This recipe is easy and lots of fun. Use dried fruit, nuts and seeds to decorate the biscuits.

• Prep Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 15 mins
• Makes: 10 – 16

Ingredients

• 50g SPAR Choice Butter
• 60 ml Soft Brown Sugar
• 1 SPAR Egg
• 30 ml SPAR Syrup
• 160 ml SPAR Wheat Cake Flour
• 80 ml SPAR Brown Bread Flour
• 2 ml Ground Ginger
• A Few Blocks of Chocolate (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until smooth.  Stir in the egg and syrup.  Add the sifted flours and ginger and mix to a firm biscuit dough.
3. Roll the dough out on a floured work surface. Cut out Gingerbread shapes using a gingerbread cutter. Place the biscuits on a greased baking tray.
4. Press various seeds, raisins and glace cherries into the biscuits to make faces and clothing.
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden

For the Gingerbread Hair:

1. Arrange the cooled biscuits on baking paper.
2. Melt the chocolate in the microwave.  Place the melted chocolate in a plastic sandwich bag, pushing it to one corner.  Be careful, it may be hot. Snip the end with scissors and drizzle the chocolate to make crazy hair styles. Carefully lift off the paper when the chocolate has set.

Kids love to get involved in the kitchen. This is the perfect recipe to hone their baking skills. With any luck they'll soon be able to whip up a batch for your birthday or even Mother's Day

• Prep Time: 10 minutes   Cook Time: 1 minutes
• Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 1 SPAR Freshline Chocolate Chip muffin
• 6 pink and white marshmallows
• 25 ml SPAR icing sugar
• 15 ml boiling water
• 1 colourful sweet such as Smarties/Astro’s/JellyTots

Method

1. Use a baller-tool or teaspoon to dig out a ball of muffin from its centre.
2. Using kitchen scissors, snip 4 marshmallows (2 pink and 2 white) into a mug. Pour over boiling water from the kettle. Stir this until the marshmallows begin to melt. Microwave for 8-10 seconds on HIGH power. Stir to a smooth sauce.
3. Fill the muffin cavity with some of the sauce. Pour the remainder in a pool on the serving side-plate.
4. Using kitchen scissors, snip off 4 slices from each of a pink and white marshmallow; squeeze one end of each slice to form a petal shape, and position them on the muffin in an overlapping fashion like a flower.
5. Place a sweet in the centre of this flower. Serve immediately.

INGREDIENTS

Prep Time:

25 minutes

Cook Time:

30 minutes Get the kids involved in preparing this easy meal with you. It’s a great way to enjoy the holidays together.

Ingredients(4)

• 300g SPAR spaghetti
• 500g SPAR Lean beef mince
• 10ml SPAR Barbecue Spice
• 15 ml freshly chopped parsley
• 1 SPAR Freshline onion, finely chopped
• 1 egg

For the sauce

• 30 ml SPAR sunflower oil
• 1 SPAR Freshline onion, chopped
• 2 SPAR Freshline garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 SPAR Freshline red pepper chopped
• 1 x 410 g tin SPAR diced tomatoes

 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 c.
2. Mix beef mince, barbecue spice, parsley, onion and egg together.  Roll into golf ball size balls and arrange in a greased casserole dish.
3. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes.
4. In a saucepan heat the oil and fry the onions, garlic and peppers until soft.  Add the tomatoes and seasoning and bring to the boil.
5. Pour the hot sauce over the meatballs.  Cover with a lid or foil and return to the oven for 20 minutes.
6. While the meatballs are cooking.  Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.  Add the spaghetti and cook for about 10 minutes or until soft but still firm.  Drain

Hints and Tips

You could serve the meatballs with SPAR brown basmati rice instead of spaghetti.  

Prep Time:

4 hrs to marinade

Cook Time:

20 minutes Surprise your family with this home version of a popular take-away!

Ingredients(4)

• 8 large skinless breast fillets cut in half diagonally, OR 16 skinless thighs
• Marinade:
• 125 ml water
•  40 ml SPAR Spirit Vinegar
•  50 ml SPAR lemon juice (or equivalent from freshly squeezed lemons)
• 1 small onion, grated
•  25 ml SPAR olive oil
•  3 large garlic cloves, crushed
•  3 ml salt
•  10ml SPAR honey
•   5 ml dried crushed chilli flakes (or fresh finely chopped)
•  2 ml each dried parsley, paprika and thyme

 

Method

1. Cut several deep slits into each chicken piece, and arrange snugly in a bowl.
2. Mix the marinade ingredients and pour over the chicken. Cover and chill for 2- 4 hours.  (Pre-heat oven for the potato wedges now if you are serving)
3. Braai or pan-grill for 20 minutes, turning often and brushing on leftover marinade until slightly charred.
4. Pack into boxes, including oven-baked SPAR potato wedges, a SPAR Freshline Portuguese roll, and your favourite raw salad ingredients.

