(web pic but mine looks similar to this)
Gee, it's Friday again - where is the time going? I plan to make Apricot Chicken tonight - it's something I can have made and just waiting to serve (with mashed potato and green beans).~
I had a few flops on Anzac Day - but first up I made some Anzac biscuits to give to a client - we delivered her new car that morning - no flop there - they were crisp and perfect! Ever been given fresh biscuits when you buy a car - come see us!
~
Later in the afternoon I decided to make some more bread rolls - I have had such success with them lately. I only had an open sachet of yeast left which came from a bread mix pack and I wasn't sure of it's age. I mixed it up with the required sugar and warm water and let it sit. It frothed up a bit so I thought it would be fine. I got the dough going in the bread maker but by the time it was ready to come out to be shaped into rolls I could see that it wasn't going to rise properly. I make the rolls anyway but they turned out like little rocks... Flop No. 1!
~
While the dough was being made, I thought I would make an Anzac Cake (I found it here at Our Gang of 7 blog) for our staff to have for smoko on Thursday back at work. I followed the recipe and put it in the oven, baked it for 30 minutes then took it out. It hadn't risen much for it smelled yummy. I left it to cool on a rack. When I looked at it again, I could see that it had sunk to about 2.5cm high and was like a house brick! I 'snapped' off a piece and tasted it - it was fine but it would get stuck in your throat if you ate it... Flop No. 2! Disclaimer: I must have used plain flour intead of Self Raising because when I looked in my pantry, the plain flour was sitting in front of the SR flour... der Joolz! This is a perfectly good recipe so give it a go - just use the right flour!
~
I made a nice beef curry for dinner but the round (stewing) steak I bought for it was quite tough, even after 2 hours of slow cooking . Next time I will use just use rump steak then I know it will be tender. I also made rice by the absorption method (like I always do with no fails) and it was stodgy and really claggy (wallpaper glue comes to mind!)... Flop No. 3!
~
My Apricot chicken had better be good otherwise I may just give up!
Here's how I make it:
350gms chicken tenderloins, cut up into small bite-sized pieces
2 drumsticks
4 wings, trimmed of the tips
1 can apricot nectar plus 1/4 cup water
1 sachet French Onion Soup
big handful of dried apricots
1 onion, chopped in strips
1 carrot, sliced into rounds
1 handful frozen green beans or peas
~~~
Place all items in a large casserole dish and combine well. Bake at 170C for about 1.5 - 2 hours, stirring every half hour or until meat is tender on the bone. Serve with creamy mashed potato and steamed green beans. Can also be served with a nice bread roll if they don't resemble rocks! Lol!
~
And I will make another Anzac cake and will put up pics of it later tonight in all it's successful glory.
~
We are off on a Ruby adventure tomorrow - we are meeting 2 other couples and are being taken to a mystery location for an overnight camp somewhere (??) - should be fun - it's been ages since we've been away in Ruby. Hopefully the rain will hold off for us so we can have a nice camp fire and barbecue.
~
Cheers - Joolz
~
Later in the afternoon I decided to make some more bread rolls - I have had such success with them lately. I only had an open sachet of yeast left which came from a bread mix pack and I wasn't sure of it's age. I mixed it up with the required sugar and warm water and let it sit. It frothed up a bit so I thought it would be fine. I got the dough going in the bread maker but by the time it was ready to come out to be shaped into rolls I could see that it wasn't going to rise properly. I make the rolls anyway but they turned out like little rocks... Flop No. 1!
~
While the dough was being made, I thought I would make an Anzac Cake (I found it here at Our Gang of 7 blog) for our staff to have for smoko on Thursday back at work. I followed the recipe and put it in the oven, baked it for 30 minutes then took it out. It hadn't risen much for it smelled yummy. I left it to cool on a rack. When I looked at it again, I could see that it had sunk to about 2.5cm high and was like a house brick! I 'snapped' off a piece and tasted it - it was fine but it would get stuck in your throat if you ate it... Flop No. 2! Disclaimer: I must have used plain flour intead of Self Raising because when I looked in my pantry, the plain flour was sitting in front of the SR flour... der Joolz! This is a perfectly good recipe so give it a go - just use the right flour!
~
I made a nice beef curry for dinner but the round (stewing) steak I bought for it was quite tough, even after 2 hours of slow cooking . Next time I will use just use rump steak then I know it will be tender. I also made rice by the absorption method (like I always do with no fails) and it was stodgy and really claggy (wallpaper glue comes to mind!)... Flop No. 3!
~
My Apricot chicken had better be good otherwise I may just give up!
Here's how I make it:
350gms chicken tenderloins, cut up into small bite-sized pieces
2 drumsticks
4 wings, trimmed of the tips
1 can apricot nectar plus 1/4 cup water
1 sachet French Onion Soup
big handful of dried apricots
1 onion, chopped in strips
1 carrot, sliced into rounds
1 handful frozen green beans or peas
~~~
Place all items in a large casserole dish and combine well. Bake at 170C for about 1.5 - 2 hours, stirring every half hour or until meat is tender on the bone. Serve with creamy mashed potato and steamed green beans. Can also be served with a nice bread roll if they don't resemble rocks! Lol!
~
And I will make another Anzac cake and will put up pics of it later tonight in all it's successful glory.
~
We are off on a Ruby adventure tomorrow - we are meeting 2 other couples and are being taken to a mystery location for an overnight camp somewhere (??) - should be fun - it's been ages since we've been away in Ruby. Hopefully the rain will hold off for us so we can have a nice camp fire and barbecue.~
Cheers - Joolz
