Date Slice

A very easy and quick slice to make. So good, particularly just out of the oven. Always gets eaten. This is a favourite slice of mine.

Ingredients

• 90 g butter chopped
• 4 Weet-Bix crushed
• 1 cup dates chopped
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1/2 cup walnuts chopped
• 1 tbs icing sugar *to decorate

• Method

  • STEP 1Grease an 18 x 28 cm pan. Line base with cooking paper.
  • STEP 2Place butter, Weet-Bix, dates, sugar, bicarb soda and water in a bowl.
  • STEP 3Mix until well combined. Allow to cool.
  • STEP 4Stir in egg, flour and walnuts. Pour into prepared pan. Smooth over top with a knife.
  • STEP 5Cook at 180C, for 25-30 minutes, or until cooked when tested. Cool slice in pan.
  • STEP 6Remove from pan and cut into slices. Serve dusted with icing sugar.

Creamy Garlic Prawns

These creamy garlic prawns are restaurant-quality that you can make at home. Flavoured with garlic, white wine, basil and fresh cream, they make a perfect entree and are fantastic served with rice.

Ingredients

• 100 g butter
• 6 garlic cloves crushed
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 500 g green prawns peeled deveined tails intact
• 1 cup thickened cream
• 8 fresh basil leaves chopped

• Method

  • STEP 1In a frying pan, melt butter and add garlic, heating until just bubbling.
  • STEP 2Pour in dry white wine and bring to the boil.
  • STEP 3Add prawns in a single layer and cook for a minute on each side.
  • STEP 4Pour cream over and bring to the boil. Stir in basil.
  • STEP 5Remove prawns with a slotted spoon and continue simmering sauce until it is reduced by one third.
  • STEP 6Return prawns to the sauce and serve on a bed of rice garnished with fresh basil.

  • Notes

    Be careful not to burn the garlic when you add it to the butter. It needs to be cooked just a little to release the flavours.
    The prawns cook in very little time and it's important not to overcook them so they retain that fresh firm texture.

Chinese-Style Pork Chops

A quick and tasty recipe for pork chops.

Ingredients

• 4 loin pork chops
• 3 tbs tomato sauce
• 3 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tbs honey
• 1 tsp garlic *to taste
• 1 tsp ginger *to taste

Method

• STEP 1Mix soy sauce, honey and tomato sauce together in a bowl.
• STEP 2Coat pork chops in combined garlic and ginger and brown in a little olive oil.
• STEP 3Add sauce and bake at 180C for approximately 30 minutes.
• STEP 4Serve with fried rice or steamed vegetables.

Notes

This can also be cooked in a frying pan but do keep checking as it may boil dry. If more sauce is desired, this sauce can be doubled for extra chops. I like to cook mine in the oven as I find it cooks slower and the honey doesn't burn. If the sauce is too thick, add a small amount of water. Chilli can be added also.

Quick Chicken Casserole

This quick chicken casserole is so tasty and simple that you will make it a regular on your family menu plan.

Ingredients

• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 kg chicken breasts cut into pieces
• 850 g cream of chicken condensed soup
• 1 cup chicken stock (liquid)
• 500 g frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 tbs thyme
• 2 tbs parsley chopped

Method

• STEP 1Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced).In a frying pan, heat the olive oil and fry the chicken until it is slightly browned on the edges.
• STEP 2Add the stock and soup with the thyme and mix. Stir in the frozen vegetables. Bring to the boil and pour into a casserole dish.
• STEP 3Bake for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley to garnish.

Notes

I have added the whole bag (1kg) of chunky frozen vegetables with an extra cup of stock to this recipe and it still works out well.

If you have some bacon you can fry it with the chicken.

The thyme is the perfect accompaniment to this chicken. Use either fresh or dried.

Sausage Rolls

Make your own flakey sausage rolls with this low fat recipe that uses chicken and pork mince rather than preservative-laden sausage mince. This recipe is great for children’s birthday parties or to take on a picnic – adults usually love them as much as the kids.

Ingredients

• 4 sheets ready rolled puff pastry
• 2 carrots peeled cut into chunks
• 1 onion medium peeled quartered
• 1/2 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley fresh
• 500 g chicken mince
• 500 g pork mince
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1 egg lightly beaten

• Method

• STEP 1Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Line two baking trays with baking paper.
• STEP 2Place pastry sheets on bench to defrost. Place carrots, onion and parsley in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
• STEP 3Add mince, salt and pepper and puree until smooth. I did this in batches, combined all ingredients in a large bowl and did the final mixing with (clean) hands.
• STEP 4Divide the mince mixture into eight equal portions.
• STEP 5Slice each sheet of pastry in half. Place a portion of mince on the middle of the long-edge of the pastry and pat the mince into a long sausage shape.
• STEP 6Brush the sides of the pastry with egg, peel the pastry away from the plastic backing and fold the bottom edge over the mince and then roll it over to seal. Do this as firmly as possible so the pastry is tight and neat — makes for better presentation.
• STEP 7Brush the top of the pastry with egg and then cut each roll cross-ways into about 8 small rolls.
• STEP 8Place rolls on prepared trays about 2cm apart. Bake for 20 minutes until pastry is puffy and golden and the mince is cooked through.

• Notes

  These are great for parties, make them the day before, cool, store overnight in the fridge and then reheat before serving.
  You can turn these into fancy pants sausage rolls to be served as canapés at a dinner party by simply slicing them up into smaller portions.

Fantastic with roast beef and gravy

Fantastic with roast beef and gravy

Ingredients

• 140 g plain flour
• 4 eggs
• 200 mls milk
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 tbs horseradish cream

• Method

  • STEP 1Heat oven to 230c. Pour a small amount of olive oil into each muffin tin (I used two). Place in the oven to heat.
  • STEP 2Tip flour into a bowl and beat in eggs until smooth.
  • STEP 3Gradually add the milk and beat until mix is no longer lumpy.
  • STEP 4Season with salt and pepper and stir through the horseradish.
  • STEP 5Place the tins back in oven and leave 20 minutes until puffed and golden. Serve immediately.

  Notes

  They can be cooled and frozen for up to a month,

Funfetti Blondies

A blondie is the cake you make when you want cookies and the cookies you have when you can't be bothered rolling them into individual balls. This blondie recipe is a melt and mix wonder and if you skip the icing, you won't even need the beaters.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 100 g butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup hundreds and thousands
• 2 tbs hundreds and thousands

• Method

  • STEP 1Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Grease and line a 33cm x 22cm lamington or slice tin.
  • STEP 2In a large mixing bowl combine the sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla. Mix until just combined.
  • STEP 3Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl and mix to combine. Stir in the 1/3 cup of hundreds and thousands.
  • STEP 4Spread the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and cut into squares.
  • STEP 5To make the icing, put the icing sugar and softened butter into a bowl and beat with electric beaters on high, until combined. Add the milk and beat further until the mixture puffs up a bit and is smooth and creamy.
  • STEP 6Ice your blondies with a big slather of buttercream icing and top them off with a generous sprinkle of hundreds and thousands.

  • Notes

    This recipe makes 12 - 16 depending on how big you cut the squares.
    An easier option is to ice the whole blondie before cutting it, but I wanted the individual look of cookies, so I cut first and iced them individually.
    The texture of these is somewhere between a cookie and a slice.