Sang Choy Bow (GF, TMX)

Quick, easy meal that is still healthy and (supposedly) kid-friendly :)

of course in my family i was surprised by ryan eating one small filled leaf willingly and saying it tasted OK ("not good mummy, but OK") before making himself a pesto sandwich (pesto being one of his current 'things'). Rora ate heaps of the meat and tried the lettuce. Emelia on the other hand - usually my least fussy child - put up a huge fuss and barely tried and spat out a mouthful before almost being sent to bed for the fuss !!

on the other hand geoff and i loved it!

1 iceberg lettuce
1 large carrot
4 large firm mushrooms
1 medium red onion
2 tspn rice bran oil
1 tspn sesame oil
500g mince of any kind - i used beef but a friend recommends a veal / pork blend
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tbspn gluten free oyster sauce (i used ayam's brand)
 1 tbspn gluten free black bean sauce (i used ayam's brand)
1/2 tspn sweetener of your choice (i used apple juice concentrate but considered maple syrup)
1 tspn cornflour? (optional, i didn't  use it but was thinking i should have as the meat was quite wet and runny)
coriander, finely chopped, to serve

remove the heart / stem of the lettuce and carefully peel each leaf off, keeping it whole. remove the thicker part in the centre bottom of each leaf

wash carrot & cut ends off, cut into 3-4cm pieces. wash mushrooms. peel onion and cut in half. place vegetables into thermomix and chop for 5-10 seconds at speed 6 until finely chopped.

heat oils in frypan then add vegetables, fry, stirring for a few minutes then push to edges of frypan. add meat and break up in smaller pieces. add garlic and fry, stirring. add sauces and cook until mince is cooked through.

if using cornflour sprinkle over and stir for a couple more minutes to thicken.

place a few spoons of the meat / vegie mix inside a lettuce leaf, sprinkle with coriander and roll / fold the edges around it -  and eat!

you can also add finely chopped water chestnuts with the other vegies, or chang's gluten free fried noodles to serve

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

Quick & Easy Slow Cooker Spag Bol Sauce (GF)

My slow cooker is a 5L and this amount of spaghetti bolognaise sauce nearly filled it, so please adjust if yours is smaller. This amount made enough for 4 meals for the 5 of us.

1.5kg lean mince, broken up with a spoon as you put it in.
1-2 onions, chopped (i chopped everything in the thermomix on speed 5)
5-6 carrots & / or zucchinis, chopped finely
6-8 shortcut rashers bacon, chopped finely
around 1 cup red lentils
2 large jars of pasta sauce (I use the Aldi Organic one) or a bottle of passata / sugo
few spoonfuls of tomato paste, optional
splash of red wine - about 1/4 cup
herbs to taste (i don't need these with the pasta sauce but would use them with passata)
stock powder or stock concentrate to taste (i used 1 dessert spoon full of stock concentrate)

place it all in the slow cooker on high or auto. I checked on it for the first half hour before leaving, stirring it around a bit.
If you don't have auto turn down to low and cook for 6-10 hours.

serve with pasta, baked potatoes, in lasagne etc.

note: you definitely don't need any liquid other than the wine and pasta sauce!


And as to what I did with my thermomix yesterday... you're looking at it above! I work on Wednesday afternoons & evenings and spend the morning preparing, so I don't do any cooking other than sometimes preparing dinner for geoff to give the kids while I'm at work. I didn't even make my breakfast as I had the leftover GF bread with avocado on it!

Lana's Bolognese Meat Sauce

Thank you to my good friend Lana who agreed to be a guest blogger here on my blog! yippee!! even better she made the recipe and brought some over for us to sample! (stay tuned) * it smells divine and the kids are loving theirs :)

Bolognese Meat Sauce

This great meat sauce is a specialty of Bologna. It is delicious with tagliatelle or short pasta such as penne or conchiglie as well as spaghetti. The oil/fat content makes it ideal for making lasagna, particularly homemade pasta. I will post more about this later! It keeps well in the refrigerator for several days and can be frozen for several months.

