Jamie Oliver style cucmber/spinach salad

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

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

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.