Friday Night Dinner

I've told you about Fast Food Filthy Friday before. The food for dinner is fast, but home-cooked not of the fast-food drive-through variety, and the kids get to skip their bath thus the filthy part. Sometimes we have eggs on toast, toasted sandwiches, a meal from the freezer or soup but a regular favourite is homemade pizza.

The pizza dough I make is so simple that it easily fits into the category of fast - 4 cups of self raising flour, a good pinch of salt and an equally good pinch of whatever dried herbs are handy and one can of beer. Mix it together then turn in out, give it a fairly gentle knead, cut it into three portions and roll out three pizza bases. Yeah, three seems a little excessive but it takes care of lunch (or breakfast!) the next day.
The kids always choose ham, cheese and pineapple for their topping. It's pretty much the only time they get pineapple and I secretly think they choose it just because they know I can't eat any of it!

Hubby and I mix it up a bit with the toppings. Tonight we had some leftover slow-cooked lamb shanks so I was wanting to use some up on the pizza and after a bit of quick googling came up with some ideas. Passata on the base and a scarce scattering of grated cheddar cheese just so everything sticks to the base then: char-grilled capsicum, some blobs of basil pesto, olives, lamb, crumbled feta and some pine nuts. After it was cooked we decided it needed some more salt so we added that and... fabulousness on a pizza.

Easy Peasy Meatballs

The May issue of Good Taste Magazine is getting a total workout in my kitchen. I generally make a few things out of each foodie mag I buy but this issue is one of those rare ones where I flicked through and found page after page of recipes that I was hanging out to make. Recipes that I've wanted to try, or that I knew Miss Fuss Bum would like, or just something a bit different for the dinner table.

This meatball recipe is a total cheats version, tastes fab and Hubby and I loved it. Offspring #1 was unhappy because it had olives in it and didn't believe that you couldn't really taste them, while #2 gobbled hers up after I'd removed the offending huge piece of olive not even noticing the smaller pieces still happily encased in the meat. Next time I'll add some salt and pepper to the meatball mixture and we did sprinkle some parmesan over the finished dish but apart from that I wouldn't change a thing. I especially loved that we got in at 6pm and I had dinner on the table at 6.28pm and that included wrangling small people into baths/showers/pyjamas.

Greek Meatballs and Pasta

from Good Taste magazine, May Issue

400g dried penne pasta

500g lamb mince (oops, used beef mince)

120g Always Fresh Antipasto To Go Continental Mix, drained, finely chopped

1 tbs olive oil (I used the oil from the antipasto pack - thrifty and tasty!)

700ml bottle passata

1. Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling water following packet direction, Return to pan.

2. Meanwhile, combine mince and antipasto in a bowl. Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls. Heat oil in a large deep frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook the meatballs, shaking pan often, for 3-5 minutes or until browned.

3. Add the passata. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce thickens slightly.

4. Add the meatballs to the pasta and toss to combine.

Fancy Beans

I found this delicious recipe for beans in the current issue of donna hay magazine and immediately decided that we were having that for dinner. The original recipe was for 8 so I fiddled with the measurements a bit to get it to suit us,. I also fiddled with the spices a wee bit, toning it down ever so slightly so as to not shock my poor children into oblivion. With the obvious exception of Miss Fussy, we all LOVED this. It was warm, hearty, full of flavour and pleasingly spicy. That said, the little miss did eat up every little bit of pasta in the bowl so it can't have been too bad. You can ramp up (or down) the measurements to suit yourself, I've included the original recipe and added my measurements next to it.

Chorizo and Beans

from donna hay magazine, autumn 2010 (issue 50)

2 tablespooons olive oil (2 tablespoons)

2 chorizo, sliced (2)

2 red onions, sliced (1 )

4 cloves garlic, sliced (2 )

1 teaspoon chilli flakes (1/8 teaspoon ground chilli)

4 sprigs oregano (2 )

2 x 400g can chopped tomatoes (1 x 400g can)

1 tablespoon brown sugar (1/2 tablespoon)

3 x 400g cans white (cannellini) beans, rinsed and drained (2 x 400g cans)

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (1/2 tablespoon)

crusty bread to serve

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add the chorizo, onion and garlic and cook for 8-10 minutes or until golden and tender. Add the chilli, paprika, oregano, tomato and sugar. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes. Add the beans and balsamic vinegar and cook for 2 minutes. Serve with crusty bread.

