That Smells Yum

Raspberry Frangipane Tarts

2011-08-16T01:44:00.000-07:00

This is a beautiful, quick and easy recipe taken from Jamie Oliver's book "30 Minute Meals".

6 Small deep shortcrust pastry cases
1 egg
100gm ground almond
100g butter
90g caster sugar
1 orange
1 teaspoon vanilla paste (I used essence, tasted great)
1/2 a 350g jar of raspberry jam (that's an estimate, I used less)
1 tub of thickened cream or creme freche to serve

1. Turn your oven to 190c
2. Put 6 pastry cases on a baking tray
3. Make the frangipane mixture by cracking the egg into a mixing bowl and adding the almonds, butter and sugar. Grace over the zest of 1/2 an orange and add the vanilla. Use a spoon to mix everything together.
4. Spoon a teaspoon of jam into each pastry base. Top with a heaped teaspoon (I didn't heap it as my cases weren't deep) of frangipane. Add another spoonful of jam and finish with one more spoonful of frangipane.
5. Place the tray into the oven on the middle shelf and set the timer for 18 minutes.
6. When the tarts are golden and cooked, take them out and serve warm with the cream

Plum and Chocolate Clafoutis

2011-01-12T18:50:00.000-08:00

This is from Donna Hay's cookbook "Seasons". I've adapted it to make it easier, because after making it I don't think it needs to be made in a fry pan at all...just something fancy that she did for looks.

1/3 cup (50g) plain flour, sifted
1/4 cup (25g) cocoa, sifted
1/3 cup (75 g) caster sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used essence)
3 eggs
1 cup (250ml) single pouring cream
1 cup (175g) chopped dark chocolate
20g butter
6 blood plums, halved and stoned

1. Preheat the oven to 180 (355 F).
2. Place the flour, cocoa and sugar in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, place the vanilla, eggs and cream and stir to combine.
4. Add the vanilla mixture to the flour mixture and whisk to combine.
5. Stir in the chocolate.

Now this is where she gets you to divide it between two 13 cm ovenproof frying pans. I used a 28 cm oven proof frying pan, but I would think if I did it again I would just use a cake tin. Perhaps the only advantage to using a fry pan is, that because the cake doesn't rise it is not very high, so a fry pan makes it easier to get it out. Up to you though!

6. heat butter in the fry pan and remove from the heat(or grease a cake tin) and then place the chocolate mixture into the pan.
7. Place the plums on top of the mixture and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until puffed up and cooked through.

Serves 7-8 people

It was beautiful having some chunks of melted chocolate, mixed with the plums... although word of warning, try a plum first. The plums I bought were very tart, so I ended up putting caster sugar on the top when we got it out of the oven.
Another fruit that would go great with this is cherries or raspberries instead of the plum. We served with some fresh cream. some nice vanilla ice cream would of been great too!

chicken pot pie

2011-01-12T15:22:00.000-08:00

This is taken from Jamie Oliver's new cookbook "Thirty Minute Meals". I changed one or two minor things to work for my family.
Below is the recipe that I used. In brackets is what he has done.

600gms chicken breast ( OR 4x 180gm chicken breasts) sliced into 1cm strips
knob of butter
bunch of spring onions
150gm button mushrooms (about 5-6 of them)
1 heaped teaspoon plain flour
2 heaped teaspoons English Mustard (he used hot, I used mild)
1 heaped teaspoon cream for cooking (creme fraiche)
300ml chicken stock (or use one chicken stop cube in a cup of water-this is what I did)
Few sprigs of fresh thyme
sprinkle of nutmeg-dried (he used fresh nutmeg)
1 sheet pre rolled puff pastry (depends on the size of your pan. I used two sheets for mine)
1 egg

Method
(pre heat oven to 200C/400 F)
1. Cut the chicken into 1 cm strips
2. Add some butter and olive oil to a hot, large pan (he used a pan that goes from stove top to oven, as I did. Otherwise use a saucepan and then transfer it to an oven proof dish).
3. Add the chicken and cook for 3-minutes
4. Chop the spring onions and mushrooms and add these to the pan.
5. Add the flour to the pan and stir.
6. Add the mustard, cream and chicken stock and stir well.
7. Pick the thyme leaves and add these with some nutmeg and a pinch of salt and pepper. Leave to simmer gently.
8. Place your sheet of puff pastry over the pie dish or pan, using a knife to make light criss crosses in it. Tuck the pastry in around the edges of the pan. Brush an egg wash over the top of the pastry and cook for around 15 minutes (until the pastry is golden and cooked).

We served it with salad and mashed potato. Serve it with your favourite side dishes.
My kids, hubby and I ALL loved it! Had it for leftovers the next night.

Feeds 4 adults and 2 children

Jamie Oliver style cucmber/spinach salad

2011-01-06T17:06:00.000-08:00

This is adapted from a salad in Jamie's new book "30 Minute Meals".
He added toasted pine nuts and lemon juice (I had none of these in the cupboard) and I added some feta, he did not. I also used mixed bag of lettuce (that includes baby spinach), he also added some mint at the end, I don't like mint. I added some bean shoots.

1/2 packet your favourtie mixed leaves, or use just baby spinach leaves

good handful sun-dried tomatoes

handful bean shoots (or alfafa would do good too)

handful danish feta crumbled

1/2 cucumber chopped

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

handful grated parmesan

Simple as. Place all the ingredients in a bowl, in a small bowl mix the oil, vinegar and salt and pepper, drizzle over just before stirring along with the grated parmesan on the top.

Creamy chicken pasta

2011-01-06T16:55:00.000-08:00

This is similar to another creamy chicken pasta dish I have made, this was more creamier for some reason...Love it!

You will need:
500 gms shredded cooked chicken (you could use a cooked chicken from the store, or do what I did and cook two skinless chicken breasts and then shredded it)

1/2 brown onion finely chopped

2 cloves garlic (good size) chopped

4 mushrooms sliced

2 handfuls baby spinach

1/2 butternut punpkin (squash) you could use sweet potato instead, into 2cm cubes

1 cup grated tasty cheddar cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan (the real stuff, not that gross stuff in a tin)

200 mls cream (that's used for cooking)

salt and pepper to taste

Linguine pasta

Method:
Shred already cooked chicken and set aside (or cook some chicken and then shred it)

Chop and dice all of your veggies/ grate the cheese

In a microwave proof bowl add your pumpkin and some water (don't cover the pumpkin) and heat for around 5 minutes until just soft)

Put water on for the pasta

As you put the water on you can start adding the onion/garlic to a pan
and frying them in some olive oil.

Add in the veggies (pumpkin, mushroom) and chicken. Heat these up and then add the cream and cheese (save some grated parmesan for the end) and cream and spinach. Place on low and let simmer. If you need to add some water to make the sauce less thick and sticky do so here. I added maybe 1/3 cup to mine. Also add some salt and pepper to your liking.

Once the water is boiling add your pasta.

Once pasta is cooked turn off the chicken sauce. Add the cooked pasta to the pan with the sauce, stif around so everything is coated well.

Serve with some grated parmesan on the top.

This served about 6-8 people as we had a salad with it too. So it will probably serve 6 adults well.
My kids LOVED it and asked for seconds.

Spanish beef with rice

2010-10-05T23:51:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-15T14:36:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-30T17:48:00.001-07:00

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

2010-07-04T19:29:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-17T17:22:00.000-07:00

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

2010-02-16T17:00:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-12T17:38:00.001-08:00

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

2010-01-04T22:33:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-02T16:19:00.000-08:00

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.

Mango Salad

2009-12-15T19:51:00.000-08:00

I made this salad to go with some grilled lamb chops that had a mango/curry sauce on them. It was so light and delicious. Was able to use the spinach and spring onion from our veggie patch.

You will need

Packet of baby spinach leaves (or around 5 cups) or your other favourite leafy vegetable.
2 spring onion stalks chopped
1 mango sliced (I added a tin of mango slices too to cut down on cost, but you could add another mando instead)
juice from tin mango
handful snow peas chopped
1 cup cucumber- finely cut
1 avacado cut into slices

prepare it all and put into your salad bowl, pour the mango juice over at the end.

