Category Archives: Mains

Nov9

Open Chicken Sandwich with Lemon and Almonds

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My friend Lisa made me something like this from a Donna Hay magazine for lunch last week and it was so yummy I had to make it again – only I could not find the recipe anywhere! So I had to make it up as I went and thankfully the chef type friend who helped eat my version said it worked! Pair this recipe with Lemon, Zucchini and Chicken Pasta in the same week, to use just one BBQ chicken to make two tasty and affordable meals. Apologies for the half-eaten sandwich in this photo – got a bit excited eating it before remembering to photograph it. Serves 6 people with 2 open sandwiches each and costs less than $12 to make.

  • 1/2 BBQ chicken, shredded while warm (much easier than when cold from the fridge)
  • 1 loaf of sourdough bread or similar
  • 120g slivered almonds
  • a couple of lugs of olive oil
  • 1/2 bag baby spinach or 1 cup basil leaves roughly torn
  • 1/2 tub spreadable cream cheese
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • zest of a whole lemon
  • salt and pepper to taste
  1. Slice sourdough into at least 12 slices and spread cream cheese across one side of each, followed by a layer of baby spinach or basil. Divide shredded chicken evenly among each slice, placing it on top of cream cheese and greens.
  2. In a frypan place slivered almonds, lemon zest and olive oil. Cook on low heat until almonds are brown, but not burnt. Remove from the heat and add lemon juice, stirring the mixture well.
  3. Top open sandwiches with almond and lemon mixture. Season with slat and pepper. Serve 2 slices per person.
Nov8

Pumpkin, Cauliflower and Lentil Curry

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It was so lovely catching up with my friend Katrina last weekend. Over lunch she raved about this healthy and easy dinner she’d recently tried out and by the end of her description I was keen to give it a go too. I don’t find it easy to cook tasty vegetarian dishes, and have felt the need to have a few more recipes of this kind up my sleeve when caring for vegetarian folk. And Katrina was right –  this little number ticked all the boxes: easy to cook, healthy in nature, tasty, affordable and freezable. To lower the GI, carbohydrate and fat content, Katrina helpfully suggests replacing the pumpkin with sweet potato, leaving out the cream altogether and serving it without rice because this curry is nutritionally complete on its own. She also suggested a dollop of greek style yoghurt on top which tasted great. Originally from Notebook Magazine, when served with rice, this vegetarian dish serves 6 people and costs around $7 to make.

  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 brown onion, finely chopped
  • 3 tbs mild curry paste
  • 1 tbs finely grated ginger
  • 400g can diced tomatoes
  • 1 1/2 cups (375ml) water or vegetable stock
  • 1/2 cup (105g) brown lentils, rinsed
  • 1/2 cup (115g) red lentils, rinsed
  • 600g butternut pumpkin, seeded, peeled, cut into 3cm pieces
  • 1/2 (about 600g) cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 1 cup (150g) frozen peas
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) cream
  • Coriander leaves, to serve
  1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until onion softens. Add curry paste, curry leaves and ginger and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic. Add tomatoes and water and bring to a simmer.
  2. Add combined lentils and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until lentils are almost tender. Add the pumpkin and cauliflower and cook, stirring occasionally, for a further 10 minutes or until pumpkin is tender. Add peas and cream and stir to combine. Remove from heat. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Oct13

Asian Noodle Salad

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Though not here yet, summer is on its way. And while signs of winter can still be seen, as daylight saving time began in NSW last weekend, our barbeque has been beckoning us. Today we had good reason to give in and so enjoyed our first of the season. And what’s a barbie without some yummy fresh salads? Originally from my friend Amy, the following Asian Noodle Salad is my all time favourite salad. It’s so tasty and filling it could easily be eaten on its own as summer style main course. For these reasons, it’s a terrific option when needing to cater for vegetarian friends and can you believe, this scrummy salad is also egg, dairy and gluten free. As if it couldn’t get any better, this very large salad is so affordable, costing around $8 to make and serves 15+ people as an accompaniment or 8 served as a main.

