Butter Cookies

Made these with and for my daughter, who has been feeling bored in her daily routine of watching TV, playing, reading, colouring, drawing, colouring etc.... Had some time to spare and these cookies doesn't require much ingredients, so tried out this really simple recipe. She pressed the cookie dough, while I think of the colours and designs to 'paint'.

After baking the cookies, gotta think of some really colourful ideas to 'paint' them, and tadaa! If you look carefully, I've actually forgotten to put on a smile onto one of the bears. But as long as she's happy with her work, I'm grateful for the time we had making and baking these together.

250g butter
250g castor sugar
1 egg
500g self-raising flour
A pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:
1) Cream butter & sugar until light & fluffy.
2) Add egg, salt & vanilla essence. Mix well.
3) Sift flour into creamed mixture.
4) Once done leave the dough in the fridge for about 10 minutes before rolling it.
5) Roll out dough & use your cutters to cut out the cookies.
6) bake at 180C for about 10-15mins or until golden brown.

Coloured icing:
Mix together 1 1/2 cups sifted icing sugar & 2 tblsps water until smooth. Add drops of food colouring & continue mixing until combined. Use as required on top of baked cookies.

Baked Lasagne

This was a last minute stint. I had to go visiting in the day and by the time I reached home, my sister-in-law was about 10-15 minutes away from reaching my house. Lucky for me, I cooked the meat sauce in the morning before I stepped out.

You have no idea how rushing it was for me; laying the meat sauce, lasagne and cheese, while ensuring that the oven was hot enough to put this in before she comes.

But this has always been my favourite dish to serve to my guests, as it's not too heavy or light as a meal. Enjoy!

Minced beef or chicken
Bay leaves
Chopped onions
Chopped garlic
Chopped tomatoes
Tomato sauce
Tomato puree
Chicken cube (dissolve in a little bit of water)
Oregano powder
Lasagne sheets
Mozzarella cheese
cheddar cheese

Method:
1) Heat oil in saucepan and then fry the chopped onions, chopped garlic and bay leaves until they become soft.
2) Put in the mince meat / chicken and simmer.
3) Pour in the tomato sauce, tomato puree and chicken cube and bring to the boil.
4) Sprinkle oregano powder, simmer for a while and turn off the fire.
5) While waiting for the meat sauce to cool, soak a few lasagne sheets with hot water until soft (al dente).

To lay the lasagne:
1) Cover the base of your ovenproof dish with a layer of the meat sauce.
2) Layer mozzarella and cheddar cheese on top of it and top it off with a sheet of lasagne.
3) Repeat steps 1 & 2 until ovenproof dish is full.
4) Bake until cheese are well-melted and golden brown.
5) Serve with choice of salad.