Chicken and Broccoli pasta

2009-12-15T19:42:00.000-08:00

Quick and easy meal that used our home grown broccoli!

You will need
2 chicken breasts diced
2 cups broccoli pieces
2 spring onions chopped
handful parsley
2 cloves garlic
1 cup grated parmesan (or shaved)
250 mls cream (I used light thickened cream)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 chicken stock cube and 1/2 cup hot water or half-1 cup of chicken stock

1.Cook chicken in pan until nearly cooked
2. Add in garlic and broccoli
3. once the broccoli has been cooking for a few minutes add in the onions, cream and let it simmer gently for about 5 minutes. Add some salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add in the parsley and cheese at the last minute (saving some cheese to put on once you have served into bowls).
5. Serve with your favourite pasta, I used linguine. Top with some extra parmesan cheese.

Kids loved this, I have made it again and I didn't use stock but put some chicken seasoning on the chicken instead, still tasted pretty similar. I have also added mushrooms. Asparagus would be great with this too, and some bacon!

I'm still here

2009-11-23T21:45:00.000-08:00

Hi all, I'm still here, just been a little snowed under lately and haven't experimented as much. I have made a broccoli (home grown!!) pasta and a chicken mango salad that I need to blog about. And I will hopefully next week!

Thai/Vietnamese Inspired Chicken Salad

2009-10-30T13:52:00.000-07:00

I wanted to try an asian style salad I saw in a magazine. I did change it alot as there didn't seem to be that many things they had in their salad to make it filling enough.

After eating it I comfirmed that I don't like this type of asian sauce. Give me soy, honey, ginger, garlic. But not fish sauce and lime and coriander and mint. But hey, you might like those things! If I were to do it again I would use a different type different type of dressing. Maybe balsamic, or lemon, or even soy and honey.

What you will need:

I was lazy and used a bag of mixed lettuce and spinach leaves...

half red capsicum (pepper)

1/2 cucumber

cherry tomatoes (around a punnet)

1 carrot cut into matchsticks

1 stick celery

handful snow peas

1-2 chicken breasts

handful of fresh mint

handful of fresh coriander

dressing:

1/3 cup lime juice

1/3 cup fish sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 chilli finely chopped (I didn't add the chilli).

Method:

1. place chicken breast in pot and cover with cold water. Place on medium heat and when it starts to boil, turn it down to simmer, cover with a lid and let it simmer for around 10-12 mins or until cooked. Once it is cooked shred the chicken.

2. Cut all the salad ingredients and place in a bowl

3. Put shredded chicken into salad bowl and pour over dressing.

Menu for the week

2009-10-25T17:53:00.000-07:00

Our menu for the week

Monday- Lamb Yiros
Tuesday- Honey Lemon Chicken with Rice
Wednesday-Beef stroganoff
Thursday- left overs
Friday-Vietnamese inspired Chicken Salad
Saturday-???
Sunday-Taco's

Greek Style Lamb Yiros

2009-10-13T01:24:00.001-07:00

I LOOOOVVVEEEEEE Yiros! I thought it was time I made some of my own as I never really get to them much as we don't buy take away that often.

Very easy and delicious. Grace (4 yrs old) LOVED it. I was surprised, she doesn't normally like lamb, or lettuce but she gobbled it up and asked to have it the night after too :) The lettuce was grown in our own veggie patch, as well as some of the herbs that I put in the marinade.

What you will need: (for 4 people)

1 tomato sliced

2 cups lettuce sliced

1/2 red onion sliced

Yiros bread

Lamb marinade

500 gms lamb (I used leg steaks which are nice and tender and have alot of meat. You could use back strap, or use left over roast lamb, or just use plain old lamb chops and just cut the meat off) I cut my lamb into strips, you could do strips or chunks.

3-4 garlic cloves crushed or finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon sumac (dry you can get it in the herb section)

1 teaspoon thyme (fresh or dry)

1 teaspoon oregano (fresh or dry)

1 teaspoon rosemary

1 teaspoon all spice

juice and rind of 1 lemon

salt

pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

Yogurt (tzatziki)

Greek Stlye yogurt (I used a 200 ml tub but that was way too much, unless you want to use it as a dip the next day too) so perhaps only 100ml for just the yiros

1/2 continental cucumber (around a cup) peeled, and de-seed, then grated.

juice of 1 lemon

2 garlic cloves (crushed or finely chopped)

salt

pepper

parsely (1 tablespoon)

optional is mint or oregano

Method

1. Cut lamb and herbs for the marinade and place all of those ingredients into a air tight container and place in the fridge (preferbly for atleast 4 or 5 hours so you can really get the taste).

2. Place the yogurt, lemon juice, herbs, cucumber into a bowl and stir around, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for the same amount of time as the lamb. (taste to see if you want to add more of anything, your tastes will be different to ours).

3.Heat pan or grill and cook lamb until its cooked to your liking (some like it rare, medium etc).

4. Slice the salad ingredients.

5. Place yiros bread in warm oven wrapped in foil for a few minutes or in the microwave (without foil!!).

6. Once lamb is cooked you can assemble your yiros. No real art to it, whatever takes your fancy. We put some lettuce, tomato and onion down, lamb on top and the yogurt and then wrapped and enjoyed :)

Serve with fries or garlic bread

Menu this week

2009-10-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

Monday- Greek style lamb yiros
Tuesday- Crispy chicken with tomatoes and garlic
Wednesday-Lamb chops with mango
Thursday- Honey mustard chicken cutlets
Friday-Spaghetti bolognaise
Saturday- Spaghetti bolognaise
Sunday- Taco's

chicken and mushroom pies

2009-10-07T22:15:00.000-07:00

I adapted this recipe from one I saw on Better Homes and Gardens

I only made 8 pies as I was in a rush to get them out in time. The original recipe called for ALOT of mince which I think would of made atleast 24 pies. So I know that to make 12 it would of been around half of the quantity. So if you want to make more just double the mince.

200-250 gms chicken mince

120gms creamed cheese

1/2 onion (or 1 leek stalk)

6-7 medium sized mushrooms

2 garlic cloves

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon sage

1/2 chicken cube stock

3 tablespoons boiling water

2 tablespoon bread crumb

2 sheets shortcrust pastry

2 sheets puff pastry

egg (for eggwash)

Method

Preheat oven to 210 celcius

1. Chop mushroom, onion (or leek), garlic and fry these in some oil. Add salt and pepper. Add the chicken stock cube and the water. Set aside to cool or place in the fridge (will take around 15-20 mins)

2. Whilst the mushrooms are cooling take out the frozen pastry as they need around 15 mins to thaw out.

3. Grease (or spray with oil) 12 pan muffin tin

4. once the mushroom mixture is cool add the chicken mince, sage, bread crumb and creamed cheese to the bowl and mix well.

5. Cut circles in the shortcrust pastry that will leave a 1cm height over the top of the muffin tin (so bigger than an egg ring) and brush with egg wash. Place these in the bottom of the muffin trays and fill with the chicken mixture.

6. cut smaller circles of the puff pastry (an egg ring is a good size) and place on top of the pies with some egg wash and crimp the sides with a fork.

7. Place in the oven for 15-20 mins, until the tops are nice and brown.

review- The recipe said to use shortcrust but I think it would of been fine to use puff down the bottom also. The kids LOVED the pies and so did the hubby :)

chicken and mushroom pasta

2009-10-02T23:09:00.000-07:00

This was really quick and easy, it kind of reminded me of a chicken stroganoff type of thing.

the kids scoffed it down, Grace doesn't always eat all of her tea but she did with this and even asked for more mushrooms!! This recipe served 2 adults and 2 small children (and there is enough for left overs- so would feed 4 adults)

You will need:

2 chicken breast cut into cubes or pieces

6-7 medium sized mushrooms sliced

1/2 brown onion chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

Tin of cream of mushroom soup (I used campbells)

1 chicken stock cube in 1/2 cup hot water

Salt and pepper for seasoning

1 teaspoon dried sage (or fresh if you have it)

2-3 handfuls of baby spinach chopped

3 tablespoons of thickened cream

handful of parsley chopped

parmesan cheese to serve on top

Method:

Heat some oil in a pan and cook chicken, when almost done add the garlic and onion

Add salt and pepper and sage

Add mushrooms and cook for a minute or so

Add soup and chicken stock and heat through

When its almost done cooking (reduce heat to simmer)add in the baby spinach to heat them and some of the cream and let it simmer for a few minutes.

