mummamumma

Old favourites

2011-10-16T20:40:00.000+07:00

Spaghetti meatballs

With the rain keeping us in indoors we have been cooking toddler friendly food more often as it gives us something to do during the day! Oscar loves to help cut and mix but his favourite job is taste tester. This week we made the old favourite 'Spaghetti Meatballs' and some home made pizza using pita bread.

I've provided photos of the pizza making but have not listed a recipe as pizza is really a choose your own adventure. I love very plain pizzas but we added some yellow capsicum, mushrooms, ham, cheese and fresh tomato. Oscar had lots of fun making his pizza and the way he made it is the way we left it.

As for spaghetti meatballs, I make the meatballs different every time as it depends on what I have in the fridge. Below is the recipe I used for this time. It made about 35 small meatballs which I freeze.

Here's what you need:
400-500g beef mince (or chicken)
1 carrot grated
1/2 grated onion
1 tablespoon chopped basil
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (or flour if too runny)
*other times I have added: grated zucchini, mashed potato, crushed garlic, mashed broccoli

All ready to go

Here's what you do:
If baking meatballs, preheat your oven to 200C and grease an oven tray with a little olive oil. You will need to bake the meatballs for about 20 minutes. I pan fried mine in some olive oil over a hot plate over medium heat.

This recipe is great because almost all ingredients just need to be grated into a bowl. Mix all ingredients together with your hands and add more flour or breadcrumbs if too runny. Scoop teaspoon sized portions of the mix and roll into small balls. Repeat till all mixture is used. Once cooked, you can freeze what you don't eat but wait till they cool down first. I freeze them in batches of 4.

I cooked 3/4 packet of spaghetti which gave us 2 adult, 1 toddler & 2 lunch portions. To make the tomato sauce I lightly fried the remaining 1/2 of the onion used in the meatballs, added 2 cloves of crushed garlic, a tablespoon of chopped basil, a 700g bottle of Passata and a can of chopped tomatoes. I also had a heaped teaspoon of sugar and a little bit of worcestershire sauce. When the sauce is ready mix the pasta and meatballs all together.

Pizza Making

Our pizza toppings

Fun pizza making

Afgan Biscuits!

2011-10-08T12:54:00.000+07:00

Yum - even with watery icing!

At the school I used to work at in Singapore we used to have a fantastic "Mum's Canteen". The mum's that ran it were the best and they made great food that always made me homesick for Australia. My all time favourite treat was Afghan biscuits. Years later I shared this story with my mother-in-law who promptly found a recipe and now makes them for me every time we visit home. Thank you Sandy!

On this rainy Saturday morning I decided to make some Afghan biscuits with my 22 month son. We had lots of fun and obviously the best bit for him (and me) is licking the spoon at the end. He loved how crunchy the biscuits are and I just love them!

Keep your eyes on the mix!

Here's what you need for the biscuits:
200 g butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups plain flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup corn flakes, slightly crushed
1/2 cup desiccated coconut

Here's what you need for the icing**:
1 cup icing sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 tablespoons water
walnuts (to decorate if you want)

Here's what you do:
Preheat oven to 180c and use baking paper to line some baking trays (I use pizza trays). When the butter is soft place it and the sugar in to your mixing bowl. I used my KitchenAid to cream it together until it was light and fluffy. In a separate bowl mix the flour and cocoa together. It is better to use a sifter but I am not sure if my son would have the patience for this so I just mixed them both straight from the packet. When mixed through add it to the butter and sugar mixture.

Lots of fun

Add the crushed cornflakes (my son had lots of fun helping with this) and the coconut to the bowl . Mix through until all blended well. Spoon teaspoon sized portions of batter onto your lined trays. It's important to know that the cookies won't spread or rise. If you want flat cookies be sure to press them down. Bake in your oven for 15-20mins. This recipe made abut 24 small biscuits. When ready let cool then make the icing and ice. Traditionally afghan biscuits are served with a walnut decoration but also delicious on their own. Enjoy!

**my icing turned out very watery. If you have a great recipe for icing please leave a comment and share!

change of ways...

2011-08-24T11:47:00.002+07:00

I haven't been able to post any new recipes for a while as we have been on holiday for 7 weeks. Being teachers on the European school calendar means that we get to go home to Australia for an extended amount of time and visit family over winter. The holiday was great & fortunately/unfortunately I didn't do too much cooking - although I made a great sweet potato mash with orange juice!

Anyways, we are back home in Bangkok and getting back into our routine. I can't wait to get back into the kitchen and try out some of the recipes from my new birthday present cookbook from my mum, Hopscotch & Honey Joys. I LOVE this book and think I will buy it for others as a gift.

Also I have decided to expand my blogging and as well as cooking, I am going to share some of the crafty, fun things I do with my son. Now he is 20 months old we are having serious fun and I am tapping into the long-forgotten art & craft side of my brain. Upcoming activities (& posts) include wooden spoon puppets, coloured ice cubes to chase in the bath & maybe a cardbox box fort of some kind... still thinking on that one. In the meantime, below are some photos of the play kitchen I just made and I am off to explore my new cookbook and choose some new recipes to cook!

it started with a box

add some contact, cd's, plastic tubes & a bowl...

hours of fun!

Spinach & Mushroom Lasagna

2011-06-01T12:37:00.000+07:00

last night's dinner

I decided to make a lasagna last minute and decided to use mince as well as spinach and mushrooms. My son ate it up so quickly and I liked it too but I think next time I will either make a traditional meat lasagna or a spinach, mushroom and ricotta one. Also, I ran out of sauce for the top layer so had to use tomato paste mixed with water which made it taste a bit too tomatoey. I always make too little sauce. Anyway, below is the recipe with the ingredients adjusted. It made 5 adult serves and 7 toddler serves which are perfect for freezing.

Here's what you need:

Always make a lot of sauce

700g minced beef

2 jars Passata tomato sauce

1 brown onion diced finely

1 garlic clove crushed

1 punnet button mushrooms washed & sliced

2 cups spinach, blanched & sliced finely

1 tbspn sugar

1 tbspn Worcestershire

olive oil

1 box dry lasagna sheets

Mozzarella & cheese grated - about 4-5 cups

2 bay leaves

Here's what you do:

Preheat oven to 180C. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook onion and garlic together until soft, about 3 mins. Add the mince and cook until brown. Add the mushrooms and stir. Pour in the 2 bottles of tomato and sauce and add some water to each bottle. Shake well and then add the water to the pan also. Add the sugar, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves and stir well. Reduce the stove heat and cover pan with lid. Leave to cook for about 10-15mins, stir occasionally. Add the spinach and stir through.

