My Smoko Break: Beautifully simple recipes for delicious home-cooked food without the fuss from a rural mum

Writing this book has been so much fun;

So much so, I’ve got nothing else done!

After months of compiling and working all this time,

I’ll switch off the drier and hang the washing on the line,

Mop the floors, do the ironing, play with the kids and get outdoors,

Weed the garden, clean the car, mow the lawn and do some more chores.

What a great opportunity, thank you ABC;

Will there be another? We’ll have to wait and see.

Being in the bush makes every day great;

It’s been good to document my life in the Sunshine State.

The wildlife, the space and the countryside,

The people, the fresh air and birds’ chirping collide.

Raising a family is what I love the most;

Next comes our holidays down at the coast.

Cooking, tips and stories are what I hope will entice,

along with some laughter and honest advice.

Thank you, Brigitta and Candyce, for backing this book,

and also John and the kids, whom I can’t overlook.

Please sit down and enjoy the stories I’ve told,

And use the recipes when yours are getting too old.

My Smoko Break Facebook is where you’ll find me – keep in touch,

Ask a question, or just say hello when life just gets too much.

Hayley xx

Contents

Introduction

Breakfast

Austral Park Spaghetti

Australian Monkey Bread

Bacon & Egg Cups

Bread-based Mini Quiches

Frog in a Hole

Muesli Parfait

Omelette in a Bag

Oven-Baked Eggs

Roadhouse Scrambled Eggs

Rolled Oats in the Slow Cooker

Savoury Mince on Toast

Slow-Cooked French Toast

Sweet Potato Toast

Fresh Ham with Tomato & Cheese

Tomato, Mushrooms & Onion

Hayley’s Top Tips: Toddler & Child

Mum’s Time

Smoko

2 Way Tea Cake

3pm Slice

Apple & Sour Cream Slice

Apple Muffins

Banana Choc Chip Muffins

Carrot Slice

Chocolate Biscuits

Chocolate Cake

Caramel Slice

Chocolate Caramel Weet-Bix Slice

Chocolate Fudge Slice

Chocolate Jam Cake

Coffee Slice

Condensed Milk Chocolate Slice

Condensed Milk Biscuits

Condensed Milk Cake

Condensed Milk Patty Cakes

Condensed Milk Muffins

Condensed Milk Slice

Cornflake Smoko Cake

Country Apple Slice

Country Slab Cake

Crunchy Coffee Biscuits

Double Choc Chip Muffins

Echidna Slice

Fijian Banana Bread

Gingernut Biscuits

Gran Tinney’s Pumpkin Scones

Honey Buns

Honeycomb Slice

Lemon Cake

Lemon Slice

Madeira Cake

Marble cake

Mars Bar Slice

Microwave Cake

Mud Slice

Not-so-happy Camper Pikelets

Passionfruit Cake

Patty Cakes

Plain Slice

Prize-Winning Sponge Cake

Pumpkin & Sultana Cake

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Pumpkin Tea Cake

Raspberry Jam Slice

Rustic Lemon Slice

The Humble Scone

Hayley’s Top Tips: Get Organised

Animal Antics

Lunch

Bacon & Cheese Savoury Cake

Beef Parcels

Caesar Salad

Chicken & Cheese Fritters

Cold Meat Fritters

Couscous Salad

Curried Potato Salad

Fried Rice (in the slow cooker)

Meatloaf

Monster Savoury Slice

No-Nonsense Frittata

Picnic Eggs

Picnic Loaf

Potato & Pork Patties

Potato Salad

Pumpkin Soup

Rice Cracker Chicken Legs

Self Crusting Quiche

Sweet Potato Slice

Zucchini & Bacon Slice

Hayley’s Top Tips: First Aid & Cold Relief

Country Living

Plate Mates

Beer Bread

Broccoli Salad

Brown Rice Salad

Cauliflower Bake

Crumbed Mushrooms

Layered Garden Salad

Potato Bake

Potato Mash

Pumpkin & Spinach Salad

Pumpkin Bake

Spinach & Feta Stuffed Mushrooms

Spinach Pasta Salad

Sun-dried Tomato & Chicken Pasta

Sweet & Sour Salad

Vegetable Bake

Vegetable Medley

Vegetable Mornay

Hayley’s Top Tips: Easy Clean

Stolen Boots & Stolen Hearts

Dinner

Bizzerko Chicken

Cheat’s Shepherd’s Pie

Cheesy Chicken, Bacon & Broccoli Rice

Chicken & Bacon Fettuccine

Chicken & Cheese Rissoles

Chicken Curry in the Slow Cooker

Chicken, Brown Rice & Veggie Casserole

Chicken, Potato & Beans

Creamy Sausages

French Onion Beef Casserole

Homemade Honey Chicken

KFC (Kid Friendly Curry)

