Triple family sized casserole and my new Tefal Fresh Express

Today I was meant to catch up with some girlfriends for a big bake-off and to test run a Tefal Fresh Express that I have been given to trial.  But you know what they say about the best laid plans... and busy mums and sick kids.  So we had to ditch the catch up but I already had the makings of a super triple family sized sausage casserole, and the Tefal Fresh Express to trial.   So I just spent some time in the kitchen getting it all cooked up ready to share around with some friends.

The Tefal Fresh Express is pretty nifty.  The best way to describe it is an electric desktop grater.  Not quite a food processor (you can't mix things around) but it handles most of the slicing and dicing.  Super easy to use (I haven't read the instructions...  ssshhh don't tell anyone) and really easy to clean. 

I'm pretty excited that it has a splash of red on it, as I am hoping to accessorise my new kitchen (that was put in this week) with red.  You need two hands to use it; you hold the button with one and push the food in with the other.  Its nice and compact and light, so much so that tonight I will pack it back in its box and lend it to a colleague at work to test out.  Thanks to The Soup for the opportunity to try out this cool new kitchen gadget.

Hoummos

This Hoummos is a delicious moreish summer snacking recipe.  Perfect with corn chips or lightly toasted salty pita bread.  Full credit for this one goes to my lovely friend Tammi.

Interesting fact, Wikipedia tells me you can spell it "hummus, houmous, hommos, humos, hoummos, etc."

1 tin chickpeas
1 tablespoon Tahini (this costs a bit but keeps in the fridge virtually forever)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
5-8 tablespoons of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil

Basically you put all these things in the food processor (or a stab mixer works well too) and mix it all together well.  I like it really lemony, so if its a bit dry I add more lemon and/or olive oil.

Let it be known I truly believe this is the only "good" use of chickpeas....

Rogan Josh

This was a winner dish!  I can't even remember where I got the Pataks recipe base from; maybe the Good Food and Wine show earlier in the year?  I didn't quite follow the instructions on the back, I added extra tomato (because that was the size of the tin I had) and left out the water.  Instead of cooking it on the stove top I put it in a crock pot in the oven on low for a couple of hours.  It had a most gorgeous flavour and wasn't hot/spicy at all. I'll definitely be purchasing this one again. I admit I didn't attempt to feed it to the kids; but at a long shot they just might eat it.  My only complaint was that it wasn't a "family" size portion, the two of us ate it all up with no leftovers.

Citrus cheesecake

This afternoon we are heading the park for a pizza picnic in celebration of my mother-in-law's birthday.  I offered to make a birthday cake and she selected this recipe.  Unfortunately the local IGA didn't stock the CSR Smart Sugar blend so I substituted with caster sugar.  Hopefully it still tastes okay.  I was a little concerned with my oven, it's not fan forced and cooking cakes can be unreliable.  Especially when you are trying to slow cook something at a moderate temperature.  But I am really pleased with how it has turned out.  Aesthetically at least, the taste verdict will need to wait until later in the day.

Chicken risotto in the pressure cooker

Today I have tried to cook a couple of meals to have ready to go in the fridge this week.  One of them was using up a Maggi Pressure cooker meal mix I have had in the cupboard for a while.  It certainly was a quick and easy meal to make.  I doubled the amount of chicken the packet suggest and went easy on the baby spinach (knowing I will be pulling it our for some of my customers).  It tastes pretty good although a bit bland.  In comparison it has nothing on the Chicken cacciatore risotto that I often make, nor the bacon and leek risotto I have also blogged about before. 

This week's food is bought to you by...

A big pantry clean out which found a number of recipe bases stashed away and two books that I picked up at the second hand book stall at the school fair.

Today I have tried the pikelets from the Women's Weekly book.  They are made with wholemeal flour so will be in the lunch boxes this week.  There were quite a few other baking recipes in there I would love to try, but I had run out of eggs. My online shop is due tomorrow evening.

Menu plan - back to pen and paper

Oh dear, I am struggling to regain control of our menu plan!!  I visited the lovely shop Typo on the weekend and fell in love with their on-the-fridge menu plan.  I have also seen these at Kikki K.  You can also make up your own or there are plenty of free downloads online.  Anyway I have decided to stop regularly publishing my menu plans online each fortnight.  Do not fear, I will post them from time to time.  It's just that I much prefer blogging about recipes and tips than menu plans!

Not to mention you can always choose the menu plan label link on the left of the blog to review any one of my many menu plans already published.