When the sauce is ready remove from heat and scoop out the bay leaves. Coat the base of a deep oven dish with a layer of sauce which will stop the lasagna sheets from sticking. cover with a layer of dry lasagna sheets. Use a large kitchen spoon and cover sheets with sauce. make sure to cover the sheets well, especially the corners as these will dry out. Sprinkle grated cheese over the sauce generously and if you have any left over spinach you can add now too. Cover with another layer of lasagna sheets and repeat the sauce/cheese process. I managed to get 4 layers.

Cover the top layer with the remaining sauce and top generously with cheese. Cover the oven dish with foil and place in the oven for 25 minutes. When ready, remove the foil and cook for a further 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Nuggets - Super Delicious!

2011-05-23T19:10:00.000+07:00

Our favourite chicken nuggets

These chicken nuggets are a favourite of everyone in the house. I always make so many but still it is hard to save any for freezing because they get eaten too quickly. The recipe is adapted from Annabel Karmel's The Fussy Eater's Recipe Book which is one of my favourite children (and adult!) cook books. The secret is in the soaking of the chicken and adding the parmesan to the breadcrumbs. I cooked these for friends and one said it was like eating mashed potato, they were that soft. I also made a mustard sauce which is a nice change from the standard tomato.

Here's what you need:

Preparing to crumb the chicken

2 chicken breast, cut into 2cm cubes
200ml milk
1 tbspn lemon juice
1tspn Worcestershire sauce
1 tspn soy sauce
1/4 tspn paprika (if you want)
100g plain flour
1 beaten egg
75g breadcrumbs
45g grated parmesan cheese
4 tbspn canola oil

Here's what you do:
Place the cut chicken in a bowl and cover with the milk, lemon, Worcestershire, soy and paprika. Stir through, cover with cling wrap and leave in the fridge for at least 2 hours or longer. When you're ready to coat the chicken, strain the marinade off the chicken. Lay out the flour, egg and breadcrumbs. Add the parmesan cheese to the bread crumbs and mix through. Coat the chicken in flour, dip in egg and then coat with breadcrumb/cheese mix. Repeat until all pieces are coated.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry on high for about 2-3 minutes. I used olive oil as I had no canola. Make sure to turn the nuggets over and keep an eye on them as they cook quickly. When cooked, place on paper towel to the side and repeat until all are cooked.

I also decided to make the mustard dipping sauce suggested in the recipe book and Oscar loved it. It is so quick and easy. Below is what you need and what to do.

Honey Mustard Dip
4 tbspn mayonnaise
1 tspn Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tspn honey
1 tspn cold water

Mix all the ingredients in a small dish, I used a ramekin. That's it! Stir the ingredients well and keep in fridge. Enjoy!

Crustless Apple Pie with Cinnamon

2011-05-23T17:41:00.000+07:00

Crustless apple pie

I've been making this apple pie since my son was about 7 months and he loves it, in fact we all do. Super easy and healthy I usually make about 4 pies and freeze them to use later.

I should be more adventurous and make one with a crust but I've already made a lemon pie and this apple pie works every time.

Cook the apples for 15 mins

Here's what you need:
6 apples, peeled & cored. I used Granny Smith.
1 egg yolk
2-3 cinnamon sticks
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbspn lemon juice
ground cinnamon

Here's what you do:

Mix in the egg & sugar

Preheat your oven to 180C. Cook the apples in boiling water with the cinnamon sticks and lemon juice until soft (about 15 minutes). Drain well and add the apple to your food processor. Mix to the consistency you like, I puree it all.

Add in the egg yolk and sugar and mix again. Pour mix into 4 ramekin dishes, about 2/3 high, even out the surface and sprinkle with ground cinnamon. Bake in the oven for 20mins. When cooled, cover with cling wrap and freeze or eat straight away with ice-cream. Enjoy!

Roasted Pumpkin Sauce with Fettuccine

2011-05-18T08:42:00.002+07:00

Pumpkin sauce pasta

This is one of my all time favourite pasta sauces and dinners. So easy and tasty. The best part about it is that you can add to the sauce. Next time I might add some fried bacon and pine nuts, even pesto. You can even use the sauce to stuff portobello mushrooms. The recipe was adapted from the Family Circle Quick Pasta Cookbook and originally says to use pappardelle pasta but I couldn't find any so used regular fettucine. The recipe also says to use butternut pumpkin but as I live in Thailand it was a lot cheaper for me to use chinese pumpkin and it still tasted great. I cooked the whole packet of pasta and it served 2 adults and 3 toddler serves.

Bake for 30mins

Here's what you need:
1 packet of pasta (papperdelle recommended)
1.4kg pumpkin, deseeded, cut in 2cm chunks
4 garlic cloves, crushed
100ml olive oil
3 tablespoons thyme leaves
salt to season
3/4 cup hot stock (vegetable or chicken)
2 tablespoons cream
Parmesan, grated to season at end

Here's what you do:
Preheat your oven to 200C and place water in a pan for the pasta and bring to the boil. Cut your pumpkin into 2cm chunks with the skin and seeds removed. Place in a baking tray and coat with the crushed garlic, thyme leaves and 60ml of the olive oil. Season with salt and place in the oven for 30mins. Place the pasta in the salted, boiling water and cook for about 12mins. When cooked, drain and pour the remaining 40ml of olive oil through the pasta. Keep the pasta warm.

Take the pumpkin out of the oven and place all contents of the baking tray in a Magimix or other food processor. Add the hot stock and cream and mix together. Pour the sauce over the pasta and stir through. That's it! Serve topped with parmesan cheese and thyme leaves if you want. Enjoy!

Chicken Parmigiana & Jamie Oliver Potatoes/Carrots

2011-05-10T19:56:00.000+07:00

Nothing fancy but tasty just the same

I haven't cooked dinner for nearly a week. Finishing off a university assignment and enjoying Mother's Day weekend seemed to zap all my time and energy. Lucky I have a stock of meals for Oscar in the freezer and for us, well take away pizza, cheese on toast, and whatever we can eat standing at the fridge door has been our dinner! So tonight I am making amends. Nothing fancy, probably not blog-worthy but here it is anyway.

I love Jamie Oliver's cookbooks and enjoy watching his 30 minute meal shows. On the weekend (while eating cheese & crackers for dinner) I decided to give his herb 'roasted' potatoes and glazed carrots a try. We're having them with a chicken parmigiana and whatever vegetables are in the fridge to steam, cauliflower and broccoli.

