Delicious, healthy fruit smoothie

DELICIOUS FRUIT SMOOTHIE!

Look at that gorgeous colour!

Just thought I'd add this delicious, yummy fruit smoothie!

Serves: 4-6

Prep-time: 5mins or less

Ingredients

300g frozen fruit (I used Gormet Mixed Berries)

1-2 Banana's sliced

8ooml of low-fat, no added sugar yoghurt, can be strawberry, or vanilla. I used a mixture of both.

Milk - as much or as little as you want depending on how thick you want it.... I used about 2 cups.

Method

Put all the ingredients in a blender.

Blend until smooth.

Drink!

This is really filling, really healthy and really yummy!

You can make different variations by altering the flavour of the yoghurt and frozen fruit.

I tried the Select brand of Summer Fruits with strawberry yoghurt and banana's and was delicious too!

I have also done a banana and honey smoothie - no frozen fruit, a few banana's, honey and banana yoghurt and an extra tbsp of honey. very yummy too!

Easy Oven-baked chicken risotto.

Hi guys, i don't have a pic of this dish, but it was yummy and easy to make - though it doesn't beat Jen's husband's chicken and corn risotto! But this is super easy to make, and it means you don't have to stand over a stove top continuously stirring!

This fed me, my husband, and a 5 and 2 year old for 2(!) nights. Would serve 6 adults as a main meal.

Also, my son usually refuses to eat rice of any description, but this he finished his entire bowl before any of us and asked for more!

Preparation time - 15 mins
Cooking time - 20-30 mins

Ingredients
500g chicken - diced
3 Rashers of Bacon - diced
1 large onion - diced
1 tbsp of minced garlic - less if you want
mixed herbs to taste
salt and pepper to season.
6 cups of hot chicken stock (alternatively you can have 4 cups of chicken stock and 200mls white wine. I didn't use the wine)
3 cups of aborio rice
2 large tablespoons of sour-cream (I used lite sour cream)
Cheese - I just used low-fat shredded tasty cheese, but you can use any other cheese you want. As much or as little as you want. I used about 2 cups.

Optional ingredients
Mushrooms - diced
Capsicum - diced
Corn
pretty much any other vegie you want really.

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to about 180 degrees.
2. In an frying pan, brown onion, bacon, chicken and minced garlic until chicken is cooked through.
3. Add any optional vegies now and heat through .
4. Add rice and stir through until coated and gone transluscent. Add herbs and salt and pepper. Stir.
5. Add 2-3 cups of stock and stir until absorbed.
6. Transfer to an oven safe casserole dish or pot. Add left-over stock.
7. Put in oven for 20-30 mins. Check after 15mins and stir.
8. Bring out of oven whn all the stock is absorbed and the rice is cooked and tender. Add sour-cream and cheese and stir through well.
9. Serve. Caution, it will be hot so be careful when serving to young children.
10. Enjoy an easy, no fuss risotto!

"The Cooks Journal" - Cooking: a healing process

For the longest time I have struggled with depression, but when I discovered recently my passion for good food I also discovered how good cooking made me feel and the difference it made to my depression! When I first started this blog, I was feeling low and had been struggling with the usual day-to-day process of being a stay-at-home mum. My husband - thank goodness a good cook himself! - would cook the majority of meals and me? I would cook occasionally, when the inspiration struck.

But now, cooking makes me feel better. It's soothing and exciting; I love seeing the reaction of my husband and daughter and seeing the meal come together at the end. This blog took that to the next step as I would photograph the meal at the end so I could show whoever read my blog what it looked like. That made it feel extra special :)

I would love to hear from people who are reading this blog, too! Tell me what you think of the recipes; and, what would be REALLY great, tell me you're TRYING them!!! My dream for this blog is for people to read it and try out the recipes... and then PASS IT ON!!!

You know the other thing about cooking for me? Because it was special and it felt good, and I was so proud of myself for doing it... we eat at the dining table together as a family! That just makes it all extra, extra, double super special :D

I know to a lot of you, it sounds strange for me to be so proud of myself for simply cooking dinner. I'm a mother and wife, I should be cooking dinner, right? Well, at the end of the day, I wish it was that simple. But because I struggle with what many would consider simple things, it's the simple things in life that make me the happiest.

So, my challenge to you, dear readers, is this: this week, choose one of the recipes that has been posted so far and give it a try. None of them are expensive or difficult, so why don't you give them a try? One day this week, cook a meal from the blog and let me know how it went!