Don't click unsubscribe and stay tuned because I still have plenty of recipes on my "to try" list!

Taking stock

Having large containers of stock in the pantry is essential.  But most of the recipes I cook, I always end up with some left over.  If I am clever with my planning I pre-empt this and cook two different dishes requiring stock close together to make the best use of it.  I hate having to throw leftovers out!  Of course most people know you can freeze stock and many people suggest ice cube trays.  I prefer freezing in 1/2 or 1 cup quantities personally because that is how much I am likely to need at a later date.

Be careful, I only recently read up on freezing and re-heating home made meat-based stock, and it is more complicated than the store bought variety.  There are a variety of use by options and methods on line.  I read through loads and the most important thing I think I learnt was to remember to not freeze the meal you end up making with it.  Now I am no expert of food safety, so if you are not sure about this make sure you read up on it too!

Plenty of parsnips

Sorry readers, life is hectic at the moment so I apologise for the reduction in posts.  I had planned a great chocolate cake post over the weekend, but alas it fell apart in the tin.  Hopefully version 2 will be more succesful.

But last week I was the recipient of 15 lovely parsnips.  After baking them with a roast one night, and still having plenty left over, Pip offered the suggestion of baking them with leeks and bacon.  Now I am a firm believer that most dishes that include leeks and bacon have to be a bit of alright, so I gave it a whirl.

• 6 large parsnips, peeled and chopped into chunks (3-5 cm)
• 500g bacon cut chunky (about the same size as the parsnip)
• 2 leeks cut into 5 cm lengths
• 1 tsp honey
• olive oil

1. Put oven on to about 160 C
2. Line a large baking dish with baking paper
3. Mix together parsnips, bacon and leeks in baking dish (stand the leeks upright)
4. Drizzle over very finely the honey
5. Drizzle with olive oil
6. Cover dish with aluminium foil
7. Bake for about 2 hours (keep checking it and make sure the oil covers the veges evenly)
8. Remove the foil for the last 30 minutes

We ate this as a side dish with a bbq and salad.  It was a lovely change from potato salad or potato bake.  Highly recommended. Thanks for the help Pip!

Baked cheesecake

I made this Baked Lemon Cheesecake last week to take to a friend's place for dinner.  If you think cheesecake is on your too hard list, think again.  You can't really get much simpler than this recipe and its great for the hip pocket (but maybe not the hips).  I'm going to try it next time with some violet crumble instead of the lemon.

Cream cheese is a great thing to keep stashed in the fridge, it usually has a really long used by date.  Same thing with some arrowroot or other plain type biscuits.  These are some simple ingredients that you can have on hand to make some scrumptious desserts.

Honey Oat Slice

Not too long ago I posted a link to a recipe for Honey Oat Slice, only I accidentally sent you all to the wrong place.  So here it is again, a super yummy slice recipe that keeps a long time and packs great in a lunch box.  Just a few tips, it does seem to make a large mix, but it really does all go into one slice tin.  Just make sure have lined up a little past the sides of the tin if you use shallow tins like me.  And 300g of butter does seem like a ridiculous amount, but I promise it works.

Another Massaman

This time I wanted to try making Beef Massaman without the prepackaged meal sauce.  I didn't go completely back to basics, I did still purchase a small tin of Massaman Curry paste and I made a huge batch ready to freeze for lunches.  Only problem was it was it ended up too spicy (for the member of the household who doesn't like spicy food).  I think I will stick to my previous method.  Still if you like a little bit of heat in your curry, it was still very delicious.

• 1.5kg beef
• 1 onion diced
• 7 small potatoes with the skin on, diced
• 1 small tin Massaman curry
• 1 1/3 tins coconut cream

Combine everything in a large crock pot and place in the oven for up to two hours at about 170-180C.

The war against dishpan hands

I have horrible hands that look about 20 years older than the rest of me.  Largely a result or dermatitis/eczema and too much use of cortisone creams.  Over the last few months it has been completely out of control.  Cooking isn't exactly great for them, given the number of times you wash your hands, or wash fruit and veg, wash up dirty dishes etc.  So after consulting a number of people, this week I waged war.

First: I purchased a pair of premium, latex free, super-sensitive washing up gloves.  I never usually use washing up gloves because they tend to irritate my skin more than the water.  This time I splurged.

