Monthly Archives: May 2012

May10

Chicken with Onion Sauce

Posted on by
Standard

Once, before Steve and I were married he made this for me and some friends for dinner and it has become a winter staple in our family. To this day the recipe we use is from Steve’s Year 9 Food Technology project book, complete with hand-drawn pictures for presentation and all the processes highlighted in different colours. Originally a Woman’s Weekly recipe, it’s one of those recipes that would be considered very 80’s these days, but I kid you not- everyone always comes back for more. It uses chicken drumsticks which are so very affordable and all the other ingredients are standard pantry items. These quantities makes enough for 4 people, but I always double or triple it depending on numbers. To increase the nutritional value, I will often add some long green beans into the pot to simmer just at the end. This recipe can easily be cooked in a slow cooker. Just follow the steps exactly and replace the oven for the slow cooker. The slow cooker tends to give you a tender ‘shank’ type finish while the oven will keep the structure of each drumstick. With the measures provided this dish will set you back no more than $5. You can serve it on rice but our family likes it best on mash potato.

  • 1kg chicken drumsticks
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 brown onion, sliced
  • 400g can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 packet french onion soup mix
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 cup water
  • 3 teaspoons cornflour
  • 1 tablespoon water, extra

1. Heat oil and half the butter in frying pan, add drumsticks and brown.

2. Drain fat from the pan, add remaining butter and sliced onion, cook until tender

3. Add the undrained crushed tomatoes, soup mix, soy sauce and water. Heat through.

4. Place chicken in oven-proof dish, pour the sauce over, cover and bake in a moderate oven for 34 mins.

5. Remove chicken, pour sauce into pan, stir in blended cornflour and extra water, stir until sauce boils and thickens. Pour over chicken.

May9

Passionfruit Slice

Posted on by
Standard

Every time I make this very easy slice, someone asks for the recipe. It’s great for morning or afternoon teas, but can also be served with a dollop of cream or ice-cream for dessert. I tend to keep a few small tins of passionfruit pulp in the pantry so that I can make this quickly and easily without a trip to the shops. I also use lemon squeeze from the fridge if I don’t have fresh lemons. All this means that it’s one of those recipes that I have everything I need to make it in the pantry already. Originally from Good Taste magazine. Serves 12. Costs less than $6 to make.

  • Melted butter, to grease
  • 150g (1 cup) self-raising flour
  • 85g (1 cup) desiccated coconut
  • 100g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
  • 100g butter, melted
  • 1 x 395g can sweetened condensed milk
  • 125ml (1/2 cup) fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tbs passionfruit pulp
  1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush a 16 x 26cm (base measurement) slab pan with melted butter to lightly grease. Line the base and 2 long sides with non-stick baking paper, allowing the sides to overhang.
  2. Use a wooden spoon to combine the flour, coconut, sugar and butter in a large bowl. Use your hands to bring the dough together in the bowl. Transfer to the prepared pan. Use a metal spoon to press firmly over the base. Bake for 12 minutes or until light golden. Set aside to cool.
  3. Reduce oven temperature to 150°C.Use a balloon whisk to whisk together the condensed milk, lemon juice and passionfruit pulp in a large bowl until smooth and well combined. Pour into the pan and spread evenly over the base. Bake in oven for 15 minutes until just firm to the touch. Set aside to cool completely. Cut into slices to serve.
May9

Cauliflower Soup

Posted on by
Standard

My recent soup craze began on Sunday as the weather well and truly turned cold. I had a go at making this recipe, originally from Delicious Magazine and I really couldn’t believe how easy it was. To make it go further, I doubled the recipe and in total, it cost less than $7 to make. My non-soup loving husband confessed (with a smile) that even though serving him cauliflower soup was “pushing it”, he actually quite liked it! The quantities in this recipe serves 6.

  • 1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
  • 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 potatoes (about 400g), chopped
  • 8 cups chicken stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 large (about 1kg) cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 1/2 cup (125ml) thickened cream
  • 1 cup (80g) finely grated parmesan
  • 3 bacon rashers, chopped
  • 4 bread rolls
  • Grated nutmeg and finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, to serve
  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line 2 baking trays with foil.
  2. Heat 2 tbs oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add celery, onion and garlic, then cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the potato, chicken stock, bay leaf and three-quarters of the cauliflower, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until cauliflower and potatoes are tender.
  3. Remove from heat, cool slightly, then transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Stir through the cream and 1/2 cup (40g) parmesan. Season to taste.
  4. Meanwhile, place the bacon and remaining cauliflower on one of the lined baking trays. Season with pepper, then drizzle with remaining 1 tbs oil and sprinkle with 2 tbs parmesan. Roast for 10-12 minutes or until crisp. Put the bread rolls on a separate tray, sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup (25g) parmesan and bake for 2 minutes or until golden.
  5. Divide soup among 4 bowls, then top with crispy cauliflower and bacon. Sprinkle with nutmeg and parsley, drizzle with oil and serve with bread rolls.
May9

Red Lentil Soup

Posted on by
Standard

Yesterday was a cold, wintery day and it made me crave a warm, hearty red soup. I googled for a recipe and found this one on the blog goodygoodyyumyum.blogspot.com. It was dead easy to make and cost me no more than $6. This recipe serves 6 and can easily be doubled to go further. Enjoy!

2 carrots, diced
1 onion, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon oil
2 beef stock cubes (boullion cubes)
250g smoked bacon bones
250g red lentils
400g tin tomatoes
1 litre water (4 cups)
cracked black pepper

Cook onion, carrot, and celery in oil and butter over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add bacon bones, lentils, tomatoes, water, stock cubes and bring to boil. Simmer for no less than 60 minutes (longer is fine). Remove bacon bones, cut the meat off and return the meat to the soup, discarding the bones. Season with pepper and serve.

May9

A cookbook for ministry in a digital world

Posted on by
Standard

Welcome to foodthatserves – a blog for Christian hospitality. Romans 12:13 says, “Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality”. The last bit about hospitality, can literally be translated, “Pursue the love of strangers”. God has convinced me that he loves this world and he wants me to share his love with others using each part my life – including my family and home. My attempts to do this aren’t all that fancy, and often I need an attitude adjustment to get my goals in line with God’s. It’s my prayer that as I struggle to allow God to use my whole life for his purposes, others might be encouraged to do so too.

When it comes to hospitality in the home, I’ve found that I tend to use the same recipes over and over again- you know, the ones that are yummy, easy enough to cook for a large number of people, but don’t cost the earth to make. But I’m bored with my repertoire and it got me thinking that this might be case for lots of my gospel minded friends. So I’ve been thinking about starting a long-term project of putting together a blog of recipes and ideas that fit the bill for people trying to do hospitality in the home. My plan is to publish here a range of recipes that won’t stress me out when opening up my home and unapologetically focussed on feeding people good food that promotes genuine Christian fellowship – not so much for ‘entertaining’.

I also hope that others would use this blog to contribute their own recipes and ideas that fit the bill. If you’ve tested them out in your own kitchen and you think your recipe is a winner, I’d love to receive it at foodthatserves@gmail.com. I’m not interested in plagiarising anyone’s work, so if your recipes have a known source (person’s name, a website, a particular cookbook), please include that too. If I need to ask permission from anyone who owns a copyright, I would like to do that, so adding sources to your recipes is helpful.

I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas about this project so feel free to comment or get in touch. To God be the glory!