Raspberry Banana Muffins

This afternoon Little Miss and I did some baking. It's so much more fun to bake together as she has gotten older. Little Miss is 3 1/2years old now and much more patient and relaxed about cooking. It is no longer a race to get all the ingredients in the bowl before they are eaten or poured on the floor. 

Today we made Raspberry and Banana Muffins. My bananas were spotty and we made banana bread yesterday, so I had to be creative with what I could find in the kitchen. I found an old muffin recipe and mixed it up a bit! Needless to say, yummy!!!

Raspberry and Banana Muffins

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of self raising flour

1/4 cup of sugar

60g of melted butter

1 egg (lightly whisked)

1/2 cup of milk

2 ripe (mashed) bananas

1 cup of raspberries (ours were frozen)

Method

1. Mix flour and sugar.

2. Add melted butter, lightly whisked egg and milk. 

3. Gently mix through mashed banana and raspberries. Leave mixture chunky. 

4. Cook in a moderate oven at 180degrees Celsius for 20minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. 

Creamy Carbonara (egg free version)

Our little one loves cooking, she wants to help with everything and it can get a bit much during the dinner time rush. Luckily my husband and I are pretty in-sync and can keep her involved and patient while getting the meal ready. Tonight's menu ... Creamy carbonara (the no egg version since I am pregnant). Our little one loved helping cut vegetables, passing ingredients and taking turns stirring. It can be a bit of a handful at times but at least meal preparation is not boring!

Mmmmmmmmmmm! 

I have a powerful love of pasta in general and while pregnant with our first child we basically lived off macaroni and cheese packet mix meals loaded with whatever we had in the fridge. My husband never complained, he just accepted that once the baby came he would get more variety back in the dinner menu.  Pregnant second time around and my love of pasta remains.

This meal, however, is better than any packet mix pasta creation! Lots of fresh ingredients, that satisfying sizzle of bacon and mushrooms cooking, creamy cheesy goodness ... Sigh. Food heaven!

This is the second time I have made this dish and I am feeling a bit proud. My husband kept going back for more. No leftovers tonight!

 

Creamy Carbonara (egg free version)

Ingredients:

6-7large mushrooms 

4 large shallots

3 rashers of bacon 

1 tablespoon of oil

4 cloves of finely grated garlic

1tablespoon of butter

300ml thick pouring cream

100ml milk

30gm finely grated Parmesan cheese

250g fettuccine 

Method:

1. Boil fettuccine in saucepan, rinse and keep warm during cooking

2. Dice bacon, mushrooms and shallots.

3. Grate garlic and Parmesan cheese

4. Fry bacon with grated garlic in oil on high heat until cooked

5. Add mushrooms, shallots and butter and fry until mushrooms brown slightly

6. Lower temperature and add cooked fettuccini and cream, milk and Parmesan cheese

7. Cook until sauce thickens to desired consistency

Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Being pregnant is hard work! One of the most annoying parts is not being able to sleep despite being completely utterly exhausted. So, waking at 430am is frustrating but it gives me a chance to catch up on the housework and enjoy a coffee in luxury just before my little one wakes for her day. This morning I am extra lucky because I baked chocolate fudge brownies yesterday and they have been cooling in the fridge overnight. Cutting up chocolate-y treats is definitely a task you need to do when there are no little hands reaching out to steal it while you chop.

Mmmmmmmm, chocolate-y goodness! 

I do not particularly remember where I originally got this recipe from, could be a Martha Stewart or a Taste online share but not sure anymore, I've had it for ages and had to modify it to my own baking methods. I have changed the types of flour and amount of chocolate and made a few tweaks to make them full and fluffy rather than dense and fat. Overall, I think this is my 'go to' chocolate fudge brownie recipe. It takes some time to cool but worth it in the end for such perfect bites of manna! (Scroll past the photos for the recipe!)

