MICROWAVE TEA CAKE

This recipe is another given to me by my mother and is so handy for when friends drop by unexpectedly and you have nothing else to offer or you just need something you can whip up quickly for an afternoon snack. It literally takes less than 5 minutes to  mix this up then it's into the microwave, 6 minutes later it's ready to eat, warm, tasty and smelling great.

                                                          MICROWAVE TEACAKE


2T (rounded) Butter
3/4 cup Caster Sugar
1/4 cup Fruit Juice
1/4 cup Milk
1 Egg, beaten
Pinch Salt
1 cup S.R Flour
Yellow Food Colouring


1. Melt butter in microwave (approx. 1 minute).


2. Place butter in large bowl and add sugar, juice, milk, egg, salt, flour
   and few drops of food colouring.


3. Cook for 6 minutes in microwavable container with glass in centre,all sprayed
   with cooking spray.Once cooked, turn out and sprinkle top with cinnamon and 
   sugar.

   
SERVING HINTS FROM VON:-


* After slicing, spread with a generous swipe of butter and serve with a cup of
   tea/coffee. Tastes lovely fresh out of the oven but delicious served cold also.                              

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL SLICE

There are many recipes out there for Chocolate Caramel Slice, but this recipe, passed down to me by my mother is by far the best I've tried.This recipe has great memories for me...I grew up with Mum making this for the family and now I make it as a treat for mine. I remember once when I first left home, buying one from a bakery....I was so disappointed by the taste that I didn't even finish it....and that is really hard to do when you're a fan of this slice. Just a warning though, it is very hard to stop at one piece......




                                      
                                     CHOCOLATE CARAMEL SLICE


BISCUIT BASE:-

  1/2 cup Brown Sugar
  1 cup S.R. Flour
  1 cup Coconut                     ...............> Combine and press into a slice tin. 
  125g margarine, melted                         Cook at 150 degrees celsius for
  1 teasp. vanilla                                         15 mins.


TOPPING:-


  1 tin Condensed Milk
  1 tin Margarine.                 .................> Heat together. Pour over cooked
  2 T Golden Syrup                                       base. Bake 10 mins. Cover with
                                                                  CHOCOLATE TOPPING.




CHOCOLATE TOPPING:-


75g copha, melted
1/2 cup Drinking Chocolate  ................>Combine.

CHICKEN CURRY PIES with SWEET POTATO

                                               CHICKEN CURRY PIES with Sweet Potato


700g Sweet Potato, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 Brown Onion, finely chopped
1 large Carrot
600g Chicken Breasts, cut into 2-3cm
1 1/2 T Korma Curry Paste
2 teasp. Plain Flour
400g can Diced Tomatoes
1/3 cup Water
1 cup  frozen Peas, thawed
2T fresh Coriander, chopped
2 teasp. Lime juice
2 teasp. Brown Sugar


1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Cook the sweet potato in a 
    saucepan of boiling water for 12 mins. or until tender. Drain and return
    to pan. Mash until smooth.


2.  Meanwhile, heat a deep frying pan over medium-high heat. Spray with
    oil. Cook the onion and carrot, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 mins or until 
    soft. 


3. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, for 3-4 mins. or until browned.


4. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic.


5. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.


6.  Add the tomato and water and stir to combine. Bring to the boil. Cook for 
    2-3 mins. or until the mixture thickens slightly. 


7.  Remove from heat. Stir in the peas, coriander, lime juice and sugar.


8.  Divide chicken mixture between four 1-cup capacity ovenproof dishes.
    Place on a large baking tray. Top with the mashed sweet potato and bake
    for 15 mins. or until golden.


COOKING HINTS FROM VON:-


* If you don't have individual ovenproof dishes, using a small 1L capacity
  ovenproof dish will do.


* You can also add 1/2 cup or so of cream or milk and 1T butter to the sweet
   potato when mashing it to make it even creamier. You could also add some
   finely diced onion.


* If you haven't got fresh lime juice, you can easily substitute using the 
  bottles of lime juice in the dry grocery section of your supermarket.

A Formal Introduction to the author of "Cooking on a Shoestring"

It occurred to me today, that despite the little blurb I wrote down the sidebar of my blog, I hadn't formally introduced myself. So please excuse this faux pas as being due to the fact that this is my first journey into the world of blogging and I am thus still trying to 'learn the ropes'. My name is Von Lehmann, I am a divorced mum of 4 children, 2 boys and twin girls. So, as a parent and also as student studying full-time at Uni, as you can imagine, my life is pretty busy. 

