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.

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.

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...

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

Food, free to a good home!

I think one of the best things about starting this blog has been that now all my friends and family know that I am on the hunt for budget busting deals.  People have bought me their leftover fruit and veg before they head on holidays, or have been sharing their fresh eggs, herbs and vegetables that they have grown.  Today I was the happy recipient of 2L of milk just past its best before date (but tasting fine).  So this evening I am making slow cooker rice pudding. I have made nicer rice puddings before, but this is so very easy to make I think its a decent trade off.  I follow the recipe as directed but halve the amount of butter used.

With my roast chicken dinner  with fresh rosemary cooking in the oven and the slow cooker going on the bench, the house is smelling so lovely and cosy.

Tinned spaghetti, well sort of...

I used to make this dish when my boys were making the transition from baby food to adult food.  And like any other mum, I would often snack on the leftovers instead of making my own lunch.  This one I worked out was really tasty, and a fantastic way of getting them to eat vegetables.  When I was looking into the bare cupboards today (3 more days to grocery shop day) and saw the pasta sitting there, I realised it has been a long time since I made this dish.  Its perfect for using up leftover vegetables from the fridge and tail ends of bits and pieces.

I have listed today's combination below, but I have used the same dish with many different contents. My only warning is if you are going to use mushroom, 1 is plenty as it really over powers this dish.  And by the way, this meal freezes well. The trick with this dish really is the consistency, you want lots and lots of pasta just so its like the consistency of tinned spaghetti.

The best bit, even though I haven't made it for probably over 6 months - they gobbled it down!!

• 750ml Passata sauce (or a large can of diced tomatoes)
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1/2 leek
• few florrets of brocolli
• 1/2 cup chopped carrot (I used frozen today)
• 2 - 3 cups (this is an uncooked measurement) of short cut angel hair spaghetti
• Plenty of grated cheese

1. Fry up the garlic and any onions/leeks in a hot fry pan
2. Once softened, add the sauce/tomatoes and any other vegetables
3. Simmer until the vegetables are all soft then set aside to cool
4. While tomato mixture is cooling, cook the spaghetti then drain
5. Using a stab mixer (carefully if its still hot) blend the tomato mixture until its smooth - don't try and use a food processor with hot liquid, if you have a cheap one like me it can squirt out the side and burn you
6. Combine the tomato mix and cooked spaghetti
7. Serve with a generous helping of grated cheese mixed through

**Note if you use gluten free pasta this can easily become a gluten free meal

Key lime pie

The best thing about Easter is catching up with friends and family.  And there is never a better reason to cook a feast, although this weekend I didn't have much spare time on my hands.  I had been given some limes and eggs last weekend and wanted to make a key lime pie.  Luckily I've had one flagged for a while in the 4 Ingredients book (if you don't have the book I found this site where the authors revealed this recipe). I literally made this entire pie (cooking time and all) in less than 20 minutes.

And for the person who asked why is it called key lime pie? Wikipedia...

**Note, if you used gluten free biscuits you can easily make this one gluten free