Blessed Christmas!

A tribute to the Reason for the Season!

Homemade Alphabet Soup

Ahh...alphabet soup - the ultimate comfort food! I remember that Campbell's canned alphabet soup would be a staple in our home growing up..hot steaming yummy bowl of fun alphabets to form words on your tongue or on the side of the bowl. Having decided to reduce the amount of processed food we consume, I was determined to make this comfort food from scratch (for my girls to take forever over their dinner because they are playing with their alphabets, LOL)

And made it I did, and I must say it tastes just as yummy minus the MSG :) Hoorraay for homemade!

Homemade Alphabet Soup Recipe

Bones from 1 chicken

2-3 carrots - cubed

2-3 yellow potatoes - cubed

2 stalks of celery - cubed

1 large yellow onion - cubed

1 cup frozen baby peas

1 cup fresh corn (cut from the cob)

minced parsley

salt & pepper

1 can of tomato puree

Alphabet pasta

water - enough to cover veggies in the pot!

1 - Boil the bones until the icky brown stuff floats up. Pour away the water, put fresh water in and bring to the boil

2 - Add carrots, potatoes, celery, onions, salt & pepper

3 - Boil veggies with bones for 30 mins

4 - Add tomato puree, peas and pasta to the soup. Boil for another 20 mins

5 - Remove chicken bones. Add corn and parsley and boil for another 10mins (or until it alphabet pasta is plumped and taste is right!)

6 - Enjoy your homemade alphabet soup!

Chocolate Whole Grain Cereal

Here's another gem of a cereal I found :) Whole grain and Chocolate flavored too! They have a super brittle crunch which is really nice I thought on something like ice-cream so - this was the treat we had with the cereal sprinkled on top.

That's sliced banana, strawberries, M & Ms and cereal on a scoup of vanilla ice-cream... mmm...mmm...mmm! Can't think of a better way to enjoy our whole grains!

Simple Apple Tarts

Isn't this pretty? :) Thanks to my cg members, I get to present my tea-time treats with this lovely 3-tier caddy! Love you guys!! Muaks!

The Simple Apple Tarts are on the top tier... very easy to make and delicious!

 Step 1 - Wash 2-3 very small apples (you'll see why you need very small apples later)

Step 2 - Core the apples using an apple corer. The one I used is from Ikea.

Step 3 - Slice the apples about 1cm thick and add 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tbs of brown sugar and the juice of 1/2 a lemon. Mix well.

Step 4 - Cut out round shapes from pre-made puff pastry

 Step 5 - Brush the pastry with some beaten egg then place apple slices on it. Now you know why you need very small apples? :)

Step 6 - Bake for 18-20mins at 190C or till nicely browned. Serve on a pretty plate! Best enjoyed hot from the oven or with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream :)

Happy Cupcakes!

Doesn't Cookie Monster look happy?? :) His fondant eyes were made with choc balls and white fondant. His happy mouth with half a choc round and his fluffy fur with desiccated coconut colored with blue coloring and a bit of water. Like his shocked expression above? Ran out of chocolate rounds so I used an upside down choc chip :)

Rainbows make me happy too :) 

Oh and funny faces - this is N's creation with Kashi's cereal. 

And finally my snowball cupcakes with colored balls just for fun :)

Chocolate cupcakes with some buttercream on them.

Dunk them in a bowl of desiccated coconut and walah! Yummy happy cupcakes :)

Super Easy Meat Puffs

Ok. By now you'll know that I'm into simple. Simple but yummy. And oh - must must do justice in the eye candy department ;) Here's what I whipped up in under 15mins prep time for a tea party this morning. Of course the filling was already made the night before.

Step 1 - Grease your muffin tin with some oil and line it with pre-made frozen pastry squares. I used the Kawan brand puff pastry squares. (See picture here)

Step 2 - Fill with meat (or whatever filling you fancy - tuna/curry/peaches/apples) Here I topped my meat filling with some grated cheddar

Step 3 - Brush some beaten egg on the exposed pastry corners and bake for 20mins at 190C. The result!

Meat Filling Recipe

200-300g minced meat

1 can chopped mushrooms

Bunch of frozen peas

1 clove of garlic

1 mid sized onion

1-2 tbs oil 

1/2 cup of chicken or beef stock

1 tbs flour
1 Bay Leaf

1 tbs Dried Parsley flakes

Worchestershire Sauce

Salt

Pepper

1 - Mince garlic and onion. Heat oil in pan.

2 - Add minced garlic & onion, bay leaf and parsley. Saute till soft

3 - Add minced meat and brown. Season with Worchestershire sauce and salt and pepper

4 - Add mushrooms and peas. Add stock. Simmer for a few mins.

5 - Add a tbs of flour to thicken sauce. 

6 - Serve over butter rice/pasta and use the leftovers to make beef pies :)

I "Heart" Whole Grain Cereals!

I'm excited when I find a cereal that's whole grain and tastes good! Perfect for a snack on the go for the girls. They get their crunch, and best of all, the host of antioxidants that's good for them. Did you know that some antioxidants can only be found in whole grains and not even in fruits and vegetables?? Imagine that - every time you choose a whole grain slice of bread or in this case, cereal, over the refined stuff, you are choosing a superb source of antioxidants and vitamins :)

Here's the find of the month!

Kashi's Honey Toasted Oat Cereal - whole grain oats and other grains sweetened with honey. 

Really yummy and crunchy! Not sugar laden and no added coloring! I must say they reminded me of the dog food pellets I used to feed my dog as a child :P Not to worry though, looks can be deceiving - these babies are yummy, crunchy and have even have heart shaped ones - awww.... ;)

Found this gem at Cold Storage Solaris.