Ingredients
25g/ 1oz/ 2T butter
60mL/ 4T olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
25g/ 1oz/ 2T pancetta or unsmoked bacon, finely chopped (optional)
1 carrot, finely sliced or diced
1 stick celery, finely sliced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
350g/ 12oz lean minced beef/lamb/chicken or kangaroo
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
150mL/ ¼ pt/ 2/3cup red wine (I have used merlot, cab sav, shiraz and grenache)
125mL/ 4fl oz/ ½ cup full milk
1 x 400g/ 14oz can plum tomatoes, chopped with their juice, or 450g fresh tomatoes
1 bay leaf
¼ t fresh thyme leaves

1. Heat the butter and oil over moderate heat in a heavy saucepan. Add the onion, and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the pancetta (if using), and cook until the onion is translucent. Stir in the carrot, celery and garlic. Cook 3-4 minutes more.

2. Add the meat and crumble it into the vegetables with a fork or spoon. Stir until the meat loses its red colour. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Pour in the wine, raise the temperature slightly, and cook until the liquid evaporates. Add the milk, and cook until it evaporates.

4. Stir in the tomatoes with their juice, and the herbs. Bring the sauce to the boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, for 1 ½ - 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Correct the seasoning before serving.

Taken from The Italian Cook, A definitive guide to Italian ingredients and an inspirational collection of recipes by Capalbo, Whiteman, Wright and Boggiano.

For a no fuss preparation, you can chop the vegetables in a blender. For a more sophisticated finish, it is better to hand chop them. Or you can hand chop some and put the rest in the blender . I’ve used Black Russian tomatoes, which I have grown in my own garden (they are awesome croppers over the whole season, so far this season, from 2 plants which cost me $2 each, I have harvested 20.75kg!). They are chocolate brown, and give the sauce a rich dark colour. This is such a versatile recipe, I always make 2 or 3 times as much as I need, and either freeze, or make up a lasagna to freeze. It does lend itself well to increasing the quantities, just keep in mind that the wine and milk will take longer to evaporate.

* if you have a recipe you'd like to share on here please email me - you don't HAVE to cook for me ;) but thanks lana!

Porcupine Meatballs

Just found this in an old notebook, one to try for the kids ;)

1 1/2 lbs mince
1 onion, chopped
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup rice
pinch herbs
S&P
plain flour * Gluten free if needed
1 tin of tomato soup ** check ingredients if GF needed
1 cup water

mix all but soup & water & flour.
shape into small balls, toss in flour.
heat soup & water to boiling, add balls.
cover and cook 40-45 mins, turn once.

Nasi Goreng, gluten free

Kazari posted this a few weeks ago and we really enjoyed it when i made it, so i thought i'd post the GF version of the recipe. thanks kaz! the only problem was that geoff overcooked teh eggs as usual (he likes hard yolks, i HATE hard yolks, blerg!)

Nasi Goreng
2 tbs oil ( i use grapeseed)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 red chilli, finely diced, optional for kids
1 medium onion, finely chopped (tmx)
1 carrot, chopped finely in the thermomix
2 Cups shredded cabbage
200g beef or pork mince
1 cup bean sprouts
1 tsp sweet chilli sauce (if available GF)
2 tbs tomato sauce (ketchup, GF)
2 tbs GF tamari
3 cups cooked jasmine rice
1-2 egg per person
1/2 cup diagonally sliced shallots/green onions
2 tbs chopped fresh coriander, plus extra coriander leaves to serve

Heat the oil and the sesame oil in a wok. Add the chilli, onion and carrot and cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until just softened but not coloured. Add the beef and cabbage and cook until the meat has browned. Add the bean sprouts, chilli, tomato sauce, tamari and the rice and cook for a further minute, stirring to ensure everything is well combined. Turn off heat and cover the wok partially with a lid while you cook the eggs.

Fry the eggs in another pan.

Stir the shallots and coriander into the rice, then spoon into serving bowls. Top with an egg and extra coriander and serve with extra chilli and tamari as desired.

