Chicken and veggie sausage rolls

These are so easy to make and taste absolutely delicious! Everyone at the party commented on them.

Ingredients:

600g chicken mince
2 slices of bread, roughly torn
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 medium zucchini's, grated
1 medium carrot, grated
1 onion, finely chopped
100g mushrooms, finely chopped
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
5 sheets puff pastry
1/4 cup of milk
Sesame seeds

Method:

Put chicken, bread and soy sauce into a blender and blend.
Add the zucchini, carrot, onion, mushrooms and parsley. Season with Salt and Pepper.
Process in the blender.

Once the pastry has thawed, cut in half.
Spoon the mixture down the centre of the pastry, brush the edges with milk, and roll.

Brush the rolls with milk, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and then cut into small pieces.

Place on a greased baking tray and cook until pastry is cooked and golden brown.

Alternatively, freeze and then place in a zip-lock bag, to be baked at a later date.

My son's first birthday party

I've been MIA for a few weeks as I was busy cooking and preparing for my son's first birthday party, and then my laptop went in for repairs.

My son's first birthday party was a few weeks ago and it was FULL ON.  I made pretty much everything from scratch!

I made chicken and veggie sausage rolls, bacon and leek mini quiches, spinach and fetta triangles, BBQ chicken tenderloins, cold meat platter, anti pasto, mini hot dogs (bought), and my mum bought mini lebanese pizzas!

Dessert was DELICIOUS.  The theme for the day was Nautical.

The cake - well I've developed a newfound respect for cake makers around the world!!! It was so hard - but I'm proud of myself given I've never worked with fondant before! AND I even made the cake topper myself, from polymer clay. It was a chocolate mud with chocolate ganache and blue fondant.

The cake was a little dry so I will use a different mud cake recipe next time I think.

Other desserts I made included Chocolate Butternut Fudge (from the Aldi cookbook!), Mars Bar Cars, red jelly for the kids, and a fruit platter.  My sister made Tiramisu, and my mother-in-law made home-made apply and custard pies as well as a lemon meringue pie.

I will post a few of the recipes I used over the next week.

Wholemeal veggie muffins

INGREDIENTS

2-3 grated carrots
1 grated zucchini
1 cup grated pumpkin
1 cup wholemeal self raising flour
1 cup Self raising flour
1 tbs chives
1 tbs parsley
3/4 tbs salt
3 eggs
Half a cup of milk
3 tbs butter/margarine (melted)
Half a cup of grated tasty cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Canola spray

METHOD

Squeeze the juice from the zucchini and pumpkin and place all grated veggies in a bowl.
At flours, herbs, and salt, and mix until the veggies are coated in the flour.

In a separate bowl beat the eggs, milk and butter.

Make a well in the centre of the veggies and add the egg mixture.  Add the cheeses and stir until mixed well (but not too much or the muffins will become tough).

Spoon into a greased muffin tray (12 capacity) and bake on 180 degrees C for around 25 minutes or when squewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Once cooled, freeze individually wrapped in cling film.

Pumpkin, bacon and fetta pasta bake

Another dish I put together based on "available ingredients" in my pantry and fridge!

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 or half a pumpkin, diced
1 clove of garlic
3 or 4 rashers of bacon, diced
2 tbs olive oil
1 packet of penne
120g fetta cheese, crumbled
half a cup of cream
half a cup of grated mozarella or tasty cheese
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
Parsley, chopped

METHOD

Put pumpkin, garlic and bacon into a baking dish with the olive oil and bake for around 30-40 mins.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling water and a pinch of salt. Drain.

Once the pumpkin mixture is cooked, add the pasta into the baking dish and stir.  Pour in the cream, add the parsley, fetta, and parmesan, together with salt and pepper to taste, and stir.  Sprinkle with mozarella or tasty cheese.

Bake for a further 20 mins or until golden and crispy.

Delicious!

Cheesymite scrolls

These are a nice snack for the kids. I freeze them in portions of 6 and all you need to do is take a bag out in the morning and in an hour or two it's ready to eat.

All you need is puff pastry, vegemite, and grated tasty cheese.

Defrost some puff pastry, spread with vegemite, add grated cheese (I prefer to grate my own rather then use packet grated cheese as it melts better), roll, and slice into about 8 pieces.  Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper, sprinkle with some more cheese on top, and bake on 180C degrees for about 10 mins.

You can use any filling of your choice, including curry mince and sweet chilli and cheese.

