Super easy fried rice

Only a month and a half left until I pop out the little nugget, and I think I've finally gotten back the vibe for creating new meals! Yay! Last night's creation was mainly due to four leftover sausages from the previous night's dinner. Four sausages would not cover both the hubs and I, and I wanted to have extra for lunch today. Solution? Fried rice! Fried rice is super easy to make, and the best part is you can throw in whatever you have on hand in the fridge! Some staples to keep in your cupboard for this super quick and easy dish - Chinese five spice, sesame oil, onions, and soy sauce. In this instance, I used sushi and sashimi soy sauce that I bought from the Asian food section in the local Woolworths, it's sweeter and not as harsh tasting as normal soy sauce. I'll no doubt be making fried rice again, but next time I would like to add chorizo sausage and ham bits in place of the leftover sausages - the smoky flavours would add so much to this dish!
To the recipe!

Fried rice
Serves 4

Ingredients
Must haves:
- 1 teacup rice - I used Koala brand jasmine rice, but feel free to use whatever rice is in your cupboard. Remember, if you plan to use brown rice, brown rice takes longer to cook. You want it to be soft and fluffy.
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice.
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil (if you don't have any, that's fine, olive oil or vegetable oil do the trick too).
- 1 - 2 onions, chopped - I used 2, but they were on the small side. Use your judgement on how much you want in there.
- 2 - 3 eggs - I used 3, but if you feel that's too much, adjust accordingly.
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce, or to taste.
Other ingredients I used:
- 4 cold thin beef sausages, sliced thinly.
- 3 carrots, grated.
- Handful of broccoli, chopped.
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped.
You can change these up. I reccommend trying finely chopped capsicum (red is sweetest, but also give yellow a try), mushrooms, Chinese sausage (not sure if all Woolies carries these, but have a look also at specialty Asian supermarkets), ham/bacon, bok choy, corn. Really, you're only limited by what you have on hand.

Directions
1. Get the rice on! Put your teacup of rice in a microwaveable dish with the Chinese five spice and add 2 teacups of water. Put it in the microwave and select the rice setting. Alternatively, you can use a rice cooker or saucepan on the stove (remember, 2:1 ratio of water to rice - unless it's brown rice in which case up the water to account for a longer cooking time).
2. This was when I prepped all the vegies, but if you've done so already then awesome! Have a cup of tea while the rice is cooking!
3. In a large fry pan or wok, put a tablespoon of sesame oil and let it heat up. Add your onions and get them golden, then add the garlic to infuse the oil and the pan.
4. Add your sausages, moving them around the pan so that they warm up. Add your vegies, then add your cooked, fluffy rice.
5. Continue stirring the pan, add your soy sauce and eggs. Stir the eggs in so that they cook throughout the rice.

You're done! Enjoy your delicious, quick and easy fried rice!

Using packet vanilla cake mixes to create your own flavours!

I love cakes. I'm sure a lot of people do (except my Mum, she doesn't like cake). I'm currently in the process of a pantry clean out, and discovered 2 packs of vanilla cupcake mix right at the very top. Now, vanilla cupcakes are nice and all, but what happens if you feel like something a little different? Well friends, that is exactly what happened the other day! It's very simple, and a fun way to experiment with different tastes. I'll definitely be making the Vanilla-Rosewater ones again, they came out so light and fluffy!

Vanilla-Rosewater Cupcakes
Ingredients
1 pack vanilla cupcake mix (mine was made by Greens I believe)
Vanilla essence
Rosewater

Directions
Follow the directions on your pack - I think most will have you mix the mixture for 3 minutes so you want to stop mixing at 2 minutes and add rosewater. This is all to taste, so pour a little in, mix, taste and then add more depending on how subtle or strong you want the rosewater to come through. I think I used maybe half a teaspoon to a teaspoon, but I was going off how strong I wanted to rosewater taste. In the end, I could taste the rosewater but it didn't overpower the entire mix. I also added a drop or two of vanilla essence to make the vanilla taste a little fresher.
Bake as instructed.
Ice as instructed, although feel free to add some rosewater to taste here as well. I also topped mine with pink, purple and white sprinkles.

Chocolate Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
1 pack vanilla cupcake mix
1 pack cocoa

Directions
Follow the directions on your pack. One minute before the reccommended mixing time, add cocoa to taste. Same thing as above - add a little, mix, taste, add more depending on how you want it to taste.
Bake as instructed.
Mix the icing as instructed, but add cocoa to the mix to taste the same as with your cake mixture - add, mix, taste, repeat until it is what you want it to taste like. I then added blue and green sprinkles.

