Spanish beef with rice

This is a wonderfully easy and delicious meal to make.
There are lots of ways to make it, but I tried to keep it as real to what I saw on alot of other sites, changing the tastes to suit my family (and adding veggies!!)

500gm beef mince (ground beef)
1 tin tomato soup ( i used salt reduced)
1 tin tomatoes
1/2 cup water with one beef stock cube dissolved
1 cup frozen veggie mix (I used corn, carrot, bean and pea)
1 cup rice (I use basmatti rice)
1/2 red onion chopped finely
1 clove garlic chopped finely
pinch chilli flakes
2 pinches coriander seeds (ground)
2 pinches Harissa
pinch of salt and pepper
1/2 handful of parsley finely chopped
corn chips (I use plain ones)
1 cup grated cheese (any of your fav cheese)

Heat a saucepan with some olive oil and cook the beef mince. Add the onion and garlic. Once they are softened turn down the heat. Add the tomatoes, tomato soup, stock and water and veggies and rice to the pan along with the spices.
Let this simmer and when the rice is cooked the meal is ready, add some parsley at the end.

Serve with corn chips for dipping and topped with some grated cheese.

home-made chicken and vegetable soup

This is a great cold remedy. Fills you up and restores health to your bones :)

500gms or half a cooked chicken (or 2 chicken breasts that you cook and then shred)
2 carrots finely chopped
2 sticks celery finely chopped
1/2 onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 large potato finely chopped (not too finely about inch sized pieces)
1 leek finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
good handful chopped fresh parsley
good pinch of sage (fresh or dried)
good pinch of thyme (fresh or dried)
3 litres chicken stock
2 cups water
handful of thin spaghetti

Shred your chicken or cook the breasts and then shred.
In a big pot cook off the onion and garlic, along with the leek.
Add in the other vegetables and cook for a minute or so.
Add in the stock and the water, salt and pepper and dried herbs
Leave this to get to the boil, add the chicken and broken bits of spaghetti in and turn down to a simmer
I let mine simmer for about 45 mins
about 10 mins before add in the parsley.

Eat and enjoy!!

kids loved this, they loved the spaghetti which is why I added it so it was like chicken noodle soup
This can be frozen if you wish

Asian style chicken burgers

A good friend of mine shared a recipe for some Asian style chicken burgers, so I altered it to suit my families taste. I don't have a picture because we ate them right away :P They were served on some nice fresh bread rolls, with salad.

Makes around 6 burgers

400-500gms chicken mince (ground chicken)
1 large garlic clove (or 2 smaller ones) finely chopped or crushed
1/2 brown onion finely chopped
1 small grated carrot
1 small tin of sweet corn kernals
1 tablespoon dried coriander leaves (cilantro) you can use fresh, but I am not a huge fan of coriander
1 tiny pinch of chili flakes (dry)
1 egg
1 cup bread crumbs
1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
some flour to dust over the burgers

In a bowl place all the ingredients and mix well to combine. Form burgers, about the general size of a normal burger you would get from a take-away place and lightly cover it with some plain flour. Heat some olive oil in a pan and fry the burgers until cooked (just make a small cut in the middle to see if the meat is white or still pink)
You can serve with some sweet chili sauce, or the kids had tomato sauce (ketchup) and loved that too.
The original recipe from my friend had water chestnuts, and no carrot or corn, so you could try what you like. Grated zuchhini would work well too.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Although it takes some time to make this, it paid off well with the hubby and kids loving it. I still prefer good ol' bolognaise though :)

500gms (about 1lb)beef mince (ground beef)
2/3 cup (2oz) breadcrumbs (you could use fresh or from a box)
1/4 cup (3/4 oz) grated parmesan
1 onion finely chopped
1 garlic cloved chopped finely (or crushed)
Good handful fresh parsley finely chopped
1 egg
rind and jucie of half a lemon
3 tablespoons plain flour

sauce
700gm (14oz) italian tomato passata
I beef stock cube
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
handful fresh basil (can use dried if that's all you have)
handful fresh oregano (dry if that's what you have)
dash of salt and pepper
1 teaspoon sugar

1. Mix together the mince, breadcrumbs, parmesan, onion, garlic, parsley, egg, lemon rind and juice, and some salt and pepper.
2. Roll the mixture into smallish balls and then roll in the flour.
3. Heat some olive oil in a pan (I used a big electric fry pan so I could make the sauce in that too) and fry the meatballs (in batches if you need to). Remove from the pan (turning with a fork is the easiest way) when golden brown and place on some paper towel to drain. Pour away the fat and meat juices to make the sauce.
4. Combine the passata, tomatoes, stock (in about half cup of warm water), basil, oregano, salt and pepper, sugar and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, and replace the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for 15-20 mins.
5. While the meatballs are cooking add some spaghetti to rapidly boiling water. serve with some grated parmesan.

Spanish (mexican) rice

A friend shared a recipe that she was given for Spanish Rice (see Sarah's post here). I used that and another one I found online to make some to go with our mexican chicken last night. It was a hit with the kids, and more importantly my husband who hates to eat rice. Excuse the messy plate, I was in a rush to dish while the kids where screaming for their dinner :P

This will serve 4 adults. Please take note of the water:rice ratio on your packet and use that as a guideline for how much stock to add.

