Easy Chicken Dinner

HI all!!! Well i really wanted to post some things earlier this week but i haven't had the time....Well not really i actually couldn't think of what recipes i was going to do in advance so as i have been cooking this week i have been taking pics and things. In Australia we do have a great range of pre made sauces and spice rubs and things. I personally don't think they are very cost effective here, plus i just don't know how to cook that way, Although i love it when i get my American spices hint hint wink wink Sarah : )Check your mail,its on it's way(Sarah)!! So im going to post a few recipes that reflect how i cook. Having a sick husband and five Kids hasn't really changed things for me i just have to be more prepared.
TIP 1- think about what you want to cook in the morning and take it out to defrost or make sure you have all the ingredients.
TIP 2- Choose something to make that you already have the ingredients for. I am a grocery shop a holic but you really don't need to go everyday if you just plan ahead.
Tip 3- Prepare little bits during the day

Example

Plum Sauce Chicken with herb rice and veg




From This




To This


Ive already posted the recipe for herb rice before. Sometime during the day put the rice ingredients together then 20 minutes before you want it ready add your water and chuck it in the microwave.
The chicken was taken out in the morning and while the kids had their nap i lined them in a baking tray and poured over a jar of some plum sauce i made earlier this year from the lovely plum tree we have in our back yard. You can let this sit, it just marinates till you need it...which is about an hour before in a 180`C oven, Then when the rice is done cover it and chuck in your veg. I choose mixed veg straight from the freezer and into the microwave for 2 mins at a time till they are heated through. Walla!!! Dinner is served and really i didn't have to do much Just Think!!

If you don't have home made plum sauce just add a jar of marinade of your choice, or 1/2 cup soya sauce and 2-3 heaping tbs honey mix together then pour over, or 1/2 cup plum jam and a couple of splashes of soy sauce.
Mel

Moist Chocolate Cupcakes

Here in America,when you make cupcakes usually you buy a box at the store add eggs,water,oil.They are decent for your buck.I have always wanted to try making my own,I came across this recipe and oh my gosh they are to die for!

Don't worry the batter is really watery
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar (not packed)
1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill muffin pans with 24 cupcake liners. Sift dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat with a mixer for about two minutes, occasionally scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the boiling water, and beat, just until blended. (Don't be alarmed - the batter appears watery). Evenly ladle (or pour) the batter into the liners. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the center of the cupcakes springs back when lightly touched. Cool and frost.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Perfectly sweet, but not overly so, and light and creamy just like you'd want on a cupcake.

1/3 cup butter, just slightly cooler than room temperature
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
food coloring, if desired

Beat butter in a medium-sized mixing bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in 3 cups of the powdered sugar. Beat in milk and vanilla. Blend in remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar. If desired, tint with food coloring. (For the perfect pastel colored frosting, only 1 drop of food coloring is necessary).

OR buy a can of cream cheese frosting! Hey I have to keep it American!Haha
Sarah

Whats up with Mel

Welllllll, I had a fun 3 weeks, and this is what happened.....Three weeks ago on a Friday (the weekend of Lillies birthday) My husband (Sarahs brother) pulled his car up into our drive way, very close to the door and kinda rolled out of the car. He came inside in a huge amount of pain and couldn't breath, move or talk. We called an ambulance and off to the hospital he went. I would normally get my mother over to sit with the kids in these kind of emergencies but she was getting off a plane from Ireland (visiting my sister), So i packed up the kids and off we went to the hospital. Hours later and some pain meds they sent us home with antibiotics, panadene forte and said it was a bad chest infection. The following Tuesday We raced him back to the hospital with only 1% oxygen in his blood and 40% lung capacity, they said he had pneumonia. 3 days later he was transferred from the ICU ward at our local Hospital to the Royal Hobart Hospital 4 1/2 hours away. So I called in my mummy, she held the forte here for a week and i took 2 children (we have 5) with me on a road trip. I spent the next week dragging two kids into a city with a GPS in the middle of a very cold winter, to be with Dean. Dean on the other hand over that week had drains put in him, taken out, oxygen, specialists, and finally a pretty serious lung surgery procedure to break down the walls between the bubbles of liquid. 2-5% of people that get pneumonia have this complication apparently. Any way we are back home now with Dean off work for 6-8 weeks. Wow!! and that was the short story there was actually more in between..... quick fix meals, do what you can cleaning (as i am a nurse now too) yep i can focus on that.
Mel

