Easy Rudolph the Reindeer Christmas Cupcakes

The words 'School Bake Sale' can strike fear in the hearts of many parents! I experienced our very first Christmas Bake Sale as a part of our School Fair this week. A few weeks before the fair I decided to make Reindeer Cupcakes (you know when you assume you'll be well rested and have plenty of time to make them), and promptly told my kid. Bad Idea, because they weren't going to forget it. A few days before the fair, in one of the busiest weeks we've had,  including my husband having to travel interstate last minute for work and one child breaking their arm!!!! I really started to regret my choice. Turns out however, that these Reindeer Cupcakes were actually relatively easy and didn't take much time at all. They aren't "perfect" by any means, but they are FUN and the kids loved them! Which is what Christmas baking is all about right!

Cupcake Recipe:

Vanilla Cupcakes

225g unsalted butter, softened

150g caster sugar

225g Self-Raising Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

4 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

I put everything in my Cuisine Companion and mix on 3-4 for the first few seconds so flour doesn't fly everywhere , and then  level 10-12 for about 1-2mins with the mixing blade. But any good mixer will do, or by hand if you are that way inclined. Just mix until its all smooth.

Spoon it into cupcake cases. Bake for 20 mins at 175 degrees celsius (350 F) 

I iced it with a Chocolate Buttercream Icing, there are plenty of easy recipes online, I just used cocoa powder not actual melted chocolate as I was feeling a bit lazy!

Now to the Reindeer Faces.

The eyes are white chocolate chips with a dot of dark writing icing on top.

The Noses are White Chocolate Melts with a M&M stuck down with a dab of writing icing. 

The Antlers are Pretzels cut in half and just press them into the icing to stick!

Cuisine Companion - Green Curry Fish Recipe

A few months ago (in Feb) I was offered a trip over to Sydney to check out and learn how to use the new Tefal Cuisine Companion, which is an all in one kitchen wonder machine, pictured above!! Oh my, I was so excited! It was a whirlwind one night stay in Sydney, but I had a blast hanging out with all the other bloggers, and of course testing out the amazing Cuisine Companion! I also was given my very own Companion to take home!  I haven't blogged about it much, but if you follow me on Instagram you would know all about it. And I use it pretty much everyday.

 Around Easter time Tefal sent us a bunch of groceries that were delivered to our door for a Food/ Recipe Challenge!! I had no idea what to expect and the ingredients were a little random! It included things like Nutella, Fish, Leeks, Potato, Honey, Currents, Fish Stock, Easter eggs, cinnamon! But, I like a bit of a challenge,  so Joel and I brainstormed, because we all know he is the one who likes experimenting the the kitchen the most. We came up with what turned out to be an AMAZING Green Curry Fish Dish recipe, made entirely from scratch in the Cuisine Companion.

So, here is the recipe for anyone keen to try it out!

INGREDIENTS:
Curry Paste:
1 Leek
2-3 Green Chillies (remove seeds for less heat)
4 Cloves of Garlic
2 TBSP Lemon Grass Paste
1 TSP Ground Coriander
Bunch of Fresh Coriander
1 Cup of Fish Stock
2 TBSP of Soy Sauce
1 TBSP Canola/Olive Oil
1 TBSP Ginger
1 x Lime

For the Curry:
2-3 Cups of Butternut Pumpkin
2 Cups of Potato (I like skin on)
1 x 400ml can of Coconut Cream
2 x Pink Ling Fillets
1 Bunch Asparagus

Step 1 : Make Curry Paste
1. Put Ultrablade in Cuisine Companion
2. Add to bowl: 1 x Leek (roughly chopped), 2 x Green Chillies, 4 x Garlic cloves, 2 TBSP Lemon grass paste, 1 large tablespoon grated ginger, Lime Zest, 1 tsp Ground Coriander, small handful of coriander stalks, 2 TBSP fish stock,  2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp Canola oil

3. Pulse to blend on speed 12. Periodically open lid and scrape ingredients off the side.
4. When a paste is formed, put in separate bowl and set aside

Step 2:
Cook Veggies and Steam Fish
1. Remove Ultrablade and replace with mixer
2. Add to bowl 2-3 Cups cubed Butternut Pumpkin, 2 Cups of cubed Potato, 1 x 400ml can of Coconut Cream, 200ml Fish Stock
3. Coat Ling Fillets with some of the Curry Paste and place in steamer basket. Place steam on top of bowl and fit lid, with steamer half open.
4. Use Slow Cook Program 2 for 45mins.

