A quickie cooked slowly!!

Well after a long weekend, it is time for life to return to normal. Washing, ironing, folding, cleaning & of course, cooking! On the weekend, I came up with my own version of "Deviled Sausages". Got a call from Mr P last night to tell me that it was his new fave! The smell of it in his 12v hot box was filling the cab of the big rig & it reminded him of home. It really is quick & easy & it is a great slow cooker recipe. So here goes.............


Jos' Slow Cooked Deviled Snags
8 sausages
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of Peri Peri spices
1 1/2 cups of tomato sauce
2 green apples thinly diced
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
 1 tablespoon of seeded mustard

In a fry pan, fry the sausages until browned. Make sure you prick them so that all excess fat is removed.
Cut the sausages into bite sized pieces & place in the slow cooker.
Add all the other ingredients & mix well.

Cook on a low setting for 6 hours.

Serve this with mashed potato, rice or veggies of your choice.

This amount made 4 meals for Mr P & I froze them on a bed of mashed potato in the alfoil containers. It does freeze well. I had to have a taste test of this & it is delicious!! I will be making it again this week!
What ever you are doing today, enjoy!

My name is Jos & I am adicted to Oreo's! Welcome to Fabulous Friday!!

Hi my name is Jos & I am addicted to Oreo's! I think that I may have just created the yummiest desert EVER!!! With a little inspiration from a certain friend (who shall remain nameless, Hayles!), I wanted to make something with Oreo's & ice cream & this is what I came up with!! It really was easy, yep food processor again, & is very yummy! Miss G & I have died & gone to heaven as we have just had our first one & definitely not our last! Mr P even put his big rig freezer on a colder setting so he could take some with him! OK, OK, OK, I can hear you all now saying, "Hurry up!!!" so I will!!  Here goes.................

Oreo Ice Cream Heaven (couldn't think of anything else to call it!!)
BASE
2 x 150g boxes of Oreo biscuits
100g of melted butter

FILLING
1 x 150g box of Oreo's
1L of vanilla ice cream

Whipped cream & icing sugar to serve

In a food processor bowl. process 2 x 150g packets of Oreo's until they are completely crushed.

Drizzle in the melted butter through the chute while the motor is running.

It should end up looking like an Oreo mud.

Press spoonfuls into the bottoms of a silicon muffin tray. Save a little to sprinkle on top of the finished product.

In the food processor, put the other box of Oreo's & the 1L of vanilla ice cream.

Process until the Oreo's have dissolved into the ice cream.

Spoon on top of the biscuit base. Fill to the top of the muffin holes & smooth over.

Sprinkle the leftover's from the base on top.

Cover tightly with alfoil & place in the freezer for 1 hour or until hard.

Pop them out from the silicon muffin tray & presto!!! Oreo Ice Cream Heaven!!! Let them sit for just a few minutes then  serve with whipped cream & a dusting of icing sugar!!

Well today is Fabulous Friday so Enjoy!

Perfect weather for warm Brown Sugar Apple Pie!

OK, I have to admit, I have never been a fan of Apple Pie. When my Mum came up to visit, she brought a bag of apples that she had got direct from the farm. I had no idea what to do with them all. The only thing that I could think of was Apple Pie . Now, Mr P has always liked Apple Pie, so I thought at least I could make a couple for him to take on the next couple of trips in the big rig. So, I made some. Now I am converted!! The recipe that I came up with is simply delicious. The pastry was made in the food processor & the filling is just a quick mix. Simple, quick & perfect for the cold weather along the Eastern Seaboard of Australia at the moment. . You can freeze these uncooked, then pop one in the oven for a yummy warm desert. You can serve with either ice cream, cream, custard or by itself. So here goes..................

Brown Sugar Apple Pie

Pastry
2 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
125g of margarine
2 tablespoons of cold water

Filling
1/4 cup of plain flour
1/2 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
dash of salt
6 thinly sliced & cored apples

Place flour, salt & butter into the bowl of a food processor & process until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

While the motor is still running, slowly pour the water in through the chute till the dough forms a ball.

Place the dough in a snap lock bag, expel the extra air & chill in fridge for 30 minutes or more.

I have been lucky enough to purchase one of these apple "slinky" makers. They peel, core & make Slinky's out of an apple.

In a large bowl, place the sugar, cinnamon & flour. Mix well. Add the sliced apples & mix until the apples are well coated.

Take the pastry & divide into 2, half for the base & half for the top. Roll out between 2 sheets of baking paper so that it is easy to lift. Make sure that it is larger than your pie dish/tray so that it will come up the sides.

Peel back the top layer of baking paper & put the pastry into the pie dish & peel off the other layer of baking paper.

Trim off the excess with a butter knife. Fill the base with the apple filling mix. Now at this point, I had doubled the pastry mix to make 2 pies because I thought there was too much mixture. It must have been a complete moment of madness because I forgot that the filling would stew & would become half of the amount. If you think there is too much filling, there is not. Pack it in as much as you can!! This is what my 2 looked like.

