What You Need:

Filling

• 250g cream cheese
• 1 x 400g tin condensed milk
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Base

• packet of sweet biscuits, crushed ( Nice or Butternut Snap)
• 1/3 cup melted butter

What You Need To Do:

Crush biscuits into a fine crumb, mix with melted butter and press into base of springform tin. Refrigerate while making the filling.

Mix, with an electric beater, cream cheese, condensed milk and vanilla until very smooth.  It helps if the cream cheese is at room temperature.  Mix in the lemon juice and pour into the base.   Refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours.  Top with your favourite flavours, or serve, as is, with some delicious thick cream.

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What You Need:

Cooked cake

• Icing
• Chocolate to melt
• sticks
• assorted lollies for decorating

What You Need To Do:

This is such a fun thing to make. I haven’t listed any quantities because it’s all about the consistency of the mixture rather than the amount of each product! Basically you need to break up the cooled cake into fine crumbs and mix in some icing or you can buy the ready made tins of frosting. Mix it well until it is fudge like and roll into balls. Using the stick pierce a whole in the bottom of the ball ready to take the stick when you dip them. Place these into the freezer on a baking sheet until they are firm.

I made skulls, so I shaped them a little so when they were dipped in the chocolate you could see the indentations for the eyes and the cheeks. The werewolves were just rounded cylinders. You can make any shape you like!!

Melt the chocolate over a pan of boiling water. Dip the end of the stick into the chocolate and place it into the hole you made earlier. The choc helps it to stay in place. Now dip the whole cake ball into the melted chocolate. Tap it a few time to get rid of any drips. It helps to have a box or piece of styrofoam ready to stick the pops into so they can set.

Have your lolly decorations ready to stick on the setting chocolate. I waited until the white choc had set and then used a tube of black icing to draw on the skull features and then stuck the eyes into the icing. For the werewolves I dipped them, let them set and then brushed on some more choc on the front, waited for it to start setting and then used a skewer to mark the choc to look like the hair and then quickly stuck the eyes, nose and teeth on!! Fiddly, yes, but they turned out pretty good!

The kids absolutely loved them and they sold out at the disco!! The great thing about these is you can make any type you want for whatever occasion! Check out Bakerella for fabulous inspiration, they are sensational!!!

What You Need:

• 2 cups self raising flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup of sultanas
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cup mashed banana
• pinch salt

What You Need To Do:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line the base of a loaf pan about 23×15 cm

Start by sifting the flour with the baking powder, salt and cinnamon then stir in the sugar and the sultanas.  You could use dates or raisins if you don’t like sultanas.  You could leave them out altogether or add crushed walnuts for a change.  Thats what I like about this recipe, it’s a really pantry friendly!

Combine the milk, beaten eggs and the mashed banana and whisk until well combined.  Use a metal spoon and stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.  Pour the batter into the pan and place some sliced banana along the top for a nice effect!

Cook for about 40-45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.  Allow it to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack.

It is delicious warm, and is so moist that it doesn’t need any butter or anything!  It is quite a dense cake, and because there is no fat in the recipe, it might not keep as long as other breads so you could keep it in the fridge ( if it lasts that long!) You could also toast it under the grill and have it for breaky with a nice cup of tea!

What You Need:

• 3 bananas
• 2 cups self raising flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 60g butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup choc bits
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

What You Need To Do:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees first. Line your tins with cupcake cases.  This recipe makes about 18 muffins but, I made 12 in a cupcake tin and 3 enormous ones in a large muffin tin (for the man that requires manly cakes, not in girly pink patty pans!)  Melt the butter now and set it aside so it has time to cool a little.

Sift the flour, stir in the sugar, breaking up any lumps of sugar, and make a well in the centre of the bowl.  Lightly beat the eggs, milk and butter and add to the dry ingredients.

Mash the bananas and add the cinnamon and stir it in.  Add this to the bowl and gently mix everything together until it is just combined, then gently stir in the choc bits.  I used milk chocolate bits but I think white chocolate would be just as yummy.

Spoon one and a half tablespoons of mixture into each case and bake for 20 minutes or until they are firm to the touch.  Leave them to cool for a few minutes in the tin and then turn onto a wire rack to completely cool, if you can resist!!

What You Need:

• 1/2 medium pumpkin
• 1 large leek
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• salt
• pepper

What You Need To Do:

Slice the leek in half, lengthways, and give it a rinse because sometimes there is dirt trapped between the layers at the base of the dark green leaves as they turn into the white fleshy part.  If you don’t have a leek you can use onion instead, but leek gives it a bit more of a peppery kick.

Thinly slice the leek and gently fry it in the butter.  You don’t want to colour the leek too much, or burn the butter, so just have it on a low heat.  Meanwhile, cut the pumpkin into smallish cubes and make sure to remove the skin.

When the leek has wilted down and is nice and soft, add the curry powder and season with salt and pepper.  Cook the curry powder, just for a minute, to get rid of the raw taste.  I have said 1 teaspoon of curry powder but you can add more or less depending on how you like it.  It imparts a peppery flavour rather than a real curry hit so don’t leave it out altogether, just adjust it to your liking!

