Day 8 - Roasted Chicken with Safari Fruit Stuffing

This is my absolute favorite Roasted Chicken with Stuffing Recipe ever! I first made it 2 Christmases ago, and since then we haven't tried any other. The juices make the most amazing gravy!

Photo credit bbcgoodfood.com

Roasted Chicken with Safari Fruit Stuffing

Stuffing Ingredients:
1 Whole Chicken of about 1.4kg
2 Tbs butter
1 Onion, finely chopped
2 Celery sticks, chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, grated
125g Pitted prunes, chopped
80g Peacan nuts, chopped
1 C Fresh breadcrumbs (GF: Use Gluten free breadcrumbs)
1 tsp Dried mixed herbs
2 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp Grated lemon rind
Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:
1. Rinse the chicken in cold water and set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a heavy based frying pan and saute onion and celery for a few minutes until soft. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. Add all the remaining ingredients and mix well. Fill the cavity of the chicken and close up with string or tooth picks.

Basting Ingredients:
1/4C Cooking oil
3 Tbs Fresh lemon juice
3 Tbs Port or Red wine
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp Dried mixed herbs
Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:
1. Mix all the basting ingredients.
2. Place the chicken on an oven roasting pan in a preheated oven of 180*C for about 1 1/2 hours. Brush during baking and serve immediately.

Delicious served with soft fluffy rice, Roast vegetables and gravy!

Day 4 Bonus! Chocolate Marie Squares (DF)

Photo Credit: Hub pages . com

This is a precious recipe that brings back so many childhood memories of precious time spent visiting my Oma Jeltje on her large sunny property in South Africa with a garden most children dream of. If my memory serves me correctly she would make Date Squares for the Grown Ups and these Chocolate Marie Squares for the children at Christmas time. But they're good any time of year!

Choc-Marie Squares (DF)

Ingredients:
500g  Icing sugar
1/8 tsp Salt
4 Tbs Cocoa powder
250g  Margarine (DF: Use Wooden spoon margarine)
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla essence
1 1/4 Packets Marie Biscuits

 
Method:
1. Mix the sugar, salt, cocoa & margarine with mixer in a mixing bowl.
2. Melt for 2 min in the microwave.
3. Add egg & vanilla & mix until smooth.
4. Add crushed Marie biscuits. Pour into a greased baking tray and smooth the surface.
5. Allow it to set in the fridge for 1 1/2 hours before cutting into uniform squares.

Makes: 1 tray

German Lebkuchen

A friend of mine, Di van Eerden made these at Christmas time a couple of years ago and they are Delicious!!! She used small star shaped cookie cutters, a little bigger than a R5 coin and made them about 1cm thick (when baked).



German Lebkuchen

Ingredients:
4 t Bicarb
1 C Lukewarm Water
10 C Flour
3 C Sugar
1 C Ground Almonds

1 t Ground Cloves
1 T Cinnamon
1 C Mixed Peel (125g)

1 C Butter (250g)
2 Eggs
500g Honey

Method:
1. Dissolve the bicarb in lukewarm water.
2. Sift the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Rub the butter into this and add the mixed peel.
3. Now add beaten egg to the mixture.
4. Now add the honey.
5. Knead this into a firm dough.
6. Leave the dough to stand in the fridge overnight.
7. The next day roll the dough our and cut into shapes.
8. Bake on a baking sheet at 180* for 10 minutes.
9. These can be enjoyed as they are, or cut a hole with a straw before baking if you want to hang them on a tree, or they can be iced with icing sugar mixed with a drop of lemon juice.

Makes: an ENORMOUS batch. (I bake half a batch at a time)

Delicious Wheat, Gluten & Dairy Free Christmas Fruit Cake

This is my Wheat, Gluten and Dairy free version of my trusty DELICIOUS CHRISTMAS FRUIT CAKE. It is absolutely gorgeous! I find that it is sweet enough on it's own so I prefer not to ice it.

Delicious Wheat, Gluten & Dairy Free Christmas Fruit Cake

Ingredients:
250g Wooden Spoon Margarine
1 C Water
1 C Sugar
3 C Fruit Cake Mix (I use 1C each of cake mix, raisins and sultanas.)
1/2 C Chopped Dates
1/2 C Chopped Cherries
1 tsp Bicarb
2 C Gluten free Flour
1 tsp Cocoa powder
1 tsp Gluten free Baking powder
Pinch salt
1/2 tsp each of Cinnamon, Allspice, Nutmeg & Ginger
2 Eggs
60ml Brandy

Method:
1. Place the margarine, water, sugar, fruit mix, dates, cherries and bicarb into a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes until sugar and dates dissolve. Allow to cool.
2. In a jug beat the eggs and brandy together and add to the cooled fruit mixture.
3. Sift the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and add the fruit mixture to it. Mix well.
4. Pour mixture into a greased and lined tin. (I use a loaf tin, but square or round tins can also be used.) Cover the top with tinfoil. (Shiny side out to prevent burning)
5. Bake in a preheated oven of 160* for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake at 180* for a further 30 minutes.
6. Turn cake out and wrap in a damp dishcloth (don't ask me why, I haven't a clue!)
7. Allow to cool for 20 minutes before icing the cake. (It's sweet enough on it's own if you choose not to :) )

Mum's Christmas Pudding

Now that we live in the other side of South Africa, so far away from Grama, Christmas time will never be the same again. sniff. So now that I have to make the Christmas pudding this year, I've asked her for her lovely Christmas Pudding recipe. I hope mine will taste as good as hers always did!

