LUSCIOUS LEMON CURD TARTS

2 packets butternut snap biscuits
226 grams butter, softened
125 grams cream cheese, softened
120 grams lemon curd
4 1/2 cups icing sugar

extra lemon curd

preheat oven to 170 c

you will need the 1/2 round pattycake tins

lay biscuits over holes of tins and place in oven until soft..around 5 minutes

remove from oven and quickly press biscuits into holes so you have a tart shape.

cool.

with an electric mixer, beat butter until creamy.

add cream cheese and lemon curd, beating till smooth.

add in icing sugar in 3 batches beating till well combined.

using the extra lemon curd, place a teaspoon of curd into each biscuit.

pipe or spoon cream cheese mix over top.

refrigerate until needed.

What an exciting day. My number 2 son arrived home from America for a visit. Saturday night just got bigger lol.

I was expecting him to arrive here at about 10.30 am so thought I better make something to eat with a cuppa. I fossicked through the freezer and found a bag of pumpkin, spice and everything nice biscuit mix that I had frozen from the last batch I had made.  That was a quick way to cook.  Roll some dough into balls, roll the balls in cinnamon sugar,  flatten and cook.  (used  picture from before)

 Then I cleaned the house and waited for him to arrive. And waited.  And waited. Find out he's still in customs (now 11.30) and figure I better get cooking so I have something for dessert tonight. I was going to make orange and poppy seed muffins and was getting all the ingredients ready and couldn't find the poppy seeds anywhere.  Destructed the cupboard looking for them, then added them to my shopping list for next time.While I was destructing I came across my jar of horlicks malted milk powder which made me start thinking about how much I liked chocolate malted milkshakes and hence double chocolate malted milkshake muffins came about. I just threw all the ingredients into a bowl and mixed them all together with the electric mixer.  Fingers crossed they taste good.  The recipe made 15 large muffins. Was that enough?  Maybe not.  I want to make more muffins because I also found a packet of glace cherries in the cupboard.  Hmmm. Cherry ripe muffins.  Made with real ingredients, not a cherry ripe bar.
So I started out much the same way as the other muffins, but I added coconut and the cherries and an extra egg for good luck.  Got 20 out of this lot.  Fingers crossed again.

Miss Tash and the chunky one arrived just as I was icing the muffins. She got to be the taste tester.  Thumbs up for both.

Number 2 son finally arrives with Lizzy Lou and the kids (no baby sitting today).  By now it's 2.00 pm. We finally have that cuppa.  (picture is Number 2, Miss Tash, the chunky one and Mia Pia)

And talk and talk and suddenly it's 4.30 and I better think about tea. We are having porcupine meatballs, satay chicken, mashed potato, carrots and beans. The meatballs are easy. Minced beef, french onion soup mix, rice all mixed together and cooked in tomato soup.

The satay is easy too. Chicken breasts, coconut cream, sweet chilli sauce, 2 chicken stock cubes and peanut butter.  (both recipes are further back on my pages).

To finish off I'm going to make golden syrup dumpling so I got all the ingredients prepared before we ate so that I only had to cook them later on.  (old photo because I forgot to take one in all the excitement)

So we ate and chatted and listened to music and sang a bit and the kids danced a bit and number 2 was falling asleep in his chair, so everyone went home.  So that's my day come and gone.  

Last but not least for the men out there.....

nighty nite.

CHERRY RIPE MUFFINS
(using cherries, coconut and cocoa)

2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup oil
3 eggs
2 tablespoons cocoa, sifted
200 grams glace cherries, chopped

preheat oven to 180 c.  line muffin tins with patty pans.
makes 20 large muffins

With an electric mixer, beat all together until well combined.

evenly fill patty pans.

cook for 20 mins or till a skewer comes out clean.

Icing
------

2 cups icing sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 dessertspoon butter
4 tablespoons milk
coconut to sprinkle

mix icing sugar, cocoa, butter and milk together till smooth.

pipe or spoon on to muffins.

sprinkle with coconut.

DOUBLE CHOC MALTED MILKSHAKE MUFFINS

2 cups self raising flour
1 cup sugar
2 heaped tablespoons cocoa
1 heaped dessertspoon malted milk powder
2 eggs
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup milk ( +1 tablespoon)
1/2 cup  dark choc bits

preheat oven to 180 c
line muffin tins with patty pans
(I use large patty pans and get about 15 muffins) small patty pans should get 24

Using an electric mixer, beat everything together except for the choc bits.

Mix well.

If you think  the batter is a bit thick, add the extra milk.

stir in the choc bits

evenly fill patty pans.

cook 20 mins or until skewer comes out clean.

icing
-----

2 cups icing sugar
3  heaped dessertspoons malted milk powder
4 tablespoons milk
maltesers to decorate

mix all together and pipe or spoon onto muffins. Pop a malteser on top.