Step 3: Combine Curry
1. Break fish apart in steamer basket, and put fish into bowl (scrape all curry paste in as well)
2. Add the curry paste into bowl
3. Roughly chop asparagus and add to bowl
4. Slow Cook on P3 for 20mins

And then you are done!
To serve
- Garnish with Fresh coriander leaves
- Serve on Jasmine Rice
-Squeeze of Lime

Family Dinner Ideas: Chicken Rice Paper Rolls

I haven't written up any family dinner posts for a while, but, obviously we are still cooking family dinners almost every night of the week! With two toddlers in the house now, dinner time is certainly busy and a little chaotic, but we try pretty hard to have dinner together as a family. And seeing I don't have very much extra time, I still only like making one meal for everyone, it has worked well for us so far!

A couple of weeks ago I thought about trying out Rice Paper rolls for dinner. I had no idea how they would be received by the toddler duo! But, HURRAY, they were a hit! I know how frustrating it can be when you think, 'Oh they will love this for sure.' And, you put so much time and effort into making this great dinner, only to have little noses wrinkle up and declare, 'I don't like this', before they have even tasted it!! From Ez mostly of course, now that he is so aware of what everything is, and very wary of NEW things. Thankfully Willow eats everything and I mean everything, and LOTS of it. But still, trying new recipes can be a little daunting sometimes, and can open you up for a dinner time disaster.

These rice paper rolls are super easy, and great for the whole family! But, I am terrible at wrapping them, so just have a little giggle at how munted my rice paper wrapping is. Especially because this time I tried to cut them in half to make mini ones for the kids, I think leaving them whole and just putting less filling in would probably have been a wiser move on my part.

I've made them twice now.

The first time I used:
-Rice paper
-1 Chicken Breast (cut into small pieces & cooked in shallow water with a little soy-sauce)
- 1-2 cups bean sprouts
- 1-2 cups cabbage (thinly sliced)
- 2 medium carrots (grated)
- handful of coriander (chopped)

This made two large rolls for 2 adults and one each for the kids!! I just added a little bit of everything in each one and wrapped them up, with a little soy dipping sauce. I also added some Brown rice for the kids!

The second time (pictured)
-Rice Paper
- 1 Chicken breast (cut into small pieces & cooked in shallow water with lemongrass & a little soy-sauce)
- 1/2 a large Zucchini thinly sliced and cooked with the chicken
- 1-2 cups cabbage (thinly sliced)
- 2 medium carrots (grated)
- handful of coriander (chopped)

I served them with some Jasmine rice for the kids this time!

A relatively easy dinner, and I think they will start on the regular dinner rotation!

 

 

Spinach & Pinenut Stuffed Mushrooms

I love a good mushie, in fact, cooked mushrooms would be right up the top of my favourite food list! They just make everything taste better, especially breakfast. I love stuffed mushrooms too, but often I forget about making them, so we don't have them that often. I have no idea why, I even have a toddler that scrambles to steal all the chopped mushrooms before I cook them!

Earlier this week Joel put together a little BBQ stuffed mushroom recipe and then graciously allowed me to steal it to put on here and pretend that I am really good at cooking and stuff! Thanks honey!

5 Easy Toddler Lunch Ideas: That don't involve sandwiches

Some days I really struggle with ideas to make toddler lunches more exciting! If you are like me, sometimes the easiest meal for toddlers for lunch are sandwiches. We love our toasties in this house, a good old cheese, ham and avocado toastie (jaffle) is always a winner. But, on the fifth day in a row of having a toastie, I'm starting to feel that this lunchtime thing is getting a little redundant!!

So, I decided to put together this little post, and share some of the toddler recipes and ideas I already have in one nice little easy to find place!

