Chocolate Caramel Slice

There's nothing better that sitting down and helping yourself to a chocolatey treat. This home-made chocolate and caramel slice is a real favourite and is prefect to share around with family and friends. Not to mention, it's quite simple to prepare when you're in a rush! Be prepared...it is quite addictive!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 crushed sweet biscuits
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa
• 60grams butter, melted
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1x 440gram tin condensed milk
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• 60 grams butter, melted
• 1 x 200gram block of milk chocolate

 Base Method: 

1. Combine biscuits, cocoa, nuts and melted butter in a processor and pulse until well combined
2. Press biscuit mixture into the base of a lined, square, 20cm cake tin.
3. Refrigerate whilst making filling

Filling Method:

1. In a saucepan, place the condensed milk, butter and golden syrup.
2. Stir over low heat for 5 minutes until the mixture thickens
3. Pour immediately onto the refrigerated base
4. Melt the milk chocolate in the microwave and then spread evenly over the filling. 
5. Refrigerate the slice for at least 2 hours to become firm.

Isabella's Tip:
Using choc-chip cookies in the base mixture gives an extra crunch. 

Tuna Toasties

Whether you work full time and manage a family or you’re a student who is late catching the bus to university, these tuna toasties are quick to make, easy to prepare and very filling. They’re also extremely nutritious and are exactly what your body needs as a warm snack during those Winter months. Above all, you don’t need to be a skilled chef to prepare these treats. 

Ingredients:

2 soft hamburger roles

1 x 200g tin of sandwich tuna

1 jar of mayonnaise

1 pack of low fat cheese slices

Method:

1. Slice buns in half and place under preheated grill, bottom side up

2. Lightly toast and then place buns on plate to cool.

3. Meanwhile, drain tuna well and mix with ½ cup of mayonnaise in bowl.

4. Spoon mixture over the soft centres of the buns then top each with 1 slice of cheese.

5. Place buns back under grill until cheese is melted and bubbling.

6. Serve immediately.  

Isabella's Tips:
Try to add less mayonnaise to your tuna if you want a healthier meal!

Wonderful Waffles

From start to finish, these waffles take approximately 15 minutes to prepare. This quick dessert is great to prepare for just yourself or even a whole crowd of people and they are an old-time favourite!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup self raising flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2eggs
• 3/4cup thickened cream
• 60grams butter, melted

Method:

1. Separate the eggs and beat the eggwhites in a bowl until soft peaks form
2. Place the egg yolks and all other ingredients in a separate bowl and gently fold in the beaten eggwhites
3. Heat the waffle-maker and when ready, place 1/2 cup of mixture on the hotplace
4. Cook until lightly brown
5. Repeat until all mixture has been used

Isabella's Tips:
Serve waffles warm with your favourite toppings such as nutella, jam or sifted icing sugar. Waffles are even better served with a scoop of vanilla icing and hot chocolate sauce. 

Choc Chunk Butter Cookies

Ever had such a bad day that the only thing to make it feel better is a serious chocolate fix? If so, these are the cookies for you!

Ingredients:

• 250grams of butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons of condensed milk
• 2 1/4 cups plain flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 100 grams chopped walnuts
• 50 grams dark chocolate, chopped
• 50 grams white chocolate, chopped

Method:

1. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixmaster
2. Beat in the condensed milk 
3. Add the sifted flour and baking powder
4. Add the chopped chocolate and nuts
5. Tip dough onto benchtop and form into a large ball
6. Take tablespoons of the dough and roll into balls
7. Place on a baking tray and flatten the dough with a fork
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 160 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes
9. When cooked, transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
10. Store in an airtight container

Isabella's Tips:
These cookies are awesome made with a combination of dark milk and white chocolate. 

Cheesy Vegemite Scrolls

This is quite possibly the easiest and simplest recipe to make when in a hurry and in need of a tasty and filling snack. Go easy on the vegemite if you're not as obsessed with it as I am or replace it in general with frozen vegetables if you're looking for a way to get your recommended daily intake of vegies!

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry
• 1 jar of vegemite
• 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese

Method:

1. Spread vegemite to the edges of the puff pastry sheet
2. Top with grated cheese right to the edges
3. Roll up in the shape of a sausage
4. Cut into 4cm slices
5. Place slices upright on a baking tray
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 220 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes

Isabella's Tips:

Serve immediately whilst the cheese is hot and still stringy. Enjoy!

