Moussaka!

I haven't made a Moussaka in years! Tonight I was feeling like a bit of ethnic food (plus I had a few eggplants in the fridge that needed to be used), so I thought "Why not?"

So I did what I do sometimes, and looked up a few recipes on the internet, and took what I liked from a few, and made my own recipe! haha

INGREDIENTS:
3 large eggplants

Extra virgin olive oil spray

MINCE MIXTURE:
1 medium brown onion
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
800g lamb or beef mince
400g tin of diced tomatoes
1 tbsp mixed spices
1/2 tbsp cinammon
salt and pepper


BECHAMEL SAUCE:
75 g butter
1/3 cup of plain flour
2 cups of light milk

Half a cup of Pizza cheese.


METHOD:

Thinly slice the eggplants, and cook eggplant over medium heat with olive oil spray in a fry pan (around 2 mins each side). Transfer to plate.

Heat oil in a pan and fry onions and garlic until onions are golden brown.  Add mince, separating with a wooden spoon.  Add diced tomatoes, spices, cinammon, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, and then turn heat down and simmer for 20-30 mins.

Melt butter in a small saucepan and add flour, stirring to make a roux.  Slowly add the milk while mixing. Bring to the boil and stir on low heat for around 5 mins or until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat.

Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees.
Grease an oven-proof dish with olive oil spray. Place a third of the eggplant along the bottom of the dish.  Pour half the mince mixture over the eggplant, and spread.  Place another third of the eggplant across the mince, add another layer of mince, then a third layer of eggplant.  Pour the bechamel sauce across the top of the eggplant, then sprinkle with cheese.

Bake for 40 mins or until cheese is golden brown.

Serve with salad.

Snayneeyeh - traditional lebanese sweet!

Even though I am a born and bred Aussie, my family background is Lebanese Christian and there are some Lebanese traditions I just love.... the dancing, the weddings, and most importantly - THE FOOD!

I love the traditional food, the food made on certain occasions - like Good Friday "peasant food". Mum makes a Vegetarian loaf full of pumpkin, sweet potato, chick peas, spinach, and crushed wheat... and a wheat-ball soup with lemon and spinach.  It's a traditional Good Friday food because of it's simplicity and the basic vegetarian ingredients... and there is history and tradition behind it.  Most Christians eat seafood on Good Friday because you aren't meant to eat meat, but we go that one step further and I just love it!

Another traditional food is the "Snayneeyeh" (which actually translates to "teeth" in English)  It's a dessert that is made by a mother when her baby gets his/her first tooth! My son got his first tooth last week, and I finally got around to making the Snayneeyeh last night.  This dish took almost as long as it took for my son's actual tooth to appear..... FOUR HOURS of boiling the wheat.... but it was worth the effort!

So I went to the Lebanese Grocer and stocked up on some ingredients....

I boiled two cups of wheat in 2 litres of water for four hours, topping up with water every 20 minutes or so. Meanwhile, I soaked 3/4 cup of walnuts, 3/4 cup of sliced and peeled almonds, and 3/4 cups of pistachios in water.

Once that was done, I stirred in about 3/4 cup of Orange Blossom Water, 1 tablespoon of Pomegranate Grenadine Molasses, and about 3/4 cup of icing sugar. 

I served about two tablespoons of the mixture into individual martini glasses (and some into plastic bowls to give away to family and friends), topped with the nuts, shredded coconut, and some baby marshmallows!!!!!!!!

Voila!!!

And traditionally we are meant to deliver these desserts to our close family and friends!!

Congratulations darling boy on your first tooth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

xx

Italian meatballs

My niece is over tonight for a sleepover and she requested meatballs and penne for dinner!

So I cooked my FAMOUS italian meatballs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, these meatballs just MELT.IN.YOUR.MOUTH!

Ingredients:

Meatballs:
1kg pork and veal mince (or pork and beef mince)
1 cup of breadcrumbs
2 eggs
a handful of chopped basil
a handful of chopped parsley
1 cup of shaved or grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Sauce:
1 jar of passata (tomato cooking sauce)
1 can of diced roma tomatoes
half a cup of white wine
salt and pepper
a handful of chopped basil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed

Method:
Combine all meatball ingredients.  Roll into small balls, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Combine all sauce ingredients in a pot.  Cook for 20 mins.
Add meatballs to the sauce and simmer for an hour to an hour and a half, stirring frequently.

Serve on penne pasta (or any other pasta).

Bon Apettite!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A week of yummy meals....

A variety of dinners this week.

Peanut chicken with a satay sauce, served on basmati rice with greens.
Recipe from taste.com.au

Pork fillets with a rocket, pear, walnut and parmesan salad (drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar)

Leftover BBQ chicken? Why not make a Wholemeal chicken pasta bake?
Passata, various herbs (I used oregano, basil, thyme and rosemary from my harden), garlic, S&P, mixed spices, chopped zucchini, sliced mushrooms, and shredded BBQ chicken.  Mixed in with boiled wholemeal spirals, pour into baking dish, sprinkle with parmesan and tasty cheese, and bake for 10-15 mins.

Slow-Cooked beef and red wine casserole.
Cook 500g beef cubes and one sliced onion in a pan, until brown.  Transfer to slow cooker. Add mushrooms, chopped zucchini, sliced carrots, 150ml red wine, tomato paste, various herbs (I used rosemary, sage, rosemary, thyme from the garden), S&P, some mixed spices, a touch of garlic.  Slow cook on low for 6-7 hours.  Serve on a bed of mashed potatoes.

And tonights YUMMMMMMMY Seafood Marinara!

And SO easy to make.