We nixed the bread and went with hot cooked pasta stirred through and grated parmesan cheese sprinkled over. Fantastic!

Leftovers, Or Two For One

I mentioned the other day that I'd bought a new slow cooker recipe book called Slow Cooker, Easy and delicious recipes for all seasons and it's by Sally Wise. I love it, for a whole bunch of reasons that I'm planning to go into another time, and tried another version of corned beef from it earlier in the week. I didn't take photos - seriously, how many photos of corned beef can one blog need? - but thought I'd share the recipe with you. This was totally delicious and had lots of flavour to it. Even the fussiest family member gobbled up her serve. Though not until she'd drowned it, and everything else on her plate, in tomato sauce.

The next night we had lots of leftovers. Lots. We'd all had corned beef sandwiches for lunch and serving up sliced corned beef for dinner seemed a little repetitive so I was searching for a different way to use the leftovers and decided on a recipe I found over at taste.com for Corned Beef Hash Cakes . Delicious! In fact they were so delicious that I forgot to take photos (ok, I was sick as a dog too so I did pretty well getting dinner on at all!). But there are photos over there and yes, that's what mine looked like too. I cooked them in a pan on the stove and served them up with steamed vegies - comfort food at it's best.

Corned Beef

from Slow Cooker by Sally Wise

1 onion

1 carrot

1 stalk celery

1.5 kg piece of corned silverside (I used a 2kg piece)

1 teaspoon mixed spice

8 cloves (I only had ground cloves so used 1 teaspoon)

10 peppercorns

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons vinegar

Peel and chop the onion. Peel the carrot and cut into chunks. Slice the celery. Place the silverside, vegetables, mixed spices, cloves, peppercorns, brown sugar and vinegar in the slow cooker.

Add enough water to come two thirds up the silverside.

Place lid on cooker and cook for 4-5 hours on High or 8-9 hours on Low (I cooked mine for 5 hours on High).

Something Warm

As the weather cools down after a long hot summer in our part of the world it's almost a relief to be looking to warm dishes for dinners. I remembered making this tuna pie some time ago and thought I'd blogged it at the time but, apparently not. I don't know why I didn't - I wasn't wrong in remembering it as being tasty, filling and just the right thing as summer turns to autumn.

Be warned - the recipe serves 10. When I made it I halved everything except the tin of tuna and had enough for about 6 serves.

Creamy Fish Pie

from an advertising feature in Australian Table, July 2007

425g can tuna in oil

1 large leek, washed, thinly sliced

2 medium carrots, diced

2 tablespoons chopped dill

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

finely grated rind of 1 lemon

1 egg lightly beaten

2 cups (500ml) thickened cream

500g potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced

1 cup (120g) grated extra tasty cheese

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Drain tuna, reserving 2 tablespoons of oil. Heat reserved oil in a non-stick frying pan and cook leek and carrot for 10 minutes until tender. Transfer to a large bowl. Add tuna, herbs, lemon rind, eggs and cream. Stir gently, breaking up largest chunks of tuna. Pour into a 15 x 25cm baking dish.

2. Spread potato over top, overlapping. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with cheese and bake for 30 minutes, until cheese is bubbling. Serve.

Easy Roast

I cobbled together a few bits and pieces to come up with a simple, quick yet tasty dinner the other night. There's nothing hard about it, and I'm sure you could all come up with the same thing without my help but for the cooking-challenged among you (Hi Jodes, I told you I'd come up with some just for you!) here it is. The measurements are fairly much guess-timations so feel free to work with what you've got.

Roasted Chicken Pieces

1kg chicken pieces, skin on

3/4 cup white wine

olive oil

a few bay leaves

4 cloves garlic

3 medium sized potatoes, each cut into about 6 pieces

2 tsp dried tarragon

2 Tbsp finely grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 180C.

Place the whole lot in a large bowl and toss gently to combine. Pour it into a good-sized oven-proof baking dish.

Cover with foil and cook for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake a further 45 minutes.

Serve with steamed beans and carrots.

Don't You Hate...

... when you make something yummy for dinner, everyone* gobbles it up happily and you think to yourself, "mmmm, I'll be making that one again" only to have the recipe vanish from the face of the earth!

