Favourite family recipes

Chocolate coconut slice

2009-10-14T18:24:00.000+11:00

This is so addictive.

Ingredients for chocolate base
80g chopped dark cooking chocolate
80g softened butter
70g caster sugar
1 egg, lightly whisked
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup self raising flour
2 tbs cocoa powder
Ingredients for filling
225g shredded coconut
395g can sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs, lightly whisked
Ingredients for chocolate topping
80g softened butter
250g chopped dark cooking chocolate

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
Grease and line a lamington tray.

Base
Melt the chocolate for a minute in the microwave. Then use a metal spoon to stir until the chocolate melts and is smooth.
Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and creamy.
Add the chocolate and egg, and stir until well combined.
Sift the flour and cocoa over the chocolate mixture, and stir until well combined.
Press the mixture evenly over the base of the lamington tray.
Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until firm to touch.

Filling
Combine the coconut, condensed milk and egg in a bowl.
Spread evenly over the chocolate base.
Bake for 25 minutes or until light golden. Set aside to cool completely.

Chocolate topping
Cook butter and chocolate in the microwave for about a minute. Stir with a metal spoon until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth.
Pour the chocolate mixture over the cooled coconut filling.
Place in the fridge for at least 40 minutes to set.

This is quite a rich slice, so I suggest cutting it into small servings.

Thanks to taste.com.au for the idea for this one. I have made some changes to the recipe after having made it several times, to make it a faster and easier recipe.

Béchamel sauce

2009-10-14T18:04:00.002+11:00

This is a very quick and tasty recipe for béchamel sauce.

Ingredients
50g butter
50g flour
1lt Milk
Parmesan cheese
Salt
Pepper

Method
Melt butter in saucepan; add flour and mix to form a paste.
Add milk and stir continuously until sauce thickens.
When thick enough, add cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

Tasty rissoles/hamburgers

2009-10-14T18:00:00.001+11:00

Ingredients
500g beef mince
3 rashers bacon chopped
1 clove minced garlic
1 grated carrot
1 grated shallot
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 eggs
1 handful of chopped italian parsley
salt
pepper

Method
Cook garlic, carrot and shallot in a frypan until soft.
Cook chopped bacon.
Allow to cool.
Mix all ingredients in a food processor until well combined.
Form patties and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
Cook in a frypan.

Easy Moist Chocolate Cake

2009-10-14T17:25:00.002+11:00

This has to be the best chocolate cake my family has ever had.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Ingredients
125g softened butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs lighly beaten
1/2 cup strawberry jam
1/2 cup sifted self raising flour
1/2 cup sifted plain flour
1 tsp carb soda
1/2 cup sifted cocoa
3/4 cup milk

Method
Beat butter, sugar and vanilla essence until creamy.
Add eggs and jam.
Fold in siften flours, cocoa and carb soda.
Pour into a 23 cm cake tin.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Allow to cool.

I always cream this cake in the middle and decorate it with a dark chocolate ganache, strawberries and cream.

If you can get cherry jam, you can turn this into a very easy and moist blackforest cake.

Thanks to Aunty Val for sharing this one.

Dairy free Apple and Cinnamon pikelets

2009-10-14T17:06:00.003+11:00

I tried these today for a friend whose little girl is allergic to dairy.....there's none left!!!

Ingredients
2 cups of self raising flour
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 grated apple
1 teaspoon cinnamon ground
Approximately 1 cup of SOY milk

Method
Put all ingredients into a bowl.
Whisk batter quickly but dont over mix it.
Put batter in the fridge for a few hours. This is important!
Read a book, go for a walk, watch a movie, go shopping...whatever you like.
Remove batter from fridge. It should be really thick and have some air bubbles throughout it.
Place teaspoons of batter into a warmed fry pan. Dont add anything else to the pan.
Pan fry on low heat, flip when the pikelet begins to bubble.

No need to add any condiments to this one as the apple and cinnamon gives it a great flavour.

