Roti Bread

I'm lazy.  Butter chicken made from a jar.  Heck I even microwave the rice, because I'll be damned if I can make it without burning it on the stove top.  I even microwave the poppadoms!  Did I mention lazy?
However, I am trying to change!  And that started today.  I made sure I started with something simple - so I made roti!  I used my Bellini, but I could easily do it using a wooden spoon or my regular mixer.

I followed this super simple recipe found on the thermomix recipe communty.  I used a frypan, nothing exciting!  It made 20 pieces of roti which I found was way too much for us for one meal (and that was with 2 extra mouths at the table!)  So half the recipe to make 10.  Alternatively, make the 20 and use them as a sandwich wrap the following day.

Image source: Recipe Community

Ingredients:
620g plain flour
50g oil, canola or grapeseed (I used sunflower, it's all I had)
600g boiling water
1/2 teaspoon salt

In your thermomix, bellini etc mix for 6 seconds on Speed 7.   By hand, just mix until it brings the ingredients together.  It will have the texture of playdoh, which is normal.  When a bit cooler to touch, turn out and knead in to a ball.  Cut in to 4 pieces.  Then make 5 balls from each piece.  Roll the balls in to a thin circle (this isn't about perfection, it is safe to say maybe 4 of 20 of mine were "circles").  Heat fry pan to the hottest heat on the element (NO OIL), then add each circle (one at a time).  The take a bugger all time, will be ready when they start to bubble, flip and do the other side.  Yum.

Wish I took a picture but I didn't.  OOPS!  I will update with one next time I make them.

Easy scrolls!

I won't lie - I'm a fan of anything easy.
And things that don't require a million hours of kneading, rising, kneading some more...

440g Self Raising Flour
375g of greek or natural yoghurt (I use greek)

Mix it up, give it a bit of a knead to form a dough.  Wa-la.  Simple, easy, ready to use.  Dough you don't have to proove.

I use this for pizza bases and scrolls.  Top/fill as you please.  For scrolls, roll it out and top, roll in to a tube, slice, and pop together fairly close.  Bake at 180C until they are lovely and golden.

Ham, cheese, pineapple on a tomato base
Vegemite and cheese works a treat, too

Cinnamon!  Butter, brown sugar and cinnamon (to taste)
Top with icing (icing sugar, vanilla, smidge of water)

Pear Pineapple & Raspberry Loaf

After making brownies, I still had half a bag of raspberries left that had partially thawed whilst I baked and skyped with Hannah, so I flicked to another recipe I had found on the Cooking For Busy Mums blog.  I did decide to change this one up a little, as I didn't have any olive oil, so after consulting with Jackie at Hippie Mumma I decided to finally crack open my jar of coconut oil that I'd bought with the best intentions to use right away... coz that happened... not.

Here's the things about fruity breads/loaves/slices.  I suck at them.  I love them, but I really suck at making them.  And I try these random recipes from time to time only to be disappointed when I cut in to what somewhat resembles (and probably also tastes like) a rock.  Like the Date Loaf I once made.  Oh to perfect a Date Loaf... not gonna happen, I don't think.  Anyway.  This one worked.... it actually worked, and is edible and I WILL make it again because well... it isn't going to last long. Not bad considering I don't really like raspberries or pears on their own (you will never see me pick up a pear and just... eat it...). Now to watch out for frozen berries on special at the supermarket!

Yummy!

This recipe is dairy free, and probably wouldn't be difficult to make gluten free.  

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 Cups Self Raising Flour (could easily substitute with GF Flour, or even wholemeal... I didn't have enough wholemeal to try it this time, but I will).

