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Tag: recipe

2 ingredient pizza scroll dough recipe

Princess Ella is only going to school three days a week, but already I’m struggling with what to pack in her lunch box. When she comes home and tells me about all the processed, packaged goods the other kids have, it’s hard to know how to get her excited about her own homemade… treats. Although, apparently her friends are envious she gets carrot sticks. Who needs a meat pie and a mini can of Sprite. Does anyone else remember the mini cans? Anyway…

During a playdate with my cousin the other day, she shared this recipes with me and I’ve adapted it slightly to suit us. But I just love the fact it has only two ingredients for the base. Strangely, the more “adult’’ fillings are more popular with the girls than the child-friendly ones.

2 ingredient pizza scroll dough recipe

BASE:
1 cup of Chobani Greek-style yoghurt
1 cup of self raising flour

FILLING OPTIONS:
– Vegemite and cheese
– Italian tomato cooking sauce (passata), bacon, Italian herbs and cheese
– Ham, pineapple and cheese
– Pie apple, cinnamon and chopped pecans
– Baby spinach and cheese

Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Combine the Chobani yoghurt and self raising flour and mix until it forms a ball.
Turn it out onto a floured bench and knead for five minutes. I found the dough to be sticky each time, so had to keep adding additional flour.
Roll out into a large rectangle with a rolling pin until even thickness. Sprinkle or paste ingredients over the dough, being careful not to tear it.
(TIP: You may want to melt the Vegemite and stir it in with the cheese before spreading on. Ingredients, like the bacon mentioned above, will also need to be cooked first.)

Roll the dough up, starting at the short side. Cut into 3cm pieces and place them cut side up on the baking tray.
Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 20 minutes.

What other fillings have you tried or heard of?

June 29, 2012
Chewy chocolate mousse surprise with #AllBran Fibre Toppers

Just like some people are folders and some are scrunchers (we’re talking fibre, right?), others like foods that are chewy and others like crunch. Maybe the real beauty of Kelloggs’ newly released All Bran Fibre Toppers is that it’s pretty versatile in its ability to provide recipes that are sweet, savoury, crunchy or chewy.

So, since we’ve covered savoury and crunchy, my second attempt at what I’m calling the All Bran Mystery Box Challenge is to create something that’s sweet and chewy.

We’re again pulling out the Tasmanian foods as part of our new Tasmanian food series (inspired by Kelloggs itself) and have created a Chewy Chocolate Mousse Surprise. The chewiness comes from the addition of a cup of Kelloggs All Bran Fibre Toppers (providing 66% of your daily fibre requirements) and the surprise is in one cup of juicy craisins. There’s also the little addition of Fibre Toppers sprinkled atop the decadence.

While there are a few ingredients in here likely to rule me out of the trip to BlogHer in New York as part of the Kelloggs cooking competition – the brief was for “healthy’’ recipes – this still at least shows you what’s possible. Plus we all need a “well rounded’’ diet, right? Right?

Chewy chocolate mousse surprise with #AllBran Fibre Toppers

Ingredients:

300g Cadbury cooking chocolate (dark chocolate is the healthier option, lowering blood pressure and fighting disease), broken into pieces

3 eggs

1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar

1 tbs good-quality cocoa powder, sifted

1 cups of Kelloggs All Bran Fibre Toppers

1 cup of craisins (original flavour)

300ml thickened cream

Extra whipped cream, All Bran Fibre Toppers and craisins to serve

Method:

Place the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water making sure the bowl isn’t touching the water. Stir as it is melting, it won’t take long. Set aside to cool.

Place eggs and sugar in a large bowl and beat with electric beaters for 5 minutes or until mixture is pale and a thick volume. Fold in cooled chocolate and cocoa powder until combined.

In a separate bowl, whip cream until thickened (be careful not to overdo it).

Sprinkle in the All Bran Fibre Toppers and craisins into the chocolate mixture. Don’t mix in just yet.

Use a large metal spoon to carefully fold the cream into the chocolate, All Bran Fibre Toppers and Craisins mixture now, trying to keep the mixture as light as possible.

Spoon into six glasses and chill in fridge for at least one hour. Remove from fridge 15 minutes before serving, then top with extra whipped cream, All Bran Fibre Toppers and craisins.

Do you like crunchy or chewy foods?

February 26, 2012
#AllBran and Wakame crusted Petuna Ocean Trout

Before the princesses came along, there used to be quite a lot of experimenting go on in the O’Brien kitchen. There was even a bit of competition as to who would be in control of the oven and “who’s meal reigned supreme’’ at the end of the week. And yes, sadly we’re Iron Chef fans.

