I hang my head in shame

Last night I was really naughty. I didn't cook dinner but purchased take away. I am so ashamed that I am not even going to tell you what it was.


Some people may think I have no excuse. But I believe I do. My husband normally is not home for dinner and I just make something for myself that he is not likely to like. But he was home for dinner last night. My further excuse is I was out all day working and socialising and felt too lazy, well mega lazy to even bother. So unusual as I cook mostly every day.

I hang my head in shame and will do better tonight.

No Bake Cheesecake

Yes it is an oldie but it is so easy and fast to make I cannot resist making it. I must admit I don't make it too often as I would just eat it until I burst. In just 20 minutes you can have this made. It will be a big hit when you want to take something to a BBQ or a friends place.

I make this in a lamington pan. When set I cut it into squares and freeze it in portions. But of course you can make it in the traditional spring form pan if you choose.

Ingredients:
1 pkt of your favorite sweet plain biscuits
1 tsp cinnamon or nutmeg
100g melted butter
1 250g packet cream cheese
1 400g can sweetened condensed milk 
1/3 lemon juice
1 tsp gelatine
1 tbsp hot water

Topping (if you choose):
Fresh or frozen berries
Whipped fresh cream

Method:

1. Line a lamington pan or a spring form pan
2. Crumb the biscuits using a rolling pin or a hand (stick) processor
3. In a bowl add the crumbed biscuits, cinnamon and butter. Mix until combined
4. Press the mixed base into your pan and pop into the fridge
5. In a mixer beat the cream cheese until smooth
6. Gradually add the condensed milk and beat until smooth and a little light
7. Add the gelatine to hot water
8. Add the lemon juice and gelatine and beat again until smooth
9. Pour the mixture into your pan and chill until firm
10. If using the topping just add before serving

Tip: 
If freezing in portions cut and pop into the freezer before lifting out of the pan. Then wrap each frozen portion in cling wrap then seal in a zip lock bag. It only needs to be in the freezer overnight for you to do this.

Whenever you have unexpected guests just take out what you need. So easy.

Lazy again..

There are days where I am completely lazy and really do not care to cook. Having spent a lovely day yesterday with my sister and having lunch out my desire to eat dinner had waned. But, alas I still have to consider my husband.

Thank goodness I have a small supply of home made beef pies in the freezer. So he will be having that with vegetables and I will have just steamed vegetables. Sounds boring I know but sometimes this is the way it is.

However, I visiting a friend tomorrow and really do not want to go empty handed. So, whipped up a No Bake Cheesecake. So easy and so delicious.

Beef Meatballs need not boring

Now some people might think that meatballs are boring. My husband certainly used to think that. In fact anything mince he would turn up his nose. But, I have converted him as I think I will you. If you have children get them involved in making these great treats.

Your resulting meatballs with be light and tender on the inside.

Meatballs are versatile, make them any size you want and serve them as nibbles or add
Napolitana Sauce to them and serve them with spaghetti and a little shaved parmeson cheese.

Please do not use blended vegetable oil for frying. There is no knowing what is in it. Use either rice bran oil, peanut oil or sunflower oil.

Ingredients:
500g beef mince
1 1/4 tsp mixed herbs
1 egg lightly beaten
1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs or 3/4 cup of packaged bread crumbs
1 onion grated (or use a processor)
Plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper
Sunflower oil for shallow frying


Method:
1. In a large bowl add all the ingredients
2. Mix well with your hands
3. Add about 1/4 cup flour to a small bowl (topping it up if need be)
4. Heat enough oil in a fry pan to shallow fry
5. Make meatballs to your desired size, I recommend teaspoon full is good
6. Roll the meatballs gently in the flour then drop into the hot oil
7. Turn meatballs until brown all over and place on a tray

That is it. You can freeze these as well so don't be afraid to make extra.

Napoletana Sauce - Versatility...

There is nothing more soothing than a hot bowl of pasta. Napoletana Sauce is incredibly versatile and you will find I will use it often in my recipes. Make a big pot of it and freeze it in portions - you will not regret it I promise you.

This recipe I gleaned about 20 years ago from a book called Mamma Vittoria's Pasta Cookbook.

I use fresh home grown tomatoes where I can otherwise I use canned from Australia ('cause I am Australian if you hadn't worked that out). The garlic is strong and aromatic and is also grown in my own garden. Please do not buy garlic from China, there are questions about the fertilizers they use and the effects on our health. If you can grow your own or buy local produce.

