Saturday, September 29, 2012

Lemon Fish

Fish Fillets
2 level tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 level tablespoon white wine
1 level tablespoon butter
1 level tablespoon plain flour
½ level teaspoon chicken stock powder
½ cup milk or cream
¼ level teaspoon crushed garlic
1 level teaspoon fresh garlic chives
Salt and pepper to taste


Melt butter with garlic in a non-stick saucepan.

Add flour and combine.

Slowly add in milk using a whisk to avoid lumps.

Add stock powder, wine, lemon juice and bring to boil.

Add in garlic chives and salt and pepper to taste.

Cook fish fillets in a non-stick fry pan.

Pour sauce over fillets and serve.  

Chocolate Butter Cake

CAKE
125 grams butter
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs at room temperature
½ cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 ¼ cup Self Raising Flour
2 tablespoons cocoa

ICING
1.5 cups icing sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
15 grams butter
2 ½ tablespoons water

Shredded coconut


Mix all cake ingredients together at medium speed for 10 minutes
Bake in Lamington Tray 28cm x 18 cm for 35 minutes

ICING
Sift icing sugar and cocoa
Add melted butter and water
Mix until smooth
Sprinkle shredded coconut over icing. 

Chilli Mussels

Mussels
Capsicum
1x onion
3 x spring onions
2 x tomatoes
Basil
Oregano
Salt and Pepper
1 can crushed tomatoes
Lemon Juice
Wine
1.5 chilli
Garlic


Fry onion, garlic, chilli, capsicum and tomatoes
Add sprint onions, wine and spices
Simmer for a while adding lemon and other herbs, spices. 

Rinse mussels under cold water
Allow to dry then add to sauce. 
Cook in sauce until mussels open

Serve warm with crusty bread

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Chicken a la King

45ml butter, melted
250ml fresh mushrooms, sliced
5ml onions, finely chopped
30ml green capsicum, finely chopped
45ml flour
2ml salt
2ml pepper
500ml milk
500ml cooked chicken, diced
30ml parsley, minced
1 egg, beaten
10ml lemon juice


 

Saute mushrooms, onion and green pepper in butter for 5 min. until soft. Sprinkle in flour, salt and pepper. Mix well. Add milk gradually, and cook, stirring constantly, until smoothed and thickened. Add chicken and parsley. Cover and cook until heated through. Add a little of the hot mixture gradually to the beaten egg, stirring constantly. Pour egg mixture back into the pan, mixing well. Add lemon juice. Stir and heat to serving temperature. Serve over toast, along with salad. Makes 6 servings.

Basic Pancake Mix

1 cup plain flour
pinch salt
1 egg
1 1/4 cups milk


 

Sift flour and salt, make well in centre

Drop egg into well, and using a wooden spoon stir lightly, adding half the milk gradually.

Beat for a minute or two, making sure the mixture is smooth.

Stir in remainder of milk.

Cover and allow to stand before cooking.

 

(Cheats way: Sift flour and salt. Make well, add egg. Mix slightly with whisk. Add milk, and whisk all together until smooth!!)

Pizzaiola beef rissoles

500g beef mince
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tsp dried oregano
1/3 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbs chopped basil
2 tbs water


 

Place the mince in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Mix lightly to combine.
 

Preheat oven to moderate, 180 degrees. Take 3 tbs of the mixture and shape into a rissole. Repeat with remaining mixture to make 12 small rissoles. Lightly brush or spray the rissoles with oil.
 

Preheat a fry-pan to moderately-high. Add the rissoles, lower the heat to moderate and cook for 2 to 3 minutes each side. Turn them once only. Place the rissoles on an oven tray, making sure to leave space between each one so they don't' touch, and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes or until cooked through.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Sizzling Cheese Bread

Sliced bread
1/2 Tablespoon margarine or butter per bread
Finely ground parmesan cheese
 


Melt butter & spread over bread slices.
 
Shake a generous amount of parmesan cheese onto the bread & press lightly so it sticks.
 
Heat some oil in a frying pan & place the bread in the pan cheese side down (or toast it on sandwich press maker if you have one). Cook for approx 30 seconds, or till golden & crunchy.

Fish with Crunchy Topping

Fish fillets
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2/3 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup grated cheese
1 tablespoon Tandaco Coating Mix for Lightly seasoned fish (in a packet found in the spices aisle of supermarket)
2 spring onions, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons melted butter

 
Arrange fish fillets in a oven proof (pyrex) dish, in a single layer & sprinkle with lemon juice.
 
Combine breadcrumbs, cheese, seasoning, spring onions & butter.
 
Spoon mixture over the fish & bake in a moderate oven for approx 20 min or until cooked & the topping is brown.

Bran Loaf

1 cup All Bran
2 Tablespoons golden syrup
1 teaspoon bicarb of soda
1 1/4 cups milk
2 cups Self Raising flour
1 cup sultanas (or mixed fruit)

 
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
 
Soak All Bran & fruit in milk for approx 10 min until bran softens. Add golden syrup & mix well.
 
Fold in sifted flour & bicarb of soda.
 
Put mixture into greased loaf tin, sprinkle with raw sugar & crushed nuts.
 
Bake for approx 30 min.
 
Cool on wire rack.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

More Recipes

I thought I'd be taking a break from this blog for a few weeks (or months!) but we happen to have a very easy, content little girl who likes to spend most of her time sleeping!  Definitely not complaining!!

So...if you have any recipes you've tried recently and want to share, send me an email.  I've had a request to ask for FISH recipes, but any other recipes will be great too!

