Beef and Lentil Rissoles / Buttermilk pancakes

A couple of recipes I'm going to try in the near future - I found them in a low-gi cookbook at a friends house :

beef and lentil rissoles

1/2 cup (100g) red lentils
400g lean minced beef
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 small capsicum, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp dried mixed herbs
1/3 cup tomato sauce
1 egg, lightly beaten
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
about 1/2 cup (70g) unprocessed oat bran

1. Cook the lentils in a saucepan of boiling water for about 20 mins or until soft; drain well.
2. Combine the lentils with the beef, onion, capsicum, garlic, herbs, sauce, egg and pepper in a bowl; mix well.
3. Add enough oat bran to form a burger consistency. Shape the mixture into 24 rissoles and place on a lightly greased baking tray.
4. Bake in a hot oven (220c) for about 40 minutes, or until cooked through, turning halfway through cooking time. Alternatively, cook the rissoles in a non-stick frying pan over medium high heat or until browned and cooked through.

Makes 24 small rissoles.
234kj, 4g carbs, 2g fat, 1g fibre


Buttermilk Pancakes

1 cup (100g) 1-minute oats or unprocessed oat bran
2 cups (500ml) buttermilk
1/2 cup (75g) dried fruit medley, chopped
1/2 cup (75g) plain flour, sifted
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp bicarb soda
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tsp margarine, melted
low fat milk, optional

1. Combine the oats and buttermilk in a bowl and let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Stir in the dried fruit, flour, sugar, bicarb, egg and margarine; mix thoroughly. Let stand for up to an hour.
3. After standing, add a little low fat milk if the mix is too thick.
4. Heat a non-stick frying pan and grease lightly. Pour in about 3 tablespoons of mix, cook over moderate heat until bubbly on top and lightly browned underneath. Flip and brown on other side. Repeat with remaining batter.

I've only made these with the oats, not the oat bran and also omitted the fruit medley. They are very light and fluffy with a nice consistency due to the oats. Serve with some stewed fruit and low-fat plain or vanilla yoghurt.

Easy Tuna Dip

Thank you to another Lisa for this recipe! Here is my version. This was a huge hit on Christmas Eve at my place.

Easy Tuna Dip

250g (8oz) cream cheese
185g (6oz) can tuna in brine or springwater
4tbs sweet chilli sauce

Drain tuna really well. (I tipped mine into a sieve and left it to drain for about 5 mins - stirring it a couple of times. If your can is slightly larger it won't make any difference to the finished product.
Allow cream cheese to soften, then beat it with electric mixer till it is soft and fluffy.
Stir in tuna and chilli sauce and mix until all combined.
Taste and add more sweet chilli sauce, to your own taste.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serve with hard biscuits, as the dip sets once you refrigerate it.

Recipe can be halved.
If using the soft cream cheese in the tub you won't need to whip it first.
Also you can cheat and buy the tuna with chilli in one of the foil sachets and just stir that through the tub of soft cream cheese!
Also works with light cream cheese.

Slow cooker cassoulet

1 onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
300g chopped bacon
2 sticks of celery, finely sliced
400g diced lamb
400g diced pork
2 cups haricot beans
1 cup beef stock
1 cup water
140g tomato paste
1 tsp dried thyme
400g can diced tomatoes
1 bouquet garni
salt

topping
50g butter
2 cups soft breadcrumbs
1/ cup chopped parsley to serve

Add all ingredients to slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 8-10 hours, stirring halfway through cooking if possible.

Topping
Melt the butter in a frying pan and fry breadcrumbs until golden.

Serve cassoulet sprinkled with parley and toasted crumbs.
Place

Thyme Dumplings - to top a slow cooker casserole

1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp dried thyme
25g butter
approx 1/2 cup milk

Combine flour, baking powder and thyme. Melt butter and mix into flour. Add milk until a soft dough is formed. Roll mixture into balls and drop onto top of casserole. Do this about 1/2 an hour before the casserole is ready.

