Creamy French Onion Spaghetti

Another spur-of-the-moment recipe. I made this with a whole pack of soup mix, but it was way too salty, and half a pack would have been just right. It was nicer cold late that night though.

Creamy French Onion Spaghetti
500g dry spaghetti
300ml cream
1/2 40g pkt French Onion Soup mix
1/2 cup crumbled parmesan cheese

Cook spaghetti in plenty of salted, boiling water, as per packet instructions.
When cooked, drain, and reserve 1/2 cup cooking water.
Mix water and dry soup mix together, add cream and cheese. Toss through pasta and serve topped with more shaved parmesan.

Savoury Mince and Potatoes

1 onion, chopped finely
100g mushrooms, chopped roughly
500g mince
1/4 cup teriyaki marinade
gravy powder to taste
3 cups frozen mixed vegetables
steamed potatoes, to serve

Lightly brown the onion and mushrooms in a large pan, add the mince, and cook until browned. Add in all the other ingredients. If the gravy powder makes it too thick, thin it down a little with some water - I like to use the water from the steamed potatoes. Cook until everything is cooked through, and thick and goopy and yum. Serve over potatoes, or rice, or toast. Mmmm, big, thick, hot, buttered toast with mince...

Great, now I want toast.

Kids Cooking Thursday: Rocky Road Fudge

A combination of three different variations of this recipe, the kids and I made this for DP's birthday. Normally I make him Rocky Road Ice cream for his birthday, but with the the heat of the kitchen in this sudden Summer swelter, I thought I'd try something different for a change.

Rocky Road Fudge
3 cups chopped chocolate (we used 1 cup chopped Tobelerone, 1 cup 70% dark and the other 50% dark)
1 cup chopped (or mini) marshmallows
1 can sweetened condensed milk
4 Choc Ripple biscuits, crushed roughly (any creamless chocolate biscuit would do)
1/4 cup chopped glace cherries
1/4 cup extra chopped marshmallows

Place the chocolate, 1st cup masrhmallows and condensed milk in a large, microwave proof bowl. Heat for 2 minutes on MED. Line a jelly roll pan with baking paper.
Remove bowl from microwave and stir. Continue heating on HIGH for 30 second bursts until the chocolate is all melted and the marshmallow has mostly mixed in. Add the rest of the ingredients (marshmallows last) and stir through thoroughly. Pour into lined tin, and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.

Remove from pan and place on a chopping board. Peel the paper off and cut into small squares. Store covered in the fridge. If the fudge is sticky and hard to cut store in freezer for 30 mins and try again ;)

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Kids Cooking Thursday: Aztec Truffles

Adapted from Allrecipes.

Aztec Truffles
200g Chilli Dark Chocolate (we used Lindt)
100g Maya Gold 55% solids chocolate (use regular semi dark if you can't get this exotic Green & Blacks flavour)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
good pinch Dutch cinnamon
cocoa (or pareils or coconut) to roll

Melt chocolate with sweetened condensed milk on lowest microwave setting in a heatproof bowl. Try 1 minute on LOW and then 30sec bursts. When melted and smooth, stir in cinnamon. Cover and chill 2 to 3 hours or until firm.
Shape mixture into small balls and roll in cocoa.
Refrigerate in a tightly covered dish.

Sorry for no in process pictures today again, but rolling sticky balls of chocolate goop between one's palms is not conductive to responsible camera handling. If your truffles are destined for the family cookie plate, or you have slightly older kids home from school already, you might want to pass that job to them. Master Two was quite adept at shaking the dish with the truffles and cocoa in it, and Miss Five was quick to point out any that weren't fully coated. Both had a good stir of the mixture, and enjoyed the tasty job of breaking the blocks of chocolate down into pieces. So even though our truffles were destined to be a gift, and needed to be adult rolled for the slightly improved shape and size uniformity, there was still lots to be done for little fingers.

It goes to show, never judge a recipe as too complex before giving it a try. Odds are, even the youngest child will find a step or two they can help with.


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Kids Cooking Thursday: Strawberry Coconut Cake

Just a little something we whipped up for afternoon tea. I saw this recipe in 4 Ingredients 2, which I had borrowed from the library, and couldn't resist giving it a try.

Strawberry Coconut Cake (adapted from the 1,1,1,1 cake in 4 Ingredients 2)
1 cup coconut
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup SR flour
a few drops each strawberry essence and pink food dye

Place all ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. Sneak a handful of batter while Mum is distracted with the camera.

Insist on adding strawberry essence and pink food dye because everything is better pink, and with strawberries. Mix through.

