Baked Cheesy Meatballs

Afternoon Everyone!

I love cheese. Parmesan, brie, bocconcini, feta, mozzarella... we are all dear friends.  This is why I love this recipe.  Also, it is a good recipe to help get kids involved in the kitchen.  While I was making the sauce my niece (who was visiting at the time) made the meatballs and did a very good job too!  I originally found it in a Recipes+ magazine.




Baked Cheesy Meatballs

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium brown onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 x 410g cans diced tomatoes
850g beef mince
2 tablespoons chopped basil
2 tablespoons chopped oregano
2/3 cup grated parmesan
200g feta, cut into 18 equal pieces
160g bocconcini cheese, coarsely cut

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan forced.  Lightly grease a 2 litre (8 cup) ovenproof dish.  Heat oil in large saucepan over moderately high heat.  Add onion and garlic, cook and stir for 5 minutes or until onion softens.  Add tomatoes. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered for 8-10 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly.
2. Meanwhile, place mince, basil, oregano and half the parmesan in a large bowl.  Using clean hands, mix well to combine.  Divide into 18 portions.  For each meatball, flatten a mince portion slightly and top with a piece of fetta.  Shape mince around the cheese to enclose and form a ball.  Place in the prepared pan.
3. Pour tomato mixture over meatballs, then sprinkle with bocconcini and the rest of the parmesan.  Bake for 20-25 mins or until cheese melts and meatballs are cooked.

Note: I didn't have fresh basil or oregano so I used dried instead.  Since I love cheese so much, I sometimes put mozzarella on top too.  Can be served with pasta or salad.

Sweet Potato Dog Treats

A f t e r n o o n   E v e r y o n e !

I love my dog and I love my dehydrator.  So when my father-in-law mentioned that dogs love dehydrated sweet potato I was excited to give it a go.  Dog treats can be expensive and sweet potatoes are cheap and everywhere at the moment.

To make these treats, I simply peeled the sweet potatoes, cut them up lengthwise and placed on the dehydrator racks.  I usually check my dehydrator every hour or so as the bottom racks always dry things out faster.  The general rule is that anything that is put in the dehydrator is ready when it is no longer sticky or wet to touch. I always let my fruit or veggies cool on the racks before putting them in an airtight container just to be sure.  After dehydrating the sweet potato I noticed that there were a few dark spots on them that weren't there before but I don't think my dog will mind.

With my dehydrated sweet potato in hand I rushed outside to see if my beautiful dog Millie would like them.... and she LOVED them!  Success!  Now to tell my father-in-law that he was right.  Just like any man I think that he will be happy to hear those 3 little words: you were right.

Using Peanut Butter to Remove Glue

Afternoon Everyone!

Since exploring the blogging world I have come across so many blogs that I absolutely love.  One of my all time favourites is One Good Thing by Jillee because she has so many helpful household tips.

A tip that I couldn't wait to try out was using peanut butter to remove that annoying glue off of jars before reusing them.

I was very impressed at how well it worked.  After applying the peanut butter I left the jar on the bench for a few hours (because I was worried about ants having an overnight feast if I left it out) and then washed it up with warm soapy water.  The glue came off so easily.  It was easier than rubbing it with eucalyptus oil.

So now, not only will I be supporting Aussie Peanut Growers by buying Dick Smith's but I will be having simple, no fuss, easily cleaned bottles.  Now to make some more Passionfruit Skin Jam...

M&M Cookies

Afternoon Everyone!

Everyone has their favourite cookie recipe and this is mine.  I have been making this recipe for years and they have always turned out perfect.  I originally got the recipe from allrecipes.com.au where they are called Subway Cookies because they do taste remarkably like the cookies that are bought at Subway.

2 cups self-raising flour, sifted

170g butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

½ cup white sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla essence

1 egg

1 egg yolk

160g bag of mini M&M's

 

Preheat the oven to 165 degrees Celsius and line two cookie trays with baking paper. In a medium bowl, use beaters to cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted flour. Stir in the mini M&M's by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop big, round tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared cookie trays, leaving plenty of room for spreading. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Online Shopping Discounts

Afternoon Everyone!

I love online shopping and I love discounts. Today I got a surprise email from my telephone company with a link to lots of promotional codes.  Weird, right? So I thought, why not share the love.  To get the discount the usual requirement is to enter the code into the promotional/validation section when checking out.  However, I am not sure of the expiry dates.