I made a Pumpkin and Feta Frittata sometime last week - the title would suggest it had pumpkin and feta in it, and I remember it had eggs and some finely sliced bacon but as to measurements? Meh, don't know, can't find 'em. I know it was started on the stove-top and finished in the oven but for how long? Wouldn't have a clue. I know the recipe was a page torn from a magazine but which one? Got me stumped there. Anyone out there know where I got it from? I think it was fairly recent if that helps. Anyone????

Well, here's the photo anyway...

*In the interest of ummm, like, honesty... I must disclose that while Offspring #1 went back for seconds, and then thirds, Miss Picky aka Offspring #2 took one look and declared the whole thing to be 'yuk' . She did, under threat of death, taste the frittata but made such a fuss that I fed her all the carrot sticks from the accompanying salad just to make her shut up. Bad Parenting Technique #4627.

Why I Should Have Named My Blog "The Donna Hay Tribute Blog"

Unless I'd called it " The I Love Bill Granger Blog"

But seriously, I think my favourite contemporary Australian cookbook author is Donna Hay. I love her magazine - pretty bits of frippery, recipes to tempt and challenge and twists on old favourites; I own several of her books and have borrowed still more from the library. Again a nice range of recipes from simple to challenging, fun to serious and tasty to downright delicious.

Whenever I'm after something quick, tasty and not too difficult for dinner I turn to one of my favourite Donna Hay books, No Time To Cook. All the recipes I've tried so far have lived up to the title and, with the possible exception of one, they've been fantastic. My latest effort was bursting with flavour and simply delicious. The kids loved it, Hubby enjoyed it and I thought it was pretty darn fabulous.

I did in fact have some time to cook so instead of cooking it under the grill I roasted the lot for about 35 minutes and it turned out great. If I really didn't have time to cook I'd go with the instructions. And as usual I didn't necessarily have all the ingredients so did a bit of switching and swapping. The recipe states that this serves two but with a salad on the side it served the four of us - bear in mind that the kids are quite little so don't necessarily eat huge amounts.

Roast Tomato Chicken

from No Time To Cook by Donna Hay

2 x 220g tomatoes, halved

8 sprigs thyme

16 basil leaves (oops, didn't have any so I used fresh parsley)

8 pitted Kalamata olives (again with the oops, I was using up some green olives)

2 x 200g chicken breast fillets, cut into thirds

1 tablespoon thyme leaves, extra

2/3 cup finely grated parmesan

sea salt and cracked black pepper

olive oil, for drizzling

rocket leaves, for serving (hmmm... no way the kids would eat rocket. A garden salad for us)

Place tomatoes cut side up in a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Make a few slits in the tops of the tomatoes with a knife. Stuff the slits with thyme, basil and olives. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with extra thyme, parmesan, salt and pepper. Add chicken to the baking tray, drizzle with oil and place under a preheated hot grill for 6-8 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Divide rocket between serving plates and top with chicken and tomatoes. Spoon over pan juices to serve.

Easy Summer Dinner

I made this a few weeks ago and it was the perfect easy dinner for a hot summer night. We've been sweltering through a heat-wave for the past few days, 40C+ for several days and hot, hot nights, and this would have been just the thing - if I'd remembered. Doh!

Hubby particularly enjoyed this meal. It was light, refreshing with all the summery flavours through it and filling enough that he felt like he'd been fed. There's nothing worse than a light summer meal that's so light it leaves you hungry! I made a slightly modified version for the kids - minus just about anything with flavour - so they were happy too. The recipe uses a bought cooked chicken but I cooked up some chicken I had in the fridge instead and it worked out great.

Tex-Mex Chicken Salad

from 3 ways with... by Ross Dobson

Mash 1 avocado in a bowl with 125g (1/2 cup) sour cream and 2 tablespoons lemon juice and season well. Put the shredded meat and skin of a barbecued chicken in a bowl with 1 red onion, sliced into thin wedges, 2 large tomatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces, 1 handful pitted black olives, 1 large handful chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves and stems, 3 tablespoons jalapeno chillies (in brine) and 3-4 handfuls shredded iceberg lettuce. Toss to combine and top with dollops of the avocado dressing. Serve in warm taco shells.

Almost A Curry Convert

So long as the curry in question is fairly mild, that is!

