BEEF & SWEET POTATO LASAGNE

I adapted this recipe from an Aldi magazine, which served their Beef & Eggplant Lasagne with roasted kale. Not being a big fan of eggplant (I just can not get past the texture!) I used sweet potato, which holds its shape beautifully when grilled and acts as a wonderful lasagne sheet replacement. I added lots of vegetables into the lasagne which omitted the need to make a vegetable side. I love fresh herbs, hence the addition of basil, oregano and parsley in the ingredients list. If you do not have herbs on hand or do not want to buy them, use cheaper dried options. However keep in mind that you can place herbs in a plastic zip lock bag in the fridge and/or freezer and they will keep for much longer. Also fresh herbs taste insanely better than dried herbs. You could even make this lasagne vegetarian by increasing the quantities of the vegetables and omitting the beef. This is the heartiest lasagne I have ever had and I love that I wasn't left with a 'too full' feeling that I often get after eating traditional lasagne with all the wheat and cheese. This recipe does take just shy of 2 hours to make from the prep to the eating stage, however it feeds 6-8 and is worth the time, particularly as 45 minutes of that time involves only the work of your oven! 

Ingredients

• 1 kg lean beef mince
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 a large red onion
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped/crushed
• 1 large carrot, diced into even pieces
• 1 large zucchini, diced into even pieces
• 2 sticks of celery, diced into even pieces
• 1 capsicum, diced into even pieces
• 150g sliced mushrooms, diced into even pieces
• 700g passata
• Optional - 1 tablespoon Worcester sauce 
• 2 heaped tablespoons fresh basil
• 2 heaped tablespoons fresh oregano 
• 2 heaped tablespoons fresh parsley 
• 3 tomatoes (around 450g), diced into even pieces
• 800g sweet potato, peeled & finely sliced into even rounds
• 40 feta, crumbled 

Cooking 

1. Heat a large, deep saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the oil and swirl to coat. Add the beef and cook, stirring with a strong spoon to break up the lumps, until the beef is browned. Next, add the onion, garlic, carrot, zucchini, celery, capsicum and mushrooms and stir to combine. Cover the saucepan and cook the vegetables for 5 minutes. 

2. Remove the lid and pour in the passata. Fill the pasta bottle 1/3 of the way with water and pour into the pan, along with the Worcester sauce, fresh herbs and diced tomato. Cover the pan and bring to the boil, then simmer on low with the lid just ajar for 30 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed. 

3. Preheat a fan forced oven to 180 degrees celsius. 

4. After you have brought the vegetables & beef to the boil, heat a grill plate/pan over medium-high heat and brush with 1 teaspoon oil. Add the sweet potato rounds and cook until grill marks appear on each side, then remove from the heat and continue until all sweet potato has been grilled. 

5. In a deep oven proof dish layer the lasagne; start by pouring 1/2 of the sauce on the bottom, then cover with 1/2 of the sweet potato rounds then repeat this layer. Sprinkle the crumbled feta on top. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until the feta is golden brown and the sweet potato on the top layer is tender but not mushy. 

Serve with ground black pepper and more herbs, if desired. 

Serves / 6-8
Total Preparation time / 20-25 minutes 
Total Cooking time / 1 hr 30 minutes 

x Emily 

CHICKEN BURRITO BOWL

I love going out for meals, as I love trying to recreate the dishes I order at home. This creation was based on a Chicken Burrito Bowl I had at Salsa's. Low in carbs & fat and high in veges and protein, this lunch filled me up for hours. If pressed for time like I was, shred a free-range cooked chicken including the skin. You can also cook and shred chicken breast by poaching; the link to my recipe for poaching is below. Add whatever vegetables you have on hand and for vegetarians you could substitute the chicken for a type of bean, such as  black beans, red kidney beans, chickpeas, etc. 