Then: a neighbour put me on to this fabulous hand cream from the Body Shop.  I have tried most "miracle" creams under the sun, and usually as soon as I put them on I am in all worlds of pain from the stinging, and they don't do much to improve my hands.  This one is different.  It doesn't smell lovely but within a day of using it I noticed considerable improvements.

Lastly, a week of antihistamines.  The Asthma Foundation's Twitter feed kept informing me of the extreme pollen counts over the last few weeks, and my constant sneezing tipped me off that its that time of year again.  I love spring, if only it didn't make me so terribly uncomfortable.

So I am at the end of the week of the war against dishpan hands, and I think I may have won!

Menu plan - I lost count of the weeks

Last fortnight (it was actually closer to 3 weeks)  I spent $342 on groceries.  I admit there were actually 2 takeaway meals on top of that (worth about another $60) and that's the price of not planning.  Here is the next plan:

Saturday - Pressure cooker pork spare ribs, wedges, corn, peas and carrot

Sunday – Lasagne

Monday – Meatballs and spaghetti

Tuesday – Chicken enchiladas with rice

Wednesday – Massaman beef curry (ravioli for the kids)

Thursday - Fish, chips and salad

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday – Roast dinner

Sunday – Steak, chips and salad

Monday – Leftovers

Tuesday – Spaghetti bolognese
Wednesday – Chicken meatballs

I hope to get through a bit of baking tomorrow and restock the pantry and freezer with snacks.

Date slice

I stumbled across a yummy and easy slice recipe this week.  I had to do some late night baking for the builders yesterday (another request for passionfruit slice) and thought I would make another slice at the same time as the lunch box supplies were getting a bit low.  The cupboard was pretty bare (no more coconut - so many slices need coconut!) and I only had 125g of butter left.

This Best Recipes date slice worked a treat, really quick and easy, yummy, and travels well.

Butter chicken

This week I made butter chicken from almost-scratch, it turned out really well!  I was the only person in the house who enjoyed the meal, but it was super delicious and attracted many comments in the lunch room the next day when I reheated my leftovers.  I used this great mix from The Curry Traders which I picked up at my local butcher (but you can purchase through The Curry Traders website too).  I have to admit it was a bit of a budget splurge, but I have been reducing my "packet mix" cooking as a result of watching out for food additives and colouring and thought this may be a healthier option.

The instructions on the packet were easy to follow. I only wish I had a coffee grinder, because I am not sure I spent enough time grinding up the seeds as directed, and think if these "bits" where finer then my husband may have enjoyed the dish more. I will definitely be trying some more of their mixes.

Bacon and leek quiche

This week I made a yummy bacon, leek and fetta quiche using the basics of my Pizza pie recipe.  I fried up a finely chopped leek with some bacon first, then added it to a bowl with some diced fetta (I used a whole small block).  I only added in a sprinkle of grated tasty cheese then about half a cup of cream.  It was all about using up things in my fridge that were near the end of their usable life.  Quiche is a great dish to have in the fridge, it can be a quick lunch or an easy dinner.  This week I have been packing it for breakfast for my husband while he does the early shift.

If you have never made quiche before, you really need to give it a try.  And make sure you let me know if you have any other yummy filing combinations.  Thanks to Lauren for the Leeks idea!

Birthday party time!

Whoa I am super exhausted! Both boys birthdays this weekend meant a bit of baking for the party.  I admit to cheating and buying overpriced cupcakes at Woolworths to send to school and kindy.  But hey I can't be superwoman. 

I would have to say I was pretty happy with the cake (I'm not up for things that take too much time and effort but they still have to look good).  My biggest birthday cake tip is to buy the Sara Lee Create a Cake and spend your time on decorations rather than baking.  They taste pretty yummy too.  This cake was made from 1 and 3/4 of the Create a Cakes. Don't defrost the cakes before you do your construction and decorating, its much easier to work with them frozen.

But I think the baking I was most happy with this weekend were the Mario Starman cookies - super easy (just a basic biscuit mix) and they looked great.

Seville orange marmalade

There is a bit of history behind this cooking adventure.  Friends once planted a Seville Orange tree on their farm for my Dad (who was an avid jam and marmalade maker).  Unfortunately Dad has passed away and ironically (maybe?) the tree gave a bumper crop this year.  I was ceremoniously provided with some of the special fruit, but it meant I had to give making marmalade a crack!  I decided not to use Dad's recipe but try something different and after a bit of online research selected a recipe from The Cottage Smallholder blog.  I'm proud to say the lemons were also a gift from a friend and the jars from my mum, so other than the 2kg of sugar and plenty of time they turned out to be some pretty budget friendly jars of marmalade.  I was so excited Thursday morning to wake to find the jars had set perfectly.  And my end product looks almost identical to the jars pictured on their blog.

