Scrum Yum Muesli Bars

As a growing family we are always looking for quick and simple ways to reduce the grocery bills without compromising nutrition and volume of necessary food consumed... We've managed to achieve huge savings in general by baking our own bread, making our own muesli, getting clever about ways to make meals stretch further and so on...

The most recent "home-made" conversion has been muesli bars.  All 5 of us have at least one a day on average - tasty, filling and generally not too unhealthy.  It didn't seam a big stretch to make these ourselves.  I turned to my good friend Pinterest and found a recipe that I liked the sound of... not so dense that you feel like your jaw will drop from exhaustion from all that chewing, toasted and full of good bits.

Here's the recipe if you're keen to try it!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup caster sugar
125g butter
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup rice bubbles
1/2 cu raisins/sultanas
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup dried cranberries/mixed dried berries
1/2 cup almonds/nuts
1/4 cup seeds (combinations of pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, etc)

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 180'C.
2.  Grease/line a slice tray with baking paper - I use a cookie tray.
3.  Combine honey, sugar and butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
4.  Cook stirring, for 2-3 minutes until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.
5.  Bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes or until the syrup thickens slightly.
6.  Remove from heat.
7.  Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl.
8.  Pour hot syrup over dry ingredients and stir to combine.
9.  Spoon into prepared tray and press firmly to make sure the mixture will stick together (you can use baking baker to press down so it doesn't stick to your fingers).
10.  Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden.
11.  To help it stick together when it comes out of the oven, put some baking paper on top of the cooked slice, then stack another tray on top and load it up with some weight for a couple of hours.  I use some heavy dishes, cans, etc.
12.  Once cool, slice and refrigerate until well chilled.

-  Ours keep well in an airtight container and we get about 40 slices from a tray.  Hubby likes a bit of chocolate on his so we just spread some melted chocolate over a few :)
-  I also add a handful of shredded coconut to our slice.
-  The mixture has 1.5 cups of dried fruit so use whatever combination you like.
-  If you need to be nut free you can replace the nuts with coconut, seeds or fruit.
-  You could use half honey, half smooth peanut butter in the syrup.
-  You can make them gluten free by using 2 cups of crushed cornflakes and 2 cups of rice bubbles (gluten free of course) or use gluten free oats.
-  And apparently the sugar content is better than commercial bars too!

So there you go.  Would love to know if you try it and if you liked it!
Do you have any nifty ideas on how to make food go further in your house?
Joining in with lovely Ange.
Happy Tuesday!
L xx

Recipe: "Honey-cake" Pudding

Hiya!
I'm back today with another dessert recipe.  This one is an old SA'can one that we had from time to time while growing up.  The name is a direct translation and probably came about because of the honeycomb-like texture of the pudding and also the fact that honey is an ingredient : )   Cake-like, tasty, and great served warm with some cold custard.

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup honey/syrup
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup warm milk
1 tsp baking soda
4 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla essence
pinch of salt

Method:
1.  Preheat the oven to 180'C.  Grease a baking pan/dish.

2.  Mix the sugar and flour.  Add the honey.

3.  Melt the butter, add the milk and baking soda.  Mix well with the flour mixture.
4.  Add the eggs, vanilla and salt.

5.  Bake for 35 mins.

6.  Serve warm with custard.  Enjoy!

Have a great Tuesday!
L xx

Joining in with lovely Ange.

Recipe: Chocolate Self-Saucing Pudding

It's Tuesday!  And I'm back to share another delicious treat for cold evenings... This recipe is quick, easy, delicious and wonderfully warm for winter!

Ingredients:
Pudding:
100g unsalted butter
120g Cooking Chocolate
1/4 caster sugar
1 cup trim milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla essence
3/4 cup self-raising flour
60g Dark or milk Melts, chopped

Sauce:
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Baking Cocoa
1 cup boiling water

Preparation:
Pudding:
1.  Melt the butter and Cooking chocolate over a low heat.  Cool to room temperature.

2.  Preheat the oven to 180'C.  Grease 6x200ml capacity ramekins or ovenproof cups.  Alternatively, grease a 6-cup capacity ovenproof dish.
3. Add the caster sugar, milk, eggs and vanilla to the chocolate mixture and stir to combine.

4.  Gradually add the flour and stir until the mixture is smooth.
5.  Divide the mixture evenly between the ramekins or cups, or spoon into the large dish.

6. Sprinkle the batter with the chopped Dark or Milk Melts.

Chocolate Sauce:
1.  Combine all the sauce ingredients together in a jug.  Stir until the Baking Cocoa and sugar have dissolved.
2.  Gently pour the sauce over the batter, dividiing evenly between the ramekins or cups.

3.  Place the dishes on a baking tray (to catch any overflow) and bake for 20-25 minutes.  Serve with a sprinkle of icing sugar.

Enjoy the gooey deliciousness!
L xx

Joining in with awesome Ange.

Recipe from: Nestle's Kiwi Classics

Rubarb & Date Crumble... noms...

Mmmm, pudding....  perfect for cold wintry nights!  I thought I would re-share one of my all time favourites to keep you warm and full and satisfied during these chilly evenings!

For the rhubarb:
- 600g rhubarb, cut into 2cm pieces
- 3 large apples, peeled, cored and cut into 2cm pieces
- 1/2 cup apple juice
- 1 cup pitted dates, halved
- 1/2 sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan, mix together and place on medium-high heat.  Simmer for about 15 minutes until the fruit just starts to break down.  Pour into your favourite ovenproof dish.  The fruit should be 3-4cm deep in the base.