Meatloaf

Here's another I can't believe I havne't posted this yet! this recipe came off EB but is very very similar to the one mum used when we were growing up.

meatloaf is something we generally only have a few times a year - generally in winter - and when i make it i make it low fat and full of grated veg, and i make it into smaller loaves. usually i double the meat mix and make 4 meatloaves. i cook them for the first part of the cooking then freeze 3 of them. i then make the full mix of the sauce to go over the half quantity of meat. when i use the frozen ones i just need to make more sauce and cook for the last little bit.

Meatloaf
500gm sausage mince *
500gm mince meat
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs **
2 onions finely chopped
1 dessertspoon curry powder
salt, pepper
1tbsp chopped parsley
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water

barbecue sauce
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup tomato sauce ***
2tbsp worcestershire sauce ****
1tbsp vinegar ***
2tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp coffee powder
15g marg/butter *****
1tbsp lemon juice

Meatloaf: Combine all ingredients, mixing in the combined milk and water last. Place in greased loaf tin (I actually also line the tin with bacon !) Bake in moderate oven for 30 mins, remove. Bring all sauce ingredients to the boil, simmer 5 minutes. Drain fat from meatloaf and baste with sauce, return to oven for further 45 mins basting frequently with sauce.

* i don't use this, i just use extra fine mince instead (pork or veal mince would be good too) I also add 2 carrots & 2 zucchinis grated.
** I used to sub this with oatmeal. for gluten-free use GF breadcrumbs
*** make sure yours is GF if needed
**** not GF, used a splash of tamari instead
***** i don't use this at all

I am going to make this week's in muffin tins, inspired by dani :)

Where's the green?

ooops! i forgot to put any green on the plate! by the time i realised i couldn't be bothered to do anything lol but this would be delicious with some steamed / sauteed spinach, green peas, beans or any other green that takes your fancy ;) (it's very very rare that i would serve a non-pasta or rice type meal without green, it felt very weird to eat it lol)


it did taste delicious though!! ryan and emelia polished their plates off nearly as quickly as me! (rora didn't eat a single bite for some weird reason, hope she's ok...)

smashed potatoes are so yum and on this ww core plan i am supposed to have 2 tspns of good oil per day. i struggle to add that most days! so i decided to make smashed potatoes, which you have seen elsewhere. if you make them on a tray (i used a baking dish taht was slightly too small) they look impressive for a special occasion, yet they're SO simple :D just steam / boil small scrubbed potatoes (i used nicola) til soft. grease a tray / dish. place potato in dish then squash them with something (i used a potato masher but they started to come out through the masher holes lol). drizzle olive oil over, season with salt and pepper as desired and sprinkle with smoked paprika. bake in a 200'c oven until golden with some cripsy bits.

carrots were baby carrots, peeled and halved. i wanted to make something like honey carrots but can't have honey on the core plan. i also decided to use the heat of the oven. place them in a baking dish with a lid - you want a dish that is just big enough to fit the carrots in. put in about 1-1.5cm of water, one crumbled chicken stock cube, and some sesame seeds. bake til just soft. (all the water evaporated from mine so i thought they'd be awful, especially without honey, but they were soooooo tender and sweet. yum

the sausages were made based on this recipe. i used:

1 small red onion
3 cloves of garlic
several sprigs of garlic

chop on speed 6. i had to scrape down a few times and do a few seconds at a time.

put in some bread crusts - i just used the ends leftover from this morning's loaf (ooops have just realised i wasn't supposed to have any more bread today. oh well, it would have been about 1/10th of a point's worth lol)

again speed 6 til you hear it stop hitting the sides. scrape down and repeat if desired.

add in 1kg premium beef mince (i would have made my own mince but i had mince in the fridge), 500g at a time. i had to use speed 4 to get it to mix thoroughly. just take the lid off and have a look through to make sure there are no unmixed parts.

take handfuls of the mix and roll into sausage shapes (or meatballs or whatever you want).

i cooked mine by placing on a rack, over a dish full of water and baking til brown all over.

this made enough for 2 meals for us.

and one last catch up post...

some meals we have had in the past week...