Prepare it earlier to save time

Here's what you need - Chicken Parmigiana
chicken breast (I needed 3)
flour to coat chicken (about 1/2 cup)
1 lightly beaten egg
1 cup flour
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 tbspn chopped parsley (if you like)
1 bottle pasta sauce or whole tomatoes in can
grated mozzarella cheese
olive oil

Vegetables cooking away

Here's what you need - Potatoes & Carrots
500g potatoes (I used 2 large brushed potatoes)
1 lemon (use a potato peeler to shave off the zest)
4 sprigs of fresh thyme & rosemary
1 bulb of garlic, unpeeled
1 large carrot, wash, peeled, cut into stalks
small knob of butter
2-3 bay leaves
2 tspn sugar

Chicken in the oven

Here's what you do - Chicken
Heat the oven to 180C. Press down the chicken breast with your hands to flatten it out. Combine the parmesan and breadcrumbs with the parsley in a bowl. Coat the chicken in flour, dip and coat in egg and then cover with the cheesy breadcrumbs. For my son's chicken I cut the breast in half horizontally so it is not as thick. Heat the olive oil in a fry pan and lightly fry each side of the chicken until it is golden. Drain on kitchen paper. (I prepared the chicken during the day and kept it in the fridge to save time).

When you're ready to cook the chicken, place the cooked chicken on a baking try lined with foil. Pour over your pasta sauce generously and top with grated mozzarella. I probably put too much cheese put better too much than too little in my opinion. Bake in the oven for about 10-15mins.

Vegetables
During the day when I prepared the chicken I also steamed some cauliflower and broccoli and kept it in the fridge. It's just one less thing to think about at dinner time and I reheated them when I was ready to serve. I followed Jamie's recipe and instructions to the letter and the results were pretty good.

Boil the kettle and heat a fry pan on high. Put the cut potatoes in the pan and cover with boiling water from the kettle. I didn't cover mine with a lid. Cook on high for about 10mins or until the potato breaks apart with a knife easily.

Boil the kettle again and put the carrots in a sauce pan. Pour the boiling water over, add a few twigs of thyme, sugar, pinch of salt, bay leaves and a lug of olive oil. Leave cooking on high.

Seasonings

Once the potatoes are ready, drain them, return the pan to the heat and warm up some olive oil. Let the potatoes steam in colander for a few minutes. Add the potatoes to the olive oil and lay them out flat. Add your unpeeled bulb of garlic a clove at a time and grate in your lemon zest. Add a knob of butter and toss on high heat for a few minutes. Turn the heat low and continue tossing for a few minutes more. Tear in some rosemary and toss a few more times. They should go golden in colour.

Drain the carrots then pour a little olive oil and sprinkle some salt over them. Take the chicken out of the oven and serve up with all the vegetables. I needed to add a bit of salt to my dinner. Enjoy!

Apple & Carrot Muffins

2011-05-10T11:37:00.002+07:00

Crunchy carrot & apple muffins

This recipe came across my Twitter feed a few days ago and comes from this website. It caught my eye because of the carrot. Carrot in muffins? It all sounded too healthy for me as I prefer chocolate sweets like this slice and or these wontons. But as I like Oscar to eat healthy snacks I decided to try them.

I also decided to stick to the recipe completed. I was tempted to leave out the sugar and salt, and add half the uneaten banana Oscar left on the bench but as it's my first time making them I wanted to know what they should taste like before I experiment. The recipe made exactly 12 medium muffins and I've put some in the freezer.

Combine wet & dry ingredients in separate bowls

Here's what you need:
1 1/4 cup wholewheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tspn cinnamon
1/2 tspn baking powder
1/2 tpsn baking soda
1/4 tspn salt
1 cup grated carrot (I grated it fine)
1/2 cup apple sauce
2 lighly beaten eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tspn vanilla extract

Here's what you do:
Preheat oven to 180C and grease a muffin tray. Mix together all the dry ingredients in one bowl (flour, sugar, cinnamon, powder, soda, salt). In a separate bowl mix together all the other ingredients. Add half the 'wet' ingredients to the bowl with the dry mix. Blend together well, then mix in the other half of wet ingredients. Fill each muffin hole to 2/3 and bake in the oven for 20mins. They didn't rise as high as I thought they might but are actually quite nice, even a little crunchy. I would eat them warm, enjoy!

Ricotta & Spinach Pasta Bake

2011-05-04T16:22:00.000+07:00

I think one of the reasons I find the slow cooker so boring is that I like to use my hands when cooking. This pasta bake is perfect because you get to mix the cheese and spinach and fill the pasta shells. If my son wasn't sleeping I would have let him have a go at stuffing the shells. The best part about him being asleep is that I can get dinner ready quickly, ahead of time, and without him clinging to my leg asking for some "cheeeeessse".

This recipe comes from the Women's Weekly Healthy Babies Cookbook. I've made it before and Oscar (and us) loved it. He normally has 4-5 pasta shells for dinner. The original recipe says to use 32 pasta shells but, being a big eater, I always use more and then always have too much left over and the pasta ends up being squashed all on top of each other. I swear next time I will only use 32 shells, but that's what I said last time!

Preparations

Here's what you need:
32 large pasta shells
500g spinach, trimmed
600g low-fat ricotta cheese
2 tbspn finely chopped flat parsley
700g tomato pasta sauce (I use Passatta as it's exactly 700g per bottle)
1/2 cup or 125 ml chicken* stock (I used home made stock today from the freezer)
2 tbspn finely grated parmesan cheese (or you could try with other type)
*use vegetable stock to make recipe vegetarian

Here's what you do:
Preheat the oven to 180C. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to boiling point and then add your pasta shells. Cook for 3 minutes only as you want them to stay firm, When done, drain and let them cool down. Chop the parsley and boil or steam the spinach, drain and squeeze out the excess water.

Ready to be covered with foil

In a bowl, add the ricotta, spinach and parsley and using your hands mix all together. In an oven proof dish, pour the tomato sauce and chicken stock and mix together with a spoon. Use your hands to stuff each pasta shell with the ricotta mix. Fill each shell quite full. Place the shell in the dish and repeat. When done sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese and cover the dish with foil.