Sausage rolls

2009-10-13T23:11:00.004+11:00

So much better than commercial sausage rolls.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Ingredients
500g sausage mince
1 clove minced garlic
1 shredded carrot
1 large chopped shallot
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
salt
pepper
6 sheets of puff pastry
egg for glazing
sesame seeds

Method
Pan fry the garlic, carrot and shallot until soft. Allow to cool.
Mix sausage mince, egg, breadcrumbs, cooked vegetable mix and salt and pepper in a bowl or food processor until mixed thoroughly.
Cut pastry into four squares.
Place two tablespoons of sausage mix onto one edge of each pastry square.
Roll into sausage roll shape.
Use a pastry brush to spread egg glaze on top of each sausage roll.
Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Cook for approximately 30 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

OR - you could add some curry to the sausage mix for something different!

Thanks to my Mum for all of the sausage rolls she cooked when I was a kid.

Muesli biscuits

2009-10-13T22:48:00.006+11:00

These are divine! Possibly even good for you - well better than a chocolate biscuit!

Ingredients
50 gm butter
½ cup honey
1½ rice bubbles
½ cup sultanas
½ cup chopped dried apricots
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup SR flour

Method
Set oven to 180 degrees.
Put butter and honey in a microwave proof bowl. Heat for 1 minute in the microwave or until butter melts. Cool slightly.
Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl. Add butter mixture, stir well until it comes together.
Roll heaped tablespoons into balls and place 2cm apart on lines trays.
Cook for 12-15 mins until golden.
Cool completely on trays

Thanks to my good friend Jen for this one. Everyone who has one of these biscuits just loves them!

Spinach pie

2009-10-13T16:08:00.003+11:00

This recipe will make two pies which is great - one for now, one for a friend or the freezer. Great for a side dish too.

Ingredients
2 pkts chopped frozen spinach – (thawed and drained)
1 cup partly cooked rice
1 large onion chopped finely
250g grated tasty cheese
250g ricotta cheese
250g fetta cheese (mashed)
6 beaten eggs
4 sheets of puff pastry

Method
Grease 2 pie plates (23 cm). Blind bake puff pastry on bottom on pie plates.
Mix all ingredients well and divide between pie plates. Put pastry on top, glaze with egg or milk.
Bake in moderate oven for 20-25 min, if pastry browns too much cover with foil, and bake a further 20 min.

Thanks to my old boss Gabriel for this one.

Roast Vegie Lasagne

2009-10-13T15:55:00.001+11:00

Ingredients

Preferred vegies - I use zucchini, eggplant, capsicum and pumpkin
Lasagne sheets
Béchamel sauce
Tomato puree or ready to use pasta sauce
1 can chopped tomatos
Parmesan cheese
Mozzerella cheese

Lasagne method

Roast your vegies in the oven.

Add canned tomato to tomato puree or pasta sauce.

First layer - tomato puree, then lasagne sheets, then a vegie layer, then béchamel sauce. Continue until last layer which should be lasagne sheets, then tomoto puree, then mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Bake until it looks pretty ;)

Béchamel sauce recipe

Ingredients

50g butter
50g flour
1lt Milk
Parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper

Béchamel sauce method

Melt butter in saucepan; add flour and mix to form a paste. Add milk and stir continuously until sauce thickens. When thick enough, add cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

My pancakes

2009-10-13T15:23:00.010+11:00

These are not your ordinary pancakes - they are definitely not flat. A definite winner.
Thans to my pretend Dad Brian for teaching me how to make pancakes!

Ingredients
2 cups of self raising flour
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
80g melted butter
Approximately 1 cup of milk

Method
Put all ingredients into a bowl.
Whisk batter quickly but dont over mix it.
Put batter in the fridge for a few hours. This is important!
Read a book, go for a walk, watch a movie, go shopping...whatever you like.
Remove batter from fridge. It should be really thick and have some air bubbles throughout it.
Place spoonfulls of batter into a warmed fry pan. Dont add anything else to the pan.
Pan fry on low heat, flip when the pancake begins to bubble and then watch those babies rise...

Topped with maple syrup, strawberries, bananas and ice-cream. Make sure you put some maple syrup on top of the ice-cream so it goes a little bit chewy.

YUM YUM! Enjoy!!