As I mentioned in a previous post I found a recipe for Chicken Korma that I felt confident I could both make and eat. I was also hopeful that it would be mild enough that the kids would enjoy it and I knew that Hubby-who-never-gets-curry-because-his-wife-doesn't-like-it would be over the moon. I did find the recipe a little difficult to follow at times - it was a bit all over the place and I needed to read and re-read it to make sense of it. That could have been my lack of curry-making experience or it might have been the recipe book although I don't usually have a problem with Jamie Oliver recipes. I've changed a few bits and pieces to reflect either what I did or to make it a little easier to follow.

This was a resounding success. Once the recipe issues were dealt with it was easy to put together, easy to serve and everyone loved it. Offspring #1 was the first to ask for seconds but Hubby followed fairly quickly. Miss Fussy ate what she was given (she was on a promise of ice-cream) but didn't want more, though did concede that it was pretty good and she'd probably eat it again. Mostly because, "I like rice, Mummy." That's a good thing because the leftovers are in the freezer and when they're gone I'll definitely be making it again!

Chicken Korma

from Jamie's Ministry of Food by Jamie Oliver

Serves 4-6

800g skinless and boneless chicken thighs

1 large onion

optional: 1 fresh green chilli (umm... not up for that challenge just yet)

a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger

a small bunch of fresh coriander

400g tin chickpeas

vegetable oil

a knob of butter

1/2 of a 290g jar of Patak's korma curry paste

400ml tin coconut milk

small handful of flaked almonds, plus extra for serving

2 heaped tablespoons desiccated coconut

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

500g natural yoghurt (a small tub would do fine)

1 lemon (left it out)

To prepare your curry

Cut the chicken into approximately 3cm pieces.

Peel, halve and finely slice your onion.

Halve, deseed and finely slice the chilli if you're using it.

Peel and finely chop the ginger.

Pick the coriander leaves and finely chop the stalks.

Drain the chickpeas.

To make your curry

Put a large casserole-type pan on a high heat and add a couple of lugs of oil (what's a lug anyway? I added a couple of tablespoons worth). Put the chicken thighs into the pan and stir around until lightly browned.

Remove chicken from pan and keep warm.

Put butter, onion, chilli, ginger and coriander stalks into pan. Stir it around the pan so it doesn't catch and cook for about 10 minutes until it has turned evenly golden, then cook for another 10 minutes. Add the korma curry paste, coconut milk, the flaked almonds, drained chickpeas, desiccated coconut and return the chicken to the pan. Add half a tin of water and stir.

Bring to the boil, then turn the head down and simmer for 30 minutes with the lid on.

Check the curry regularly to make sure it's not drying out and add extra water if needed.

When the chicken is tender and cooked, taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary.

To serve your curry

Jamie suggests serving it with any of his fluffy rice recipes - I cooked mine in my Tupperware rice cooker and it worked a treat.

Add a few spoonfuls of natural yoghurt and sprinkle over the rest of the flaked almonds. Scatter the coriander leaved over the top and serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over.

The Best BBQ'ed Chicken. Ever.

Big statement, I know. But seriously this chicken recipe for the bbq is delicious. It's dead easy to make, hubby does the cooking and everyone raves about the end result. It's a win-win situation! I have made one change to the recipe. The original calls for wholegrain mustard but I used Dijon by mistake the first time I made this and haven't looked back. It gives the dish a lovely smooth finish and can't be beaten.

I know I've made a big deal on here about how much I hate chicken thighs but I've come to a new appreciation of them. I still don't like them when they're served up as an un-flavoured, plainly cooked piece of meat. But I have discovered the fuller flavour that can be fabulous in pasta dishes and totally love that the fattier cut means they are just about impossible to overcook. Despite my allergy issues I do put the lemon juice in - it kinda needs it - but I'm not an idiot and I don't chance this unless I'm in tip-top shape and haven't been near anything citrus-like for awhile.

We've had this dish three or four times since I discovered it - the kids scoff it down, Hubby and I love it and dinner guests have been mighty impressed. This one's up in the top 10!

Herb and Mustard Barbecued Chicken

from Good Taste magazine, December 2009

80g (1/3 cup) Maille Dijon Mustard

60ml (1/4) cup fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

8 chicken thigh fillets, halved

1. Combine the mustard and lemon juice in a large glass or ceramic dish. Add the oil and rosemary and stir to combine. Add the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 4 hours to marinate.

