One Pot no Waste!

In our family because we meal plan, we buy exactly what we need for the meals for the following week.  This means that we rarely have to pop out to shops at the last minute and that my husband and I don’t have to think after a long day at work “gee what are we going to have to dinner tonight”.  No Stress!!  
 

It also has the added benefit that very little food that goes to waste.   We plan it so that we get the most out of each ingredient that we buy.  For example if we have to buy a whole celery we will make sure it is incorporated into other recipes for the week so none is wasted.

This brings me to a fabulous recipe we cooked recently; 

Lentil and Ham Hock Soup.

So simple, 1 Ham Hock (we bought a smoked one from our favourite deli) bring it to the boil in enough water to cover and simmer for an 1-hour.  Remove it (for later) and strain the stock left also for later use.

Then slice and dice 2 onions, 2 Carrots, 1 Leek and 2 Celery Stalks and cook with a spot of oil for approximately 5 minutes than add 2 cloves of garlic (crushed) the recipe we used suggested one small red chilli (but we didn’t because of Mr 4 year old) and cook for another minute. 

Add the reserved stock, bring to the boil again and add a cup of Green Lentils.  Simmer for approximately 35 minutes until lentils are cooked.

The last thing to do is add the diced meat from the previously boiled Ham Hock (removing all skin, gristle and sinew).

This soup is delicious, easy to make, cheap and great for the whole family.    

The best thing about it nothing goes to waste.  

Pizza the OMG way !!

When I first started this blog I mentioned that I would be road testing new recipes that I had never cooked before. These recipes would be coming from my ever expanding collection of cookbooks.

Friends of ours have a copy of Jane Kennedy’ s OMG I can eat that? Indulgent food minus the boombah. .   I was lucky enough to come across a copy for $10.  The book focuses on everyday meals with healthier options instead of the usual potato mash, pastry etc.   Our friends had made her 4 hour slow – cooked garlicky lamb served with her roasted carrots with feta and said it was delicious.

So far we have cooked 3 recipes from it,  $10 well spent in my opinion, as the all 3 have been very nice.

Which brings me to this months recipe.  Pizza made from grated Zucchini as the base.  That’s right, no wheat in sight.

The base is very easy to prepare, one large grated zucchini (peeled) 100g of grated mozzarella cheese and one egg.    Mixed together and pour onto a tray lined with baking paper.  Cook in a 190o Oven for 15 minutes or until browned. 

  That’s it.

Once the base is cooked turn up the oven to 220o.  Then you are free to cover the base with whatever you like and pop it back in the oven until the cheese is bubbling and brown.

Each pizza serves 2  (we made 2 pizzas) happily fed the 3 of us.   Spreading passata on the base we topped one pizza with fresh pineapple, prosciutto and rocket (once cooked).  The second with pepperoni, olives, char grilled capsicum and both pizzas finished off with mozzarella cheese.

This healthy take on the traditional is not going to replace the flour made pizza bases that we love, but is was nice for a change. 

Memories

Almost every Australian in the last 30 years has grown up,  with their Mum’s making  them a Birthday cake from the Australian Women’s Weekly Birthday Cake book.   I remember as a child Mum making my sister and I our birthday cakes that we requested from it.

A friend of mine offered and made our son the “Choo- Choo Train” last year from an original copy she had from her mother.   Our Son just loved the cake and couldn’t stop talking about how wonderful it was.  


After flicking through the book he decided that for his next birthday he wanted “Robert the Robot”.   And for the following 12 months at every opportunity he mentioned that he was having a “Robot Cake”

As luck would have it,  a special collectors edition was released this year and  I bought  a copy.  So for our sons 4^th Birthday my husband and I made “Robert the Robot” for him. 

It really wasn’t as difficult as we anticipated and the finished result was amazing.

We had one small disaster because I had greased the pans, but I didn’t line them with baking paper.  


We made a second batch of cakes that came out of the pans lined with baking paper without a problem.

We also cheated slightly, because we didn’t make the suggested Vienna Cream icing.  We purchased ready-made icing and coloured it blue.

Special mention also goes out to our friend "TD" who recently made the “Candy Castle” for her daughter.

It looked fabulous and was a massive hit with the Kids and (of course) the Adults 

Back on board

What a month we have had.   We've moved house, been sick and we are right in the middle of birthday season.  With my Husband just celebrating his 40th , our son is turning 4 this coming Tuesday and a number of friends and family celebrating birthdays in the last month as well. 

Happy Birthday Everyone !

So I have been very slack on updating the blog.   Stay tuned …… the next instalment will be up soon.