Christmas Breakfast Casserole

I often feel a bit overloaded with all the sweet stuff at Christmas, and the kids tend to dig into their Christmas stockings first thing and start in on the homemade sweets, so a savoury breakfast/brunch on Christmas day makes a lot of sense to me. (I prefer a savoury breakfast any day, actually.)

This year, we're having our traditional Christmas dinner of roast turkey and all the trimmings on Christmas Eve. Christmas day we're having a lazy breakfast after the kids open their presents, then getting together for dinner with friends on Christmas night. So this is the breakfast I'm making for Christmas day - a 'prepare ahead' brunch casserole. Oh, and mum is bringing Monkey Bread too, so that should keep everyone happy. :)

This casserole might not look like much (it was hard to photograph!) but the kids love it - it's very tasty. The bottom layer is homemade hashbrowns, made with a mixture of potato and orange sweet potato. Then there's a layer of egg, then a spicy American style turkey or beef mince layer, and egg and zucchini on top with a sprinkle of herbs and savoury yeast flakes. You can use grated parmesan instead of savoury yeast flakes if you don't need it to be dairy free.

You can prepare this the day before if you like, and bake it on Christmas morning while the family is opening presents. Easy.

P.S. This is obviously also just a great midweek dinner with a salad!

Christmas Brunch Casserole 
(Gluten Free, Grain Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free)

Serves 6

Preheat oven to 180°C.

1kg potatoes, roughly chopped (I use a mixture of potatoes and orange sweet potatoes)
1 brown onion, halved
2 garlic cloves
3 Tbsp ghee or coconut oil
2 tsp herb salt
Freshly ground black pepper
500g turkey or beef mince
1/8 tsp sage, ground
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
2 Tbsp tamari
2 Tbsp tomato sauce
10 eggs
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 zucchini, quartered
2 tsp savoury yeast flakes

1. Place potatoes, onion, garlic, 1 tsp of herb salt and some freshly ground pepper into mixing bowl and chop 30 sec/speed 4.
 
2. Melt ghee or oil in a large frypan and add potato mixture. Stir and fry until lightly browned and cooked through, approx. 10 mins. Spread over base of a 34 x 22 cm rectangular baking dish and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, place mince, sage, cayenne, 1/4 tsp oregano, tamari and tomato sauce into mixing bowl and mix 10 sec/reverse/speed 3. Cook 4 mins/Varoma/reverse/speed soft with MC off (until barely cooked). Remove to a bowl and set aside.

4. Place eggs, 1 tsp herb salt, garlic powder and onion powder and some freshly ground black pepper into mixing bowl. Mix 5 sec/speed 4, then drizzle half the mixture over the potatoes.

5. Sprinkle mince over the egg layer. 

6. Add zucchini to remaining egg mixture in mixing bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 5. Spread over mince layer and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp oregano and yeast flakes.

6. Cover with foil and bake in preheated 30 mins, then remove foil and bake a further 30 mins, or until set and browned.

OR

To Prepare Ahead:

Cover casserole with foil and place in fridge overnight. In the morning, place in preheated 180°C oven and cook 45 mins, then remove foil and cook 30 mins or until set and browned.

January 'Body Springclean' Challenge!

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year's, sharing delicious food and special times with your family and friends. We've enjoyed having family here for the holidays, it's been a fun time. (Well, except for the tummy bug that popped in for a visit for a couple of days, but let's not dwell on that...)

 

Mum preparing the gluten free cornbread stuffing for the turkey

 

Christmas dinner was lovely. We had a homegrown turkey (from our neighbour) stuffed with gf cornbread stuffing, gravy made with slow-cooked chicken stock, roasted crispy-skinned duck with orange-cherry sauce, homegrown ham (from a friend), and lots of veges. So blessed.

 

I was very careful not to go 'overboard' with sweets and breads over the last week, but I still feel like I've had enough to last me for a fair while. Well, I guess I did have a few cinnamon scrolls over the last month (all in the name of recipe testing, you know!)...

 

 

Then there was my mum's cherry and pecan pies, with my cashew-vanilla ice cream...

 

 

 

And my decadent chocolate coconut cream ice cream...

 

 

 

Plus a little bit of Christmas cookie making at Grandma's house...

(I only ate one - I promise!)

 

 

 

And a few nibbles of maple syrup & rapadura butter toffee... Hmmm, I guess all those little 'bits' add up, don't they.

 

Well, enough is enough. My body is telling me it's time for a 'spring clean' and I think I'd better listen. We've been discussing this on my Facebook page today, and over 100 people have agreed to join me in a 'body springclean' challenge this month! What about you? Want to join in too?

