Tonight's Nachos (GF, TMX)

quickly before i duck off to bed! (have been sick with pneumonia and bronchitis so this is a late night for me lately!)

the recipe below is enough for 2 batches of nachos (ie: 2 packs of corn chips). halve it if desired, or freeze half.

1 large onion, peeled and quartered
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
40g olive oil
2 tspns ground cumin
1 tspn ground coriander
1/2 tspn dried oregano
1/2 tspn paprika (i used smoked but any kind is good)
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
250g lean beef mince
splosh of red wine (maybe 30g)
1 jar passata (mine was 690g)
2 tspns stock concentrate, or 1-2 stock cubes
1 tin beans, drained & rinsed (i used cannelini)
1 small green capsicum, diced finely

corn chips & grated cheese as desired
serve with sour cream and avocado / guacamole as desired

chop onion and garlic speed 4 for 5 secs. add oil and saute for 3 mins varoma speed soft

add spices and saute another 2 minutes varoma speed soft

add sweet potato and chop speed 4-5 until the size chunks you want (i over did mine a little). place mince in and cook for 5 minutes 100'c reverse speed 3. (you might need to stir during cooking time)

add the rest of the ingredients (except maybe the beans, mine cooked down, but kidney beans probably would have been fine) and cook for around 15-20 mins 100'c reverse speed 1. again you might need to stir once or twice (or maybe i just had too much in there lol)

when it's done grease 2 large baking dishes (lasagne dishes). spread corn chips over the dish then top with nacho mix. top with cheese if desired. bake at 180'c for around 15-20 mins until cheese is golden brown.

serve with sour cream & avocado / guacamole, a side salad would be great too.

you can also add olives into the mix, extra beans and capsicum instead  of the mince. or try adding bacon and chicken instead.

Tex Mex Cowboy Pie (GF)

based on another recipe from the friendly freezer group

500g potatos, peeled and cut into 4
1 small tub sour cream (low fat)
milk if needed
1 pound (500g) beef mince
1 jar mild salsa (GF if needed)
1 can corn kernels, drained
1 can mexibeans (GF if needed)
1/2 grated low fat cheese of your choice

heat oven to 200'
cook potatoes until soft then mash. add sour cream and mix well. add a little milk if needed to get a smooth but not runny mash.
fry mince until cooked. place in a large oven dish.
add salsa, corn and beans and mix well. top with potato, then sprinkle cheese over.
bake for 15 or so minutes until cheese is done to your liking and the dish bubbling around the edges

Last night's Taco Dinner...

and a long overdue reply for Dani!

last night mum and dad came over for dinner so i went with Tacos to make sure everyone was kept happy :)

anyway, i had needed to make a new batch of taco spice for a while and of course needed to make a GF batch (though it turned out that the aldi taco kits are totally GF from what i can tell!). so then i saw dani's comment which i hadn't replied to and wanted to let dani know that yes, i really enjoyed it when i made the first batch! this time i'm feeling like it's lacking something and i'm not sure what it is... (i did change the recipe slightly)

Gluten-Free Taco Spice Mix
(i made up 5 times this mix which is a LOT lol)

1 tab dried garlic
1/2 tab dried onion
1 tspn oregano
1/4 tab paprika
3 tabs cumin seeds
1.5 tabs beef stock powder
1/4 tab black peppercorns
1 heaped tab GF maize cornflour
1 tab ground coriander

grind in thermomix, i think i did speed 10 for about 5 seconds maybe?

Our GF taco meal
taco shells are generally GF (check labels!) the old el paso and aldi ones we have are at least.
tortillas - rory has the diegos GF corn tortillas (from Coles bread section) and the rest of us have the regular wheat ones (heated and served separately of course)

meat - we made our own mince in the thermomix with some of the whole rump from the freezer. fried up with onions, kidney beans and taco spice. it seemed to be lacking something so i added a can of GF baked beans (heinz) and a large spoonful of tomato paste, plus some water.

served with diced tomato, cucumber (rory has discovered she likes it!), shredded lettuce and grated cheese

layered mexican dip

i've made this a few times and really you don't need a recipe, you just use whatever ingredients you have / you feel like at the time :)

eg:
sour cream
guacamole / avocado
diced tomato
salsa
refried beans or kidney beans
chopped olives (black is best but green or a mix would be fine)
taco spices
chopped red onion or green onions
grated tasty cheese
or anything else you like in mexican food :D

just layer it up - try not to make the layers too thick as then you can't get enough flavours on your corn chip lol - and serve with corn chips and any other dippers you want (carrot sticks and capsicum sticks would probably be nice too)


...or see here

Bit of a catch up...