Quick and easy Dark Chocolate and walnut tart

6 Ingredients - that's all you need to make this easy peasy chocolate tart.
I used dark chocolate, but you could easily use milk chocolate if you aren't a dark chocolate fan.

I also used store-bought shortcrust pastry, but you can always make your own, and add some powdered cooking chocolate to the dough to make it more chocolatey.

INGREDIENTS:

2 frozen shortcrust pastry sheets (If you can find it, sweetcrust pastry is ideal)
200g block of dark (or milk) Cadbury cooking chocolate
1 cup of cream
half a cup of caster sugar
2 eggs
a handful of crushed/whole walnuts

METHOD:

Once the pastry has thawed, place two sheets on top of each other into a tart pan with removable bottom.  Cut excess from around the edges.

Blind bake with rice or baking beads for 15 mins, and remove the rice and cook for a further 10 mins.

Remove from the oven and set aside.

Place a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water and melt the chocolate. Add the sugar and cream and stir.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before adding the eggs.

Stir and pour mixture into the tart tin.  Sprinkle with walnuts (or nut of choice) and bake on 170 degrees for a further 30 mins.

Remove from the oven when just cooked through.  The mixture will harden when cooled.  Place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.  Serve with cream and strawberries.

If you prefer to make your own sweetcrust pastry - here is a recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups plain flour
150g soft butter
Pinch of salt
1 egg
1/4 cup caster sugar
Plain flour for dusting

METHOD:
 
Place the flour, butter and salt into a bowl and rub together until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Break egg into a separate bowl, add sugar and mix lightly.

Add to the flour mixture and mix until pastry comes together. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling out and pressing into the tart tin.

Moroccan Meatballs served with char-grilled veggies and cous cous

We really like Moroccan food in this house - the kids love cous cous so we are almost guaranteed empty plates.

Tonight I made Moroccan Meatballs and served them with veggies and cous cous. I didn't exactly char-grill the veggies, I pan-fried them, but they were delicious.

Got the recipe from one of those housewife magazines - I think it was Take-5.  Flicking through food magazines is my favourite thing to do when I'm at my mother-in-laws house as she buys them for the crosswords.

I changed it a little though.

I did find the meatballs fell apart slightly when I was cooking them, so I would probably put less yoghurt in the mixture next time, and maybe some breadcrumbs to bind them.

Oh and I doubled the recipe so there are leftovers for tomorrow night's dinner (as I'm out all day tomorrow).

Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
500g premium mince
2 tsp ground paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp natural yoghurt
1 small bunch of mint, finely chopped
black pepper
2 tsp olive oil
425g tin of diced roma tomatoes
375ml chicken stock
1 spanish onion, sliced (optional - I forgot to buy some so didn't have any and it still tasted lovely)
1 large red capsicum, chopped
1 or 2 large zucchinis, sliced
1 large eggplants (or two small ones), diced
1 and a half cups of water
1 tbsp margarine
1 and a half cups of cous cous

METHOD:
Put mince, paprika, cumin, yoghurt, and 1/4 cup chopped mint into a large bowl. Season with pepper and mix until thoroughly combined.  Roll mixture into balls.
Heat oil in a large non-stick fry-pan.  Add meatballs and cook until lightly browned all over.

Stir in the tomatoes and stock and bring to the boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for around 25 mins until meatballs are cooked through and liquid has reduced and thickened.

Grease a heated pan and throw in the veggies until browned.

Bring water and a pinch of salt to the boil in a saucepan.  Turn the heat off.
Add the cous cous and stand for 5 mins.  Return to the stove, add margarine, and stir with a fork to separate.  Add to the veggies, together with the remaining chopped mint, and stir.

Serve the meatballs on a bed of cous cous and veggies.
Enjoy!!!

Dinner party (Part 3 - Dessert. BERRY CLAFOUTIS)

This is the first time I've made Berry Clafoutis, and it definitely won't be the last.
It was delicious! Although next time I probably will halve the amount of berries I use as it was a little overpowering.

INGREDIENTS:
670g jar (or thereabouts) of berries
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup cream
3 eggs
2 tbsp plain flour
1 cup caster sugar

METHOD:
Drain the berries, reserving the liquid.  Divide the berries between 6 lightly greased ramekins (or you can use a 23cm pie dish).

Whisk together the milk, cream, eggs, flour and half cup of sugar.

Pour mixture over the berries and bake in a 180C preheated oven for about 25 mins (or 45 mins for the pie dish) until light golden and just firm in the centre.

