Wanted to share

I found this and wanted to share. They do say Breakfast is the most important meal! We may as well do it RIGHT!

http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/food-drink/top-10-healthy-breakfast-options-blog-6-real-buzz.html

It's a list of the top 10 breakfast foods.

Porridge & Berries
Beans on Toast
Bagel with low fat cream cheese and salmon
Fruit & Yogurt
Bacon, Tomato, Beans, Mushroom on toast
Crumpets and fruit spread
Muesli and soya milk or low-fat milk
Pure fruit juice and iron-fortified breakfast cereal
Smoothie
Scrambled or poached egg on granary toast


Actually speaking of I have a FAB smoothie that looks SO good you FEEL good from that alone! I'll post it soon!

Pineapple Minty

This may sound weird but TRUST me you should try it!


You will need;

1 pineapple
Fresh mint (handful)
sugar (judge to your serving)
Pestle & Mortar (or rolling pin & bowl)


First you need to cut up the pineapple. You want long thin strips not chunks. Depending on how ripe your pineapple is you may need to cut more of the centre stalk away. Make sure and remove all the skin so you have only the soft flesh.

Now take the fresh mint leaves and sugar and put it into pestle and mortar. If you don't have one a bowl and the end of a rolling pin will do fine. The aim is to grind it together till you end up with what looks like green sugar.

Sprinkle it on top and YUM!

Schnitzel Parmasana

You'll need,

Chicken Fillet (1 for each)
Bread crumbs
Plastic food bag
Rolling pin
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
Finely chopped tomatoes (3)
1/2 cup cheese
Flour



First you'll need to make your schnitzel. Place the chicken fillet into the plastic bag and roll it out. You want to thin the chicken but have it even at the same time. Once you're happy with the chicken prepare to crumb it.

For this you need a bowl with the milk and eggs mixed. A plate with flour spread on and a second plate with the bread crumbs. You start by coating both sides of the chicken in flour, then dip it into the egg wash and then into the bread crumbs. This goes straight onto your baking tray. Repeat this for each serving. Please remember to WASH HANDS and keep surfaces clean when working with raw chicken.

Pop into a pre-heated oven at 180C. After 15 to 20 minutes check the chicken. It will be firm to the touch when cooked. I always cut into it to be extra sure.

Once the chicken is done / almost done, pop on a layer of the chopped tomato. Be generous as the sweet taste is divine! :) On top of that layer grated cheese. You can put as much or a little as you like.

Pop it back into the oven or under the grill until the cheese turns golden.

It can be served on it's own for lunch, or with green beans and mashed potato for dinner. Even my 21 month old loves this.


**You can also make this with store bought crumbed chicken breasts which is what I did for the picture**

Peanut Butter Breakfast Muffins

You will need;

250g self raising flour
150g caster sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1tsp vanilla extract
200ml milk (ff or ss)
150g melted peanut butter **
3 tbsp veg oil


Mix your dry ingredients first.
Self raising flour, baking powder and sugar. Add half the milk and the vanilla extract. Next add the egg and the remaining milk. Finally add the oil and melted peanut better.

(To melt the peanut butter pop 150g into a microwave save bowl and heat for 20 - 30 seconds)

The mixture with the very heavy and sticky.

Divide into the muffin cases in a muffin tin. Place in a pre-heated oven at 160C for around 30 mins. As always with cakes, keep an eye on it and test with a skewer before removing. With muffins watch for the cracks to appear in the top of the bun. This is usually a sign that they're done.


** smooth for breakfast, crunchy for other **

BBQ Prawns

My husband is Australian so he's the master BBQ



Simple, Quick and Easy


You'll need;
Fresh / Thawed prawns de-tailed
Salt
Pepper
Wooden / Metal skewers


Pre- heat the BBQ on high

Skew 4 prawn on each skewer and season with salt and pepper. You should use a little more than usual because they will be flame grilled. Make sure to season both sides.

Simply pop over the heat on the BBQ and cook until deep red and a little chared.


Yum

Mother's Cupcakes

My mom made these ALL the time when I was a kid so tonight I decided to try them out. She's not here anymore to help me out so I hope they turned out to her liking!


You will need;

227g caster sugar
227g margarine
340g flour
4 eggs

First cream the margarine and sugar in a bowl. Slowly add the flour and eggs.