When Kelloggs submitted a challenge to a host of mummy bloggers to create a dish using its newly released All Bran Fibre Toppers, a spark was reignited in me. Not more so because the carrot dangling from the end of the Fibre Toppers box was a trip to New York to experience BlogHer (one of the world’s biggest blogging events). Now there’s an idea, Fibre Toppers Carrot Cake…

Of course, I wasn’t about to pull out any Iron Chef-style shark fin dishes. And yes, I can hear a chorus of mothers right now saying I shouldn’t knock something before I try it. But shark fin? Really?

However, I did decide two separate studies revealing children don’t eat enough seafood and fibre was enough reason for this Taswegian to pull out the seafood/All Bran card. Just half a cup provides 33% of your daily fibre requirements. Not than No. 2s are an issue around here.

I might not be Tetsuya Wakuda, but I sure know how to create a healthy winner for the O’Brien dinner table. The hungry devils loved the crunch of the All Bran Fibre Toppers and flavour from the herbs and wakame. And just wait till you see what was for dessert.

All Bran and Wakame crusted Petuna Ocean Trout

Ingredients:

2 cups of All Bran Fibre Toppers

1 cup parsley leaves

1 cup basil leaves

Sprig of thyme

5 cloves of garlic

3 sheets of wakame (dried seaweed, washed and chopped)

4 Petuna Ocean Trout portions, skinned and boned (Tasmanian seafood really is quality)

1 egg, beaten

Method:

Wash and dry the herbs with paper towel and combined with the garlic and wakame in a food processor until finely chopped.

Stir in the All Bran Fibre Toppers.

Seal the Ocean trout portions by frying in a very hot non-stick pan. This should take no more than a couple of minutes for both sides. Dip one side of the Ocean trout in the beaten egg and then into the All Bran and Wakame mixture.

Bake the Ocean trout in a moderate to hot oven (200C) with the crust side up for a few minutes.

Serve with vegetables (in our case, some beautiful new potatoes).

PS. You can check out all the recipes submitted for the challenge by searching the #AllBran hashtag on Twitter.

PPS. This has ignited a fire in me and reminded me of my love of Tasmanian food – and good food in general – so I’m starting a Tasmanian food series here.

Do you have any favourite recipes you could incorporate All Bran Fibre Toppers into?

February 25, 2012
How to make a princess tiara birthday cake in two hours

WHEN I say you can make a princess tiara birthday cake in two hours, I’m including the baking of the cake too. Oh yes, this was definitely not in the realm of the princess castle cake.

It’s fair to say she was pretty impressed!

Although, that only took about an hour longer and heaps of extra muscles.

I actually was super organised and had the cake cooked the day before for Princess Ella’s birthday on Saturday. However, due to a teething Li’l Holly who refused to let me put her down while I cooked the cake and a recipe that I really doubt was up to scratch, the cake ended up feeling like rubber.

So Saturday morning, the day of Princess Ella’s fourth birthday, I ditched the rubber wheel and went for my trusty old Women’s Weekly rich chocolate cake recipe. I swear it’s foolproof. If you need that recipe, visit the princess castle birthday cake tutorial.

Adding to the drama of the morning, we realised we didn’t have a tiara anywhere in the house. Kind of crucial for a tiara cake. The spin off was I got some free time while The Bloke in The Shed and Ella went off to buy one. They came back with a pretty tiara and a rather ugly princess wand.

This is what happened while they were gone:

After the cake is baked, knead and then roll out the ready roll icing on a bench dusted with icing sugar. Lay the icing over a rolling pin and transport it to the cake so it doesn’t break. Smooth it down around the edges and cut off any excess.

Add some colour to leftover icing and knead in well. I had two small batches of icing and put more colour in one than the other deliberately. Cut out letters with cookie cutters and any other shapes. The word “princess’’ was spell checked before assembling.

Boil some sugar water (one part sugar, to two parts water). Brush over cake and letters. Add silver balls in a pattern. You can add lines with a knife as a guide. I started to do this, then changed my mind. Hmm, always a nice effect.

Add the tiara. And presto, a quick birthday cake

Oh, and I forgot: blow out the candles

and then lick the tiara.

Need a tiara? Click the image below to grab this gorgeous one!
How long do you usually spend making birthday cakes? Or does the local supermarket do your cooking for you?

NB: Please note, some links are to products I’m an affiliate of. This means if you click through and choose to become a customer of that business in the future, I may receive a commission. This doesn’t mean you pay anything extra.

November 14, 2011
How to make a Princess Castle Birthday Cake – just hours before the party

It’s fair to say she was pretty impressed!

IF YOU’RE friends with me on Facebook or Twitter, you’ll know I’m not half proud of my last-minute Princess Castle Birthday Cake whipped up for Baby Holly’s first birthday on Saturday.