Maggi Cottage Mince Pie

Ingredients
1kg beef mince
400g tin canned tomatoes
1 packet Maggi Cottage Mince Pie recipe base
Carrot
Garlic
Onion
Peas
Potato
Milk

Method
Prepare potatoes:
Peel and chop potatoes and put them on to boil.
While these are cooking, put a large saucepan on a high heat.
Cook mince:
Brown mince.
When they are almost cooked through, add tomatoes and recipe base and stir through.
Peel and dice carrot - toss them in!
Peel and dice onion - toss that in too :)
Put a handful of peas in and warm through.
Add garlic.
When the mince is fully cooked, turned the heat down and keep it warm until the potatoes are ready.
Complete potatoes & assemble pie:
Remove the potatoes from the heat, drain the water and return to the saucepan.
Mash the potatoes and add a small amount of milk.
Stir until a mashed consistency is achieved.
Put mince into oven proof dish and even out over the bottom.
Layer mashed potato over the top of the mince.
Put the dish into the oven on approximately 180 degrees Celsius and leave for about 30 minutes.
You should have a lovely crisp skin over the top when you remove your dish - my two year old was too demanding to leave my dish in there quite long enough! lol
Serve in the middle of the table for everyone to help themselves. My hubby got creative and garnished it with fresh tomato and salad onion.

This is a very simple Shepherds Pie, basically. It's not quite MY usual recipe, but it was still really nice and was quicker to cook than my normal dish. These recipe bases are really very good, especially for people who have young children or work full time. Don't be scared to try things that make cooking quicker and easier, sometimes it works out just as well. For example, not only did I try using this recipe base for dinner tonight - which isn't one that I have used before - but I used instant mashed potato for the top layer! Can you believe it? It's not quite the same as fresh potatoes, but it's pretty damn close.

Chicken Rigatoni

A personal favourite. This is from the 'Top Chef Quickfire Challenge Cookbook'. The Challenge was to create a 'frozen dinner' that was tasty and cheap. Measurements are not metric sorry. Book says will feed two, but you will get four out of it easily.

• Course: Main Course

• Prep Time: 45 Minutes

• Total Time:Under 1 Hour

• Skill Level: Moderate

• Cost: Inexpensive

Ingredients

• Salt
• 8 ounces rigatoni pasta
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pasta
• 1 ounce pancetta, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, cut into thin rings
• 1/2 red or yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into thin strips
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 4 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1⁄4 cup white wine
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 6 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch strips
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup pitted and chopped kalamata olives
• 1/3 cup ground Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain, and toss with a little oil to prevent sticking. Set aside.

Heat a medium sauté pan or skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and sauté until crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.

Add the 2 tablespoons oil to the fat in the pan, then add the onion, pepper, shallot, and sun-dried tomatoes and sauté until the onion and pepper are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute, or until softened. Add the wine, raise the heat, and stir until evaporated.

In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and sauté until cooked through and lightly browned on both sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the onion-pepper mixture.

Add the pasta, olives, and pancetta to the onion-pepper mixture and heat to warm through. Just before serving, stir in the cheese, pine nuts, parsley, and rosemary, and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. Serve immediately.

Classic Beef Hot Pot

For those real beginner cooks, or if you're just wanting something a little bit quicker - but still a lil bit fancy - I've cooked a Maggi recipe. You can get these recipe bases in the supermarket and the directions on the back make a perfectly nice meal. With a few slight, personal touches, you can have a really smashing dinner on your hands that even fussy eaters will love! While it takes a bit longer in cooking time - I'm estimating my dinner to take about an hour to an hour and a half (it's just for me and hubby tonight) - the preparation time is so fast you can do it in less than ten minutes! Also, with this particular dish - and many more of the Maggi recipe bases - it is particularly good when using a slow cooker, so you can have it set up in the morning and ready for when you get home!


Ingredients

400g diced beef
1 - 2 carrots chopped
1 medium onion sliced
400g tin diced tomatoes
1 packet Maggi recipe base Classic Beef Hot Pot
Salt and pepper

Method

Put the diced beef into an oven safe pot (casserole dish etc; or a slow cooker)
Peel and chop the carrots and put in the pot
Peel and slice the onion (try not to cry!) and throw that in there too
Empty the Maggi recipe base into a small bowl and add some water and stir until dissolved - don't worry too much if you get a few lumps, they boil out :)
Add the tin tomatoes
Give it a good stir, put the lid on and put it in the oven on 180degrees celcius
Check after 30mins and give it a good stir. Depending on your oven, you may want to check it in another 30 mins, or you may want to check it sooner. Note: I expected my dish to cook over an hour, maybe an hour and a half, but it looked great after 30 minutes so I'm checking it in another 15. Use your judgment.
Taste the sauce and season to taste.

To serve

Serve with rice/pasta/noodles and some nice crisp fresh bread


Oh my goodness, I surprise even me!!! For a dish so simple, the recipe base done for you, all you have to do is chop and cook. But so many of these recipe bases taste like cardboard and, as I said, even the tiniest personal touch can make all the difference...... and tonight, this turned out to be a spectacular success!!!

