  1. Defrost the 8 pastry sheets
  2. Cut each sheet in half (16 strips in total)
  3. Brush around the edges of each half with water
  4. Divide sausage mince into lumps onto the pastry sheet strips - 500gm sausage mince will divide onto 4 strips
  6. On each pastry strip, spread the lump of sausage mince vertically down the centre of the strip (wet hands with cold water)
  8. Sprinkle herbs on top of the mince
  10. Roll each strip of pastry to make 12 very long sausage rolls, with the join at the base
  11. Brush the top of each long roll with milk
  12. Cut into small sausage rolls - about 8 per strip, (half cut, half cut, full cut)
  14. Place on ungreased baking tray
  16. Bake 195C 35 mins or until cooked.
  17. Note 1: if sharing with the Brown's, double the recipe
  18. Note 2: if Lou is eating them stock up on tomato sauce

Mini apple crumbles

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Mini apple crumbles
 
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Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Australian
Prep time: 
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Ingredients
  • 2 granny smith apples
  • 2 bits of old slice
  • 1 tablespoon grated butter
  • cinnamon
Method
  1. Peel and quarter apples, removing core.
  2. Slice apple and divide into 4 (single serve) ramekins.
  4. Microwave on high for 2 minutes (cover with greaseproof/baking paper while in microwave).
  5. Rest 20 secs.
  6. Microwave on high a further 1 minute until apple is just soft, but before the liquid bubbles over top of ramekin.
  8. Crumble up the old slice.
  10. Add the grated butter - crumble this in to the crumbled slice.
  12. Add cinnamon to the crumble mixture
  13. Divide crumble mixture to top the cooked apple in the 4 ramekins
  15. Bake 200C 10-15 minutes until browned.
  16. Cool for several minutes before topping with ice-cream.
  17. (for 2 ramekins, just use one apple and one bit of old slice etc)

 

 

Rock cakes

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Rock cakes
 
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Recipe type: Cakes and biscuits
Cuisine: Australian
Prep time: 
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Ingredients
  • 2 cups self raising flour
  • 50 g butter
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup mixed fruit (or sultanas)
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • extra sugar
Method
  1. Combine flour and butter
  2. Add sugar and combine
  3. Add eggs one at a time
  4. Add mixed fruit
  5. Add milk until the mixture is stiff
  7. Place on flat baking tray (greased or lined) in small heaps
  8. Sprinkle with sugar
  9. make them all about the same size
  10. Cook 210C 10 mins, then lower temp to 180C until golden brown.
  11. Yummy rock cakes

Jude’s cookies

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Warm fresh cookies!

Warm fresh cookies!

 

How to make Jude’s Cookies…

Preheat oven to 180

1/3 cup castor sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
150g unsalted butter
1 egg yolk
dash of vanilla essence
Mix all

1 1/2 cups self raising flour (sifted)
250g milk choc chips
Mix in

Delicious cookie mix!

The completed falling apart cookie mix!

Spoon onto tray in lychee (fat grape) sized lumps.

Yummy cookie lumps!

Spooned cookie mix.

Bake for 10-12 mins at 180. Remember that cookies will continue to cook when standing.

Getting Yummier!

Remove just before golden.

NB Never add nuts to this mix, the cookies will explode in the oven. If you must you can add dark or white chocolate – at your own risk!

Perfectly Cooked!

A fresh batch of Jude’s Cookies

Brownie cake

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Brownie cake
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Australian
Prep time: 
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Ingredients
  • 100g butter
  • 175g caster sugar
  • 75g brown sugar
  • 125g chopped chocolate (dark or light)
  • 1 tablespoon golden syrup
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 100g plain flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 tablespoon cocoa
Method
  1. Preheat oven to 180C, line a 20cm round cake tin
  2. Put butter, caster sugar, brown sugar, chocolate and golden syrup in a small pot and melt gently over a low heat.
  3. Remove from heat and add the eggs, vanilla, flour, baking powder and cocoa and mix thoroughly.
  4. Pour into the tin and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
  5. Allow to cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes.
  6. Cut into wedges and serve warm with fruit and cream

Fruit slice

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Fruit slice
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Ingredients
  • 85g butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • pinch salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • ¾ cup cold milk
  • 1¾ cup SR flour
  • 1 teaspoon mixed spice
  • 200g mixed fruit (or half mixed fruit and half walnuts etc)
Method
  1. Cream butter and sugar
  2. Add all other ingredients and combine
  3. Bake in 170C over for 20-30 mins

 

Oat and choc cookies

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Oat and choc cookies
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Ingredients
  • 150gm soft butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla essence
  • 1 cup plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2⅓ cups oats
  • 1 cup choc chips or chopped choc
Method
  1. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy
  2. Add egg and vanilla and combine
  3. Add flour and baking powder
  4. Mix in oats and chocolate
  5. Form a tablespoon of mixture into a ball. Press onto lined tray. They don't spread much, but leave room around each.
  6. Bake 180C for 15-20 mins until golden remove from tray carefully and cool on a rack.

