INDIVIDUAL CHICKEN POT PIES

I have been searching for a tasty chicken pie recipe for months. I have been overwhelmed with beef and lamb pie recipes every time I open a cookbook, however they all seem to take a minimum of 2 1/2 hours to cook. Due to a new job schedule that involves me working 12-13 hour days every few days, this would not do. So I looked through what I like to call my 'old faithful cookbook'; 'Donna Hay, No Time to Cook'. I think we could all benefit from this cookbook in our kitchens. Donna manages to condense unique and fresh dishes into 1 paragraph which all seem incredibly manageable, every after a long day at the office. Below is a very simple, no fuss recipe for extremely tasty individual chicken pies.


Ingredients 

• 400g chicken, cut into 2cm pieces 
• 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream
• 100g light grated cheese 
• 4 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
• sea salt and cracked black pepper
• 2 sheets reduced-fat puff pastry, thawed 
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Cooking 

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. 

2. Combine chicken, sour cream, cheese, chives, salt and pepper in a bowl. 

3. Cut 8 circles from the pastry that are equal to the circumference of your ramekins. Place 1 circle on the base of each of the ramekins. Divide the chicken mixture between the ramekins and top each with a circle of pastry. Brush this pastry with egg. 

4. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden brown. 

DELICIOUS BROCCOLI

I have this strange habit that I haven't been able to shake all year; I buy broccoli every week and let it rot in my fridge before cooking it. This has happened well over 15 times already in 2011. I have every intention of cooking this vegetable every week, however for some unknown reason it just sits in my fridge and turns yellow. A few days ago I decided that the reason for this waste was that I did not have an appetising recipe involving broccoli by its self. I opened up Jamie Oliver's 'Ministry of Food' and was delighted to find an extensive chapter on 'Delish Veg'. I have adapted the recipe below to suit the ingredients in my kitchen and to reflect my particular palate. And after devouring a sizeable portion of delectable broccoli at 11am this morning, I will never again leave broccoli in my fridge to rot.

Broccoli with Asian Dressing


Ingredients 

• 600g broccoli
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed 
• 1/8- 1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes 
• depending on how spicy you want the dish- 1/8 will add a dash of spice, with 1/4 you will taste the hotness. 
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• a pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon toasted flaked/sliced almonds. 

Cooking 

1. Toast flaked/sliced almonds by stirring them in a fry pan for a few minutes on medium heat. 

2. Break the broccoli into little pieces. Heat a steamer pan or bring a large saucepan of water on to boil. Place the broccoli in the steamer or in a colander placed over the saucepan of boiling water and cover with a tight fitting lid or foil. Steam for around 6 minutes, or until the stalks are tender. 

3. Meanwhile, make the dressing. Place crushed garlic and chilli flakes in a bowl. Stir in sesame oil, olive oil, soy sauce, lime juice, salt and balsamic vinegar. Whisk the dressing together and taste. The dressing should taste salty from the soy sauce, sweet from the vinegar, acid from the lime and spicy from the chilli. 

4. When broccoli is cooked, place in a bowl and pour dressing over. Add the toasted almonds. 

LESS IS MORE

When it comes to pizza, I have found through extensive research that less is always more. By that I mean less toppings. The more you cramp on a pizza, the less chance you have of tasting the individual flavours. More often than not, all you will taste is cheese. Which isn't always such a terrible thing. But if you have loaded the pizza with fresh vegetables and spices, it is a tad disappointing which you cannot taste these.

I was at Eagle Farm market today walking among the fresh produce when I had a desire to make pizza. But not a 'traditional' pizza with tomato paste, grated cheese and some form of rolled meat. I wanted to make a pesto base pizza. This idea came to me as I was walking through the herbs section and was hit with the intoxicating smell of fresh basil. Over recent months I have become quite the master in making basil pesto, after many failed attempts. And I am proud to inform that my concoction is considerably less fatty compared to other pesto recipes that I have come across. I have decreased the amount of oil, cheese and pine nuts than you will see in other recipes.