Lasagne

One-pot Wonder

Parmesan Pork

Pineapple Chicken

Pork On Your Fork

Rissoles

Sour Cream Chicken Pies

Stroganoff

Zucchini & Beef Casserole

Hayley’s Top Tips: Pest Control

Parenting

Dessert

Apple Crumble 3 Ways

Caramel Dumplings

Chocolate Self-saucing Dessert

Country Apple Pie

Day-before Cheesecake

Golden Syrup Dessert

Homemade Ice-cream

Lemon Meringue Pie

Mango Ice-cream Bars

Milky Rice Pudding

Pavlova

Peach Cobbler

Sticky Date Cheesecake

Sticky Date Pudding

Yoghurt Slice

Hayley’s Top Tips: A Fresh Touch

Getting Organised

School Lunchbox

Balls

Butter Cake

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Chocolate Freckle Slice

Custard Slice

Lunchbox Snacks

Marshmallow Weet-Bix Slice

Milo muffins

Milo yogo cups

Rice Bubble Slice

Sultana Cake

Shortbread Bites

Taco Boat Quiches

Hayley’s Top Tips: Bathroom & Laundry

Just Doing Our Best

Harvest

ANZAC Slice

Baked Spuds

Beef or Lamb Casserole

Beef Stir-fry with BBQ Sauce

Butterscotch Slice

Creamy Garlic Chicken

Corned Beef ‘Lasagne’

Curried Sausages

Harvest Cake

Lemonade Casserole

Lemonade Cordial

Nachos

Rum & Cola Beef Jerky

Steak Diane

Sweet & Sour Pork

Takeaway Meatballs

Takeaway Meringues

Takeaway Spaghetti Bolognaise

Hayley’s Top Tips: Kitchen

The Windmill in the Garden

Cooking With Kids

1, 2, 3, 4 Patty Cakes

Beef Pasta ‘Bake’

Brownie Ice-cream Cups

Cheese Puffs

I Scream Cake

Milo Fudge

Pasta & Broccoli Bake

Pikelets

Popcorn Bars

Snack Ideas & Easy Dinners

Strawberry Milk Patty Cakes

Hayley’s Top Tips: Make It Yourself

Beating the Blues

Occasion

ANZAC Slice (Anzac Day)

Beetroot Dip (Parties)

Chocolate Mud Cake #1 (Birthdays)

Chocolate Mud Cake #2 (Birthdays)

Christmas Treats

Classic Cheese Ball (Christmas Parties)

Cob Loaf (Christmas Parties)

Fluffy Cloud Icing for Patty Cakes (Birthdays)

Fudge (Gifts for Teachers)

Homemade Hummus (Parties)

Hot Cross Bun Bread & Butter Pudding (Easter)

Jelly Slice (Christmas)

Santa’s Bark (Christmas)

Sprinkle Rainbow Birthday Cake

White Chocolate Cake (Birthday)

Hayley’s Top Tips: Cosmetics & Jewellery

The Lost Ring

Child’s Play

Crayon Shapes

Flubber or Slime

Lip Gloss

Magical Reindeer Food

Monster Bubbles

Play Dough

Salt Dough Plaques

Shaving Cream Paint

Footpath Paint

Hayley’s Top Tips: Mozzie Relief

Make the Most of What You Have

Index of Household Tips

Index of Recipes

About the Author

Copyright

Introduction

My name is Hayley Maudsley and I live in rural Queensland. I’m a lover of storms, shopping, fresh clean sheets, photography, pink, dad jokes, gardening, event planning, sewing, organisation, tea, rain on a tin roof, craft, wine and, of course, baking.

I’m a mother to Heidi, Angus and Charlie; wife to John. I like to stay busy and always have a project on the go. I’m an ordinary mum living an extraordinary life.

I was born in Toowoomba, Queensland, but my parents raised me and my younger brother on rural properties until I was 17. After I left school, I did a retail traineeship at Roma. Some advice my parents always gave me was to have a qualification and/or a trade to fall back on throughout life. This is something that I’ve always stood by.

During my time in Roma, I was fortunate enough to have an employer who was very much involved in the community. I was encouraged to enter quests, such as the RSL Girl in A Million Quest, and the local showgirl quest, both of which I won. Thanks to these opportunities, I met many beautiful people (several of them remain friends) and gained a better understanding of the community and generosity of people, in both the country and the city. It also gave me the confidence I needed to speak in public and to spark conversations with strangers.

