Category: Recipe

Junior Cook – Pizza

Pizza Base

  • 2 Cups self raising flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 30g butter
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • ¼ cup tomato sauce

Topping

  • 2 Cups grated cheese
  • 1 tomato thinly sliced
  • 1 cup well drained pineapple pieces
  • 1 cup finely chopped ham

Method

  1. Turn oven to 220 degrees (200 in fan forced oven). Get out a large oven tray
  2. Soft for and salt into a bowl. Chop up butter and add.
  3. With fingers, rub in butter until blended in
  4. Add milk (more of needed). Mix and knead to a soft dough.
  5. Roll out onto the baking tray (about 35cm diameter)
  6. Brush the dough with oil then tomato sauce
  7. Sprinkle cheese over then put tomato slices evenly over it.
  8. Spread pineapple and ham over evenly
  9. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cooked.

Rhubarb crumble

Ingredients

  • 10 sticks of rhubarb
  • 4 tbsp water
  • 8 tbsp caster sugar
  • 1 tsp powdered ginger
  • 110g/4oz butter, softened
  • 110g/4oz demerara sugar
  • 180-200g/6-7oz flour
  • double cream (to serve)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
  2. Cut the rhubarb into 7.5cm/3in long sticks and place on an oven tray, sprinkle with the water and caster sugar and roast in the oven for 10 minutes.
  3. Once cooked, remove from the oven, sprinkle over the ginger and mix well.
  4. Fill an ovenproof dish about 4cm deep with the rhubarb.
  5. Rub the butter into the flour and sugar to make the crumble toppping. Sprinkle over the rhubarb and bake in the oven.
  6. Remove and allow to cool slightly before serving with double cream.

Bon-bons

Crazy easy to make. But take a bit of time to do the actual assembly.

Main ingredients

  • 30 blended digestives
  • 125g melted margarine
  • 4tbsp crushed walnuts
  • 6tbsp icing sugar
  • 5tbsp milk
  • 4tbsp cocoa

Optional ingredients

  • rum essence
  • orange zest
  • cinnammon

Method

  • Mix it all up!
  • Make balls about the size of a large grape – say half the diameter of a golf ball.
  • Roll the bon bons in dried coconut. Put in the fridge to harden.

Muffins Choc/Apple

Basic Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups self-raising flour
  • 6 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2/3 cup caster sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 6 tbsp margarine/butter (melted)
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Put all in food-processor. Blitz until smooth.
Transfer the mixture to a normal mixing bowl

Add your choice of flavourings

Blueberry

  • 1 cup of fresh/frozen blueberries

Strawberry

  • 1 1/4 cups strawbs chopped into small pieces
  • 1 additional dessert spoon of flour

Choc chip

  • 150g choc chips
  • 12 small cubes of chocolate (1 in the centre of each muffin)

Apple

  • 1 1/2 cups of finely chopped cooking apples (probably about 1 large sized cooking apple)
  • Size of the apple pieces to be about 1cm x 2cm
  • 1 tea spoon of ground cinnamon

Method

  1. After mixing your flavourings, pour your mixture into individual muffin cases. It makes about 12 muffins.
  2. Put into the oven on 195 degrees on a fan oven.
  3. After 20 minutes, check how they’re doing. If you’ve got fruit in the muffins, you can’t test they’re cooked by using a skewer, so instead try prodding one of them with your finger: if they spring back when you push them, they’re cooked.

Penne Lasagne

Ingredients

  • 350g penne pasta
  • 250g minced beef
  • 440g tin of beans
  • 440g tin of chopped tomatoes
  • Onion
  • Grated carrot
  • Garlic
  • tomato concentrate
  • 200g grated cheese
  • 150g mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 egg, beaten

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. Grease a biggish baking dish.
  2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
  3. In a large pan, brown the mince
  4. Remove the mince to a separate bowl and saute garlic and onion in the same pan.
  5. After garlic and onion has softened add grated carrot, beans, tomatoes, tomato concentrate. Cook for another 5 mins, add the cooked mince, then remove from heat
  6. In a bowl, combine cheddar, parmesan, and most of mozarella and beaten egg. Stir until well combined.
  7. In the prepared baking dish layer half the pasta, half the sauce and half the cheese mixture. Repeat. Top with remaining mozzarella.
  8. Bake in preheated oven 34 to 40 minutes, until hot and bubbly.

Thin Crispy Pizza Base

Source: https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/thin-crispy-pizza-bases/

INGREDIENTS

  • Olive oil, to grease
  • 250ml (1 cup) lukewarm water
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons (7g/1 sachet) dried yeast
  • 450g (3 cups) plain flour, sifted
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 140g container pizza sauce, optional

METHOD

  • Step 1 Preheat oven to 220°C. Brush two 25cm pizza trays with oil to grease.
  • Step 2 Combine water and sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle with the yeast and set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 5 minutes or until foaming.
  • Step 3 Meanwhile, sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in centre and add yeast mixture and oil. Use a wooden spoon to stir until combined, then use your hands to bring together. (It should be soft and slightly sticky.)
  • Step 4 Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 6 minutes or until almost smooth. Divide the dough in half and cover with a clean damp tea towel. Set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 5 minutes.
  • Step 5 Roll each dough portion out to line greased pizza trays. Spread bases with pizza sauce, if desired. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes or until golden and crisp. (To freeze pizza bases, see notes.)

