Saturday Recipe! Smokey Carrot Hummus

Happy Saturday Ladies

Yum, I love Hummus and this one is totally vegan especially for my oldest friend in the world Joanne, she actually introduced me to Hummus to begin with! This adds a bit of a different dimension to the norm so give it a go and enjoy with some french bread or vegan friendly biscuits or even just simple celery and Lebanese cucumber cut into lengths

xx A

SMOKY CARROT HUMMUS

1 pound carrots, rinsed
3/4 cup cooked garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 lemon, juiced (about 3-4 tablespoons)
1 tbs sesame seeds
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp paprika
1/2 t cumin
1/4 tsp  chili powder
1/4 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Chop carrots into large chunks. Toss in 2 teaspoons olive oil and lightly salt. Roast for about 30 minutes, until carrots are fork-tender. Set aside until cool enough to work with.

Meanwhile, you can get everything else ready. Using either a blender or food processor, add the garbanzo beans, 2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice, sesame seeds, garlic, all spices and salt.

Once the carrots have cooled, add them to the blender or food processor. Pulse or blend until combined. Have the olive oil on hand if you need to add more because the consistency is too thick.

Garnish with paprika or fresh parsley. Serve with crackers, bread or tortilla chips. Spread on a sandwich. Enjoy!

This Smoky Carrot Hummus recipe is part of the March Seasonal Food Guide

Saturday Recipe! Homemade Butterfingers

Candy Corn Butterfingers

Hello Lovelies,

By now you must realise how much I love peanuts and chocolate together, I found these yummy fingers last week and made them during the week for small sweet snacks. The only downfall was how much my kiddies loved them (not good for the sugar highs ha ha).

I have changed the Candy corn though, (suppose i had better change the name then). I have replaced them with fruit salad bonbons, I had to research candy corn and had no idea what it was, Do try them though , they were well worth the extra calories Yum!

via Plain Chicken

1 lb. candy corn (or soft chewy sweets such as bonbons)
16oz jar peanut butter (any peanut butter is good)
16oz pkg. chocolate to melt

Melt candy corn in microwave on high 1 minute. Stir and continue cooking in 15-second intervals til melted, stirring after each interval. Stir in peanut butter. Spread mixture in an 8x8 pan lined with parchment. Cool completely. Cut into squares. Dip into the melted chocolate. Lay on waxed paper to set. Yum!

Saturday Recipe!

My post on Saturdays is always the yummiest recipe i can find, it doesn't mean i have always made them, but it definitely means i will make them....... and i hope you will too!

Hi Hat Cupcakes

I have been fascinated with this recipe since I saw it, It reminds me of mister whippy on a hot summers day. I remembered seeing it on Martha Stewart.com I cant take credit for the photos here though I would love to, she did an        amazing job.

Chopped chocolate. The perfect way to start. I really liked this cupcake recipe. It’s great for any kind of cupcakes.

But even better with this frosting. I used a disposable piping bag with a large opening.

If I had paid attention to the directions beforehand I don’t know if I would have been as eager to get started.

What a mission, this is when you wish you never started........eek!

After about 12 minutes… I was over holding the hand mixer.

So I hoped for the best and piped it on the cupcakes… as tall as I could get it.

The cupcakes went in the freezer while the dipping chocolate was prepared.

One bag of milk chocolate. I use the choc chips.

And melted them in the microwave with three tablespoons of vegetable oil. Yum.

Melt them on medium-low in 30 second intervals and stir in between until melted and smooth.

Then wait a few minutes to make sure the chocolate isn’t hot.

Now, take a deep breath and grab one of the cupcakes from the freezer.

Turn it upside down and slowly submerge the entire top in melted chocolate.

Okay, here goes…

More…

 and lift it out.

Holy cupcakes… it worked.

It totally completely worked.

And it’s beautiful.

Use a toothpick to touch up any spots at the base of the cupcake that may not have been covered… controlling your excitement…

And then go again.

And again…

And again.

Place the dipped cupcakes in the freezer for a few minutes to let the chocolate harden and then refrigerate until ready to eat.

I’m still amazed.

Don’t be afraid to make some.

footnote: Mine didn't look quite as good as these, but they were easier than i thought they would be they look amazing don't they?

Saturday Recipe! - Peanut Butter Pretzels

I saw these about a month ago over at Two Tiny Kitchens and just about fell out of my chair. I cant get enough of pretzels at the best of times, so with chocolate........what can i say? I am making these again this weekend xx Try them!
Ingredients:

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons softened butter
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• Pretzels
• 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Line a baking sheet with wax paper and set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat peanut butter and butter until combined. Scrape down bowl, add sugars and beat until combined. You should be able to roll the mixture into balls without sticking to your hands. If needed, add more powdered sugar until you reach a consistency that is easy to roll.
3. Roll the mixture into small balls, about 1 teaspoon of mixture for each ball, and place on prepared baking sheet. Sandwich the balls between two pretzels and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
4. Melt the chocolate in a metal bowl over a pan of lightly simmering water. Stir occasionally until smooth, and remove from heat. Dip each pretzel bite halfway into the melted chocolate and place on the prepared baking sheet. Chill in refrigerator until chocolate is set.

