Green Bean Salad (GF)

quick and easy but surprisingly nice!

green beans, topped, tailed, cut into 2" / 5cm pieces and steamed or boiled until green and starting to soften
1 red capsicum, finely diced
1/2 green capsicum, finely diced (optional)
1 stick celery, finely diced
1 rasher bacon or 3 shortcut bacon, fried or grilled til crispy, crumbled or finely diced
black pepper, freshly ground
balsalmic vinegar *, a drizzle
olive oil, a drizzle

suggested additions:
handful of toasted pinenuts
1/2 red onion or 2-3 shallots (green onions), finely chopped


* googling informed me that balsalmic vinegar is Gf, please check for yourself

mix and chill before serving

jazzed up cheese on toast (can be GF)

i was reminded this morning of this breakfast dish i used to make as a teenager, it's just a bit differet and very delicious! you can of course have it for any meal of the day, not just breakfast, and it's easy to make gluten free just by making sure all ingredients are GF :)

2 pieces toast of whatever kind suits you - wholegrain, sourdough, gluten free etc
1 tomato, sliced as thick as suits you, into enough slices to cover both pieces of toast
grated cheese to your taste
around 1/2 - 1 tspn mustard - i prefer seeded mustard, especially honey seeded, mmmm but dijon or american is also good
optional - 1/2 - 1 tspn butter
1 rasher of bacon, or 1-2 shortcuts of bacon, sliced into strips

place tomato on toast.

mix together cheese and mustard and butter if using and spread over tomato

top with bacon and grill until cheese is melted through and bacon is starting to crisp

yum!

Beef, Bacon & Beer Casserole (GF & SC - Slow Cooker)

1 onion, peeled and diced
2 large carrots, diced
6 medium red skinned potatoes, diced
10 slices chopped pancetta or 6 slices bacon, diced (a quick fry would be great if you can be bothered)
600g-1kg diced beef (i used lean but a stewing type would be even better)
2 tspns beef or vegie stock concentrate or 2 stock cubes (gluten free)
2-3 tabs gluten free worcestershire sauce (we use Spring Gully)
approx 3 tabs honey
1 bottle of gluten free beer (we used O'Brien's Premium Lager *)
2 tabs cornflour (i added this later but you could also toss the beef cubes in it before cooking)
optional:
2 handfuls green beans, cut into 1" pieces
thyme and / or garlic


I used a 3L slow cooker, but if you use more meat you will need a bigger cooker

Place ingredients into the bowl in the order listed above.

I tend to use Auto which cooks on high for 4 hours then switches to low and cook for the rest of the day

* Geoff said it was an OK beer, he wouldn't choose to drink it but if had to be GF he would be happy to drink it.

Bean and Bacon Risotto (GF, TMX)

based on the same risotto version as last time, and this recipe i found online (i was actaully looking for a recipe using green beans but decided i liked the sound of this one lol) sorry for the shocking picture! (don't click on it, it gets no bigger, i didn't have a single pic that wasn't out of focus! and yes, id idn't use my tmx to chop my bacon, naughty me lol)


3 bacon rashers, or 6 shortcut pieces, roughly cut into largeish pieces
1 medium onion, peeled and halved
15g olive oil
380g arborio rice
100g red wine
1 tin chopped tomatoes
900g water
1 tin borlotti beans, drains
chopped parsley, to serve
40g cream, optional


heat the thermomix 2 minutes varoma speed 1
add bacon, chop for 10 seconds on speed 5-6
saute for 3 minutes varoma speed 1
add onion on speed 5 for a few seconds
add olive oil
saute for 2mins 100C speed 1
pop in the butterfly
add arborio rice and wine
saute for 2mins 100c reverse speed 1
add in stock concentrate (or 2 stock cubes), tomatoes and water
cook for 11 mins 100c reverse speed 1
add borlotti beans and cream and cook a further 5 mins 100c reverse speed 1

Pour into thermoserver, mix to stir parsley through and leave to stand for 5 mins or so until more of the liquid is absorbed. serve with parmesan if desired




posted by Karen on http://brazen20au.blogspot.com/

Black Eyed Bean Jambalaya (GF)

I discovered a container full of unopened packs of dried beans in our pantry while menu planning last week, and resolved to use some of them! I have never cooked with (or eaten that I know of) black eyed beans so I had no idea what to make with them! I googled and found this recipe which sounded good, and got my beans soaking overnight.

that was on monday and i didn't get to the supermarket to buy the meat part til today LOL (i did drain the beans and put them in the fridge though, they didn't soak til now!)

