Beef & Bacon Casserole

Serves 6

Ingredients

750g blade steak (trimmed and diced into 2.5 cm cubes)
4 rashers lean middle bacon (trimmed)
3 medium onions – chopped into large chunks
4 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced chilli
250g jar tomato paste
2 cups water
3 beef stock cubes
1 cup red wine
250g Button mushrooms

Method

1. Heat a large pan sprayed with cooking spray. (I use a large French Casserole)
2. Cook onions until lightly browned. (It is often good to add 1 of the stock cubes and extra ½ cup of water here. The water evaporates as the onions soften and the stock cube adds to the caramelizing effect)
3. Add garlic and chilli and mix in.
4. Add steak and cook, stirring until brown.
5. Stir in wine, tomato paste, water and stock cubes (only add two cubes if you used one with the onions but add both cups of water)
6. Simmer, covered for 45mins (I find it is especially tasty if cooked on low in the oven for over an hour)
7. Stir in mushrooms & cook further 10mins.

Alison Farr-Handley

Passionate Grapes!

Passionate Grapes was a summer desert my Mum invented about 20 years ago and we all loved.

Passionate Grapes

Serves 4

Wash 250 gms of seedless green grapes, place in bowl with 2 passionfruit.
Stir well, and spoon into dessert glasses. Serve with a dollop of cream.

Variations

If the grapes are not quite sweet enough, warm a small amount of brandy and honey in the microwave for 10 secs, stir, and then mix through the grapes.

If you want it to look spectacular, use seedless red grapes and green grapes - I call this variation Christmas Grapes!

Julie Houghton

Lemon Cordial

This recipe is sourced from a friend of my mother in law!

Ingredients

2kg sugar
50g Tartaric Acid (NOT Cream of Tartar!)
Juice of 6-8 lemons
Peel of ½ the above
A little less than 3 pints of boiling water

Method

1. Pour boiling water on all the ingredients and stir until sugar is completely dissolved. (a plastic bucket is perfect for this).
2. Cover with a tea towel and leave until cold (overnight or at least 12 hours).
3. Remove peel and strain mixture through sieve. (You will want to push some of the mushy bits through to get all the yumminess)

Makes around 3-4 bottles

Alison Farr-Handley

Cirtus Almond Bread

I found this recipe years ago in a magazine years ago and cut it out. A few people have told me variations that I have added down the bottom instead of almonds and lemon./lime also see the note down the bottom.

This is a great biscuit to give as a present (and is usually quite expensive to buy in the shops).

Citrus Almond Bread

Ingredients

2 egg whites
1/3 cup caster sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
2 teaspoons finely grated lime rind
3/4 cup plain flour
1 cup almond kernels

Method

1. Grease an 8cm x 26cm bar pan (I use a normal slice tray and roll the almond bread before the oven)
2. Beat egg-whites and sugar in small bowl with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes, or until mixture is thick and sugar dissolved
3. Stir in remaining ingredients; mix well. Spread mixture into prepared pan
4. Cook in a moderate oven, 180 deg C, for about 30 minutes, or until lightly browned; cool in a pan. Remove from pan; wrap in foil, stand overnight.
5. Using a serrated knife, cut into very thin slices. Place slices in a single layer on oven trays.
6. Cook in a slow oven, 150 deg C, for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned and crisp; cool. Store in an airtight container.

Note:

I only use one type of citrus, usually lemon and put some extra juice in too, but you will need some extra flour to compensate the liquid

Variations I have tried:

- Red and green cherries for christmas
- Ginger pices (this was for Mum)
- Hazlenut instead of almond

If you have more suggestions please comment below.

Felicity

Woolworths/Safeway Fresh Christmas edition

If you can get your hands on a copy of Woolworths/Safeway Fresh free magazine, December Christmas edition the Jam Drops on page 81 are great. They are made with custard powder with the flour which make them quite light.

The recipe says it makes 30 but mine didn't make anywhere near that many.

Has anyone tried other recipes from this magazine?

Felicity

Morrocan Lamb

Serves: Serves 4

Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp curry paste (Indian style – rogan josh or madras)
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp cardamom seeds
480g minced lamb
1 cup instant couscous
1 ½ cups boiling water
1 chicken stock cube
200g low-fat natural yoghurt
1 tbs fresh mint, chopped
1 tbs fresh basil, chopped
1 pinch cumin extra

Method

1. Fry onion & garlic until softened. Add curry paste & cumin. Cook until fragrant. Add mince and cook until browned. Add cardamom and simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Place couscous & crumbled stock cube in a bowl. Cover with boiling water, mix and cover. Leave for 5 minutes and then fluff with fork. To make minted yoghurt – mix final four ingredients and leave to infuse.
3. Serve couscous topped with mince mixture and a good dollop of yoghurt! A big hit with our kids! 
4. Adapted from a now very out of date Weight Watchers' cookbook

 Alison Farr-Handley

Zucchini quiche

Ingredients

4 zucchinis

1 onion
1 cup of cheese
1 cup of bacon
1 cup of SR flour
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup of oil

4 eggs

Method

1. Grate zucchinis and add everything else and mix.
2. Put in oven for about 40mins.

Hint: It taste great cold too.

Mel Patterson

Munchies

This is a type of Anzac biscuit that my Nana made when I was a child and I make now (but I have changed her recipe a little).


1 cup SR flour
1 cup coconut
1 cup oats (I use 1 cup muesli so you get nuts and dried fruit)
1 cup sugar (I use half cup white, half cup brown sugar)
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 teaspoon bi-carb soda
2 desert spoons boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
125 g melted butter

1. Mix flour, coconut, oats, sugar
2. Melt butter
3. Add melted butter, vanilla and golden syrup to dry ingredients
4. Dissolve bi-carb soda in boiling water and add to dry ingredients
5. Roll into balls and squash a little on baking trays
6. Cook until brown
7. Once taken out of the oven, leave on a tray a little to cool as they are usually a little soft to start with.

(Sometimes I also sprinkle vanilla sugar over them before cooking)

Felicity