Mini Pizza

Hello Blog-land!  Hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas.  We had such a wonderful time filled with plenty of food and family - and most importantly, the kids had a blast!  I've had a few days break from the blog, but have lots of recipes up my sleeve to share with you.

First up, a fabulous holiday recipe.  Last night, I decided it was time the kids pulled their weight a bit, so they made their own dinner.  Yep, they're 1 and 2 years old, but they did it themselves!  Mini pizzas are great post-Christmas food as you can use up whatever leftovers you have in the fridge.  We had salami, cheese, mushroom paste (recipe to come - this stuff is delish!), mushrooms, tomatoes, herbs and beetroot relish (another recipe to come!).

The kids just loved building their own pizzas and it meant less work for me - bonus!

Here's the recipe - except I divided the dough in half, then divided the half into 4 pieces.  They only needed 10 minutes in the oven.  Enjoy!

Christmas Pudding Shortbread

Any type of shortbread is a delicious Christmas Treat - but Christmas Pudding Shortbread just gives it that extra level of deliciousness!  This is an easy, tasty little biscuit that's sure to impress :-)

Ingredients
125g butter, at room temp
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup plain flour
1/3 cup rice flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
extra flour for kneading
1 eggwhite, whisked
1/3 cup demerara sugar (I used some combined caster sugar and cinnamon on mine instead)

Method

Preheat oven to 160C. Line 2 large oven trays with baking paper. Put butter, brown sugar and vanilla in a bowl and beat using electric beters until light and creamy. 

Sift flour, rice flour, cinnamon, cloves, mixed spice and nutmeg over butter mixture and stir until well combined. turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until mixture comes together.

Roll out dough between 2 sheets of baking paper until 4mm thick. Using a 7cm round fluted biscuit cutter, cut 15 rounds from dough, re-rolling as required. 

Cut rounds from dough, re-rolling as required. Put rounds on prepared trays, brush with eggwhite and sprinkle with demerara sugar. 

Bake for 15-20 mins or until light golden and firm. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Package them up in a little bag and ribbon like this and you have a perfect little Christmas gift!

Apricot & Vanilla Bean Jam

I can only finish of Edible Gifts Week with one recipe - this delicious jam!  Apricot Jam is a bit of a "thing" in my family - my Grandma makes the BEST one ever, but my mum, aunty and sister have also made pretty amazing renditions along the way.  This one is a Women's Weekly recipe - and I've already have a few rave reviews from people who've received these as gifts for Christmas.  It's easy and tastes amazing - what better Christmas gift?!?

Ingredients
1kg fresh apricots, halved and seeded
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthways
1 cup water
1 kg white sugar

Method
Combine apricots, vanilla beam and water in a large saucepan; bring to the boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, about 15 minutes or until mixture is pulpy.

Add sugar to pan; stir over high heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves.

Bring to the boil; boil, uncovered, without stirring, about 35 minutes or until jam jells when tested.

Discard vanilla bean. Pour hit jam into hot sterilised jars; seal immediately. Label and date jars when cold.

Kris Krinkles

Today's Christmas recipe (can you believe we're up to #22 already?!?) is a guest post from my dear friend, Jess.  She gives us a jar of these biscuits every Christmas, and I always look forward to receiving them and eating them!  I love also that they come with a great story - thanks Jess! :-)

"This is the easiest recipe and came from a magazine my mum had about 35 years ago! They have such a lovely story these cookies- mum started making them when my eldest brother went to school for his teacher and it progressed from there until she was doing them for all three of our teachers, neighbours, family and friends every year and they all still talk about them! She has moved to a whole new town and workplace and now bakes them again every year for her colleagues and they love them. Now I'm carrying on the tradition for my friends and hopefully my kids' teachers!"

Ingredients
250g butter
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence or rum
2 1/2 cups plain flour
3/4 cup glace cherries, chopped
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup desiccated coconut

Method
Cream butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla/rum.

Stir in flour, cherries and nuts.

Form into 2 logs then roll in coconut, scattered on some foil (see pictures below).  Wrap in the foil and chill overnight.