I made some minor changes to this recipe and it was SOOOOOOO tasty - we loved it! a definite hit in this house!

Black-Eyed Bean Jambalaya

1 Onion, chopped
2 sticks Celery, chopped
1 green and 1/2 red capsicum, seeded and chopped
5-6 shortcut pieces gluten free bacon (or 3 rashers)
Oil for sauteing
2 c Uncooked rice (i used jasmine but would rather use basmati if i had any)
2 1/2 cups water
2 heaped teaspoons chicken stock concentrate, or 2 gluten free stock cubes
1 can diced tomatoes
400g dried black eyed beans, soaked overnight and drained
6-8 sliced of gluten free salami, diced
6 mushrooms, sliced
2 chicken breasts, diced
chillis of your choice, optional (i would use a couple of jalapenos if i could)

Heat oil and add onion, celery and capsicum. fry for a few minutes then add bacon. fry for another 3-5 minutes then add rice. cook for another few minutes and then add water, stock, tomatoes, soaked beans, salami and mushrooms. stir well.
let it come to a boil, lower heat and cover, then leave for 30 minutes. stir well and let stif ro 5 mintues then serve.



so easy and sooooo tasty. i meant to boil the beans before inlcuding them but forgot, but they were the perfect texture - just slightly chewy.

Creamy Pasta Dish - kind of Boscaiola / Carbonara Cross (GF, TMX)

based on the recipe posted here

parmesan cheese, cut into 1cm cubes
around 6 shortcut pieces of bacon, cut into approx 1" pieces
4-5 mushrooms, or more if desired
1 packet (300g) San Remo gluten free spiral pasta
1 200g container sour cream
1 375g tin lite evaporated milk
1 tspn oregano
1 tspn chopped garlic (i had to use dried as i'm out of every other kind)
good sprinkle salt if desired
600-700g warm water *
2 eggs, lightly beaten
chopped parsley if desired

place parmesan in bowl, chop for 5-10 seconds on speed 10, place in bowl
place bacon and mushrooms in bowl, turn to closed lid, pulse on turbo once or twice until chopped
saute for 3 minutes on varoma speed soft
add all other ingredients except eggs and parsley
cook for 15 minutes at reverse 100' speed soft
remove measuring cup from lid, on reverse speed 3 or so pour eggs & parsley through lid.
place in thermoserver for 5 minutes before serving

no photo as it looked a bit like cat vomit LOL

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!

Mum's Quiche Lorraine

this is for one large quiche, but is also fabulous made into mini quiches - just use more pastry and cut out rounds big enough for your cupcake / muffin tray.

shortcrust pastry for your quiche dish (1 sheet of frozen for one large quiche)
1 large onion, chopped
3 bacon rashers, chopped
2 tabs chopped parsley
3 eggs
375ml evaporated skim milk
litte nutmeg & cayenne pepper
1 cup grated cheese

grease your quiche / pie dish and line with pastry. trim off any overhang.
gently fry the onion, bacon and parsley. place into the pastry
mix together eggs, milk, spices. pour over onion / bacon mix.
sprinkle with cheese

bake in 425'F / 220'c oven for 10 minutes, then reduce to 400'F (?'c) for 20 minutes

serve with green salad and crusty bread

Easy Potato Salad

inspired by a thread on EB

put water in the thermomix and place in varoma on top around 6 medium potatoes and half a large sweet potatoes quartered. cook for ummm i think it was 5 minutes but could have been 10 (oops) on varoma temp, speed 1

remove the varoma and lid and add the basket and 3 eggs (actually i did 6 but kept the others for the girls. it's best if you use room temp eggs so they don't break with the hot water lol)

cook for 15 minutes on varoma temp, speed 1

in the meantime finely dice some lean bacon (4 shortcut pieces) and fry til crispy
finely chop some garlic (1-2 cloves)

let eggs and potatoes cool to peel & dice - 2cm pieces for the potatoes and 3/4cm pieces of egg (quarter & dice)

in a large bowl mix around 2/3 cup mayo (can make your own in tmx of course, i used a low fat praise one that is also GF) and a little less of plain or greek yoghurt. also add in some S&P, some fresh shredded mint leaves, and the rest of the ingredients.

