Mini Meringues

INGREDIENTS 2 egg whites 1/2 cup superfine sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry. Gradually beat in sugar until a little of the mixture between your thumb and forefinger feels smooth, not gritty. Stir in vanilla. Pipe or spoon small portions onto baking tray and bake 35 minutes, or until dry but not brown. Turn off oven and leave meringues to cool inside.

Creamy chicken and Mushroom Fettuccine

Ingredients (serves 4)
•450g dried fettuccine pasta
•1 tablespoon olive oil
•650g chicken tenderloins, tendons removed
•125g rindless bacon, diced
•1 brown onion, diced
•300g small cup mushrooms, sliced
•420g can Heinz Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
•1/2 cup light thickened cream
•1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
•1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Method
1.Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling, salted water, following packet directions, until tender. Drain pasta, reserving 2 tablespoons cooking water. Return pasta and water to the saucepan.

2.Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken. Cook for 4 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove to a plate. Cover to keep warm. Repeat with remaining chicken, adding more oil if necessary. Cut chicken tenderloins diagonally into 3 pieces.

3.Add bacon to frying pan. Cook for 2 minutes. Add onion and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes or until mushrooms are golden. Add soup, cream and worcestershire sauce. Stir until well combined. Add mushroom mixture, chicken and parsley to pasta. Toss to combine. Season with cracked black pepper. Serve.

Rebecca's Butter Chicken

Easy butter chicken

Ingredients:
•400g chicken meat, cubed
•100g tomato paste (approx 2/3 of a yoghurt pot)
•3/4 cup cream
•25g butter
•1 onion, finely diced
•3 cloves garlic, crushed (or 3 tsp of crushed garlic)

Spices (remember – a little Curry power can be used as spice as it already has a lot of ingredients in it. Not to much)

•1/2 tsp each of; ground ginger, cinnamon, salt, turmeric
•1/4 tsp garam masala
•Pinch chilli, depending on taste (1/2 tsp is hot)

Method:

1.Mix the spices together and add chicken meat and set aside.
2.Melt butter and saute onion and garlic for 2 minutes. Add chicken and saute for about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cream and simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Notes
* This recipe is very flexible - you can use more cream or less cream and top up with water. You can cut down on the tomato paste or boost it to your taste.
* And my best trick to extend it is to use less meat and cube pumpkin or potato very small, plus frozen peas and simmer until they are soft.

Nicola’s Choc Ripple Cake

Ingredients
1 Packet Choc Ripple Biscuits
300mL Whipped Cream
1 Flake Bar
Some Berries (Optional)

Method
1. Using a knife or spatula, spread each biscuit with a generous amount of cream.
2. Stand the biscuits on their side on a tray or plate to form a log.
3. Cover the whole log with cream and crumble to Flake Bar over the top. (Berries Optional)
4. When the biscuits are soft it is ready to serve.

Notes
• To add a bit of flavour to the cream, Baileys or Tia Maria make a good contribution

Lemon Butter Recipe

What you Need:
Zest of 2 small lemons
Juice of 3 Lemons
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of Butter
Pinch of salt
2 eggs
Jar – makes approximately 400-500g

Method:
Grate rind from 2 lemons, Place rind gratings in a saucepan with 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of butter, pinch of salt and the juice from the lemons. Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves then add in 2 beaten eggs and continue stirring over low heat until the mixture thickens.

This all comes together very quickly. I think the whole process took less than 15 minutes. Keep stirring as the mixture becomes thicker. (takes on a honey consistency) Continue to stir for another couple of minutes then let cool.

Pour into a cleaned (and sterilised) jar. It is preferable to sterilise the jar by placing in boiling water for a few minutes first. Store in the fridge and eat on fresh bread or toast. Will last 2 – 3 months in the fridge, but will probably be eaten before then! :)

Rosella Jam Recipe

Rosella jam is made from the fleshy red calyx and bracts that surround the green seedpod of the plant. Harvest the crop before it becomes tough and the seedpod discolours. You will need to half fill a 9-litre bucket with rosella fruit for the following recipe- or you can adjust the amounts accordingly. Rosella seedlings are available through local nurseries. Six home grown plants will provide plenty of fruit for several batches of jam. Individual plants grow around 1.5m high and 1m wide.

Ingredients:

½ a 9-litre bucket freshly picked rosellas

3-4 cups sugar

1 green apple, peeled and chopped

1 cup water

Juice of one lemon (not Meyer variety as it contains insufficient pectin)


Preparation method:
1. Soak the fruit for a few minutes in a sink full of cold water and then drain. Then separate the red calyx (the fleshy cover surrounding the seedpod) from the seedpod.) An easy way to do this is using an apple corer pushed hard against the base of the calyx; the calyx will then separate from the seedpod. Put the red calyx into a bowl and the seedpods into a saucepan. Cover the seedpods with water and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until soft and translucent in appearance. Strain the seedpods through a sieve and dispose of the seedpods, reserving the liquid. This process extracts pectin from the seedpods to help the jam set. Then pour the liquid back into a large saucepan, add the red calyx, apple & lemon and simmer gently until they are very soft.

2. Measure this fruit pulp and add cup for cup of sugar to fruit (or for larger amounts, 1 litre of fruit pulp = 1 kilo of sugar).

3. Stir over a gentle heat until the sugar is completely dissolved and then bring to the boil. The jam will froth high in the saucepan and so needs to be no more than half full before you start it boiling. Test for setting by putting a saucer in the freezer to chill, then put a teaspoonful of jam on the saucer, wait for it to cool slightly and then push the top of it with your finger. If it crinkles it is cooked. Another sign that it is setting to watch for is when the jam stops frothing and settles down to a hard boil.



4. As the jam reaches setting point it is also most likely to stick and burn so pay close attention and stir often. Remember that the setting of a jam is a chemical reaction between the fruit acid, the sugar and the pectin, not an evaporative process. Jams set as they cool, if over-cooked the setting point may be passed and instead a thick syrup rather than a gel is formed.



5. Bottle the jam into clean hot jars and seal immediately.

Chinese peppered snake beans

Bright, crisp and spicy snake beans with crushed green peppercorns, fresh red chilli and garlic. This recipe works well for any green beans.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons green peppercorns

handful coarsely chopped fresh coriander

1 tablespoon olive oil

450g snake beans

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 teaspoons dark brown soft sugar

1 small red chilli, seeded and finely chopped

2 tablespoons water

Preparation method:

1. Grind or crush the peppercorns coarsely. Stir in the coriander.

2. Heat oil in a large wok or frying pan over medium high heat. Stir in beans, garlic, brown sugar, chilli, peppercorns and coriander. Stir-fry for 45 seconds. Pour in the water and cover to steam for about 2 minutes. Serve immediately.