Cut into cookies and bake at 190 degrees for 12 minutes or until just gold - watch carefully as they burn quickly!

Gingerbread Ice-cream Pudding

This recipe came out a challenge set by my workmates to use up the rest of the Gingerbread House that we devoured for our work Christmas Party.  It seemed like such a waste to throw out the crumbled remnants, so I decided to mix together an ice-cream pudding to serve on Christmas Eve.  The liqueur and chocolates had been given to me as gifts, so it was a great way to use up some things I had on hand!  This one is seriously indulgent and delicious - and I love it because it is super easy (no cooking involved, just mixing!) and you can make it in advance and not have to think about dessert again until you're about to serve.  Definitely a perfect Aussie Christmas dessert!

Ingredients
Leftover gingerbread, crumbled
2L hokey pokey ice-cream
16 ferrero rochers, crushed
1/3 cup caramel liqueur
white chocolate ice magic
cranberries and silver balls, to decorate

Method
Put ice-cream in a large bowl and leave out to soften.  Mix in gingerbread, chocolates and liqueur.

Place in a silicone mould (the Tupperware Kugelhopf is perfect!) or pudding basin lined with cling wrap.

Freeze for several hours.

Turn on to a plate, squeeze ice magic on top and sprinkle with cranberries and silver balls.

Cashew Nut Dukkah

I'm a big fan of Dukkah as a nibble - with simple fresh bread, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, it makes for a perfect snack.  I decided to try and make it recently - and I was amazed at how easy it was!  You can, of course, use any nuts, like almonds, hazlenuts or pistachios.  Or perhaps mix it up a bit with some different spices.  Another gorgeous little gift when packaged up nicely!

Ingredients
1 cup cashews
1/2 cup sesame seeds
2 tbs ground coriander
2 tbs ground cumin
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
Extra virgin olive oil, to serve
Balsamic vinegar, to serve
Crusty bread, to serve

Method
Heat a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes or until golden. Add coriander and cumin and cook for 1 minute.

Crush cashews in a food processor.  Transfer to a bowl. Add the crushed spices, pepper and salt and mix well.

Serve dukkah with some extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and crusty bread.

Gingerbread House #2

Making a Gingerbread House is a Christmas tradition I started last year, with this delightful little creation.  I just love the neat, tidy and slick look of last year's, but I decided it was time to get the kids involved.  This recipe was from www.taste.com.au.  As I explained last year, I have a mould that I use, which makes the whole process so much easier!  I absolutely love the finished product this time - yes, it's messy.  Yes, it has teeny fingerprints on parts.  Yes, the lollies are randomly-placed and falling off in parts.  But we had a great time doing it and creating Christmas memories :-)

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1 cup plain flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
185g butter, chopped
1/2 cup golden syrup
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Royal icing
2 eggwhites, lightly beaten
3 cups pure icing sugar

lollies, to decorate

Method
Combine flours, ginger, cinnamon, sugar and butter in a food processor. Process until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Whisk golden syrup and eggs together in a jug. With the motor running, add egg mixture and process until dough just comes together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently until smooth. Cut dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until well chilled.

Roll dough, 1 portion at a time, between 2 sheets baking paper until 5mm thick. Remove top layer baking paper. Using cardboard cut-outs as a guide, cut shapes from dough. Place gingerbread in a single layer on trays. Freeze for 15 minutes or until firm.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 4 baking trays with baking paper. Place gingerbread on trays. Bake, 2 trays at a time, for 15 minutes or until firm. Cool on trays.

Make royal icing: Using an electric mixer, beat eggwhites until soft peaks form. Gradually add icing sugar, beating constantly until thick.

Use icing to join walls together, placing unopened cans of food to support walls until icing dries. Use icing to attach roof to walls, using cans to support roof (to prevent it from slipping off walls) until icing dries completely.

Spoon 1/2 cup remaining icing into a snap-lock bag. Trim 1 corner of bag and pipe windows and doors on house and frost on roof edges. Allow to dry. Spoon remaining icing into snap-lock bag. Pipe a little icing on the back of each lolly and attach to house to decorate. Dust roof with icing sugar.