January is a good time to re-focus on healthy eating and healthy living. Let's share our goals for a January 'Body Springclean', and throughout the month we can keep each other updated on how we're doing - encouraging and inspiring each other to stay motivated!

Here's how:

1. Write down your 'body springclean' goal/s for this month. What's the main thing (or couple of things) you want to focus on this month to change your habits for the better? Write your goals out, nice and big, and stick them up on the wall or the fridge where you will see them every day. Then share them with us, either in the comments on this post, or on my Facebook page. If you're on Twitter or Instagram, you can share them there, using the hashtag #bodyspringclean.

If you like, take a photo of your goals and share it on my FB wall; or you can just leave a comment, either on my FB page, or on this blog post. (And don't worry if you didn't manage to start on January the 1st - begin where you are. Every day makes a difference.)

Remember the K.I.S.S. principle - Keep It Simple, Stupid! I have a tendency to make great long lists of things I'm going to do, which makes me feel very pleased with myself for being so organised. Then I put my list away and forget about it because it's too overwhelming to do all at once. I'm not going to do that this month! So these are my goals...

They might not look like much, but I get so busy I forget to drink enough water and exercise... and it's time I kicked out the sugar again! Keep your goals simple and doable and they're more likely to happen. You can always add more next month. :)

2. Every day, take a photo or write a comment to demonstrate how you met your goal that day. For example, if your goal is to have a green juice each day, let us know what you're putting in your juices, which ones you like, which ones you don't, any benefits you're noticing, etc. And take a photo now and then and post it on my FB page, or Instagram, or Twitter.

I have started a special album on my FB page, called 'January Body Springclean Challenge'. I'll post my photos there each day, and if you post your photos on my page I'll share some of yours too! It'll be fun :D

3. At the end of the month, if you've stayed motivated and shared photos and/or comments, you'll go into the draw to win a prize! (YES, there's PRIZES!!) Here's what you can win (one prize per person):

- 1 of 3 vouchers from Organics on a Budget for $25 to spend in their online store

- 1 of 2 ebook bundles from Blue Sky Health & Fitness, valued at $89, which include:
* Healthy Lifestyle Guide
* 6 Week Clean Eating, Healthy Lifestyle Recipe & Meal Plan (dairy, wheat and sugar free)
* 6 Week Exercise Plan

- 1 x 28 Day Body & Mind Transformation Bootcamp, from Mummy Bootcamp @ Home, valued at $149

- 1 of 3 Regenerating Night Creams from Cosima Skincare (Certified Organic Cosmeceutical Skincare), valued at $49 each.

- 1 400g container of Organic Barley Spirulina Blend from Nutra Organics, valued at $49.95.

- 1 280g tin of Coconut Sugar from Loving Earth

- 1 250g packet of Lucuma powder from Loving Earth


Thank you for the donations, guys!!

 
So come on and join in the fun, and do your body a favour. Let's do this!! Who's in?

 

 P.S. If you need some ideas of where to start, here's a few - but don't try to do them all at once!
- substituting natural sweeteners for refined cane sugar
- getting rid of wheat
- bye bye dairy
- going grain free
- starting to menu plan
- 10 minute a day workout

Pomegranate Lemonade

* This recipe includes support for Paprika * 

It's Boxing Day. A day to clean up the messes, enjoy the leftovers, eat lightly, and relax.  And it's also the day I started my blog, four years ago!

Seems a long time ago that my friend Bel gave me my first blogging tips, and I posted my first little blog post... Thanks to all of you who have followed along! I've learnt a lot over the last four years, and it's partly thanks to all of you, from near and far, who have cooked with me and shared your results, thoughts and tips. I hope I've encouraged you in your creative cooking adventures - I know you've encouraged me in mine! So thank you.

I thought I'd better keep up the tradition of posting something on my blog birthday, so here's a celebration drink which is perfect for this time of year - Pomegranate Lemonade.

I love pomegranates, and the other day when I was browsing the shelves of our local health food store I found a bottle of pomegranate juice concentrate. I just had to buy it, as I'd never seen it in the shops here before, and I knew my Grandmother uses it as dressing for fruit salad. Well, the other day I started to make some of my Raspberry Lemonade, but I had a brainwave and made this instead. It's mouth-wateringly refreshing. I hope you enjoy it too!

Have a lovely, relaxing Boxing Day... and if you happen to have a pomegranate, some lemons, and some pomegranate juice on hand, I hope you'll try this!

Pomegranate Lemonade

1. Grind rapadura on speed 9 for 10 seconds.

- 60g Rapadura

2. Add ice and grind on speed 10 for 10 seconds.

- 300g ice

3. Add lemons, water and pomegranate juice and cover hole in lid with a cup that seals the hole. (I don't use the MC for this as the water squirts out the gap as you pulse - you'll need to hold the cup onto the lid firmly so it doesn't make a mess!) Lock lid, and pulse 3 times on Turbo, or until lemon is chopped roughly.

