Mini Easter Egg Blondies

Recipe By: Pippa

Yield: 16 bars

Summary:
Here's an idea to use up those last few little Easter eggs. You could do something similar with a basic cookie dough, but probably roughly chop the chocolate eggs first. 

Ingredients:
300 g unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup mini easter eggs, aprrox, assorted varieties, unwrapped

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 175℃. Butter 23cm x 33cm cake tin; line with parchment paper, allowing 5 cm overhang. Butter parchment.

2. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Put butter and brown sugar into mixer bowl; mix on medium-high until pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Add most of the mini chocolate eggs and mix to combine.

3. Spread batter into prepared tin; smooth top. Press the remaining mini eggs into the top in a random pattern. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached.  Let cool in tin 40 minutes. Lift out, and let cool completely on wire rack.

Meal Plan Monday

Monday

{image & recipe credit}

Creamy Coconut Fish Curry with Steamed Rice

Tuesday

Nachos Supreme

Wednesday

Tuna Mornay with Creamy Mash

Thursday

Steak Bearnaise with steamed greans

Friday

Chicken Ceasar Salad

Saturday

Lamb Korma with Steamed Basmati Rice

Sunday

Chicken Parmegana, chips & Salad

Lunchbox

 {image & recipe credit}

Chocolate Coconut Slice

Meal Plan Monday

MONDAY

Spaghetti Bolognese

TUESDAY

Midweek Roast Chicken

WEDNESDAY

{image credit}
Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Duck Salad, Giant Croutons & Cheats Rice Pudding
(I have searched all over the web. Sadly, this recipe can now only be found in Jamie Oliver's book "Jamie's 30 Minute Meals")

THURSDAY

{image credit}
Bolonese Pinwheels & Simple Salad

FRIDAY

Eggs Windarra

SATURDAY

Night Out

SUNDAY

Slow Cooker Beef Curry & Steamed Rice

LUNCHBOX

Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Instead of making a large cake, divide batter evenly between a 12 hole muffin tin lined with paper cases. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
When cooled, top with frosting and store in the freezer in an airtight container. 

Meal Plan Monday

MONDAY

{image credit & recicpe}

Roast Chicken with Honey Glazed Carrots, Potatoes & Silverbeet

I've got to be honest, we found the flavours of the ground cumin and coriander a bit overpowering in the vege dish. Far be it from me to think I know better than the great Curtis Stone, but if I were to make this again I would substitute the ginger for some crushed garlic, omit the ground spices and add a little fresh thyme. The chicken however was DELISH!

TUESDAY

Curried Sausages, Creamy Mash & Steamed Seasonal Vegetables

WEDNESDAY

Nachos Supreme - YES, AGAIN!

THURSDAY

Chicken Skewers with Satay Sauce and Stir Fried Vegetables

FRIDAY

{image credit & recipe}

Beef Schnitzels, home made chips & salad

SATURDAY

{image credit & recipe}

Homemade Cherry Tomato & Prosciutto Pizza with Garlic Bread

 TIP: There is nearly 2 hours to wait for the dough to prove (rise), and about 20 minutes cooking time. I use this time to do other things like, put on a load of washing, vacuum, dust (or do nothing at all!) There is only about 30 minutes, if that, of active prep.

SUNDAY

{image credit & Recipe}

Thai Red Curry Prawns & Jasmine Rice

This is a Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals recipe. I am totally in love with this book and tend to include at least one or two of these recipes in each fortnight's meal plan. They don't take me 30 minutes, closer to 45 I think, but that is usually for a main, one or two side dishes and a dessert! I have omitted the cucumber side salad and the dessert tonight though.

LUNCHBOX

{image credit & recipe}

Chocolate Slice

TIP: When cooled completely, wrap individual servings in cling wrap, place in a large zip lock bag in the freezer. Take out as required each day to add to lunchboxes.

Getting Ahead {School Lunches}

I will admit, that even with all the systems we now have in place at home, school mornings can be really hectic. So I am always looking for ways to cheat a little more time back.

Making school lunches can be a bit of a chore, so here's a little trick that my mum used when I was in primary school and my brother was a newborn.

MAKE AHEAD SANDWICHES

What you will need

1. Loaf of bread (I have two children and one loaf plus 1 or 2 slices is usually enough)
2. Butter
3. Toppings of choice (see below for suggestions)
4. Sandwich bags

What to Do
(I'm sure I really don't need to give instructions on how to make sandwiches ;) But here is what I do.)

1. Lay out enough"pairs" of pieces of bread for one week's worth of sanwiches
(for us that is 2 kids x 5 days x 2 pieces of bread = 20 slices)

 2. Butter and fill with your choice of toppings. As you can see, polony and sauce is a favourite in our house.

3. Flip the "lids" on and cut into halves or quarters. Pop into sandwich bags and seal. I like to put them in a little storage basket.

4. Put in the freezer. Each morning just take out the number of sandwiches required and pop in the kids lunchboxes. They will be defrosted by the time lunch comes around. Alternatively you could take them out of the freezer the night before.

Suggested Toppings

• Sandwich meats (polony, ham salami, roast beef etc)
• Cheese
• Spreads (Vegemite, honey, jam)
• Condiments (mustard, mayo, relish etc)

Not Recommended

•  Lettuce, tomato, leafy veg etc.

I'm not too concerned with the nutritional  implications of not having veges in the sandwiches as I always include chopped up veg and/or fruit in their lunchboxes (which can be prepared ahead of time also!).

I like to do this on a Saturday or Sunday when I have a few minutes. Imagine how much time could be saved on school mornings if there were three or four or five children in the family??? 

Muesli Bar Slice

My grandmother used to make this for us by the bucket load.Very moreish and a great budget friendly snack. I much prefer this to store-bought muesli bars as I know exactly what is in it.

Ingredients: 100grams unsalted butter 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup honey 1/2 cup peanut butter* 2 cups rolled oats 1 cup shredded coconut 10 Weetbix, crushed 1/2 cup fruit medley (mixture of dried fruits found in the dried fruit section of your supermarket)

Directions: Melt the butter, sugar, honey and peanut butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Add this to the remaining ingredients and combine.Press firmly into a lined retangular tin and cut when firm. *If someone in your family has a nut allergy, or your school is nut free, you can substitute the peanut butter for tahini. This is a paste made from sesame seeds and has a similar consistency to peanut butter. Tahini can be found in the health food aisle of most supermarkets.