• Chocolate Dipped Fruit Cones
    OFF THE SHELF CANAPÉS

    Day 12: Chocolate Dipped Fruit Cones

    I’m not usually a fan of both strawberries or watermelon.  Frankly, I think watermelon just tastes like nothing 😛 Add chocolate to both of these however, and they weren’t too bad.  The kids of course ate it all up – wish they’d eat their dinners as fast 😛 This canapé is kinda like a modern twist on the chocolate fondue.  There’s fruit, marshmellows and chocolate involved, & these make a great kids party dessert or even just a light dessert after dinner.   Ingredients: Fruit – I’ve used strawberries, watermelon & green grapes.  You can of course use any fruit you like but these were in season at the time…

  • Asparagus Toast Canapé
    OFF THE SHELF CANAPÉS

    Day 7 : Asparagus Toast

    This canapé was enjoyed by almost everyone that I tried it on. I guess its a twist on the asparagus rolls that were once a familiar sight at any get together in NZ 🙂 I learnt 2 things whilst coming up with this canapé – 1.  I don’t know how to cook asparagus &  2.  Whilst I’m not a big fan of asparagus (probably because I’ve always only had tinned asparagus), master 4 loved it!   Ingredients: Sliced Toast Bread Heinz Seriously Good Aioli Watties Tinned Asparagus   Method: Toast the bread.  I did mine in a standard pop-up toaster, but you could toast it on a baking tray in…

  • Puff Pastry Cheese Sticks
    LUNCHBOX TREATS,  OFF THE SHELF CANAPÉS

    Day 6: Cheese Straws

    To be honest, before doing this canapé, I’d never actually made cheese straws.  It was always something I had bought, but now that I have done these, there’s no way I’d buy them again.  The homemade version is so much better, IMHO! They’re great for party food, snacks & even lunchboxes.   Ingredients: Puff Pastry sheets (at least 2) Cheese (I used a combination of mozzarella & colby) Barkers of Geraldine Capsicum & Apricot Chutney   Method: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Place 1 sheet of puff pastry down on a flat surface Spread the Barkers Capsicum & Apricot Chutney evenly across the pastry On this, sprinkle a thin…

  • Caprese Stick Canape
    LUNCHBOX TREATS,  OFF THE SHELF CANAPÉS

    Day 5: Caprese Sticks

    A great, easy, no-cook, make ahead, summer canapé.   Ingredients: Bite size Tomatoes (I’ve used grape or cherry) Cheese (Caprese generally uses mozzarella or bocconcini, but I’ve used camembert because its more readily available, cheaper & most importantly, my kids eat it) Fresh basil leaves   Method: Cut the cheese you have chosen into cubes or pieces of similar size to your tomatoes Cut each tomato in half Thread the tomato, cheese & basil onto a food pick or skewer in the  following order: Basil, top half of tomato, cheese, bottom half of tomato Arrange on a platter   Enjoy! 🙂   Note: As with all my 12 days of…

  • English Muffin Chicken Pizza
    DINNER INSPIRATION,  LUNCHBOX TREATS,  OFF THE SHELF CANAPÉS

    Day 4: English Muffin Chicken Pizza

    Do you know the muffin man, The muffin man, the muffin man, Do you know the muffin man, Who lives in Drury Lane?   The good ol’ english muffin.  So versatile it can be sweet or savoury.  It’s used as a base for one of the best brunch dishes (Eggs Benedict), can be eaten with lots of strawberry jam or great even with just butter YUMMY.  It is most used around here, as a quick easy pizza base – great when hubby forgets to take out the meat for dinner from the freezer Swear it wasn’t me 😛   Ingredients: English Muffins Watties Pizza Sauce Crushed Pineapple – canned Tegel…