2. Preheat a barbecue grill or chargrill on medium-high. Cook the chicken for 7 minutes each side or until cooked through.

3. Arrange on a serving platter and serve with mixed salad.

Out Of Practice

I made these really simple and completely scrummy Lamb Meatball Baguettes for dinner a couple of weeks ago. They were seriously delicious and, even though I wasn't blogging at the time, I snapped off a couple of shots of the finished product. Hubby was so impressed he went back for seconds, as did Offspring #1.

Now do you think I can find the darn recipe? The answer to that would be a big fat NO! And it's the sauce that makes this totally fab and I totally can't remember what went into it. I guess I'll have to have a proper look tomorrow and see what I can turn up. Meanwhile, if any of you know which magazine it came from I'd sure appreciate a hint or two.

Pasta La Vista, Baby!

We had this cannelloni for dinner ages ago but I just haven't got around to blogging it until now. This is one of the easiest cannelloni recipes I've come across and, apart from the brand of pasta sheets I used, it was fabulous. I will definitely be making this one again, just with a better brand of pasta sheets than the ones that were suggested. They were 'half-size' sheets, so if you bought, what I consider to be regular sized, large pasta sheets you'd need to cut them in half before you started. Yes, your fingers get goopy while your mixing and rolling but I think that was part of the fun.

The recipe is from the free magazine that is put out quarterly by the supermarket I generally shop at so lots of brands are specified in the list of ingredients. In the interests of not joining in with their advertising I'm not planning to list the brands. That's me being subversive!

Pumpkin, Ricotta and Spinach Pasta Bake

from Coles Magazine, Spring Issue (2009)

1kg butternut pumpkin, chopped and peeled

250g ricotta cheese (tubs tend to be smoother than fresh ricotta and give a better consistency in this recipe, fresh ricotta may also be too dry)

2 cloves garlic, crushes

1 bunch chives, snipped

400g packet fresh lasagna sheets

100g baby spinach leaves

1 cup cream

1 cup chicken stock

2 cups mozzarella cheese

Salad leaves, to serve

1. Place pumpkin in a medium bowl and microwave until tender Cool

2. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a large baking dish.

3. Add ricotta, garlic and chives to cooled pumpkin and mix well. Lay a lasagna sheet on a flat clean surface. Arrange some spinach leaves along centre of sheet. Top with spoonfuls of pumpkin mixture. Roll up to enclose filling and place in prepared dish, seam side down. Continue making cannelloni with remaining lasagna sheets and filling.

4. Pour cream and stock over filled cannelloni in baking dish. Top with cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden and bubbling. Serve pasta bake with salad leaves.

*Freezer tip. You can freeze the cannelloni at the end of step 3. Once thawed, continue the recipe as directed.

Sunday Night Dinner

I've been trying to cut some costs in the food-shopping area of late. Food prices here have just gone up and up and up - I suppose it's the same everywhere - but, of course our pay hasn't. So at some point, after paying for the kids' activities like swimming lessons, guitar lessons and school excursions and the unexciting things like the power bill, phone bill, gas bottles and day-care I'm noticing there's less money to pay for the groceries which are costing more! Monday is shopping day and one of the ways I'm cutting costs is to actually buy less. I know, it's a novel approach! I'm also putting more effort into using what I have rather than buy a new jar of this or packet of that simply to try a new recipe. Yep, another novel idea.

Sunday night rolled around this week and we were all tired and, the grown-ups at least, were wanting something simple and not-too-heavy. I asked for suggestions from the other members of the family and was greeted with ideas ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous and most of them involved a trip to the corner deli. And I was not dressed appropriately to even walk to the front gate. Saggy trackpants - not a good look. Ever.

I finally remembered this recipe for a potato omelette and, with all the ingredients readily to hand, we were away. This was just right for an easy Sunday night dinner when you're in the mood for something warm but light and everyone else in the house has vetoed tinned baked-beans on toast. It didn't have a huge burst of flavour but I was very sparing on the chilli powder. I'd probably have a go at using something like rosemary to flavour it next time. We had it with a fresh garden salad and it was declared a resounding success by all. Yay for the Mummy!

