This recipe is fantastic because it’s very balanced – it has protein, veg and carbs – and best of all, it’s absolutely delicious and freezes extremely well. Chicken with Rataouille and Risoni 1 large eggplant, cut into 2.5cm pieces 2 large zucchinis, thickly sliced 1 red capsicum, halved, thickly sliced …
Back in the “olden days” nobody ate the shank part of the lamb, unless you were poor, because everyone seemed to believe the “cheap cut” wouldn’t taste good. As I have learnt more and more about food over the years, I have come to the realisation that food today has benefited …
This recipe is from Italian cook Giada De Laurentiis. I love her show Everyday Italian - she makes comforting Italian food – and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t enjoy that! She’s not a chef, but I have tried many of her recipes and like the lovely Nigella’s – they have always been fantastic! This …
Lentils and I have had a love/hate relationship over the years, much like most daughters, including myself, have with their mother. As with my mother Carmela, I used to struggle to get along with lentils as a kid. Maybe there was something about how wholesome they were that turned me …
It’s so freezing outside that I thought I should share with you a soup recipe that has become one of my all-time favourites. I adore leeks and seeing as they are in season, now is an ideal time to whip this up. I really didn’t like the idea of chickpeas in soup at first – but although it only has a few ingredients, the flavour is amazing. I originally saw this made on a Jamie Oliver cooking show way back when. I’ve made it my own and no longer need the recipe to guide me. Everyone I have served it to has been impressed 
So – introducing …
Leek and Chickpea Soup
2 tablespoons of butter
4 leeks
3 desiree potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
2 cans of chickpeas, drained and well rinsed
1.5 – 2 litres of chicken stock
Butter chicken is one of those curries that won’t scare those opposed to heat and is great for kids. Not a chilli in site!
While curries are a bit famous for taking a very long time to cook – this version is actually quite quick (on the table within 40 minutes, including preparation) and doesn’t require going to the supermarket to purchase 10 different kinds of spice.
It’s a bit of a cheats version – but don’t let anyone make you feel guilty for that! This uses a store-brought mild curry paste. Some brands of these are better than others. I find Sharwood to be superior and the flavour is really fantastic. It’s all fine to spend a bit of time on the weekend grinding up your own curry paste, but it’s not something for during week.
You’ll notice that the quantities are enough to feed a small army – and that’s because I was cooking it not only for our dinner, but also as additional meals for my dad to put in his freezer.
So, why not cook a large batch – serve it up for dinner, then pop the rest in an air-tight container for the freezer. It’ll give you a night off when you can’t face cooking.
Food that is full of flavour, but quick and kind on the budget – that’s exactly the thing I love to eat mid-week and this pasta dish is perfect.
First, lets talk flavour – olives, pancetta (or bacon is a fine alternative) are an awesome combo accompanied by tomatoes and some nice fresh basil. No basil in the house? Parsley is fine too, or even some baby spinach leaves.
The best thing about this is it’s something everyone can whip together as long as you have some form of pasta in the cupboard, tomatoes (canned or fresh), some form of bacony meat (pancetta, bacon, even some ham or salami would work really well) and some fresh herbs or other greenery. Even the olives are optional – although I think they are the highlight of this dish. I used huge green pitted olives which I sliced – but you could use kalamata olives, or even black ones – whatever is handy.
As for price and time – I think you can see it’s not something that’s going to take ages to cook – including prep, absolutely no more than 20 minutes. There’s very few ingredients and flexibility to use up what you have in the fridge – so in the cost stakes, it’s very economical too.
Ok, enough convincing – more recipe writing! <a href="”> Read More…
Food that is full of flavour, but quick and kind on the budget – that’s exactly the thing I love to eat mid-week and this pasta dish is perfect.
First, lets talk flavour – olives, pancetta (or bacon is a fine alternative) are an awesome combo accompanied by tomatoes and some nice fresh basil. No basil in the house? Parsley is fine too, or even some baby spinach leaves.
The best thing about this is it’s something everyone can whip together as long as you have some form of pasta in the cupboard, tomatoes (canned or fresh), some form of bacony meat (pancetta, bacon, even some ham or salami would work really well) and some fresh herbs or other greenery. Even the olives are optional – although I think they are the highlight of this dish. I used huge green pitted olives which I sliced – but you could use kalamata olives, or even black ones – whatever is handy.
As for price and time – I think you can see it’s not something that’s going to take ages to cook – including prep, absolutely no more than 20 minutes. There’s very few ingredients and flexibility to use up what you have in the fridge – so in the cost stakes, it’s very economical too.
Ok, enough convincing – more recipe writing! <a href="”> Read More…
Food that is full of flavour, but quick and kind on the budget – that’s exactly the thing I love to eat mid-week and this pasta dish is perfect.
First, lets talk flavour – olives, pancetta (or bacon is a fine alternative) are an awesome combo accompanied by tomatoes and some nice fresh basil. No basil in the house? Parsley is fine too, or even some baby spinach leaves.
The best thing about this is it’s something everyone can whip together as long as you have some form of pasta in the cupboard, tomatoes (canned or fresh), some form of bacony meat (pancetta, bacon, even some ham or salami would work really well) and some fresh herbs or other greenery. Even the olives are optional – although I think they are the highlight of this dish. I used huge green pitted olives which I sliced – but you could use kalamata olives, or even black ones – whatever is handy.
As for price and time – I think you can see it’s not something that’s going to take ages to cook – including prep, absolutely no more than 20 minutes. There’s very few ingredients and flexibility to use up what you have in the fridge – so in the cost stakes, it’s very economical too.
Ok, enough convincing – more recipe writing! <a href="”> Read More…
Irish stew is a casserole that has been the key to keeping hungry people’s tummies warm and full for a very long time. It’s simple to make, with few ingredients and is ideal for your slow cooker. The first time I ever ate it was at an Irish pub in my …
My mother-in-law-to-be whipped this up for dinner on Monday night, and it was so super tasty, I just had to share it with you. It does take more than 2 hours to cook – but the meat was so tender and succulent and the pancetta and wine added so much beautiful …
Marinating meat is a great way to not only save time, but to inject lots of awesome flavour into a week-night meal. This week I’m going to share with you three really awesome marinades, which can be used on chicken, beef and lamb which will have your family raving not …