These are my go to meal whenever i feel lazy, you literally just pop all the goodies in a parcel, wrap it up and pop it in the oven! I always chop and change my mind so below i will give you the basic recipe and some examples of what i use to go with it. This recipe is also great for using up the veggies left in your fridge you do not want to waste. I sometimes use frozen chicken breasts because i'm lazy and it's what i have available, just check the chicken before you serve to make sure it's cooked.

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Breasts
Veggies of your choice
Sauce of your choice

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180'c. Line 2 x 30 cm peices of al foil with Baking paper.
Layer veggies in the middle of the paper, layer chicken on top, top with veggies and herbs. 
Wrap up the baking paper first by bringing up the two sides of the paper up to the centre and fold the ends together. Roll up the ends to enclose the chicken and seal. Do the same with the al foil. Place the parcels on a baking tray.
Bake for 30/45 (depending if the chicken is thawed or frozen) minutes or until the chicken is just cooked through. Open the parcel and top with sauce (if wanted; i use bbq sauce) place back into the oven and bake for a further 10mins. Serve hot.

Other ideas: 
-  carrots and mushrooms, chicken, lemon pieces and herbs, bbq sauce
- capsicum, spring onion, ginger and corn, chicken, soy sauce, fish sauce
- Potato, green beans, Chicken, Honey mustard sauce
- Potato, tomatoes, olives, chicken, white wine, feta

The options are endless. Be creative and be sure to show me what you make!

These banana split bites are great for the kids. I chose banana and strawberries because it was national banana split day, But you could use any fruit (hey the more fruit the better).

Ingredients:

3 Bananas
6 Strawberries
1 cup Milk Chocolate Chips, melted
​12 ice cream sticks
Sprinkles

Method:

Cut strawberries in half. For each strawberry half, cut an equal size piece of banana. Alternate strawberries and bananas on ice cream sticks until all used up. Place in freezer for 10 minutes. Melt chocolate by heating in microwave for 30 seconds bursts, stirring and repeating until melted and smooth. Dip cold fruit in chocolate, then sprinkle on sprinkles, then place on prepared tray.

I came across this cheese filled (kind of pizza like) recipe whist going through my massive cookbook library. It's in between a naan  bread and a stuffed pizza. I filled mine with cheddar, a chive coated cream cheese and parmesan, but you can use any cheese you like. I also put kalamata olives in mine for no other reason than i'm obsessed with them at the moment.

Ingredients:

250ml Milk
2 Eggs
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 pinch Salt
500g Plain Flour
250g Mixed Cheese
​1/2 Cup Kalamata Olives, diced
2 Tablespoon Sour Cream
1 Handful cheese to garnish (optional)
Fresh Herbs to garnish (optional)

Method:

Whisk together the milk, 1 egg, oil, baking powder and salt until smooth. Slowly add the flour in and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover with a damp tea towel and set aside for 20mins.
Mix together in a separate bowl the other egg, cheeses, olives and sour cream.
Preheat oven to 180'c. Line a large baking tray with baking paper or use a silpat (my best friend).
Divide the dough into 2 pieces and roll out into a large circle. Spread half the cheese mixture into the middle of each circle, leaving a margin around the edge, Fold the dough in over the cheese until it's all covered over. Flatten down with your hand and roll out to a flat disc (click here to see video how to roll dough). pinch a hole in the middle of the disc to let the steam out. Place onto your baking tray and bake for 30mins or until golden brown. Just before you pull the bread out of the oven sprinkle with cheese and put back into melt. Serve hot sprinkled with herbs.

I remember going on holidays to Florida when i was very young and seeing waffles at the buffet. To me they taste like a crispy pancake, as they are crispy on the outside and light in the middle.  Waffles can be flavored with whatever your heart desires. I like the traditional belgian waffle and i top mine with fresh berries, maple syrup and whipped cream.