Back on track and a new plan for the fortnight

So after my much-to-be-desired planning efforts of the past month I think I managed to get back on track today. I spent $144 over the last week and stuck the the plan fairly well.  Today I even browsed some cook books and magazines for inspiration and came up with the following:

Wednesday -  catching up on making Pip's devilled chops recipe

Thursday – Mexican pizza

Friday – Bacon and leek quiche

Saturday - Butter chicken and rice (I will be trying a Curry Traders spice pack)

Sunday –Leftovers

Monday –Spaghetti and meatballs

Tuesday –Tacos

Wednesday –Massaman curry (raviolli for the kids) - I am going to try a new recipe this week

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday -Chicken enchiladas and rice

Saturday –Marinated chicken and vegetables

Sunday – Sausages, potato bake and veg

Monday – Leftovers

Tuesday – Chicken cacciatore risotto

Apple and oat muffins

I fancied a bit of kitchen therapy this afternoon and found this Apple and Oat Muffins recipe.  It ticked all the boxes as far as I am concerned: reasonably good/healthy(ish) ingredients; quick to make; and potentially super yummy.  I was surprised that it honestly only took 5 minutes to prepare (just whack it all in the mix master).  The bit that took the longest was scraping out the last of the Jalna Vanilla Yoghurt I was using (If you haven't eaten this before, put it on the shopping list).  I made smaller muffins so reduced the cooking time a little.

Only problem? Rejected by Master 6 due to the "skin" inside.  Next time, I'll grate the apple and mix it in with everything else.

Blog roll?

Hot shopping tip , I learned this interesting little snippet last night from a lady very knowledgeable about such things and with some industry knowledge.  Apparently you should never pay more than 26c per roll of toilet paper (the nice/premium style type).

Do you have any shopping tips you can share?

The latest menu plan

After another week of no planning, I have had enough!  My head hurts way too much when I have to think each day about what is going to be for dinner.  I haven't done a proper shop but have planned for the next week based on my existing freezer and pantry stock.  Hopefully I get my fruit and veg order in time and it can help make it a little more exciting.

Wednesday - chicken stirfry with rice noodles (picture below)

Thursday – baked lamb chops, lemon risotto and peas

Friday – devilled chops, mashed potato and vegetables

Saturday - steak and home made chips with salad

Sunday – eating out with friends

Monday – roast chicken and vegetables

Tuesday – curried sausages and vegetables

Pip's chocloate cake and Chicken Master Blaster

Finally got to spend some time in the kitchen again this weekend.  Whipped up a gluten free version of my easy lemon meringue pie for a lunch with friends.  To make this recipe gluten free you need 1 1/2 boxes of the Freelicious tea biscuits. 

I also cooked a recommendation from my lovely friend Kynwyn:  Nick's Chicken Master Blaster. It was really yummy even though I accidentally left out the mustard.  The kids did eat it, but it was a bit of a struggle.  Someone complained that it contained salad (shallots) - I mean really boys!  Leftovers for the adults tonight, while we watch the huge TV line up of The Block then Underbelly.  Not to mention I have a bottle of my favourite wine The Rolling Sauvignon Blanc Semillon.

On top of all that I managed to whip up Pip's easy chocolate cake recipe (sans icing).  Took me ages to make as I was gas-bagging to a friend at the same time.  But it worked out nicely.  I used a ring tin (because my round cake tins were buried too far in the cupboard for my liking).  I probably should have lined the base because ring tins are always harder to get the cake out of.

Just a little hiccup

Well it is Friday night already and you have probably noticed I have failed to tally last fortnight's expenses or publish the next menu plan.  To be honest, I have sort of lost control.  This week just flew by and for one reason or another I haven't really had much time to myself.  I hope this might make you feel better?  People often comment that they wonder how I "manage everything" and I always find it quite funny, because I never really feel like I am "managing" much at all.

On a positive note, there has been no meal plan and very little blogging BUT I would say the whole family have had a good week.  No real arguments or toddler melt downs, other than the usual homework tensions.  No fights about dinner either....  you see I implemented a new rewards chart system.  You need to eat up your dinner without fuss Monday to Friday or there is no DS or Wii on the weekend.  Worked a treat for two weeks so far, lets see how long it lasts.