PESTO PIZZA


Ingredients 

For Basil Pesto

• 2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 -1 tablespoon lemon juice 
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts 
• one bunch of fresh basil leaves, stems removed 
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup olive oil 

1. Put garlic cloves, salt and pine nuts in a food processor or blender. Mix until ingredients are a paste. 

2. Add basil leaves, olive oil, parmesan and lemon juice. Whizz until it forms a paste and the basil leaves are no longer visible. 

For Pizza

• 2 store bought pizza bases, either white, wholemeal or gluten free
• you can certainly make the base yourself (it was a Sunday when I made this dish and I was in a lazy mood). 
• 200g mozzarella cheese, sliced thinly.
•  I used buffalo mozzarella. 
• Half a red onion, diced finely 
• 100g ham, preferably low fat.
• 50g salami, optional 
• Me and my partner reached an agreement- half the pizzas were covered in salami and ham for him and half with just ham for me. If you are looking to save calories guys, lose the salami! 

Cooking 

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius fan force. 

2. Spread pesto mixture onto pizza bases. 

3. Place an equal amount of cheese, red onion, ham and salami (if using) onto both pizzas. 

4. Cook in the oven for around 15 minutes or until pizza edges are golden.

ROASTED POTATO LENTIL CAKES

Do you ever have those days when you feel like anything but meat for dinner? I know most men will not agree with this, but it is actually a myth that we need to eat meat every day, with every meal. Gone are the days of lunches and dinners consisting of meat and three veg. It is actually not good for our bodies to consume that much meat. Diets that are very high in red meat and processed meat have been shown to shorten life span and lead to an increased risk of cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's, among other conditions. And, without getting into too big a debate about this topic, it is detrimental for the environment for humans to consume meat at every meal.

Saying all this, I love meat. I have tried again and again to be a vegetarian (my close friends can attest to this) but all of my attempts have failed poorly. Still, it is very good for our bodies to be given a break from meat every so often. A considerable percentage of the recipes on this blog are vegetarian, for that very reason. One of the visions I have for this blog is to show people that they can cook vegetarian food that is low fat  but still tasty. So many vegetarian recipes out there are high in fat.

This recipe is my go to dish when I need a break from meat filled meals. These lentil and potato cakes are hearty, easy to make and filled with fresh herbs. The recipe is from the Weight Watchers cookbook 'Simply the Best', therefore it is another low fat vegetarian meal.


Ingredients 

• 1 kg potatoes, peeled and quartered
• I used sebago potatoes
• 1 cup canned lentils, drained 
• 1 small brown onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic 
• 1 egg, lightly beaten 
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped 
• I used 3 tablespoons due to my love of herbs. 
• 1-2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
• 1 cup dried breadcrumbs 
• 1/2 cup sweet chilli sauce 
• fresh lettuce leaves 
• fresh chives, chopped, extra for garnish- optional. 

Cooking 

1. Boil, steam or microwave the potatoes until tender. Mash potatoes together with lentils. 

2. Coat a small frying pan with cooking spray or 1 tablespoon olive oil. Heat and cook the onion and garlic until softened. 

3. Transfer onion and garlic to a bowl with the mashed potato and lentils. Add egg, chives, basil and breadcrumbs. Mix well. Use wet hands to form the potato mixture into 12 large patties. Note: my mixture  made nine patties. 

4. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Place the patties on an oven tray and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden. Serve with sweet chilli sauce and fresh lettuce leaves. Garnish with extra chives if you like. 

SUPER SNACKS: YOGHURT & BERRIES

I'm a terrible snacker. all my calories and fat are in my snacks. Potato chips, hot chips, chocolate bars, cookies, you name it and I eat it. So lately inbetween my main meals I've been trying to have healthy snacks.
Natural yoghurt with frozen berries has become one of my absolute favourites. I always prepare it the night before and it takes 2 minutes, tastes delicious and is super healthy.

I fill a small container with natural low fat yoghurt and then add a small handful of berries. I buy frozen packs with can be a bit expensive but the bag lasts me up to 3 weeks so it works out to be quite cheap. Give them a little mix around and leave it in the fridge overnight. the berries soften and the beautiful colours and juices seep through the yoghurt. It keeps me going inbetween meals and helps me to avoid all those naughty snack foods!



