Key Lime Pie

I have a guest blogger joining me today - my sister, Angela - also known as Jimmy.  She's a great cook and is always up for trying new things - like this Key Lime Pie (or KLP as we affectionately call it!) - she whipped up for a family dinner.  It was scrumptious!  Anyway, here she is...

"A fresh, easy and super tasty dessert.  I first came across Key Lime Pie in season 3 of 'Dexter' - when Dexter visits an old family friend in hospital, and her final wish is for the perfect piece of Key Lime Pie - a very American dessert!

After some recipe searching on Taste.com.au I found this recipe. The few times I've baked it, it's been a big hit. A great summer dessert - perfect for when the lime tree is full!"

Ingredients (serves 6)
250g ‘Nice’ biscuits
100g butter, melted
4 eggs, lightly beaten
395g can condensed milk
2/3 cup (160ml) cream
Finely grated rind and juice of 4 limes

Method
Preheat oven to 170°C. Line base of a 20cm springform tin with baking paper.

Process biscuits until fine crumbs. Add butter, process until combined. Press mixture firmly into the base and 3cm up sides of tin. Refrigerate.

Whisk eggs, milk, cream, lime rind and juice until smooth. Pour into biscuit crust.

Place on tray and bake for 40-45 mins or until set. Cool. Serve with extra lime slices and whipped cream.

Gluten-Free Muesli Slice

I was searching for a gluten-free slice to take along to a group and found this one in the "Generous Helping" cook book.  As I was making it, I started to wonder if oats really are gluten free.  I found this interesting explanation online, which was a perfect answer to the question.  So, for the 1 in 5 people who are gluten free but CAN'T eat oats, I'm sorry - this recipe is not for you!  But for everyone else, it's fabulous!  I've included the nuts in this recipe, but I didn't add them, just so I could keep it gluten, nut and egg-free.  I hope you enjoy this one!  You can hear Liam & Robbie's review at the bottom of this post!

Ingredients
400g tin condensed milk
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup raw peanuts
1 cup mixed seeds (eg pumpkin, sesame, sunflowers)
3/4 dried fruit (eg sultanas, apricots, raisins, cranberries)
3/4 cup desiccated coconut

Method
Preheat oven to 150 degrees celsius.  Line a 20cm square tin with baking paper.

Place the condensed milk in a glass bowl and warm in the microwave (about 30 seconds).  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Press mixture into the tin and bake for 1 hour or until golden brown.

Creamy Salmon Pasta

This is another one of those genius mummy moments I had - despite this meal being one threw together using some leftover salmon & cream cheese. You (and the kids) won't believe this delicious, creamy meal is so low in calories! It comes in at just 165 calories per serve - so hard to believe! That's using the slim pasta, but it's still low-cal if you use any old pasta. Fab for the whole family!  Plus hear Liam & Robbie's review below :-)

Ingredients
1/2 large cauliflower, chopped
125g low-fat cream cheese
Olive oil spray
1 red onion, chopped
1clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
100g smoked salmon
500g slim pasta (I used fettuccini) or 200g any standard pasta
1/2 broccoli, chopped

Method
Steam cauliflower then purée with a hand-held blender or food processor. Add cream cheese & combine.

Steam broccoli. Cook pasta if necessary.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat and spray with oil. Add onion & garlic and sauté until soft & brown. Add mustard and cook 1 minute.

Add smoked salmon & cauliflower mixture and stir. Add broccoli & pasta and stir to combine. Serve.

Honey Soy Chicken Skewers

You can always buy marinated chicken skewers from the shops - but it really is quick, easy and cheap to make your own! You generally pay at least $1 per skewer, but these come in at about 50 cents, so it's definitely good value! And it's only 55 calories per skewer. Kids seem to love food on sticks, so give it a go!

Ingredients (serves 4)
400g chicken breast, diced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon ginger, grated
Spray olive oil
Salad (I used cucumber, corn & capsicum)

Method
Combine soy sauce, honey & ginger in a bowl. Add diced chicken. Cover and marinade for a couple of hours or overnight.

Thread onto 8 bamboo skewers (soak skewers in water before use, so they don't burn). Cook on a barbecue or grill pan until brown & cooked through. Serve with salad.

Pizza Dough

I love a good home-made pizza and had been going for the convenience of store-bought bases.  But sometimes I just feel like getting my hands into some dough - for some reason, I find it really satisfying to make things with proper yeast!  So I got this recipe from my new favourite Facebook page - Bread & Butter Mum.  It makes enough for 2 bases, so I put half in the freezer and we used it a week later.  It's a great recipe and I know you'll love it too!  The finished product below is caramelised onion, roast sweet potato & cheese - it was DIVINE!!!

Makes 2 x 32cm diameter pizzas.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups plain flour
3 tsp dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
3/4 cup warm water
3 tblsp olive oil

Method
Sprinkle yeast and sugar over water, cover and stand in a warm place for 15mins until frothy.

Mix flour and a pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl.

Add olive oil to yeast/water mix and add all this to the flour mix. It should be a moist dough so add a little extra water if needed. Cover and stand in a warm place for 30mins or doubled in bulk.

