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Saturday, September 27, 2008

Coconut Chicken Kebabs Recipe

Recently I went to a barbecue luncheon where the hostess served up these delicious chicken kebabs that were dipped in coconut and garam masala. Naturally I asked her for the recipe so I could share it with you on my site. these are so easy to do and a little different than the normal chicken kebabs that we uaually have. Don't forget to soak your skewers in water first to stop them burning when in the oven or on a grill (if prefered).

INGREDIENTS:
12 chicken tenderloins
12 bamboo skewers
2 eggs - lightly beaten
2 cups shredded coconut
1 heaped teaspoon garam masala (an indian spice)
Olive oil spray

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 200C.
Thread the chicken, lengthways onto skewers.
Break eggs onto shallow dish or plate and whisk lightly with a fork.
Mix the coconut and garam masala together on a plate or shallow dish.
Dip the chicken kebabs into egg first, then the coconut mix.
Spray with olive oil.
Place on oven trays lined with alfoil.
Cook in the oven for around 15 minutes or until a nice golden brown colour and cooked through.
Serve with almond pilaf and some sweet mango chutney.

ALMOND PILAF:
1 1/4 cups long grain rice
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
270ml can coconut milk or lite coconut cream
1/4 cup slivered almonds that have been toasted in oven first
Some fresh coriander leaves.

Put rice, stock and coconut milk in a large saucepan and bring to the boil.
Simmer, covered for around 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and let stand for another 10 minutes.
Stir in the toasted almonds and coriander leaves.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

French Onion Soup Recipe

This has always been a favourite of mine and I am sure that everyone has their own variation of it. My girlfriend Judy gave this recipe to me many years ago and the only difference with her recipe was she adds brandy to her soup. I have to admit to loving it made this way.
The secret to really good onion soup, is to cook it really slowly so the true flavour of the onions come through. If you own a slow cooker, that is probably the best way to make this delicious soup.

INGREDIENTS:

1 kilo brown onions - sliced
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups beef stock
2 cups water
3 - 4 sprigs parsley
black pepper and sea salt to taste
1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup brandy (optional)
125g gruyere cheese - grated
1 large french loaf or several baguettes

METHOD:

Melt butter in a large pan and add onions. Turn heat up and cook for approx 5 minutes, stirring constantly so they don't stick or burn.
Reduce heat and add the sugar and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for another 25 - 30 minutes or until the onions are a golden brown and have caramalised.
Transfer to a crock pot if you have one. Add the stock, water, worchestershire sauce, brandy and the parsley that has been tied together with string. Add some salt and black ground pepper to this and set on a slow heat and cook for about 2 - 3 hours. The longer and slower that you cook this will determine the best flavour.
When cooked to your liking, preheat your grill and toast sliced bread for about 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until lightly toasted.
Sprinkle the cheese on one side of toasted bread and return to grill to brown it. When it is golden brown and beginning to bubble, remove from grill.
Place 1 or 2 slices in each soup bowl and pour your soup over it.
The cheese will melt and the bread will rise to the top of the soup.
If you prefer you can ladle the soup in first and then add the cheese toasted bread on top. I prefer mine to have the soup poured over the bread but it tastes great either way.
If you don't have a slow cooker, you could use a pressure cooker or else just cooked on top of the stove in a stockpot for at least 1 hour if you are in a hurry.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Pumpkin and Poppyseed Velvet Cake Recipe

A girlfriend of mine made this delicious cake at a birthday luncheon I went to recently. I loved this recipe and asked her to give it to me so I could add it to my recipe site. I have adapted it slightly so that it has only half the amount of sugar, a little less butter and more lemon to it.

INGREDIENTS:

150g butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup splenda
1 large cup pumpkin - cooked and finely mashed
1 tablespoon lemon rind finely grated
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons poppyseeds
1 1/2 cups SR flour
2 eggs - separated

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 180C fan forced.
Grease and line a 20cm ring cake pan.
Cream butter, splenda and sugar until light and creamy.
Beat in egg yolks, one at a time and beat well after each addition.
Add pumpkin, lemon rind, juice and poppyseeds. Beat until light and smooth.
Gently fold in the flour, being careful not to overmix.
Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold in gently to cake mix and lightly blend through.
Pour into cake tin and bake in oven for around 35 - 40 minutes. Test with a skewer and if it comes out clean, then your cake is cooked.
Let stand in tin for about 5 minutes then turn out on a wire rack and let cool completely.
Ice with cream cheese frosting.

FROSTING:

75g light cream cheese
30g butter
1 1/2 cups (approx) icing sugar.
Allow butter and cream cheese to reach room temperature then beat with an electric mixer until soft and creamy. Add icing sugar, about 1/2 to start with, adding a little more at a time until you have the desired thickness and quantity. Spread over cake and allowing to slightly lap over the sides.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Yorkshire Pudding Recipe

When I was a little girl, growing up, whenever my mum asked me what I wanted for dinner, I would always ask for roast beef and yorkshire pudding. I always wanted the end two slices from the roast beef as I loved the crispy part of it. I still to this day, love roast beef and for me it just would not be complete without the yorkshire pudding to go with it. Do make your own and you will never use the packet mix for it again. The secret to this is to use buttermilk in it and allow to stand for 1/2 hour before cooking the batter.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup SR flour
1 egg
sea salt and black pepper to taste

METHOD:

