Category: Recipe Ideas

A list of recipes I have created. My style of cooking is simple, fun and tasty. I use minimal ingredients to come up with delicious tasting meals to help you save time and money.

Vanilla Swirl Cake

I know recently I promised you a chicken pie recipe, I am still working on that….But this well it couldn’t wait, after all its cake and cake with two types of chocolate in it!

Yesterday my youngest finished high school and I had promised him a grand dinner to celebrate finishing his 12 plus years at that dreaded place as he calls it. I thought I was doing well getting things organised when my daughter said “mum what about the cake!” (Insert face palm here) How could I forget a cake! I couldn’t believe it. I had an hour left until dinner and there was no way I could run out and get one! So I thought well I will just try and whip one up. With no time to look through recipe books, I came up with this recipe, a one bowl recipe that is quick to put together and only takes 30 minutes bake. So without further ado, here it is!

Vanilla Swirl Cake

Recipe by: Vickys Handrafted Designs

Ingredients

450g Self Raising flour

175g Caster Sugar

2 large eggs

1/4 Olive oil

375 ml milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon lemon essence

50 g milk chocolate

50g dark chocolate

Prep time: 10 minutes Baking time: 25-30 minutes

(See end of post of nutritional information)

Method

  1. Heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Spray a 20 cm round cake tin with oil and line bottom with baking paper.
  2. In a large glass bowl, sift flour then add caster sugar. Mix with wooden spoon so that the sugar is evenly distributed amoungst the flour
  3. Add eggs, oil, milk, vanilla and lemon essenses and mix with wooden spoon until ingredients are incorporated and mix is free of lumps, use hand mixer if you prefer.
  4. Pour mixture into cake tin and set aside
  5. In a heatproof bowl, break the milk and dark chocolate into peices, microwave on high heat in 10 second intervals until chocolate starts to melt. Once it starts to melt, take out of microwave and mix to combine chocolate into a smooth mixture.
  6. Drizzle into cake mixture and with a toothpick or skewer run it through the mixture in a figure eight formation to distribute chocolate through cake.
  7. Place in heated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Check cake after 20 minutes as some ovens cook faster than others.
  8. Serve with berries and your favourite ice cream or fudge topping.

Nutritional Information (per serving size)

8 Servings

Each serve equals : 70.8g

Net Carbs: 70.8g

Protein: 9.2g

Fat: 14.2 g

Calories: 453

Dietary Fibre: 2.2g

And there you have it, a one bowl, easy to put together cake, you can whip it up and serve it to your guests in 40 minutes! Hope you enjoyed this recipe. Let me know if you tried it. It’s a new recipe so I am curious as to how it goes for you guys.

Thank you for reading this post as always and I will try and get this chicken pie recipe to you as soon as I can.

Vicky

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Looking for a quick and easy Friday Night recipe?….. Read further for details

Friday night is usually the end of the working week for most people, the night you just want to go home and crash on the couch with your favourite show to binge watch. Cooking is the last thing on your mind! Before you reach for the Uber eats app, take a look at what you have in your fridge or pantry instead, with a few key ingredients you can whip up a healthy meal and still be sitting in front of your tv or computer ready to begin your binge watching marathon in no time!

This recipe is quick and easy and cooks in 15 minutes!

Grilled Chicken fillet and steamed vegetables

Grilled Chicken with mixed vegetables

Servings: 2

Cook time: 15 minutes

Prep time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

500g chicken breast

1/2 tablespoon dried oregano

1/2 tablespoon dried basil

1 teaspoon all purpose seasoning

1 tablespoon plant based butter or margarine

2 pouches of steam ready vegetables (any type of vegies you like)

Method

  1. Pre heat grill and set on a medium heat.
  2. In a microwave proof dish melt butter/margarine
  3. Wash and slice chicken breast into fillets
  4. Place in glass bowl and add , melted butter, herbs and seasoning. Mix through to coat chicken
  5. Place on grill tray and grill until golden brown and cooked through (appox. 15 minutes for thin style fillets) If you cut them thicker leave for longer, appox. 20 minutes) When grilling turn fillets over to other side halfway through cooking time.
  6. In the meantime place one pouch at a time of the steam vegetables into the microwave and cook for specified time.
  7. Once chicken and vegetables are cooked place on a plate and serve. Can be served with a salad or your favourite bread.

If you like you pan fry the chicken instead for quicker cooking. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this recipe.

