Two Little Pies

We felt like having apple pie, but didn't want the whole pie. So I decided to give making only two pies a go. They look a little weird, but tasted really good. They have a short bread crust because this is my favourite kind of crust :) with an apple and caramel filling. mmmmm... yummy! We actually started off with 3 but the dough wasn't quite enough for the third one so the recipe has been adjusted slightly for just the two.

Ingredients
1/3 cup flour
1/8 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 small apple, peeled and chopped small
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon butter

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C and prepare the muffin tin.



Combine the flour, salt and butter in a small bowl and mix with your hands until it forms a dough. Place it in the fridge to cool slightly for a few minutes.

Meanwhile you can prepare the filling, mix the sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter in a bowl then add the apple pieces and make sure they are all completely coated with the mixture. Then take the cooled dough and press it into the prepared muffin tin and divide the filling between the pies. Then bake them for about 16 minutes or until the dough looks golden brown.

The Liebster Award

Today as I was scrolling through my emails I stumbled across a lovely comment from Emma saying she had nominated me for an award. The Liebster Award. I had no clue what this meant, but I was quite excited by it. I hurried on to follow her link and found out more information :) I have to post 11 random facts about myself and then answer the 11 questions given to me by the nominator and nominate 11 blogs for the same award and ask those bloggers 11 questions. This sounds like fun ;) Thank you Emma :)




Rules:

• Post 11 random facts about yourself
• Answer the 11 questions the person that nominated you asked
• Go back to the person that nominated you and let them know you have answered their questions with a link to the answers
• Ask 11 questions for the bloggers you are going to nominate
• Nominate 11 bloggers with few followers
• Go to their blog and mention you have nominated them and give them a link to find the questions you have asked them and to find out more
• No tag backs

11 Random Facts About Me
1. I just graduated from University (with a baby!)
2. I turn 23 this year! aaah! :s
3. I really want a bunny :)
4. I have a plant that I REALLY don't want to die
5. I used to have a Himalayan rabbit called Chubby Lumpkins
6. I eat my french toast with ketchup
7. I am addicted to anything caramel
8. I named my cat Cupcake
9. I do actions as I am reading recipes (when the recipe says salt to taste I pretend to taste the salt)
10. I told my boyfriend not to eat me when we first started dating, I was convinced I tasted like cake from all the cake I had consumed
11. I like to foster baby abandoned animals or nurse back to health sick ones

Answers to Emma's 11 Questions

1. If you could have one wish, what would it be?

That my family was a little closer to me so I could pop in for a visit

2. Who is your favorite celebrity and what would you bake them?

Gordon Ramsey, Triffle because it is his favourite dessert 

3. What is your secret guilty pleasure?

I want to say caramel, but it isn't much of a secret

4. Taken from Gemma – Why did you start blogging?

I spend a lot of time coming up with recipes for my daughter so I thought I would share them with other parents. Plus it's fun and gives me an excuse to bake or cook whatever I want :)

5. How many baking websites / blogs do you have bookmarked in you web browser?

Loads, but it recently died so I have lost everything and will have to start again

6. A healthy salad or a greasy bacon sandwich?

BACON SANDWICH!!!!

7. Taken from Gemma – Favorite movie and book?

I do love the Italian Job, but I have seen Pirates of the Caribbean 100 times! Book... hmmm... I enjoyed Harry Potter very much and was a little sad when it ended, but I also enjoy Sherlock Holmes mysteries! 

8. Favorite social network?

I'll have to say Facebook, all my friends and family are on there

9. White, milk or dark chocolate?

Milk Chocolate

10. Which blog do you follow religiously?

Bittersweet Sundown

11. If you could wish one household chore away, which one would it be?

Doing the dishes

11 Questions for Nominated Bloggers
1. If you were going to become an animal what animal would you be?
2. If you were stranded on an Island what would you definitely have with you?
3. If a tree fell in a forest, but no one was there to hear it, did it really fall?
4.Taken from Emma - Who is your favourite celebrity and what would you bake them?
5. Favourite TV show?
6. If you knew the world was ending tomorrow what would be the one thing you would HAVE to do?
7. When you were young, what did you want to become? are you that now?
8. Are you a cat person or a dog person?
9. If you were president for one day, what would you change/do?
10. If you had to eat the same meal everyday for a week what would it be?
11. What is your favourite sweet item?

11 Nominated Bloggers
1. Northumberland Mam
2. Runaway Lyon
3. Compare the meat 'n' veg
4. The Fitness Sisters
6. Le rouge 'n' Cuisine
7. Cook Every Night
8. kwyaliteatime@home
9. Diet Starts Tomorrow
10. Lullaby for Pies
11. Edible Knowledge!

