Three-Ingredient Chocolate Mousse

Who would have thought such a silken chocolate mousse could be made using only three ingredients? This is a super easy and quick recipe to impress your guests.

Photo: http://www.annabel-langbein.com

Prep time:5 mins + chilling Cook time:10-12 mins Serves:4-6

Ingredients
200g dark chocolate (ideally at least 70% cocoa solids), coarsely chopped
2 cups (500ml) cream
1 cup (100g) chopped marshmallows

Instructions
Heat chocolate, half the cream and the marshmallows in a dry, heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water, stirring until melted and smooth (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Beat remaining cream to soft peaks and fold through chocolate mixture. Pour into glasses or bowls and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight before serving.

source:www.annabel-langbein.com

Cocktail Meatballs with Chutney

This is one of those recipes that is sure to please, great to whip up if you are asked to bring a plate of nibbles or for a potluck dinner (just make the balls a bit bigger).  I made these and various other nibbles last Friday for a Midwinter Christmas function and they were everyone's favourite.

Ingredients

Meatballs
500 g topside mince
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup coconut
1 small onion (finely chopped)
1 egg
2 teaspoons Worcester sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Chutney Sauce
1/2 cup tomato chutney or sauce
1/3 cup plum jam
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 teaspoons mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Method
Meatballs
Preheat oven to 180 C.
Mix all ingredients together.
Shape into little balls around (2.5cm)
Place on oven tray and bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once.

Chutney Sauce
Mix all ingredients in a large pot, heat to just boiling.
Turn to low and add meatballs, heat through.
Serve meatballs with toothpicks.

Savvy Tips

# when shaping meatballs use wet hands.

# make meatballs a couple of days ahead and keep in fridge or make and freeze until you need them.

# to reheat - use a slow cooker, add meatballs pour over sauce and heat for approx. 1 hour before serving.

Savvy Easter

Easter is fast approaching!

When I think of Easter I think chocolate, cute bunnies and hot crossed buns.

For me Easter is a time for family - quality time. 
Sharing good food, spending time outdoors together (weather permitting) and relaxing. This year we are choosing to stay home.

We will be repeating some activities we have started with our daughter (almost 3). The main one being our "EASTER EGG HUNT" - CHOCOLATE FREE! I know clever right?

We haven't needed to buy easter chocolate for the last few years, we leave that up to Nana, Granddad and Gran. We've even managed to get through our daughters first 2 Easters without introducing chocolate.  Not there is anything wrong with good chocolate, we just believe that there are plenty of years ahead so no rush aye?

Piper loved this Easter egg hunt. We filled her plastic eggs with hair ties, clips and stickers. You could add mini chocolate egg, mini toys or personalised notes for older kids. From memory the plastic eggs came from the supermarket. I would say you could find them in the dollar stores or the warehouse.



Some more ideas for Easter.

Easter Breakfast ...
I'm thinking french toast with banana this year! We always do one special breakfast over Easter. 

Hot Crossed Buns ...
Over the years we have homemade these. If you have a breadmaker there are some great recipes that are quick and simple. We've just sampled hot crossed buns from the bakery on my way to work "WILD GRAIN" in Silverdale and they are delicious - light with just the right amount of fruit and spice. For our Dad who has a egg allergy I'm liking the look of the ones on sale at Naturally Organic that are Egg and Gluten Free.

Take some time ...
Those who are lucky to have the whole of Easter off work and aren't going away, why not try and do a few things that you may have not had time previously.

# Catch up with that friend you always mean to have coffee with but always fail to!
# Try a new recipe
# Take some time out and doing something solely for you
# Get out in the garden, plant some winter veggies
# Make time to just play with your kids - no interruptions
# Go for a walk, hit the beach or find a new walk way.
# Revise your goals - 3 months into the year its easy to loss focus, make a plan to get back on track.


Wishing you all a happy easter and if you are going away safe travels!

Trish x

Celebrate - Cake decorating

I have been catching up on work in the office, so have been a bit slow putting up Mum's 70th Celebration photos and recipes. 
This is Mum's Birthday cake that Jade (my daughter) decorated. Mum's only request was that we had a red and white theme. Jade used cream cheese icing - see below for the recipe.

