Tag Archives: cooking

Leftovers for Lunch

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Every day The Duke and I take a packed lunch to work.  Since I do not eat bread it is often leftovers or a salad.  The Duke will sometimes take some homemade bread, cheese and tomato and make a sandwich at work.

Today, however, I was at home so was not constrained by what I could pack.  At lunchtime I looked in the fridge and pantry and found an assortment of leftover ingredients just begging to be used.

2013-04-26 01There was a small amount of mashed sweet potato from last night as well as some refried beans, 1/2 can of crushed tomatoes, an opened packet of corn chips.  As part of my planned gourmet delight I also have some yoghurt, cheese, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds.

In the interest of minimising the washing up I decided to use the glass dish that the sweet potato was in.  I spread it evenly over the dish, spooned a layer of tomatoes over it, then added the refried beans and the seeds.

2013-04-26 02I topped it with corn chips and grated cheese and browned in under the griller.

2013-04-26 03This made enough for 2 serves so I will be having the same again tomorrow.

2013-04-26 04Served with a dollop of natural yoghurt this was a quick and easy meal which used up a couple of things that could easily have been wasted.

My Choices

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This afternoon I left work early (3pm) and did the shopping on the way home.  Simply Good where I buy most of my dry goods (flour, seeds, nuts and dried fruit) is only open until 5 pm on weekdays and 9am – 12md on Saturday.  I am happy to support these traditional opening hours that allow retail staff to spend time with their families, however, I do have to be organised as it is about 40km away from where we live.  Since it is on my way to work I decided to drive my car to the railway station nearest to the shop and then do my shopping on the return journey.

I stocked up on all of my usual supplies as well as a couple of extras for some Christmas cooking and I am hoping that I will not need to go again until the New Year.  Aldi supermarket was my next stop and I was particularly to find that the cat food (fish varieties) was back in stock.  Finally, a few things from the fruit and vegetable stall and I was home.  By this time it was almost 6pm but still daylight for another 40 minutes.

When I arrived home I checked for mail, collected the rubbish and recycling bins that had been emptied.  Next it was down to the backyard where I let the chickens out for a run, watered the vegetable gardens and weeded the small bed where the lettuce seedlings are becoming established.  I picked lettuces, collected eggs and organised fresh feed and water for the chickens.

Collect the washing from the line, turn the plastic bags which were drying on the airer, unpack the groceries and decant the loose nuts, seeds etc into their relevant jars.

Then it was time to cut up the chicken and vegetables for the stir-fry and make the sauce.

While I was doing all this it occurred to me that most of these chores exist because of choices I have made, but I would not have it any other way.

I could throw out the plastic bags, put the wet washing in a tumble drier, buy my eggs and all vegetables from the supermarket, buy ready-made prepared meals and convenience foods but I choose not and I am very happy with my choices.

Friday Favourites – Stuffed Capsicums (Red Peppers)

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This is a meal (can’t really call it a recipe as such) that rarely ever makes it onto my menu plan.  I make it when I happen to find suitable red capsicums (peppers) at a reasonable price – generally $2.99/kg or less.

2012-05-11 01There is no right or wrong way to make these.  This is simply how I do it.

Allow 1 medium red capsicum (pepper) per person.  Cut in half lengthwise, remove the seeds and stalk.

Place halves skin side up in an ovenproof glass dish.  Cook in the microwave for 5 minutes.  Then transfer to the oven (180C) for about half an hour or until skin is starting to loosen and char.

Remove and invert the halves and stuff.

For the stuffing I use pre-cooked short grain rice.  Heat the rice in the microwave – this makes it easier to mix in the other ingredients.  I add grated tasty cheese, dried onion powder or veg stock powder, black pepper and one or two things from the following list – diced ham, bacon or salami, chopped baby spinach, chopped parsley, Tabasco, chopped mushrooms.  The stuffing is really limited only by your imagination.

When the stuffing ingredients are combined use it to fill the capsicum (pepper) shells.  Return to the oven or grill to heat through.  Top with some grated cheese for the last 5 minutes.

You can include breadcrumbs with the cheese.  In the illustration (last night’s dinner), I sliced avocado on top then added the cheese.

Serve with a side salad.

This is a relatively quick and easy main meal which can easily be gluten free and/or vegetarian.

Friday Favourites – Choc Nut Fruit Mince Truffles

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This recipe is not a favourite of long-standing but I have made it previously at Christmas and it was a big hit.  So here is a special Christmas treat.  This is from the Woolworths free ‘Fresh’ magazine, December 2009.

