In Ashleigh's Kitchen

Recipe: Black Forest Trifle

2013-01-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

My family always makes Black Forest Trifle for Christmas, and this year I was given the recipe by my mother. I have decided to share it with you. I hope you enjoy this recipe.

The original recipe (given to my mother by Hazel Myburgh):

Here is the recipe in text, easy to copy and paste or print out:

Ingredients:

1 tin condensed milk
1 x 250g smooth cream cheese ( 1 cup )
1 chocolate swiss roll
1 tin black cherries (stoned and halved)
Flaked almonds
1 chocolate Flake
Cream

Method:

Mix condensed milk, cream cheese and lemon juice together.
Slice swiss roll thinly and place layer at bottom of dish
Pour a little cherry juice over.
Dot with cherries
Sprinkle with flaked almonds
Spoon a layer of cream cheese mixture over.
Sprinkle with choc. flake
Repeat layers.
Decorate with cream (stiffly beaten) and chocolate flake

Menu Plan #1

2013-01-03T23:00:00.000-08:00

I trust that you have had a wonderful Christmas and new years! I am blogging again and I can guarantee that this year’s recipes are going to be better than ever.

Without further delay, here is the menu plan for the week ahead:

Day:	Breakfast	Light Meal	Tea	Main Meal
Sunday	Cheese Puffs	Easy Savoury Tart	Pancakes (South African Style)	Star Studded Hake Steamed Vegetables (Carrots, Peas, Baby Potatoes)
Monday	Banana Honey Muffins	Macaroni Cheese	Ashleigh's Hot Chocolate	Chicken and Pumpkin Curry
Tuesday	Breakfast Beans	Left Overs	Creamy Vanilla Fudge	Mashed Potato and Chicken Casserole
Wednesday	Carrot Muffins	Left Overs	Left Overs	Broccoli Mashed Potatoes
Thursday	Cheesy French Toast	Left Overs	Chocolate Oil Cake	Spaghetti With Tuna
Friday	Egg and Cheese Toast	Left Overs	Chocolate Peppermint-Crisp Fudge	Left Overs (or Take-Out)
Saturday	Farmhouse Omelette	Shell Noodle Salad	Apricot Cinnamon Cake	Potato Bake T-bone Steak Carrot Salad

Because every day is different, and some days I have more time than other days, this is just a menu plan of what I would like to make each day for each meal. I will be sticking to it roughly.

If you plan to follow this menu plan in your own home, feel free to add and remove as you wish. Maybe you don’t have any time in the morning to make a full breakfast, that’s okay, just substitute with Cereal and Toast if you need to. I might even do this depending on what time I wake up in the morning!

Cinnamon Crumpets

2012-09-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

(Note: For plain crumpets, leave out the cinnamon)

Ingredients:

250ml (1 cup) cake flour (140g)
10ml (2 teaspoons) baking powder
1ml (1/5 teaspoon) salt
30ml (6 teaspoons) sugar
1 egg
200ml (4/5 cup) milk
15ml (3 teaspoons) margarine, melted
5ml (1 teaspoon) cinnamon (optional)

Method:

Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together. Add sugar.
Beat the egg, milk and melted margarine together and add to dry ingredients.
Beat until smooth and leave to stand for 30 minutes
Fry spoonful's of batter on a hot greased griddle or frying pan.
Fry until golden brown, turning when bubbles appear on the surface.
Serve with butter, jam or honey. (also nice with peanut butter and syrup!)

Carrot Salad

2012-09-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

1 large carrot per person
10ml orange or pineapple juice per person
1 teaspoon brown sugar per person
1 teaspoon crushed pineapple per person (optional)

Method

Grate the carrots into a bowl
Mix in other ingredients thoroughly
Chill for an hour then serve

Spaghetti With Tuna

2012-09-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

Serves 3-4 people

Ingredients:

250g spaghetti (8.8 ounce)
25ml (1 tablespoon) Margarine
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
125g mushrooms (4.4 ounce)
1 clove garlic (or teaspoon garlic flakes) – peeled and crushed
75ml water (0.3 cups)
1 x 410g can tomatoes, chopped with juice (15.8 ounce)
Salt and black pepper, to taste
2 x 185g tins tuna, drained and flaked (2 x 6.5 ounce)
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Method:

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and cook spaghetti until tender, (approx. 15 minutes)
Melt Margarine and sauté onions
Add mushrooms, garlic, water, tomatoes and juice and cook fast for 10 minutes to reduce the liquid.
Season and add fish, cook for 5 minutes.
Drain spaghetti and transfer to heated serving dish
Spoon the fish sauce over spaghetti and serve.