Simple. Mix until everything is combined.

Divide into cupcake holders and into a cupcake tray or onto a flat baking tray. Pop into a pre-heated oven on high, around 200C for 15mins or until you can skewer the centre clean.

Light Pancakes

You will need;

225g flour (roughly 3/4 cup)
2tsp baking powder
1tsp sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 tbsp butter

As always I like to make my pancakes the night before but leaving it a few hours to rest and thicken will help too. You can of course use it right away but the batter will be more runny.

Pop the butter into a small dish and melt either on the stove or in the microwave. 15 seconds in the microwave will do it. Set aside to cool.

Simple as any. Sift the flour, baking powder and sugar into a mixing bowl. Add your milk and give it a quick mix with a whisk. Add the two eggs and mix well. With the butter you have two options. You can put it in now or leave it until right before you'll be cooking. The only difference is if you're leaving it to rest, the butter will rise to the top in the fridge. No harm but be warned it may happen. A quick mix before cooking will fix all!

Cooking pancakes is the same as crepe below. These are much lighter so don't worry about how soft they will be. ONLY FLIP ONCE! Golden rule to keep pancakes light and fluffy.

Serve with honey or golden syrup and top with a fruit of your choice. We loves grapes in my house!


Enjoy!

Sweet Chilli Prawn

You will need;

Fresh / frozen Prawns de-headed & thawed
Sweet chili sauce
200ml fresh cream
1 cup Basmati rice
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
Drop of white wine
Chopped Chives


Bring a pot of water to the boil and add the cup of basmati rice. Stir occasionally.

Into a wok, add a dash of olive oil and add your prawns, garlic and white wine. Cook until prawns turn red. Ensure prawns are cooked on both sides. Add 1 tbsp of sweet chili sauce and the cream. Allow to reduce until it forms a thick cream.

Strain and rinse the rice in running hot water to wash away excess starch. Use a fork to fluff the rice.

That's it!

Apple & Raisin Crepes

I made these for breakfast Saturday morning and they went down a storm!


First make your crepes. I like to make the batter the night before.

You'll need;

1 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
2 eggs
2tbsp melted butter
1/4 tsp salt

I add the dry ingredients first. So into a bowl add your flour and salt. Then add the milk and water. Give a mix with a small whisk.

I advice cracking your eggs into a separate bowl first JUST in case one in gone off. You don't want the whole thing to go to waste!

Assuming your eggs are not releasing a pong... add them to the mix and whisk together. Last of all is your melted butter. Ensure that the butter has cooled before adding.


Personally I use non stick pans for pancakes but I know some people have issues with this so you have a few options. You can spray with cooking oil, rub a thin layer of butter or a thin layer of oil on the pan. Ensure the pan is heated on high and TURN DOWN to medium BEFORE pouring the batter.

I use about 1/4 of a cup for each crepe to get it thin. Spoon it into the pan and spread it out quickly by moving the pan around. Cook until the batter start to bubble in the centre. Time to turn over! I cook until it's lightly golden. If you avoid flipping more than once you will get a better end result.


Now for the topping

You will need;

1 cup of apple puree
2 handfuls (roughly 1/2 cup) raisins
1 tsp of mixed spice
2 tsp of brown sugar

Quick and simple. Whack everything into a bowl, give it a mix and into the microwave it goes. You're looking for the raisins to plump up. I heat in 30 second blasts so that the apple sauce doesn't dry out around the edges. It should need no more than 2 minutes.


Spoon onto your crepes and enjoy!

Go Italian!

This is the BEST carbonara you will EVER eat!

(My husbands recipe)


You will need;
(serves 2)

1 brown onion
1 shallot
2 chicken breast (one per person)
200g field mushroom
1tbsp unsalted butter
3 strips of bacon
2 chicken stock cubes
300ml full fat cream **
pinch salt/pepper (personal taste)
1 cup penne/tagatelli pasta
50ml White wine

Pop pasta into boiled water, over heat and cook as normal.

Start by chopping your brown onion, shallot, mushrooms, bacon and chicken. Sautee (fry) chicken and bacon in 1tbsp of butter over high heat until lightly coloured. Add in chopped onion, shallot and mushrooms. Cook on medium heat until onion becomes clear and soft.

