Vegetable & Tortellini Soup

I made this yummy little soup a couple of weeks ago. It was DE-LISH!!!  I got it out of the June 2012 issue of Recipes +.

INGREDIENTS
1 tbspn vegetable or olive oil
1 brown onion, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
1 red capsicum, chopped (but I only used a half)
400g can diced tomatoes with basil & garlic
2 large vegetable stock cubes
1zucchini, quartered lengthwise, sliced
250g dried cheese tortellini (found in the dry pasta aisle)
400g can cannellini beans, rinsed
1/2 cup shredded basil leaves
(And to please the non vege eaters in our house I also included 250g diced bacon but this soup really didn't need it!)

METHOD
1. Heat oil in a saucepan over hightheat. Add onion, celery & capsicum (I also added the bacon in this step); cook and stir for 3 minutes or until soft.  Add tomatoes, crumbled stock cubes and 3 cups water.  Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low; cover.  Simmer for 30 minutes or unti lvegetables are tender.  add zucchini; simmer, covered, for 5 minutes more or until tender.
2.  Meanwhile, cook tortellini in a saucepan of voiling salted water for 8 minutes or until tneder. drain.
3.  Add beans to soup; cook and stir until heated.  Stir in tortellini and half the basil.  Season.  Serve topped with remaining basil. I served it up with some yummy bread.

Here are the pics I took on Mr C's iPhone (because I couldn't find my camera. he he heh, opps).

Mr Magoo had a small sip and declared "Wow, this tastes HEAPS better than I thought it would!"  Yeah thanks Mr almost 9...  
H liked the tortellini ad bacon best and ate them first.  Silly duffer should have saved them for last but he hasdn't figured that out yet. Lol.

I will DEFINATELY make this again!

Bye for now, K

Oven Baked Sausage & Tomato Risotto

I was talking to a friend on the phone the other day that I speak to maybe once every 3 months.  When we talk it's like we never skipped a beat.  We've been like it for years.  We certainly don't always see eye to eye on things but we're OK with that.  Anyway, last time we chatted she was making risotto. I've made a vegetable risotto before but it got me thinking about making something different for a change so google & Taste.com were visited.

This is what I came up with...

INGREDIENTS
1 tblspn oil (if you need it)
725g italian sausages
1 brown onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
3 celery stalks, sliced
400g can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, to serve

METHOD
1.  Preheat oven to 180deg C.  Heat oil in a 12 cup flame proof casserole or ovenproof saucepan (such as my new Como Advanced Saute Pan from The Chefs Toolbox) over medium heat. Fry sausages for 10 minutes, turning until browned and almost cooked. Remove from pan.

2.  Add onion to saucepan, and more oil if you needed.  Cook for 5 to 8 minutes until soft.

3.  Slice sausages into bite-sized pieces.

4.  Add rice and celery to saucepan.  Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring.  Add sausages, tomatoes, stock and water.  Stir.  Remove from heat. Cover with lid or foil.

5.  Transfer dish to the oven & cook for 30 to 35 minutes or untilalmost all the liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, but firm to the bite.  Serve sprinkled with parsley.

I left mine in a little too long so I sprinkled each plate with water before serving it up.

It turned out we're not huge fans of italian sausage. Lol.  It was still pretty good though.  Even after two had two lunches from the left overs there was still PLENTY left too.  I think we could almost half the recipe next time.  I'd like to try it with extra lean pork sausages I think.

Do you have a favourite risotto recipe you'd care to share??

Bye for now, K

Five-spice Pork and Plum Stir-fry

This weeks Food Find came from the March issue of Super Food Ideas.  (I couldn't find the recipe online though, so I hope I don't get into trouble for sharing it. Shhhh.)

INGREDIENTS

sauce, stock & spice mixed together

1/3 cup plum sauce (although, as usual I used more)
2 tbsp chicken stock (or more if using a thick sauce)
1/4 tspn Chinese five spice
500g pork leg steaks, thinly sliced
350g fresh chow mein noodles
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 brown onion, cut into thin wedges (I didn't have any in the pantry though)
1 large carrot, peeled, halved lengthways, slice diagonally

Pork in the sauce mixture

200g green beans, trimmed

METHOD
1.  Combine plum sauce, stock and Chinese five spice in a bowl.  Place pork in a glass or ceramic bowl.  Add half the sauce mixture.  Stir to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour, if time permits. (It didn't in my house.)

Cooking pork in batches

2.  Place noodles in a heatproof bowl.  Cover with boiling water.  stand for 1 to 2 minutes or until just tender. Drain. Using a fork, separate noodles.
3.  Heat a wok over high heat.  Add half the oil. Swirl to coat.  Stir-fry pork, in bathces, for 2 to 3 minutes or until just cooked.  Transfer to a bowl.  Wipe wok clean with paper towel (I did this between batches).

Stir-fry vegetables until tender

4.  Add remaining oil to wok over high heat.  Swirl to coat.  Add onion.  Stir-fry for 1 minute or until onion has softened.  Add carrot and beans.  Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until tender.  Return pork to wok.  add noodles and remaining sauce mixture.  Stir-fry for 1 minute or until heated through.

