Sweet Potato, Bacon and Egg Bake (Dairy Free)

We go through lots of eggs in this house, at least 2-3 dozen or more if I'm doing lots of baking. We love them boiled, scrambled and fried. Turned into omelettes, quiches, custard and french toast.

A quick flick through an old Woman's Weekly cookbook called Cheap & Cheerful and I came across a Kumara, Bacon and Egg Bake. We had everything on hand it was such an easy and delicious dinner! Itwas somewhere between a quiche and a frittata and would work really well if you happened to have some leftover steamed veggies in the fridge already. I used sweet potato and regular potatoes but really you could use anything you have.

We had this for dinner but I think it would be a perfect brunch dish, especially as it could be prepared ahead of time and then popped in the oven at the last minute.

Sweet Potato, Bacon and Egg Bake
Adapted from Cheap & Cheerful (Australian Woman's Weekly, ACP Books, p50-51)

1 large sweet potato (about 500g)
2 large potaotes (about 500g)
5 bacon rashers (about 350g)
8 eggs
1/4 cup milk (I used rice milk)
1 ts ground cumin
2 tbs nutritional yeast

Chop the sweet potatoes and potatoes into a 2-3cm dice and steam until just tender and then set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees / 160 degrees fan-forced. Grease a baking dish ( mine was 20 x 26 cm) with olive oil.

Roughly chop the bacon and fry it in a pan over medium heat until just starting to crisp up. Sprinkle over the cumin and toss to combine. Spread the potatoes over the base of the baking dish and scatter the bacon over the top.

Whisk together the eggs, milk and nutritional yeast in a medium bowl and then pour over the potatoes and bacon. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve warm or hot with a green salad.

Sunshine Soup (aka Carrot, Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup)

We've been hit with numerous bouts of colds recently and seemingly permanent runny noses so I've been looking for lots of nutrient rich foods to boost the kids immune systems - fresh juices made on carrots, celery, beetroot, spinach, orange and ginger in the morning and warming drinks with lemon and raw honey in the afternoon when the coughs and sniffles come back.

And now that it seems like Winter is finally on the way (we've dropped into single digits overnight in the last few days) it's soup time!!!

I don't tend to follow recipes for soup, I usually just throw in whatever veggies we have on hand, add some herbs and stock and call it a day. This soup, which my boys called Sunshine Soup because of its gorgeous sunny colour, was the perfect tonic for my big boy who was home sick from school yesterday. As usual I thought I made plenty but it disappeared in record time and I will be making another batch today!

I did this in the Thermomix but you can easily adapt it and I have included alternative directions below.

We all loved this soup. My 18 month old ate more than 1 1/2 cups and wanted more but there wasn't any left!

Sunshine Soup (Carrot, Pumpkin and Sweet Potato)

2 large carrots, roughly chopped
1 large sweet potato, roughly chopped
1 big wedge of pumpkin, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic
2cm piece ginger
2cm piece fresh turmeric OR 1ts dried turmeric
2 1/2 cups water or stock
1 ts vegetable stock paste (only if using water)
1 heaped tbs solid coconut oil
sea salt and pepper to taste

TMX - place the ginger, garlic and fresh turmeric (if using) into the bowl and chop 3 secs / SP 7. Add the coconut oil and dried turmeric (if using) and saute 2 mins / Varoma / SP 1. Add the carrot, sweet potato and chop 15 secs / SP 7. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the stock or water and cook 20 mins / 100 degrees / SP 1. Blend 45 secs / sp8, gradually increasing from SP 1 to SP 8. Add sea salt and pepper to taste.

If not using a Thermomix, place all ingredients except the water/stock and oil into a food processor and process until finely chopped. Pour into a medium saucepan, add the oil and water or stock. Bring to the boil then simmer for 20 minutes or until veggies are tender. Using a stick blender, process the soup until smooth.

Serves 4.

Pumpkin Banana Bread

I'm beginning to think I have a bit of an obsession with banana bread. I was too scared to check just how many variations I've posted over the years but I know I've never made a Pumpkin Banana Bread before!

We bought a whole pumpkin last weekend for just $2 and we enjoyed it roasted last night, mashed for lunch today and now baked into a cake. There will also be pumpkin soup made in a few days when it cools down again after a few days of unseasonably hot weather.

Mr Fussy 4yo loves cinnamon and was willing to taste some pumpkin roasted with cinnamon last night (it got a screwed up face) but even he couldn't resist this Pumpkin Banana Bread still warm from the oven and spread with lots of butter. It was the perfect afternoon tea for the kidlets and I can vouch for the fact that it is just as good if not better toasted the next day.

The original recipe had 1/2 cup honey AND 1/2 cup sugar which I replaced with just 1/2 cup rice malt syrup and an extra banana and it definitely sweet enough for us. You may want to increase it a little.

This was incredibly moist, lightly spiced and absolutely delicious. We will be making it again!

Gotta love hidden veggies!

Pumpkin Banana Bread
adapted from allrecipes

3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 large eggs
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/3 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup rice malt syrup
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 ts baking powder
1 ts baking soda
1/2 ts salt
2 ts cinnamon
1/4 ts nutmeg
1/4 ts cloves

Preheat oven to 175 degrees C / 350 degrees F. Grease and line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, stir together the mashed banana, eggs, oil, pumpkin and syrup. In another bowl combine the dry ingredients and then stir these into the banana mixture until just combined (don't over-mix).

Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes (mine took 50 - it was huge!) or until the top springs back when touched and a skewer comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Serve warm or cold. Suitable to freeze.

TMX - place bananas, eggs, oil, pumpkin and syrup into the mixing bowl and blend for 10 seconds / speed 6. Add remainder of ingredients and blend 6 seconds / speed 6. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and proceed with baking instructions above.

Blueberry English Muffins (SRC)

Hooray it's Secret Recipe Club time! For those who don't know SRC is a group of dedicated cooks and bakers who are assigned a blog in secret each month from which to choose a recipe and blog about on the same day.