SALAD

  • 1 x 250g packet of rice stick noodles (clear flat ones, come in a variety of widths)
  • 1 x 250g packet of bean shoots
  • 1 small bunch of coriander, leaves picked from stalks (cheapest from a grocer)
  • 1 bunch of shallots (8-10 stalks)

DRESSING

  • 4 tablespoons soy sauce (use gluten free variety if necessary)
  • 4 tablespoons peanut oil
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice (fresh is great, but I always use squeeze from fridge)
  1. Cook noodles for a couple of minutes only, until soft, in a large pot of rapidly boiling water. Drain using a sieve or colander and run lots of cold water through the noodles to stop the cooking process. Rinse out pot with cold water to cool it down, ready to use again for combining the salad ingredients.
  2. Place cooked noodles, coriander leaves, bean shoots and chopped shallots in the cooled down pot. Set aside.
  3. In a jar with a tight lid, shake together soy sauce, peanut oil, sesame oil and lime/lemon juice.
  4. Pour dressing over all the ingredients in the pot and toss well using tongs. Transfer to a large salad bowl and serve at table. Enjoy!
Oct10

Butter Chicken

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My friend Cathy is a great example of someone who practices hospitality. She knows how to make food taste good and she cares for others by unashamedly choosing do-able meals that aren’t trying to impress, but instead hit the spot in ways that don’t break the bank. Recently Cathy sent me a number of her favourite recipes that do all these things and I’m excited to share the first of these with you. The Butter Chicken recipe that follows is delightfully easy – choose to cook this crowd pleasing favourite in either the slow cooker or in a sealed casserole dish for a few hours in the oven. Doubling the measurements listed below neatly fills a 5.5L slow cooker, and doing so is my favourite time saver, fulfilling more than one purpose with just one venture in the kitchen. If you decide to make extra to freeze, here’s a tip I read in a magazine years ago: spray the inside of plastic containers with olive or canola spray before filling. This will create a film that protects the containers from the stain of the red coloured sauce. The quantities that follow serves 10 people and costs under $15 to make.

  • I kg chicken thighs, chopped into chunks
  • I onion, roughly chopped
  • I jar of Patak’s Butter Chicken paste (not the sauce)
  • I x 400g tin of diced or crushed tomatoes
  • I x 420g tin of chickpeas, drained
  • 150ml cream
  • Handful of chopped coriander
  1. Brown chicken and onion in frypan.
  2. Put in a slow cooker or a heavy based casserole dish (covered) with the whole jar of butter chicken paste, tin of tomatoes and chickpeas.
  3. Cook for 2 hours in the oven, or 3 hours on high in the slow cooker or most of the day if set to low.
  4. Season with salt and pepper and add cream and coriander just before serving.
  •  Serve with basmati rice and microwaved pappadums.
  • Raita (natural yoghurt mixed with grated or chopped cucumber) is also a yummy accompaniment.
Oct7

Nigella Lawson’s Vegemite Spaghetti

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As in most households, I suspect, Sunday night dinners get very slack in this house. ‘Breakfast for dinner’ (yes, Weetbix and porridge) get regular guernseys here – thankfully the kids like it. Every now and then, Sunday night dinner goes beyond slack to the absolute trashy, and tonight it was just that. A few months ago I heard of Nigella Lawson’s Vegemite Spaghetti and it intrigued me. Vegemite and cheese are winners in my tastebud book, so vegemite pasta topped with grated cheese throughly appealed. I was absolutely not disappointed. While I hate to think how bad it is for me (carb heavy, no protein, no vegetables), I think it’s set to become a Sunday night favourite in this house. Despite its not-so-healthy specs, it really is very cheap to make, so much so it’s not worth costing. If you’re a Vegemite fan in other gastronomic contexts, go on, give it a go!

  • 375g dried spaghetti
  • 50g unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon Vegemite
  • freshly grated parmesan or tasty cheese to serve

1. Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water according to directions. Drain and rinse under water keeping a cup of the pasta water.

2. In the same pan, put on the heat and evaporate the water and then melt the butter and add the Vegemite and a tablespoon of the pasta water and mix to dissolve. Add the cooked pasta and more pasta water to combine if necessary. Serve with grated parmesan or tasty cheese if you like.

