Home on the Range..

Excuse me for laughing at my little pun there.... I am still having a little giggle. 

Anybody else feel like having a little...... giggle? (Pleeeeeease! Still waiting for Python fans to identify themselves! I KNOW I am not alone!)

I got this recipe out of a magazine and have been making it for at least four years. My kids woofed it down last night, which was especially fantastic as I wasn't in the mood for a battle of the dinner table night. Not that I ever am! So will have to pull this one out again over winter! I honestly don't measure the herbs and spices, actually, unless I am baking I never measure - shhhhh! So each time it is a little different. So I encourage you to guestimate what your tribe will prefer too. And the amount of pasta you add will also determine how far it will stretch. I used 150g dry pasta and it has given us seven portions.... Yay!

Warning - it is FAR from gourmet! It is a pure comfort food! You could add corn, or grated zucchini to up the veggies, but the attractions of this recipe are price and people pleasing!

Cowboy Casserole

500g lean beef  or chicken mince

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cans baked beans
1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon beef stock powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
 pinch oregano
1 heaped tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup macaroni, cooked and drained
1 cup grated cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Heat a medium-sized saucepan, add the meat and stir until browned. Add the onion and keep stirring until it softens.

Mix in the baked beans, spices, sauce and tomato paste and then sprinkle in the stock powder. Mix really well then add the cooked macaroni.

Pour the whole lot into an ovenproof casserole-type dish and cover with the grated cheese. Heat in the oven till the cheese is melted and turning brown.

Serve with salad or add some extra veg as you go. Also super delish with a little sour cream....

Chorizo and Pumpkin Pasta

This one can be a bit time consuming, but the flavours are satisfying, and it is a hearty meal for a good price - it also feeds a small battalion...

Chorizo and Pumpkin Pasta

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 courgettes/zucchini, chopped

1 1/2 cups diced pumpkin

2 tbspn olive oil (best guess!)

2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes

1 1/2 chorizo or other spicy sausage, sliced

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 heaped tbspn pesto

1 tbspn tomato paste

1 tsp sugar

salt and pepper

dried pasta for 4-6 people

Preheat oven to 220C and roast pumpkin in oil until golden and tender, approx 30 mins.

Put the water for the pasta on to boil.

While the pumpkin is roasting, heat some more oil in a large pan and sauté the onion, garlic, celery and courgette. When they are soft, add the mushrooms and chorizo, and cook until the mushroom is soft. Add the tomatoes, pesto, paste, salt and pepper and sugar and simmer 10 - 15 mins, or until everything else is ready.

While the sauce is simmering, cook the pasta.

When all is cooked, drain pasta and stir in with the sauce and pumpkin. Garnish with parmesan and parsley, if desired and enjoy with salad or garlic bread if you can be bothered!

Note: Vegetable amounts are guides only! I usually use double, and make a ridiculous amount of sauce! You can also add dried or fresh basil and oregano, and play around with the seasoning to taste. I usually chop the chorizo quite small, as at the end I often like to use a stick blender (as I have done in the photo) to make the sauce more or a thick sauce, so the kids don't notice (and pick out!) all the veg. But I do prefer chunks of veg myself! 

Saudade

Saudade is a beautiful word in Portuguese, it means a longing, missing something or someone, a heart sickness. I do miss Brazil, and I find myself thinking about it very often. Though my Portuguese is nothing like it was, I still recall so many memories of friends and places so fondly. And the food too! I could go on, but this isn't a page to bore you all with memories that would mean very little to most people. But I will share one of the yummiest things I could bring back with me :)  I have made these as a surprise to share with a group of friends tonight.... it has been difficult not to dip into them!

Brigadeiro is almost a Brazilian version of a truffle, but more like a caramel. EVERYONE makes it, and it is divine. The good news is, unlike much of the food I loved, the ingredients are easily available in the rest of the world. Hooray for me!

Brigadeiro


1/2 cup chocolate Nesquick Powder

15g butter

1 tin (400g) sweetened condensed milk

chocolate hail, coconut, cocoa powder, chopped nuts, or icing sugar

Prepare a greased plate or dish.

In a small to medium saucepan, melt the butter and add the chocolate powder and condensed milk.

On a low heat, stir continuously for approximately 15 minutes. You can use a whisk at first to make sure the powder does not go lumpy, as it will burn. The idea is not to let the caramel forming on the bottom burn, so keep stirring! Take a book with you if you need to! And don't answer the phone. This is much more important ;)  A good spatula (obviously heat proof!) is ideal for this as it gets into the corners. Stir until it is a thick custard consistency, and you can see a good deal of the bottom of the pan with each stir.