Bake in the oven for 50 minutes and then remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes. Leave it to cool for a bit before serving and you can scoop up some of the sauce to pour over the shells. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato & Chicken Stew - Slow Cooker

2011-05-03T21:21:00.001+07:00

Sweet Potato & Chicken Stew

Ok, last year I bought my husband a slow cooker for Father's Day. Some might say that is a lame present but I also bought him some of those waterproof travel bags you can take kayaking etc so I think it balanced out. Since the date of purchase however we have used the slow cooker a grand total of... once, and I can't even remember what we made.

The reason for this is because I am a slow cooker skeptic. I just don't understand how it all works and find it hard to believe that in 7 hours all those raw ingredients will produce a beautiful stew. It also doesn't help that I look through the glass lid every 20 minutes or so and see that nothing has happened.

I find it a bit boring BUT can see the enormous benefits. So today I decided to take out the slow cooker and give a new recipe a try. Nothing too fancy but delicious just the same and it allowed me to indulge my sweet potato/kumara obsession. The recipe below would serve 4.

Here's what you need:
2 medium orange sweet potatoes, peeled & cut into chunks
2 brushed potatoes, peeled & cut into quarters

everything in

2 medium carrots, peeled & cut in chunks
6 chicken drumsticks, skin removed (or as many as you need)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup chicken stock (I used store bought because I was lazy)
1 can of whole tomatoes
2 tbspn flour
2 tbspn fresh thyme
salt to your liking (I didn't salt mine but should have)

7 hours to go

Here's what you do:
Put everything in the slow cooker and give it a quick stir. Put the lid on and set the time for 7 1/2 hours and cook on low. If you want it faster set cook temperature to high for 5 hours. How easy is that!

We made some rice in the rice cooker to serve it with when time was up. I shredded the chicken from the bone (it just fell off), scooped up the vegetables and poured some of the stew over it all. My son ate it up as well and it was pretty tasty. Enjoy!

Coconut Chocolate Slice (egg free)

2011-05-03T19:07:00.000+07:00

Won't last long

I made this slice to bring to lunch with friends today and also because it's one of my favourite slices. It is the first slice I ever made as teenager. I have no idea where the recipe comes from but I haven't changed it throughout the years. I was tempted to add some crushed cornflakes just for a change but I just love it the way it is. Apparently the recipe makes 30 pieces but I tend to cut the slice into bigger portions and it is usually all gone in 2 days! This recipe made 24 pieces (well ok, about 28, but there are now 24 in the container).

Here's what you need for slice:
1.5 cup flour (I used self-raising, but have used plain before. I might use wholewheat next time)
1 cup brown sugar (you can use caster sugar too)
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/3 cup dessicated coconut
240g, melted & cooled butter (it's important to let the butter cool before adding)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Pat the mix down evenly

For the icing:
2 cups icing sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
60g melted butter
2-3 tbspn hot water

Here's what you do:
Preheat the oven to 180C, grease & line a baking tray and melt the butter. Set the butter aside for it to cool. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Keep turning the mix over, making sure to blend the ingredients well. When the butter is cool add it and the vanilla extract. I stir the butter in for a bit but then use my hands to mix everything together. Use your hands to place the mix in your tray and spread out evenly. Bake for about 15-20mins, or place a toothpick in and when it's clean, take it out.

Leave the slice to cool completely, Make and spread the icing out and then sprinkle with coconut on the top. Cut into servings. I keep the slice in a tupperware container in the fridge due to the heat. If you have any variations to this recipe I'd love to know. Enjoy!

an old favourite

Strawberry, Banana & Yoghurt Popsicles!

2011-05-02T12:25:00.000+07:00

It is sweltering hot here in Bangkok at the moment (90% humidity nearly every day) and motivated by my $1 popsicle container purchase the other day I decided to make these fruity popsicles before I went to bed last night. Super easy, super healthy and perfect for this type of weather. The ingredients below made 8 popsicles.

Here's what I used:
1 punnet of small strawberries
2 large bananas
1 cup of natural greek yoghurt

Here's what you do:
Wash the strawberries and cut the green tops off. Cut the strawberries in half and place in 1/4 cup of water on the stove for about 5 minutes to soften them up. While they are softening up, peel your bananas and slice. In a blender or Magimix, place the strawberries, banana and 1 cup of yoghurt and blend till the mix is smooth. Pour the mix almost to the top of your popsicle container (remember to leave some room at the top as it will expand in the freezer). Put in the freezer and leave for at least 4 hours or better yet, overnight.

This morning I ran some tap water underneath the popsicle containers to make it easier to pull them out. I think a silicone container would be easier but I have not seen any in the shops. These were a bit too cold for my son so I happily finished it off for him. Enjoy!

Stress free Lunch Platter!

2011-05-01T22:11:00.002+07:00

Lunch time!

Today was the last day of my in-laws holiday in Bangkok so we decided to have a lunch at home. While Oscar was sleeping and everyone else was watching the football I went and investigated the contents of the fridge and decided to just put everything out and eat tapas style.

I had no intention of posting this lunch platter on the blog but when my husband saw the tray the first comment he made was, "did you take a photo? Put this on your blog". So he took a photo for me and here it is. The platter would easily feed 5 people.

Here's what was on the platter:
* 3 boiled eggs sliced
* dukkah with olive oil & balsamic vinegar
* avocado sliced
* salami & ham slices
* sliced tomato
* slice cucumber
* mixed salad leaves
* mixed slice breads
* portobello mushroom with cornflake & pesto topping (see below for directions)
* eggplant/aubergine stack topped with prosciutto on toasted bread (see below for directions)
* blue cheese, sliced Montgomery Jack, & white castello (my favourite)

Here's what you do:
* Eggplant/aubergine: wash, top and tail the eggplant. Slice the eggplant into 10 slices. Heat olive oil in a frypan and lightly fry each slice. You'll know the eggplant is ready when it goes almost see-through. When done place on kitchen sorbent paper. Place a little prosciutto on top of each slice and then stack one on top the other. Place on a piece of toasted bread.

* Portobello mushrooms: preheat the oven to 180C. Wash the mushrooms and cut the stems off. Place bottom side up on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 5 mins. While they're in the oven, mix together the filling, recipe here. Take the mushrooms out and place the filling in. Bake in the oven for a further 10 mins. Enjoy lunch!

Delicious!

Lemon Pie (mum-in-law's recipe) DELICIOUS! DELICIOUS!

2011-04-27T22:58:00.004+07:00

Seriously delicious!