This month I was delighted to be assigned Karen's Kitchen Stories and I had a wonderful time this month on Karen's blog. Karen is a little bit obsessed with bread and has baked some amazing things which had my mouth watering like Braided Lemon Bread with Blackberries, Pain au Chocolat and Strawberry Danish. Yum! She claims to not be an expert at either baking or photography but her recipe index and stunning photos beg to differ!

I also love baking bread (although I am nowhere near as accomplished as Karen) so I decided to choose a bread for SRC and settled on her Cherry English Muffins. Mine ended up being blueberry muffins though as I couldn't find any dried cherries.

Making English muffins has been on my to-do list for years but I've never quite gotten around to it. Part of the reason is that English muffin/crumpet rings just aren't available here in Australia. I know because I've looked in every kitchenware shop I've come across and searched online to no avail. Actually that's not quite true as I found a set of 4 on Ebay that would ship from the US for more than $30! Um, no.

I decided that I wasn't going to let that defeat me and came up with an alternative - I used the rings from my mini spring-form pans instead! I could only fit 3 rings in the pan at a time and the 3 batches each took about 20 minutes to cook so this is definitely not a quick bake, but it does make a great weekend project and we got to enjoy some delicious muffins for afternoon tea. I got 9 largish muffins from this mixture and between the 5 of us they lasted all of, oh, 15 minutes. Seriously!

There's definitely no comparison between these and the shop-bought ones - they were sensational! They may have taken ages to make but it was totally worth it. I'm really pleased I persevered and finally made them. Thanks to Karen for the inspiration!

Blueberry English Muffins
Very slightly adapted from Karen's Kitchen Stories

2 tsp rice malt syrup (or honey)
1 tbs olive oil
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk (I used homemade almond and coconut milk)
340 g (12 oz) bread flour
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp instant dried yeast
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1/4 tsp bicarb soda (baking soda)
3 tbs warm water
Corn meal or semolina flour for dusting

Mix the syrup, oil, milk, flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl with a large spoon. Mix together for a few minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Immediately cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 4 days.

Remove the bowl from the fridge about 2 hours before you will be making the muffins.

When you are ready to make the muffins, mix the baking soda with the water. Sprinkle the cherries over the dough and then gently fold the water, soda and cherries into the dough. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.

Heat a heavy based frying pan or griddle over medium heat (150 C / 300 F for an electric griddle).

Spray the griddle, muffin rings and a 1/3 cup measure with spray oil and then dust the inside of the rings with cornmeal. Pour 1/3 cup of dough into each ring (no more than 2/3 full). Sprinkle cornmeal over each muffin once you've filled all of the rings.

Cook for at least 12 minutes, until the bottoms are golden brown and then flip the muffins in their rings and cook for another 12 minutes or until you are sure they are cooked through and springy to the touch.

Cool the muffins in their rings for 2 minutes, then remove the rings and cool them on their edges for at least 30 minutes to prevent shrinking.

Thanks Karen! I really enjoyed my month visiting Karen's Kitchen Stories. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Marinated Chicken Burger with Fountain Good Choice Sauces

I gave up sugar in September 2012 after reading Sweet Poison by David Gillespie and then stumbling across Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar program. While I don't remember the exact date I do remember jumping up and clearing out the pantry and being horrified at the amount of sugar that was hiding in our everyday products. I thought we were eating quite healthily but the bags of stuff I threw away said otherwise!

One group of products that didn't survive the great cull of 2012 were condiments. I knew that some sauces were quite sweet but I was astounded that our tomato sauce was over 25% sugar, the BBQ sauce around 40% and the sweet chilli contained a whopping 60%! I know you don't use much at a time but if I was going to be eating something so packed with sugar I would have rather had a chocolate bar or bowl of ice cream!

While I make most things from scratch these days, especially since buying our Thermomix, I have never really made any sauces.  I just didn't think I would be able to make a version that the kids would really like and I didn't think we would get through a whole batch before it went off.

So I was delighted to receive a pack of Fountain Good Choice Sauces to review thanks to Product Talk by Nuffnang. All the sauces are free of both sugar and gluten and the pack included a squeezy bottle each of tomato and barbeque sauces, and glass bottles of sweet chilli, hot chilli and soy sauces. Instead of sugar the sauces are all sweetened with Natvia which is an alternative sweetener using stevia.

We had a BBQ at Oscar's birthday party last weekend and I knew this would be perhaps the greatest test for the Good Choice Tomato and BBQ sauces. Would the kids be able to taste the difference? Would the adults notice the labels on the bottles? Well, I can say that both sauces got the thumbs up from all our big and little taste testers, every sausage got eaten and there was not a single complaint!!

As for the other sauces I decided the best test for them would be a burger. I mean, it's not a real burger unless there's sauce dripping from your chin! I came up with this simple marinated chicken burger and it was SO good: lick-your-fingers-to-savour-every-last-bit good. I was surprised how spicy the sweet chilli sauce was (in a good way) but the hot one was too hot for me. In fact you can tell just how much we like the sweet chilli sauce as by the time I got around to taking the photo of the bottles it was half empty!

Marinated Chicken Burger

For the marinade:
6 chicken thigh fillets
2 tbs Fountain Good Choice Soy Sauce
1 tbs Fountain Good Choice Tomato Sauce
1 tbs Fountain Good Choice Sweet Chilli Sauce
1 crushed clove of garlic

Place all ingredients into a large ziplock bag. Seal the bag, removing as much air as possible. Massage the sauces into the chicken pieces until well covered and then leave to marinate in the fridge for at least a 2 hours. The chicken pieces can be fried, grilled or barbecued until cooked through. I baked mine at 200 degrees C for approximately 20 minutes (make sure you check they are cooked through). Cover the chicken pieces with foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the burgers.

