Saturday 31 December 2011

Baking- Margherita pizza

Ingredients-

100ml diced tomato
2 small onions sliced
10 basil leaves
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 teaspn caster sugar (sauce)
1/2 teaspn hot sauce
1 1/2 teaspn dried yeast
1 1/2 teaspn caster sugar (dough)
1/3 cup warm water
1 cup flour (dough)
1 TBLspn olive oil
1/3 cup flour (kneading)
Salt and pepper
Olive oil spray
1/3 cup grated mozzarella
1. Preheat the oven to 170'c
2. In a oven proof dish put the tomato, garlic, onion, sugar, basil, hot sauce, 1/3 tea salt and pepper
3.Cover and put in oven for 40 min

4. Mix the sugar, yeast and warm water together and sit to the side
*NOTE DO NOT USE HOT WATER this will kill the yeast
5.Put the flour, olive oil, 1/2 teaspn of salt and pepper in a mixing bowl
6. Mix the flour and yeast mix together for 2 min, the dough ball will be sticky when you are done
7. Cover with a wet towel and set aside for 10 min
8. Flour down your bench and put your dough ball on the floured surface
9. Knead for 2 min, then rest for5 min
10. Roll out with a floured rolling pin
11. Spray you oven tray with oil
12. Lay your dough on the tray
13. Remove the tomato mix from the oven and turn the oven to 200'c
14. Blend the tomato mix
*NOTE IF YOU ARE USING A DRINK BLENDER LIKE I DID HOLD THE LID DOWN AND PULSE otherwise you will be cleaning up the sauce from all over your kitchen :)
15. Spoon the mix onto your pizza
16. Cover with cheese
17. Bake for 16 min
18. Rest for 10 min cut then enjoy :)

Snack- Cheese Souffle

Ingredients-

Olive oil spray
1TBLspn polenta
1 1/2 TBLspn butter
1 1/2 TBLspn plain flour
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup cheese
1 TBLspn mustard
1/2 teaspn hotsauce
10 leaves of basil sliced thinnly
1 egg seperated 
Salt and pepper
1.Take you egg out and let it come to room temperature
2. Preheat your oven to 200'c
3. Use a oven proof dish that holds 1 1/2 cup, spray it with oil then put the polenta in and shake it around tap out excess
4.Melt butter
5. Add flour keep on the heat stirring for 2 min
6.Add cheese, mustard, hotsauce, basil, egg yolk, salt and pepper and stir well take off the heat
7.Whisk the egg whites to a soft peak
8.Fold half of the eggwhite mix through the cheese mix
9. Fold through the second half
10.Spoon the mix into the prepared dish
11. Cook for 25 min
12. Enjoy :) add a little salad if you want it for a main meal

Friday 16 December 2011

Meat- Lamb shanks with sweet potato mash

Ingredients-

2 aussie lamb shanks
3 sml onions
1 sml carott
2 stalks of celery
1 leggo sachet tomato paste
1 TBLspn olive oil
1 1/2 teaspn crushed garlic
1 campbells real beef stock = 1 1/2 cups of stock
2 TBLspn cranberry sauce
1 tomato
Salt and pepper
Baking paper
Alfoil
1 sml sweet potato
10 snow peas
1. Preheat oven at 160'c
2. My shanks had 1 1/2 inch of bone at the top of the shank cut separate from the base so I now remove the bone from this top section but still leaving the meat attached to the bottom
3. Put the oil in a pan on high
4. Rub the shanks with the tomato paste
5. Brown the outside of the shanks
6. Large dice the onion, carrot, celery and tomato
7. Add the stock, onion, celery, carrot, tomato, cranberry and then season with salt and pepper
8.Cover the meat with baking paper
9. Cover with alfoil
10. Bake for 90 min
11. Turn over the shanks and cook for another 30 min
12. Peel sweet potato and dice into 1cm by 1cm cubes
13. Put a pot of hot water on with sweet potato cook for 15 min
14. Remove the top and tail of the sweet potato
15. Strain the sweet potato
16. Put the pot of water back onto boil
17. Mash the sweet potato then add salt and pepper
18. Remove the shanks from the oven
19. Set the shanks to the side
20. Put the veg and juices in to a pot and blend
21. When water is boiling cook the snow peas for 30 sec
22. Strain the snow peas
23. In a bowl stack the mash
24. Lay the shanks on the mash
25. Set the snow peas beside the mash
26. Spoon sauce over the shanks
27. Enjoy :)

Note- There is a lot of the sauce left this can be kept for gravy

Wednesday 14 December 2011

Baking - Hot chocolate covered cookies

Ingredients-

65gr soft butter 
1/3 cup caster sugar
1/2 tea vanilla essence
1 egg
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tea baking powder
1 TBLspn milk
20g drinking chocolate powder
Oil spray
Baking paper
 1. Preheat the oven at 180'c
2. Cream the butter and sugar
3. While whipping add the vanilla
4. Next whip in the egg
5.Mix in flour, baking powder and the milk
6. Spray a baking tray then put the baking paper on top
7. Roll the dough into a small ball 3cm across
8. Roll the ball in the chocolate
9. Put onto the baking tray and press down to make it flat
10. Bake in the oven for 12 min
11. Cool down for 3 min
12. Enjoy with a cold glass of milk :)
 

