About Me

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Im 30 yrs old very happy married to a wonderful man (Nathan) i have a 7yr old son (Lochlan) and one on the way! We live in a town called Davistown. Im an aussie that use to live in the states! But have recently returned back to Australia! And im VERY passionate about cooking and my family!

Blog Archive

Showing posts with label Recipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recipe. Show all posts

Friday, February 10, 2012

~* November 2011 Part 1 *~

November...Ah unlike October.. November was TOTALLY a busy month :) too long for one post!
So this post for part one is something i haven't done in a VERY long time...its a food post (and don't fall over but there will be a couple more coming!)*GASP* 
lol but i thought i would share this simple tasty salad i whipped up!

Sweet and Tangy this salad has it all!


I used a bag of washed fancy lettuces and baby spinach.
a container of washed local grown blueberries
Half a small container of sprouted beans (they r awesome in this salad! totally give it an awesome crunch!)

~*Dressing*~
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fresh cracked black pepper
Balsamic Vinegar
Garlic Powder
a squeeze of lime juice
and a pinch of raw sugar!

Whisk up all your ingredients and you have a yummy dressing! Toss the lettuce, Blue berries and sprouted beans roughly. Drizzle the dressing and toss all together and serve! YUMO!




Sunday, May 29, 2011

~*Creamy Ooey Gooey Melty Spinach Dip*~

Last week we had my Grandmother over for a nice dinner, it was most definately a wonderful evening!
My mum and i went and picked her up after i ran to the store for the makings of this yummy yummy dip! We planned for a late dinner as my mothers job has her working later afternoons into the evening so i wanted something melty and warm, nutritional and tasty to feed Nan, Hubby and Lochie! Best thing about this dip is its oh so easy and it can be used for all sorts of yummy fillings! Next time you have boneless skinless chicken thighs or boneless skinless chicken breast try stuffing this stuff into them! YUM so simple yet it really turns plain chicken around into something fancy! Stuffed pasta shells are also something dinner guests will oo and ahh at when you bring them out of the oven ;)
Sorry for the lack of photos i only got one snapped and then that was it! We dug in with little toasted poppy seed garlic toast and crusty sour dough toasts!


~*Recipe*~
hlf a pound or 8ounces of chopped frozen spinach (defrosted and drained)
2 cloves of fresh garlic smashed and finely chopped
a handful of washed and thinly chopped green onions
1/2 a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1 large cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 a cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons of mayo 
1/2 a cup of sour cream

Preheat oven to about 375ish
Make sure you drain/squeeze the defrosted spinach you do not want the excess liquid in your yummy dip! Add all the ingredients mix well and spread into a casserole dish you really dont want to use a deep dish as it wont melt as quickly :) place the dish into the oven and let it bake until it gets nice and brown and melty! Usually it takes my dip about 25-30mins to get to that point! Serve right away with caution that its VERY hot ofcourse!  

This dip really is great because you can make a lower fat version if you like. Also you can keep some of the mozzarella cheese and sprinkle over the top as you see i did in the one pic i took!
 Instead of using full fat mayo use light mayo and that goes for the mozzarella cheese and sour cream! If you try this let me know how you like the delish flavours!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

~**Getting My Groove Back**~

Getting My Groove Back?
What groove am i talking about you ask?? COOKING! Since moving back to Australia and being preggers i really have lost my groove for cooking.. 








I have not had the desire persay but i would cook once in a while! Seeing its getting cooler here i thought it would be the perfect time to make a big ole pot of Chili! Now its not the same as i usually make it as i dont have all the same ingredients i had back in the states but i must say this turned out pretty dang good :) Now for those of you who have NOT experienced a REALLL good slow cooked chili you have no idea what your missing :) You can NOT even compare a can of chili to a homemade from scratch batch! It slow cooks and all the flavours meld together, if you cant get your kids to eat beans this IS the perfect way to get them to eat em :) MMM MMMMMM! 
I did not used dried beans this time as i had no energy to tell you the truth to soak and what not so i used caned beans which surprisingly enough here in Australia theres nothing in them other then water...and some salt... :) good to know! The beans i used this time around were Butter beans which turned out pretty dang good they are alot larger then im use to when it comes to beans but boy did they soak up the flava! I also used cannellini beans which im pretty sure are called something totally different in the states :) I found i had to tweak my recipe alot when it came to the spices as i was unable to find real chipotle powder and i also havent gotten around to making up my own taco seasoning but they are on the list of things to do! But i did find smoked paprika powder which smells similar but doesnt taste the same still gives the chili a nice smokey flavour though! This time around i also had green pepper which i added to the pot as well not alot though as it can be very over powering! (green pepper is green capsicum to u fellow aussies!) I also used ground beef and chunks of chuck steak! Oh and i also didnt use my own stock either..lol i have made stock a few times since arriving here but i always turn that straight into soup YUM!
This makes alot and when i say ALOT i mean alot of chili which is never a bad thing like i mention in this post here we ate off this pot full for 2 main meals and we also gave some away for family to try! Big hit all around ofcourse. When it was all done slow simmering and it was time to eat we served it with some delish artisan breads we got from the bakery a sun dried tomato and olive twist loaf and a spinach and feta loaf YUM OOOO!

I am not posting the recipe as you can find it HERE and if you have read the post you will know the changes i made :)

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Week 21 Up Date and a Recipe!

Recipe for this YUMMY Simple Dish at the end!


