Just Being a Mum

Traditional Australian Christmas Dessert

This is a really yummy dessert, in Australia it is a traditional dessert for Christmas Day. I am not sure where the tradition comes from, I can’t seem to find anyone that knows. It just seems to be that way, and we have one every year. You can have it at other times of the year of course.

You will need

6 Egg whites
1 1/2 cups (300g) caster sugar
2 tsp white vinegar
1 tb cornflour
300ml thickened cream

Fruit to decorate - Banana, Mango, Kiwifruit, Passionfruit, Berries (fresh or frozen).

Tips:
- Make sure the bowl you are using is well washed and free of grease.
- Refrigerate eggs before separating: the yolks will separate

Continue reading Pavlova - Australian Dessert

Great for your Christmas Table

I made this for our Christmas table last year and it looked fantastic, it was pretty good to eat afterwards too. In the hot weather you have to be a bit careful, by the end of lunch it was leaning over a bit, the icing that was holding the stars together slowly softened.

TIP : Can make the stars the day before but need to assemble about an hour before putting on the table.

Ingredients

3 1/3 cups (500g) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
150g unsalted butter, softened
175g dark brown sugar
150g honey
1 egg
Icing - you can make your own or

Continue reading Gingerbread Christmas Tree

A Yummy Apple Cake

I know I shouldn’t really follow the weight loss post with such a yummy looking cake. But as I have said before, every thing in moderation, you can have a small piece, it does have apples in it, and we all know that they have great health benefits.

Ingredients

140g softened butter
200g caster sugar
2 eggs, beaten
200g self-raising flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
450g Granny Smith Apples (Green), peeled, cored and thickly sliced
Icing sugar to dust

Putting it all together

1. Heat oven to 180℃/350℉ or 160℃/320℉ fan forced. Line your cake tin, a deep, 20cm round tin.
2. Put the butter and sugar into a large bowl and beat

Continue reading Spiced Apple Cake

Easy Way to Line a Cake Tin

So you have picked up a recipe for a cake and it says to line your cake tin, you say what the?, how do I do that. Well ask no more as I am going to run you through it step by step. It is very handy and very easy to do, no more cake stuck to the tin for you!

It might seem a bit tricky, but once you have done it the first time, it is easy peasy. You won’t turn back as the cake won’t get stuck to the tin and you can take the cake out of the tin and let

Continue reading Lining a Cake Tin

Mmmm Cookies

As I mentioned in a previous post, my Dad is a chef, well we spent the weekend with them last weekend, and The little man and his Grandad decided to do a spot of cooking, they made these pinwheel biscuits. The little man had a great time and I think Grandad might have had just as much fun.

Ingredients

4oz Butter or Margarine
4oz caster sugar
1 Egg, beaten
8oz flour
1/2 oz cocoa

Putting it all together

1. Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. add the egg a little at a time, beating after each addition.
2. Stir in the flour and mix to a fairly firm dough.
3. Divide the mixture in half.
4. Knead

Continue reading Pinwheel Biscuits/Cookies

Easy Brownie Recipe

Ok, I didn’t really do anything out of the ordinary the last couple of weeks cooking wise, so I have cheated and asked my Dad, who is a Chef/ Hospitality Teacher, to send me one of his recipes to post this week.

So here goes, I hope that you enjoy, sorry there are no pictures.

Ingredients

175 grams Butter
300 grams Light Brown sugar
175 grams plain chocolate, broken into pieces
100 grams toasted chopped nuts
3 Eggs, beaten
2 ripe bananas, mashed
100 grams self-raising flour
2 tablespoons cocoa
1-teaspoon baking powder.

Putting it all together

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a 18×28cm Swiss roll tin with baking paper or greaseproof paper.
2. Put the butter, sugar

Continue reading Banana Nut Brownies

Meatloaf Makes a Comeback

I know that I normally do the recipe on a Friday but today was my brother-in-laws birthday, Happy Birthday.

He really loves meatloaf, so we invited them over to our house to celebrate his birthday this evening, and I made him a meatloaf.

Here is a great recipe that I have been using for a while now, so now you can give it a go.

Ingredients

1 brown onion, peeled
1 garlic clove, crushed, or you can use the already crushed garlic in a jar
130g rind less bacon, finely chopped
500 grams beef mince
380 grams pork mince
3 tablespoons tomato sauce/ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
2 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
80 grams tasty cheese, finely grated

Putting it

Continue reading Traditional Meatloaf

Bangers and Beans Made in Just One Pot.

This is a great recipe when you are in a hurry, you want something filling, and you don’t want to make a big mess in the kitchen. It is very quick, easy, and very tasty.

If you are not sure what a Banger is, it is a Sausage, it is best to use good quality thick sausages for this recipe, as they make it taste better.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Olive Oil
8 good quality pork sausages (you can you beef if you prefer)
2 carrots, peeled, halved length ways and sliced
2 onions, finely sliced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 x 410g cans of 4 or 5 bean mix, drained

Continue reading Bangers and Beans - One Pot!

Recipe: Meatballs with Risoni

I didn’t really know what Risoni was before I found this recipe, but now I know that it is a kind of pasta, and a pretty tasty one at that.  I have made this a few times now and the children love it, we love it too luckily.

It is a good recipe for the children to help you prepare, they love to make the meatballs, getting in and getting their little hands all covered in mixture. The Little Mans meatballs end up all mixed back up together and he tends to flatten then out, rather than roll them into balls, but he has fun which is the

Continue reading Risoni Pasta with Meatballs

I had never tried to make coconut ice before, as I thought that it was just way to difficult to make.

Well I wouldn’t say that it was easy, but it wasn’t too difficult. I don’t think that it is one for the little people to help with, but I am sure that they will have fun eating it, probably in small amounts though as it has a fair bit of sugar in it.

I was going to take a few pictures of the making but with the saucepan bubbling away and you have to be quick before it sets, it all got a bit to hard, so we just have a

Continue reading Coconut Ice