Prawn and Bokchoy Risotto

In need of a healthy meal? This recipe will satisfy your desire for a hearty meal with some fresh seafood. Yummmm!

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 6 spring onions finally chopped
• 2 tablespoons of grated, fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 cups risotto rice
• Finely grated lemon rind from 2 lemons
• 350grams shelled, cleaned fresh prawns
• 3/4cup frozen peas
• 1 bunch bok choy, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 4 cups of boiling water

 Method:

1. Heat butter in a large saucepan and fry the spring onions in ginger until soft
2. Add the rice and stir for 5 minutes
3. Add the hot water and lemon zest, along with the salt and pepper
4. Stir to combine and bring to the boil
5. Simmer for 15 minutes 
6. Stir in the prawns, peas and bok choy and cook for another 2 minutes
7. Stir in the lemon juice and add more salt and pepper as required

Isabella's Tip:
Serve immediately so that the rice retains its firmness.

Spring Rolls

Spring rolls are perfect foods to prepare for functions because these savoury items taste great with most foods. They're also exactly what you want in this cold winter weather. How would I know, well, they flew off the table at the engagement party! Don't just take my word for it, try it yourself!

Ingredients:

• 2 packets of spring roll wrappers, defrosted to room temperature
• 500grams of pork mince
• 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 small tin of finely sliced water chestnuts
• Vegetable oil

Method:

1. Lay out the spring roll wrappers individually on your kitchen bench
2. Mix all of the filling ingredients in a bowl
3. Place 2 tablespoons of the filling in the centre of each spring roll wrapper
4. Fold insides and roll up tightly
5. Repeat steps with remaining wrappers and filling
6. Heat 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a frypan or wok
7. Fry four spring rolls at a time in the wok for 5 minutes on each side
8. Drain on paper towel and serve hot.

Isabella's Tasty Tip:
These spring rolls taste great with a generous serving of sweet chilli or soy sauce!

Tuna Dip

This tuna dip is the definition of easy! Both healthy and tasty, i can be whipped up in a flash for a light snack to share with family and friends which made it an ideal choice of food to prepare for the engagement party!

Ingredients:

• 1x 200g tin of tuna, drained
• 45grams of anchovies, drained
• 1/4 cup of chopped parsley
• 200 grams of soft cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• salt and pepper

Method:

1. Place all of the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until a smooth consistency is achieved
2. Spoon into a serving bowl and serve with carrot and celery sticks

Isabella's Tips:
It's best to eat this dip with fresh vegetables or on crackers which do not have a strong taste as the dip is very rich. 

Vanilla Slices

Engagement parties are the time to celebrate the joining of a couple. If you’re a guest, it’s a time to pig out on some tasty food, socialise with friends and take advantage of the free alcohol. However, if you’re the family of the engaged couple and they’ve decided to cost cut by hiring you to cook for their 100 guests, it means one thing: cooking, and a hell of a lot of it! This blog post is for those of you unlucky chefs who fall into the latter category. Fortunately, the days leading up to the engagement party don’t have to be spent sweating it out in the kitchen because the following recipes are quick, tasty and foolproof. How would I know? Well, just last weekend my sister had her engagement party and this dish was a sure-fire hit amongst their 100 guests.   

Ingredients:

• 2 sheets of frozen puff pastry, defrosted to room temperature
• 4  cups of milk 
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of custard powder
• 3/4 cup corn flour
• 60grams butter
• 2 egg yolks

Icing Ingredients:

• 2cups of icing sugar, sifted
• 60grams butter
• 125grams cream cheese

Method:

1. Line a 30cm, rectangular baking tin with foil
2. Place 1 sheet of the puff pastry with foil 
3. Bake in the oven at 220 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes
4. In a saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, custard powder, flour and butter and stir over low heat until the mixture thickens.
5. Add the 2 egg yolks and stir until smooth.
6. Remove the dish with the cooked puff pastry from the oven and pour the custard filling directly ontop of the pastry.
7.  Place the other sheet of puff pastry on a baking tray and bake in the oven at 220 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes
8. When it is cooked, place directly ontop of the custard filling 
9. Refrigerate the custard slices whist making the icing.