Serve with your favourite pasta (my kids like the curly pasta)

Top with some parsley and parmesan cheese before serving

Mango Chicken

2009-09-30T16:31:00.000-07:00

My sister in law made this a few years ago (and I LOVED it) I have changed the quantity a little on somethings so I will put the way I make it (I've lost her original recipe anyway!).

2 chicken breasts diced

1/2 brown onion chopped

1/4 teaspoon curry powder

2 1/2 tablespoons mango chutney (I use sharwoods green label)

1 mango sliced

1 tin mango sliced

1 1/2 -2 cups coconut milk

As with everything taste it and see if its to your liking. If you like things a little hotter then add some more curry. If you really like the coconut flavour add more milk.

METHOD

1. cut chicken into pieces and heat in a pan until browned

2. chop onion and mango

3. Place onion in pan and cook for a few minutes.

4. Add the chutney, curry powder and mango and cook for a further minute or two

5. Add the coconult milk and allow to simmer for a minute or so before removing from heat.

6. Serve over some cooked rice.

Chicken Kebabs

2009-09-19T22:09:00.001-07:00

Chicken kebabs are so easy and great for summer, but any time of the year really.

This recipe made about 12 kebabs. My husband had 4, my friend and I had 3 each and the kids had one each.

Marinade

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup vinegar (white)

1-2 teaspoon oregano (fresh or dry)

2 cloves garlic

1 red onion cut into chunks so that you can skewer them later

1. Make marinade in seal proof container (plastic ones with the lids that are good, tupperware type things)

2. Cut 2 chicken breasts into chunks and place in the marinade and place in the fridge for 3 hours minimum.

3. 30 mins before you are ready to start assembling the skewers soak them in water for 30 mins so they don't burn when you put them on the grill.

4. Choose your favourite vegetables and cut into chunks that can be put on skewers. I like to use different coloured peppers (capsicum) and pineapple, along with the onion that is in the marinade.

5. Assemble your skewers, alternating the veggies and chicken etc.

6. Grill on a hot plate or bbq grill until cooked.

7. I like to serve with steamed rice and salad, or grilled potato and salad.

Review- I have made these so many times and they are always a hit with the kids and the adults. The only thing that *some* children don't like is the red onion (and some fussy kids don't like the pineapple).

other things you could add to the kebabs are things like zucchini and mushrooms. I also use the same marinade for lamb kebabs.

Mango chutney with Lamb

2009-09-17T16:35:00.000-07:00

I have this recipe book that I got from the supermarket, one of those "quick meal" books and they had a mango chutney on grilled lamb chops. Super idea I thought.

There is a lovely mando chutney made by Sharwood's that I have used before. So I brushed that onto the lamb chops and grilled them on the bbq grill. (I don't have a pic because my battery was flat the night I cooked).

Then I was planning on making a mango salad but fresh mango's were $8!! So I bought a tin of mangos and used half of the tin. I placed it in a pan, with 1/2 teaspoon of curry powder and warmed that up so it was like a paste with small chunks of mango.

Once the chops were cooked I placed them on the plate and put the mango paste I had made on top.

The kids didn't eat it (they don't really eat lamb) but hubby and I loved it. I don't like hot curry or anything so for me the flavour was just right but Hubby would of preferred a little more curry powder. So taste it as you go and get it right for your taste.

Sweet and Sour chicken

2009-09-11T14:42:00.000-07:00

I love sweet and sour chicken so decided to make my own. There are so many different recipes out there, so I looked at about 4 different ones and came up with something similar to those (and different in some ways too). I can't believe there are some that tell you to add food colouring though! LOL. I won't be doing that thanks. I like lots of veggies, so add or take if you want.

This will serve 4 adults well (it did 2 adults and 2 children with left overs for two more adults).

2 chicken breast cut into pieces

1-2 carrots julienne style

1 stalk celery chopped

handful of snow peas

1/2 red capsicum (pepper)

1/2 green capsicum

1/4 onion chopped

1 garlic clove chopped

1 cup cauliflower

large tin of pineapple (or you can use fresh pineapple like I did, around a cup or so I think).

Sauce

2 tablespoon tomato sauce (ketchup)

1 teaspoon ground ginger or fresh if you have it

1 garlic clove chopped finely

1/3 cup vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoon corn flour (starch)

3 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons oyster sauce (you can just add 4 of soy sauce if you don't want to add oyster sauce).

Juice from the pineapple (probably 1/3 cup or you can do what I did and finely chopped the fresh pineapple and squeezed what I could from the remainders).

Mix until combined and set aside to add last minute to the chicken and vegetables.

1. Cook chicken in wok until almost brown, add onion and garlic.

2. Place veggies into wok and stir fry until almost cooked.

3. Add sauce and warm through.

4. Serve with your favourite rice.

Review- this was perfect for us. I made the tastes to suit us, so please, taste ALL THE TIME when you are cooking as you may prefer it sweeter, or with more sour. The kids loved it, they eat all those veggies I put in it. And they love rice.

Mongolian Beef

2009-09-04T15:09:00.000-07:00

Mongolian Beef was delicious! Such simple flavours but so so nice. Hubby even wanted seconds but there was none :)

This made enough for 2 adults and 2 children

500gms beef (I used stir fry beef that was already cut for me) most recipes say to use flank steak

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/4 cup corn flour (corn starch)
1/2 teaspoon ginger (I used powdered)

1 tablespoon (2 cloves) garlic chopped

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup oyster sauce (or you can just use 1/2 cup soy and no oyster sauce)

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 green onions (spring onions)

1/2 brown onion

salt and pepper to season

1. Coat your beef strips in corn flour and let sit for around 10 mins (this seems to be important, don't know why)

2. Heat oil in pan and add garlic and ginger and fry til just brown. Add soy sauce, oyster sauce and brown sugar and water and let boil for around 2 minutes, then emove from heat.

3. Heat 1/4 cup oil in wok or other pan and fry the beef until almost cooked (it will cook again later so no need to over cook and make it tough). Remove from the pan and let it drain on some paper towel.

4. Remove excess oil then add the onions and fry for a minute or so. Add the meat back, fry for another minute. Add the sauce and mix well.

5. Serve with rice and your choice of sides. I lightly stir fried some yellow and red capsicum (peppers) and zucchini.

REVIEW- I have made this twice now, exactly the same way and I wouldn't change anything. The kids love it too which is good.

Lemon cookies

2009-08-31T19:53:00.000-07:00

I found a lovely easy recipe for lemon cookies HERE. So I won't repeat the recipe. I will say that I doubled it so I got around 20 cookies. They spread a bit too so leave adequate space. My lemon icing doesn't look as good as the ones from Delightfully sweets ones, but they taste lovely :)

Maple Syrup chicken

2009-08-31T01:45:00.001-07:00

This was a really easy meal to make and so tasty! I did forget to add the mustard though, so be interesting to try it again with it. It was gorgeous without too though!

2 chicken breasts or you can use thighs, drumsticks etc (this served 2 adults and 2 children)

pinch of sea salt

pinch of black pepper

3 tablespoons really good maple syrup

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon thyme

(1-2 tablespoon English or French mustard which I forgot to add)

METHOD

Season chicken with salt and pepper

Place the oil, syrup, thyme and mustard into a oven proof dish with the chicken pieces, cover chicken with the syrup sauce and place in preheated oven at 180 degrees C for around 30 mins or until the chicken is cooked. I used skin on breast so that we had a nice crispy skin and also keeps the chicken moist while its cooking.

Serve with your choice of veggies. I served with rice and vegetables.

Menu this week

2009-08-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

So this week we will be eating

Maple Syrup chicken
Shepherds Pie
Mongolian Beef
Lamb with roast pumpkin and spinach salad
Honey Lemon chicken

and something else, not sure just yet. Might see what meat is on special and go from there :)

Non-spicy Jamaican Jerk chicken

2009-08-26T14:42:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine always talks about having jerk chicken and I never really knew what it was until I asked her a few weeks ago. I was glad that I did! It's delicious!! Now I didn't add the scotch bonnet pepper (chilli) but if you want to then feel free. This is the non- hot and spicy version :)

Marinade will cover 5-6 chicken breasts well.