- 2 lemons, washed, ends cut off, and quartered (not peeled)
- 100g pomegranate juice concentrate
- 500g water

4. Remove bowl lid, add soda water to the 1 1/2 litre mark and push rice basket carefully down into bowl. Pour the juice into a large 2 or 2 1/2 litre jug, holding the basket in the bowl with the spatula to strain. Add more soda water to bowl, swish around, and pour. Repeat until jug is full or soda water is all added. I use a full 2 litre bottle of soda water, so it works out to about 2 1/2 litres of juice.

- 2 litre bottle of soda water

5. Add pomegranate arils and lemon slices if desired, and serve with extra ice.

- arils from 1/4 of a pomegranate
- a few slices of lemon

Brioche Cinnamon Scrolls ~ Prepare Ahead

Okay, by popular demand, here's my recipe for dairy free cinnamon scrolls made with brioche dough, that you can prepare ahead and bake another day. We usually have cinnamon scrolls for Christmas breakfast, but we've had so many in the last month while I've been testing my recipes, that I really think we'll give it a miss and have something else this year. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm all cinnamon-scrolled out. But for those of you who aren't, here's the recipe! (Don't worry, by New Year's I'll probably be craving these again... these would be perfect for a lazy New Year's breakfast!) :D

By the way, if you're gluten free and wanting some cinnamon scrolls too, here's a recipe that looks good - I'm hoping to try it out soon, but if you beat me to it, let me know how it goes!

 

First, make brioche dough. (This is my spelt, dairy free version - if you're not dairy intolerant, you can use the regular recipe in the Thermomix Everyday Cookbook.)

1. Warm milk and rapadura at 37C for 2 minutes, speed 1:
- 300g rice-almond milk (or preferred milk)
- 30g Rapadura

2. Add remaining ingredients and mix for 10 seconds on speed 7, then lock lid and knead on interval speed for 2 minutes.
- 2 tsps instant yeast (1 sachet)
- 1 tsp salt
- 80g macadamia oil (or butter)
- 650g white spelt flour
- 1 egg

3. Wrap dough in a silicon bread mat (or place in oiled bowl and cover), and rise in a warm spot until doubled. Meanwhile, prepare filling.

4. Filling: Mix ingredients on speed 5 for 5 seconds, then set aside:
- 120g Rapadura
- 120g pecans or walnuts
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of sea salt
- 2 Tbspns coconut cream (or ghee or butter)

5. When dough is risen, roll it out on silicon bread mat to make a large rectangle, about 1 cm thick. Spread with soft butter or coconut cream. Sprinkle with all the filling, and dried cranberries or other berries.
- 2 Tbspns coconut cream (or soft butter)
- filling
- a couple of handfuls of dried, naturally sweetened cranberries (or fresh blueberries)
(I love these cranberries from Honest to Goodness - they're sweetened with apple juice concentrate, and are very plump and delicious!)

6. Roll dough up into a log, lift carefully onto a cutting board, and cut slices about 3cms thick with a serrated knife. (If dough is too sticky, chill until firmer and easier to work with.) Lay slices in two greased or lined springform tins, bunched up together to fit them all in. (You can also cook these in cake tins, or even just on pizza trays. I find an enclosed tin works best though, so they don't spread out too much. They will dry out if they're too thin.)

7. If cooking straight away, drizzle with butter or coconut cream, then leave to rise until nearly doubled. Preheat oven to 200C while scrolls are rising. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
- 2 Tbspns coconut cream (or melted butter)

Drizzle with glaze while warm:

8. Glaze: Place ingredients in Thermomix bowl and cook at 100C for 2 minutes, speed 1:
- 50g pure maple syrup (or Rapadura)
- 50g coconut cream (or regular cream)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preparing ahead to bake later:

- Quickest prepare ahead method: Don't drizzle with cream or butter, just cover the tin with plastic bags and place in the coldest part of the fridge overnight. The next morning, remove bags, drizzle with the melted butter or coconut cream, place in cold oven and turn it on to 200C. The bread will finish rising as the oven warms up, and will be baked in about half an hour. Drizzle with glaze and serve.

- Freeze ahead method: as above, but half rise then freeze. When ready to bake, allow to thaw in a warm spot (I place in cold oven with a pan of boiling water underneath) for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours (less if you are making scrolls in small tins). Set the timer so you don't forget they're there! They should be risen and thawed out before you turn on the oven. Drizzle with butter/cream, cook at 200C for about 30 mins or until golden brown. Top with glaze and serve.