 

Tom yam gai (spicy chicken soup)

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Tom yam gai (spicy chicken soup)
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Ingredients
  • 200 gm chicken thigh fillets, sliced
  • 80 gm cup mushrooms, halved
  • 1 stalk lemongrass, crushed and sliced into 4cm lengths
  • 2 kaffir lime leaves, stem removed and torn
  • 1½ inches galangal, sliced
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 stem coriander, root to leaves
  • 1 medium brown shallot, crushed
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon chilli paste or nam prik pao
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1-3 hot chillies crushed (1 = mild)
Method
  1. Place chicken stock in saucepan and bring to boil
  2. Add galangal, lemongrass, coriander root and brown shallot and boil for several minutes or until fragrant
  3. Add sliced chicken and bring to boil for several minutes until the chicken is just cooked
  4. Add mushrooms, kaffir lime leaves and season with chilli jam and fish sauce to taste
  5. Boil for one more minute until cooked through
  6. Turn off heat and season with lime juice and chilli
  7. Sprinkle with coriander leaves to serve.

 

Thai chicken stock

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Thai chicken stock
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Ingredients
  • 2 chicken carcasses, rinsed and drained
  • 1 medium brown onion, peeled
  • 1 stick celery, cut into 3cm pieces
  • 10 black peppercorns
  • 2 cloves garlic, not peeled
  • ½ white raddish, cut into 3cm pieces
  • 8 cups water
Method
  1. Put all ingredients into large pot
  2. Boil for 10 minutes over medium heat - remove foam from top from time to time
  3. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour - will be reduced to half and clear
  4. Drain over fine sieve - keep the liquid
  5. You can divide cooked stock into smaller containers and freeze.

 

ANZAC biscuits

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ANZAC biscuits
 
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Recipe type: Cakes and biscuits
Cuisine: Australian
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Ingredients
  • 1 cup coconut
  • 1 cup self-raising flour
  • 1 cup castor sugar
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 125 gm butter
  • 1 tablespoon golden syrup or honey
  • ½ teaspoon bicarb soda
  • 1 tablespoon boiling water
Method
  1. Mix by hand the coconut, self-raising flour, castor sugar and rolled oats in a bowl.
  2. Melt butter with golden syrup or honey.
  3. Dissolve bicarb soda into boiling water and add to melted butter mixture.
  4. Pour into dry ingredients and combine with a knife or fork.
  5. Squeeze into 2cm balls and put on greased biscuit tray. Flatten with fork.
  6. Cook 15mins 180C oven or until golden brown.

 

Chicken and pasta casserole

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Chicken and pasta casserole
 
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Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Australian
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Pappy found this in a magazine
Ingredients
  • 250 gm pasta
  • 2 tblsp oil
  • 1 chopped onion
  • 500 gm chicken breast
  • 1 green capsicum
  • 2 sticks celery
  • 1 chicken stock cube
  • 1 cup water
  • ½ teaspoon oregano
  • 300 ml cream
  • 340 gm asparagus cuts (drained)
  • 1 cup grated tasty cheese
Method
  1. Cook pasta 10 mins uncovered in boiling water, until tender.
  2. Drain, rinse under cold water, drain again and set aside.
  3. Heat oil in frying pan. Add chopped onion and cook until transparent and soft.
  4. Remove onion from pan and set onion aside.
  5. Cut chicken into 2 cm chunks and cook in frying pan.
  6. When cooked, add the cooked onion, chopped capsicum, chopped celery, water, crumbled stock cube and oregano to the cooked chicken in the pan.
  7. Heat 5 mins.
  8. Add cream and asparagus to the mixture and cook until heated through.
  9. Spoon half the mixture over the base of an ovenproof dish.
  10. Top with the pasta, then the remaining chicken mixture.
  11. Sprinkle cheese on top.
  12. Bake in moderate oven (170C) 30 minutes.