Have Fun! :)

Cupcakes for a Family of Three

I wanted to make cupcakes, but not too many. Having 12 is far too many for us as we endup throwing away many of them due to no one eating them for ages. So I got out my mixer and began a recipe that makes 3 cupcakes. One for each of us.




Ingredients
1 egg white
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla
30g flour
1/4 heaping teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons buttermilk

Method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Beat the egg white and sugar until it is light and fluffy. Then add the melted butter and vanilla and mix well. Put in the flour, baking powder and salt then mix until  smooth. Add the buttermilk and mix one last time. Divide the mixture among 3 cupcake moulds and bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the centre comes out clean. If you have leftover frosting from a previous occasion you can decorate your cupcakes with that 

Melting Cake

This cake wasn't supposed to be a "melting" cake, but I didn't really wait long enough for the frosting to sort of  "set" before putting it on the cake, so it ended up just drooping down the edges. None the less, it was still a pretty yummy cake and my daughter loved it :) it is egg free and not too sweet so it makes a good 1st cake. The cake is really light and fluffy and I decorated it with chocolate butterflies I made. If you would rather use buttermilk instead of souring your milk that is perfectly good.





Ingredients

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cocoa powder

2 cups milk

2/3 cup canola oil

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 packet vanilla pudding mix

Chocolate butterflies

1 tub cream cheese

1/2 cup whipped cream

4 sheets gelatin 

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Sour the milk by mixing it with the vinegar and letting it sit for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Then add the sour milk and vanilla. Mix all the ingredients together to create a batter. If tou think it is too thick you can add some milk. If you want the cake to be another colour now would be the time to add your food colouring. Put the batter into the cake tins and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the centre comes out clean.

For the frosting prepare your gelatin as instructed on the packet. Then combine the vanilla mix and cream cheese. Then mix in the gelatin and fold in the whipped cream. Allow it to set for about 30 minutes (longer if need be). Then frost the cooled cake and decorate as desired.

Cake Mix Pancakes

We decided we would have some pancakes for breakfast this morning. When I came to making them I had already prepared most of the ingredients ready to mix them together, but when I pulled out the container for flour I noticed that it was empty! Aaahh! I found a few boxes of cake mix and wondered how it would taste as a pancake. To my surprise it tasted pretty darn yummy! So grab your favourite cake mix and try this recipe out :)

Ingredients
1 box cake mix
180 ml milk
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 egg

Butter

Method
Combine the vinegar and milk in a glass and let it sit for 5 minutes to "sour".

Once your milk is ready put the cake mix in a bowl and mix it with the milk and the egg. Make sure it is mixed well with no lumps. Then heat a skillet with butter and put the batter in the heated skillet to the pancake size you desire. Flip when appropriate (small bubbles start to form on the pancake) the serve with whatever you want. Chocolate spread, ice cream, cream, jam, syrup.. What ever you like your pancakes with ;) yum!

Sundried Tomato Dip

This is great at a snack to keep you going until dinner. If your baby is anything like mine and loves tomato it is quite likely your baby will love this dip. I is great for dipping chips or biscuits. Ou can even cut some raw veg to make crudités and dip them in this yummy dip :)


Ingredients

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (drained and chopped)
3 tbsp low fat cream cheese (room temperature)
1/2 cup fat free Greek yoghurt
1tbsp reduced oil mayonnaise
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp black pepper (freshly ground)
1/4 cup fresh basil

Method

In a food processor, mix the sun-dried tomatoes, cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, garlic, hot pepper sauce, salt, and pepper. Process until well-blended. Add basil, and continue processing until smooth. Chill at least 1 hour in the refrigerator before serving.

Chocolate Cake

With my daughters birthday getting closer and closer I've been looking at different cake recipes. Here's a recipe I grew up with. My mum made chocolate cake all the time and when I think of chocolate cake I think of this cake. It's yummy! :)







Ingredients
Cake:
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 2/3 cup sugar
1 cup boiling water
4 tablespoons
1 cup oil
5 eggs, separated

2 teaspoons vanilla

Frosting:
450g powder sugar
1 1/2 cups butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
5 tablespoons cocoa


Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Butter and flour the cake pans.

Cake:
Mix together the flour, baking powder, cocoa and salt. Set aside. Whisk the egg whites until they form peaks. Set aside. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Then add the egg yolks. Spoon in the flour mixture and vanilla while mixing. Then add the oil and water. Make sure the mixture is well combined then fold in the egg whites. Spoon the mixture into the cake pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Frosting:
Mix the butter and powder sugar together until it becomes really light. Then add the vanilla and the cocoa. Continue to mix until it is combined. Then put it onto the cooled cake.