Tortilla de Patata

from The Australian Women's Weekly, Cooking from the Pantry




20g butter

1/4 cup olive oil

3 medium potatoes (600g), chopped finely

1 medium brown onion (150g), chopped finely

8 eggs

1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. Melt butter with oil in 22cm-base ovenproof frying pan; cook potato and onion, stirring occasionally, until potato is tender.

3. Meanwhile, whisk eggs and chilli powder in medium jug.

4. Add egg mixture to pan. Cook, uncovered, over low heat, about 5 minutes or until just set.

5. Place pan in oven; cook, uncovered, about 10 minutes or until browned slightly. Carefully turn tortilla onto plate. Cut into wedges; serve with a side salad. (No, mine didn't slide out easily. I literally dug it out of the pan.)

It's All Going Swimmingly

Yep, swimming lessons have started again. We had a break from swimming last term - it was too cold and I was running out of steam with racing up and down the hill umpteen times a week. And, as it turned out, Offspring #2 suffered from cold after cold after cold so her lessons would have been a complete waste of time and money anyway. After a little break both kids were eager to get back to swimming - or 'fwimming' as #2 insists it's called, she'll even sound out 'sss, sss, ssssss.... ffffwimming. It drives her big brother crazy. Which makes us laugh. A lot.

Anyway... I worked most of the school holidays and kept putting off organising their lessons which is why, having finally made the phone call on the last day of the holidays, we've ended up with the lessons on different days and at not especially fabulous times. #1's lessons are late in the afternoon and I'll be needing to get super organised as I'll be arriving home with two tired, starving children smack on dinner time each and every Monday. My plan is to dig through my slow-cooker recipe books and try out some of the different recipes. We're heading towards Summer so my regular slow-cooker standby's, like Beef Hot Pot, Lamb Shanks and other casserole-y type dishes, aren't going to be all that popular.

I put the plan into action and came up with something a little different for Monday night's dinner. I guess my head was stuck in the "slow-cookers are only for casserole-type dishes" so, while I've made Chicken Cordon Bleu many times, I was pleasantly surprised by how well this turned out when I used the slow-cooker. And I was even more pleased to arrive home with tired, grumpy kids and have dinner ready to go. A dinner that everyone polished off and even had the boys in the house asking for seconds. It's a winner for me.

Slow Cooker Cordon Bleu

from The Easy Slow Cooker Cookbook by Barbara C Jones

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

4 slices cooked ham

4 slices Swiss cheese, softened (I used what was in the fridge - regular Cheddar)

1 (300g, 10 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup

1/4 cup milk

Place chicken breasts on cutting board and pound until breast halves are thin

Place ham and cheese slices on chicken breasts, roll up and secure with toothpick.

Arrange chicken rolls in 4 litre (4 quart) slow cooker. Thin soup with the milk and pour over chicken rolls.

Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. (I messed up the starting time so did 3 hours on high and it worked a treat).

Serve over hot cooked noodles and cover with sauce from soup. (I gave the noodles a miss and served it with a salad).

Magazine Monday: Greek Chicken Platter

I tempted fate tonight by including the lemon in this recipe. Actually, I only included half the lemon - I wasn't willing to tempt it too much! Two and a bit hours on I'm itchy but that's it so far so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

This chicken salad was really nice. The roasted chicken was lovely and the salad was bursting with flavour. We often have some variant of warm chicken salad, especially as the weather warms up, but this one was just a little bit different which made it a nice change. I ended up making two versions of the platter - one for us with the olives, etc, as described in the recipe below (and I added some feta) and one for the kids minus those bits but with some carrots and regular cheddar cheese. Both lots went down a treat.

The recipe is from this month's issue of delicious. which, incidentally, features my local area in the piece by Matt Preston. See, it's not just me who thinks this is a great place to be! Oh, and about the lemon - I used the zest in the marinade but none of the juice listed. I'm sure the juice would have added more flavour but like I said, I wasn't willing to tempt fate quite that much.

Greek Chicken Platter

from delicious. October 2009

4 free-range chicken breasts, with skin on - optional (I chose not!)

Grated zest of one lemon, plus a squeeze of juice (from our tree)

1 tablespoon chopped oregano (I used marjoram, from the herb garden)

1/4 cup olive oil

6 bacon rashers, cut into bite size pieces

100g thick Greek-style yoghurt

1 garlic clove, crushed

50g black olives

1 Lebanese cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeds removed, sliced

12 cherry tomatoes, halved

Salad leaves, to serve

Preheat the oven to 190C.

