Creamy Bacon and Mushroom Fettuccine

Creamy Bacon and Mushroom Fettuccine 

INGREDIENTS

SERVES 2-3 

2 Slices of Bacon, I used Shoulder

250g Fettuccine

1/2 Red Onion

4-5 Large Mushrooms

1/2 tsp Thyme

1x 150g Tub of Sour Cream

Italian parsley

Parmesan Cheese to serve 

Black pepper

Boil a large medium/large pot of water with a little salt. Once boiling add fettuccine.

Meanwhile, dice bacon, mushrooms and onion. Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add Bacon mushroom and onion. Cook for 5-7min until softened. 

Turn heat to low and stir through sour cream. Take off heat, season well with pepper.

Once pasta is cooked al dente (cooked, but with a little bite) drain, leaving 2-3 TBSP of water in bottom. This will help loosen the sauce. 

Add bacon sauce mix to pasta and toss through. Mix through chopped italian parsley and serve with grated parmesan on top. 

Mini Ombre Rose Cake- Perfect for Mothers Day!

Mini Ombre Rose Cake 

This cake still looks impressive no matter how messy your piping skills are!

INGREDIENTS:

1 Packet of Vanilla Betty Crocker Cake Mix 

Food Colouring of your choice 

1X QUANTITY OF CREAM CHEESE FROSTING 

125g Cream Cheese

3 1/2 Cups of Icing Sugar

100g Butter, slightly softened

1tsp Vanilla Essence 

Beat Cream cheese and butter for 1min until combined. Add essence and sugar, beat on low to combine then on high until fluffy, about 1-2mins. 

Icing needs to be quite thick to hold its shape when piped. Add more sugar if your icing doesn't hold its shape well. 

Separate frosting into 3 bowls and add food colouring to make 1 dark, 1 medium and 1 light coloured frosting. I suggest starting off with a smidgen of colour then adding more as needed. 

CAKE 

Prepare Cake mix as directed on packet. Grease 3x 1cup capacity oven proof ramekins. Divide mix into ramekins until they are about 1/2 to 3/4 full. 

Add food colouring to first ramekin and stir to make the darkest mix.

Add food colouring to second ramekin and stir. This will be your middle/medium colour mix.

I left the third one without colour, but if you like you can add a small amount. 

Bake cakes at 180C until tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20-30mins. 

Once cakes have baked and cooled, remove from ramekins. Cool fully before doing anything else with cakes. 

Slice tops off cakes with a sharp knife to create a flat surface. This will make it easier to stack your cakes together. 

Using the frosting from the Betty Crocker cake mix (should be included in box) spread a layer onto the flat side of the darkest cake. Make sure you place your cake on the platter you intend to use as it will be difficult to move. 

Place medium coloured cake on top of the frosted first layer. Repeat frosting process on top of the medium cake. Place lightest coloured cake on top of that. Spread remainder of frosting roughly around outside of cakes to form a base for roses to be piped on. 

Place the darkest coloured cream cheese frosting into a piping bag with an open star tip (I used whatever wide tip I could find, it still worked fine). Begin piping roses onto the bottom layer of the cake, starting in the middle and swirling outwards. Repeat all around cake.

Repeat piping rose on next layer with the medium coloured icing. Fill in any gaps as you go with small strokes. 

Finally pipe roses onto top layer and top of cake with lightest colour.

 Don't worry if your roses aren't perfect, they still look pretty good! 

Potato, Tomato and Feta Frittata

Potato, Tomato and Feta Frittata

INGREDIENTS
SERVES 4

6 Eggs
1x 125g Pottle of Sour Cream
1 Medium Potato, washed and peeled
1/2 red onion 
10-12 Cherry or Small Vine Tomatoes 
100g Feta Cheese 
Salt & Pepper 

Roughly chop onion and potato into small chunks.

Heat a non stick, oven-safe pan over medium-high heat with 1tsp oil or a little cooking spray. Add onions and potato and saute for 5mins until onion is softened.
Remove from heat and set aside.

In a bowl crack 6 eggs. Add sour cream and mix until combined. 
Spread onion and potato out evenly, then add egg mixture. 

Add chunks of feta and tomatoes on top, then bake at 180C or 160C fan forced for 20-30mins until egg is set and potatoes are tender. 

Easy Roast Vegetable and Feta Tart

Easy Roast Vegetable and Feta Tart

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMA_2vgoLWg

INGREDIENTS:
SERVES 1-2

1/2 Sheet readymade puff pastry
1 cup vegetables
50g Feta Cheese
Fresh Basil & Black Pepper to serve
Egg, to brush pastry

Dice vegetables into roughly 1cm cubes.
Dice feta into chunks.

Score a 1cm border around pastry (don't cut through)

Place vegetables and feta on pastry, staying within border. Brush edges of pastry with beaten egg.

Bake at 200C for 15-20mins until pastry is browned.

Top with fresh basil and pepper to serve.

Beef, Tomato and Mushroom Pot Pies

Beef, Tomato and Mushroom Pot Pies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XYJndf65Kw


INGREDIENTS:
SERVES 2

200g Rump or tenderized steak 
1/2 Onion
200g Mushrooms
1tsp Crushed Garlic 
1tsp Dried thyme
1TBSP Tomato paste
1x 400g Can of tomatoes 
1x sheet of readymade puff pastry 

Roughly dice onion and mushrooms. Dice beef into 1cm cubes. 

Saute onions and mushrooms with 1TBSP oil over medium high heat for 1min. Add beef and cook for 2mins.

Add thyme, garlic, cook for 7-8mins until onions and mushrooms are soft and beef is browned. 

Add tomato paste and tinned tomatoes, simmer over low-medium heat for 7-8mins until sauce has thickened. 

Cut lids out of pastry the same size as your oven proof ramekins. Spoon beef mixture into ramekins and cover with pastry lid, pressing pastry at edges to seal. Brush pastry with beaten egg, then prick holes in top with fork for air to escape during cooking. 

Bake for 15-20mins at 200C until pastry is browned

Apricot Stuffed Chicken with Garlic & Lemon Beans

Apricot Stuffed Chicken with Garlic & Lemon Beans 

INGREDIENTS: SERVES 1-2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug4LSH73m0Q&feature=player_embedded

1 chicken breast
2TBSP red onion
2-3 Dried apricots
1 slice of bread
1 egg
1/2 tsp dried thyme

200g green beans
1tsp crushed garlic
1tsp lemon juice

METHOD:

Start by dicing onion and apricots.
Slice bread into 1cm cubes.
Combine in bowl with thyme and 1/4 to 1/2 a beaten egg.
Add just enough egg to combine the mix, it should be bound together but not sloppy. You can add more bread or breadcrumbs if it becomes sloppy.
Slice chicken almost all the way through horizontally. This will create a pocket for the stuffing.
Place stuffing in pocket, secure breast together with toothpick if needed.
Bake at 180C until juice from thickest part of chicken run clear.

To make beans, melt a knob of butter, margerine, or 1TBSP oil in a pan over medium heat.
Add beans, garlic and lemon juice quantities to taste.

Slice chicken and serve over beans.