fresh from the world of donna hay...chocolate crackles!

i am loving simple recipes at the moment. anything that combines fun in the kitchen & kid friendly-ness is a winner wiith me. this recipe combines both. yay! :) it is the tastiest & easiest chocolate crackle recipe ever. i love theses & now plan to incorporate the little beauties into my life on a regular basis.

all you need is 4 cups of rice bubbley cereal, 1/3 cup of golden syrup & 200g of dark chocolate.

essentially you just melt the chocolate. (my prefered method is the ole 'bowl over the top of saucepan filled with boiling water' method) mix the golden syrup in with the melted chocolate & then throw in the rice bubbles. mix, mix, mix until the cereal is all chocolatey & then plop a spoonful or two into individual patty pans. pop all your crackles in the fridge & wait for an hourish for your creations to set!

the original recipe recommends 100g of butter. i didn't use butter. decided to opt for less fat so that i could eat more of the finished product!

yum yum yum

jules X

chocolate pudding

i was so excited about making this pudding. i loved the idea of being able to whip up my own 'self-saucing' pudding from scratch. it was so easy! my mouth was watering with the anticipation of tasting my creation. which explains why there is only one photo- an empty serving dish! (that says it all! :))

chocolate self-saucing pudding

1/2 cup of milk

35g of butter

1 egg- beaten

1 tsp of vanilla extract (i used vanilla essence)

1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup of almond meal

1/4 cup of brown sugar

1 tablespoon of cocoa powder 

saucey bits: 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1 & 1/2 tablespoons of cocoa powder & 1 cup of water

1. whisk the milk, butter, egg & vanilla in a bowl.

2. in an oven/baking dish add the flour, almond meal, baking powder, cocoa powder & brown sugar & mix. then gradually add the milk mixture to the flour mixture. make sure it is nicely combined.

3.place all the 'saucey' ingredients into a saucepan & cook on medium eat. stir constantly.

4.allow the sugar to disolve & bring the 'sauce' to the boil. 

5. remove saucepan from the heat & tip the sauce all over the pudding mixture!

6. bake @ 180 degrees for 25-30 mins or until firmish.

extra bits...

this pudding is based on a donna hay recipe. the original contains instant coffee. not being a coffee fan i substituted instant coffee for cocoa powder. the method suggests that the cook preheats their oven. as my oven is essentially a furnace, i never preheat it!

thanks Donna Hay!

it is here!

 'donna hay kid's magazine'. have you seen it? it is fantastic!

i grabbed my copy yesterday & haven't put it down since- which has been quite problematic on a lot of levels! :) i adapted one of the recipes for last night's dinner.

basically i just excluded or substitued ingredients with food i had at home and/or food i hoped would be eaten. (the green onions suggested by DH were the first evictees!)

my recipe is based on 'chicken & snow pea fried rice' p 26.

 to increase the likelihood of the dish being eaten i also changed its name

chicken, peas & rice

2 eggs, lightly beaten

garlic ( i used 2 teaspoons of minced garlic)

2.5 cups of cooked white rice

handful of green beans

1-ish cup of frozen peas

half a red capsicum

half a cooked chook (no skin, bones or stuffing) shredded

splash or two of soy sauce

chicken for another day, shredded chicken & chook bits for the pooch!

1. fire up the frying pan, add some oil & the garlic. heat the garlic & then throw in the egg. once the egg is fried removed it from the heat & set aside on a plate. chop fried egg into little strips.

2. steam all the vegies until they are crunchy

i cheated and pinged my vegies in the microwave!

3. splash some more oil into the pan & then add the cooked rice. stir for a minute or so before adding vegies

as per usual- got distracted while cooking & the pot of rice overflowed!

4. mix in the chicken & stir until all the food is combined. pour in soy sauce & stir some more

5. plonk the finished product into some bowls & top with the fried egg

success! everything was gobbled up! well, everything except the capsicum...

jules X