Savvy tips:

- No need to spend money on different icing nozzles, Jade uses the Wilton 1M for her cake and cupcake decorating. It is very versatile.

- Use fresh flowers to enhance and add colour to your cake decorating, quick to use and cost effective - we got these beautiful red roses out of the garden.

Cream Cheese Frosting

250g cream cheese, room temperature (used 1 block of Philadelphia)
110g butter (unsalted) room temperature
3 cups icing sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl or caker mixer bowl. With a handheld electric mixer or cake mixer, beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and vanilla. Beat, on low speed to combine. If too soft, chill until slightly stiff, about 10 minutes, before using.



Icing Notes:
Quantity: The recipe here creates an amount of frosting that allows for a thin coat between and over the cake layers. For the cake that Jade iced we needed to double the recipe.

Savvy tip:
Ice a cake in two batches, first a “crumb layer” and then the more decorative one.  To do this, place a small amount of frosting on the cake and spread it over the entire surface that will be iced, thereby anchoring wayward crumbs in place so that they will not mess up the final product. A few minutes in the freezer or longer in the fridge will firm this up so that you have an ideal surface to build the real layer of frosting.



This recipe is adapted from smitten kitchen, its the one she uses with her “red velvet cake recipe”.
 

Valentines Day Menu

Valentines Day Menu 

(simple and affordable)

Spoil someone special this Valentines -This menu will have your loved thinking you’ve spent hours and lots of $$$.

You don’t have to go overboard with expensive ingredients 

A little bit of careful presentation and you'll be sure to impress!

Easy Prawn Skewers

Mango and Brie Stuffed Chicken Breast 

served with steamed green beans and smashed potatoes

Balsamic Strawberries with Mascarpone Cream

Prawn Skewers

From Nigel Middleton (Chef)

Serves 2-4

250g uncooked Prawns, peeled and deveined

Juice of one Lemon 

1 Tbsp Olive Oil 

Salt and Pepper

Fresh Basil (shredded)

Place 2-3 prawns on skewers. Mix lemon juice, oil and seasoning in bowl. 

Marinate prawns covered in fridge for at least 1 hour.

BBQ or cook in skillet/pan on stove top for 2 mins and turn and cook for a further 2 mins.

Tip # Soak skewers in water to prevent burning.

Chicken Breast stuffed with Mango and Brie (served with smashed pots and green beans)

From: Nigel Middleton (Chef)

Chicken Breast - 1 per person

Fresh Mango - 1 large slice per breast 
Brie - 1 large slice per breast
Bacon - 1-2 rashes of bacon to each breast

Cut a slice length wise down the chicken breast and stuff with sliced mango and brie.

Wrap in bacon and secure with a toothpick.Cook on the BBQ or stove top in a skillet for approx. 20-30minsor until cooked through.

Roast gourmet potatoes (the little ones) or wrap in foil drizzle with olive oil and bake on the BBQ. 

Steam green beans

To SERVE >>>

Place potatoes in middle serving dish and press down to break the skin (this creates the smashed bit! sounds flash but quite simple really). Cut chicken breast on an angle and place on top of smashed potatoes and green beans.If you have cooked the chicken in a skillet you can make a simple sauce by adding white wine and cream to the pan juices. Simply add about 1/2 cup of white wine and reduce then add a couple of tablespoons of cream. Drizzle on top of chicken to serve.

Strawberries Marinated in Balsamic Vinegar

From: Jamie Oliver's The Return of the Naked Chef

Serves 4

1lbs of strawberries, hulled

5tbsp sugar, to taste

10tbsp balsamic vinegar

1tsp vanilla

14oz mascarpone cheese

4or 5 leaves of fresh mint or basil, finely sliced

Place strawberries in a bowl and scatter generously with the sugar followed by the balsamic vinegar.  

Stir around and allow to marinate for up to 2 hours.

Mix vanilla with mascarpone Cheese and sweeten to taste with sugar. 

Place a scoop of marscarpone mix on a dish, cover with strawberries and balsamic juice. 

Finish with a sprinkle of mint or basil.

ENJOY !!!