Beef nachos

FEEDS SIX!

INGREDIENTS

Sauce

  • 3 teaspoons cumin seeds
  • 3 teaspoons coriander seeds
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 500g beef mince
  • 1 red onion, finely chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 5cm strip orange rind
  • 400g can crushed tomatoes
  • 185ml (3/4 cup) water
  • 400g red kidney beans, drained, rinsed
  • 2 x 175g pkts plain corn chips
  • 160g (2 cups) coarsely grated cheddar
  • Sour cream, to serve
  • Sliced fresh red chilli or green chilli, to serve
  • Refried beans (optional)

GUACAMOLE

  • 2 avocados, coarsely chopped
  • 1 fresh green jalapen~o, deseeded, finely chopped
  • 1/4 white onion, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

TOMATO SALSA

  • 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
  • 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup fresh coriander, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

METHOD

  1. Fry the cumin and coriander in a frying pan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes or until aromatic. Transfer to a mortar and pound with a pestle until coarsely crushed.
  2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the mince and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, for 5 minutes or until browned. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft.
  3. Add the cumin mixture, cinnamon and orange rind. Cook for 1 minute or until aromatic.
  4. Add the tomato, water and half the beans. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the sauce reduces and thickens. Stir in the remaining beans.
  5. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (160 fan forced)
  6. Meanwhile, for the guacamole, place the avocado in a bowl. Use a fork to roughly mash. Add jalapeño, onion, coriander and lime and stir until well combined. Season.
  7. To make the salsa, combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Season.
  8. Spread the corn chips over a baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes or until warmed through.
  9. Heat the refried beans
  10. Preheat the oven grill on medium-high. Transfer corn chips to 4 ovenproof dishes. Spoon beef mixture over and sprinkle with cheese. Grill for 2-3 minutes or until cheese melts. Top with guacamole, tomato salsa and sour cream. Serve with sliced chilli.

Beetroot salad

Ingredients

  • 500g Beetroot, raw, peeled, grated
  • 700g Carrots, raw, peeled, grated
  • 1 cup Mint leaves, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup Raisins
  • 1/4 cup Sunflower seeds, toasted
  • 1/4 cup Pumpkin seeds, toasted
  • 1/2 tsp Salt

Dressing

  • 2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp Pomegranate molasses
  • 1/4 cup Orange juice
  • 1/4 cup Olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp Honey

Method

  1. To prepare the dressing, place all the ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake and combine.
  2. To prepare the salad, in a large serving bowl combine the beetroot, carrot, mint, raisins, seeds, and salt. Mix.
  3. Pour dressing over the salad. Toss again when ready to serve.

Victoria Sponge Cake

Victoria sponge cake

Ingredients

  • 4 free range eggs
  • 2/3 cup caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 1 cup self-raising flour
  • 150ml cream, whipped
  • 1/2 cup strawberry jam
  • 3 tablespoons icing sugar mixture
  • 250g strawberries, hulled and halved

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180C or 160C fan. Lightly grease 2 x 20cm (base measurement) round cake tins and line the bases with non-stick baking paper. Using electric beaters, beat eggs in a large bowl for 5 mins, until thick, pale and increased in volume. Add sugar, 2 tbsp at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
  2. Sift flour over egg mixture. Using a large metal spoon or rubber spatula, fold in until combined, taking care not to lose volume. Divide evenly between prepared tins.
  3. Bake for 18-20 mins, until the cakes spring back to a light touch in the centre. Cool in tin for 5 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack and peel away the paper. Leave to cool
  4. Place 1 cake onto a serving plate and pipe or dollop with the whipped cream. Spread the other sponge with jam and invert onto the bottom cake. Put icing sugar into a small sieve and dust top of cake. Top with strawberries.

Lemonade Scones

Lemonade Scones

Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 cups of self-raising flour
  • 1 Cup of double cream
  • 1 cup of lemonade

Method

  1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees celcius
  2. Put all the ingredients in a large bowl
  3. Stir enough for ingredients to be thoroughly mixed but no more than you have to to make the dough
  4. Sprinkle flour (self-raising or plain) on the bench to make an area where you can roll the dough
  5. Spread dough on the floured surface, and roll out to about 2 or 3 cm thick
  6. Prepare the baking tray where you will cook the scones by putting baking paper on it so the scones don’t stick
  7. Cut into scone-size pieces and place on the baking tray (make sure there is enough space around each scone for it to grow
  8. Put the tray in the oven for about 20 or 25 minutes

Eating

Fun fact: Traditionally scones are eaten with jam and cream. This works really well, but jam can be replaced with chocolate spread or honey. Banana also works well instead of, or as well as, cream.