As we live in Thailand throughout the year I create a list of all the things I will eat (and do) when we visit home, Australia, for our holiday. Definitely in my top 3 eat list is my mother-in-law Sandy's Lemon Pie. I seriously LOVE this pie and literally wait all year for a slice (or 5!). So I was excited knowing that Sandy was coming to visit us here in Bangkok and now that I have a food blog I decided to challenge myself and ask Sandy to walk me through the recipe. Keep in mind that I have NEVER, EVER, made pastry from scratch before but how hard could it be...

Here's what you need for the pastry:
200g plain flour

Oscar inspecting the pastry and filling

130grams butter (room temperature)
70g caster sugar
1 egg

Here's what you need for the filling:
4 lemons zested
250ml fresh lemon juice (from the ones you zested)
9 eggs
375g caster sugar
300ml cream

Here's what you do: (I tried to take lots of photos to document my experience)

Prepare the pastry and filling first thing in the morning. I prepared everything at 7:30am and then cooked it later the same day at 7pm. As I live in Bangkok though the humidity is so bad at the moment that it was better for the pastry to be made early. You can use your hands or a processor to make the pastry. I used my KitchenAid, Sandy always uses her Magimix.

Pastry #1:
Combine the sugar and flour mixture and then add the butter. After about 30 seconds mixing, add the egg. Combine ingredients until it has formed a smooth dough. Take out of the bowl and roll in to a ball. Cover with cling wrap and place in the fridge for at least 1-3 hours or overnight if you wish. It will feel like it has turned rock hard but that's ok. This is the easy part I discovered!

Love my juicer

Filling:
Zest and juice the lemons (this was my least favourite part). I was happy to bring out my awesome juicer that we picked up in Turkey. Mix the eggs, cream, sugar, juice and zest all together. I used the whisk component of my KitchenAid. Pour mixture in a tupperware container or keep in bowl and place in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.

Pastry/Filling #2:
It's now 6pm so pastry has been sitting in the fridge for about 10 hours. Preheat your oven to 160C and take out the pastry ball and lemon filling. Generously flour a surface on your kitchen bench and gently pat and roll your pastry. Use a floured rolling pin, start at the centre to roll the pastry out into a circular shape a bit bigger than your pie dish. You might have to stop regularly and piece the pastry back together on the side. Make sure it's not rolled too thin and keep adding flour under the pastry to stop it sticking.

Oh dear...

Now... the tricky part!!! Carefully pick up your pastry and line a deep pie dish. As you can see from the photo I need a lot of help in this department! What a mess! We had a good laugh, blamed it on the humidity and set about piecing the pastry back together again. I knew there was a reason I have never made pasty before!

Patched all up, looks great

If you're lucky then yours would have stayed together nicely and ended up looking like this photo to the right. Now that the pastry is covering the base and edges of the dish, line the base with baking paper and bake at 160C. I covered the baking paper with pie weights (ceramic balls - gift from Sandy). Bake the pastry for about 10minutes, but maybe less, check on it and once it is slightly brown take it out of the oven, discard the baking paper and store the pie weights.

Reduce the oven temperature to 150C. You might want to use a sieve to pour your filling through before baking. Sandy sometimes leaves the zest in but sometimes sifts it out, up to you. We poured it through a sieve first. Evenly pour the lemon filling around the pastry but not up to brim, leave about 3/4 cm gap or a bit more from the top. If you have left over filling pour these into greased ramekin bowls and bake at the same time. These can be crustless pies! Now....so super carefully carry the dish to the oven.

Bake the pie at 150C for approximately 45mins-1hr. Mine cooked faster than I thought, check it by gently pressing the centre. It should be spongy and rise back when pressed.

Take it out of the oven and serve with ice-cream or just cream. Seriously delicious and no where near as hard as I thought. I felt like a Masterchef contestant afterwards and so proud of myself! THANK YOU SANDY! xoxo

No leftovers - ever!

3 Recipe Treat - what to do with the bits & pieces!

2011-04-26T14:16:00.002+07:00

I don't know if your fridge is anything like my fridge but today I literally had 3 mushrooms, a carrot, left over sweet corn and some zucchinis. I also had a toddler clinging to my left leg who seems to have discovered his inner whining voice and was very busy 'telling' me he was hungry. So I quickly slapped some cheese on bread, gave Oscar his cheese sandwich and within 20 minutes had whipped up 3 toddler friendly meals, used up all those annoying half-eaten ingredients and stocked my freezer! Then when Oscar had his nap, I ate my pasta salad that I made yesterday and read my book for 20 mins guilt-free, a good day so far!

Recipe #1: Vegetable Pancakes

Vegetable Pancake stack - yum!

The recipe below makes about 13 pancakes but I ate 3 of them (!!) so was able to freeze 10. I don't include sugar in my pancake recipe as I would rather not cook with it. I used wholewheat flour for the first time today too.

Here's what you need:
any leftover vegetables hiding in your fridge! I used:
half a grated zucchini/courgette
half a large grated carrot
1/2 cup of sweet corn
1 egg
1 cup wholewheat flour
1 cup milk
little bit of baking soda

Here's what you do:
Mix the flour, milk, egg, baking soda together with a wooden spoon. Originally I used only 3/4 milk but it was quite dry so I added an extra 1/4 milk. Add all the vegetables and mix through. Heat a little olive oil in a frypan on medium heat and then using a normal spoon to scoop the batter out and place in the pan. I cooked 5 at a time. Turn after 1 minute or so, or until golden brown on each side and place on sorbent towel to cool. Repeat until all cooked. You could spread some cream cheese on top to serve if you find them a little dry. When cooled, wrap in foil and freeze. Enjoy!

Yum!

Recipe #2: Vegetable Frittata
Oscar is egg crazy, he likes them anyway they can be made which makes life easy on a Sunday morning when I want a no-fuss breakfast. I just scramble or boil an egg and he is happy. I love frittata though and the best part is if your child is fussy you can hide loads of vegetables in them which I did today. This recipe made 3 frittatas. They are perfect for freezing and for lunch or dinner, kids or adults!

Here's what you need:

any leftover vegetables hiding in your fridge! Chopped capsicum/peppers work well. I used:

half a grated zucchini/courgette

half a large grated carrot

1/2 cup of sweet corn

3 mushrooms sliced

3 eggs, whisked

grated cheese, I used Montgomery Jack as that's what was in the fridge.

Here's what you do:

Grease 3 ramekin dishes (ceramic are best) and preheat the oven to 180C. In a medium bowl add all your vegetables and cheese and stir together. Add salt or pepper if you want. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs. Place the vegetable mix evenly in your 3 dishes. Pour the whisked eggs evenly over the top in each dish. Bake in the oven for 20mins. When cool, run a knife along the edge and carefully tip the frittata out and allow to cool. Enjoy!