Cooking Hints and Tips

2012-08-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

A few things I learned this week:

If you find a recipe with anchovies in it, but don’t like anchovies, you can swap them for sardines and vice versa in most cases.
Crushed Cream Crackers can replace breadcrumbs in a recipe.
Got lots of leftovers bits and pieces of fresh foods? Stir-fry it in a wok and serve on cooked rice with salt and pepper.
Minced/Ground beef can be replaced with vegetarian mince in any recipe, and vice versa.
Tomato Soup can be switched for Cream of Mushroom Soup in most recipe’s to vary the flavour a bit (and vice versa).
Marinate meat the night before use (and store in a fridge) to allow it to fully absorb the flavour.

Grocery Cupboard and Fridge Basics

2012-08-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today I was reading a magazine which listed a couple of basic items that should be in your grocery cupboard. I noticed a few differences on that list compared to mine, so I thought I would share my list with you. With these items you will be able to make at least 3 decent dinner meals from scratch…

Freezer:

Frozen vegetable mix
Frozen stir-fry mix
Minced / Ground beef
Chicken Fillets
Fish Fillets

Refrigerator:

Milk
Cheddar Cheese
Eggs
Bread
Margarine / butter
Tomato Sauce
Mustard
Mayonnaise
Fresh Baby Potatoes (they last a week or two in a fridge)
Fresh Carrots (also last a week or two in a fridge)
Lemon Juice
Peach Chutney

Dried Herbs and Spices:

Italian Herbs
Thyme
Sweet Basil
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne Pepper
Garlic Flakes
Mild Curry Powder

Pantry:

Can Shredded Tuna
Can Tomato and Onion Mix
Can Peach Slices
Spaghetti
Ramen Noodles (two-minute noodles)
Macaroni
White Flour
Sugar
Baking Powder
1 Box long life milk (for emergencies)
Peanut Butter
Bovril
Honey / Syrup
Custard Powder
Jelly Powder
Can Condensed Milk

And with these items I can make the following meals:

Stir-Fry with Chicken Strips
Spaghetti Bolognaise
Macaroni and Cheese
Star-Studded Hake with vegetables
Egg and Cheese Toast (Breakfast / Light Meal)
Cheesy French Toast (Breakfast / Light Meal)
Cheese Puffs (Breakfast / Tea-time treat)

Breakfast Scones

2012-08-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

Makes: about 8 (depending on size)

Ingredients:

1000ml (4 cups) cake flour
2ml (half teaspoon) salt
30ml (3 heaped teaspoons) baking powder
80ml (4 tablespoons) margarine or butter
1 egg
250ml (1 cup) buttermilk
125ml (half cup) water

Method:

Preheat oven to 240ºC (460ºF)
Mix all the dry ingredients together.
Rub in the margarine, handling as quickly and lightly as possible.
In a separate bowl beat egg together with buttermilk and water.
Add the liquid to the dry ingredients about half a cup at a time, mixing with hands or a wooden spoon.
Do step 5 until all the liquid has been added or until a medium to firm dough is formed.
If the dough becomes sticky then add flour until it is neither crumbling or sticking to your fingers.
Pat or roll (with a rolling pin) the dough on a floured surface and cut scones 3cm thick. I use a drinking glass coated with flour instead of a cookie cutter.
Place on a greased baking sheet some distance apart (the scones rise) and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
Take out of oven and allow to cool enough so they can be handled with your hands.
Cut in half, spread with butter and serve with jam and whipped cream or grated cheese.

Egg and Cheese Toast

2012-08-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

I made these for breakfast some time back. It is really nice, much like a fried egg on toast, but without all the grease from the oil.

Ingredients (this is per person):

1 slice of bread
15ml Margarine/butter (1 tablespoon)
1 egg (separate yoke from white)
salt to taste
25ml cheddar cheese (grated) (about 2 tablespoons)
Parsley and paprika (optional)

Method:

Toast the bread lightly
Spread the bread with margarine (or butter)
Beat the egg white until stiff
Spoon the egg white over the bread, sprinkle with salt and hollow the center of the egg white (like a little valley!).
Place the egg yolk in the center/hole and spread the remaining white over the yolk.
Sprinkle with cheese.
Place the bread under the top element of the oven and toast until brown and the egg yolk is cooked.
Garnish with parsley and paprika.

Cheesy French Toast

2012-08-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

4 slices of bread
25ml cheese (grated)
2 eggs
200ml milk
salt and pepper to taste
125ml Margarine (for frying)

Method:

Place cheese on 2 slices of bread, sandwich with the other 2 slices.
Beat eggs. milk, salt and pepper together.
Dip sandwiches into egg mixture.
Melt margarine and fry slowly on both sides until bread is golden.
Serve hot!

