Mushroom and White Wine Risotto

You know how I said I was attending all those seminars this week and next? Well it was / is all fun and games, but travelling to the venue and back every day, and the listening and the writing and the learning, plus going back to work and doing my normal job is exhausting!! So a no fuss , hearty, tasty meal was very much needed last night and this Mushroom and White Wine Risotto did the trick. Now I can hear you all saying risotto? no fuss? is she crazy? But this risotto is oven baked which totally negates the need for all that pesky stirring!

You will need:

3 cups of vegetable stock
50g butter
400g of mixed mushrooms, sliced (I used a combination of button, shitake and oyster)
1 brown onion, diced
1 tbspn of crushed garlic
1.5 cups of arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tbspn Gourmet Garden thyme (or 1/2 cup chopped fresh thyme)
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan

Ok so to start with, pre-heat your oven to 180C.

Melt the butter in a fry pan over medium heat and add the mushrooms, onion and garlic. Cook for 4-5 mins.

Add the rice and wine. Bring mixture to the boil and cook, stirring, for a further 2 minutes.

Stir in the stock and thyme. Pour mixture into a large oven proof casserole dish and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring at about the 15 minute mark. After 25 mins, remove the foil and stir through the parmesan. Bake for a further 5 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed and the risotto is tender.

Is that not like the easiest risotto recipe (and possibly the tastiest!) you have ever seen!?

And what sort of a relaxing end of week meal is complete without pie? And not just any pie....I'm talking apple and cranberry pie with cinnamon sugar pastry! Note Mr B's GIANT bowl of pie and my normal size bowl of pie in the background......

I have some pumpkin muffins cooling on the bench and they smell amazing....I'm totally having one smothered in butter for morning tea. Then I'm going to do the groceries, make Mr B some Nutella Cookies and some Choc-Chip and Date Slice and some triple chocolate caramel brownies and maybe even a Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Sheet Cake....if he's lucky!

Have a fantastic weekend however your spending it!

Mrs B xx

Home Made Pizza

This week and next week I am attending a whole bucket load of seminars through a local initiative called WorkSafe Month. During WorkSafe Month there is about 2 weeks worth of free training courses, seminars and forums which are open to anyone to attend and the topics range from Stress Management  to Understanding the Workplace Heath and Safety Legislation to Is Your Workplace Stroke Safe to Improving Physical Activity and Nutrition in the Workplace. There are so many great sessions on this year I think I am attending like at least 2 each day, but when they are free (and held during work hours at a beautiful venue by the water) they really are a fantastic resource....plus I think the one I'm going to tomorrow includes breakfast....now if only they would let me go in my pyjamas! 

Alot of the talk at the seminars I have been to so far focuses on eating healthy and looking after our bodies and you know most of the time Mr B and I are very good at that....we have the occasional ice cream 'black out' where the whole tub disappears in one night, but otherwise we are pretty good! We go out for tea occasionally, but we generally stay away from take away or 'fast' foods and to that end once every month or so we treat ourselves with home made nachos or hot dogs or, my personal favourite, home made pizzas!

Now these pizzas aren't your average bit of pita bread spread with tomato paste, topped with goodies and chucked in the oven (although that does make for a mighty fine home made pizza too!), these pizzas are a whopping big mountain of pizza goodness...and definitely require a knife and fork...or a bib....possibly both!
 
For the dough you will need

125ml water
3/4 tbspn oil
1/2 tspn salt
1.5 cups plain flour
1 tspn yeast

Now the night before we plan on having pizzas, I just chuck all of the above in the bread maker, in the order it's listed and hit the dough button....when the bread maker beeps at me roughly 90mins later, I put the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge overnight. 

The next night, roll your dough out into a circle and place on a pizza stone, if you have one, or a greased baking tray will work too. 

Top with your favourite toppings and bake for about 25-30 mins at 160C. 

Just as an example, on this one we used
1 small tin of pineapple pieces
1 capsicum diced
1 tomato diced
100g of shaved ham
100g of bbq chicken meat
100g of diced mushrooms
Honey BBQ Sauce
And lots of shredded pizza cheese!

This photo does not do it justice....it was huge....but oh so good!!!

Enjoy! 

Mrs B xx 

Cranberry and Oat Muffins

Mr B is going through a mega cranberry phase at the moment.....I'm not entirely sure he knows they are fruit and I don't want to break the spell just yet so whilst he is blissfully unaware I'll just keep cooking with them!

