Recipes

Here you'll find a collection of some of my favourite recipes that have been tried and tested!

Raw avocado & banana choc mousse cups

Blend together 2 avocados, 1 banana, 1 cup raw cacao powder and 3/4 cup pure maple syrup. Refrigerate and serve with some delicious macerated strawberries. Easy as that! I served these in dark chocolate cups (gluten free) that you can buy from Woolworths.

Chicken quesadillas

Serves 2 hungry adults

Ingredients

10 soft tortillas

Shredded chicken (from a BBQ chook or poach your own chicken - we used 1.5 chicken breasts

1 large can of kidney beans

1 bottle of salsa

1 avocado, mashed

Spring onions, finely sliced

Lime

Sour cream

Grated tasty cheese

Salt and pepper

Method

1. Drain and rinse the kidney beans and place in a bowl with half the salsa. Mash together and season with salt and pepper. Spread this mixture on the bottom of a tortilla as a base, then add chicken, spring onions and grated cheese.

2. Add a second tortilla to the top of the bottom one to make a sandwich. Then it is as simple as cooking the quesadilla until the cheese is melted and the tortilla is slightly browned and crispy on the outside.

3. Combine a good squeeze of lime juice with the mashed avocado and 2 tablespoons of sour cream. Mix well and dollop on top of quesadilla to serve. You can also add extra salsa on top if you wish.

Cooking note: We used a sandwich press to cook these (as the heading element is on the top and bottom, which made cooking these a breeze and very fast) but you could also use a frypan if you wish.

Satay chicken pies
Serves 2

Ingredients
*Note: this recipe does include peanuts - anyone with an allergy should avoid!
1 large chicken breast, cubed
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup Masterfoods satay sauce
1 tablespoon crunchy peanut butter
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 leek, finely diced
Brocoli, finely diced
Cauliflower, finely diced
1 carrot finely diced
White pepper
Sea salt
Olive oil
4 sheets of puff pastry, thawed

Method
In a large pot, sweat the leek off in the olive oil, then add the chicken and cook until all the meat has turned white.
Add all the vegetables, stock and soy sauce, cover with a lid and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated and the vegetables are tender.
Add the satay sauce, peanut butter and season with a little salt and pepper. Stir well and partially cover pot with lid and reduce mixture until thickened. Leave mixture to cool before making pie.

*I made 8 small pies with this amount in my special pie maker, but you could add more to this mixture (more sauce, vegetables and chicken) and make a larger version in a baking dish and just cover the top with the puff pastry and cook in a hot oven for about 35 minutes or until the top is golden and crispy.
*You can use any veg you like in this recipe - I just had these ones in the fridge at the time.

Easy banana bread with Nutella

Ingredients
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup self-raising flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
125g butter, melted, cooled
2 eggs, whisked
3 ripe bananas (2 if they are large) mashed
Walnuts (optional)

Method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and grease (or use baking paper) a loaf tin.
Combine the flours, sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl.
Whisk the eggs together with the butter and add to the dry ingredients.
Mash the banana and spoon into the mixture. Stir and pour mix into the loaf tin (smooth the surface of the mix before putting into the oven). You can scatter the top of the loaf with walnuts at this stage if you wish.
Bake for 45-50 minutes (depending on your oven) and instead of serving with butter (which is still delicious) I like my banana bread with Nutella for something a bit naughty!


Ricotta-stuffed tomato Conchiglioni bake
Serves 4

Ingredients
500g Conchiglioni large shells

Tomato sauce
500g of your favourite bottled tomato-based pasta sauce (I like Brown Brothers)
400g tin of organic diced tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
1 dried bay leaf
Dried chilli flakes
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Ricotta filling
400g ricotta cheese
Nutmeg
1 egg
1 cup parmesan cheese plus extra
Salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C
2. For the tomato sauce, drizzle a small amount of olive oil in a medium-sized saucepan over low-medium heat.
3. Add the bottled sauce, tinned tomatoes, sugar, a sprinkle of chilli flakes and bay leaf. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper and simmer gently for 20-25 minutes.
4. Meanwhile cook the conchiglioni in a large pot of salted boiling water (cook according to the packet instructions until al dente). Drain and set aside.
5. In a large bowl combine the ricotta, egg, 1 cup of parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Stuff ricotta mixture into the cooked pasta shells (about 2tsp in each pasta shell). Pour a layer of the tomato sauce over the bottom of a medium/large lasagne dish and place the filled shells on top.
7. Pour over the remaining tomato sauce and sprinkle with extra parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake uncovered for 5-10 minutes. Serve immediately.
*You can serve this with salad and garlic bread.


