CCC #45 - My Turn again!

Challenge #45 was my turn to provide the challenge.

Here are my recipes

Stuffed Chicken Breast with prosciutto (a Weight Watchers recipe)

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 25-30 mins

Ingredients

2 x 140g chicken breast fillets, trimmed

2 thin slices (50 g) prosciutto

Filling:

2 tbs light cream cheese

2 tbs sun-dried tomato strips – finely chopped

2 tbs dried breadcrumbs

Serve with:

300 g pumpkin, peeled, cut into 2 cm cubes

3 x zucchini, cut into 2 cm slices

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200°C or 180°C fan forced.

Cut a pocket horizontally into each fillet. Combine cream cheese, tomato strips and breadcrumbs. Spread mixture into each pocket.

Wrap a piece of prosciutto around each fillet, place on a tray lined with baking paper. ** see note below for alternatives

Place the pumpkin & zucchini on a tray lined with paper and spray with oil. Bake vegetables and chicken for 25-30 minutes or until golden and cooked. Remove to warm plate, lightly cover with foil and rest chicken for 5 minutes before slicing.

The top photo is what it is supposed to look like  ;-)

Here is my slightly out of focus photos ;-)

**My Variations:
For those that like simpler tastes, bacon can be used instead of prosciutto and the sundried tomato strips can be left out – a TINY drizzle of oil may be needed to help cream cheese and breadcrumbs mix together.

This recipe works well both ways – I have the spicy version, hubby has the plain one ;-)

Smoked Salmon, Tuna, Bacon & Egg Salad
Serves: 1
30 g Smoked Salmon
1 can (95g) Sandwich Tuna (drained)
1 lge hard boiled egg
2 slices Bacon (trimmed – I use Weight Watchers)
1 Tomato (I used Roma)
Low Fat Caeser Salad Dressing
Lettuce

Method:
Boil up an egg and set aside to cool.
Chop up bacon, cook lightly, and set aside to cool.
Slice up smoked salmon, break up Tuna, chop tomato and split up the lettuce.
Place all ingredients in a bowl, drizzle caeser salad dressing over top and mix gently.

This is a very filling, tasty lunch that is great to take to work. I usually keep the ingredients separate and have the salad dressing in a small container – then I just mix it up when I am ready to eat.

If I make it when I am home, I usually eat it while the bacon & eggs are still a bit warm – Yum!

Honey Chocolate Mousse (this recipe was given to my by a friend)
Serves 6

225 g Toblerone (plus some extra to sprinkle over top)
¼ cup warm water
¾ cup cream
3 egg whites

Optional: Berries to decorate

Melt chocolate (with the ¼ cup warm water)
Beat cream in a medium bowl until soft peaks form.
Beat egg whites in a small bowl until stiff peaks form.
Using a metal spoon, fold egg whites into cream.
Gently fold half the cream mixture into the chocolate mixture until both are combined, then fold in remaining cream mixture. Spoon into individual dessert dishes and refrigerate approx 6 hours (usually overnight)
Just prior to serving sprinkle shaved chocolate over top and add some berries if desired.

CCC #46 - Thai BBQ Chicken

I have finally had some time for some cooking therapy!

Over on Cooks Club Challenge the challenges have been rolling on!  I can't believe how quickly time is going!

I decided to try the Thai BBQ Chicken from Challenge #46 as people were saying some really good things about it.  As at today, 26 November 2009, it is winning the vote for making it again!

As per usual for our household, I made the dish minus the garlic and used half the volume of spices.  We do have to be careful with spicy food in this house - it can go right through us IYKWIM!

This dish is a winner!  It is very tasty and the chicken was beautifully tender after marinating for 3 hours. 

I got a 'you can make this one again, love' ............ so here is another dish added to our 'faves'.  Next time I make this, I think I will 'up' the spices and use full measurements - live dangerously!

Full recipe can be found HERE as well as a lovely recipe for Apple pancakes, which will be next on the list to try!

CCC#13 - Banana Bread

I was flicking through some old posts on Cook's Club and found this one for BananaBread it was perfect timing as I had a heap of ripe bananas!

I just love how the top goes really crunchy!

CCC#24

I was so impressed with the photos presented for this challenge, I just had to have a go!

CCC#24 - the truffles looked delicious!

