Old Fashioned Menu

I remember last fortnight being aghast at all the red capsicums I had to buy and zucchini. My fruit and vege order was very expensive, but I don't think the fault was all theirs though. I thoroughly enjoyed nearly all the meals and lots have been adapted and kept as family favourites. Red capsicum of course really lifts some meals. I was hoping to buy some meat like pork sausages and pork mince this week from somewhere, maybe I could send my husband to the village near our new house to try for some and to look locally.

My husband has hurt his leg. Usually he goes shopping for me. Today I went there after school while my daughter was with her oldest sister at a church group. I found my multifocals difficult in the supermarket. I have only had them a week or so, two probably. Anyone had the same problem when they first got their multis?

I found my supermarket has lifted their ban on plastic shopping bags. They have recycleable ones for 10c with donations for cancer or something, no one can complain about that right, boxes free. They had Polish sausage that I haven't been able to buy for ages. I didn't find any sauerkraut though I used to like making Bigos. Also some lovely curries (powder) marked down from nearly $8 to $2.

Then I had a mad dash trip to my hometown to get my multifocal glasses adjusted. I bought the sauerkraut at the regional centre on the way home at the health food shop, it was half price as it was overdue in a large jar. I got fenugreek seeds. Found this blog post about growing fenugreek. I am really glad I went to Olive Health Foods in Wodonga because they stock adzuki beans, mung beans and black turtle beans and juniper berries (pictured above with speck).

The money I used to get my glasses done, luckily the meals sort of looked after themselves. I found the silverside my husband had put in the freezer because he saw it to buy one day was invaluable. I didn't really have it on a previous menu seriously, was worried about thawing it out. So we had it for two nights, and our minestrone for two nights. We have reworked our original recipe from the MacKenzies packet. Originally I had spices for my silverside. My husband found his own from an old 80s Sunbeam? cookery book. The spices are much better. And when he made the soup from the stock from the silverside he added chilli to the water when he cooked the beans. It improved a previously loved recipe and kept it current, so now I will love it into the future.

Pork Sausage, Mushroom and Rocket Pasta

Tuesday ~ Fish & Chip takeaway
Wednesday ~ Minestrone
Thursday ~ Mexican Macaroni Cheese
Friday ~ Sausage & Rocket Risoni
Saturday ~ Left over Silverside with beans, pumpkin & Potato
Sunday ~ Bigos
Monday ~ Minestrone
Tuesday ~ Silverside and Brussel sprouts and cheese sauce
Wednesday ~ Beef Sausages wraps
Thursday ~ Pies, mashed potato, peas
Friday ~ Tuscan Beef Burritos
Saturday ~ Pies, mashed potato, peas, gravy
Sunday ~ Penne with Salmon & Broccoli
Monday ~ Roasted Pumpkin, Boc Choy and Miso Lentil Soup

Edited to add in a rocket recipe via a newsletter from taste: Broccoli & Pecorino Pasta

Interesting recipe:

can't use this atm price of basil too high.

Penne with Roast Pumpkin & Ricotta
Green Pea Soup with Polish Sausage
Lamb and Okra Curry (uses fenugreek seeds)

Success from last week: gorgeous very happy

Roasted Vegetable Risotto
Nasi Goreng with Prawns
Speedy Burritos
Chicken drumsticks & Roast Potatoes
Beef & Green Bean Chilli
Singapore Noodles

Sweet Potato Recipe that tastes like pumpkin

This recipe was adapted from a Heinz recipe. It is wonderful really. Sometimes sweet potato is a strong flavour compared to the weak tasting pumpkins you get these days. I think the pumpkin soup helps blend the rice with the sweet potato. My husband has added stock powder, no doubt that helps as well. Because we do such similar recipes all the time he is getting quite good at knowing what to do. It is good to have a family favourite sweet potato recipe. I used to have Spicy Kumara and Beans in the sidebar, but have gone away from it now, I think because the kids weren't that keen?

Sweet potatoes can be thrown into the bottom of the pantry and forgotten about until a food emergency, they are wonderful.

Roasted Vegetable Risotto

Servings: 6+

Ingredients
• 400 – 500 g sweet potato, peeled and chopped into a large dice
• 1 green capsicum, chopped into a large dice
• 2 zucchini, halved and sliced on diagonal
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cups arborio rice
• 420g can Condensed Cream of Pumpkin Soup
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp veg stock
• Fresh ground black pepper, salt.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC. After cutting vegetables, mix with oil to
cover. Place on tray lined with oven bake and sprinkle with coarse
salt. Bake sweet potato, capsicum and zucchini for 25 minutes, or
until tender.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, add the onion and cook for 5
minutes, or until softened.

