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.

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.

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. 

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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

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...

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.

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...

Modified carbonara

One of these mixes is usually hiding in my cupboard.  Some people think meal bases are just not "real" cooking, or a healthy meal option.  Sometimes I think those people forget that if there are not quick and easy dinner options many of us will instead have tinned spaghetti on toast or call in a takeaway.  Neither I think are probably as nutritional as a "meal base" meal like this.

This is the Dolmio Italian Meal Base mixes - Carbonara.  Here is what the packet says:

Here is what I did with it tonight

• 300g beautiful, fresh ham off the bone, sliced in narrow strips
• 4 mushrooms, sliced
• small handful of parsley, diced finely
• drizzle of olive oil
• 3/4 pack spaghetti
• Not quite 300ml of light thickened cream (only because this is all I had)

1. Set the pasta to cook in a saucepan
2. Meanwhile, in a fry pan drizzle some oil and lightly fry the mushrooms and ham
3. Once the pasta is cooked, combine everything in the fry pan and heat through
4. Add the parsley at the last minute
5. Serve to the kids and cross your fingers no one whinges about the mushrooms tonight!

Scooby snacks?

I found these great bags of organic pasta at Aldi last week (I stocked up on 6 packets, so fingers crossed the kids like them).  I am trying out a modified version of my home made tinned spaghetti recipe in the pressure cooker today.  Here's how it went:

• 800ml jar Passata
• 1 small tin diced tomatoes with garlic and herbs
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 vegetable stock cube, crumbled
• 3 florets of cauliflower broken up
• 1 baby bok choy chopped 
• 2 frozen cubes spinach
• 2 large zucchinis chopped
• 2 sticks celery diced finely

It all went into the pressure cooker and I used the "soup" cooking time of 25 minutes.  Meanwhile boil the pasta and when the sauce is cooked combine it all and add a generous helping of grated cheese.

***Note:  use gluten free pasta and stock cube and this can be an easy gluten free dinner

Hot off the pan

Okay, this is a little embarrassing to admit, but until about 5 minutes ago I have never eaten a chicken rissole.  I just received a lovely surprise delivery from our butcher and it included some chicken rissoles. 

I figured if I cooked them up tonight we can have them for lunches tomorrow.  Well there were about a dozen , and I figured I needed to break one in half to check it was cooked through.  Then once it was broken in half I thought maybe I should just taste a quarter. 

Wow!!  I never thought a chicken rissole could taste so good!! Depending how they go down with the rest of the family, they may need to make it onto the next menu plan.  Isn't it funny how some things you never bother trying because you just don't think you will be a fan... but how often do you try things and end up completely surprised.

Curried sausages

I tried one of the Masterfoods mixes this week.  To be honest I did not hold out much hope, I'm not a huge fan of ready made meal mixes.  Often they are too salty or the flavour can be a bit too overpowering.  Have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this one.  Now I don't enjoy sausages, but like all good young children my boys love them.  I did make the mistake of not leaving a couple of plain ones aside for them, but not sure what I was thinking.  It was a very nice change from sausages and veg in my opinion and a worthwhile mix to keep in the cupboard.  A nice subtle curry flavour without the spice.

Melt in your mouth shin stew thanks to Jamie

If only web pages could be "Scratch and Sniff"... when I was cooking this the house smelt so very good! Great recipe for the colder weather.  I must say I was a little dubious about the cinnamon and red onions, but it really worked!

I made a couple of ingredient substitutions, just a small amount of ground cinnamon instead of the cinnamon stick, just the red wine I had open in the pantry (and probably only a third of the bottle) and fresh button mushrooms.  First time I used my Circulon pan in the oven, it worked really well.

Probably the best bit about this recipe that all my carrots, celery and mushrooms where nearing the end of their useful life, and by the time this dish was cooked you could not even tell.  I served it with mashed potato and there was enough for plenty of leftovers for another meal too.  Can't say the kids loved it (they did eat it), but not much other than sausages and ravioli gets eaten by Mr 3 at the moment anyway.