Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni

In some parts of Italy they use crepes for the cannelloni instead of pasta sheets - my sister does it all the time (having married an Italiano) and now that's how I do it!!!!

It's delicious and fresh, and freezes really well.

INGREDIENTS:
Cannelloni crepes:
4 eggs
1 1/3 cups water
1 1/3 cups of plain flour
Salt and pepper
Peanut oil

Cannnelloni filling:
600g low fat ricotta
250g frozen spinach, thawed
2 tbsp chopped spinach
2 tbsp chopped basil
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Other ingredients:
650ml passata
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

METHOD:
Combine crepe ingredients and blend.

Cook thin crepe in pan, only a minute on each side. Set aside and separate with baking paper until ready for use.

Combine Canneloni filling ingredients in a bowl.
Spread a couple of tbsp down the middle of each crepe and roll.

Line the tubes up in a baking dish with half the passata at the bottom.

Pour remaining passata over the top and sprinkle with cheeses before placing in 180degree oven for 25 mins.

VOILA! Serve with Italian bread and/or salad.

Bacon, leek and potato soup

My darling friend Amber is a bit of a foodie like me, so when she posted this recipe last week I knew it had to be a winner!!!

Bacon, leek and potato soup - simply delicious. So flavoursome - even the hubby liked it (and he usually whinges when I serve soup for dinner!)

Recipe can be found here: http://www.thesometimeschef.blogspot.com.au/2010/04/potato-leek-bacon-soup.html

And some of my photo's to accompany this delicious recipe!

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Roast chicken

Nothing like a good old Roast Chicken...... we are massive roast fans in this house.
I usually make it up as I go, and today I decided (after pruning our herb garden) that I would make a thyme, pine nut, lemon and garlic stuffing - it was so tasty, and just permeated through the chicken.

Ingredients:
1 free-range chicken, washed.
1 and a half tbs butter or margarine
1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs
a handful of chopped thyme
a tablespoon of chopped parsley
salt and pepper
a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tbsp of pine nuts
1 tsp minced garlic
olive oil
Veggies of choice for roasting (I used chopped potato, sweet potato, and carrot)
Veggies of choice for steaming (I used corn and broccoli)

METHOD:

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees.
Wash the chook, inside and out.
Salt and pepper the chook, and rub a fair amount of olive oil into the skin.
Mix together butter, breadcrumbs, herbs, garlic, lemon, pine nuts and salt & pepper in a bowl to make the stuffing.

Insert the stuffing into the chicken, and tie the legs together with roasting string.
Place onto a baking tray (preferably one with a rack, however, I didn't use a rack)
Drizzle with a bit more olive oil.

Place into an oven and roast for around 1.5 - 2 hours, or until inner part of the chicken is cooked (I check by slicing down near the leg). Roast with the breast side up. I like to roast lightly covered with foil for the first half, then I remove the foil to ensure crispy skin for the last half.  In the last 20 mins or so, turn the chook over.

Place the chopped veggies in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs of choice (I used fresh thyme today, but sometimes I use paprika or rosemary).

Bake until crispy.

Steam the other veggies for a few minutes until they are still crisp, but cooked.

Served with gravy. My stuffing was soooo tasty!

Sticky date pudding with toffee sauce

I love a good sticky date pudding, and I have found the best recipe on the... (you guessed it!) "Best Recipes" site!

Recipe is found here

Boiling the dates over the stovetop....

Ready for the oven

Cooked to perfection!

The sauce simmering over the stove....

A little tip, to help get the pudding out of the ramekin, slide a butter knife around the edges and then turn upside down onto plate.  I pierced each pudding about a dozen times with a kebab stick before pouring the toffee sauce over the top.

ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!

Sausage coconut curry

I made a delicious sausage coconut curry the other night.
Once again, ingredients are estimated measurements....

Ingredients:
500g pork sausages
1 brown onion, sliced
2 tablespoons of red curry paste
1 cup of diced pumpkin
2 carrots, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
1 tsp chicken stock powder
half tsp curry powder
half tsp tumeric
half tsp paprika
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 tins of coconut milk
2 cups of jasmine rice
3 cups of water

Method:
Lightly brown the sausages, add the onion and cook until golden.
Add the curry paste and cook until fragrant. Add the pumpkin, carrots and zucchini.
In a separate bowl, combine chicken stock, curry powder, tumeric, paprika, tomato paste and coconut milk.
Pour over the ingredients in the pan and bring to the boil.
Simmer for around 20 mins or until veggies are tender, stirring frequently.

Serve over jasmine rice (cooked in a rice cooker).

This was a hit with my three-year old daughter!

Shephard's pie... No, correction: Cottage Pie

Did you know that Shepherd's pie is only shepherd's pie when you use lamb mince?
My English husband pointed this out to me the other day when I made "Shepherd's pie" - he pointed out to me that it was in fact called Cottage Pie because I used Pork and Beef mince.....

So here is my COTTAGE PIE recipe:

Ingredients:
800g Pork and Beef (or pork and veal) mince
1 brown onion
1 tin of diced roma tomatoes
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1 grated zucchini
2 grated carrots
2 bay leaves
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon of mixed spices
5 potatoes
1 tablespoon of butter
1/4 cup of cream (or milk for the diet-conscious)
1 cup of tasty cheese (I also used a bit of mozarella cheese)

Method:
Brown the mince.  Add the onion, then the roma tomatoes and tomato paste.  Add the vegetables and the bay leaves, and also a little water.

Add the seasoning and spices, and simmer for 20-30 mins.

Dice the potato and boil until soft.  Drain the water, and mash.  Add the butter and cream (or milk) and season with salt and pepper.  Mash.
Remove the mince mixture from the heat and pour into a baking dish.

Spread the mashed potato over the top of the mixture, sprinkle with cheese and bake for about 20 mins or until cheese is cooked.

Bon apetite!

Chicken and pumpkin risotto

Google is my friend when I have a fridge or freezer full of food - but no idea what to cook!

I had some chicken thigh in the freezer, and some pumpkin in the fridge so thought I would google both ingredients - and decided to make a chicken and pumpkin risotto.

I read a few online recipes, but decided to just go with the flow and make it up as I go.

Ingredients:
Half a grey or kent pumpkin, cut into 2cm cubes
Extra virgin olive oil
500g of chicken thigh or breast
one brown onion, diced
one leek, thinly sliced
1 litre of chicken stock
1 cup of white wine
2 cups of Arborio rice
salt and pepper
1/2 - 1 cup of shaved or grated parmesan cheese


Method:
Cut the pumpkin into small 2cm cubes, place it on a baking tray, and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.  Bake for about 20 mins (or until slightly soft) on 180 degrees.
Brown about 500g of chicken thigh, remove it from the pan and then sautee one onion (diced) and one leek (sliced).
Return the chicken to the pan and then add about half of a litre of liquid chicken stock, and one cup of white wine. Add 2 cups of arborio rice and bring to the boil. Season.

Lower heat and cook for around 20 mins, adding the rest of the stock as the rice starts to cook.  Add some water towards the end if the rice is still not cooked enough.
Once the rice is cooked and the liquid is absorbed, add the pumpkin and stir through.
Remove from the heat.
Stir through the parmesan cheese and serve.