The basil is also home grown and if out of season I always have plenty of leaves that I have dried. Parsley is forever abundant in my garden.

Ingredients:
4 cups of peeled tomatos (canned in their own juice is fine if fresh is not available)
3 cloves of garlic crushed
1 tbsp chopped parsley finely chopped
2 basil leaves chopped
2 tbsp light olive oil (or sunflower oil)
1 cup tomato paste
Water

Method:
1. Puree tomatoes in their juice (I use a stick blender but pushing them through a sieve works ok too)
2. Add the oil to a large pot and heat on a medium heat
3. Add crushed garlic and cook until aromatic and golden
4. Add tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes
5. Add tomato paste and mix well
6. Add water to at least 4 fingers above mixture
7. Stir in herbs
8. Bring to boil then simmer for about 60 minutes
9. The sauce should have thickened
10. Add salt and pepper to taste

Hint: If the sauce is a little tart sprinkle 1/4 tsp of sugar into the sauce

Dinner on a shoestring

A couple of times a week my husband is not home for dinner so I just pick or graze during the day. I ensure he has a good hearty lunch with him that usually consists of leftovers.

So instead of getting dinner for 2 I just cooked last night for the freezer - Meatballs, Napolitana Sauce and Shortbread (well that wasn't for the freezer). I will post the shortbread recipe some time soon, maybe next time I make it.

Dessert in a Hurry: Fruity Cream Cake

 Whipping up a dessert in a hurry is a wonderful way to finish a good meal. This dessert looks terrific and tastes devine yet it is sooo simple. I guarantee you it will take less than 10 minutes to do (if that) and everybody will love it!

Ingredients:
Canned fruit of choice ( choose slices or halves in juice)
Whipped cream - whip it very stiff
Vanilla Butter Cake - click here for recipe (or any other plain cake you desire)
Icing sugar

Method:
1. Cut a thick slice of cake in an oblong shape
2. Top with fruit slices
3. Top with whipped cream
4. Top with another slice of cake
5. Sprinkle with icing sugar to finish

Vanilla Butter Cake - Simplicity

My husband loves to have cake for his morning tea so I find myself often having to rustle up a cake fast. If I am in the mood I often double the recipe and cut the cakes into halves and freeze them. I love my trusty freezer as it is always full of something that can be used at a moments notice.

This vanilla butter cake is a big favorite. I have changed it slightly from the original recipe in the Womans Weekly Cakes and Slices book from the 1980's.

I use a silicone loaf pan for this recipe - they are fast and easy to use and clean.

I will post a great little fast dessert recipe also using this cake. Yum.

Ingredients:
125g butter
1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract (do not compromise it is really yukky)
3/4 cups of caster sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 self raising flour
3/4 cup milk

Heat oven to 180 degrees c


Method:
1. Using a mixer beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy
2. Add the eggs on low speed one at a time
3. Add the flour and milk
4. Mix until smooth
5. Pour into loaf pan and lightly smooth the top
6. Bake for about 40 minutes then using a skewer and check if cooked. If not then cook for another 5 minutes and recheck.
7. When cooked leave to cool slightly in pan before turning out onto a cooking rack.

Italian Bread Rolls - Great for Hamburgers

I was not sure whether to do hamburgers last night so I decided to make some Italian Bread rolls just in case. The firmness of the roll allows you to keep a hamburger together easier. But, they are great for lunches and toasted.

The great thing about bread rolls is they are very economical. I wrap them in cling wrap and place them in the freezer and use them for my husbands lunch. The defrost beautifully.

Ingredients:

1 tsp dry yeast
400g bread flour (don't use plain flour the results will not be the same)
1 1/2 tsp salt
20ml virgin olive oil
260ml water

Method:

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2. Make a well in the middle and mix the ingredients with your hands.
3. The dough will be soft and slightly sticky
4. Tip the mix onto a floured bench and with floured hands knead until smooth
5. Place back into lightly oiled mixing bowl and cover with cling wrap.
6. Leave in a warm place for 30-40 minutes until doubled in size
7. Punch the air out of the dough and tip onto a floured bench and kneed lightly
8. Roll into sausage about 30cm long
9. Cut into 6 equal pieces and roll into balls - don't get to precious about it though, the joy of home cooking is it does not have to look perfect every time and different sizes cater for different appetites.
10. Place on a baking tray and cover with a slightly damp tea towel. Leave in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size and starting to collapse a little (this will give a slightly flatter roll).
9. Heat oven to 200 degrees c and bake rolls for 10 minutes until golden or the rolls sounds hollow when tapped.
10. Cool on on an rack.

