CHICKEN SOUP

Chicken soup; good for the soul and for those hard-to-shake winter sniffles.  Its been such a windy week that soup was a must this Sunday night. Another reason for a nutritious soup; I attended an amazing hens party last night which included the works: great company, a stripper and mountains of junk food and alcohol. I woke up feeling hungover from chocolate, cheese and a delectable coconut, raspberry and lime cake. So a vegetable packed soup was greatly needed for dinner tonight. As this soup serves 4-6, myself and my husband can eat this for the next days and will hopefully stay away from those nasty winter flus that are going around. If you want to make this soup vegetarian, skip the poaching step and instead add all the ingredients to the saucepan including a 400g tin of chickpeas and a 400g tin of lentils, rinsed and drained. Cook for the same amount of time as you do the vegetables.

INGREDIENTS

• 500g free-range chicken breast, fat removed 
• 1/2 medium red chilli, finely chopped or 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
• 2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ground black pepper
• 4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme and/or parsley 
• 3 cups vegetable or chicken salt-reduced stock 
• 2 medium carrots, cut into even cubes
• 2 medium zucchini, cut into even cubes 
• 300g pumpkin, cut into even cubes
• 1/2 cup of fresh parsley, roughly chopped

COOKING 

1. Place the chicken breasts, chilli, garlic, pepper, thyme and/or parsley, stock and 7 cups of water in a large deep saucepan and cover well with water. Bring to the boil, covered, then simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the stove and let the saucepan stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Remove the poached chicken from the pan and leave to cool for a few minutes before 'shredding' the chicken (I do this with 2 forks and pull in separate directions, as you would when 'pulling' pork). 

2. Whilst the chicken is poaching cut up all the vegetables. Once the chicken has been removed from the saucepan add the carrot, zucchini and pumpkin to the poaching liquid and bring to the boil. Lower to a medium simmer and cook, covered, for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender but not mushy. Remove from heat and remove the sprigs of thyme and/or parsley. Stir the fresh 1/2 cup of parsley into the soup and sprinkle some extra ground black pepper, if desired. Serve warm. 

Serves / 4-6 

Total Preparation time / 5 minutes

Total Cooking time / approx. 40 minutes 

x Emily 

VERSATILE VEGGIES, BEANS & BEEF

I initially made this meal for State of Origin night a few years ago and I've made it several times since. My mother makes a similar recipe for me often when I come to hers for lunch, except that she uses more vegetables and the vegetables & mince become a delicious sauce for corn chips. You could also eat it plain as it is very filling or spooned on top of a small bed of brown rice. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon rice bran oil 
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed 
• 500g extra lean beef mince
• 1 medium sweet potato, roughly grated
• 2 medium zucchinis, roughly grated
• 1 large carrot, roughly grated
• 2 large tomatoes (400g), diced 
• 2 tablespoons gluten-free Worcester sauce 
• 1 x 400g tin red kidney beans, rinsed & drained 
• Optional - a few tablespoons of roughly chopped basil, plus extra to garnish 

COOKING 

1. Heat a large deep frying pan over medium-high heat and add oil, swirling to coat the pan. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes or until soft. Add mince and cook for 5 minutes or until the beef has browned, mashing up any lumps of meat that may appear. 

2. Add sweet potato, zucchini and carrot and stir to combine with the cooked mince for 1 minute. Add diced tomatoes, Worcester sauce and 2 cups (500ml) of water and stir well for another minute. Raise the heat to high, covering the pan and bringing it to the boil. When boiled, reduce to a simmer and cover for around 10-12 minutes or until almost no liquid remains. At this point add the red kidney beans, basil (if using) and a generous pinch of ground black pepper and stir into the beef. Continue to cook until the beans are warm. Remove from heat and serve warm, with corn chips, brown rice or on its own. 

Serves / 4 without rice or corn chips/ 6 with accompaniments 

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 30 minutes 

x Emily 

PUMPKIN NACHOS

It was a cooler day in Brisbane today and as a result my taste buds were craving something warm and hearty. I started roasting pumpkin to put in a salad but after a few minutes in the oven I decided that the pumpkin's future was going to be as a 'dip' or 'sauce'. I used broken taco shells as a nacho chip, however you could also use mountain wraps cut into triangles. I love how simple and hearty this meal is. If you do not have the spices listed in the ingredients list below, use what you have on hand, such as ground black pepper, dried herbs, fresh herbs, etc. 

All you need to make this recipe is an oven, half a kilo of pumpkin and a little creativity. 

Ingredients

• 500g pumpkin (any type), peeled & cut into even 2cm pieces
• 1 tablespoon rice bran oil
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled & finely chopped
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground chilli / chilli flakes
• 2 teaspoons ground paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground sage 
• 8 taco shells or 4 mountain wraps, cut into small chip pieces
• 80g feta, crumbled or chopped into small pieces 

Cooking 

1. Preheat a fan force oven to 220 degrees celsius. Line a baking tray with baking paper. 

2. Combine the pumpkin in a medium bowl with the oil, garlic and whatever spices you are using. Toss well to combine then spread the pumpkin out in a single layer on the prepared tray. Roast for 20 minutes, then remove from the tray and place the pumpkin back into the bowl you used to toss the ingredients. 

3. Spread the corn chips in a single layer on the now empty oven tray and sprinkle 1/2 of the feta on top. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes. 

4. Whilst the chips are baking, mash the roasted pumpkin with a fork, adding in 1/4 of the remaining feta. '

Serve the pumpkin 'dip' / 'sauce' in a bowl with the feta left over on top and the baked chips on the side. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / 10 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 25 minutes 

x Emily