Happy little helpers!

What a team :-)

Lemon Curd

Here's another perfect Edible Gift - a tangy but sweet Lemon Curd, courtesy of the Women's Weekly Jams & Preserves book.  This is perfect on toast, pikelets, scones or in mini tarts.

Ingredients
6 egg yolks
1 cup caster sugar
80g unsalted butter, chopped
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind
2/3 cup lemon juice

Method
Whisk egg yolks and sugar in medium bowl until combined; transfer to small saucepan with remaining ingredients. Cook, stirring, over low heat, about 8 minutes or until mixture thickly coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat immediately; stir for 30 seconds.

Pour into hot, sterilised jars; seal immediately. Label and date jars when cold.

Tomato Relish

Another Monday and it's only 8 days until Christmas!  I hope you're enjoying all the Christmas recipes so far.  We've already done Ham Week and Christmas Treats Week, so now I'm launching into Edible Gifts.  Hopefully this will give you some great ideas of unique gifts for family and friends that come from the kitchen - mainly jams & preserves.  I have a special friend doing a guest post for me this week, so can't wait to share her delicious recipe.

So, kicking off today is Tomato Relish!  This recipe is a bit of a combination between one from Jamie Oliver and one from Julie Goodwin. This was my first attempt at relish and i was so happy with the result! It is just divine - perfect with cheese or as an accompaniment with quiche, sausages, steak or savoury scones.

Ingredients (makes about 4 cups)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons curry powder
500g onions, sliced thinly
2kg ripe red tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup red wine vinegar
375g brown sugar
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard

Method
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat, then add curry powder. Stir for a minute, until fragrant. Add the onions and cook for a further minute, then add tomatoes and bring to the boil.

Add the rest of the ingredients. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, or until reduced to a thick, spreadable consistency.

Spoon into sterilised jars and seal. Once open, keep in the fridge for up to 6 months.

It's not hard to fill some jars with edible goods for a practical, delicious and always-appreciated gift!

Choc Candy Cane Bites (& a Christmas Treats Exchange!)

You might remember back in this post, I promised you I'd give you a great idea of what to do with the unused middle of the wreath biscuits.  Of course, you could always re-roll the scraps and make more wreaths, but I was on a time frame, so instead, I just baked the rounds as they were, spread with a touch of melted white chocolate and sprinkled with crushed candy canes.  SO EASY!  They look great, taste delicious and make a perfect little gift.

I also want to share with you a lovely afternoon I had the other day with some mum friends - one of the girls organised a Christmas Biscuit Exchange (although, I've called it a Christmas Treats Exchange because we ended up with a variety of things, not just biscuits).  We all took along 24 biscuits or sweets and laid them out on a central table.  The wonderful hostess had stocked up on plates, cellophane, ribbon and tags, and we all filled our plates with an amazing variety of sweet treats, which we then packaged up beautifully to give away as gifts.

You can see in the picture above what we ended up with - reindeer biscuits, melting moments, oreo truffles, brownies, white Christmas bites and cake pops to name a few!  It was such a great idea to spend some time with each other (while the kids played together) and leave with these gorgeous plates to gift.  It's such a great and easy way to spread some Christmas cheer!

Apricot & Almond Christmas Pudding

There's something SO Christmassy and SO authentic about a traditional steamed pudding.  It's not something that's often done apart from at Christmas, so I guess that adds to its appeal!  I think I've only ever made one steamed pudding before, so I was really keen to try another one this year - plus the fact I went and bought myself my very own pudding basin from K-mart ($9, what a bargain!!!)  I searched around in a few books and found this one in a Coles Magazine.  I love apricots, so I knew this one would be delicious.  It's actually really easy to make the pudding itself, just very time consuming to cook it!  But totally worth it, and served with custard - yum!!!  I think I'll definitely be making a pudding every year from now on :-)

Ingredients

2 cups Mixed Dried Fruit

1 ½ cups Dried Apricots, chopped

1 ½ cups Raisins

1/2 cup Blanched Almonds, chopped

1/4 cup Orange Juice

finely grated zest of 1 Orange

250 g Butter, at room temperature

1 cup Brown Sugar

4 Eggs

1 cup Plain Flour, sifted

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

2 cups Fresh Breadcrumbs

1/4 cup Apricot Jam

2 tbsp Brandy

Cream or Custard, to serve

Method

Place fruit, almonds, orange juice and zest in a saucepan. Heat until hot and steaming, but not boiling. Remove from heat and set aside to cool, stirring occasionally.