Slow cooker - Moroccan Hotpot with cornbread

2 red onions, peeled and thinly sliced
6 chicken thighs, cut in half
2 chorizo sausages, cut in 2cm slices
400g can moroccan-style tomatoes
1/2 cup water

Place onions, tomatoes, chorizo and chicken into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.
Half an hour before the end of cooking, spoon corn bread topping onto the chicken mixture, spreading to cover. Turn the slow cooker to HIGH and cook for a further half hour.

CORN BREAD TOPPING
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp paprika
25g melted butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk

Mix all dray ingredients together. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Mix together wet ingredients and pour into the well. Mix well to combine.

Slow cooker Minestrone

Serves 6-8

1 c red kidney beans
2 carrots, diced
3 pieces celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 rashers bacon, de-rinded and chopped
2 x 400g tins tomatoes
1/4 c tomato paste
6 c boiling chicken stock
1 bouquet garni
1 c macaroni elbows
1/4 small cabbage, finely sliced
salt
parmesan cheese to serve

Soak kidney beans overnight. Drain and rinse, discarding soaking water.
Alternatively, boil for 15-20 minutes, discarding cooking water.
Place the following in the slow cooker: soaked beans, carrots, celery, garlic, bacon, tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken stock and bouquet garni. Cover and cook on high for 6-8 hours.
Add macaroni an hour before the end as well as salt to taste. Add cabbage half and hour before ready to serve. Serve hot garnished with shaved Parmesan cheese.

***Did you know that red kidney beans, unlike other beans must be presoaked or precooked before using in the slow cooker. These beans contain aflotoxins, which are removed in the pre-soaking.
Don't be tempted to keep the soaking/precooking water you are not wasting nutrients but stopping these toxins making you sick.

Spicy Chickpea Salad

I've been trying to replicate a bought salad, I think this might come close. I've yet to try it as I don't have the ingredients on hand. I'd love your feedback if you try it before I do!

Dressing
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground paprika

Salad
400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
10-12 cherry tomatoes, halved (or you could use 2-3 large ones roughly chopped)
a handful of chopped parley
salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all the ingredients for the dressing together well.
Likewise toss all the salad ingredients together.
Pour dressing over salad, stir well.
leave for at least and hour for flavours to develop.
Season with salt and pepper to taste, before serving.

Makes 2 serves.

Fresh Pear Cake/s

I'm going to try this on the weekend as I have some pears laying around.

150g softened butter
150g caster sugar
150g plain flour, sifted
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tbs baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 pears, peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 cup flaked almonds

Preheat oven to 170c
Line a medium 12 cup muffin pan.
Beat together all ingredients, except pears and almonds, in a bowl with an electric mixer - until light and creamy.
Spoon mixture into each cup - lay a couple of slices of pear on top of each and sprinkle over almonds.
Bake for 18-20 minutes.
Cool on wire rack.

This can also be baked in a greased and lined 20cm springform pan @ 180c for 45 minutes.

Apricot, white chocolate and oat muffins (updated)

These were a bit of an experiment to use up some of the remaining home preserved apricots.
I forgot the oats in the original recipe, but they are here now :)
Makes 24 medium muffins

425g tin of apricots in syrup, drained quickly (I used home preserved ones)
1&1/3 cups white sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
3 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup quick cooking oats
3/4 cup white chocolate chunks, chips or buds
extra white chocolate


Puree apricots (could also use fresh or dried ones that have been stewed).
Stir in sugar, oil and eggs.
Lightly stir in remaining ingredients until just combined.
Spoon batter into lightly greased/lined muffin tins.
Top each muffin with a piece of the remaining chocolate.
Bake 15-18 minutes in 180c /425f oven.
Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan.
These are awesome when still warm.

Old fashioned rice pudding in a slow cooker

Loosely adapted another recipe to make this - cinnamon was nice but I think next time I would use less or leave it out altogether.

3/4 cup white long grain rice
3 & 1/2 cups milk
3 tbs powered milk
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch salt
3 tbs butter (I grated mine into the mix)

Grease the inside of the slow cooker.
Stir in all the other ingredients.
Cook on high for 2 &1/2 to 3 hours.
Check after the lesser time - it will also keep cooking after the slow cooker is turned off...so turn it off when there is still a bit of liquid - it will solidify on standing.