Anyway, stay tuned because over the weekend I need to make some marmalade, and also need to whip up some baked goodies.  A few of you have sent through a few slice and cake recipes recently and I am looking forward to trying some of them.... stay tuned!

Bubble pizza

I think my boys would probably choose pizza as their favourite takeaway.  I don't do fast food chain pizza but proper pizza shop pizza.  There has to be some nutritional value to the meal!  However more often than not we have home made pizza. I usually use some left over diced chicken or ham, mushroom and avocado.  Depending on whats in the fridge on my side I add olives and artichoke hearts. But we never have pizza without making "bubble pizza" aka garlic pizza.  My boys could live on this I think. 

• Pizza base (the Bakers Delight ones are lovely and has no added preservatives, you can also roll it as thin as you like)
• 1-2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic from a jar
• Pizza cheese to top

1. Melt the butter in the microwave and combine the garlic
2. Spread evenly over the pizza
3. Top with cheese (not too much)
4. Bake at 180 C until the cheese is melted and slightly brown (if you are lucky it goes bubbly as the name suggests)

Just make sure you pack your breath mints for work the next day.

All things good for you

Apologies for the break between posts, just not sure where time is disappearing at the moment.  One of the side effects of a hectic couple of weeks is that I have had a break out of (mostly stress related) eczema.  To all those people who quote the age old advice that "you will grow out of it" - well I am still waiting.  I have tried almost every topical medicated and non-medicated cream under the sun.  I also spent about 5 years in my late teens/early twenties on a completely dairy free diet.  This really helped, but I finally gave in to my love of food and ditched the diet.  More recently switching to A2 milk has helped significantly.  But in an effort to get it a little more under control I have been reading up on food additives.  My interest in this was sparked by Aldi's recent move to only stock groceries free from artificial colours.  So I spent much of the last weekend reading the Food Intolerance Network website and a couple of books loaned to me by a friend.

Contrary to the advice in the website and books I have decided to start just by making a concentrated effort to only by foods with no colouring or preservatives.  When you start looking in to how to do this, you will probably learn some amazing things like I did.  For example there are so many different ways MSG can be written into ingredients.  And it is also not classified as "artificial".

Anyway over the coming weeks you may see some changes in our food, but possibly not.  I still have plenty of things in the cupboard that I cannot bring myself to waste, so it will probably won't be noticeable.  And I don't want to go crazy about it, just make an effort to be healthy more often than not.  But if nothing else, have a read up on different food colouring and preservatives and learn a bit more about the food we consume without even thinking about it.  Here are some other interesting sites:

http://fedup.com.au/
http://www.jamieoliver.com/school-dinners
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumerinformation/additives/

Caramel slice?

This is a very special and yummy recipe.  I am very pleased to be able to share it with you.  My cousin-in-law (is there such a thing?) was recently handed down by her grandmother a handwritten recipe book.  It was her grandmother's collection from a life time of cooking.  A very special gift.

Now this recipe is called caramel slice, but I am not sure I agree with the title.  More like a "date slice" or a "date and caramel slice".  On good advice I topped it with a very thin layer of chocolate icing (made from icing sugar, water and cocoa powder).  It is very moreish!

By the way 1/4 of a pound of butter is about 112g.  Needless to say I left out the nuts so that I can use it for a school snack too.

COOOOOOOOKIES!

I'm in the market for some kitchen artwork from the They Draw and Cook website (much to my husband's disgust).  I want a picture that I like but the recipe has to be good too.   This quest led me to try out the COOOOOOOOKIES! by Pietro Duchi recipe last night.  I added choc chips and it was really easy.  Not sure if I was meant to but I melted the butter and used 125g which came pretty close to the 6.5 tablespoons. I figured there was no other reasonable way to measure out tablespoons of butter.  Anyway the recipe worked well but I am not so in love with the artwork, I am after something with a bit more colour.

Take a look at the other ones that are high on my list to try out:

Banana bread by Amy McKay
Black coffee by Pedro Menezes 
Summer vegetable soup by Ekaterina Muratova

But what I would really love is for someone to do one of my favourite apple pie recipe... any takers?

Easy apple pie: (this is an adaptation of this recipe, just a bit simpler and if you work smartly only 1 bowl to wash up plus the pie dish!)

