This is a real WOW post I do love to DIY and often the results are on par to the store product. Ricotta is a totally different ball game. The resulting ricotta is so superior to anything you can purchase that you will be converted. You get a creamy texture that can only be produced by being made fresh.  I tested a few recipes from a few of my favourite fellow bloggers and recipe sites and came up with the method that will go in my recipe book. My first tip do not use UHT milk. UHT is perfect for yogurt but the yield for ricotta is more than dissapointing. 

MKB Homemade ricotta

Ingredients
2 litres of whole fresh milk
1 cup of cream
1/4 cup of white vinegar, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1 teaspoon of salt

1. In a large non reactive saucepan pour 2 litres of milk
2. Stir in the cream and salt and put on the heat
3. Using a cooking thermometer heat the milk to 180F
4. Pour in the vinegar and stir once only
5. Turn off the heat and leave on the hot plate for 2min
6. Leave to settle for 15min off the heat
7. Pour into a colander lined with butter muslin and allow to drain

Once drained you can eat the ricotta warm or put in the fridge for later use. The ricotta does firm up a little more when chilled. The ricotta will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge. If you will struggle to use it all you can make baked ricotta that will keep for 1 week. (Baked ricotta recipe coming soon)

I have wanted to create a savoury cupcake for a while.  You could make these smaller again and they would make a perfect dish for finger food. This is my first test. Taste gets a 10/10! I am still working on the presentation as it has not met my vision but it still pretty cute.  Chilli beef cupcakes stuffed with sun-dried tomato and cheese with mash pumpkin tops.

Recipe
Beef Cupcakes
500g minced beef
1/3 cup of oats
1 onion finely chopped
1 tablesppon mixed herbs
15 drops of tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon of worcestershire
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
2 teaspoons of kecap manis
1 per cupcake of both sundried tomato and cheese cube
1/4 large pumpkin

1. Bake the pumpkin piece whole on a tray till very soft
2. In a bowl mix remaining ingredients
3. Half fill a cup cake tray with mince mix
4. Put in one sun-dried tomato and one cube of cheese
5. Top with mince and bake till cooked in a moderate oven
6. Mash the pumpkin well
7. When cupcakes are cooked pipe the mashed pumpkin on each chilli beef cupcake

This would work well using mini cup cake trays to make a mini cupcakes and look super cute. 

This is a lovely little kitchen hack. Most rice cookers will cook a variety of other dishes. I use mine to make oats in the morning and it makes mornings that little bit easier. While the oats are cooking I can brew tea and cuddle the kids. It is a great idea to get this set up the night before so in the morning you can just hit go. I add 1 cup of oats to the rice cooker the night before, get the bowls, honey and my home made sprinkle ready. In the morning I just add 3 cups of water and hit go. By the time my tea is brewed the oats have clicked over to warm and are ready. 

With the weather cooling down this is a hearty breakfast that will warm you up and give you bags of energy.  Enjoy. 

My Sprinkle 
In a jar with a well fitting lid I add
Walnuts, sultanas, coconut, almonds, sunflower seeds, pepitas, cinnamon and a little brown sugar. Shake about and sprinkle generously on your oats. 

Credit for this idea again goes to my food hero Jamie Oliver. I used his recipe for griddle pan waffles but tweaked it just a little. I also fried some green apple in butter and sugar for a lovely little jam topping. 

Jamies Recipe

2 free range eggs
300ml milk
225g of self raising flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
100g unsalted butter cooled plus more 1tsp extra

My tweaks - I included to the above
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of organic vanilla paste

Cook as per the recipe < link 

Coming soon the bacon and eggs version with a bit of MKB tweaks. 

 Recipe available at http://www.mouthsofmums.com.au/recipe/walnut-caramel-chocolate-cups/

The first part of the dish making the tortellini.

Recipe
For pasta dough using lasagne dye
2 pasta cups of flour
2 eggs mixed with 2 top of chilli oil
water to fill line

Put above ingredients in the Phillips Pasta and Noodle maker on the 2 cup setting.

For filling
1 small cube of cheese of your choice
Chilli

To make
1. Using a tortellini cutter or cookie cutter make rounds of the pasta dough.
2. Dip one side of cubed of cheese in chilli and fold pastry to make tortellini.

Wrap in plastic ready to go in your dish or put in the fridge.