Grease and line the base of an 8-cup pudding basin with baking paper. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together, until pale and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in fruit mixture. Fold in flour, baking powder and cinnamon, then fold in breadcrumbs.

Spoon into prepared basin, packing down lightly as you go. Cover with a circle of greased baking paper and two sheets of foil. Tie securely around rim of basin with kitchen string (or use a pudding basin with a lid!) Stand pudding inside a large saucepan or stock pot. Fill with enough hot water to come two-thirds up side of basin.

Cover and cook for 5 hrs over low heat, topping up with boiling water as needed. Remove basin from pan, cool completely and store in fridge until Christmas Day.

To reheat, boil pudding, using above method, for 2 hrs. Warm the apricot jam and stir in the brandy. Brush over pudding. Cut into wedges and serve with cream or custard.

And as you can see, I had a little "helper" during the photo shoot for the pudding!

Mr Innocent!

Oh, you mean THAT pudding?!?

Bwahahaha!!!

Cinnamon Holly Biscuits

I found this recipe in a library book called "Festive Cooking" and it's definitely one of my new favourite Christmas recipes!  They are so tasty and look  fantastic!  As you can probably see, I ended up cutting my mint leaves in half as they were too big to put two on each biscuit - I think it still looks cute - but you could always just make bigger biscuits!  Although there are a few steps involved, these are easy to make and look so festive and bright :-)

Ingredients
2 cups self-raising flour
90g butter, chopped, at room temperature
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup golden syrup
1 egg, lightly beaten
mint leaves
red Mini m&ms

Icing
2 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted
100ml lemon juice

Method
Place flour, butter and cinnamon in a food processor.  Process until combined.  Add sugar, syrup and egg until mixture comes together.  Turn dough onto a floured board.  Knead until smooth then roll out between sheets of baking paper (in 2 batches if necessary) until 5mm thick.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to moderate, 180 degrees celsius.

Using a 6cm fluted cutter, cut rounds from dough.  Place rounds on lined baking trays.  Bake 8-10 minutes, until firm.  Cool on trays.  Repeat with remaining dough.

Icing: meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine icing sugar and juice until a thick paste forms.  Spread over cold biscuits.

Arrange mint leaves and m&ms onto wet icing to form holly.  Set aside to set.  Store in an airtight container, layering between sheets of baking paper.

Christmas Cupcakes

These delightful little cupcakes were based on a recipe I found on www.taste.com.au.  As always, I made my own little changes and was thrilled with the result.  You can decorate as you wish (I've seen some cute little packs where you get Christmassy patty pans, with matching toothpick decorations to stick on top) - I melted some white chocolate, coloured it with food colouring, piped out my shapes, then arranged them on top with some coloured shiny balls (in case you can't see it properly, I did stars, bells and Christmas trees).  The cupcakes themselves are delicious and super easy to make.  Sure to be a winner on your Christmas table!

Ingredients
125g butter
100g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
1 tsp finely grated orange rind
2 eggs
1.5 cups dried mixed fruit
80ml (1/3 cup) fresh orange juice
75g (1/2 cup) plain flour, sifted
75g (1/2 cup) self-raising flour, sifted
1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp cinnamon

Buttercream

150g butter, at room temperature

2 cups icing sugar

food colouring

Method
Preheat oven to 170°C. Line twelve 80ml (1/3-cup) capacity muffin pans with cases. Use an electric beater to beat the butter, sugar and orange rind in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Stir in the dried fruit and orange juice. Stir in the combined flour and spices. Spoon into the lined pans and smooth the surfaces.