Tip: You can make this a few days ahead, freeze, thaw in the fridge Christmas Eve, then finish thawing Christmas morning in a warm spot, then bake - that cuts down on thawing time for frozen scrolls.

 

Stocking Stuffers

Christmas stockings are one of the best things about Christmas morning. It's like having a lucky dip all to yourself, with lots of little parcels and goodies to unwrap, making the present-opening-fun last a little bit longer.

Christmas just wouldn't be the same to me without a stocking. (Although it's not quite as exciting as it used to be now that I have to fill my own stocking!) My kids get so excited and dump everything out on the floor to rifle through their treasures, shooting off party poppers, blowing party blowers, opening everything edible all at once and revelling in the fact that it's all theirs!! And it really doesn't matter if the gifts inside are not expensive or amazing - just the fact that they are surprises seems to be enough.

I never fill my kid's stockings with sweets - they have a few, but I also add in lots of other things so they don't get too much of a sugar rush. This year I decided that instead of buying lots of little packets and treats from the shop, I would make all the treats myself. That way I know for sure what's in them, and can cut down on the refined sugars, additives, preservatives, colours, and who knows what else that are in most lollies and snacks.

Here's some great ideas for stocking stuffers, with links to recipes for making your own healthier sweet & savoury treats, as well as small gifts that our kids love finding in their stockings on Christmas morning. For extra fun, make sure you gift wrap every little treat and toy - the kids love that! (And I'm sure the adults do too - we all revert to childhood on Christmas morning...) Feel free to share your favourite stocking stuffer ideas in the comments below!

Homemade Treats . . .

Dried mango & banana; homemade toffees

~ Dried mango, banana, berries, peaches, nectarines: Buy whatever fruit is in season when it's on special, and dehydrate thin slices in a food dehydrator, pop in little sandwich bags, and tie with a ribbon. My kids LOVE dried mango and banana and will eat them like lollies. If you can't dry your own, buy some dried mango and banana, but make sure it doesn't contain sugar and preservatives. It may seem expensive, but it's better than buying lollies!

~ Fruit rollups: Again, make your own in a dehydrator with whatever fruit is in season. Puree the fresh fruit in the Thermomix, and spread it thinly on greased dehydrator sheets. If you don't have a dehydrator, you can spread the fruit puree on a silicon mat on an oven tray and bake at a very low temperature in the oven until dried. Slice the rollups into strips, and roll up (obviously!), wrap in a piece of greaseproof paper, and tie ends with gift ribbon, like a bon bon.

~ Toffees: We love this recipe for Rapadura-Maple Syrup Butter Toffee - it's so good, and very versatile - you can add chopped, roasted nuts or leave them out, top with melted chocolate, sprinkle with naturally coloured sprinkles, pour over whole toasted brazil nuts... or just leave it plain. Break it up into shards, place in little sandwich bags and tie with gift ribbon, then keep them in the freezer til Christmas morning. (At least, that's what I do, because our weather is so hot and humid here that they get sticky after being out of the freezer for a while.)

Rapadura Maple-Syrup Toffee

~ Rice Malt Syrup Toffee: Another version of butter toffee can be made with 1 cup of rice malt syrup and 1 cup of butter, melted on the stove and cooked the same way as the Rapadura Maple-Syrup toffee. It's a little less sweet, and tastes delicious too.

~ Peppernuts: These crunchy little morsels of gingerbread-y deliciousness are perfect for Christmas stockings, instead of much less healthy mini-cookies like Tiny Teddies. Children love to run around with a little bag of these to munch on, and adults love to dunk them in their coffee! (Or you could make little gingerbread stars with some royal icing decorations made with xylitol.) This recipe is gluten free.

Peppernuts

~ Chocolate Hazelnut Balls: These are my substitutes for Ferrero Rocher chocolates. They are dairy free, gluten free and much healthier! First make a batch of Chocolate Hazelnut Spread, but use half the amount of milk. It's best to make this hours before you want to make the balls, so it sets quite firm. Next, toast whole hazelnuts on a tray in the oven (180 degrees C), and once cooled, rub the skins off with your hands or a tea towel (see pic below). Chop some of the hazlenuts in the Thermomix. Make a batch of homemade chocolate, or melt some dairy free chocolate in the Thermomix. When you're ready to make the balls, mold a couple of teaspoons of the hazelnut spread around a whole toasted hazelnut, roll the ball in the chopped hazelnuts, then dip the ball in melted chocolate and place on a baking paper lined tray in the fridge or freezer to set. Wrap individual balls in small squares of foil. (I'll try and get the exact recipe and photos posted soon!)

Rubbing skins off toasted hazelnuts

~ Sweet 'n' Salty Nuts: If you are a nut-eating family, these are a lovely treat. They're very quick and easy to make, and there's plenty of different variations to try.