Remove the pan from the stove and scrape it onto prepared greased dish and let it cool. Once cooled, grease your hands, and using a teaspoon roll into small balls, then roll in your preferred covering. Chocolate hail is the prevalent favourite! In the pictures, I have used chocolate hail, coconut and ground almonds.

Peanut Chicken and Rice

This is a recipe Sophie Grey (the Destitute Gourmet) shared at a fundraiser I went to, and have since seen in Healthy Food Guide Magazine. A regular favourite at our place.

Once again - it ticks all of my top boxes: inexpensive, quick to make, delicious and all of the family will eat it without complaint - usually going back for seconds.... and we usually have left overs for the MOTH to take to work. Win-win-win, and so on....!  I couldn't get a 'pretty' picture of tonight's dinner, so I have 'borrowed' Sophie's. (Is that illegal now? I can't keep up!). I don't put extra peanuts on ours :)

• Peanut Chicken and Rice
• 
  
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 boneless and skinless chickenbreasts, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups basmati or jasmine rice
• 1 large pinch thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Cook the chicken slices until sealed (slightly brown) then set aside. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook till soft. Return the chicken to the pan and mix in the tomatoes, peanut butter, curry powder and thyme and mix well to disperse the peanutbutter through the mixture.

Add the chicken stock and bring to the boil. When the mixture is boiling stir in the salt and rice. Return the mixture to the boil then cover and reduce the heat. Cook for 20 minutes on low, then check to see if all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked. (I often turn it off early and let it sit -watch out, it likes to stick to the bottom!)  Serve with a salad or green vegetables, and of course, natural yoghurt!

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

We all need them. Lazy Sunday afternoons. In order to enjoy mine I would like someone to come and sort my washing. Seeing as that probably isn't going to happen (or very fair, for that matter), I plan to paint and eat.

The house smells delicious, and now I won't be nagged all afternoon, 'Mummy, I'm hungry,', 'Mummy, what is there to eat?' etc.... Kids are hollow, no? I just whipped up the three easiest items on my baking list. Well, they are at the top of the pile- am I the only one that goes through baking 'stages', where you seem to use the same recipe for quite a while, get sick of it then resurrect it months later? I just reshuffled mine, and these are often the emergency recipes perfect for those  'I need to bring something for a shared morning tea tomorrow, Mum,' occasions that happen late on school nights. I am sure your kids would never do that to YOU. But seriously, I just made all three, and it took me under an hour. What's not to like? Full tins, yummy smelling house, minimal dishes. O for Awesome.

Corn Bread


1 Cup (130g) cornmeal
1 Cup (140g) flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 Cup (250ml) milk
1 Cup (140g) corn kernels
chopped green chilli - optional

Preheat oven to 200C and grease and line a 20 x 20cm baking tin.

Mix cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine milk and egg. Pour into the cornmeal bowl and stir to make a thick, rough batter. Don't over mix. Fold in corn and chilli, then spoon into prepared tin.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until firm to the touch.

This is lovely served cooled spread with butter. It is a great accompaniment to many dishes, especially at a barbecue. Often I don't add the corn kernels, and I confess I usually can't be bothered with chilli either. I am sure it would be nice with chopped chives. Or grilled with cheese and relish....

Cheese Muffins

Why do I only have pink cupcake papers? 

1 Cup flour
3 tsp baking powder
2 Cups grated cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/2 Cup milk

Preheat oven to 200C and prepare a 12 cup muffin tray (greased or with cupcake papers, whatever floats your boat. The paper can be difficult to peel off, but I also hate cleaning cheese baked onto oven trays!).

Sift flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Whisk egg until it is frothy, and tip into the flour with the milk and cheese. Mix well. It is a very stodgy batter! Spoon into the prepared tray and bake for 10 mins or until golden.

For school lunches etc I often double the mix and make mini muffins for a small country. It works well :)

Chocolate Muffins

2 Cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp cocoa
1/4 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup chocolate chips
2 tbsp jam
1 egg, beaten
50g melted butter
1/2 Cup milk, approx.

Preheat oven to 200C and prepare 12 cup muffin tray.

Sift flour, baking powder and cocoa into a large bowl. Stir in sugar and chocolate chips. In a smaller bowl, combine melted butter, egg, jam and milk. Pour into flour and mix until just moistened. You may need a little more milk. Spoon into prepared tins and bake for 15 minutes.

See ya - off to make a cup of coffee and put my feet up while I look at my washing pile and plan my next composition!

My Wife. She's the Lemon.

If you are not familiar with the movie, The Dish the 'lemon' reference will just not be funny. I can't help referencing movies; yes, I am one of those people who randomly giggle when someone utters something not remotely funny, purely because I have made a random connection to a line - usually Black Adder or something else generally inappropriate for the company I am in... I blame the MOTH.

