Chocolate and toffee pinwheel cookies

For a couple of years now, I've had a small bag of toffee almond and walnut pieces and didn't know what to do with them. Originally, they're suggested to top off your ice cream. But it's winter and too cold to eat ice cream. So instead I used some in these. I still have more left over too.

- 1 sheet puff pastry

- 2 tablespoons butter, melted

- 3 tablespoons brown sugar

- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

- 1/2 cup toffee bits

- 1/2 cup mini choc chips

- 1/2 cup pecans, chopped

- 1 egg, lightly beaten for paste

1. Roll out the pastry and brush with melted butter. 

2. Sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnon on top. 

3. Sprinkle the toffee, pecans, and choc chips on top. (I mixed all these in a bowl first).

4. Roll up the pastry into a log and deal with a strip of egg wash. 

5. Cut into 1/2 inch slices and place on a lined oven tray. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 14-16 minutes. Cool.

Lemon Bars

I'm not a lover of sweets when it comes to lemon. In the other hand, my mum loves it, so after her suggesting to make something lemony, I found a recipe for these lemon bars. Let's just say they didn't last long between my mum and my friends. 

- 1 cup butter

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 2 cups flour

- pinch of salt

FILLING:

- 6 eggs

- 3 cups sugar

- 2 tablespoons lemon zest

- 1 cup lemon juice

- 1 cup flour

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. 

2. To make the base:

Cream the butter and sugar together. Mix in the flour and salt to make a dough. 

3. Press into a lined with foil tin to make a 1/2 inch crust. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Chill. 

4. FOR THE FILLING:

Whisk all the filling ingredients together and pour it into the chilled crust. 

5. Bake for 30-35 minutes until set and cool to room temperature. Dust with icing sugar. 

Mini Pavlovas

When I made this recipe, I wasn't sure if I had to leave the pavlovas in the oven to cool completely, or I could take them out. Instead, I left them in for about 1/2 hour to cool before takimg them out to completely cool. They were hard on the outside, and chewy in the middle. DELICIOUS. And the best part? The pavlova itself only has 3 ingredients.

- 4 egg whites
- 1/2 cup caster sugar
-1 teaspoon corn flour


1. Preheat the oven to 140°C and line and spray a baking tray.

2. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.

3. Whisk in 1/2 of the sugar until it becomes very shiny.

4. Fold in the rest of the sugar and cornflour.

5. Pipe swirls of mixture onto the tray and bake for 30 minutes.  Leave to cool completely. 

6. Top with fruit of your choice.

Chicken, Sweet Potato and Corn Chowder

This was the first time I ever tasted chowder. I was a bit weary of it as I have only just started liking sweet potato and have gone off corm a little bit. But surprisingly it's quite delicious. Perfect for these cold days.

• 25g butter
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 sticks celery, chopped
• ½ red capsicum, deseeded and diced
• ½ green capsicum, deseeded and diced
• 400g golden sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 2 x 400g pouches Heinz Condensed Soup & More™ Creamy Chicken with Garden Herbs
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels
• 200g cooked chicken, chopped
• 1 cup milk

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add onion, celery, red and green capsicum and cook until softened but not brown. Add sweet potato.
2. Pour over Heinz Condensed Soup & More™ Creamy Chicken with Garden Herbs and stir in 1 ½ cups water. Bring to the boil.
3. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.
4. Add frozen corn kernels, cooked chicken and milk.
5. Continue cooking for a further 5-10 minutes until chicken is heated through. Season to taste

creamy Mushroom and bacon fettuccine

75g bacon rashers, chopped

½ onion finely diced

1 clove garlic, crushed

100g mushrooms, sliced

400g pouch Heinz Condensed Soup & More™ Creamy Assorted Mushroom with Thyme

40g grated parmesan cheese

½ cup cream

Cooked fettuccine (allow 50-75g uncooked dry fettuccine

1. Cook the bacon in a pan until crispy. Set aside. 
2. Cook onion, garlic and mushrooms in a dash of oil until onion is soft. 
3. Stir in Heinz Condensed Soup & More™ Creamy Assorted Mushroom with Thyme.
4. Bring to the boil. Remove from heat. Stir in parmesan, cream and bacon. 
5. Toss through cooked fettuccine. 

chicken casserole

For this recipe, it asked for 1 kg of chicken with the bones it it still. I didn't use that, instead I just used chicken breast cut into pieces, and it worked the same. Also, instead of just cannellini beans, I had mixed beans already in my cupboard. That's another way I save money. I have a small pantry cupboard, which every now and then I'll buy items I know I use and will last and leave them in there. That way, one week, if I'm strapped for cash, I know I'll have the ingredients.

My cupboard might be quite messy looking in this photo, but I know exactly where everything is and what I have. I have all sauces/juices on the top shelf, followed by all my herbs and spices, then canned and jar items and then all my baking items.

• 1Kg chicken pieces, bone in 
• 100g smoked bacon, chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 sticks celery, diced
• 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 400g pouch Heinz Condensed Soup & More™ Creamy Chicken with Garden Herbs
• 400g can Cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• Handful fresh parsley leaves, 

1. Heat oil in a deep lidded frying pan. Brown chicken pieces. Set aside. Drain any excess oil.
2. Add bacon, onion, garlic and celery. Sauté until soft. Stir in mustard.
3. Place chicken back into pan. Pour over Heinz Condensed Soup & More™ Creamy Chicken with Garden Herbs and 1 cup of water. Stir. Bring to the boil.
4. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Add beans and continue cooking for a further 10-15 minutes with the lid off until chicken is cooked and sauce reduced. Stir through parsley.

chunky beef and vegetable pie

For the next few weeks, I will be making easy and cheap meals that take no time at all, yet still taste delicious.

• ½ cup red wine
• 2 x 535g can Heinz® Big’N Chunky Beef & Vegetable
• 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup Heinz® Frozen Garden Peas OR Heinz® Frozen Mixed Veg
• 2 tbs chopped parsley
• 3 tbs cornflour + ¼ cup cold water
• 800-900g potatoes, peeled and cut into even sized pieces
• ¼ cup milk
• 15g butter
• ¼ cup grated tasty cheese

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Place a large saucepan on high heat and add red wine – allow to simmer for 1 minute. Empty the contents of the Heinz® Chunky Beef & Vegetable into the saucepan, stir in the Heinz® Frozen Garden Peas, Worcestershire sauce and chopped parsley. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Cook potatoes in boiling water until tender. Drain and mash with milk and butter. Season to taste.
4. Mix cornflour and cold water ensuring mixture is smooth. Remove the meat filling mixture from the heat and whilst stirring pour in the cornflour mixture.
5. Transfer meat filing mixture immediately into an ovenproof dish and top with mashed potato.
   
   Sprinkle with grated tasty cheese.
   
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes until hot and golden and serve.