~ Chocolate or Cinnamon Almonds: There's a few different versions of this recipe, but basically they are like those sugar-coated almonds you can buy with different flavours of coating on them. Here is this recipe for cinnamon-sugar almonds (I would use Rapadura instead of sugar), and they are cooked in the Thermomix. Then there's the one for cocoa-sugar almonds which is baked in the oven. Sonia from Healthy Cooking for Australian Families makes them like this: Whip on speed 4 in Thermomix: 2 egg whites and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract; add 1kg of mixed, raw nuts and mix well on reverse speed soft; tip into a bowl that has 1 cup of rapadura & 4 tablespoons of organic raw cacao powder already mixed; mix around until there is no more dry powder; put onto two lined trays and bake at 120 degrees C for one hour or until crunchy.

~ Granola: This may not sound very exciting, but a little ziploc bag of granola they can pop in a bowl and have for breakfast or a snack is a nice treat - especially if you make it extra special with some dried cranberries in it to make it look Christmassy! For adults, you could fill a jar with granola and tie a spoon to it with a pretty ribbon. Try my recipe for Quick Quinoa Granola. Years ago, I used to buy those little boxes of fun cereals and pop one in each stocking, but the kids found them so sweet they couldn't eat them, and they were full of nasty stuff. So this is a great alternative.

Quick Quinoa Granola

~ Bliss Balls: These are my favourites - Walnut & Cacao Nib Bliss Balls! There's plenty of other variations - you can pretty much make them with any nuts and dried fruit - just use about half of each and add some raw cacao powder and a splash of pure maple syrup if you like. You'll need to keep them in little bags in the fridge until the morning, then pop them in the stocking. They're best cold.

~ Almond Coconut Fudge: If you haven't ever made coconut butter in your Thermomix, you should - it's amazing! This fudge is based on coconut butter, with some cocoa, maple syrup and extracts to flavour. The almond sits on top and is optional, so they're great if you're nut free too. A much healthier version of chocolate fudge from Deliciously Organic.

~ Chocolate: Of course, I have to include some kind of chocolate recipe! I love to make "Almost Raw" Chocolate - it's dairy free, soy free and has no refined sweeteners. You can use it to make chocolate bark (pour over chopped toasted almonds, pistachios & craisins for a Christmas version), pour it into chocolate molds, dip pretzels into it then into sprinkles, drizzle over homemade shortbread, dip cantucci into it, or dip dried mango into it. Yum!

Almond, pistachio & cranberry chocolate bark

~ Homemade pretzels: You could make these with spelt flour and whatever milk alternative you like to use. Plenty of variations, both sweet and savoury!

~ Crackers & Nut Cheese or Nut Butter: I used to put a little packet of crackers & dip in the kid's stockings, but once again, there's too many nasties in them for my liking. So here's another option. There's lots of different cracker recipes online, but these gluten free crackers caught my eye. You could add a mini block of macadamia cheese (wrapped in foil, in a little bag with the crackers - would need to go in at the last minute)... this stuff is delicious - have you tried it? Or maybe a little container of homemade nut butter to go with the crackers.

More Stocking Stuffers . . .

~ Olives: Our kids love a small jar of olives in their stockings. Or maybe a little jar of mini gherkins... :)

~ Nuts in their shells (we always had these in our stocking as kids, and loved smashing them open with a hammer!)

~ A drink (my kids like to have a popper or fizzy apple juice drink in their stocking for a special treat)

~ A mini torch (especially good for Far North Queensland, where we generally get a cyclone around Christmas day that takes the power out! lol)

~ Party poppers, party blowers, sparklers

~ Balloons, water balloons

~ Glow sticks/necklaces/bracelets

~ Mini puzzles, books

~ Mini bubbles & bubble blower

~ Pretty pens, pencils, mini notepads

~ Electric toothbrush (I know, sounds boring, but kids love them!)

~ Stickers, stamps

~ Matchbox cars

~ Earrings, necklace, bracelet, hairbands, clips

What else do you like to put in Christmas stockings?

Gingerbread people

Thermomix Menu Plans - Christmas 2011

'Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the kitchen

It was hustle and bustle and much Thermomixin'!

...And I still have SO much more Thermomixin' to do yet - help!!

It's going to be a crazy week. But fun!

How's your Christmas cooking and planning going? I hope lots of you will link up this week and share your Christmas menus - I'd love to see what other families are planning for the big day! I'm keeping the meals this week pretty simple, and focusing on the cooking for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, as well as baking and making gifts for friends and family. You'll notice a lot of this week's meals are the same as last week's - that's because last week the menu plan pretty much went out the window because I was sick in bed... so it was mostly chicken soup and whatever the family could scrounge. Trying again...

