Leftover Easter Egg Blondies

I know....I can practically hear you all saying 'You crazy lady, ain't nobody got leftover easter eggs!' 

But in our house we had a big basket of mini eggs sitting on the kitchen bench over the Easter and now that Easter has been and gone, Mr B is no longer eating them. Which just leaves them (the eggs) and me (the weak choc-oholic with no self control). 

The eggs are obviously aware of my inability to resist them because they call my name every time I walk past. 

So the way I see it, I had two options....eat them all myself OR cook something for Mr B's lunches with them so even though he says he is 'over easter eggs' and refusing to eat them anymore, little does he know, I have smuggled them into his lunch box. 

Cue evil laugh......

Obviously this plan backfired a little when I had to physically leave the room to stop eating these blondies fresh out of the pan, but that's a minor detail. These are gooey and chewy and studded with chocolate chip, creme egg goodness which as far as blondies goes makes them good, like REALLY good. 

Leftover Easter Egg Blondies 

170g butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 tspns vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups self raising flour
2 x 135g pkts of mini Cadbury Creme Eggs
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 160C and grease and line a slice tin with baking paper.

Place the butter in a microwave safe jug and heat for 60 seconds on Medium High.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and brown sugar and beat until combined. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat well.

Add the flour and beat until combined.

Unwrap the mini eggs. I placed mine on a chopping board and gave them a hit with a meat mallet so they were still whole but kinda flattened. It doesn't matter if they fall apart abit though, you just don't want to completely pulverise them or they creamy filling will disappear into your blondie mix.

Stir the chocolate chips and crushed eggs through your blondie batter.

Spoon the batter into your prepared pan and smooth the surface with a spatula or spoon. Now the recipe I used for these suggested baking them for no longer than 25 mins but I had to bake mine for 40 mins so I would say check them at 25 mins and if a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean and the top is set, then they are done, if not, check them at 35 and then 40 mins.

Once you remove your blondies from the oven allow them to cool on the bench for 30 mins. At this stage you can dive right in like I did and pick off all the edges because they are amazing....or you could show some restraint and put them in the fridge for a further 30 mins before you slice them. I definitely recommend this as these blondies are super gooey and chewy and are much easier to slice once you remove them from the fridge...but I also recommend having a sneaky taste before you put them in the fridge too!

Enjoy!!

 

Mrs B xx

Tropical Fruit Salad Butter Cake

This recipe has been in the back of my mind for awhile now and a few weeks ago I finally had the opportunity to bring it back to life. I was so pleased when it tasted exactly how I remembered it because my Mum and I used to make this cake all the time when I was younger. Even though I haven't made it or eaten it in well over 10 years, it's amazing how one bite can bring a world of memories flooding back and I knew I had to make it again so that my Mum and Dad and Mr B could experience it as well.

This is a really simple cake, but it is so moist and light and bursting with fruit that you can serve it hot or cold, for dessert or afternoon tea, but always with a generous dollop of cream.

Tropical Fruit Salad Butter Cake

You will need:

1 pkt of Butter Cake Mix
425g tin of super well drained tropical fruit salad mix (the one I use is a mix of pineapple, peach, banana and passionfruit, but I pick the seeds out!)

Pre-heat oven to 180C and grease your desired size cake tin. If I'm making it for dessert I make it in one large round cake tin or if I'm making it for afternoon tea I make it as two cakes so I can sandwich them together with whipped cream.

Prepare the butter cake mix as per the packet directions.

Stir through the drained fruit salad.

Pour the mixture into your cake tin and bake for 40-50 mins for one large cake or 30-40 mins for 2 smaller ones. The cake is done when golden in colour and bounces back when touched.

Enjoy!

Mrs B xx

Zucchini Chips and Home Made Mozzarella

Continuing on with our love affair with cheese making, Mr B and I spent a rainy afternoon last weekend making mozzarella.

It was actually really easy to make and the best part is it's ready to eat straight away - hello creamy mozzarella!

To make the mozzarella, we followed THIS video on YouTube. We use a Mad Millie Cheese Making Kit and not only are the instructions in the kit great, but most of the recipes are backed up by YouTube videos as well which I find really useful.

So as you can imagine, Mr B and I had a week filled with mozzarella goodness!

First of all we ate it in fresh rolls with juicy tomatoes.

Secondly we stuffed it inside some chicken breasts with basil and then coated them in panko breadcrumbs before baking  them in the oven.

