Red wine slow roasted lamb shanks with couscous and honey soy carrots

This was yummy! The bread on the side is 'Amish friendship bread'. I was given a starter for it and it took over 10 days to complete the process.

The shanks I put in the slow cooker all day although they could of been cooked even longer.
The couscous I added olives to as I didn't have any sultanas, but it tasted really good still.
The carrots for me were the star of the dish.
Stir fry the carrots for a few minutes of high. Add a generous amount of honey and soy sauce and allow to simmer for at least 5 minutes. The carrots become sticky from the honey. Add some salt.

I made this meal for my love for a 'date night'. He seemed to enjoy it. So light the fire, put a rug down and make a good lamb shank to enjoy before summer comes!

Fun and kid friendly pies!

I was recently in the cold and wintery city of Canberra visiting my gorgeous sister and her family. I made dinner for everyone. Seeing as my niece (5 yrs old) and nephew (3 yrs old) are often rather difficult at meal times, maybe making something a little more fun for them would make them eat? Do you think it will work like that? Well it kind of did.

The pies were a great success. Every last bite was in those tiny little round bellies and that makes me happy. My nephew especially loves the pastry heart and the meat! mmm meat (said in a manly way).
However I still had to help them destroy the forrest and chop down all the trees (the broccoli). Will have to work on a way to make broccoli more fun! Any ideas? Let me know.

Cuteness in a cupcake.

I made these cupcakes for an 'Australia's biggest morning tea' that we ended up postponing to the following week due to my sister having a baby! So these ended up being eaten and enjoyed by all the young adults at church. I loved making these and practicing my piping technique. To be honest it was not as easy as I expected. As you can see some were turned into butterfly cakes. You may think that was on purpose but the majority of the time, it was to cover over my bad piping abilities. I think the trick is in the consistency of the butter cream. It needs to be perfect. I over beat it I think. It ended up separating so I had to add more icing sugar to try and fix it! It was fixable, however not perfect. Make sure you only beat the butter cream a little and don't get carried away like I did.

Here is one I made for my man. Even though he didn't notice the love heart that I carefully and painstakingly mastered after several attempts, he noticed the coconut flavour at least. hehe. This was my favourite one to make as it was made with love. awwww <3

Macaroni and cheese!

So my bestie was leaving to go overseas for two months and was spending her last week crashing with Mum and I. What better way to celebrate our last night together than to make a pot of late night macaroni and cheese? It is a must that you grab a few forks and eat out of the same pot or bowl (as long as no one is sick I suppose ; ) Rug up with a blanket and enjoy the cheesy badness of this late night delight (Gilmore girls style).

A simple recipe:

Make a simple white sauce with butter and flour. Whisk milk in slowly, making sure there are no lumps until you have enough sauce and it is not too thick.

Now add the cheese. Lots of cheese. We added two types, tasty and parmesan. Don't forget salt and pepper. Hmm easy yeah? yumm!

Moustache cookies...

Moustache cookies!! YAY!! These are super fun! Just be aware that your cookies will be touched by little hands and put all over multiple faces before you actually eat them...

Smiles, tears and giggles..

I am blessed with amazing friends. When life feels out of your control and you have no idea what is next, at least you can be assured that there will always be tea and scones in the world. On top of that, you will always have your friends, cherish them! I don't know what I would do without them. They understand you when it feels like you don't even understand yourself. Lily, Elise and Steph, thank you for making my birthday a special day and for the smiles, tears and giggles. 

We went to 'Peppers manor house' in Sutton Forest. Here is the link if your interested:

http://www.peppers.com.au/manor-house/katers-restaurant/high-tea/

Its a charming place with beautiful gardens and a lovely high tea.

Chilli prawn fettuccine

This was amazing! So simple yet the flavours are beautiful. I wont give you the recipe for this one as I encourage experimentation. I find minimalistic with this one is good as too much tomato based sauce can take away from the flavour of the prawns. I'll give you a few clues though: Garlic! Good parmesan cheese..a decent amount of chilli.. Go for it! What is stopping you?? eh? eh?? No seriously what is stopping you? If it's a disaster, eat it anyway! Maybe it's time? You have no time? Umm make your husband cook it, or your boyfriend. And if you don't have one of those, your Dad! or your dog if your really desperate. 

The simple things..

I absolutely love the women's weekly cookbooks. If you don't have one then you need to get one! These vanilla cupcakes were soooo yummy. I often tend to think we need to put flavours in cup cakes like chocolate or berries or milo or something exotic like raspberry and date (that would be strange). However, I have come to the conclusion in life that sometimes the simply things are the best, like eating cherry tomatoes and popping them in your mouth. Or crunching leaves under your feet as you walk along the street.... sitting with your cat and having a chat for 2 minutes or holding someone's hand on a park bench. These Vanilla cupcakes are one of those simple things that life should embrace. You should too!

Vanilla Cupcakes

65g butter, softened 
1 cup sugar 
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs 
3/4 cup self-raising flour 
1/2 cup, plus 2 tbsp flour 
1/2 cup milk 
Sprinkles, to decorate as desired

Vanilla Icing

50g butter, softened
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
2 tsp vanilla essence 
2 tbsp milk

1. Heat oven to 160°C fan bake. Line 12-hole standard muffin tin with paper cases. Place butter, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and beat until pale and creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

2. Sift flours together and add, alternating with milk, and stir to combine. Spoon mixture into prepared cases to three-quarter fill the cases.

3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of one cupcake comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

4. Whip the icing ingredients together in a bowl, then spread over cupcakes. Decorate as desired with sprinkles.

Roast Vegetable Frittata..

Would you like to have a picnic?

This is what you should make!

Roast Vegetable Frittata

Ingredients

• Roast veggies (left overs from a roast is perfect)
• 3/4 cup Milk or cream (depending on your waist line)
• 6-8 eggs
• Pepper and Salt
• Herbs if you like, such as basil...

Method

Easy as! Chuck the chopped up veggies into the pan, whisk up the cream and eggs. Pour them over the top with S & P to taste. Throw some herbs on if you like. Bake in moderate oven (180 degrees) for 20-30 mins, until it looks brown and yummy!

Then pack a basket, take some fresh bread and cherries for dessert!