For the burger:
6 hamburger buns
1 avocado
2 tomatoes
lettuce
2 grated carrots
Fountain Good Choice Sweet Chilli or Hot Chilli Sauce

Assemble your burgers with your favourite salad ingredients, place a piece of chicken on top and drizzle over some sweet or hot chilli sauce to taste.

So. Would I buy these for myself? Yes but I'd still use them in moderation. There's not too much research into stevia yet and I've gotten my kids out of the habit of smothering everything in sauce so for us these sauces would still be a 'sometimes' food.  That being said I do love that this range is available and for anyone who wants to switch to something healthier but is worried the kids would reject it, try these!  The full range is available at Woolworths both in store and online.

*This is NOT a sponsored post. I received product for review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Oscar turns 6!

My big boy turned 6 yesterday. I can hardly believe it! There has been much excitement over the past month or so as we planned his party, wrote invitations and decided on a birthday cake. His party was held at a local park on Saturday afternoon and despite the threatening weather it turned into a wonderful day. The party went off without a hitch and we had 14 kids plus siblings and parents. We had John from Crazy Party come to run some crazy games for the kids which was lots of fun followed by some food and of course birthday cake. It really was one of the easiest parties we've had. I was a little concerned about how the lack of junk food would go with the kids but no one seemed to notice (or at least they didn't say anything to me!).

Rainbow fruit skewers

Apricot Balls and Nut-free Chocolate Bliss Balls

The food was really simple - some rainbow fruit skewers with watermelon, pineapple, kiwi fruit, green and red grapes and blueberries, a huge bowl of popcorn, some plain salted chips, apricot balls and nut free chocolate bliss balls, sausages, bread and sauce. We had bottles of water for the kids for after their activities and some mineral water for the adults.

Smarties Cake!

The one exception to our no-junk party was the cake. I made a double layer fudgy chocolate cake covered with vanilla buttercream icing and smarties. It went down a treat and got lots of ooohs and aaaahs at the table. I thought it would be big enough to feed everyone but my first few slices were too big so we got down to some thin slivers of cake at the end and every crumb got eaten. I guess that's a sign of a good cake!

We also didn't have a traditional party bag because I'm really not a fan of the cheap plastic stuff and all the lollies that usually go with it. Instead we had a lucky dip and as each child was leaving they got to choose something. I found lots of great stuff like giant playing cards, stamp sets, packs of textas and crayons, figurines and sticker packs all for $2. The kids loved being able to choose and unwrap something to take home and I didn't hear any complaints. 

Then yesterday was Oscar's actual birthday and we had family around for an afternoon tea of birthday cake and dinner of lasagna, salad, garlic bread and dairy-free chocolate ice cream (all chosen by the birthday boy).

Oscar was very keen on having a number 6 cake but he was happy to leave the decorations to me. I decided that given how much he loves school, writing and reading that he would like a school themed cake and I was right! I made a simple butter cake with vanilla butter cream icing and decorated with some fondant shapes. Cake decorating is really not my strong point and while they do look amateurish I was pretty happy with how they turned out. I made a book, open notepad, ruler, (wonky) pencil and a little apple. We even found some candles that looked like crayons! Oscar loved his cake and everyone had seconds.

All in all it was a brilliant birthday for him, he was surrounded by friends and family, ate some great food and received lots of great presents. Can't ask for more than that!

2 ingredient Apricot Balls

We are coming to the end of 2 weeks school holidays here and it has been action packed! Between sleepovers, trips to the park and the movies and play dates with friends there hasn't been too much down time. And to top it all off we have Oscar's 6th birthday party tomorrow! I will write a separate post about the party and all the happenings on his actual birthday but for now I thought I would share one of the recipes I am making for the party.

We are expecting 14 kids plus parents and sibilings (maybe 40 people all up) but are keeping the food very simple. I remember loving apricot slice as a kid but I do remember it being very sweet and I recently checked the packet and yep, LOADS of sugar!

Luckily The Organised Housewife came to the rescue with these simple apricot balls which have just 2 ingredients and take all of a minute to whip up. I found they had to be squeezed into balls rather than rolled but they held together beautifully and were certainly firm enough even without being refrigerated.

My kids loved these and I loved how simple they were. Perhaps the easiest party food ever!

2 Ingredient Apricot Balls
Recipe from The Organised Housewife

200g dried apricots
200g desiccated coconut

Place apricots and coconut into the food processor and blitz until well combined and sticky, about 90 seconds. In the thermomix process on speed 10 40-50 seconds.

Squeeze into balls and store in the fridge.

Makes approx 18 (depending how big or small you make them!)

Chocolate Custard Tart and our Easter wrap-up

Every Easter for the past few years my goal for our family has been to cut back on commercial chocolate, indulge in a healthier way and make some great family memories instead of gorging on sugar.

In our house the Easter Bunny always brings winter pyjamas, a CD and 1 chocolate (this year it was a Lindt dark chocolate bunny). We do an Easter egg hunt using small plastic eggs that each have one of those little fluffy chickens inside and then once they've found them all they get a prize (this year they each got a pre-printed canvas set with paint and brushes which kept them busy for a few hours). In spite of our efforts to cut back on junk both the big boys still had stomach aches at the end of the day so we had a bit of a chat about how junk food can taste good but still make your body feel yucky.

We had a delicious lunch of roast lamb and vegetables and I made this fabulous chocolate custard tart for dessert. I found it on Alexx Stuart's blog and if you haven't heard of her then head on over and check out her amazing real food recipes and low-tox living ideas.

This tart is creamy, chocolatey and indulgent but won't leave you with a stomach ache! It's also easily grain and dairy free and totally decadent. I had all the ingredients in the pantry already except the chocolate so it was really easy to whip up and also very easy to eat!

I've just included the Thermomix instructions but Alexx's recipe includes non-Thermomix instructions as well so you can check out the link below.

This really was one of the best things I've made in a long time and we will definitely be making again for another special occasion!

