Pumpkin Quinoa Patties

Well hello to you! (Miranda quote, of course!)  Sorry for having been so slack on the new recipe front!  Busy busy life, especially now that I'm back at uni!  I will try to do something on here at least once a month! :)  I did actually make this recipe in March (and was going to write it up asap... clearly that didn't happen) *virtual slap on the wrist* - lots of family drama and tragedy is my excuse :(

Patties, with chips and peas :D

Aaaaanyway, my Belgian friend Fien made them from a recipe book her dad sent her, we had them one night at her house when a friend of ours who was gluten free and vegetarian came over.  They were so good I wanted to make some for my parents to try too.  They sounded really bizarre when I first heard of them, they looked amazing, and the taste?  Well you'll just have to read on to find out!  *cheeky*


INGREDIENTS
1 average sized butternut pumpkin
1 tbsp olive oil
230g quinoa
470ml water
1 cube chicken stock (or vegetable if vegetarian) - use GF stock if you're GF

Pre-Grilling

170g rice (basmati or wild preferably)
110g spring onions

85g dried cranberries
1 tbsp basil 
salt & pepper to taste
parmesan cheese (grated) - optional, but adds a real depth of flavour

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 200 deg C
• Slice pumpkin in half, remove pips
• Place pumpkin halves on oven dish, and brush with olive oil
• Bake for approx. 1 hour (until soft)
• Let cool, and scoop out pumpkin, discard peel, and mash
• Mix the 470ml water with the stock cube and add to a pot with the quinoa
• Cook quinoa 10 to 12 minutes, until the water is absorbed
• When cooked, let cool for 10 minutes
• Cook rice ( using whatever your usual method is)
• Mix quinoa and rice together
• Add to the pumpkin mash
• Add all the remaining ingredients, mixing well as you go
• Form patties (this is the messy bit, where you end up with orange hands!)
• Bake for a further 15-20 minutes in oven, pan, grill, barbecue, however you want really! 
  
  (Serve hot or cold)

Several things I want to say.  First of all, while this seems like a lot of effort, a lot of steps, and preparation, and being organised enough to begin making this with enough time to roast the pumpkin, IT IS WORTH IT.  There are the most amazing non-meat patties I have ever had.  Especially with aioli on them!  The cranberries give a touch of contrasting sweetness and juiciness, the quinoa is not even noticeable, yet it is so good for you!  The pumpkin is delicious, and I can't get enough of them!!

Finished Product!

Secondly, when it comes to the final cooking stage, it doesn't matter how you do them, just cook them kind of like you would with ordinary burger patties.  My only piece of advice is, the pumpkin can get quite sticky, and can cause your pattie to disintegrate, which, if you're anything like me, will make you incredibly angry and frustrated.  I HIGHLY recommend cooking them on the smooth plate of a BBQ, or in a George Foreman-type bench top grill that has non-stick plates.  You really don't want to miss this cooking step out, because it gives the patties a nice golden edge, and makes them taste EVEN better.

The patties we had for dinner, lined up in our George Foreman grill, with non-stick tinfoil (because the non-stick surface on our grill is wearing away now, it's so old and over-used ;P )

Thirdly - THIS MAKES A LOT OF PATTIES!!! Don't fret though, because if it is more than you or your family can eat, you can certainly freeze them!  I froze my extra patties (before the final cooking stage) with baking paper between each pattie (to stop them sticking together).  Now, I have a fast food, I can get 1 pattie out of the freezer, microwave for 1 min to defrost, and then do the last cooking step (in the grill, etc.).  Healthy fast lunch = WIN!

So there you have it, my new favourite vegetarian food!  I actually ended up making a lot patties out of it, so it's lasted a while (I made them in early March, it's now mid-April, and I've still got about 6 in the freezer :D ).  Enjoy!  And I would love you guys to comment back sometime about the recipes of mine you've tried!!

Arroz Con Pollo (Mexican Chicken & Rice)

This is a recipe I have wanted to try for a very long time, but all the versions I found included some spice mixes that are not available outside of USA (typical haha!) so I was keeping my eyes peeled for one I could make without them.