Meanwhile, combine the reserved cherry liquid and remaining half cup of caster sugar in a small pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for around 8 minutes until liquid has reduced and thickened slightly.

Serve with whipped cream and berry syrup.

This dessert can be made a day in advance, and can be eaten warm or cold.

Dinner party (Part 2 - Main meal. CHICKEN PENANG CURRY)

Chicken Penang Curry is a regular in our house. We have tried many Penang Curry pastes over the years, and by far the best we have had is the Valcom brand (available at most supermarkets in the Asian section).

The recipe is on the back of the jar - basically put 4 Tbsp Penang Curry Paste and a bit of oil into a wok and cook for a minute or two until fragrant. Add 500g chicken and cook until it starts to brown. Add one tin of coconut milk, 1 tbsp sugar, and a couple of tbsp fish sauce.  Add the veggies (I used brocolli and carrot, but cauliflower and green beans are also nice) and simmer until the veggies are cooked.  Right before turning off the heat, add kaffir lime leaves. Serve with Jasmine rice.

I doubled this recipe and it easily caters for 6-8 people.

Dinner Party (Part one - Entree. VIETNAMESE RICE PAPER ROLLS)

I had my cousin and his fiance over for dinner tonight.

I decided to make Vietnamese rice paper rolls for the entree, followed by Chicken Penang Curry with Jasmine Rice for the main meal, and a Berry Clafoutis for dessert.

The rice-paper rolls were so fresh and tasty!!! I'll definitely be making them for my son's first birthday party in a few weeks.

INGREDIENTS:
Pack of 22 rice paper rolls
Rice vermicelli
Chopped iceberg lettuce
2 grated carrots
2 grated Cucumbers (drained of moisture)
half a cup of fresh mint
half a kilo of fresh peeled prawns
Hoi Sin sauce (for dipping)

METHOD:
Place the rice vermicelli in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Sit for 10 mins before rinsing with cold water and draining.
Place a sheet of the rice paper in a bowl of warm water for 30 seconds.
Remove from water and place on a damp tea towel.  Mount some vermicelli, lettuce, cucumber, carrot, mint and prawns toward the bottom of the sheet.
Roll the bottom up, fold in the sides, and roll to seal.

Serve with a Hoi Sin dipping sauce.

You can add many different things to these - teriyaki chicken is delicious, and you could also use tuna, bamboo shoots, or avocado. Anything goes!

Tandoori chicken and pilaf rice, with a yoghurt dipping sauce

Tonight's dinner was a hit with the family. This classic Indian dinner is one of my favourite dishes, full of flavour yet so easy to make.

INGREDIENTS:
1kg chicken tenderloins
1 cup of natural yoghurt
3 tablespoons of tandoori paste
1 tsp minced garlic
a squeeze of lemon (optional)
1 large brown onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups of jasmine rice (or medium grain rice)
2 tbsp powdered chicken stock
2.5 cups of water
2 bay leaves

bok choy, chopped
green beans

Dipping sauce:
1 cup of natural yoghurt
1/3 cup of water
2 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp paprika

METHOD:

Stir the tandoori paste into the yoghurt. Add the garlic and lemon.
Score each side of the tenderloin with a knife.
Dip each tenderloin into the mixture and place into a dish.  Refrigerate for 1.5 hours.

Pan fry for a couple of minutes on each side, before placing on a deep baking tray and into a 180 degree oven.  Cook for around 15 mins or until chicken is cooked through.

To make the rice, put chopped onion into a pan with the olive oil and sautee until the onions are clear.  Remove from the heat and add washed rice and chicken stock powder. Stir.
Add the water and bay leaves, stir and reduce heat.  Simmer covered for around 25 minutes.

Mix together all dipping sauce ingredients.

Serve alongside chicken and rice, with steamed Asian greens.

Banana Bread

Banana Bread - who doesn't love it? The name kind of annoys me, because it is more of a ''cake'' than a bread.  It's definitely not healthy as the name ''banana bread'' implies. However, I love it! It took me a few recipes to find one that that I loved.  So thanks to my dear friend Laura, here is my super easy Banana Bread recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup plain flour
half cup SR flour
1 cup brown sugar
125g butter, melted
2 eggs, whisked
2-3 bananas, mashed
1 tsp cinnamon

METHOD:
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C.
Mix together dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and mashed bananas.
Pour into a greased loaf pan (I like to line mine with baking paper).
Bake for 45-50 mins.


