​Sometimes you just want simple, you want simple food that can be made easily, that will feed your family.

But just because it is simple to make, let me tell you, there is nothing simple about the flavour. We love these, is it the most complex satay sauce you have ever eaten, no, but it is simply delicious.

I have teenage children, who have big appetites, who bring home teenage friends, who have big appetites, so when I have days like this, buying pizza or burgers or whatever is not cheap. So you need to think about ways to feed these kids without costing a fortune. In come chicken wings.

Now this also a great party food idea, as once you have marinated them, you just pop them in the oven and forget about them for about an hour. Leaves you free to do other things.

I've written serves 2-4 as if you are like me and have teenage kids, this is not going to serve 4, but as it is so easy to make and the recipe can be doubled, you can make as many as you need.

You can buy the already cut drumettes or wingettes, but they cost more, so why not just buy the cheaper whole wing and cut it yourself, it's easy.

The original recipe bakes these on an oven rack sprayed with oil in a baking dish, but as I really hate washing up oven racks, I put them on baking paper, on a baking tray, saves washing up and it bakes well anyway. You decide which method you prefer.

The wing tips I freeze for when I'm making chicken stocks or soups.

So if you need a simple party food idea, or need an easy midweek meal idea. Look no further, give these wings a go.

​Recipe adapted from Recipes + magazine

​​Serves 2-4

1/2 cup coconut cream
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons kecap manis
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 kg chicken wings, cut into wingettes and drumettes at the join, discard tips
1/4 cup chopped coriander
2 tablespoons crushed peanuts
1 fresh long red chilli, sliced
Lime wedges, to serve
​
Whisk coconut cream, peanut butter, kecap manis and garlic ​in a large bowl. Add the chicken wing pieces to the bowl, mix well to combine. Cover, leave for 30 minutes to marinade. If you are baking them in 30 minutes, it can stay out of the refrigerator, if you are making this in advance and baking later on, place in the refrigerator.
​
Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan forced.

​Place a piece of baking paper on a baking tray large enough to fit the wings.

Arrange chicken on prepared tray. If any marinade is left in the bowl, brush or spoon it onto the wings.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until browned and cooked through. If you are making this on two trays, switch the trays after 30 minutes, for even cooking.

Arrange on a serving dish. Season with a little salt, to taste. Sprinkle with crushed peanuts and chilli. Serve with lime wedges.

Find the recipe at www.whatscookingella.com/satay-chicken-wings.html 
​Pin it: au.pinterest.com/pin/399413060694549023/

​​I'd love to know what you think about this recipe, and please let me know if you have made it, I do like to get feedback. Name and comment only required.

​Delicious, no better word describes this salad. I absolutely loved the flavour combination. I loved how it tasted, I loved how it looked, I loved how easy it is to make.

So I've mentioned before I am a member of a food group on Facebook, they have a fortnightly competition where you get 5 ingredients and you need to make something using those ingredients. You can add more ingredients, but those 5 need to be included. The ingredients this week were

​This week I made two dishes for the competition, this one and Chicken and Avocado Quesadillas. I ended up using this salad for the competition, but the quesadillas could have easily been the entry.

If you are looking for something new to try, give this salad a go, easy to make, very easy to eat.

​Recipe adapted from www.cafedelites.com 

​Serves 4

Dressing/Marinade:

1/3 cup honey
3 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced or finely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 chicken thigh fillets, no skin, no bones

For the salad:
1-2 bacon rashers, trimmed of fat and rind, diced, you need 1/4 cup
1 baby cos lettuce, or mixed salad leaves, about 4 handfuls, washed
1 punnet grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 large avocado, pitted and sliced
1/4 cup corn kernels
1/4 red onion, sliced
​
Whisk marinade/dressing ingredients together to combine.

Place the chicken thigh fillets in a shallow dish. Pour half the marinade over the chicken, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Cover and refrigerate the untouched marinade, it will be used as the dressing. 

Heat a non stick frying pan over medium heat, add a teaspoon of oil, add diced bacon and fry until crispy. Once cooked, set aside until needed.

