reviews and the rest

Easter Cupcakes

2011-04-16T07:54:00.000-07:00

Easter is coming up, here is a great recipe to make if you're having an Easter party or looking for an activity to do with your kids during this holiday.

Makes

Ingredients

325g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
1 1/2 cups (225g) self-raising flour, sifted
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup (125ml) milk
3 cups (450g) icing sugar, sifted
Food colouring of your choice
24 coloured chocolate Easter eggs, to garnish

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Line a 12-hole, 1/3-cup (80ml) muffin pan with paper cases.

Place 225g butter in a food processor with the caster sugar, flour, eggs, vanilla extract and 1/4 cup (60ml) milk. Process until the mixture is smooth, then divide among the muffin cases. Place an unwrapped egg in each of the filled muffin cases. Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until risen and golden.

Meanwhile, to make the icing, place the icing sugar, remaining 100g of butter and remaining 1/4 cup milk in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add a few drops of food colouring of your choice and beat to combine.

Remove the cupcakes from the oven, allow to cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. When cakes are cool, scoop the icing into a piping bag with a star nozzle, then use to ice cakes. Garnish each one with one of the leftover Easter eggs, then serve.

Tim Tam Cheesecake

2011-04-08T05:58:00.000-07:00

This is a new recipe I've not yet tried for myself but I'm looking forward to hearing how it turns out for you guys!

Ingredients

350 g Tim Tam biscuits

80 g butter, melted

375 g cream cheese, cubed and softened

½ cup caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 cup thickened cream

3 teaspoons powdered gelatine, dissolved in ¼ cup boiling water

200 g white chocolate, melted, cooled

Method

1. Place 250 g of the Tim Tams in a blender and process into fine crumbs.

2. Add the butter and process to combine. Press the mixture into spring-form baking pan and refrigerate 30 minutes.

3. Beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth, then beat in the cream.

4. Stir in the gelatine mixture and white chocolate.

5. Chop the remaining biscuits and stir into the cream cheese mixture then pour over the Tim Tam base.

6. Cover and refrigerate until set.

I'm baaaaack!

2011-04-08T05:56:00.000-07:00

I apologise for my unexplained absence over the past few weeks, I moved out of state temporarily and my internet access became very limited. But I'm back and ready to share more great treats with you all!

50 followers!

2011-03-14T16:57:00.000-07:00

This is awesome!
Thank you guys so much :)

I hope you look forward to many more posts to come.

Cappuccino Muffins

2011-03-14T00:25:00.000-07:00

It is said that people of the 21st Century have some of the highest calcium intake because of all the fancy coffee and milk drinks we consume. But is it the flavour we love or the caffeine intake? I think you can guess. This recipe is inspired by seeing business men rushing around in the morning to get a takeaway coffee before work while I sleep in.

Ingredients

1 eggwhite

2 tablespoons caster sugar, extra

2/3 cup thickened cream, whipped

cocoa powder, for dusting

basic muffin mix

2 2/1 cups self-raising flour

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 1/4 cups of milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

90g of butter, melted

1 tablespoon of espresso coffee powder

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Lightly grease a 6-hole, 3/4 cup capacity non-stick muffin pan.

Make basic muffin mix. Sift flour into a large bowl. Add caster sugar and stir to combine. Make a well in the centre. Combine milk, egg, butter and coffee* in a jug. Pour milk mixture into the well. Using a large metal spoon, stir until just combined (don't over-mix).

Spoon mixture into muffin holes until three-quarters full. Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 1 minute. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Using an electric mixer, beat eggwhite in a small bowl until soft peaks form. Add extra 2 tablespoons of caster sugar, a little at a time, beating constantly until think and glossy. Using a large metal spoon, fold meringue mixture over muffins. Dust with cocoa power.

Serve.

* To dissolve the coffee powder, mix it with the melted butter.

Zucchini Slice

2011-03-13T04:33:00.000-07:00

This is another quick and easy recipe that will last for a few nights. It is popular with people of all ages as it is made of commonly used ingredients and is very tasty!

Ingredients

375g zucchini, grated

375g carrot, grated

1 large onion finely chopped

3 rashers bacon finely chopped

1 cup tasty cheese grated

1 cup self-raising flour sifted

Half a cup of oil

5 eggs

Salt/pepper

Parmesan cheese grated for top

Method

Preheat oven to 180 Celcius.

Combine zucchini, carrot, onion, bacon, flour, oil and lightly beaten eggs thoroughly in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper. Pour into a well greased lamington tin (or similar) Grate parmesan over the top.

Bake for 35-40 mins until golden and set.

Allow to cool slightly before cutting.

Adjust the amount of oil depending on the fat content of the bacon.

Daria: The Complete Animated Series

2011-03-12T06:08:00.000-08:00

Since I was a very young girl, rushing home from school on a wednesday afternoon, waiting patiently by the tv until 5:30 and cursing myself the next day if I missed it, Daria has always been a favourite of mine. I don't quite know what at the time intrigued me about this sarcastic, monotone, uncaring angsty teen but something about her kept me from returning a VHS of hers to the video store for over 10 years now.

So in July of 2010, a great friend of mine purchased Daria: The Complete Animated Series (which had come out two months earlier) for me as a birthday present. I have watched the series through now probably about 8 or 9 times and it is even better than I remember. The jokes feel more relevant, the ideals make more sense to me and the whole show just really makes me pine for the 90s. Speaking of, it's a bit disheartening that for the release of the set it was going to cost too much to use all the original music from the show so the only song kept was the theme song and replaced the other music with some computerised knock-off. But overall this is a great set. It was $49.99 (as seen in the ad to your left) and includes the full five seasons of the show and the two films Is It Fall Yet? and Is It College Yet? As well as bonus features.

I recommend this to any Daria fan or television lover.

Broccoli and Bacon Pasta Bake

2011-03-12T01:01:00.000-08:00

This is based on recipe I found on Taste.

Ingredients

350g pasta shells

2 tsp olive oil

2 chicken breast fillets, diced

4 short cut bacon rashers, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

350g broccoli

1 handful of mushrooms, sliced

1 cup (70g) frozen corn kernels

1 cup (70g) frozen peas

1 1/2 cup (375ml) cream

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups (120g) grated cheddar

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. Drain, return to the pan.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Cook chicken until mostly cooked through. Add the bacon, mushrooms and onion, and cook, until soft and lightly browned.

Break the broccoli into small florets. Cook the broccoli and other veges in a steamer or in the microwave until tender. Use a fork to mix the cream and eggs together in a jug.

Add bacon, onion, broccoli, other veges and the cream along with 1 cup (80g) cheddar to the pasta. Stir. Spoon into an 8 cup (2 litre) ovenproof dish. Sprinkle remaining cheddar. Bake until golden.

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This meal was absolutely delicious! The original recipe did not even come close to our finished product. Everyone went back for seconds. It was a creamy filling dish with so much flavour and so much to eat! This lasted us another 2 nights or so in the fridge and the filling without pasta is perfect to fill vol e vant cases or pasties.

2011-03-12T00:21:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Reviews and the Rest.

This is a blog where I will write reviews about things I come across in my everyday life. Be it movies, books, recipes, fashion, products or anything really. I will try to keep the content fresh and varied and also using your input to help me decides the kinds of items to discuss.

I'm very open to suggestions and comments so keep me informed with what you're interested in so I can write about things that are important to you.

This blog can also be a space for discussion and advise about life, health, sex and gossip.

I look forward to sharing this blog journey with you.
♡ RATR