Friday 23 December 2011

Gee, I am getting a bit slack - already - at this blogging business! Its been such a busy week I can hardly remember what we have cooked...

Let's see...
- Lasagne with my own bolognaise recipe and the bechamel sauce from EDC. Very yummy!
- Pizza dough (from EDC) with home made pizza sauce. I used some of the dough to make pizza pockets for the kids and they LOVED them!. I think this will become a staple in our house!
- Frozen Mango bars with the leftover mangoes from the tray I had bought. These were awesome.

The cookies and cream fudge was great too - just very very rich.

Yesterday I adapted my fav slow cooker satay chicken recipe, and have made that and frozen for when we go camping. I also used thermie to do all the prep work for the apricot chicken which I cooked in the slow cooker. I made my 3rd batch of EDC yoghurt, which turned out perfectly, and last night we had EDC Quiche Lorraine, which was really good too.

R made Christmas Shortbread mix, which I am baking today.

For Christmas Eve festivities I am going to make the vegetarian sausage rolls, EDC sundried tomato dip, and oreo cheescake balls. And possible something lemon...

Going camping for a week after Christmas. What am I going to do for a whole week without thermie? Not sure we will cope!

Merry Christmas and safe and happy holidays for everyone!

Sunday 18th December 2011

It's been a busy week finishing off last minute Christmas tasks!

This week R has been busy using Thermie! We had the creamy salami pasta with spaghetti, which R made when he got home from work. 20 minutes later, we had dinner on the table.

We also tried a more traditional apricot chicken recipe, but it was quite flavourless and bland, so back to the drawing board for that one.

Last night we had Chicken in Yoghurt from the Indian cookbook (made by R). It was really yummy! The boys wouldn't even try it, but they had had a big day of party food. E ate half a bowl, but her stomach told her she was too full to have anymore :)

Yesterday the kids polished off 2 iceblocks each which I had made using leftover mixed berry sorbet. This was certainly a good idea, and they loved it. I think I will be doing the same thing today with all the mangoes we have to eat this weekend!

Got a few things planned for today - Butternut Snap tarts with chocolate ganache, and Cookies n Cream fudge.

Sunday 11 December

Today we had Honey & Soy Chicken for dinner. It was quick, easy, and tasty! Will probably make a bit less sauce next time as it was quite rich and there was a fair bit leftover.

Leftover mango sorbet for dessert!

Saturday 10 December

Today we tried a couple of new things:
- Cupcakes, which Ella (pretty much) made herself
- Sundried tomato and Capsicum dip from EDC and
- Raw Beetroot Salad from EDC

We also made mango sorbet..yummmm.....

Friday 9 December

This weeks meals have been Creamy Salami Fettucine, Shepherds Pie (with thermie mash potato), Apricot Chicken Risotto and Satay Chicken.

Last night my sister came over and we had pineapple and mango sorbet. Wow, it was unreal! Perfect flavour! I have a whole tray of mangoes waiting to ripen, so I think this wil be a favourite over Christmas time!

We also had leftover frozen mixed berry sorbet with yoghurt. The boys had home made milo sprinkles on top, and they loved it! They ate 3 bowls each!

The peppermint crisp icecream was good too. It is very soft though, and very rich, so only one slice at a time is necessary! (I have a photo to post, but can't get it working at the moment!)

I can smell the Additive Free Banana Bread cooking in the oven now. Can't wait to try it!

Monday 5 December

A busy thermie day!

Started with gingerbread cookies. Lots of help from the kids - Ella helps me use thermie. She even knows now when its time to press the scales, and how to turn the controls on. We made lots of different shapes, everybody got to help a little bit, it was a real family affair.

Then onto the weeks meals - apricot chicken risotto (minus the peas), satay chicken (I used the slow cooker recipe we love, so should be interesting to see how it turns out), EDC creamy fettuccine with salami, and EDC shepherds pie. The two chicken dishes have gone into the freezer, we had the fettuccine tonight, and the shepherds pie is for tomorrow.

Tonight was the first time I had made mashed potato in the thermomix (my kids do not like eating it as a side dish, so we don't eat it often). The ease and then the perfection was amazing! The consistency was heavenly....can't wait to eat it tomorrow!

I also tried to make the EDC crunchie ice cream slice with peppermint crisps as a substitute, but realised half way through the process I was missing the 2 packets of malt biscuits. So we now have a chocolate peppermint crisp icecream in the freezer, waiting to set.

So much love for how the thermomix has changed my life in such a short time!