This year I'm aiming to cut out refined, artificial junk at Christmas, so there's going to be more cooking and tweaking than ever! I never let the kids have too much in the way of lollies and candy canes and things like that anyway, just a couple in their stockings, but this year I'm going to cut down on them even further by making my own healthier sweets for the Christmas stockings and to take to parties and give as presents.

I've always loved making my own sweets, ever since I was a little kid. At Christmas time we always used to make candies together - Taffy (so much fun pulling the taffy across the room!), Divinity (which was difficult in Cairns because the humidity was so high it wouldn't always set), Penuche (Mexican brown sugar fudge), Chocolate Fudge and Toffees. I was an expert at these by the time I was ten... I even won second prize at the Cairns show when I was 8 for my chocolate fudge! :D

Obviously, these days I don't make candies very often, and when I do, I use unrefined sweeteners and healthier ingredients, and only natural colours if any. So I'm really looking forward to revisiting and tweaking some old favourites to see what I can come up with. I've posted the recipe for a healthier butter toffee - Rapadura Maple Syrup Toffee - which is terribly addictive, I warn you. Thanks to Deliciously Organic for that recipe - check out her site, she has some great recipes, like this one for Almond Coconut Fudge. And keep an eye out for my post on Stocking Stuffers! Oh, and there's lots of ideas popping up on my facebook page too, so come and add yours there - the more the merrier.

Here's the plan for this week - can't wait to see yours too!

Monday:

Off to the 'big city' for a bit of shopping, then Tuscan Beef Stew with Polenta (yum, looking forward to trying that one from Tenina's Thermomix cookbook, Dinner Spinner!)

Tuesday:

Sarah over at Homemade, Healthy, Happy has been telling me about Spaetzle, and has gotten me curious, so I'm going to try making this tonight - sounds delicious! It's a kind of German egg noodle/dumplings that you serve with goulash or stroganoff. I'm going to make a chicken goulash to go on top of mine, because chicken and dumplings are one of my most favourite meals in the world, and I think it will be similar! Here's Sarah's recipe for the Spaetzle:

Chicken goulash with Spaetzle

Wednesday:

Huevos Rancheros (sauce made in the Thermomix) - another recipe I've been meaning to post!

Thursday:

Fish (pan fried) with mashed potatoes & steamed veges (cooked at same time in Thermomix)

Friday:

Chili Con Carne with green salad & cornbread (all made in the Thermomix, except the salad) Making up a couple of batches of cornbread so I'll have some for tomorrow for the cornbread dressing!

Saturday - Christmas Eve:

We're having our family Christmas dinner tonight with my parents. We traditionally have an American style menu since my family's from Texas. My mum always makes the turkey (yum!), and I haven't bothered posting a recipe for that since there's plenty on the net, but if you need help with yours, here's a great step-by-step recipe, and video of how to carve a turkey.

Roast turkey & roast vegetables

Gravy (tmx)

Baked cornbread stuffing (tmx) - recipe coming!

Cranberry-raspberry jelly (tmx) instead of bought cranberry sauce

Jelly salad (tmx) - mum makes one with green jelly, pecans, cottage cheese & pineapple; I make mine a bit differently with no dairy and jelly made from fruit juice & fresh fruit - no marshmallows in our jelly salads!!

Homemade spelt bread rolls with this recipe (tmx), or maybe sourdough bread rolls if I can get my recipe sorted out by then.

Mini cranberry-raspberry jellies to serve with the turkey

instead of bought cranberry sauce

Dessert will be various pies I think - pumpkin, cherry and pecan usually. That's mum's department, although I am intending to try and come up with a dairy free, egg free, gluten free pumpkin pie recipe - I'll let you know how I go!

I'm also planning to make my gluten free, dairy free, naturally sweetened croquembouche - I'll post some better photos once I do, as the ones on the recipe are awful!

Sunday - Christmas Day:

Today we'll be having a Christmas potluck lunch at church after the service for anyone who needs a family for Christmas or just wants to join in the fun. (All welcome!) Mostly we'll be having cold meat and salads and fresh bread rolls, as well as desserts. We'll be bringing what's left of our turkey, plus jelly salad and a green salad, more bread rolls, and the leftover pies. And I might take a double whammy chocolate cake if I'm not all cooked out... and some of those sweets I've been making.

Plenty of good food planned, and now I'd better get cracking and start preparing! Lots more blogging to be done yet too... Let me know if there's a particular recipe you really want before Christmas.

Here's a photo of my daughter as Mary in the nativity play the kids did last night - I thought it was so cute - a red-hair-and-freckles Mary with a little brown baby. :)

Merry Christmas, and I hope you have a wonderful week.