1 1/2 cup rice (I used basmati as this is healthier than plain white rice and cooks better)
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup water (I didnt want too much salt, otherwise you could add 2 cups stock)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
2 cloves garlic (if they are small use 3) chopped
1/2 brown onion chopped finely
olive oil
handful parsely
1/4 teaspoon (maybe a little less) of Harissa (a middle eastern spice mix) if you don't want to add this then don't, it added a hint of spice which went well with the mexican chicken.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan and cook cook the onion and garlic until they are soft (not burnt). Add in the rice and stir around until it turns a different colour (about 3 to 4 minutes).

Add the tomatoes, stock, water, parsley and Harissa and bring to the boil (this should happen within a minute or two.

Once boiling, place the lid on and turn down to simmer. DO NOT LIFT THE LID. Don't stir it or touch it. Leave it be for around 20-25 minutes depending on what rice you used. Lift the lid and fluff with a fork once you see that the water has evaporated, don't leave it too long otherwise it will go dry and stick to the pan.

Beef Curry

I saw this on the Biggest Loser the other night and thought I would give it a go. Never made one before as I thought they were too "hot" but this one was mild, it had a bit of a kick to it and the kids ate it too. Its good because it doesn't have very many calories at all and has more veggies than alot of other curries out there.

Serves 4 adults or ( 2 adults, 2 small children and some leftovers)

500g rump steak or chuck steak
1 and 1/2 cups pumpkin (butternut is best, but whatever you can find), cut into rough pieces
1 1/2 cups cauliflower (just cut up into pieces)'
1 cup peas (I forgot to add these!)
1/2 onion chopped finely
2 cloves garlic chopped
juice and rind of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon coriander (ground)
1 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (ground)
olive oil
3 1/2 cups to 1 litre of salt reduced beef stock (salt reduced only so it has less salt therefore better for you) you made only need around 3 cups of it, just see how much you think as you are cooking.


Heat oil in a large saucepan and brown off meat.
Add the onion, garlic and spices and heat for a minute or so.
Add the pumpkin and cauliflower, lemon rind and juice, and the stock.
Stir and let come to the boil then reduce to a simmer.
Simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until meat is tender. Just before serving add in the frozen peas until they are heated.
Serve with basmatti rice (the healthiest rice)

Mexican Style Chicken

This is adapted from a recipe I found in a magazine. They added some rice and red kidney beans, and chicken stock (to cook the rice) I did not. ( I will post a picture when I am on next)

Preheat oven to 180 fan forced or 200 celcius.

Serves 2 adults 2 children (2-3 drumsticks per adult)
Chicken drumsticks
olive oil
jar (around 300 mls) tomato salsa (I used a mild one)
1 capsicum (pepper) sliced
300-400ml tin tomatoes, diced
1/2 red onion diced
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp pepper

Place all ingredients into an oven proof dish and cook for around 50 mins, turning the chicken over half way if you want both sides to be crispy.
I served with what I had which was potatoes but you could serve it with rice (or put the rice in the dish and into the oven).

Was simple to throw together, and very very tasty.

Stuffed Zucchini

We have an awesome veggie garden and the zucchini are growing so well. I have had to find other ways to use it other than just in the normal way I would. I stuffed these with other vegetables and cheese. My husband REALLY liked it which was great. The kids didn't like it, but they are going through a "we don't want anythign new phase".

preheat oven to 200 celcius (390 F)

What you need

1 large zucchini or 3 medium sized
2 garlic cloves
1/2 brown onion
1/2 red pepper (capsicum)
3 mushrooms
pulp of zucchini
one tomato chopped
handful parsely and oregano chopped finely (or use the dried stuff, 1 tablespoon each)
1 egg
1 cup bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
cheddar/mozzarella/paremsan (I used a mixture of these as this is what I had already in the fridge)

Chop all ingredients. Place some butter in a pan and cook the garlic and onion til soft, add in the capsicum, mushrooms, tomato and pulp and cook for a few mins. Leave to cool.
Once cool add in the bread crums, egg, herbs and salt and pepper and mix well.
Spoon into the zucchini, sprinkle cheese on the top.
Place in oven and remove when zucchini is cooked and the cheese has melted or around 30 mins

Baby Shower Cupcakes

My friends and I made some cupcakes for my sister in laws baby shower. I wasn't that happy with the actual cake, so I won't use that recipe I found, so I won't be posting a recipe for the cake, but pictures of the way we deocrate them.

We went with a "rubber duck" theme for the evening, hence the rubber duck patty pans but we also made it animal/bugs too.

For the icing we used a creamed cheese/icing sugar icing, and we also did another batch of butter and icing sugar. We used different food dyes to change the colour of the icing.



The butterfly was made using "freckles" for the wings, smarties for the body and pieces of licorice rope cut into antannae.


The dragonfly was made using jellybeans as the body, "banana" lollies cut into wing shapes and a smartie for its head.




For the ducks we cut out 2 "v" shapes from licorice allsorts for the beak and used smarties for the eyes (you could use M&M's etc).


These are "babies" we used writable ink that comes in a little tube for the outer part of the dummy (pacifer) and a jelly bean in the middle of that. The smile was made with some licorice as was the eyebrows. Smarties were used for the eyes.