Easy Cole Slaw

Shred one head of cabbage and two or three carrots (peeled) into a bowl and mix.

In a separate bowl, mix 1 cup mayo, 4 Tablespoons sugar, and 2 Tablespoons white vinegar.  Add to cabbage mixture and stir until combined.  If it doesn't look goopy enough for your taste, mix up some more dressing.  You can also adjust the vinegar to taste. 

It's always nice to let it marinate in the fridge for a little bit, but not necessary.  I sometimes make it and just stick it in the fridge while I make the rest of dinner.

Super easy (especially if you have a food processor or shredding attachment to your mixer) and very yummy!


EDIT:
If you want a yummy twist on this favorite, add to the dressing: the juice of one or two limes (to taste) and cilantro (one bunch, chopped). BAM! Yummy cilantro lime Cole slaw

Heaven in a Cookie Sandwich

I first tried this cookie a year or two ago.  I didn't realize I hadn't posted the recipe here until I went to make them recently and they weren't here !!!  Time to remedy that !  I found this recipe on Every Last Cookie ... it's the blog of a girl who is baking her way through the Martha Stewart's Cookies book.  Grand idea, I say !

They are not difficult to make.  Really, the only thing different to making any other cookie is the extra step of putting the cream cheese icing between two cookies.  It is WELL WORTH the little bit of extra effort !  

She reckons this makes about 25 cookie sandwiches ... I don't think I've ever gotten 25, maybe I make them a bit bigger than her.

Here's how I did mine ...

For the cookies ...
1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar (this is just regular white sugar)

225g (1/2 lb) butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 and 1/2 cups finely grated carrots (if you have a food processor, use it !)

1 cup raisins

For the cream cheese icing ...

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
8 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup icing (confectioners) sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

I used my electric mixer to combine sugars and butter 'til they were light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat on medium speed until well combined. 

In a separate bowl - sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger together.  Stir.  Gradually add this mixture to the butter mixture.  Mix on a low speed until just blended.  Mix in oats, carrots and raisins.  Chill in fridge til firm, at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350F/180C and line baking sheets with whatever you use to keep the cookies from sticking.  I like baking paper ...

Using a 1/2 ounce ice cream scoop, or a spoon, but the ice cream scoop makes it super easy, scoop dough onto baking sheets.  Bake between 12 and 15 minutes till lightly browned.  Transfer to wire rack to cool. 

While the cookies are cooling, make your icing.  Mix all ingredients until smooth and well blended.

Once cooled, spread one cookie with icing and then top with another cookie.  And that's it ! 

Winter Veg Sauce

I made this for the first time a year ago and LOVED it.  I have modified it a bit to suit our own tastes.  You can find Tribeca Yummy Mummy's Winter Vegetable Tomato Sauce over on her blog.
Here's how I do ours ....

1 big red onion, diced

4 carrots, peeled & shredded

2 parsnips, peeled & shredded

5 cloves of garlic, diced (adjust to suit your garlic tastes)

olive oil

pinch of salt

dash of garlic powder

fresh herbs ... oregano, basil, thyme

4 x 400g cans crushed tomatoes

2 x 400g cans diced tomatoes

salt and pepper, to taste

brown sugar, 1 Tablespoon (or more)

honey, to taste

Saute garlic and onion in olive oil, in a large, heavy bottom pot, until garlic begins to brown and onion is translucent. Add carrots and parsnips, pinch of salt and cook til veggies are soft. Add herbs.  Let cook just while you open up the cans of tomatoes.

Stir in the tomatoes and garlic powder. Bring this sauce to a simmer. Turn the heat down to low and partially cover. Let simmer for an hour or longer, stirring every 15- 20 minutes. Taste as you go. After a while, once the sauce has cooked down some, add the brown sugar and/or honey.  You don't want it super sweet but the sugar/honey give a great flavor and cuts down on the acidity in the tomatoes. 

Season with salt and pepper.

Done.

Serve over pasta, gnocchi (that recipe coming this week !), in a calzone, as a pizza sauce, on a baked potato !  The options are only limited by your imagination ...

 

Quinoa Patties

My sister gave me this recipe. I've been meaning to try them for a white but just got around to it last night.  I wish I had tried them earlier !!  They are sooooo yum.  One might be tempted to call them Quinoa Burgers but I have been forbidden to call anything not made out of beef, a burger !  Burgers are NOT made out of beans or grains or tofu or a fake substance pretending to be meat, according to my husband.  He'll eat whatever I put in front of him ... as long as I don't call it a burger, if it isn't !