What's up for Sarah

The past 3 weeks have been crazy!August 3rd we decided to move,even though we didn't know where it was we were moving to! By August 7th we put down our deposits,My daughter Lily's birthday party was that same day,so we didn't get much done.My husband Jake worked on Sunday so I spent the day with my good friend Linda,loading and unloading the blazer.Packing one room at a time.Deciding to move so fast we didn't have a lot of time to get boxes so I had about 10.It's summer in Arizona,so I was moving in about 115*F,I think I got heat exhaustion.So we finally got everything moved over by Wednesday the 11th,the day after my son Hunter started his first week of school.So in honor of all these changes and not to metion Mel's 3weeks,she'll explain. We are focusing on easy dinner meals,one dish,crock pot meals,meals to get us through our busy days!
Sarah

If I Were There

I would help you clean your house
and sort out all your mess : )
I would help you pack your things
i would do no less.
I would make a yummy meal
for your family to enjoy.
Moving things room by room
is a good tip to employ.
I would help you with your kids,
and return your borrowed goods.
I would help you Sarah
Yep you know i would.

Happy moving Mel



Thanks Mel,wish you were here! Now if you could only do something about Cox Internet Service...Ugh hopefully I'll be up and running on my Tuesday.......

Moving

So I know it's suppose to be cookie week but we've had to move.So I thought I would share some moving tips.
1.Get lots of help-packing,cleaning
2.Throw away stuff you haven't touched in months
3.return borrowed items ( library or neighbors)
4.One room at a time-pack and clean as you pack
5.make one dish meals
6.Get some to watch your kids
Anyway that's all I have for now,wish me luck for this week!
Sarah

COOKIE WEEK CHALLENGE

OK Sarah i have a challenge.......... I had the pleasure of indulging myself in some lovely cookies this week that a friend of mine bought to an activity i had, wait for it..............they were............ Chocolate, choc chip, flaked coconut, cherry cookies and they were delish. One problem though she wont share the recipe!!! so ive made it my mission to find out if i can replicate them. CAN YOU HELP ME PLEASE? ive tried looking here with no luck so far, i need that cookie!!! If you post a recipe and ill try it out, Thankyou your the best!!

Mel

Hey Sarah!! After skyping with you the other day you sparked my interest in the idea that the cookie may be called a black forest cookie as it has all the essentials of being in the black forest cake category so i found this recipe and it looks really yummy i will try it and let you know what i think i will add coconut though you know to make it more like what i remember.

Mel

Black Forest Cookies

Recipe Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 2 sticks (1 cup) butter

• 1 1/2 cups (9 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 jar (10 oz) maraschino cherries, drained (reserve 2 Tbsp juice); cherries dried with paper towels, then chopped (11/2 cups)

• FROSTING

• 3/4 stick (6 Tbsp) butter, softened

• 1/3 cup marshmallow cream (such as Marshmallow Fluff or Creme)

• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar

• 2 Tbsp maraschino cherry juice

• 
  

Recipe Preparation

1. Heat oven to 350°F.2. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl until well blended.3. Melt butter and 1 cup chocolate chips in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring often just until melted. Remove from heat; cool 10 minutes. Whisk in sugar, then eggs and vanilla until blended. Add flour mixture; stir until smooth. Stir in 11/4 cups cherries and remaining 1/2 cup chips.4. Drop rounded measuring tablespoons of dough 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheet(s).5. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until firm when gently pressed. Remove to rack to cool completely.6. Frosting: Beat ingredients in a medium bowl with mixer on medium-low speed until fluffy. Stir in remaining chopped cherries.7. Spread about 11/2 tsp frosting on each cookie. Let frosting set about 2 hours.

COOKIE WEEK

Hey Sarah!!! Its cookie week and its my turn to put up a recipe coz you have put up heaps lately. So ill share my favourite family cookie recipe. We call them Vanessa cookies because it was my lovely friend Vanessa that shared this one with us originally.So here it is

Vanessa's chocolate chip cookies

1 cup butter melted
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 2/3 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 pkt choc chips

Mix melted butter, sugar and eggs together, then add other ingredients and mix to combine. Roll into 1 inch balls or use a cookie scoop and place on baking sheetes. Bake at 180`C (a moderate oven) for 7-10 mins or till your desired browness, or firmness!! everyone is different. Yumm!! Have fun.

Mel

Cookie tip: You can add white choc chips and nuts to this recipe as well, at Easter time i crush up all the "extra" eggs and add those too. You can also chop up a block of chocolate thats also yummy with all the little specks of chocolate.

Mel