House full of blokes

Cheese rolls are a South Island favourite and a great freezer standby to go with soup over winter. The boys cook up a serving in the sandwich press as a quick and tasty afternoon snack - they love them with tomato soup.  This is a pretty classic recipe - some officianados would quibble that there should also be a finely chopped onion, mustard and fresh cream added - but this version goes down a treat at my house and is very quick and simple. Ingredients - makes 42 1 can evaporated milk 1 sachet onion soup mix (if you can't get this use a couple of teaspoons of onion stock powder) 500g grated cheese (mild or tasty cheddar) 2 loaves white or wholemeal thin sliced bread.  Method Place evaporated milk, soup mix and cheese in a pan or microwave proof container.  Stir to mix well.  Heat for 2 minutes on high in the microwave or over a medium heat on the stove top until the cheese is starting to get melty and it looks like a lumpy, milky ...

Lummox number one has left the teens - well on the way out of the lummox years and becoming a lovely young man. This simple black and white cake marked the occasion. The cake is a chocolate cafe cake - iced with chocolate buttercream with the addition of black food colouring. Lettering and stars are cut from white fondant icing 

Butter chicken is a favourite curry - it is usually reasonably mild, but rich in flavour. This is a straight forward recipe for making butter chicken from scratch for a quick, delicious family meal.  Lummox number two made this for our dinner last night for his Thursday cooking slot - it was fabulous! Ingredients For the curry for 4 people 500g chicken thigh 2 cloves garlic 1 inch piece ginger 1 1/2 tsp turmeric  1/4 tsp nutmeg 2 tsp cumin 1 tsp garam masala Chili to your taste. We used one medium dried chili - but you could use fresh, chili flakes or chili powder for the amount of heat you like.  140g pot tomato paste 1 small pot natural unsweetened yoghurt 1 onion finely chopped 50g butter 1 cup fresh cream Large handful chopped fresh coriander For raita to serve with the curry 20cm piece cucumber Large handful fresh mint finely chopped 1 small pot natural unsweetened yoghurt Salt & pepper to season Method Ch...