Place chicken in a bowl with lemon zest, oregano ad half the oil. Season, then turn to coat in the mixture. Allow to marinate for 10 minutes. Place chicken in a roasting pan (skin side up, if using) and roast for 18-20 minutes until cooked through. Cover with foil and rest while you make the salad.

Meanwhile cook the bacon in a frypan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until crisp. Drain on paper towel.

Stir yoghurt, garlic, lemon juice, 3 tablespoons water and some salt and pepper together in a bowl. Drizzle with remaining oil.

Arrange the bacon, olives, cucumber, tomatoes and salad leaves on a serving platter. Slice the chicken and serve with the salad and the yoghurt dressing.

Let Them Eat Pie

The weather here in sunny old Perth has been anything but for the past few weeks. We've had more rain that we know what to do with and freezing cold temps (well, freezing cold for us!) so naturally enough we've turned to some hearty winter meals to warm us up a little. This pie turned out to hit the spot very nicely - warm, filling and something the whole family enjoyed. Gotta love that! Even better, it did us two meals with a little extra for lunches for Hubby and I.

A couple of tips to keep in mind: Give yourself enough time to let the filling cool in the fridge as per step 2. Let the pie sit for 10 minutes before you serve it - it lets the filling set slightly so that when you cut it the filling doesn't spill out everywhere. I found this out the hard way.

Chicken, Ham and Leek Pie

from Super Food Ideas Best Ever Winter Warmers

40g butter

2 leeks, trimmed, halved, washed, sliced

150g ham steaks, diced

1 kg chicken thigh fillets, cubed

1/4 cup plain flour

1 cup light thickened cream

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3 sheets frozen ready-rolled shortcrust pastry, partially thawed

1 egg, lightly beaten

1. Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add leek and ham. Cook for 3 minutes or until leek is soft. Add chicken. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 to 8 minutes or until browned.

2. Sprinkle flour over chicken mixture. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Slowly add cream, stirring. Add mustard. Stir to combine. Return to heat. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 5 minutes or until sauce thickens. Refrigerate until cold.

3. Preheat oven and baking tray to 200C. Grease and line a 22cm (base) springform pan.

4. Use 2 sheets of pastry to line base and sides of pan. Spoon chicken mixture into pastry. Use remaining pastry to cover filling. Cut a small cross in the centre for steam to escape. Fold pastry around sides of pan over pastry lid. Press to seal. Brush with egg. Place on baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 180C. Bake for a further 30 minutes or until golden. Stand for 10 minutes. Serve.

Almost A Convert

As a kid I hated corned beef. Also known as silverside, I thought it was just about the most disgusting, revolting meal that could be served up. Okay, sausages were pretty high on that list too but corned beef well and truly won in the "I'm not eating that and you can't make me" stakes. Mum always made plenty of white sauce to go with it and that was about the only thing that got me through.

But as prices rise and paychecks don't spread quite as far I'm starting to look for more economical meals. Corned beef is mentioned in just about every article on cheap cuts of meat, economical eating and cutting costs on groceries but I managed to ignore them and work out a whole bunch of other meals instead. One night I asked Hubby about his thoughts on corned beef and when he confessed to loving it (but never actually mentioning that in the 12+ years I've known him!) I finally gave up and caved in. I found a recipe for corned beef in the slow cooker and figured I'd give it a whirl.

This was fantastic! I really enjoyed it, which surprised the heck out of me, and so did the rest of the family. I made a really cheesy white sauce to go with it (just in case I still thought it was disgusting but had to pretend to like it for the kids) and some vegies to go along with it. See the broccoli in the photo? It's from our garden. Superb!

Slow Cooker Corned Beef

from the recipe pamphlet for the George Foreman Slow Cooker

1 silverside roast (1-1.5kg)

1 Tbsp oil

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

200ml beef stock

3/4 cup tomato juice

3 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 bay leaves

sprig of thyme ( I used dried thyme)

4 cloves, to taste (didn't have any)

salt and pepper, to taste

Prepare vegetables. Trim the meat of excess fat. Heat oil and butter in a large pan and brown meat on all sides. Transfer to slow cooker. Add vegetables to the pan and saute for a few minutes, add the stock and tomato juice and bring to the boil. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce. Add the vegetable and stock mix to the slow cooker and add cloves, herbs and salt/pepper.