Quick and easy salad, perfect for mum to be

I thought I'd quickly share with you what I made myself for lunch today. 
Grab a handful of baby spinach leaves, add half a punnet of small cherry tomatoes, half a Lebanese cucumber - peeled and sliced, some chopped Spanish onion, and some cubed Gouda cheese. Mix together with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Deelish!!
I'm 14 weeks now, so the nausea is starting to slowly pass. I can't wait to be back in the kitchen, creating new dishes and recipes to share with you all!

Back in the kitchen...kinda

So friends, Tuesday night marked the first time I've cooked a meal from scratch for the past couple of months! I was happy to be back, but wasn't quite up to the task of creating something straight out of my head. Seems this pregnancy thing has messed up my imagination for putting flavours together :(
I did, however, follow an easy recipe for beef goulash, but just made a larger batch so I had enough to take as lunches. See the recipe here: http://www.recipes.com.au/Recipe/Beef-Goulash.aspx
Instead of steamed potatoes and beans, I served mine with sweet potato mash, and then the leftovers I mixed in with cooked pasta. I definitely recommend combining with pasta as it is delicious!
I hope you all have a lovely weekend - I'm planning on cleaning out old clothes and hanging out with some friends and my favourite takeaway - pizza!

Cooking something other than food

Hi friends.
My apologies for the lack in posts these past couple of weeks. You see, while I usually love spending time in my kitchen and whipping up gourmet (and sometimes, not so gourmet) delights for my husband and I to enjoy, it seems we've cooked up a little something else. Yep, I'm in the family way.
What does that mean? It means for the past couple of weeks, I have not had the stomach (har har) to prepare food. In fact, most days I have a constant nagging nausea that goes away for fleeting moments but has left me drained by the time dinner rolls around. The food prep and cooking has fallen into the capable hands of my husband who is being a great sport about my complaining. In his words, apparently I sound like "Wah, wah, wah! Baby! Wah, wah, wah! Pregnant!" and "Could you please...?". Also in the past couple of weeks, we've started to be more proactive about housework and making our bed. We're starting to feel something more akin to being grown ups rather than playing house. So, yay us!
What does this pregnancy mean for the blog? At the moment, it's going to languish in the ethers of the internet while I rest and focus on not feeling sick. I still intend to use this blog as a way to document recipes and tips on how I cook them, but while I'm not cooking I won't be posting recipes. Fingers crossed the sickness goes away after the first trimester, otherwise it's going to be a longer hiatus than intended.
Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it and you. Hopefully I'll be back before long! Take care of yourselves, and experiment!

Juicing and detox soup

So I went off the wagon this weekend. Yup, not only did I partake in Kentucky Fried Chicken pieces, but Sunday caught me with a McDonalds breakfast and a burger with chips for lunch. Both delicious, but horribly bad if I am going to get to my goal of 62 kilos in another 2 weeks time. So in the next couple of days, I am detoxing. Mega detoxing! I'm talking homemade juice and vegetable soup! No carbs (well, not a lot anyway) and no sugars (apart from those in fruit and veg). Do you juice? It's fun to come up with one that you like and that makes you feel good. Obviously, the more vegetables you put in as opposed to fruit is better for you, as vegetables have less sugar that fruit. If you want to have a look at juicing as a way of health and ridding your body of toxins, I'd suggest having a look at Raw Juices Can Save Your Life by Dr Sandra Cabot. Also, another good one is The Liver Cleansing Diet, also by Dr Cabot. No, I'm not sponsoring or getting paid (I wish!) but I have them both and have gone through the Liver Cleansing Diet, and I did feel better being on it. Anyways, this is a recipe blog, so I thought I'd share with you a really simple vegetable soup that I made last night. It's tasty and light, perfect for when you're feeling a little under the weather!


Vegetable Soup


Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 brown onions, diced
3 carrots sliced (feel free to use more!)
2 celery stalks, chopped (again, feel free to use more)
1 can whole peeled tomatoes (I use Ardmona, but any brand is fine)
1 tablespoon tomato paste (Ardmona again)
2.5 can fulls of water (what I mean here is this: when you put your tomatoes in the pot, fill the can with water 2.5 times)
Handful of fresh basil
Handful of fresh continental parsley


Directions
Heat up your soup pot. Mine is a 24 cm stock pot I got from Woolworths. When the pot is hot, pour in your olive oil, then add your onions. Lightly cook through until they start to go golden brown. Add your carrots, celery and tomatoes, then add your water using the method I discussed above. Mix that through then add the tomato paste, giving that a good stir. Then, after all that, add your basil and continental parsley by tearing it into chunks.
Let the soup come to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer until your carrots are cooked through properly. They should still be firm, but easy to bite through (I just took a piece out and bit into it.)
And with that you're done! If you're not dieting like I am, a nice crusty loaf would go perfectly with this soup!