Heat oven to 250* Celcius with a pizza stone or oven tray in it so it gets nice and hot.

Divide dough in a half and using a generous amount of flour roll out into your pizza base. Put on top of stone or tray and cover with pizza sauce cheese etc whatever you like. Bake for 15mins or until golden brown.

Chocolate Chickpea Cake

Well, today is my 27th Birthday - yay!!!  I love birthdays and love the opportunity to do fun things and spend time with special people!  The hubby, kids & I are heading off on a little mini-break today, so we celebrated with family last night.  I left the menu completely up to mum, and she excelled herself as usual!  For main course, she made this, as she knows Mexican is my current favourite.

And for dessert, she brought out a delicious chocolate cake.  It wasn't until after we'd eaten, that she revealed exactly what it was.  We were all shocked and amazed!  I would have NEVER guessed that it had chickpeas in it and I couldn't even taste the orange juice!  Mum used dextrose instead of the sugar listed below - it really wasn't sweet, but just had that deep, beautiful flavour of a cocoa-rich dark chocolate.  The nuts are optional (we had walnuts) and you could also use dark chocolate chips instead of the cocoa.  The cherry sauce (listed below) just gives it that extra texture and flavour - a real winner!

This one is worth a try - you'll be amazed!

Ingredients
400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2/3 cup orange juice
4 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup hazelnuts or walnuts, roasted and crushed

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius/160 fan-forced.  Blend chickpeas and orange juice in a food processor.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Add all other ingredients and combine.  Bake in a round 8 or 9-inch tin for 45 minutes.  Let cool in tin.

Cherry Sauce
2 cups frozen cherries
1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon cornstarch

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat.  Simmer for 15 minutes.  Spread over cake and serve.

Nana's special helper!

Hedgehog Slice

I had a spare packet of Scotch Finger biscuits in the cupboard, so decided to make this quick and easy, no-bake slice.  I omitted the nuts and the egg and it came out perfectly!  The only advice I'd give is to let it chill before spreading the icing over - mine was still a bit crumbly when I was trying to ice it.  All in all, a quick, easy and yummy slice - thanks to www.kidspot.com.au for the recipe!

Ingredients
250g packet Scotch Finger biscuits
¾ cup chopped pecans (or walnuts or almonds)
1 cup sultanas
125g butter
125g caster sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
2 tbsp coconut
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg, lightly beaten

Icing
1½ cups icing sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
2-3 tbsp water

Method
Grease a slice tin with butter.

Crush biscuits either by hand or in a food processor, leaving some lumps (I just broke them into a bowl then crushed with the base of a drinking glass).

Add nuts, sultanas, cocoa and coconut.

In a small saucepan or the microwave, melt butter, then stir in sugar, and vanilla.

Stir through biscuit mixture and then stir in egg.

Press into tin with the back of a spoon.

Put a bit of cold water on your fingers to press down the top so it is smooth.

To make icing, combine icing sugar and cocoa in a bowl and stir in enough water to form a spreadable paste.

Spread icing over slice and refrigerate overnight (this makes slicing much easier).

Cut into squares.

Zucchini & Haloumi Fritters

This recipe is from a Coles magazine - I loooove haloumi, so I thought these were delicious!  Just under 300 calories per serve (including salad), so they're a real winner :-)

Ingredients (serves 4)
1/2 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 carrot, grated
1 zucchini, grated
1/2 cup corn kernels
200g Haloumi, grated
Olive oil spray
1/4 iceberg lettuce, shredded
1/2 cucumber, chopped

Method
Place flour, milk, egg and parsley in a bowl. Stir to combine. Add vegetables and Haloumi and mix well.

Heat a spray of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Spoon heaped tablespoons of mixture into the pan and cook fritters for 2-3 minutes each side, until golden and cooked through. Drain on a paper towel.

Combine lettuce and cucumber. Drizzle over salad dressing if you wish. Serve with fritters.

Good Food & Wine Show

Today I was fortunate enough to get complimentary tickets to the Good Food & Wine Show in Brisbane.  What a fantastic day out!  I went along with my sister Angela, as well as my big girl, Hope.  We had a blast, sampled a huge variety of foods, sipped on some wines and generally had a lot of fun!  The show's still running for another day, so if you have the chance, definitely get down and check it out!  Here's our day in pictures...

First up, the Celebrity Theatre, where we saw Manu Fieldel in action.  His food looked and smelled amazing and he was a lot of fun! Loved the bean bags at the front for the kids! 

Hope's main request was for yoghurt - so we sampled every yoghurt there!  Delicious, creamy & smooth - she gave it the big thumbs up!  Hope also loved the cheese section (bottom right), where we tasted amazing feta, ricotta and haloumi.

Enjoying an amazing Butter Chicken (top), a glass of wine (bottom left) and my lovely friend Belle working at the Chilli Chocolate stand (bottom right).

At the "Skinny Girl" stand!

Some of the wares on offer 

Goodies I came home with - heaps of freebies and some great show specials !

