Thursday, November 29, 2012

Healthy Breaky Bars

Sometimes you need something that ticks all the boxes:  Fruit, healthy fats, low sugar, slow burning energy, easy, gluten free, tasty... I could go on... ;)  This EASY recipe will get you kick started for work, school or a busy day of whatever.. Give it a go!

What you'll need:

3 bananas mashed
1/2 cup smashed walnuts
1/2 cup smashed pecans
1/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup craisins (sweetened cranberries -- can be replaced by almost any dried fruit if it's diced finely)
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
1/2 cup milk (again, any kind!)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

How to do what I did:

Smash bananas.  Cut or pummel nut varieties.  Put ALL ingredients in together and mix vigorously (just combine them, it's not hard work).  Form "batter" into cookie shapes - keeping in mind that if you make them smaller, cooking time will be shorter.

Cook in a moderate oven for 15 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool.  EAT THEM.  They are really good.. you won't want to stop at one.. ;)

A. xo


Sunday, April 8, 2012

Creamy Mushroom Sauce w/ Chicken

Crispy skin chicken pieces and a creamy mushroom sauce?  Sounds almost good enough to eat!

What you'll need:

~Chicken
chicken roasting pieces
plain flour
french onion soup powdered packet mix
oil
~Sauce
sliced mushrooms (you can either leave them sliced or dice them a little more)
onion diced
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup thickened cream

How to do what I did:

Put the chicken pieces into a bag with some flour (maybe 1/2 cup) and seasoning and shake to coat.  Shallow fry in oil, until lightly browned (but not cooked).  Put into a baking dish, and into the oven.  Bake until crispy and cooked through.

In the same pan the chicken was cooked in, reserve about 2 tbsp of the oil and saute the onions and mushrooms.  Once they're nicely cooked, add the sour cream and the normal cream, and stir through.  Keep warm until ready to serve with the chicken.

If you're really keen, serve with the roast potatoes and a lovely rocket salad with olive oil and lemon juice dressing.. delish!!!

A. xo

THE BEST Roast Potatoes

I've never known how the pros do it, but apparently, this is it!

What you'll need:

small whole potatoes, peeled
olive oil
salt

How to do what I did:

Par-boil your potatoes until the outside of them is just becoming tender (10-12mins).  Drain, shake them around in the pot (lid on!) to fluff up the outer layer, and return to heat (very low for gas stoves, or just turned off but still warm for electric) and allow the moisture to evaporate a little more so the taters are fairly dry.  Meanwhile, in a 200 degree oven, warm up a baking dish with a decent splash or two of the olive oil in it.  Once the oil is pretty hot, place potatoes into the dish, coating them with the oil.  Chuck it all back into the oven and cook for about 20-25 mins, turning once to brown up evenly.  Serve - and enjoy!!!

Seriously, the best roast potatoes I've ever had (that I had to cook myself... haha)

A. xo

Apple Pie Puree (Baby Food)

** Sorry it's been so long since I posted.... ;)

For those parents wanting to offer their babies (6mths+) something a little bit delicious ~ perhaps a dessert? ~ without sugary badness, this is for you!!

What you'll need:

3(ish) tbsp of Semolina
1/2 - 3/4 cup of milk (any kind - goat's, soy, cow's..)
1 tbsp apple puree
a hearty pinch (or sprinkle) of cinnamon

How to do what I did:

Cook the semolina on the stove top as per instructions on the packaging, using milk instead of water.  Once it's thickened, it's ready, so remove from heat and keep stirring.  If it's really thick and globby, add more milk, there's no hard and fast amounts here.  Once you're happy with the consistency (keeping in mind that adding the apple puree will make it a little runnier) add the apples and cinnamon.  Stir, and taste test.  If it needs more flavour, you could always add more of either apples/cinnamon, or both.  Serve slightly cooler.. and make sure you check the temp FIRST!

I know this isn't really a recipe so much as a great idea.. but I wanted to share, as it's a HIT with my wee man!

For GF and DF mamas, you could always add warm non-dairy milk to a heap of rice cereal until it's nice and thick, then add the apples and cinnamon.

As always, keep eating!

A. xo

Monday, March 12, 2012

Lamb Pilaf

You don't have to be a fortune teller to know which vegetable is going to save the day in this recipe... but if you didn't guess, it's pumpkin... again.  *insert shocked face here*

What you'll need:

lamb mince
seasoning of choice (I use cajun seasoning)
oil
1/2 tsp turmeric
chopped onion
2 cups of rice (use more if you want!)
frozen peas and corn mix
pumpkin, chopped
stock (I always use chicken or vegetable, if it's not a tomato based meal)

How to do what I did:

Mix the lamb mince and seasoning well.  Roll into small meatballs, and fry in the oil in a large frying pan, until cooked through.  Remove from pan and set aside.  In the remaining oil, fry off the rice, onion and pumpkin for 1-2 minutes.  Add frozen veges, turmeric and cover with stock.  Cover and let simmer until rice and pumpkin are cooked and stock has been absorbed.  (Do a taste test and make sure and add more stock if needed.)  Once the rice is cooked, add the meatballs back in and warm through.

Serve, eat, yada yada yada!  Hurrah!  Another delicious home made marvel... ;o)

A. xo

Apparently...

I like pumpkin... ;o)  Hopefully you all do too, and you're busily trying out my (5) recipes!  I would love to hear from other mummies with busy kitchens, so please do leave a comment if you have a recipe you'd like me to try, or email me at a.r.wouters@hotmail.com.  I'm more than happy to try just about anything, and if it's easy and tastes great, I'll add it to my blog (and credit you, of course!!)

Looking forward to hearing from you!

A. xo

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

There's lots of ways to make pumpkin soup..  Here's one I KNOW is yummy!

What you'll need:

1 tbsp oil
1/2 a pumpkin chopped
1 onion chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic (or 2 dessert spoons of bottled crushed garlic)
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
cracked pepper
1 tub sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander
-- optional -- bacon diced


How to do what I did:

In a deep saucepan, fry off onion, garlic, optional bacon and pumpkin.
Add cumin, salt and pepper.
Add stock and bring to the boil.
Simmer until pumpkin is mushy.
Add sour cream and coriander and whizz with a barmix or something similar until velvety smooth.
Serve with crusty bread...

You can use light sour cream for a reasonably healthy option, and cut out the bread for the carb conscious.

Enjoy! A. xo