Wipe the pan over with a paper towel, re heat the frying pan over a medium heat. Add a tablespoon of oil and pan fry the chicken thigh fillets on each side until golden, crispy and cooked through, about 5-6 minutes per side. Once cooked, set aside and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
​
Meanwhile scatter the salad leaves in a serving dish, add tomatoes, avocado slices, corn and onion slices.

​Slice chicken into strips. Add chicken to the salad.
​
Whisk 2 tablespoons of water into the remaining untouched dressing and drizzle over the salad. Sprinkle the bacon over the top and season with a little extra salt and pepper.

Find the recipe at www.whatscookingella.com/honey-mustard-chicken-bacon-and-avocado-salad.html
Pin it: au.pinterest.com/pin/399413060694538905/

​I'd love to know what you think about this recipe, and please let me know if you have made it, I do like to get feedback. Name and comment only required.

​This is one tasty quesadilla and so easy to make. I could easily eat these weekly. Great school holiday cooking, great quick mid week meal.

So I've mentioned before I am a member of a food group on Facebook, they have a fortnightly competition where you get 5 ingredients and you need to make something using those ingredients. You can add more ingredients, but those 5 need to be included. The ingredients this week were

​Recipe adapted from www.gimmedelicious.com 

​Serves 4

4 chicken thigh fillets, skinless
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup diced capsicum, and colour
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup diced fresh tomatoes
2 tablespoons taco or fajita seasoning

For the quesadillas:
​2-3 teaspoons olive oil
4-6 medium flour tortillas
1 avocado, seeded, sliced
4-6 teaspoons sour cream
1/2-3/4 cup mozzarella, shredded
Juice from 1/2 a lime
Coriander, roughly chopped

To serve:
Lime wedges
​Tomato Salsa, optional
​

​Heat a large frying pan over medium to high heat. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Place 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the pan. Add the chicken thighs and cook, covered, for 5-6 minutes per side or until cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside, until needed.
​
In the same pan, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the diced onion, capsicum and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until softened. Add the tomatoes and the taco (or fajita) seasoning. Cook for 2 minutes or until the tomatoes are softened. Dice the cooked chicken and return to the pan. Stir until the mixture is fully combined.
​
To assemble: Spread 1 teaspoon of sour cream over one side of each tortilla. 

To a medium-hot frying pan, add 1 teaspoon olive oil. Place two tortillas into the pan (you only need half of each tortilla in the base of the pan). Now working quickly, top half of each tortilla with cheese, avocado, chicken mixture, a squeeze of lime and chopped coriander. Now fold over the tortillas to cover the fillings, you get a half moon shape. Cook until the tortillas are crisp and golden and the cheese has melted, carefully flip it over, each side cooks for about 2-3 minutes.
​
Once cooked, remove from pan and repeat with remaining tortillas.

Cut the quesadillas into wedges. Serve immediately with lime wedges and salsa.

Find the recipe at www.whatscookingella.com/chicken-and-avocado-quesadillas.html
​Pin it: au.pinterest.com/pin/399413060694512314/

​Blueberry ice cream, I cannot believe the colour that you get from blueberry ice cream, it is so amazingly beautiful.

This ice cream is delicious, it is creamy, easy to scoop out and is a perfect summer treat. But here's a secret, if you are like me and you eat ice cream in winter in front of the heater, you can make it with frozen blueberries, so it is actually a year round ice cream.

The taste of the blueberries will determine the outcome of your icecream. Use flavoursome small blueberries, they seem to work best. They give the ice cream a great flavour. I have used really large blueberries, that were very mild flavoured blueberries and the ice cream was light in blueberry flavour, tasted like vanilla ice cream to be honest, but just serve them with fresh blueberries on the side and that problem is fixed. So my advice pick the fresh small flavoursome blueberries, or go with frozen. 

Now thick cream comes in 300ml containers, so in all honesty I just add 2 x 300ml of thickened cream into the mix, but if you want to be accurate 2 cups or 500ml is all that is needed.

I use a cheap ice cream machine I bought from K-Mart, if you are new to ice cream making don't go out buying a new expensive one until you really start loving to make ice cream. I have since bought a new one, but I will use the cheap one until it breaks, then I'll start using the new one.