1 Tsp Bicarbonate Soda

1/2 Cup Caster Sugar (next time I'm going to substitute with 1/8 cup of honey - I'll add a table below)

1 Tsp Vanilla Essence

1/2 Cup coconut oil (light olive oil is fine)

2 Eggs

2 Pears, peeled and seeded

1 Cup Frozen Raspberries

1/2 Cup Pineapple Chunks and juice 

(NB: Alternatively use canned pears and 1/2 the cup of juice to replace the pineapple)

METHOD

1. Purée the pears and pineapple (and juice) (I used a stick blender because it was easier than making a mess of the bellini for such a small amount)

2. In a large bowl place the flour, bicarb and sugar - mix well.

3. Form a well in the dry ingredients and add the oil, eggs, puree and vanilla essence.  Mix until just combined.

4. Fold through the raspberries.

5. Place in a greased and lined loaf tin and bake in a 180 degree Celcius oven for approx 45 minutes or until golden brown and bounces back when touched.  

Serve with a dusting of icing sugar.

Store in a cool place, or fridge.

(I'm terrible... I always forget to time these things... I think mine only took about 30 mins but to be honest, my oven is a bit shit... the temp fluctuates and so my cooking times are a bit out... but that's what the blog recipe recommended).

I found this interesting when Hippie Mumma posted it recently

Chocolate & Raspberry Brownies

OH MY GOD.
I got my bake on today, and aren't I glad I did.  Ingredient of the day?  Raspberries!  I've had a bag of them in my freezer since January.  It was time.

Yeah... I'm no food photographer, and intagram didn't help haha

Recipe is from: Cooking for Busy Mums

I think what I loved about this was there was stuff-all dishes - it was all done in the one saucepan.

INGREDIENTS

125g butter, chopped
2 Cups Chocolate (dark is good... I used dark milk choc-chips)
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

2 Eggs
2 Tsp Vanilla Essence
1 Cup Plain Flour
1 Cup Frozen Raspberries
Icing sugar, to serve

METHOD

1. Melt butter and chocolate over a low heat it a saucepan.  Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
2. Add the brown sugar and vanilla essence to the chocolate mix and stir through. Add the eggs and stir until combined.
3. Sift and stir through the flour.  Once combined, fold in the raspberry.
4. Pour into a greased/lined tray
5. Bake in a 180 degree Celsius oven for 30 minutes or until set.
6. Allow to cool slightly in the tray before cutting and serving.

Chilli Con Carne

One of the reason I added a recipe challenge to my list was to inspire me to try new foods, but also to try and change the way we eat.  I've recently discovered The Healthy Chef (recommended to me) and I don't think I'll be looking back!!  Awesome array of recipes and all so good for you!

Last night I trialled Chilli Con Carne.  I have never had it, let alone cooked it - I wasn't sure whether it was going to be a winning recipe in our household but the kids ate it and Ty went back for seconds.  Must have been ok!  I doubled the recipe and we have 4 meals out of it :)

Chilli Con Carne

1 onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 large grated carrot
2 sticks sliced celery
250 g lean mince (beef, chicken, game meat are all great) - I used beef
1 red capsicum, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
400 g tomato puree
400 g cooked red kidney or adzuki beans, drained  - I used red kidney beans
125 g cherry tomato, halved
100 g baby spinach leaves
1 avocado, chopped
1 bunch coriander, chopped
1 lime
Chopped red chilli to taste

Sauté the onion carrot and celery for 3 minutes until softened.
Add the spices and mince and cook through for 5 minutes until the mince is browned.
Add the capsicum, tomato paste, tomato puree and beans.
Pour over 2 cups of water.
Simmer over a low – medium heat for 30 minutes until thick.
Season with ground pepper and a little salt add cherry tomato.
Fold in spinach and coriander just before serving.
Spoon into bowls,  top with chilli to taste, avocado and a squeeze of lime.
Enjoy by itself or with a side of steamed green vegetables, brown rice or quinoa. - we had it by itself

Easy Cheesy Muffins

I'm always on the look out for simple, tasty and cheap recipes to try out for the kids lunches.  At home we aren't restricted by allergies as to what we can eat, but at daycare there is a total egg and peanut ban due to having kids in the centre with allergies.  My kids take stock-standard, same ol' same ol' lunches to day care - week in, week out.

I stumbled across this Easy Cheesy Muffin recipe in my facebook-trolling today and with 3 simple ingredients that I keep as a staple, I was able to whip them up.