School's back, so baking begins again. Hang on, didn't we just do heaps of baking to survive the holidays?? But I am sick of 'lunch box' and 'tummy filling' baking. I want something adult! These Lemon Squares are DIVINE. They are mmmmm. There is no adjective that quite captures them. But you probably have a broader vocabulary than me, so I invite you to make them, and let me know :)

Lemon Squares

125g unsalted butter
75g (1/3 C) caster sugar
155g (1 1/4 C) plain flour
icing sugar, to dust

Topping
4 eggs, lightly beaten
250g (1 C) caster sugar
60ml (1/4 C) lemon juice
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
30g (1/4 C) plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder


Preheat oven to 180C and lightly grease and line a 20x30cm baking tin, leaving the paper hanging over two opposite sides.

Cream the butter and sugar with an electric beater until pale and fluffy. Fold in the flour with a metal spoon. Press into the tin and bake for 20 mins, or until golden and firm. Leave to cool.

Beat the eggs and sugar with an electric beater for 2 mins, or until light and fluffy. Stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Sift together the flour and baking powder and gradually whisk into the egg mixture. Pour onto the base. Bake for 25 mins, or until just firm. Cool in the tin and dust with icing sugar.

Makes as many squares are you decide to cut them into.....!

Not Your Grandma's Bread and Butter Pudding

We always seem to have bread that goes stale before we get around to eating it. Truthfully, often I misjudge and over buy - you never can tell who is going to be having a growth spurt and eating more from week to week in our house. Or if I am not feeling up to cooking, it is always spaghetti on toast for tea, or soup and toast, or french toast, or toasted sandwiches.... you get the picture; then we go through it like, well, a family of growing kids.... My breadmaker went to the appliance store in the sky some time back, and I have never had the room (or spare cash, for that matter) to replace it, so you organised ladies out there (and I can only imagine what that is like) may not have this problem. And home made bread is usually far too delicious not to woof down on the day it is made, hence leftovers are rarely a problem; but the store bought stuff can be seriously improved with a few eggs and some milk - no?

I don't actually follow a recipe for this. I hope you can cope with that! I don't use a recipe for a few things, which means I always have to make them. I will say that when I was sick once, the MOTH decided to make french toast - a firm favourite that we are guaranteed the kids will eat - you know those nights when you have to pick your battles? But because I don't follow a recipe, per se.... he took it upon himself to determine the correct egg-to-milk ratio per slice(s) and exactly how long each side requires for maximum crispness etc. I am very impressed. Now he make all the french toast in the house, because he does, in fact, make it best! But being from the Blessed South Land (Australia, not to be confused with Godzone, NZ ,but I will argue Australia is pretty freakin' awesome - better leave this point alone now - that's what you get when you marry cross-culturally!) he puts - let me pause for effect - tomato sauce on it.... And, strange as it may seem, I figure it has got to be better for the kids than lashings of cinnamon sugar or mayple syrup, so I let them go for it. Look at me funny, but we all have our quirks. Don't we? (Although I won't eat it with tomato sauce - don't tell the kids!)

And I called it 'Not Your Grandma's Bread and Butter Pudding', because I don't think my grandma would have been too impressed; too rustic (?), not enough sultanas or nutmeg.... *shiver*!

All that to say, I'll tell you my best guesstimates, and release you into the kitchen....

Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding 

Bread - the older the better
Nutella
Eggs
Milk
Brown sugar
Chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 180C. Lightly grease a baking dish - depending on how many portions you want. I always have to use the biggest in the house - which is why I don't bother with a bain marie!

Butter the bread on both sides (I use an olive based spread - slightly healthier choice?) and spread lightly with nutella - like you are making a nutella club sandwich - about a foot high! I made this for brunch today, and used one and a half loaves to feed 5 people. (Did I mention the kids love it?) It's up to you to figure out how much bread you may want to use. Likewise, I used eight eggs today (buying in bulk!) because truth be told I wasn't really paying attention.... I made it up to 4 cups with milk, which was more than I needed too.... brain still in bed... I am assuming here that you have made french toast or bread and butter pudding before, or at least an omelette, and have some idea of how baking eggs and milk works.... you might want to have a google for B&B Pudding if you don't - sorry!

Slice the sandwiches into 4 triangles - ie: twice diagonally, and place in the dish. Beat together the eggs and milk and pour over the arranged bread. Sprinkle with brown sugar and chocolate chips. Bake for 20 minutes and check the egg is setting. You may have to cover with tin foil if it is browning too quickly- my oven is very uneven and I have to keep checking. It helps also if you have the oven on 'bake', not 'grill'... My pie last week was a little unusual. But that is another post.

It is done when it is browned to your liking, the bread seems 'puffier' and no liquid runs if you tilt the dish to it's side.

Serve hot on it's own, with yoghurt, or if you are feeling up to it, vanilla ice cream.