I actually served it with some mashed potatoes on the side and found that was really good! That and some nice crisp bread and the dish was di-vine! :)

Give it a go and remember... PASS IT ON!

"The Cooks Journal" - In the true nature of pass it on...

Monday 10 January 2011

Tonight, dinner was in the form of a dish that was taught to me in the precise pass it on fashion Jamie Oliver is trying to achieve. In fact, the person who taught me also taught my brother... although my brother still remains somewhat clueless, although he can still operate a rice cooker :D

I searched through my cook books trying to find inspiration, but nothing took. It seemed something was nagging at the back of my mind and I just had to figure out what it was! It wasn't until I picked up my Family Cook Book - special family recipes that I want to keep for my little girl - that I worked out what it was.......

........SENSEI KEN'S BURMESE MEAT BALLS.

What makes them Burmese? Well, mostly, the fact that Sensei Ken is Burmese.

Sensei Ken was my karate instructor and remains someone I respect greatly and hold in high regard. My best karate memories were from his classes - even if he nearly drove me to insanity on more than one occasion! This man, I tell you what, is like a hand grenade. He comes in a rather compact package, doesn't look particularly fierce, but dang it all - if he goes off, you'd better not be nearby coz he can pack a punch! He can go from standing still to sparring at warp speed as if no time had passed at all - and, to top it all, he can cook :)

I was lucky enough to be on the receiving end of his cooking on more than one occasion.

Once this occurred to me - and I realised how beautifully it fit into my pass it on aspirations - I had my shopping list and headed out the door. I had so much fun, and there were only a couple of things on the shopping list!

One thing to remember when you're doing this dish, when you're mixing your ingredients your hands are going to get cold! lol

In the words of my daughter, these Burmese Meat Balls are "yummy mummy! yummy daddy! yum! yum! yum!"

Burmese Meat Balls

This recipe was passed on to me many years ago by my sensei and good friend, Sensei Ken. He would laugh today if he knew that it was still going strong and my whole family loves it!




Ingredients

500g mince pork
Fresh garlic - 2 cloves
Fresh ginger - equal amount
Thick soy sauce
1 egg - preferably free range!!!
Plain flour

Method

Put mince in a large bowl with garlic and ginger. The recipe says to use fresh garlic and ginger but I finally bit the bullet and used minced garlic and minced ginger I had in the fridge and you know what? It was divine!

Put a hole in the middle of the mince and put the egg in it.

Add the soy sauce.

With clean hands, mixed the ingredients together until well mixed through.

Add plain flour until you achieve the desired consistency. You should be able to pick up the bowl by only holding the mince.

With wet hands, halve the mixture and divide into equal sized meat balls.

At this stage, the recipe - and how I was taught - says to deep fry the meat balls until golden brown. This is still probably the easiest and most consistent way to cook them, but that's not how I did it today.

Cooking Options

Deep fry until golden brown

OR

For a healthier alternative: Put a saucepan on a medium heat. Add a small amount of vegetable oil to the pan and add the meat balls. Put half a cup of water in the pan and cover, leaving them to cook through. After a few minutes, uncover and allow to cook until crisp and golden.

Serving Suggestions

The way this dish is intended to be served is in the centre of the table with a dish of rice and bok choy, and a bowl of sweet chilli sauce to dip the meat balls in.

An alternative, and what I did tonight that was very well received by my two year old AND husband: I served the meat balls on a plate in the centre of the table. In separate bowls I served up barbecue sauce (for the child - it's just not the same if you ask me! lol) and sweet chilli sauce. I also had a dish of noodles and mashed potatoes. Lots of fun, encouraging the family to sit around the table and talk and laugh, and a healthy meal to boot!

I cant believe it's been so long since I've done this dish! I haven't done it in years, but it certainly wont be that long again!!!

I hope you'll try this recipe and PASS IT ON to your friends! And don't forget to post and let me know how you went!

"The Cooks Journal" - Where it all began...

Monday 10 January 2011

I've never been someone who couldn't cook, but I was always unmotivated and lacking in inspiration. But somewhere along the way I've found a passion for it! I don't know how or why, but all of a sudden I just love to cook, I find out peaceful and exciting and I am always on the look out for new recipes to try out and cant wait to tell people about it!