Cue my friend Fien, whose house I was at last week.  We were thinking about what to have for dinner, and looking through cookbooks to find something because her partner is gluten-free so obviously had to be something he could eat.  Then I saw this and was like "let's make this!  I've always wanted to try it!".  

So all our good intentions were there.  And then, just after the slowcooker was turned on and we just sat down to start watching a movie... powercut.  -_-  Less than ideal.  By the time it was eventually turned back on, it was almost 8pm, and dinner would need a further 2 or 3 hours to cook! By which stage, we had given up and got pizza.

The dish however, did keep cooking, and when it was done, was put into leftover containers, for Fien and Hamlin to eat the following night, and they said it was delicious.  So tonight, I made it at my house too!

INGREDIENTS
1 chicken (3-4lb/1kg ish) cut into serving pieces or 6 chicken pieces of your choice (I used chicken breast cut into large cubes)
1/3 cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red capsicum, diced
1 tablsepoon paprika
1 tablespoon chilli powder (or less - it is very strong!)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock (gluten-free if you're intolerant)
1 bay leaf
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 cup peas
salt and pepper

METHOD

• Put tomatoes, wine, stock and bayleaf in slow cooker
• Brown chicken (but don't cook all the way through) and add to slow cooker
• Heat oil in a pan
• Add onion, garlic, and capsicum
• Cook 3 min
• Reduce heat to low and stir in paprika, chilli powder, cumin, and oregano
• Cook 1 min, stirring constantly
• Scrape mixture into slowcooker and stir well
• Cook on LOW for 4-6 hours, or HIGH 2-3 hours, or until chicken is almost cooked through.
• An hour before it finishes, cook rice in a pan and some oil, until it goes opaque (maybe 3 or 4 minutes), stirring often
• Pour rice into slowcooker and raise heat to HIGH if cooking on LOW
• 15 minutes before end, add peas
• Salt and pepper to taste, and serve hot

 
 To be honest, while it was nice, it didn't taste as strongly or flavourfully as the smell of it cooking.  It was spicy, and I even skimped on the chilli, so you don't need much chilli to get a kick.  It was filling, but the chicken was a little dry, so in future I may either add more stock, or use bigger pieces of chicken.

Recipe: in "Gluten-Free Slow Cooking" by Ellen Brown, pg. 133

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.

 

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

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/

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

[SlowCooker] Chickpea Curry

When I first heard of the grain "quinoa" (said keen-wah), I knew I wanted to try it - something different from rice, something unusual.  So then I set about finding something to serve with the quinoa that would complement it nicely.  

As I was looking for recipes including quinoa, this one for an Indian chickpea curry in the slow cooker caught my eye.  I know we've had a can of chickpeas in our pantry for ages, I have no idea why Mum bought it - we never normally eat chickpeas, and the hummus we eat is always premade.  I did have to buy another can of chickpeas so I'd have enough to make this curry, but that was no big deal.  

The other thing is, I'm lazy.  Like really lazy.  There's no way you'd get me farting around rinsing, soaking and cooking dried chickpeas.  Seriously, you have to do this like a day in advance.  I'm not THAT organised!  Therefore, I love canned chickpeas.  Much easier.  Rinse, drain, chuck it in.  BAM.

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp oil

Chickpeas, drained and ready to cook!

1 onion, diced (I used 2)

2 cloves garlic (or ~ 2 tsp crushed garlic)

1 inch ginger, peeled & grated (or 1 tsp crushed ginger)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander (I left this out cos Mum hates it)

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp salt

3 cups cooked chickpeas (or 2x 15oz cans)

2 cups water

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp dried chilli powder (not in the original recipe, but I felt it needed a little kick)

1/2 tsp garam masala

finely diced capsicum

finely diced carrot

diced potatoes (pre-boiled - I had some leftover potatoes that I threw in - yum!)

frozen peas

METHOD

Ready to cook.