FRUIT MINCE

1+1/4 cups raw sugar
3/4 cup marmalade
3 large oranges, rind finely grated and 1 cup juice
2 large lemons, rind finely grated and 1/3 cup juice
50ml Cointreau (optional)
375g sultanas
300g prunes, finely chopped
300g pitted dates, finely chopped
200g glace cherries chopped


1. Combine sugar, marmalade, orange rind and juice and Cointreau in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to the boil.
2. Add chopped fruit and stir until well combined. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often for 8-10 minutes or until plump. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
4. Spoon fruit mince into sterilised jars.

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HINTS & MODIFICATIONS

As the original recipe states, the Cointreau is optional.  I do not use it.  I also just store the mixture in a container in the refrigerator.  It has lasted perfectly well for 4 months that way.

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Once the fruit mince is made you can use it in any way you would normally use fruit mince.  The mixture is very rich and quite sticky so if you were making fruit mince pies I would add grated apple to the mix.  Stewed apple would be another option.  I may try that as I have lots of stewed apple in the freezer.

Today, I used the mixture to make the Choc Nut Fruit Mince Truffles.

CHOC NUT FRUIT MINCE TRUFFLES

375g dark cooking chocolate
80g butter, cubed
1 cup prepared fruit mince (from recipe above)
1/2 cup almond kernels, finely chopped
cocoa, for coating
chocolate sprinkles, for coating

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1. Break chocolate into pieces and melt in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until smooth. Remove bowl from heat. Slowly add butter, 1 cube at a time, until well combined and smooth. Add fruit mince and nuts. Stir to combine. Cover bowl and place in refrigerator for 1 hour or until mixture is firm.
2. Roll 2 teaspoons of mixture into balls. Roll balls in cocoa or chocolate sprinkles to coat. Place onto a large plate. Cover and refrigerate until firm.

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HINTS & MODIFICATIONS

200g milk chocolate
50g butter, cubed
1 cup prepared fruit mince (from recipe above)
1 cup almond kernels, finely chopped
1/2 cup coconut
Extra coconut, for coating

As you can see, I have changed this recipe quite a bit.  The amounts of chocolate and butter are reduced, nuts increased and coconut added.  I found that the mixture was much too chocolatey for my liking and too liquid to roll.  If you use the quantities from the original recipe they could be dropped from a teaspoon onto a tray in random shapes.  It is entirely a matter of choice.

I use milk chocolate and roll the balls in coconut.  They are ideal to freeze and you can remove as few or as many as you need at any time.  The quantities in my recipe made 32 balls.

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These balls are quite rich so do not make them too big.  They make a great festive gift in a pretty jar or wrapped in cellophane.  If you have them in the freezer, they an easy offering if you are taking a shared plate of sweet treats to a function.

Through a Child’s Eyes

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I mentioned yesterday that this simple living can be darned hard work – gardening, planting, harvesting, preserving, storing and cooking from scratch – not to mention the million and one other things that need to be done.

A sure-fire way to rejuvenate the enthusiasm is to see the ‘chores’ through the eyes of a child.  Our granddaughters stayed here this weekend and spending an hour or so in the backyard with them was a sheer delight.

2011-10-02 01Collecting the eggs.

2011-10-02 02Checking out the onion patch.

2011-10-02 03Splitting open beans to retrieve the seeds.

2011-10-02 04The excitement of finding a bean seed.  We will be letting them dry out and saving to replant.  We have also saved snow pea seeds.  Miss O had fun sorting the bean and pea seeds into separate containers.

2011-10-02 05Helping with the harvest.

There were lots of other things that did not get captured on film.  Pulling up the spent broccoli and cauliflower plants and dragging the up to the compost bin as well as pulling the old snow pea vine off the trellis.

Miss O helped me cook and we made a fruit slice with passionfruit icing as well as currant, orange and poppyseed muffins.  The girls took some muffins home to put in their lunchboxes for daycare tomorrow.

I also managed to get a little sewing done.  2 pairs of shorts are finished.  Here they are on the models.

2011-10-02 06And the second pair.

2011-10-02 07It is a pleasure to see the sheer delight on the faces of my grandchildren when they can help with the jobs we do every day.  I am reminded that what I am doing is ‘right’ and I look forward to sharing many more things as they get older.

Creative Cookery

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Many of my recipes are adaptations of ones I have been given, or based on meals that have been served to me over the years.

Tonight I made Chilli Chicken with Corn Chips for dinner.  This recipe was given to me many years ago.  It was one of those recipes that did not rely on specific quantities and mine has evolved over the years.