Sep28

Donna Hay’s Spiced Chicken & Chorizo Couscous

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Thankfulness and relief fill my heart whenever I stumble over a recipe like this one. Donna Hay’s Spiced Chicken & Chorizo Couscous from No Time to Cook proved to be delightfully fast to make in just one pan, flavoursome and inexpensive to make. My kids ate stacks of it, asking for more long past their usual limit and it was so simply done that I was able to talk on the phone at length while making it, which happens so rarely in my household in this stage of life. A few comments about Chorizo: I’ve noticed they regularly come on special for half price at the deli at my local Woolworth’s about once every two months, so I tend to buy up then and freeze them in small quantities for meals like these. Even so, this tasty crowd pleasing dinner, which serves 6-8 costs no more than $14 to make.

  • 1 onion, coarsely chopped
  • 2 x chicken breasts (400g total)
  • 2 x Chorizo sausages, sliced thinly into half moon shapes
  • 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 2 (500g) cups instant couscous (generic brands are fine)
  • 2 (500ml) cups chicken stock (I used powdered, reconstituted with water)
  • 1 cup (250ml) water
  • 100g fresh baby spinach
  • 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives (optional – leave out to reduce cost if necessary. I’ve done this before and it’s still very yummy)
  1. Place onion, chicken, chorizo, chilli and garlic into a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat and cook for 5-6 minutes or until chicken is browned.
  2. Add couscous, stock and water to the pan, cover and simmer over low heat for 2 minutes or until couscous is tender. Stir spinach and olives through couscous mixture and serve immediately.
Sep21

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

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The other night I was in need of a quick dinner option that would use what I already had in the fridge/cupboard and save a trip to the shops. Taste.com.au came up with this answer and having never before made Carbonara properly, that is, traditionally – I decided to give it a go. The whole family chowed down on this dinner and asked for more. This yummy ‘sometimes’ dinner would be an easy end to a day gone wrong or a simple, achievable meal for a large group. Total cost $3 and serves 6+. Enjoy!

  • 500g spaghetti
  • 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, bruised
  • 150g piece pancetta or bacon, rind removed, finely chopped
  • 4 eggs, at room temperature
  • 40g (1/2 cup) grated parmesan, plus extra, to serve

1. Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 8 minutes or until al dente. Drain, reserving 125ml (1/2 cup) cooking water.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and pancetta, and cook, stirring, for 6 minutes or until both are light golden. Discard garlic and remove pan from heat.

3. Whisk eggs, parmesan and 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper in a bowl (don’t add salt as cooking water and pancetta are salty). Add reserved hot cooking water and whisk until well combined.

4. Return frying pan to medium heat. Working quickly, add hot pasta and toss for 2 minutes or until well coated with oil and pancetta. Remove pan from heat, add egg mixture, then toss for 1 minute or until egg mixture is creamy and warmed through (the heat from the pasta and pan will cook and slightly thicken the egg mixture without scrambling it).

5. Divide carbonara among plates and scatter with extra parmesan. Serve immediately.

Sep17

Mango Chicken Curry

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My wonderful mother-in-law gave me this recipe years and years ago. Every now and then my husband says “We haven’t had that mango curry in a while” and I’m always surprised I don’t think to make it more often. This not-at-all hot curry gets devoured quickly, is easy-peasy to make and so affordable. It’s a great option for hospitality because you can do all the preparation in advance, long before people arrive, and simply leave the stir-frying until you’re about to eat – cause there’s no more than 10 minutes cooking time for this dish. Ensure rice on the go in a rice cooker while people arrive and you really won’t have much to do in the kitchen when things are getting underway. The quantities listed below serves 6 and is easily doubled when cooked in a wok for a larger group. This flavoursome dinner costs around $10.

  • 2 large chicken breast fillets, thinly sliced
  • 1x440g can mango cheeks, thinly sliced (home brand is fine)
  • 1 tablespoon yellow curry powder
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 6 spring onions, white ends chopped roughly, green stalks thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock (powdered or cubed is fine)
  • 2 carrots, peeled and julienned
  • 100g snow peas, thinly sliced
  • 1/3 cup sour cream
  • salt & pepper to taste
  1. In a large frypan or wok on maximum heat, cook sesame oil, garlic and white ends of spring onions until fragrant.
  2. Add chicken strips and fry until brown on all sides. Turn pan down to low and add carrots, curry powder, mustard and stock. Simmer for 5 mins.
  3. Add green stalks of spring onions, snow peas and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper. Just before serving, gently fold through thinly sliced mango cheeks. Serve with rice.
Sep13

Beef & Eggplant Pasta Bake

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When I stumbled across this recipe, I was so excited to try it because I’d not much cooked Greek style food before and the whole thing promised to be easy, yummy and affordable, which is just what this blog is about . It proved to be excellent and I’m thrilled with the nutritional value of it too. This recipe was originally published in Good Taste magazine and it scores a fantastic 4/5 stars on taste.com.au. Enjoy the fact that the veggie components mean it can be eaten on its own or serve with a side salad and some crusty bread. Depending on the cost of eggplant (worth a trip to the grocer for this one!), this dish, which serves 6-8 will cost around $12 to make.

