Lemon Coconut Cake

or from my friend Estelle's Blog whom gave me the recipe where it's called

Easy "lime/lemon/peach/coconut/anything really" cake 

http://pookishome.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/easy-limelemonpeachcoconutanything_15.html

  I made the Lemon Coconut version and it is yummo

Easy "lime/lemon/peach/coconut/anything really" cake 

Ingredients
1 cup SR flour
half cup caster sugar
half cup of plain vanilla yoghurt
2 eggs
splash of vanilla
1 TBS melted butter
& here's the fun part, add which ever you like, here are some ideas:

juice and rind of 1 lemon or 1 lime or 1 orange or half cup of chopped tinned peaches
or
half a cup of choc chips
or
half a cup of coconut.

Method
*now melt the butter and set aside.
*mix flour, sugar, eggs, yoghurt and vanilla together either by hand or with a mixer.
*stir in the melted butter.
*add your flavour of choice and fold gently.
*cook on 150c in a loaf tin for around 40 mins or until golden brown.

Raspberry & White Chocolate Muffins

This is a Donna Hay recipe found online and in my recipe book :)
she added lemon zest I didn't , Thanks Donna for such a great recipe
http://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/raspberry-and-white-chocolate-muffins

•  2 cups (300g) plain (all-purpose) flour
•  2 teaspoons baking powder
•  ¾ cup (165g) caster (superfine) sugar
•  1 cup (240g) sour cream
•  2 eggs
•  ⅓ cup (80ml) vegetable oil
•  1½ cups (225g) frozen raspberries
•  1 cup (175g) chopped white chocolate

Preheat oven to 180ºC (355ºF).
Get your muffin tray ready I used a 12 tray with muffin cases

 Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the sugar and stir to combine.
 In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream, eggs, and oil and whisk together. 
Stir through the flour mixture until just combined
Carefully fold in the raspberries and chocolate and spoon into the lined muffin try

 Bake for 40 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Makes 6 extra large or 12 normal size ( i find they dont over rise so if you want big full muffins only make 6

Just a little extra in my book it says can change to Banana and Cinnamon Muffins too,
add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon at the flour stage and replace the Raspberry's with 1 cup chopped Banana omit the white chocolate bits ,I will try this next week I think and let you know.

EASY TOMATO RELISH

EASY TOMATO RELISH

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg tomatoes
• 500 g onion (buy the frozen chopped so much easier)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 ½ cups brown vinegar
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• 1 tablespoon plain flour

Method

1. Prepare tomatoes, cut onions, Mix in large bowl or saucepan and sprinkle with salt. (may be left overnight)
2. Place 2 cups vinegar in pan, add sugar and bring to the boil and cook 5 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes and onion, bring to the boil again cook for 20 minutes, stir frequently.
4. Blend mustard and flour with remaining vinegar, Add to tomato mixture, stir until boiling and cook another 5 minutes.
5. Bottle while still warm, seal and label.

PEAR & RASPBERRY BREAD

PEAR & RASPBERRY BREAD

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tb Raspberry's ( Fresh, Frozen or Tinned )
• 1 ½ cups SR Flour
• ½ tsp Bicarb Soda
• 1 Egg
• 4 reasonably sized Pears, peeled cored and diced or 1 tin 825g Pears chopped up well.
• ( you don’t want big lumps of pear)
• 1/3 cup Raw Sugar
• ½ cup canola oil or 1225g butter soft
• Cinnamon Sugar to dust.

METHOD

• Preheat over to 180 degrees.
• Make sure you have lined your loaf pan with baking paper.
• Process the raspberry's to make them like a lumpy puree.
• Mix together the butter, sugar, egg then add the Pears and give a good whisk to mix well.
• Slowly stir flour and Bicarb in till mixed completely trying not to over mix.
• Gently add the mixture into the loaf pan form a even top by spreading last of mixture with a fork.
• Sprinkle a nice dusting of cinnamon Sugar on top.
• Bake for 1 hour or until skewer comes out clean.
• Cool on rack and slice when cooled
  Enjoy :) 
  
  
  Now it's out of the oven and almost cold I had a slice of the end, Hmm a couple things didn't work well, the seal on the oven I used isn't quite good and I think that stopped it rising as much as it should, also I used the flour that was here and I should have used a good quality one like I do when making normal bread, so I suggest if you make this use the best flour you can , now in the making stage I will next time blend the pear in completely as I don't like it how it looks in the slice, does taste nice though, so if you make this please come and let me know what your think or what you would change :)
  