Chocolate Custard Tart
Recipe from Alexx Stuart

Base:
1 1/4 cups (120g) tapioca flour
1/3 cup (30g) almond meal
2 heaped tbs (20g) coconut flour
1/2 cup (45g) buckwheat or sorghum flour
160g butter (or solid coconut oil to be dairy free) (VERY COLD)
1 egg
2ts vanilla extract
2 tbs rice malt syrup (or honey/maple syrup to be grain free)
2 tbs raw cacao

Filling:
400ml coconut cream (I used Ayam brand)
100ml water
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
2 tbs arrowroot flour
1 tbs gelatin
5 tbs rice malt syrup (or honey/maple syrup to be grain free)
1 ts vanilla extract
120g very dark chocolate (Lindt 85% is good, grated or finely chopped

To make the base:
Place the flours and cacao into the thermomix (3 secs/ sp 5) to aerate and combine. Add the chilled fat and pulse until it has disappeared (TMX 3 secs / sp 6). Whisk together the egg, vanilla and syrup and slowly add 2/3 of this mixture to the dry ingredients. If it clumps you don't need to add anymore, or you may need the whole lot.

Use a spatula to remove the dough (it will be very wet) onto plastic wrap, shape into a disc and place in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F fan-forced or 200C/400F non-fan-forced. Grease a 23 cm loose-bottomed tart pan with coconut oil and dust with a little extra sorghum flour. Set aside.

Dust the dough with some extra flour and then roll it out in between 2 sheets of baking paper. Remove the top sheet, flip the dough and lay it over the prepared tart pan. Remove the second sheet of baking paper and press the pastry into the tin. It will be soft, sticky and a little temperamental. If it breaks or there are holes just patch them with a blob of dough. Trim the excess and then blind bake (covered with baking paper and filled with beans or rice) for 10 minutes. Remove the baking rice and bake for a further 15-20 minutes or until it is a deep brown (not black!).

Set aside. Start the filling as soon as you remove the the blind baking rice/beans to get the timing right - hot filling needs to go into a hot pastry shell, cold filling into a cold pastry shell (that tip is courtesy of the great Maggie Beer).

To make the filling:
Place all ingredients except the gelatin and chocolate into the thermomix and cook for 7 mins/90 deg/sp 4. Add the gelatin at the end for 5 secs / sp 6. Then the chocolate for 20 secs / sp 7.

Pour into the baked pastry shell and chill until firm. Decorate with grated chocolate and serve with berries. Serves 10.

Coconut Bread

Move over banana bread there's a new kid in town!

When this coconut bread popped up in my facebook feed from Smitten Kitchen I had no idea it would lead me back to a blog I used to read religiously (The Wednesday Chef) and from there to renowned Aussie chef Bill Granger who is famous for this recipe.

We've been on a real coconut kick lately and eat it in some form every day be it coconut milk on my muesli, coconut flour in some muffins or coconut oil in a stir fry.  This bread is a celebration of coconut and while I knew my husband wouldn't be particularly keen, the rest of us would love it and I was not disappointed.

I did make a few substitutions (of course) but I think I have stayed pretty true to the original recipe. It makes a huge (10 x 5) loaf which is pretty tasty warm from the oven but is absolutely sensational toasted and spread with lots of butter and a drizzle of syrup.

I was intending on serving a slice of this topped with homemade mango sorbet for my mother in law's birthday but in the end we had a piece of this for afternoon tea and saved the mango sorbet for a few days later when we weren't quite so full from our dinner of takeaway Chinese food.

It is the perfect breakfast or brunch bread and is really substantial without being too heavy. I loved it.

If you like coconut and are getting sick of the same old banana bread, this is the one for you!

I chose to use the recipe from the Australian Women's Weekly just so I wouldn't have to do any of the conversions.

Coconut Bread
Slightly adapted from AWW

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 cup wholemeal plain flour
2 ts baking powder
2 ts cinnamon
150g shredded coconut (I used coconut flakes which I blitzed in the food processor to make finer)
300ml milk (I used almond and coconut milk)
2 eggs
1 ts vanilla
1/2 cup rice malt syrup
75 g melted butter
pinch salt

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Grease and line a large loaf tin (mine was 10 x 5 even though the original said 8.5 x 5) and set aside.

Place the dry ingredients into a large bowl and stir together. Make a well in the middle.

Place the liquid ingredients into a large and whisk well.

Pour the wet ingredients into the well and mix until only just combined. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and leave for 5 minutes before turning out of the tin. Serve warm or slice and freeze to be thawed and toasted later.

Serves 10-12.

Lemon Diva Cupcakes

I have a confession to make. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I became completely hooked on I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! I think I watched every episode and was cheering for the fabulous Chrissie Swan to win (she came third). I was also cheering when Julie Goodwin arrived as an intruder because she was fabulous on MasterChef and I have her cookbooks. During the show Julie made her Lemon Diva Cupcakes so guess what I couldn't resist making the next day?

There is a reason these have become famous - they are completely delicious! I haven't made cupcakes for ages and it's been even longer since I used a piping bag. My piping skills are atrocious but the taste more than made up for that.

If you like lemon you will love these cupcakes! I made a few changes to the recipe like using rice malt syrup instead of sugar in the cupcakes and dextrose in the icing but other than that it is as per the original.

Perfect for afternoon tea. Make them!!

Lemon Diva Cupcakes
Found online here

Cupcakes:
100g butter, softened
1/2 cup rice malt syrup
1 ts vanilla extract
zest of 3 lemons
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1/2 cup milk (I used homemade almond and coconut milk)

Icing:
125 g unsalted butter, softened
2 cups dextrose
1 1/2 tbs lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C fan-forced. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper cases. Using a stand mixer or electric beaters, beat together the butter, syrup, lemon zest and vanilla until light and creamy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Alternately fold through the flour and milk in two batches. Spoon the mixture evenly into the paper cases.

