Eggplant Parmigiana and Home-Made Hot Chips Starring… A Broken Oven! October 7, 2008

So here I am wanting to prove to Juz that vegetarian meals can be tasty. I thought eggplant parma was a good choice. So yesterday afternoon I start preparing by making a small amount of home-made pasta sauce and preparing the eggplant and bread crumbs. I sliced the eggplant and salted both sides before putting into my strainer to drain. After 30 mins rinse and set on towels to dry. I put 4 slices of bread under the grill on low to dry out enough to chop up for the breadcrumbs

To make the sauce I used

4 tomatoes cored and skinned and diced (you could probably use 1 or 2 tins of diced tomatoes)

1 small tomato paste

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 green capsicum

1/2 red capsicum

3 mushrooms

and salt and pepper

I cooked on low until all the veggies were soft and then took off the stove.

I then started cutting up a few large potatoes for the chips, I rinsed them in cold water and set in the strainer to drain.

I then started to make the bechamel sauce and fry the eggplant pieces after coating them in flour, egg and breadcrumbs.

I get to the point where everything needs to go into the oven, I had preheated it for about 20 minutes and start to put the chips in. I was shocked when the burst of heat I was expecting never hit my face. I then pull out the chips and stick my head in the oven and touch the elements. Stone cold!!! I was livid!!! All afternoon I had been hard at work expecting to have a nice 30 min rest while dinner cooks in the oven. At least the grill was still working and I have a  banquet frying pan, so the chips went in the frying pan and the eggplant under the grill. Not ideal but at least it wasn’t a complete loss.

The best part was, Juz said he enjoyed it and only I could make eggplant taste good. Awww what a sweetheart!

Eggplant Parmigiana

3/4 cup plain flour

2 eggs

2 cups dried breadcrumbs

2 eggplant, trimmed, thinly sliced

vegetable oil, for deep-frying

1 1/2 cups Italian tomato pasta sauce

1/4 cup grated tasty cheese

Bechamel sauce

40g butter

2 tablespoons plain flour

1 1/4 cups milk

1/2 cup grated tasty cheese

Make bechamel sauce Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes or until mixture bubbles. Remove from heat. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly. Return pan to medium heat. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 8 minutes or until sauce comes to the boil. Remove from heat. Add cheese. Stir until melted. Cover surface with plastic wrap.

Combine flour and salt and pepper on a large plate. Lightly whisk eggs and 2 tablespoons cold water in a shallow dish. Place breadcrumbs in a shallow dish.

Lightly coat each slice of eggplant in seasoned flour, shaking off excess. Dip in egg mixture, then breadcrumbs, pressing crumbs on with your fingertips to secure.

Pour oil into a large saucepan until one-third full. Heat over medium-high heat until hot (see tip). Cook eggplant, in batches, for 2 minutes each side or until golden. Transfer to a baking tray.

Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease a 6cm deep, 18cm x 24cm (base) ovenproof dish. Line base with eggplant slices, overlapping slightly. Spoon over 1/2 cup pasta sauce. Repeat eggplant and pasta sauce layers 2 more times.

Top with bechamel sauce. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is golden. Stand for 5 minutes.

Home-Made Hot Chips

Heat the oven and baking tray to 190C

Cut potatoes into slices 4-5mm thick or wedges. You can keep the skin on if you prefer.

Spray the hot pan with olive oil cooking spray or place just 1 tbsp oil for 4 servings (6 medium potatoes) into the hot pan and tilt carefully to cover the base

Add the potatoes and toss gently to coat with oil

Cook on fan bake for 30 minutes, turning once or twice, until evenly golden brown and crisp

Perogies and Photo Comps October 6, 2008

I entered Noah into yet another photo comp. The first one was The Face of Little Tykes, I would hope he made it as a finalist but I doubt it, we would have heard by now I am sure. I caught wind of another comp from a forum I am a member of and entered Noah into that one. I would greatly appreciate any votes you can send his way. You can vote here. You need to enter in your name and email address and then confirm via a link in email which is a PITA but if you could just do it anyway it would put a smile on my face. I used this photo.

It was the best I could come up with for a silly face….

