And the Voting Begins

The Voting Booths are officially open.!!!!

If you go to www.foodbuzz.com and click on the "Project Food Blog", All the contestants will appear and you can click on a button on the top of the page to sort them alphabetically. This sorts the entries alphabetically through their blog titles- as you can tell from my blog my title is "From Our Tummies to Yours".

After looking at the voting system it appears that you need to be a member of "Foodbuzz" to participate in the voting. Don't be scared off by this, FoodBuzz is like facebook for food people, it's a great resource for you if you are looking up for different recipes.

Cross your fingers and wish me luck that I make it through to the next round.. because the next round looks like a alot of fun to me!
p.s. the picture for my entry is the same as the picture in the slideshow below.
(just so you know how to recognise it)

Project FoodBlog Challenge #1: What defines my Food Blog???

Well... where to start? I originally began posting my recipes online as a quick resource for myself and my family to access our favorite recipes - A great solution to having a pile of 20 different cook books sitting on the kitchen counter, when people asked me what exactly I cook at home I realised I couldn't exactly remember myself, it has been fun looking back at the different foods I have concocted, but to define it???? I suppose I could ramble on for another 800 words but I feel my food and blog is best defined below, just press play!!.

I would love to hear what you think... DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW THE WIDGET ON THE RIGHT TO VOTE FOR ME ON THE 20th!!!!!!!

Slow and Tasty Apricot Chicken

Apricot chicken is an Australian classic. I used to have it every year at camp and we made it in dutch oven (cast iron) pots.

I hadn't realised until now how simple but full of good flavor this recipe is. Don't be fooled by the "Apricot" title.  It is most definitely a savory dish and you will be suprised if you give it a try. Not only that moms it only has a couple ingredients. Put it on in the morning and come home to a great meal, add this recipe to your list of easy throw it together weeknight meals.

Ingredients

2 x 15oz cans of apricot puree - if you can't find that (like me) get 2 cans of halved apricots and then blend them up in you blender.

1 packet french onion soup mix

4 boneless skinless chicken thighs

6 chicken breast tenders.

salt and pepper to taste

3/4 cup chicken stock

1/4 heavy cream (this is just a twist I added.. if you don't have cream it's still just delicious with out it)

Directions

Spray your slow cooker with non stick cooking spray.

In a pan heat a tabsp of butter or magerine. When pan is hot and butter melted add the chicken to brown and crisp the outside.

While it is cooking add your apricot, french onion soup mix and chicken stock into the slow cooker, mix together.

Place semi cooked chicken into the sauce in the slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and let it cook on high for 4 hours. Or on low for 6-7 hours. If you plan on letting it cook for longer you might need to add more apricot sauce.

I recommend tasting before serving so you can add more salt or pepper if it's needed.

When ready to eat serve with rice (I cooked jasmine rice) plate. And if desired drizzle a small amount of cream on top of your chicken.

Then sit back and enjoy a little piece of Australia right at home.

New cereal to watch out for... just an FYI

If it hasn't reached you yet a new cereal hitting the shelves to watch out for is Kellogg's "Berry Yogurt Crunch" the best part is this cereal is it's apart of the healthier line of cereals now becoming available. It is a fibre loaded cereal (so if you are a raisin bran fan this will be right up your ally). The cinnamon oat crunch was not a show stopper, but the "Berry Yogurt Crunch" got a thumbs up all around from my fam.

Fall Off the bone BBQ Ribs

I love the flavor of ribs, I used to hate that you had to pick it up to gnaw on it and get all that great meat off the bone, so I never really ever made them. A friend of mine showed me how to create fall off the bone.. and I do not exaggerate people, the meat literally slides off the bone. Combine that with some spice rub and BBQ sauce you have yourself a showstopper BBQ dinner.

Recipe courtesy Tim Strand 

Ingredients

2-3 racks Baby Back or spare  Ribs  whatever you prefer (Costco has a great pack of baby back ribs that are excellent quality and cook to perfection each pack has 3 racks)

1 bottle your favorite BBQ Sauce

2 TBS Liquid smoke

Water

Rib Rub (see rub recipe)

Rib Rub Ingredients

1/8 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup salt (Kosher is best)

1/8 cup onion powder

1/8 cup paprika
1 TBS black pepper
1 TBS chili powder
1 TBS dry mustard
1 TBS red pepper (Cayenne Pepper)
1 TBS garlic powder
Makes enough for 2 racks of ribs

Pre-Heat oven to 270F (132C)

Remove ribs from packet. Pat dry with a paper towel.

To prepare the ribs for maximum tenderness you need to strip the back of the clear membranes. 

With a sharp knife (preferably one that is long and skinny) you need to try to slip it between the membrane and the flesh. If you have too much difficulty doing this (it took me 2 racks to perfect it myself) at least scour the membrane so it can split off the meat when it cooks. If you do this be careful
 not to slice too deep so as to get into the flesh.