 

Icing Method:

1. Place all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until smooth
2. When the vanilla slices are cold, spread with the icing
3. Cut the vanilla slices into squares to serve

Isabella's Tip:
When cutting the vanilla slice, it's best to make sure that the final product has set completely before making any cuts. Also, it's important 

Pikelets

PIKELETS

Pikelets...They’re an all-time favourite and a fast and easy way to satisfy your hunger in the morning...not to mention a serious workout for your arm muscles when it comes to mixing the batter! Preparing these tasty treats is as simple as combining your ingredients, mixing and cooking the batter and adding your favourite condiments to the final result.

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup of self raising flour
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon of golden syrup
• ½ cup of milk
• Cooking butter

Method:

1.  Sift flour into a mixing bowl
2. Add rest of the ingredients and whisk/mix with a wooden spoon until a smooth batter is formed. Do not use a electric mixer.
3. Heat a 6- hole griddle iron on your gas or electric hotplates and melt a ¼ teaspoon of butter in each hole
4. Place 2 tablespoons of batter into each of the holes
5. Once tiny bubbles appear on the surface of the batter, flip the pikelets over.
6. Cook for 1 minute more then remove from pan to plate. 

 

Isabella's Tip:
Serve pikelets warm with butter or your favourite condiments such as jam, honey, nutella, maple syrup etc.

Vanilla and Chocolate Cupcakes

These vanilla and chocolate cupcakes are ideal for when you're in need of something sweet but don't want something too big or filling! These light cupcakes are topped with creamy chocolate icing which really complements the vanilla base. To top it all off, they're perfect for birthdays or just to have when friends come over and you're in need of a sweet treat to share around!

Ingredients:

Fresh Ingredients for the cupcakes!

• 125g of softened butter
• 3/4 cup of caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups of self raising flour
• 3/4 cup milk
• patty cases

Method:

1. With a hand beater, cream the butter and sugar in a bowl
2. Add the eggs to the bowl, one at a time
3. Fold in the sifted flour
4. Add milk to the mixture
5. Spoon 1/4  cup of mixture into patty cases
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes

 Icing Ingredients:

• 60g of butter
• 125g of cream cheese
• 2 cups of sifted icing sugar
• 60g of melted chocolate

 Icing Method:

1. Mix all of ingredients together in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon
2. Use to decorate cupcakes

Isabella's Tips:
These cupcakes look best decorated with a square of chocolate which is placed in the centre of the cupcake.

Apple Spice Delight

Whether your job requires you to work unusual hours or you're a student pulling those dreaded all-nighters, everybody needs a sugary snack to give them that extra boost of energy to keep them working. This Apple spice cake is ideal when when you need a quick pick-me-up or something sweet to snack on but above all, it's extremely quick and easy to make. Beware...it's quite addictive. How would I know? I'm a student who's done my fair share of all-nighters!

Ingredients

Ingredients:

• 2 large red apples- peeled and chopped
• 1 cup of caster sugar
• 1 cup of raisins
• 1 cup of self raising flour
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of mixed spice
• 60 grams of butter, melted

Step 2

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl
2. Pour into a lined, square cake tin
3. Cook at 180 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes

Isabella's Tip:
This cake is best eaten warm with a big dollop of cream!

Sweet Lemon Tarts

Everyone has a sweet tooth and what better way to relax after a hard day of work than to indulge in a sweet lemon tart. This recipe is ideal if you’ve got a couple of spare lemons lying around in your fruit bowl or if not, you can always ask for a couple from your neighbour...just be sure to give them a taste of the final product!

Pastry Ingredients:

• 2 cups of self raising flour
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 egg
• 125g of butter

Pastry Method:

1. Place all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until a soft dough is formed.
2. Place dough in gladwrap and chill in fridge for 30 minutes.
3. Place three individual flan tins on kitchen bench and lightly spray each of them with vegetable oil.
4. Roll out the dough thinly and use it to line the three tins.
5. Use a fork to lightly press holes into the pastry.
6. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
7. Place flan tins in oven on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
8. Cool to room temperature.