Mum's Christmas Pudding

Ingredients:
2 C Cake Fruit Mix
200g Cherries
1 C Golden Syrup
150g Butter
1 C Brandy
1 tsp Bicarb
2ml Salt
2 C Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Mixed or All Spice
2 Eggs
Pecan Nuts (Optional)

Method:
1. Combine Fruit Mix, Cherries, Syrup, Butter, and Brandy and bring to the boil.
2. Cover and simmer gently for 3-5 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
3. Stir in Bicarb and Salt.
4. Sift together Flour, Baking powder, Spices, and stir into the boiled mixture. Blend very well.
5. Add the beaten Eggs and Nuts.
6. Pour into bowl/s. Cover with foil or tie on cloth and boil for 3 hours.
7. Pour over 30ml Golden Syrup mixed with 45ml Brandy while the pudding is still hot.
8. Store in a cool place.
9. To reheat, steam for 40mins. (I just pop it in the Microwave for a few minutes)

Makes 1 large pudding

To die for Christmas Mince Pies (wheat, gluten & dairy free)

Those of you who know us well, know that we absolutely ADORE Christmas Mince Pies. We don't mind how they're made, we love them all. Well that was true until we tasted Sarah's Mince Pies. Wow, what an experience! You'll have to try this recipe for yourself!

To Die for Christmas Mince Pies (wheat, gluten & dairy free)

Ingredients:
250 g Margarine (Df: Use wooen spoon margarine)
1 C Sugar
30ml Oil
2 Eggs
4 C Flour (Gf: Use yur favorite Gluten free four mix)
10ml Baking powder
2 Jars Fruit mince (see note below)

Method:
1. Cream together margarine, sugar, oil and eggs.
2. Add flour and baking powder and knead into a dough.
3. Put half a lump of dough into the freezer.
4. Spray-and-cook shallow “pie pans”.
5. Make little balls of dough and press into pans.
6. Fill each shell with a heaped teaspoon of fruit mince.
7. Grate frozen dough and sprinkle on top.
8. Bake at 200 ºC for about 14 min.

Note: If you find the fruit mince flavour too strong, you can grate 2 apples and mix that through your fruit mince. Also add a sprinkle of sugar, cinnamon, ginger, a tsp brown vinegar and some grated lemon rind.

Makes: 50 mince pies

Melt-in-your-mouth Shortbread

The name says it all, actually just thinking about it makes my mouth water! This is the recipe my Mom used for many years. The smell of these treats cooking in my oven brings back such fond memories of Christmas-time at home. I miss you Mom!

Melt-in-your-mouth Shortbread

Ingredients:
270g Flour
120g Icing Sugar
250g Butter (don't be tempted to use margarine, it's just not the same!)
120g Maizena (Cornflour)
1/4 tsp Salt

Method:
1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Sift flour, maizena and salt. Gradually add this to the butter mixture and mix well. It needs to resemble large breadcumbs.
3. Grease a biscuit tray and pour the crumb mixture into it.
4. Press the mixture down evenly and prick some holes in it using a fork.
5. Bake at 160* for 38-40 minutes.
6. Cut into fingers while still hot. Allow to cool before removing from the tin.

Delicious Christmas Fruit Cake

This Christmas Fruit Cake Recipe was the first one I ever tried and although I've tried a couple of other recipes since then, I always keep coming back to this one. It is absolutely gorgeous! I find that it is sweet enough on it's own so I prefer not to ice it.

Delicious Christmas Fruit Cake

Ingredients:
250g Margarine
1 C Water
1 C Sugar
3 C Fruit Cake Mix (I use 1C each of cake mix, raisins and sultanas.)
1/2 C Chopped Dates
1/2 C Chopped Cherries
1 tsp Bicarb
2 C Flour
1 tsp Cocoa powder
1 tsp Baking powder
Pinch salt
1/2 tsp each of Cinnamon, Allspice, Nutmeg & Ginger
2 Eggs
60ml Brandy

Method:
1. Place the margarine, water, sugar, fruit mix, dates, cherries and bicarb into a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes until sugar and dates dissolve. Allow to cool.
2. In a jug beat the eggs and brandy together and add to the cooled fruit mixture.
3. Sift the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and add the fruit mixture to it. Mix well.
4. Pour mixture into a greased and lined tin. (I use a loaf tin, but square or round tins can also be used.) Cover the top with tinfoil. (Shiny side out to prevent burning)
5. Bake in a preheated oven of 160* for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake at 180* for a further 30 minutes.
6. Turn cake out and wrap in a damp dishcloth (don't ask me why, I haven't a clue!)
7. Allow to cool for 20 minutes before icing the cake.