Eating healthier options can sometimes be a chore - especially for a fussy kid.
These clever little treats will have nutritious goodness zooming down their throats in no time...
All you need is an apple, grapes, toothpicks and a little imagination.
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Cheese & Bacon Scrolls
Today I had a pang of guilt about offering sandwich options for lunch. Being the weekend I thought I should really make a bit more of an effort. Sooooo, this is what we had!
I found the recipe in an old Donna Hay Kids issue and adapted it. The kidlets gave them a double thumbs up and they were super easy to make and so delicious I wished I'd made more.
You'll need
3 1/2 cups (525g) plain flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (180ml) buttermilk
3/4 cup (180ml) milk
1 1/2 cups cheese grated
250g diced bacon
1 egg lightly beaten
Preheat oven to 200C (400F). Place the flour baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and gradually add the milk and buttermilk stirring with a butterknife until well combined. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed until smooth. Roll the dough out to a 30cm square. Top with half the cheese, the bacon and then the rest of the cheese.Roll to enclose the filling. You should be left with a rather fat type of pastry sausage. Cut into slices around 2cm each and place together on a lined baking tray cut sides up. Brush with egg mixture and bake for 25minutes.
Note - If you don't have any buttermilk on hand (I didn't) you can substitute with 2/3cup of milk and a good teaspoon of white vinegar mixed together and left to stand for 5 minutes before adding it to your mixture.
Breakfast idea
Let me introduce you to Berry Crumpet Smash.
A local cafe put me onto this idea for breakfasts.
It's become a family favourite. The boys love it.
From the bottom up it goes something like this -
Crumpet. Ricotta. Strawberries. Raspberries. Honey.
Mmmmmm mmm
You'll never look at a crumpet the same way again.
And it's fine to use frozen berries! In fact, it makes the whole thing even easier to prepare!
I know I know, it's not really on the list of healthy options but it's darn good.
Go on....
Special chocolate treats
This week my niece and I took the boys to Max Brenner Cafe for a special treat. They had a few days to look forward to going to "The Chocolate Restaurant" and it was every inch as good as they expected...
Noah before demolition of choccy dessert started...
Hugh mid demolition...
My Chocolate Souffle that was actually a fondant (but I was more than happy with the surprise)...
Cady's Waffles...
The aftermath.... And I'm pretty sure the staff have never seen such a mess on the floor. Sorry about that. If you've never been I have one word for you - GO!
Inspired party table setup
Too cute huh? I love this idea. Possibly a bit wasted on the little ones - I'm not convinced they'd "see" it from their height? But I've no doubt the effort would be appreciated by any adult within shouting distance. And I guess you could apply the idea to any scene too - farms, underwater, cowboys, zoo... it's a great way to tie another layer of decoration to your party theme...
It's all in the presentation - food art to inspire healthy eating
If you thought my post about The gutsy Challenge was a good idea and decided your kiddo should take part, you're going to love these food art ideas. If not, you're still going to love these food art ideas...
To get involved in The Gutsy Challenge hop over here...
Yum! Crepes Cake with Chocolate Meringue Frosting
Oh my giddy aunt! This one isn't mine but it looked beyond amazing so had to share. It's a cake made from the most delectable tower of crepes filled with chocolate meringue frosting and a hidden layer of caramelised goodness for a surprise hit of crunch. I need to lie down. Hop over to Ceramic Canvas for the recipe and how to...
Shark bites
What a fabulous party idea! Do you think the kiddos would be too scared to put their hand in for a piece?
Cakes in jars
In my virtual culinary travels today I stumbled across a fantastic new spot to drool - well, it's new to me - Family Kitchen! A great blog with some unspeakably good ideas, like Nutella shots for starters... (clearly, that's one for mum and dad not the kidlets...). But it was these ingenious Cakes in Jars that really caught my eye. According to Brooke McLay, the creator, they will keep, refrigerated with their lid on for up to 5 days! That's enough time to post one to a dear friend (during a cold snap - not sure how well it would do sans refrigeration with Mr Postie? But still a cute idea... Perhaps a courier would be better...)
