MACARONI CHEESE

Ingredient :
30 gram butter
250 gram mince beef
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 cups milk
4 cups cooked macaroni
1 zucchini, finely chopped
1,5 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon packaged breadcrumbs

- Melt butter in a pan. Add mince beef and cook 5 minutes
- Add flour and stir for 3 minutes
- Add milk a little at a time. Keep stirring
- Stir until sauce boils and is thick. Take pan off heat
- Add macaroni, zucchini and 1 cup cheese, mix well
- Turn oven to 180 celcius (350 F). Spoon into a shallow ovenproof dish
- Sprinkle with the cheese and breadcrumbs
- Bake 25 minutes or until golden. Serve hot

SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESSE

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
400 gram minced beef
400 ml bottled tomato paste
2 tomatoes, chopped
½ cup peas, rinsed and drained
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
250 gram packet spaghetti
white pepper
oregano
nutmeg

- Boil a big pot of water. Careffuly add spaghetti
- Boil spaghetti for 15-20 minutes. Drain well
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a big heavy pan
- Fry garlic, onion and mince. Stir until all red has gone
- Add tomato paste, tomatoes, pepper, oregano, nutmeg. Bring to boil
- Add peas and parsley. Turn down heat and simmer for 5 minutes
- Put spaghetti in a big serving bowl.
- Pour sauce over and add grated cheese. Serve

Tips : always cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling water. The water is boiling when bubbles rise up to the surface and steam rises out the pot

CRUMBED FISH SANDWICH

¼ cup oil
2 crumbed fish
4 thick slices bread, lightly toasted
2 eggs
Your favourite sauce
1 tomato, sliced

- Heat half the oil in a fry pan
- Fry onions until brown. Take out of pan, drain an absorbent paper. Keep warm
- Pour the rest of oil into the fry pan
- Fry eggs.Put the cooked egg on toast. Top with onions
- Fry crumbed fish until both side brown.
- Put the cooked crumbed fish on the top of the onions
- Pour on sauce and put tomato on top
- Top with toast and serve hot

Makes 2

MICROWAVE

Know How :

All microwave ovens are different. Before beginning to cook, get to know a little about your microwave oven. First find out what wattage your oven is. This is important to determine cooking times. If your microwave has fewer watts, foods will take a little longer to cook.

Learn how to operate or set your microwave oven from High to Low and how to set the Timer. Some foods cook a little more quickly than others in a particular dish. They need stirring as the cook so that they cook evenly. Place microwave dishes in the centre of the microwave oven.

Useful Tips :

Lots of special microwave containers are made out of plastic. Before you use them, look underneath the dish to make sure it tells you how it can be used. Some plastics are suitable for most think, but not food with lots of fat, oil or sugar. If you’re not using a suitable plastic dish, this get very, very hot, and the heat could damage it or even make it melt.

Don’t use any metal containers in the microwave. Don’t use any dishes, plates, mugs or cups that have a silver or gold trim. These metals react badly with microwaves. The nice trim could turn a nasty colour or more important, it may cause sparks that could damage the oven.

Don’t use fine bone china, crystal bowl or glasses. Some pottery mugs or casserole dishes have a glaze that contains small amounts of metal. These can get very hot in the microwave and could give you a nasty burn.

The best containers to use especially for cooking with liquid, are the handle for safe removal from the microwave. Don’t forget the oven might be cool, but the dish could be hot! Use oven mitts to remove anything from the microwave. Remember that anything you take from the microwave oven will be hot for a while.

Never operate the microwave oven without food inside and never put anything made of metal into the microwave.

BROCCOLI IN POTATOES CHEESE

Ingredient :
½ kg mashed potatoes
Broccoli (boil for 3 minutes, drain well)
100 grams grated cheese
1 cup milk
¼ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons plain flour
1 teaspoon butter
Bread crumbs
Parsley, chop finely

1. Make potatoes mash by boiling potatoes until cooked, then mash. Seasoning with 1 teaspoon butter and pepper
2. Divide broccoli into small pieces, put into boiling water for 3 minutes, set aside
3. Make cheese sauce : melt butter in a saucepan, add flour, milk, salt, and 50 grams cheese. Stir to dissolve the cheese. Keep stirring until the mixture thicken
4. Pour the cheese sauce into mashed potatoes, mix well
5. Spoon half of the mashed potatoes into an ovenproof dish
6. Arrange broccoli on the mashed potatoes
7. Top with the rest of mashed potatoes
8. Sprinkle with the rest of grated cheese, bread crumbs and parsley
9. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until brown/golden.