 

Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Ingredients: 

200gm of chocolate (or choc melts)

225gm unsalted butter (melted)

2/3 cup of Self Raising Flour

2/3 cup of Cocoa

2 cups of caster sugar

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tbsp of vanilla extract

Method:

1. Line baking pan with baking paper and preheat oven to 160degree celcius 

2. Roughly chop chocolate into small chunks 

3. Melt butter until nearly completely melted and allow to cool slightly

4. Sift Self Raising Flour and Cocoa. Stir in Caster Sugar

5. Add eggs and butter alternatively to the dry mix, stir well

6. Add vanilla and chocolate until combined

7. Spread over lined pan and bake for 1hour

8. Allow to cool in pan then on a baking rack. Transfer to cool in fridge overnight

9. Cut into squares once cooled completely

Malteasers slice

My husband and I went to see "Cuban Fury" on a recent date night and Nick Frost makes a random comment about white chocolate malteasers, which automatically makes them next on my list of treats to devour. Being suggestible and pregnant is not a good combination, especially when our local supermarket seem to be lacking in their stock of white chocolate malteasers!

Searching the Internet for a suitable substitute I discovered a recipe from Mum's Lounge for a delicious Malteasers Slice!  (http://www.mumslounge.com.au/entertainment/food/2429-malteser-slice.html)

Yummy!

I love how ingredient list allows for snacking on malteasers as you go, otherwise my slice would have been sorely lacking once I munched on my fill. 

 

 

Baking Fruity Muffins with a toddler!

I have been trying to think of more activities to do at home to keep my little one entertained and decided to make fruity muffins. I am not a fan of baking nor am I particularly good at it, however my little one loves being in the kitchen and helping whenever food is involved. She often gets shoo-ed out of the kitchen when dinner is prepared because she does not have patience for waiting or understand how hot appliances can be. I thought baking muffins together might let her experience being in the kitchen in a safer, more interactive and fun way. She loved it!

My little one loved mixing the ingredients and became possessive of the spoon, she was so patient putting the patty pans in the muffin tray, she enjoyed pointing to which patty pan needed filling with muffin mixture and then sat staring intently at the oven door while the muffins baked.

One thing I should mention is how fast baking is with a toddler. There is no dilly-dallying around otherwise flour ends up all over the table and morning tea is added to the bowl. Lucky for us, morning tea was just pieces of additional fruit that had not been eaten yet.

Another note: Goods baked with a toddler are not intended to be shared with anyone who is squeamish about eating something the toddler has put their finger into (toddlers are expert taste testers)

If you want the recipe for these particular fruity muffins, just scroll to the bottom of the post (after all the photos). 

Fruity Muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cup of Self Raising Flour

1/4 Cup of Sugar

60gram of melted butter

1-2 Cups of finely chopped or purée fruit ( I usually use a 1:1 ratio of solid fruit and purée fruit)

1 egg

1/2 Cup Milk

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 Degree Celsius 

2. Combine Self raising flour and sugar in a bowl.

3. Mix through melted butter

4. Add finely chopped fruit and stir through purée fruit

5. Whisk egg and milk and add to mixture

6. Bake in individual patty pans in oven for 20minutes or until a skewer comes out of the muffin clean

Banana Bread (egg free) Recipe

Something I never expected as a parent was that nervous feeling when I started introducing solids about potential allergic reactions. Lucky for us we have not had any major reactions to food {a few fun nappies, but that's to be expected!}

One of my daughters playmates had a terrible reaction to eggs when she was very little and we are all extra careful when our little ones are sharing {or rather, stealing} food. For catch ups it's always good to have safe foods available. 

This was a challenge for me, since I am a packet mix cook! After a lot of research {also known as googling} I found a recipe for banana bread that sounded toddler friendly and with a couple of key questions, posed to a few domestic goddesses I know, an egg free banana bread recipe was born!

Banana Bread (Egg free alternative)

Ingredients:

Low fat dairy spread to grease/ baking paper to line tray

2 cups (305g) of self raising flour 

1teaspoon of ground cinnamon 

2/3 cup (140g) of firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup (125ml) of skim milk

2/3 cup (140g) of purée apple

50g of melted butter (cooled)

2 overripe bananas mashed

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. 

2. Lightly grease a loaf pan with low fat dairy spread or alternatively line the base with non-stick baking paper

3. Place self raising flour in a mixing bowl, stir in the sugar and cinnamon and make a well in the centre. 

4. In another bowl mix milk, purée apple, butter and banana until well combined.

5. Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. 

6. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan 

7. Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 

8. Allow to cool in pan for 5-10minutes then remove from pan to cool completely on a wire rack.

9. Cut into slices to serve.