Bacon, Leek and Potato Soup

Apologies dear food-blog followers for my slackness of posting.  It has been an incredibly hard year personally, and I kind of lost my mojo for a while there.  I have been busy with uni and other stressors, but I'm back to experimenting now!  I have another chicken and lentil recipe I'm going to try soon too, so keep an eye out for that!

Anyway, down to business.  We visited my mum's family last week, and my grandfather is a farmer by trade, who now lives in town.  This means he has a prolific vege garden, as he can't quite give up the land work!  He thus gave us a bag of leeks he'd grown, and I needed to do something with them.  

Insert genius idea here for leek and potato soup (which my parents incidentally also ate last night from the restaurant whose catering business I work for...).  I wanted to add in bacon too because we have some in the freezer and I love bacon (who doesn't!)... and here is the recipe!

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp paprika
200g bacon
2 large leeks, white/light green parts, sliced thinly and rinsed
2 cloves garlic
4 cups chicken stock, plus 2 cups water
2 medium potatoes, diced small
pepper and salt
1/2 cup cream
1 & 1/2 cups frozen peas (don't worry about thawing them)
1 tsp onion salt

METHOD

• Cook bacon in a large pan, until beginning to brown, then remove bacon onto a plate lined with a paper towel
•  Add 1 tbsp oil to pan, and toss in leeks and garlic
• Cover and cook until soft (around 5 min)
• Add stock plus water, potatoes, onion salt, salt and pepper to taste
• Cover and bring to a boil over high heat
• Lower heat and simmer until potatoes are cooked, (around 10 min)
• (optional step) Puree half the soup in blender (leave out centre piece to allow steam to escape) then combine back in the pan
• Mash the soup gently (which I did because blending was a pain in the butt)
• Add cream and bring to a simmer
• Add peas and cook through, around 3 min
• Add bacon back in and serve

This was actually so easy to make!  It only took half an hour to cook (not counting prep).  The most time consuming part was cutting up the leek!!  And it turned out super delicious, so I'm really happy with it.  The peas and bacon just made it extra amazing!!!

Of course, you can alter it to make it vegetarian, just use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock, and no bacon! :)   

We had it with grainy bread and butter.  A good meal on a cold spring night (YES it's the second day of spring already!  CRAZY!)

Recipe Inspiration: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/potato-leek-soup-with-bacon-recipe/index.html

Modified Minestrone

We won a hamper thing in a raffle, and in it were some things my family doesn't ordinarily keep in our pantry... including a can of pink salmon, and some cannelini beans.  I used up the pink salmon by mixing it with cream cheese and spreading it on crackers, which was nice for the first few mouthfuls but then go too creamy and sickly for me.

But the beans stumped me.  I didn't know what to do with them.  Then I saw Rachael Ray put them in a soup.  And I was like "hey, minestrone!"  So following Jamie Olivers basic minestrone recipe, I kind of altered it to include the random ingredients in our pantry.

Unfortunately I was slack on this one and didn't take photos (because I didn't intend to write about it really) so you'll just have to use your imagination... picture a tomatoey soup with lots of bits in it including potato, beans and pasta.... om nom nom...

INGREDIENTS
1 x400g can whole or chopped tomatoes
1 x400g can rinsed cannelini beans
4 cups chicken stock
diced ham (around 200g)
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1/2 capsicum (bell pepper), diced
1 potato, diced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup small pasta
1 small tsp crushed garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp onion salt (if you have it)
1 tbsp BBQ sauce
2 tbsp tomato sauce
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce (more or less depending on your tolerance)
1/2 cup grated cheese (ideally parmesan, but I didn't have any, so used Edam & Tasty - just as yum!)

sliced fresh bread to mop up soupyness

METHOD

• Heat pan with oil, and add ham, onion, garlic, carrot, capsicum, bay leaf and oregano
• Cook until veges are soft
• Add everything else except the pasta
• Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes
• 10 minutes before serving, add in the pasta
• Test the pasta to make sure it's cooked before serving, and taste constantly to adjust seasoning
• If the soup is too thick after the pasta is cooked, it can be thinned out with some more stock, or water
• Serve immediately with fresh bread

Seriously, I know it seems like a lot of ingredients, but it's so delicious, and really quite easy because most things all go in together.  Was delicious on a cold autumn night! :)

Satay Chicken

Most of the time, I follow the recipes I find.  But sometimes, I find several recipes, and then use bits from all of them!  This is what I did tonight, and it turned out well.  Felt like satay chicken but didn't have a jar of the sauce I normally use, so decided to try to make it from scratch. 