              Step 3                                                      Step 5                                              Step 7                     
Filling Ingredients:

• 1 x 440g tin of light condensed milk
• ½ cup of fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup of whipped cream

Filling Method:

1. Empty the contents of the tin of condensed milk into a bowl, adding the lemon juice slowly and stir to combine.
2. Place the bowl into the fridge until the filling is set.
3. Once set, fill each of the individual flan tins with the filling.

Isabella's Tips:
Decorate the sweet lemon tarts with whipped cream if desired

Lasagne

Growing up in an Italian family, the staple food in your diet is pasta but if you skipped the pasta-making gene in your family like me, this recipe is ideal for you because I’m using packet sheets in my tasty lasagne. It's not cheating, it's just...smart cooking! This recipe is perfect for those nights when you’re in need of a good, hearty meal, especially during those chilly winter months.

Ingredients for Meat Sauce:

• 1 packet of pre-cooked lasagne sheets
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 500grams of beef mince
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 2 tins of diced tomatoes

Ingredients for Cheese Sauce:

• 3 cups of milk
• ½ cup of plain flour
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• ½ cup of grated parmesan cheese
• Extra ½ cup of parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese for topping

Step 3

Method for Meat Sauce:

1. Heat a deep frypan with a splash of olive oil and sauté the finely chopped onion and garlic for 5 minutes.
2. Add the beef mince and brown evenly.
3. Add the 2 tins of diced tomatoes along with the tomato paste and 1 cup of hot water.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Bring the sauce to the boil and simmer gently for 2 hours on low heat.
 

 

Step 3

Method for Cheese Sauce:

1. Melt butter in a saucepan on low heat and mix in plain flour.
2. Gradually add milk, blending all ingredients.
3. Increase heat and stir until sauce boils and thickens.
4. Add parmesan cheese.

Method for Assembling Lasagne:

Step 3

1. Take a square, deep casserole dish and spoon a soup ladle of meat sauce evenly on the bottom of the dish.
2. Place 2 lasagne sheets ontop of the meat sauce.
3. Add another ladle full of meat sauce ontop of the lasagne sheets.
4. Continue layering the meat sauce and lasagne sheets until the casserole dish is ¾ full. Make the final layer 2 sheets of lasagne.
5. Pour the cheese sauce evenly over the lasagne sheets. Evenly distribute ½ cup of parmesan cheese and ½ cup of mozzarella cheese over the white sauce.
6. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes.

A Meatlovers Deluxe

Is it just me or has everyone suddenly become more health conscious? There’s been a trend I’ve noticed lately where every time I walk past the book aisle in a retail outlet, I’m bombarded by health books. Are the recipes any good? I don’t know, but I’ll tell you one thing, cauliflower patties do not sound appealing to me. So what’s the solution for you health freaks out there? Well, here’s a recipe which will satisfy those naughty cravings of yours but also stick to your strict dietary guidelines.

So what’s the magic recipe? Help yourself to a healthy, home-made pizza. Why? Because everyone loves a good pizza.

For this recipe, you’ll need:

Ingredients for Pizza base:

• 350g of white bread flour
• 2 teaspoons of dried yeast
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• ¾ cup of warm water

Ingredients- Pizza Toppings:

• ½ cup reduced salt pizza sauce
• 1 finely sliced red onion
• 1 finely sliced beetroot
• 6 small mushrooms
• 1 finely chopped chorizo sausage
• 110g of diced Hungarian salami
• ¼ cup of black olives
• ½ cup of low fat crumbled fetta



Step 4

• 1 cup of finely grated low fat mozzarella cheese

Method for Pizza Base:

1. In a large mixing bowl, place the sifted flour, yeast, salt and sugar and pour in the oil and warm water.
2. Using your hands, mix the ingredients until a dough forms.
3. Kneed the dough for 1-2 minutes on a bench top with a sprinkling of flour.
4. Place the ball of dough in an oiled bowl and cover the bowl with glad-wrap.
5. Place the bowl in a warm position and leave to rise for 3-4 hours.

Step 2 and 3

Making the Pizza:

1. Lightly oil a pizza tray.
2. Place the dough on the tray and using the palms of your hands, spread it out to fit the shape of the tray.
3. Cover the base with the pizza sauce and place the toppings one by one on the base. Add the cheese last.
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 220 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. Serve immediately.  

 Isabella's Tips:
Barbeque sauce can be added to the pizza to give it that extra spicy flavour if desired!