Last night i made (sort of lol) sesame pork cups . I couldn't follow the recipe exactly because i didn't have any hoi sin sauce - so i discovered at the last minute (i used char sui sauce instead) and i couldn't get a butter lettuce so got a coral, which made it impossible to eat these as cups or rolls!!

I also added to the pork mix 2 finely grated carrots and a finely sliced green capsicum - brilliant idea as the kids had no idea it was there. (when i 'hide' vegies like this i'm more than happy to tell them theyr're there, so they know they aren't so bad after all!! but i admit i do try to put extra vegies into everything as much as possible, i did this prekids anyway, to try to cut down the calorie intake and up my own vegie intake :))

they were very popular with the whole family though! next time i'll probably chop the pork up into a coarse mince so it's more like a sang choy bow, and seeing as the 'sesame' taste was negligent, will add a little sesame oil (which i'm also out of atm).

on the right in the picture is an omelette which i made by quickly stirfrying some garlic (yay, i finally got fresh garlic that wasn't mouldy! even if it was russian / elephant garlic), ginger and 2 bunches of pak choy. then pour off lots of beaten eggs mixed with a little soy sauce, sherry and cold water. usually i would make a sauce to go over it but i was too lazy plus i couldn't cope with the idea of having it with no sesame oil in it lol

i also made the thermomix marble cake for the rest of the family to have for dessert after.

yesterday afternoon i also made a batch of the salsa to have baked over chicken (this is the world's easiest recipe and i can never get over how good it tastes! you just pour a jar of salsa over some chicken breasts and top with grated cheese then bake!) i did the salsa in the thermomix and was hoping to have a new recipe conversion to post but i think it's one i need to work on - i cooked it too low and it took forever. once i turned the heat up it was much better :) anyway, i'm impressed, the salsa looks just like the bought stuff and hopefully when i cook it in the next few days it will taste just as good if not better! (the tomatoes weren't the greatest so i'm not really sure...)

i realised this morning that i forgot to post ages ago (after i had the food poisoning) that i had tried the crumpets again and had more success with them! i'm sure i changed the recipe just a little and now of course i can't quite remember how *rolling eyes*

so today i want to try to get the sausage rolls and pizza scrolls done and in the freezer ready for the party. i always get so stressed trying to be the mega hostess so i'm hoping to get as much done ahead of time as possible :) i'm going to do the pizza scrolls with a scone dough rather than puff pastry.

tonight's dinner will be butter chicken, which i'll cook in the slow cooker. will post the recipe later...

Links - Meat Dishes

Beef Chimichangas

broccoli beef

chicken bean & tomato soup

chicken enchilada throwdown

chicken poppers

Costa Vida Chicken (good for entertaining)

garlic chicken with white wine

Greek Chicken (thanks susana ;) and chris lol)

kerala style chicken curry

Old Fashioned Fried Chicken - want to try this for chicken nuggets for the kids

Spicy Shredded Pork - for enchiladas etc

taco soup

NEW Wednesday Night Chicken Delicious

Day 1 - No-Meat Week

dinner tonight was pretty damn good. everyone enjoyed it :D (the kids didn't know there was no meat) thanks to bec for the inspiration! I take no responsibility for the lack of mexican authenticity ;)

i'll definitely do this again next time i have the chance to roast up a heap of vegies while the oven's already on...

