Kate's Crazy Culinary Creations

This is a quick but very tasty recipe. I like this recipe because the flavour combination is great and includes ingredients that if you don't have them already, are easily accessible. It annoys me when you get a stir fry recipe and it uses ingredients that you won't usually have in your pantry. You then spend money on ingredients that you may never use again. This is not one of those recipes. Firstly prepare all your ingredient. Finely slice the chillies, garlic and ginger and place together in a small bowl. Slice the piece of rump into stripes. Season with the salt and pepper. In a wok or large deep fry pan pour half the oil. Heat over a medium heat. Add the sliced chillies, garlic and ginger. Cook until fragrant and the garlic and ginger are golden. With a slotted spoon remove from the wok. Add the remaining oil and cook the beef in 2 batches. Avoid overcrowding the wok to ensure that you sear the beef not stew it. Return all the beef to the wok and add the soy sauce, s...

Well yesterday was Australia day so I thought that a Classic Pavlova was the perfect dessert after a BBQ. I have attempted Pavlova's in the past and hve had mixed results but this recipe from Donna Hay's book, The New Classic, is easy to make and if you follow the instructions it is relatively easy. For a Pavlova that is!  Preheat your oven to 150 degrees Celcius. Place the egg whites in an electric mixer and whisk on high until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Allow 30 seconds between adding to ensure that the sugar mixed completely through and dissolved. Once all the sugar is added whisk on medium speed for a further 6 minutes until stiff and glossy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the vinegar. Whisk for a further 2 minutes. Prepare a baking tray with baking paper. Trace or mark a 18 centimetre circle on the baking paper. Turn it over so that the marker doesn't bleed on to your white pavlova. Carefully spoon the...

Spaghetti Bolognese has been a staple in my family my whole life. There is always a container in the freezer at my house for a quick mid week meal. I have tried a lot of recipes in an attempt to find one that has all the characteristics that I love in a good sauce. I love a rich tomato sauce that coats the pasta. I don't like an oily sauce. At the moment this is the recipe that I am currently using but I seem to change my mind every now and then and make it slightly differently. I like to cook mine for a long time to intensify the flavour so I make a fairly big pot so I can freeze the left overs. So firstly in a large ovenproof cast iron casserole dish place the oil and heat over a low to medium heat. Add the diced onion, garlic and bacon. Cook off for approximately 5-8 minutes. Add the mince meat. Use a wooden spoon to break up the mince. Allow to brown off. Add the tomato paste and cook off for 3 minutes. Add the remainder of the ingredients. Stir well to combine. Preheat y...

Blueberries were on sale this week and they are really nice at the moment so I bought some. I must admit it did eat one punnet fresh but the second one I decided to make into muffins. This recipe is really quick and would be great for an afternoon tea or school lunch boxes. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Lightly grease a 12 cup muffin tin. In a large bowl sift together the flour, sugar, salt and baking power. In another bowl whisk together the eggs. To the bowl with the eggs add the melted butter, milk and vanilla. Whisk together until combined. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the egg mixture into the well. Use a large metal spoon and stir until smooth. Carefully fold in the blueberries. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin. Place in your preheated oven and cook for 20-25 minutes. Until the tops spring back.  Allow them to cool in the tray for 5 minutes before removing from the tin.            ...

I had some chicken left over on the weekend and no rolls so I decided to make some. Whilst it is probably easier to go to the shops and buy rolls I thought how hard can it be. They turned out really well and they weren't that hard to make.  In a large bowl stir together the milk, butter, sugar and yeast. Leave for 15 minutes to dissolve. Stir in the egg yolk, salt and half the flour. Add the remaining flour and stir through to obtain a soft dough. Transfer to a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place in a bowl and cover. Allow the dough to increase to double the size, will probably take 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  Lightly grease a baking tray. Knock the dough back. Cut into 12 pieces. Roll each piece out to a rope. Twist to form a knot. Cover again and allow it to double in volume, about 1 to 1 /2 hours. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Brush the tops of the rolls with the egg glaze and sprinkle with seeds if you want too, either poppy...

I don't own a deep fryer so I thought that this looked like good way to make crispy onion rings. They were definitely crispy and with a little forward planning pretty easy when it came time to bake them. Slice the onions into slice approximately 1 cm wide. Place them in a deep dish, I used a casserole dish. Pour the buttermilk over the top, they don't all have to be fully submerged but need to at least need to be coated in the buttermilk. Cover tightly and place in the fridge for 4 hours minimum. Overnight is preferable. After this time remove them from the fridge and set aside to come to room temperature. Preheat your oven to 210 degrees Celsius. Line two baking trays with baking paper or silicone mats if you have some. In a medium bowl bet the egg whites and set aside. In a large shallow dish, I used a pie dish, mix together the flour, cornmeal, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Now for the dipping, you will need to do them one a time. Remove the onion ring from the ...

On holiday a couple of months ago many of the place we ate at had pulled pork on their menu. However I am not a huge fan of pork so I have been looking for a good chicken alternative. This can recipe came up on my news feed and I thought that it sounded great so I would give it a go. As it is cooked in the slow cooked for around 6 hours in total some forward planning is required but the end result is amazing. The side options are endless but as you can see below I opted to serve mine in a roll with coleslaw and onion rings on the side. (I will post this recipe too!) Firstly place the chicken into the slow cooker. In a bowl whisk together the barbecue sauce, Italian dressing, sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Pour the sauce over the chicken and put the lid on the slow cooker. Cook on low for 4 1/2 to 5 hours. After this time remove the chicken from the slow cooker and put on your chopping board. In a small bowl mix together the corn flour and chicken stock. Stir this into the sau...