Tiramisu
Serves 4

I made this easy Tiramisu (Italian for ‘pick me up’) at Christmas time while I was still pregnant - I had to find an alternative to using mascarpone and this is the recipe I came up with. This can be made in advance and just sit in the fridge until ready to serve. You can make this in a glass serving dish or in stemless red wine glasses for cute individual desserts.

Ingredients

250g sponge fingers
400ml full fat thickened cream
2 cups strong espresso or instant coffee
1 tsp vanilla extract
Good quality dark chocolate (I used Lindt 70% cocoa)
1 x punnet of strawberries washed, hulled and halved (or quartered depending on how big they are)
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup fresh orange juice

Method
1. To make the macerated strawberries, combine the berries with the caster sugar and orange juice and give it a gentle mix. Cover and set aside in fridge for 2 hours.
2. In a large bowl beat 300ml of the thickened cream until it is soft and thick (you want it to be like fluffy clouds). Make sure not to overbeat it.
3. Have your serving dish / glass ready. Put your hot coffee in a shallow dish. One by one, dunk the sponge fingers into the coffee (covering both sides) and then lay into the bottom of your serving dish. Move fast as the fingers will soak up the coffee quickly and will become very soft and delicate.
4. Top the sponges with the thickened cream. Then, using a microplane, grate a layer of dark chocolate over the cream. Repeat the sponge/cream/chocolate layers until you have a final layer of sponge on top of your serving dish.
5. In a clean glass bowl, beat together the remaining 100ml of cream and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract until it forms soft peaks. Spoon this final layer of cream over the top of the sponge fingers.
6. Spoon over the strawberries, discarding the excess juice and serve.


Red Velvet Cupcakes (recipe from Donna Hay)
Makes 12

Ingredients

125g butter, softened

1/3 cup (165g) caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1.25 cups (185g) plain flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder, sifted

1/4 cup (25g) cocoa powder, sifted

1/2 cup (125ml) buttermilk

2 teaspoons red food colouring



Cream cheese icing:

250g cream cheese (I used Philadelphia)
50g butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (80g) icing sugar mixture

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (mine is fan-forced). Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer until light and creamy adding eggs one a time.
2. Add the dry ingredients, buttermilk and food colouring and beat until just combined. Spoon into 12 muffin tins lined with cupcake papers (fill them about half way up).
3. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until cooked through when tested with a skewer then cool on a wire rack.
4. For the icing, place the cream cheese, butter and vanilla in a bowl and use your electric hand mixer again to beat mixture until pale and creamy. Add the icing sugar and beat for around 6-8 minutes or until light and fluffy. Spread onto the cupcakes with a palette knife or pipe.

Blueberry and Pear Slice

Serves 10-12

This is a tasty slice recipe that I found on the Everyday Gourmet website. Blueberries are really nice at the moment so give this a go for a morning or afternoon tea snack.

Ingredients

200g caster sugar

2 eggs

Zest ½ a lemon

1 vanilla pod, seeds removed (or if you don’t have a vanilla pod, use approx 1tsp of pure vanilla extract).

150ml milk

110g butter

150g almond meal

5 tbs flour, sifted

1 ½ tsp baking powder

2 pears, roughly chopped

100g fresh blueberries

Method

1. Pre heat oven to 180C.

2. Grease and line a rectangular slice tin with baking paper.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla together until sugar has dissolved and mixture is smooth.
4. Melt butter and add to milk. Mix into the egg mixture until well combined.
5. Now add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and fold together with a wooden spoon until an even batter has formed.
6. Add the blueberries and pears and combine.
7. Cook for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Serve as is or with some natural yogurt and a drizzle of honey.