Satay Chicken (slow cooker)

This one is loosely based on one that I think came from a FlyLady email.

12 skinless chicken thighs
3 tbs soy sauce
4-6 cloves garlic (crushed)
1tsp powdered ginger
3 tsp oil
2 tbs chilli sauce
1/3 cup peanut butter

Combine all the sauce/marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix well - except for peanut butter. Toss halved chicken thighs in mixture to coat thoroughly.
Pour everything into lightly greased slow cooker.
Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
Remove chicken from dish and stir in peanut butter and
2tbs cornflour dissolved in 2 tbs water.
Return chicken to the pot and cook on high for 30 minutes.
Serves 6 with rice.

Swiss Steak (slow cooker recipe)

Antotehr in my series of family favourites. I think this one came from the aussie slow cookers group on yahoo. Thank you to whoever added it!


Swiss Steak

1/4 cup flour
salt and pepper
750g diced beef/steak
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, diced
2 small (440g) tins of chopped tomatoes
1 tbs worcestershire sauce
2 tbs brown sugar

Toss steak in flour, seasoned to taste with salt and pepper.
Saute onion, cerely and carrot together in a frypan (or skip this step if short on time)
Place everything into the slow cooker and mix it well.
Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.***

Great served with mashed potoatoes and green vegetables.

*** Just remember not all slow cookers are created equal. The latest generation of slow cookers tend to cook hotter and faster than the older models. Make sure you test drive any new recipes on a day that you will be home. Then you'll know what timing and settings work for you!

Pasta Mince Casserole

This is the first in a new series of family favourite recipes - a lot of friends have been asking me for these as well as some of my favourite slow cooker recipes. it seems a few of my friends got slow cookers for Mother's Day and now need new recipes for them.
This one is an oven recipe that my Mum gave me - it is in her handwriting in an old diary. It was one of her very practical gifts to me, early on in my married life.
This one is also great to make up the night before, but don't put it in the oven till the next day. Also makes great leftovers and freezes well.

Pasta Mince Casserole
1 large onion (diced)
500g topside mince
3/4 cup grated carrot
2 medium tomatoes (chopped) or 1/2 tin drained chopped tomatoes
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 cups shell or elbow macaroni (cooked for about 7 mins)
2 cups grated tasty cheese
1 440g can cream of mushroom/celery soup or cream of soup replacement (see below)

Method
Little oil in a pan.
Add onion to meat, stir over high heat until lightly browned
Add carrot, Worcestershire sauce and chopped tomatoes.
Then add can of soup (or substitute), stir until heated through.
Grease a long casserole dish.
Place a layer of macaroni.
Layer of cheese.
Layer of mince mixture.
Continue until you finish with a cheese layer.
Cook for a bout 35 mins at about 180c, until cooked and lightly browned on top.

Not sure which website I got this recipe from but it worked well as a replacement for the tinned soup! Thank you to whoever it was :)

Condensed cream of chicken soup
1.5 cups homemade chicken stock
1 small onion finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tbs fresh parsley (1/4 tsp dried)
dash of paprika
1.5 cups reduced fat milk
0.75 cup plain flour


Method
Boil together stock, 0.5 cup milk and the seasonings for 3-5 minutes.
In a separate bowl whisk together the remaining milk and flour until smooth. Add tot he boiling stock mixture and continue whisking until the mix boils and thickens.
Mixture should be cooled and then refrigerated or frozen in portions.
Make approx 3 cups.
1.5 cups is roughly the equivalent of a 440g tin of condensed soup.