Almond Coated Fish Bites and Sweet Potato Chips

This is our healthier version of a family favourite and another easy meal that even the toddler loves to eat. I love fish and chips, but whenever I eat it I come away feeling so greasy and gross, so we tend to avoid it. Ezra also loves fish, he doesn't like a lot of meat, but fish is something he cannot get enough of. When he has fish and chips at a restaurant he always takes all the batter off first, clever kid! So this is a perfect family meal for our fish loving, batter hating toddler, and anything that is cut in a chip shape can fool him into thinking he is eating regular potato chips. He inherited his love of chips from his mother!!

The fish:

You can use whatever fish you like, and you just need to make sure it is de-boned and then cut it into bite size pieces then just cover completely in the almond meal mixture and shallow fry in oil in a frypan.

The 'batter' or crust on the fish is:

1 cup of almonds (ground or almond meal)

1 tablespoon white flour

Heaped tablespoon of dried parsley

Cracked pepper

1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

The sweet potato is peeled and sliced into chip shape.

I then microwaved them until they were mostly soft and fried them in a pan with some olive oil.

In hindsight I should have just microwaved them and then baked them in the oven, drizzled with a bit of oil. It takes a little longer, but less effort required, they turn out crispier and healthier too!

My unhealthy last minute tartare sauce is just dill pickles chopped finely mixed with whole egg mayonnaise because the toddler loves 'dip'.

Yummmm...

Check out my recipe page for more easy meals that our whole family enjoys and some toddler specific lunches and snacks!

Karen xx

 

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Slow Cooked Honey-Bourbon Chicken Rolls

Every now and then Joel gets a craving for some Southern Style BBQ, things like pulled pork and bbq ribs that are hard to come by around here. It's one of the foods he misses the most about the USA. Lucky for me, he doesn't expect me to cook this stuff, he makes it himself. We had some visitors come around on Sunday, Joel had that bbq craving and was thinking honey-bourbon chicken, so we opted to make a really easy lunch that can feed a lot of people. This fed 8 adults and there were plenty of left overs for later!!

Ingredients:

1 cup Tomato Sauce (ketchup)

1 small onion diced

1/4 cup bourbon

1 Tbsp Honey

1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

2 Tbsp Tomato Paste

2 Tbsp Molasses

2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

2 Cloves of Garlic minced

1 teaspoon minced ginger

Pinch of Cayenne pepper

Pinch of Salt

5 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 Tbsp Butter

Bread or Rolls

Method:

-Add everything to your slow-cooker and stir so the chicken is completely coated in sauce (except for the rolls of course, that would just be gross)

- Cook on low for 8 hours

- Stir with a spoon to break chicken apart so it becomes shredded.

- Serve with rolls.

I like mine with some cheese and pickles! But each to their own. 

So if you're looking for something easy and slow cooked, this is delicious!! It is that easy that we can make it with a newborn in the house, so that is saying something. I love my slow-cooker for this very reason! 

Karen xx 

Satay Turkey Meatballs

My Sister in Law passed this recipe on to me a couple of weeks ago, she's a bit (or a lot) of a whiz in the kitchen, and has been coming up with some great recipes for her one year old, and my brother who is the pickier of the two! I gave them a go today, and they were a hit for Ezra's lunch. I now also have a whole lot of meatballs left over, so guess what we are having for dinner tonight! They were a hit for me as well, I was going to freeze them, but decided against it. I'm really looking forward to dinner tonight, especially because it is all basically already ready! 

Ingredients:

500g minced Turkey

2 cloves garlic

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

1 grated carrot

1 cup of chopped spinach

1 tablespoon natural peanut butter

A small handful of chopped coriander

Splash of Tamari

Method:

It's as simple as grating the carrot, chopping the spinach and coriander, crushing the garlic and adding those, plus everything else into a bowl.

Mix well.

Then form the mixture into small meatballs.

Heat a frypan, and then add some oil

Place meatballs into the pan and fry until they brown on the outside and are cooked through (my SIL fries them off and then puts them in the oven until they are cooked through, so either method works well)

Serve with rice, pasta or steamed vegetables.