The photo below was taken at Christmas (2011) when I was busy preparing Christmas Dinner for 15 people as my mother (pictured behind me) was recuperating from her third surgery for the year. So, as eldest daughter I  took on the task of organising the Lehmann Family Christmas, which I loved every minute of. As a Mum of 4 I pride myself on being super-organised (though in part it's forced on you as a mother of many kids because if you don't try to be organised, life gets too chaotic, so really it's easier to be organised than not) and combined with my love of cooking, preparing Christmas Dinner was something I just took to, like a fish to water (which is a great analogy for a Piscean don't you think??)

  

                                             

Back to School Next Week...An Idea for the lunchbox

                                    




Back to school for all the kids next week, and as parents we all know what that means.....it means answering that unavoidable yet recurring question, what to put in the kids' lunchboxes that they're actually going to eat. Now we all know about the usual sandwiches or wraps options, yet as great as they are, variety is the key to getting the kids to eat what you take the time and effort to make. My recommendations are my already published Mini Quiches and Choc-Chip Biscuits as great additions to the school lunchbox dilemma. Why not make a batch of each of these this weekend and start the school year off with lunches the kids will actually look forward to.

GOT A COOKING QUESTION??

                                 


            ( But if you need a longer answer, I'm happy to give it to you)




I started cooking when I was 3-4 years old. My Mum has pictures of me proudly
holding a pie I had helped her make. I have been very fortunate that my Mum taught me the basics of cooking from a very early age, but I realise that others may not have had that privilege. In this hectic world we live in, where people just don't seem to have the time to get everything done that they would like, and with supermarkets literally bursting at the seams with a selection of 'convenience' foods designed to make our life easy, it would seem like it would be easy for people everywhere to prepare a meal for themselves and their families. 


For someone like me, who has been raised on predominately home made food, there is something really important missing from the stuff you can buy at the shops...and that's TASTE!!! Yeah I know you can buy cookie dough already made and yeah I know there's a 'Chicken Tonight' in a hundred different varieties that I can add to chicken and go,but it just doesn't taste the same.....


So for me, trying to cook as many meals as I can with the least amount of 'processed' food added to it is really important, especially when looking at the labels of some of these 'conveniences' that have ingredients lists that look like some of the stuff we used in chemistry back at school....I don't have a science or medical degree but I still wonder if all the stuff they put in our food these days is really good for us or not.


BUT...I am a busy Mum and I know like so many others, that as much as we want to give our families the best food there is, it's that damn time factor that
keeps up grabbing the 'quick' meals that we can get on the table to feed everyone. However, with more and more of us doing what we have to, to get a meal on the table, the skills which were once passed down automatically from mother to daughter ( yeah I know, things weren't politically correct back in the day) are being lost. I am doing my utmost to ensure my children have the skills they need to cook a meal from scratch, and this is , in part, some of the reason as to why I started this blog, so I can share with others the joy of cooking and the recipes that feed MY family.


                          


It's one thing however for me to post my recipes, but it's a total other for you to cook them and get the same results. I take for granted all the little tricks of the trade that my Mum taught me so I would like to encourage anyone who has a cooking question, to leave it in the comments section and I will answer it for you. The  other alternative is to send me an email at cookingonashoestringblog@hotmail.com. Just remember, there's no such thing as a silly question.....so ask away.
                                 

Fast, Cheap & Tasty...Chicken & Mushroom Casserole

                                   
What I love about this meal is that it's really quick to make and I can be serving dinner within half hour of starting it which is great when you have hungry kids roaming around the kitchen saying, "When's dinner?". To get it served even faster, have a look at my tips below the recipe for ideas to have the rice pre-prepared.
 

                                     CHICKEN and MUSHROOM CASSEROLE



2 teasp. Oil
400g chicken breast, diced
1 medium Brown Onion, chopped
2 rashers Bacon, chopped
250g Button Mushrooms, quartered
1/4 cup Plain Flour
1 T Dijon Mustard
1 cup Chicken Stock
1/2 cup Thickened Cream
2T flat-leaf Parsley, chopped


1. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken. Cook,
   stirring, for 5 mins. or until golden. Transfer to a plate.


2. Add onion and bacon to pan. Cook, stirring, for 3-4 mins. or until onion 
   has softened. Add mushrooms. Cook, stirring for 2 mins. or until mushroom 
   has started to soften. Stir in flour and mustard. Cook, stirring for 2 mins.
  Gradually stir in stock. Bring to the boil. Return chicken to pan. Cover. 
  Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 mins. or until chicken is cooked through.