  Edit --- 3 days after making this Bread and all I can say is Yum, it improves with age so if you can make it and leave it in your fridge overnight its heaps nicer and is defiantly going to be a new favourite in my kitchen, I'm going to see what it turns out like as Muffins next :) 

Quick Easy Yummy Pizza's

I love a good slice of Pizza, but it's hard to get them just right unless of course you make your own.
I want that yummy pizza taste but to also know it's semi healthy and has just the right ingredients on it to suit my taste buds,
 So I make these quick Pizza's in no time at all and always taste great,

I use Pitta breads as my base, nice and healthy and crispy too as I don't like this crust Pizza
depending on what my topping is , I use either BBQ Sauce mixed with a little Leggo's Pizza sauce or just use the Leggo's on it's own, very tasty not to expensive once you have some in the pantry.


Then the fun starts what to put on top, I don't do spicy food so mine are plain simple but still yum,
A little thin sliced onion,
Capsicum in red or yellow
Chicken thinly sliced or diced,
Mushroom sliced thinly and covered all over the Pizza if you like (I do )   and then add your favourite cheese,


also if I don't have chicken I use ham from the deli or bacon diced.

Truffles - Choc Mint Fudge

I'm not doing Christmas cooking this year but I did make no cook Truffles with a twist on last years and I think these are my best yet ! 

For something a bit different I used, 

 
1 Packet Chocolate Ripple Biscuits,

1 Block Cadbury Mint Bubbly Chocolate,

1 tin Light Condensed Milk, 

1/2 cup Moist Coconut flakes,

1 large tablespoon Cocoa, 

Directions almost the same as last years

Crush the biscuits in a food processor until it is fine .

Combine in a large bowl, the crush biscuits, 1/2 cup of coconuts and1 tablespoon of cocoa,add chopped up chocolate

Mix the ingredients well.

Then slowly stir in the can of sweetened condensed milk into the mixture.

When mixed well put in fridge for 30 minutes, then get a teaspoon and roll balls to put in coconut to coat.

Place the 1/4 cups of coconut into a flat plate (You may not need the whole 3/4 cups so just fill the flat plate when needed).

Roll the ball into the coconut. I like to then roll again just a tiny bit to set the coconut on properly.

Store in refrigerator until your ready to eat.

 

It worked a treat, very moist mixture to roll up into truffles and of course a little extra cocnut to roll the balls in, No drying out at all and tastes like a fudgie ball of yumminess, 

Lasagne or Cannelloni

This is my very favorite Lasagne recipe I found the idea in a weight watchers magazine years ago and converted it into what suited me, now its a well loved recipe in my kitchen.


Meat and Vegetable Ingredients
1 jar cheap store pasta sauce , with this sauce you use it to coat the bottom of your pasta pan, my friend Jen taught me this trick and it worked perfectly,  if you add a thin layer of sauce onto the bottom of the pan and then a layer of pasta, the sauce is soaked up so you get a good serve of the great home made Pasta sause with your Lasahne and it doesnt stick to the bottom of the tray, also making serving easier, what ever left over jar sauce you have add later to your mixture as directed, sounds time consuming but works perfectly.


1 jar tomato based relish or chutney, I used a vegatble relish with capsicum and eggplant also and its delish.
1 Pac Turkey mince - gently cook in a frypan  till brown, then put into large mixing bowl waiting for other ingredients.
2 large onions diced - saute in frypan with celery.
teaspoon crushed garlic.
1 pac sliced mushrooms (dice small) add garlic and saute in frypan
1/2 a bunch celery -  finely chop mix with the onions and saute in frypan
1 large bunch Silverbeet or spinach - finely chop and saute til soft in a frypan
1/4 a pumkin, - cut up microwaved and mashed.


Add all these ingredients into the one bowl when cooked and mix well, add your left over store brought sauce now also mix really well together and set aside ready to layer.
 
CHEESE MIXTURE
1 pac Philly cheese light.
1 pac Cottage Cheese.
2 cups grated cheese any flavour you like
and a little left to sprinkle on top.


Mix the 3 cheese together really well,
I get them out early to have at room temperature. that way they mix easier,


Now enjoy layering your creation and bake in a moderate oven for around 30 minutes until golden brown and smelling wonderful.

** The lovely Jen, whose kitchen we were cooking this in at the time, also decided this mixture would make a yummy Cannelloni so she promptly layered a tray with sauce and started stuffing cannelloni shells then added a layer of cheese ready for the oven, another wonderful pasta dish made also