3. Add the arborio rice and toss to coat in oil. Add the soup and 1
can of water, mix well with stock cube. Simmer very gently for 25 - 30 minutes, stirring often, adding boiling water as needed to keep a bit loose. Season with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper and season with 1 tsp of salt.

4. Stir in the roasted vegetables and parmesan cheese. Serve.

New Family Recipe for Chicken Pieces

Chicken drumstick and roast potatoes in a rich tomato sauce

Ingredients (serves 6)
• 12 chicken drumsticks (2 packs of pieces)
• 5-7 potatoes, peeled, cut into bite size pieces
• 3 or 4 carrots sliced diagonally (thick)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 tablespoon tomato paste
• 4 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary
• 1 teaspoon ground hot paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced finely
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• steamed vegetables, to serve
Method
1. Preheat oven to 220°C.

2. Place chicken pieces into a frypan and cook chicken pieces while
preparing the vegetables.

3. When vegetables are prepared replace frypan with oven dish on stovetop and transfer all frypan material into the dish.

4. Place potatoes and carrots into the dish. Arrange the chicken to sit on the top of the vegetables. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and
rosemary.

5. Combine stock, tomato paste and paprika in a small bowl. Pour
stock mixture into base of roasting pan (do not pour over chicken.

6. Drizzle oil over chicken and potatoes. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Serve with steamed
vegetables.

More Vegie Version of Paella

Nasi goreng with prawns

Ingredients (serves 6)
• Olive oil spray
• 4 eggs, lightly whisked
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrot, peeled, finely chopped
• 2 - 3 tsp sambal oelek
• 4 (500g approx.)single chicken breast fillet, thinly sliced
• 250g prawns canned
• (2 1/2 cups) uncooked long-grain rice
• 1/2 small wombok (Chinese cabbage), hard core removed, finely shredded
• 200g grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 tbs salt-reduced soy sauce
• 1 Lebanese cucumber, halved, thinly sliced

Method

1. Heat frypan to high. Add uncooked rice with enough oil to slightly wet. Cook until reasonably brown, stir whilst cooking. Turn down
heat add boiling water about a cup to begin with. As water is used up add more. Keep going until cooked and slightly exploding. Add 1 tsp salt and 2 tsp of chicken stock powder.

2. At same time heat a frypan over medium heat, add oil and cook
sliced chicken in batches. Put each batch into a bowl. When finished cook onions and carrots.

3. Transfer cooked onions and carrots and chicken to cooked rice. Turn down heat a little. Add sambal oelek, peeled prawns, tomatoes, soy
sauce cucumber and wombok. Stir every so often.

4. To other frypan add some oil and put in egg mixture. When cooked
cut up and put half into rice mixture., Reserve half for plate.

5. Add the rice, wombok and tomato to the wok and stir-fry for 2
minutes. Add the soy sauce and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes. Add half the omelette. Toss to combine. Divide among serving bowls. Top with cucumber and remaining omelette to serve.

I found a magazine version of this recipe, about 5 years old Family Circle.

Nasi Goreng

Serves 4

80ml peanut oil
5 spring onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 chicken breast, thinly sliced
2 cups shredded cabbage
1-2 tablespoons sambal olek
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups cold cooked long grain rice

garnishes optional: sliced chillies, coriander sprigs, crispy fried shallts, sliced cucumber, lime wedges, peanuts, chopped tomatoes.

Wombuk & Canned Prawn Menu

I got 11 meals worked out in advance, I had a good day I think that started off with a recipe I found on facebook and went from there. My husband saw some silverside and chicken at the shop, so it was extra, and has started off this menu. However with the price of basil and the fact we didn't get to grocery shop when we went to our hometown means I have moved some recipes. I have looked on my fruit and vegetable ordering site and this week it has canned beans so I am thrilled. I usually buy two of each can when I drove out of town to do the shopping. I prefer to keep 2 cans of each type of bean that I can get my hands on in the pantry, haven't felt comfortable without that lately. Have had the odd can of beans, for example chickpeas that we ended up using. A good standby when making up menus especially if something goes wrong and you have to find another recipe. I can still buy burrito and taco kits with the fruit and vegetables, it makes it easier on my husband to shop.