Soft inside, crunchy outside = yum!

Recipe #3: Cheesy Crumbed Courgette
These would have to be one of Oscar's favourite snacks. So quick & easy I like to have them handy in the fridge or freezer. The best part about them is that the zucchini/courgette stays so soft but the outside is crunchy. The cheese also takes away the sometimes bitter taste of zucchini.

Here's what you need:
1 zucchini/courgette washed, ends trimmed. Do not peel.
1 whisked egg
some plain flour
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup parmesan or other cheese
olive oil

Here's what you do:
Mix the cheese and breadcrumbs together in a bowl or plate. After you have trimmed the ends off your zucchini cut it in half lengthways and horizontally. Cut those pieces in half again, and continue to half until you have about 12-13 pieces. Lightly coat the zucchini in the flour, dip them into the egg and then cover with the breadcrumb/cheese mix. Heat a little olive or vegetable oil over a medium heat and lightly fry the zucchini until they are golden in colour. Turn them occasionally to cook evenly. I freeze mine in groups of 3. Enjoy!

Mushroom, Feta & Tomato Pasta Salad

2011-04-25T14:03:00.001+07:00

I nearly didn't post this recipe as it's so simple and just a basic staple in my house that I figured it would be of no benefit to anyone. But because it's a basic I think it's an even better idea to share.

Now that I am home and chasing after my toddler son I often forget to eat lunch or by the time I feel hungry I feel too tired to make anything really tasty so will often just eat toast or biscuits.

This pasta salad saves me lots of time and is also tasty. I usually make it on a Monday and eat it for lunch for the next 3-4 days. My son will eat it for lunch or dinner too, although I usually vary the recipe slightly for him.

The best part about it is that you can exclude/include any ingredient you like.

Ingredients

Here's what you need:
1 packet Farfalle pasta (or whichever you prefer)
1 small punnet mushrooms, washed and sliced
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (I use cherry tomatoes cut in 1/2 for my son's version)
6 strips of thinly sliced bacon, rind removed & chopped small
1/4 cup pine-nuts
3/4 cup pesto
feta cheese
1/2 cup croutons (I used packet ones but easy to make yourself too)

Here's what you do:

Cook all the pasta in a large pan of salted water for about 12minutes or to packet instructions. You don't want the pasta to go too soft. When cooked, drain a couple of times and pour cold water over the pasta so it won't stick together. Place in a large bowl, cover with cling wrap and let cool. I often put mine in the fridge to speed up the process.

When you're ready, put a little bit of olive oil in a fry pan and cook the bacon for a couple of minutes. Add all the mushroom and cook for a further 4-5minutes or until the mushroom is soft. I use a lot of mushroom because they shrink quite small and I love them. Add the sun-dried tomatoes at the end for about 1 minute only.

Stir through carefully

Remove the ingredients from pan and drain on sorbent paper. Add the pine-nuts to the hot pan and toss continually to brown them, this won't take long. Take the cooled pasta from the fridge and drizzle a little bit of olive oil and stir through (to unstick the pasta). Add all the cooked ingredients, plus the pesto, and gently stir through, turning the pasta over. Make sure to bring the pasta from the bottom to the top. I usually add more pesto at this stage if I think it's not enough.

You can eat the salad like this but I add crumbled feta and croutons. Today I added blue cheese but it was a bit too salty. When my son has this for dinner I use cherry tomatoes instead of sundried.

Enjoy!

Breakfast Bacon & Egg Pie

2011-04-23T13:58:00.000+07:00

Perfect breakfast treat

I've said this before but I love Donna Hay and her Fast, Fresh, Simple cookbook. It's just beautiful to look at plus the recipes are super easy to make. It makes a perfect gift or just a treat for yourself. One of the first recipes I bookmarked to try was the Bacon & Egg Pie. Now, it's not a pie. There is no pastry, but you can cook it in a pie tin and it stays together like a pie. I've made this previously for a Sunday breakfast and today I made it to welcome my husband's parents who are visiting us here in Thailand for the week. This is child and adult friendly and seriously easy and delicious!

*apologies about the photos, my main camera ran out of battery.

Ingredients

Here's what you need: (will make 4 *pies*)
6 rashes thinly sliced bacon. Take off the rind.
6 eggs
1 cup (240g) of creme fraiche (or sour cream)
2 tablespoons of flat parsley leaf (I used chives this time)

Here's what you do:

Get all your ingredients out ready and turn the oven on to 180C. Use butter or spray to grease 4 pie tins or ramekin dishes. I used ceramic ramekin dishes as that's what I have in my cupboards. I also found that the pies pop straight of the ceramic dishes but stuck to the sides of my glass ramekin dish.

Ready to pop in the oven

Line the ramekin dish with the bacon strips (1.5 rashes fits around nicely) and gently push the bacon to the edges to keep it in place. Put the eggs, creme fraiche, parsley in a bowl and use a whisk to mix together. Keep whisking until all lumps from the creme fraiche disappear. Share out the mix evenly between your 4 dishes and then bake in the oven for 25minutes. The mix will rise quite high and look fluffy.

Take them out of the oven and using a table knife run along the edges to loosen any egg or bacon attached to the sides. If you used a ceramic dish or pie tin they should just pop out. If not, carefully work them out of the dish with the knife. Use an oven glove as the dish will be hot.

I served them on top of half a toasted english muffin and added a few strawberries. Enjoy!

Cornflake & Herb Crusted Fish

2011-04-23T01:09:00.000+07:00

Dinner!

Being Good Friday and all I decided to cook fish for dinner. I always love fish served on a bed of mash and decided to use up my fridge supplies to make a pumpkin & potato mash plus the standard 3 steamed vegetables: carrot, cauliflower, brocoli. To make the meal more exciting I went on the hunt for an interesting fish recipe and allrecipes.com.au came to the rescue. This crust mixture is just perfect. While eating dinner I brainstormed other uses for the crust: to stuff a portobello mushroom or tomato or on a grilled chicken breast. I seriously loved it and love the fact that one of the main ingredients are cornflakes! Definitely child friendly and you could substitute some of the ingredients for simpler ones if needed.

So with the menu organised I invited some friends around, had a couple of bottle of wines and a perfect start to the Easter weekend.

