MINI FRUIT AND CHOCOLATE CHRISTMAS PUDDINGS

I usually make a large Christmas pudding weeks in advance, but for some people individual ones made and eaten on the same day work better.   This recipe was put out on a handy recipe sheet by Coles so all the ingredients can be sourced from there.  It’s cooked in the microwave and only takes 12 minutes – very handy.

SAGO PLUM PUDDING

I’ve spent the morning preparing the fruit for both my Christmas cake and Christmas pudding.  I probably should have made them a few weeks ago, but Christmas seems to have crept up on me this year.  Puddings and cakes can still taste great even if you don’t make them weeks and weeks ahead.  This recipe is one of those and it’s unusual as it has sago in it.  It’s also a good one for those who don’t like their pudding laced with brandy or rum.

ROLLED MEAT LOAF

There’s so many different wrapped meatloaf recipes around.  There’s recipes for them wrapped in bacon, prosciutto and puff pastry.  What makes this a bit different is that it’s rolled up like a Swiss roll and the pastry is inside as well.  This old recipe uses a packet of chicken supreme soup to sop up the moisture, don’t think that’s available any more, but cream of chicken soup should do the job instead.

CHOCOLATE SNOWBALLS – No Bake

These no-bake snowballs have an interesting combination of ingredients – cornflakes, coconut, jam, cake or biscuits – all held together with copha.  Don’t think that makes a light and fluffy mix, which is sort of what I’d expect from a snowball, but it does make a tasty treat.

CHICKPEA CASSEROLE WITH POTATO DUMPLINGS

You can tell this is an old recipe as it gives directions to soak the chickpeas overnight.  Of course you can still do that, but it’s much easier now to just buy tinned chickpeas.  It makes the recipe a lot quicker and easier to make as you can cut out the first couple of steps and go straight to frying the onions, garlic and pepper.