Now perogies!!! I don’t have a recipe per se… I just make them. The other day I had a craving and made some for lunch. I suppose for about 12 perogies I only used 1 cup of flour with a pinch of salt and enough water to make a nice workable dough, not sticky but not dry. I guess I can double that and make a recipe for 24 which would be about 3 serves if served with kransky sausages.

Perogies

Start by boiling 2 medium sized potatoes. When they have boiled, you can mash them with a cup of cheese and a little bit of milk, you want them to be firm and not runny. There are several fillings you can use, I only use potato and vary it by adding different ingredients. I like adding sour cream and chives or cottage cheese but minus the milk. Just use your imagination and see what you come up with. I would be interested in hearing what combinations you tried and liked.
So now that your potatoes are ready it is time for the dough.

Dough

2 Cups All Purpose Flour

1 pinch of salt

Water

Slowly add water while mixing the dough, keep adding until you get a nice workable dough that is not sticky but not overly floury either. You want to have texture that has enough tack to stick together when you pinch your circles shut. So roll out your dough, you want it only a few millimeters thick otherwise your perogies will taste really doughy. Now that your dough is rolled out, you need a big circle cutter or if you’re like me and don’t own one, use a big water glass and cut big circles out of the dough. Once you have all your circles ready, you can add your filling, I use a teaspoon and add a small dollop of filling to the center of the circle. Then I fold it in half and pinch shut around the edges. You don’t want it so full that they are spilling out the edges and it just takes practice on gauging how much you need.

This is what they should look like from empty to filled.

Now you boil them in water. You want to boil them until they start floating which is only a few short minutes.

At this stage you can eat them as they are or use them in soup or a casserole. I myself prefer to fry them.

I pop them into an oiled frying pan and season, I cook on medium high on both sides until they are golden brown on the outside.

Serve with a kransky, fried onions and a dollop of sour cream and enjoy!

The Result of the Nachos September 28, 2008

My belly is absolutly bursting I am so full but dinner was great!

The only thing I would change about the Chilli Con Queso is add some more kick, I love spicy food. It was also too watery with the tomato juice so I would hold off on adding any until you know you need it. Otherwise perfect!!!

Recipes are here!

Peace and Love!!

Sarah

That's my boy!!! September 28, 2008

Noah is being so cute these days!!! Just before he found my mascara and eyelash curler and was holding them to his eyes. He is evidently picking up everything and we will now need to start watching our own actions and what we say. To his fathers dismay I was just feeding Noah some green stuffed olives. I love them but Juz does not share the same sentiment.

The menu tonight is Nachos with Chilli Con Queso. A lazy Sunday meal with left over corn chips from grand final day. I got the recipe for the Mexican style mince from someone off another forum I am a member off and I love it!!

Mexican Mince

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika (sweet variety)

onion

cilantro or coriander (same thing….)

1 clove garlic minced

salt & pepper

1 cup beef stock

1/2 tin tomatoes or 2 tomatoes chopped

Brown the mince & add everything in. Cover & simmer for 20 minutes or so.

I just add in some cayenne for an extra kick.

I will layer the chips and mince with olives, cheese, capsicum and whatever chilies I have on hand.

I will serve with salsa, sour cream and the chilli con queso.

Chilli Con Queso

Ingredients

1 x 400 g tin tomatoes

1 whole red onion, diced

500 g shredded tasty cheese

2 green chillies

2 red chillies

1 large bag of plain corn chips

Method

Drain the juice from the peeled tomatoes into a glass.

Tip tomatoes into a good size microwave safe dish.

Cut chillies into small rings (leave the seeds in for extra heat).

Put chopped chillies, onion and shredded cheese into the dish with the tomatoes, leaving a small handful of cheese and a couple of chilli rings for garnishing.

Mix together and slowly add tomato juice from glass until juicy but not so much that the top starts to float.

Microwave on high for about 5-8 minutes (depending on microwave power). Top with left over cheese and a few chilli rings, place in oven and cook until top browns slightly.

Remove from oven, serve with dish on a large plate surrounded with corn chips.

I think I will do it stove top instead of in the microwave though. I will take pictures and let you know how it tastes!