Boy, did I make a mess of the kitchen with this one!

it was a whole lot of fun (and stress!!) trying to pull these together -

here is what I posted on the forum:
QUOTE "have just made the truffles and must confess to being disappointed with my results.
have taken some piccies and whilst they look nice, they are still soft and gooey unless they are straight out of the fridge, they don't seem to stay firm the milk chocolate ones, with vanilla essence, rolled in choc sprinkles & crushed almonds (bottom right) seem to be the most successfull. the white ones rolled in coconut used coconut essence (top of piccie) are the next most successful ones the white & choc speckled ones were coconut essence & kaluah (left of piccie) - these seem to be the most gooey what did I do wrong??? I do admit that they taste nice, but they don't stay very firm for very long
EDITED: 1 hour later: have just finished the batch of milk chocolate ones, with choc sprinkles & almonds - they seem to be the most successful, the ones with the kaluha (the ones I was most looking forward to trying ) seem to be the most disappointing
EDITED: later again: they taste good, so not a COMPLETE waste of time or effort My SILs (yes plural) are chocolate freaks and say there is no such thing as BAD chocolate, just some are better than others
EDITED: 24/12 - the truffles have been in the fridge for 24 hours and now seem to stay firm - I don't know why they took so long to firm up. I will pass on the SILs verdict either later this evening or tomorrow. My verdict is that they are OK, very fiddly to make. I am not really a sweet person, so I think I will stick to savoury things in the future. END QUOTE
I didn't even attempt the chocolate coated ones! I think I will leave this type of thing to the professional LOL

CCC#20

I only made one recipe from the CCC#20 challenge - the mongolian lamb

I liked it! Hubby thought it was a bit spicy

I divided it up into single serves just for me!

I think it might be time to make up another batch!

Cook's Club Challenge 19 - my turn

Over on CCC19 it was my turn to pick the dishes for the challenge.

I chose a quick & easy theme - Savoury Nibbles - Pizza Wheels, Pasta Carbonara (no cream)

Choc Banana Muffins.

The Pizza Wheels won the vote - they are my favourites too!

I have enjoyed participating in these challenges and do intend to keep trying new things - time just gets away from me sometimes.

The forum is very friendly and there is no pressure to participate, you are made to feel most welcome when you do.

Check out the www.taste.com.au site it is a great visit!

Cook's Club Challenge #12

Here is another instalment of my experiments with the CCC#12 on http://www.taste.com.au/

I really enjoyed this one - the Australian Pumpkin soup was a real winner - I have made it several times now. it turns out slightly different each time I make it - must be the difference in pumpkin and the fact that I obviously don't measure things properly ;-)

The Custard Powder biscuits remind me so much of the 'fork' biscuits my best friend's mum used to make when we were kids. I instantly teleport back to her kitchen every time I make them.

It must have been time for another failure, as I was getting much too sure of myself. I tried the Mustard Chicken Bake. The flavour was a bit strong for us. It did not help that the potatoes were as good as raw - but then we did discover that for a few months after that, the potatoes were extremely difficult to cook and get a good result -no matter what we tried.

Cook's Club Challenge 10

I only tried one recipe from Challenge_10 - the MINI MARS BAR CHEESECAKES

These mini cheesecakes looked so delicious and they seemed easy to make too!

They came together fine, and looked OK, but you guessed it, it was time for a failure ............................ they did not set very well.

They tasted very nice, but they were very soft and gooey

Others that took part in the challenge had more success than me - they all looked so yummy!

Cook's Club Challenge #8

For Challenge_8 I tried out two of the three dishes.

Jazzie’s Triple Choc Brownies are to die for - they are the nicest brownies I have made.

I then tried Jazzie’s Broccoli Pie - yummo. This is another one that has become a firm favourite in this house.

The above picture is my first attempt, and the following picture is what I do now. I make up individual pies and have added onion & mushrooms to mine. Hubby's is just a bacon & egg pie ;-(

Stay tuned for more adventures in Cathy's Kitchen.

Cook's Club Challenge 7

in Challenge_7 I tried all three recipes

The Butter Chicken has to be my all time favourite - I make it up just for myself, with some rice, and divide and freeze in single portions.

Unfortunately, even given the number of times I have made it, I usually forget to take a photo.

Next success was the cake - very nice. Hubby liked it a lot and took some to work the next day.