Chocolate Peppermint-Crisp Fudge

2012-08-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

Makes: 20cm x 20cm x 1.5cm slab

Ingredients:

375ml (1.5 cups) sugar
150ml (0.6 cups) evaporated milk
30ml (2 tablespoons) butter
500ml (2 cups) marshmallows cut into smaller pieces
300g (roughly 3 slabs) dark chocolate
5ml (1 teaspoon) vanilla essence
1 bar Peppermint Crisp (broken or grated into pieces)

Method:

Line a 20cm x 20cm (7.8 inch) tin with foil.
Heat the sugar, evaporated milk and butter together in a saucepan / pot
Bring to the boil, stirring constantly.
Boil for four to five minutes then remove from the heat.
Stir in marshmallows, chocolate and vanilla essence until melted.
Pour into the lined tin and sprinkle the peppermint crisp over the top.
Leave to set in the fridge for 24 hours.
Remove from tin and peel off the foil.
Use a sharp knife to cut into blocks of the desired size.

Creamy Vanilla Fudge

2012-07-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

Makes: 20cm x 20cm x 1.3cm

Ingredients:

470ml (1.9 cups) sugar
150ml (0.6 cups) evaporated milk
65ml (3 tablespoons) butter or margarine
25ml (1.5 tablespoons) golden syrup
1 can condensed milk
5ml (1 teaspoon) vanilla essence

Method:

Heat the sugar, evaporated milk and butter together in a saucepan.
Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Add syrup and condensed milk.
Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the mixture reaches the soft-ball stage. (Drop a small ball of the mixture into a bowl of cold water. The mixture should form a soft ball when you roll it between your fingers.) Stir continuously.
Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly (1-2 minutes).
Stir in the vanilla essence and then beat with a wooden spoon until the fudge begins to form crystals and to thicken (basically – stir until you get to the point that you wouldn’t be able to pour it out the pot if you stir anymore)
Pour into a greased square tin (20cm by 20cm or 7.8 inches by 7.8 inches) and leave to set.
Once almost set, turn out onto a work surface and cut into squares with a sharp knife.

Note from the cook:

Mine turned out tasting like a mixture of toffee and fudge. I believe that is how it is supposed to taste because everybody who sampled it says it was the best fudge they have ever tasted.

Brown or White Bread

2012-07-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

For this recipe you can use brown bread flour or white bread flour. The images are of brown bread.

INGREDIENTS:

7 cups (1kg) bread flour (brown or white)
10ml salt
10ml sugar
10g (1 sachet) instant dry yeast
20ml (1 tablespoon) Margarine
650ml (2.4 cups) lukewarm water

The ingredients

METHOD:

The bread dough after step 3

Sift flour, salt and sugar together. Add dry yeast and mix.
Rub margarine into dry ingredients and gradually add lukewarm water to mix to a soft dough. Add more water if needed.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed the dough vigorously for 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
Knock down the dough and divide into two.
Place each portion in a greased 23cm loaf tin, cover with oiled plastic wrap, and leave to rise in a warm place for 30-40 minutes, until double in size.
Brush top with water and bake in a preheated oven at 200ºC (400ºF) for 35 minutes.

Total time: Approximately 2 hours.

Quantity: 2 loaves

Chocolate Oil Cake

2012-07-12T15:01:00.000-07:00

INGREDIENTS:

4 eggs
250ml sugar (1 cup)
375ml cake flower (1 & a half cups)
50ml cocoa powder (2 heaped tablespoons)
15ml baking powder (3 teaspoons)
2ml salt (half a teaspoon)
125ml boiling water (half cup)
125ml cooking oil (half cup)

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 180ºC (350ºF)
Whisk the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Sift dry ingredients and gently fold into mixture, with water and oil.
Turn into two lined, greased 20cm cake tims and bake for 20-25 minutes
Leave for 5-10 minutes in tins before turning out onto a wire rack to continue cooling

ICING:

INGREDIENTS:

125g margarine (half cup)
375ml icing sugar (1 & a half cups)
30ml cocoa powder (2 tablespoons - not heaped)
5ml vanilla essence (1 teaspoon)

METHOD:

Beat all ingredients together until smooth and creamy
Decorate the cake. I also used caramel and peppermint crisp (hand grated) to decorate.