Sunday 4 December 2011

After a long day of family activities, and a very tired lot of kids, I whipped up the EDC custard, lemon style. It was pretty good, although E wouldn't try it!

I then wondered about what I could make with the leftover lemon (which had no zest on it), so I made the EDC Old school lemonade. It was delicious! R and I had a big glass each, and I have kept some for the kids to try today. Sugar, whole lemons, water, ice = Easy Peasy!

But then I had leftover lemon pith, so I found a recipe for fruit spread. It is in the fridge setting now.

Saturday 3 December 2011

My family are in town for a Christmas gathering and a Baptism, so I made some treats for morning tea.

I whipped up some cream (EDC style) - it took less than a minute. Perfect.

The cream was to go with the Groovy Scones. These were great! A little bit flat, but given I have never made scones before, not bad for a first time effort!

I also made Easy Chocolate Slice.

The best bit about this baking was it took less than half an hour to make both things! YUMMMMM!

Thursday 1 December 2011

Tonight we had the Swiss Beef I had made earlier in the week. We won't be adding this to our regular menu plans, it wasn't a very big with any of us! Perhaps it was too salty.

R informed me that he needed to take something for his work morning tea. I had already planned on taking something sweet to my work on Friday, so he made clinker slice. So easy, so yummy. Very sweet!

Wednesday 30th November

Tonight we had the Chicken Cacciatore Casserole which I had made and frozen on Sunday. The kids ate it, reluctantly. I think next time I will leave out the potatoes and the lentils. E really doesn't cope well with potatoes, and none of them liked the lentils!

We made EDC style mixed berry sorbet for dessert - yummo! W wanted home made milo sprinkled on his. He ate 2 bowls! E wasn't a fan of the texture of the berry seeds, I think this is why strawberry's, watermelon and mango are probably better sorbet options for her!

With plenty of leftover sorbet, I froze some into icy pole containers. I also put some in ice trays and am going to try mixing it with the natural yoghurt for something a bit different.

Our awesome Thermomix demonstrator dropped off our cleaning brush and some more little cookbooks including  the Lunch box and after school treats ideas book, so will give me some more ideas!

Am really enjoying my Thermie - I just wish I had more time to cook and bake!

Tuesday 29th November

Tonight for dinner we had Quirky Jo's Sweet n Sour beef, which I had made the night before. It was delicious, and certainly a hit with the kids. Will be adding this to our favourites list!

For dessert we had banana ice cream - delicious! There are a few different recipes around, but I kind of just made it up as I went - 2 trays frozen milk cubes, 1 frozen banana and some raw sugar (made into icing sugar in thermie first). Kids loved it, we loved it, so quick and easy! Will start freezing bananas that are on their way out, so we can have this more often!

Sunday 27th November

What a busy day!

Started off with chocolate and zucchini muffins  (minus the choc chip because we had run out). These are so delicious - you wouldn't even know they had zucchini in them! Kids loved them!

Made enough for the freezer for E's lunch box treaty.

Then I made Chicken Cacciatore Casserole (of course substituting the mushroom with zucchini). I made this just up till the point you add the yoghurt, and it has gone in the freezer for a week night dinner. I used potatoes out of our garden. Can't wait till I can add home grown zucchini and carrot too! It was my first time using the varoma (steamer). Hoping it tastes great when we eat it later in the week! Not sure the kids will love this one though, lentils aren't really their thing!

Next I made Swiss Beef, up until the point you add the rice. This will be another week night dinner. Just add rice and cook for 20 minutes. In reading the reviews of this, I probably should have added some extra vegetables at the start of this meal. Maybe next time!

For tonight's dinner, I made the Cyndi O'Meara Vegetarian Sausage Rolls. These were so good! I wouldn't have believed they were vegetarian if I hadn't made them myself. Much nicer than sausage mince ones! These were a hit all round, and was very happy to find another vegetarian meal to add to the family meal list!

Saturday 26th November

Not much time for thermie today.

I did make the EDC yoghurt though, it took a lot longer than 30 minutes to cool down to 37 degrees! But after 8 hours in the easiyo thermos it looks perfect!

Friday 25th November

Having come home to 3 sick children, 1 refusing to eat dinner, I made some watermelon sorbet. What a great way to use up the watermelon that only 1 child will eat! Gobbled down quickly! I also found a tip about the sorbet, so after putting the leftovers in the freezer for a couple of hours, I got it out and re-pulverised it, then put it back in the freezer. Apparently this keeps it sorbet-like for next time.