​If by chance, your ice cream did not churn properly, it is a bit runny, freeze it like that for 4 hours, or until just set. After 4 hours place the ice cream in a food processor and blitz until creamy and smooth. Then refreeze and your ice cream will be perfect.

I put the blueberry flavoured syrup in the recipe as sometimes the blueberries are light in flavour, so although I love it still, it can taste like purple vanilla ice cream. The syrup you can buy from IKEA, don't use normal cordial, you really want a concentrate. 

So if you love blueberries or just love the colour purple or you just love ice cream, make this, I love homemade ice cream, hope you do to.

​Recipe adapted from www.bakedbyrachel.com 

Makes about 1 litre

​2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen​
1 cup caster sugar, divided
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups thick cream
1 cup full cream milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
4-5 tablespoons blueberry flavoured syrup (optional)
​

Combine 1/4 cup of the sugar, blueberries and lemon juice in a small saucepan set over a medium heat. Stir until the sugar has melted. Bring to a boil and mash up the berries. Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl, pour the blueberries into the strainer and push the berry mixture through, discarding the skins. Set aside the blueberry puree.
​
Add 1 cup of the thickened cream and vanilla to a medium sized bowl, set aside.

Combine milk, remaining thickened cream, remaining 3/4 cup caster sugar and salt to a medium saucepan set over a medium heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Allow the milk to heat up, but don't allow it to boil.
​
Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl.
When the milk mixture is hot, slowly drizzle 1 cup of the milk mixture into the yolks, whisking continuously. Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan, followed by the blueberry puree. Stir to combine. Continue cooking until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.

Pour the milk mixture into the cream and vanilla. Stir it all together. Place uncovered in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, then cover and leave for about 2 hours to chill thoroughly. You can leave it overnight.
​
Once the mixture is cold, churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturers directions. It will thicken and look like ice cream.
​
Transfer churned ice cream to a freezer safe container. Cover and freeze until solid.

Find the recipe at www.whatscookingella.com/blueberry-ice-cream.html 
​Pin it: au.pinterest.com/pin/399413060694499078/

​I'd love to know what you think about this recipe, and please let me know if you have made it, I do like to get feedback. Name and comment only required.

​It seems third times a charm. I have made this pulled pork recipe three times now and finally I am happy with the results.

The first time I made it, I loved the spice mix, but after baking it as long as suggested, I had to tear it from the bone, it just wasn't perfect. The second time I made it, I was out all day and by the time I came home and took it out of the oven, it was dry and stringy. But gut instinct and cooking like my mum used to cook, the third time, the meat pulled away from the bone perfectly and was moist and juicy and delicious, and the bonus, it cooked in less time than the first two goes..

This pulled pork recipe for me always had the right spice mix, it was spicy when you bite into it, but it isn't too hot, but a few seconds later your lips tingle a little and you start feeling the heat. I loved it. My daughter complains it is too spicy, but keeps going back for more. My boys love it.

The coleslaw is what cools down the heat, it is perfect with the pulled pork. I do two coleslaws, one with a oil and vinegar dressing and one with a mayonnaise dressing, why, because some of us like mayonnaise and some of us don't. The coleslaw recipes can be found at Coleslaw with a Mayonnaise Dressing and Coleslaw with a Vinegar Dressing. 

I have seen many, many recipes for pulled pork, I doubt I'll try any of the other ones as I love this one.

So if you are new to pulled pork or looking for a new recipe, I do recommend this one. We loved it, hope you do to.

​Recipe adapted from www.kevinandamanda.com 

Serves 6-8

1 x 2kg whole pork shoulder (bone in, skin off, but leave a layer of fat on)

Dry Rub:
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon chilli powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground white pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 cup brown sugar

Brine Solution:
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 litres cold water
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons dry rub mix

2 tablespoons Olive Oil
Coleslaw, to serve
​Bread Roll, to serve
​
For the dry rub: Add all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl, mix well to combine. Store in an airtight container.

