Lamb Casserole
A good use for 'boring' lamb chops!
2 tablespoons butter
6 lamb chops
2 onions, sliced
1 cup rice
1 x 425g tin tomatoes
Chicken or beef stock
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 slices bread
½ cup grated cheese
Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a big pan. Remove fat from chops. Brown chops on both sides and put aside. Fry sliced onions until just cooked. Remove. Place rice in a greased ovenproof dish, drain tomatoes and reserve juice, add sufficient stock to tomato juice to make up 2 cups. Bring stock to boiling point. Add to rice. Add salt and pepper. Place chops on rice, top with cooked onion, tomatoes and brown sugar. Cover and cook in oven (180-200c) for 35 mins or until chops and rice are tender. Cut bread into small pieces. Combine bread, cheese and remaining butter, sprinkle over chops and bake in oven until cheese is melted.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Apricot Chicken Casserole
Remember these recipes are also accessible on the 'recipes' links!
Apricot Chicken Casserole
1 kg chicken pieces
1/3 cup oil
1 packet French onion soup mix
¼ cup plain flour
1 x 470g tin apricot nectar
2 chicken stock cubes
Salt and pepper
Cream (optional)
Parsley
Brown chicken in a pan with oil. Remove pieces and place in casserole dish. In pan, add soup mix and flour. Stir until flour is golden brown. Remove pan from heat. Add apricot nectar, 2 cups water, chicken stock cubes, salt and pepper to taste. Return pan to heat and stir until sauce thickens. (stir in optional cream). Pour sauce over chicken in casserole dish. Bake in oven (180-200c) for 1 hour. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Apricot Chicken Casserole
1 kg chicken pieces
1/3 cup oil
1 packet French onion soup mix
¼ cup plain flour
1 x 470g tin apricot nectar
2 chicken stock cubes
Salt and pepper
Cream (optional)
Parsley
Brown chicken in a pan with oil. Remove pieces and place in casserole dish. In pan, add soup mix and flour. Stir until flour is golden brown. Remove pan from heat. Add apricot nectar, 2 cups water, chicken stock cubes, salt and pepper to taste. Return pan to heat and stir until sauce thickens. (stir in optional cream). Pour sauce over chicken in casserole dish. Bake in oven (180-200c) for 1 hour. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Candice's "simmer the day away" Beef Casserole
Candice’s ‘simmer away the day’ Beef Casserole
Great if you are heading out for the day.... or just wanting to get dinner ‘out the way’ before lunch!
1kg round or chuck steak, cut into small pieces
3 tablespoons plain flour
2 onions, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons gravy powder
Put steak into a plastic bag with 1 tablespoon flour and shake well.
Put steak into a stovetop casserole dish (cast iron/saucepan with lid).
Add onions, tomatoes, sauces, salt and pepper. Add 1 ½ cups water. Cook on high until boiling, then turn down to low.
Leave to cook very slowly for about 8 hours.
Finally, thicken casserole with a mixture of 2 tablespoons plain flour, 2 tablespoons gravy mix and a pinch of salt blended in a small amount of water.
Great if you are heading out for the day.... or just wanting to get dinner ‘out the way’ before lunch!
1kg round or chuck steak, cut into small pieces
3 tablespoons plain flour
2 onions, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons gravy powder
Put steak into a plastic bag with 1 tablespoon flour and shake well.
Put steak into a stovetop casserole dish (cast iron/saucepan with lid).
Add onions, tomatoes, sauces, salt and pepper. Add 1 ½ cups water. Cook on high until boiling, then turn down to low.
Leave to cook very slowly for about 8 hours.
Finally, thicken casserole with a mixture of 2 tablespoons plain flour, 2 tablespoons gravy mix and a pinch of salt blended in a small amount of water.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Back to uni
Well seems the start of uni got the better of me again. Bit slack (sorry)
How 'bout I make it up to you with a great big pile of recipes to try?
Please leave comment if you try them or especially leave comments if you have done something to improve them in any way.
This knowledge needs to be shared if we are to cook for ourselves easily and stop relying on corporations to do it for us (which they kinda suck at)
How 'bout I make it up to you with a great big pile of recipes to try?
Please leave comment if you try them or especially leave comments if you have done something to improve them in any way.
This knowledge needs to be shared if we are to cook for ourselves easily and stop relying on corporations to do it for us (which they kinda suck at)
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Yummy Prawn dish
I am going to share with you one of my favourite dishes, Prawns Saganaki.
It is a Greek dish (yes I know what I said about sticking to cultures) but this is a one pan wonder with only fresh ingredients, very impressive, quick to make, and perfect for when guests come over.
This is a great warm weather dish (I think I am really missing summer right now) but I do make it in winter. The benefit of summer is the fresher tomatoes which really pack a punch in this dish.
I have on many occasions enjoyed this with friends, sitting on the back deck with some crisp Sauvignon Blanc and a crusty loaf of bread, torn up to share.
Geeez I miss summer!
It is a Greek dish (yes I know what I said about sticking to cultures) but this is a one pan wonder with only fresh ingredients, very impressive, quick to make, and perfect for when guests come over.
This is a great warm weather dish (I think I am really missing summer right now) but I do make it in winter. The benefit of summer is the fresher tomatoes which really pack a punch in this dish.
I have on many occasions enjoyed this with friends, sitting on the back deck with some crisp Sauvignon Blanc and a crusty loaf of bread, torn up to share.
Geeez I miss summer!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
What to serve a friend for lunch?
So I had a darling friend come over for a 'ladies lunch' which is code for '2 bottles of wine with food'
Her baby is 2 days older than my daughter so it is nice to have a conversation that doesn't start with "if your happy and you know it!"