This week I made these Cranberry and Oat Muffins which Mr B informs me are totally awesome and need to make their way onto permanent rotation....the oats are totally sneaky on my behalf so no need to mention that to Mr B either! Like the whole delicious thing wasn't good enough, they are also super easy to make!

You will need:

2 cups of self raising flour
3/4 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup rolled oats
125g butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
125g dried cranberries

Pre-heat oven to 180C. Line 2 x 12 hole muffin pans with paper cases.

Combine the flour, sugar and oats in a bowl.

Pour over the melted butter, milk, eggs and cranberries. Stir until combined.

Divide the mixture between your muffin pans. Bake for 20 mins or until they bounce back when touched.

Mrs B xx

Mocha Fudge Self Saucing Pudding

Mr B and I both had today off work, so when Mr B got up early to go help my Dad line his shed out, I thought about staying in bed with a book all day, but then I remembered my to-do list was kinda long. Fudge. Funnily enough I managed to get a heap of stuff done and squeezed in some serious impulse buying, a visit to Mum and won the most awesome daughter / wife ever prize for delivering fish and chips to the boys for lunch. Then I came home to discover our lambies have learnt how to escape from their pen.....well one of them has, Blossom was running around the yard crying and Loud Mouth was running around the pen crying - they really don't like being apart! Seeing as they were just as freaked out as I was so I don't think they will be doing that again, plus when I put Blossom back in the pen, Loud Mouth gave her a good head butt just to show her what he really thought! So then I came inside, hid the impulse shopping and set myself up on the couch where I could watch for escaping lambs and generally just did all the things I never seem to have time for....like putting photos in albums, Ebay shopping and writing non-rushed blog posts!

This is my Dad's recipe for Mocha Fudge Self Saucing Pudding - I remember having it when I was little and it was always such a treat. I love the way the sauce goes all thick and fudgey and glossy and I love the way it reminds me of sneaking into the fridge when I was younger to steal the gooiest, fudgiest bits off the leftover pudding. Plus on a cold rainy night there is nothing better then a bowl of this pudding with a good dollop of cream.

Mocha Fudge Self Saucing Pudding

You will need

1 cup self raising flour
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 tbspns cocoa + 1/3 cup extra
1/2 cup milk
70g butter, melted
1 tspn vanilla essence
.75 cup brown sugar
1.5 cups strong black coffee

Pre-heat oven to 180C

In a large bowl combine the flour, caster sugar and 2 tbspns of the cocoa.

Stir in the milk, butter and vanilla. Spoon mixture into a round casserole dish.

Combine the brown sugar with the remaining cocoa and sprinkle over the pudding batter.

Carefully pour the coffee mixture over the batter.

Bake for around 50 mins and enjoy with a view like this!

 

Mrs B xx

Chicken, Leek and Cheddar Tart

You know how sometimes for like your birthday or Christmas you get some really dodgy presents that show next to no thought? Like I know if someone brought me say a book on modern physics I would be highly un-enthused....but if they get me anything shoe, tattoo, kitchen, cooking, baking, pin-up, vampire related I am one happy little vegemite. Plus I am very lucky to be surrounded by people who put alot of thought and effort into their present buying so I haven't had to poke anyone's eye out with a candle just yet......

Which brings me to what we had for dinner last night, you see for my birthday a few weeks ago, one of my beautiful friends brought me a cookbook called Delicious Baking. This cookbook is very dangerous....every single recipe in there looks and sounds amazing to the point where you may possibly drown in your own drool or you will bake so much that you will be buried alive under a pile of backed goods - personally I think the second option is a pretty good way to go! So last night when Mum and Dad came for dinner, I knew exactly what to make. This Chicken, Leek and Cheddar tart has seen a few alterations from the original recipe in the book, but it really was easy and delicious plus the layer of mustard gives it a real flavour kick!

You will need

8 sheets filo pastry
30g butter + 1 tbspn melted butter extra
2 large leeks (sliced)
3 thyme sprigs (or 1 tbspn Gourmet Garden thyme)
2-3 tbspns wholegrain mustard
1 cup shredded bbq chicken
3 eggs
300ml thickened cream
120g vintage cheddar cheese (shredded)

Pre-heat oven to 180C

Line a tart pan or quiche dish with filo. To get good coverage of the sides you might place 4 sheets horizontally and 4 sheets vertically or just layer them individually and overlap them around the dish.