For the brine solution: Add salt to cold water in a large bowl. Stir well until all the salt has completely dissolved. Add the brown sugar, 3 tablespoons of the dry rub and bay leaves. Stir well to combine.
​
Pork Shoulder Preparation: Rinse the pork shoulder and place in a large container or large snap lock bag. Pour in the brine solution until the shoulder is completely covered. Cover the container (or snap lock the bag, and place in a bowl, in case of leaks) and place in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, I like to leave it overnight.
​
Heat oven to 150C/130C fan forced.
​
Remove pork shoulder from the brine solution, pat dry with paper towels.

​Rub pork with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Heat a large non stick frying pan until very hot and sear the pork on all sides until golden brown. Place meat on wooden board. Sprinkle dry rub onto the surface of the shoulder and massage in such that it adheres to the surface. Coat all sides.
​
Place the meat on a wire rack in a roasting tin, making sure the fat layer on the shoulder is facing up before cooking. Press on any remaining dry rub that fell onto the wooden board. 

Add 1 cup of water to the roasting tin, place a piece of baking paper on the pork shoulder, then cover very tightly with aluminium foil and bake in the oven for 5 hours or until almost falling apart.
​
In the meantime, make the coleslaw. My recipes are in the links above.
​
When the meat is ready. Drain the juices from the meat into a jug. Shred the pork using two forks, I like chunks, rather than strings of meat, discard the fat.
​
Skim off the fat from the rerserved juices, pour the juices over the meat.
​
Serve the pulled pork with toasted buns and coleslaw. You can if you like, serve it with additional barbecue sauce.

Find the recipe at www.whatscookingella.com/my-favourite-pulled-pork.html 
​Pin it: au.pinterest.com/pin/399413060694492394/

​Recipe adapted from New Idea 101 Ways With Chicken

Makes 4

Olive oil cooking spray
500g chicken thigh fillets, trimmed
1/2 cup mild peri peri mayonnaise
4 burger rolls, halved
2 lebanese cucumbers, sliced into ribbons
130g fine cut coleslaw, lightly dressed with a vinaegrette
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh coriander
Salt and Pepper, to taste
​
Dress the coleslaw lightly with a vinaegrette dressing. It is simply extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt and white pepper. You add this to taste, add little by little until it is how you like it. Set aside until needed.
​
Spray a medium, non stick frying pan with oil. Heat over a medium to high heat. Add the chicken. Cook for 3 minutes on each side, or until golden. Reduce the heat to medium to low. Cook, covered, for about 4 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove and cool slightly. Thinly slice the chicken.
​
Lightly spray a large, non stick frying pan with oil. Add two rolls, cut side up. Cook over a medium heat for about 3 minutes, repeat with remaining rolls.
​
Drizzle half of the mayonnaise on the cut side of your base bread rolls, divide chicken evenly among the rolls. Season with salt and pepper. Top with cucumber, coleslaw and coriander. Drizzle with remaining mayonnaise. Place on your bread roll tops.

​Serve immediately.

Find the recipe at www.whatscookingella.com/peri-peri-chicken-burger.html 
​Pin it: au.pinterest.com/pin/399413060694296847/

​I'd love to know what you think about this recipe, and please let me know if you have made it, I do like to get feedback. Name and comment only required.

​I'm excited by this dessert, why, because it is delicious, because it is so easy to make, because it looks amazing, because it is amazing.

I am one of those people that finds food shows not only interesting, but also relaxing. I could watch them all day, everyday. My whole family has been sick with the flu this week, normal people rest, no not me, I cook. After seeing this made on the food network, my new favourite channel, I had to make it.

This is a very simple dish, anyone can make this. If you have never made a dessert, you should make this, you will impress your family and friends with this pie. Is it a pie, not really, it just looks like one. It is more like an ice cream, but it is better, because it is easier to make than an ice cream.

This is a frozen treat that melts in your mouth. I recommend you don't want it frozen solid, you want it frozen, but just soft enough to slice it nicely.

The yoghurt I used was Yoplait, use whatever raspberry yoghurt you love. If you don'y have cottee's instant pudding, use whatever brand you have available.

You can completely decorate the pie in one go and freeze until needed. Just don't add whipped cream, it doesn't freeze well.

If it freezes solid, for instance if you make it the day before, just allow 30 minutes defrosting time, before slicing.

Spring is here, summer is coming, you need to make this. It would be a perfect finish to a barbecue.

​Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond www.foodnetwork.com

Serves 10-12

25 Oreos
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 x 125g punnets of fresh raspberries
3 tablespoons caster sugar
400g raspberry yoghurt
1 packet (100g) Cottees Instant Vanilla Pudding (powder)
300ml thickened cream
Whipped Cream, for serving (optional)
Extra Oreos, crumbs (for serving)
​
Preheat your oven to 175C.

To make the crust: Place the Oreos in a food processor and blitz until you have a fine crumb (or smash in a ziptop bag with a roling pin). Stir in melted butter until combined.

Pour into a regular pie pan and press the crumbs all over the pan and up the sides. Bake just long enough for it to set, 3 to 4 minutes. Let cool completely.
​
Remove the best 12 raspberries, set aside for decorating at the end.

The remainder of the raspberries, put them in a bowl. Smash them up with a fork, then sprinkle on the sugar. Stir together, allow it to sit for 15 minutes for the sugar to dissolve.
​
In a large bowl, add the raspberry yoghurt and the instant vanilla pudding powder. Using an electric hand held mixer, beat on low until combined, about 1 minute.

Pour in the thickened cream and beat on low for 30 seconds. Stop the mixer, scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Now beat again on medium speed and beat until thick, about 1 to 2 minutes.
​
Turn off the mixer, pour in your smashed raspberries, then fold them in gently with your spatula, until just combined. I like to see raspberry ripples through the mix, so don't over mix.

Pour into the cooled crust and spread evenly. Freeze until very firm, about 2 hours.

Cut into slices and top each slice with cookie crumbs, dollops of whipped cream and the reserved raspberries.

Find the recipe at www.whatscookingella.com/raspberry-cream-pie.html 
Pin it: ​au.pinterest.com/pin/399413060694283546/

​When we were on holidays recently in Croatia my husband wanted to go to a restaurant to eat Pljukanci, I had no idea what it was. He told me it was a hand rolled pasta that was a specialty in Istra, a region in Croatia where he is from.

My mother in law said she knew how to make them so she made the dough for us and we got rolling.

​Rolling the dough is just like playing with play-doh. You pick off a peanut sized piece of dough and roll it between your palms until it resembles a bean or a worm. You kind of want the ends to be thinner and the middle thicker. But it really doesn't matter.

​The dough is made from flour and water, some recipes I found included egg, like a normal pasta. I wanted to keep it more traditional, so kept to a traditional recipe.

The dough is so easy to make, but when it comes to rolling it, although easy, can take some time, so get the kids involved, every kid loves rolling dough.

Once you make the dough, allow it to rest for 30 minutes to an hour, then roll into pljukanci. Once rolled, also leave them for about 30 minutes, to dry out a little, makes them easier to handle.

I will mention I used super fine plain flour for Pasta 'OO'. But i think you can make this with normal plain flour. I haven't tried it, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. 

We all loved pljukanci, I knew this was something I was going to have to learn how to make as soon as I got home.
​
​​So I thought I'd share a small side story about our holiday, food related, of course. When I was in Istra I had found about a restaurant called Konoba Daniela in a google search, and as my real name is Daniela, (Ella is something my family called me growing up as one of my cousins couldn't say Daniela when he was young, he called me Ella, then the whole family called me Ella), I had to go to this restaurant. Can I just say it was amazing, by far one of my favourite restaurants in Croatia. We had Steak Tartare, made at the table in front of you, by Daniela herself, we had Istarski Prsut and Cheese, we had gnocchi, fuzi, pljukanci, house wine that was lovely. Everything was so good and everything was homemade. Here are a few snap shots of us at Konoba Daniela, I love how relaxed we were that day, it was really special.

​One of the best things about Croatia, if you intend to travel there, is the food. Every region has a different style of food. The Istrians have the pastas, unique pasta that is made there, the pljukanci, the fuzi, the truffles, my goodness the truffle sauces, they have a very Italian take to their food, it is hearty, comforting food. Then you go to Dalmatia where my family are from and you get a lighter, more mediterranean style of food. It is seafood based, it is fresh, it is amazing. Then you go inland and the food is different again. It is a small country with so much to see and so much food to enjoy.
​
Now back to the Chicken Paprikas and Pljukanci. Once I decided on a recipe for the dough, I decided I wanted to make it with a Chicken Paprikas as it is saucy, but light and would work perfectly with the pljukanci.