Here's what you need:

1 cup of cornflakes, crushed. I put them in a ziploc bag and crushed them up small with my hands

1 tablespoon chopped Italian basil

2 tablespoons grated parmesan (you could try cheddar cheese or another type)

1 tablespoon of sun-dried tomatoes, chopped up small (you could use standard tomatoes diced)

1 whole lemon zest

Olive oil

Fish - as I live in Thailand I am always cautious of the fish I buy. I used Dory fillets in this recipe.

*Any vegetables you want to cook to serve on the side

Here's what you do: (very easy)

Preheat your oven to 180c. Add your crush cornflakes and all other ingredients to a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon. Place your fish on a foil lined oven tray and drizzle some olive oil lightly over the fish pieces. Use your hands to press the mixture all over the top layer of the fisher. Drizzle again slightly with olive oil. Bake in the oven for about 12mins. That's it!

* recipe would cover 2 large fish fillets

** I served Crispy Chocolate Wontons for dessert

Raisin Crazy #1: Chewy Banana & Raisin Mini-Muffins

2011-04-22T16:59:00.002+07:00

Delicious!

My husband's parents are coming to visit us for a week, they arrive tomorrow, so as part of the mandatory clean up and getting ready I decided to clean the fridge so I could write a shopping list. Hiding in the back corner I found a large packet of raisins. Who knows how long they had been there for! They were still within their 'eat before' date so I decided to cook as many recipes as I could with them. The problem is that I really don't like raisins and if I have to eat them I try to just swallow them whole.

So rather than search my cookbooks I turned to the internet today. I adapted the recipe used from SparkRecipes. I have never made chewy muffins before and these are definitely chewy so be warned. They were also so incredibly tasty that I ate 3 in a row, raisins and all! The recipe made 24 mini-muffins and 9 medium sized. I have frozen most of mine to use as snacks.

The original recipes lists sugar and olive oil as ingredients. I completely left the sugar out (who needs it!) and used apple sauce as a substitute for olive oil.

waiting to go in the oven

Here's what you need:
1.5 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup apple sauce or 1/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch of both cinnamon and nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 medium bananas, mashed
1/3 cup raisin
1/2 tablespoon honey
**1/4 cup sugar if you want

Here's what you do:

Place your mini cupcake papers inside your muffin tin and preheat your oven to 180C. In hindsight I would have used foil muffin holders or a silicone tray as mine became a bit stuck after baking.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl: baking soda, salt, flour, and combine well. Make a hole in the middle of the mix with a wooden spoon and then add your 'wet' ingredients: milk, banana and vanilla extract. Mix all together well. I use a KitchenAid (*love*) but by hand is just as easy. Add the raisins. While I was watching the mix combine I thought that honey would make a nice extra so I quickly drizzled about a half a tablespoon of honey into the mix.

Fill your muffin papers up to about 2/3 of the way or a little more. Mine were nearly to the top because I had so much mixture. Bake in the oven for about 17 minutes. Mine browned quite quickly and I panicked a bit and took one batch out too early and they were still quite doughy.

I was too impatient to let them completely cool before I tasted one and as a result the muffin stuck to the paper. It shouldn't happen once they are completely cooled. That's it, super easy and tasty! My mother-in-law has promised to teach me her amazing Lemon Tart recipe next week so stay tuned.

Raisin Crazy #2 - Two Fruity Purees

2011-04-22T15:35:00.003+07:00

Okay, I will be happy to not see any raisins for a long time after today. Even though I am happy to have freezer supply of breakfast toppings and am glad I used up our supply, that is it for a while. I made 2 purees today which would be great either as a topping to weet-bix or oats or just a snack with yoghurt. They were both taste tested and Oscar approved of both.

Apricots, Prune & Raisins

No.1: Apricot, Prune & Raisin (EASY!)

This recipe was adapted from Weelicious.com but I couldn't find any dried peaches so used some dried prunes that I had handy.

What you need:
1 cup dried apricots
1 cup prunes (or dried peach)
1/2 cup raisins
hot water

Here's what you do:

Leave for 20minutes

Fill your electric kettle and bring to the boil. Place all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl and pour the hot water over. Leave for about 20mins. Drain the water BUT keep in case you need to thin out the puree. Place all the fruit into your blender (I use a Magimix) and blend. My pureee was very thick so I added quite a bit of the reserved water. Leave to cool and then place in an ice-cube tray or small tupperware container. How easy is that!

Papaya & Raisins

No.2: Papaya & Raisin Puree (super easy!)

Papaya is sold everywhere here in Thailand and the best place to buy it is from a fruit cart on the street. It is so soft and also great with yoghurt.

What you need:
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup of chopped papaya

Here's what you do:
Put 2 cups of water in a small saucepan. Put the raisins in and bring the water to the boil. If you have steamer then use that pan to boil the raisins. My steamer is still in Australia so I used a medium sized mesh sieve.

Once the water boils place the chopped papaya in the steamer and steam for about 2 minutes only. Then put the papaya in a blender (I used a Magimx) and blend. The raisins should now be plump and soft so drain them BUT keep the water. Add the raisins to the blended papaya. I added some reserved cooking water to puree to thin it out a bit.

That's it! I then scooped the puree in to an ice-cube tray and covered with cling wrap. I will leave overnight in the fridge and then place the frozen cubes in a ziploc freezer bag.

So much puree! (sorry for my photography skills)

Five! Vegetable Rissoles

2011-04-18T12:40:00.003+07:00

I just made these rissoles up for Oscar's lunch today and they are great. So many variations possible and I think next time I will add some chicken. The recipe was adapted from Annabel Karmel's fantastic cookbook, New Complete Baby & Toddler Meal Planner, which I've mentioned before is a favourite. The only change I would make to this recipe is to slightly cook the broccoli first before adding to the frypan as they were still a bit crunchy at the end.

The recipe made 6 medium sized rissoles which I have frozen.

Here's what'll you need:

Ingredients

3 medium potatoes or 300g
25g butter
50g sweetcorn
50g broccoli florets chopped up small
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove crushed
6 mushrooms or 75g
1 medium carrot, peeled & grated
vegetable oil for frying
1 teaspoon soy sauce
flour for coating
1 egg, beaten
75g breadcrumbs
75g grated cheese (I used cheddar, recipe suggests Gruyere)

Here's what you do:

The mixture

Peel and boil the potatoes under tender (for about 10-15mins), wait for them to cool (unlike me who literally kept dropping a hot potato) and then grate them using a cheese grater. Keep to the side.