Carrot Muffins

2012-07-05T15:01:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate soda)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons melted margarine
3 tablespoons golden or maple syrup
2 eggs (beaten)
2 cups grated carrots
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (the yellow skin part of the lemon)

Method:

Preheat oven to 200ºC (400ºF)
Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray or margarine
In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, oil, syrup and eggs.
Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients, mix until combined.
Fold in carrots and lemon zest.
Divide batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups.
Bake 20min or until golden brown.
Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
Remove from pan and allow to cool completely before serving. The muffins continue to cook for a while after leaving the oven.

Recipe: Broccoli Mashed Potatoes

2012-07-03T15:01:00.000-07:00

This is another recipe I received on the Yahoo Group: Frugal Friends in the Kitchen

Originally it was meant to be a vegetarian dish, or a side dish to be served with meat. I tweaked it to make it into a 1 dish meal by added bacon… here is my version of the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 onion, chopped
2 potatoes
2 tablespoons cream cheese
2.5 cups broccoli florets
200g (about 1.5 cups) bacon, chopped into roughly square pieces and fried.
Salt, Pepper, Parsley to taste

Method:

Place potatoes in a pan, add water to cover and bring to boil (covered). Boil for about 45min or until soft.
In another pot add broccoli and onion, cover with water and bring to boil (covered). Boil for about 15-20 minutes, or until broccoli and onion are tender.
Drain water off the potatoes and vegetables.
Mash the potatoes in a bowl, leaving the skins (I chop them up roughly with a knife to make mashing easier)
Mix Cream cheese, Margarine, Salt, Pepper and Parsley into the mashed potatoes.
Fold in the broccoli, onions and bacon.

Serves 2

Cooking time roughly 1 hour

Recipe: Mashed Potato and Chicken Casserole

2012-07-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

I got the following recipe from a Yahoo Group called Frugal Friends in the Kitchen, one of the members posted it there. She got it from a lady in another group called Mary's Recipe Exchange. We have no idea where this recipe originated, but here I am sharing it with you.

I did make a few tweaks to the original recipe though…

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked, cubed chicken (My Tweak, I cooked 2 chicken fillets, cubed, in a frying pan)
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup (My Tweak, I made 1 packet of mushroom soup powder, making it as the instructions on the packet directed)
1 10 oz. package frozen baby carrots (My Tweak, I used 4 medium/large fresh carrots)
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 cups prepared, instant mashed potatoes (My Tweak, I made homemade Mashed potato from real potatoes … 4 medium sized potatoes work well)
Salt, pepper and parsley to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 180ºC (350ºF).
In a large pot, combine chicken and soup.
Simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes.
Add carrots, peas, parsley, salt and pepper.
Heat thoroughly for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Spoon mixture into a casserole dish.
Evenly top with cheddar cheese and spoon mashed potatoes on top.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is bubbly and potatoes are lightly browned.

Serves 4

Approx. 1h to make

Ashleigh’s hot chocolate

2012-06-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

Tonight I invented my own Hot Chocolate recipe… it was delicious!

So here are the ingredients:

500ml water (2 cups) boiling water
1 tin condensed milk
1 tablespoon cocoa powder

And here is how you make it:

Put all the ingredients on a pot on the stove.
Heat to just before boiling point stirring continuously.
Pour into mugs.

Serves 2

Recipe: Crumbed Mushrooms

2012-06-25T15:01:00.000-07:00

So here is the recipe for my crumbed mushrooms:

Ingredients:

Button or brown mushrooms (quantity of your choice, amounts below are for 3 cups of button mushrooms)
1/2 cup flour
1 egg
1 clove garlic
breadcrumbs

Method:

Clean mushrooms well
Place in a bag with flour and shake well to cover mushrooms
Beat egg and add garlic
Add mushrooms to egg.
Place mushrooms in a bag with breadcrumbs and shake well.
Place on a tray and leave for 30minutes
Deep fry until golden brown
Serve immediately

Recipe: Chicken and Pumpkin Curry

2012-06-24T15:01:00.000-07:00

I’m sorry that I didn’t take a photograph of this dish, but here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

50ml Rama (2 tablespoons)
2 large onions, sliced
10ml garlic, finely chopped (2 teaspoons or one clove)
10ml ginger, finely chopped (2 teaspoons)
25ml curry powder (1 heaped tablespoon)
1 chicken, cut into portions (or 4-6 chicken fillets)
2 large tomatoes, chopped
750ml pumpkin, peeled and cubed (3 cups… but I used 5-6 cups)
Salt and pepper to taste
25ml coriander leaves (optional – I left it out on the night I made this)

Method:

(HINT: Chop and cut everything you need before you start. You won’t have time to cut the chicken pieces and tomato while the onions fry since you have to keep them moving!)