NOTE: This should be lovely and moist, not dry, so be careful not to overcook. I checked it just before 40 minutes and my slice was ready, so depending on your oven, you may need more or less time than what is stipulated in the recipe.

Moroccan chicken with couscous salad

Serves 2
Last night I made this healthy dish for dinner – it was delicious! The couscous salad could serve 4 as a side dish though, so we had some leftover.

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts cut into three (or you could use thigh if that is your preference)

Masterfoods Moroccan marinade

Salad

1 cup dried couscous

1 cup chicken stock

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil (EVO) + extra to drizzle
1 tbs lemon juice
½ cup slivered or flaked almonds
2 spring onions, finely sliced
A pinch each of sumac and ground cinnamon
1 Roma tomato, deseeded and finely diced
¾ can organic chickpeas
Salt and pepper

Method

1.   Place the chicken in a baking dish and cover with about 4 tablespoons of marinade. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours (if pushed for time, try and marinate for at least 30 minutes).

2.   Place the dry couscous in a glass bowl and have some cling wrap ready.
3.   Add the almonds to a dry frypan and toast until golden. Remove from heat and place in a bowl until ready to use.
4.   Add the chicken stock, lemon juice and 2 tsp of olive oil to a small saucepan and bring to the bowl (should only take about 3-4 minutes on the stove). Remove and pour over couscous and cover bowl with cling wrap for about 5 minutes. This will help the couscous to absorb the hot mixture and take on the flavour of the stock.
5.   Finely slice the spring onions, dice the Roma tomatoes and rinse the chickpeas and set aside.
6.   Remove the cling wrap from the bowl and use a fork to rake and ‘fluff up’ the couscous. Add a drizzle of EVO and season with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Add the spices, spring onions, tomatoes and chickpeas and use the fork to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
7.   Meanwhile, heat up your BBQ or hotplate and then cook the chicken (don’t worry if the marinade chars and burns – it all adds flavour!) until done all the way through. The chicken should be moist on the inside and charred on the outside.
8.   Serve with the couscous salad and some wedges of lemon.

LOW FAT SUNDRIED TOMATO AND BASIL COB LOAF DIP

Serves: 7

Ingredients

1 large hard crusted bread loaf
150-200g 98% fat free sundried tomatoes
1 tbs minced garlic
1/2 red onion finely diced
250g sour light cream
250g Philadelphia light cream cheese
5-6 sprigs fresh basil - torn
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation method

1. Soften the cream cheese - either briefly in the microwave or stand desired amount on the bench - about 30 mins.

2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.
3. Finely dice the onion, and dice sundried tomatoes into thirds/quarters (very roughly).
4. Mix the cream cheese and sour cream thoroughly. Add the garlic, onion and parmesan cheese and mix well.
5. Stir through the sundried tomatoes and basil.
6. Carefully cut the top out of the bread loaf, leaving 'sides' to hold the filling in. Use your hand to get into the loaf and separate the inside bread from the hard outer shell, being sure not to 'pierce' the outer shell, trying to remove it in one large piece.
7. Tear apart 'bite size' pieces of bread from the large piece and place on a separate nonstick tray.
8. Assemble the cob loaf: put the mix into the bread loaf and replace the bread lid. Put into the oven for approximately 20mins until warmed through, and not overcooked. Add the bread pieces into the oven for another 5-10 mins until crisp. Serve.

PUMPKIN AND PINE NUT RAVIOLI WITH SAGE BUTTER SAUCE  

Serves 6
*My friend Karly made this for me for lunch one day and added some roasted capsicum paste for extra flavour.