INGREDIENTS
500g chicken breast, sliced
1 onion, sliced
peas 
1 pack vermicelli
1 can of coconut milk (or cream)
3 tbsp peanut butter
sweet chilli sauce (to taste)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp white vinegar
2 or 3 tbsp of sugar
1/2 cup water
salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp crushed ginger

METHOD

• Set some salted water to boil, for the vermicelli.  Once it boils, add the vermicelli then turn off the heat.
• Meanwhile, brown chicken and onion in oil, in a fry pan
• Add ginger and garlic, cook for 2 min
• Add coconut cream, peanut butter, chilli sauce, soy sauce, sugar, white vinegar, and salt
• Stir and bring to a simmer
• Reduce heat and simmer until thickens
• Add peas and cook until tender
• Serve on drained vermicelli noodles, or rice

So this was kind of an ad-libbed recipe, but it tasted good, and photographed terribly.  I think I'll make it again in future, but on rice.

 

Crustless Quiche

Thought I'd better get a recipe in before October is over!  Gotta have at least one entry per month! ;) No, actually this month has been insane with uni work, haven't had time to try anything new (much) or write about it.

But now I'm on study leave, which gives me a little flexibility to do stuff like this, so here is today's lunch! 

INGREDIENTS
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup self raising flour

Before being cooked

salt and pepper

1/2 cup cheese (grated)
1 fried onion
Ham or cooked bacon
Veges - I used grated carrot and seasonal asparagus

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 180 deg C
• Whisk eggs, milk, flour and seasoning together
• Add everything else to the mix
• Spread in a silicone quiche/flan dish (silicone makes it so much easier to remove at the end)
• Bake for 45 mins, until gold on top and puffed up
• Let sit for a couple of minutes (to make it even easier to remove from silicone)
• Cut up and serve hot, or cold, with relish and sour cream (optional, but delicious)

So this was a super easy recipe to make, and my mum loved it.  I'm not a super egg fan myself (as I probably said when I wrote about the crustless broccoli quiches I made back when I began this blog!) but it was pretty nice.  Would be great for lunches too.

Shout out to Jeremy, one of my best friends, who I've known since we were 7.  This was his recipe/idea.


Recipe Inspiration: http://www.grownups.co.nz/read/lifestyle/food_and_wine/crustless-quiche-recipie

Apricot Chicken

Found via pinterest many moons ago, when I couldn't eat much, but was dreaming and researching and stalking photos of food, this is a recipe that has been sitting in my "to try" pile for a while (rhyme not intended).

The original recipe called for fresh apricots and vinegar and sugar, but I didn't have any fresh apricots - out of season, so it gave an alternative using apricot jam and dried apricots.  So that's how I'll write this recipe, with how I did it! :)

INGREDIENTS
12 dried, pitted apricots (I used a bakers dozen just in case), diced finely
1/2 cup apricot jam

1kg skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
Salt
Cooking oil
1 diced onion
2 cups chicken stock or broth
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons sweet chilli sauce (or Tobasco sauce, or other hot sauce like the recipe suggests)
Black pepper

METHOD

• Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat
• Cook the chicken until browned, sprinkling salt over while it cooks
• Remove from pan and set aside
• Add more oil to pan if necessary
• Saute onions until brown
• Add chicken stock, chopped apricots and jam
• Lower the heat to medium
• Add cinnamon, rosemary, and chilli sauce
• Taste and season accordingly with salt
• Bring to a simmer then lower the heat
• Gently simmer for 10-20 minutes
• Return chicken to sauce
• Simmer gently for 5 minutes
• Serve while hot, with rice

I wasn't sure about this recipe.  It sounded nice, but once I started making it, the cinnamon just looked and smelled weird.  Cinnamon doesn't usually go in savoury things as far as I knew.

But you know what, it was AMAZING.  Well, so said my parents, my friend and my Dad's friend who were there.  It actually tasted way better than it smelled.  It was quite spicy, and not sweet like I expected.  I also really liked the fact that most of the stuff in the recipe are things you ordinarily have in a pantry.