You mix everything in a blender so you don't have to cut things that finely as the blender will do that for you.

1 onion chopped

4 cloves garlic

3 spring onions (green onions)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup orange juice

zest and juice from one lime

1 tablepoon all spice

1 tablespoon dry thyme

1 tablespoon black pepper

1/2 tablespoon sea salt

3/4 tablespoon nutmeg

3/4 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon brown sugar (I didnt have any so I used white and it was fine)

1/4 tablespoon ground ginger

Put all ingredients into a blender and mixed until combined well.

Pour over chicken pieces and leave to marinade (min 1 hour) best results over night (I did mine for about 6 hours). You can make slits in the chicken and press the marinade in (known as to "jerk the chicken"). Place in pre heated oven at about 200 celcius for 30 mins or until cooked, or place on grill.

Traditionally it seems to be served with rice and beans (peas) in Jamaica which is rice cooked in coconut milk with kidney type beans and spices added to it. I served with mashed potato and veg so the kids would eat it :)

Mini hamburgers (mince patties)

2009-08-22T14:53:00.000-07:00

This is a really easy dish to make, great for BBQ's.

500gms minced meat (ground beef)
1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
1/2 onion chopped finely
1-2 garlic cloves
good handful of fresh chopped parsely
1 egg
1/2 cup or 1 cup bread crumbs (I played it by ear)
sea salt and pepper to season

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, you will have to use your hands to really work it all through together. Once mixed get about 2 tablespoons worth in your hand and shape into a mini hamburger or pattie. cook until meat is done in the middle (about 20 mins on a BBQ).
Makes around 10 (serves 4 people)

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2009-08-14T14:10:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to try these since I saw them on a tv show and they kept raving about how good the cake was.

I've found a few great recipes from various blogs and cookbooks and taken what I thought was the best ingredients and methods.

2 1/2 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

good pinch slat

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

6 tablespoons ( 2 bottles) red food colouring

60 gms (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups caster sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 teaspoon bicarb soda

Cream Cheese frosting

The recipe I followed had LOADS of icing left over so I will give you an estimate of the cream cheese of which I think should be used instead.

190-200gms cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups icing mixture

1. Beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy

2. Add vanilla and beat well

3. Sift icing sugar and add gradually to the mixture. I like it so its firm enough to pipe onto the cupcakes, so if you need to add more icing sugar you can do so.

METHOD CUPCAKES

1. preheat oven to 175C (350F) and line cupcake trays with cupcake papers

2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl, set aside.

3. In a small bowl, mix the food colouring and cocoa to form a smooth paste

4. In another mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time and then add the cocoa paste. Beat for 60 seconds.

5. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix until combined. Add half the buttermilk and mix until combined. Repeat with the remaining flour and buttermilk.

6. Mix the vinegar and bi-carb soda in a small bowl. When the mixture has stopped fizzing, add it to the batter and stir well to combine.

7. Spoon the mixture into the cupcake trays BUT only fill 3/4 full as they will rise. Bake for around 20 mins or until you can touch the top without it sinking, or a skewer comes out clean.

8. Leave cupcakes to cool on a rack and ice with the frosting when cool.

Bread and Butter Pudding

2009-08-13T14:29:00.000-07:00

I didn't realise just how easy this is. Hubby LOVED this when he was little, so thought I would make it for him :)

60 g (2 oz) raisins

2 tablespoons orange juice

butter (to spread onto the bread)

orange marmalade

6 slices GOOD QUALITY bread (or just ordinary bread which is what I used) You could also use raisin bread

3 eggs

3 tablespoons caster sugar

3 cups (24 fl oz) nilk

3 tablespoons cream

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon soft brown sugar (demerara)

Soak the raisins in the orange juice for 30 minutes. Butter the sliced bread and then spread some orange marmalade on each slice too. Cut the bread into triangles, either 4 or 2 from each slice (no need to remove the crust but you can if you wish). Arrange the bread in a 1 litre ovenproof dish.

Combine the eggs and sugar. In a saucepan slowly heat the milk, cream, vanilla and cinnamon til it is just warm. Then add this to the eggs and sugar and mix well.

Drain the raisins and add this orange juice to the custard mixture.

Scatter the raisins over the bread and pour the custard over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 mins- 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 180 C (350F). Sprinkle the pudding with the brown sugar and bake for 35-40 mins or until the custard has set and the top of the pudding is golden and crunchy.

Serve with ice cream or cream

Best Playdough recipe

2009-08-11T22:52:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe we used at kindy and it lasted the week long with 45 kids using it every day. With my kids it lasts for a few months!!

2 cups plain flour

1 cup salt

4 tablespoons cream of tartar

2 tablespoons cooking oil

food colouring

2 cups boiling water

Place all dry ingredients into mixing bowl, add the water and food colouring and mix with wooden spoon until all combined.

Turn out onto floured bench and knead dough until nice and smooth (be careful it will be a little hot).

Store in air tight container or zip lock bag.

Carrot Cake

2009-08-06T14:50:00.000-07:00

Taken from a Family Circle cookbook.

3 eggs

1 cup (8fl oz) oil

1 1/4 cups (7 1/2 oz) soft brown sugar

1 1/2 cups (6 oz) self raising flour

1 teaspoon bi carb soda

pinch of salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1 2/3 cups (8oz) grated carrot

For the frosting

125 g (4oz) softened cream cheese

30g (1oz) butter

1 cup( 4 oz) icing sugar

2 teaspoons orange juice

pecans or walnuts to scatter on top

1. Preheat oven to 180 C (350F) and grease a 9 inch cake tin and line the base and sides with baking paper.

2. Combine eggs, oil and brown sugar. Add the sifted flour, soda, salt and cinnamon and beat until the mixture is smooth.

3. Add carrots and nuts and mix well

4. Pour mixture into the tin and bake for 45 mins or until a skewer put into the middle comes out clean (my fan forced oven took around 40 mins).

5. Once cooked, remove from oven and leave to rest for about 20 mins and then turn out onto cooling rack.

6. To make cream cheese frostind, put the cream cheese, butter, sifted icing sugar, and orange juice in a bowl and beat until it is spreadable. Spread over cake once it is cool and scatter some nuts on the top.

What are we eating this week?

2009-08-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

I've had a few comments that we eat really well. I just thought we ate normal with one or two extra special dishes thrown in LOL.
I guess we are blessed to have such great food, money to buy that food, and great ideas through tv, the net, magazines, cook books on how to cook things a little differently.

This week hasn't been that exciting really.

Spaghetti bolognaise (2 nights)
Orange, ginger, honey chicken
Marinated lamb steaks and veggies
Beef stew
Chicken drumsticks with a floured coating and chips
Roast chicken and veggies

We have also had the chocolate balls, and today I am going to make a carrot cake mmmmmmm

Orange, ginger and honey chicken

2009-08-01T15:17:00.000-07:00

This was a sweet and tangy sauce that was made over grilled chicken. It was lovely.

200 mls (1 cup) orange juice, I had to use store bought juice as the oranges in the shop were gross

juice of half a lemon

1 and half tablespoons orange marmalade

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoons honey

2 chicken breasts

salt and pepper to season chicken

1. Season chicken and place in pan or on grill and cook through

2. Once cooked remove chicken or place it to the side and add the other ingredients to the pan, stirring til marmalade is dissolved.

3. Let simmer for a few minutes (if you have removed the chicken now is the time to place it back in)

4. Serve with generous spoonfulls of the sauce.

Chocolate and Coconut Balls

2009-07-31T19:33:00.000-07:00

An easy and delicious sweet treat to make. My daughter helped me, and glad she did, what a mess!!

What you will need:

250g plain sweet biscuit crushed finely (something like Marie is good)

400g tin of sweet condensed milk

4 tablespoons cocoa

1 row of chocolated finely grated

shredded coconut

chocolate sprinkles

Mix all the ingredients together and then form small balls. The easiest way to do is to roll them in the palms of your hands, its sticky and messy :)

Roll balls in the coconut and sprinkles mixture.