Bake for around 20 minutes or until golden brown and the centre springs back when touched. Place on a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

To make the icing, beat the butter until light and creamy using electric beaters. Add the dextrose a little at a time, beating constantly. Add half the lemon juice and beat well. Add the remaining lemon juice a little at a time. Pipe the icing onto the cooled cupcakes (Julie recommends a 1cm fluted nozzle which I don’t have).

Garlic Smashed Potatoes (SRC)

 

Secret Recipe Club time! This month I was assigned Confessions of a Cooking Diva by Julie. I had a great time looking through Julie's blog this month and I especially liked all her menu planning posts and the way she bases her meals around different themes. We plan and shop fortnightly (which I know doesn't work for everyone) but tend to base our meals around the kids' activities and having enough leftovers for hubby's lunch. I really should do a menu-planning post of my own one of these days!

Anyway there were lots of yummy recipes to chose from and I have her Slowcooker Chicken Drumsticks, Baked Banana Bread Oatmeal and these Baked Eggs all bookmarked to try soon but in the end I couldn't go past these Garlic Smashed Potatoes. I mean, Julie is from Idaho after all!

We have a roast dinner probably every second Sunday and I am always on the lookout for different and interesting sides. We've had potatoes lots of ways but never smashed despite seeing variations of them all over the place.

These are such a simple yet delicious way to cook potatoes. Crispy and crunchy on the outside, fluffy in the middle and seasoned beautifully with garlic. We had them with roast chicken, roast beetroot and green beans tossed in lemon and olive oil. It was a seriously good dinner. Unfortunately the day I chose to make all this was ridiculously hot and we all sweltered with the oven on for a few hours (sorry to all of you in the Northern Hemisphere who are dealing with endless snow - here it is a seemingly endless summer!).

Garlic Smashed Potatoes
Recipe from Confessions of a Cooking Diva

1-2 potatoes per person
2 tbs olive oil
2-3 ts minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until just tender, approximately 10-15 minutes. Remove from the water and cool for 15 minutes. While they are cooling, preheat the oven to 190 C/375 F degrees. Grease a baking dish and set aside.

Place the potatoes in the baking dish and using a fork or potato masher gently squash each potato. Mix together the oil and garlic, drizzle this mixture over the potatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for around 20 minutes or until crisp and golden brown.

Serve warm or hot.

Thanks for a great recipe Julie! This has become our new favourite way to have potatoes :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Sweet Potato Brownies

The idea of hiding veggies isn't new but I must admit I am becoming more and more intrigued by just what you can get away with hiding! I have a very fussy 4 year old and we have struggled with expanding his range of foods. We've been through feeding therapy with a speech pathologist and occupational therapist which helped a little but his palate is still extremely limited and he is not at all open to trying new things. So while we still put veggies on his plate at dinner time the only time they actually pass his lips is if they are hidden in something else.

Chocolate is the ideal medium for hiding veggies not only because kids love it but it's taste and colour are great at disguising them. These chocolate and zucchini muffins have been a continued success but our new favourites are these Sweet Potato Brownies. There are 2 small sweet potatoes hidden here which along with the coconut oil, eggs, almond meal and raw cacao make them not only a really substantial snack but also a really nutrient dense one.

My boys all loved these. In the words of my 5 year old 'Mum please make these again and DON"T CHANGE A THING.' Hilarious!

These are richly chocolatey like all good brownies and even have a little crunch around the edges but the interior is very soft. I sliced these when they were still a bit warm and it was a bit messy as you can see. We kept the rest in the fridge and it was equally delicious cold but it sliced much more cleanly.

Sweet Potato Brownies
Adapted from this and this

1 medium sweet potato (3 cups grated)
2 ts vanilla extract
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup liquid coconut oil or olive oil
1/2 cup raw cacao
1/2 cup rice malt syrup
1/2 cup almond meal with 1 tbs coconut flour mixed in
1 ts baking powder
1 ts bicarbonate soda

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and line an 8 inch square brownie pan and set aside.

Finely grate the sweet potato (and place in the food processor along with the vanilla, eggs and oil. Mix well. Add the dry ingredients and pulse until just combined.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for approx 35 minutes or until  just set and firm to the touch in the middle. Allow to cool completely in the pan before slicing.

Store in the fridge. Makes 16 serves.

My favourite chocolate granola

With a big boy in grade 1 this year and another in kindy, I've realised just how important breakfast is to their mood and energy levels. I can pick the day they didn't eat properly by their behaviour at the end of the day! The more filling and protein packed their breakfast, the better the day goes (for everyone!).

My kindy boy Charlie loves a smoothie for breakfast most days and while the fruit and the flavour varies it always includes oats, chia seeds, coconut oil, something green and a big spoonful of NutraOrganics Thriving Protein (affiliate link).

Oscar on the other hand loves quinoa porridge or scrambled eggs most of the time but having a standby like some ready prepared granola is another great alternative for him.

I've posted some granola / toasted muesli recipes before but I just had to post this one because it is hands-down my favourite one yet! Sweet, nutty, chocolate-y and equally good for dessert as for breakfast. My husband has a sprinkle of this on his yoghurt at work most days. It is a great alternative to porridge and about a million times more nutritious and filling than any cereal out of a box.

As with all recipes like this you are limited only by your imagination. If you don't like something or just don't have any feel free to substitute for something else.

The bowl above was my dinner - a generous 1/2 cup of granola with homemade almond and coconut milk and a scattering of frozen raspberries. 

If you've never tried buckwheat before you should definitely give it a go! It's crunchy, nuttiness goes perfectly here. If you use honey or maple syrup instead of the rice malt syrup it will also be 100% grain free. The 1/2 cup of sweetener is a little on the high side for us but could be increased or cut back depending on your taste.

My Favourite Chocolate Granola
Recipe by me
Makes lots!