This takes time but I think it makes a huge difference in the end product, if you can try to slice the membrane 

off altogether that will produce the best result.

Prepare a roasting pan by placing approx 1 inch water in the bottom. Add your liquid smoke to this water.

place the roasting rack in the pan to check the water will not be touching the meat.

Apply rub liberally all over the racks of ribs (note if your ribs are too long for the pan you might have to cut them in half)

Once spiced place them on the roasting rack, it is o.k. to place some on top of each other.

Cover with tin foil. Place in ven on middle rack and cook for 7-8 hours.

 When ribs are done in the oven heat your BBQ/Grill to medium temp.

While the ribs are laying on one side coat it with your BBQ sauce. 

coat some nonstick oil on the BBQ right before you put on your ribs .. the tender meat will stick!

Using long tongs or a super long spatula VERY carefully pick up ribs (1 rack at a time people). They are so tender they will slide off the bone when you try to pick them up. Place them on the BBQ sauce side down. Quickly coat the other side with sauce.

Flip oh so carefully when the front side is heated through. Remember the meat is already cooked you are just basting and infusing your bbq sauce flavor.

this is how clean your bones will be!

When heated on both sides remove from grill and serve juicy hot!!!

Aebleskivers

Aebleskivers are traditional Danish pancakes that are in the shape of a ball. There are many available recipes each resulting in a slightly different textures- just like normal pancake recipes. They are made in a special cast iron pan called a monk's pan.

This is the recipe I prefer so far. Whipping the egg whites separately gives the batter alot of air and fluff!

Ingredients

4 room temperature eggs, separated

4 TBS sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 TBS vegetable oil

2 cups buttermilk

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 cups of all purpose flour (Plain flour)

Directions

Beat egg whites until stiff; set aside.

Beat rest of ingredients until batter is very smooth.

Fold in egg whites.

Heat [at a moderate temperature] a well-seasoned monk's pan (see tip below) with 1/8 teaspoon oil or lard in each of the 7 holes. 

Fill each hole [about three-quarters full] with batter. (Be sure to add a few drops of oil to each well in the pan before the next round of batter).  When browned on one side (almost right away), turn with the blunt end of a wooden skewer/ Put it on the edge and loosen the pancake by sliding it sideways, once you have loosened it use two skewers to flip it. 

It takes a couple of rounds before you perfect your technique. Be aware that these cook so fast that by the time you have filled each well with batter you immediately have to flip them. So stay on your toes!

A great way of really stepping up your aebleskivers is to drop a small filling into the middle. I put in some chopped strawberries, and even tried a little nutella. Remember though you don't have much time to do this and it's best if you have a helping hand to follow behind you putting the batter in the wells.

Serve with flavored butters, such as maple or cinnamon honey, syrup, jam and brown or white sugar. Tips: You can purchase a cast iron monk's pan at Scandinavia gift shops or at small town hardware stores in Danish communities, Williams and Sonova also stock them.

As for servings, plan on each person eating 7-10 cakes. Makes approximately 48 pancakes.

Grilled Mushroom, Potato and Bacon Hot Toss

A great and extremely flavorful side to your BBQ dishes. Easily place it on the side of your grill while your main dish is cooking.

Ingredients

1 tub Button mushrooms chopped to preferred size (about 1 inch cubed - see picture)

2 TBS Worcestershire sauce

olive oil

2 medium potatoes

2 sprigs fresh oregano

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 tsp fresh parsley chopped

1 tsp beef Bullion

3 garlic cloves smashed

 salt to taste

Directions

Get the leaves off your sprigs of herbs and finely chop them all together. Place aside.

Cut potatoes so they are smaller than your mushrooms, they take longer to cook so you want them to all be done at the same time and not have mooshy mushrooms.

Cut your bacon into good sized pieces. I like to know I'm really eating bacon when I take a spoonful of this toss.

With aluminium foil create a tray with good sized sides. (Give it enough room so you can bring the sides into the middle to form a mini lid).

Spray the foil with non stick spray.

Put the potatoes, bacon and mushrooms on the foil. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle on the herbs and beef bullion powder and salt on mixture.... roll up your sleeves and toss it through with your hands.

Nestle the garlic cloves on the bottom under the mushroom mixture.

When ready place it on your grill and fold the edges of the foil inwards to keep some of the steam in. Let it sit on there without stirring for about 15-20 minutes.

Vegetables should be starting to soften, Drizzle on your Worcestershire sauce over the top. With a spoon start mix/stir the vegetables and let them sit again, open the foil and continue to stir and then mix your toss until the potatoes are completely cooked through. 

Remove from grill and plate as you desire.!