When I moved on from Roma, I worked for an organisation called Frontier Services, travelling three weeks at a time around remote properties in Queensland and the Northern Territory, looking after children to give mums a break. It was fantastic and I loved it – a perfect way for a young girl to see the countryside and meet some lovely down-to-earth people.

After this stint, I moved back to my hometown of Chinchilla to work in real estate, and then on to Moura to work in the livestock industry there. Moura is where I met John, as he had cattle on properties up there. Our weekends were spent mustering with helicopters and on horseback, followed by yard work.

Three years after I met John, we made the decision to purchase the property we now live on. Here we began the second chapter of our lives. We were married in 2009 and started our own family in 2011.

Having children is the best accomplishment in my life. It’s hard work, it’s rewarding and it’s very satisfying to watch your children develop, learn and grow.

John is a very hard worker and provider for the family. He is often away between properties in southwest and southeast Queensland, but he always supports us. John enjoys flying as a pastime. He used to take me on joyflights in his microlight trike, and he is currently rebuilding a gyrocopter.

We enjoy our family holidays at Mooloolaba each summer. It’s a reward for all our hard work throughout the year. John cannot have a day off at home because there’s always a job to do, and he is just not the type to have a ‘lazy’ day. So, it’s best to go away if we ever want a break.

***

In 2013, I was a new mum for the second time and had a toddler at my feet. Living on a wheat property in southwest Queensland can feel a bit isolated, although I always had a job to go to at the local school.

While enjoying a cuppa and a piece of slice (a ‘smoko’ break) on an autumn day in April 2013, I was thinking about what to make the family for dinner. I turned to Facebook for some inspiration. I scrolled around for a bit, gave up, then walked away and made a trusty family standby: garden salad, T-bone steak and some oven-baked chips.

No good came of my research that day because all I saw on the internet were perfectly portioned dinners, with beautiful crockery, superb fresh garnishes, and some ingredients that I had never heard of. I thought to myself, where is the real food? There was nothing to see apart from staged food, professional photography and perfect lighting. Surely I was not the only stay-at-home mum who thought the same way. So I spent the night thinking of a solution.

Starting the next day, I began to share some favourite recipes, hints and tricks and some creative food ideas for the kids with my friends on my personal Facebook page. Encouraged by the response, I then set up a public Facebook page titled ‘My Smoko Break’.

I know from the interactions I have on my Facebook page that I’m definitely not the only stay-at-home mum who enjoys practical cooking. In fact, it’s not just mothers, it’s men, young home-leavers, grandparents, all sorts of people all over the world.

Essentially, ‘My Smoko Break’ consists of short stories of my life entwined with recipes. For example, when it’s time to harvest our wheat crop, I might tell a story about the harvest that day and then detail a recipe that is a popular meal at that time of year. I would also include tips for household chores, tales of raising children, craft ideas, and things to make you laugh. I am a lover of quotes so I include them too. An inspirational quote can mean so much to someone. No one knows what anyone else is going through in their life and it just might push them through the day.

Developing ‘My Smoko Break’ does not take that much out of my day. I often get asked, ‘How do you do it all?’ Well, most of the work stems from caring for my family in a normal manner – I just document it. I enjoy sharing; it’s a way of socialising for me, connecting with people, and also helping them. Even sharing little common-sense tips can help. Something that’s common sense to me might be an entirely new concept to another person, so I’ll share it on my page because it might make a difference to someone.

I think what people like about ‘My Smoko Break’ is the fact that I am an ordinary mother doing the best I can. And I know that people like my style of recipes: a cup is just that, a tea cup; a pinch is a pinch with your fingers – it can’t be measured better than that. Throw in a bit of extra flour if the batter is too runny – just run with it. Try the dish with your finger to see how it tastes. Cook with the kids; have them count out the frozen peas to put in the pot for dinner.

Apart from doing ‘My Smoko Break’, in my spare time I enjoy taking the kids on picnics, or on drives through the paddocks on the mule we aptly named ‘Eeyore’, and maintaining and enjoying my beautiful garden. The kids love the outdoors, but they don’t mind licking the beaters too!

Thanks for the love and I hope you get a lot of enjoyment from my book.

Hayley xx

Austral Park Spaghetti

Serves 5

This is a recipe my nanna used to make. Be it for breakfast or after a big day on the property for dinner, it was something that she could easily throw together and everyone would enjoy. These days my family enjoy it for breakfast.