3 cups raw mixed nuts (I used ABC nuts - almonds, brazils and cashews)
3 cups coconut flakes
1/2 cup linseeds
1/2 cup raw buckwheat
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup raw cacao
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup rice malt syrup (or honey or maple syrup)
2 ts cinnamon
1/2 ts Himalayan salt

Preheat oven to 140 degrees C. Line a large baking tray with foil and set aside.

Roughly chop the nuts by hand or in a food processor. Place the nuts in a very large bowl and add all remaining ingredients. Mix until well combined.

Bake for approximately 1 hour, checking and stirring every 15 minutes, or until the granola is as dark and crunchy as you prefer. Make sure you keep a close eye on it!

Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container for a few weeks to a month.

Quinoa Salad with Sausage and Roast Pumpkin

I have been a little slow getting on board with quinoa. Actually that's not entirely true as I used to make Noah a quinoa and strawberry porridge which he adored!

But given how nutritious it is I have made a concerted effort to buy and cook some this week and have had great results.

Firstly for dinner I made the quinoa salad pictured above and it was insanely delicious. Seriously! I could eat a big bowlful of this every day of the week. I drew my inspiration from this Quirky Cooking recipe but just used the ingredients I had.

So no recipe as such for this but here is what I used:
4 cups cooked quinoa
4 sausages, cooked and sliced
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
a handful of basil from the garden
1 wedge of pumpkin, diced and roasted with a little sesame oil
a dressing made from extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, dijon mustard, salt and pepper

I am planning on making a batch of this (or a variation depending on what we have in the fridge) most weeks to have as my weekday lunches. The possibilities are endless with different combinations of meat, veg and herbs.

With some leftover cooked quinoa I made a very simple porridge which we al had this morning for breakfast. I prepared it in the thermomix but just a pot on the stove would work just as well. To 2 cups of cooked quinoa I added enough nut milk to cover, 2 tbs rice malt syrup and 1/2 ts cinnamon and let it simmer for 5 mins or so until the milk was about half absorbed. 2 of my 3 boys had this with me for breakfast today and loved it so this is a keeper as well.

There is still a little quinoa leftover and I am planning on using it in some bliss balls (recipe to come).

Expect to see lots more quinoa here as I am now officially on the bandwagon! :)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls (SRC)

 
It's Secret Recipe Club time! Every month SRC members are assigned a blog in secret to peruse and choose a recipe, then we all post on the same day. This month I was assigned Life on Food by Emily.

Emily is a self-proclaimed foodie who has been blogging since 2009. She and her husband Jordan are expecting their first baby next month (how exciting!) and she had the most gorgeous baby shower with a Very Hungry Caterpillar theme. My kids all love that book and we read it constantly.

I was definitely spoilt for choice when it came to picking a recipe. I wanted something sweet and easy this month and a few things caught my eye straight away. I have bookmarked the Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Bread to try when we have some spare zucchinis and I was so tempted by the Brownies with Cookie Dough Frosting (OMG) but continuing on a cookie dough theme I ended up choosing Emily's Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls. I made a double batch because I knew they would be good and let me tell you, I was not disappointed. These were SO good!!!

We gobbled up 3 each as soon as they were made and I stashed the rest in the freezer just to make them last longer. They have been brilliant to grab as a quick snack for the boys before or after school and kindy and I can see many, many batches of these being made in the future!

I made a few small changes to the recipe to fit in with our dietary requirements, such as using natural peanut butter, rice malt syrup and dextrose instead of regular sugar and ground almonds instead of flour. I'm thinking next time I might add some vanilla protein powder and some chia seeds to boost the protein content and make them an even more substantial snack.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls
Adapted from Life on Food

6 tbs natural peanut butter
4 tbs butter, softened
1/4 rice malt syrup or honey
2 tbs dextrose (or granulated sugar)
2 ts vanilla
1/4 ts salt
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup quick oats
6 tbs chocolate chunks

In a mixer, beat together the butter, peanut butter, rice malt syrup and dextrose until fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat again. Add in the remaining ingredients except the chocolate and mix until combined. Fold through the chocolate chunks.

Roll into balls (makes approx 16) and freeze or refrigerate until needed. Try not to eat them all at once.

Thanks for an amazing recipe Emily!

An InLinkz Link-up

Bacon and Egg Pie

I am very lucky that my boys have a great relationship with their nanna (my mother in law). She is always happy to watch them when we need her to and has them over for a 2 night sleepover every holidays. I'm also lucky that she doesn't give them too many treats but they still come home telling me all about the yummy things they ate for dinner.

One of Oscar's favourite meals from Nanna's house has been bacon and egg pie, so I decided to make it for him at home too. A quick google search led me to this recipe from Taste which looked easy and tasty and we even had all the ingredients already.

The original recipe for this includes sun-dried tomatoes in the filling, but we prefer to serve it with a big dollop of homemade relish or chutney. This pie can be served warm or cold and is brilliant for feeding a crowd if you are having friends around for brunch. Oh and its perfect for the lunchbox too as it doesn't need to be reheated.

There's a reason why classic recipes like this are still popular - they are delicious!!!

Bacon and Egg Pie
Adapted from Taste

Pastry:
1 1/2 cups (225g) plain flour
1 3/4 cups (265g) self-raising flour
220g cold butter, chopped
1/2 cup (125ml) iced water

Filling:
450g bacon, rind removed and chopped roughly
12 eggs
1/2 cup milk
pepper
pinch nutmeg

2 tbs milk, extra

To make the pastry, place the flours into the food processor and blitz for a few seconds to remove any lumps. Add the butter and pulse until combined into a chunky breadcrumb. Add the water and pulse a few times or until it starts to clump together. Squeeze a small amount in your hand and if it comes together it is ready. If you feel you need more water add just a teaspoon or so at time because you can't take it back out!

Divide the dough into 2 portions, making one a little bigger than the other. Shape each piece into a disc then cover in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/350 F and grease a deep-sided 17 x 26 cm baking dish.

Roll out the larger of the pastry discs into a rectangle large enough to line the base and sides of the baking dish. Line the dish with pastry and trim the edges.