Add a link to your menu plan below, and please check out the other sites that have linked up!

Rapadura-Maple Syrup Butter Toffee

I love to make homemade sweets for a special treat at Christmas time. There are way too many nasties and refined sweeteners in bought lollies, so it's nice to have some homemade ones to keep the kids happy. Okay, and the adults. :) This toffee recipe has been a favourite at our house for a couple of years now, ever since I found it on a great website called Deliciously Organic! Check out the original recipe here.

Unfortunately, you can't make it in the Thermomix, as you can't cook at temperatures higher than 114 degrees celcius, and to get toffee to the hard crack stage you need to get up to 150 degrees celcius. So, it's back to stirring over a hot stove for this one - but it's worth it! I do make the chocolate (or melt the chocolate) and chop the nuts in the Thermomix though.

If you don't have a candy thermometer, don't worry - neither do I. I've always cooked candies the old-fashioned way, ever since I was a little kid. Mum taught me the method of holding the wooden spoon up to see how the candy drips, and dropping bits in a cup of cool water to see how it sets. Here's an explanation of the cold water testing method, and how to tell what temperature your toffee has reached. For this recipe (or any toffee or lollipop recipe where you want 'crunch'), your syrup needs to reach the hard crack stage (300 degrees F / 150 degrees C). I'll explain a bit more about the 'how to' below.

You can do all sorts of variations with this recipe - the photo above has dark chocolate and sprinkles on some, and toasted pecans and dark chocolate on the other. You can use whatever nuts you like, or leave the nuts out and top with sprinkles instead. I use Hopper sprinkles - they are made from fruit & vege extracts, no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. They are also gluten free, dairy free, egg free and nut free. For the chocolate, I prefer to make my own (with this recipe), but since I didn't have any cacao butter left I used Lindt 70% cocoa chocolate.

Here's how I make it:

1. First, toast 2 cups of nuts if you want nuts in the toffee. (Whatever nuts you like - almonds, macadamias, pecans, brazil nuts - even pine nuts.) Start with raw, unsalted nuts and toast them in the oven on 180 degrees C for 10-15 minutes, stirring once or twice, then roughly chop in the Thermomix (or leave whole if you like).

2. Then prepare a tray for the toffee - either grease a pizza or biscuit tray with butter, or line it with baking paper.

3. Measure into a large, heavy based saucepan and mix with a wooden spoon over medium heat:
- 1 1/4 cups Rapadura
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/3 water

4. Once it starts to bubble, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes.

4. Stir in the butter:
- 225g (1 cup) butter (place a bowl on the Thermomix & weigh the butter into it - it's easier than measuring it into a cup!)

5. Continue to simmer until mixture reaches 150 degrees celcius (if you have a candy thermometer) - or hard crack stage (if you don't).

Testing to see if toffee is at hard crack stage:

Have a cup of cool water handy. As mixture simmers over low heat, try to only stir it a little now and then. Don't constantly stir it or you'll end up with a grainy, fudge-like texture. You want to keep the sugar from crystallizing on the sides of the pan - if it starts to do that, brush down the sides with a pastry brush (preferably silicon) dipped in water.

You'll notice the mixture starting to get darker and thicker after a few minutes. Give it a gentle stir, then hold the spoon up and let most of the mixture drip off. The last couple of drips will become a string of toffee - if the string thins out to a fly-away hair, it's about ready. (See picture below)

Let the string of toffee drip into the cup of cool water. If it hardens quickly into a brittle thread that snaps when you bend it (or crunches when you bite it) the toffee is ready - take it off the heat immediately! There's a fine line between ready and burnt. (Be careful it's not too hot before you pop it into your mouth to taste it!!)

6. Quickly stir in the salt, baking soda and nuts, making sure there's no soda lumps:
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup toasted, roughly chopped nuts (optional)

7. Pour the toffee onto the prepared tray, working quickly before it sets in the pan. Spread it flat with the spoon and leave in a cool place to set.

8. Meanwhile, chop (speed 5) then melt the chocolate in the Thermomix on 50 degrees for 3-4 minutes, speed 3:
- 200g dark chocolate, broken in pieces

9. Spread the melted chocolate over the toffee with a spatula, then sprinkle with the remaining chopped nuts, or with sprinkles. Place toffee in the freezer to set hard.

10. When it's ready, crack the toffee into shards with the point of a sharp knife.

I find this keeps best in the freezer in our hot, humid climate - I leave it in one big piece and crack some off as we want it, or break into smaller pieces and place in ziploc bags.

Make a couple of batches and share it with your friends - it's perfect for Christmas presents! You can make a little paper box, line it with baking paper, add the toffee pieces and pop on the lid. Sweet!