Edible Paint

I wanted to do something creative with my daughter yesterday so I decided I would try painting with her. I can't use just any old paint because it is quite likely she'll eat it. So I came up with a simple recipe for her paint. We added different textures to each colour so as she painted she felt something different. We added cookie crumbs in one, oats in another and rice the the third. We left the last one smooth so she feels that too. She had so much fun making a mess and then more fun in the bath, it was so hard to tear her away from the paint.

Ingredients
Cornstarch
Water
Food Colouring
Textures

Method
In different pots mix the ingredients with different colours and text us of your choice. Then enjoy :)

St. Paddy's Day

Since yesterday was St. Patrick's Day we decided we would make something to celebrate the occasion. So we made cookies and planned on decorating them with a green frosting. Unfortunately the only colouring I could find was so watered down that not even the whole bottle made the green I was looking for. And when it came to the decorating I discovered you shouldn't opt for cheap supermarket brand decorating tools. The nozzles were SO weird and I decided using a zip lock back for this might have been easier. Anyway, my boyfriend consoled me by saying it's better than what he could have done so I decided to give him a try to see what sort of decorating skills he had. These cookies and the frosting is baby friendly and are great to make with your little one :)

Ingredients
200g butter, cold
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 3/4 cups flour

Method

My Cookies

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. Cut the butter up into small blocks and mix it with the flour, baking powder, vanilla and sugar. You may need to get your hands dirty for this. Mix it until it forms a dough and kneed it slightly. Don't over kneed it. You should be ale to roll the dough out and use cookie cutters but I prefer forming little balls of dough then squashing them to make nice round cookies :)

For the Frosting
1/2 cup of sugar free vanilla pudding
50 grams cream cheese
50ml whipping cream, whipped
Colouring

Boyfriends Cookies

Combine all the ingredients then add the colour of your choice. It should be ready to use. If it is too thick you can add some milk.

Quick Salad Dinner

This post is dedicated to my boyfriend. One day we had a big heavy lunch and decided to have just a light meal for dinner. The verdict: salad. This salad so easy to make, all you have to do is combine the ingredients and presto! Salad for dinner :)

Ingredients
1 egg, hard boiled
4 slices of ham
4 rashers of bacon, fried crispy
Mozzarella, sliced
2 handfuls of lettuce, washed
2 tomatoes, sliced
Cucumber, sliced
Italian salad dressing
Cocktail sauce
Cashew nuts, roasted

Method

Combine the first 8 ingredients and top with blobs of cocktail sauce. Sprinkle with roasted cashew nuts. Serve.

Muesli Bars

I recently found a great recipe to make a little snack. This recipe is pretty healthy, but the sugar in it isn't so great if you have blood sugar problems. So this post will contain the original recipe. A diabetic version and then the baby version. Something everyone can enjoy. Plus if you're on a diet the a diabetic or baby version is probably better for you ;)

Original Version

Ingredients

3 cups toastd fruit muesli

1/4 cup chopped dried apricots

1/4 cup chopped dried dates

1/3 cup shredded coconut

125g butter, chopped

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup demerara sugar 

Method

Step 1

Grease a 3cm-deep, 16cm x 26cm (base) slice pan. Line with baking paper, allowing 2cm overhang on long sides.

Step 2

Combine Muesli, aprictos, dates and coconut in a large bowl.

Step 3

PLace butter, honey, peanut butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes or until mixture has thickened. Add to muesli mixture. Stir to combine. Press mixture into prepared pan. Smooth top. Cover. Refrigerate overnight or until set. Cut into bars and serve or keep refirgerated to store for later.

Diabetic Version

Replace sugar with diabetic sugar (I used Equal), and make sure the peanut butter used is 100% peanut butter! WIth no addes sugar or no preservatives! Seeds and other nuts and fruits can also be added to vary the recipe.

Baby Version
Instead of putting in honey substitute for molasses or corn syrup, babies can't really have honey, something to do with the bacteria that thrives in there and infant botulism, and it is recommended you wait until they are 2 before you give it to them. Replace the sugar with apple concentrate or another fruity flavour. If you prefer to use Meusli for babies then you can.

Spongebob Cake

Here's a cake we made for my daughters friends 1st birthday or my friends daughters 1st birthday :p
Her mum didn't have a clue what sort of cake to make her for her birthday so I came up with the idea of a spongebob cake. I thought of this because she was wearing little spongebob shoes.

