Dish 45 - Grandma Ellie's Sweet & Sour Chicken

Grandma Ellie's Sweet & Sour Pork

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

2 lb pork (I used chicken as Big Spring doesn't like pork and sometimes I don't either!)
1 cup pineapple chunks
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
2 Tbsp soya sauce
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 tsp chopped/grated ginger root
Cooked rice, for serving

Method:

1. Brown meat in large saucepan.
2. Add pineapple chunks, sugar, vinegar, soya sauce and salt.
3. Mix together flour and water, getting rid of any lumps. Add to saucepan.
4. Add pineapple juice and ginger root. Simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce thickens slightly.
5. Serve with the cooked rice.
   

Recipe Source: Based on Grandma Ellie's recipe tin

Dish 19 - Cheese, Corn and Bacon Polenta Muffins

Cheese, Corn & Bacon Polenta Muffins

Prep Time: 25min plus 30 mins standing time; Cook Time: 30min; Makes: 12

Ingredients:

Olive oil cooking spray for greasing
1/2 cup polenta
1/2 cup milk
3 bacon rashers, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1 Tbsp caster sugar
310g can corn kernels
125g can creamed corn
100g butter, melted
2 eggs
50g block tasty cheese
1 cup grated cheese

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180oC. Spray a 12-hole muffin tin with oil. Combine polenta and milk in a bowl. Set aside for 20 minutes. Heat a small frying pan on a medium heat and spray with oil. Add bacon and onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft. Remove from pan.
2. Sift flour into a large bowl. Add sugar, corn kernels, creamed corn, butter, eggs, bacon mixture and polenta mixture and stir until combined. Spoon 1 heaped tablespoonful into each muffin hole. Cut cheese block into 12 cubes. Put 1 cube in each hole Divide remaining batter between holes. Sprinkle over grated cheese.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until puffed and golden. Stand for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Serve.
   

Recipe Source: A bonus/removable "Say Cheese" recipe booklet from the Better Homes and Gardens magazine (promotional literature from Kraft)

Dish 13 - Little Spring's 2nd Birthday Cake/Cupcakes

Little Spring's 2nd Birthday Cake/Cupcakes

Ingredients - Cake/Cupcakes - make 2 lots (1 for cake, 1 for cupcakes - makes 24 cupcakes (more than needed)):

Cake
125gm butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla essence
3/4 cup castor sugar
2 x 60g eggs
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
2/3 cup milk
Icing
90gm butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 cups icing sugar mixture, sifted
2 Tbsp milk, approximately

Method - Cakes/Cupcakes:
Cake:

1. Combine butter, vanilla, sugar, eggs, flour and milk together in a large bowl. Beat on low speed until ingredients are just combined, then increase speed to medium and beat for a further 2 minutes until mixture is pale and creamy.
2. Grease a 9-in square pan (I couldn't find one, so I used a 25cm) for the cake (1 batch of cake mix). Bake at 180oC for about 10-15 minutes or until cake is just firm in centre and light golden brown. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then turn onto wire rack. For cupcakes, line 2 x 12 hole patty pans with paper patty cases. Bake at 180oC for about 15 minutes or until cakes are just firm in centre and light golden brown. Stand cakes in pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to complete cooling.

Icing:

1. Beat butter and vanilla in bowl with electric mixer until creamy. Beat in half the icing sugar and half the milk, then beat in the remaining icing sugar and enough milk for a light, fluffy consistency.

Decorations:
Follow the directions from the Betty Crocker Website with the following substitutions for Australians without access to all products listed:

1. Graham Cracker Squares (used in barn decorating) - ice cream wafers cut to size (found in ice cream cone/topping section of supermarket).
2. Orange gumdrops (used in chick decorating) - I used orange snakes.
3. Red miniature candy-coated chocolate baking bits (used in sheep & pig decorating) - red mini M&Ms (bonus - the rest of the M&Ms you can eat as they aren't needed!)
4. White gumdrops (used in sheep decorating - ears) - found in the Allen's mixed bag of lollies, "coke bottles". By cutting the bottoms off (where the reddish colouring is), you end up with perfect shaped ears!
5. Betty Crocker Fruit Roll-Ups (used in pig decorating) - any brand roll up is fine - just don't buy the ones with prints!
   

Notes: Really, really easy to make and the website even comes with a handy instructional video, showing you techniques/hints etc. I didn't end up using this cow design that I also found, but you would have plenty of cupcakes left over to add a few cows to the mix. Obviously you'll need to find your own substitutes for decoration products.

Recipe Source: Betty Crocker for the decoration and an old issue of Woman's Weekly for the Vanilla Cupcake recipe