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed under cold running water twice
• 500g free range chicken breast or 500g cooked chicken, shredded
• 1 teaspoon rice bran oil
• 1 large broccoli head, cut into small florets & stalk chopped
• 2 medium zucchini, roughly cubed
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
• 1 medium green capsicum, finely chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes, finely diced
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped

COOKING 

1. Place the rinsed quinoa in a medium saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to the boil, then simmer, covered, for 8-10 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Turn off the heat and leave the quinoa for 5 minutes, covered, then fluff with a fork. 

2. Meanwhile, either poach the chicken breast or shred your pre-cooked chicken. If poaching follow step 1 on this link: http://soulfulsandwiches.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/poached-shredded-pulled-chicken-with.html. Omit the ginger and thyme but do add the 2 garlic cloves. 

3. Meanwhile, combine the capsicum, tomato and spring onion in a medium bowl and toss well. 

4. Heat a large deep fry pan over medium high heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat the pan. When the oil is hot add the broccoli. Stir well and cover for 3 minutes, before adding the zucchini and taco seasoning, stirring well and covering again for 2-3 minutes or until the broccoli and zucchini are just tender. NB: If the vegetables start to stick to the pan add a splash of water. 

5. Once the vegetables are cooked turn the heat to low, add the cooked quinoa and the shredded chicken to the pan and toss well to combine. Season to taste. 

Divide into six servings and top with the capsicum, tomato and spring onion mixture. 

Serves / 6 

Total Preparation time / 10 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 25 minutes w/cooked chicken / 35 if poaching chicken 

x Emily 

SWEET POTATO & BROCCOLI CURRY

I’m loving the cooler weather we are having at the moment, as it means that I get to use my stove without sweat in profusely. I have had so much sweet potato to get rid of this week that I decided a big curry would be the best way to utilise it. A very simple curry to make, the spices really are essential here as otherwise this dish could be considered bland. Garam masala is a strong blend of spices that is used in Indian cuisine. The spices that are often used to make this fusion are coriander, cumin, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg. I usually use around 1/2- 1 teaspoon of this spice with every 500g of meat or vegetables I cook as it is an intense combination of flavours. You can find ground garam masala, ground turmeric and ground coriander from your local big supermarket.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 tablespoons coconut or rice bran oil 
• 1 leek, white part only, finely chopped
• 700g sweet potato, peeled & chopped into even cubes
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground garam masala 
• 2 cups water
• 400ml light coconut milk
• 1 large head of broccoli, florets cut evenly and stalk roughly chopped
• Optional: coriander leaves, to serve 

COOKING

1. Rinse the quinoa over cold running water throughly, using clean hands to remove any grit. Then place the quinoa in a saucepan with 2 cups of water, cover and bring to the boil over high heat, then simmer once boiled for 8-10 minutes or until the quinoa is cooked and the water is absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. 

2. Whilst the quinoa is cooking, heat the oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. After 1 minute add the leek and stir, cooking for 2 minutes. 

3. Add the sweet potato and stir to coat in with the oil. Lower the heat and add the ground coriander, ground turmeric and ground garam masala to the pan. Stir vigorously to combine so that the spices do not stick to the pan. 

4. Pour in the water and coconut milk and bring to the boil, covered. Then reduce the heat to a simmer for 4 - 5 minutes. After this time add in the chopped broccoli, stirring to the combine with the curry sauce and cover again for another 5 - 7 minutes. After 5 minutes check the tenderness of the sweet potato and broccoli by sticking a fork into the vegetable (if the fork slides in smoothly, then the curry can be taken off the stove; if the fork meets resistance, keep simmering for another few minutes before checking again). When the vegetables are tender remove from heat. 

Serve the curry on a bed of quinoa topped with coriander leaves, if desired. 