Place on a tray to cool in the fridge for around 30 mins.

Store in air tight container for up to 5 days (if they last that long!!)

Makes around 40 balls

Chocolate and Strawberry Cupcakes

2009-07-29T23:29:00.000-07:00

I was inspired to try making these after I saw them on another blog HERE.Thanks for sharing your recipe with me!! I ended up changing a few things as I thought cocoa was meant to be added so I added it, and I changed a little thing in the frosting too.

1 cup milk

4 room temperature eggs

1/4 cup canola oil (I used vegetable oil as that is all I had)

1 cup caster sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract or essence

2 1/2 cups plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon bi-carb soda

1 cup cocoa (you probably could add a little more if you want it more chocolatey, and I think next time I will add some chocolate pieces to make it even gooier)

1/4 cup strawberry jam.

1. Preheat oven to 175 C and line 2 x 12 hold muffin tins with cupcake papers

2. In a mixing bowl or food processer beat eggs, milk, oil and sugar until the sugar has dissolved and ingredients combined. Add the vanilla and beat for another minute. I have also seen recipes that say to add the eggs one at a time, so I guess you could do that too.

3. Sift flour, baking powder and bi carb soda together and then add half to the wet ingredients. Beat for 30 seconds and then add the remaining flour mixture. Beat until combined.

4. Fill the cupcake tins halfway, then add a teaspoon of jam in the centre of each cupcake (the original recipe used a heavy jam that sank, but mine didn't). If you aren't using a heavy jam that sinks I would then place a little more mixture over the top so the jam is not exposed and spills out.

5. Bake for 20-25 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.

5. Allow to cool and then frost with the whipped cream buttercream (recipe below).

Whipped Cream Buttercream Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter (or 125 gms), softened

2 cups icing sugar (the original called for 6 cups but 2 was more than enough for the 24 cupcakes)

2 tablespoons boiling water

1/4 cup thickened cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (essence)

1. Cream butter and icing on low speed. Once combined increase speed and slowly add the boiling water and vanilla.

2. Add the cream and beat until thick and fluffy

3. I used a piping bag to put the cream on top of the cakes, but you could just spoon it on also.

4. Top with half a fresh strawberry. If you are going to be saving these for later top with the strawberry just before serving.

Strawberry shortcake

2009-07-29T19:51:00.001-07:00

For my 30th birthday this year my mother and sister got a bakery to make a rich chocolate mud cake in the shape of strawberry shortcake.

In honour of this cake and because I found a sweet as recipe I will make some chocolate strawberry muffins too and will post what happens.

Orange, lime and pineapple grilled chicken

2009-07-28T16:58:00.000-07:00

This was a lovely light and tasty marinade that I put over some chicken drumsticks yesterday. I saw something similar on Little Chef and I website, but was wanting to use my pineapple juice that I had (I love pineapples) and thought this would be a great combo. Went great with the punpkin and spinach salad I did the night before, just added some roast potatoes for some more carbs :)

8 drumsticks (for 2 adults, 2 kids)

1 orange with the zest and juice

1 lime with the zest and juice

small handful chopped continental parsely

half red onion

1 tablespoon sugar

1/3 cup pineapple juice

Place the jucies and zest with the parsley and onion in a zip lock bag or air tight container and mix the chicken pieces around so they are all covered. Best to marinade a few hours before cooking so they get the full flavour. I also threw in the orange and lime skins that were left over after juicing just for extra flavour.

Place chicken on hot grill, or you could bake in the oven until cooked through.

My chicken for some reason took a LONG time to grill and I had to end up putting it back on when I began to eat as I noticed down the bottom it was a tad undercooked still. So make sure you leave adequate time to cook your chicken to go with the sides.

It was delicious, kids and hubby loved it :)

Roast Pumpkin, capsicum and baby spinach salad

2009-07-27T01:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made a DELICIOUS salad to go with our scotch fillet steak and mashed potato. I am still drooling from the taste. I wonder if my hubby will notice that he doesn't have any on his plate when he gets home from work???? :)

Here's what you will need

Serves 2, so adjust to make for more people

preheat oven to 200C (400F)

Around 1/4 or 400gms pumpkin or squash (I used butternut) chopped (I cut them into pieces about 3-4cm long)

2 garlic cloves chopped

1/2 red onion sliced

1/2 red capsicum (pepper) sliced

sage (I used dried sage, sprinkled over the veggies)

olive oil (drizzle over the veggies)

sea salt to season

baby spinach leaves (I used about half a packet or around 250 gms)

DRESSING

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 garlic clove finely chopped

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon sugar

crumbed feta is optional

Place all the veggies into a roasting tray and roast in the oven for around 30 mins, or until it has a nice crispiness and colour to it.

Wash baby spinach leaves and place in bowl.

Remove veggies from oven and start on dressing.

Place all the dressing ingredients in saucepan and heat until sugar and honey is dissolved (you will have to taste to see if its to you liking. I had mine so it was a little tangy but also tasted the sweetness of the honey).

Place veggies on top of baby spinach and drizzle the dressing over the top.

I had a little dressing left over that I drizzled over the steak.

Tweaks: I forgot to add the feta til I was half way through eating, it was awesome without it, but just as good with it (I love feta). You could also add roasted beetroot, or some crispy sweet potato crisps too.

Honey Crackles

2009-07-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

Here's how to make yummy cornflakes, great for kids parties (and for adults too :P)

pre heat oven to 150C (320 F)

4 cups cornflakes (16 oz I think)

1/3 cup sugar (2.8 oz)

90g butter (3oz)

2 tablespoons honey

patty pans

makes around 24-28 patty pans of the smaller size (not muffin tray size)

Place cornflakes in large mixing bowl

Over low-medium heat melt the butter, sugar and honey until all dissolved.

Pour over cornflakes and mix well

Spoon into patty pans and place in the oven for around 10 mins.

Remove from oven and place on wire rack, then place in fridge to cool.

keep stored in an air tight container will keep for a few days (well not really, you cant resist so they are gone in a day or two )

Banana Cake

2009-07-23T17:09:00.000-07:00

Love this recipe, its from a Family Circle cookbook called Cooking: a commonsense guide.

125g butter (4 oz)

1/2 cup (4 oz/125 g) caster sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 1/2 cups (or roughly 4 bananas) mashed ripe bananas

1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda

1/2 cup milk (4 fl oz or 125 ml)

2 cups (250 g/8oz) self raising flour

Butter Frosting

125g (4 oz) butter

3.4 cup (90g/3oz) icing sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

I also added a few drops of vanilla essence

1. Preheat oven to 180c (350F)

2. Grease a 20cm (8inch) cake tin (I use a rectangle, you can use whatever though)

3. Using beaters or food processor beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy.

4. Add the eggs that have been lightly beaten gradually.

5. Add the vanilla essence, mashed banana and beat until combined.

6. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Dissolve the bicarb soda in the milk (in a separate bowl or cup).

7. Using a metal spoon, fold in the sifted flour (sift into a separate bowl) alternatley with the milk into the large mixing bowl with the other mixture. Stir until the ingrediants are just combined and smooth.

8. Spoon mixture into tin and smooth the surface.

9. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake. (my oven is fan forced, it took around 40-45 mins). Leave the cake in the tin for 10 mins before turning onto a wire rack.

10. to make frosting- beat the butter, icing sugar and lemon juice with beaters until smooth and creamy. Spread onto the cooled cake.

STORAGE- the un iced cake can be kept for one week in an airtight container. Or you can freeze it un iced for up to a month. I store it with the icing in the fridge and keep it for up to 4 days, although its usually all eaten by then :P

Italian Chicken Casserole

2009-07-20T23:49:00.000-07:00

This was based loosely on a recipe I found on the Masterchef Australia website from Campbells using their chicken stock.

