Cup Cakes

I have spoken before about the need for simplicity in cooking. Why cream butter and sugar when there is an easier way? Here is how you make easy cup cakes ....

1. Get a bowl.

2. Into the bowl put: one packet cake mix (Green's); 1 packet of instant pudding (Cottee's); 1/3 cup vegetable oil; 2 eggs; lemonade.

How much lemonade? Add about 1/4 can and beat the mixture, then keep adding until it looks like cake batter. Don't worry, you'll know.

3. Put the mix into paper cases and bake at 180 for 25 minutes. (Which I know to be accurate in my oven. You will have to play with yours)

Very, very important things .... preheat the oven!!!!! The cake mix flavour and pudding flavour should be the same.

When they are cold, you ice. My favourite icing is whipped ganache (which is what the picture is iced with). The brown ones are just milk chocolate ganache and the grey looking ones are white chocolate with Oreos whipped through. That nearly killed my industrial beater!

Moroccan Lamb Shanks

This recipe is for the oven, see note at end for slow cooker.

8 lamb shanks (Frenched or not - who cares???)
plain flour
1/4 cup olive oil
2 brown onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 cup dry red wine
4 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons honey
2 small sweet potatoes

1. Preheat oven to moderate.
2. Toss lamb in flour (I do this in a plastic bag).
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in flameproof dish and cook lamb until brown.
4. Heat remaining oil in same dish. Cook onion, garlic, cinnamon, cumin and coriander until soft and fragrant.
5. Add wine and bring to boil.
6. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until liquid reduces by half.
7. Add stock and honey and bring to boil again.
8. Return lamb to dish and place in oven.
9. Cook covered for about 90 minutes.
10. Uncover. Turn shanks. Add kumara.
11. Cook for another 50 minutes uncovered.
12. Can boil down the pan juices at the end to make the sauce thicker.

SLOW COOKER:
All recipes can be done in the slow cooker, just use half of the liquid. With this one, I find that less is better - so use 1/2 cup wine and 1 cup of stock. (Don't reduce any of the other quantities)
1. Brown the shanks (still toss them in flour). Put them in the slow cooker.
2. Chop up the sweet potato and put in the slow cooker.
3. Caramelize (so Masterchef!!!) the onion, garlic and spices. Mix with wine and stock
4. Pour over the shanks
5. Cook on high for 4 hours of low for 8.
(if you think you need more liquid at any stage, go the wine option but warm it first).

Chicken and Corn Soup

Okay, it's not soup season here. We are beginning (slowly) to get sunny days and warmer weather. Not exactly inspiring anyone to put a pot of soup on the boil. But for those in the Northern hemisphere and anyone who just loves soup, this recipe is easy, nutritious and tasty. Ticks all the boxes really. Freezes okay too. 

 

1 packet of chicken noodle soup (make as directed on the packet)

Add

1 tin creamed corn

1 chopped onion

chicken pieces (leftover bbq chicken is good)

spring onion

 

Bring to boil and then simmer until onion is soft

Mexican Cheese Dip

Easy peasy lemon squeezy...... that's me being politically correct. Really, you can't go wrong with this recipe unless you do one of the two things that I know people have done using my recipe. DO NOT:

1. try to melt a whole block of Kraft cheddar cheese. Grate it first.

2. melt the cheese on its own. The grated cheese goes into the heating water and milk.

Saute 1 onion, 1 chilli, garlic, 1 capsicum

Add ½ cup water and ½ cup milk

Melt 500g grated Kraft cheddar cheese* slowly into the above.

Add a drop of Tabasco, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper and black pepper to taste.

Serve with corn chips or carrot sticks or other raw veggies or all three. El yummo (who knew I spoke Mexican??)

* This is the cheese that comes in a blue box and is found near the Vegemite in the supermarket. 

Fruit Cake

This is the recipe that my Mum used to make as her Christmas cake every year. It is much more moist than a traditional fruit cake and doesn’t keep as long. No need to make it in October if it's going to be your Christmas cake. 

I’m not a big fan of fruit cake but I don’t mind this one. 

Mum’s Pineapple Cake:

1 x 450g tin of crushed pineapple

125g margarine

375g mixed fruit

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon mixed spices

1 teaspoon bi-carb soda

pinch salt

1 cup SR flour

1 cup plain flour

2 beaten eggs

Boil first seven ingredients in saucepan for 10 minutes. Allow to cool. Add sifted flours and eggs. Place mixture in an 18cm square cake tin lined with greased greaseproof paper. Cook for one hour at 160 degrees. Test with skewer. Leave in tin for 5 minutes then turn onto rack to cool. Store in an airtight container. 

Black and White Raspberry Slice

Okay, one of the reasons I started this blog was to share recipes amongst other stuff ... the things you can't take with you. So (to celebrate the blog going 'out there') here is another one. 

125g Philadelphia cheese
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup white choc chips

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cup extra caster sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons bi carb
150g melted butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

200g frozen raspberries

beat the Philly and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the egg, stir through the choc chips.

sift the flour, extra sugar, cocoa, bi carb into a bowl. Combine the butter, vinegar, milk, extra eggs, vanilla and then stir into the dry ingredients until combined.

pour into a greased slice pan. Dot the top with the Philly mixture and swirl through gently with a knife. Lightly press the raspberries over the top.

Bake at 180 degrees for about 40 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

Cool and then cut.

Lemonade Scones

Who wants to spend their life rubbing butter into flour? That's what traditional scones would have you do. Lemonade scones are far too simple...

4 cups self raising flour

300 ml cream

1 can lemonade

Sift flour into a bowl. Make a well in the middle. Pour in the cream. Pour in about 3/4 of the lemonade. Mix together. Does it resemble dough? If yes, then turn out onto a floured board. If no, then add a bit more lemonade until it does. Sort of pat the dough out and cut the scones.

Now the ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL information for scone making is this .... always cut your scones as high as you want them to finish. If they rise a bit in the oven - great. If not then you have perfect scones anyway. This goes for all scones, even the ones without lemonade.

For savoury scones, use soda water instead of lemonade. Add grated cheese, bacon bits, chives or other yummy things.

Apple Slice

With thanks to the late great Nanna Norma, who wasn't really my Nanna but was always a great date! 

BASE = 

1 packet vanilla cake mix (cheapest available)

1/2 cup coconut

1/2 cup melted butter *

Mix together and press into the base of a rectangular pan. The one I use is about the size of an A4 page. Bake at 180 degrees until lightly golden (about 15 - 20 minutes) 

* you may need more melted butter. The consistency you are looking for is like pastry. 

FILLING =

almost 1 large can of pie apple (or apricot or peach...etc)

Spread on base (base does not need to be cold) 

TOPPING =

200ml sour cream

1 egg

Mix together and then spread on top of apples. Sprinkle cinnamon on top. Bake again at 180 degrees for about 30 minutes.