For the crumble:
- 3/4 rolled oats
- 1/2 cup soft brown sugar
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1 cup roasted unsalted macadamias, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 100g unsalted butter, cut into 1cm cubes

Place all the ingredients except the cream in a large mixing bowl.  Rub together by hand until the mixture begins to come together, but is still quite coarse.  There should be no visible chunks of butter.  Spoon the crumble evenly over the rhubarb mix then refrigerate until required.

Preheat the oven to 200'C then bake the crumble for 20 minutes or until the topping is golden and crisp.

Dish out the crumble into bowls and serve with whipped cream or ice-cream (as we do!).
Recipe by Al Brown from Cuisine magazine July 2010

Sharing is Caring ... Enjoy :)
L xx

Linking up with lovely foodie Ange.

Our Daily Bread

Hi Lovelies,
I've been meaning to share this great recipe with you for a while now.  Easy peasy scrummy yummy bread.  We bake at least one loaf a day!  The original recipe can be found over here.

I follow most of it with one or two alterations.  Here's what we do:

In a bowl thoroughly mix together:
1.5 cups of water
3 tsps of Edmonds Surebake yeast (if you are using a different type you'll probably need to change the quantity)
3 cups of flour
1.5 tsps of salt

Cover with Gladwrap and let it rise for 12 - 18 hours.  We usually make up the dough between 5-6pm and bake around 7am the next morning before heading out the door.

Set the oven to 220'C.  Place an enamel covered cast iron pot (or anything with a lid that can take the heat) in the oven to pre-heat at the same time until the oven is up to temperature.

Now turn the risen dough out onto a heavily floured surface.  This dough is super sticky so it pays to flour your hands too.  Shape it into a ball and then pop it into the hot pot.  Be careful of that hot pot!

Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on.  After this time remove the lid and bake for a further 5 minutes or so without it, if it needs further browning.

It should come out smelling and looking delicious!  Place the bread on a wire rack to cool.

Finally slice and enjoy!

Edit:  A wee tip I've been meaning to give for ages to speed the process up:
Use lukewarm water and sprinkle the yeast on top.  Then chuck in the flour and salt.  The warm water will help the yeast activate quicker.
Using warm water or even on a hot day, the dough will be ready in a matter of 2 or 3 hours.  You dont have to bake it straight away of course but it does help if you need a loaf on the same day!
We often mix at night and bake in the morning, or mix in the morning and bake in the evening.  On the weekends we often mix a loaf in the morning and by the time lunch rolls along we have a steaming loaf fresh out of the oven!
Also, we often add seeds and nuts and occasionally use wholemeal flour.  Just experiment with what works.  We don't really measure any additions and haven't had a dodgy loaf yet!  It's just so versatile and easy!

Have a happy week!
L x

Deeeelicious Blueberry Muffins

I've made these muffins 4 times in the last 2 weeks... The first 3 batches were gifted and the last batch has stayed home - much to the family's delight :)

Ingredients:
Muffin:
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 cup blueberries/raspberries
I added:
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp vanilla essence

Crump Topping:
- 1/2 cup white sugar (I used brown sugar)
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/4 cup butter, cubed
- 1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 200'C.  Grease muffin tray or use muffin liners/cups.
2.  Sift to combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.  Place the vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup, add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup.  Mix this, along with the vanilla essence, with the flour mixture.  Fold in the berries (and choc chips).
3.  Crumb Topping:  Mix the sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon together with a fork or your fingers to create a crumbly mixture.
4.  Fill the muffin cups right to the top and sprinkle with the topping.
5.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the oven until done.
Recipe from Allrecipes.com

Scrum Yum.
Happy Baking!
xx

Linking up with things we're loving.

Recipe: Lemon Coconut Cake

One of my favourites, Super easy, Super YUM!

Cake:
- 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
- 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 125g butter, melted
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk


Lemon Syrup:
- 150g icing sugar
- 50ml fresh lemon juice (about 1 1/2 large lemons)

1. Preheat the oven to 180'C. Grease a 20cm deep round cake tin.
2. Combine all ingredients in bowl, mixing well with a wooden spoon until the batter is smooth.
3.  Pour mixture into cake tin and bake for 40 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and stand the tin on a cooling rack.
to make the syrup, gently heat the sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan, stirring until a clear syrup is formed.  Do not boil.
5.  Prick the warm cake all over with a fork, then gently pour the syrup over it, until it has been completely absorbed.
6. Leave until cool, then carefully ease the cake form the baking tin.
7.  Sift a little more icing sugar on the top before serving.

Now try to hold back from eating the whole thing all at once...
xx

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Loving: Chocolate Chip Biccies ♥

We did some serious baking yesterday - two types of cookies, about 10 baking tray loads... Needless to say we now have biscuits for a long long time...

♥ Baking
♥ Biscuits
♥ Little Helpers
♥ The Smell That Fills The House
♥ Using the leftover sweetened condensed milk to replace sugar and milk in my coffees!

♥ This Recipe:

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
500g butter
1 cup supgar
6 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
few drops vanilla essence
4 1/2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
500g dark chocolate, chopped into chunks, not too small

Preheat oven to 170'C.
Beat butter and sugar until creamy.
Beat in the condensed milk and vanilla.
Stir in dry ingredients and chopped chocolate.
Chill.
Roll into large walnut-sized balls and place on cold, greased oven trays, allowing some room to flatten.
Flatten with the palm of your hand.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden.  
Cool then remove from trays and store in an airtight container.
Makes about 70.

Recipe by Annabel Langbein.

It's a deliciously buttery chocolaty cookie.  I don't really change much to this recipe.  I use Nestle cooking chocolate (chopped into big chunks) or Nestle Dark Chocolate Melts (broken in half).  I flatten them with a fork or the heel of my hand and they don't need more than 15 minutes in my oven.

They also don't last long in our house!


Linking in with:

Enjoy
xx