1 tablespoon butter

1 onion, chopped

Diced bacon, to taste (optional)

250g dried spaghetti

420g tin tomato soup (we love to use Big Red)

Grated cheese, to taste

Toast, to serve

1.Place the butter into a hot saucepan and fry up the onion, and the bacon if using. While frying, cook the spaghetti as per packet directions, until al dente. Drain the spaghetti and add to the saucepan of butter and onion.

2.Add the tin of tomato soup, stirring well to combine, then mix in the grated cheese (I like about 1 cup).

3.Serve the lovely homemade spaghetti on toast.

Australian Monkey Bread

Serves 6–8

American monkey bread would use what they call ‘biscuit’ mix, which is like a scone dough. I thought I might use a yoghurt dough mixture instead. Here’s my Aussie version of the classic monkey bread recipe, oozing warm caramel and cinnamon. Monkey bread is irresistible!

½ cup white sugar

Pinch of ground cinnamon

2 cups self-raising flour

1 cup Greek yoghurt

1 cup nuts (such as walnuts or pecans or a combination)

1 cup sultanas (optional)

1 cup brown sugar

185g butter, melted

1.Preheat the oven to 180°C and lightly grease a round bundt tin with oil spray. In a large snap-lock bag, mix the sugar and cinnamon.

2.Combine the flour and yoghurt in a bowl and mix to a soft dough. Knead briefly until smooth.

3.Roll the dough into a log. Pull off pieces of dough and place into the bag with the sugar mixture. Shake to coat. Arrange dough in the tin, adding the nuts and sultanas among the dough pieces.

4.In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and butter. Pour over the dough pieces.

5.Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in the centre. Cool in the tin. Turn upside down onto a serving plate and pull apart to serve while still warm.

6.Enjoy!

Bacon & Egg Cups

Serves 6

These little bacon and egg cups are great for when you have people stay overnight and enjoy breakfast with you the following day. You can make as few or as many as you like. Kids love them and the beauty of them is you can just prepare them all at once, pop them in the oven and let them all bake without having to stand over traditional bacon and eggs in the pan. This also makes a good breakfast or smoko for when it’s harvest time for those on the go.

Oil spray

6 short-cut bacon rashers

6 slices of bread

Grated cheese, to taste

6 eggs

1.Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a 6-hole large muffin tin. Spray a frying pan with oil and fry up the bacon until crispy. Once cooked, place onto a plate with paper towel to absorb the fat.

2.Use a glass or scone cutter to cut rounds from the bread. Place the bread rounds into the holes in the muffin pan.

3.Place a slice of the cooked bacon on top of each bread piece, followed by a sprinkle of grated cheese. Crack an egg on top of the cheese in each hole. It should now be like a little cup, and full to the top.

4.Bake for about 10 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs. Remove from the oven and run a butter knife around the edges to loosen, then lift out. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately.

Bread-based Mini Quiches

Makes 24

I make these for the kids often and they don’t last long. Some other fillings my kids enjoy are chicken, tuna, corned beef, corn, peas, asparagus or zucchini. Anything goes with this recipe really and it doesn’t matter how much ‘filling’ you add as it still sets the same. These also freeze tremendously well for lunch boxes. Those little soft taco ‘boats’ that you can buy are also really good to use instead of bread.

24 slices of bread

Soft butter

4 eggs

1 cup milk

½ cup cream

1 cup diced ham

1 onion, diced

1 cup grated cheese

1.Preheat the oven to 180°C. Get out two 12-hole medium muffin tins.

2.Use a glass or scone cutter slightly bigger than the muffin holes to cut rounds from the bread. Butter the bread rounds and place buttered side down into the holes, pressing gently.

3.In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and cream. Stir in the ham and onion, and season with salt and pepper. Divide the mixture between the bread cases and top with grated cheese.

4.Bake until set and golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Frog in a Hole

Serves 4

This is my kids’ favourite food. We make it all together every morning (I’m not kidding!) for breakfast. It really does not take much time at all to make and it is a very old fashioned, common recipe. It is very satisfying to know that you have sent the kids off to school with a substantial breakfast in their bellies. The most my eldest son has eaten in one sitting is 5. He is 5! Some nights when we are all very tired or unwell, we will make these for dinner. They are also fun made with different shapes as opposed to the common circular holes. You can use cookie cutters for the shapes.

4 slices of bread

Soft butter

4 eggs

Tomato sauce, to serve (optional)

1.We use an electric frying pan to make these.