Ingredients:

2 cups Plain flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
2 Tablespoons Icing sugar
1 Tablespoon Vegetable oil
2 cups Milk
3 Eggs, separated
2 teaspoons Vanilla Essence
1 pinch Salt
Berries (eg; strawberries and blueberries) to serve
Maple Syrup to serve
​Whipped cream to serve (optional)

Method:

Combine the flour, baking powder, icing sugar, oil, milk and egg yolks.
Beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks, mix in the vanilla and fold into the batter (do not over mix).
Pour 1/8th of the mixture into a hot waffle iron and bake for about 2 minutes.
Repeat with the remaining batter.
Top with your favorite fruit, maple syrup and whipped cream, serve hot.

Tip - combine sugar with cinnamon together and dust waffles to get a donut flavor waffle.

I had my first lemon crumble muffin at this play centre we take the kids to. I loved the different textures, the soft almost marshmallow like muffin, topped with crunchy, crumble pieces and hinted throughout with lemon.. mmm! My father in law and husband demolished the whole lot of these with ease, and that speaks volumes.

Ingredients:

Crumb Topping
1/4C unsalted butter, melted
3/4C all purpose flour
2Tb granulated sugar
2Tb light brown sugar
Muffin Batter
1/2c Butter, softened
1 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
zest of 2 Lemons
4 Tablespoons Lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/2 teaspoon Salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups Plain flour
Lemon Glaze
6 Tablespoon Icing sugar
1 Tablespoon Lemon juice

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°c. Line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners. 
To prepare crumb topping: In a bowl, mix together dry ingredients. . Slowly add melted butter. Use a fork to blend together until only small pieces remain. Set aside. 
In a stand mixer, cream together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, mixing until fully combined, followed by vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice. Continue mixing, add salt, baking powder and flour, mixing until fully combined. Divide batter between prepared baking cups. 
Generously coat each portion of batter with prepared crumb topping.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool in pan for 5-10 minutes or until easy to handle. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 
When muffins are cool, prepare glaze. In a small bowl, mix together icing sugar and lemon juice. Use a small spoon to drizzle glaze over cooled muffins. 

I came up with this recipe when i was having a super carb craving day. I love potato bake, but sometimes it can be a bit boring or bland. With only my pantry items and a few staples i created this creamy, soft and golden topped bake. This recipe can be quite rich, so if you wanted it to be lighter, cut out the cream (but we all love to indulge every now and then).

5 Large potatoes, sliced
​1 packet cream of chicken soup mix (click here for picture)
200ml Chicken Stock
200ml Milk
100ml Thickened Cream
Cheese of your choice (optional)
Herbs of your choice - i used chives and parsley (optional) to serve

Method:

Boil potato slice in salted water for 10mins then drain.
Mix together chicken soup mix, chicken stock, milk, and thickened cream in a jug. 
Lay a single layer of potato slices in a baking dish. Top with cheese (if wanted) and then top with cream mix until just covered, season with salt and pepper. Keep layering until all the potatoes are used up. Top with cheese and cover with alfoil. Bake in a 180'c preheated oven for 45mins, remove foil and bake for a further 15mins or until golden. Top with fresh herbs if wanted and serve hot.

Today 14th August is national 'lemon meringue day' so i've created this really easy lemon tart recipe for you. With the pastry i managed to get one long tart and 3 mini tartlets. Lelah and i also used my husbands blow torch to torch the meringue to get that golden colour ( you can just pop it under the grill if you don't have a blowtorch). Yummy!

Ingredients:

Pastry
150g Plain Flour
 45g Icing Sugar 
 100g Butter, chilled and chopped
 1 Egg yolk
Lemon filling
 2 Eggs
 100 ml Thickened Cream
 55g Caster Sugar
 2 teaspoons Lemon Rind, grated
60ml Lemon Juice (fresh lemon juice is better)
Meringue topping
 2 Egg Whites
70g Caster Sugar

Method:

