PEACH TOASTS

I wasn’t too excited when I found this recipe, I thought from the name that these were just going to be fruit toasties….then I realized that before you fried them in butter you soaked them in an egg/milk mixture and topped them off with cinnamon sugar and strawberries. That was when I realized that they were a whole lot more delicious than just an ordinary toasty.

PARTY MEATBALLS

I haven’t actually made these meatballs, but I do make a version with pork mince, chicken noodle soup and a dash of soy sauce that work really well. I make them for picnic lunches on driving holidays and to take to the F1 motor racing at Albert Park. Mine don’t have the cream cheese, but I think that’s a great idea and I’ll add it into the next batch I make.

CHICKEN RISSOLES

Chicken rissoles can be a little bland, but this recipes throws in tomato, carrot and French Onion soup to really give them some zing. Mum must have added Parsley as well, as she’s written that in. I don’t know if she served them hot or cold, but I think they’d work well to take on a picnic.

HERBED SURPRISE EGGS

I haven’t tried these out yet myself, but it’s certainly a different way to cook eggs and rice. It suggests serving them as an entrée or light luncheon, but I think they’d also be an excellent fancy breakfast dish as well – maybe a Mother’s Day or Father’s Day treat.

AUSTRALIAN MEAT PIZZA (Steak & Cheese Pie)

This recipe is from a little 1970s cookbook entitled Simple Mince Steak Recipes, which Mum and Dad’s bowling club put out as a fundraiser. Obviously the 1970s bowlers had no idea what a pizza actually was, as this would seem to be meat and cheese pie and nothing remotely like a pizza. That’s not to say that it wouldn’t taste good……

SUPREME RICE PIZZA

The concept of cooking the rice in beer for the base of this pizza is something I’ve never heard of before and I’m not sure I think it’s a good idea, but that could be because I’m not a beer drinker. It would certainly add some flavour, but maybe with all the yummy toppings you don’t need the beer. I think I’d make it cooked in chicken stock, but that’s just me.

ITALIAN MEAT LOAVES

I recently made some gluten free mini meat loaves to take to the track for the Melbourne F1 GP. They had rice and curry in them and tasted quite good, but were a little dry. I wish I’d found this recipe though, as I think they’ll have a lot more flavour and can easily be GF if I use GF cereal. Maybe next year………

CHICKEN BALLS WITH THAI DIPPING SAUCE

These are a great little idea – basically no chopping. Except for the chicken mince and the shallot the ingredients are things you’ve probably got in the fridge or cupboard. It’s just a matter of combining, shaping and frying the chicken balls and mixing up the sauce – easy as. While this recipe is for nibble size balls, you could easily turn them into patties for an easy entree.