Brush with melted butter.

Heat the remaining butter in a fry pan over medium heat. Add the leeks and thyme and cook for 5-10 minutes or until leeks are tender.

Spread the mustard over the base of the tart. Top with leeks and chicken.

In a bowl or large jug, whisk together the eggs and cream. Stir through the cheese and season well with salt and pepper. Pour over the chicken and leek.

Bake for 25-30 mins or until golden and set. Serve warm with salad and / or steamed vegies.

Enjoy!

Oh and before I go - Hi Michelle!!

Mrs B xx

Raspberry and Hazelnut Cake with Chocolate Mascarpone Cream

Last week I was asked if I could make a cake for a very special anniversary at my work and I had just the recipe - I have been dying to make this cake for such a long time and I'm so glad I did, it was delicious!

Raspberry and Hazelnut Cake with Chocolate Mascarpone Cream

250g butter, softened
2 cups caster sugar
6 eggs
1 cup plain flour
½ cup self raising flour
1 cup hazelnut meal
2/3 cup sour cream
300g fresh or frozen raspberries
1 cup (250g) mascarpone cheese
¼ cup icing sugar
½ cup sour cream
3/4 cup hazelnut meal
2 tbspns cocoa
1 cup whole hazelnuts for decorating

Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Grease and line a deep 22cm-round cake pan.

Beat the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer pale and creamy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating until just combined.

Add the flours, hazelnut meal and sour cream. Beat well.

Fold in the frozen raspberries, careful not to overmix or they will bleed. Have a sneaky taste test - this is hands down one of THE best mixtures ever!

Spread mixture into pan and bake for about 90 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Stand cake in pan for at least 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the mascarpone cream combine mascarpone, icing sugar, sour cream, hazelnut meal and 2 tbspns cocoa and beat using an electric mixer until smooth.

When cake is cool spread cake all over with mascarpone cream.

 When I made this I doubled the recipe for the cake which made enough for what you see above plus this loaf cake as well which I gave to my Dad! 

 

I also doubled the recipe for the mascarpone cream and decorated the finished product with whole whole hazelnuts.

I also had a rainbow cake to do for a friend on the same night which meant there was totally no room in our fridge for anything but cake.....

 

Nom nom nom...............

 

Mrs B xox

Triple Chocolate Malt Bars

I sat here for awhile pondering what to call these bars. On one hand I would love to call them triple chocolate malt blondies and on the other hand I would love to call them chunky triple chocolate malt cookie bars. But neither of those really seem to fit because the end result is a perfect combination of both - a soft and chewy yet dense bar that is studded with chocolate chips and bursts of malt. Plus as an added bonus, if you make these for your husband, he will out of the blue decide to spend an entire day with you where you will do all sorts of lovely things.....

He will take you for a walk along the waterfront on a beautiful sunny day and then to a market where you can zig zag amongst the gazillion people there whilst eating your gypsy roll, drinking your alcoholic ginger beer and admiring all the pretty things.

(for those of you who don't know a gypsy roll is a skinless lamb sausage in a mountain bread wrap topped with strawberry chilli sauce....Best. Thing. Ever.)

 

 He will take you home and show you the pergola he has been slaving away building with the help of your Father. Then he will bring out bean bags and books and the two of you will curl up in the sun on your semi-completed pergola and read whilst occasionally posing for impromptu photos.

Then that night, you will go out for a lovely 3 course dinner, you will order a cocktail called 'Sexy Time' and the old couple at the table next to you will glare at you for the rest of the evening, but you won't care because it tastes awesome.

A fantastic time will be had by all.

And if not, at least you have these bars and you can just curl up on the couch and eat them all hot out of the pan....

For these Triple Chocolate Malt Bars you will need:

120g butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tspn vanilla essence
1.5 cups plain flour
1/2 tspn baking powder
1.5 cups malt balls
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
1/3 cup milk chocolate chips
1/3 cup caramel chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 180C and grease and line a 8x8 inch baking dish / slice tin.

Place butter and sugar in a microwave safe dish and heat in 40 second bursts until butter is melted. Stir to combine.

Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.

Stir through the flour and baking powder and stir until well combined.

Add the malt balls and chocolate chips.

Press the dough into the prepared dish / tin and bake for 35-40 mins or until golden in colour. Allow to cool in the tin for 15-20 mins before removing and allow to cool completely before slicing.

Enjoy!

Mrs B xx