To make the pastry, process the flour, icing sugar and butter in your thermocook until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs ( took about 10secs in speed 10). Add the egg yolk and process until mixture just comes together. Gently knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Shape into a disc and cover with clingfilm and put in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
Roll pastry out on a lightly floured surface big enough to cover your tin, i used a 35x13cm tart tin. Trim edges. Use the remaining pastry to line as many mini tart tins until it's all used up. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
To make the lemon filling, whisk the eggs, cream, sugar, lemon rind and juice together in a large bowl. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200°C. Place the tart & tarlet tins on an oven tray. Line with baking paper and fill with pastry beads or dried rice. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes. Remove paper and weights and bake for a further 8 minutes or until pastry is light golden. Remove from oven. Reduce oven to 180°C.
Pour the lemon mixture evenly into the pastry cases. Bake for 15 minutes or until lemon filling is almost set. Remove from oven. Set aside for 15 minutes to cool to room temperature. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill if wanted.
To make the meringue, use an electric mixer ( i use my kitchenaid) to whisk the egg whites until firm peaks form. Gradually add the sugar whisking constantly until mixture is thick and glossy (this didn't take long). Spoon into a piping bag with a round nozzle. Pipe even dots onto the large lemon tart. Use a blowtorch to lightly grill the meringue. Place on serving plates to serve.

Tip: You can place the meringue under a hot grill to toast if you don't have a blowtorch.

Tip: try different pattens with the merginue to get different textures.

A great simple syrup infused with cinnamon. This syrup is used in my Anzac Tart . It would also be great served over other puddings or even just over plain vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients:

140g Caster Sugar
60ml Water
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 tablespoon Honey, extra

Method:

​Combine caster sugar, water and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan, over a medium heat, stir until sugar has dissolved. Bring heat to a simmer, cook without stirring for another 5mins until mixture has thickened into a syrup. Remove from the heat and let sit for 10/15mins with the cinnamon stick still in it, to infuse.

This dip is addictive!
When you think of a dip, you normally think of savory, right? well i have the most simple and tasty, sweet dip ever! Its pretty much the filling of a cannoli.
A cannoli is fried dough tube filled with creamy and sweet ricotta filling. I serve my dip with a variety of sweet biscuits like milk coffee and arrowroot. 

Ingredients:

1 small tub (250g) smooth Ricotta
1 small tub (250g) Cream Cheese
1 1/2 cups Icing Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
1 cup Milk Chocolate Chips

Method:

Mix all the ingredients together, serve.

My husband is quite a chocolate fanatic. If ever there's a bar of chocolate in our house and Tyson finds it, it's gone very quickly. These top deck stuffed bun are a chocoholics (like my husbands) dream.
I stuff my buns (that sounds so funny in my head) with top deck chocolate, because i like the white choc as well as the milk, but you can use your fav chocolate to. 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups Plain Flour
2 Tablespoons Cocoa powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 cup Sugar
2 x 7g Sachet Yeast
3/4 cup Milk, warmed
1 Egg, lightly beaten
50g Butter, melted
1 cup Choc Chips
12 peices Top Deck Chocolate
50g Milk chocolate, melted for decoration
Icing Sugar for decoration

Method:

Sift flour, cocoa and salt into a large mixing bowl. Stir in sugar and yeast. Make a well in the middle and gradually add combined milk, egg and butter, stir well until a rough dough is formed. On a well floured bench, knead in choc chips, keep kneading for 5mins until dough is smooth and elastic. Place into a greased bowl, cover and set aside in a warm place until it's doubled in size ( about 1hr). 
Punch dough down and divide into 12 equal balls. Using your thumb, make an indent in each ball and press a piece of chocolate into it, gather up and pinch the ball to in incase it. Place ball onto a lined baking tray. Set aside for 20mins to rise. Pre-heat your oven to 200'c. Bake rolls for 15-20 or until golden and hollow when the bottom is tapped. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

Thermocook - follow recipe using your thermocook with the kneading tool attached on a low speed.

Kitchenaid - follow recipe using your kitchenaid bowl with the dough hook.

Tip - Warm up rolls in the microwave and serve with a thick vanilla custard mmmm.