If you have a bread machine: Just follow the instructions for your bread maker. Use the bread dough program if you have one.

If you have a mixer with a dough hook: Only recommended if you have a Kitchenaid or Kenwood type mixer as they can handle the work. Use the mixer for steps 1 - 4.

A Fast Loaf of White Bread with fibre added

Yesterday I made a loaf of white bread with a little extra fibre. There is nothing like a loaf of bread that is warm, crusty and just minutes old. You will be hard pressed to buy that in a shop but what is more I use no preservatives or numbered additives.


Ingredients:

1 1/2 tsp dry yeast
420g bread flour (don't use plain flour the results will not be the same)
1 tbsp milk powder
1 3/4 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
15ml sunflower oil
2 tbsp psyllium husks (available the health food section in the supermarket)
320ml water

Method:

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2. Make a well in the middle and mix the ingredients with your hands.
3. The dough will be soft and slightly sticky
4. Tip the mix onto a floured bench and with floured hands knead until smooth
5. Place back into lightly oiled mixing bowl and cover with cling wrap.
6. Leave in a warm place for 30-40 minutes until doubled in size
7. Punch the air out of the dough and tip onto a floured bench and kneed lightly
8. Place in a loaf pan and place in a warm place for 1 hour
9. Heat oven to 200 degrees c and bake loaf for 10 minutes then turn heat down to 180 degrees c and back until golden or it sounds hollow when tapped.
10. Cool on on an rack.


If you have a bread machine: Just follow the instructions for your bread maker. Use the rapid bread option if you have one

If you have a mixer with a dough hook: Only recommended if you have a Kitchenaid or Kenwood type mixer as they can handle the work. Use the mixer for steps 1 - 4.

Hideously Lazy

What a lazy day it has been. I really should have done so much more. When I say lazy dinner was just a rustle up of leftovers. But, like most days I did cook: a loaf of bread, 6 Italian bread rolls and a vanilla butter cake.

Lunch was a delight though. Fresh bread (home made of course), with ham, sliced hard boiled egg, mayonnaise and avocado (my husband calls avocado Irish butter).

For dinner I fed my husband a pizza that I had made extra last night but not cooked and I just had a simple left over of Moroccan Sausage Roll and fresh Italian bread roll with cheese and danish salami.

Nights like this are good because I can scrounge for food that is left over in the fridge and create meals from almost nothing.


But we are having dessert tonight which isn't usual. There are left over canned peaches in the fridge, whipped cream and I have made a yummy vanilla butter cake. So there will be a layer of cake, followed by peaches and topped with whipped cream. Yum.

Pikelets - for a fast afternoon tea

Being unmotivated to cook the biscuits I planned and liking our traditional Sunday afternoon tea yesterday I opted for Pikelets.

I remember Mum making pikelets when I was a kid when my Nan and Pa suddenly came to visit. They always went down a treat. Fast and yummy. Spread them with butter and top with strawberry jam and if you feel really naughty whipped cream.

My husband loves them simply spread with butter and I have a love of the low sugar all fruit strawberry jams on top.

Ingredients:
1 cup SR Flour
1/4 tsp bicarb soda
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vinegar
2 tsp softened butter

Method:

1. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl
2. Make a well in the center and  add the wet ingredients
3. Mix until smooth
4. Leave stand for 30 minutes
5. Heat a heavy based fry pan and spray with sunflower oil
6. When super hot with a paper towel wipe out the pan
7. Keep the pan on the heat but turn it down to medium low
8. Add tablespoon fulls of batter into the pan and leave until bubbley on top with a dry look
9. Turn over and brown the other side
10. On a clean tea towel over a cake rack place each pikelet and cover to keep warm. Keep doing this to the batter is used.

Note: If you have a stick mixer you can gently mix the ingredients together.

Topping the Pizza

Last nights pizza dinner was a ramshackle affair. It always is as I scramble through the fridge for bits and pieces I can use as topping.

I tend to cheat a lot when I cook so pizza is great because there are no rules.

The main thing is the tomato base. I never use tomato paste/puree. It is strong and over powering.

