Top 4 recipes of 2014

I can't believe that the end of the year is upon is- it seems so cliche but time really does fly when you have little people to run after.


We have been busy cooking up a storm this year, so I have rounded up my four most popular recipes for 2014.

At number four is the Raspberry Lamington Cake I made for my husband's birthday. Layers of cream, fresh raspberries and sponge make this into a decadent giant lamington.

The third most popular meal is Meatball Pizza, a combination of two of my son's favourite foods.

The second most popular recipe is a delicious Rhubarb Spicetrail Shortcake, which is great served warm or cold.

Number one is Roast Pumpkin and Cashew Chicken Curry- still a family favourite!

Thank you to all of you that have left comments, supported my blog posts and given feedback this year, and also a huge thanks to those of you who have made these recipes yourselves and let me know! I can't wait to share some more tasty dishes in 2015.

Linking up with Wow Us Wednesdays and Best of 2014 Link Up Party.

What's Cooking Wednesday #9

It's that time of the week again where I try a recipe from a cookbook that has been sitting in my cupboard.

I cannot get enough of Annabel Langbein's book- I think I will end up trying 75% of the recipes in her book as they appeal to my food taste. This week, the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake called my name. The original recipe calls for one big cake, but I changed things up and made individual servings using a silicone mini cake form from Tupperware.

2 cups self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
finely grated rind of one orange
2 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup golden syrup
1/2 cup oil

Topping:
50g butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup
225g can pineapple rings, drained

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Place all cake batter ingredients in a blender or mixer bowl and quickly process until smooth. Melt the topping butter with brown sugar and golden syrup. Pour some into the base of each individual form and then place a pineapple ring on top. Pour over the batter, tapping form on the bench to get rid of any air bubbles. Bake for 50 minutes.



These were amazing! Annabel suggests putting 1 teaspoon ground ginger in the cake batter and putting some hunks of glace ginger on top with the pineapple, which I think would be tasty but I did not do this as some family members do not like ginger. They were a perfect individual piece for a potluck dinner, with just the right amount of stickiness.

We served these beauties alongside a tub of Limon Spoonable Fudge. If you haven't tried Tub Dessert, you are missing out! They have a great range of flavours and are perfect as an accompaniment to hot or cold desserts, or even spooned straight out the tub if you just want a sweet pick me up.

This recipe would also be lovely as a full cake, and I would suggest if you make this as one big cake that you cook it for 70 minutes. A cherry in the middle would also be a great option of you don't like ginger.

Linking up with Wake Up Wednesday.

What's Cooking Wednesday #1

One thing I love receiving is recipe books- I have post it notes all over them with recipes I want to try.

Well, this year I have decided to bite the bullet and make one recipe a week that I have flagged in my recipe books. I trawl Pinterest and food magazines a lot, but some of my recipe books have great tried and true recipes and it is time to find some new favourites.

My first recipe comes from Annabel Langbein's cookbook The Best of Annabel Langbein This is one of my go-to cookbooks but there are lots of recipes in here I have yet to try. I wanted something light but filling for a hot summer evening, and the Grilled Chicken and Crispy Noodle Salad looked amazing. I was intrigued by the combo of bananas, avocados and pesto with chicken and bacon in a salad, but since my family enjoys all of these ingredients I figured it was worth a try.

I got all of the ingredients together (minus the pesto, which was in the fridge!)



You marinate the chicken in lemon juice and pesto with whole lemon slices- it smelt so good. The recipe called for grilling the chicken, but I had already diced it so I just cooked it in the pan.



Then it was a matter of tossing all of the ingredients together...



And adding the crispy noodles to serve. Yum!



The salad was surprisingly filling, and the combination of flavours worked well. I would happily make this salad again, and wouldn't change a thing.

I really recommend any Annabel Langbein books to any cook wanting a fantastic book for reading as well as recipes- the food photography in this cookbook is so vibrant and it makes me want to cook every time. She is a great New Zealand writer and a lot of her recipes adapt well for busy families.

Linking up with Wake Up Wednesdays.