NO FUSS THAI CHICKEN SALAD

I made an amazing discovery a few weeks ago, in the form of udon noodles. Light, super easy to cook and versatile, these noodles have become my favourite base to cook with as of late. As the temperature heats up outside, I find my palate changing. I am no longer craving hot, hearty dishes of soup, heavy risottos or oven baked goods. I am now dreaming of colourful and fresh pasta and noodle salads. Looking through my Weight Watchers 'Simply the Best' cookbook, I searched for a dish that would satisfy my new appetite.


THAI CHICKEN SALAD 


Ingredients 

• 2 small chicken breast fillets, chopped
• 1-2 cups bean sprouts
• The recipe calls for 1 cup, however I love bean sprouts so I tweaked it to 2 cups. 
• 4 shallots, chopped 
• 1/2 cup coriander, chopped
• juice of 1 lemon 
• or 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce 
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce 
• 400-440g udon noodles
• the packets at the supermarket come in either 400 or 440g, you can choose either. 

Cooking

1. Cook chicken pieces in non-stick frying pan until just cooked. 

2. Combine the chicken, sprouts, shallots, coriander, lemon juice, chilli sauce and soy sauce in a large serving dish. 

3. Place the noodles in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Use a fork to gently separate the noodles. Drain well and stir into the chicken mixture. Toss to combine. 

Truly the easiest meal I have ever assembled! And the fresh flavours of coriander and lemon juice compliment each other beautifully. 

Serves 6 / Preparation time 25 minutes 

SWEET POTATO, BROCCOLI AND SPINACH STIR FRY

I spent the past weekend  in Victoria for a dear cousin's wedding. It was a joyful and happy occasion, filled with family, flowers and food. LOTS of food. It seems to be my family's way to show their love through feeding each other. And getting each other drunk. But that's a different story. Anyways, needless to say, when I returned home on Sunday night I was in need of a serious detox. My body was craving vegetables and was repulsed by the idea of meat, as this was the food group that I consumed the most of during the weekend. I poured through my 'Vege Food' cookbook looking for a low-fat, vegetable filled dish with hardly any oil. The recipe I found originally had water chestnuts in it as well as palm sugar, however I eliminated these as I am not a fan of water chestnuts out of a tin and I needed to detox from sugar after all the wedding cake I had consumed. I replaced these ingredients with broccoli, a super food and a powerful vegetable. I also changed the qualities of the vegetables; these changes are listed below. The result was a colourful, vibrant stir-fry which restored my body.

Ingredients 

• 2 cups doongara rice 
• 600- 800g sweet potato 
• I used 800g as I have an obsession with this vegetable. 
• 1 tablespoon oil 
• I used olive oil, but whatever you have on hand is fine. 
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1-2 teaspoons sambal oelek 
• This is a hot sauce made from mashed fresh red chillies mixed with salt and vinegar or tamarind. It is available from most supermarkets and is around $5-$6. I highly recommend purchasing this as you just stick it in the fridge and use 1-2 teaspoons now and then to add flavour and spice up stir-fries.  Be warned though- it is not for the faint hearted! If you are not used to spicy dishes, use 1/2- 1 teaspoon. I used 1 1/2 teaspoons. 
• 200- 400g English spinach 
• I used around 200g of english spinach as I really wanted the sweet potato flavour to shine through the dish. The recipe does call for 400g english spinach however, so its up to you what vegetable you want to be predominant. 
• 2 -3 tablespoons soy sauce 
• 2 tablespoons vegetable stock 

Cooking 

1. Bring a large saucepan of 4 cups of water and 2 cups rice to the boil. Turn the heat to simmer and cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

2. Meanwhile, cut the sweet potato into 1.5- 2cm pieces and cook in a large saucepan of boiling water for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain. 

3. Heat a wok until hot, then add the oil and swirl to coat the sides. Stir-fry the garlic and sambal oelek for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add the sweet potato and broccoli and stir-fry over medium-high heat for 4 minutes.  Reduce the heat to medium and add the spinach, soy sauce and stock and toss until the spinach has just wilted. Serve on a bed of warm rice. 

Serves 4

x E