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

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Warm Pumpkin Salad

For the carb conscious (as per special request from Heidi) here is the perfect salad for every day of the week!

What you'll need:

pumpkin - diced
chopped walnuts to dry roast
rocket
baby spinach
smooth style feta cheese
balsamic vinegar
shredded roast chicken if desired

How to do what I did:

Toss the pumpkin through some oil and roast until tender.  Towards the end of roasting the pumpkin, throw in the walnuts and toast them lightly. Remove once done and let cool slightly.
Wash you leaves, add balsamic and toss through.
Chop or crumble the feta and toss through with optional chicken, pumpkin and toasted walnuts.  Voila!

Eat this warm for the best flavour, but don't discard leftovers -- fridge them and eat the next day (or perhaps pop it in a sealed container for the next meal...?) ;)

A. xo

Tasty Chicken and Leek Tart

One of the yummiest pie fillings is chicken and leek.  I would probably eat chicken every day of the week if I was allowed.. in fact, I think most of this weeks recipes are chicken.. but the way I see it, it's so tasty, why not?!  Here's my awesome chicken and leek tart (or pie if you put a pastry lid on it) recipe...

What you'll need:

shredded roast chicken meat (buy the chicken raw and cook it yourself, or pre-cooked if you're time poor)
leeks washed and finely sliced
butter
powdered stock (I prefer massell chicken stock)
milk (soy is creamy, without the cals)
shortcrust pastry
puff pastry (for lid of pie if desired)

How to do what I did:

Saute leeks in butter.  Be generous, you want it pretty buttery.
Add powdered stock and mix in (it should go sticky and dry-ish)
Slowly add milk and stir to thicken.
Add shredded chicken.
Pre-bake (blind bake) shortcrust pastry in a pie dish.
Add filling.
Put the "lid" on the "pie" and brush with milk (add an egg if you want it to go really golden)
Bake until nicely golden and cooked looking... use your own judgement... :)

This pie/tart is a HUGE hit with my husband.  Stacks of flavour, hardly any effort.  Win win!

A. xo

Easy Cannelloni

I often avoided the schmancy sounding italian stuff cos I thought it was hard... It's not.. As it happens, it's the easiest thing in the WORLD to bang together some lovely spinach and ricotta cannelloni..

What you'll need:

fresh lasagne sheets
1 large tub of ricotta cheese
tasty/pizza cheese
frozen (or fresh, chopped) cooked spinach
2 eggs
crushed tomatoes
garlic
onion
tomato paste
optional mince - pork/chicken/beef
butter
plain flour
milk
Salt

How to do what I did:

Cook yourself some bolognese -- tomatoes, tomato paste, onion, garlic and mince (if you want it)
Mix the ricotta filling.. add eggs, spinach, a handful of grated cheese and ricotta and combine. Don't forget to season it!!
Cut the lasagne sheets into halves, fill with ricotta mixture, roll, and place side by side into a large oiled baking dish.
Make béchamel sauce - melt butter into a saucepan, add flour and cook off for 1 minute. Slowly add milk and whisk as it thickens.
Pour béchamel sauce over cannelloni, and top with bolognese.  Finish with grated cheese, and bake for 30 minutes.

Basil Pesto Pasta with Chicken, Pumpkin and Cherry Tomatoes

I like a good pasta, and this one is so easy you could make it for a bbq, dinner party, lunch or whimsical moment of hunger...

What you'll need:

1 tbsp oil
Chicken breast fillets, diced
1 1/2 cups of pumpkin, diced
1 packet of fresh filled pasta (ie: ravioli etc)
1 tub of basil pesto
8-10 cherry tomatoes halved
Salt or powdered stock

How to do what I did:

Saute the chicken and pumpkin in the oil until pumpkin is soft and chicken is cooked through.  Sprinkle with salt or small amount of powdered stock.
Boil the pasta for required time, and then drain and transfer to a serving bowl.
Add the chicken and pumpkin, basil pesto, and cherry tomatoes.
Mix.
Serve :)

If you want to, add some shaved parmesan to the top of each serving, or you could add some sour cream to the recipe for a creamy basil pasta variation.

Enjoy! A. xo

Welcome to the house of food!

I'm no chef.  I'm only a slightly talented flavour artist, with 2 small children and a husband of discerning tastes.  We like flavour without the fuss.. Foods that taste good, but don't have to look perfect to be eaten.  We are real, honest to God, food eaters.  I will share my culinary delights with you on one condition:

Try the recipes, and alter them to your own personal tastes.

They're not "my" recipes.. I have stolen, augmented and tested these concoctions on anyone who eats, and mostly, no one has died.  So have fun with me, as I discover the secret to feeding a picky toddler, a baby who'll eat anything, a husband with a mouth full of fancy words and me, a mum with a bum.

Welcome to the Wouters family table... A. xo