Serves / 6

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / max 25 minutes

x Emily 

RAMEN NOODLES with a PEANUT SAUCE

This recipe was created early last week, when I was desperately craving peanut butter. I've had peanut butter in stir fries before, however I often find it super rich and fatty. After some researching online I created my own with the use of some beautiful Mrs Flannery's all natural peanut butter. I felt like tofu in my dinner, however I knew my fiancee would turn up his nose at the no meat factor, hence the chicken addition. You can make this recipe with either tofu, chicken or half each quantity and combine both. Just a tip for preparing tofu; if you purchase a water based tofu you will need to dry it out and press it- if you have the time. I chose to just dry my tofu out, due to time restrictions yesterday. Here is a great link that explains how to dry and press tofu: http://www.veggiebelly.com/2011/04/how-to-press-tofu.html 

Ingredients

• 270g ramen noodles 
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil 
• 450g free range chicken breast, cut into even strips or 350g firm tofu, cut into even rectangular pieces 
• 2 tablespoons green shallots, plus extra to serve 
• the juice of 1 lime
• 1 x 400g tin light coconut milk
• 1/4 cup organic or all natural peanut butter 
• 1 head of broccoli, cut into even-sized florets and stalk chopped
• 1/4 wombok (chinese cabbage), shredded 
• 250g carrots (3 medium), cut into even rounds 

Cooking 

1. Bring a large saucepan filled with around 10 centimetres of water to the boil. Once boiled, add the ramen noodles to the water and cook for 3-4 minutes until tender. Remove from the stove and drain under cold water. 

2. Meanwhile, heat a large, deep frying pan over medium heat and add the sesame oil, swirling to coat the pan. Cook either the chicken or the tofu pieces or half of each serving for around 6 minutes or until just cooked. Stir the chicken often until it is lightly golden in colour. For the tofu- flip each piece only once, cooking for around 3 minutes on the first side and 2-3 minutes on the second side. Remove the chicken / tofu from the pan and place in a bowl. 

3. Add the shallots to the pan and the lime juice, stirring for a few seconds. Next add the coconut milk and stir for 2 minutes, making sure that the liquid does not boil by continually stirring and keeping the heat at a medium range.

4. Next, add the peanut butter to the pan and stir until the mixture is smooth and not lumpy. This should take a few minutes. Once smooth, add the broccoli to the pan and stir well to cover the broccoli with the sauce before covering the pan. Cook for 4 minutes or until a fork can slide through the broccoli stalks with a little bit of resistance. Add the wombok and carrot to the pan and toss well to combine all ingredients, then cover the pan for another 3-4 minutes until the vegetables are tender. 

5. Lastly, add the cooked chicken and /or tofu and the noodles to the pan and stir all ingredients together. 

Serve warm, with extra shallots sprinkled on top, if desired. 

Serves /  6 

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 25 minutes

x Emily 

CAROB or DARK CHOCOLATE GLUTEN FREE COOKIES

I've made this recipe five times over the past week, in an attempt to get the ingredients and their amounts exactly right. I have also served these cookies to many people over this time period, but the person who has most enjoyed these cookies is my fiancee! He has put in a request for these cookies to be baked every single week from now on. If you do not like the idea of caffeine in your cookies, opt for the carob option. If you feel cheated eating a cookie without chocolate in it, add dark chocolate chips or cacao nibs. If you do not eat eggs, replace the 1 egg with 2 extra tablespoons of coconut oil. The only problem you will face with these cookies is just eating one at a time! 

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup real maple syrup (not flavoured)
• 1/3 cup carob buttons or dark chocolate or cacao nibs 
• 3/4 cup almond meal
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon bi-carb of soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 free range egg
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, in liquid form 
• pinch of sea salt

Baking

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a baking tray with baking paper. 

2. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir well to combine. 

3. Shape the dough into 12 even sized balls, then flatten with your hand or a fork on the prepared baking tray. 

4. Bake for 20 minutes at 180 degrees, then lower the heat to 160 degrees for 5 minutes. 

5. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely - this is the hardest step of all! 