Poultry- Chicken and chilli spaghetti

Ingredients-

1 ltr water                        2teaspn salt
1TBLspn olive oil for pasta water
150gr spaghetti 
3 chicken tenterloins
2 teaspn olive oil
1 tea garlic
1/2 bell chilli
30 ml white wine
1 lemon juiced
60 ml cream
1 egg
1 TBLspn parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1.Put water salt and oil in pot to cook pasta and put on high heat
2.When the water is boiling add pasta and stir
3.Put a frying pan on high heat with olive oil
4.Slice the chilli and shallots
5.Chop up the chicken about 2 cm pieces
6.Fry the garlic and chilli
7.Add the chicken and brown
8.Strain the spaghetti when it is cooked
9.Deglaze the chicken pan with wine
10.Add the lemon juice to the chicken
11.Add the cream and reduce for 2 min
12.When the sauce is bubbling add the egg and stir quickly to thicken the sauce
13.Remove from the heat
14.Add the cheese and pasta to the sauce
15.Add salt and pepper
16.Lightly fold the sauce through the pasta
17.Bowl up and enjoy :)

Tuesday 13 December 2011

Meat- Slow cooked beef quesadillas

Ingredients-

1 brown onion           
1/2 TBLspn chopped garlic
500gr diced beef      
1/2 teaspn cayenne pepper
12 cherry tomatoes or 1 cup of crushed tomato
1 old el paso taco mix
1 tea salt
1/2 beer   
2 small capiscums
Grated cheese
Jalapenos                
6 mission white corn tortillas
Sour cream to serve
1. Preheat the oven at 180'c
2. Dice onion
3. Put beef, onion, garlic, tomatoes, taco spice, cayenne, salt and 1/2 beer in a oven proof dish and mix together
4. Cover dish with foil then put in the oven for 90 min
 5.Remove the dish from the oven stir then put back into the oven for 40 min
6. Slice the capscums
7. Turn on a sandwich grill
8. First put the bottom tortilla on the grill
9. Layer the cheese, beef, capsicum and jalapenos
10. Add the top tortilla then grill for 2 min
11. Remove from the grill then allow to cool for 1 min
12. Cut in half and serve with sour cream
13. Enjoy !!
 

Thursday 8 December 2011

Dessert- Pavlova with cherries and blueberries

Ingredients-

1 Egg white
1/4 cup caster sugar
Canola oil spray
Baking paper
1/4 cup thickened cream
7 cherries
12 blueberries
1 teaspn honey
1. Preheat oven 160'c
2. Put the egg white and the sugar in a mixing bowl
3. Whip egg white mix until they are stiff peaks 
  4.Spray a oven tray with oil then lay the baking paper on top ( the spray will prevent the paper moving when you are cooking the pavlova)
5.Make a 1 inch high mound of the egg white mix
6.Cook for 45 min on the top shelf then turn off the oven and sit for 20 min

7.Wash the cherries and remove the stems
8.Run a knife around the cherry seed
9.Twist off one side
10.Cut under the cherry pit then remove it
 11.Whip the cream, I used a milk frother :)
12.Place the pavlova on a plate
13.Top the pavlova with cream
14.Layer the cherries and blueberries
15.Drizzle with honey
16. Enjoy :)

Tuesday 6 December 2011

Snack- Chicken Fried Rice

Ingredients-
Olive oil spray           
1/3 cup Jasmine rice
150ml room temp water 
1/4 teaspn salt for cooking rice          
1/2 teaspn butter
2 crushed garlic cloves
1 onion sliced            
1/2 sml carrot grated
100gr chicken diced or 2 tenderloins diced
2 mushrooms sliced   
1 egg
1/2 TBLspn sesame oil
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 1/2 TBLspn soy sauce
1 teaspn hot sauce/ tabasco or if you don't like a little heat use 1 teaspn sweet chilli sauce
1.Preheat oven to 200'c
2.Spray you oven pan with oil spray
3.Add rice, water, butter, salt and garlic 
3. Cover with alfoil then cook for 30 min, then turn off the oven and sit for 10 min
 4.Slice the onion, mushroom, then grate the carrot 
5. Remove the rice when finishing resting from the oven, and remove foil
6. Fluff the rice with a folk
7.Crack your egg into the warm rice then fold quickly
8.Spray your frying pan with oil then heat on high
9.Add the sesame oil, then fry off the onions
10. Add the chicken and mushrooms and cook
11. Add the rice and peas
12. Add the soy sauce and the hot sauce
13.Pan fry for  2 min
14. Plate and enjoy :)




 

Monday 5 December 2011

Poultry- Chicken Parmigiana with a Summer Salad



Ingredients-
1 rasher of bacon         Olive oil spray
1 chicken breast           1 egg
1 teaspn milk               1/4 teaspn of salt
1/4  teaspn pepper      1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1 TBLspn olive oil for cooking the chicken
1 Tblspn pesto- I like to use Wattle Valley chunky dips from Woolworths
1 roma tomato            1/4 red onion
50g spinach leaves washed and stems removed
1/2 sml capsicum        1 tea balsamic vinegar 
1 tea olive oil for dressing

1. Preheat the oven to 200'c
2.Spray a frying pan with the olive oil spray the fry the bacon rasher and set aside 
3.Whisk together the milk, egg and 1/4 teasp salt and 1/4 teasp pepper in a bowl 
 4.Put the frying pan back onto a high heat add the cooking olive oil
5.Put the parmesan cheese in a flat bowl
6.Dip the chicken into the egg mixture make sure the whole breast is dipped into the mixture
7.Quickly now coat the chicken in the parmesan cheese 
 8.Make sure the pan is hot when you place the chicken in
9.Brown both sides of the chicken then remove from the heat
10.Remove the top and the bottom of the tomato, then slice into 4 equal pieces
11.Spoon the pesto onto the chicken 
12.Lay the bacon on next
13. Lay the tomato slices on then cook in the oven for 18 min
14.Slice the capiscum
15.Dice the red onion
16.Mix the balsamic vinegar and the olive oil together for the dressing
17.Layer the spinach, capsicum and the red onion
18.Drizzle the dressing over the salad
19.When the chicken is cooked add to the plate then enjoy :)