You can also make up an easy dipping sauce for them with coconut milk, peanut butter and Tamari, incase your kids like mine are really, really obsessed with dips.

As much as I like eating sandwiches, they do get a little boring and redundant for me. So I love having some quick and easy lunch recipes for me and the kiddo on hand, so that we don't have to have the same thing for lunch everyday. 

Is there anything interesting you have been creating to make lunches more exciting lately?

Karen xx

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Spinach and Ricotta Rolls

So you may have already picked up on this, but I have a serious weakness for anything Spinach and Ricotta.  I have a really difficult time passing up any pastries that contain these two ingredients, and have a tendency to over indulge!!

So I'll use any excuse to make these babies! I've found these Spinach and Ricotta Rolls are great for toddler lunches and kids or adult parties as well. They are really easy to make, and they aren't full of potato or rice fillers like a lot you find at the shops.

Ingredients:
250 grams Spinach (I use fresh and steam it, but frozen spinach also works)
250grams Ricotta Cheese
1 egg
Puff Pastry (I think I used 4 sheets)
1/2 Cup of Cheddar or Parmesan cheese grated
Salt and Pepper to Taste (I didn't add salt, and they still taste great)
Tsp Oregano
Tsp Tarragon
1 egg yolk

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees celsius (425 F).
If you have fresh spinach you need to steam it until it is soft and mushy, then drain and chop.
Mix the ricotta, cheddar, oregano, tarragon, 1 egg, spinach, salt and pepper into a mixing bowl, and make sure it is all mixed through.
Cut the pastry sheets in half
Brush the long edges with egg yolk
Fill a piping bag, or zip lock bag with the corner cut off with the ricotta and spinach mixture and then pipe them down the center of each pastry half (as demonstrated below)

Fold the sides over so they overlap and then cut the long roll to make smaller rolls. Any size will work.
Flip them over so they are 'seam' down on a tray covered in baking paper.
Brush some more egg yolk over the top so they brown nicely.
Then put the tray in the oven for 15 minutes on 220C degrees and then reduce to 180C (350F) for another 15 minutes.
They should come out looking like you see in the picture!

 If you have a weakness for Spinach and Ricotta like me, then you will probably love this
Spinach and Ricotta Lasagna recipe too!

I hope you love them as much as we do!!


Karen xx

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Family Dinner: Veggieful Quiche

Surprise, Surprise!! I have yet another Vegetarian meal for you. This Quiche is quick and easy to make and great for the whole family (including toddlers: mine had no problem digging in). Even the pastry is so simple. I had actually never made Quiche pastry before trying this one, so if I can do it! You can to. I made a big one so that we would have leftovers for lunch the next day. Even though I post a lot of recipes, I actually don't enjoy cooking as much as some. I like simple things, making the minimal amount of meals a week, and if don't have to think about lunch the next day, then thats even better!

The thing I really like about this recipe is how much flavour the quiche has, and there isn't very much salt and no butter! But, look how stuffed full of Veggies it is!! YUMMMMM!!


Ingredients:

Base:
1 cup plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil (I used grape seed oil)
1/4 cup cold water (from fridge)

Filling:
1/2 red capsicum (peppers)
5 button mushrooms
Handful spinach
1/2 onion
Garlic
1/2 zucchini
Splash of milk
6 eggs
1/2 cup of cheese
Handful coriander leaves (cilantro)
Pepper

Method:
For the base, (really, really simple!)
Mix flour and salt in a bowl.
In a separate bowl add the olive oil and cold water, and then whisk it. It gets thicker!
Then add it to the flour and salt
Stir it in a bit, and then I gave up with the spoon and just used my hands to make a ball of dough.
I rolled it out with a rolling pin, and placed it in the quiche pan and pressed it firmly around the edges.

For the filling:
Add the 6 eggs to a separate bowl, and just hand whisk them for a couple of minutes
Chop all the other ingredients (minus the cheese and coriander) and add them to the eggs
Pour this whole mixture into the quiche pan, on top of the pastry.
Then place the coriander and cheese on top
Stick it in the oven at 180 for around 35-40 minutes or until it is cooked through, and browning a little on top.