When I got DVD vouchers from my brother for Christmas, I was absolutely lost for what to get as I have so many movies even I find myself buying doubles because I just cant keep track. And then, I just happened to glance to once side as I headed for yet another aisle, and I spotted Jamie Oliver! Not "the" Jamie Oliver, I'm sad to say, but his DVDs. There was Ministry of Food in the UK - that was quickly tucked under one arm, as I'd seen some of this on TV and really wanted to see it all the way through. Then I spotted the US Road Trip which I mistook for the Ministry of Food he did there, but that's turned out to be very interesting! And there was Italian. I love Italian!!! And so, it turns out, does Jamie! Seems Italian is what inspires him - ahhh, kindred spirits :D

I've always thought, if you cant cook Italian, you just cant cook lol Of course, this isn't true per se, but it speaks to my love of Italian food!

Watching the DVDs, I couldn't feel it in my bones, the inspiration was setting in and I was itching to get in the kitchen! I may have a tiny little kitchen and broken saucepans, but dammit I can still cook!!!

I made the meatballs Jamie teaches in Ministry of Food, and that came out pretty damn good, if I say so myself! Even cold the next morning! lol

I tried to make a tomato spaghetti dish he made too, but that was a dismal failure. I needed his cook book.

While on holiday last week, I found what I thought was a cook book, but it was a magazine that was full, mostly, of readers recipes. Damn, wasted money on a book with ingredients I'll never use :s

Then, while posting some postcards, I spotted a book set of Jamie Oliver cook books! Jamie At Home and...... THE MINISTRY OF FOOD!!!

So last night was the aforementioned disastrous tomato spaghetti, only this time it wasn't a disaster it was a screaming success!!!

And tonight? Well, I don't know... we'll have to see what inspires ;)

Classic Tomato Spaghetti

Based on the recipe by Jamie Oliver (page 43 "Ministry of Food") - I have changed the dish slightly, I hope he doesn't mind! I don't have fresh herbs and frankly cant really afford to use them. So instead, I used minced garlic and dried herbs. We also couldn't find a fresh red chilli so we have a jar of chilli paste. Now, I haven't tasted Jamie's original dish, but this tastes pretty bloody good, so I figure if it gets us cooking it cant be all bad!

The pasta sauce itself takes only minutes to prepare and cook. This dish basically takes the same length of time it takes you to cook the spaghetti! (Follow the package directions - yes, spaghetti has directions! lol I never knew it! - it will be around 9 minutes). While the spaghetti is doing it's thing, you will be preparing and cooking the sauce. It's a very quick, simple, healthy and cheap meal and it's great to practice on! I'm learning very quickly how to multi-task in the kitchen.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2 cloves of garlic (we used minced garlic and measured by eye the amount)
1 fresh red chilli (we used chilli paste)
a bunch of fresh basil (dried basil)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
400g dried spaghetti
Olive oil
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
100g Parmesan cheese

To prepare your pasta

Peel and slice the garlic (crack open the jar lol)

Halve & deseed the chilli, slice it finely (yup, crack open this jar too! lol)

Pick the basil leaves off the stalks and put them aside, then chop the stalks (locate dried basil from the spice rack and put beside the jars of garlic and chilli)

To cook your pasta

Bring a large saucepan of warm, salted water to the boil

Get the spaghetti, holding it upright in a vertical position with both hands, give a slight twist (like you're ringing a dish cloth). While holding this position, carefully put in the water - without burning yourself like I did together, clever clogs that I am lol. When you let go, it should all fall out to the pan in a perfect circle and, as it cooks, the spaghetti will follow this patter into the water and wont stick together. This is a hint that Jamie had on one of his DVDs, but I cant remember which one. When I find out, I'll let you know in case I haven't explained it very well.

Cook the spaghetti to the instructions on the packet - I never thought to look at the packet for instructions before and, needless to say, many a phone call was made to my poor mum to ask how long to cook spaghetti for! lol

While all this is happening, put a large saucepan on a medium heat with a little bit of olive oil.

Add the garlic (I used a teaspoon to estimate two cloves), chilli and basil and stir.

When the garlic starts to brown, add the tinned tomatoes and the rest of the basil.

Turn up the heat to high and stir for a minute.

Season with salt and pepper.

When the spaghetti is ready, drain in a colander and add to the sauce. Stir well until the spaghetti is nicely coated in the sauce.

Taste and add more salt and pepper if you think it needs it.

To serve your pasta

You can either divide the pasta between bowls or put it on a nice serving dish for people to help themselves.

Tear some basil leaves over the top and grate some Parmesan.

Consider adding

- a handful of spinach when you add the pasta. When the spinach has wilted, remove from heat and serve with goats cheese.

- cooked prawns and chopped rocket with the juice of 1/2 a lemon.

- a tin of tuna, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, some black olives and the juice of 1/2 a lemon.

- a handful of fresh or frozen peas and broad beans.

I added frozen peas last night. Incredibly easy, added a bit of colour and an extra veggie ;) And it tasted lovely!