Cowboy Casserole
Ingredients:
500g lean beef mince
1/2 onion chopped
2 can baked beans
1/2 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon beef stock
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
pinch oregano
1 heaped tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup cooked macaroni pasta
1 cup grated cheese

Method:
Preheat oven to 180degrees.  Heat a medium sized saucepan, add the mince and stir until browned.  Add onion and keep stirring until soft.

Mix in baked beans, spices, sauce and tomato paste, sprinkle in stock powder.  Mix really well and add cooked pasta.

Pour the mixture into an ovenproof casserole dish, cover with grated cheese.  Heat in oven till the cheese is melted and turning brown.  Serve with salad or vegetables and garlic bread.

Sand Cake
Ingredients:
1 cup self raising flour
1 tablespoon cornflour or custard powder
3/4 cup castor sugar
1/4 cup milk
125g butter softened
2 eggs

Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.   Line or grease a cake tin.  Place all ingredients plus a dash of vanilla essence into a bowl and mix until pale and creamy.  Pour into tin and bake for about 30mins until a skewer comes out clean.  Let cake cool down before turning out onto a cooling rake.  When cold ice.

If making for a birthday cake, I would double the recipe.

Chocolate Truffles
Ingredients:
100ml milk
¼ cup ground coffee beans
1kg dark chocolate buttons
250ml cream
50g butter
1 heaped tbsp glucose
30ml rum
70g cocoa

Method:
Bring milk and coffee to a simmer in a saucepan. Strain through a coffee filter or clean tea towel. Melt 500 grams of chocolate and place in a large bowl. Bring coffee-infused milk, cream, butter and glucose to the boil and pour over chocolate. Add rum and stir with a whisk until smooth and shiny. Pour into a container and set in the fridge. Use a teaspoon to shape into five-cent-sized balls and place on a tray. Freeze. Melt remaining chocolate. Cover a tray with the cocoa. Using your fingers, coat truffles with chocolate and drop onto cocoa so that they don’t touch each other. Agitate tray so that truffles roll around and become covered in cocoa. Store in an airtight container with excess cocoa on top in the fridge.
Makes about 100

Museli Bars
Ingredients:
3/4 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup water
150g butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup nuts and seeds – I use almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds

Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C. Line or grease a 27cm x 18cm slice tin.
Cut apricots into small pieces and place in saucepan with the water.  Bring to boil, then summer until liquid is absorbed.  Take off heat and add butter, stir until melted.  Add brown sugar and stir until mixed.  Leave until cold.
Sift flour and baking powder together.  Add to apricot mixture with rolled oats and nuts/seeds.  Mix until combined.  Press into tin.  Bake in oven for 30 minutes until golden brown and cooked right through.  Leave in tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack.  Cold into 24 bars when cold.

Chicken and Vegetable Pie
Ingredients:
1 sheet reduced-fat puff pastry
1 small onion, chopped
1 leek, thinly sliced
1 carrot, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
500g skinless chicken breasts, diced
10 button mushrooms, sliced
1½ cups trim milk
3 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons chicken stock powder
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C. Spray oil in a ceramic pie dish. Trim sheet of pastry to make top slightly larger than the dish.
Spray oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add onion, leek, carrot and garlic. Cook until soft. Add chicken and mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes.
Whisk milk, flour and stock in a bowl with a fork. Pour milk mixture into frying pan  with chicken mixture and allow to thicken while stirring.
Spoon mixture into pie dish. Brush a little egg white around top edge of dish, and place pastry over top. Use remaining egg white to glaze pie top. With a fork, prick a few holes into the pie. Bake for 15 minutes or until pastry is golden.

Bacon and Pesto Pasta
Ingredients:
Bacon Rashers
Fettuccine Spaghetti (or whatever pasta you have in the cupboard)
Capsicum - diced
Pesto (we made this using fresh basil leaves and olive oil with salt and pepper to taste – enough to coat spaghetti evenly)
Mozzarella Cheese (optional)
Fresh Basil to serve
Mixed Green Salad to serve

Method:
Grill bacon until crispy and cut into small pieces.
Cook spaghetti following packet directions until al dente.  Drain and return to pan.
Add pesto to spaghetti and toss to coat evenly.
Add bacon, capsicum, basil (and cheese if using).  Season with pepper and salt.  Toss once more.
Serve with salad.

Chocolate Avocado Mousse – Creamy dairy free dessert
Ingredients:
1/2 cup runny honey
Flesh of 2 medium ripe avocados
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:
Add all ingredients into food processor and process until well blended and creamy.
Spoon into individual serving dishes and put in fridge for at least 1 hour.
Will keep in fridge for up to 10 days.

Rice Crackles
Ingredients:
250g Kremelta
4 cups Rice Bubbles
1 cup Icing Sugar (sifted)
3 tablespoons Cocoa
1 cup Desiccated Coconut (optional)

Method:
Melt Kremelta in a saucepan over a low heat.
Mix Rice Bubbles, icing sugar, cocoa, coconut and kremelta until well combined.
Spoon into patty cake tin.
Set in fridge.

Makes about 24 Rice Crackles

Chocolate Fudge Cake
Ingredients:
1 pkt wine biscuits (can be any plain biscuit like malt)
100g butter (can be any spread)
100g sugar
1tbsp cocoa
1 egg beaten

Method:
Place biscuits into a plastic bag and crush with rolling pin.
Bring butter, sugar and cocoa gently to the boil.
Remove from heat, add egg and crushed biscuits.
Press into a tin and place in fridge to set.
Once cold ice.