Sweet Pumpkin and Choc Chip "Bread"

I love Pumpkin!  It's one of my top 3 vegetables (is it strange that I rank my favourite veggies?)  Here in Australia pumpkin is used mostly for savoury dishes (unless you are making Lady Flo's famous pumpkin scones).  In North America it's used mostly for sweet cooking and baking, roast pumpkin and pumpkin soup are not that common or popular from what I have seen and heard.  I have many friends from the US who enjoy the idea of Pumpkin as savoury - I wonder if I can help us Aussies (pronounced Ozzies - like Ozzy Osbourne) to learn to love Pumpkin as a sweet as much as our northern friends do.

I heard about Pumpkin Bread many years ago and was intrigued by the idea and had to try it.  The first recipe I tried had a whopping 3 cups of sugar in it!  It was so sweet it was off putting.  This recipe is sweetened with sugar, but as pumpkin is naturally sweet, I feel it doesn't need any more.  This isn't served with any frosting or icing, hence the name "bread".

I make this when pumpkins are cheap (there is no Libby's canned Pumpkin here in Australia), that being said.  Pumpkins aren't really seasonal here and regularly on sale.  So I buy a whole pumpkin (I am most fond of Butternuts), peel and de-seed it then boil and mash the whole lot.  I measure out 2 cup quanitites and freeze them in ziplock bags.  This is perfect for this recipe, or adding flavour and colour to casseroles, risotto or soups.

This can be served warm with lashings of butter or cold with butter or without.  My children love this and regularly have it in their lunch boxes.  Choc chips can be omitted or swapped for sultanas/raisins if you so wish.  This will keep in a Tupperware type container for up to 3 days and will give you roughly 16 slices. 


1 cup sugar
1 cup oil
4 eggs
2 cups mashed pumpkin - no butter or milk  (or a 16 oz can of pumpkin puree)
3 cups SR flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup choc chips (or up to a cup)

Pre-heat your oven to 180oC or 350oF
In a large bowl beat the sugar, oil and eggs together.
Add the pumpkin and beat again, until well combined.
Add the flours, bicarb, spices and choc chips.
Fold thru and pour into a well greased large flute ring tin.
Bake in the prepared oven for 55-65 minutes OR until a toothpick comes out clean when tested.
Leave to cool for a full 10 minutes before you turn out on a wire rack to cool.

Happy Cooking!
Elizabeth x

Sausage Rolls

I made this for dinner last night - what a hit! I loved these as a child and I still do!  My children are lucky enough to have these made for them on a semi regular basis.  They are best served hot with loads of tomato sauce - yum!

You will notice that I add grated veggies to my sausage rolls.  I have two reasons for this, one is to help my kids eat their daily dose of vegetables, the other reason: I often find sausage rolls heavy in my tummy.  Vegetables lighten them and you can eat more!

These are a must at any child's party in Australia.  These aren't available in America and Canada so my North American friends may be unfamiliar with them.  This recipe will give you a chance to enjoy something Aussie (I must admit they are are also popular in New Zealand and the UK).

This recipe will give you about 36 "mini" sausage rolls.  I always make them smaller as they cook faster!

6 sheets of frozen puff pastry - thawed
500g (just over a pound) sausage meat (for my North American friends, use breakfast sausage meat, not Italian sausage meat).
200g good quality minced beef (just under a pound)
1 small potato, peeled, grated and any juice squeezed out
1 small carrot, grated
1 small onion, grated
1/2 small zucchini, grated
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 teaspoon dried sage powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Pre-heat your oven to 210oC (410oF) and line 2 or 3 baking trays (cookie trays) with baking paper.
In a bowl combine all the ingredients except the pastry.  Mix well to combine (I use my hands).
Lay each piece of pastry down on your kitchen bench (keep the plastic that it lies on under it - this will be used to help you roll the sausage rolls a bit later).
Place equal portions of the meat mixture on each pastry slice.  Use your hands to form a "sausage" that runs from one end of pastry to the other.
The "sausage" should be right up against one edge of the pastry.
Roll the pastry up (like a jelly roll), using the pastries plastic to help you roll.  Pull the pastry off the plastic as you go.
Slice each roll into 4 or 6 equal pieces (use a serrated edged knife, so the filling doesn't come out upon cutting).
Place each slice onto your prepared trays, seam side down.  Spray all the sausage rolls with baking oil spray.
Place into the prepared oven and bake for 35-45 minutes OR until golden brown and they smell amazing.
Leave to cool on the trays for 5 - 10 minutes before serving.
Serve hot with plenty of tomato sauce.

Happy cooking!
Elizabeth x

"Souper" Fast Creamy Chicken Pasta Sauce

This is a recipe that I truly think is a MUST in every home.  I'm not saying this because it is my recipe and developed it myself, but it's so fast that every home needs a few recipes that can be on the table in under 20 minutes.