It started badly when I ran out of eggs to cook the cakes on Friday. Thankfully, it was The Bloke in The Shed to the rescue that night and before bedtime I’d managed three cakes. The next morning, again with a little help from The Bloke in The Shed’s rolling pin skills, we’d finally assembled and decorated the castle well before the afternoon party.

I must give credit to the Donna Hay Kids’ Magazine for the inspiration for the castle

and my trusty Women’s Weekly Kids’ Perfect Party Book for the cake recipe (although, I’ve made just a few tweaks).

Here’s how to make it:

NEED:

CAKE:

2 2/3 cups self raising flour

1 cup cocoa powder

250g butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ½ cups caster sugar

4 eggs

1 1/3 cup water

CASTLE:

1 cake board

3 x cakes (as per above)

4 large ice cream cones

4 small ice cream cones

100g white chocolate, melted

5 x 500 g packets store-bought ready-to-roll icing

2 x 300g jam rolls

Pink food colouring

Large white and pink marshmallows, to decorate

METHOD:

CAKE:

Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan forced. Grease and line 2 x 21cm round by 3cm deep tin + 26 x 21 cm rectangle tin.

Place flour and cocoa into medium bowl, add remaining ingredients. Beat on low with electric mixer until combined, then increase to medium and beat for 3 minutes.

Spread evenly into three pans and bake for 35-40 minutes or until cooked.

CASTLE:

Place rectangle cake onto a cake board.

Knead 2 packets of icing on a clean surface until soft, then roll out between 2 sheets of non-stick baking paper to 3mm thick.

Use the baking paper to lift the icing over the rectangle cake. Trim excess and smooth out any corners, creases etc.

Place two circle cakes onto top of the iced rectangle cake. Knead another packet of icing and roll. Cover the two round cakes with the icing.

Cut the 2 jam rolls into halves. Repeat with another 2 packets of icing and cover all 4 pieces of jam roll. Place the rolls at the corners of the rectangle cake, on the board.

Make sugar syrup to brush over the cake for a glossy effect. We used one part sugar to two parts water and boiled for five minutes. Then brushed on with a cooking brush.

Add pink colouring to leftover pieces of icing and knead in until the colour is even. Roll and then cut into various shapes. We used a large heart cutter for the top of the cake and smaller hearts for the top. Medium-sized hearts were used for the windows in the tower and front of the castle. One section of the large heart cutter was used to create the shape for a door and indents were made with a knife to create door handles and “two doors’’. Each should stick onto the sugar syrup coating. If not, stick with melted white chocolate.

Melt the white chocolate, dip the 4 large ice cream cones into the chocolate and then press into the tops of the 4 jam rolls. Place 4 small ice cream cones on top of the large cones.

Decorate with fairies (or princesses) and marshmallows around the edge of the board.

Do you have a favourite birthday cookbook?

For more birthday inspiration, try…

How to make a Princess tiara birthday cake in two hours

How to keep guests happy at a one-year-old’s birthday party – birthday party food ideas

Free downloadable birthday party invitation

Fabulous gifts for a one-year-old girl’s birthday

Gift ideas for kids – girls

Please note: Some links are affiliate links. This means if you choose to buy from the company in the future, I may receive a commission. This doesn’t impact how much you’re charged.

October 17, 2011
How to keep guests happy at a one-year-old’s princess party – birthday food ideas

NOW I’ve started this princess party planning thing for Baby Holly’s first birthday, I’ve become just a tad hooked. And because I still need to keep the blog up, I’m combining my two current obsessions. Aren’t you lucky. No need to thank me.

Now that the invitation is done, I’ve gone for the most important element next – the food. These are the things I know about keeping adults and children happy at an afternoon birthday party (recipes to come in a later post):

Heart Hamwiches (and Princess Ella has requested some with dots on them – ie a fairy bread version)

Baby BLTs (these are too cute. Enough said, really)

Chewy Chocolate Slice (no party is complete without white dresses covered in chocolate)

Pink cupcakes (yes, of course they’ll be pink)

Homemade sausage rolls (it wouldn’t be a party without sausage meat in pastry)

Dips, cheese, chips and biscuits (ah, did I mention it’s a party) Photo credit.

Fruit platter (just to balance out the sugar and salt. And Baby Holly’s got to eat something) Photo credit.

I also usually include baby rice cakes, dried apple and other finger food for those low on teeth (yes, that’s counting grandparents).

And, as per usual, I’ll cook too much and we’ll be eating it for the next fortnight.

I’m still undecided on the cake at this stage. Princess Ella chose this one for her baby sister. Of course.

And then this one:

Hmmm, talk about testing me.

What are your favourite party foods? Am I missing anything?

Images from Donna Hay Kids’ Magazine Annual 8, The Australian Women’s Weekly cookbooks Kids’ Birthday Cakes and The Australian Women’s Weekly Kids’ Perfect Party Book.

September 16, 2011