Pizza Base September 23, 2008

I made pizza tonight and tried out a new recipe for the base and it is perfect so I must share!! I don’t have any pictures of the pizza though, it was so good it got eaten before I even thought to pull out my camera.

Ingredients

2 cups flour (I used bakers flour but you can use plain)

1 8gm sachet of dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons Oil

3/4 cup warm water

Directions

Mix dry ingredients together then add oil and water, knead until smooth. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for 30 mins. After dough has doubled in size, punch then knead a couple more times before rolling out on your pizza pan and covering with your choice of toppings.

Place pizza in a preheated 200 degree oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Planning meals for the week. September 20, 2008

I wasn’t much prepared to go grocery shopping last week. I did not have a meal plan prepared and therefore did not know what ingredients I needed to make things through the week, although with a little creative thinking we made it without starving, barely.

It is a lot harder to come up with meals when you don’t have the convenience food lined up in the pantry but I am convinced I am making the right choice for us as a family by learning to cook from scratch and eliminating those nasty preservatives. Besides, you can make some convenience by making bases in large quantities and freezing them for later use like my pasta sauce I made last week. 21 tomatoes, 6 carrots, 6 cloves of garlic, 3 onions and some tomato paste in the slow cooker for 10 hours,  which has given us 4 meals worth of pasta sauce and only cost about $3-$5 dollars to make. I also made up enough pasta to last for 3 meals and froze that as well and that would have cost only a few cents really considering we get our eggs for free

Now to my meal plan for the week! It wont necissarily be in that order but at least I have a plan.

Sunday – Fish, Kiev, Rice, Veggies

Monday – Macaroni and Cheese in the slow cooker

Tuesday – Spag Bol and Garlic Bread

Wednesday – Chicken strips, Potato Bake, Veggies

Thursday – Lasagna and Garlic Bread

Friday – Take Away Night!

Saturday – Potato Skins and Tex Mex Soup or Mexican Baked Potatoes

And with that I can confidently make my shopping list and hopefully not need to scramble to make dinner for one night.

Potato Skins and Potato Soup! September 15, 2008

Yesterday for lunch I was craving a very snacky food. I don’t buy potato chips anymore and was desperate for a healthy option for my lazy Sunday afternoon. While browsing one of my favorite recipe sites I found a recipe for Crispy Potato Skins which sounded divine.

CRISPY POTATO SKINS
4 large (about 1kg) sebago potatoes, scrubbed
Olive oil spray
1/2 cup (50g) grated cheddar
Mild tomato salsa, or a dip of your choice

Preheat oven to 180C. Place the potatoes on the shelf in the oven and bake for 1-1 1/2 hours or until tender. Set aside to cool slightly before handling.
Cut the potatoes in half lengthways. Use a spoon to carefully scoop out the soft potato flesh, leaving some close to the skin. Cut each piece into 2 or 3 pieces lengthways.
Line a baking tray with nonstick baking paper. Place the potato skins on the baking tray and spray generously with olive oil. Sprinkle with cheddar. Bake for about 20 minutes or until skins are golden and crispy. Serve with salsa or dip.

I didn’t make the accompanying salsa dip, I wound up eating them with just the cheese and a light sprinkle of sea salt and cracked pepper. There was a comment at the bottom of the recipe that caught my eye about using the scooped out potato to make soup. I looooove potato soup, especially my favorite Tex Mex Potato Soup.

So for dinner we had toasted sandwiches and a variation on Tex Mex Potato soup and I have some left over for lunch today yum

For the soup I sauteed onion, green capsicum, 1 green chili in butter. When they had softened up I added some water and powdered chicken stock I had left in my cupboard. I then threw in the potato after lightly mashing it. I could have mashed them better to get a nicer consistency but eh, it was a lazy Sunday afternoon. I seasoned with sea salt and cracked pepper and served with toasted cheese sandwiches.

The real Tex Mex Potato soup recipe follows. I just double or triple the recipe and throw any leftovers in the fridge for the next day.