Saturday Recipe!

Sangria Bianca—If you like fruit salad and white wine, you’ll LOVE this crisp and refreshing drink. It’s the perfect prelude to summer, but I am going to enjoy it in winter YUM!

For 2 large pitchers:
2 white peaches
2 white nectarines
4 oranges
1 pint strawberries
2 bottles torrontes (or any non-oaked white wine)
1/2 cup rose infused simple syrup

Slice the peaches and nectarines into eighths or tenths, depending on size. You can do whole slices of the citrus, but I prefer cutting supremes, so you can eat them after the fact. For the uninitiated, supremes are when you slice off the skin, and slice between the white membranes segmenting the fruit. Halve the strawberries. To make the syrup, combine 1/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water. Add the petals of one small very perfumey rose (I had some in the house) or a 1/4 teaspoon rosewater. Bring to a boil, and let it sit for 10 minutes to steep. Add the syrup and wine to the fruit, and let the mixture sit in the fridge for a few hours to combine. Pour and enjoy.

This is going to be added to my Christmas food list for sure!

Saturday Recipe!

Yummy, this is sooo addictive, I bags making this every time we have a picnic...............

Baked Artichoke & Cheese Cob Dip

1 tin artichoke hearts, chopped into small pieces
200ml sour cream
250g cream cheese
125g tasty cheese, grates/shredded
2-8 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bunch spring onions, chopped
125g butter
cob loaf

Preheat oven to 180°C.
Melt butter, add spring onions and garlic. Mix in cheeses and sour cream.
Cut the top off the cob loaf and scoop out bread and reserve for dipping.
Pour mixture into hollow cob loaf. Wrap in foil and bake at 180°C for 1 1/2 hours.
Serve with scooped out bread and extra if needed.

Saturday Recipe!

Hello Ladies

I make this all the time (especially to take with me on weekends) now as a "quick" dessert that looks like you have spent all day on it....... that's what we all want heh?? My friend Amanda brought it over once, and i know she has no Patience when baking so thought it MUST be amazing if she made it from scratch.

My Friend Amanda's Banoffee Pie!

• 
  1 x 250g pkt granita biscuits (Arnott's brand, crushed to crumbs)
• 125g butter, melted
• 2 bananas Chopped)
• 1 x 300ml ctn double cream (Whipped)
• Two Cadbury flakes to sprinkle on top (a must)

• Caramel filling

• 1 x 395g can sweetened condensed milk (if you want an even quicker option you can buy a can of caramel, i have tried both, home made is better for sure)
• 70g (1/3 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
• 50g butter

Add melted butter to crushed biscuits and pat into greased and lined tin.

Melt butter, sugar, condensed milk and vanilla essence in a saucepan and stir until boiling, turn down heat and simmer until thick, cool and pour over biscuit base.

Add sliced banana to the top of caramel spread over evenly, one layer is fine. Spread whipped cream over the top and add flaked flakes yum!!!

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Nigellas Banana Muffins

"Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 oozingly, bulgingly heaping tablespoons clear honey
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large, very ripe bananas
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of salt"

Mix all the dry ingredients into a bowl. Melt butter, honey and vanilla essence in a pan. Mush up over ripe bananas so chunky "ish". Combine all ingredients, stir just enough to combine. divide into muffin cases and bake for about 20-25 Min's in a moderate oven (180 degrees).

These are truly the easiest thing to cook in the world! Isn't Nigella Lawson the best? I promised these to Hayley, a while back My little ones will eat and eat them until they are gone. i always make mini muffins (bite sized). That way i can make many. These ingredients are supposed to make 10 (large) but i can easily get 25 into small muffin cases. I also like to overfill the cases so they are bigger!

Secret Sausage Rolls

Yesterday in the playground we all got talking about groceries, and how much fruit and veg we go through in one week. One of the other mums gave me a recipe for sausage rolls, that sounded so good i went straight to the shops to buy the ingredients (they must have sounded good!)
i went home and cooked them and i must say they turned out fabulous (thanks Jodie) although i think the recipe is almost foolproof.

You will need:

500 grams of pork and veal mince
1/2 a large sweet potato
1/2 a large zucchini
1 small onion
1/2 cup of wheatgerm (instead of breadcrumbs, high in iron and protein
4 sheets of puff pastry
milk  to wash

lay out your sheets of puff pastry to soften Grate sweet potato and zucchini and chop onion finely (preferably in a magi mix) mix with mince(go on get your hands into it) and add the wheatgerm. Roll into sausage like shape and dividing the pastry into two, place sausage meat along the centre and wash the edges of the pastry with milk for sticking, then roll up and join at the centre, cut up into generous chunks and wash over with milk to brown.
cook in the oven for about 20 minutes and..........

yum! the kids cant get enough of them. and all the veges are hidden (Ha Ha), that's the secret!

And while on the note of healthy food, my little Imogen just came back from Granny's with popcorn, a banana milk shake and told me she had been eating chocolate all morning (good one mum) her mood is baaaddddddd now, so not to self: no junk food in these holidays (yeah right).