Hope everyone is having a great week.

Oh, and I just had someone recommend this website: http://www.avocado.org.au/ (thanks Rita!) - check it out if you're searching for any great avocado recipes.

Cauliflower and Fish Bake

600 gr cauliflower, cut into small florets
2 1/2 cups milk
2 tbs olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 small carrots, peeled, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 x 125g pink ling fillets, chopped into 3cm pieces (or any type of fish fillet would be fine).
1 tbs finely chopped dill
3 slices white bread, torn into pieces
1 tbs parmesan cheese, grated

 
Preheat oven to 220C. Combine cauliflower and milk in a saucepan over medium heat, bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Strain mixture, reserving milk.
 
Puree cauliflower in a blender until smooth and thick, adding a little reserved milk if necessary. Season with salt and pepper.
 
Heat 1 tbs oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook for 3 minutes or until soft, then add carrots, celery and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Season, add fish, dill and cauliflower puree, and stir gently to combine. Pour mixture into a greased 2l (8-cup) ovenproof dish.
 
Toss bread with remaining 1 tbs oil. Scatter bread and parmesan over cauliflower and fish mixture, and bake on the top shelf of the oven for 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Meat and Spinach/silverbeet Pie

1 packet frozen spinach or fresh silverbeet finely chopped
2 medium sized onions, finely chopped
500g mince
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Salt, pepper & nutmeg (or french onion dry soup pkt)
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon cornflour
2 sheets puff pastry sheets
Egg and water for glazing


Fry the onions in a little oil until softened. Add the meat & seasoning, cook gently until colour has changed, add the spinach (thaw the spinach, squeeze out all moisture and chop finely first) or fresh silverbeet and cook, covered 5 minutes. Put aside until mixture has cooled down. 

Beat eggs lightly, stir in cornflour until combined, add to meat mixture, fold in. Put pastry in pyrex dish, and put the mixture on the pastry sheet and top with the other sheet. 

Make a few slits in top and bush with beaten egg. 

Bake in 180deg for approx 30 min or until pastry is golden brown.

Creamy Chicken Pasta

1 Packet (375g) pasta
500g bacon cut into pieces
200g mushrooms, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 tspground pepper
onion / spring onion
300ml thickened cream

 
Cook the pasta in saucepan. Before draining the pasta, reserve half a cup of the pasta water.
 
Saute bacon & garlic in frypan until starting to brown. Add the mushrooms & onion and cook for a few more minutes.
 
Add the reserved pasta water to the bacon mixture and pepper. Add the cream and simmer for 3-4 minutes until the sauce thickens. Add salt if required.
 
Stir the drained pasta through the sauce. Serve with freshly grated parmesan or grated cheese (or leave out altogether..it still tastes good!).

Chicken Lasagne

1 or 2 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
1 onion
1 or 2 teaspoons garlic
seasoning (I use Tuscan seasoning)
frozen spinach or fresh spinach/silverbeet finely chopped
500g pasta sauce (onion & garlic flavour)
pasta sheets or approx 400g pasta shells
white sauce
grated cheese

white sauce:

2 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons plain flour
3 cups milk
salt/pepper/chicken stock powder for flavour (optional)
Melt butter in saucepan, add flour, cook 1 minute. Slowly add milk (& seasoning) using a whisk to avoid lumps, stir continuously.
 


Fry chicken, onion, garlic & seasoning. Add spinach (can add other vegies too if you wish) & cook through.
If using pasta shells, cook them up.
 
Make white sauce.
 
To assemble lasagne, put half the pasta shells/pasta sheets on the bottom of large pyrex dish, then half of chicken mixture, half a jar of pasta sauce, half of white sauce, and start again. Add grated cheese to top layer. Cook in 180 deg oven till warmed through & cheese melted.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Curried Sausages

8-10 BBQ Sausages
1 onion, sliced
1 stick celery, sliced
1 large carrot sliced, or grated
2 teaspoon curry powder (can do more or less, but this is the amount my kids can handle)
2 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 chicken stock cube
1 ½ cups hot water
1 tin chopped tomato
250 ml or 1 cup cream
2 teaspoons cornflour (with 1-2 Tablespoon water)


Fry/BBQ sausages and then cut up into 2cm pieces (ie about 4 pieces per sausage). 

Fry onion and curry powder with a little oil till onion is soft. Add celery and carrot (sometimes I also add other vegies at this step). Mix, water, tomato paste, sugar and stock then add to vegies. Add tin tomato. 

Bring all to boil and simmer covered for 10 min or till vegies are softened. Reduce heat and add cream. Mix the cornflour with water and add to fry pan. Cook stirring till mixture thickens slightly (sometimes need to add more cornflour if a bit runny still) but not really boils.

Serve with mashed potato or rice

Sausage Stroganoff

Always looking for new and different ways to serve snags? Look no further. Works well with beef or pork sausages! 
8 beef or pork sausages, cut into bite sized pieces
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
2 rashers bacon, chopped finely
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 brown onion, chopped finely
500 grams mushrooms
1 cup beef stock
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Pasta to serve

 
Heat the olive oil in a heavy based pan. Add the sausages and cook until well browned (about 10 minutes). 

Remove the sausages and keep warm. Add the garlic, onion and bacon and mushrooms to the pan and cook until browned and soft. Add the tomato paste, paprika and beef stock. Simmer gently for a few minutes. 

Return the sausages to the pan and heat through. Turn off the heat and stir in the sour cream. Season to taste.
Serve over hot pasta noodles.