I made a few changes to the original recipe ... here's what I did.

Made 15 patties using a 1/4 cup scoop.

2 cups cooked quinoa (instructions HERE if you have never cooked quinoa before)

3/4 cup shredded mexican cheese (or cheddar)

1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese

1 medium carrot, finely grated 

1 zucchini, finely grated

3 eggs

3 tablespoons wholemeal flour

2 spring onions,

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Olive oil for frying

Mix all ingredients (except oil) in a large bowl.  Heat the olive oil in a fry pan over medium-low heat. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop up mixture and press firmly into measuring cup.  Carefully tip measuring cup upside down, shake out the mixture gently into the fry pan and lightly flatten to 1/2 inch thick.  Fry until golden-brown, about 4 minutes on each side.   

I served with sliced of avocado, sweet chilli sauce and greek yoghurt mixed with lemon juice, minced garlic and fresh chives.

DELICIOUS !!

Asian Dinner

I'm not sure this fits into the catagory of necessity being the mother of invention...but invent tonight I did - and it was a grand success! I have this little quirk that I have a hard time eating something I have recently thrown up...its been YEARS since I've eaten alphabet soup. But I digress. Tonight's menu plan was just a little too close to my Thanksgiving Eve puke-fest prior to emergency gall bladder surgery...ANYWAY. I invented the following...and boy was it yummy!!


Asian Broccoli/Cauliflower
Bag of frozen broccoli and cauliflower. Cook per package directions. Sprinkle on a little bit of soy sauce and a small dab of butter. Melt the butter and serve.

Asian Roasted Carrots
Preheat oven to 375. Peel enough carrots for your family. Cut into short, thin sticks. Line cookie sheet with tin foil and spray with olive oil cooking spray (regular would probably work fine too). Lay carrot sticks out in one layer...I tried to not have them touch so they would cook quicker. Spray the top of the carrots lightly with the cooking spray and then drip a tiny line of sesame oil over the carrots. Sprinkle top of carrots with sesame seeds then mix the carrots up a bit and lay them flat again. Bake the carrots until they are soft enough for you. I baked mine approximately 20 minutes, shaking the pan after the first 10 minutes. Serve.

Asian Grilled Fish
Place fish (I used swai) on a double layer of tin foil. (one piece of piece per foil packet) Mix a small amount of sesame oil and peanut oil and spread over the top of the fish. Flip fish over so oil gets on the tin foil. Flip fish back over so bottom of the fish gets a coating of the oil. Slightly fold up the edges of the foil layers so that the next bit of sauce doesn't spill onto your counter. Mix a bit of (the amounts are dependant on how many pieces of fish you have) rice vinegar and soy sauce together. Spread enough on the fish to thoroughly coat. Flip fish and coat the other side. Sprinkle top of fish with sesame seeds. Fold two sides over the fish and then fold the remaining two sides to create a packet. Grill on high for approximately 10 minutes. Open the packet(s) and put the whole thing in the oven on broil. Broil for a few minutes until the sesame seeds have toasted a bit. Serve. The fish basically steamed in the packets on the grill, so the fish was very moist and yummy.

Veggie Fish Bake

Veggie Fish Bake

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

4-6 medium to large potatoes, peeled and sliced approximately ¼ inch thick
4 medium to large carrots, peeled and sliced approximately ¼ inch thick
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced approximately ¼ inch thick – separated into rings

Spray large baking dish with Pam (I used olive oil Pam).
Layer potato slices in the bottom of the dish. Next, evenly spread the carrots and then the onion rings over the layers of potatoes.
Melt 2T of butter and stir in 1t of dried basil and 1t of dried dill weed. Sprinkle butter mixture over veggies. Evenly spray another layer of Pam over the veggies. Cover and bake until potatoes feel like they are approximately 15 minutes from done. (I baked them for approximately 40 minutes)
Meanwhile, melt 2T of butter and stir in 1t of dried basil, 1t of dried dill weed, salt and pepper (I used white pepper cause I like it best), and 3t of lemon juice (I didn’t feel like squeezing fresh, so used the bottle and it turned out fine).
When the potatoes feel like they are getting close to done, place four fish fillets (your favorite white fish…can’t remember what I used!) over the veggies. Spread the second batch of butter mixture over the fish. Recover and return the pan to the oven. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the fish is flaky and done.
Meanwhile, chop two medium tomatoes (I chopped mine rather small). When the fish is finished, sprinkle the tomatoes over the fish. Recover and return pan to the oven for 5 minutes.
Serve.
DELISH!!! EVERYONE in the family went back for seconds!! My mom used to make this when I was a kid (only fish recipe I recall liking as a child!), and I stumbled upon it the other day when looking for meals I could eat while on my post-gall bladder surgery restricted diet. It was such a hit that it's going on the make again soon list! :-)

Buffalo Boneless Wings ... And Ranch

Ok ... let's start with the Ranch recipe. I got this from Shay and it is delicious !