Hay fever season is well and truly here. Coming to you tonight with itchy eyes, sneezy and wheezy.

What a week, again.  Sick kids..never stops.  The chunky one ended up in hospital for the night, last night, because she was dehydrated. Had to have a tube down her throat and big bandages around her hands so she wouldn't pull the tube out.  Luckily she got out this morning almost her old self.

It was 34 c degrees here today, hot and windy, so the kids couldn't get out side to play.  So it was a bit noisy inside, I  played in the kitchen for a while. There had been a recipe posted on face book for 2 minute chocolate fudge made in the microwave which I had tried earlier in the week.  It looked nothing like the picture and tasted really bad. The recipe said cocoa but I think  my 100% cocoa was too strong. I wanted to try again but this time using Cadbury drinking chocolate. It turned out a lot better, and the kids (big and small) loved it.

original pic. off facebook

For starters, I used the wrong size tin here, but the 100% cocoa made it way too dark and too strong a taste.

with the drinking choc.

I also decided to make an apple slice that I hadn't made for a while. It uses a packet cake mix, coconut, cinnamon,  butter, apple and sour cream.  Pretty yummy.

while I was hunting that recipe down, I also found a recipe for a no bake cheesecake, which I haven't made before and I had all the ingredients on hand, so made that too.   Biscuits, butter, cream cheese, condensed milk, whipped cream and lemon and lime juice.

Because I started cooking early, I got it all done before the house got too hot. We barbecued for tea so easy all round.

During the week I mad some muffins because I needed to use oranges before they went off.  If you haven't already noticed, we're big on citrus flavours here Love the tang.  So orange, coconut and sour cream muffins.

It was also our wedding  anniversary this week.  27 years. Same day as the chunky one was sick so we spent the late afternoon and  early evening waiting at the hospital with the chunky one and Miss Tash.
 But I did get a present off the man. Gorgeous ring (picked it myself)  buckle style, with filigree band and diamonds and a box of chocolates and a really nice card.  Brought a tear to my eye.  I bought him a nice silver cuff bracelet.

and he wrote me a poem

WHY YOU SHOULD NOT TYPE AT NIGHT...
(also known as "the ramblings of a sleep deprived goofball")

Twenty seven years of marriage,
You only get twelve for murder.
When I told that to my wife,
My gawd, you should have heard 'er!

Not sure how she's put up with me,
What is going on in her head?
I got nothing! all that's left to think,
I must be bloody good in bed 

Now that she's stopped laughing,
Her aching sides have eased their pain,
She softly whispers in my ear,
"I am mentally insane!"

If you want to know our secret,
How we've made our marriage last,
With love and lots of give and take
It'll make the years fly past.

We surround ourselves with children,
Ahhh the fun, the tears, the drama,
Then we are blessed with grandkids,
Our sons have learned,"just what is Karma"

So Happy Anniversary darling,
Another chapter in life's tale,
From your chubby, grumpy husband,
And hopefully, your favourite male.!

and of course I had to answer it


because you're bloody good in bed?
I did laugh until I ached.
I only keep you around with me....
because you clean up when I bake. xx

And on that note..I'm taking my itchy eyes off to bed

LEMON LIME NO BAKE CHEESECAKE


1 pkt milk arrowroot biscuits, crushed
125 grams butter, melted
250 mls thickened cream, whipped
250 grams cream cheese, softened
1 can condensed milk
1/6 cup lemon juice
1/6 cup lime juice

(or just a third of a cup of either juice)

line bottom of 22 cm springform tin with baking paper

mix crushed biscuits and butter together.

press biscuits into bottom and half way up the sides of the springform tin.

refrigerate while making filling.

with an electric mixer, beat whipped cream, cream cheese and condensed milk together till smooth.

add lemon and lime juices and beat well.

pour into biscuit crust, smoothing top.

refrigerate until set 3 - 4 hours.

decorate with whipped cream and strawberries.

refrigerate any leftover.

APPLE AND SOUR CREAM SLICE

1 packet (340grams) vanilla butter cake mix
125 grams butter, melted
1 cup shredded coconut
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
800 grams pie apples

340 gram tub sour cream (or can use vanilla yoghurt)
cinnamon to sprinkle

preheat oven to 180c
line bottom of swiss roll (or lamington) tin with baking paper.

in a large bowl, combine cake mix, coconut, cinnamon, vanilla and butter together.

press into bottom of tin.

cook for 12 minutes until just lightly brown.

cool slightly.

mash apples.

spread evenly over cake.

spread sour cream (or yoghurt) over top of apple.

sprinkle with cinnamon.

cook for about 20 minutes or until sour cream is set.

cool in refrigerator.

best kept refrigerated.