Put back on to high heat and add white wine and chicken stock cubes. Simmer until you see liquid reduce by about a half. Stiring every now and then.

Now add the cream and bring to the boil allow to reduce on medium until it becomes a nice thick sauce.

Strain your pasta and add it to the sauce (add salt & pepper now if to your taste) Give a quick mix and it's ready to serve!

Garnish with chopped chives or a sprig of parsley.


ENJOY!


** If you would rather use low fat cream, add 50g of parmesan cheese when adding the cream.

A Must Have Side Dish

Green Beans

You need;
Green Beans (portion depending on who you're feeding)
Unsalted butter
Bacon strips
A deep sided baking dish. I use an oven safe glass dish.

This is SO simple and SO good.

First give your bacon a quick fry to get them started. I think they are easier to chop once they've cooked a little. Then, chop each piece into small cubes. Put aside.

You can use fresh or frozen green beans in this dish. Pop the beans into your dish, add a few chunks of butter. Say one chunk for every serving. Add your bacon. Mix it about with your hands. You can add more butter later if you feel it looks dry. Season with rock salt and ground mixed pepper.

That's it! Pop it in the oven at 180C. Check after 10 - 15 mins and give it a mix. You may want to add some more butter. Once the butter is melted and the beans are soft it's done.

Kid Cod

A favourite of my daughters

You need;

A fresh fillet of cod
1tbsp corn
1tsp puree tomato / Tomato sauce
1 slice of brown bread, crumbed
1tsp grated cheese (your choice) I use mild cheddar
A few olives, chopped & without stones
Chopped Parsley

Quantity needs to be adjusted depending on the size of fish you're using.


Take a piece of fresh cod ready filleted. I rather not do it myself because I don't trust myself to remove all the bones. If my husband is home I'll let him do it. He is a chef after all! I like to use a chunky piece but I know Amelia likes cod so maybe if you're unsure try a thin fillet first.

Place the fillet on a flat oven proof tray with a light coating in olive oil. Coat the top of the fish with the tomato puree or tomato sauce which ever you want to use. Add your corn and olives. Using fingers mix the bread crumbs and grated cheese in a bowl and add to fish. Top it off with some chopped parsley for colour.

Place in the oven for about 30mins at 160C or 20mins at 180C. Time vary depending on your oven and how big a piece your using. I slow cook so that the cheese doesn't burn on top. This is using a toddler size portion so roughly the size of your palm.

Check that's it's cooked and cooled before serving by cutting it in half.

If your kid is anything like mine it will be gone in no time!

Blueberry Cheesecake

Blueberry wine glass cheese cake.

Ok so first you need to make the coulis. Add 1 cup of blueberries to a small pot. Pour in roughly 150g - 200g depending on how thick you want it. Add just enough water to the pot to have the blueberries slightly floating. Bring to the boil. Simmer until the blueberries break apart and turn a deep red/plum colour. Stir to help it thicken. To test if your coulis is done, coat the back of a spoon in the mixture. When you can draw a clear line across the back of your spoon (see above) your coulis is ready to be put aside to cool.



Next make your biscuit. It's the same as any cheese cake base. Use a sweet easily crumbles biscuit of your choice. I crushed 4 (large) biscuits and used 50g of butter. If you want the buscuit base to set solid add more butter. Devide the biscuit and press it into the bottom of the glass. Set in the fridge. I make a light biscuit so it will be easy to break through when eating.

The cheese cake mix is make with foil wrapped cream cheese. I like the foil wrap because you don't loose any moisture. The amount you use depends on the size of glass. 500g will give you thick layers. 250g will work with an average wine glass. The cream cheese needs to be whipped until light and fluffy. Add 1 tsp of vanilla essence (more depending on what you like)

Now layer! For best results, each layer needs to set for at least an hour in the fridge. I go, biscuit, cream cheese, coulis, cream cheese and top with a small amount of whipped cream and fresh berries. I just can't eat to many layers and end of stuffed :D

Let me start with something yummy... I do have a sweet tooth so this blog could be dangerous YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Yes it's a FOOD BLOG! But don't worry it will have a touch of healthy food but i'm not going to scream low fat at you. This blog is here to enjoy food. I will include my own ideas, links to some yummy finds and what ever else appears along the road!

Enjoy!