Scatter half the bacon over the pastry then crack 6 eggs over the top. Cover with remaining bacon then 4 more eggs. Beat the remaining 2 eggs with the milk and nutmeg then pour over the top.

Roll out the remaining pastry into a rectangle large enough to fit the top of the dish. Lay over the filling then fold the edges in to seal. Brush the top with the extra milk and then bake for 50 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.

Serve warm or cold.
Serves 8-10

Grain-free Choc Cranberry Cookies

These are a very simple adaptation of the Grain-free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies which our family is so in love with. Seriously, I have lost count of how many batches I have made with the intention of freezing them for after-school snacks, only to find that they disappear almost before they have cooled down!

Cranberry and chocolate is always a winning combination but the coconut in these also shines through. They are moist, chewy and chocolatey with a nice little zing from the cranberries. They are only slightly sweet, which my kids are used to, but if you're not you may want to up the sweetness, perhaps with a few drops of liquid stevia which will add sweetness without affecting the consistency of the dough.

We've been having a heat wave here for the past few weeks but some overnight rain has brought a cool change so I have been baking up a storm and even made a batch of curried pumpkin soup for lunch (recipe to come).

Grain-Free Choc Cranberry Cookies

Follow the recipe for Grain-free Oatmeal Raising Cookies but replace the spice with 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder and use dried cranberries instead of raisins. Shape and bake as usual. Enjoy!

Tater Tot Shepherd's Pie (SRC)

Happy New Year! And happy Australia Day to all my fellow Aussies! Hard to believe we are already at the end of January. Christmas seems like a distant memory, school starts tomorrow and we have our first Secret Recipe Club post for 2015!

I am so excited for another year of SRC. For those who are new, each month we are assigned a blog in secret to peruse, choose a recipe from and post on the same day. Today is the reveal day for Group D.

This month I was assigned Baking and Creating with Avril. Avril describes her food as 'nothing too fancy but always made with love and happiness'. I love this! I headed straight to the kid-friendly section and found so many recipes that my kids would love like the Blueberry Pie Pancakes, Cookie Sticks and Yummy Zucchini Cookies and I've bookmarked them to try.

I'm always on the lookout for dinner ideas though and was really tempted by Avril's Risotto and Beef Stuffed Tomatoes but when I saw a recipe called (Carrie's Famous) Tater Tots Shepherd's Pie I just had to check it out. I mean who is Carrie and why is it famous? I also had no idea what tater tots were and quickly learned they are the same as potato gems here in Australia!

In her post Avril describes how her friend Carrie made this casserole while they were away for a week's holiday as a part of a group of 9 girlfriends and their 7 children. How awesome would that have been? I am definitely raising the idea of a girls' week away with my friends!

The classic shepherd's pie has mashed potato on top but strangely none of my kids are that keen on mashed potato, whereas I could eat it by the bowlful. They do however, absolutely adore potato gems/tater tots and we do get them as a treat every now and then. So how could we go wrong with a shepherd's pie topped with potato gems!

I couldn't resist making one change to the recipe and that was to add something tomato-y to the meat. I used a tin of condensed tomato soup and loved the flavour but it did make the bottoms of the potato gems a little mushier than how they appeared to be in the original recipe. No matter, it was delicious! Rich savoury mince with corn, cheese and crunchy topped potato gems. Just divine and a perfect kids meal.

(Carrie's Famous) Tater Tot Shepherd's Pie
Adapted from Baking and Creating with Avril

1.5kg beef mince
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 can condensed tomato soup
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 can creamed corn
1 can sweet corn, drained
1-2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 bag frozen Tater Tots (Potato Gems)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F.

Over medium heat, saute chopped onion in a little oil until soft. Add in the beef mince and cook until well browned, then turn off the heat and drain any extra grease. Stir in the tomato soup, garlic salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce.

Pour the meat mixture into a 9 x13 baking dish, then spoon over the creamed corn and drained can of sweet corn. Sprinkle a layer of grated cheese over corn, layer frozen tater tots over grated cheese and then sprinkle with more cheese to finish.

Bake for 25-30 minutes (check after 20 minutes to make sure casserole is not getting too brown).

Thanks for a brilliant recipe Avril (and Carrie). We all loved it!

An InLinkz Link-up

Mud Monster Smoothie

Why is it that kids eat so much on holidays?? I just can't seem to fill mine up these days and I'm constantly replying to 'Mummy I'm hungry' with 'but you just ate 10 minutes ago!'

Smoothies have been a real lifesaver. I can cram them full of nutritious ingredients and the kids love them because they taste so good.

A few years I jumped on the green smoothie bandwagon with a vengeance and ended up with my IBS symptoms flaring up to be the worst they had been in more than a decade. I think a combination of too much fruit and the wrong type of protein powder were to blame. Being dairy free I was using a vegan pea protein which I later learned can indeed cause digestive issues. I was never comfortable giving it to the kids either and with good reason.

After much research I stumbled across Thriving Protein by Nutra Organics which is a blend of different protein sources like sprouted brown rice as well as red algae and high vitamin D mushroom powder. It is packed with protein and essential vitamins and minerals and provides a complete amino acid profile. It's good stuff!

There are 3 flavours to choose from and after some experimentation the CacaoChoc one is my kids favourite (although they do drink all 3). This smoothie has been their snack of choice lately and while it definitely doesn't look pretty (hence the name they came up with!) it does taste delicious!

I've been so impressed with Thriving Protein I have actually signed up with NutraOrganics as an affiliate so if you purchase after clicking a link on my page I will receive a small commission (thank you!)




My boys love this smoothie and the fact it looks like slime or monster mud makes it just that much more appealing for them!
 