Nutritional information

Net carbs: .01g

Total carbs: .4g

Dietary fibre: .3g

Protein: 51g

Fat: 10.5g

Calories: 302

Vicky

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Cheese Omelette with Vegetables

Cheese Omelette with Vegetables

15 min prep
10 min cooking
1 serving total
441g weight
20 Grams/serving

– 8 ingredients –

2 large 122g Egg whole omelet
1/4 cup 30g Shereded mozza-cheddar cheese kirkland signature
1 tsp, ground 2g Oregano dried
1 tsp 5g Avocado oil plant-based butter by Pure Blends
1 small (5-1/2″ long) 50g Carrots raw
1/2 cup, sliced 46g Red bell pepper
1 pepper 148g Green bell pepper
1 slice 39g Lower carb 5 seeds bread by Helga’s

– steps –

1) Wash and slice 1 medium carrot, half red bell pepper, half green bell pepper. Place in serving plate and set aside.

2) crack 1 egg into a small glass bowl, add oregano and mozzarella cheese, beat mixture until well combined.

3) place a teaspoon of butter or oil in. Heavy base frying pan. Heat up until melted. In the meantime time place your bread in the toaster to begin roasting. Pour egg mixture into frying pan, swirl mixture so it covers whole base of pan. Cook until top starts to cook, flip over and cook other side. When both sides are brown. Place into plate with vegetables and serve with toasted bread.

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Sunday Brunch Sorted! A quick & healthy recipe to make for Sunday brunch

Ok so we all know Sunday’s should be for relaxing, reading, sleeping in but at some point you are going to have to eat! I love this delicious open burger recipe I make for my family. It’s quick and easy to make and full of nutrients. Perfect for those who are eating Keto style foods or gluten free and lactose free.

Mushroom open burger

Serves 4 cooking & planning time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

500 g beef mince

Salt to taste

2 large or 4 medium sweet potatoes

4 teaspoons Chives

4 tablespoons Lactose free cream cheese

4 very large mushrooms (for burger base)

4 slices lactose free cheese

1 tablespoon plant based or lactose free butter or margarine

Method

1) place mince in a large glass bowl and add salt, mix salt in and split mince into 4 equal size piece and form into balls. Place in fridge until needed.

2) Fill a medium size pan halfway with water, add salt to taste and peel and cut sweet potatoes into chunks, place in pan and set to boil. Once boiled, remove and drain and set aside until ready to use.

3) While sweet potatoes are boiling, heat up a grill or grill pan. If using grill pan add butter/margerine, once melted add one ball of mince at a time and squash down with a metal spatula to form burger. Set on medium and cook 2-3 minutes then flip and cook other side for the same amount. if pan is big enough add mushrooms and fry a couple minutes each side or do one a separate pan.

4) when you flip burgers over add a tablespoon of cream cheese on top, sprinkle chives and add cheese on each burger.

5) Mash sweet potatoes and once mushrooms are cooked place in a plate and add burger sprinkle at chives if you like.

Serve with French fries or healthy salad.

This burger is not only delicious and healthy but very filling. All the flavours blend beautifully and is perfect for not only brunch but lunch, dinner and breakfast!

Thank you as always for read my post! Hope you enjoyed this recipe.

Vicky

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Want a quick, healthy & delicious brunch/lunch recipe keep reading!

Fresh sushi platter

This year I am making a big effort to lose 10 kg that I have been hanging onto for the last 17 years! It’s been an on/off dilemma that I feel no matter what I do I can never win.

I started last year with a calorie counter app which helped me keep control of what I have been eating and then of course the holidays kicked in and out went my diet! So here I am again new year and hopefully new me!

Here is a recipe I put together that’s fresh and easy to make and very delicious and filling!

Salmon Sushi Platter

Ingredients

100g salmon

1 small avocado

3 mini cucumbers or 1 medium one

1 tablespoon chopped chives

2 tablespoons fat free mayonnaise

1/2 cup cooked basmati rice

1 tablespoons white vinegar

Salt to taste

Method

1) Wash and cut cucumbers into strips

2) Peel and slice avocado into thin strips

3) In a small bowl place rice and pour vinegar on top, mix thoroughly.

4) in a large plate place rice in the middle of the plate and place the vegetables and salmon around the rice. Place mayonnaise on the plate.

5) Sprinkle chopped chives on top and salt to taste and serve.

Hope you enjoyed this recipe.

Vicky

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Starting my New Years Resolution Early! Healthy Eating! What’s Yours?

Ok well we are at the tail end of the year. The time of year we are going to make a bunch of promises to ourselves which we will most likely never keep!

Mine again is too loose weight and be healthy! And this year I have extra motivation. My 50th birthday! So wish me luck. I will definitely need it. Here is a quick recipe for a delicious and nutritious breakfast to get you started.

Berry and date yoghurt bowl

Ingredients

1/2 cup raspberries

1/2 cup blueberries

3-4 dates

1 teaspoon mixed chai seeds

4-5 tablespoons natural Greek yoghurt (I used lactose free yoghurt)

2 teaspoons pure maple syrup

Method

1) Wash berries and place in bowl add yoghurt, sprinkle chai seeds and dates on top. Drizzle with maple syrup and you are good to go!