Tuesday ~ Speedy Burritos
Wednesday ~ Char Sui Chicken Wrap (uses wombuk)
Thursday ~ Nasi Goreng with Prawns (uses wombuk)
Friday ~ Singapore Noodles (uses canned prawns & wombuk)
Saturday ~ Greek Bean & Silverbeet Stew
Sunday ~ Spicy Bean Soup (uses asparagus)
Monday ~ Beef & Green Bean Chilli
Tuesday ~ Roasted Vegetable Risotto (uses sweet potato)
Wednesday ~ Vegetarian Bean Hot Pot (uses green beans)
Thursday ~ Silverside & Potatoes & Beans
Friday ~ Chicken drumsticks & Roast Potatoes
Saturday ~ Fragrant Egg Curry
Sunday ~ Spaghetti with Tuna, Peas and Borlotti Beans
Monday ~ Greek-style Salad with Cannellini Beans & Fish Fingers

Interesting recipes:

Sausage & Borlotti Bean Bake (uses chipolatas)
Bean Salad with Char-grilled Vegies

Costco Opens in Canberra

Costco has been open in Canberra for about 8 days now from memory. My son has been over there twice. It is at the airport in the old DFO building from what I can gather. He got a card for membership, and with that my other son gets one for free because they live in the same household. So if I go visit I'll just bring my son with me to pay and I can pay him back. I wanted to see if they had any American things for my pantry. We were cooking from a blog a month or so ago and had to adapt recipes that had chipotle in them. My son went to David Jones in Sydney and found this for me.



I buy three dozen eggs each fortnight in my online fruit and vegetable order, that is kindly brought here 1 1/2 hours drive. So Costco having eggs for about $5 for 30 eggs sounds really good. I also used to buy cheese in 1kg packets from Murray Goulburn, Costco has 2lb packs which is handy. The yoghurt apparently is very very cheap. One of my online friends says her friend swears she saves heaps of money shopping there. My son wasn't going to get a membership until he researched the savings which he did I think.

I found another blog that has more pictures and here.

Winter Menu

Nine days I have been working on this post lol. I think the northern beans got moved to next fortnight in case I can't get what I need. As it is I think I have doubled up the recipes that use spinach and wombuk.

OK. I haven't tried my Great Northern Beans that I got with my fruit order yet. Have found prosciutto is available at my local shop these days. And have ricotta left over from the lasagne from last week, yes, the rocket didn't make it. I found out a few years ago that sausage is pork mince, I still haven't seen American sausage or even what this UK recipe calls sausage but I will adapt it to pork mince if we can get some, we do have it locally now, it is just a matter of if we can see any on the day we go there.

I don't do the shopping these days. So I buy minimal stuff for my husband to organise. Since we are on a strict budget at different times this works. This week in the fruit order though, they have burrito kits and taco kits. To ask my husband for the various pieces of this, all which seem like extras often backfires because they add up and I am not there to help with the decision making. So I will get them with the fruit order and make something modest with them, I hope. Or go for something like chicken and if I have to change it to vegetarian or save them for another day so be it. My daughter will be so excited. The thought of enchildas makes her very happy. However expensive you can count on the shop to have BBQ chickens so maybe that is a safe bet? Lots of juggling goes on here lol. If my husband didn't have to make the trip to our hometown next pay it would be fine.

I came across a recipe from Heinz, went to their website, looks lovely.

Tuesday ~ Borlotti Bean & Prosciutto Soup
Wednesday ~ Pea & Ham Soup with Kranskys
Thursday ~ Stir-fried Beef & Vegetable Chow Mein (uses wombuk)
Friday ~ Chicken & Avocado Burritos (from Mission Kit)
Saturday ~ Chicken & Chilli-bean Tacos
Sunday ~ Hotdogs with Sauerkraut and Onion Sauce
Monday ~ Greek Lentil Soup
Tuesday ~ Pies, Peas & Chips & Gravy
Wednesday ~ Pork Meatballs in Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Thursday ~ Pumpkin, Bacon & Pasta Bake
Friday ~ Mushrom & Bok Choy Risotto
Saturday ~ Pumpkin & Vegetable Curry
Sunday ~ Warm Potato & Tuna Salad
Monday ~ Pizza


Success from last week:
Tray Baked Chicken Stroganoff everyone liked the way the chicken was cooked

Recipe using lamb mince:
Spiced Shepherd's Pie Using Heinz Baked Beans

Recipe using Italian Sausages:
Sausage & Pea Pie

Recipe using Pork Sausages:
Sausage and Pasta Salad
Sausage, Broad Bean & Mint Pasta

Recipe for Chipolatas:
Sticky Sausage & Fennel Coleslaw Lavash Wraps
Snags with Onions Cooked in Beer

Swaps last week:
One Pot Pasta with Bacon, Tomato & Ricotta
Spicy Chorizo Minestrone

Interesting recipe:
Sauerkraut Hotdog Topping
Chicken Tacos with Corn Salsa
Soft Breakfast Tacos
Lamb Strip & Corn Tacos

Beef Sausage Minestrone Soup

This is adapted from a chorizo recipe. We accidently used them up and had just normal sausages that you throw on the Barbie. This is probably the best minestrone I have had. Some in the end put me off minestrone. There is something about it. Maybe it is the tomato paste. This one doesn't need it. My husband used sumac, a favourite spice of mine. None of this spice combination makes you notice the spices, but at the same time it doesn't taste like boring carrot and celery. Make sense? I don't think it needed parmesan.