the one with all the vegies was a tofu and vegie green curry. this was attempt #1 for iron rich foods for rora. it was a bit of a disaster, not a terrible disaster but not that nice either. the kids hardly ate any of it (only the rice) and it was too spicy for ryan. i had also put macadamia nuts in it too.

the other picture is of the pizzeria pot pie which wasn't too bad. it won't become #1 favourite but we will probably have it again. i think i would like to do it with more bits and pieces in it. we used the thermomix scone recipe to top it and it was a bit much.

i wanted to cook indian for dinner but am missing too many ingredients, plus i was going to start preparing the dried chickpeas now (at 5pm) oooop - too late!

i'm not in the mood for anything else on the menu...

Sloppy Joes...

In Australia a sloppy joe is a sweatshirt. In America it is a yummy messy food that kids and adults alike enjoy.

Elise on Simply Recipes just posted a recipe for sloppy joes which i went on to my mum as a suggestion for Thursday night dinners (my sister and nephew eat there every thursday. we only go every month or two but it makes it a bit more complex trying to find something everyone will eat!). as we were chatting i remembered that i had a different version that was served with wedges and sour cream that was really yummy and went in search of it. It's originally from an Australian Women's Weekly cookbook.


potato wedges with sloppy joe topping
4 medium potatoes (or a packet of frozen wedges)
2 tabs olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 large brown onion, chopped finely
1 small green capsicum, chopped finely
1 trimmed celery stick, chopped finely (i usually add more as it gets wasted otherwise!)
150g beef mince
2 tabs mild american mustard
2 tabs cider vinegar
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup coarsely grated cheddar cheese
2 green onions, sliced thinly

1. preheat oven to hot
2. cut each potatoes in 8 wedges, place in shallow baking dish, drizzled with half of the oil
3. roast, uncovered, in hot oven 30 mins or until tender
4. meanwhile, heat remaining oil in fryin gpan; cook garlic, onion, capsicum and celcery, stirring, until vegies soften. add mince, cook, stirring, until changed in colour. stir in mustard, vinegar and sauce, bring to a boil. reduce heat, cook, stirring, until sloppy joe is cooked through and slightly thickened.
5. serve wedges topped with sloppy joe mix, top with cheese and green onion.

when i do it in the slow cooker i fry the mince and onion ** and then put it all in the slow cooker to cook. takes 2-4 hours.


** when i'm organised i will fry up several kilos of mince and chopped onions and freeze into 500g portions, great for quick meals

An old favourite!

This recipe is really yummy, despite coming from a 1960's Sunrise cooking booklet my mother had ;) (I left out the very politically incorrect salt to taste in the recipe btw)

Bavarian Beef Crust Pie

Beef Crust
500g lean beef mince
3 tabs tomato sauce
1/2 cup day old breadcrumbs (boiled rice can be used)
1 onion, chopped
1 tab chopped parsley
pinch cayenne pepper
pinch mixed herbs

Rice Filling
2/3 cup white rice
1/4 cup chopped green capsicum
3 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped (or a tin, drained and chopped)
250g shredded cheese
pinch cayenne pepper

Method
Combine all crust ingredients. press onto bottom of a 9" (22-24cm?) pie plate. bake in moderate over 30 minutes. Remove from oven and drain any excess fat.

cook rice in boiling water for 12 minutes, adding capsicum for the last 5 minutes, drain. add tomatoes, half the cheese and cayenne pepper. mix well.

spoon rice mix into meat crust and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

return to oven and cook for a further 20 minutes.

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.

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

2:4:1 slow cooker Laksa & stuffed capsicums

believe it or not i made a delicious laksa in the SC ( i really didn't think it would be as nice as it was!)

i put chicken sliced and onion sliced in the bottom, topped with laksa paste and boiling water. cooked on high for an hour or two. a few hours later i added most of my vegies, then an hour or so before it was done i added coconut cream and at the last minute some coriander and bean sprouts. it probably cooked for about 6 hours, maybe less.

today i made a really good winter comfort meal - stuffed capsicums.
buy as many capsicums as you can fit in your slow cooker - i recommend buying tall thin ones! cut the stems out and remove the seeds and membranes.
mix together 500g mince*, one chopped onion, 3/4 cup of uncooked rice, some herbs and spices. stuff this firmly into the capsicums.
spray the cooker with garlic flavoured cooking spray
place capsicums into the cooker
mix together a bottle of sugo / passata (or 2 tins chopped or pureed tomatoes) with some garlic and a little sugar if desired. pour over the capsicums.
cook on low for 6-7 hours.
in the last hour start to spoon the sauce over the tops (i used a turkey baster). then about 20 minutes before serving top with some grated cheese.