Makes / 10 / 12
Total Baking time / 25 minutes 

x Emily 

CHICKEN SALAD with ZESTY DIJON DRESSING

This recipe was initially going to be a Quinoa salad dish, however I wanted something light for a light dinner and decided to leave out the quinoa carbs. You could use whatever raw vegetables you have on hand, such as capsicum, cabbage, shallots, the list goes on. I like adding lentils or legumes to my salads for an additional hit of protein. As you may have realised with the ingredients in my recipes, I do not prescribe to the Paleo way of eating and think that eating lentils, legumes and grains is very important for my health.  You can also add a touch of crumbled feta or toasted almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds to this salad for more texture and flavour. Look back at my Poaching Chicken recipe for steps on how to poach correctly or if pressed for time, buy a free range cooked chicken! The zesty dijon mustard is a favourite of mine, as it is filled with flavour and is low in calories- try to use apple cider vinegar as it contains less sugar than other vinegars. 

INGREDIENTS

• 300g cooked chicken breast, shredded 
• 150g green beans, trimmed & roughly chopped
• 2 generous handful of baby spinach
• 2 medium tomatoes, finely diced
• 1 x 400g tin of brown lentils, rinsed & drained 
• 100g carrot, grated 
• 1 Lebanese cucumber or 1/2 continental cucumber, diced 
• 1 small to medium ripe avocado, diced 
• 3-4 tablespoons fresh chives / basil / parsley, finely chopped 
• a generous amount of ground black pepper 

Zesty Dijon Dressing

• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped or minced 
• 1 heaped tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• the juice of 1/2 a lemon or lime 
• 2 tablespoons water 
• ground black pepper 

COOKING 

1. Combine all the salad ingredients in a large serving bowl and toss well to combine. 

2. Make the salad dressing by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl and stirring with a fork to combine. If the salad dressing is too thick, try adding a little extra water. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / around 20 minutes 

x Emily 

VEGETARIAN OR NOT STUFFED CAPSICUMS

People seem to have the opinion that making stuffed capsicums is fiddly and an ordeal. I am here to smash that belief. I love making stuffed capsicums as it is an incredibly filling and nutritious meal. I often use quinoa, however brown rice works well too. The bacon is only optional and added for my fiancee's benefit. I like adding some form of lentil or legumes to the stuffing, as well as a variety of herbs (I often use fresh chives, basil, thyme and parsley) as these really bring a punch of flavour. Don't forget to add vegetables to the stuffing as well! 

INGREDIENTS

• 4 medium to large sized red or green capsicums
• 3/4 cup quinoa 
• Optional- 80g bacon, finely chopped
• 1 small zucchini and / or carrot, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons of a mixture of fresh herbs, finely chopped (such as chives, parsley & thyme) or 2 tablespoons dried mixed herbs
• 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 75g feta cheese, crumbled into small pieces
• 1 large lime, quartered 

COOKING 

1. Rinse the quinoa thoroughly, twice, with your hands. Bring the quinoa to boil in a medium saucepan over high heat with 1 1/2 cups of water, covered. Once boiled, lower to a simmer and continue to cook until all the water is absorbed, around 10 minutes. 

2. Meanwhile, slice the top part of the capsicum off to make lids (around 3cm in thickness). Remove the seeds and membranes and discard. Heat a large saucepan over high heat of just enough water for the capsicums bottoms to be covered. Once the water has boiled add the capsicum bottoms and lids and cook for 5 minutes. Drain. 

3. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. 

**Optional step if using bacon - Dry fry the bacon (use no oil) for a few minutes or until cooked how you like it, stirring regularly. 

4. Add the zucchini and / or carrot, herbs, chickpeas, feta cheese and a generous pinch of ground black pepper to the cooked quinoa and mix well to combine. 

5. Stuff the capsicum bottoms with the quinoa mixture. If you have extra quinoa left over try to compact the mixture in the capsicum and add more. Place the lids next to the capsicums. Bake for around 15-20 minutes or until the filling is cooked and the feta cheese has started to melt. 

Serve warm, with lime juice drizzled on top. 

**If you have any brown rice mixture left over, add a handful of washed lettuce to this and serve separately as a salad the next day/ meal. 

Serves / 4 / 1 stuffed capsicum per person

Total Preparation time / 10 minutes 

Total Cooking time / max 40 minutes 

x Emily