Now the recipe that follows is what I used for 12 drumsticks (so for 2 nights worth, you would probably cut the quantities of some things down, so I will write that next to what I used).

preheat oven to 220c or 428 F

12 chicken drumsticks (recipe called for 8 for 4 people)

1 onion chopped

2-3 cloves garlic chopped

1 zucchini chopped

3 potatoes chopped

2 carrots chopped(recipe said 1)

I also added

1/2 red capsicum (pepper)

1/3 bunch celery or 2 stalks I guess

4 mushrooms

1/3 cup plain flour

1/4 cup red wine

500 mls chicken stock

4 tablespoons tomato paste (tomato puree)

salt and pepper for seasoning

I used dried herbs as I didn't have any fresh ones on hand, i didn't measure this but I am guessing it was around 1 tablespoon of each of these

basil
thyme

oregano

1. Cook chicken in pan/dish on the stove for around 5 mins or until just brown on the outside

2. Add in onion, garlic cook for a minute

3. Add in vegetables and cook for a few minutes (I had WAY too much for my small saucepan so I couldn't do this as long or as well as I wanted)

4. Combine in a jug the wine, 1/3 cup plain flour, stock, tomato paste and herbs

5. Pour juices into the pan and place in the oven for around 45 mins or until chicken is cooked.

I served with rice, you could serve with pasta or some nice crunchy bread too

What are we eating this week?

2009-07-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

I am pretty sure I have the days figured out for what we are having this week. We are trying to cut down on costs across the board, so there is not going to be as many fancy things each week, and some repitition through the week but you do what you have to do :)

Monday- beef schnitzel, baked potatoes with mushroom and bacon and cheese topping (and steamed veggies)
Tuesday-Italian chicken casserole with rice
Wednesday- Italian chicken casserole with pasta
Thursday-Lamb chops and vegies (chicken sausage rolls for the kids)
Friday- Spaghetti bolognaise (steak and vegies for Arch)
Saturday- chicken pasta bake
Sunday-chicken pasta bake

Honey Lemon Chicken with Fried Rice

2009-07-15T15:54:00.000-07:00

So yesterday on a kids show they made Fried Rice and I decided that we would do it too but wasn't sure on what to do as the main part. I love honey and lemon so thought I would do a chicken dish. I did a search on the net and found an AWESOME blog which he had done EXACTLY what I wanted to do (not deep fry etc) I added one or two differences to it though. Here's his blog to check out :http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/2009/06/honey-lemon-chicken.html

So for my recipe I used 2 chicken breasts and I sliced them down the middle so they were thinner. Then I seasoned them with salt and pepper and cooked them in the fry pan til cooked through and removed from the pan. Next I added to the pan 1/4 cup chicken stock, juice and zest of 1 large lemon and around 2 tablespoons of honey ( I didn't really measure that, but you would have to taste the sauce anyway to see if you have the balance right). Then the original recipe said to add some grated ginger, but I had some powdered so I added maybe 1/2 tea spoon of that or maybe a teaspoon (I didn't measure).Then I added in 1 chopped clove of garlic and one chopped stem of spring onion. Let it simmer for about a minute then added the chicken back in and then served.

I also made a fried rice, the rice I only cooked that day though so it wasn't as good as it could of been. We added corn, capsicum, celery, carrot, onion, garlic, egg, bacon, oyster sauce and soy sauce. Oh and some frozen peas!!

The meal was AMAZING. Like seriously DELICIOUS. We even went back to the pan to dip our fingers in the left over jucie LOL

Menu this week

2009-07-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

Soooo I am a little lost with new things to try at the moment, and kind of have a cold so its sort of basic this week.

Lamb chops and veg
Crispy chicken drumsticks with tomatoes and garlic
Roast Lamb and veg
Beef Stew (2 nights)
Home made pizza
Something else with chicken, not sure yet, or maybe left over spaghetti bolognaise that's in the freezer.

Lamb Chops (For Jessica)

2009-06-24T00:19:00.000-07:00

Here is the lamb chops that we use. We prefer the forequarter chop as it's bigger and cheaper than the small "chump" chops that they call them. You can also get the backstrap of lamb which is lovely but VERY expensive. We also have lamb roast of which I have posted a blog about a few months ago.

I cook them on the inside grill. I use a seasoning I get from the grocery store that a Greek family makes. It has various herbs, spices, some flour, chicken stock etc. Its a dry seasoning. Its YUMMY :) I have also marinated with Emglish Mustard, red wine vinegar and parsely. Rosemary and lamb were made to go together so sometimes I just put sprigs of rosemary on the chops too. And rosemary, garlic and red wine is devine on the roast lamb.

I like my lamb almost well done, so if its slight pink, I take it off and let it rest. You can eat it rare/medium too.

Meals for the week

2009-06-21T18:46:00.000-07:00

Ok here is the menu for this week. I didn't bother last week as Nath was sick and I didn't have time to write about it :) Thanks Jessica for checking up on it!

Monday- scotch fillet steaks and vegies (kids are having chicken sausage rolls)
Tuesday- Roast chicken with lemon, garlic and thyme
Wednesday-Lamb chops and Vegies
Thursday-Chicken and pumpkin pasta
Friday-pasta left overs
Saturday- ?
Sunday- chicken breasts with a sundried tomato pesto sauce and roast vegies

Menu for the week

2009-06-07T17:59:00.000-07:00

So I am writing the days next to what we are having but its really give and take depending on my mood :P
Monday- Baked chicken breast in foil with cherry tomatoes and asparagus- served with roast veg
Tuesday- lamb chops and veg
wednesday- crispy baked drumsticks with tomatoes and garlic served with roast veg
Thursday- Shepherds pie and garlic bread
Friday- left overs
Saturday- going for tea with Arch, mum and kids will have beef stir fry
Sunday- roast chicken with lemon and thyme and veg

Stuffed chicken breast

2009-05-25T18:35:00.000-07:00

Last week I made a stuffed chicken breast and it was awesome.

Here is how to do it

1 chicken breast per person, skin on is best, keeps it moist.

Sea salt

Pepper

Feta that's been crumbled or chopped up

Basil and Oregano (fresh is best, otherwise just the dry stuff)

Olive oil

Make a slice down the breast so that there is kind of like a pocket along the side of it. Then combine the feta, and herbs and push this into the hole that you have made. Drizzle some olive oil over the top of the breast (skin side up) and season with salt and pepper. I cooked in a fry pan but it took way too long and was a little tough in some parts, so I wouldn't do it like that again. I normally cook my breasts in a roasting tray in the oven which is pre heated to 200c so I think that's almost 400 F and it takes about 40 mins to cook. You could also wrap it in foil and cook it in the oven that way for around the same time.

I then added some butter, lemon juice and some chicken stock to the pan and sort of made a mini gravy type sauce to pour over the top.

You could also stuff the breast with ricotta, sundried tomatoes, olives and other herbs.

Yummy Mini Quiches

2009-05-17T21:42:00.000-07:00

I made some mini quiches today for Arch to take to work, instead of his normal stash of chocolate and junk food along with the odd piece of fruit. My SIL gave me a recipe for them, but I kind made my own up anyway.

Makes about 18

2 sheets puff pastry

3 eggs

1 or 2 tablespoons thickened cream

2 or so tablespoons grated cheese

2 spring onion sprigs finely chopped

50gms ham finely chopped

half tablespoon fresh flat leaf parsely

salt and pepper

1 tomato cut finely

Pre heat oven to 180 celcius

grease 2 muffin trays (12 cup ones) (I only have one, so I just saved the mixture in the fridge til the first lot were ready)

Beat eggs, then add all the ingredients to the bowl and mix.

Using a egg ring or something similar cut the pastry and then place the pastry at the bottom of the pans. Use 1 tablespoon of mixture for each little pan of pastry.

Place in oven and cook for around 20 mins or until golden on the top, leave to rest for a few moments before placing in an air tight container. They will keep for 2-3 days. You can eat them hot or cold.

What's on the menu this week

2009-05-17T01:31:00.000-07:00

I am trying a few new things this week.

Monday-Grilled lamb chops with sweet potato chips (thanks to Jessica for that idea)
Tuesday-chicken breasts stuffed with feta, basil and oregano with a roast tomato, lemon and herb risoni (both new dishes)
Wednesday- Grilled steak with vegies
Thursday-Shepherds pie, garlic bread
Friday- Shepherds pie and garlic bread
Saturday- roast lemon chicken and vegies
Sunday- tomato chicken pasta bake (using left over chicken from night before).