Bake for 25 minutes or until cupcakes are firm to touch. Set aside in the pans for 5 minutes to cool before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make buttercream:  beat butter with an electric mixer until pale.  Gradually add icing sugar.  Tint with food colouring as desired.  Decorate.

Mum's Mini Christmas Treats

I adapted this recipe from one I'd seen online and it's a bit of a combination between Rum Balls and Mini Christmas Puddings (which are both delicious recipes in their own right!)  I've called them Mum's Mini Christmas Treats, because I think every mum should sit back and be treated. Let's face it - it's the mum who's usually responsible for Christmas present buying, wrapping and tagging, menu-planning, grocery shopping, food preparation etc etc - so here's mum's chance to indulge in a tasty little combination of cake, chocolate and Baileys!  You can always mix it up with rum instead of Baileys, or rum essence for a non-alcoholic version.  Guaranteed to be a Christmas hit!

Ingredients
250g sponge cake
1 tablespoon cocoa
1/2 cup dried fruit
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup Baileys Irish Cream
1/4 cup apricot or strawberry jam
1/2 cup white chocolate
Mini m&ms, to decorate

Method
Put cake and cocoa in a food processor and blitz until crumbs are formed (or crumble it with your fingers). Add remaining ingredients, except white chocolate and m&ms, and stir to combine.

Use your hands to roll balls of mixture. Place on a tray. Melt white chocolate and drizzle over the top of each ball. Top with an m&m and refrigerate until set.

Chocolate Wreath Biscuits

I borrowed a fabulous little book out of the library recent called "200 Christmas Recipes" and made this tasty little treat.  So you're not deceived, they're just individual biscuits, not one big wreath - I just arranged them like that on the plate!  If you want to go nut-free you could always decorate them with chopped-up candy canes, silver balls or sprinkles.  I actually found this mixture a bit on the soft side, so I'd add more flour next time.  I also have a great spin-off recipe for what to do with the inside rounds of the biscuits (to save re-rolling and cutting), so stay tuned for that!

Ingredients
250g plain flour
25g cocoa powder
250g butter, diced
140g icing sugar
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
125g white chocolate
1/2 cup pistachios, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped

Method
Put the flour, cocoa powder and butter in a bowl and rub in with fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, egg yolks and vanilla and mix to a smooth dough. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough between two sheets of baking paper. Cut rounds using an 8.5 cm fluted biscuit cutter and a 3cm cutter for the centres.

Place on a lined baking tray and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes. Cool.

Melt the white chocolate (microwave is easiest!). Spread white chocolate over biscuits then scatter with pistachios and cranberries. Leave to set for about an hour before using.

Salt Dough Christmas Decorations

One of the things I love about being a mum is getting to play and do fun activities with the kids. Sometimes we're so busy rushing about from activity to activity, that we don't get the quality time to do some good old-fashioned craft. And what better excuse than Christmas! Grandparents love getting hand-made gifts from the kids (well, they pretend to anyway!) and this one is so easy and fun. I saw some girlfriends do this with their kids (thanks for the inspiration girls!) and decided to give it a go. I got the recipe from www.taste.com.au - my mixture was probably a bit on the dry side as it had a few cracks, but overall, it was easy and fun and they look fab! You can also cut out Christmas shapes, paint any colour you like, decorate with glitter, and hang them on the tree. Give them a go!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup fine table salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2/3 cup chilled water
Paint

Method
Preheat oven to 120°C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the centre. Pour in oil. Gradually add water, stirring mixture with a wooden spoon until combined. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead to make a smooth ball.

Roll dough out between 2 sheets baking paper until 7mm thick. Use a bowl to cut out circles.  Press child's hand firmly in the middle. Place on trays. Roll remaining dough together and repeat.

Bake decorations for 2 1/2 hours or until firm and dry. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Paint and allow to dry.

A Handmade Christmas

I love Christmas and the many opportunities it brings to make pretty things!  I just want to share with you a few handmade ideas that I've done this year.  People always love receiving handmade things and they don't always take too much time or effort to do.  I've done some decorating around the home too, to get into the spirit - and it always gives me joy to see it!