This meal can be made even faster by using "planned over" chicken from either another meal or a baked chicken from the store which you shred (you'll need about 2 1/2 cups).  Almost any vegetable can be used instead of mushrooms and broccoli.  As I have mentioned before - use what you have in your fridge.  Zucchini, cauliflower, carrots, leeks, peas and beans work a treat!  I tried this with sweet potato, not a good.  Frozen veggie mixes can be used when vegetables are either $$ or not looking so fabulous in the bottom of the fridge (freeze and save those for a soup).

This can be made ahead of time and baked in the oven with mozzarella cheese sprinkled on top.  I make this dish about once a month in winter and the colder times of the year.  The kids love it, its cheap, fast and delicious.  A real winner for any family who are time poor and on a budget.  This recipe feeds 7-8


3 tablespoons butter - not margarine or oil
1/2 kilo (1 pound)  chicken breast fillets, chopped into bite sized chunks
1 large onion, diced fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
10-12 button mushrooms, sliced
1 large head of broccoli, each floweret cut in half
3 tablespoons water
1 tin Cream of mushroom soup (any "cream of soup" will work, but this is my fave)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
500g (1 pound) pasta, what ever shape you prefer.

Heat a large pot of water to cook your pasta in.  Meanwhile, dice and cut the vegetables as mentioned above.
Pop the broccoli into a a microwave safe bowl, add the water and steam in the microwave for 4 minutes.  Don't throw the water out!
In a heavy based fry pan, melt the butter.  Add the chicken, garlic and onions and fry until the chicken is sealed (white all over and no pink showing)
Add the mushrooms and continue to cook for a minute or two.
By now the water should be boiling.  Add the pasta and cook until al dente and continue to make your sauce.
Add the broccoli and the water it was cooked in and add that to the fry pan (with the chicken).
Add the mushroom soup and reduce the heat to a simmer and stir occasionally.
Continue to cook the pasta sauce while the pasta boils away.
When the pasta is cooked, strain.
Turn off the heat to your pasta sauce and add in the parmesan cheese.  Stir through well.
Serve the pasta and sauce together with or without garlic bread and/or salad.

Happy cooking!
Elizabeth
x

Beef and Lentil Massman Curry Soup (Gluten Free)

Indian is a genre of food that I don't cook very often as I don't feel terribly confident at making it.  There are so many spices required and I don't have half of them in my cupboard  Regardless of this, I still make curries, by using Curry mixes I buy at the Preston Market.  I have been making curries since I was first married, over 15 years ago.


This soup came about purely by chance.  I was craving a soup and Curry at the same time.  I took that opportunity to clean out my fridge and this is what I came up with.   It was delicious!  Feel free to use the vegetables and meats that you have in your fridge/freezer.  I didn't want to be bothered going to the shops with Four children, so I didn't add potatoes or broccoli (which would work a treat).

I want to have  bit of a chat about Curry Pastes (that you can buy in the grocery store).  I think these are fantastic items, and I always have them on hand.  There are many brands out there, but  I personally use the Ayam products.  They don't have as much oils in them, have an intense flavour and last for ages in the fridge (once opened).  To buy each of the ingredients separately could be very costly, in addition, they don't keep as long.  If I had better access to the fresh ingredients (and they were cheaper) I would make my own.  But for this recipe, please know that store bought will work.

Enough about that.  This is a soup that's surprisingly light while being fragrant. It takes less than 20 minutes to make and feeds up to 8 adults.  One of my sons found it a bit "spicy" but happily ate it with a glass of milk.  I on the other hand thought it was fabulous and therefore had to share!


Recipe:

1 tablespoon oil (I like coconut oil, but canola or peanut would work well too)
500g (just over a pound) of Ground Beef (lean is best)
1 onion, diced small
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger
3 tablespoons Massman Curry Paste
2 carrots, diced smallish
1/2 cup red lentils
10 cups of boiling water (no stock needed here!)
1/2 a cauliflower, each floweret cut into thirds
1/2 a bunch of silver beet, stems removed and chopped (or a few handfuls of fresh spinach)
1 x 425 g tin coconut milk

In a large heavy based pot heat the oil.  Fry the meat and use a wooden spoon to break up any large clumps of meat.  Add the onions, garlic and ginger.  Fry for 2 minutes.  Add the Curry paste and fry until you can smell it and it becomes fragrant (about 90 seconds).
Add the boiling water, lentils and carrots.  Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer.  Add the cauliflower and stir every 5 minutes for 15 minutes (the lentils will settle to the bottom of the pan and will stick if not moved and stirred).
Add the coconut milk and the silver beet.  Stir through and simmer for a further couple of minutes.
Serve in large bowls and enjoy!

Happy cooking!
Elizabeth x