Roasted Chicken with asparagus and cherry tomatoes

2009-05-14T13:54:00.000-07:00

Last night I did a variation of a Jamie Oliver recipe.

2 chicken breasts with skin on (each person gets one breast, you have to have each breast in its own foil parcel).

50 gms butter (real butter, not like in a tub)

1 clove garlic

6 sprigs fresh thyme

sea salt

freshly ground pepper

1 lemon

1 bunch asparagus

10 or so cherry tomatoes

Preheat oven to 200 celcius

Make a parcel of foil, by getting a long piece of foil (about your arms length) and fold in half, then fold up all the sides to make a little foil dish for everything to sit on.

Cut cherry tomatoes in half, place half of these in each foil parcel.

Snap ends off asparagus and place half the quantity in each parcel.

chop up the clove of garlic and take off the leaves of 4 sprigs of thyme (use the other 2 sprigs as decoration for the top of the chicken breast)

Add the garlic and thyme, salt and pepper to the butter which has been cut into 2cm pieces (so they can fit under the skin of the breast).

Place as much of the butter under the breasts as you can, put remaining butter around the breast in the foil. Grate the grind from the lemon onto both breasts and then squeeze the lemon onto both breasts.

fold up the foil as around the breast making sure the juice etc can't escape, but leaving room for air and the skin to brown a little.

place on a tray in the middle rack of the oven. Takes around 25-35 mins to cook depending on your oven. Pour a little of the juice left in the foil as you serve it onto the plate.

I served with roasted vegetables.
The way Jamie does it is serves it with fresh rosemary and white wine (I didn't have any white wine) but you could also use basil or taragon, they both go well with chicken too.

On the Menu this week

2009-05-12T14:50:00.000-07:00

I was finding it hard this week what to decide to cook, so I just really looked for meat that was on special and decided what to cook while I was shopping.

Monday- Beef Stirfy with Hokkein noodles
Tuesday- OH MUMMA crispy chicken with cherry tomatoes and roast/steamed vegies
Wednesday-lamb chops and vegies
Thursday- chicken breasts stuffed with a garlic/lemon/thyme butter and roast vegies
Friday- Lasagna
Saturday-chicken schnitzel and vegies
Sunday- home made pizza's.

Pasta with chicken, roast pumpkin and spinach

2009-05-09T15:05:00.000-07:00

So last night I tried to re create this pasta dish I had tried when we were on holiday. I looked on the net for a few ideas and took a few of them and added my own in. It was really delicious, it could of used a dash of something else maybe, not sure what, could of been that I used low fat cream and not full fat cream...

So first of all I got half a pumpkin (butternut would of been great, but I could only get a jap pumpkin) and cut it up into 1cm or so pieces. I cut half a red onion finely and 2 cloves of garlic. I put all this in a roasting pan with some olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper. I roasted them for about 20 mins I think on 200 celcius.

Then I cut up 2 chicken breasts into about 1-2 cm pieces and the rest of the onion. I had some frozen spinach so I de thawed that in the microwave. (Meanwhile the water was on for the pasta). Then I cooked the chicken and onion til browned and then added the pumpkin and spinach. When the pasta was almost cooked I added about 300-400mls cream, 2 handfuls of continental (flat leaf parsely) some more salt and pepper and a handful of parmesan cheese.

To serve I used Fettucine, but I think they used liguine in the place I had it. I added some extra parsley and parmesan cheese on the top once it was in the bowls.

Tonight I am going to add some feta to the left overs and see what that is like. Pine nuts could be added too for extra texture.

Menu for the week

2009-05-03T14:18:00.000-07:00

So I am going to try 2 new things this week, a new lamb dish and a new chicken pasta dish. I had this awesome pasta dish while we were away so I am going to try and recreate it, I looked online and think I found recipes for it too.

The only day really set is Saturday, when I will make the pasta dish for a friend who is coming over while Arch is out. The other days I will make what I feel like :)

Monday-Chicken pieces with lemon and herb in the oven with vegies
Tuesday-spaghetti bolognaise
Wed- leftover spaghetti
Thursday- Lamb cutlets crusted with bread crumbs, rosemary served with grilled vegies and feta salad
Friday-Beef stir fry
Saturday- Chicken pasta with roast pumpkin and spinach
Sunday- not sure yet, see what there is in the fridge etc and what I feel like. Something not complicated though as its mother's day so I am taking a day of rest :P

Menu for the week

2009-04-12T17:26:00.000-07:00

by the way every thing is made from scratch that I make, unless its like beef stroganoff or chicken carbonara, I use jars and add the meat and vegies etc to it. But yeah, the rest is made from scratch, best way to eat so you can control the ingredients and fat content.

Monday- Beef and Vegie stirfry with rice
Tuesday- Marinated chicken breast (tomato and herb) with mashed potato and salad
Wednesday- Lasagna, garlic bread and salad
Thursday-left overs
Friday- chicken schnitzel and vegies
Saturday- lamb chops and vegies
Sunday- home made pizza's.

Roast Lamb

2009-03-24T16:09:00.000-07:00

So first of all get yourself these things

Leg of lamb you can use a shoulder too (I usually use 1kg leg for 4 people, ask your butcher how much more you might need).

3-4 stalks of rosemary

sea salt and freshly ground cracked pepper

Olive oil

4 cloves garlic cut into quarter sized pieces

half glass red wine (cooking wine ie cheap wine is what I use)

Vegies for roasting (ie potato, pumpkin-butternut squash is best, sweet potato, carrot, parsnip)

Preheat oven to around 220c (around 430 F) (fan forced, so if its not fan forced, make it a few degrees warmer).

Cut little slits into the lamb a few cms apart, all over the top of the lamb and at the sides (and if there is a shank, do it there too).

Into these slits place garlic and rosemary sprigs (so break small sprigs off the stalk).

Season the lamb with salt and pepper and drizzle over some olive oil. Then pour over roughly half a glass of red wine.

Place in oven, you can turn it down to around 200c now (if not fan forced make it a few degrees warmer). Meanwhile peel any vegetables you want to roast, like potato, pumpkin, sweet potato, carrots, parsnips etc. I usually place the potatoes (that have olive oil, salt and pepper and some left over rosemary thrown on top) into the oven about 45 mins after the roast goes in, and then after about 10-15 mins I put the other vegies in with the potatoes. Some people place it all in one dish (ie lamb and vegies) but I don't, sometimes the vegies aren't done, or are done too quick).

After about an hour of cooking the lamb, take it out and baste it again with the juices that have formed in the pan (if it has all dried up, add a little water to the pan and a little wine and then put that over it).

The lamb this size takes around 1.5-2 hours to cook. You can take it out around 1.5 hours and check how its going by just cutting a small slice through the side, if its still quite rare then just leave it for say 20 mins and then check again. If you find the top is burning, you can place some foil over the top before you put it back in. You take it out when the meat has a slight pink colour to it, only slight, unless you like your meat rare then take it out when its a little pinker. Take it out of the pan and let it rest on a cutting board. The vegies should now also be done.

While its resting make up some gravy. I use a powder gravy max and pour in the juices from the pan, you can make your own gravy though, there are loads of different ways to do it on the net.

Then carve the meat, no real way to do it, I don't like it really thick, so I cut mine thin, usually you cut away from you. And you're done!! Now dig in before it gets cold!!

Mmmmm what's cooking this week?

2009-03-23T16:59:00.000-07:00

Monday- chicken tenderloins marinated in olive oil, mustard, thyme served with crunchy roast potatoes and other roast vegies.

Tuesday- Roast Lamb with red wine, garlic and rosemary with roast veg

Wednesday- Taco's

Thursday- chicken drumsticks with mashed potato and salad

Friday-lamb chops with mashed potato and salad

Saturday -home made pizza's

Sunday- hmmmm not sure yet!!

What's been cooking?

2009-03-19T13:57:00.001-07:00

I got a few great recipe books for my birthday (Yes Jamie Oliver were some of them)!! So this week I have made two dishes from Jamie's Dinners book. Here are the recipes, please try them yourself! So easy!!