• Rinse and drain chickpeas thoroughly before using
• Saute oil, onions, ginger and garlic for 5 mins in a small frypan
• Put this onion mixture and all other ingredients (except garam masala and peas) in crockpot
• The liquid should be just to the top of the beans; if not, add water as necessary, and also during cooking if needed
• Cook on LOW for 6 hours, stirring once during cook time
• Before serving, add garam masala, stir well, and add frozen peas 3 minutes before serving
• Serve with rice, or quinoa!

Just before serving, add peas for a dash of green!

Can't even see the quinoa underneath!

Who said you need meat for a complete meal?! :)  We had it served over quinoa, but I think it would be better over rice because it was quite saucy.  Will definitely be one to make again, maybe with more vegetables too.  The original recipe didn't call for extra vegetables, but I added some because I thought it was a bit bland and boring otherwise.  :)

Recipe Inspiration: http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/vegetarian-recipes/crockpot-chickpea-curry.php

[Slow Cooker] Chicken Cranberry Casserole

It's Valentines Day, and I had a hot date with the crockpot and comfort food, on the couch watching a TV show about teeny tiny animals - monkeys, piggies, dogs, etc.  

Yes, even a glass of wine was involved - in the cooking!!  (I can't drink with my medication, but that's ok, when it's cooked, the alcohol cooks off, so I still get the flavour!)

Two things that always marry together beautifully - chicken and cranberry.   Seriously.  At school, my favourite thing to buy from the tuck-shop (like a cafeteria, but not) was chicken and cranberry sauce wraps - delicious!  So when I saw this recipe in my mums slow cooker recipe book a couple of years back and asked her to make it, I knew it could only come out well.  And I was right.  :)

Now it was my turn to try to make it, since we had a pack of chicken thighs in the freezer that needed using, and I had bought some dried cranberries specifically to make it.

Serves 4 - 6

INGREDIENTS

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

8 skinned & boned chicken thighs

3 rashers bacon (I used ~200g middle bacon - less fat)

170g packet dried cranberries

1 cup red wine

1 teaspoon chicken stock powder

1 bay leaf

3 tablespoons cornflour

3 tablespoons water

salt

METHOD

• Peel onion and chop
• Crush, peel and chop garlic
• Trim and discard any chicken fat, and cut thighs in half.  I had chicken thigh cutlets to use today, so Mum cut the chicken off the sides and threw the bones in too (we just cooked it longer)
• Derind bacon and chop into pieces
• Place onion, garlic, chicken, bacon, cranberries, wine, stock powder and bay leaf in the slow cooker
• Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours
• Stir halfway through cooking if possible
• Half an hour before end of cooking, mix cornflour and water together, and mix into the chicken mixture
• Cover and cook on HIGH for 30 mins
• Season with salt and serve on rice or potato with vegetables!

 

Tonight we had the casserole with potatoes Mum had grown in her tubs, and steamed veges.  

It was a bit runny even with the cornflour step at the end (which was in the original recipe), so I'm thinking next time maybe only half a cup or 3/4 cup of wine, to see if that helps.  I'll edit this post if it does (or if not).   

Either way, it's delicious.  The saucyness is less of a problem when served on rice, but when it's not, you kinda want it to be a bit thicker.  Good excuse to mop it up with bread though ;)

My Version of Beef Stroganoff

It was a bit miserable and cold yesterday, and I had gotten some beef blade steak out the day or so before, so it was perfect casserole comfort food weather.   I decided to make a stroganoff from scratch, because there was a can of sliced mushrooms in the pantry that has been annoying me for ages (I couldn't think how I was going to use it) and also because it was the only recipe I found online that specifically stated using beef blade steak.  I didn't want to cook it wrong and have tough meat... nobody likes that!  However, the recipe I found seemed a bit boring and bland, so I based my casserole off it, but I added a few other things that I found had been written in other stroganoff recipes.  