3. Add cream. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, without boiling, for 3 
   mins. or until heated through. Stir in parsley. Serve.




VON'S HINTS:-


* I usually serve this recipe with rice but pasta would go well also. When I 
  make the rice I usually double what I need (but even if I don't I always
  seem to have so much left over) and wrap the leftover rice in cling wrap, or 
  put in a plastic container and freeze it. Having cooked rice ready in the 
  freezer is a great time-saver as you can just pull it out and throw it in the   
  microwave for those times when you don't have time to sit and wait for the 
  rice to boil.


* Also if you have an leftovers once you've finished dinner, if you can't use 
   them the next day for lunches, why not wrap portion sizes in cling wrap and 
   pop in the freezer for those times when you need a quick instant meal but 
   couldn't be bothered cooking.


* I often throw in a couple of extra rashers of bacon (chopped up of course)
   as the kids love it.


* I use fresh parsley from my herb garden I have growing on my balcony but 
   you can substitute dried if you wish.


* As a cost saver too or for when you don't have fresh mushies, tinned
   mushrooms or champignons work and taste just as well.

CHEESECAKE.....SIMPLE TO MAKE...EASY TO EAT

There are a lot of cheesecake recipes around, I know I have recipe books full of them but this recipe is really straightforward and I've had friends comment that they thought I had bought the cheesecake from the shop...so I'm taking that as a compliment that it tastes professionally made. The only thing that really matters to me however is that my family loves it...and they do.

                                                  SIMPLE CHEESECAKE

250g plain Sweet Biscuits, crushed

120g Butter, melted

3 teasp. Gelatine

2T Water

250g Cream Cheese, softened

1 tin Condensed Milk

1/4 cup Lemon Juice

1/2 cup Cream

Cinnamon.

1. Combine biscuits and butter, press into base of 20cm spring-form pan, 

   refrigerate. 

2.   Sprinkle gelatine over water in a small glass bowl. In a larger bowl

      filled with hot water, place the bowl of gelatine and water and stir with a 

      fork until the gelatine dissolves.Remove from larger bowl and allow to cool.

3.  Beat cream cheese until smooth, add condensed milk, beat until 

    combined. Add lemon juice and cream, beat well. Beat in dissolved

    gelatine.

4. Spoon evenly into prepared crumb crust, sprinkle with cinnamon, refrigerate 

    until set. Serves 8.

VON'S HINTS

* Although it is probably pointless considering it's a cheesecake...if you want to

   make it a tinier bit healthier you can use skim milk condensed milk, reduced fat 

   cream cheese and the cream.

* Also, if you don't have fresh lemons, or you couldn't be bothered squeezing

   some, you can substitute it with the lemon squeeze you can buy at the 

   supermarket for 99c and it tastes just the same.

                                                       

MINCE CAN BE INTERESTING....SURPRISE MINCE PARCELS

                                                 

                                                         

                                               
                                                       SURPRISE MINCE PARCELS


600g Lean Beef Mince
1 Beef Stock Cube, crumbled
3 Shallots, finely chopped
1 teasp. Mixed Herbs
1 clove Garlic, crushed
2 teasp. Soy Sauce
4 eggs, boiled till firm, shelled
2 sheets, ready-rolled puff pastry
1 Egg, lightly beaten


1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees celsius. Combine first 7 ingredients.
   Divide into 4 equal portions. Place an egg into the centre of each
   mince portion. Mould meat around egg.


2. Cut each sheet of pastry into 2. Place an egg and meat portion into the 
    centre of each. Fold ends of pastry over meat. Brush joins with lightly
    beaten egg. With a sharp knife, make 3 incisions on top of each pastry 
    parcel. Glaze complete parcel with beaten egg.


3. Place parcels onto a greased oven tray, cook at 220 degrees celsius for 10
   mins. then at 180 degrees for 15 mins.

                                  


VON'S HINTS


* Use reduced-fat puff pastry to reduce the fat content of this recipe.


* To reduce your grocery bills, it is worth investing some time and money into
    establishing a basic herb garden. Herb gardens don't take  a lot of room,
   most of my herbs are in pots on my balcony and in my front window box. 
    I grow rosemary, thyme, Italian Parsley, Common Parsley, Chives, Sweet
   Basil, Marjoram, Sage & Mint.


   Because a lot of my recipes call for shallots, one day I planted a bunch
  which I'd bought from the shop but which I hadn't had a chance to use
  and they had subsequently wilted. This one bunch, once planted has grown
  into a good supply for my cooking and I haven't had to buy any since.
  I am very proud of my little herb garden especially because I am definitely
  not a 'green thumb'.


