Arvo Baking!

I decided to bake some cookies this afternoon, just for something different (and believe it or not I haven't baked anything sweet since I've lived here in the Riverina!!)

Today I made "One cup cookies", the recipe is by a talented blogger and mother of five kids called Retromummy. She has some great recipes on her blog and this one sung out to me because I pretty much had all of the ingredients needed in my pantry (bonus!)

The recipe called for chic-chips and nuts but like Retromummy suggests in the ends notes of the recipe, you can add raisins as an alternative and I am so glad that I did! They are soooo delish in the cookies!!

Now one thing to remember when baking is to not forget the baking paper like me! I had to grease up the pan pretty well with marg, but it still worked.

These cookies only need about 15 - 20 mins in the oven. I made mine a little big, next time I would probably roll a few smaller balls because they do expand quite a bit in the oven.

Of course this isn't a super healthy treat but I figure it is a slightly healthier alternative than a block of chocolate! Plus, they are super yummy!

Thank you Retromummy for an awesome, quick recipe! Yummy

On the menu...

Tonight I tried out a new recipe by one of my favourite cooks and authors, Donna Hay! Oh Donna Hay does soooo many amazing recipes, she is a goddess in the kitchen and tonight I attempted to follow one of her yummy recipes to see if I could be the "goddess" of the kitchen for a night!

I love risotto and it was one of the first dishes that Roger and I ever made together. The last time I attempted risotto on my own it turned out a little less than great! I hadn't followed the instructions properly and managed to not put enough liquid in with the rice that the it ended up turning out a lot harder than "al dente"!

Not tonight though! I followed the recipe correctly (I even added a little extra to make the servings larger and it still turned out great!)

Mmmm. This was a winner! It was super quick (only 40 mins in the oven - long enough to have a shower, a glass of red and relax for a bit!) and tasted quite nice. The bacon flavour came through the dish the most, I probably could have added a tad more pepper but this is minor in the grand scheme of things I reckon!!

I would definitely recommend giving this one a try. I found it online on Donna's website.

Bon' Appetit!

Ellie x

Dad's own...

Ever since I was little I've known my Dad to be a "meat and 3 veg" kinda guy and has always been the king of the BBQ. So it doesn't surprise me that I am also a lover of any meat and a HUGE fan of a good BBQ (especially one cooked by Dad!!)

This week I decided to use one of Dad's recipe's and re-live a little bit of my childhood! I remember my sisters and I helping Dad make these when we were little. Gotta love them, so easy and so meaty, great with gravy, or my fav... tomato sauce!

Dad's Rissoles...

Here's what you need to make a batch this big (about 15 big meaty rissoles)

1kg beef mince

1 large onion chopped

A good big splash of Worcestershire sauce

An equally large squirt of tomato sauce

1 - 2 eggs (depending on the amount of mince you may need to use 2 eggs)

Salt & Pepper to taste

(Roger's added extra's - Cumin and dried Basil flakes)

Mix all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty and mix well! Sprinkle some plain flour onto a chopping board and start rolling balls of the mixture and roll in the flour to coat. Make the rissoles as large or as small as you like.

Once all of the rissoles are rolled, heat up the pan with some oil and cook the rissoles on a medium-high heat (make sure its not too high so you don't just burn the outside of the rissoles in stead of cooling evenly through) Flatten slightly to cook through.

Then you're done! Yum! I usually just whip up some gravy using Gravox to go with the rissoles. Mash potato goes really well with these too!!

Yummo! Enjoy!

Thanks Dad! :o) xxoo

Food Frenzy!!

Every Wednesday in our office is morning tea day. We have a roster and each week it's a new person's turn to make morning tea for the staff. This week it's my turn and I thought in stead of making a last minute dash to the supermarket for some pre-made sweets and things I would get organised and whip up some delicious snack for everyone!

Firstly I made good old yummy egg and lettuce sandwiches! But these aren't just any old egg and lettuce sandwiches, they're made from mum and dad's clucky chickens eggs and topped with mine and Roger's homegrown rocket!!

Mmmm, eggy goodness! I only wish that I had borrowed mum's bread maker to make my own loaf of bread for these babies!! Maybe next time...

Next, (by special request!!) I made my mum's SUPER perfect and extra delicious Zucchini Slice recipe! I made this last week as my first attempt at mum's favourite and Roger LOVED it! He pretty much ate the entire batch on his own (except for a piece or two that I ate!!)

This recipe is a hit and sooo quick and easy, if you're interested I may just post the recipe for you to try!!! Thanks for sharing the recipe with me Mum!! xx

And lastly, for something sweet, I tried a new recipe from here for the very sweet and yummy Chocolate Caramel Brownies!! Now these aren't for the faint of heart.... these are great for the heavy sweet tooth! Packed with sugary-ness they are just right for something sweet!

They're still warm in the pan I couldn't even wait for them to cool to show you just how scrumptious they are!

Squished into the mixture are squares of caramello chocolate so when you take a bite there are nice caramello surprises bursting with caramel.... MMMMM!!

I hope the girls down at work enjoy these goodies!!

Fresh from the oven...

Today I was lucky enough to have the day off work to do some much needed uni study so after a longgg session of hitting the books this afternoon I tried out a new recipe.

This time I tried out a dessert with a twist. Its called the Berry Yoghurt Bake from the latest edition of Delicious Magazine in the cool little freebie recipe book that came with this months edition.

Mmmm it smells scrumptious in the oven. When I read the recipe I thought "Yoghurt in the oven... what the?!" but now that I've got the finished product smelling lovely in my kitchen I'm totally digging the idea!!

Some of the ingredients include natural Greek yoghurt, some eggs and a mixtute of berries (strawberries, blueberries etc) so for a dessert I reckon this little Miss is a healthy-ish beauty!

If you happened to buy this months mag, give this one a go and let me know what you think!!

Ellie x

Homegrown!

It's veggie patch harvest time (for my rocket seedlings any how!!) How exciting! I cant believe I grew my own veggies from tiny seeds and now I can eat them! lol

The rocket looks sooo good in the veggie patch and looks even better on top of our homemade pizza's that I made Rog and I for dinner tonight. Mmmm yumo!

Here's my recipe for a yummy homemade pizza:

- Tortilla wraps (I used 2 "Mission Wraps" in zesty garlic and herb flavor)
- Tomato paste
- Sundried tomatoes
- Pitted kalmata olives
- Fresh rocket (or baby spinach)

- Crumbed fetta
- Shredded cheese

I combine all on a tortilla wrap and bake in the oven on about 160 degrees. I dont usually time the process and just "gestimate" as to whe to take the pizza out. Usually once the cheese has meted and the tomatoes are starting to crisp or lightly blacken you know its ready!

Yummmm! Roger was very pleased with how these pizza's turned out, and I was too, they were soooo yummy! You can also add whatever you like on the pizza's, and instead of using store bought tortilla wraps you can make your own usins flour and water and frying in the pan.

I hope your dinner tonight was as yummy and filling as ours!

Ellie x