Ingredients

500g Kent pumpkin, peeled, deseeded, coarsely chopped

1 tbs olive oil
55g (1/3 cup) pine nuts
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tsp ground cumin
20g (1/4 cup) shredded parmesan
1x quantity pasta sheets (see related article)

Sage-butter sauce
200g butter, chopped
1/4 cup small fresh sage leaves
2 tbs fresh lemon juice

Method

• Cook the pumpkin in a steamer basket over a saucepan of simmering water for 10 minutes or until tender. Transfer to a medium bowl. Use a fork to mash until smooth.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and cook, stirring, for 4-5 minutes or until lightly toasted. Add the garlic and cumin and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds or until aromatic.
• Add the pine nut mixture and parmesan to the pumpkin and stir until combined. Season with salt and pepper.
• Place 1 pasta sheet on a lightly floured surface. Place heaped teaspoonfuls of pumpkin mixture, in 2 rows, at 5cm intervals on the pastry sheet, leaving a 2cm border around the edges. Use a pastry brush to brush the pasta around the pumpkin mixture with water. Top with another pasta sheet and press the edges together to seal. Use a ravioli wheel or knife to cut between the pumpkin mixture to make squares. Repeat with the remaining pasta sheets and filling.
• To make the sage-butter sauce, melt the butter in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the sage and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes or until the sage is crisp and the butter is light golden. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice.
• Cook half the ravioli in a large saucepan of salted boiling water for 5-8 minutes or until al dente. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining pasta. Divide the ravioli among serving bowls and spoon over the sage-butter sauce. Serve.

Recipe found on Taste website.


Almond and Berry Smoothie
Serves 2

Ingredients:

-¼ cup raw or blanched almonds
-1 ripe banana
-3/4 cup mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries blackberries strawberries etc) *You can buy the frozen ones and just leave them out for 10 minutes to thaw slighly.
-1/2 cup filtered water
-1 tbs honey
-1 tsp vanilla extract (non-alcoholic)
-2 cups of your favourite milk (I used soy in mine).

Method:

• Place almonds in a blender and add half the water
• Blend until a paste is formed
• Keep adding water until you have the consistency of almond milk you may need to add some extra water
• Drop in sliced banana, fruit, honey and vanilla and blend until smooth
• Serve in a tall glass and enjoy

STICKY GLAZED LEG OF LAMB

Serves 6

Ingredients

2kg leg of lamb

1/2 cup plum jam
1 tablespoon boiling water
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
1 cup chicken stock
500g eschalots, peeled
Steamed green beans, to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Place lamb in a roasting dish. Combine jam, water, garlic and mustard in a bowl. Brush lamb with one-quarter jam mixture. Pour stock into dish. Season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 1 hour, brushing lamb with one-third remaining jam mixture after 30 minutes. Add eschalots. Brush with half remaining jam mixture. Roast for 1 hour for medium or until cooked to your liking, brushing with remaining jam mixture after 30 minutes. Cover lamb loosely with foil. Set aside to rest for 10 minutes.

Serve lamb with eschalots, beans and pan juices.

*Recipe found on www.taste.com.au

LEMON ROAST CHICKEN WITH GARLIC

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 large lemon
2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon sea salt
2kg free-range whole chicken, cleaned, rinsed, patted dry
4 sprigs thyme
4 bulbs garlic
potato mash and steamed green beans, to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 190°C. Cut lemon in half. Juice 1 half.

Combine 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons oil, crushed garlic and salt. Season with pepper. Rub baste over inside and outside of chicken. Place remaining lemon half and thyme in chicken cavity. Tie legs together with unwaxed string.

Place chicken, breast side down, on a rack in a large roasting pan. Roast for 15 minutes. Cut tops off garlic bulbs to expose tops of cloves. Drizzle garlic with remaining oil.

Turn chicken over and place garlic, cut side up, around chicken on rack. Roast for a further 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked and juices run clear. Serve chicken with roasted garlic, mash and beans.

From www.taste.com.au

DONNA HAY'S ROASTED PUMPKIN SOUP

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 x 2kg whole butternut pumpkin

1 onion

olive oil, for drizzling

sea salt

3½ cups (875ml) chicken stock

1 cup (250ml) single (pouring) cream

1 tablespoon honey

sour cream, to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F). Cut the pumpkin in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds.

Place the pumpkin, cut-side up, and onion on a baking tray. Drizzle with a little oil and sprinkle with salt.

Bake for 55–60 minutes or until the pumpkin is just soft and starting to brown. Scoop the pumpkin out of the skin into a blender.