I made it with 3 x small spatchcocks or some call it poussin. Now these are really small chickens with the most delicious meat. Now if you don't want to use poussin, you can make it with a normal whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces, it is cheaper and the flavour of the sauce will be the same. The chicken just needs to be about 1.8kg in weight. I like to cook the sauce with whole chickens as a sauce for me is always tastier if the meat has bones on it. If you have really small children you can remove the meat from the bones before serving it to them.

I double the pljukanci quantity, but I make them in 2 individual batches, one batch is just not enough for my family and you have enough sauce for a double batch. Also if you have leftovers, I remove any bones from the chicken, put the meat back into the sauce, then the next day, the kids have leftovers for school lunches.

So if you are like me and love trying new things, give this a go, it is something the kids can get involved with, it is quite easy to make and truly tastes delicious.

​Recipe adapted from www.borrowedsalt.com

​Serves 6-8

Pljukanci:
2 cups plain flour Pasta Tipo OO
1 cup hot water
1 teaspoon salt

Chicken Paprikas:
3 x 600g poussin or spatchcock
1/4 cup plain flour
Olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 red capsicum, chopped
2 teaspoons (5g) ground paprika
175ml white wine
800g diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon chopped oregano or thyme
1 teaspoon vegeta
Salt and White Pepper, to taste
Extra oregano, for garnish
​
For the Pljukanci: Place the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add half of the hot water and give it a stir with a fork or use your fingers. Now, add the remaining water, a little at a time, mixing in the water into the flour.

Once all the water has been added, I tip the mixture out onto a clean bench, and knead the dough for a few minutes until you have a smooth, soft dough. If the dough is sticking to your hands or the bench too much, add a little more flour, but only enough where it is not too sticky. 

Note: for my family, I now make another batch of the dough, as one batch is just not enough.

Cut a piece of cling film, place the dough in it, cover and leave on your kitchen bench, while you start the chicken paprikas sauce.
​​
Cut up the each poussin into 6-8 pieces, place in a plastic snap lock bag, add flour, close bag and shake to coat the chicken pieces with the flour.

Heat a large cast iron pot over medium-high heat. Add 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, working in batches, sear the chicken until the skin is golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the chicken and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the onions and saute for 3 minutes, then add the garlic and capsicums, saute for a further 2 minutes. Once the onions have begun to soften and are translucent, add the paprika, stir through for 30 seconds.

Add the wine, tomatoes, chopped oregano, vegeta, season with a little salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Now add the chicken back to the pot, add enough water to the sauce so that all the chicken is just covered with the liquid. Cover and cook over a low heat so it gently simmers for 30 minutes, you don't want a rolling boil, just a few small bubbles rising to the surface every now and then. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue cooking for another 1 hour. Once the lid is off and the sauce starts to reduce, you will need to stir it every now and then to ensure it doesn't start to catch on the bottom and begin to burn. This is especially important in the last 30 minutes of cooking time. The sauce is ready when the chicken is tender and cooked through. Taste for seasoning, add a little more vegeta also if needed.


Back to the Pljukanci: Pinch off peanut sized pieces of dough and roll between your palms or against the table to make skinny pieces that look like thin green beans, tapered at each end. Place the pasta on a large floured sheet of baking paper and let it rest for about 30 minutes to an hour. 

Once the sauce is nearly finished: Fill a large saucepan about 2/3 full with water. Bring to the boil, season with one tablespoon salt. Once boiling, add the pljukanci, cook for about 5 minutes until the centres are cooked through. They tend to rise to the surface once cooked, as they rise I allow for about 1 minute more of cooking. The cooking time varies as they are handmade and yours might not be exactly the same size as mine.

I tend to use a slotted spoon to remove them, that way as they rise you remove the cooked ones and the water drains through the spoon, and you place the pljukanci straight into your serving dish. If you don't have a slotted spoon just strain through a colander. Drain but do not rinse them.