Place flour, pepper and salt in a medium size bowl.
Whisk the egg and milk together. Add to the flour and using and electric whisk or beater, mix together until smooth and the cosistency of a thick batter.
Cover the bowl and let stand for 30 minutes to rest.
Grease a 12 place patty or muffin tray and place in a hot oven to heat thoroughly, about 5 minutes. You want it to begin to smoke.
Remove from oven and very quickly, pour the batter into each place and return to oven.
Cook for around 15 minutes or until golden brown and puffed up.
I often just pour my batter straight into the baking dish that the beef has been cooked in as I love the taste of the juices going through my puddings.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Roast Lamb Recipe

An all time australian favourite meal would have to be the sunday lamb roast. I love the mild taste of lamb and it is always on the menu at our house. My mum's was just the best way of cooking it and if you roast it this way, you will never go back to using any type of fat in cooking it. Mum's secret is in using orange juice in cooking the lamb. It gives it the most beautiful flavour and also helps to make the juices a lovely dark colour when making the gravy.
I always have roast vegetables such as potatoes and pumpkin with my lamb as well as some steamed vegetables. If you do roast veges, half cook them in the microwave first, then for the last 45 minutes add them to your baking dish with the lamb and turn once during cooking. I have added my recipes for home made gravy and mint sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

1 leg of spring lamb with shank attached
1 orange
1 tablespoon plain flour
1/2 cup water
mint sauce

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 200C
Place lamb in a large baking dish with the water.
Sprinkle flour over top of lamb.
Squeeze the juice of the orange over this.
Bake in the oven for around 1 hour. Reduce heat a little if it starts to burn.
If needed, add a little more water so as it doesn't dry out on the bottom of the pan.
Turn meat over for the last 30 minutes.
It should take around 2 hours to cook a medium size roast.
Serve with your vegetables, home made gravy.and mint sauce.

HOME MADE GRAVY:

Place your baking dish on top of stove and heat the juices left in the pan until bubbling. Add some salt and black pepper to pan and then add about a tablespoon plain flour to it. Quickly stir through with a fork until the flour is mixed well into the juices. You need to cook the flour before you add the water. Quickly, all at once, add about 1 cup water and continue mixing through with the fork. It doesn't matter if it looks lumpy at this stage as when it begins to boil, the lumps will disappear.Heat through until nice and smooth. If it is too thick, add some more water, a little at a time until you get the desired consistency of your gravy. It doesn't matter if you have little bits of meat or vegetables in this that may have stuck to your baking dish while cooking as this adds to the lovely flavour.
Once you have tasted home made gravies, you will never use packet ones again.

MINT SAUCE:

a handful of mint sprigs
couple teaspoons sugar
vinegar
salt and black pepper
water
Remove the mint leaves from the sprigs.
On a cutting board, place mint, sugar, salt and pepper and chop up finely. The juice from the mint will come out with the sugar, making it easier to chop up.
When all chopped up, place in a small jug and add a couple teaspoons vinegar and about 1/4 cup water. Taste to see if it is how you like it and if it needs it you can add a little more vinegar, sugar and or water to it.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Birthday Cupcakes Recipe

Whenever my children had a birthday party, I would always make some little cupcakes. I used to use different coloured icing on them and arrange them on a nice cake stand. They not only look lovely, but the kids and adults will love them. You can make several different ones from the 1 mixture. I usually make vanilla and divide it up so some are plain, some have pink colouring and some are chocolate. If you want to make chocolate cakes, add a tablespoon of cocoa powder to the mix with the flour. You may need a little more milk if mixture appears too thick.

INGREDIENT'S:

125g butter
2/3 cup castor sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup SR flour
2/3 cup fresh milk
whipped cream (for filling)

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 180C.
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and creamy.
Add vanilla essence, then eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Fold in flour, alternatively with the milk.
Spoon mixture into patty papers until about 3/4 full.
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until cooked when tested.
Remove from oven and cool before icing.
Cut a thin slice off the top of each cake and fill with some whipped cream then put top back on and spread some icing over the top. Add a few sprinkles over the icing.

IGING:

1 cup sifted icing sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter
few drops vanilla essence
little milk
food colouring or cocoa for chocolate ones
Coloured sprinkles or coconut for decoration

Melt butter in small saucepan. Take off stove and add few drops vanilla essence. Stir in icing sugar and few drops of food colouring. Add a few teaspoons of milk, a little at a time if icing is too thick. If making chocolate icing, add a tablespoon of sifted cocoa powder instead of colouring. You may need a little more milk if making chocolate icing.

Chicken Kiev Recipe

Everyone loves chicken kiev and as it is so easy to make, I have decided to add it to my recipe page. I ordered this from a restaurant recently and was very disappointed in what they served up. The next week I made my own recipe at home and it was just so much better than what I had at the restaurant. I am sure that they just order them if from one of the chicken suppliers, instead of making it all up fresh. The secret in great chicken kiev is to make sure that you don't pound the chicken breasts too much or it will not only break down the juicieness of the chicken but will allow the filling to leak out.

INGREDIENT'S:

2 chicken breasts (to serve two)
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 tablespoons butter - softened
chopped parsley
breadcrumbs
1 egg - slightly beaten
oil for baking or frying

METHOD:

Remove any skin from chicken breasts fillets.
Place between some plastic sheeting and gently roll out with a rolling pin or mallet.
In a small dish or bowl, mix the garlic, butter and parsley together. Roll up in some plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill.
Remove butter from fridge and place equal amounts on chicken breasts. Roll up as in a parcel, making sure that sides are well turned in. Secure with tooth picks.
Dip in beaten egg and then coat in breadcrumbs.
Either shallow fry in large pan or wok, turning several times until cooked through. Alternatively bake in an oven set at about 190C in a fan forced oven for about 40 minutes or until just cooked through but not overcooked.
Serve with some lovely coloured veges such as broccoli, carrots, corn and some whipped potatoes.