Roll out the top of the pastry in the same way that you did the base. Peel back the top layer of baking paper & "flip" the pastry on to the top of the pie.

Peel back the baking paper & trim off the excess with a butter knife.

With a fork, seal the edges. With a sharp knife, make steam holes in the top.

Sprinkle with some Castor sugar or vanilla dusting sugar. You can freeze the pie (wrapped in foil) at this point to cook at a later time or.........

Bake at 180 degrees for 40 minutes then turn the oven up to 200 degrees to make the pastry nice & crisp (oven times may vary)

And there you go, warm Brown Sugar Apple Pie!! Let it sit in the pie dish for about 5 minutes, then pop it out , cut & serve.

Perfect for a cold winters night!! With apples being one of the cheapest fruits at the moment (they are now in season) I suggest making a couple of these pies to freeze. Using fruits that are in season are a great way to help the weekly budget. Go to your local Sunday markets & I am sure that you will be apple to pick up more for your money. I will always find ways of using the fruit & veg that are in season & freezing them for a later date.
Well, I am off to do as much washing as possible today before the rain starts this weekend. Looks like we are in for a very wet weekend according to the forecast. Great weather to stay inside & have some apple pie!!! Try to fight off a head cold that is doing it's best to upset me so the vaporizer is on, thermal singlet & fluffy house slippers!! Lucky Mr P is not here to see me like this!!!

Whatever you are doing today, enjoy!

Choc chip cookies!!

I have been making this recipes since my chickadees were little & it is still the fave choc chip recipe for this family. It makes a yummy crisp cookie. It is very simple & is all done in 1 mixing bowl & the majority of it is done with a electric mixer. Great with a cup of hot chocolate at the end of the day or as a lunch box treat. Mr P takes a container full in the big rig. So here goes..........


WARNING!!!! IF YOU EAT THIS ANY OF THIS  COOKIE DOUGH BEFORE YOU COOK IT, YOU MAY END UP EATING ALL THE UN-COOKED DOUGH & HAVE NONE LEFT TO MAKE THE COOKIES!!!! (the dough is sooooooo yummy!!!)


Choc Chip Cookies
125g of butter
1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg
 2 teaspoons of Vanilla
1  3/4 cup of Self Raising flour
250g of dark choc chips

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

In a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar & vanilla together with an electric mixer until it is light & fluffy.

Add egg & beat for a further 30 seconds.

Slowly add flour while the beater is still going.

The mixture should look like a thick cake mix.

Take electric mixers out & add choc chips.

Gently fold through until the choc chips are evenly distributed.

Drop spoonfuls onto baking paper lined trays, leaving enough space between for spreading.

Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden.

Place baking tray on a cooling rack for 2 minutes & gently lift the biscuits with a spatula so they do not stick. Allow to cool on tray for a further 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling tray.

.Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days but I can assure you that they wont last that long!!!

Well, I am working on a new recipe right now & I can tell you that it is going to blow your taste buds minds!! I was inspired by a friends recipe. I love hearing from people about their fave recipes. if you have a family fave recipe that you would love to share, you can be a guest blogger for a day! Or if you don't want to have to do photo's & everything that comes with doing a recipe for a blog (it is a lot of work), send me your recipe & I will do it for you!

Whatever you are up to today, enjoy!

Meatballs, meatballs, who wants meatballs? We do!!!

One of Mr P's favourite things to pack into the big rig freezer is Meatballs. he loves them so much that he eats them all by themselves. No veg, just tomato sauce! I prefer them with a good old fashioned meal of mashed potato & pumpkin with a helping of peas. Yum!! Kids love meatballs too!!  A very easy recipe & most of the work is done by your trusty food processor. i would be lost without a food processor. So here goes..................

Meatballs

500g of good quality lean mince
1 egg
1/4 cup of chopped fresh herbs (parsley, chives or herbs of your choice)
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
1/4 cup of plain flour
salt & pepper to taste

extra 1/2 cup of plain flour for coating

Place all ingredients except for the extra 1/2 cup of flour, into the bowl of the food processor. Process for about 1 minute or until it forms together.

Using a ice cream scoop, scoop up mince & roll into balls using wet hands.

In a small bowl, put the extra flour & roll the meatballs in the flour until they are well coated.

When all the mince has been used, place the meatballs in the fridge for an hour or more.

When ready to cook, heat about 1/2 cup of oil in a fry pan. When oil is hot, place the meatballs in the pan.

Turn the meatballs every 2 minutes or so, making sure that all sides are evenly cooked.

When they are golden brown all over (approximately 10-15 minutes), place them onto a plate covered with several pieces of paper towels. This will soak up any excess oil.

Yum!!! Serve with veggies or salad & you have a beautiful meal. You can also make these a little smaller & serve as a snack at your next BBQ with dipping sauce.
Enjoy your day!!