CHOCOLATE CAKE

225 gram butter
350 gram white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanila essence
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder


- Preheat oven to 175 celcius (350 F)
- grease and flour an 8 inch cake tin
- in a large saucepan, melt butter, remove from heat. Set aside
- Stir sugar, eggs and 1 teaspoon vanila
- Beat in ½ cup cocoa, 1 cup flour, salt and baking powder
- Spread batter into prepared pan
- Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes
- Meanwhile, prepare a chocolate fudge
- Put the cake into a large dish
- Pour chocolate fudge and sprinkle with drain grated coconut
- Serve

CHOCOLATE FUDGE

1 oz butter
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup milk
3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanila essence

- In a saucepan heat together the butter, cocoa, milk and sugar.
- Stir to dissolve the sugar
- Boil steadily without stirring until a little tested in cold water will give a soft ball stage
- Take the saucepan from the heat and add vanila
- beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture thicken

COOKING TERMS

BEAT : To stir foods with a spoon or electric mixer until they are smooth.

BOILING POINT : When a liquid bubbles in a steady pattern and the bubbles break on the surface. Steam also starts to rise from the pan.

CHOP : Cut food carefully into small pieces. To chop finely is to cut foods as small as you can

DRAIN : To strain away unwanted liquid from rice, pasta or vegetables using a colander or strainer. Do this over the kitchen sink so that water can drain away down the sink. Or fried foods need to be drained sometimes. Lift food out of frypan and place on brown paper or paper towels to absorb the extra oil or fat.

GRATE : To rub food against a grater. Do this over absorbent paper. Hold the grater with one hand and rub the food back and forth over the grating holes. This gives you long, thin pieces. For finely grated food, use the smallest holes.

GREASE : To rub baking tins and cooking utensils with butter, margarine or oil to stop foods sticking when you bake them.

KNEAD : Lightly rub and roll foods like pastry or scone dough on a floured surface until smooth and pliable.

MASH : To squash cooked or very ripe foods with a fork or potato masher to make a soft mixture.

SEPARATING EGGS : when egg whites or yolks are needed for a recipe. Hold the egg over a small plate and carefully crack the shell with a knife. Let the egg fall out onto the plate, place a small glass over the yolk and then carefully tip the white into the bowl. If any yolk gets into the white, you can easily remove it with a piece of eggshell.

SIMMER : To cook food over a very low heat, so that only a few bubbles appear over the surface. When a recipe calls for food to boil and then simmer, simply turn the heat down to the lowest setting.

SLICE : To cut foods such as apples, carrots or tomatoes into thin round or sections.

WHISK : To mix ingredients together with a wire mixer (a whisk) by moving in a circular motion until smooth or combined.

MUFFINS

Ingredients :
- 3 cups plain flour
- ½ cup white sugar
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup cold water
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- salt
1. Preheat oven to 190 celcius
2. Grease muffin tray or patty cases
3. Pour flour in a bowl, add sugar, eggs, oil, baking powder, salt and cold water
4. Stir briskly with a wooden spoon until mixture is smooth and creamy, and lumps have disappeared
5. Spoon batter into a lightly greased muffin tray
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and baked.
For 9-12 muffins. You can create new muffins by adding blueberry or raspberry jam or cheese or chocolate. Spoon prepared muffin batter into a greased muffin tray. Place a teaspoonful of jam on top of each muffin and push gently into batter. Then bake as above.

HOW TO GETTING START

Cooking is great fun and we've made it easy with our step by step recipes. Before you start, take time to organised. choose your recipe and read it all the way through, then check that you have all the ingredients. collect everything you are going to use - all the ingredient and all the equipment.
If your recipe calls for chopped or shredded ingredients, do this before you begin, also, open any cans and wash any vegetables or fruit. Grease any baking tins or microwave cookware if you need too.

If you need to use the oven for baking, turn it on to the correct temperature before you start the recipe. Arrange the oven shelves at the height you want before turning the oven on. Before you start cooking in the microwave, make sure you know the methods and equipment that you need to know to make every recipe a success.
When you have finished cooking, clean up the kitchen. Put away all the ingredients and the equipment you have used. Wash the dishes, start with washing the least dirty dishes and then work up to the really messy pans. Dry dishes and put them back in their place. Wipe down your work surface with a clean towel.