Once all the pljukanci are in your serving dish, pour a ladle full of sauce on them and stir it through, this stops them sticking together. Then add the remainder of the sauce and garnish with extra oregano.

Find the recipe at www.whatscookingella.com/chicken-paprikas-with-pljukanci.html
​Pin it: au.pinterest.com/pin/399413060694272037/

​Ice Cream, why bother making it when you can simply buy it. Well, one because buying good ice cream is expensive. Two, homemade ice cream is nothing like the store bought stuff, the flavour combinations are endless, you just can't buy it. Three, it is so easy to do. Recently while on holidays in Croatia we tried so many new flavours of ice creams, you can't buy half of them in the supermarket, you need to make it yourself. So I promised my kids I would start making ice cream when we got home and this is flavour number 3. So far I have been very successful.

And this ice cream, is delicious. The cheesecake flavour is so good. I love this recipe as a lot of recipes require just egg yolks to make the custard, and a lot of them. That is fine if I have been making pavlovas, but when I haven't this recipe comes into play. It uses 2 whole eggs, you can even make it with one, I added a second egg to the original recipe, a few other ingredients and you have creamy delicious cheesecake ice cream that you can flavour however you like.

Now I use an ice cream machine, and I advise you to buy one. It doesn't have to be the most expensive one. I have two and I use the cheap one I bought years ago, as I don't throw things out, it works, and until it dies I will use it. The second one I bought as it was on sale and it was one of my I had to have it purchases.

If you really don't want to buy an ice cream machine, it is slightly more labour intensive, but nothing over the top. Just follow these steps. You put the cooled ice cream base into a covered container, place it in the freezer and whip it out every hour for 3 hours as it freezes and give it a good beating, either with an electric whisk, by hand or in the food processor. This gets rid of the ice crystals that form, and allows the ice cream to be smooth, not crunchy.
 
You could use the juice of just one lime, but I found it needed more. So you might like to add the juice of 1 lime at first, taste, and if you find it needs more, add it. I used about 100ml of lime juice.

You can use thickened cream instead of double cream, I have used both as I had them in the refrigerator and both worked in this recipe, even a combination of the two creams worked. If using only thickened cream, lightly whip it before adding it to the custard.

If your custard looks like it has split. Just fill a sink with cold water and plunge your saucepan into it, keep whisking, the custard should come back together. This hasn't happened in this recipe for me yet, but it is good to know.

So if you love cheesecake, and especially lime cheesecake, you need to make this ice cream. The flavour is so fresh and tangy and you just can't buy that.

​Recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson's cookbook 'Forever Summer'

3/4 cup full cream milk
3/4 cup caster sugar
115g cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
Zest of 1 lime
Juice of 1-2 limes, see notes above
1 and 1/2 cups double cream
A few drops of green food colouring, optional
55g digestive biscuits or graham crackers, crumbled (optional)
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Heat the milk over low heat, in a small saucepan, do not let it boil. While it's getting warm, beat together the sugar, cream cheese, vanilla and eggs in a bowl. Still whisking, pour the hot milk into the cream cheese mixture and pour into a clean medium sized saucepan.
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Place the milk mixture over a low-medium heat, stirring constantly and cook until you get a velvety custard, the mixture will thicken and coat the back of a spoon.

Pour the custard into a bowl and let it cool, for about 15-20 minutes. Once cooled add the zest, juice of 1 lime and then the double cream. Taste it, if it needs more lime flavour, add the juice of 1 more lime.
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Place in your ice cream machine and churn until thick and ice creamy. If you don't have an ice cream machine see my notes above. Once it is thick, add in the crushed biscuits, if using. 

​Pour into an ice cream container. Place in the freezer for at least 4-6 hours, until set, or until needed.

To serve, take the ice cream out of the freezer 20 minutes before serving, it needs to soften slightly before serving. You want it frozen, but not rock hard. After 20 minutes, scoop out into bowls or cones. Serve immediately.

Find the recipe at www.whatscookingella.com/lime-cheesecake-ice-cream.html 
​Pin it: au.pinterest.com/pin/399413060694257146/

​I'd love to know what you think about this recipe, and please let me know if you have made it, I do like to get feedback. Name and comment only required.