One thing I would change would be the amount of vegetables.  Or lack thereof.  I'm just not sure which veges would go with it.  Maybe some capsicum (bell pepper).  I'll try that next time!


Recipe Inspiration: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/apricot_chicken/?amp%3Butm_campaign=Feed%253A+elise%252Fsimplyrecipes+%2528Simply+Recipes%2529&amp%3Butm_medium=feed

Homemade Hummus

Recently, I spent the weekend down in Christchurch/Timaru for my cousins engagement party, which was a lot of fun.  While I was there, my other cousin, who is very healthy and inspirational in her dedication to exercise (most unlike me... perhaps that doesn't run in the family haha), and I got talking about food, and cooking and such.

The topic of healthy snacks came up, and I'm trying to be healthier at the moment for various reasons.  We talked about hummus, and how it was a great snack, with crackers, and carrot sticks, and other vegetables in stick form.  I complained that hummus is sooooooooo expensive and my parents (who I still live with) would never buy it regularly in the groceries because it is a "luxury good".

Then she goes "why don't you make some?".  LIGHT-BULB MOMENT! We already had some dried chickpeas at home from the bulk bins (MILES cheaper than the canned ones in brine), and all I needed was tahini paste (sesame seed paste stuff).  Everything else we pretty much had already!  Including a food processor that isn't used much... so yay!  A use for it!

INGREDIENTS
1 cup dried chickpeas (makes [supposedly] 2 cups of hydrated chickpeas)
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice (or less, to taste)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed (or about 1/2 tsp pre-crushed garlic)
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (although go lightly on this actually... it's stronger than I thought!)
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup of water
parsley and olive oil to garnish


METHOD

• Soak chickpeas in lots of water in a large jug/bowl overnight, changing the water once or twice if you can
• Drain, then bring chickpeas to boil in a large pot with lots of water and a dash of salt
• Simmer for 30 mins
• Drain and let them cool, but try to make the hummus while they are still warm - apparently it blends better :)
• Put all the ingredients into the food processor (or blender) except chickpeas, oil and parsley
• Pulse/blend for approx 5 seconds to mix
• Add chickpeas
• Blend until it is the consistency you want - people usually go for a 'sour cream' thickness
• Taste and season accordingly
• Transfer to a serving bowl
• Chill in the fridge for a few hours/overnight
• Eat!

 So with this recipe, I learned about cayenne pepper.  And how much NOT to put in haha.  It came out very spicy.  Mum and Dad liked it a lot, so they ate it, and I also pawned some off to my friend... I hope she liked it... I haven't heard from her though... oh dear.  Sophie I'm sorry if the spicyness was too much, but I did write the warning in the status on FB asking if anyone wanted some really spicy hummus! ;)

I'm definitely making it again, cos it's relatively simple, and dried chickpeas from the bulk bins are really cheap... definitely cheaper than buying ready made stuff.  The only other cost was the tahini paste, but now that I spent NZ$8 on the jar, it'll last many hummus' to come.  :)

I'm really looking forward to playing with flavours.  I know they do pumpkin and kumara (sweet potato for non-NZ followers) from the brand I like, so I might try recreating it!  Watch this space!

ALSO: This recipe makes A LOT.  Great for if you're having a party.  If I was to make it again, I'd halve all the measurements.

Recipe Inspiration:  http://greekfood.about.com/od/appetizerssalads/r/hummustahini.htm

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Ordinarily, when Sweet & Sour Chicken is on the menu, it's a la jar, or a la can.  A long time ago I found a recipe for Sweet & Sour Chicken made from scratch, and got the can of pineapple ready to make it, since it's one of my favourites!  I went through a phase of wanting to try and make from scratch that which we normally make from a ready made sauce.

However, the can of pineapple sat in the pantry unused until now.  Due to lack of time and motivation to make it.  Jars and cans are just way faster and easier right??  Laziness.

