Super easy 4 ingredient biscuits

I am all about making domestic life as simple as possible while still having that 'home made' feel to life and these biscuits certainly fit the bill.

The actually only have 3 set ingredients (all of which are generally in the pantry) and the 4th can be whatever takes your fancy.

Plus you can freeze the mixture and then just slice it up and bake it for 15 minutes when you need it... which means you are only ever 15 minutes away from 'oh these, I just whipped them up this morning'.

Ingredients:
1 cup icing sugar
250g butter
2 1/2 cups plain flour
Plus whatever else you like - I often add orange/lemon zest, choc chips (or broken up Easter Eggs, stolen from your children, if that's all you have), crushed nuts or just keep the mix plain and press them in to 100s & 1000s before you bake them.

Method:
Use a mixer to beat the butter and icing sugar until fluffy then add the flour and whatever your 4th ingredient is. Kneed until combined then divide in half and roll into two logs. Wrap in Glad Wrap.

At this point you can either put them in the fridge for 30 minutes and then unwrap, slice in to 1cm think pieces, pop on a tray (I recommend using baking paper) and bake in a moderate oven until slightly brown (about 10 minutes) or you can freeze the logs for up to 3 months and then just slice while frozen and bake until slightly brown (about 15 minutes).

Too easy (and that's what I'm all about when it comes to cooking!).  

And no, its not a photo of my biscuits (although they do look like this)... my kids ate them before I got a chance to take the photo so thanks freedigitalimages.com!


 

Caramel on toast ... mothers ruin!

I'm having an ongoing love affair with Nestle's Caramel Top 'n Fill. Yum!

For those who haven't had the pleasure, Top 'n Fill is basically caramel in a tin. It's not as good as caramel you make yourself but it is still totally delicious and ready so much faster.

Today I have discovered caramel on toast.

It's not slimming but it is perfect for a cold afternoon when you have had a bad night of sleep (thanks kids), are in dire need of a sugar hit, feel like cake and can't be bothered making one.

So, if that sounds like you here's what you do.

Open Top 'n 'Fill and immediately eat several teaspoons of it.

Toast one side of a slice of bread under the grill.  Take the toast out of the grill.

Spread the untoasted side thickly with caramel and put it back under the grill for about 2 minutes.

Check it regularly - ideally the caramel will be bubbling around the  and darken slightly but how long you leave it will depend on how desperately you want to eat it!

Eat it while still warm but the caramel will be hot so be careful it doesn't stick to the top of your mouth and burn you.

Seriously yummy!

What's your guilty afternoon food secret??

Super easy, kid-friendly sausage casserole

This is one of the easiest casseroles I know ... it's yummy comfort food, perfect for winter and the kids will love it!
 
8 sausages - get the cheap Coles or Woolies ones
Olive oil
1 diced onion
1 tin beans (approx 400g), I usually use canelli or red kidney beans but any kind is fine
1 tin tomatoes with some kind of herbs in them (approx 400g), I used the Aldi ones
3 tbs Gravox, the traditional one is best but I've also used the chicken one and it was fine
Water

Put the sausages in a pot of water and bring to the boil. Simmer for a few minutes then drain.
When the sausages have cooled a little peel the skins off them and slice them on the diagional into pieces that are about 1cm thick.
Rinse the saucepan, add some olive oil and diced onion. Fry until the onion is soft.
Return sliced sausages to pan, add tinned tomatoes (and all the juice) and drained beans.
Bring to a simmer then add approxinately 2 cups of water and about three tablespoons on Gravox.
Simmer until the sauce thickens, you may need to add a little more Gravox.
Season to taste. You may also need to add a little sugar, depending how sweet the tomatoes you used are.

Ideally serve with green veggies and mash or bread. We have also had it with pasta and cous cous.    

Smashed cauliflower

Easy, delicious and popular with kids ... what else could you ask for.

1/2 cauliflower (although we did once eat a whole cauliflower between 4 of us!)
paprika
pinch of salt
3 or 4 tbs butter

Chop the cauliflower up into very small pieces, smaller than your little fingernail.

Steam the cauliflower, it needs to be really really soft. I do this in the microwave.

Transfer cauliflower to a hot frying pan, making sure none of the steaming water is transfered. Add butter and start frying it. If the cauliflower isn't in small enough pieces you can use a potato masher to mash it up at this point.

Sprinkle with paprika (quite a lot, the cauliflower should change colour) and a good pinch of salt, stir to combine.

Keep frying it until the edges of the cauliflower go brown and slightly chrispy. Eat immediately.

Chicken, bacon and leek casserole - recipe

This is a great recipe for the slow cooker.

Somewhere between 1kg and 2kg diced chicken (I use breasts because thighs gross me out)
1 leek, finely sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely sliced
250g diced bacon
A few handfuls of sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 can carnation milk 
salt and pepper to taste

Don't brown anything and don't bother cooking the bacon or leek, just chuck it all in the slow cooker* for four hours on high.


Serve with cous cous, pasta, rice or bread. 

*You could also make it in a casserole dish in the oven but for a much shorter time and make sure it doesn't get too dry.

Slow cooker rice pudding - recipe

Easy and totally delicious.

1 cup rice (I used medium grain)
1/2 cup caster sugar
5 cups milk
5-10cm long piece of orange rind
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or imitation vanilla
2 teaspoons of cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in your slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours, stirring several times along the way. Remove rind before serving.

Serve with cream, icecream, stewed fruit, sprinkled with cinnamon or whatever else takes your fancy.

Warm, easy, delicious winter goodness.

Tuna, Cheese and Tomato Rice Bake - Recipe

This recipe, courtesy of my Auntie Lea, is super fast, easy and cheap. Plus it is made of things you almost always have in the cupboard and my whole family loves it.

2/3 of a 425g tin of tuna (roughly, add however much works for you)
1 onion
1 tsp diced capsicum
1 tbs butter or margarine
1 420g tin diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups water
pepper
grated tasty cheese (about one big handful)
1/2 cup uncooked rice

Combine all ingredients except cheese in a  bowl. Put half of the mixture into a flat casserole/dish, spread out and top with half the cheese. Repeat with remaining mixture and top with the rest of the cheese. Put into a moderate oven and bake for 45min or until the liquid is gone and the rice cooked.

You could also add:
1 teaspoon of curry powder
frozen peas
frozen corn
Other diced veggies
leek or shallots
a sprinkle of chilli
More cheese
use salmon instead of tuna

YUM!!