Chicken Stir-fry with Egg Noodles

This recipe is a fantastic one from Curtis Stone.  It's a Coles "Feed your family for $10" one - so straight up, we know it's cheap and family-friendly.  It's low-calorie too - just 298 calories per serve and DELICIOUS! The original recipe uses prawns, but I substituted chicken and it worked really well - you'll love this one!

Ingredients (serves 4)
Olive oil spray
1/2 medium brown onion
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely chopped
1/2 red chilli, thinly sliced
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 1/4 cups pineapple juice
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 teaspoons brown sugar
200g egg or Singapore noodles
400g chicken breast, cut into strips
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
1 red capsicum, thinly sliced
200g Chinese cabbage

Method
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook onion for 3 minutes, until softened. Add the ginger and chilli and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Add vinegar, pineapple juice, sauces and sugar and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until sauce reduces to 1 cup. Remove from heat.

While sauce is reducing, cook noodles according to packet directions.

Place a wok over high heat and spray with oil. Add chicken and cook until browned lightly. Add carrot and capsicum and cook for another 2 minutes. Add wombok and cook for 1 minute, until wilted.

Add the sauce and noodles and toss well. Serve.

Beef & Cabbage Stir Fry

I'm a real wok kind of girl - I love cooking with it and it always seems to end in delicious results! So imagine my devastation a few weeks ago when my el-cheapo wok broke :-( But - there's a happy ending - www.kitchenwaredirect.com.au to the rescue! This wonderful company saved the day and provided me with this shiny new wok, and I'm in love.

I started out using an electric wok, but since getting a gas stovetop, have enjoyed using a stovetop one, but have opted for the cheaper ones. Well, this step up has blown my socks off! It is huge, non-stick (and this non-stick actually means non-stick!), it's dishwasher safe (LOVE!) and cooks superbly.

In the last week that I've had my new wok, I've used it to make: a stir fry, chow mein, caramelised onion jam, a chickpea and vegetable curry and spaghetti bolognese. Let's just say, I have a new best friend! Thankyou Kitchenware Direct! (And I hope you enjoy the step-by-step photos!)

Anyway, onto today's recipe - this one came from www.taste.com.au. It's a weeknight winner - quick and easy and the kids ate it all. It came in at just 260 calories per serve for 4 serves, but I ended up getting 5 serves out of it, so it was even less than that, but really filling at the same time.  And what did Liam & Robbie think?  Check out the Family Show Taste Test below!

Ingredients
olive oil spray
1 onion, finely chopped
3 sticks celery, finely diced
400g lean beef mince or pork mince
45g packet chicken noodle soup
1/2 cup long-grain rice, raw
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup water
1/2 chinese cabbage, finely shredded

Method
Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add mince and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, for 4 to 5 minutes.

Add soup, rice, curry powder, chicken stock and water. Season with salt and pepper. Stir until well-combined. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes.

Remove lid and place shredded cabbage over top of mince mixture. Cook, covered, for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir through cabbage and serve immediately.

And how did Liam & Robbie rate it?  Listen to the Family Show Taste Test here:

Chicken Potato Curry

This recipe from Good Taste Magazine is fast, fresh, healthy and easy - a perfect weeknight meal!  And only 250 calories per serve.

Ingredients (serves 4)
2 tsp olive oil
500g coliban (washed) potatoes, cut into 2cm chunks
2 medium brown onions, halved, thinly sliced
1 tbs curry powder
500g chicken thigh fillets, trimmed of excess fat, cubed
250mls (1 cup) vegetable stock
125mls (1/2 cup) water
250g green beans, trimmed, halved diagonally
225g (1 1/2 cups) frozen peas
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves, washed, dried
2 naan bread, to serve

Method
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add potatoes, onions and curry powder and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Increase heat to high, add chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add stock, water, and beans. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add the peas and cook for a further 5 minutes. Stir through the coriander. Warm naan bread following packet directions. Serve the curry with warm naan bread.

Zucchini Choc Chip Muffins

From the mum who brought you the delicious recipe for Apple & Oat Muffins, comes a new and delicious recipe! Anisia is back with another family-friendly winner :-)

"Thought I'd send through this recipe I found (and slightly altered) from allrecipes.com. Both of my kids (now 16 months and 2.5 years) are very picky eaters and my biggest struggle is getting them to eat vegetables!! Soooo, I searched around for a recipe that would mask some veg for them. I found these Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins! Chocolate is a special treat in our house (for the kids that is!!!) so they were very excited about these. My eldest started by picking away at the choc chips but then ended up eating the rest of it anyway. He also ate his sister's leftovers. I consider this a big success!!!!"

Ingredients
1 1/2 Cups plain flour
1 tsp Baking powder
1/2 Cup Raw sugar
1 tsp Carb soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 Cup vegetable oil
1/4 Cup milk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Cup finely grated zucchini
1/2 Cup chocolate chips
1/2 Cup chopped walnuts (I used almond meal as i didn't have walnuts)

Directions
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with patty pans. Alternatively, you could use mini muffin pans (makes 24).

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Mix egg, oil, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract in another bowl; stir into dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in zucchini, chocolate chips, and walnuts. Fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 full.

Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 15-20 minutes.