Waiting, waiting, waiting ...

Well it seems the publishers don't want my work (sigh) I have had no contact from them since submission, so now I am looking at prices for me to print myself so all of you wonderful people who have been asking for my book will be able to get one.  At this stage it is looking quite pricey, but I've only just begun looking (holding on to hope that they will contact me!) so it's early days yet.
I will post updates on my Facebook page (here) so "like" my page to keep informed.

Those of you who have joined my page already, thanks heaps for your support!  Remember you are more than welcome to post recipe suggestions on there or ask me any questions.

So, you will have seen the Orange Chicken Stir Fry which was on my page, well I made that one last week.  Not too bad, though not as good as Teriyaki or Satay in my opinion, but nice for a change.  I also made Loaded Vegetables, and a yummy Weetbix slice. 

First up, Orange Chicken Stir Fry

 The sauce

1/2 cup orange juice
1 tbsp. grated orange zest
2 large garlic cloves...
1 tbsp. oyster sauce
2 tbsp. rice vinegar
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. minced ginger
a dash of honey

The Stir Fry

1 lb. chicken cut into strips
3 tbsp. cornstarch
4 cups chopped fresh mushrooms, celery, carrots, snap peas, and broccoli.
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Put it all together

Place all sauce ingredients in a blender. Pour into a pan and heat through for 5 minutes, then put it in a separate bowl. Add salt and pepper to chicken and then cover lightly with cornstarch. Boil (or steam) the broccoli for about 5 minutes. Place on a paper towel to drain. Add olive oil to a pan and sauté chicken for approximately 4-5 minutes until cooked through. Add all of the vegetables to the pan and sauté for 2 minutes. Add sauce bit by bit and cook until sauce has cooked down. You can serve this on its own or over rice.

I didn't have Oyster Sauce, so used Fish Sauce, didn't smell that appealing, but didn't affect the taste.  I also didn't use mushrooms or celery - not a fan of these two flavours.  I used broccoli, carrots, Chinese cabbage, and egg noodles in it rather than serving over rice.

I found that cooking the chicken this way made it really tender and juicy.  Once I had cooked the chicken, I added the onion for a few minutes before adding the rest of the veges, as I prefer my onions cooked a little longer.  All in all, pretty good.

Loaded Vegetables.

You will have seen my various trials of "loaded" foods, this is a variation on the cauliflower one.  I think it is better with the other veges added in.

1 head of cauli - a small one is fine

1/2 head of broccoli

1 carrot

Streaky bacon

1/2 tub of sour cream

2 heaped Tbsp Mayo

2C grated cheese

Crisp bacon in frying pan and drain on paper towels. (freeze that fat to use at a later date - great for cooking roast spuds in or making a "hash")

Chop veges into bite size chunks and boil for 2-3 minutes to soften.  Drain and cool slightly.

In a large bowl combine sour cream, mayo and 1C cheese.  Add veges and 1/2 the bacon (pulled into small pieces).  Mix around and then tip into a greased casserole dish.

Sprinkle remaining bacon and cheese on top and bake at 200C until golden and bubbling.

This was such a hit that even my son got excited when I said there were still veges left if anyone wanted more :)

And last but by no means least, Weetbix Deluxe Slice.  This recipe is another from my Mum's recipe book.  It's one of those recipes that you forget how good it is until you make it again.  Now it's been so long since I've made it that I can't actually remember if the caramel is supposed to sit on top or seep in.  This time it seeped in and it is awesome!  It may be because I forgot what time I put it in the oven so just decided that it had probably been long enough, and the centre was still a little on the softer side so the caramel seeped through, but you know what?  I'd do it that way again!

Here's the recipe...

3 Weetbix crushed

1C flour

1C coconut

3/4C sugar

1tsp baking powder

125g melted butter

1/2 can condensed milk

Topping

1/2 can condensed milk

1 1/2Tbsp golden syrup

1Tbsp butter

Combine all ingredients - adding butter and condensed milk last.  Press into greased and lined slice tin.  Bake for 15 mins at 180C.  It should be golden around the edges.

Stir topping ingredients in a small saucepan over a low heat until combined.  Pour over base and return to oven for another 3mins.

While still warm top with chocolate icing.

*I actually dotted chocolate buttons on top when it came out of the oven and then when the had melted a little I swirled them around a bit with a skewer.

Hopefully that will keep you going until next time.  There are a few great sounding recipes on my page that I will endeavour to try soon.  If you have anything you want me to blog about in particular then please post on my page and I will do my best to get to everything.

Have a great week!  Happy Cooking everyone :)