Melt the butter in a frypan and cook the onion, garlic and broccoli for about 4 minutes or until they become soft. I think I needed to do this for longer though as my broccoli were still a bit crunchy. Add the mushrooms and cook till they shrink a bit then add the grated carrot and cook for about 2mins more. Add the sweetcorn and cook for 1 more minute.

Mix in the grated potato, cheese, soy sauce and salt & pepper if you like. I never add any salt but it's up to you. You mixture will become almost gooey like, perfect for shaping into rissoles.

Ready for frying

Take the mixture off the heat and allow it to cool (again, I am an impatient cook and didn't listen to my own advice). Using your hands, mould the mixture into 6 rissole shapes. Make sure to pack down the ingredients, otherwise they will fall apart. Roll each rissole in flour, dip it in the egg and then coat with breadcrumbs.

Heat the vegetable oil in a fry pan and cook the rissoles until crisp. Enjoy!

Oscar eating his rissole with baked beans

Chocolate & Cinnamon Wontons

2011-04-17T20:31:00.004+07:00

Seriously tasty!

I think I have just found my new favourite dessert. After an early dinner and once Oscar was in bed I quickly decided to try a recipe I have been staring at for a couple of months in my Donna Hay: Fast, Fresh, Simple cookbook. I just love the look of Donna Hay's book and love turning through the pages.

I love dark chocolate and cinnamon but was a bit weary of the wonton mix. Well, all up it took me 10mins from start to finish and I am betting by years end I would have eaten more wontons than I can remember. The count is at 8 so far!

Here's what you need: (to make 16, I only made 8 so halved all ingredients)

16 wonton wrappers
40g melted butter
16 small squares of dark chocolate
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons caster sugar

Chocolate squares in place

Here's what you do:

Preheat the oven to 180C and line a tray with baking paper. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl or cup.

With a brush (I actually used a new paintbrush as I didn't have a kitchen brush, must buy!) coat the 3 edges of the wontons with melted butter and place a small chocolate square on one half. Place it close to the front edge as otherwise the when you close the wonton it won't seal properly. Fold over the wontons and press the edges together to seal.

Put the wontons on the baking tray, brush over with butter and sprinkle with the sugar & cinnamon mix. Bake for 8mins or until golden.

These were seriously delicious and my husband and i ate them so quickly. Serve with ice-cream, strawberries. Also, you could experiment with putting other treats in the wontons. On Donna Hay's site she has a recipe for Apple & Chocolate wontons - yum!

Smells so good... yum!

Sweet Potato & Pear Soup

2011-04-17T17:28:00.004+07:00

The best part of cooking this soup was smelling the butter cooking at the start - dreamy! This recipe was adapted from the Family Circle Quick Short Recipes cookbook and it was super easy and tasty. The recipe made 5 kid sized serves (which I put in the freezer) and 2 adult serves.

Here's what'll you need:

25g butter
1 onion chopped finely
3 medium sized, orange sweet potatoes (or 750g) peeled & chopped into 2cm cubes
2 firm pears, peeled, cored, and chopped
3 cups or 750ml stock (chicken or vegetable). I used pre-made stock as it was easier for me today.
1 cup cream or milk

Here's what you do:

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the onion and cook for about 3mins or until the onion is soft, almost see-through. Add the chopped sweet potato and pear and stir for 2mins then add stock, bring to the boil and cook for 20mins. I have made chicken stock from scratch before but i just wanted a quick Sunday dinner so use store bought stock.

Place the mixture in a blender or Magimix and blend until smooth (I love my Magimx!). I then spooned 4 large spoons of the soup in tupperware containers without adding the cream, you can do this when reheating at a later date. If you are going to eat immediately return the mixture to your saucepan, stir in the cream (I used milk) and reheat slowly. Season with salt or pepper and that's it, enjoy!

Apricot, Apple & Pear Custard

2011-04-16T20:56:00.005+07:00

When Oscar first started eating solid foods I went slightly crazy trying to find age-appropriate food for him to try. My sister passed on a few of her cookbooks and Annabel Karmel's New Complete Baby and Toddler Meal Planner soon became my baby cookbook bible. I cannot recommend it enough for new parents stuck for ideas and the custard recipe below is adapted from the book.

When I gave Oscar a taste this afternoon, he came running back saying, "mumma mumma" and helped himself to 5 more spoons. The recipe made 5 serves which I spread into small tupperware containers and have frozen for desserts or breakfast toppings.

Ingredients

What you'll need:

75g dried apricots
1 large apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1 ripe pear, peel, cored and chopped
1 tablespoon of custard powder
150ml milk (I use full-fat always but up to you)

Here's what you do:

In a small saucepan heat the apricots and apple in about 6 tablespoons of water and cook for about 10mins or until the apple is soft enough to break with a fork.

In a separate saucepan blend the custard powder with some of the milk over a medium heat and use a whisk to stir it to make a smooth paste. Mine went quite lumpy at first so it's a good idea to take it off the heat while stirring (according to my husband). Add the remaining milk and bring to the boil, keep stirring until it thickens and any lumps disappear.

Put the cooked fruit plus the pear in a blender (I use a Magimix) and blend to the consistency you like. I preferred mine with no lumps. Stir in the custard. I distributed the custrad to small tupperware containers and froze it. Enjoy!

mummamumma

Old favourites

Afgan Biscuits!

change of ways...

Spinach & Mushroom Lasagna

Creamy Chicken Nuggets - Super Delicious!

Crustless Apple Pie with Cinnamon

Roasted Pumpkin Sauce with Fettuccine

Chicken Parmigiana & Jamie Oliver Potatoes/Carrots

Apple & Carrot Muffins

Ricotta & Spinach Pasta Bake

Sweet Potato & Chicken Stew - Slow Cooker

Coconut Chocolate Slice (egg free)

Strawberry, Banana & Yoghurt Popsicles!

Stress free Lunch Platter!

**Lemon Pie** (mum-in-law's recipe) DELICIOUS! DELICIOUS!

3 Recipe Treat - what to do with the bits & pieces!

Mushroom, Feta & Tomato Pasta Salad

Breakfast Bacon & Egg *Pie*

Cornflake & Herb Crusted Fish

Raisin Crazy #1: Chewy Banana & Raisin Mini-Muffins

Raisin Crazy #2 - Two Fruity Purees

Five! Vegetable Rissoles

Chocolate & Cinnamon Wontons

Sweet Potato & Pear Soup

Apricot, Apple & Pear Custard

Lemon Pie (mum-in-law's recipe) DELICIOUS! DELICIOUS!

Breakfast Bacon & Egg Pie