She has been here for lunch before and with my love of cooking I have done some specky meals for us to dine on. But she mentioned she was going out to dinner that night so I decided to tone it down to a 'real' lunch.
Well of course this got me thinking...what is a normal lunch?
I mean at home it could be a sandwich or leftovers from dinner but you can't serve that to someone you like!
So I was thinking some soup would be a nice lunch but this never flies without some carbs to go with, buttery toast on the side, mmmm (real butter of course)
Well she *told* me it was a lovely lunch and sufficiently filling, which is good to hear!
So here it is....my Curried Cauliflower Soup it is a staple in this house and is SUPER cheap to make!!
It also freezes well for future lunches.
Her baby is 2 days older than my daughter so it is nice to have a conversation that doesn't start with "if your happy and you know it!"
She has been here for lunch before and with my love of cooking I have done some specky meals for us to dine on. But she mentioned she was going out to dinner that night so I decided to tone it down to a 'real' lunch.
Well of course this got me thinking...what is a normal lunch?
I mean at home it could be a sandwich or leftovers from dinner but you can't serve that to someone you like!
So I was thinking some soup would be a nice lunch but this never flies without some carbs to go with, buttery toast on the side, mmmm (real butter of course)
Well she *told* me it was a lovely lunch and sufficiently filling, which is good to hear!
So here it is....my Curried Cauliflower Soup it is a staple in this house and is SUPER cheap to make!!
It also freezes well for future lunches.
Friday, July 16, 2010
More from Grandma's cookbooks
WOW! I'll say it again, WOW!
I now know how to make pastry - and who knew it was that friggen easy?!?!
This is the best book from the lot of cookbooks I was given (the scary thing is mine isn't in colour!)
One of the most notable things about this book is that it is made to be a complete book of every recipe you need to know to feed your family and make whatever you want - but there's a catch!
Something that I have been pondering on with our confusion about food, in Australia we don't stick to cooking from one culture.
We dabble in English, Australian, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Mexican, French, Thai, Italian.......etc.......you get my drift?
No wonder our cupboards are filled to bursting point with 'jars of this' and 'packets of that', are we trying to do too much?
My thoughts are, for everyday family cooking - pick a culture and stick to it! One thing I noticed from this cookbook is the continuity of ingredients from one dish to the next. They are just rearranged in varying techniques depending on what you are making.
While this would have been an English based cookbook, there are basic curries (probably because of England's occupation of India) and pasta (which really made its way into *everywhere*)
What it does not try to capture, like many modern cookbooks, is the nuances of the region's cooking, like the more complex curries and dishes from India.
Is this where we have gone wrong? Are we trying to do too much?
We are so time poor these days why do we try to cook Thai food like a home grown Thai person would? I know Thai food is delicious but does having your pantry 'bulging' at the hinges to the point that when you come to cook Thai food next time the ingredients you bought are out of date make it worthwhile to keep 80 different cultures in your pantry?
While reflecting on this I was thinking about Indian and Chinese foods - have you noticed that they utilise similar ingredients for every recipe? The same spices, sauces, vegetables and dry goods come up recipe after recipe - we are trying to do to much - the turnover in the pantry is too slow and we are wasting food just because we have too much choice in food cultures
If you want to feed your family wholefoods (vegetables, grains and meats) then I for one are going to 'pare back' on the different cultural foods - it is NOT because I don't like them, but because it is costing this family too much because it is expensive to waste food.
We should know how to do our own culture's food well, you only have to go to Italy, China, or India to see that they DO their foods with expertise and ease
Keep it simple - pick a culture and stick to it! Branch out to differring cultures by dining out or on special occasions, borrowing ingredients from a non-savvy friend ;)
I now know how to make pastry - and who knew it was that friggen easy?!?!
This is the best book from the lot of cookbooks I was given (the scary thing is mine isn't in colour!)
One of the most notable things about this book is that it is made to be a complete book of every recipe you need to know to feed your family and make whatever you want - but there's a catch!
Something that I have been pondering on with our confusion about food, in Australia we don't stick to cooking from one culture.
We dabble in English, Australian, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Mexican, French, Thai, Italian.......etc.......you get my drift?
No wonder our cupboards are filled to bursting point with 'jars of this' and 'packets of that', are we trying to do too much?
My thoughts are, for everyday family cooking - pick a culture and stick to it! One thing I noticed from this cookbook is the continuity of ingredients from one dish to the next. They are just rearranged in varying techniques depending on what you are making.
While this would have been an English based cookbook, there are basic curries (probably because of England's occupation of India) and pasta (which really made its way into *everywhere*)
What it does not try to capture, like many modern cookbooks, is the nuances of the region's cooking, like the more complex curries and dishes from India.
Is this where we have gone wrong? Are we trying to do too much?
We are so time poor these days why do we try to cook Thai food like a home grown Thai person would? I know Thai food is delicious but does having your pantry 'bulging' at the hinges to the point that when you come to cook Thai food next time the ingredients you bought are out of date make it worthwhile to keep 80 different cultures in your pantry?
While reflecting on this I was thinking about Indian and Chinese foods - have you noticed that they utilise similar ingredients for every recipe? The same spices, sauces, vegetables and dry goods come up recipe after recipe - we are trying to do to much - the turnover in the pantry is too slow and we are wasting food just because we have too much choice in food cultures
If you want to feed your family wholefoods (vegetables, grains and meats) then I for one are going to 'pare back' on the different cultural foods - it is NOT because I don't like them, but because it is costing this family too much because it is expensive to waste food.
We should know how to do our own culture's food well, you only have to go to Italy, China, or India to see that they DO their foods with expertise and ease
Keep it simple - pick a culture and stick to it! Branch out to differring cultures by dining out or on special occasions, borrowing ingredients from a non-savvy friend ;)
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