Potato Gnocchi with creamy pumpkin sauce

A comforting family favorite – we love to to this one when we have a bit of pumpkin and want to do something a little different.

Ingredients:

Packet of potato gnocchi – or make your own if you want

Either a lot of diced pumpkin or some diced pumpkin and some pumpkin soup (tin or home made)

1 onion diced

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

1 cup cream

 

Method:

Cook the pumpkin and onion in the stock until cooked.  If you didn’t use soup, then mash some of the pumpkin with a fork, leave some diced pumpkin,

Add the cream and heat.

Thicken with a little cornflour if needed to make a nice sauce consistency

Cook the Gnocchi – which usually only takes a few mins.  Drain pasta, and combine the pasta and sauce, and serve with a little parmesan.

You could add a little garlic to this, and even add more veggies.

 

Creamy Potato Soup with whole dill seeds

I am stealing this recipe from my sister.  It’s one she always used to make me on those cold winter days, when you just needed warm comfort food.  It’s also a handy one to do when you have a glut of potatoes.  The dill seeds add a lovely bite to the soup.  We have often had this for lunch, and there really is something very comforting about it.   I hope you like it as much as we do.

Ingredients:
4 medium potatoes (diced)
2 medium onions (diced)
2 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup milk
30gms butter
1 tablespoon flour
300mls cream
1/4 teaspoon dill seeds
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Boil the potatoes and onions in the stock and water until soft
Puree and set aside
Melt butter, add flour and blend until smooth
Still in cream and milk
Add seasonings
combine with puree and reheat.

Enjoy.

Easy Peasy Curried Sausages

A long time family favorite this meal is perfect when you just can’t be bothered cooking or you have other things to get done.  It’s easy, and usually all ingredients are on hand.  The balance between sausages and veggies often varies in our meal depending which we have more of.

Ingredients:

6-8 long thin beef sausages.
2-4 cups mixed diced veggies
2  “dutch curry and rice” soup pkts (the ones that make a family pot of soup).
water (enough to almost cover the rest of the ingredients – better to add less and increase it if you need to)

basmati rice to accompany the meal.

Method:

Boil the sausages in a large pot of water for at least 20 mins to get all the fat out of the sausages and cook them.

Drain the water, and cut the sausages up into chunks, return them to pot and add the diced vegetables, the two packets of soup mix and enough water to almost cover everything

Cook for about 20 mins, stirring regularly.  The soup should thicken up and make a nice sauce.  Add more water if you need to.

Serve with rice.

Cream free Carbonara (egg and bacon pasta)

We keep chickens (which is awesome by the way) and so the one thing we always have a lot of is eggs.  One of the best recipes we have for a great filling meal is this one.  It has no cream in it, yet you wouldn’t know. Try it – and let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

Pasta of choice – we use Spaghetti no, 4
Garlic (1-2 cloves crushed)
1-2 Onions , diced
Bacon (personal choice here how much – at least 3 rashers)
Dash of oil
good handful of fresh parsley (fresh is best but dry is fine if that is all you have)
4-6 eggs, beaten.

Method:

Cook your pasta as per instructions (reserve 1 cup of liquid from the pasta water before you drain it)

Panfry the bacon, onion, garlic and parsley until nicely cooked
Add the pasta to the pan and mix in all the bacon mix
Add in some of the reserved water (you want it moist but not swimming so less is best) – start with a tablespoon or two of the water, add more if you think it needs it.

When well combined, add in the egg mix all at once and toss toss toss, until the egg is all cooked.

Serve with parmesan.

Enjoy.

Honey Teriyaki Broken Egg Breakfast for One

 

Keeping chickens mean we always have eggs handy and sometimes on weekends I like to do something a little different to the regular scrambled eggs or omelettes.  I love to play with flavours too and make use of anything I have on hand.

Ingredients:

handful of diced bacon
1/2 a tomato, sliced into 4 wedges
small amount of diced onion or spring onion
1 tablespoon honey teriyaki marinade
1 egg
pinch of shredded cheese

optional:  you can vary these ingredients as much as you like – change quantity, add capsicum, mushrooms, herbs, pepper etc.  But – keep in mind the bacon and the marinade will both add salt, so don’t add any extra salt.

Method:

In a small frypan, add the tomato, onion and bacon and allow them to warm up and brown a little.  I usually wait until it starts “popping”, then I add the marinade and mix well, Cook for another minute, stirring to mix the marinade well,

Break the egg over the top, then using your spatula or a fork, break up the egg and mix into the other ingredients.  Keep it turning with the spatula so all the egg cooks.

Serve on a plate with the ping of shredded cheese over the top.  (if you prefer it cheesier, add more cheese into the egg mix after it has started cooking).

Honey Chicken (and alternate Lemon Sauce)

 

My son was craving honey chicken – so I made this for dinner – tastes incredible. (and Mr 7 loved it)

Ingredients:
2 chicken breast fillets
plain flour (in a separate bowl)
2 eggs (beaten) (in a separate bowl)

Sauce:
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

To thicken sauce: cornflour dissolved in a small amount of cold water

Garnish:
spring onions and sesame seeds

Method:
dice chicken into small pieces, roll in flour, dip in egg, then roll in flour again, then fry in some oil (shallow fry is fine – just remember to turn) until cooked

Sauce:
combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to the boil, then add the cornflour mix stir until thickened
plate up with rice, chicken, spring onions, then sauce and some sesame seeds on the top.