  • 105g (1/2 cup) risoni
  • 125ml (1/2 cup) olive oil
  • 1 large (about 450g) eggplant, thinly sliced lengthways
  • 1 tbs olive oil, extra
  • 1 brown onion, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, peeled, finely chopped
  • 1 celery stick, ends trimmed, thinly sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 500g beef mince
  • 2 tbs tomato paste
  • 1 x 400g can diced tomatoes
  • 1 tsp dried or fresh oregano
  • 250g Greek-style natural yoghurt
  • 1 egg, lightly whisked
  • Ground cinnamon, to dust
  • 2 tbs chopped fresh mint (if you have it)
  1. Cook the risoni in a large saucepan of salted boiling water following packet directions. Drain.
  2. Meanwhile, heat half the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 3-4 eggplant slices and cook for 3 minutes each side or until tender and slightly golden. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to drain. Repeat, in 3 more batches, with the remaining oil and eggplant, reheating the pan between batches.
  3. Heat the extra oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic, and cook for 4 minutes or until soft.
  4. Increase heat to medium-high. Add the mince and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up any lumps, for 5-6 minutes or until the mince changes colour. Add the tomato paste and stir until well combined. Add the tomato and oregano, and stir until well combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the risoni.
  5. Preheat oven to 180°C. Spread the mince mixture over the base of a 2L (8-cup) capacity ceramic baking dish. Arrange the eggplant, overlapping slightly, over the mince mixture to cover. Combine the yoghurt and egg in a bowl. Pour over the eggplant and spread evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the yoghurt is just set. Dust with cinnamon. Sprinkle with the mint to serve.
Sep5

Spicy Lamb Flatbread Pizza

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I first tasted this delicious home made pizza when my friend Lisa made it for me around this time last year. It was so flavoursome and best of all, affordably priced and quick to make – just the ticket when having people over. Having enjoyed a winter-full of soups, casseroles and slow cooked meals, lately I’ve been craving lighter and greener dinner options, and this delightfully healthy pizza, originally from Good Taste Magazine, fits the bill exactly. And since some lovely friends served up a very similar dinner when hosting us for dinner last weekend, once again, I’ve got the taste for dinners such at this! Do feel free to fiddle with options for topping (we love it with the addition of mushrooms) and if making for more than 4, simply multiply the number of bases needed to cater for half a large flatbread per adult. One last tip when making home made pizzas like these: flatbread labelled Lebanese Bread is half the price of anything similar that’s labelled as a pizza base – and the taste of the finished product is much the same. This easy, yummy affordable and healthy dinner will set you back less than $7.

  • Olive oil spray
  • 1 red onion, halved, thinly sliced
  • 1 red capsicum, halved, deseeded, thinly sliced
  • 300g lean lamb mince
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground paprika
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tbs currants
  • 2 tbs chopped fresh continental parsley
  • 80ml (1/3 cup) passata (tomato pasta sauce)
  • 2 pieces wholemeal Lebanese bread
  • 1 bunch rocket, trimmed, shredded
  • 130g (1/2 cup) low-fat natural yoghurt
  1. Preheat oven to 220°C. Heat 2 large baking trays in the oven for 10 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Spray with olive oil spray. Add the onion and capsicum. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes or until soft. Increase heat to high. Add the mince. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up any lumps, for 4-5 minutes or until the mince changes colour. Drain off any residual fat. Add the cumin, paprika and coriander. Cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes or until aromatic. Remove from heat. Stir in the currants and parsley.
  3. Divide passata and mince mixture among bread. Place on the trays. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until bases are crisp.
  4. Cut each pizza into quarters. Top with rocket and serve with the yoghurt.