• 1 tin pie apple
• 125g butter melted
• 1 egg
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup raw sugar plus an extra tablespoon

1. Spread the pie apple into a pie dish and sprinkle the tablespoon of raw sugar on top
2. In a large bowl, melt the butter
3. Add the flour, sugar and egg and mix well
4. Spread the mixture evenly over the top of the apple, doesn't matter if there is not enough to cover all the way to the edges, just spread it roughly over the apple as in the picture below
5. Put in a 170C oven until the top turns a lovely golden colour - I usually set the time for 45 minutes then check on it regularly
6. Serve with cream or ice cream

Weeks 23 and 24

I am a little behind schedule.  The last week has been a bit overwhelming, plenty of things going on on all fronts and it has left me a bit weary.  Yesterday instead of getting on top of the housework, menu planning and grocery shopping I managed none of the above.  I'm sure this is completely normal, but it means things are not looking too exciting on the culinary front over the next fortnight.

The budget last fortnight was a total blowout (I'm really not having a good run) largely because of a couple of meals out and I did a Woolies shop and stocked up on the expensive things like razors, shaving cream etc.  It came to a very dismaying $432.50.

I think the next fortnight should be better.  I am stocked up on most staples and meat already.

Wednesday -  been and gone but the kids had ravioli and we had chicken kebabs

Thursday – Lasagne

Friday – Roast dinner

Saturday - Chicken cacciatore risotto

Sunday – Marinated chicken with lemon risotto

Monday – Enchiladas

Tuesday – Leftovers

Wednesday – Spaghetti and meatballs

Thursday - Marinated chicken and salad

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday – Chicken sausages and veges

Sunday – Spag bol

Monday – Home made meat pie and chips

Tuesday – Chicken meatballs made from rissoles

Do you like the idea of blogging?

The other week I was asked to write a guest post for this new blog called "Life in 500 words".  Its a blog where people can share their thoughts, musings and life lessons - in a post of 500 words or less.  I found it a great opportunity to write about something different, that didn't quite have a space in any other writing I do.  Take a look anyway, tell me what you think, and make sure you give it a try too!

http://lifein500words.wordpress.com

I have an idea for another post too, so make sure you subscribe to their updates!

More baking treats

Over the weekend I had to do some more midnight baking.  All my baked goody supplies were gone and we were visiting friends so I needed to take something along.  I decided on two new recipes I hadn't tried before.  I chose this Honey Oat slice because Mr 3 loves the Anzac slice that I make.  I was looking for something similar, but a bit different that he might like (and succeeded!).

The cake I came across by chance in a Donna Hay magazine a friend has lent me.  It was actual an advertisement for Equal.  Hilariously, I just used caster sugar instead of Equal (did I miss the point?).  I also substituted walnuts for hazelnuts.  The cake was lovely and moist - the boys did not like it by the friends we were visiting did.

Massaman beef curry

My kids aren't the only fussy mouths in this household.  My husband has very definite food likes and dislikes.  And generally curry would be firmly in the dislike column.  We had a Thai meal recently with friends (Thai food is also generally in his dislike column but he was out-voted on this occasion) and he really enjoyed the massaman beef.  So I decided to try it out at home.  At first I was going to make it from scratch, but time is precious at the moment.  I seem to be struggling to get meals on the table at reasonable times so I decided to try a packet mix first.  Not to mention I didn't have to outlay money on some of the more pricey but necessary ingredients when cooking it from scratch.

This is the second time I have used this Kantong Massaman Curry meal base.  Of course I didn't quite follow the instructions.  I used chuck steak so chucked it all in the casserole dish in the oven (with triple the number of potatoes and double the quantity of meat) for a couple of hours.  **Wondering if this is why it is called "chuck" steak??**  It makes the house smell lovely and cosy whilst cooking and has become a firm favourite for the adults in the house.  Its a great flavour especially for those unadventurous people who don't like things too spicy.  I'm looking forward to eating tonight and enjoy a nice glass of white wine.

Osso Bucco

We always need ready to go meals for one in the freezer.  When someone in your household is a shift worker you need a good variety of meals on hand because any given day he might be after breakfast, lunch or dinner to take to work.  Apparently taking a full heated dinner doesn't go down very well for breakfast.  Of course you can always buy your meals at work, but if there is one quick way to save some money, its to take meals, snacks and drinks from home.  Even if it means you splurge on some special drinks and snacks at the supermarket, I guarantee its cheaper than buying it later from a takeaway shop.