  Having my own herb garden has saved me so much money, not only because
  I no longer have to buy them but has also reduced wastage as I only cut
 what I need, when I need it. Using freshly cut herbs, I think, really gives the
 added benefit of freshness to my cooking which is harder to get by using dried
 herbs.

Food quote......Apprehensive about Cooking???

                        




“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.” 
― Julia Child

Budget Fish Meal....Fish Bake with Potato Topping

This recipe was a real hit with the kids, they demolished the lot so that's usually a sign that they like it, especially when they come back for seconds. I love how easy it was to make and most importantly affordable.

                               

                                                   FISH BAKE with POTATO TOPPING

1 T Vegetable Oil

20g Butter

1 medium brown onion, finely chopped

2T Plain Flour

1 large Vegetable Stock Cube, crumbled

1 1/4 cups hot Milk

400g frozen uncrumbed Fish Fillets, thawed, cut into 3cm pieces

2 cups mixed frozen Vegetables, thawed

500g frozen Potato Gems

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius.  Heat oil and butter in a large saucepan over moderate heat. Add onion; cook and stir for 3 mins. or until soft. 

2. Add flour and crumbled stock cube; cook and stir for 1 minute or until 
  mixture thickens. 

3.  Gradually stir in hot milk. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered 
   for 3-4 mins. or until sauce thickens. Stir in fish and vegies.

4.  Spoon mixture into a 2L (8 cup) ovenproof dish. Top with frozen potato 
    gems. Bake for 20 mins. or until golden brown. 


VON'S HINTS:-


* Another great way to cook and serve this meal is by baking in individual
   ovenproof dishes ( it will only take 15 mins this way).


* This dish serves well with a salad and even though it already contains
   vegies you could also accompany it with other varieties of steamed vegies.

Cheap & Easy Meal....Chicken Caesar Toasts...A new twist to an old favourite

    For those of you who love a Caesar Salad this is a modern twist to a classic recipe whilst also being a filling meal which is really quick to make.The girls and I had this for dinner last night and it was de-licious!! 

            
                              
                                CHICKEN CAESAR TOASTS


6 Rashers bacon
400g chicken tenderloins
8 slices thick white crusty bread
1 baby cos lettuce leaves, washed, shredded
1/4 cup caesar salad dressing
1/3 cup shaved parmesan cheese


1. Cut bacon in half length-ways. Cut cross-ways into thin strips. Spray a large
    non-stick frying pan with cooking spray. Heat over medium heat. Cook bacon
    stirring for 5 mins. or until crisp. Transfer to a plate. Cover to keep warm.


2. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook chicken for 3-4 mins each side or until
    golden  and cooked through. Thickly slice chicken and add to plate with 
    bacon.


3. Preheat grill on medium-high. Grill bread for 2-3 mins each side or until 
    toasted.


4. Place lettuce, bacon, bacon, chicken and dressing in a bowl. Toss to 
    combine.Divide mixture between toast. Top with Parmesan.




    VON'S HINTS:-


* Use fat-reduced caesar salad dressing to make the recipe lower in fat.


* Instead of toasting the bread under the grill, save washing up and simply 
   butter both sides of the bread and cook in the same pan used to cook the 
   bacon and chicken.


* To make great savings buy bacon in bulk and divide into smaller rasher 
   portions, wrap in cling wrap and freeze. I haven't seen a better buy for bacon 
   where I can buy 1kg for $6.99, no fat or rind to deal with, perfect for cooking.      


* If you're a true Caesar salad fan and like me, you LOVE anchovies you could
   add it to the lettuce, bacon, chicken etc. I left it out of my recipe because 
   not all the kids like it, but if you're a true anchovy appreciator, you'll want 
   to throw some in !!

Choc-Chip Biscuits...A Family Favourite & a fun thing to make on the Weekends

These Choc-Chip biscuits are cheap and easy to make and taste oh so much better than any type of choc-chip biscuit you can buy at the shops. This recipe has been passed down to me from my mother and is a family favourite. I usually double or triple this recipe as one batch is never enough for the hungry kids and visitors at our home.

CHOC-CHIP BISCUITS.

125g Butter
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup White Sugar
1/2 teasp. Vanilla
1 Egg
1 3/4 cups SR Flour
1/2 teasp. Salt
125g Choc-Chips


1. Cream together butter, sugars and vanilla.


2. Add beaten eggs, gradually beating after each addition.


3. Mix in sifted flour and salt.


4. Add choc-chips, mix well.


5. Shape teaspoonfuls of mixture into balls and place on lightly greased 
   trays.


6. Bake in moderate oven 10-12 mins.




VON'S HINTS:-


* Instead of greasing trays I use baking paper as  it also has the benefit of 
   saving on washing up.