My quantities are for 2 of us with leftovers for lunches.  It could easily serve 4 adults.

Chill Chicken with Corn Chips

Make a fairly stiff white sauce using plain flour, butter and skim milk.  Season with black pepper.

Add shredded cooked chicken (I use 1 chicken breast fillet, steamed)

Add sliced mushrooms – I use about 250g because we have an abundance of mushrooms.

Place mixture in a shallow casserole dish.

2011-09-07 01Dice 1/2 onion and lightly fry.  Make tomato sauce by adding 400g tin of diced tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, fresh chilli or chilli paste (as much as you like to taste) and a splash of white wine (optional).  Simmer until reduced a little.

2011-09-07 02Pour tomato mixture over the chicken.  Top with a layer of corn chips and grated cheese.  Cook in the oven or under the grill until heated through and crisp on top.

2011-09-07 03Serve with rice and vegetables.  I usually have broccoli and carrots.

2011-09-07 04I usually have nachos the following night to use the rest of the corn chips.  If you want to be organised you can make a double quantity of the tomato mixture and use the extra instead of salsa on the nachos.

NACHOS

Corn chips

Crockpot refried beans

Tomato salsa

Grated cheese

Layer the corn chips on a baking tray, spoon refried beans, salsa and grated cheese over the chips.  Repeat in layers until all of the chips are used.  Cook in the oven until hot and crisp.

I plan to make an Anzac cake tomorrow night to maximise the use of the oven.

Waste Not

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Like last week there were Granny Smith apples left over on Friday so I brought 3 home and this time I made an apple pie.

I stewed the apples with a few whole cloves and used the sweet pastry recipe which is here.

Pie base with apple added

Completed and brushed with milk – ready to go in the oven

Ready to serve

I also squeezed an assortment of less than perfect citrus – lemons, oranges, mandarins and grapefruit.  I added some sugar and made up a drink using 1/3 juice and 2/3 soda water.  It was nice and refreshing.

Both the drink and apple pie used ingredients that would otherwise have been watsed.

What have you cooked or made so that ingredients do not get wasted?

Pastry for Pies, Quiches and Tarts

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We all have some things that we feel unable to cook successfully.  My nemesis is scones.  I must try again one day.  In the meantime if anyone has a foolproof scone recipe I am willing to give it a go.

Pastry is something that many people do not make from scratch for a variety of reasons.  I must admit I used to buy the sheets of pastry from the supermarket.  I would still buy puff pastry if I specifically needed that as I believe it is quite challenging and time-consuming to make.

Shortcrust pastry is a different matter and in an attempt to reduce the packaging that we accept into our home I have returned to my tried and true pastry recipes (sweet and savoury) which came from my mother.  I have used these intermittently for many years.

SHORTCRUST PASTRY (SAVOURY)

Ingredients

200g self-raising flour

100g butter

¼ cup cold water

Method

Place flour in a bowl.  Finely shred the butter and rub into the flour until crumbly.  Add cold water and stir in with a knife blade to make a firm dough.  Wrap in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  Remove from refrigerator.  Knead on a lightly floured board and roll out thinly.  Use as desired for quiche, savoury pie, sausage rolls etc.

Hints

I always use ‘real’ butter – not margarine or spreadable butter.  You will not get the same results with substitute ingredients in this case.

Use beaten egg to brush the top and underside of pie tops.  This will stop the pastry absorbing liquid from the filling and becoming soggy.

SWEET PASTRY

Ingredients

90g self-raising flour

60g plain flour

30g cornflour

90g butter

60g sugar

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon milk

Method

Sift the flours.  Rub in the butter.  Beat sugar, egg yolk and milk and add to other ingredients.  Knead gently and roll out pastry.  Place in pie plate.  Crimp the edges and prick with a fork.  Bake in a moderate oven.

Hints

This pastry is more delicate to work with but makes a lovely shell for a sweet tart such as lemon meringue or caramel.  I have not used it for anything other than tart shells but I am sure it could be.

Here are the finished sausage rolls using savoury shortcrust pastry.  I also made a mushroom and bacon quiche as well as tops for 2 mini beef pies.  These were the circles cut from the pastry in an earlier photo.  I made a double quantity of pastry to do all of this.

Pastry-making is a skill worth having and the results are rewarding.

 

Re-Fried Beans – Let Me Count the Ways

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One of the first recipes I added to the blog was a recipe for making refried beans in a slow-cooker/crockpot.  It is a recipe that came from Mimi on Simple Savings. Here is the recipe.