Well actually, in spite of all the steps, this recipe is really easy!!  And do you want to know a bonus??  ALL the other ingredients are ones that are usually in the pantry!  Super convenient.  Apart from the pineapple... obviously not something we ordinarily have. ;)

INGREDIENTS
450g boneless skinless chicken breast
1 egg white
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cornflour

1 400g can crushed pineapple (save the juice!)
1/4 cup juice from crushed pineapple
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup tomato sauce (aka ketchup)
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp and 1 tsp cooking oil

2 small-medium onions (cut into chunks)
1 carrot (cut into small sticks)
1 tsp crushed ginger (or 1 tsp fresh grated)

METHOD

• Combine chicken with egg white, 1/4 tsp salt, and cornflour
• Stir to coat chicken evenly
• Let sit for 15 mins at room temp, or up to overnight in fridge
• Whisk together pineapple juice, vinegar, tomato sauce, 1/4 tsp salt, and brown sugar
• Heat large frying pan over high heat
• Pour 1 tbsp oil into pan and swirl to coat
• Make sure the pan is very hot, and then put the chicken in in one layer to fry untouched for 1 min
• Flip and fry other side the same for 1 min.  Chicken should still be pink-ish in the middle
• Put chicken to the side on a clean plate
• Turn heat to medium
• Add remaining oil, and add the ginger, onion and carrots
• Cook 5 mins or until soft
• Add pineapple chunks and the sauce mixture
• Turn the heat to high until the sauce simmers
• Add the chicken back in when it does
• Cook until the chicken is cooked through.
• Taste the sauce and add some more brown sugar if you like
• Don't forget to season with salt, and if you feel like something is missing, toss in some sweet chilli sauce!

Well.  I thought it smelled a bit weird.  But OH MY GOODNESS does it taste amazing!!!!!!!!!!! The excessive use of exclamation marks is definitely justified.  Seriously the BEST Sweet & Sour Chicken sauce I've ever had.  Even better than bought ones!!!  I'm not even kidding.  We will never buy ready made jar/can sauces for it again.  And SO easy!!

A few adjustments I made were adding some Sweet Chilli Sauce, and about 1/4 cup water to just water down the sauce a little bit.  Also, the original recipe called for 2 capsicums as the vegetables (not onions and carrot) but we didn't have any of them so I improvised and it was still amazing.  I think in future, if we have capsicum, I will definitely use only one small onion, carrot, and capsicum.  A good balance of veges!!  Oh, and I also chucked in some peas towards the end.  Gotta have some green hehe :)

Another thing is that the step with the egg and cornflour on the chicken... seems like a bit of a waste of time and a bit messy.  Not sure what it's supposed to achieve so will skip it next time, but still pre-cook the chicken.   :)

Recipe Inspiration: www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/sweet_and_sour_chicken/

Macaroni Cheese

Tonight was a lazy night.  I wanted macaroni cheese for some reason (perhaps because I almost had it for lunch the other day but ended up having sushi...thus my craving was left unsatisfied haha).  

I had never made it before, and I googled a recipe.  Generally when I do this, I open 3 or 4 of the top recipes that come up, pick one, then see what different ingredients the others include, and then put that in the recipe I've chosen as well.  If that makes sense.  So, for example, in this one, the original recipe did not call for salt or paprika, but I added both, since they were in fact common in the other mac and cheese recipes I opened.

I also didn't follow the instructions exactly (to my own detriment... I will explain in my evaluation!), trying to do a Rachael Ray and add "starchy cooking water" from the pasta to the sauce to make the sauce and pasta "marry" as Rachael says.  I shall tell you what happened after the recipe.  :)

INGREDIENTS

500g macaroni

50g butter

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups milk

2 cups (250g) grated cheese

parsley

1/2 tsp salt

paprika

METHOD

• Put macaroni on to cook as per packet instructions
• Melt butter in a medium saucepan
• Cook, stirring, for 1 minute over medium-low heat
• Stir in flour, cooking until it has thickened a bit
• Gradually add milk, stirring until smooth
• Stir until mix comes to a boil
• Reduce heat
• Add salt, and a pinch of paprika and parsley (to taste!)
• Stir well
• Simmer for 2 min
• Add cheese slowly, stirring continuously over a low heat
• Turn off heat, and either mix drained pasta thru sauce, or sauce all over drained pasta (whichever dish is big enough!)

So yes, my minor indiscretion was the addition of "starchy cooking water".  Note to self, this makes the sauce go all granulated, gritty and curdled (as Mum said).  I will NOT be doing that in future haha!