Today I made up some Osso Bucco.  I have never made it before, I used this Best Recipes version and it came out smelling pretty yummy.  I didn't use quite as much meat as it said so cut down a little on all the other ingredients too. Unfortunately it did overflow out of the casserole dish and made a bit of a mess of my oven :(

Doges eye

I love making meat pies, sometimes I avoid it because of the two-stage cooking process.  Its not that hard really, but sometimes I just don't have the time to cook the filling then bake the pie.  I had a big 1kg pack of mince in the freezer and no hankerings for spag bol or lasagne, so meat pie it was.  I have included the recipe for this one below, it was a small pie, with half the filling going into the freezer for another pie at a later date.  I often would add about 500g diced chuck steak and simmer the meat mixture for a couple of hours (if you do this you need more gravox and water).  But if you just use mince like this one, you can make it much faster.

• 1kg beef mince
• 1 sheet frozen shortcrust pastry
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
• 1 jar vegetable baby food (or if your hungry mouths are not so fussy just use chopped up carrots and peas)
• 1 brown onion diced
• 1 cup water
• 3-4 tablespoons gravox powder
• 1/2 cup grated cheese
• Milk for brushing the pastry

1. Preheat oven to 180 C
2. Spray a small baking dish (if you use a pie dish you can probably use all of this filling)
3. Line with the shortcrust pastry, trimming the edges and making sure it fully covers the dish
4. Line with baking paper and put in pie weights (or uncooked rice if you haven't any)
5. Place in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes
6. Meanwhile in a large fry pan, brown the onion 
7. Then add the mince and cook through
8. Pour in baby food/vegetables
9. Sprinkle in the Gravox
10. Add the water bit by bit, let it simmer for 5-10 minutes adding more water if needed to get the perfect meat pie consistency (just a bit runny)
11. Add the 1/2 the pie filling to the pre-baked pastry shell which is still in the dish and the other half goes into a container ready for the freezer for another time
12. Sprinkle the cheese over the top
13. Cover with the puff pastry, sealing the edges roughly with a fork
14. Using the fork poke a few steam holes in the top of the pastry
15. Using a pastry brush, paint the top of the pie
16. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the pastry on the top of the pie is golden and crumbly

A busy midnight kitchen

I have been a bit slack in posting this week, but that doesn't mean there haven't been yummy things happening in the kitchen.  I have had a couple of late night baking sessions.  Plenty of mouths to keep fed: not just the boys but the builders too.  This week I have made Anzac slice (Mr 3 loves this one, its the only slice that I make which he eats), Passionfruit slice and also a new Apple and cinnamon slice I wanted to try (I had sour cream to use up).

If you haven't already made this Anzac slice, you really need to.  Its so quick, no fancy ingredients, makes the house smell lovely, keeps really well and is great with a cuppa.  I leave off the final sprinkle of coconut.

This passionfruit slice, in the picture on the right below, is a regular from my kitchen.  I have a recipe handed down from a girlfriend that I use.  But it is almost identical to this one on the Taste.com.au website.  Only I gave the lemon a miss and used half a tin of John West passionfruit instead.

The apple cinnamon slice ,pictured on the left below, was nice, but not sure it makes it high on the list of ones to make again.  It just was hard to cut and crumbled easily.  Still yummy but didn't quite make it on to my favourites list plus none of the boys liked it.  Also the fact you need to use a cake mix doesn't rate highly with me.  I like baking from scratch so I know exactly what is going in.  If we are going to eat sweet treats, they can at least be made from "wholesome" ingredients and free from additives.

Tomato and fetta couscous

What a great dish.  I made this one last night from the July issue of Recipes + Budget meals section.  It is called Sausage, Pea and Fetta Couscous.  Only I made it with the sausages on the side.  I can't believe all the boys ate it and enjoyed it (no gagging even!).  Hubby and I enjoyed the leftovers with some grated cheese on Lebanese bread and toasted in the sandwich press.  I'd even go so far as saying it was worth buying the magazine for...

Weeks 21 and 22

Exciting progress this fortnight with the frames beginning to take form at our new house.  Also good news that the fortnightly groceries came in at $347.92.  Although maybe hubby snuck in a couple of extra take away meals that I wasn't informed of!  I'm doing the groceries tonight, a couple of days early, because I think it may be the only chance I get this week.  Here is the plan for the next 2 weeks:

Wednesday -  Meat pie, mash and veg

Thursday – Dinner with friends, I'm contributing Gluten Free Lemon Meringue pie using my easy recipe but with GF biscuits

Friday – Leftovers

Saturday - Baked lamb chops, Moroccan cous cous and vegetables

Sunday – Marinated chicken with lemon risotto

Monday – Bacon and leek risotto

Tuesday – Leftovers

Wednesday – Massaman curry and rice (keep your eyes out for this recipe, it was yummo last fortnight!)