Crockpot Refried Beans – by Mimi on Simple Savings

2 cups dried red kidney beans
1 cup red lentils
3/4 cup olive oil
6 cups water
1 onion diced
6 cloves of garlic, sprinkled with a touch of oil and roasted for 15 minutes in a moderate oven (more or less according to your love of garlic!)
1 tin peeled tomatoes
1 teaspoon smoky paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1-2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 Bay Leaf

Squeeze the roasted garlic out of it’s papery shell. Chop the peeled tomatoes.

Combine everything in the crock pot, and cook on high for 9 hours (if an old one like mine) or probably on low if yours is a newer model. You can also simmer this on the stove top for 2-3 hours.

Remove the Bay Leaf.

Empty into a food processor and blend until smooth, or mash well with a potato masher.

I love this recipe and use it all the time.  It freezes brilliantly and is really versatile – can be used in nachos, tacos, enchiladas, vegetarian pies as well as some of my original creations.  I hope you like it.

Nachos - ready for oven
A special thank you to Mimi who posted this on the Simple Savings forum 3 years ago.  It has become a staple in our household.

This recipe has become part of our staple diet and it is so versatile and can be used in many different ways.  It is also suitable for freezing so making a big quantity is no problem – I just freeze it in 500g portions.

Last night I cooked up another mix of re-fried beans so I thought I would share some of the possible uses.

Once I have used the stick blender they look like this.

Re-fried beans
Serve as a dip with crackers and vegetable sticks.  Include a dish of salsa or guacamole to complete the Mexican theme.

Make nachos using dollops of bean mixture, salsa and grated cheese between the layers of corn chips.

Bean tacos make a cheap and filling vegetarian option.

Spread on bread, toast or wraps as a tasty base for other fillings.

Use as the base for a Mexican layered dip and serve with corn chips.

Or you can create your own dish and perhaps share your ideas here.

TIP:  The first thing is to give any new creation (whatever it is) a name.  This will give you much more credibility with the family than answering, “Oh, something I made up with what was in the pantry/refrigerator”.

Here is one to get you started.

Mexican Bean Pie

Quantity of refried bean mixture

Cooked rice

Salsa/chilli/Tabasco sauce to taste (optional)

Grated cheese

Dry breadcrumbs

Mix together to get a fairly firm mix.  Press into a loaf tin or pie plate. Top with cheese and breadcrumbs and bake in oven or under the grill until golden brown.

Serve with salad or vegetables.

We had this for dinner tonight served with carrots, broccoli and sliced avocado.  The broccoli and avocado were from our garden.


Inspired

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I have been inspired by reading the series of blog posts this week by Frugal Queen.  They are refresher posts on frugality and Froogs could certainly teach us all a thing or two.  If you do not read this blog it is worth popping in to see what be achieved on very little funds with a bit of creativity.

I have a single bed which was one of the ones my father made over 50 years ago.  However, with Miss O and Belle both needing beds to sleep in when they are here I needed to think laterally.  The single bed is in the room which I use for my sewing room and since I was not prepared to give up the whole room Belle suggested a trundle bed.

I looked on Gumtree on Friday evening and found one advertised not too far from where we live.  We went and collected it yesterday.  $55 for a white tubular steel single bed and trundle in new perfect condition.  We then bought 2 new foam mattresses for $50 each (on special).

Here are the 2 beds made up and ready for use.

2011-07-10 01The top sheet on the trundle is about 20 years old, the last of 2 sets that I had when my girls were young and the blankets on the beds are at least 50 years old.  They were mine when I was was a child and continue to be well-used.

2011-07-10 02Once the trundle bed is rolled away there is plenty of space in the room.  The doona and cover belonged to Missy when she was young.  I made the cover about 15 years ago and it is still as good as the day it was new.

The previous single bed is going to get a new life as a day-bed on the verandah.  I am thinking of making a slip cover for the mattress and also re-fashioning the frame slightly by adding a head and foot board to it.  That will be in another post.

Then there is frugal food.  On Friday I brought home 3 Granny Smith apples from the fruit basket at work as they would only get left there over the weekend and then discarded on  Monday when the new fruit is delivered.

I peeled and sliced them ready to stew.

2011-07-10 03I retrieved some rosella pulp from the freezer.  This was left from when I strained the cordial that I made.

2011-07-10 04Once the apple was stewed I mixed the fruit together and added a crumble topping.

2011-07-10 05So that was dessert.

2011-07-10 06Be sure to check out the blogs I have listed on the sidebar.  There is a wealth of interesting information.  I keep adding more blogs as I stumble upon them.