Other than the funny texture, it was actually really delicious.  I can imagine it would be better with bacon (or ham) chopped up in it, and some fresh peas... but hey, I like my meals colourful, and I've never understood the whole mac and cheese thing - it seems too plain to me haha!  But I did like this, and will make it again!  So easy and quick! 

Recipe Inspiration: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/13955/classic+macaroni+cheese

Couscous

Well, couscous is something I've wanted to try for a long time, and bought some a while ago, yet never got around to cooking it.  Tonight I decided to give it a go.  We were having lamb chops for dinner, and steamed veges, so I thought couscous would be nice instead of potato.  Here's what I did:

INGREDIENTS

1 cup couscous (dry)

1 & 1/4 cup vegetable stock (made up with boiling water)

1/2 tsp salt

couple of pinches of dried thyme

1/2 tsp onion salt (optional)

METHOD

• Put couscous, salt and thyme in a bowl that has a lid
• Make up the vegetable stock with boiling water
• Add the onion salt to the stock
• Pour the stock over the couscous, and stir with a fork briefly
• Place the lid over the couscous, and DO NOT remove! 
• Ignore and leave for 5 minutes
• Remove lid
• Fluff with a fork
• Serve immediately!

This was remarkably tasty, and not in the least as bland as I originally thought.  Thyme always goes beautifully with lamb, so it was a great compliment to the chops, and it wasn't heavy.  1 cup of dry couscous made enough for the three of us to have on the side, with plenty left over!  Certainly don't need to use 2 cups of dry couscous like the recipe I referred to said to (altho, I ended up experimenting and doing my own thing instead!)

I was worried it would be gluggy and unappetising, as I have heard couscous can go horribly wrong.  However, this came out well, fluffy and light.  Will definitely make this again!  (It's SO CHEAP too!!!  WIN!)

Passionfruit White Chocolate Muffins

Wow so it's been over a month since I've posted on here, and NO, I haven't been SLACK... I've just been too busy with university and work and things to have any time to try any new recipes!!!  Such is life.

Anywho, we had some passion fruit to use up, courtesy of our neighbour, and no idea what to do with it.  Coincidentally, a friend of mine sent me a message on FB with this recipe (shout out to Mel! :D)  and I was like YES let's do this!  Finally got around to it tonight.  :)  Here's a pic of the pulp :)

INGREDIENTS

2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
1/2 cup caster sugar
100g white chocolate chips
125g butter, melted (and cooled, but I was too impatient for this)
1/3 cup milk
2 eggs, lightly whisked
1/4 cup passion fruit pulp
1 tsp vanilla essence

Icing1 & 1/4 cups icing sugar
2 tsp hot water
1 tablespoon passion fruit pulp 

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 200°C. 
• Lightly grease a 12-hole 1/3-cup capacity muffin pan.
• Combine flour, sugar and chocolate in a bowl. Make a well in the centre. 
• Whisk butter, milk, egg, passion fruit and vanilla in a jug. Pour into well. 
• Gently fold until just combined. 
• Three-quarter fill muffin holes with mixture. 
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
• Stand in pan for 5 minutes. 
• Turn onto a wire rack. 
• Make passion fruit icing: Stir icing sugar, water and passion fruit in a bowl until smooth. 
• Spoon over muffins, allowing to drizzle down sides. 
• Allow to set. Serve.

Hmmm I'm not sure about these muffins.  They are REALLY sweet with the chocolate AND the icing - the tartness of the passion fruit is kind of lost in the mix.  I'm not the biggest passion fruit fan (when it has pips!) so the crunch was a bit disconcerting.  I mean they were nice enough, but after one, I'm kinda over it, and hoping mum and dad like them enough to eat the rest haha!

Recipe Inspiration: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/1082/passionfruit+and+white+chocolate+muffins

Broccoli Cheese Soup

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  I LOVE BROCCOLI.  There is absolutely nothing like fresh broccoli, steamed to perfection.  None of this frozen rubbish if I had my way!  However, I will not hold it against you if you have not got access to fresh broccoli, and choose to use frozen florets for this recipe - but I will not be held accountable for the soggy outcome!   