Photobooks R Us - 10% off. Code: infinite
Boomerang Books - $5 off. Code: infiniterewards
Aushen (Promotional Corporate Gifts)- 5% off. Code: Infinite
Esunnies - Enter INFINITE as the discount code on the registration page when you join the eSunnies website to receive 15% off.
Royal Tag - 10% off. Code: INFINITE2012
Socks 'N' Jocks - 20% off. Code: infiniterewards
Ties 'N' Cuffs - 20% off. Code: infiniterewards
Amante (Gold and Silver Jewellery) - 15% off. Code: infinite
Abi and Joseph (gym clothes) - 10% off. Code: infiniterewards
Shirt and Tie - 20% off. Code: 20REWARDS
Sue Rice Swimwear Australia - 20% off all full price items.  Sign up as a VIP and add Activation Key infiniteswimwearrewards
Accessory World - 15% off. Code:  INFIREW
Vein (Custom men’s and women’s shoes) - 10% off. Code: infinite10
Kitty Croquet Shoes - 10% off. Code: infinite10
First Ray (organic food) - 15% off. Code: Rewards
Clean Skins (wine) - 10% off. Code:  infinite
Hip Kids - 10% off. Code: INFREWARDS
Vintage Kid Australia - 15% off. Code: INFINITEREWARDS2011
Gr8Toys - 15% off. Code: INR11
Haggus and Stookles (toys) - 10% off. Code: InfiniteRewards
Toy Connect - 10% off. Code: RW36
Cool Gifts - 10% off. Code: INFINITE10
Latest Buy - 10% off. Code: INFINITEGIFTS
Pamper Hamper Gifts - 8% off. Code: infinite8
Break of Day Gift Baskets - 10% off. Code: b189e7
Efragrance - 15% off. Code: INFINITE208
ECOYA Botany Bay - 20% off. Code: 20offPromo
Fresh Fragrance & Cosmetics - 10% off. Code: infiniterewards

I hope that you find these useful.  If you know of any more, let me know and I will add them to the list.

Passionfruit Skin Jam

AFTERNOON EVERYONE!

 

Did you know that passionfruit skins contain pectin so they are perfect to make jam with.  This recipe is an old family favourite that I have enjoyed for years on my morning toast.  It is made with the white pulp of passionfruit skins. I just love recipes that use ingredients that we usually throw away.  Passionfruit jam tastes very different to what is expected but it is oh so delicious!

Ingredients
6 passionfruit skins
Water
2 cups sugar
2 passionfruits

 

Put the passionfruit skins in a saucepan and cover with water.

Make sure that they have been flipped over so that the while pulp is facing down.

 

 Boil on low until the skins of the passionfruits look full and plump.  If your passionfruit is of the purple variety it will change colour to a deep purple.  Yellow passionfruit change into a light yellowly colour.  This may take about 1 hour.  Allow to cool and put the skins and water in the fridge overnight so that they will take on more water.

  

Scoop out the soft part of the skins with a spoon and discard the outer skin.  

 

Be careful not to get any of the outer skin into the jam as it has the texture of eggshell and therefore won't taste very nice.  

 

Dice up the pulp to the consistency that you like in your jam.  I like chunky bits so I dice mine up into 5mm squares.   Combine the diced pulp with the left over water until you have 2 cups.  

 

Combine with 2 cups of sugar.  Bring to the boil and boil for 15-20mins checking that the jam has reached the right consistency by putting a drop on a cold saucer that has been kept in the fridge.  I like my jam a little bit runny so that it soaks into the toast.  If you like thicker jam; boil for longer.  Make sure that every time the jam is checked, the saucepan is taken off the heat so that it doesn't continue to cook.  Once it has reached the desired consistency, add the seeds of 2 passionfruit. Pour into warm jars. Allow to cool for a while before putting the lids on and placing them in the fridge.

This is a batch that I made with yellow passionfruit.  It had a different taste, more like a marmalade.  If you are not a fan of chunky jam the pulp and water can be pureed before adding the sugar and boiling.

 

Painted Glass Lantern

A f t e r n o o n   E v e r y o n e !

As I have moved recently I have rediscovered some glass bottles that I had collected years and years ago.  Since I am trying to convince my husband that I am not a hoarder I thought that it was time to do what I said I was going to do years ago and paint them, put in some tealight candles and use them as glass lanterns. 






To make this glass lantern you will need:
Glass paint (I used Jones Tones Metallic Bronze)
PVA Glue
Food Dye
Paint Brush
Sponge Brush

1. Paint a stripe around the bottom of the jar. This will need 3-4 coats.

2. Use the applicator on the tube to place dots along the stripe.

3. Place more dots in any pattern you like.  I chose triangles. After completing this project I realised that bigger dots with space between them looks better than small dots close together.

4. Paint a stripe on top of the jar.

 

5. Place dots in any pattern that you like.  Above is a picture of what I did.

6. Mix the food dye (I used green and blue) with the PVA glue and sponge it onto the inside of the glass.  Remember that the PVA glue will dry clear.  The above photo is of my lantern when it was wet.

6. Pop in a tealight candle and now you have a pretty glass lantern.