toss to coat and serve or chill and serve

Links - Meat Dishes #2

link to first lot

homemade breakfast sausage

asian peanut butter pork - slow cooker

Chicken & Cider Stew w/ Apple & Potato Mash

five spice pork belly

gosht do piaza (lamb with double onions)

dal gosht - spiced lamb with lentils

mongolian beef

chicken stewed in wine, garlic & cinnamon

caldo gallego (spanish soup with bacon & chorizos)

honey ginger chicken

truman capote's chicken hash

chicken with bacon, rosemary and lemon

leek and cheese (and mince) soup

At last - a salad!

Dani, we have finally started our summer salads! i LOVE a huge salad with bits of everything in it! great as everyone can take what they like best (we still struggle to get the girls to get anything but the cheese, but we try!)

geoff made this for dinner on Thursday (he was home with ryan and i was at work all day) and it was delicious. he also marinaded and grilled chicken breasts which we had sprinkled over the top too.

YUM!

Geoff's Thursday Salad
mixed greens of your choice (i always make sure i have rocket in mine ;))
baked or steamed diced sweet potato
finely sliced red onion
olives of your choice
fetta, cubed
tomato, diced (i wouldn't usually use tomato in a salad like this but ryan loves it)
and grilled sliced chicken breast

you could also add some :
toasted pine nuts or almonds
salad dressing,
diced crispy bacon

Flavours of Italy...

i just found these two recipes on the floor (don't ask) and thought i should type them in before throwing the paper out so it can no longer decorate my floor! i'm pretty sure that i have had these recipes for a long time - probably 14 years from when i lived in italy! i suspect they are marcella hazan recipes but have no notes to say where they came from. i'm sure i'd made them both and they were both good :)

both recipes are for 4-6 people

Zucchini with Bacon
680g firm young zucchini, soaked in water 20 mins
6 tabs olive oil
5 medium onions, sliced very thinly
110g smoked bacon or pancetta affunicata, cut into 3mm strips
salt & freshly ground pepper

scrub zucchini after soaking. trim ends & cut into 5mm slices
choose pan large enough to hold everything. put the oil, onion & bacon in and turn heat to med. high. stir occasionally until onion is pale gold. add zucchini, turn once or twice. cover and turn heat to med. cook 12-15 mins, uncover, add S&P. cook uncovered 2-3 mins, stirring frequently.
may be reheated gently


Penne with Rosemary & Bacon
60g butter
2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
2 tspns fresh whole rosemary or 1 tspn dried leaves chopped
340g smoked bacon or pancetta affunicata, cut into 3mm strips
450g penne
50g freshly grated parmesan

in a 20-25cm pan put 40g butter & garlic & turn heat to medium high. saute until garlic is deep gold. remove garlic & add rosemary. stir once or twice then add bacon. saute until bacon is lightly coloured but not crisp.
cook pasta, drain and toss immediately with bacon sauce. add remaining butter and parmesan. toss and serve

Hungarian Potato Casserole

thanks to Sharon, an online friend :) (hi sharon!)

you can also use chorizo or i'm guessing most other kinds of salami like sausage

1kg potatoes chopped into bite size chucks...not too small or they go too smooshy
I tub tomato paste
4 rashers of bacon, chopped
I big onion chopped
2 Tbsp sweet paprika
3-4 cups water
250g Polish sausage quartered and sliced...how thick is up to you but I cut mine about 3mm?

I do it in my cast iron pot on the stove, but Mum used the electric frypan or a big saucepan.

