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Crumble Kits - April 2019
I love anything that makes life easier, but I certainly don't like to pay the price for convenience.
Instead I MOO as much as I can and one of the things that makes my life a lot easier and saves us a lot of money is crumble kits.
We've fallen out of the habit of having dessert after our meals and it was showing in my grocery budget. Until about 30 years ago, desserts were commonplace after every main meal. They were a nice way to end a meal, but for the budget conscious homemaker, desserts stretched grocery budgets too.
They were usually made from inexpensive or free ingredients, leaving the grocery money to cover the more expensive ingredients.
I try to make our desserts as healthy as possible without going overboard, so we have things like apple and rhubarb crumble or peach cobbler or fruit salad cake, steamed fruit pudding, lemon delicious, baked rice custard, fruit pies, and they're usually served with a boiled custard or cream (or in Wayne's case both), or fruit salad, fruit platters with dip and so on.
I've shared before how I make up MOO packet cake mixes and how they are so convenient.
Well, I make up crumble kits too and they are really convenient as well.
When I want to make a crumble I take the fruit off the pantry shelf or out of the freezer, grab a crumble kit from the pantry, add the melted butter, dump it all in a pie dish and bake it. Easy! I can get a crumble in the oven in under five minutes, fantastic for busy nights.
I use my big baking dish to make crumble. It makes enough for at least two nights of desserts and a couple of lunches - about 14 serves. I just put the leftover crumble into a Tupperware container and keep it in the fridge. The next night I reheat however many serves we need in the microwave.
As a bonus, crumble kits are great for camping. I make them up in large ziplock bags and they store flat in the tucker box.
Then, to make a crumble, I dump the fruit - stewed or tinned apricots or peaches or apple or fruit salad or rhubarb or a combination of any of these - into a baking paper lined camp oven. Then melt some butter, add it to the crumble mixture, tip it onto the fruit, put the lid on and let the hot coals work their camp cooking magic. Sometimes we even have ice-cream with our camp oven crumble, depending on the room in the freezer!
Crumble Kits
Into a large ziplock bag add:
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup plain flour
3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
3/4 cup coconut
1 tsp mixed spice
Seal the bag.
On the front of the bag write:
To make up melt 125g butter. Add to dry ingredients. Mix well. Spread evenly over the top of fruit. Bake 30 - 40 minutes until topping is browned and fruit is bubbling.
I usually make up a dozen or so at a time and keep them in the pantry. Without the butter added they are shelf stable for months.
If you have freezer room you can add the melted butter and make the topping. Store the packets in the freezer so the butter doesn't go rancid - it will if you keep them in the pantry.
To use the frozen crumble kits just take one out of the freezer. It will be a solid block. Let it sit for a few minutes then either crumble it over the fruit with your fingers or use the coarse side of a grater to grate it over the fruit. Add 5 - 10 minutes to the cooking time.
Instead I MOO as much as I can and one of the things that makes my life a lot easier and saves us a lot of money is crumble kits.
We've fallen out of the habit of having dessert after our meals and it was showing in my grocery budget. Until about 30 years ago, desserts were commonplace after every main meal. They were a nice way to end a meal, but for the budget conscious homemaker, desserts stretched grocery budgets too.
They were usually made from inexpensive or free ingredients, leaving the grocery money to cover the more expensive ingredients.
I try to make our desserts as healthy as possible without going overboard, so we have things like apple and rhubarb crumble or peach cobbler or fruit salad cake, steamed fruit pudding, lemon delicious, baked rice custard, fruit pies, and they're usually served with a boiled custard or cream (or in Wayne's case both), or fruit salad, fruit platters with dip and so on.
I've shared before how I make up MOO packet cake mixes and how they are so convenient.
Well, I make up crumble kits too and they are really convenient as well.
When I want to make a crumble I take the fruit off the pantry shelf or out of the freezer, grab a crumble kit from the pantry, add the melted butter, dump it all in a pie dish and bake it. Easy! I can get a crumble in the oven in under five minutes, fantastic for busy nights.
I use my big baking dish to make crumble. It makes enough for at least two nights of desserts and a couple of lunches - about 14 serves. I just put the leftover crumble into a Tupperware container and keep it in the fridge. The next night I reheat however many serves we need in the microwave.
As a bonus, crumble kits are great for camping. I make them up in large ziplock bags and they store flat in the tucker box.
Then, to make a crumble, I dump the fruit - stewed or tinned apricots or peaches or apple or fruit salad or rhubarb or a combination of any of these - into a baking paper lined camp oven. Then melt some butter, add it to the crumble mixture, tip it onto the fruit, put the lid on and let the hot coals work their camp cooking magic. Sometimes we even have ice-cream with our camp oven crumble, depending on the room in the freezer!
Crumble Kits
Into a large ziplock bag add:
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup plain flour
3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
3/4 cup coconut
1 tsp mixed spice
Seal the bag.
On the front of the bag write:
To make up melt 125g butter. Add to dry ingredients. Mix well. Spread evenly over the top of fruit. Bake 30 - 40 minutes until topping is browned and fruit is bubbling.
I usually make up a dozen or so at a time and keep them in the pantry. Without the butter added they are shelf stable for months.
If you have freezer room you can add the melted butter and make the topping. Store the packets in the freezer so the butter doesn't go rancid - it will if you keep them in the pantry.
To use the frozen crumble kits just take one out of the freezer. It will be a solid block. Let it sit for a few minutes then either crumble it over the fruit with your fingers or use the coarse side of a grater to grate it over the fruit. Add 5 - 10 minutes to the cooking time.