Pour into a paper lined loaf tin and bake at 180°C for 40 mins. Allow to cool slightly in the pan, then slice and serve warm spread with butter.

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Dulce De Leche Flourless Chocolate Cake

This past week was my sister's birthday, so it was fitting that this week's theme for the cookbook challenge was Celebration. I love that she is only four houses down from me, so I can always make baked goods, and then hand them off onto her. With this cake though, I'm not sure that will happen. But I had to make it, regardless of the imminent danger to my hips and thighs, because, well, after all, I promised you, didn't I?

Dulce De Leche Flourless Chocolate Cake (from Viva la Vida - Rafael Palomino)
450g (1 pound) semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 eggs, separated
2 Tbsp Dulce de Leche
Vanilla ice cream for serving (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter a 9-inch springform pan.

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate over barely simmering water. Remove from heat, pour into a large bowl, and set aside.

In another large bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks until well blended. Fold the yolks into the melted chocolate,

then fold in the whites. Pour the chocolate mixture into the prepared pan. Spoon the dulce de leche into the center of the chocolate mixture. Smooth the top with a spatula.

Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Place on a serving plate and remove the sides of the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature, with vanilla ice cream if you like.

This was an entry for
The Cookbook Challenge: Week 41 - Celebration.

Pumpkin & Leek Soup

Another recipe from the August issue of Recipes+,paraphrased, and slightly adapted to the slow cooker.

Pumpkin & Leek Soup
1.2kg pumpkin, seeds removed, cut into small chunks
4 cloves garlic
cooking spray
20g butter
1 large leek, sliced thinly
1L chicken stock
homemade cheese pullaparts, to serve

Preheat oven to 220°C. Place pumpkin and unpeeled garlic on a large baking tray. Spray lightly with oil spray and bake for 20 minutes until golden and tender. This can be done the day before and kept in the fridge overnight in a covered container.

Melt butter over moderate heat and gently cook leeks until soft. Throw into the slow cooker, along with the stock and pumpkin. Squeeze the garlic out of it's skin and add to the rest of the ingredients. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.
Process with a hand held stick mixer until smooth. Serve with home baked bread goods hot from the oven so the butter is all melty.

Kids Cooking Thursday: Cherry Ripe Fudge

Cherry Ripe Fudge (from the August issue of Recipes+)
375g (dark) chocolate melts (we used milk)
375g can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup desiccated coconut, plus 1 Tbsp extra to sprinkle
1/2 cup glace cherries

Line a loaf pan with baking paper, making sure to leave enough overhang to make handles.

Distract your child by getting them to chop the cherries,

then place milk and chocolate in microwave proof bowl. Heat on HIGH for one minute. Stir to combine. Heat for 30 seconds more, or until melted and smooth.

Add coconut and cherries to mixture, mix well. Pour into the pan, and smooth surface. Sprinkle the extra coconut over the top of the fudge.

Chill for 4 hours or until set. Cut into slices to serve.

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Kids Cooking Thursday: Lemon Butter

This was a good recipe to use up some of the glut of home grown lemons that came from my mother. I was a little worried how Miss Four would behave around really hot microwaved stuff, but she whisked/stirred very carefully, and didn't splash at all. All up this took around 20 minutes with Miss Four doing almost everything, and made two jam jars, and a plastic container full.

Easy microwave lemon butter
4 Eggs
3/4 Cup Sugar
3/4 Cup Lemon Juice
125g Butter, cubed

Fill 2 glass jars with boiling water to sterilise.


Crack the eggs into a microwave safe bowl,


add the sugar and whisk.


Squeeze the lemons, and add the juice


Whisk all together and add the cubed butter


Place in the microwave on HIGH for two minutes - watch impatiently.


Whisk until smooth, and the microwave for a further two minutes.
Repeat, for a total of 6 minutes cooking time.


Empty the water out of the jars, then ladle in the butter.
Seal while hot to get a vaccum, then store in the fridge.

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Beef, Spinach & Fetta Gozleme

A tasty bread dough dinner I adapted from Recipes+ April 2010 issue.

Beef, Spinach & Fetta Gozleme
500g bread mix
2 tsp (7g) instant yeast
300ml lukewarm water

350g mince
1 onion, finely diced
1/3 cup char grilled red pepper strips, diced
1 tsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp chopped celery leaves (or flat leaf parsley)
2 Tbsp finely chopped mint
150g baby spinach leaves, chopped
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
200g fetta, crumbled

Place the first 3 ingredients in a bread machine on the dough cycle.