For the cake I just made a regular chocolate cake and the frosting is your average butter cream frosting. So if you want to try this cake, just pick your favourite recipes :)

For spongebob I cut 4 rice cakes into the shape of his body, I sort of had to make it like brick laying when putting them together so that they wouldn't slide or do weird things. You can use chocolate or marshmallow fluff as cement.

Here's the picture used to create Spongebob

Spongebob being created

Spongebob getting dressed :)

Spongebob almost done

For his arms just roll out a thin sausage and squash the ends for hands, then add fingers by cutting little slits with a knife. For his legs do the same and make small fat sausages for his feet. Unfortunately I didn't take pictures of his limbs, but they were fairly easy to make. If you want to try making Spongebob he is super simple to create. The sponge like holes I used a round ended stick with 3 sizes and prodded him all over to get that spongey effect.

Ants in a tree... Sort of

A while ago I went to a Chinese restaurant and the little boy of a family friend ordered ants in a tree, I found this quite interesting so I ordered the same to find out what it was. It was quite yummy and I recently found myself with so much ground beef and not enough recipe ideas for it all. I randomly thought of that ants in a tree recipe and thought I would try to recreate it as best I could with the limited ingredients I have.




Ingredients
Lettuce leaves
1 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 large onion
1 garlic clove
1 small chili
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese 5 spice
1 tablespoon vinegar

Method
Heat a skillet with oil and cook the ground beef until it starts to brown. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Then cook the onion and the garlic until they are beginning to brown. Don't burn the garlic. Then add the spice, chili, soy sauce and vinegar. Cook for a further minute then add the ground beef back in. Mix all the ingredients around until the ground beef is coated in the flavour. Prepare your plates with washed lettuce leaves and put the mince on top. You can add deep fried vermicelli pasta to the dish as well to add a bit of a crisp (I didn't have any). When you're eating, wrap the ground beef in the lettuce leaves and enjoy.

Baby friendly version
Take out the chili and any other flavours your child won't like. If your kido isn't fond of the lettuce then you can take that out too. To add some veg cook in peas and corn. To keep it as a wrap style meal you can make it in tortillas and put the lettuce in there.

Easy Pizza

This recipe is great if you don't have time. It is quick and easy to make and it tastes great. It works well as a quick lunch. You could even turn it into a little party time snack by cutting it into bite sized pieces. You don't need much and you don't have to do a lot. My daughter loved it and ate all of it up. If your kids love pizza then it is quite likely they will enjoy this. You can substitute some of the ingredients for others to make the pizza of you choice. You can also use a different cheese if you prefer or don't have mozzarella.
Try a veggie pizza by taking off the bacon and adding mushroom and bell peppers. You can also add a little heat to it by putting jalapeños. The choice is yours so add whatever you want to this wonderful quick lunch. If you like garlic as much as my boyfriend does then add a clove of garlic (or 2) to the tomato sauce.


Ingredients
1 baguette
4 rashers of bacon
Pre-made tomato sauce
A handful of mozzarella
5 tablespoons of corn
Drizzle of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Slice the baguette into 4 even pieces. Drizzle a bit of olive oil onto the bread then spread the tomato sauce evenly on the baguette, season as desired. Then top it with the corn and put the mozzarella over that. Place a slice of bacon over the mozzarella on each pizza baguette. Place in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the bacon is cooked and the cheese is melted. Don't leave it in too long otherwise the cheese will start to harden and become a burnt crisp. You can pre-cook the bacon and just put it on top when you put the pizza in the oven to become crispy. Enjoy!

Baby Friendly Version
There isn't much to change for the baby friendly version. I just thought it would be difficult for my baby to get her little mouth over that large baguette so I changed the baguette for a slice of bread. If you have older kids you can still use the baguette or if they prefer use the slice of bread :)

For an easy snack check out this post: Snack time idea.

Triple Chocolate Caramel Cake

This cake is not for the faint hearted. It has all 3 kinds of chocolate, milk, dark and white. Plus caramel frosting. I made this recipe up for my cousins birthday, she absolutely loves chocolate so I thought that would be fitting.. lots of chocolate! Since I would be having some of this cake and am completely addicted to caramel it HAD to have some form of caramel on/in it. Unfortunately I didn't take very many or pretty pictures, but it was very yummy :)



Ingredients
Cake:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 bar dark chocolate
1 bar milk chocolate
1 bar white chocolate
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons cream
butter cream frosting (I didn't measure how much, sorry)

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C
Mix the dry ingredients for the cake and set aside. Then chop or grate the chocolate into small pieces, but not too small (You can use chocolate chips too if it's easier).
Beat together the butter and sugar until nice and creamy. Then add the eggs one at a time while mixing. Then add the buttermilk, chocolate bits and vanilla. Mix until everything is mixed through and divide the batter among 2 cake pans and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.