I've handmade my cards for the last few years and always love doing it.  People don't receive many home-made cards anymore, so it's something I like to put the effort into.  These supplies were from Spotlight & super easy to make!

Using the same Spotlight paper, I whipped up some bunting and some hanging decorations for the entry.  The stensils were from old Better Homes & Gardens Magazines.

A little display I set up in the entry using bits & pieces I've collected over the years.  The butterflies were made from the same Spotlight paper.

Hard to get a good photo but here's my Christmas tree!  I LOVE it and I love seeing the special decorations have fun memories attached.  The kids know which ones are their own significant ones and love to look and touch!

Hope's special decoration this year :-)

A friend made me this beautiful fabric bunting - it fits so perfectly, I love it!

My daughter's name has special significance at this time of year :-)

I prettied up our deck with some handmade baubles attacked to ribbon - easy and very effective!

My little piano display of bits and pieces.  I got the Advent Calendar this year and had so much fun filling it - and the kids are absolutely loving it!  Some of the things inside the drawers have been Christmas stickers, stamps, chocolates, beaded decorations and special messages.  It'll be fun thinking of more age-appropriate ideas in the coming years.

Some handmade gifts by the kids (with a little help from me!)  I'll be sharing the recipe for these tomorrow.

It's so special and fun to make handmade things and to step back and remember that Christmas isn't just all about spending and buying.  I'd love to hear your handmade ideas too!

Leftover Christmas Ham & Noodle Frittata

Here's our final ham recipe for the week - hopefully you've gotten lots of inspiration to cut down on food wastage this Christmas and use up those leftovers!  Ham Week has been a blast and today I'm finishing with a family favourite.  I like this one as a Sunday night dinner - great for cleaning out the fridge and pantry and a sure-fire winner with the kids.

Ingredients (serves 6 at 295 calories per serve)
76g packet chicken-flavoured 2 minute noodles
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, corn & carrot mix
200g broccoli or cauliflower
6 eggs, lightly whisked
200g leg ham, chopped
100g tasty cheese, grated
10g butter

Method
1/3 fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Add noodles, flavour sachet, frozen veges and broccoli/cauli. Cook for 2 minutes and drain.

Place in a large bowl and add eggs and cheese, stirring to combine.

Melt butter in a 22cm non-stick, oven-proof frying pan over medium heat. Swirl pan to cover base with butter. Add egg mixture to pan and spread out evenly.

Reduce heat to low. Cook, without stirring, for 10 minutes or until base is brown and almost set.

Place pan under oven-grill and cook for 5 minutes or until browned. Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Slice and serve with salad.

Leftover Christmas Ham & Cheese Muffins

Here's another great leftover ham recipe. I love it because the base recipe has just four ingredients, it's super easy and freezes well so you always have an afternoon snack on hand. I added chopped capsicum & dried herbs to mine - you could also add corn, grated carrot or zucchini, fresh herbs or a dollop of fruit chutney on top. My little Mr loved these so much he chose to have one for dessert instead of yoghurt!

Ingredients
2 cups self-raising flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup grated cheese
125g ham, chopped

Method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Sift the flour and make a well in the middle. Pour in the milk, cheese, ham and any other ingredients.

Mix until combined.

Spoon into a muffin tin and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Leftover Christmas Ham & Zucchini Tart

Here's another fabulous leftover ham recipe from KR Castelmaine that my family really loved!  Before we get to it, I've got some really interesting stats on food wastage - according to Planet Ark, this Christmas, Aussies will spend $10.11 BILLION dollars on food, but 35% of it will be wasted.  That's huge!  So what a great reason to have recipes on hand to use up those leftovers.

So, this one is pretty similar to one of my family favourites, Zucchini Slice, but with a few small changes - and hubby says he actually likes this one better.  Once again, you can't beat the flavour of that baked ham, and you could easily add other veges like carrot, corn or capsicum.  It works perfectly in individual serves - a muffin pan would do the trick.  Excellent as a weeknight meal or to take along to a picnic.