So really, my version of beef stroganoff is a combination of several recipes, plus a little improvising from myself.  I was a little unsure about how it would turn out, but it was actually quite nice.  We ate it with rice and fresh steamed broccoli.

Serves 3-4

INGREDIENTS

400g beef blade steak, diced

2 onions, sliced

1 x small can of sliced mushrooms (in sauce, but I removed most of the excess sauce)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon paprika

1 & 1/4 cups vegetable stock

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 carrot, diced small

2 medium potatoes, diced small

sprinkle of onion salt or garlic salt

frozen peas (quantity up to you!)

bay leaf (optional, can be added to sauce)

dried thyme (optional, can be added to sauce)

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons cornflour mixed w 2 tablespoons cold water (to thicken, at the end)

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 180 deg C
• Place diced beef, onions, mushrooms, potatoes, and carrots in a casserole dish
• In a separate jug, mix vegetable stock, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, onion/garlic salt, garlic and paprika together
• Pour the sauce mixture over the meat and vegetables, and stir through to make sure it's all through
• Cover and cook for 1 & 1/2 hours in the oven (or until meat is tender), stirring once or twice during cooking, and tasting the sauce at least once, so seasoning can be adjusted if needed
• When almost ready to serve, mix through cornflour to thicken the sauce, and add sour cream
• Add frozen peas, stand for 2 minutes to allow the casserole to heat the peas through, and serve!

Goes beautifully with rice for a lighter meal, or mashed potato for real winter comfort food!!  Can also be served over pasta.  And if you don't have sour cream on hand, don't panic!  Normally when making stroganoff (out of a packet) we leave out the sour cream and it's still delicious!

I know I kinda blurred the line here a little bit between stroganoff (mushroom based, usually no carrots or potatoes) and Hungarian goulash (which traditionally has potatoes and carrots in it) but I just felt like the dish needed something a little extra, vegetable-wise, and the peas added at the end gave it a nice bit of greenery (along with the steamed broccoli) and freshness.

Recipe Inspiration: http://www.foodinaminute.co.nz/Recipes/Beef-Stroganoff

Coconut, Chilli & Lime Pork Sitr-Fry

Ok so this isn't really a recipe, but more just a blog post about what I cooked for dinner tonight.  I had some diced pork, and I had no idea how I was going to cook it.  Then I remembered I had some "Watties Wok Creations" stir-fry sauce sachets.  Yes, the stir-fry sauce was a ready-made packet one.  But I added extra garlic (because garlic is the best) and extra chilli sauce for more kick.

I wanted to rave about vegetables, which is the reason I chose to cook a stir-fry.  I'm on a fresh fruit and vegetable kick at the moment.  I can't seem to get enough.  So in my stir-fry, I had two onions, a carrot chopped into sticks, thin slivers of capsicum (aka bell peppers), mung beans, butter beans, broccoli, and peas.  Out of all of those, only the peas and butter beans came from the freezer.  So much crunch.  So many good vegetables.  So fresh.  Ahhhhhh!

I served it on basmati rice (which I have discovered is much nicer if you rinse the rice before you cook it) cooked with the absorption method.  It's such an easy way to cook rice.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup uncooked rice

drizzle of oil

1 tsp salt

1 & 3/4 cup water

METHOD

• Put rice in a saucepan and drizzle oil over (about 1 tbsp)
• Shake the pot to cover all the rice with oil, and sprinkle salt over
• Add water, cover and put on stove top
• Bring to a boil
• When bubbling, stir with a spoon (to stop rice sticking to the bottom of the pan), replace the lid, and turn the heat off
• LEAVE IT!  DON'T TAKE THE LID OFF, and ignore it for about half an hour
• When ready to serve rice, remove lid and fluff with a fork

Easy peasy!  But I cannot stress enough, that you just leave the rice alone once you turn off the heat.  Gas cooking is amazing for this, as the heat stops immediately.  And don't remove the lid!!!!!!  That's how it cooks.  :)  Rice always turns out perfectly for me with this method.  No need for a special rice cooker appliance (always makes me laugh when people buy those)!