Add the pumpkin pieces and pour in the stock.  Give it a good stir so the pumpkin and leek don’t stick to the bottom.  Let the pumpkin simmer away until it is really soft and you can mash it with spoon.  You may need to add more stock as it cooks, depending on what type of pumpkin you use.  I used Jap pumpkin for this recipe and they are quite watery.  Something like a Queensland Blue or a Butternut are a bit drier so might need a bit more liquid.  Plus I like the soup to be thick and creamy in consistency, not watery and thin.

When the pumpkin is cooked use a stick mixer to blend all the lumps out.  Add the cream and give a good mix.  It probably will need some more salt and pepper, so have a taste, and add it if needed.

White bread is a bit of a treat in our house so, today I buttered some slices and cut the crusts off and they were perfect for dipping!  How yummy is that!

Now that I have still got half a pumpkin left I was looking for something different I could do with it. Zo over at Twospoons has this great recipe for a Pumpkin and Cauliflower Wrap. You should see the photo, all gloriously golden pastry and oozing with melted cheese. This is my type of recipe! I think it might be something I could make, pretty soon, and my family will love it.

What You Need:

• 1 large chicken
• 1 lime
• 1 large fennel bulb
• 2 carrots
• 2 sticks celery
• salt
• pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter (optional)

What You Need To Do:

As I said earlier, I’m not too keen on the feel of raw chicken so I rinsed the chicken under cold running water and pat it thoroughly dry with some paper towel.   Roughly chop the carrot and celery into large chunks, you dont even have to peel the carrots if they are clean and fresh.  Place them into a tray lined with baking paper and sit the chicken on top of the veges.

Cut the fennel bulb into chunks and slice the lime into four thick slices.  Place the fennel and 2 of the lime slices into the cavity of the chicken.  You can tuck the other 2 slices in behind the wings just to flavour the skin a bit if you like.

Now the butter!  It is optional if you are trying to be more healthy than me, but I had seen it being done to an enormous turkey on Martha Stewart, so I thought I would give it a go.  You have to gently separate the skin on the top from the meat underneath.  To do this, you run your fingers between the two layers, starting at the cavity end, and gently push them apart.  You move your hand down toward the breast and the skin should separate from the meat.  It is into this gap you put the butter.  So, when you are done you will have layer of butter between the meat and the skin.

Season with salt and pepper, and a little squeeze of the lime, and bake for about 45 minutes, depending on the size of the chook you have.  The juices should run clear when it is done.

Now I wasn’t too pleased about having to do this but I ended up with a very moist, golden skinned chicken that didn’t require constant basting.  So maybe I have conquered a little fear of mine!!

The veges underneath the chicken can be used to flavour some gravy or eaten with the meal, whatever you like!!

What You Need:

• 200g pork fillet

Glaze

• 1 tablespoon hoi sin sauce
• 1 tablespoon kecap manis
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic

What You Need To Do:

If you have time you can make the glaze the night before and marinate the pork overnight, but if you don’t have the time ( or inclination!) it will still taste yummy.  All you do is mix all of the glaze ingredients together and coat the piece of pork.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and oil a baking tray.  Bake the pork until it is done, this piece took about 20 minutes. You can carefully baste the pork with some of the juices from the pan while it is cooking to help keep it moist.  Take it out of the oven and set it aside for about five minutes before you cut it.

I served the pork with some basmati rice and some wilted bok choy, just because that is what I had!  You could stir fry some veges or even have a little salad with it.

What You Need:

• 1 x 95g can chunk tuna
• 1/4 cup red kidney beans
• 1/4 cup sliced cucumber
• 1/4 cup tomato chopped
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 1/4 cup celery
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced red capsicum
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon baby capers
• Iceburg lettuce
• salt and pepper

What You Need To Do:

Firstly open the can of red kidney beans and drain and rinse them.  Leave them for a minute so all the liquid has drained away.  Slice all of the salad stuff so they are about the same smallish, bite size pieces.  No need to chop the capers, just leave them whole.

Gently flake the drained tuna into the bowl of salad.  I prefer to use the tuna that is packed in brine, for the extra flavour, but you can use the oil or springwater type too.  Just try to get the chunk style because the sandwich style can sometimes be a little mushy!

To make the dressing just stir together the oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.  Pour over the salad and gently toss, being careful not to break up the tuna too much.  You probably won’t need all of the dressing so you can store it in the fridge to use on other salads or you might be inspired to make this again!

If you have a small, whole lettuce, you can slice it into quarters and just put a whole quarter on the plate.  Otherwise a good sized chink will do as long as it is nice and crunchy.  Pile up the salad next to the lettuce and if you like, drizzle a little of the dressing over the lettuce as well.

You can also add some flat leaf parsley for extra zing but, sadly,I left my fabulous herb garden behind at my old house and this new one isn’t happening yet so I didn’t have any to put in!