Mud Monster Smoothie
Per serve:

1 cup very cold milk (we use organic rice milk or homemade almond-sunflower seed milk)
1/2 frozen banana
1 tbs chia seeds
1 tbs CacaoChoc Thriving Protein
1 handful baby spinach OR 1 leaf kale with stem removed

Place all ingredients into the thermomix or other high powered blender and blitz for 1 minute or until thick and smooth and completely blended. Pour into a glass, add a straw and drink!

Serves 1

Grain-free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

 

If you're anything like me you have tons of recipes marked to try - ripped out of magazines, bookmarked, pinned or printed out. I had been meaning to make these little bites of awesomeness from Against All Grain for ages and you should definitely follow Danielle on Facebook if you don't already!

We devoured this batch in record time. They were sweet, spicy, chewy and delicious. Exactly what you expect from an oatmeal raisin cookie and even the most hardened gluten addict (I'm looking at my husband here) wouldn't miss the grain. I've had problems with my coconut oil based cookies spreading lately so even though the recipe said to press them down I only gave them the teeniest little press with my fingers and of course they didn't spread at all! So we have been calling them oatmeal raisin balls and pretending that's how they are supposed to be.

I will be making 2 batches of these as part of my back to school baking over the next couple of weeks and stashing them straight in the freezer ready for lunchbox treats and after school snacks.

These were so SO good and I'm wishing I had one (or 3) right now!

Grain-free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Adapted from Against All Grain

1/4 cup coconut oil, liquid
3 tbs honey or maple syrup
1 ts vanilla extract
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tbs mixed spice (or 4 ts cinnamon plus 3/4 ts nutmeg)
1 cup almond meal
2 tbs coconut flour
1/2 ts bicarb soda
1/4 ts sea salt
2 ts chia seeds
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius / 160 degrees fan-forced / 350 degrees fahrenheit. Line 2 trays with baking paper and set aside.

In a small bowl mix the coconut oil, honey, egg and vanilla together until well combined.

In a large bowl mix together the spice, flours, bicarb soda, salt, chia seeds and coconut.

Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir together until just combined.

Fold through the raisins.

Roll golf ball sized balls of dough and place on the prepared trays, making 16 cookies. Press down lightly on each cookie with your palm or the bottom of a glass.

Bake for 9-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes on the trays before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 16.

Happy New Year! and Indulgent Chocolate Fudge Cake

Happy New Year!!! Hopefully everyone had a great time last night and there aren't too many sore heads around this morning. We had a very quiet one last night. The kids stayed up a little later than usual and we drove to a great spot to check out the 8pm fireworks and then once they were tucked in bed hubby and I watched The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

2015 is going to be a big year for all of us, both personally and professionally and I look forward to sharing it with you here.

I'm not one for setting resolutions (as I have a tendancy to break them and then feel guilty about breaking them before even a week of January has passed) but I have been inspired by Deb of Inner Compass Designs and am setting a word of the year. My guiding word for 2015 is connect and for me it is all about connecting with things that make me happier, healthier and a better mum. Watch this space!

This amazing chocolate cake fits perfectly my style of cooking at the moment and is so seriously indulgent that it really should only be made for a special occasion. If you want to impress your friends at your next dinner party or a special someone for Valentine's Day then pin this recipe. You will not be disappointed!

It is grain free, dairy free and refined sugar free and yet tastes like the most decadent chocolate-y cake ever. I made only slight changes to the original recipe by adding vanilla (because everything tastes better with vanilla) and some sea salt (because chocolate and salt are a perfect match) but I can see possibilities for other flavours like adding some orange peel or peppermint extract. Delicious!

Indulgent Chocolate Fudge Cake
Very slightly adapted from Wholefood Simply

400 grams dark chocolate, roughly broken into pieces
1 cup of full fat coconut milk
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 ts vanilla extract
5 eggs, bring to room temperature
1 tablespoon coconut flour, sifted
1 generous pinch sea salt

Preheat your oven to 150 degrees Celsius / 130 degrees fan-forced / 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Grease and line a loaf tin measuring approx 19.5cm x 9.5cm (mine is pyrex).

Bring a jug full of water to the boil.

Place the chocolate, coconut milk and maple syrup into a medium saucepan and stir over low heat until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla and then set aside while you prepare the remainder of the cake.

Whisk the eggs until well combined. Whisk in the sifted flour and salt.

Stir the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until well combined.

Place the loaf tin into a deep roasting dish. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Pour the hot water into the roasting dish until the water level is half way up the sides of the loaf tin (I do this once the tray is already in the oven to save carrying a big dish of hot water).

Bake for one hour. Remove from the oven but leave in the tin to cool to room temperature then place in the fridge overnight.

Once completely chilled, remove from the tin, slice and serve.

Christmas Menu 2014

Image Source

Writing this post has become an annual thing for me now and it's really helpful to have all my ideas in one place, and to be able to look back on what worked and what didn't for the following year.

This year we are hosting dinner on Christmas Eve and then heading down to my mother-in-law's place for lunch on Christmas Day.

For the first time we are doing a predominantly cold Christmas lunch. It makes a lot of sense given the climate here and I love seafood, but I will miss the roast turkey (and all the leftovers that go along with it). I'm already thinking though that we will buy a turkey after Chistmas when everything is on sale and do a roast for New Years Day instead.

Christmas Eve

Nibbles
Crackers, fruit, cheese, pate and chocolates

Main
Slow cooked lamb shanks with rosemary and redcurrants
Roast vegetable mash
Steamed seasonal greens

Dessert
Christmas Pudding
Dairy free custard


Christmas Day

Breakfast
Coconut and mango parfaits

Entree
Seafood platter with smoked salmon, tiger prawns and accompaniments

Main
Lemon myrtle chicken
Roast potatoes
Barbecued side of salmon
Quinoa salad
Beans with cherry vinagrette

Dessert
Lemon curd and raspberry jelly trifle
Fruit salad

This is my last post for 2014. I am going to unplug and have as little screen time as possible for the next few weeks (although I still have lots of study to cram in!).

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy holiday. See you in 2015! xx