Grandma's Savory "Scones"

These "scones" are the children's grandmother's quick easy recipe that she always whips up on a minutes notice. The kids love them, Nathan loves them and they're sooooo easy to make!!!! Personally I think they're more like a mini muffin - but who am I to question my mother in law ;)

1 Cup SR Flour
1 Med-Large Onion Diced
3 heaped Tbs Bacon
1 Pinch Salt
1 Cup Grated Cheese
1 Cup Milk

Combine all ingredients together. Mixture will be rather sloppy and batter like.

Spoon into patty cake or mini muffin tins.

Bake at 220C until golden brown - approx 12-15 mins.

Lovely served warm split in half and buttered.

Menu Plan ~ January 28th - Feb 3rd 09

Wed ~ BBQ - Moroccan Chicken Fillets, Sausages and Homemade Hamburgers + Salad

Thur ~ Tuscan Chicken with Steamed Vegetables

Fri ~ Fish Cakes and Salad

Sat ~ BBQ - Sausages, Home Made Burgers + Curry Rice Salad

Sun ~ Roast Chicken with Garlic Potatoes and Steamed Veggies

Mon ~ Shepherds Pie and Steamed Veggies

Tue ~ Sweet Aromatic Chicken (drumsticks with added veggies) with Glass Noodles


Snacks - Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie, Spiced Apple Rings and Simple Lattice Cheesecake Slice

Lactation Cookies - with my personal twist

These are great to boost maternal lactation - grab a cookie with a nice drink as you relax and feed baby :) Warning - these are very more-ish!!

1 cup butter or margarine (room temp)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons linseed meal (if can't find blend whole linseed with water into paste)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups oats, thick cut if you can get them
375g pack chocolate chips (Approx 1 cup - I use mixture of equal parts white, milk and dark)
2 tablespoons brewer's yeast (or 5 x 5g sachets)

Preheat oven to 200c (180c fan forced).

Mix together linseed meal and water (or blend 2tbs linseed seed with water into paste). Set aside. This thickens and becomes quite gloopy - don't be alarmed!!

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mix well. Stir linseed mixture and yeast add with
vanilla to the butter mix. Beat until blended.

Sift together dry flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Add to butter mixture.

Stir in oats, then chocolate chips.

Use icecream scoop for large cookies or drop tablespoons of mixture for small - med cookies. Use either a non stick baking sheet, or lined tray as mix is quite wet and has tendency to stick.

Bake approximately 15 mins for large cookies or 12 minutes for smaller.

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* Only brewers yeast can be used - do not use baking yeast, it does not have the lactation properties as brewers yeast. Brewers yeast can be found in the homebrew section of your supermarket.

*Full quantity mix make approx 60 small - med cookies or 24 large - you can halve quantities and freeze mixture

*Add 1 cup of your choice of nuts for something a little different

*Can be made into a nice slice - press mixture into a slice tray, bake 20 - 25 mins. Top with melted chocolate or chocolate icing if you wish. Tip - slice whilst still warm as mix becomes quite brittle when cooled - think Anzac biscuits.

* it is the linseed, oats and brewers yeast that increase lactation.

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Super Bake-Anything Base Mix

This is a really basic mix that can be used to make multiple things. It's handy to have prepared in the pantry for unexpected guests or even the days you want a quick easy snack for the kids to bake themselves. Makes the bestest pizza dough!!!

In a large airtight container, mix:
2 kg packet SR flour
2 tbs + 1 tsp salt
1/3 cup + 1 tbs + 1 tsp sugar.

SCONES:

In bowl, add two cups baking mix. Rub in 2 tbs butter until mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in 3/4 to 1 cup of milk, until moist but not too sticky. Don't overmix. Roll lightly and cut into shapes with biscuit cutter. Place on lightly floured baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes until golden.

Variation: pizza dough - Make as to above recipe then roll out to desired thickness and top, bake 20-25 mins at 220* C

SCROLLS:

Complete mixture as for scones. Roll out with rolling pin until 1 cm thick. Spread with softened butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar and a little cinnamon. Roll up tightly from long edge. Cut scrolls into 2 cm slices. Bake on baking tray 10-12 minutes.

Variations: Use your favourite jam or make pizza scrolls using tomato paste, ham & cheese.

PIKELETS/PANCAKES/WAFFLES:

To two cups of mix, add one egg, 1+ cups of milk, 1 tbs oil. Beat together until thick but slightly runny. Makes small pikelets, large pancakes or waffles.

QUICKBREAD:

Add 2 1/2 cups of baking mix. Stir until just moistened. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake 40-45 minutes.

Variation: BANANA BREAD: Mash two bananas, use only 3/4 cup milk. Add 1 tsp vanilla if desired. Very nice toasted!

Sweet Aromatic Chicken

I had my doubts on this recipe when making it but it was so yummy!! Even Aleks who doesn't usually like any meat on the bone (we used maryland cuts) came back for seconds!!

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cocunut milk

1/2 cup water

8 chicken thighs, skinned

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp soy sauce

1/8 tsp ground cloves

2 garlic cloves, minced

Combine coconut milk and water. Pour into greased slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients in order listed. Cover. Cook on Low 5-6 hours. Enjoy!



Source: Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook

Roast Chicken with Pistachio & Cranberry stuffing

We had this for Christmas Eve Dinner 2008. It turned out beautifully and tasted delish!!! The red cranberries and green pistachios in the stuffing made it look so Christmasy!!!

Ingredients (serves 8)

* 2 (about 1.5kg each) whole fresh chickens
* 2 tsp olive oil
* Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
* 1 bunch fresh continental parsley
*
Pistachio & cranberry stuffing
* 1 1/2 tbs olive oil
* 2 small brown onions, halved, finely chopped
* 75g (1/2 cup) Craisins (dried cranberries), finely chopped
* 55g (1/3 cup) unsalted pistachio kernels, finely chopped
* 2 garlic cloves, crushed
* 245g (3 1/2 cups) fresh breadcrumbs (made from day-old bread)
* 2 eggs, lightly whisked
* 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh continental parsley

Method

1. To make the stuffing, heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion, Craisins, pistachio and garlic and cook, stirring, for 8-10 minutes or until onion softens. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Place the pistachio mixture in a bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, egg and parsley and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Preheat oven to 190°C. Rinse chicken cavities under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towel inside and out.
3. Spoon the pistachio mixture among chicken cavities. Close cavity openings with toothpicks. Tie the legs together with unwaxed white kitchen string.
4. Line a large roasting pan with non-stick baking paper. Place chickens in pan and brush with oil. Season with sea salt and pepper.
5. Roast for 1 hour 15 minutes or until juices run clear when a skewer is inserted into the thighs. Cover with foil and set aside for 10 minutes to rest. Place chickens on serving platters and serve with pistachio stuffing and parsley.

Notes & tips

* Make the stuffing (step 1) up to 1 day ahead. Store in an airtight container in fridge. Continue from step 2, up to 2 hours before serving the main.

Introduction

Well, the kids are wanting to cook and I love to cook so why not have our own little space on the WWW to record our fun, favourites and family creations in the kitchen!!!