Cheesy Muffins with delicious fresh herbs

For my test run, I halved the recipe (using 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of tasty cheese), and it made 8 good size muffins.  I didn't hold out a lot of hope for taste and flavour with those basic ingredients, and I didn't really have a lot here in the fridge to add to it.   It needed more.  So I raided my herb garden for some chives, basil and thyme and roughly chopped those (about a tablespoon full I'd say) and added them to the mixture.  I also added a teaspoon of tomato relish, although I imagine corn relish would work equally as well.  I felt that the mixture was too wet, but I left it as was and it was fine - it made for a really nice, moist muffin.  Make sure you grease your tray well though as it's a sticky recipe.

Our new house has a shit oven... so I set it to around the 160C mark and baked for about 20 minutes until they were golden and soft and the knife came out 'clean'.  I think one of my biggest problem with making muffins is that I over cook and essentially dry them out.  Keep an eye on them, golden tops are a good indication of readiness.

I didn't actually take pics of the processes as I actually held little hope they'd work/taste any good.  Woops! Rest assured they were yummy, and the kids also liked them.  I'll whip up a full batch this week and will mix break that in to 3 lots and do different mix ins (bacon and cherry tomato, more of these herb ones, maybe mushroom, herb and brocollini).  Then I'll freeze them up for lunches for Ty and the kids.  Can't go wrong!

I get a thumbs up from Lexi for these ones!

New York Baked Cheesecake

Goal #35 is to try 20 new recipes.  It is fairly safe to say that I have a stock-standard week-to-week stash of recipes and the repetition is starting to get old, quickly!  9 people live here, and I am the one who does most of the cooking because I love to cook, and I'm generally here most nights.  I also hated doing dishes for a while there but that's not so bad since discovering how long it can take at times to cook for this many people!  My desserts on rotation consist of custard, custard and bananas, self saucing chocolate pudding and apple crumble.  If I'm feeling particularly fancy, you may get peach and apple crumble.  You know, just for something different!

One absolutely delicious piece of cheesecake - so creamy, so yummy!  Job well done, if I do say so myself!

I recently found a recipe for New York Baked Cheesecake (here) and put it in my favourites to come back to.  This usually means that I forget about it.
That said, this was New York Baked Cheesecake - my favourite.  I kept going back to it.  I've never baked a cheesecake in my life, though have had a few (dodgy) attempts at the refridgerated types.  My old house had an oven that doubled as a food-murderer.  This house, not so bad!  Why now.  So last night at 10pm (naturally) I found myself you know, just whipping up a cheesecake.  As you do!
Here is what I learned - I should never have given away my food processor. Using the end of a rolling pin is just so time consuming!

For me - I love a nice thick base, so like the original blogger I thieved the recipe from, I also doubled the biscuits/butter.  It could easily have done without that though and I probably will in the future.  I served it up to 10 willing taste-testers (we had an add-on!) and the verdict came in the form of clean plates.  Even Ty - the cheesecake hater (how are we even compatible!) ate his entire plateful.
So for someone who is particularly crap at baking cakes and sweets - this one turned out fantastically.  Give it a go - it's easy, and it's delicious.

Ingredients

1 x 250g packet of plain sweet biscuits {Nice}
125g unsalted butter, melted
750g cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp finely grated lemon rind
2 tbs plain flour
4 eggs
1 x 300ml carton of sour cream

Method

♥ Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Line the base of a 23cm based springform round tin with non-stick baking paper.
♥ Place the biscuits in a food processor and process until finely crushed. If you don’t have a food processor just put a small hole in the biscuit packet and crush them with a rolling pin and then pour into a bowl.
♥ Add the butter and process until combined. Place into the tin and with the back of a spoon smooth out the base and sides. Place into the fridge, covered in plastic wrap, for 30 minutes to chill.
♥ While the base is chilling, beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and lemon rind in a bowl. Add the flour and the eggs, beating well after adding each. Stir in the sour cream until just combined.
♥ Pour the cream cheese mixture into the base. Place in the oven and bake for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Once cooked, turn the oven off but leave the cheesecake in the oven until it cools completely {about 2 hours}. Place in the fridge for up to 4 hours to chill.