Roast Vegetable Enchiladas and Mexican Rice

Roast vegies - i used pumpkin, capsicum, zucchini and a small parsnip. i meant to do sweet potato and forgot. i should have done onion too!
olive oil
1/2 onion, finely diced (if you didn't roast one)
pinto beans, soaked& drained, or a can of refried beans
spices - ground cumin, coriander and garlic (optional any kind of chilli spice)
10 tortillas
small amount grated cheese

gently fry onion and spices with a little olive oil
if you're using pinto beans put them in with enough water to cover all. put the lid on and cook for 5-10 minutes until the beans are soft enough to mash.
dice all your vegies (or chop in the tmx like i did)
mix your mashed / refried beans with the vegies and put 1/10th of the mix into each tortilla. roll up and place in a greased oven dish.
sprinkle with cheese
bake in moderate oven for about 15 minutes

1/2 onion, finely diced
olive oil
cumin seeds
ground coriander
garlic
around 3/4 cup of rice (? just guessing!)
1 tin of diced tomatoes or a jar of salsa or taco sauce etc etc
stock or a little salt & water
finely diced green capsicum
1 tin corn kernels, and the 'juice'
fresh herbs - coriander and / or garlic chives
optional - also great with sliced black olives, jalapenos

gently fry onion and spices with a little olive oil
add all other ingredients - and enough water to reach 1cm over the top of all the other ingredients.
bring to the boil
cover and turn down to low, cook until rice is done. (you can take the lid off and stir once or twice)
mix herbs through

i did use the thermomix a lot for this and you could probably do most of both recipes in it, but i wasn't in teh mood to play (plus i was making another slice in it lol)

PS: do you think i take too many food pictures? tonight ryan insisted i had to take one of them all eating, when he saw me taking one of my plate lol

Vegetarian Nachos (weight watchers)

Vegetarian Nachos

Serves 4

Not quite as yummy as ‘real’ nachos, but heaps quicker and easier to make.
Use any flavour of rice crackers.

1 medium onion, chopped
2 tspn garlic, chopped
¼ tspn minced chilli
400g can diced tomatoes
450g can refried beans
100g shredded cheese
2 x 100g gram packets rice crackers – pizza or tomato salsa flavour
Sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 200’c.

2. Coat a pan with cooking spray, heat and add the onion, garlic and chilli. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until the onion is softened. Stir in the tomatoes and beans. Heat through.

3. Arrange rice crackers over 4 flat over proof plates (or use one large oven dish). Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Top with the bean mixture. Place in oven and bake for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top with sour cream and serve.

Links - Breads, Fruit Loaves & Muffins

aloo paratha

Bran Muffins

NEW Ciabatta

tenina's crackers

Cranberry Almond Multigrain Scones (breakfast)

dosa - masala paper

Garlic Knots

Naan Bread (thermomix)

Onion Flatbread with Mustard and Fennel

NEW Perfect pita pockets

Quick Fruit Loaf

steamed varoma bread (thermomix)

tortillas

vegan gingerbread muffins

Whole Wheat, Honey, Almond, Linseed and Cardamom Bread

za'atar bread (foccacia with middle eastern spices)

zucchini cake

Creamy Chicken, Bacon & Veg Enchiladas (TMX)

this dish went through about 10 different incarnations in my mind before i started making it - it was going to be mini shepherds pies for a while there!!

anyway, i think it could have been improved but it was a hit with everyone so i'm noting it down for the future :)

you could do this thermomix or non-tmx.

2 medium orange sweet potatoes / kumara, steamed or microwaved until just cooked then peeled and roughly chopped

a few rashers bacon, roughly chopped
(1 onion, quartered. i didn't have any)
garlic to suit your taste - i used about 4 cloves

chop in tmx for a few seconds on 6, scrape down sides and do a few more seconds if needed
cook for 2 minutes on 100' speed 2

1 large head brocolli, roughly chopped (or 1 pkt spinach, you'd add this at the end though)

chop for a few seconds on speed 6
cook for 2 minutes on 100' speed 3-4

remove bacon / broccoli mix from tmx

make white sauce as per tmx book (less milk - 400ml milk - i used skim - 50g flour, 30g butter, 1/2 tspn salt but instead of nutmeg add a little ground cumin and coriander) also add in sweet potato before cooking.

cooked chicken, most of a BBQ chook or 2 breasts or whatever you have, diced
1 tin kidney beans, drained
(jalepeno peppers, to taste, chopped finely)

mix the broccoli / bacon mix, chicken and beans with the sweet potato sauce (i did this in the tmx but i don't really recommend it, there was too much and it ended up nearly pureed as a result)

put 3-4 spoonfuls into a tortilla of your choice, roll up and place in greased oven dish (i used a lasagne dish)
when finished pour some salsa or passata (with spices would be good, but i couldn't be bothered) over the top then top with grated tasty cheese

bake until cheese is slightly browned.

sorry for the shocking recipe writing, i am just so lazy atm...