And thirdly we tried it in a good old caprese salad with tomatoes and basil.

This was definitely my favourite. You can't beat the combination for flavour plus it took me right back to Sorrento where we ate this every night on our honeymoon.

And in the background of this photo, next to the stuffed capsicum....which is topped with melted mozzarella... you can see some zucchini chips that we made. To quote Mr B, these were the bomb-diggity which I have come to realise means they were pretty damn good.

To make them for yourself you will need:

2 x zucchini cut into sticks
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 tbspn parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 egg, lightly beaten

Pre-heat oven to 150C

Combine the panko breadcrumbs with the parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.

Dip the zucchini sticks into the egg and then into the breadcrumbs. You might need to press the breadcrumbs down to ensure they stick.

Place on a lightly greased oven tray and bake for 20-25 mins or until golden brown.

These were so tasty - I could have eaten a whole bowl of them!

Enjoy!

Mrs B xx

Happy Easter!!

Every Easter, rather than exchange eggs, Mum, Dad, Mr B and I get together for a Good Friday eggs-travaganza brunch. It still involves eggs, but it also involves copious amounts of Hot Cross Buns slathered in butter and some quality family time and it's one of those times in the year I really look forward too (and not just for the chocolate and Hot Cross Buns either!) 

This year we were lucky enough to be joined by my Nan too but judging from the photo below, I'm unsure of whether it's my Nan who's the bad influence on Mr B or the other way round........

This was our brunch, a mixture of chocolate, fruit and fruit-less Hot Cross Buns, some cheese, camembert, loads of butter, all the different varieties of mini easter eggs Mum could get her hands on, some lil caramel and vanilla creme filled chocolate covered sponge cakes and last but not least some super milky, super creamy coffee topped with a cute little cinnamon sugar star! 

Every year in the lead up to Easter I refrain from having any Hot Cross Buns and tend to only buy Mr B and I a bag (or 2!) of mini eggs to share because I look forward to our family Easter brunch and all the goodies that go with it! 

Obviously the next logical thing to do after lunch was head out onto the deck for a family photo shoot!

I love this photo of Mr B and I. 

And this one, three generations all together....Me, My Mum and My Nan

And the whole motley crew....

And somewhere in there I ran around like a lunatic with this statue of a bunny raving about having found the Easter Bunny....

I blame it on the coffee....

And these are the Hot Cross Buns Mr B and I made last weekend. I wasn't going to make any this year, but then I realised that I have made them every single Easter since Mr B and I met. Mr B takes them in his lunches in the lead up to Easter and then on Easter Sunday we always have some for lunch, it's our little tradition and it just didn't feel right to not make them

I hope you all have a lovely Easter filled with chocolate, bunnies, Hot Cross Buns and of course, family. 

Mrs B xx 

Peanut Butter and Banana Bread

Recently for my Dad's birthday, I borrowed a container off my Mum, filled it up with baked goodies, wrapped it up and gave it to him as a gift. 

Last week my Mum gave me the container back and later on that night when I realised it was actually her's to begin with, I sent her a txt message informing her of her error. 

The answer - We were giving it back so you could fill it up again! 

The cheek! 

They are lucky I love them and I thought that was a fabulous idea! 

So this weekend I got to baking. I had some peanut butter in the cupboard leftover from making this Peanut Butter and Jelly Slice and I had a hankering to pair it with banana bread. And that is exactly what I did! It smells incredible and the sneaky nibble I had (sorry Mum and Dad!) backed up my theory that it was amazing. To be honest, they nearly only got half a loaf.....but I know that I would have sat down and demolished it slathered in butter in one sitting and that would possibly scar Mr B for life so we just won't go there. 

Peanut Butter and Banana Bread

3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1.5 cups plain flour
3/4 tspn baking soda
1/2 tspn ground cinnamon
1/2 tspn ground allspice
1/2 tspn salt
1 tspn vanilla essence
1 tbspn Cinnamon Sugar (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 180C and grease and line a 9x5inch loaf tin.

In the bowl of your electric mixer add the banana, peanut butter, caster sugar and brown sugar. Beat until combined.

Add the remaining ingredients, except for the cinnamon sugar. Beat well.

Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and smooth the surface with a spatula. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the top.

Bake for 45-50 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 mins before removing from the pan to a wire rack. Allow to cool completely....or cut yourself off a slice and enjoy it fresh out of the oven while it's still warm!

Enjoy!