Alternate sauce: Lemon sauce:
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cornflour
1 cup chicken stock
Juice of two lemons
Dash of yellow food coloring
1 extra lemon sliced

Method: Put all ingredients into a small saucepan, mix and heat, stirring continuously. it will look milky, and you won’t think it is going to thicken and then suddenly it changes color, goes clearer and then thickens

Strawberry Pie/Tart

 

Ingredients:

prebaked shortcrust pie case (in the bakery section of the supermarket)
1 punnet strawberries (ripe ones)
1/2 cup sugar (more if you think the strawberries are not as ripe as they should be).
spoon cornflour dissolved in about 1/2 cup water.

Method:

cut half the strawberries into halves, wash and arrange in the pie case
cut the other half of the strawberries into small pieces, wash and place in a small saucepan with the sugar
heat over medium heat stirring until it resembles jam and the strawberries are soft and breakup if you squish them against the side of the saucepan with a spoon.
add in the cornflour dissolved in the water  and stir until it thickens

pour over strawberries in the pie case, bake in a 180C oven for about 20-30 mins – (put a tray underneath as it does bubble and may spill over the sides)

Let the pie cool on the bench, then put it in the fridge to set for a couple of hours

(also nice warm).

Cheats Pasties

Everything in life can be difficult if you make it but it doesn’t have to be. Shortcuts are wonderful, so use them to your advantage as much as you can.

I make these every winter in a big batch and freeze them for those nights where you just don’t feel like cooking – yummy.

Ingredients:
1 pk (5 sheets) ready made puff pastry sheets.
1kg beef mince
1 cup beef stock
2 medium onions
1kg bag plain brand mixed diced veggies (frozen).
small amount of milk in a cup
Pinch of mixed herbs

Method:
Brown mince in a pan, with diced onion. Add mixed herbs and salt/pepper to taste.

When really browned, drain any fat, and add the veggies and beef stock. Cook until moist but not wet (lean towards being dry rather than moist if not sure).

Switch off – this mix is now ready for the filling. Doesn’t matter if you add the filling to the pastry hot, warm or cold. If hot, you have to work quickly with the pastry as it tends to make it very soft.

To make pasties:

Take 1 thawed sheet of pastry and cut in half diagonally (so you have 2 large triangles).

Place 1 triangle on a baking tray (line with baking paper), place a few spoonfuls of filling onto one side of the triangle (as much as you can fit in without overfilling it), and then bring the other corner of the triangle over so that the longest corners meet. If you have overfilled it, just take some out at this stage.

Using a fork gently crimp the edges together. When sealed poke the top with the fork in about 3 places.

Using a basting brush, baste the milk over the top.

Bake for about 20 mins or until golden brown. If you plan on freezing them, bake only until they start getting brown so when you thaw them again and place in oven the pastry doesn’t overcook.

Enjoy

Pita Bread Bites

This recipe came from a guy I worked with who was into finding healthier alternatives to the junk food his kids were eating. I tried them and I loved them – as a bonus they are very easy to prepare as well.

Ingredients:

Pita Bread (doesn’t matter which one just as long as you can easily split the bread in half)
Garlic Butter (either purchase a premixed one, or make your own – see below)
Parmesan cheese (the crappy plastic dried variety not the lucious fresh variety)

Garlic Butter

Mix Butter, a liberal amount of minced garlic and a good pinch of dried parsley together – mix well.

Procedure:

Split the Pita Bread so you end up with two thinner pieces.
Either tear or cut the pita into sizeable pieces (I like to cut them as it is quicker).
Very lightly spread the garlic butter onto the pieces (almost in a spread on, then wipe off as much as you can manner).
Place on a baking tray (butter side up 🙂 ) and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.
Bake for just a few minutes. Take out of the oven when they brown nicely (but before they burn).
Allow to cool on the tray before putting them on a plate.

Store in an airtight container and they will last for ages.

Variations:

I have tried a few variations and they have all been great. Try a lightly spread pizza base with the cheese or even spray with cooking spray and sprinkle a small amount of pepper. Or come up with your own wonderful creations.

Enjoy!

Best Every Chocolate Mousse Recipe

* Please note:  As this recipe contains raw eggs, it is not suitable for pregnant women.

Ingredients:
250g Dark Chocolate (to melt)
4 eggs
Creme de menthe, spirit or peppermint essense (to taste – optional)
~50g Marshmallows
300ml tub cream

Notes:   I find this recipe works best if made quickly so I get all my ingredients ready, including whipping the cream and egg whites, and then melt the chocolate and marshmallows so I am all ready.

Procedure:

Melt chocolate in microwave as per packet instructions (or in a saucepan if preferred)

Melt marshmallows in the microwave slightly (watch carefully as they melt very quickly – 10 seconds sometimes is enough).

Mix into melted chocolate until there are no marshmallow lumps left (if you melted the chocolate in a saucepan, leave on low heat when adding the marshmallows).

Remove from heat (if done in a saucepan).

Separate eggs, add yolks to chocolate mix and mix well.

Whip egg whites until stiff peaks.

Whip cream until starting to peak.

Fold in egg whites and cream.

Add spirit (or essense) to taste.

Chill for 2-3 hours.

Enjoy – Yummo