Thursday - Sausages and cous cous

Friday - Chicken cacciatore risotto

Saturday – BBQ, wedges and salad

Sunday – Spag bol

Monday – Leftovers

Tuesday – Chicken wings and quiche with salad

Mexican Canneloni

Thanks again Sue for passing on another great recipe idea.  This time a friend of hers shared her mexican canneloni recipe.  I made it today and it is almost identical to the burritos I often make, only with mince instead of chicken.  I think it probably works out cheaper though as I usually buy a burrito "kit" which no doubt is probably an expensive way to do it.  I increased the quantities and added a couple of finely chopped veges to mine, always trying to get the kids to digest them by stealth measures.

• 500g (ish) mince
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• half a dozen mushrooms finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons taco seasoning mix
• Just under a cup of water
• Packet of small wraps
• Jar of mild salsa sauce/dip
• 1 cup grated cheese

1. Preheat oven
2. Brown the mince in a large frying pan and combine onion and mushroom
3. Dissolve taco mix in water and add mixture to pan, simmering until the mince has a slightly saucy consistency (but not too runny)
4. Spray a large baking dish with olive oil spray and assemble the mince mixture evenly in the wraps, rolling them up to look like a burrito/canneloni
5. Line the rolled and filled wraps in the baking dish
6. Spread out the salsa over the wraps
7. Sprinkle the cheese over evenly
8. Bake for about 20 minutes

I put mine in containers and into the freezer for later in the week, but will serve with rice and salad.

Interestingly, someone mentioned to me the other day that they make their lasagne with the same type of wraps instead of lasagne sheets, I am definitely going to have to try that out.

Another blog to follow

Take a look at this beautiful blog I found through a friend of a friend.  I love looking at the great pictures.  Not to mention that I am going to love anything with the words *messy* and *kitchen* in the title.  Do you have a great cooking blog you love to follow? Make sure you post me a link. 

http://messygattokitchen.tumblr.com/

Leek and bacon risotto, so good I didn't take a photo!

Hey blog readers!

Last night I made (for the second time) a beautiful oven baked leek and bacon risotto sent to me by some great friends, Sue and Noel, who are always full of fantastic recipe and meal tips.  I must admit I have modified their recipe (which also included artichoke hearts and sage being mixed in towards the end) to be more appealing to the  eating quirks of my children.  I have tried to find the source of the original recipe however Google yields no results even close to matching this.  So here is how I make it:

• 60g butter
• 200g bacon – thinly sliced
• 1-2 leeks, washed, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic – crushed
• 300g arborio rice
• 100ml white wine (plus 1 glass for you whilst cooking!!)
• 600ml vegetable/chicken stock
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese plus extra to garnish

1. Preheat oven to 150 C.
2. Melt butter in large frying oven proof dish over medium heat, add the bacon and cook for 2 minutes until it begins to crisp.
3. Add the leeks to the pan, reduce heat and sweat for 3 – 4 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute.
5. Add the rice and stir to coat.
6. Pour in the wine and allow to simmer for a few minutes, then add the stock and stir to     combine.
7. Put on an oven proof lid and bake in oven for 20 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and stir in extra stock if needed (if you are like me your probably didn't measure out all the ingredients exactly and may need a little extra liquid) and cheese.
9. Return to oven for 15 minutes.
10. Serve with extra parmesan.

The best bit, besides it being super yummy, is that the kids ate it happily.  The leeks all but disappear into the risotto when cooked as long as you sliced them thinly.

Thank you Sue and Noel! This is now a family favourite...

Pineapple cake

I love the 4 Ingredients pineapple cake and have posted about it previously.  But the other day I found a version of this that only required 3 ingredients.  It was super easy, didn't even require the mixer.  I didn't make the icing and had run out of caster sugar so used white sugar instead, I think it worked just fine. 

One of the reasons I haven't made pineapple cake for a while is because Aldi don't sell tins of crushed pineapple.  It took me longer than it should have to work this out, but last week I bought the pineapple chunks and used my stab mixer to crush it up.