Chocolate Truffles (UPDATED)

I've had these twice over the past month at two separate Tupperware parties. I wanted to just post the link to the Tupperware Recipe page, but seems they are redesigning it right now so I am posting it here instead! Thought these would make a great Mother's Day gift or you could serve them with coffee at a mothers day meal :)

Tuppertruffles

Ingredients

50g walnuts or hazelnuts
300g dark cooking chocolate
100g good quality dark eating chocolate
25g copha (OR BUTTER)

Fudge centre
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 tbs orange liqueur
1/4 tsp finely grated orange rind or few drops of orange essence
1 tbs dessicated coconut

cocoa for dusting

Method

1. Toast nuts on a microwave proof lid/plate in the microwave for 2 mins on 650w (medium high). Set aside to cool slightly. To remove the brown skins of the hazelnuts, place in a clean tea towel and rub together. Roughly chop the nuts and set aside.
2. Place the roughly chopped chocolate into a microwave proof jug. Grate the copha/butter and add to the jug. Microwave for two minutes on 650w (medium high), until softened but not all melted. Keep gently stirring until all the chocolate melts.
3. Place the sweetened condensed milk, liqueur, orange rind, coconut and nuts into a bowl. Add 1/4 cup of the melted chocolate mix from step 2. Stir well until the mix become thick and fudge like.
4. Carefully spoon just enough melted chocolate to cover the base of your ice cube tray. top with approximately 1/2 tsp of the fudge mix. Spoon over a little more melted chocolate to encase the fudge centre.
5. Refrigerate or freeze the ice cube tray for 15-30 minutes or until set. Twist the tray to release the chocolate. Arrange artfully on a plate and dust lightly with cocoa before serving.

Notes:

*I used the Tupperware ice cube trays for these, but I have made other chocolates using other brands of ice cube trays - just as long as they are deep trays these will work.
* Truffles will keep for up to two weeks in a sealed container, in the pantry. In hot weather it is best to keep them refrigerated.
* Using milk or white chocolates in place of the dark will also work, but be sure to use 500w (medium) when melting these.
* Nuts can be substituted with dried fruit snipped into small pieces. Adding a whole hazelnut to the centre would also be nice.
* We doubled the quantity of orange liqueur and the taste was still very subtle.
* Butter worked well in place of the copha although the chocolates do melt a bit quicker in your fingers, unfortunately this means you will have to either eat them quickly or lick your fingers! How unfortunate!

Be warned you can really only eat one of these, they are very rich and very chocolaty!

Shoestring Sunday - Leftovers

Today we had a bbq lunch, as a belated celebration for my boyfriends birthday. After the bbq I had to decide what we were going to eat for dinner. Leftover from lunch I had 1/2 a garden salad and two pieces of marinated steak that had been barbequed.
I thought for a while and then decided I would make a thai beef salad with what I had on hand.

Thai Beef Salad

Dressing
1 1/2 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs sweet chilli sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp powered ginger
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbs finely chopped mint

Salad
2 pieces cooked steak, sliced into thin strips
200g pkt grape tomatoes
1 continental cucumber, thinly sliced diagonally
1 capsicum, cut into thin strips
1 carrot, sliced inot thin rings
1 red onion, halved, cut into thin wedges
mixed salad leaves

Method
Whisk together all the sauce ingredients.
Place the steak in a bowl and drizzle with half the dressing.
Combine the salad ingredients together and then add the meat.
Toss again and then divide inot bowls for serving, drizzle each with some of the reserved dressing.

Oriental Mince

Oriental Mince

This is my version of savory mince, with an asian twist on the sauce.

500g minced beef
1 onion, finely diced
2 tbs oil
2 cups shredded cabbage
2 cups mixed vegetables (I used, zucchini, carrots, mushrooms)
2 tbs oyster sauce
1 beef or vegetable stock cube (I used 1 tsp vegeta)
1 tbs soy sauce
2 tsp sugar

Brown mince and onion together, in half the oil. Remove and keep warm, add remaining oil, vegetables and cabbage and fry until cooked through/softened to your liking. Add mince back into pan. Stir to combine. Mixture will still be quite wet, if not add about 1/8 cup water. Make a well in the centre of the pan and add remaining ingredients, combining with pan juices. Then mix together ensuring that everything is coated in the sauce.
If the remaining sauce is too thin, add 1 tbs cornflour dissolved in some water and add this to thicken.
Serve over rice or noodle or by itself is nice too!