Here's a link to making your own paper gift boxes - I use a large, square sheet of scrapbooking paper for the lid of the box, and another for the bottom of the box. Cut 1 centimetre off two adjacent sides of the second sheet for the bottom of the box, so the lid will fit over. Use the offcuts to make a curly decoration for the lid, stuck on with double sided tape.

Thermomix Menu Plans - 28th November

How can it be Monday again already? I'm sure the days speed up as it gets closer to the end of the year! Although the kids thinks time slows down as it gets closer to Christmas... Miss C has been begging me for weeks to put up some Christmas decorations. I finally gave in and put up a few, and we've done a little bit of Christmas cooking already too. The gingerbread men are all gone (I think we'll go through a few batches of those!), so we're hoping to make some more this week. We have quite a large collection of cookie cutters, because we have a family tradition of making cut-out Christmas cookies with all the kids (cousins, neighbours and friends) every December, which is a lot of fun. And I just won some animal shaped cookie cutters from Edible Issues' Spring Hill Farm gluten free baking kit giveaway, which the kids are excited about! So lots of cookie making is planned. A plate of hand decorated cookies are a great gift for neighbours, school teachers and friends. And it keeps the kids busy on the holidays.

As we get closer to the end of school, I'll be posting some more holiday cooking ideas... still a bit crazy here with running Thermomix Christmas Cooking Classes, finishing up school work, and getting people's Thermomixes ordered and delivered before Christmas. What a great present! If you're wanting a Thermomix for Christmas, make sure you order before the 9th of December to get it in time... And don't forget there's a special deal at the moment where you can pay it off over 12 months, interest free, no deposit. Woo hoo!!!

Mother's Day Mess - a great alternative to the usual Christmas trifle!

So another busy week for me this week, but I'm sure I'll manage to fit in some baking. I don't put my baking on my menu plan, as I just fit it in wherever I can. Here's some of the things I'm hoping to make this week (both baking and pantry staples):
- Gingerbread men
- Mini gluten free, egg free, dairy free gingerbread cakes
- Dark chocolate bark with craisins and roasted almonds and pistachios
- Gluten free Christmas cake (based on the Celebration cake in the EDC, but with my gf flour mix)
- Dairy free German chocolate cake (for my hubby's birthday)
- Gluten free waffle iron brownies with chocolate sauce
- Gluten free bread (Cyndi O'Meara's recipe)
- Spelt artisan bread
- Christmas wreath bread
- Blender batter berry muffins
- Quick quinoa granola
- Mango butter (from Melanie Avery's new cookbook, "Let's Celebrate Christmas - Additive Free")
- Chicken stock paste
- Spelt tortillas
Here's a youtube clip I made recently to show the method of making your own tortillas/wraps. It's very easy, and they taste a lot better than shop bought ones, not to mention being a lot healthier!

Here's my menu plan for this week - I hope you'll share yours too, and link to it below so we can all get some inspiration from each other. For link up instructions, check out Thermomix Menu Plans; or if you're new to menu planning and need a little help, read How to Menu Plan. If you'd like a menu plan template that you can print out and write your weekly plan onto, there's one here at My Little Thermomix. Have a great week!

Monday:

(lunch) Chicken & cashews with coconut rice and coconut-cashew satay sauce (tmx - to show a new Thermomix owner how to use her Varoma)

(dinner) Boiled egg version of Curry in a Hurry (tmx)

Tuesday:

(lunch) Baked potatoes & salad (sandwiches for kids - school day)

(dinner) Grain free pasta made with vege pasta sauce (tmx) & zucchini 'noodles' made with vege spiralizer & steamed in Thermomix

Wednesday:

(lunch) Thermomix demo here

(dinner) Salmon salad pizza (dairy free, using spelt artisan dough - tmx) and birthday cake for hubby!

Thursday:

(lunch) Pasta e Fagioli (tmx - using gf noodles)

(dinner) Roast chicken & veges (for family, while I'm cooking at our Thermomix Christmas Class!)

Friday:

(lunch) Chicken & brown rice soup (tmx - using leftover chicken)

(dinner) Zucchini & smoked salmon fritters (tmx - from Melanie Avery's new cookbook "Let's Celebrate Christmas - Additive Free") & salad

Saturday:

(lunch) Thermomix Christmas Party!! I'm taking a Christmas potato salad (tmx), a Mother's Day Mess (obviously it doesn't have to be Mother's Day to make this!), chocolate almond pistachio cranberry bark, and Christmas wreath bread (tmx).

(dinner) Fish sandwiches (bread made in tmx)

Sunday:

(lunch) Roast lamb & veges, gravy made in tmx

(dinner) leftovers

Phew! I've got lots of cooking to do... better go get started!