I'm going to cut and paste from the email she sent me ....

My freaking favorite ranch
I don't worry too much about which herbs to use but I always use fresh dill. That makes it. I like a lot of dill. You can play around with this one. All to taste and texture.
I like to double but that makes a good bit-this is for one batch.

1/2 c. mayo
1/2 c. buttermilk, shaken
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
4 scallion chopped
1 garlic, minced
2 tbsp. dill
2 tbsp. chives
1 tbsp. tarragon, or 1/2 tsp. dried
2 tbsp. parsley
dash worchestershire
dash hot sauce
1/2 tsp. salt, plus more to taste

whisk all

I did this in the afternoon and put it in the fridge until dinner time ....

For the 'wings'.

I did 1 kilo of chicken breast. Cut into chunks (see photo above). I put some whole wheat flour in a ziplock bag, added the chicken, shook it around then then shallow fried these in olive oil til golden brown.

For the hot 'buffalo sauce"

If you're in the States, you'll use Franks but I can't get that here ! BUMMER ! But, I found this Louisiana hot sauce the other day. It was a darn good substitute !! Not a cheap substitute though ! This bottle cost $9.99 and it was just under a cup of hot sauce !

So ... melt 2 TBSP of butter in the microwave. Add 1 cup hot sauce. Mix. Put back in the microwave and make it hot. Add 'wings' and mix to coat.

For the Garlic Parmesan "wings"

Melt 1/2 a cup butter. Then add to it 2 tsp (3?? ... to taste) garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Put back in microwave and make it hot. Add 'wings' and toss to coat !

Lemon Rosemary Carrots

I've been trying to find new ways to use rosemary as we have an enormous bush of it in our garden ! The other night I had 1/2 a cauliflower, decided to roast it but needed another veg as that wouldn't have been enough. I had carrots so went with that. I just threw them in a baking dish (with baking paper on the bottom, of course !), squeezed the juice of 1/2 a lemon on them, added a bit of olive oil, a few cloves of sliced garlic and then heaps of fresh rosemary. Unchopped. Just pulled off the branch ! Baked for probably 15/20 minutes. And it was soooo tasty ! I'll be doing carrots like this more often ! Much more often !!

Salad Sandwiches

A great Aussie sandwich ... not something I'd eaten many of before moving here.
(a sandwich with only salad fixins ... I've had plenty of other sorts of sandwiches!)

This one had leftover Artichoke and Cumin Dip, Tomato,
Cucumber, Sliced Beets, Sliced Mushrooms, Pine Nuts and Fresh Spinach !

It was delish !

And here's Alia whipping up her Salad Sandwich ...
she and Jono both opted out of mushrooms, and beets !
But they both had pine nuts which was a pleasant surprise !!

Pumpkin Carrot Cream Cheese Swirl Bars

I snuck up on my husband eating one of these and he said sarcastically, "Too bad these didn't turn out very good." :) It's a good thing we are sharing them with friends tonight or we might eat the whole pan - just the two of us.

Pumpkin Carrot Swirl Bars

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 cup finely shredded carrot
Cream Cheese Topping (recipe follows)


Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan.

COMBINE flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and baking soda in small bowl. Beat granulated sugar, butter and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until crumbly. Add eggs, egg whites, pumpkin and carrot; beat until well blended. Add flour mixture; mix well. Spread into prepared pan. Drop teaspoonfuls of Cream Cheese Topping over batter; swirl mixture with spoon.

BAKE for 25 to 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

FOR CREAM CHEESE TOPPING:
COMBINE 4 ounces softened light cream cheese (Neufchâtel), 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon milk in small mixer bowl until thoroughly blended.

I doubled the cream cheese topping. Why not!?!


I got the recipe at verybestbaking.com

Australian Roast Veggies - with a Bonnie Twist

We loooooooooooove veggies done this way !
Super easy. I had some ham steaks in the freezer. Pulled them out to serve with the veggies.
Just heated them up. Made Mom's Pineapple Sauce.