Cook on high for 7 - 9 hours or low for 8 - 10 hours (my slow cooker is not a George Foreman, I cooked the meat on high for almost 10 hours). Slice meat thickly and serve.

Something Different

One of the big supermarket chains puts out a free quarterly magazine with recipes, product reviews and the odd discount coupon. I actually do enjoy reading each issue and usually find a recipe or two that sound okay but I rarely get around to making them. Generally it finds its way into the bag of unwanted mags that I give to school or day-care and I move onto the next foodie mag that comes my way. The current issue however changed all that. I picked it up last Saturday and flicked through it that afternoon, circling a bunch of different recipes and plotting when I would make each one. A week and a half later I've made three. Each one a success that will be served up again. Soon.

Last night I tried a dish that wouldn't normally appeal to me at all. It ticks a bunch of "I don't like it" boxes for me but... I knew hubby would like it so I compromised, cooked it and was pretty impressed with the results. I used half the curry paste listed and will increase it next time. This was tasty, filling, and something out of the ordinary for me. It was also riduculously easy to make which certainly added to the overall dish. Hubby liked it, and was pleased to let his tastebuds have a run at something different, I enjoyed it (and was pleased to have done so!) and Mr-Six loved it. Little Miss has a cold and isn't into eating dinner right at the moment so we'll just skip over her non-opinion.

Indian-Style Curried Lamb Shanks

Coles magazine, Winter issue

1 tbsp vegetable oil

6 lamb shanks (I used 4 HUGE ones)

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 cup Rogan Josh Curry Paste (as noted above, I used 1/4 cup)

400g can diced tomatoes

1 cup beef stock

coriander leaves and yoghurt, to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 160C. Heat the oil in a 10-cup capacity flameproof casserole dish. Brown the shanks in 2 batches over high heat on stove top; set aside. Add onion to the pan and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, until very soft and brown.

2. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes and stock, and bring to the boil. Return lamb shanks to the pan, cover tightly and bake for 2 hours in oven, until the mat is very tender.

3. Top shanks with coriander and serve with yoghurt.

Winter Warmer

The food side of things has been a little slack around here lately. And by 'around here' I mean both here on the blog and here in my house. Oh we've been eating all right. Lots of chocolate mostly! Seriously. LOTS of chocolate. But real food? Hmmm...

When I found this recipe I planned to tweak it a little and do it in the slow cooker but between the school run, a trip to the chemist, painting Mr Six's bedroom and a hair appointment the morning kind of got away from me. With not enough time to do the slow cooker thing I ended up having to... get ready to gasp in horror... follow the recipe!

This was fabulous. I don't tend to have fantastic results with stove-top cooked casserole type dishes but this turned out perfectly. It was delicious, tender, filling and just all round good. And the scones on top were a big hit. I didn't have any fresh thyme so I made mine Rosemary Scones instead. Fabulous. Yep, it's another to add to the repeat list.

Beef Hotpot with Thyme Scones

from Good Taste magazine, August 2008

2 Tbsp olive oil

800g beef chuck steaks, cut into 2cm pieces

1 onion, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 Tbsp plain flour

250ml (1 cup) beef stock

1 x 400g can diced tomatoes

2 carrots, peeled, halved, thickly sliced (I added about the same amount of beans)

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Thyme Scones

225g (1 1/2 cups) self raising flour

30g butter, chopped

1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves

125ml (1/2 cup) milk

1. Heat half the oil in a flameproof casserole dish over medium-high heat. Add one-third of the beef and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a plate. Repeat, in 2 more batches, with the remaining beef.

2. Reduce heat to medium. Heat the remaining oil in the dish. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes or until onion softens Sprinkle with the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

3. Add the stock. Stir with a flat-edged wooden spoon to dislodge any bits that have cooked onto the base. Add the beef, tomato, carrot (and beans) and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Cook, covered for 1 1/2 hours or until the beef is tender.

4. Meanwhile, to make the scones, preheat oven to 190C. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and add the milk. Use a round-bladed knife in a cutting motion to mix until just combined. Use your hands to bring dough together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Divide dough into 12 equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball.

5. Arrange the scones on top of the beef mixture. Bake in oven, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until the scones are golden brown. Serve immediately.