That’s it. Simple Fresh and Tasty!

I have stocked my fridge full of berries, yoghurt, avocado and salmon! As I come up with more recipes I will put them up for you!

Thank you to everyone who has read my blog and subscribed. I really appreciate your support. If you haven’t subscribed already please do to get all the updates on my latest posts.

Wishing you all a happy and safe New Year!

Vicky

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Looking for a quick and easy way to prepare your family meals? If so read on……

My family has different tastes in food, different requirements and so I find preparing dinner a nightmare at times.

I found this brilliant indoor grill while out shopping one day and it’s been a lifesaver at meal times. Now I can cook steak for the boys and chicken for us girls. I only use one appliance and the washing up is easy!

The grill is electrical with a drawer you fill with water. The water acts as a buffer so there is minimal smoke. You can use it indoors or outside.

I will put recipes up from time to time of things I have cooked on this grill.

Thank you for reading my posts. Have a wonderful day.

Vicky

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It’s Tuesday so I guess that means Tacos

Who doesn’t have tacos on a Tuesday, well us sometimes, but the last few Tuesdays we have definitely made up for it!

I have been watching a show on Netflix completely dedicated to tacos its called Taco Chronicles. Its an amazing journey into the world of tacos. I had no idea on the variety of flavours involved with this little guys! From authentic Mexican food to American style Mexican food, your eyes will feast on a vast array of flavours and colours and definitely will be enticing you into making everyday taco Tuesday!

A while back I found a recipe on the internet for slow cooked pulled beef tacos. Up until then I had always used minced beef, slow cooking slabs of meat and shredding them for tacos and sandwiches is totally on another level. I am new to slow cooking and definitely a novice, though I am learning how to blend flavours and adjust cooking times to get the just right tenderness. Now that I am learning I don’t think I will go back to just quickly frying up some mince and there you go!

I have been buying brisket meat for a while now and slow cooking it. I don’t know all that much about meat and I mainly prefer chicken, brisket is definitely a meat that is better slow cooked and depending on how long you cook it , it can be made into a corned beef style meat, either flaked or cut into slices or cook for longer and you get the delicious pulled beef everyone seems to be craving these days! Its also inexpensive and the slabs of meat can be cut into smaller portions and frozen until you need to cook them. Perfect for the whole family.

Well enough of me raving on. Below is a recipe I have adapted to suit our tastes. Its perfect for tacos, burritos, hero sandwiches, salads, anywhere you would normally use pulled beef.

Ingredients

1kg Wagyu beef brisket

2 tablespoons BBQ meat rub

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons brown sugar

salt to taste

2 cups water

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tablespoon smoked BBQ sauce

1 punnet grape or cherry tomatoes

1 large green capsicum )bell pepper cut into large chunks

Method

  1. Place brisket on clean surface and gently pat with paper towel or clean cloth to dry any liquid from the packaging.
  2. In a bowl combine BBQ meat rub, smoked paprika, cumin, brown sugar and salt, take handfuls of the mixture and rub onto the top of the brisket slab. Set aside in the fridge for approx 20 minutes to half hour. ( mixture should look absorbed into the meat)
  3. In the meantime in a large slow cooker combine water, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, BBQ sauce and ketchup. Mix together until combined. Add chopped tomatoes and capsicum and mix again.
  4. Gently place beef into slow cooker and add more water if necessary to ensure the liquid covers the whole brisket. Set on low and cook for 8 hours.
  5. Once cooked gently remove from slow cooker and either slice of pull beef, use immediately or place in bags to store in refrigerator or freezer for later use.

And basically that’s it! Its a simple recipe that you can put together the night before and slow cook ready for the next day or on a weekend too. I haven’t used any garlic or onion as these ingredients don’t do well for us health wise, but if you like them you can add them in if you want.

Well as always thank you for reading my post. Sorry its been a while since I have put up any recipes, its been a hectic few months. Hopefully once things slow down I can add more. Have a wonderful day everyone!

Vicky

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My new best friend…..

Move over George Foreman grill I have found a new best friend! The Russell Hobbs Multifunction benchtop oven!

Russell Hobbs Oven

This oven is amazing! It bakes, it grills, it air fry’s and toasts bread!

It has an easy to clean pull out tray they catches all the crumbs comes with 3 trays plus the crumb tray.

It’s not a bulky unit so would fit most benchtops. To clean just wipe with a clean damp cloth and wash removal trays in warm soapy water. Make sure to dry thoroughly before putting back in the oven. I bought mine from Big W.

Overall I give it a 10/10 for efficiency, reliability and time saving. Best of all the oven heats up quickly so no waiting time!

Thank you for reading my blog post! Wishing you all a wonderful day!

Vicky

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