Masterpiece Cheesecake

 Okay, well I don't know about a masterpiece lol,, but this cheesecake was pretty darn yummy!!  I only had a small springform pan and hence, our base was a little on the thick side, but this was quite honestly a really tasty cheesecake.

I made this during the school holidays with a houseful of kids running around and my brain was pretty much not in functioning mode, hence the extra thick base and then my oven decided that it wanted to play up on me as well, but somehow this cheesecake came out really nicely.

This is a baked cheesecake and even though mine wasn't quite cooked long enough, it made no real difference.  It was truly delicious!!

MASTERPIECE CHEESECAKE

BASE

2 cups Biscuit Crumbs

1/4 cup Melted Butter

1/3 cup Icing Sugar

2 tablespoons flour

Mix well and press into a greased spring form pan (grease the bottom of the pan only).  Place in the fridge to set while you make the filling.

FILLING

450 grams Cream Cheese

3 Eggs

1/2 cup Sugar

Beat well and pour onto the pie base.

Bake in 180C degree oven for 20 minutes ONLY.

Remove and cool.

Decorate with whatever fruit you have on hand, or simply leave it plain.

ENJOY!!!

Naughty But Nice - ANGEL FOOD DONUTS

We have a deep fryer in our house and each time we change the oil (this never happens as often as it should lol), I like to use the clean fresh oil to make donuts.  I haven't made a batch for a while and this time I thought I would try out a new recipe for them.

This was a simple recipe to make and was a hit with the kids.  

ANGEL FOOD DONUTS

(Makes about 30 donuts)

3/4 Cup Sour Cream

1/4 Milk

1 Cup Sugar

3 large Eggs

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

4 Cups sifted Flour

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon Salt

Combine the sour cream and milk - beat until foamy.

Gradually add the sugar and eggs, beating until sugar is dissolved.

Stir in the vanilla and dry ingredients.

Chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

Roll out to about 1cm or so thick.

Cut out the donuts (I used a scone cutter and a soft drink bottle lid)

Deep fry, turning gently when lightly browned.

The kids helped to sugar these.  We used a mixture of white sugar, caster sugar and icing sugar with a touch of cinnamon added.

We found these were even yummier the following day after being placed in the freezer overnight then defrosted and zapped in the microwave for about 20 seconds.  

Served with icecream - DELICIOUS!!

Recipe calls it CANTONESE PORK,,,Kids Call it TASTY PORK STUFF lol

Okay now I know this doesn't look great, it's not necessarily a "pretty" looking meal, but it does have flavour!  Being a slow cooker meal it is so, so easy and takes very little time to prepare.  This is the kind of meal that I love to make during school holidays.

I always get a little nervous when I try out new recipes on the kids, I look at it as I am preparing it, thoughts running through my mind of what I can offer as a back up in case it is a total failure....thankfully the kids have surprised me and loved all the new recipes I have tried so far.  This one was no exception.  My little Shortstuff kept declaring that he didn't think he would like it, but as the aroma started to fill the house as it was cooking he slowly but surely changed his mind and kept asking how long it was until he could try it lol.  Of course serving it up with rice makes it a nice filling meal that even filled the teenagers and men of the house!

Okay here is the recipe.....

TASTY PORK STUFF

1kg pork loin, sliced and diced into bite sized pieces

2 large onions, sliced

1 large green capsicum, cut into strips

1 large carrot, cut julienne style

200 grams mushrooms, sliced

500ml bottle of tomato puree

6 Tablespoons vinegar

Dash of Salt

4 teaspoons Worcestshire Sauce

Place it all in the slow cooker and cook on low for approx 6 hours (depending on your slow cooker).

Serve over hot fluffy rice.

What could be more simple???  I never brown my meat before slow cooking but you can if you want to.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES........MADE BY THE 11 YEAR OLD

Yesterday Smiley decided that he was bored and wanted to bake some cookies....chocolate chip ones no less!




A few months ago he made the same cookies.  At the time he misread the ingredients list and added 3/4 cup of flour to the mixture instead of 3 and 3/4 cups and because of that his chocolate chips melted into the mixture......yesterday we both couldn't believe it when he did the exact same thing lol.  I may have to take a highlighter to the recipe and highlight that magical number 3 that seems to blend into the page it seems!

Nevertheless, the cookies were yummy even if they were a little short on actual chocolate chips and looked more like chocolate cookies instead lol.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

250 grams butter

1 Cup brown sugar

2 eggs

3 3/4 Cups Self Raising Flour

1 Cup Chocolate Chips

Melt the butter.  

Mix the melted butter with the sugar, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well.  

Add flour and chocolate chips.

Drop teaspoonfulls onto greased trays and cook for 10-15 minutes.  

Makes approximately 40 biscuits.

Crumbed Sausages

 

I have been a bit slack with the cooking lately.  Well I mean, naturally I have been cooking but we have reverted back to our old cooking recipes for the moment.  Not much in the way of new stuff has been tried, life has been a little busy and it is always alot easier to throw together something you have made hundreds of times rather than to try a brand new recipe don't you think?

The other night we made up some crumbed sausages.  This is a meal that is quick and easy to make and the kids always love them.  Nothing could honestly be much simpler than making these and I especially like the fact that it is so easy to whip up a double batch and put some in the freezer for next time.

CRUMBED SAUSAGES

1kg sausage mince

Breadcrumbs

Garlic Powder

Bush Spices (or whatever herbs/spices you have on hand or your family likes)

Salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl, place sausage mince and sprinkle on garlic powder, bush spices and salt and pepper.  There are no real measurements, just go by sight and smell, adding more if necessary as you mix.

Using your hands, mix all thoroughly together.

Shape into small sausage shapes and roll in breadcrumbs, coating them well.

Deep fry until golden brown and then place into a 150 degree oven to keep warm and to continue cooking.

Serve with Mashed Potato and Vegetables.

You can use whatever herbs/spices you have on hand or like in your snags.  These are our favourites at the moment.