Anyway, the cakes! First up, Rainbow. Never would have picked it would you? Click here for the recipe...
Up next we have the deeeee-licious looking Red Velvet and Nutella Cake in a Jar. Oh my!
And last but not least, the decadent Pinkalicious Cupcake in a jar...
Wow Brooke! You're welcome at mine for dinner anytime... as long as you bring dessert!
Yum: "Special" update
You might remember a while ago I shared our favourite weekend breakfast recipe, "The Special", with you? Well, here's an update - I've just found something better. Fresh strawberry and cream cheese french toast sandwiches. I feel a sudden shortness of breath (and I don't think it has anything to do with my cholesterol)... This is going straight on the agenda for Sunday breakfast!
6 pinks in 1 cake
Remember my friend Vanessa who made the fabulous Little Helper Tower? Well, she's been at it again... this time creating a mind-blowing 6 layer pink birthday cake for her hubby's mum's 70th birthday soiree... (the woman's a saint I tell you!)
6 shades of delicious - ready for the oven...
6 shades of delicious - perfectly baked...
Details details! How cute is the tiny bunting banner?
And just when you think the tiny bunting and cake are an effort worthy of applause - there's handmade rouched streamers and FRAN's name decorated in coordinating glitter... At this point I need to remind you that this was for her mother-in-law...!
Ohhh, and doesn't it look fantastic!?
Too clever...
Oh look! That's Ness! Isn't she lovely? I thought she deserved a starring role for this effort.
(Insert applause here)
Mr Rowan seems to be enjoying the pink deliciousness.
Sometimes a party can really take it out of you. Especially when you do it this well. Good job Ness! You have just raised the party planning bar for mum's and daughter's-in-law everywhere...
For the recipe to this over-achievers delight, hop over here and change the colours to whatever takes your fancy.
Weapons for the flu season
Been here yet this year? If you haven't, it's probably not far off. Sorry, but it's true. Our house was struck down this week. Awful. But I have good news. One of my girlfriends shared a link with me when she heard I'd been under the weather, and I thought I'd pay it forward to all of you so you can arm yourself against the army of bugs touring around daycare centres, preschools and kindergartens at the moment too. You probably already know most of it but it's a great time of year for a reminder about what you should be doing to ward off lurgies... Hop over here to read about the top 8 cold and flu fighting foods.
Best Pizza Dough Ever Recipe
Well at least that's what 101 Cookbooks claims about this recipe. And if the photo counts for anything, they might just be right! I found this on Pinterest and began salivating immediately. I know what I'm doing saturday! Click here for the recipe...
Great Gozleme Batman!
My lovely husband made Gozleme Dough for our dinner last Friday night (to accompany our viewing of the Royal Wedding!) and it was deeeee-licious. The recipe made enough dough for 4 adults and 2 kids and there was enough left for pizzas for dinner the next night! So don't worry if there's a lot of it... Gozleme was super easy, fun to make and a great way to get some sneaky spinach into the kiddos. Here's the recipe...
Image via
Gozleme
Ingredients (serves 4)
8g sachet instant dried yeast
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon caster sugar
3 cups plain flour
1/3 cup olive oil
200g baby spinach
200g feta cheese, crumbled
400g beef mince (optional)
1 tbsp canola oil
lemon wedges, to serve
Method
Combine 300ml warm water, yeast, salt and sugar in a jug. Stir with a fork. Cover. Stand in a warm, sunny place for 5 minutes or until bubbles form on the surface.
Sift flour into a large bowl. Add yeast mixture and 2 tablespoons oil. Mix to form a soft dough. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 5 minutes or until elastic. Cut dough into 4. Place on a greased baking tray. Cover with a clean tea towel. Stand in a warm, sunny place for 20 minutes or until dough doubles in size.
While dough is proving, fry beef mince (if including) in oil until browned.