Heat a little oil in a large frying pan. Brown the mince, making sure to break up the lumps. Add the onion, red pepper, cumin, tomato paste and water. Simmer until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Add in the leaves. stir until the spinach wilts. Cool for at least 15 mins.

Combine the two cheeses in a bowl.

Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Taking one piece at a time, roll the dough out into an 18cm circle. It will be quite thin, but be careful not to tear the dough. Spread an 1/8th of the meat mixture over half the circle, leaving a border.Top with cheese mixture. Fold the other half of the dough over to make a sealed semi-circle. Make sure the dough and seams are well sealed, but not too thick, thick dough won't cook completely.

In a clean frying pan, heat a little oil over moderate heat.Fry the gozlemes one or two at a time, for 2-3 minutes a side or until golden. Use a spatula to flatten during cooking. Serve with salad for a balanced meal, or just give everyone two for a filling, unbalanced meal. ;)

Makes 8.

Kids Cooking Thursday: Choc Orange Muffins

A rather delicious muffin recipe from Coles free Winter magazine. My MIL made these, and they were so delicious I thought we should make a batch ourselves. Nice and easy, and according to the recipe, only $0.65 a serve. I used expensive dark chocolate, but I also managed to get 3 more than they did, so I'm not sure where that leaves me.

Choc Orange Muffins
175g butter, chopped
175g dark chocolate, chopped (we used half Lindt Orange Intense and half Green & Blacks Maya Gold, for that extra orange hit)
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 orange, zested, and sliced into thin slices (you'll need at least 6)
1 cup SR flour
2 Tbsp cocoa

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a 12 hole muffin tray with patty cases.

Melt butter and chocolate together


Add in the sugar


Stir until the sugar has dissolved


Zest the orange

Add the beaten eggs and the orange zest into the chocolate mixture and beat with a wooden spoon until well combined.
Sift the flour and cocoa.

Fold the cocoa and flour into the mixture - lick mix off hand when you think Mum isn't watching

Fill the prepared pans with a dessert spoon of mixture each. 2/3s full is where you should aim for. Top each muffin with a chunk of orange slice. A quarter or third of a slice is enough, depending on the size of your orange. (I trimmed the peel from our orange slices, because none of us like peel)

Obligatory In-the-oven-because-I-forgot-to-take-a-photo Photo

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack before eating.

You can see my three "extra" muffins at the back - they were the ones that didn't fit in my tray. I just used double cases and set them on a flat tray.

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Fruity Overnight Pancakes

Based on this recipe from Cookography, I made these pancake for breakfast to celebrate DP being home after a week in WA for work. His flight came in at ten to eleven pm Friday night, but by the time he drove home from the airport everyone was in bed asleep. I had these planned out so that even though the next morning was going to be a rush, with the last swimming lesson of term to get to, we could still have something special for breakfast.

Fruity Overnight Pancakes
2 1/4 cups wholemeal plain flour
3 Tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp speculaas kruiden (or ground cinnamon)
1 tsp dried yeast
1 tsp orange essence
1 1/2 cups warm milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg
3 Strawberry & Mango Fruit Infusion 'tea' bags
1 cup sultanas
boiling water to cover - about 2 cups?

The Night Before
Pour the boiling water into a small bowl, with the tea bags. Jiggle the tea bags to loosen the tea and start the steeping process. Pour the sultanas into the bowl carefully (don't splash yourself with boiling water!), using them to keep the tea bags under the water level. I actually did this on Thursday night, and took the tea bags out when I made my pancake batter on Friday. I put the sultanas and the tea in a covered Tupperware dish in the fridge to wait for Saturday morning. Leave overnight. In the morning, remove the tea bags, and drain off the tea - you can drink it if you like. Add the sultanas to the pancake batter and very, very gently stir through, being careful not to knock the air out of the batter.

For the pancakes:Place all the dry ingredients into the bowl and stir together. Add the wet ingredients and stir until well blended.

Store covered overnight in the fridge.

Spray a frying pan with cooking spray, and heat over medium high heat. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into the frying pan for each pancake.

Brown on both sides and serve hot with syrup, or strawberry ice cream (if you are the sort of house that allows ice cream for breakfast!)

Mini chicken pizzas - They're adorable!

At least, that's what Miss Four said when they came out of the oven. We thought they were pretty tasty too. The leftovers went into the freezer with baking paper in between each layer and reheated quite nicely for afternoon tea a week later.

Mini tortillas on a baking paper lined tray

Spread with pasta/pizza sauce, and topped with shredded chicken breast

Add sliced mushroom, char grilled red pepper slices, and cheese.

Bake at 180°C for 15 minutes, or until golden.