Heat the Rama and fry onions, garlic and ginger for 5 minutes
Add curry powder and fry for 1 minute
Add chicken pieces, tomatoes, pumpkin, salt and pepper
Stir well with a metal spoon
Cover pan and cook slowly for 30 minutes
Stir in coriander leaves and serve on rice.

Recipe: Apricot Cinnamon Cake

2012-06-24T00:14:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:

250ml flour (1 cup)
5ml baking powder (1 teaspoon)
125ml castor sugar (1/2 cup)
2 eggs beaten
150ml Rama, melted (bit more than 1/2 a cup)
1 can apricot halves, drained
5ml ground cinnamon (1 teaspoon)
Apricot jam to glaze

Method:

Preheat oven to 180ºC (356ºF)
Grease a 20cm round cake tin (7.8inch – just find the closes size doesn’t need to be exact)
Sift together flour and baking powder then add sugar
Add eggs and melted Rama to dry ingredients and beat well
Pour into cake tin
Place apricots, cut side up, on top of the mixture
Sprinkle with ground cinnamon
Bake for 40-45 minutes. Glaze with warm jam.

Shell Noodle Salad

2012-06-22T15:00:00.000-07:00

This recipe came from my cousin, Cindy, and is a dish that is made every Christmas. It is necessary to make it the night before you are planning to serve so that the noodles draw in the flavour overnight.
Ingredients:

2 cups shell noodles
1 chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
1 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespoons sugar

Instructions:

Cook the shell noodles
Mix all ingredients together and leave in fridge overnight.
Mix again before serving

Potato Bake

2012-06-21T15:00:00.000-07:00

Cooking in my oven today is a potato bake. This is going to be taken to a Bring ‘n Braai at my good friend’s house tonight. She just moved into a new place and this is the first time she is hosting anything for friends. So I am taking around this dish to help out, it is a Bring ‘n Braai after all.
Ingredients:

5 large potatoes, boiled in their jackets until nearly cooked (increase the number of potatoes if the potatoes are small)
250ml ( 1 cup ) cream
250ml ( 1 cup ) milk
1 tablespoon parsley
1 packet of white onion soup
250ml ( 1 cup ) grated cheese (cheddar works the best)

Instructions:

Peel the potatoes and slice into an ovenproof dish
Mix remaining ingredients together, except the cheese
Pour over potatoes and sprinkle with cheese
Bake at 180C for about 1 hour – the cream will have set and potato bake will be golden brown.

Serve with meat cooked on an outside grill and salads OR with a roast chicken and vegetables.

Star Studded Hake

2012-06-20T15:01:00.000-07:00

You need:

Hake fillets (or other fish fillets common to your area)
Mayonnaise
Mustard (in a bottle - like you put on hot dogs)
Salt and Pepper
Grated Cheddar Cheese

The quantities vary upon how many people you are cooking for and the size of the hake fillets, so just read the method below to get an idea of the quantities you will need:

1) Grease a Baking tray and preheat the oven to 180ºC (360ºF)
2) Put Hake fillets on the baking tray

3) Sprinkle Hake fillets with salt and pepper (amounts at your preference)

4) Spread mayonnaise and mustard over the hake fillet (like you would make a peanut-butter sandwich)

5) Sprinkle grated cheese over hake

6) Bake in the oven for 30 minutes

I served this meal with steamed baby potatoes, carrots and peas.

Cosmopolitan Cocktail and Cosmopolitan Mocktail

2012-06-20T11:48:00.001-07:00

This is a drink recipe for those who are not opposed to alcohol in small quantities. This is an absolutely delicious and light drink. You can increase or decrease the alcohol amounts according to your tolerance level, but this quantity works well if you are only drinking one during the course of the evening.
Mark and I made these a week ago instead of going out. The total price to buy the ingredients (enough to make about 16 of these drinks) was R225-00, where buying 1 of these drinks at a cocktail lounge is about R35-00 - so I'm saving about R20-00 a drink by making them at home. Naturally we didn’t make all 16 in one night, and still have a lot of the ingredients left over for another time! (so when am I getting visitors?)

For a virgin drink (safe for children):
Replace the Vodka and Triple Sec with Sprite or Lemon Water.

Ingredients:

Vodka
Cranberry / Cherry / Wild Berry Juice (cranberry is the best, but others work alright too)
Lime juice
Triple Sec
Cherries
Ice to chill

Method:

Mix 1 part Vodka to 3 parts cranberry juice in a shaker. (or 1/4 cup vodka, 3/4 cup cranberry juice)
Add Ice, a tablespoon of lime juice, a tablespoon of Triple Sec and shake well.
Pour out into glasses (strain out ice), add a cherry and an umbrella!

The meal I served with it will be coming out on my blog at a later date!