Roll each piece dough into a 35cm x 45cm rectangle. Place one-quarter of spinach over half of each rectangle. Top with feta and mince, and season with salt and pepper. Fold dough over to enclose filling. Press edges together to seal.
Preheat a barbecue plate on medium-high heat. Brush one side of each gozleme with 2 teaspoons oil. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until base is golden. Brush uncooked side with remaining oil. Turn over and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden and crisp. Remove to a serving plate. Cut gozleme into quarters. Serve with lemon wedges.
Yum. My Raspberry Ricotta Dessert
This is the dessert I made for my family for Easter lunch last weekend. I have to say it went down a treat, and it was the easiest bang-together ever! Only 7 ingredients. 10 minutes to make. No cooking required. All types of delicious... Read on.
Raspberry Ricotta Dessert
1 x 500g packet of frozen raspberries
1 x 500g packet of Italian sponge finger biscuits (Savoiardi)
1 x 375g tub of smooth ricotta
1 x 300ml jar thickened cream
1 x teaspoon vanilla essence
1 x teaspoon brown sugar (or a little more if you're me...)
1 x cup apple and strawberry juice
1. Lay savoiardi side by side in two rows to completely cover the bottom of a baking dish.
2. Drizzle your apple/strawberry juice over the biscuits
3. Beat cream, sugar and vanilla on high until stiff peaks form
4. Fold ricotta through your cream mixture
5. Spread mixture over the soaked biscuits
6. Top with defrosted frozen raspberries. Serve
Note: Juice can be substituted for any flavour
Yum: Gwyneth's Duck Ragu
Hot off the presses, Gwyneth Paltrow has just released a cookbook, My Fathers Daughter, and if her gastro tour of Spain that aired on Lifestyle last year is anything to go by, it'll be worth getting your oven mitts on... Here's her Duck Ragu recipe as featured in the new book...
Duck Ragu
Serves: 4–6
1 organic large duck, washed and dried
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 slices duck bacon, finely diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and finely diced
2 medium stalks celery, finely diced
5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 5-inch sprigs fresh rosemary, stems discarded and leaves finely minced
3 14-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes with their juice
1 cup Italian red wine
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 pound pappardelle pasta (fresh or dried)
freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Trim off excess skin from the opening to the duck’s cavity and back end. Rub the entire duck with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper, inside and out. Roast it for a total of 2 hours, flipping it from its back to its breast (and vice versa) every 1/2 hour. Let it cool in the pan until you can handle it. Drain off the fat and either discard or reserve it for another use, such as roasting potatoes. While the duck is roasting, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a Dutch oven (or heavy based casserole dish) over medium-high heat and add the duck bacon. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until starting to crisp. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and rosemary. Turn the heat down to low and cook, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes, or until softened. Add the tomatoes and their juice and put 1/2 cup water into one can, swish it around to get all the tomato stuck to the sides, pour into the next can, and repeat again with the third. Add the tomato water to the Dutch oven along with the wine, a good grind of pepper, and a healthy pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down very low and let simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
After the duck has cooled down a bit, remove and discard the skin and bones and shred the meat. Fold the duck meat into the ragu along with the tomato paste and cook on very low heat, uncovered, for at least 1 hour (and up to 4), adding splashes of water if necessary to keep it from drying out (continue to season with salt and pepper as you splash).
To serve, cook the pasta, divide it among bowls, and spoon a generous amount of duck ragu over the pasta. Top with the Parmesan.
Active preparation time: 50 minutes
Total preparation time: 4–5 hours
5 hours is a little extravagant to cook one meal, but then again we're inches away from winter and a cold, rainy sunday could be well spent with a duck... Get the book here.
Pea Popsicles
I didn't quite believe my friend when she told me about this idea she'd seen over at OhDeeDoh -
but gave it a go knowing how much my boys like to eat frozen peas frozen...
I couldn't quite believe the reception this healthy treat got!
I got them involved in the process of making them and nearly fell off my bar stool when Hugh asked if he could have his pea iceblock for dessert! Take a look at the scoff-fest! Huge success! And super easy! Give it a whirl and tell me how you go!
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