* Remember when making biscuits to have the butter at room temperature to 
   ensure better results for your biscuits. Also don't over mix the dough as this
   greatly affects the texture of your finished biscuit.

Budget meals for kids...Nachos are one of their favourite meals

I actually made this for the kids last night before we went to watch the Jets game at Ausgrid Stadium. It is such a quick and filling meal, and with the inclusion of corn chips, what child, or adult for that matter wouldn't love it,  except I've found, those that don't like corn chips.

                                             
                                                  BEEF NACHOS


1 large Onion, finely chopped
500g beef Mince
300g Kidney Beans, drained
1Pkt Taco Mix
2T Tomato Paste
1/4 cup Water
1 large pkt Corn Chips
1 cup grated Cheese


1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Spray fry-pan with cooking spray and
   have pan at medium heat. Cook onion for 2 mins. or until soft. 


2.  Add mince. Cook, stirring with wooden spoon for 5 mins. or until
    browned. Add kidney beans, taco mix, tomato paste & water. Reduce
   heat to medium-low and simmer 4-5 mins. or until thick.


3. Arrange half the corn chips on a heatproof plate, top with mince then 
   sprinkle the remainder of corn chips on top. Sprinkle with cheese.


4. Bake for 10-15 mins. or until cheese has melted.




VON'S HINTS:-


* Tomato Salsa, mashed Avocado and Sour Cream are all tasty options to serve
  with Nachos.


* Though beef mince is the kid's favourite for this recipe I just use whatever 
   mince is in the freezer, whether that be chicken, pork or veal.


* I prefer to add the kidney beans so the kids are getting the added fibre, but 
   if I make this when they have friends over who don't like them I just leave
   them out.


* I also like to add a few teaspoons of minced garlic to the onions while 
   they're cooking, but this is a personal preference. I add garlic to most 
  meals in this house, unbeknownst to my youngest son who declared the 
  other day that he didn't like garlic. I laughed and said to him, " That's
  funny, I add garlic to most of your meals and have been doing so since you 
   were little so I beg to differ that you don't like garlic". 


* If we have a full house I usually double this recipe and make it in my big 
  lasagne dish. 


* For a slightly different taste if you're making this recipe often there is 
   subtle differences across the different brands of taco mixes and there are
   also Burrito Mixes you can use. Different families will prefer different brands
   so experiment and see which you prefer.

Another low cost meal on a budget...Spinach pie

                                                   
    Even if you're not a big fan of spinach this pie is really tasty!!






                                      SPINACH PIE

BASE:-   90G butter

                1 ½ cups finely crushed cheese biscuits (about 125g)

FILLING:-   1 bunch spinach(or 2pkts frozen spinach)

                    250g cream cheese

                 125g feta cheese

                 300ml sour cream

                 4 eggs, lightly beaten

                  6 shallots, chopped

BASE:-

1.     Melt butter for 40 seconds on HIGH (m/wave).Stir in crushed biscuits.

2.    Press 1 cup of biscuit crumbs evenly over base of greased 20cm springform tin. Refrigerate for 20 mins.

FILLING:-

1.  Chop spinach roughly. Cook for 5-6mins on HIGH (m/wave). Drain and press excess liquid from spinach.

2.   Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.

3.    Beat cheeses in bowl with electric mixer. Add sour cream and eggs; mix well.

4.  Stir in spinach and shallots.

5.    Pour filling over biscuit base.

6.    Sprinkle with remaining biscuit crumbs.

7.    Cook for 35mins.

 

**I haven’t tried it but there is also a microwave method for this recipe, it is as follows:-

BASE:  1. Melt butter on HIGH for 40 seconds. Stir in crushed biscuits

        2. Press 1 cup biscuit crumbs evenly over base of greased pie 
          plate. 

          Refrigerate for 30 minutes.




FILLING:  Follow steps as above 1,3,4,5,6

Cook for 20-22mins on MEDIUM-HIGH.

Another food quote

I really like the following quote as it is so true, those special foods that Mum's make definitely hold memories whether good or bad, lucky for me I have more good than bad memories when it comes to food.


                              

“I don't know what it is about food your mother makes for you, especially when it's something that anyone can make - pancakes, meat loaf, tuna salad - but it carries a certain taste of memory.” 

 Mitch Albom