Finished product (sorry about the picture quality)

We ALL loved it!  We will definately be having this again!!  Might even pick a slightly spicier sauce next time, or mix it up with different vegies (although the simple vegies appealed to us all).

To save time in the evening, you can prepare it all earlier in the day, & then it's just a matter of cooking it come that crazy time :)

Bye for now, K

P.S. I thought I'd scheduled this for Friday morning but clearly I FORGOT!

Tuna Mornay

I said I would share recipes I've never made before and in all honesty I've never made this version of tuna mornay before. I've made packet varieties but never from scratch. I found it in the March 2012 issue of Super Food Ideas but it can also be found here.

INGREDIENTS
50g butter, chopped
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 large celery stalk, trimmed, finely chopped
1/4 cup plain flour
2 cups milk
2/3 cup grated cheddar cheese (although I had tasty in the fridge)
425g can tuna in springwater, drained, flaked
1 medium bread roll
olive oil cooking spray

I made a very basic salad of baby cos lettuce, cucumber and tomato, to accompany it.

METHOD
1.  Preheat oven to 180deg C.  Heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat for 2 minutes or until melted & foaming.  Add onion and celery.  Cook for 2-3 minutes or until onion has softened.  Add flour.  Using a wooden spoon stir to combine.  Cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes or until mixture bubbles.
2.  Remove pan from heat.  Slowly add milk, 1/4 cup at a time, stirring constantly to prevent lumps forming.  Return pan to medium heat.  Cook, stirring for 5 minutes or until sauce boils and thickens,  Remove from heat.  Stir in cheese and tuna.
3.  Transfer the mixture to an ovenproof dish. Break the bread roll up & sprinkle it over the top.  Lightly spray with oil.  Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.  Serve with side salad.

Mr Creator isn't normally a fan of tuna mornay, but he had a second helping.  The kids all liked it too and it was really a quick, easy meal for the family.  We'll be having this again :)

Bye for now, K

Baked Tomato and Basil Gnocchi (with Bacon)

I have seen lots of recipes for gnocchi and I've looked at this recipe several times, but something was always holding me back.  I think it was the stories I've heard from others about how gnocchi goes tough if not cooked "just right", so I'd always avoided it.

I decided enough was enough & dove into this recipe from the Planning Queen at Planning with Kids.  She also has a facebook page if you're interested.

INGREDIENTS
750g gnocchi
500mls pasta sauce
I also added 4 rashers of middle bacon
1 onion
2 gloves garlic
300mls cream (I used light cooking cream)
2 tbsps olice oil (I omitted this)
3 tbsps fresh basil
90g sun dried tomato
approx 100g fresh grated parmesan cheese

METHOD

Bacon, onion & garlic

Boil water for pasta
Finely chop onion & basil
Dice bacon (rough large dice)
If you don't use the bacon you'll need to add oil to a large frying pan (but there's enough fat in the bacon to not need it)
Add bacon, onion & garlic and cook for several minutes, until the bacon is almost done & the onion has softened

Cream has been stirred in

Add sun dried tomatoes
Add pasta sauce to frying pan and turn heat down slighlty. Simmer for 3-4 minutes.
Add cream to frying pan and mix well. Turn heat up slighlty to allow to bubble then reduce heat and allow sauce to thicken.
Add basil
Place gnocchi into boiling water as per instructions on packet!
Turn grill to high heat
Drain gnocchi

Drained gnocchi

Add gnocchi to the frying pan and combine wellPour contents of pan into a lasagne dish, even out as required
Cover with parmesan cheese and place under grill until cheese has melted
Serve with warm garlic bread or garlic pizza
ENJOY!


Like the Planning Queen say, it's not a very interesting dish to photograph, so you can see her photo of the finished product by following the link.  It was YUMMY though.  I'll definately be cooking this again.  I might add other vegies or meat next time too.

Bye for now, K

Fish with Lemon & Dill Flavouring

This weeks Friday Food Find was actually "found" a few weeks ago but incase you hadn't noticed I've been away from the blog a little too much.

I've been trying to add more fish to our diets.  Mr Creator & I aren't really huge fish fans, but I know we need it (so if you have an easy fish recipe you like feel free to share).  We certainly don't eat enough of it but I try to have at least three seafood meals in a fortnight.  Usually fish or prawns.

This one was EASY!!  We liked it & so did Mr Magoo.  The other two wouldn't try it but Mr H liked the potato/tomato sample he had on his plate.

The instructions were simple and easy to follow.  I'll paraphrase...

1.  Purchase this from supermarket.

2.  Preheat oven to temp specified on back of packet.

3.  Remove cook-in-the-bag bag from packet.

3.  Fill said bag with sliced potato, tomatoes & fish. 

4.  Then add contents of remaining pocket from original packet purchased and add water as specified (although if you somehow happen to forget & remember when more than half of said cooking time has expired, do not fret. You can add it late and it still tastes great.)

