These are great to make whenever you have a party

Chicken Spring Rolls

These are great to make whenever you have a party, or just want to snack on something homemade

Ingredients

• 1 kg                   chicken mince

• 1 tsp                  garlic

• 1/2                     green chilli finely chopped

• 1/2                     tsp curry powder

• 1                        carrot grated medium

• 1                        zucchini medium grated

• 3                        spring onions chopped

• 1/4                    cup kecap manis

• 500 gr               spring roll wrappers gow gee wrappers

• 3 tbs                 canola oil

• 100 mls             kecap manis *to serve

•                             Method

  • STEP 1Brown chicken in a little oil.
  • STEP 2Add garlic, chilli, curry powder, carrot, zucchini and spring onions.
  • STEP 3Cook until vegetables collapse.
  • STEP 4Add Kecap manis and fry until reasonably dry.
  • STEP 5Transfer mixture into bowl and cool for 1-2 hours.
  • STEP 6On a spring roll pastry sheet, place 1 tablespoon of mixture onto the middle of the bottom of the sheet.
  • STEP 7Fold both left and right sides in, then roll up. Seal the end of the spring roll with a little milk.
  • STEP 8In batches, fry spring rolls in canola oil.
  • STEP 9Serve spring rolls with Kecap manis.

  • Notes

    The spring rolls can be frozen after they are made and can be cooked frozen or defrosted.
    Kecap manis can be found in most supermarkets in the Asian food section or near the soy sauce section

An easy, but great tasting recipe.(Easy Pike-lets)

Easy Pike-lets

Ingredients

• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 2 tbs caster sugar
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup milk

• Equipment

  • 1 bowl
  • 1 whisk

  • Method

    • STEP 1Combine flour and sugar in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in egg and milk to make a thick, smooth batter.
    • STEP 2Drop dessertspoons of mixture into a greased heavy-base pan. Cook until bubbles begin to appear on the surface of the pikelet. Turn and brown other side.

    Notes

    For a healthy option serve with yoghurt and a little stewed or pureed fruit. My personal favourite is maple syrup or jam and cream.

    These also freeze very well.

This cake is dairy and egg free.

Lemon Cake with Coconut Frosting

This cake is dairy and egg free. It is an adaption of a vegan chocolate cake that I have been using regularly since becoming dairy free for our baby. I wanted something nice (but not chocolate) for my birthday and this definitely was it.

Ingredients

• 445 g plain flour
• 2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cup hot water
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2/3 cup rice bran oil
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 lemon rind

Lemon Drizzle

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

Coconut Frosting

• 270 mls coconut cream
• 2 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 1 cup margarine

• Method

  • STEP 1In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
  • STEP 2Add liquid ingredients and mix until smooth.
  • STEP 3Line a cake tin with baking paper and pour cake batter into tin
  • STEP 4Bake at 180C for ½-¾ hours or until an inserted knife comes out clean.
  • STEP 5Leave in cake tin and use a toothpick to poke holes all over the top.
  • STEP 6Spoon over lemon drizzle to taste.
  • STEP 7Leave to cool in tin.
  • STEP 8Spread with coconut frosting.
  • STEP 9Lemon Drizzle: Combine sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over low heat.
  • STEP 10Coconut Frosting: In a large saucepan bring coconut cream to the boil and reduce liquid down until syrupy. Refrigerate to cool.
  • STEP 11In a mixer, whip the margarine until fluffy, add ½ cup of cold reduced coconut cream and beat until combined.
  • STEP 12Add icing sugar one cup at a time. Only add enough to achieve desired consistency for frosting.

  Notes

  The lemon drizzle isn't necessary but I really wanted a strong lemon flavour to this cake. I have made this again since submitting the recipe and discovered that it is even better if you make the following changes: 1. Substitute 1 of a cup of flour for coconut. 2. Cook the mix in two cake tins - the cake cooks a lot faster and the texture is better. Use dairy-free margarine.

Your favourite Diane sauce, made easy.