Ingredients

1 small onion finely chopped
2 small zucchini, grated
200 grams KRC Premium Cooked on Bone Leg Ham, sliced and roughly chopped
2/3 cup grated cheddar cheese
4 eggs
2/3 cup sifted SR flour
1 tbsp chopped dill
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees

Place onion, zucchini, ham, cheese and flour in large bowl.

Add combined eggs, oil, dill, salt and pepper and fold with a spoon until well mixed.

Spoon mixture into a lightly greased individual 1 cup low flan trays or greased slice/quiche tin.

Bake in the pre-heated oven 30 minutes or until golden & set. 

Serve with salad and crusty roll.

Leftover Christmas Ham & Pineapple Pizza

It's day 2 of Ham Week on the Blog and for the rest of the week, it's all about what to do with those leftovers! Well, you can't go past a good old Ham & Pineapple Pizza. This is another recipe from KR Castlemaine. My hubby actually whipped this one up - and WOW! Soooo delicious! His secret recipe was using some home-made tomato relish and caramelised onion on the base. It was so good. There really is something extra-tasty about leg ham, especially with that beautiful home-baked flavour. Enjoy!

Ingredients
Pizza Base
2 ½ cups plain flour
7g sachet dried yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup warm milk
Pinch salt

Method
Place flour into a large mixing bowl. Combine the yeast warm milk and sugar into a small bowl and allow mixture to foam.

Make a well in the centre of flour, add pinch of salt and stir in the warm milk mixture. Mix to a soft tacky dough. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead to a soft dough. Leave to rise for 30 minutes.

Divide dough into two and roll and shape dough to make two pizza bases.

Place bases onto greased and floured trays.

Ingredients
Pizza Topping 
40g tomato paste
200g KRC Premium Cooked on Bone Leg Ham, sliced & torn into pieces
½ fresh pineapple, thinly sliced, skin removed
200g mozzarella cheese, sliced
½ Spanish onion, thinly sliced

Method
Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees.

Spread prepared pizza base with pizza sauce top with KRC Premium Ham, mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced pineapple and Spanish onion. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 15 -18 mins. Serve hot.

Note: This recipe is only limited by your imagination. Place bowls of alternative toppings on the bench and have the family or guests prepare their own pizzas.

Fig-Glazed Baked Ham with Baked Ricotta and Roasted Figs

The 25 days of Christmas Recipes continues today with a very exciting theme - introducing Ham Week!  Our wonderful friends at KR Castlemaine were kind enough to offer me a Christmas Ham to use and provided me with some delicious recipes that I can't wait to share with you!  We're also giving away hams every day on 96five, so tune in for your chance to get your own ham!

So, kicking off Ham Week is the traditional Christmas baked ham.  This is my first ever attempt, so I was really excited to try it out.  The KR Castlemaine recipe uses an amazing fig glaze, which gives it this wonderful rich, sweet, sticky coating.  The flavour of leg ham is just divine, and teamed with the baked ricotta - just perfect!  I loved this recipe - the perfect feature on your Christmas table!

The prepared ham before cooking

Ingredients
KR Castlemaine Premium Cooked on Bone Leg Ham (3.5-5kg)
1 cup brown sugar 

½ cup apple juice
½ cup fig jam 

 ¼ tsp mixed spice and a pinch of ground cinnamon

Method
To make the glaze: mix sugar, juice, jam and spices together over a low heat until dissolved.

Pre-heat oven to 160-170 degrees.

Prepare KRC Premium Leg Ham: remove rind using finger tips and leave fat exposed.

Score fat in thin lines across the surface of the ham ½ cm x 5mm deep. Place KRC Premium Leg Ham in a deep foil dish or lined baking dish.

Brush with fig glaze before placing in pre-heated oven, then baste frequently during 1 ½ - 2 hours cooking time.

Baked Ricotta and Roasted Figs
8 figs – cut into quarters from top (leaving base intact)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp castor sugar
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
1kg ricotta cheese, fresh
1 tbsp finely chopped oregano
2 tbsp lemon zest
2 eggs lightly beaten

Method
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.