YUMMM

Home made spinach, fetta and chorizo gozleme!

One word for tonights dinner - TASTY!!!!!!

I had some chorizo and some fetta in the fridge that I wanted to use for dinner, so I googled the two ingredients and some gozleme recipes came up in the results. I'd never made gozleme before so I thought I'd give it a go. I used the dough recipe from an online source, but then just winged the filling ingredients myself.

INGREDIENTS:

Dough:

2 cups of plain flour (plus a little extra)
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup of water
1/4 extra virgin olive oil

Filling:

2 Chorizo sausages, sliced.
a handful of fetta cheese, crushed
1 cup of frozen spinach (or you can use fresh spinach)
1 tsp butter
2 tbsp parsley
1 tsp dill
1 cup of grated tasty cheese (or you can use part tasty, part mozarella)


METHOD:
Firstly, I made the dough: 2 cups of plain flour and a pinch of salt sifted into a bowl.  I made a well in the middle and poured 3/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil. Mix together to form a dough, and knead for a few minutes.  You might need to add some extra plain flour so it's not so sticky. Divide into 4 balls, place into an oiled bowl, cover with cling wrap, and set aside for 20 mins.

If you are using fresh spinach, cook in a pan with a little water for a few minutes until soft.  If you are using frozen spinach, pop into the microwave with a little water and cook for a few minutes. When ready, add the butter and stir.  You can also use some spring onion, but I didn't because I didn't have any!

Cook the Chorizo in a pan with a touch of extra virgin olive oil (I use a spray).  Once cooked, set aside and place onto paper towels.

Roll out the dough into a rectangle by pressing with your fingers, and then lightly roll with a rolling pin, being careful not to make it too thin.  Add the filling, first the spinach, then chorizo, some fetta, fresh parsley, dill and top it off with grated cheese. You can really use any filling that tickles your fancy!

Fold each side over to the middle, folding back the second side (like the picture below), and close up each end by folding it up.  Place the gozleme on a hot pan (lightly sprayed with extra virgin olive oil) and cook on each side.

Keep warm in the oven until ready to serve.  Slice into quarters and serve with lemon wedges, and a side salad.

YUMMMMO

Home made yoghurt

In my mission to slowly rid the house of unnatural foods (ok, cut down) I decided to buy a Lumina Yoghurt Maker from Aldi.  I only buy the Jalna yoghurt for the kids because it is pot set and contains no nasties.  However, they don't come in kids size tubs or pouches and although it's easy to just put some in a small container, it is not as appealing to the 3 year old as the fun pouches!

So I purchased some pouches from www.pouched.com.au.  The pouches are fabulous - the smaller ones are for single use only, but the food can be frozen in them as well as thawed.  I also purchased some larger ones for freezing larger meals and for things like leftover chicken stock.  These can be re-used up to 5 times.

So all I did was mix 1200ml of full cream milk with 200ml of natural tub-set yoghurt. I then divided the mixture into the 7 glass containers, pressed the button and waited 6 hours for the yoghurt to "cook".

After 6 hours the yoghurt was still watery, so I left it on another hour and a half and it was set.  However, next time I will leave it on even longer so it thickens up a bit more.  A few hours in the fridge and it was ready.

I pureed some apple and pear, added a little cinnamon and after it had cooled in the refrigerator I mixed some with the yoghurt.

And into my little pouches they went.

Fun for the 3 year old to eat.
Easy for the 10 month old to eat from.

A definite win!

Off to the health food shop tomorrow to find something natural to sweeten the yoghurt up (as my son is too young for honey).

My husbands birthday dinner

I made a delicious three-course meal.....

Oysters Natural (they were HUGE - almost the size of my hand)

Chicken Cordon Bleu with chat potatoes and beans

And a SCRUMPTIOUS Baked Berry Cheesecake for dessert....

Creamy chicken, basil pesto and sundried tomato pasta

Tonight's dinner was something I just threw together based on available ingredients I had at home, and it tasted sensational! Even my 10 month old son loved it.

INGREDIENTS:
500g chicken breast, sliced
a handful of chopped chives
half a cup of basil pesto
300ml light cream
a splash of white wine
100g sliced sundried tomatoes
penne pasta
handful of parmesan cheese

METHOD:
Cook the chicken breast in some olive oil.
Add the chives and stir.
Add the white wine and stir.
Add the pesto, cream, and sundried tomatoes. Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes.

Serve on penne pasta, sprinkled with parmesan cheese.