Side dishes

Zucchini Slice

Zucchini sliceI love hearing about recipes that get passed down  through generations. This savoury slice of goodness was made for me by my friend Emma, who whipped this up for dinner when I was staying with her recently. This recipe has been in her family for ‘donkey’s years’ and she and her sisters all make it, with their own unique twist on the recipe.  

Bugger changing the recipe, I’m sticking to what’s below: It was fantastic and talk about easy.  (Hmmm, then again, this would be good post Christmas to use up my leftover Christmas Ham!).

 Anyhow,  as a full-time working Mum I’m a big fan of ‘biff it all together and cook it’ type food, especially when there’s likely to be leftovers for lunch.   We had this for dinner with roast chicken, homemade wedges and salad.   Guess what Emma served on the side as an accompaniment?  My Chilli Jam.  That made me smile!   (more…)

Quinoa Salad with Chargrilled Veges and Garlic Yogurt Dressing

Quinoa Salad with Chargrilled Veges and Garlic Yogurt DressingI think this Quinoa Salad with Chargrilled Veges and Garlic Yogurt Dressing could be my best quinoa salad recipe yet. This is actually the third salad recipe on this blog featuring this yummy and healthy ‘wonder grain’ on this blog.  Seeing as the other two recipes have been super popular I thought “why not?”  Indeed, this dish is high in WOW factor. Get in quick and rustle this up before the price of capsicums and eggplants skyrocket Downunder as we scurry into autumn.

Low in fat and high flavour this salad ROCKS as a lunch dish on it’s own, or, it is the perfect accompaniment to a beautifully cooked piece of meat (we’ve had it with steak as well as roast chook) and there’s always lots left for lunches for the next few days (this recipe feeds 6-8 but we are a family of three!).
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Healthy Hummus (with a twist)

low fat hummus recipeThis hummus is heroic in in my eyes as it’s got half the amount of oil contained in usual hummus and no flavour has been sacrificed. Why is low fat important? So, well, time to fess up: My jeans shrunk in the wash over Christmas (yeah right), so I’m engaging some common sense and turning to nutritious snacks that cost next to nothing to make, that are low in fat and contain no sugar. What to whip up in such situations? I don’t reckon you can beat hummus which has been one of my favourite stand-by snacks since, well, ages. Unfortunately lots of store bought hummus can be quite high in fat. Not this stuff! (more…)

Mexican Chopped Salad with Honey Lime Dressing

imageI’ve been making this recipe for the last month or so, playing around with different combinations to get it just right. I’ve finally cracked it.  This delicious salad is the perfect accompaniment to BBQ or pan fried chicken breasts (rubbed in Mexican seasoning) and Mexican Street Corn.

If you are looking for a salad, or a meal that’ll impress, you can’t go wrong. Enjoy! (more…)

Crunchy Carrot, Date, Almond Salad

SAMSUNG CSCThis is one of the salads that’s made it onto our Christmas Day menu this year!  Every time I’ve taken this salad somewhere, I’ve left the recipe behind.  It’s always a winner and it’s light, nutritious and utterly yum and it makes a great alternative to a leafy green salad.  My friend Kitrina gave me this, recipe, she knows me well and knew she I’d love it.  She got it from the Revive Café Cookbook.  As usual, I can’t help myself: I’ve fiddled with it and given it a mini makeover…. (more…)

Best Brown Rice Salad Recipe

SAMSUNG CSCHands down, this is the best brown rice salad recipe. EVER.

I went to a Christmas BBQ at my friend Nicky’s place about five years ago. When lunch was dished up I tasted this and immediately downed my plate in search of the recipe. Nicky sheepishly fessed up that, actually, her Mother-in-law Lynn had actually made it (and she’d dropped it off for lunch!). Being the persevering lass I am I made Nicky get me the recipe, which she duly did. Thanks Nic! I’ve tweaked the recipe a little over the years (you know me, I can’t help myself) and the recipe below has been a favourite ever since and it regularly accompanies me to BBQs in the summer. It’s so quick to make, especially after I found this pressure cooker brown rice recipe. Not only that but, It keeps for a couple of days and I reckon it takes even better on day two. (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.

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Max’s Carrot Dahl

imageI got this recipe off my friend Max, who is the most amazing cook. Max got this from NZ’s Healthy Food Guide (I’d hate to be hit up for not acknowledging the real source!). As usual I’ve adapted it a little (I can’t help myself…) and I reckon this is better than hummus. I have it on toast, on flatbreads, in sandwiches, I’ve even been known to serve it to accompany BBQ chicken kebabs. This is also a great dip to whip up if you’ve got friends coming over as it’s an ideal starter/entree. You just serve it up on a platter with bits of of toasted pita, crackers or raw veges. I made this for book club recently and I had several requests for the recipe, always a telltale sign I’m onto a winner! Lastly, this is low in fat, ticks all the boxes for the ‘good stuff’ and bonus – it’s simple and inexpensive to prepare.  What’s not to like? (more…)