Tacos and Tortillas

i didn't get the tamale pie ready this morning, plus G had used all the corn the other night. so anyway, i decided to stop by choku bai jo after work while the kids were at M&D's and make tacos tonight. however i knew we had no taco shells lol

a few weeks ago dani had mentioned getting a tortilla maker / oven / some kitchen appliance of which i was deathly jealous LOL

so idecided to make my own tortillas. not a bad idea for a night i don't get home til 6pm right? LMAO!!!

anyway, rang G and he kind of got it started (he had only started heating the meat which i had cooked yesterday anyway lol) . as soon as i got home i went to the link i had found to make tortillas and got started.

i'm not sure if thermomix over mixed them (never my fault of course ;p) or i over rolled them or what but they certainly weren't soft enough to roll. however we discovered that they WERE soft enough to fold! and they weren't too bad really. definitely worth doing again, though maybe not on a work night LOL as you can see from the photos the kids were pretty keen!

oh and i cooked in them our sandwich press which cooked them twice as quick! (though maybe the weight of the top plate stopped them puffing and thus made them tougher?

anyone got another recipe to recommend?

oh and the taco spice review - very nice... a bit spicy for ryan *rolling my eyes* i couldn't even feel any heat in it but he couldn't eat it! it was maybe a touch salty. but otherwise great, definitely one to repeat.

Taco Spice Mix

just made a batch of taco spice mix. haven't tried it yet (maybe tomorrow night) but want to record quantities so i can repeat it if it's good :)

based on recipes from here http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewtopic.zsp?t=179384

i think this quantity will only make 2 meals of tacos

1 tab dried garlic
1/2 tab dried onion
1 tspn oregano (had none so used italian)
1/2 tab paprika
3 tabs cumin seeds
1.5 tabs beef stock powder
1/2 tab black peppercorns
1 heaped tab cornflour
1 tab ground coriander

mix in thermomix

Gai's Vegetarian chilli

Vege Tex Mex Chilli (mild to med)

1x Lg onion
2x cloves garlic
2x capsicums}remove seeds
2x jalepenos }& ribs

sate above in oil, add a little salt

add 1/2 bottle beer or 1 cup liquid vege stock

1xlg or 2x sm cans crushed tomatoes
1x can kidney beans
1x can black beans (or 3 bean mix)
1x can vege refried beans - add gradually whilst stirring

add (note I use handful in lieu of tab)
1 tab cayenne pepper sauce
1-1 1/2 tabs cummin powder
2 tabs chilli powder

stir and add salt & pepper

ready to serve in 1/2 hour or cook longer

serve with grated cheese / guacamole / corn chips / bread / salsa / shallots
or whatever takes your fancy

Deb's Bodacious chili

from an american friend who was living here for a while

Here's mine, except I usually used cooked chicken and cook it all day in a crock pot. I also tried to translate it from American to Aussie.

BODACIOUS CHILI.

1 kilo boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 large onions, chopped
1 large green capsicum, coarsely chopped
1 large sweet red capiscum, coarsely chopped
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons cocoa
2 tablespoons chili powder (mexican chili powder)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup Burgundy or other dry red wine
2 410 gram cans whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 410 gram can tomato puree
1 420 gram can kidney beans, drained
1 420 gram can chick-peas (garbanzo beans), drained
Spicy Sour Cream Topping
Shredded Cheddar cheese

• Cook first 7 ingredients in olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until meatbrowns. Drain and return meat mixture to Dutch oven.