Crispy Chicken with Sweet Tomatoes

4 chicken legs joined (I used 8 drumsticks instead)

sea salt (this is a must, gosh it tasted good, I added 2 pinches) and fresh ground black pepper

big bunch basil, leaves picked, stalks cut up

I used 1 punnet cherry tomatoes (red) and I could of added yellow ones, but they didn't have any so I used 3 large yellow roma tomatoes quartered.

1 bulb garlic broken into cloves

1 fresh chilli finely chopped (I didn't add this)

olive oil

(optional- tin of cannellini beans, drained or few potatoes)

Preheat oven to 180. Season chicken pieces and put them into snug-fitting pan in one layer. Throw in all basil leaves, stalks and tomatoes. Scatter garlic cloves and chilli and drizzle with some olive oil. Mix around a bit. Place in the oven 1.5 hours, turning the chicken and tomatoes halfway though until the skin is crisp and meat falls off the bone.I served with mashed potato and salad. You could add this to some pasta too.

Jools' favourite Beef Stew

olive oil
1 onion chopped
handful sage leaves (I didn't have this)
800g stweing steak or beef ( I used boneless beef steaks)
sea salt and freshly ground pepperf
lour to dust
4 carrots peeled and halved (I cut them smaller so the kids could eat)
1 sweet potato (he has 2 parsnips, I hate parsnips)
1/2 butternut pumpkin
500g potatoes quartered
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 bottle red wine
285 mls veg stock (i had beef stock, so I just used 1 cup of that and the rest was water)
.zest of 1 lemon
handful of rosemary leaves picked
1 clove garlic peeled, finely chopped.

Preheat oven to 160 clecius (I cooked this in a pot on stove top for 1.5 hours then I put in oven for the last hour). Put some oil into pan, add onion and sage leaves and fry for few minutes. toss meat in a little seasoned flour then add to pan along with all vegies, tomato paste, wine, stock and stir. Season with pepper and just a little salt. bring to boil, place lid on top, then cook in preheated oven until meat is tender (sometimes this is 3 or 4 hours- it was 2.5 for me). once its cooked you can turn oven down to about 110 and hold until you are ready to eat. We ate it with some nice crunchy continental bread.

What's been cooking?

2009-03-19T13:57:00.000-07:00

4 chicken legs joined (I used 8 drumsticks instead)

sea salt (this is a must, gosh it tasted good, I added 2 pinches) and fresh ground black pepper

big bunch basil, leaves picked, stalks cut up

I used 1 punnet cherry tomatoes (red) and I could of added yellow ones, but they didn't have any so I used 3 large yellow roma tomatoes quartered.

1 bulb garlic broken into cloves

1 fresh chilli finely chopped (I didn't add this)

olive oil

(optional- tin of cannellini beans, drained or few potatoes)

Anzac Biscuit Recipe

2009-01-25T20:19:00.000-08:00

These biscuits were made for the men fighting in World War 1.

Easy as to make!!

Makes about 26
1 cup plain flour (125g/4oz)
2/3 cup sugar (160g/5 and a half oz)
1 cup rolled oats (100 g/ 3.5 oz)
1 cup desiccated coconut (90 g/3oz)
125 g butter (4oz)
1/4 cup golden syrup (90g/3oz)
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Preheat the oven to 180 celcius (350 F/Gas 4). Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Sift the flour, sugar into large mixing bowl. Add the rolled oats and coconut and make a well in the centre.

Put the butter and syrup in pan. Stir over low heat until melted. Dissolve the soda in 1 tablespoon water) then add immediately to the butter ixture, it will foam up. Poir into the well in the dry ingrediants and stir well.

Drop level tablespoons of the mixture onto the tray, flatten gently with your fingers as they spread. Bake for 20 mins or until just browned.
Remove from the oven and transfer to wire rack to cool.

Now if they are a little soft to touch, that's fine they are sometimes soft, sometimes hard, if you leave them too long in the oven they will burn, they set once they are out of the oven.
Will keep in an airtight container for 3 days.
(you can use treacle or honey instead, but golden syrup is best in my opinion)
Instant or 1- minute oats may also be used.

Chicken with parmesan and prosciutto

2009-01-20T20:32:00.000-08:00

Lorne asked for the recipe so here it is :)
This serves 2. I do one chicken breast for each person.

30-50gms parmesan cheese
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme (you could use dry but it wouldn't be as yummy I don't think :P )
2 skinless chicken breasts
freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon
6 slices prosciutto
olive oil

To prepare your chicken
Grate parmesan (if you didn't buy it already grated). Pick thyme leaves off the stalks.
Now, I usually cut the breast carefully in half (butterfly it so that the its still all one piece but a little flatter). *** (see bottom) Carefully score the underside of the breasts criss cross style. Sprinkle over most of the thyme leaves over the breasts. Grate a little lemon zest over them and sprinkle with parmesan. Lay 3 prosciutto slices on each chicken breast, overlapping them slightly. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle over remaining Thyme leaves. **** Now Jamie likes drama and he says to cover the breasts with clingwrap and whack them with the bottom of a fry pan to get them thin. What I do is this- I just hit them with a mallet and flatten them out.

To cook chicken
Put a frying pan (or grill) over medium heat. Transfer the chicken breast to the pan and put it prosciutto side down. Drizzle over some olive oil. Cook for 3-4 mins each side, giving the ham side some extra time to get crisp if needed. I find that I need about 5-6 mins each side to cook the whole way through.

To serve
either cut up into strips, or leave whole, serve with a wedge of lemon.

Yummy chicken

2009-01-12T17:14:00.000-08:00

Last night I made another Jamie recipe. It's like chicken schnitzel but with parsley and garlic crust. It was sooooo good. I made it all from scratch with my new food processor too :)

I didn't take any pics of it though :( Silly me!!

What you need is

I doctored the recipe as I was using 3 chicken breasts (so that was for the 4 of us).
2 cloves of garlic
1 lemon
10 jacobs cream crackers (if you google you will see what type they are, in Australia we have an alternative to that)
50g buter
6 sprigs fresh flat leaf parsely (or continental as some call it)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Flour (if you add flour to your chicken before you dip it in egg)
Eggs for dipping
olive oil
chicken breasts (this is for 3).

Skin your breast if it isn't already done so and butterfly it or cut like you would do for schnitzel.

Pell garlic and zest the lemon. Put crackers into food processor (I guess if you bash them a bit before hand a blender could do it) with the butter, garlic, parsley, lemon zest and pinch of salt and pepper). Whiz until very fine, pour onto plate.
sprkinkle flour onto another plate, put eggs into a bowl and beat with fork.
bash your chicken so its flat
dip the chicken in the flour (if you don't want to you don't have to) then into the egg and then into the flavoured crumbs, making sure the crumbs stick nice and good.

To cook you can bake or fry. If baking preheat oven to highest emp and place chicken on baking tray for 15 mins. If frying (I fry) put fry pan on medium heat, add some olive oil and cook breast 5 mins or so on each side until cooked through.
Serve with wedge of lemon. We had ours with salad and mashed potato.
YUM!!

Jamie Oliver is my cooking hero :P

2009-01-05T17:39:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Jamie. Have since he was that young guy who we thought was weird dancing around his kitchen saying "pukka" and calling olive oil his mate and things. but MAN can THAT GUY COOK!! Seriously. I don't know anyone who doesn't have atleast one of his cookbooks or watched his show and not had saliva watering from their mouths. He's quite popular here in Australia. Sydney has one of his restaurants, which I would LOVE to go to one day.

For Christmas I got "Ministry of Food" cook book. The show was just FANTASTIC. He took a bunch of ordinary people (none who could cook or eat right) from a town and taught them simple, yet OH SO DELICIOUS meals they could cook for their family. The catch was with each recipe they had to "pass it on" to others. His hope was that the whole town would be cooking nutritious and delicious meals. Well he had to do some tweaking of his grand design, but it turned out pretty successful. Even I was proud of them all at the end :)

By far my favourite dish is the chicken with parmesan and thyme and covered with proscuitto. Mmmmmmmm. So quick and simple, yet leaves you wanting more. I like to serve that with either roast vegies or his carrots in a bag or dressed asparagus.

Here is a link to his site so you can find out more and see some examples of recipes.
http://www.jamieoliver.com/