Scoop the onion flesh away from its skin and add to the blender. Add 1 cup (250ml) of the chicken stock and blend until smooth.

Pour the mixture into a saucepan, add remaining stock, cream and honey. Place over medium heat until soup is heated through.

Serve with sour cream.

LEMONADE SCONES

Makes approx 8

Ingredients
300g (2 cups) self-raising flour, sifted
55g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
125ml (1/2 cup) thick cream
125ml (1/2 cup) lemonade
40ml (2 tbs) milk

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C. Lightly grease a baking tray.

Place the flour, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Add the cream and lemonade and mix to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured workbench and knead lightly until combined. Press the dough with your hands to a thickness of about 2cm. Use a 6cm round cutter to cut out 8 scones, place on baking tray and brush the tops with some milk. Bake for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned. Serve warm with your favourite jam.

COCONUT CARAMEL SLICE
Serves heaps!

Ingredients

1/2 cup plain flour

1/2 cup self-raising flour

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

1/2 cup caster sugar

100g butter, melted

400g can sweetened condensed milk

2 tbs golden syrup

1/4 cup brown sugar

60g butter, melted, extra

4 eggs, lightly whisked

2/3 cup caster sugar, extra

4 cups desiccated coconut, extra

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a slice pan. Line base and two opposite sides with baking paper, extending paper 5cm over edge of pan.

Combine sifted flours, coconut, caster sugar and butter in a medium bowl. Press mixture evenly over base of prepared pan. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool slightly.

Combine sweetened condensed milk, golden syrup, brown sugar and extra butter in a medium bowl. Spread mixture evenly over base.

Combine eggs, extra sugar and extra coconut in a medium bowl and sprinkle evenly over filling. Cook for further 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool in pan. Cut slice into squares or triangles to serve.

CREAMY CHICKEN AND MUSHROOM RISOTTO (Gluten-free)

Serves 4

Ingredients 

50g unsalted butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 chicken breast fillets, cut into 2cm cubes

2 cups (440g) arborio rice

1/4 cup (60ml) white wine

1.25L (5 cups) chicken stock (you can get GF stock from most supermarkets)

1/2 cup (50g) grated parmesan, plus extra to serve

1 cup sliced assorted mushrooms

Thyme leaves

Olive oil, to drizzle

Method

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat, add the onion and garlic cook for 2-3 minutes until soft. Add chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes until it starts to colour, then add the rice and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add wine and stir until rice has soaked up.

Add a ladleful (about 125ml/1/2 cup) of the simmering stock to the rice and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding the stock mixture, a ladleful at a time, stirring constantly and allowing the liquid to be absorbed before adding the next ladleful, for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is tender yet firm to the bite and the risotto is creamy. At this point season with salt and pepper.

Add the mushrooms and a sprinkle of thyme leaves at the end and heat through. Finish with a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil (optional).

HELEN'S SWEET CHILLI LASAGNA

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

Fresh lasagne sheets

500- 800g beef mince
1 large brown onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 can tomato soup, condensed
1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce
1 bottle of passata or pasta sauce


White sauce

3 tbs butter or margarine
3 tbs plain flour
700ml milk

Method

Brown the meat, onion and garlic in a large saucepan with a little olive oil.

When meat is browned and fragrant, add the rest of the ingredients and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes or until sauce is slightly thicker.

Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, make white sauce by melting butter in smaller saucepan. Once melted, sprinkle in flour and whisk until flour is cooked out and is smooth. Gradually add milk bit by bit and keep whisking until sauce thickens. On a medium heat, this usually takes around 15 minutes.

Make lasagne by adding a small amount of meat sauce to the bottom of a large lasagne dish. Follow this with the pasta sheets, meat sauce, then white sauce and repeat. Finish lasagne with a layer of white sauce and a mixture of tasty, mozzarella and parmasen cheese.

Bake in a 180 degree oven (fan forced, pre-heated) covered for 40 minutes. Remove foil and cook for a further 15-20 minutes or until cheese on top is golden and bubbling.

Serve with garlic bread and a simple green salad.