The key to a good base is either fresh or canned tomato pureed. If using canned tomatoes drain them a little 1st.

Last nights pizza consisted of:

Red and Green Capsicum
Onion
Mushroom
Danish Salami
Ham (not that diced stuff you often see at the deli counter get a piece or buy fresh sliced or shaved)
Mozzarella Cheese (well at least for mine, my husband doesn't eat cheese)
A sprinkle of dried Basil

Don't over top your pizza, there is nothing worse. Just a little bit of everything so the flavors melt in your mouth.

I have permanently in my oven Pizza stones. In an oven heated to at least 220 degrees c I slide the pizzas with their baking paper still underneath them onto the stone.

Cook for about 7 minutes just checking to make sure they are not burning.

How to make a pizza base

A good pizza starts with a good pizza base.

For those of you who are keen it is worth the extra 15 minutes or so to make your own pizza base (less work if you have a bread maker). Otherwise buy the best plain pizza base you can afford (don't buy those ones that have a smear of something red on them - yuk).

This recipe will make 2 large pizzas or 6 small ones. I usually make the small ones.

Ingredients:

1 tsp dry yeast
475g bread flour (don't use plain flour the results will not be the same)
1 Tbsp milk powder
1 3/4 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
20ml virgin olive oil
350ml water

Method:

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2. Make a well in the middle and mix the ingredients with your hands.
3. The dough will be soft and sticky
4. Tip the mix onto a floured bench and with floured hands knead until smooth
5. Place back into lightly oiled mixing bowl and cover with cling wrap.
6. Leave in a warm place for 30-40 minutes until doubled in size
7. Punch the air out of the dough and tip onto a floured bench and roll into a sausage about 25-30cm long
8. Cut either 6 or 2 equal pieces
9. Using bake paper place each piece on the bake paper and roll into a circle. Don't get to fussed, my circles are usually funny shapes. Adds to the fun.
10. Now you are ready to add your topping

If you have a bread machine: Just follow the instructions for your bread maker. I have a dough pizza feature on mine but you can use a dough program if you don't have a pizza one.

If you have a mixer with a dough hook: Only recommended if you have a Kitchenaid or Kenwood type mixer as they can handle the work. Use the mixer for steps 1 - 4.

If you are making the small bases and have extra/left overs just wrap the dough in balls in cling wrap, place in freezer bag, suck the air out and freeze. Instant pizza bases for another meal.

Trouble waking up...

It is a public holiday here today and I have slept in. Now I feel a little lethargic. I am hoping writing this will kick start me to another day of doing lots.

I don't really know why I am writing this blog other than I need to do something different. Working from home and spending many hours by myself I get a bit weird in my head so maybe writing this may touch somebody else. Well assuming somebody else is reading this.

Like most days I start with thinking about what to cook for dinner. The reason being is my day is so busy that if I don't start thinking now by the end of the day dinner will be a real chore. Of course thinking is one thing, deciding is another.

Anyway I have put a loaf of bread on to cook. 2 years ago I started making my own bread. Mainly because I wanted the challenge but the other because I suspected that the bread from a well known bread chain still had numbers in it that my husband was allergic to. (They claim no preservative bread but I checked they still use improvers).

This new bread making challenge was just that. I was working 6 days a week in my retail business at the time so I had to fit it in with my hours at home which was quite scant. Still for 12 months I made my own bread by hand.

I had always vowed that a bread maker was not a good idea. Well vows are made to be broken sometimes so when my sister offered me a second hand bread maker from her friend I thought I would give it a try. Well of course I was hooked. Big time. In fact I used the machine so much the bearings started to go very quickly. Well, it was a less robust model.

With a bee in my bonnet, so to speak I researched bread machines. I found that bread machines are not that trendy any more and the best brand was no longer available here in Australia. So, I advertised for a second hand one. Within 2 days I was contacted and I had an exciting new kitchen toy.

Of course my trusty bread machine gets a work out at least 3 days a week. Mostly for making doughs for bread rolls (they are the most cost effective) but like today for a small loaf of bread for our lunch. Yum.

Right that sorted now I am awake. Now I will have to ponder tonight's dinner.

Sundayitis - I want to eat but what

I really don't feel like cooking much today. So, I have decided we will have pizza. Home made of course. Some think I am crazy 'cause I make my own bases but it is so easy to do.

