Quick Apple Crumble

It’s been a while since I have shared a recipe with you.  With winter now upon us, and the days now seeming shorter because there is less sunlight, there’s a sense that we have fewer hours in the day.  So I am going to arm you with a ‘quick and easy’ wintery dessert that my Mum shared with me over the weekend whilst she came to visit.

I love it when my Mum comes to visit. The house seems so much more enriched after she has been.  The purpose of her visit was for my son – he had ‘Grandparents Day’ at school.  He was so excited to have three of his five Grandparents in attendance.  He was proud to show them what he has learnt at school so far and honoured to introduce them to his little schoolmates.

Over the few days that Mum was here we frequented some restaurants and cafes, many of my local haunts so to speak.  I took her to my favourite coffee and breakfast place, a couple of my best lunch and dinner venues.  We ate out a lot. We never tired of that.

Even with all of that dining out, there was still time to do some cooking at home and learn about this ‘quick and easy’ apple crumble.  It’s certainly a winter warmer dessert and the kids LOVED it. Mum said she got the recipe from her Beauty Therapist.  The things you talk about at the nails table...

QUICK & EASY APPLE CRUMBLE

What you need:

1 x 800 gram can of pie apple

1 x packet of vanilla cake mix

1 x cup of shredded coconut

150 grams of butter

What you do:

In a medium size greased baking dish spread the pie apple across the bottom of the dish.  Spread the cake mix over the top of the apples. Then spread the coconut over the top of the cake mix.  Finish with dollops of butter over the top of the coconut.

Bake in moderate oven until set and the topping is golden brown.

Serve warm with cream, ice cream or custard.

Enjoy and keep warm friends!

MANtastic Meals - Part 2

My husband, whether he realises it or not, is a fabulous cook.  I can remember the very first thing we cooked together when we first started ‘dating’.  It was a lazy Sunday afternoon and we were sitting in his backyard enjoying the sunshine, when he noticed a pumpkin that had somehow come over the fence from the neighbor’s veggie patch.  It was still attached and we queried with each other if it was stealing or not it we were to pick it – as technically it was on his property!  After very little debate we decided to acquire the pumpkin and turn it into soup.  We were both excited to have decided on dinner for that evening.  I’m not sure if it was the quality of the pumpkin or the lack of other key ingredients, such as stock, that made it the most offensive pumpkin soup we had ever tasted!  But it was fun and an enjoyable experience, and I had realised that despite this kitchen disaster he did have great cooking potential.

He moved on from the pumpkin soup debacle very quickly and really does enjoy cooking and can cook anything he wants with a marvellous result.   Even though he is the king of the BBQ at our house, he excels in cooking in the kitchen with the mouth-watering steaks, picture perfect stir-fries and his beloved slow cooker meals.

His passion of cooking came through when I sent the shout out for the MANtastic Meals series. I was pleasantly surprised that he was one of the first to respond.  His choice wasn’t what I had expected him to submit but it is a great old faithful from his University years when he was forced to create substantial meals on a shoestring budget with little fuss.  Now it’s something he throws together for our kids when they want a fun and tasty meal or for the adults when we just want something quick and easy and the cupboards are looking a little empty.

My Husbands Two-Minute Noodle Omelette

What you need;

1 packet of two minute noodles - cooked

2 eggs

1 medium tomato - chopped

3 slices of ham - chopped

½ teaspoon of chilli flakes

½ cup grated tasty cheese

Pepper and salt to taste

What you do;

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, shallow fry in a pan turning once.

Serve and garnish with fresh parsley.

Of course you can use any filling you please.  So easy and so yummy. 

Enjoy friends!

If there are any male readers that would like to submit their favourite recipe to be published in the ‘MANtastic Meals’ series please email me at foodforyoureviews@hotmail.com I would love to hear from you.

The Sweetest Thing - part 6

Veronique’s Easy Chocolate Cake

Everyone loves chocolate.  Everyone loves easy.  Everyone loves cake and everyone loves Veronique!  Veronique is such a sweet and serene person.  Having a Mauritius background Veronique often creates exotic and enticing dishes that we all want the recipe for. 

Being a new mum Veronique has decided to give us her favorite easy chocolate cake recipe.  Juggling a baby and baking requires simplicity.  This cake is perfect for those days when you need a chocolate fix or you have friends coming over for a cuppa.

This recipe makes a big cake (oven dish size) or two regular cakes (regular cake tin size).

What you need;

2 cups of water
3 cups of sugar
½ cup of good quality cocoa
3 cups of self-raising flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
250 grams of butter
4 large eggs beaten
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (or a fresh pod added to the pot)
1 block of dark chocolate

What you do;

Grease and line dish/tins with baking paper.

Combine water, sugar, cocoa, vanilla, chocolate, butter and bicarbonate of soda in a tall pot.  Stir over heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil then turn down heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Take the mixture off the stove and allow to cool for 30 minutes.

Whisk in sifted flour. Add beaten eggs. Pour mixture into dish/tins. Cook at 180 degrees for approximately 1 hour or until cooked.

Ice and eat!

Thank you Veronique.  Enjoy!