Chilli

This went down the new tum brilliantly! The final show is my serving. I ate roughly 3/4 of that. I'd guess it was about half a cup plus chips, so I ate about 1/4c and a few chips. Delish!

Fry some onion in olive oil. Add mince and brown it. Then add 1/2c beef stock or water, tin tomatoes, 2 tbs tomato paste, oregano (or mixed herbs), and 2tsp of chilli - or to taste. simmer 15min.

Then add kidney beans and simmer another 5 min.

Serve with cooked rice, avocado, red onion slices and corn chips. (I skipped the onion and avocado this time!)

Simple slow cooker beef stew

Really simple and cheap dish to feed your crew. Dice up potatoes, carrots, and beef. Add seasoning (I went simple with a McCormick brand seasoning pack). I sometimes add onions, but I wanted to keep it simple this time. I am sure there are other wonderful veggies you could add to this.

Here's the tricky part. Typically, 4 hours is enough to make it work. However, I stuffed the crockpot, and it needed over 6 hours, even at high temp, to make it work. It was late, but everyone seemed to enjoy it because it disappeared.

Wonton Soup

This is so freaking easy and SO good. You can get Wonton wrappers at any supermarket, grocery store or asian foodstore.

Place 4 cups salt-reduced chicken stock, a 3cm piece fresh peeled, ginger, 1 tablespoon soy sauce and  2 cups cold water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cover. Bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, combine 150g chicken mince, 2tsp cornflour, 1/2 small grated carrot, 1/2 small grated zucchini, 2 grated button mushrooms, 2 tsp fresh chopped (I use the pre chopped long life spice ones) chives, 1 clove crushed garlic (I use store bought minced stuff if I am lazy), and 1/2 tablespoon more of soy sauce in a bowl.

Place 1 wonton wrapper on a chopping board. Place 1 heaped teaspoon mince mixture in centre. Brush edges with water. Fold up sides to form a pouch. Pinch to enclose. Place on a plate. Repeat with remaining mixture and wrappers. I used 12 wrappers.

Add wontons to simmering stock mixture. Cook, uncovered, for 5 to 7 minutes or until wontons are cooked through and float to the surface. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to bowls. Remove and discard ginger. Ladle stock mixture over wontons. Sprinkle with chives. Serve.

You can freeze the wontons and make the broth later. Just cook them a bit longer to make up for the freezing. SO yum!

Juicer!

Another cheats copied post ;)

My sister is the best. She knows I am stuck on liquids and purees for a bit, so she sent me a fantastic gift. A juicer!!!!! 


So today I decided to give it a run. So much fun. Here I am all set to juice. I have chopped up apples with skin removed (probably not necessary but my tum is still sensitive), peeled chopped carrot, celery pieces and 2 peeled and quartered oranges.

Put it all in and prepare to hit go.

Voila, 3 seconds later... 

Oops, I let it sit a sec whilst I did the dishes and clean up.

No matter, a brisk stir and we are back to this glorious orange color!

Let me assure you it tasted AMAZING. I am stoked. Thank you sister, dear xxx

Arancini

This was published on my other blog so I am cheating really with a repost!

I am so obsessed by food whilst I can't eat much of it, and my friend, Katie, posted about arancini this week. Hers are healthier than mine, and far better for you, but I thought I would share my tried and true recipe anyway!

I find that to make arancini, it is easier to mould the balls from a baked risotto than a stove top one, and you have to let it cool first. I make risotto just to make arancini, really. It's time consuming but the noms are worth it. My favorite recipe for this is a baked mushroom one - vegetarian ftw. 

Preheat your oven to 180c. Put 3c of vegetable stock and 1.5c of cold water in a saucepan. Bring it to the boil, then simmer covered until you need it later on. 

Melt 25g butter in another saucepan, and cook about 400g mushys. Mixed mushrooms are good, but almost always just use button ones, because they're the easiest to source! Cook them a few minutes until they brown, then move them to a bowl and set aside. Melt another 25g butter and add a finely chopped brown onion, and 2 crushed garlic cloves until soft. Add in 2c of arborio rice and stir until coated with the oil/garlic/onion mix for a minute or so, then put the mushrooms back in. Next add 1/2c dry white wine and boil and stir until it is all but evaporated. 

At this point I get out my baking dish and tip the mix into it, then pour the pre-prepared stock over the top, evening it all out gently with a spoon. Cover it up with foil, and put it carefully in the oven. Bake it for 25min, stir it every so often. Remove the foil and bake it another 5 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. 

Remove it from the oven and stir in 1/3c fresh chopped chives and 1/3c parmesan (or cheddar) cheese. Try to resist eating it all. I always set aside a small bowl for my lunch, and use the rest for dinner arancini! Now leave it to cool.

About an hour or so later, you're set to go. Prepare 3 bowls on your work surface. In one, put some plain flour, the next, beaten egg, and the final, breadcrumbs. Cut up some small cubes of mozzarella cheese, and have them handy too. Some people put bolognese sauce in the centre with the cheese, that's pretty traditional, but I wanted mine vegetarian (plus it was easier than working out how the hell to get bolognese sauce in the middle without a massive mess!) 

Anyway, scoop about a small handful of your risotto up and start moulding it into a half ball, stick a square of mozzarella on it then grabe some more to cover it up and make it into a ball. Roll it in the flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs and set it on a plate. Repeat until your risotto is gone!

Next, heat a pan of shallow oil to super hot. Place arancini in the hot oil and turn as it browns, then put it on a baking tray. Repeat until all are browned then bake in the oven at a low temperature for 15-20m until heated through. 

ENJOY!