Fry onion and bacon, add chopped potatoes and polish sausage.
Mix 3 cups water with paprika and tomato paste in a jug, pour into pan.
Bring it to the boil, turn down low and cover. you might need to add extra water...just check.
It's cooked when the potatoes are soft and kind of smooshy.

Links - BBQ ideas (marinades, salads etc) #2

some more great ideas for BBQ's :D

chickpea salad with roasted red peppers

cranberry walnut chicken salad

dani's potato salad

silverbeet & orange salad

thermomix moroccan carrot salad

the canberra cook's potato salad

spicy honey chicken

spicy garlic shrimp

Pasta with Prosciutto & Peas

needing a quick dinner after work on monday i decided to give this a go, based on Celeste's recipe at Sugar and Spice. of course i made a few changes lol (and totally missed the bit about the lemon zest and juice, will have to try that next time!)

serves about 4-6

500g spiral pasta (spirals catch the sauce better :))
8-12 slices proscuitto
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
freshly ground black pepper
1.5 cups baby peas, frozen
2-3 tspns cornflour
1 tin evaporated low fat milk **
parmesan

cook pasta according to packet directions
lightly fry the proscuitto, onion, garlic and pepper until proscuitto is crispy and onion and garlic are soft. *
add peas and gently fry, stirring occasionally, until peas are starting to soften.
add cornflour and mix well so everything is coated
add evaporated milk and cook until thickened, stirring most of the time.
immediately mix through pasta, top with parmesan to serve.

* actually you don't need to fry proscuitto as it does not require cooking, however i actaully had half proscuitto and half pancetta, which does require cooking ;)
** you can of course use cream like celeste, but i rarely have cream in teh house and get enough calories from other sources lol

Links - Pasta & Rice

baked ziti with rapini & chicken meatballs

broccoli, sage & bacon pasta sauce

pasta with proscuitto and peas

Sweet:
indian spiced rice pudding

and some more "New Ideas" - dips

and from another New Idea magazine

creamy tomato & bacon dip
fry 2 rashers bacon, finely chopped, until crisp. drain and add mccormick lemon, basil & thyme seasoning
put in bowl and add sour cream, finely chopped semi dried tomatoes, finely chopped gherkins and finely chopped basil.
refridgerate
serve with crudites

beetroot & hummus dip
mix hummus (damn, i didn't realise this used bought hommus), can of baby beets (drained), garlic, cumin and lemon juice in food processor
season and refridgerate
serve with asparagus spears, toasted naan bread wedges & slice sausages

corn & chilli dip
in food processor mix cream cheese and half a can corn (drained) til smooth
in bowl mix in remaining corn, sweet chilli sauce, lime zest, lime juice and a long red chilli, finely sliced. season and refridgerate
serve with lime wedges, rice crackers and grissini sticks

Potato, Bean & Bacon Salad

POTATO, BEAN AND BACON SALAD
one of mum's :)

500g beans. trimmed and cut into 5cm pieces
500g potatoes
2 medium tomatoes. cut in wedges
1/4 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 rashers bacon cut into strips
1 tab margarine
1 medium onion
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup chopped parsley


Cook beans in large saucepan. Remove and drain. Add potatoes and simmer till tender (15mins). Drain, peel and slice

Put beans in middle of dish. Arrange potato slices and tomato wedges around. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

In small frying pan sauté bacon in butter until crisp. Add onion and cook till tender. Add vinegar. Heat till boiling. Pour over beans, pots and toms.

Sprinkle with parsley....toss together just before serving

Links - BBQ ideas (marinades, salads etc)

Asian BBQ chicken

Barefoot Contessa's BBQ Sauce

Barbequed Chicken

Beetroot & Haloumi Salad with Walnut Dressing

Garlic-Mustard Glaze (for meat)

grilled corn salad

Mango, avocado & red onion salad

Mom's warm potato salad

napa cabbage salad with buttermilk dressing

Potato Salad with apples and bacon this one looks soooo good!

Southwestern three bean salad

Summer lovin' salad (with bacon, chicken, hard boiled eggs, blue cheese, dijon mustard etc etc mmmm)

thai noodle salad

wild rice salad


assorted recipes from eb (main meal ideas)