* if you're serving with a side salad or vegies this amount of meat is fine, but if you're having it as a one pot dinner i'd suggest using 250-350g meat and topping up with vegies such as semi dried tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, etc

Spaghetti Pie

9' pie pan
6 ounces spaghetti
2 tbs. butter or margarine
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 well beaten eggs
1 cup cottage cheese (8 oz.)
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 8 oz can tomatoes, cut up
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. garlic granules
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (2 oz.)

Cook and drain spaghetti. Stir butter or margarine, eggs and parmesan cheese into hot spaghetti. Spray a 10' pie plate with Pam. Form spaghetti mixture into a crust in pan. Spread cottage cheese over crust.

Cook ground beef, onion and green pepper until veggies are tender and meat is browned. Drain excess fat. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, oregano & garlic salt. Heat. Put meat mixture on top of cottage cheese. Bake uncovered 20 min. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and bake 5 more minutes or until cheese melts.

CAULIFLOWER & BACON SOUP & HOMEMADE HAMBURGERS

catch up....

CAULIFLOWER & BACON SOUP

1 large cauliflower, cut into large florets
bacon, maybe about 4 or so rashers, with fat removed and diced
1 large onion, diced
small amount olive oil
chicken stock (i used 3 cubes but my cauli was huge!)
black pepper
water
1 tin evaporated skim milk

heat oil, fry onion and bacon for a few minutes
add some water, then cauli
top water up so it comes about 2/3 of the way up the cauli
add stock cubes and pepper
cook until very soft and starting to fall apart
puree with stick blender, add evap milk and puree to mix.

based on a weight watchers recipe. i highly recommend you DON'T do this one in the slow cooker, the taste of the cauli is incredibly strong and not all that pleasant!

surprisingly the kids all ate 2 bowls of it for lunch!!!



HOMEMADE HAMBURGERS

500g extra lean mince
1 onion, cut into quarters
1 carrot, ends cut off and cut into inch pieces
1 egg
around 2/3-1 cup of instant oats
garlic if desired

using thermomix chop onion, carrot and oats (and garlic), hmmmm speed 6-7 for maybe 5-10 seconds
add mince and egg and mix using reverse and speed 2-4 until well mixed

if possible chill mix in the fridge

use tupperware burger maker thingie (i forget what it's called!) to make burgers - whatever you don't use can be frozen raw or cooked

if possible chill in fridge again before cooking (i say if possible as i never remember to leave enough time to chill it at all lol)

fry in a pan sprayed with cooking spray or a little oil until nicely browned on the outside and cooked through.
you can also fry sliced onions if you like

we served ours on toast because we had lots of sliced bread and nothing else to use LOL but generally i would use rolls from my local bakery (because the burger buns you buy at the supermarket have preservative 282 in them). i've tried making my own rolls but they haven't been very successful :(

toast bottom layer of whatever bread you are using. top with onions if cooked, then a slice of cheese and grill til cheese is melted.
top with sliced tomato, beetroot (we used the organic ones i cooked the other day) and lettuce, some sauce of your choice and serve. you can serve with chips if you like but i think the burgers are too yummy to spoil with chips LOL

you can make a million variations of this of this of course, with herbs or spices in teh meat patties and various sauces or different cheeses on the burger. geoff loves his with a fried egg and bacon it as well.

any leftover cooked patties can be frozen (as above) or crumbled up and used in bolognaise or similar.

bigger versions of photos and more photos here (i don't want to put the original pics here, the file size is ginormous!)