• Stir in cocoa and next 13 ingredients.Bring mixture to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally. Serve with Spicy Sour Cream Topping and shredded cheese

SPICY SOUR CREAM TOPPING

1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup salsa
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon chili powder (mexican chili powder)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon curry powder (sweet curry powder)
Dash of ground red pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Combine all ingredients; cover and chill

Chilli Con Carne (and Senza Carne lol) - Slow Cooker

this is one of my favourite quick and easy to prepare slow cooker meals. for birthday parties (all our kids were born in months that are cooler for morning parties) i make this overnight and then serve it thicker as a dip with corn chips and sour cream. for dinner i serve it runnier with steamed rice and cheese on top.

it's very versatile as you can use all tinned products (as i do on work days) or fresh, if you have the time - and the products available!


500g lean beef mince (optional, if not used simply add 2-3 extra tins of beans etc)
1-2 onions, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
cumin, coriander, oregano, chilli / paprika / cayenne pepper / jalapeno peppers - approx 2 tabs of the first two, 1 tabs of oregano, and to taste for the last (i'm not even going to guess how much as i always end up with too much and ryan can't eat it lol)
a bit of cinnamon can be nice too.

fry til brown then place in slow cooker. (browning is optional, i prefer it but others don't worry)

place in slow cooker:
800 - 1600g (2-3 tins) of any combination of red kidney beans, 4 bean mix, cannelini beans and chick peas
maybe around 1200-1600g 3-4 tins of tomatoes (diced, crushed or whole). you can also use up any pasta sauce, sugo etc you might have stashed in the fridge.
chicken or beef stock - a few cubes / spoons of powder
vegies as desired including diced sweet potato, diced potato, diced capsicum of any colour, diced zucchini

when cooked serve with whatever you prefer of teh following:
sour cream
grated cheese
corn chips
white rice
fresh coriander
black olives
diced avocado
side salad

SANTA FE CHICKEN STEW

another from my paper stash - as yet untested

1 tbsp vege oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 tspn garlic powder
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 x 28oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 x 15oz can pinto beans, drained
1 x 14oz can kernel corn, drained
1 x 4oz can diced green chillies, drained
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tspn cornstarch
1 1/4 lb cooked, shredded chicken
sour cream (garnish)
shredded cheddar cheese (garnish)

1. in dutch oven or large pot, heat oil. add onion and saute 2-3 mins
2. add taco seasonings, tomatoes, beans, corn & chillis, mix well
3. in small bowl gradually blend broth into cornstarch using a wire whisk, stir into stew
4. stir in cooked chicken. bring to a boil, stirring frequently
5. reduce heat to low, simmer uncovered 30 mins, stirring occasionally (simmer longer for thicker stew)
6. garnish each serving with sour cream and cheddar cheese if desired.

here is the 'brazen-ification' of this recipe, this is what i will do when i make it.

SANTA FE CHICKEN STEW, brazen style (Thermomix)

1 onion, peeled & quartered
1 clove garlic, peeled
a little olive oil
taco spices - about 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbpn ground coriander, 1 tspn cumin seeds, 1 tspn oregano, 1/2 tspn paprika
800g 0r 2x 400g can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 x 400g can mexi beans, undrained
1 x 400g can kernel corn, drained
jalapeno green chillies (to taste), drained & diced
1 cup cold chicken stock
1/2 tspn cornflour
600g cooked, shredded chicken (that's about 1 double breast)
sour cream (garnish)
shredded cheddar cheese (garnish)

1. chop onion and garlic for around 5-8 seconds on speed 6. add oil and taco seasonings, and cook 2-3 mins on temp 90, speed 1
   
2. add chicken stock and cornflour and mix for approx 20 seconds on reverse speed 4 until blended
   
3. add tomatoes, beans, corn & chillis, and cooked chicken. cook for 20 minutes on ??60-80, reverse speed 3-4 ???? (will need to test this)
   
4. garnish each serving with sour cream and cheddar cheese if desired. would also be nice to serve with black olives, corn chips or cornbread
   

OR.... SLOW COOKER VERSION
I would also do this in the slow cooker. i would double if not triple the recipe. i would leave the chicken breasts whole and shred them after cooking. i would not put in teh chicken stock - i would use chicken stock powder and add maybe 1 cup of water, and then only add more if needed. it would probably need cooking for around 8 hours.

i will definitely have to try this one soon!