The boys missed celebrating their little buddies birthday as he was sick on the day, so I whipped up a Donna Hay chocolate cake in the thermie - 2.5 blocks of chocolate, it was always going to be rich. Realised that I didn't have a round tin, so I had to make it in a loaf tin, which mucked up the cooking time a little. 

Made a quick chocolate butter icing in thermie, and dusted the cake with icing sugar. 

It was divine!!! So rich and moist, like a mud cake. Best of all the birthday boy loved it too!

Thursday 24th November 2011

Another work day :(

Tonight we ate the Apricot Chicken Risotto (EDC) that I had made earlier in the week and froze.

It was great! A few minor adjustments for next time (chop chicken finer, cook for slightly longer), but otherwise very tasty.

Brewing away a hot chocolate right now. This time am doing 65g chocolate, speed 8 for 5 seconds, then add 450g milk and cook at 60 degrees, for 4 minutes 30 on speed 4. Hopefully it will be as good as the other night. Might even have a piece of delicious fudge to go with it!

Wednesday 23rd November 2011

2 words.

Chocolate Fudge (with almonds)

mmmm.

Tuesday 23rd November

Work day :(

Already had dinner in the freezer, so I whipped up vanilla custard (EDC style). The consistency was right, but the colour was like porridge, so the kids wouldn't really eat it. E was keen, however couldn't cope with the idea of 'hot' custard. Even with homemade milo sprinkles! Perhaps some more tweaking to get it tasting slightly better.

Monday 21st November

Firstly - homemade 'milo'  - some days the only way the children will eat breakfast is with milo sprinkled on top. This is such a healthy alternative! I won't feel bad about sprinkling this all over their cereal every day. E was eating it by the spoon today! Even R thought it was pretty good!

Next we made cheesymite scrolls. We made half vegemite & cheese, and half sweet chilli sauce & cheese. These were okay - I need to work a bit on my dough making skills!

Helping mummy!

For dinner we had Pasta e Fagioli (pasta with beans) from EDC book. Part of my goal in owning a thermomix was to introduce some vegetarian meals into our diet. We eat A LOT of meat, mostly 6-7 nights a week, and I would like to reduce that. Of course the boys weren't that fussed on the pasta to start with, but a bit of encouragement (and a game they play with R that involves toy trucks driving across the dinner table) and they ate a decent serve. E, as with any new food we introduce, needed some coaxing, and feeding, but eventually polished a whole bowl without complaints. From start to finish, this meal took 30 minutes (and whilst it was cooking 2 x 10 minutes, it didn't need stirring or supervising!). Pretty impressed.

Am not looking forward to working the next 4 days - my thermomix time will be so limited!

Day 2!

Very excited thinking about all the things to make today!

Started the day with porridge, but that recipe needs some tweaking. I think I need to blitz the oats first.

Then Nigella Lawson Choc Banana muffins from thermomix forum. These were sensational. Best muffins I have ever been able to make. I only had choc melts, so blitzed then first for a few seconds (took 2 attempts, the first made chocolate sprinkles, not choc chips!)

Apricot chicken Risotto style (EDC) was next, this meal has been frozen for a mid week dinner. Tasted good before it was frozen, will have to see how it defrosts.

Bolognaise (EDC) next, which I used to make lasagne, again for freezing.

I had a whole heap of parsley left over from the vegetable stock, so I pureed this and placed it in some ice trays.

For dinner we had the creamy fettucine with salami (EDC). So easy, so tasty. E ate it, the boys not so keen, but pasta has always been a hard sell to them. Otherwise it was fantastic. One pot dinner, done in 20 minutes with minimal fuss and effort. Love it.

Once kids went to bed, I used the earlier choc sprinkles to make hot chocolate. 5 minutes, 500g milk, 60g chocolate. Best hot chocolate ever!

Impressions so far is that this is going to be awesome! I am not convinced of the self cleaning function yet, perhaps I need a little more time to work it out. I have still had to give it a scrub between meals. More practice time tomorrow!!

Day 1!

Am so super excited to have received my thermomix today!

We were not expecting it till later next week, so with what we already had in the cupboard we have made:
- Chocolate Custard (EDC style) - children were intruiged by the chocolate, but didn't really get into it
- Strawberry Sorbet, with slightly less sugar than recommended - a hit all round, even Mum & Dad were impressed
- Vegetable Stock (EDC style), used 120g of rock salt instead of 150g - reviews I have read said 150g was too salty. Even 120g is still fairly strong!

Lots of things to try tomorrow - so glad it came on a weekend, plenty of time to try it out!

Thermie in action!