One Pan Steak Diane

Ingredients

• 750 g steak (beef)
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 tsp crushed garlic
• 3 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tsp brandy
• 300 mls cream

• Method

  • STEP 1Heat pan well, add a dash of olive oil and seal steak on both sides.
  • STEP 2Add garlic to hottest part of pan and fry for 1 minute.
  • STEP 3Reduce heat to low and add remaining ingredients. Stir to mix.
  • STEP 4Cover and allow to simmer until steak is cooked to preference, turning steak once or twice more.
  • STEP 5Serve steak and spoon sauce over steak.

  Notes

  Easier then messing about with separate pans for sauce and steak. You get fantastic depth of flavour - a bit like pan gravy. Steak ends up nice and tender too.

  Turning the steak when simmering lets the juices mix with the sauce.

A creamy, zesty pasta with a Cajun twist.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Ingredients

• 250 g linguine pasta
• 300 mls thickened cream
• 500 g skin-off chicken breast fillet cubed
• 2 tbs cajun seasoning *to taste
• 2 tbs butter
• 1 red capsicum julienned
• 1 green capsicum julienned
• 1/2 cup mushrooms sliced
• 1 green onion diced
• 1/4 tsp dried basil leaves *to taste
• 1/4 tsp lemon pepper seasoning *to taste
• 1/4 tsp garlic salt *to taste
• 1 parmesan cheese *to serve optional

• Method

  • STEP 1Cook linguine and set aside.
  • STEP 2Place diced chicken and Cajun seasoning in a plastic bag and shake to coat well.
  • STEP 3In a large frying pan, sauté the chicken in butter until browned.
  • STEP 4Add the capsicum, mushroom and green onion and sauté until capsicum begins to soften.
  • STEP 5Add the cream, basil, lemon pepper, and garlic salt and heat through.
  • STEP 6Gradually add the cooked linguine until all of the sauce has coated the pasta. Toss and heat through.
  • STEP 7Serve with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

  • Notes

    Adjust quantities to taste. I use Masterfoods seasonings. Fresh garlic and lemon may be used in this dish, if preferred.

Easy-Mix Butter Cake

Ingredients

• 2                              eggs
• 125 gram                butter softened
• 1 cup                      sugar
• 2 cups                    self-raising flour
• 2/3 cup                   Milk
• 1 Table spon         vanilla essence

• Method

  • STEP 1Combine all ingredients in a small bowl of an electric mixer.
  • STEP 2Beat on low speed until blended, then beat on high speed for 3 minutes.
  • STEP 3Grease a 28 cm x 18 cm lamington tin, and line the base with greaseproof paper.
  • STEP 4Pour mixture into tin and bake in a moderate oven for 30-40 minutes.
  • STEP 5When cold ice with icing of choice and sprinkle with coconut or coloured sprinkles.

This meal is a family favourite and loved by all I have made it for.

Chicken and Cashew Stir Fry

This meal is a family favorite and loved by all I have made it for. The stir fry tastes great and smells alright too! This dish is a must have meal!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp cornflour
• 2 tbs oyster sauce
• 2 tbs soy sauce
• 2 chicken stock cube sliced
• 1/2 cup peanut oil sliced
• 2 chicken breast fillet cut into pieces finely chopped
• 1 brown onion finely chopped sliced
• 2 garlic clove sliced cut into pieces finely chopped
• 1 capsicum sliced cut into pieces
• 1 broccoli cut into pieces
• 2 carrot sliced finely chopped
• 4 spring onion sliced
• 1 cup cashews sliced

• Equipment

  • jug
  • wok

  • Method

    • STEP 1Add water, sauces, cornflour and stock cubes into a small jug and stir to combine.
    • STEP 2Heat oil in a wok and brown chicken. Remove chicken from wok.
    • STEP 3Cook brown onion and garlic until transparent.
    • STEP 4Add capsicum, broccoli, carrot and spring onion and cook.
    • STEP 5Add sauce mixture, chicken and cashews to wok.
    • STEP 6Stirfry until sauce thickens. Serve with rice.
    •