Imagine my delight when I saw that broccoli was majorly on special at the supermarket this week... combined with the 3 cheeses Mum and I had picked up (Gruyere, Edam and Tasty - also Parmesan, but I decided not to include Parmesan in this soup because I have other plans for it!)... It was SOUP time!  I've had this recipe up my sleeve for a while, and had just been waiting for the right time to use it.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups chicken broth

1 onion, diced

2/3 cup flour

1/2 cup butter (I used about 250g, if that's an easier measurement!)

pepper to taste

4 cups milk

4 cups grated cheese (I used a mixture of gruyere, edam and tasty cheddar)

lightly steamed broccoli (quantity up to you!)

1 carrot, cut into thin sticks

crusty bread for dipping

METHOD

• In a small covered pan, simmer chopped onion and chicken broth for 15 - 20 min, stirring to prevent onion sticking to the bottom, until onions are soft

MEANWHILE...

• Heat milk in the microwave for 2 minutes
• In a medium sized stockpot, melt butter, then add flour and pepper
• After a few minutes, whisk in warmed milk
• Stir and heat together on medium0high heat until soup starts to thicken
• Add the chicken broth and onions, stirring well until blended
• Add carrot sticks (you may like to pre-steam/cook these, depending on how much crunch you like in your soup!) and cook for a few more minutes, stirring often
• Add cheeses, one handful at a time, allowing the cheese to melt between each handful, and stirring well!
• Add steamed broccoli
• Cook, stirring constantly until you are satisfied with the consistency of the broccoli (some like it soggy, some still like a bit of crunch - it comes down to personal preference!)
• Serve immediately, with crusty bread for dipping!

What can I say.  You KNOW my obsession with the dark green vegetable, and who doesn't LOVE cheese.  Srsly.  To put this simply, without using expletives that my mind keeps urging me  to use, it was like A GIANT BOWL OF STEAMED BROCCOLI WITH COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF THE MOST AMAZING CHEESE SAUCE EVER.  Did caps lock make my point?  I am SUPER in love with this soup.  So SMOOTH (the soupy bit, not counting the veges) with crunchy-ish carrots and broccoli, accompanied by amazing baguette (insert French stereotype here).  

WOW.

Go make it.  Now.  I don't care if it's summer where you live.  You need this soup. 

Although as a side note in tiny tiny writing, possibly not the healthiest soup?  I mean yes, it has vegetables, but honestly... all that cheese and half a cup of butter?!  It's definitely a "special occasion" recipe, not a weekly one!

Recipe Inspiration:
http://www.food.com/recipe/panera-broccoli-cheese-soup-150384
http://www.acooksquest.blogspot.co.nz/2010/11/87-broccoli-cheese-soup.html#more

Creamy Garlic Pasta

This was one of the first recipes I found to try when I decided to embark on my culinary adventure, because I was looking for something easy and different to do with pasta that didn't involve tomato (as all my pasta sauces seem to!), and I was thrilled to find this creamy sauce which doesn't need cream (because we don't keep cream on hand all the time!).  However, it's taken me this long to feel like making it.  I don't know why, I just haven't felt like it up until now.  

Today I was keen for a big bowl of fettucine, and for once we had fresh garlic on hand (rather than crushed garlic from a jar!) so I got to use that too.  Mum said she's kinda over curry (I haven't made it that much so far!) so didn't want leftovers from last nights spinach, kumara and lentil dahl.  So I decided that being a chilly pre-Autumn day, comforting creamy pasta would be a winner for lunch! :)  And it was SO EASY!!!

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons butter/oil/margarine

2 garlic cloved, minced

2 tablespoons flour

3/4 cup chicken stock

3/4 cup milk

2 teaspoons parsley flakes

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 pack of pasta, cooked according to directions - I used about 500g (dry) of fettucine

grated cheese to top

METHOD

• Cook pasta according to packet directions (takes about the same amount of time as cooking the sauce!)
• Melt butter and add garlic in a medium saucepan and cook on medium for 1 minute
• Add flour and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly
• Stir in stock and milk, and cook stirring frequently until sauce boils and thickens
• Add parsley, salt, pepper and cheese
• Stir until cheese is melted
• Toss hot pasta with sauce and serve immediately, topping with more cheese if desired

This turned out really well, if not a little dry (possibly because I used almost twice as much pasta as the original recipe suggested - oops!  If you prefer your pasta saucy, either halve the pasta, or double the sauce ingredients!).  But it was nice, not too creamy, not heavy, and packing a mean garlic punch!!!  I will definitely make this again, although in future I will possibly make my own adjustments to it, and maybe throw in some onions and vegetables for a more balanced meal.