My next project was to make up a pizza from scratch - not bad. I did not make up the dough, but bought some premixed dough and used that. The pizzas were OK and a bit of fun to make up with friends, but I think I will leave the pizza making to the professionals LOL
All in all, I am enjoying my Cook's Club Challenges very much.
stay tuned for the next installment.

Cooks Club Challenge #5

Here is my third success! Lemon Meringue Pie from Challenge No.5

This was lovely - both hubby & Dad went back for seconds - I love the way the lemon came together and just flowed into the pastry case.

Here is my next success - Chilli tomato & mushroom Fettucini. this dish was really nice - had a really nice kick to it. This is another dish I regularly make up for myself in a big batch and divide into single serves for later.

Now for the first FAILURE!

I have never had much luck using yeast or geletine in anything I have made in the past.

I figured, with my new found confidence, I would make Hot Cross Buns. I followed the instructions step by step, they looked quite nice in the pan before they went in the oven.

When they came out, they looked OK (if a little darker than what I would have liked ;-( ) but on the big taste test - BAA BAAM - they were so rubbery. The flavour was good, but the texture was so wrong!

This failure has not deterred me from trying other things - there are one or two more failures to come which I will report on a bit later - these failures are usually 'operator error' as a result of me not reading the instructions properly.

Will post some more cooking results soon.

Feel free to let me know what you think.

Cooks Club Challenge #1 2008

Here is the second dish I tried from Cook's Club Challenge - full thread can be found here.

Bacon & Pumpkin pasta - unfortunately, I did not make my own pesto, but used Leggo's pre-made basil pesto.

Usually, I am not a fan of vegetables but this dish has changed the way I think - especially about pumpkin. I now make up a batch of this at least once a month and divide it up into single serves to have later. It freezes well and reheats well (if treated gently).

That's two dishes I have tried and two successes - I am feeling very chuffed with myself and my new cooking ventures!

Easter Egg Slice

My Favourite CraftMad site has just published it first online journal here.

In this magazine there are heaps of Scrapbook & Card Challenges, Egg Decorating techniques, Off the Page Easter Projects, Stitched Easter Cards & also a recipe for this Easter Egg Slice.

The base is lovely and it is very sweet - almost too sweet ;-)

May I say that if you really love chocolate - this one may be for you!

The one good thing with trying this recipe is that I got to use my processor attachment for the first time. I recently bought a Kambrook Essentials Stick Mixer for my smoothies and it came with a small processing bowl. Up until this recent purchase, I have been without a processor - I figured I didn't need one. How wrong was my thinking!

Now another world has opened up for me - stay tuned for more experiments!

Cooks Club Challenge #1 - 2008

Here is the first recipe I decided to try from the Cook's Club Challenge - Satay Chicken - the full thread for this challenge can be found here.

This dish has become a firm favourite in this house - the sauce could be spiced up a bit if you wish, but the sauce is the reason we like this dish. This beautiful satay sauce does not have that 'kick/burn' that some have, nor is it too peanutty (? is that a word ??) or sweet.

You'll need 12 skewers.

Ingredients (serves 4) 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 1/2 teaspoons honey 1 teaspoon turmeric 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 tablespoon peanut oil 700g chicken tenderloins, halved lengthways 1 1/3 cups jasmine rice 6 green onions, sliced diagonally 1 can Ayam Satay Sauce (mild) 1 can Coconut Milk (light) olive oil cooking spray steamed Asian greens, to serve

Method Soak skewers in water for at least 30 minutes. Combine soy sauce, honey, turmeric, garlic and oil in a ceramic bowl. Add chicken pieces.. Turn to coat well. Thread chicken onto skewers. Spoon over marinade. Cover. Refrigerate for 1 hour or longer, if time permits. Cook rice, following packet directions. Use a fork to separate grains. Add onions. Place satay sauce and coconut milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until heated through. Preheat a barbecue grill or chargrill on medium. Spray skewers with oil. Cook for 6 minutes, turning, or until cooked. Place skewers on plates and drizzle with satay mixture. Serve with rice and Asian greens.

Tip: I mix the marinade in a zip lock bag then put the chicken in the bag & massage – then put bag in fridge and leave for as long as I can before threading onto skewers. When cooking, I do 1 ½ mins each side (four sides) I have also discovered Uncle Ben’s Bazmatti rice (in a packet) just a nice serve for two people and easy to cook! I throw in a chicken stock cube in the water with the rice!