Tomorrow I will post details of tonight's dinner. I reckon there will be the afternoon tea treat too. Sunday is a bit of a ritual now, we almost always have afternoon tea. It is a sad state of affairs my husband watches the afternoon footy and like the good wife I am I serve him a flat white and the treat of the day. Who knows what I will have decided to make later in the day. You will have to wait until tomorrow to find out now.

Veal Schnitzel Surprise

Saturday night, I really don't care for cooking up a storm for dinner on the weekends but I really want to eat yummy food. A dilemma. With veal on the menu tonight I had to put on my thinking cap on how to turn boring old schnitzel into a yummy fast dinner.

Crumbing your own at home gives you much more scope for flavor and to experiment. It may be hard for some of you to believe but it is actually fun and it does not take as long as you think it would (crumbing yourself).

Speed of cooking will be the key to ensuring your lovely thin pieces of veal remain tender and ensuring you have a light egg mix will help.

I also make my own bread crumbs from my home made bread. Those tired dried powdery bread crumbs from the supermarket are just a no no to good cooking (in my opinion) and they don't quite give you the same finish as fresh bread crumbs. But, if you really have to they are a compromise - still better than eating out.

There was a little dilemma with this dinner. I planned to do duchess potatoes with it but, I had just one potato left. That is what I call lack of preparation. With the local shop just closed (that is in walking distance) and being conscious of the cost of driving to the local shopping center I had to look for an alternative. Only because my husband did a bike ride and was needing carbs otherwise I would not have bothered. So, I opened a pack of gnocchi. If you use bought gnocchi ensure it is vacuum packed and is no less than 80% potato - otherwise you will be getting just fillers and preservatives. It is out there. I get mine from a local fruit market.

So here is my version of tonight's veal schnitzel:

Ingredients:

2 thin but large slices of veal
2 thin slices of prosciutto (sliced fresh from the deli as it is not dry and rubbery)
2 cups of fresh bread crumbs with 1 tsp of dried mixed herbs or
    2 tsp mix of fresh herbs from the garden finely chopped mixed through it
1 cup of plain flour seasoned with pepper
2 eggs with a dash of cream or milk (cream is my favorite)
Peanut Oil
Lemon juice

Method:

1. In 3 separate bowls add the bread crumbs, flour and egg mixture
2. Cut the veal into 2 or 3 pieces
3. Cut the prosciutto into pieces of about the same size as your veal pieces
4. Press a piece of the prosciutto onto each of the veal pieces
5. Dip each piece of veal into the flour then egg (don't throw away the left over egg mixture when you are finished)
6. Press the bread crumbs well onto the egged veal pieces
7. Lay the veal on a plate in a single layer and when all pieces are crumbed place in the fridge for 30 minutes
8. Use this time to prepare your vegetables
9. In a large fry pay pour enough oil to shallow fry, usually about 1/2cm of oil
10. Heat the oil until it is just smoking and pull of the heat
11. Turn the heat down to medium
12. Put the pan back on the heat and place your veal in the pan. Don't move the veal but swirl the pan slightly. When the veal moves in the pan it is time to turn it over. Don't over cook, your crumb should be light brown and not oily.
13. Place the cooked schnitzels in a warm oven and turn the heat under the pan to low
14. Take your left over egg mixture and pour it into the pan. It will be like a large bubbly omelette. Chop up a bit and turn over. Don't get too fussy.
15. Serve your veal schnitzels with your steamed vegetables. Place the egg on top of the veal and squeeze with a little lemon juice if desired.

I need red meat

I have a big need for red meat tonight. Not being big red meat eaters this is unusual. But, now I am in my mid 40's and my hormones are a little ratty I find I am a little iron deficient. So, tonight I have scheduled some crumbed veal with heaps of steamed vegetables...

Stay tuned for my recipe.

I want to stop the boredom

I have decided to change this blog slightly. I have got bored with just posting recipes and for many who are reading this you probably find it as dry as I do.

The fact is we are all busy and we are all have stuff happening. We are all people doing people things.

So I plan to write every day to this blog and share with you my cooking creations for dinner even when I deem it to be unexciting. This will mean that I will probably start shuffling around the recipes in the blog as I write so sorry for those who visit here regularly if I confuse you.

Please as I post recipes print them up and try them for yourself. I want you to have as much joy as I do cooking and eating.

My hope is to inspire you to cook at home, cook without spending huge sums of money and also to stop (if you are) spending money on take out food and frozen food.

So here goes....




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