Easy Lemon Chicken

Easy Lemon Chicken

2 tbs oil
500g boneless chicken, sliced into strips
3-4 cups finely sliced vegetables (can also use a packet of frozen stir fry veggies)
2 tbs lemon juice
1/2 chicken stock cube, crumbled
2 tbs dry sherry
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbs chilli sauce
1 tsp cornflour
1/4 cup warm water

Add one tablespoon of oil to wok and fry chicken pieces, until browned and cooked through.
Remove and keep warm. Add remaining oil to wok and add vegetables. Keep stiring until vegetables are cooked to your liking. Meanwhile combine all the remaining ingreients in a jug, stirring until well combined. When vegetables are ready, add chicken back into wok and pour in sauce. Keep stirring until sauce thickens and all ingredients are hot.
Serve by itself or with rice or noodles.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake

WARNING!!!! I take no responsibility for any calories gained from reading, making or eating this cheesecake! This ones for you Mark :P
And for the all the people who called me evil when I posted the honeycomb cheesecake recipe...this just confirms you were right :)

PEANUT BUTTER CHEESECAKE

1 c. graham cracker crumbs (I used milk arrowroot biscuits)
1/4 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 c. butter, melted
2 c. creamy peanut butter
2 c. sugar
2 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tbsp. melted butter
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. whipping cream
4 oz. semisweet chocolate
3 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. hot coffee

Cream cheese adds a rich texture to this delicious and unusual cheesecake.
Combine crumbs, brown sugar and 1/4 cup melted butter.
Press into bottom and halfway up sides of a 9 inch springform pan.
Beat peanut butter, sugar, cream cheese, 2 tablespoons butter and vanilla in large bowl of electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
Beat cream until soft peaks form.
Fold whipped cream into peanut butter mixture.
Spoon into crust.
Refrigerate 6 hours.
Melt chocolate with coffee in double boiler over gently simmering water.
Spread atop filling.
Refrigerate until firm.

N.B.I have never actually put the choc/coffee glaze onto the cheesecake as it seem rich enough already without it.

Beetroot relish

I can't remember who asked me over a week ago for the link to this recipe, but here it is again and also have reproduced the recipe for those who can't get the link to work.

Yummy Beetroot Relish
Chef: Leanne Arfuso
In a Pickle's Leanne Arfuso makes relishes and chutneys an artform.
Beetroot is easy to grow and in this relish, delicious to eat!

You need:
1 kg beetroot – raw, peeled and grated
750 ml white vinegar
Bring to the boil in a wide mouthed pan. Cover and simmer for 10 min.
Add
1 kg cooking apples - peeled, cored and grated
500 g onions – chopped
5 garlic cloves - diced
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 ½ tsp Spanish paprika
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
500 g brown sugar
Method:Bring mixture back to the boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved.
Simmer uncovered 1 ½ hours or until relish has thickened.
Stir vigorously every 10-15 minutes, more often as the vinegar cooks down.
Bottle into warm clean, dry, sterilized jars.
Screw clean, sterilized lids into place while still hot.
Although bottles can be recycled, lids should always be new with every batch of pickles, chutney or relish.
Enjoy!

This recipe makes about 4 jam sized jars of relish :)

Homemade Irish Cream

Stephanie from Stop the Ride requested this one! Be careful who you give it to as once you start making it at Christmas, people expect it every year. Having said that it makes a great gift! I have a small collection of Grolsch beer bottles (the ones with the swing top lids and a rubber seal). I think they hold about 600ml so they are an excellent size for a gift. Also I tell the recipients that if they don't return the bottles they won't get any next year!

Irish Cream

2 x 400g tins condensed milk
2 x 400g tins evaporated milk
600ml pouring cream
300g milk chocolate
1 tsp coffee granules
700ml bottle of whisky

Melt chocolate in condensed milk, stir in coffee while still warm then allow to cool. Then mix together remaining ingredients, ensuring everything is well mixed. Decant into bottles stirring well in between filling each one. Store in the fridge. Shake before using.

I did try to find conversion charts for all of these, but then I wasn't sure which countries to do them for in the end. All mine are in Australian weights and measures so hope that helps!
Enjoy in Moderation!