 

Hints and Tips

• Chicken fillet strips are a quicker cooking finger-food option.
• You can still enjoy tasty chicken without including the fatty skin.

Prep Time:

25 minutes

Cook Time:

20 minutes A way to enjoy tender, breaded chicken strips without traditional frying!

Ingredients(Makes approx 34 strips)

• 3  SPAR Freshline seeded whole wheat bread-rolls
•  100g  SPAR grated cheddar cheese
•  150ml  SPAR Smooth Mayonnaise
•  30ml  SPAR Mustard Sauce
•  15ml  SPAR Sweet and Smokey braai spice
• +-700g SPAR Tender and Tasty chicken breast fillet strips

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 190 °C. Grease a medium baking tin.
2. In a food processor, crumb the bread-rolls finely and mix in the cheese. Set aside in a dish.
3. Combine the mayonnaise, mustard sauce and braai spice in a shallow dish.
4. Dip chicken fillet strips into the sauce and immediately into the breadcrumbs and finally in rows, onto the prepared baking tin.
5. Bake for 20 minutes after a 5 minute resting period.

Hints and Tips

To make the task of crumbing easy and not messy, follow these instructions:  With your left-hand, dip and turn the chicken strips in the sauce, one at a time, to coat well – lift out and drop directly into the breadcrumb mixture alongside. Use your right hand to turn and pat the chicken in the breadcrumbs to ensure they adhere all over.

Prep Time:

5 minutes

Cook Time:

25 minutes An informal, tasty, hands only meal which your kids and your budget will enjoy!

Ingredients(Serves: 4)

• 16 -18 chicken wings or 8 drumsticks, or combination of both
• salt to flavour
• 100ml SPAR sweet chilli sauce
• 15ml SPAR soya sauce
• 20ml SPAR smooth apricot jam
• 5ml Hot English mustard
• 1ml bottled dried Italian herbs
• 100ml SPAR Nectarine fruit juice blend

 

Method

1. Place the chicken wings in a shallow oven dish, season with salt, and then grill them for +-5 minutes until attractively browned. Reduce the oven temperature to 160ºC.
2. Warm the remaining ingredients together in a pot, or in a jug in the microwave oven. Pour onto the wings to coat them completely.
3. Bake for 20 minutes, turning them over regularly in the marinade.

Hints and Tips

Line the oven dish with a sheet of foil, to make washing up easier later on. The sticky sauce can be difficult to clean if it is allowed to over-bake and burn on the dish.

Prep Time:

5 minutes

Cook Time:

as per pack instructions Enjoy SPAR's potato hash-browns with the fun toppings of your choice.

Ingredients(2)

• 1 box frozen SPAR Potato Hash Browns

A few Topping ideas: (you will be sure to dream up many more of your own!)

• Canned tuna mashed with SPAR low fat garlic&herb cottage cheese
• SPAR lean bacon, dry-fried, chopped and added to chopped tomato with a squeeze of SPAR Bacon Mayo
• Savoury baked beans, warmed up and a sprinkling of grated cheddar cheese
• SPAR Salmon flavoured low fat cream cheese

Method

1. Bake the hash browns, using the easy on-pack instructions.
2. While they are baking, prepare the toppings you fancy, and have them handy to spoon generously onto each hash brown.

 

Prep Time:

10 minutes (while baking)

Cook Time:

15 minutes An appealing way to enjoy a vegetable meal; so much so, you may even forego meat next time round.

Ingredients(1)

• 1 box frozen SPAR Crumbed Veggie Fingers
• Your favourite salad ingredients eg SPAR Freshline baby carrots, mange tout, mini-plum tomatoes, mixed lettuces, avocado pear cubes, baby corn

 

Method

1. Bake the veggie fingers in the oven, using the on-pack instructions.
2. While waiting for them to bake, rinse and trim the salad ingredients.
3. Place the cooked veggie fingers on a serving plate in a square basket pattern as shown.
4. Fill with salad vegetables, and serve immediately.