Place the figs, oil, balsamic, sugar, salt and pepper on a baking tray and toss to combine. Roast for 15 minutes, remove and allow to cool.

Place the ricotta, oregano, lemon zest, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well to combine.

Place ricotta mixture into a 24cm greased oven proof bowl or spoon into 8 x ½ cup (125ml) capacity, lightly greased dishes, place on a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes or until set. (I did it in a muffin pan - it made 9).

Allow to cool for 5 minutes before turning out.

Arrange the ricotta on a serving platter top with the baked figs.  Serve warm with fig glazed KRC Premium Leg Ham and a crispy garden salad.

The ham after baking - check out the sweet, sticky glaze!

Christmas Pudding Shortbread

I found this recipe in the Better Homes & Gardens magazine, and it's a great one to keep on hand!  Chances are, you'll have most, if not all, of the ingredients on hand. They're super easy to whip up and make gorgeous little gifts if wrapped up in some cellophane.  It's a great chance to pull out those Christmas Cookie Cutters and get the kids involved too!  I didn't have any demerara sugar, so I just mixed up some caster sugar and cinnamon and sprinkled that on instead - delicious!

Ingredients
125g butter, at room temp
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup plain flour
1/3 cup rice flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
extra flour for kneading
1 eggwhite, whisked
1/3 cup demerara sugar

Method
Preheat oven to 160C. Line 2 large oven trays with baking paper. 

Put butter, brown sugar and vanilla in a bowl and beat using electric beaters until light and creamy. 

Sift flour, rice flour, cinnamon, cloves, mixed spice and nutmeg over butter mixture and stir until well combined.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until mixture comes together.

Roll out dough between 2 sheets of baking paper until 4mm thick. Using a 7cm round fluted biscuit cutter, cut 15 rounds from dough, re-rolling as required. Cut rounds from dough, re-rolling as required. 

Put rounds on prepared trays, brush with eggwhite and sprinkle with demerara sugar. 

Bake for 15-20 mins or until light golden and firm. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Sweet Petite Mince Pies

What a wonderful way to kick off the festive season, than with Fruit Mince Pies! In case you missed my Facebook announcement - I'll be posting a Christmas Recipe every day until the 25th! I have already been making some delicious little treats, so make sure you keep up to date with the blog for some wonderful ideas.

So, this recipe is from Sunbeam and I really love it! These are made in mini-muffin pans, and I find the size just perfect. Because there are so many yummy (and high-calorie) treats around at Christmas, I like keeping things bite-sized.

I have already frozen my batch, so have them on hand to give as gifts or to take along to any Christmas get-togethers. It could just be the Brisbane humidity, but I found the pastry quite soft, so next time I'll add an extra 1/2 cup of plain flour. I also cheated and used a bought jar of fruit mince for the filling - but hey, I've got a 1 and 2-year-old so time is precious!

Enjoy these, let me know if you whip them up and what you think!

Ingredients
FILLING
200g Sunbeam Mixed Fruit, chopped
2 tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp finely grated lemon rind
1 tsp mixed spice
1⁄4 cup brandy

PASTRY
1⁄2 cup Sunbeam Almond Meal 

2 cups plain flour
1⁄2 cup caster sugar
200g unsalted butter, chilled and diced
1 egg and 1 tbsp water, lightly beaten
Icing sugar to serve

Method
Preheat oven to 180oC.

Place all filling ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool.

Place almond meal, flour, sugar into a food processor and process until combined. Add butter and egg mixture and process until a ball forms. Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll out pastry between two sheets of baking paper until 3mm thick. Use a round 6cm-diameter pastry cutter to cut 24 circles from the pastry. Line the base of 24-hole non-stick mini muffin pan (or use two 12-hole pans). Fill cases with fruit mince.

Re-roll pastry and use a 4cm-diameter fluted pastry cutter to cut 24 circles for the lids. Brush the underside of lid lightly with water before gently pressing onto pie. Cut a small cross in the middle of each lid.

Bake at 180oC for 15 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool and dust with icing sugar before serving. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.