You'll note that I didn't add any salt (not that I cook with much salt to begin with). The tomato paste has salt in it, but if you want a little more, then go ahead. You are cooking for you and your family, and cooking should be fun and to what you like to eat! Just don't go too overboard!


I'll see you all next time!

So I tried kangaroo meat...

So, along with this diet I am currently following, it was recommended I try kangaroo meat. I know, right? One half of our Coat of Arms! I'd never had the nerve to try it before, because, well, it's kangaroo. I'm a beef, chicken, lamb girl through and through, and the only types of pork I eat is ham and bacon. Let me tell before going into this - I'm not really a fan. Sure, the meat was cooked to perfection, the marinade was lovely, but the taste of the meat was a strange flavour that I don't think I want to try again.
If you however do like kangaroo meat, or want to give it a go, here's the recipe.


Kangaroo steaks with salad
Serves 2-4 (we were really hungry!)


Ingredients:
Pack of 4 kangaroo steaks (I got these from Woolworths)
1 lemon, halved
1 teaspoon or so crushed garlic (fresh or in the jar is fine, use to taste)
2 sprigs basil, chopped
1/2 teaspoon, cardamom
1/2 teaspoon, cinnamon
Pepper to taste


For the salad, I bought a pack of 4 different small lettuces from woolies, 3 vine tomatoes cut in wedges, 2 cucumbers peeled and sliced, the juice of 1 lime, 1 teaspoon garlic (I think I need to cut back a little, yeah?) and pepper. You can make any salad you want though.


Directions:
Get out your grill press and get it nice and hot. Combine the juice of the lemon with the garlic, basil, and spices then add your steaks. The pack said to marinade for 20 minutes but I didn't have time for that so just let them sit until the grill was hot.  Lightly spray both plates of the grill with spray olive oil, then place your steaks on the hotplate and close. You want to cook them until they are lightly firm, if you cut them open, you want the meat red at this point. Let them sit for 5-10 minutes then serve with your choice of salad.


Pretty quick and easy, but I didn't care for the taste so will be going back to chicken tonight I think. Have a good one!

I'm on a diet. It doesn't mean that the food has to be bland!

I've taken up the challenge to lose a couple of kilos that I haven't been able to shift for the past 4 years. It's just started so be thinking of me while cooking up some deliciousness! The key that I am finding with cooking while being on a diet is a healthy mix of different herbs and spices and leaving the salt and sugar in the cupboard.
Here's what we had last night (and leftovers for lunch and possibly dinner tonight!)


Za'atar beef with zucchini and tomato, basil and cabbage salad.
Serves 4


Ingredients:
1 kilo diced beef
2 brown onions, diced
1 teaspoon crushed garlic (you can use either fresh or the crushed garlic in the jar, and you can use more to taste.)
2 cups za'atar mix (oregano, thyme, roast sesame seeds, marjoram, sumac)
2 zucchinis, sliced
1/2 purple cabbage, chopped
5 tomatoes, diced (I like vine tomatoes but you can use ordinary round ones)
1 tablespoon or so basil chopped roughly
1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon crushed garlic (fresh or jarred)


Directions!:
Using just a little spray extra virgin olive oil, lightly spray the base of your pan just enough that the onions won't stick on. Brown your onions, then add the beef and garlic. Cook until the beef has just started to brown then add your za'atar mix. Let that be for the moment while we make the salad.
In a bowl, add your tomato, basil and cabbage and mix thoroughly. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon and add the garlic and mix it again. I find that if you get your hands in there to mix, you'll get a more even coverage.
Coming back to the beef, add the zucchinis and mix around and let that cook until the zucchini has gone soft.
And you're done!

What's for Dinner tonight?

One dish I always come back to is grilled chicken with cabbage salad. It's quick and easy, and for the most part healthy. I learnt the cabbage salad from my mother-in-law, as well as using her method for the dressing, so the measurements for that are going to be off the top of my head based on how much I think I'm putting in.

So here goes...