For the frosting melt the butter and sugar together then add the cream. Mix it well until it forms a nice caramel. Don't over cook it other wise it will become lumpy and not very nice. Let it cool until it becomes firm. Then mix it with your butter cream frosting (or you can use cream cheese or marscapone). It should taste really rich and like caramel. Put it on your cooled cake (and between layers) and add grated chocolate bits on top of (and between) the cake.

Beginners Soufflé

Have you ever wanted to make a Souflé but felt scared of it? Does the task of having a perfectly risen cake seem daunting? I thought so too! That's why I found a wonderful Souflé recipe for beginners. It is foolproof so it's bound to work no matter what :)
This is a great recipe if you want to impress someone with your as-good-as soufflé. It even works if you keep it in the fridge to bake the next day. When I made mine I made 4 first for the people that were leaving so they could try it, I left the batter sitting for a bit longer until I came to make the rest for those that had stayed longer... All soufflés came out great! Once you have this recipe down, perhaps you could move on to the real deal... And let me know how it goes! :)

Serves 6

Ingredients

200g dark chocolate, chopped
150g butter, cubed
6 eggs
175g sugar
125g flour

Method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and prepare the ramekins by buttering them.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a water bath (a bowl over simmering water). Separate the eggs and beat the yolk with the sugar until it looks light and creamy. Then fold in the flour. Once it is all mixed in add the chocolate mixture. After that, you will want to beat the egg white until it is really fluffy and forms peaks. Them carefully fold them into the mixture. If you leave your mixture for a while then do this before you are ready to bake it, or add an extra egg white to get it up and fluffy again.

Divide the mixture between the ramekins and bake for 8-12 minutes. The soufflés should rise and form a crust on the top but still have a heavenly, rich, saucy centre. You can serve them with cream or play with the hot and cold sensations and serve with ice cream. It is a dessert you guests will definitely love! :)

Pasta with Bacon & Mushroom

This dish is wonderfully filling plus it has bacon. It uses a no-cream cream sauce so if you or your child have dairy allergies this is perfect for you :) it is also almost like pasta carbonara without the egg, so good for egg allergies too. It is also a pretty healthy dish so if you're looking for healthy this is the dish to have. The amount of cream sauce made might be more than the recipe requires so you can freeze and save it for another recipe.








Serves 4

Ingredients
Cream Sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped finely
2/3 cup rice
5 cups stock
1 cup white wine
salt and pepper to taste


Pasta:
1lb pasta
1 cup cream sauce
1/2 lb bacon, cut into bits
2 tsp olive oil
5 or 6 large mushrooms
Chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated cheese to top

Method
Cream sauce:
Fry the onion until it is translucent then add the rice, wine and the stock. Let it simmer until the rice is cooked. Let it cool then add it to a blender and blend until smooth, if it is too thick you can add more water, you want it to be of pouring consistency. If you want it to have a creamier taste you can add milk or soy milk.

Pasta:
Cook the pasta as directed on the packet. Heat a skillet with olive oil and put the bacon and mushroom in, fry until they are completely cooked. The bacon might be better if it is a little crispy. Mix the bacon, mushroom, parsley and cream sauce and season.
Mix the sauce and pasta together or plate the pasta and put the sauce over, put the grated cheese on top and garnish with parsley to serve.

Baby Version
For the cream sauce you might want to leave out the wine, although all the alcohol is evaporated during cooking your baby might not enjoy the flavor of it. You can also skimp on the salt and pepper or not add it at all.

Flowers & Butterflies

Not too long ago I did a sort of baby welcoming with the theme of flowers and butterflies. I found this a perfect fit for a little girl, the colors plus the flowers and butterflies, how much more girlie can you get?
We had everything perfectly fitting for the theme. From the decor to the cake, it was all themed to flowers and butterflies, even my little girl had her butterfly dress on :) all my guests said it looked great and like a professional did it. For that reason I thought I would share some of the things I did. It might not really look professional, but I did have a lot of fun doing it and my guests enjoyed it as well.

The Cake

The Games Table

Guests having a go at the Games

Cake Pops

Diabetic Cake

Cupcakes

Food Assortment

Flower Arrangement

Decor by the Food Table (excuse the white patches)

We simply made frames for the pictures with coloured paper and stuck it on the wall to create a collage, the guests loved looking at photos of baby between birth and that day. We even decorated the bathroom by putting a vase of roses with a butterfly in (much like the one you see in the picture) and stuck butterflies and flowers to the mirror. Unfortunately I didn't take pictures of the bathroom, but you should remember it is a place your guests will go too :)