TEX – MEX POTATO SOUP

2 lg. potatoes, peeled and cubed 1 med. onion, finely chopped 1 med. green capsicum, chopped 1 med. red capsicum, chopped 3 tbsp. butter 4 oz. cooked ham, cubed 1 tbsp. chopped green chilies 1/4 tsp. pepper 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper 300ml chicken broth 1 egg yolk, slightly beaten 1/4 c. heavy cream 1/2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese Cook potatoes in boiling water until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain water. Saute onion and green and red capsicum in butter in skillet for 10 minutes or until softened. Stir in ham, chilies, pepper, and cayenne. Cook 1 minute longer. Reserve. Combine potatoes and chicken broth in electric blender and puree. Return to saucepan and add vegetable mixture. Heat soup just to boiling. Beat egg yolk with heavy cream in small bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup hot soup, then stir yolk mixture back into saucepan. Gently heat soup; do not boil. Garnish with Cheddar cheese. Makes 4 cups.

Homemade Fettucine and French Bread! September 5, 2008

Ever since giving birth to Noah, I have been growing concerned with the amount of preservatives there are in food we buy from the supermarkets. I thought about buying organic food but with the prices we have to pay to buy food that is healthy for us is just too much for a growing family. The other idea was to make all of our food from scratch, the old fashioned way. How is it possible to look after children, keep a house clean and make meals from scratch? I have found it is a lot easier than I thought. The housework might get a little neglected every once in a while but it’s a sacrifice I am willing to make to ensure my family is eating food that is good for them.

Already I have tackled a few home cooked meals and I will try to document them from now on. Last night I made homemade fettuccine and garlic bread with homemade french bread. I must say it is a meal I am very proud of, it was delicious!!!

To make the fettuccine I mixed 2 cups of flour with 3 eggs and kneaded into a dough. I then wrapped it in plastic and put in the fridge to rest for an hour. While I let it rest, I laid out 2 tea towels on my counter and lightly dusted them with four. This is where the sheets of dough will rest before I turn them into the fettuccine. So now that the dough is rested, I take it out of the fridge. I set my pasta machine rollers to the widest setting and then proceed to run the dough through a few times to knead it. I then gradually make my way down to the width I am after by running the dough through each setting 2 times until I reach my desired thickness.

After the sheets have been rolled out, they need another rest. This is when you lay them out on the pre-floured tea towels. You only need to rest them for about 15-20 minutes. This allows them to dry out enough to put them through the next rollers without gumming up the machine. Do not skip this step no matter how impatient you are, unless you want to spend hours trying to unclog the rollers. If you let the dough dry out too much it will just end up breaking into little bits so 15-20 minutes is plenty of time. You can use this time to get your pot of water ready to boil.

Now that the sheets have rested, it is time to turn it in to fettuccine!!! Turn the sheets through the rollers and lay them out on the floured towels until you are ready to cook it!!

The end result of the fettuccine was perfect. There was enough fettuccine to feed 2 1/2 people. I didn’t find it to be a big effort either. This weekend I plan on making a really huge batch and instead of cooking it, I will freeze it for future dinners when I need a quick ‘conveinience’ meal.

To accompany our lovely home cooked fettuccine I made 2 french baguettes following this recipe I got from AllRecipes.com ( with a few adjustments )

INGREDIENTS

• 235 ml water
• 340 g bread flour
• 10 g white sugar
• 6 g salt
• 8 g bread machine yeast
• 1 egg yolk
• 15 ml water

DIRECTIONS

1. Place 1 cup water, bread flour, sugar, salt and yeast into bread machine pan in the order recommended by manufacturer. Select Dough cycle, and press Start.
2. When the cycle has completed, place dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover, and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in bulk. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
3. Punch down dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll into a 16×12 inch rectangle. Cut dough in half, creating two 8×12 inch rectangles. Roll up each half of dough tightly, beginning at 12 inch side, pounding out any air bubbles as you go. Roll gently back and forth to taper end. Place 3 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Make deep diagonal slashes across loaves every 2 inches, or make one lengthwise slash on each loaf. Cover, and let rise in a warm place for 30 to 40 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Mix egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water; brush over tops of loaves.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

I accidentally didn’t add enough flour to begin with and tried kneading it in after which didn’t work too well but it tasted perfect anyway.

And that was our dinner. Delish!!!