This Red Lentil and Chorizo Gumbo (because ‘gumbo’ is a much sexier word than stew) is the perfect mid week meal requiring approximately seven minutes preparation – and a slow cooker. If you don’t have a slow cooker in your life, cooking this in a heavy based pot on your stove top would work just fine, I reckon it would need about an hour to cook the lentils to perfection. (more…)
Easy dinners
Mini Meatloaf Recipe (hide the veges)
Getting anything green into my son is a battle. He puts on a fuss if we introduce anything new to his eating repertoire and, if really pushed to give new things a go will gag at the dinner table. Heavens forbid we try to feed him veges. It does my head in but we solider on. I needed to share that, thanks: I feel better now.
So, with my Bachelor of Mummihood, majoring in trickery, I’ve become a master at hiding vegetables in his food. This recipe below for meatloaf with a tomato saucey topping is a family favourite that always gets groans of delight from the little fella, as well as the big fella. It doesn’t have a tonne of vegetables in it, but enough to ease me off my hobby horse and polish my halo that the kid has had something that’s nutritionally sound! This is also a good weeknight meal that you can have on the table in half an hour. I make these in large muffin tins: You don’t have to. Whack it in a loaf baking tin if you prefer (like a gingerbread loaf) and bake it for 30-35 minutes. Easy. (more…)
Thai Beef Salad Recipe
I adore this dish and so do all the blokes I’ve ever cooked it for, it’s definitely a ‘man appropriate salad’ and, if I do say so myself, it’s every bit as good as the salads I scoffed back on holiday in Thailand last year.
Generally I’m a massive fan of clean fresh Asian flavours, if you hadn’t gathered that already (there’s a few Asian recipes on this blog). The weather warmed up here in the Hawke’s Bay recently: Warm enough to get outside and fire up the BBQ to cook the steak! (more…)
Chicken Koftas with Minty Yogurt Dressing
Tasty, quick, everyone loves ’em, cook them indoors or outside (fire up your BBQ), these koftas tick all the boxes I’m looking for in a dinner! (more…)
10 ways with leftover Christmas Ham
I should have posted this yesterday, but things have been a little crazy around here and time has simply run away on me!
Anyhow, if, like us, you have leftover ham from Christmas in your fridge, chances are you could be getting a little sick of ham sandwiches and ham and salad. Here’s a quick list of uses for leftover Christmas Ham to get your creative juices flowing! (more…)
Asparagus and Feta Quiche
I thought I’d better get in quick with this recipe before asparagus season in NZ winds up for the year! I’ve made this on and off over the years and it’s a recipe I always come back to because it’s straightforward and I don’t have to look up a recipe, I can mix-up the recipe based on what’s in the fridge, it’s filling (as you’d expect with a dozen eggs) and therefore, it feeds the masses (or, in the case of my small family, we can dine on this for days!). (more…)
Quick and Easy Chicken Laksa
Another mid week meal that you can whip up in a hurry, my Hot Hubby loves this and he has even been known to make it (without help) on occasion! Use whatever veges you have in the fridge to keep the meal in season and easy. Note, if you are calorie counting, here’s a tip: When I was on Weight Watchers I made this and substituted the coconut milk for low fat evaporated milk and added a dash of coconut essence – it tastes great and you can’t tell the difference. (more…)
Quinoa Salad with Dukkah, Tomatoes and Feta
We love quinoa in our house and I’m always trying out new ways to serve it up. This recipe, assuming you have dukkah at the ready, is delicious and straightforward to prepare. I love the nutty, crunchy, slightly spicy goodness of dukkah, it’s a staple in my pantry and it goes gorgeously with the quinoa in this recipe.
