What are you making for dinner?

Brie

@kerri_gt
can't remember where this came from (here perhaps?) and I haven't tried it but I would have only saved it if it came highly recommended.  might be worth a try to get rid of your coconut.

Dream bars

Quick, sweet, decadent and oh so delicious - it isn't hard to understand why we call these, 'dream bars'!

·         10 mins preparation    40 mins cooking   Makes 16

Dream bars

• 90 gram butter, softened
• OR      1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup (150g) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 2 tablespoon icing (confectioners') sugar

Topping

• 2 eggs, beaten lightly
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (100g) firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 cup (135g) desiccated coconut
• 1 cup (320g) bottled fruit mince

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 20cm x 30cm rectangular pan; line base and long sides with baking paper, extending the paper 5cm over sides.

Beat butter and sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Stir in sifted flour.

Press mixture over base of pan. Bake base for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make topping: beat eggs, extract and sugar in a small bowl with the electric mixer until thick and creamy. Fold in sifted flour and baking powder; then coconut and fruit mince.

Spread topping on hot base; bake a further 30 minutes or until firm. Cool slice in pan. Just before serving, dust with sifted icing sugar.

Brie

Sorry - a couple of more ideas for coconut - the Hello Dollies are incredibly nice and fortunately have absolutely no calories (she lied).  And I have no idea why they're called that.  And the Grape nut squares are a family tradition for Christmas - lovely as they can be made way in advance and frozen until needed.

Hello Dollies

2 c graham crumbs (digestive crumbs are basically the same)

¼ c w sugar

½ c melted butter.

Mix and press into a square cake pan.

Sprinkle on top:

1 c shredded coconut

1 c chocolate chips

1 c chopped nuts (walnut or pecan are best)

Drizzle 1 can of sweetened condensed milk over the top

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes at 325f.

Grape nut squares 

1/3 c butter

½ c Grape Nuts

¾ c packed soft brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

¾ c flour

1 tsp baking soda (bicarb)

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

¾ c shredded coconut

Melt butter in saucepan.

Add cereal and cook 2 minutes til soft and remove from heat.

Add sugar and cool.

Add egg and vanilla

Sift together dry ingredients and add to cereal.

Stir in coconut.

Press mix into 8 inch pan

350f  20 – 25 minutes

Cool, ice and cut.

fyi  --   c = cup or 250 ml so 1/2 c = 125 ml

JIL

Brie said:

@kerri_gt
can't remember where this came from (here perhaps?) and I haven't tried it but I would have only saved it if it came highly recommended.  might be worth a try to get rid of your coconut.

Dream bars

Quick, sweet, decadent and oh so delicious - it isn't hard to understand why we call these, 'dream bars'!

·         10 mins preparation    40 mins cooking   Makes 16

Dream bars

• 90 gram butter, softened
• OR      1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup (150g) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 2 tablespoon icing (confectioners') sugar

Topping

• 2 eggs, beaten lightly
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (100g) firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 cup (135g) desiccated coconut
• 1 cup (320g) bottled fruit mince

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 20cm x 30cm rectangular pan; line base and long sides with baking paper, extending the paper 5cm over sides.

Beat butter and sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Stir in sifted flour.

Press mixture over base of pan. Bake base for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make topping: beat eggs, extract and sugar in a small bowl with the electric mixer until thick and creamy. Fold in sifted flour and baking powder; then coconut and fruit mince.

Spread topping on hot base; bake a further 30 minutes or until firm. Cool slice in pan. Just before serving, dust with sifted icing sugar.

By coincidence I made these last night and I got the recipe from here. Originally posted by @goldfinches

Husband absolutely loves them.

Tonight its curry, but I'm having macaroni cheese. Using a tub of cheese sauce I picked up for 65p and froze.
I always put spinach in the curry, so its half a bag in the curry and half in the mac and cheese.

Florenceem

Brie - is that the jar of mincemeat as not heard it called bottled fruit mince?

JIL

Florenceem said:

Brie - is that the jar of mincemeat as not heard it called bottled fruit mince?

It is just mincemeat, it's an Australian recipe. It really is very good.

Heres the original recipe 

https://www.womensweeklyfood.com.au/recipes/dream-bars-28816

Caroby

I put the small oven on for about 50 mins today. Three baked potatoes, two soya pies and a small tray of fruit scones went in together, the scones in last and out first. Had the pie and baked potatoes with courgette batons cooked with sliced sun-dried tomatoes and seasoning and a serving of peas. Coffee and a scone after.

Brie

Ta for the updates from others in between.   I've got grape nuts (it's an expensive cereal but needs a tiddly amount in a bowl in my experience) so I'll be looking at doing the gn squares at some point.  It's been too many years since I've had them and I know OH won't object.  Well frankly - anything with sugar will do him but I'll try to hide some for me as well.

kerri_gt

@Brie thank you so much for the recipes,  I see no calories at all 🤣 (fortunately the only calorie counting I do is as I stuff whatever I'm grazing on into my mouth 🙈)

I love the differences we all have in our relationships, esp around eating. A lot of people find it odd OH and myself  will often do our own dinner at different times, but it suits us. 

Last night we did actually share a pizza...shop bought but £2 with a CC. some in Tesc0 were +£5 !  I dropped DM off for an evening out, laughing at how the tables had turned (although also informed her, if she wanted a lift at midnight, she'd better make sure a taxi was called before then, which was a joke as she had a lift home sorted). She doesn't like driving at night now, hence the lift. 
Anyway, needed milk on the way home so ended up treating OH and myself to an easy store bought pizza, and bagged myself some new slippers with 25% off too. 

Islandmaid

It’s MIL’s 91st birthday today and she’s coming for lunch, I’ve gone full on Julia Childs for her with Beef bourguignon served with mash and green beans and a summer fruit parfait with strawberry sauce (fruit frozen from garden). She can’t eat anything too hard, so I hope she’ll enjoy it 🤞

Brie

Islandmaid said:

It’s MIL’s 91st birthday today and she’s coming for lunch, I’ve gone full on Julia Childs for her with Beef bourguignon served with mash and green beans and a summer fruit parfait with strawberry sauce (fruit frozen from garden). She can’t eat anything too hard, so I hope she’ll enjoy it 🤞

Happy birthday to IslandMiL!  the planned dinner sounds grand!!

Pork chops tonight, roasties & broccoli & cauliflower.