I have returned!!!
Sorry it's been so long between entries but with christmas etc. I have not had much time for posting.
But now that the majority of the silly season is over, I am back to a more stable routine and cooking up my usual goodies.
Today I made an interesting chicken curry using the leftover from Christmas (and a chicken I cooked yesterday).
I tried an artichoke dip for Christmas which was not overly budget friendly but turned out quite nice. Perhaps a bit too cheesy, but not bad.
The artichoke dip recipe is as follows:
Artichoke Dip
· 8 oz artichoke hearts (approx. 1 tin)
· 8 oz fresh grated parmesan cheese (not Kraft) (around 400g)
· 8 oz whipped cream cheese - 250g light philly is what (I used)
· 8 oz mayonnaise - Can't recall sorry
· 2 tbsp Hungarian paprika (sweet variety)
Mix in large bowl. I don't recommend blending this in a food processor, as artichoke heart leaves are best in larger pieces.
Spread in baking pan, up to 3" deep.
Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, or until bubbling with brown edges.
Cool and serve with sliced baguette, carrots and celery, or crackers.
The dip was nice and well received, but it makes a lot of dip. You could easily cut the recipe in half which would also make it less expensive.
For the chicken curry I simply lightly fried half an onion, added in my left over chicken from the roast yesterday and the left over dip! A little curry, some salt and pepper plus some water to thin out the sauce and it was done. A few minutes cooking time and a really interesting meal.
I served it with turkish dipping bread but it would be great with rice as well. You could use any other meat in this too. Left over pork or lamb roast perhaps. Some cooked sausages chopped into small pieces would also taste good.
A vegetarian version could involve a nice selection of vegies to make a vegetable curry. Definitely not something you'd do every day but if you happen to make the artichoke dip it's a good idea for later.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
The Flavourwave!!!
I love it!!!
I got my turbo chef the other day. My infared + Halogen heating benchtop oven thing. You can find them at the Danoz website for those interested in checking it out.
Thus far I think it's marvelous! Crumbed fish has never been so good in the oven... My chicken was perfect! Moist, crunchy skin but no oil... Chips are crunchy, pizza is excellent. Truly I am more than impressed thus far.
I got it on Friday and have used it every day... I think it may well be my most used appliance of all. The quality of the food is really fantastic and I have literally added no extra fat to anything. I am going to try baking in it at some point... And looking forward to making my BBQ ribs some time this week.
Quick recipe of the week.
Lightly cook an onion. Add meat removed from roast chicken, add a tin of tomatos and season to taste. Server with pasta and sprinkle on some paremsan cheese. Done!
Great served with some nice bread... A nice blob of sourcream goes well on top too.
I got my turbo chef the other day. My infared + Halogen heating benchtop oven thing. You can find them at the Danoz website for those interested in checking it out.
Thus far I think it's marvelous! Crumbed fish has never been so good in the oven... My chicken was perfect! Moist, crunchy skin but no oil... Chips are crunchy, pizza is excellent. Truly I am more than impressed thus far.
I got it on Friday and have used it every day... I think it may well be my most used appliance of all. The quality of the food is really fantastic and I have literally added no extra fat to anything. I am going to try baking in it at some point... And looking forward to making my BBQ ribs some time this week.
Quick recipe of the week.
Lightly cook an onion. Add meat removed from roast chicken, add a tin of tomatos and season to taste. Server with pasta and sprinkle on some paremsan cheese. Done!
Great served with some nice bread... A nice blob of sourcream goes well on top too.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Vegetarian pasta
Quick, simple, tasty.
I was in a hurry to put together a quick meal and pasta is always a hit. I didn't have time to defrost mince so I just went vegetarian.
Simple.
In a pan heat up some oil (I use my garlic oil but not necessary as there is a bit more garlic added at the end).
Dice and fry an onion.
Add 1 tin of peeled, diced tomatos.
I use the every day spice mix from Aldi but you can use any seasoning you like. A little extra salt can be useful if using a multi spice mix though, but that depends on your taste.
At the end add a clove of crushed garlic. Now I know this is something you normally do at the start but I learned a little trick the other day for a bit of a flavour kick. If you add cooked garlic to start with, add a bit of uncooked at the end and let simmer for a few minutes. Also good with parsley.
Cook your paster, simmer sauce. Serve!
I add parmesan cheese of course and I love it with a bit of light sour cream. I found with the sour cream it tastes almost like my really nice beef bolognaise sauce as well.
You can add extra vegies by grating in carrot and finely chopped capsicum. Other hidden vegies would be things like cauli flower finles chopped or pureed and anything else that is red or white.
I was in a hurry to put together a quick meal and pasta is always a hit. I didn't have time to defrost mince so I just went vegetarian.
Simple.
In a pan heat up some oil (I use my garlic oil but not necessary as there is a bit more garlic added at the end).
Dice and fry an onion.
Add 1 tin of peeled, diced tomatos.
I use the every day spice mix from Aldi but you can use any seasoning you like. A little extra salt can be useful if using a multi spice mix though, but that depends on your taste.
At the end add a clove of crushed garlic. Now I know this is something you normally do at the start but I learned a little trick the other day for a bit of a flavour kick. If you add cooked garlic to start with, add a bit of uncooked at the end and let simmer for a few minutes. Also good with parsley.
Cook your paster, simmer sauce. Serve!
I add parmesan cheese of course and I love it with a bit of light sour cream. I found with the sour cream it tastes almost like my really nice beef bolognaise sauce as well.