Sausage Minestrone

Ingredients (serves 6)
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 med- large brown onion, diced
* ½ tsp sumac
* ½ tsp oregano
* 1 ½ tsp hot paprika
* 1 tsp salt
* 4 garlic cloves, chopped
* 1 tsp chopped dried chilli
* 8 sausages, chopped
* 2 large carrot, peeled, diced
* 3 sticks celery, diced
* 400g can diced tomatoes
* 6 cups water
* 6 tsp chicken stock powder
* 1 1/4 cups dried small pasta shapes, such as spirali , ricini, broken penne (I suggest macaroni)
* 1/2 cup frozen peas
* 400g can cannellini beans, rinsed, drained
* 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
* grated parmesan cheese and crusty bread, to serve

Method
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook sausages, when nearly fully cooked, slice thinly and then put back into pan. Add spices and continue to cook.

2. Add onion, when nearly cooked then add carrots, celery and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until well cooked. Add stock powder.

3. Stir in tomatoes and water (boiling) Bring to the boil. Add pasta and simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes or until pasta is just tender. If peas frozen can add soon.

4. Stir in peas, beans and parsley. Simmer for 7 minutes or until beans are warmed through. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Ladle soup into warmed bowls. Sprinkle with parmesan. Serve with crusty bread.

The Prairie Oysters - Things that I Like Best

Chorizo & Silverbeet, Carrot & Potato Soup

We had this tonight. The original didn't have carrots or silverbeet stalks and was one of the few recipes we could use at times. I am so glad my husband found a way to modify it. It has gone from just bearable to really nice.

Chorizo and Vegetable soup

Ingredients (serves 6)
* 1 tbs olive oil
* 1 onion, roughly chopped
* 4 garlic cloves, chopped
* 3 or 4 carrots qtrd and chopped
* 4 chorizo sausages, sliced
* 4 tsp chicken stock powder
* 1.5L water
* 800g potatoes, peeled, cut into 2cm chunks
* 1 bunch silverbeet, trimmed, leaves sliced and stalks chopped finely
* Crusty bread, to serve

Method
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium high heat. Cook chorizo until cooked, then slice and put back into saucepan.
2. Add onion cook till soft, add garlic potatoes, carrots and cook for about 10 mins.
3. Add stock powder and 1 tsp salt.
4. Then add boiling water (from jug). Add silver beet stalks, cook 5 mins.
5. Add chopped leaves and cook until wilted, 3 or 4 mins.
6. Serve with crusty bread or buttered toast.

Silverbeet Menu

I have so many bags of leaves in my fridge and want to buy more, have to check how they are going first I think. They come in freezer like bags in the fruit box. The silverbeet arrived all cute and young leaves. I was hopeful of some bratwurst to make the recipe in the wish list below, but my husband found some chorizo instead. I asked him to go to the shop a few miles from our other house which is not in this town to check on their meat which is always lovely. Our local shop had prosciutto which is good, I wasn't sure. It was very long.

Tuesday ~ Pies, Peas & Potatoes
Wednesday ~ Spaghetti Bolognaise
Thursday ~ Potato Salad
Friday ~ Japanese Pancake with Bacon and Bean Shoots
Saturday ~ Crunchy Thai Chicken Salad
Sunday ~ Puttanesca Potato Salad
Monday ~ Pumpkin & Bacon Pasta
Tuesday ~ Chicken Drumsticks Tray Baked Chicken Stroganoff
Wednesday ~ Pork Mince Stroganoff
Thursday ~ Mince (Chow Mein)
Friday ~ Chorizo & Silverbeet Soup
Saturday ~ Prosciutto & Rocket Lasagne (see below)
Sunday ~ Roasted Beef Sausages with Braised Lentils and Bacon
Monday ~ Meat Japanese Pancakes
Tuesday ~ Chorizo Potato Salad

Interesting recipes:

Prosciutto and Rocket Lasagne (uses silverbeet)
Bratwurst Sausages with Potato and Sauerkraut Salad
Lentil & Chorizo Soup