For the veggies :

Cut up whatever you like and lay on baking paper lined cookie sheets ( or baking dish ) I usually do one tray of potatoes and one tray of the rest, since the potatoes take longer to cook. What have I got there ? Potatoes. I slice them about 1/2 an inch thick. Pumpkin. (you could do sweet potato) I do largish pieces. Carrots. I half them and then cut the halves lengthways so thy are flat on one side. Onions, peel and chop in half. Garlic, cut off end but leave in skin. They just pop out once cooked ! ( but if you cook them without the skins, they will burn ) I lay them flat ... not overlapping at all. I rub with olive oil and cook in a hot (180/200 C) oven. I usually do the potatoes for about 15/20 minutes before putting the other veggies in. Then do the rest til they are done. (maybe another 20 minutes but you'll have to play, depending on your oven !!)

The greens. This time I just threw garlic, onion, asparagus into some sesame oil, added bok choy at the end with some soy sauce. Once wilted, I added a bit of balsamic vinegar and pine nuts. Delicious !

Some times I serve the veggies with a bit of Allioli ...

Allioli (from all i oli, Catalan for "garlic and oil", Spanish Ajoaceite from "ajo y aceite" or Alioli) is a typical paste of the Balearic Islands, Valencia and Catalonia. It is made by pounding garlic with olive oil and salt in a mortar until a smooth texture is obtained. It differs from Provençal aioli in that it does not use eggs, although normally a small quantity of egg is added to allow a faster and easier mixing. The mix of eggs, oil and garlic is pejoratively referred as mayonnaise with garlic.

An easy way to make it ... a big blob of mayo with a spoon full of crushed garlic ( I use the stuff in the jar for this quick easy Allioli !! )

And now ... I must go start the day. It's Friday ... grocery shopping day ! Need to get my menu planned and my list made !!

Yummy Chicken Dinner

This was good. I thought that I was going to be doing a few drumsticks and a couple of breast pieces but when I opened the pack that I pulled out of the freezer, I realized I'd been given thighs instead. Don't you hate it when that happens !? So, I did drumsticks and thighs.

I got the Mustard Roasted Chicken recipe here. It was easy. I can't wait to try it with breast. I don't really like dark meat ... The veggies are cooked in with the chicken and therefore included in that recipe. I've done the potatoes before. You can find them here.

Monday Night's Dinner

Here's my photo of Jilly's Quinoa with Spinach and Mushrooms.

It was DELICIOUS !!!! If you haven't tried this yet, you need to ! YUMMMMMMMM !

Chicken and More ..

Macadamia Chicken
Broccoli with Garlic and Chilli
Lemon Roasted Onion and Carrots

.............................

Macadamia Chicken.

I got this recipe from a lady named Megan who participated in one of those email recipe exchanges.

• 600g - 1kg chicken breast fillets - sliced.
• 1 cup crushed macadamia nuts
• 3 cups of fresh breadcrumbs (Just chuck bread into the food processor and process til it looks like breadcumbs ... I used whole grain bread)
• 250 g of shredded parmesan cheese (I just used the stuff I always keep in the fridge ...)
• 2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
• 2 tablespoons of fresh parsley
• 120 g melted butter ( I used olive oil instead of butter )

1. Grease baking dish (I used baking paper instead )
2. Place sliced chicken pieces evenly across bottom of dish.
3. Combine all other ingredients and spread evenly across all the chicken.
4. Bake in moderate oven (180C) for 30-45 min.
5. Cut into squares and serve with salad. (is really nice with cranberry sauce or mango puree)

I didn't serve with salad ... or the sauces.

I served with the following :

Lemon Roasted Onions and Carrots (from:The Great Vegetarian Cookbook)

• 2 large brown onions
• 2 medium lemons
• 5 small carrots
• 4 unpeeled cloves of garlic ( I, of course, used many more than 4 ! )
• 6 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Cut onions and lemons into eight wedges
2. Combine onion, lemon, carrot, garlic and rosemary in baking dish. Drizzle with oil, stir gently.
3. Bake, uncovered, in moderate oven about 1 hour or until tender.
4. Increase overn temperature to hot, bake vegetables about 10 minutes or until browned. ( I skipped this last step as I didn't think it was necessary ... )

AND THIS :

Broccoli with garlic and chilli (from: Super Food Ideas magazine April 2007 edition)

• 800g broccoli, cut into small florets
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced ( uh, yeah ... more than that )
• 1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes

1. Bring large saucepan of water to the boil. Cook brocolli 3 minutes or til bright green. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat iol in a large, deep fying pan or wok over low heat. Add garlic and chilli. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic. Increase heat to medium. Add broccoli. Toss until well coated.
3. Season with Salt and Pepper. Serve