You can add extra vegies by grating in carrot and finely chopped capsicum. Other hidden vegies would be things like cauli flower finles chopped or pureed and anything else that is red or white.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Sausages...
Ok, so I am not one who cooks with sausages very often as I am not keen on the fat content. But today I was wondering what to make for dinner and realised that I had left out the frozen vegies which I had taken out when I was making lunch and they had completely defrosted. Obviously I had to use them right away but didn't really want to just heat them up and put them on the side of something else.
I browsed through my freezer and came across a packet of tomato and onion sausages I picked up only a few days ago for $2.00. Woolworths had a whole selection of sausages reduced for quick sale so I picked up these for the freezer and a pack of reduced fat ones which I cooked for lunch the next day. The low fat ones were only $3 which is pretty good really.
Looking out for cheap sausages and picking up a few packs when you find them can be an excellent money saver and a great ingredient for a quick meal. Or if you know you're having a BBQ some time soon grab a few packs and defrost them on the day of the BBQ. They will still fry up marvelously and taste fantastic.
But back to the sausages. One of my favourite things to do with sausages is curried sausages. This is not actually a particularly low fat meal (actually it's pretty disgustingly fatty when made a particular way) but served on rice with vegies... Brilliant! I shall share 2 ways of doing this. One is healthier than the other.
This is using uncooked sausages but it's also a great way to prepare some precooked sausages, especially if you've had a BBQ and are left with a mountain of leftovers.
First of all cut up your sausages into bite size pieces and fry them until they are about half cooked, making sure you stir them around a bit.
For a lower fat option, transfer sausages to some paper towel and allowe excess fat to drain off and remove as much fat from the pan as possible. This can be skipped if you prefer the more rich version.
For the lower fat version:
Pour enough water on the sausages to just cover them. Add some seasing and allow to simmer for a minute or 2.
Add some gravy mix or thicken the traditional way. Whilst I usually make everything from scratch, gravy mix is actually a fantastic way to keep some recipes a bit lower in calories. I only ever use the Gravox Brown Onion thought as the others leave a slightly odd taste. Some things you can afford to be choosy.
At this stage I add the curry. I use Keens Curry Powder which comes in a little orange plastic container. For this type of curry it's perfect (and also for curried eggs) as it's milder. I don't think this recipe should be burning hot, just with a bit of spice.
Throw in the vegies of your choice. In this case I used carrots, broccoli, cauli flower and green beans (the frozen vegies that were left out). They were defrosted to start with but if you add them earlier you can let them defrost in the sauce.
Allow to simmer on low heat for about 5 - 10 minutes. Once it's done I like to add a little light sour cream but you can add full fat or even a bit of normal thickened cream. That is optional though, depending on what you're after.
For the full fat version, instead of adding water to the half cooked sausages you can add cream, with a little water. Low fat cream works too. Add your seasoning, curry and defrosted vegies at this stage and let simmer until the sauce reduces and thickens.
This meal is best served with rice but works with potatos too. You can also decrease portion size by having a side of salad too, to cut down the fat.
I browsed through my freezer and came across a packet of tomato and onion sausages I picked up only a few days ago for $2.00. Woolworths had a whole selection of sausages reduced for quick sale so I picked up these for the freezer and a pack of reduced fat ones which I cooked for lunch the next day. The low fat ones were only $3 which is pretty good really.
Looking out for cheap sausages and picking up a few packs when you find them can be an excellent money saver and a great ingredient for a quick meal. Or if you know you're having a BBQ some time soon grab a few packs and defrost them on the day of the BBQ. They will still fry up marvelously and taste fantastic.
But back to the sausages. One of my favourite things to do with sausages is curried sausages. This is not actually a particularly low fat meal (actually it's pretty disgustingly fatty when made a particular way) but served on rice with vegies... Brilliant! I shall share 2 ways of doing this. One is healthier than the other.
This is using uncooked sausages but it's also a great way to prepare some precooked sausages, especially if you've had a BBQ and are left with a mountain of leftovers.
First of all cut up your sausages into bite size pieces and fry them until they are about half cooked, making sure you stir them around a bit.
For a lower fat option, transfer sausages to some paper towel and allowe excess fat to drain off and remove as much fat from the pan as possible. This can be skipped if you prefer the more rich version.
For the lower fat version:
Pour enough water on the sausages to just cover them. Add some seasing and allow to simmer for a minute or 2.
Add some gravy mix or thicken the traditional way. Whilst I usually make everything from scratch, gravy mix is actually a fantastic way to keep some recipes a bit lower in calories. I only ever use the Gravox Brown Onion thought as the others leave a slightly odd taste. Some things you can afford to be choosy.
At this stage I add the curry. I use Keens Curry Powder which comes in a little orange plastic container. For this type of curry it's perfect (and also for curried eggs) as it's milder. I don't think this recipe should be burning hot, just with a bit of spice.
Throw in the vegies of your choice. In this case I used carrots, broccoli, cauli flower and green beans (the frozen vegies that were left out). They were defrosted to start with but if you add them earlier you can let them defrost in the sauce.
Allow to simmer on low heat for about 5 - 10 minutes. Once it's done I like to add a little light sour cream but you can add full fat or even a bit of normal thickened cream. That is optional though, depending on what you're after.
For the full fat version, instead of adding water to the half cooked sausages you can add cream, with a little water. Low fat cream works too. Add your seasoning, curry and defrosted vegies at this stage and let simmer until the sauce reduces and thickens.
This meal is best served with rice but works with potatos too. You can also decrease portion size by having a side of salad too, to cut down the fat.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)