Boil a jar of passata and a tin of roma tomatoes in a pot, with S&P, 1tsp minced garlic, fresh parsley and fresh basil. Simmer for about half an hour.  Add 600g fresh seafood marinara mix, and cook for a further 10 mins.  Serve with fresh fettuccine topped with parmesan cheese.  ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!

Easter - final chapter

And now some photos of the DEEEEEELICIOUS food that was served on Easter Sunday.

The food table.

Caviar anyone? Served on Mayo boiled egg.

Prawns in Avocado Beds....

Lebanese cuisine - Kafta roll stuffed with egg and carrot, on a bed of mashed potato, served with red sauce and carrots.

Avocado salad, chicken pasta bake, pasta, artichoke and bean salad.

And other dishes included Salmon and capers, BBQ chicken, salad, Tabouli, and a Lebanese delicacy dish "Kebbe Naye" which I don't personally, eat.... but it is gourmet raw minced meat with crushed wheat.

And of course I forgot to take a photo of the dessert table, but there was a fruit platter, creme caramel, baked ricotta cheesecake, my butternut chocolate fudge, cupcakes, chocolate eclairs, fried syrup balls, and a few others.

Plus we sipped on frozen margheritas, wine, and champagne all day... my mother is quite the wine connoisseur so we are always guaranteed a nice drop at her place!

Easter Easter Easter - Part 2!

I also made a layered salsa dip for easter lunch (well, an appetiser before lunch!).

It is SO simple to make, but is sooooo tasty!

Ingredients:
2 jars of salsa dip (I use the Aldi brand)
1 tub of sour cream
2 avocados, mashed with a dash of lemon and salt and pepper (however, this time I used avocado dip because Woollies had NOT ONE avocado on their shelves and I didn't have time to go elsewhere)
Tasty Cheese, shredded.
Paprika
Corn chips


All you do is layer the ingredients in this order:
Sour cream; salsa; avocado; cheese; sprinkle of paprika.

Serve with corn chips!!!

EASY!

EASTER EASTER EASTER!

Easter is my favourite time of year. For our family it is a time of prayer, a time for family, and a time for FOOD!

Easter Sunday is a FEAST.  My entire extended family get together at my parent's place for lunch.  Mum does most of the catering, but we each bring something to the table.

This year I made a dessert and a dip for pre-lunch snacking!

Dessert: FUDGY BUTTERNUT SNAP SLICE

Ingredients:
Canola cooking spray
2 packets Butternut Snap biscuits
90 grams of butter, diced
1 packet dark chocolate (200g) - I use the Aldi Choceur brand
plus half a packet for the topping
1 400g can sweetened condensed milk

Lightly spray a lamington tin with canola spray, and cover with baking paper.
Place the biscuits in a food processor and process until evenly crushed. Set aside.
Place the diced butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat until melted.
In a separate microwave-safe bowl, break one packet of dark chocolate and melt in microwave. Stir until smooth.
In a bowl, combine crushed biscuits and melted butter. Mix well.
Add condensed milk and melted chocolate, stirring until smooth.

Spread the mixture into the pre-prepared tin and smooth.
Refridgerate slice until firm.
To make the topping: break half a packet of chocolate (100g) into small pieces and melt in microwave. Stir until smooth.
Evenly spread the melted chocolate over the slice.

Refridgerate the slice until firm. Cut into small squares to serve!

Everyone loved this fudge.  It's quite sweet, so make sure you cut the pieces into small squares.

Tomorrow I will upload the recipe for my layered salsa dip - as well as the photos of our Easter lunch!!!!

Home-made finger painting

I know... this is not a post about food. But the paint is edible, so I think it counts haha

Stuck at home with sick kids can be boring, so we have been trying to occupy ourselves with various things - art and craft being one of them. My daughter absolutely LOVES art and craft.

So I decided to make some home made finger paints. I found some recipes online which were non-toxic and completely edible (on the off-chance she decided have a taste). 

Quite easy to make: Just add 1/2 cup of corn flour and 4 tablespoons of white sugar to a saucepan.  Turn the heat on to medium heat, and slowly add 3 cups of water while stirring.  Heat until the mixture thickens.

Separate the mixture into plastic cups. We used 6, but I reckon the mixture could accommodate up to 10 cups (we had a bit leftover).

Add various natural food colourings to each cup.  Stir.

And begin painting!!! My daughter prefers using brushes, and they work just as well.  Best thing about it is - if you cover them with glad wrap or put it in air tight containers, they do last quite a while!

Happy painting!

Winter flu season

Our household has been absolutely miserable the past week and a half. My 6 month old got Tonsillitis, and now my three year old has what seems to be a bad cold/flu but I worry it will develop into the same thing.  My husband and I have 'razor-blade' throats now too, so I dare say we are next.

Generally, when I am sick my appetite isn't the best. But it's so important to eat healthy fruit and veggies so I force myself to cook and eat healthy food... especially when the kiddies are sick!

Today, my daughter (who was bored from having to stay home again) wanted to help mummy cook lunch, so we threw together a veggie and noodle soup - the perfect meal for a sick child (and mummy!)

I boiled up some water with chicken stock, threw in some red lentils, egg noodles, scooby-doo shaped pasta (for some fun -she loves them!), fresh carrots, potatoes, zucchini, corn, and some frozen peas.  Added some tomato paste, salt and pepper, mixed spices, and some fresh oregano, sage and rosemary from the garden.  45 mins later - we had a tasty soup to help calm our nasty throats!!!

Then tonight for dinner I made a lovely lamb roast (with mint sauce), served with baked potatoes and carrots, and steamed broccoli and cauliflower... and some gravy!!!

 
And the best thing is - I don't have to cook tomorrow because I have loads of leftovers!!!!

Well I'm off to write my meal plan for the week - an easy one this week, because of Easter (we eat at mums!)

Ciao!