Grilled Chicken with Cabbage salad

Serves however much you prepare for.

Ingredients:

Chicken schnitzel with no crumbs (I buy these from Bush's Meats, and I haven't seen it in Woolies or Franklins. Check your local butcher first, and support local businesses!)

Lemon juice (either fresh or bottled, although fresh is more fragrant)

Za'atar mix (I got a big bag about a year ago from my local grocers, but you can make your own with dried thyme, dried oregano, dried marjoram, toasted sesame seeds, salt and sumac. You may also find prepacked mix in Middle Eastern delis and small goods stores.)

Spray olive oil

Red or white cabbage

Cold pressed olive oil (or whatever olive oil you have - most is cold pressed anyway)

Apple cider vinegar

Salt

Directions:

In a bowl, place your chicken, then top with the lemon juice - you want a light covering. Pour in za'atar mix - you are using this kind of like breadcrumbs for making schnitzel, so you want an even and all over cover.

Get out your George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine, or similar (if you don't have one that's fine, feel free to fry up in a fry pan or use a griddle if you have one) and lightly spray olive oil over surface. You don't want too much, just enough to ensure the chicken doesn't stick.

Once the grill is hot, place your chicken on the hotplates, making sure there is no overlap. I have a very small grilling machine, so I usually do two at a time.

Cook chicken thoroughly until white in the centre.

If you are cooking in batches, it's handy to have a plate covered with aluminium foil to cover the chicken so it stays warm.

Now onto the salad! Finely slice the cabbage until you have your preferred amount. for a quarter cabbage, I usually put about a tablespoon or so of apple cider vinegar, and a half tablespoon of olive oil, with a teaspoon or so of salt to taste. This part is all on you! Whatever tastes good for you, then keep it there. You want to make sure you have an even balance of flavours - don't go overboard with the vinegar or the oil.

And you're done! See you tomorrow!

Welcome and pasta bake.

I don't know if anyone will ever read this, maybe this is all just for me.This blog is to document recipes and ideas that I have come up with, to provide for my family, and even sometimes on a shoestring budget.

Here goes recipe number1.

Pasta bake

Serves 6

Ingredients:

500g beef mince

2 brown onions, chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, crushed (you can use precrushed garlic in a tube or jar - just a teaspoon)

small handful of fresh basil

small handful of fresh oregano

1 can crushed tomatoes (I used Ardmona, you should be able to get this from your local supermarket. It's an Australian manufactured product out of Victoria.)

1 tablespoon tomato paste (I think I used Ardmona as well, or it may have been Leggos.)

1 tablespoon cold pressed olive oil (this is what I used, but whatever olive oil you have on hand is fine.)

salt and pepper to taste

2 packs penne pasta (I used a gluten free corn and rice penne, but feel free to use whatever you want. I think the normal penne comes in a larger size pack, so you may only need one pack.)

1 pack Mozarella cheese (I used the home brand from Woolworths, but feel free to use what you want.)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 180°C and lightly grease your baking dish with a little bit of olive oil. In one large saucepan, you want to boil water and a teaspoon of salt for your pasta, then once it is brought to the boil, add your pasta. Make sure the saucepan is big enough to fit both packs of pasta. In another, get the pan hot then add your olive oil, followed by your onion.

You want to cook the onion until it is semi translucent, and starts to turn golden. Make sure you are stirring the onion, otherwise you might burn them or they might stick to the bottom of your pan.

Once the onion is cooked through, add the beef mince and garlic and cook until browned. Again, make sure you stir so that nothing gets burned or sticks.

Tear up the basil and oregano and stir into the beef, you want it to cook into the beef for about a minute or so.

Add your crushed tomatoes, stirring everything through, then add your tomato paste and again stir through for everything to be combined.

Hopefully by now your pasta is cooked. Drain and rinse through with cold water, then combine the pasta and the sauce, making sure all the pasta is coated and mixed through.

Pour your pasta and sauce mixture into your baking dish, and then smooth out the top so that it is all level.

Now it's time to add the cheese. I used Mozarella, but you can use Pizza Mix or tasty if you prefer. Spread the cheese over the pasta, created an even layer. You want the layer thick so that the cheese can melt down through the pasta. I didn't end up using a whole pack of cheese, so don't feel like you have to either.

Once you've got the cheese on, put the dish in the oven. You want to leave it there until the top of the cheese is golden brown and toasted. Depending on your oven, this can take between 10 and 20 minutes.

After it's done, feel free to serve it on its own or with a salad!