Recipe Inspiration: http://www.food.com/recipe/creamy-garlic-penne-pasta-43023

Sweet Potato, Spinach & Lentil Dahl

I stumbled across this recipe yesterday, just as I was thinking "oh man, I've got a bag of baby spinach in the fridge that needs using ASAP, and a kumara (sweet potato) that I've been meaning to make chips out of"... combine this with the lentils I bought for another recipe I'm going to try soon, and this recipe is a winner! :)  

It was super quick and easy to make too.  I made double the original recipe so that it would serve 4, and ate it with rice for a nice, wholesome dinner which happened to coincide with Meatless Monday!  What I've written below is the double recipe - just halve it if you want enough for two :)

INGREDIENTS

200g lentils

900mL vegetable stock (although I used chicken because we'd run out)

2 onions, finely diced

4 tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp turmeric

2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp powdered chilli

1 large sweet potato, cut into chunks

2 handfuls baby spinach, rinsed & shredded

baby peas

rice, to serve with

METHOD

• Put all the ingredients except the sweet potato, peas and spinach in a pan
• Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 mins 
• Add the sweet potato and cook until tender (test with a fork if unsure), another 10-12 mins
• Stir in the spinach and peas, and cook for a minute until wilted
• Serve with rice

This was a good, warm dinner, very filling!    Will be perfect on a cold winter night, for those miserable nights where you get home, but can't be bothered defrosting meat and then thinking up something to do with it! :P  The kumara provided a lovely sweetness, and the peas gave a nice fresh contrast to the other flavours.  Yum! :)

Recipe Inspiration: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/96608/sweet-potato-spinach-and-lentil-dahl

Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf

Another recipe that appears repeatedly on www.pinterest.com is for chicken parmesan (or chicken parmigiana) which is essentially a chicken breast, crumbed, baked (or fried) and covered with a tomato (marinara) sauce, and grated parmesan cheese, then grilled.  This was a dish my mum and I used to order a lot at one of our regular "haunts" when we lived in Malaysia.  Something we never made or ate at home.

Anyway, all the recipes I saw for the chicken breast version looked long and convoluted, with many steps.  However, I'm all for simple, quick and easy, so when I saw a meatloaf version of chicken parmigiana, I was sold on the idea.  All that remained was to find somewhere that sold (or would make me) some minced/ground chicken.  Luckily there's still an old fashioned butchery in a neighbouring town who were more than happy to help me in my quest; heck, they even made the mince fresh especially for me!  :)  No such quality service like that in your supermarket butcher section, that's for sure! 

Meatloaf tends to have a bad reputation in general and I'm not sure why.  It's quite yummy, in all its' forms really.  Served with boiled potatoes and steamed greens, it's a great meal.  Or in winter, with mashed potato and gravy for some good comfort food.  I have even seen a recipe for meatloaf cupcakes?!  SAY WHAAAAAAT.  I'm going to try this one day.  Perfect little savoury bites.  Omigoodness.

INGREDIENTS

500g chicken mince

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 egg

1 small onion, finely diced

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup pasta sauce (tomato/marinara - homemade or store bought)

1/2 cup cheese (for the top... I just used Edam)

METHOD

•  Preheat the oven to 180 deg C
• Line meatloaf tin with baking paper
• Combine the ground chicken, egg, breadcrumbs, thyme, oregano, basil, garlic, onion, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese in a large bowl
• Mix well, but try not to over-handle it (it can get tough)
• Put the mixture in the meatloaf tin
• Top with pasta sauce
• Bake, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes
• Take out and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese on top
• Bake again until cheese is golden and melted
• Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving

 

This recipe has ended up in my "favourite recipes" book already, and I've only made it once!  While I have to go out of my way to get the chicken mince, and also only use 1/2 a cup of pasta sauce (leaving me with the remainder of the jar to find a use for), I fully don't mind - it's 100% worth it!!  This meatloaf was amazing.  The tomato sauce and cheesy topping works beautifully with the herbs in the meat, and arghhhh I just cannot explain how delicious it was! 

Just go and make it for yourself!!  Om nom nom...!

Recipe Inspiration: http://joelens.blogspot.co.nz/2010/06/chicken-parmesan-meatloaf.html