Mrs B x

Chicken, Lemon and Parmesan Burgers

It's 4:54pm on Sunday evening and after a full day in the kitchen (Ok so by the time I got out of bed it was a half day, but still....) I'm conked out on the couch exhausted. There is just no way I'm getting up any time soon to prepare dinner, which is OK because we only just had lunch....but I'm actually not that convinced I'll be moving from this spot anytime in the next 24 hours so Mr B may have to fend for himself tonight. 

On night's like these, it's great to have a stash of go-to meal ideas that are easy, delicious and most of the time you have all of the ingredients in your cupboard. Plus let's be honest, it's either these, a bowl of cereal or a packet of microwave pasta....I know which one I'd prefer! 

These burgers are packed full of flavour and unbelievably juicy and moist - you will find that your dragging yourself off the couch to go back for seconds in no time! 

Chicken, Lemon and Parmesan Burgers

You will need:

2 x chicken breast, cut into chunks
1 egg
2 tspn crushed garlic
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tspn wet italian herbs (I used Gourmet Garden brand) or alternatively you could use 1 tbspn finely chopped fresh basil
Rind from 1 lemon, finely grated
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup plain flour
1 tbspn olive oil
4 x soft rolls
Lettuce, tomato and cheese

Place all ingredients, except flour, into a food processor. Process until all ingredients are combined. The chicken should be completely minced up with no big pieces remaining in your mixture.

Place the flour in a bowl or on a plate. Shape the chicken mixture into 8 patties and lightly dust with flour.

Place the floured patties on a plate and let them firm up in the fridge for 20-30 mins.

Heat the oil in a fry pan over medium heat. Cook the patties in batches for 7-10 mins before turning over. Cook until both sides are golden and patties are cooked through.

Serve in rolls with lettuce, tomato and cheese.

Enjoy!!

Mrs B xx

Moroccan Lamb Cigars

Let me tell you what I'm doing right now.....

Mr B and I arrived home from work 2 hours ago and my first thought was 'hooray we are home early and it's a lovely night. Maybe we can sit outside under the pergola with a Baileys and just relax together.'

Fast forward to now and I'm hiding up in our bedroom with the laptop trying not to make any noise while Mr B sits in the lounge room at the other end of the house snoring his head off.

Isn't married life wonderful?!

That is what happens when you 'just sit down for a minute' apparently! But that's ok because in roughly half an hour I will get bored and start loudly closing drawers, doors and anything else that makes noise until he wakes up.....now I know that doesn't sound like I'm going to win any wife of the year awards but honestly, it's for his own good! He won't sleep tonight if he naps too long this afternoon and then he will be REALLY tired and cranky tomorrow....plus I want my Baileys.....

Anyway....y>ou may remember a little while ago I told you about our Moroccan Feast which involved Vegetarian Cigars with Harissa Yoghurt, Spicy Red Cous Cous and Carrots with Minted Fetta? Well seeing as it was such a hit, I thought I would make it again, but this time with Lamb Cigars for Mr B and some salad instead of the cous cous to lighten it up a little.

Moroccan Lamb Cigars with Harissa Yoghurt

1 onion, finely diced
1 tbspn olive oil
1.5 tspn crushed garlic
500g lamb mince
1 tspn cumin
1 tspn cinnamon
1 tspn ginger
1 tspn finely grated lemon rind
1 tbspn lemon juice
10 sheets fillo pastry
1 tbspn butter (melted)
200g greek yoghurt
1 tspn harissa paste
1 tspn lemon juice

In a large frying pan over medium heat, add 1 tbspn olive oil. onion and garlic. Cook for 2-3 mins or until onion softens.

Add the lamb, cumin, cinnamon and ginger. Cook, sitrring frequently, until mince is browned.

Stir in the lemon rind and juice and season to taste. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. 

To put the cigars together, take two sheets of fillo and place them on your work bench with one of the long edges facing you. Cut the fillo vertically into 3 sections. Place 1 heaped tbspn of the lamb mixture along the short end of each rectangle. Roll the pastry over the filling and then fold in the sides and continue to roll up to form a cigar shape. Place cigars seam side down on a baking tray. Repeat to make a total of 15-18 cigars.

Brush the cigars with melted butter and bake at 180C for 20 mins or until lightly browned.

To make the Harissa Yoghurt simply combine the yoghurt, harissa paste and lemon juice in a bowl. Serve drizzled over the cigars or on the side for dipping.

Enjoy!

Mrs B xx