I'm linking up with Stacey at The Veggie Mama for Meatless Monday too!!

Have a great day, come and visit again soon! Please! 

Karen xx 

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Avocado and White Bean Wraps

It seems to be a bit of a trend for me to be posting a lot of Vegetarian meals/recipes at the moment. I still eat meat, but I am definitely enjoying a lot more meat free meals during the week than we used to. So, with that said, here is yet another Vegetarian meal that we eat on a pretty regular basis. If you've read my blog much before you would know that I am a pretty massive fan of Avocado, especially Guacamole that you can find HERE.
So this meal is right up my alley, full of yummy avocado, beans and some cabbage as well.

Although, in these pictures you will notice some Fish, we thought we would mix it up a bit this time and add fish to the recipe. You don't need it, but it is another option if you can't imagine a dinner without meat. I think that chicken would go pretty well with them too.

The best thing I think about this meal is that it doesn't take any cooking. Everything is raw and ready to go, so if you're looking for something quick to whip up for lunch or dinner when you are pressed for time, I'm suggesting this!

This is so simple we made it for dinner while we were on holidays. Which is why you will notice the amazing decor in the background of the top picture. Classic early 90's holiday rental furniture to make your experience more enjoyable!

Ingredients:

Wraps (I prefer the Sorj ones because they are preservative free, or in the photo these are some soy and linseed organic ones I found, but they are a bit too pricey for me to justify buying on a regular basis)
3 x Avocados
1 x Can of White Beans
1/4 Red Cabbage
1/4 Green Cabbage
1/2 Cup Grated Cheese
1 Carrot Grated
Pinch of Pepper
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
Splash of Balsamic Vinegar

Method:

Drain and pour White beans into a bowl, then mash.
Add the Avocados and mash them in to the mixture
If desired add the grated cheese
In a separate bowl add the grated carrot, and cabbage (chopped finely). Then drizzle over the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, add the pepper and stir until everything is covered.




Then you are done!
So easy.
Just add some from each bowl to your wrap. Wrap it up and chomp it down!

Usually Ezra is my proof that toddlers will eat it! But, this time my nephew who just turned 1 is digging into it with enjoyment! 

Karen xx 

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Lentil and Haloumi Salad

We are all moved out of our house, and the new owners have officially taken the keys, it is a really good feeling to be all done with the hard stuff! I'll do a blog post on that soon, but, today a recipe, because it has been a while.

 Now that we are getting a bit more normality back into our lives, we are trying to get back to our regular healthy meals, rather than the last minute thrown together stuff we have been eating lately, plus our fair share of eating out. It feels good to have time to think about shopping and dinners again.

This is one of my favourites. When I'm feeling like something light and easy for dinner this is my go to meal. And, I love haloumi!!! Seriously cheese that you can fry in a fry pan, do I have to say more! Also, I know it isn't the typical toddler meal, but Ezra chows this down. He LOVES the haloumi too, and will eat big spoonfuls of lentils. Sometimes that kid shocks me with what he eats, but we have been feeding him a pretty wide variety of different foods since he has started solids, so I'm hoping he will keep his great eating habits! The strangest thing that he loves is the pickled ginger that you serve with Sushi!

Ingredients:

Green Lentils
1/2 Red Onion
Cherry or Mini Roma Tomatoes
Lemon
Bunch of Coriander
Olive Oil
Haloumi Cheese

Method:

Follow the instructions on the packet of Lentils for cooking, and I usually just estimate how much I need depending on the size of the group eating.

Halve the tomatoes and finely slice the red onion and pick a handful of coriander leaves and add them all to a large bowl

Squeeze half of the lemon and approximately 1/4 cup of Olive Oil into the bowl, and stir in.

When the lentils are almost ready, fire up a fry pan, add a teaspoon of oil and sliced haloumi. Cook the haloumi until it is crisp and golden on the outside.

Strain the lentils, and add both them and the haloumi to the bowl and serve.

So easy, so delicious.

Karen xx

As it is Tuesday, I'm linking up with Jess for #IBOT and Stacey at The Veggie Mama for Meatless Monday!