Anzac Day Treats!

Today being Anzac Day we were all at home with nothing to do so it was a great chance for me to catch up on some baking!! :D and some study!!

First up I made us some Anzac Biscuits just to get us into the spirit of the day! This is the only recipe I have tried and they always come out soft and just the way I like it!! I would like to try some new recipes over time!!

They were a BIG hit with the kids and so incredibly easy to make!! I will definitely be making these more often!! I think they will be great as a lunchbox snack :D

Speaking of lunch boxes, my second baking experience today was making some super yummy home-made sausage rolls. I made these and put them in an air-tight container so that my kids can have them for school lunch tomorrow.

I have made these ones before and everyone was happy with them even when they are cold!!





 Head down a bit further for both the recipes :D

I hope you enjoy them as much as my family did and I hope you all enjoyed your Anzac Day and spared a thought for those who fought for Australia!

Anzac Biscuits!

1 cup Plain Flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup dessicated coconut

125g unsalted butter, cubed

1/4 cup golden syrup

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

2. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Add the sugar, oats and coconut and make a well in the centre. 

3. Combine the butter and golden syrup in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat.

4. Dissolve the baking soda in 1 tablespoon boiling water and add immediately to the butter mixture. It will foam up instantly. Pour into the well in the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.

5. Drop level tablespoons of mixture onto the trays, allowing enough room for spreading. Gently flatten each biscuit using your fingertips.

6. Bake for 20 minutes, or until just browned. Leave on the tray to cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. The biscuits will last for up to 1 week if stored in an airtight container.

Sausage Rolls!

3 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

2 eggs, beaten

750g minced sausage meat

1 onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

3 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley

3 tablespoons chopped thyme

1/2 teaspoon ground sage

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Lightly grease two baking trays.

2. Cut pastry sheets in half and brush the edges with some of the beaten egg.

3. Mix half the remaining egg with the remaining ingredients in a large bowl, then divide into six even portions. 

4. Pipe or spoon the filling down the centre of each piece of pastry, then brush the edges with some of the egg. Fold the pastry over the filling, overlapping the edges and placing the join underneath. Brush the rolls with more egg, then cut each into six short pieces. Cut two small slashes on top of each roll and put on the baking trays. 

5. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 180 degrees and bake for a further 15 minutes, or until puffed and golden. 

Ok now I am heading off to curl up in bed on this chilly evening and watch the second season of True Blood :D Night everyone xxxx

M&M bars!!

 Well today is the last day of the school holidays which means our house has been rushing around collecting library books that are due back at school, finding all those lost socks and searching for the dreaded school hats!!

But the biggest thing on everyone's minds in my palace was what's for lunch this week!

From previous blogs you would have noticed that we have been working hard in the kitchen to have better home made foods for school lunches instead of the boring usual and packaged foods! and so far the kids have absolutely LOVED my new outlook on lunchbox goodness which has included salads, quiches, chicken wings, frittatas, sesame bars and much more all homemade in my very own kitchen!!

Everything in the kids lunchboxes has been healthy and different from the usual potato chips, sweets etc that you find so often these days.

Now I have had the '4 Ingredients Kids' recipe book since January but for some reason I haven't tried anything from it.....until today!!

Being the first day back to school I decided to make a little treat to add to the Lunch Box tomorrow and we found a SUPER easy recipe for m&m bars inside......well who doesn't love m&m's??


So in all the mad rush I managed to whip up some of these great bars in no time......be warned they aren't healthy at all!! but a treat now and then is no harm!! and I will certainly make sure that Tuesday's lunchbox snacks are packed with goodness :D

If you would like to have a go at these scrumdidliumptious treats then check out the recipe below.......it really is as easy as A, B, C!!

Easy M&M Bars (from '4 Ingredients Kids')

~ 250g pkt arrowroot biscuits
~ 400g can condensed milk
~ 1 cup M&M's 

Preheat oven to 160 degrees. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Blend the biscuits in a blender (I used my processor) Add the remaining ingredients and combine well. Scrape the mixture into a baking pan. Press down slightly. Bake for 20 minutes. When cooled, cut into bars.

Enjoy!! and don't forget to keep following the blog for more lunchbox recipes and more!!

Liane xxx

An unexpected evening!!

Well today was my Mummy's birthday and so I woke up with the full intention fo suprising her with a special made cake. But little did I know that today was going to turn out to be something even more than birthday suprises!! 

Firstly I went out to pick up my mum's cake which I had organised to be created by the extremely talented Lulu's Cupcakes!! Who you can find on Facebook!! I asked for a cake to be created that had my mum's favourite actor and dream husband.....Richard Armitage on the top!!

And this was the result!!: 

 Let's just say that my mum was extremely suprised and the look on her face was priceless!!! I was so happy as it is always hard to suprise my mum!! But the suprises didn't end there.....My little munchkin Mikey had got his Nana some lovely roses that he chose himself just for her and we also picked up a box of Milk Tray chocolates!! 

After the afternoon gift giving my sister decided to inform us that one of my FAVOURITE hollywood hunks.......Mr ZAC EFRON was actually at our local Megaplex Cinema for the premier of his movie The Lucky One!! This started us all on a frenzy of taking showers, getting dressed and shaving our legs.......and we all jumped in the car to go and see if we could get a glimpse of the HUNKY man himself!! 

And guess what!!! Our trip to the local cinema was SO worth it!! as we actually got to see Zac Efron in the flesh!! just a few feet away!! I almost died from excitement and screamed about 100x louder than my 15 year old sister........he is so dreamy!! just saying....

Unfortunately my camera decided to be a total jerk and wouldn't take any good photos :( which I was so disappointed about but I will certainly never forget today!!! and seeing him wave to us after we all chanted "We Want Zac"........yeah even at my age we still do that!! Well I don't know about anybody else but I sure do!! hehe 

And my mummy as wonderful as she is tagged along with us and even got us a great spot at the front to get a better look!! Thanks mum! xxxxx