5.  Seal bag as directed, bake in oven for specified time.  While baking, prepare an appropriate side such as salad or blanched broccolini.

6. Serve and enjoy :)

Told ya it was easy! Will try another of these I think.

 

Bye for now, K

Just so you know I have not been paid or compensated in any way for this post by Continental or any company associated with Continental (but if they want to share a little they can. Lol).

Prawn, Tofu & Egg Noodle Stir-fry

This recipe came from  a sample sized Australian Healthy Food Guide magazine that arrived with my BUPA health insurance magazine recently.  Similar recipes can be found on the Healthy Food Guide website here.

The original recipe called for chicken, but I decided on prawn.  The kids ate it too but only the older kids liked it. I've since made it again, (last night) because I forgot to take a picture of the final product.

I got it all ready early in day so all I needed to do was cook it

INGREDIENTS
300g fresh rice noodles
cooking oil spray
300g peeled green prawns
500g pumpkin, peeled, cut into thin slices
2 cups broccoli florets (I just used a whole head)
1 bunch baby bok choy, shredded
4 green onions, sliced
Bottle of Oriental Plum marinade/stir-fry sauce (recipe called for 1/3 cup but I used it all)
250g firm tofu, cut into small cubes

We even had the tofu

METHOD

1. Place noodles into a large bowl and cover with boiling water.  Separate with a fork, drain and set aside.
2. Spray a wok with oil and adjust heat to high.  Cook prawns in batches until cooked through and set aside.
3. Return wok to high heat. Add pumpkin and 2 tablespoons of water. Stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add broccoli for a further two minutes.  Add bok choy and onion. Stir-fry for a further 2 minutes until bok choy is tender.  Return prawns to wok and add stir-fry sauce. Add tofu and noodles.  Toss through to combine before serving.

cooked the prawns in batches

Vegies done, about to finish off

Ready to serve :)  (Minus the tofu, with extra pumpkin & prawns)

Afternoons get pretty busy in our house with two doing homework and reading, one wanting to do homework, one needing feeding and three out of five weekday afternoons we have extra activities to get to.  So where possible I get things ready ahead of time.  The vegies and tofu were all cut and the prawns were peeled and deveined waiting to go.  I just put everything in the fridge till it was time to get dinner happening.  I wish I could say I was organised enough to tell you I do this all the time but I'm not...  Perhaps one day I will be, but I doubt it. Lol.

The second time I made this I purhased 1.2kg of green prawns, peeled and deveined them and omitted the tofu. I used 700g of pumpkin instead of 500g  and also used Honey, Soy & Garlic sauce the second time. (The kids and I preferred the Oriental Plum version better but I think it comes down to personal preference. You could easily make your own sauce too.)




Bye for now, K

Meaty Pasta Bake

Sorry that this weeks Friday Food Find comes to you on Saturday but things happen...

This recipe can be made beforehand and frozen for a quick midweek meal when you know you'll be otherwise tempted to grab takeaway (I really should remember this more often), or just made in the morning & reheated that evening (I often pick recipes I can do that with).  If you pick your ingredients well it's relatively healthy too.  You can have all reduced fat/skim options in the topping or skip the topping completely.  This recipe is what I used and there was plenty left over for a few lunches.  I used the bigger type of macaroni but I think next time I might use the tiny macaroni or even the little baby shells.  I think they'll fold through more easily.  Everyone has probably had something like it & just forgotten how easy it can be to make.

Meat Sauce:
700g lean mince*
420g can tomato soup, undiluted (homebrand is fine)
1 small onion finely diced
1 cup grated carrot
3/4 cup grated zucchini
3/4 cup frozen peas
2 tablespoons tomato paste (I used salt reduced)
2 teaspoons beef stock powder
3 cups cooked pasta

Topping:
(I had NEVER made this before, it is normally Mr Creator's domain)
1 tablespoon reduced fat butter
3 level tablespoons plain flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup grated reduced fat cheese



Preheat oven to 180deg.

Cook pasta as per packet instructions.

Cook mince in a large non-stick frying pan until browned.  Add tomato soup, onion, carrot, zucchini & peas. Cook while stirring for 2 minutes.  Add stock powder and tomato paste. Cook for further 5 minutes stirring often.  Fold through cooked pasta and spoon into lasagne style dish.

Melt your butter/margarine in saucepan, add flour, cook for a minute. Slowly add milk using a whisk, stir continuously, to avoid lumps**.  Pour the sauce over the meat then sprinkle with grated cheese.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Just prior to going in the oven...

Miss Pants said she didn't like hers but when it was reheated and given to her again for lunch the next day, because her dinner had been glad wrapped and put it in the fridge untouched, she DID like it. Everyone else loved it.



* I used Woolworths heart smart beef mince in this one, but next time I will use the Heart Foundation Tick Approved Turkey mince.  We eat a lot of mince (because it's so cheap) and have found that there are still healthy options in mince.  It's great. 
** I didn't think I needed a whisk but I got it out quick smart!!