Week 21

Size of Baby:
Aj is the size of a Banana! That doesn't seem big according to Loche lol :)
Movement:
Movement is here and there really some nites Aj kicks up a storm preventing me from sleeping and sometimes i don't feel a thing and i get so worried!! But Aj does respond to daddy's touch and daddy's voice :)
Gender:
Everyone still thinks its a girl I'm just hoping for healthy and happy! And ok yes I'm secretly hoping for a girl as well ;) have u SEEN some of the cute things out there for baby girls!!
Sleep:
Sleep MM how i miss it :D but like usual i end up passing out when i am exhausted! Napping when i can, sleeping is getting harder as i cant find a comfy position and i already take up more then half the bed with pillows! Poor Nathan!
Cravings:
SPICEY i can NOT get enough spicey food LUV LUV LUV anything spicey at the moment! Indian Beef Vindaloo has been a huge craving :) and spicey noodles with lots and lots of chili peppers!! And i also have a gross craving of Pepsi...I REFUSE to give into this nasty craving!
Symptoms:
Lower back pains, fatigue and tender sore hips... and my boobs r driving me nuts...they r super heavy...and I'm not even half way threw this!
Belly Button:
In still no sign of popping out :) so i think i shall remove this question!
Maternity Clothes:
Yes...no longer in normal clothes havent been since the end of last week....all maternity stuff now! You all will get a glimpse of how much i am actually showing... :)
What i miss:
The lack of boobage! lol... i REAAAALLLLYY miss sleeping on my tummy...i dream about it even...lol when I'm not dreaming of crazy things like giant size lamingtons the size of a boat with super size shark teeth screeching at me and chasing me around the back yard trying to eat me!! Yup gotta love those pregnancy dreams!
Taa Daaa.. Yep there's the Bump i was telling you about.... I have only gained 3pounds since falling pregnant.... So go figure! :)

Now for a Recipe!

Zucchini and Potatoes!

1 medium size onion sliced thinly
1 medium sized potato (cut in smallish thin slices)
2 decent size zucchini (chopped or diced to bite size)
1 Tablespoon of Garlic
Fresh ground black pepper and sea salt to taste
 1/3 of a cup of red wine
1/2 cup of chicken stock
1 teaspoon of chili powder
2 teaspoons of dried marjoram
a dob of butter and a lil olive oil for the pan :)

Heat your oil and butter in a fry pan then add your onions, garlic and your salt and pepper to taste, cook the onions down. If they start sticking add some of the stock at this point toss in the potatoes let them simmer for about 10 mins. Now add your marjoram and chili powder to the potatoes. Mix threw then pour the rest of the stock and red wine over the top. Preheat the oven on high your stock and wine should have cooked down to a nice thickish sauce. Toss the zucchini threw the potatoes and sauce. Empty the zucchini and potatoes into a casserole dish and place in the oven to finish cooking the potatoes for about 20mins! We served this with lamb chops! YUMO!
Super simple and oh so tasty!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Super Simple Pasta! Healthy and Filling!


Ok so i have done "some" cooking here in Australia but not really that much...more so just taking a break and taking it easy! But when i have cooked its usually been some sort of pasta dish or chicken dish in the oven :) This meal is really simple and extremely tasty! To cut down on time shop/gather all your ingredients and even prepare them a couple of days in advanced! That way when its time to cook this meal you wont have any chopping to do!
This makes ALOT if you follow it to a tee! This fed 5 adults 1 child and we had a good amount of left overs!

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil 
2 pounds of ground lean Hamburger/Mince
1 Can of diced tomatoes
7 large mushrooms(sliced and diced to prevent picking out! mwahaha!)
2 large carrots(grated)
3 Tablespoons of minced/crushed garlic
2 large onions(sliced thinly)
1 can of blended tomatoes or a can of plain tomato sauce
1 small tub of Greek yogurt
1/4 of a cup of pitted olives(diced up small)
2 Boxes of Pasta i used the spiral ones 
herbs to taste as listed:
Rosemary
Ground Black pepper
Sweet Basil
Chili Pepper Flakes
Marjoram
Thyme
and Ground Fennel
I used about a Tablespoon and a half of each dried herb and some ground sea salt to taste!



I used an electric skillet to cook the meat sauce, i didn't cook the pasta until i was almost done with the sauce and i cooked the pasta al dente style so that it wasn't mushy and goopy!

Heat the oil in the skillet and add your onions and garlic, cook for 5-10mins then add your meat. Now everyones different but i like to add my dried herbs a few mins after the meat has cooked a little. Stir the herbs around and let simmer for a few mins then add your grated carrots, diced mushrooms and diced olives. Let it cook then add your canned tomatoes and tomato sauce place the lid on the skillet and let sit for 10-15mins stirring once in a while. At this point i start cooking the pasta when the pasta is almost done cooking i add the yogurt to the meat and mix it threw turning the temp up a lil. Mix it all up well then place the lid back on and turn the skillet off. Strain the pasta and place straight into a large serving dish, pour the meat sauce over the top and mix threw and place it on the table! :) And have at it family style!

This dish is great you can ALWAYS add all sorts of veggies to it the sauce really packs flavour so you can really get the kids or fussy hubby to eat anything with this sauce! I have added alsorts of summer squash to this and green beans even shredded cabbage! Also it can be served with Quinoa or couscous if your watching your carbs :)

Today i am linked up for Tuesday Night Supper Club link up! At one of my fav foodie blogs Fudge Ripple! Head on over and see what everyones been up to!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

A Different Style Butternut Squash Soup


Fall is here ALREADY! Boy this year has gone by fast.....No big suprise but i cant wait for this year to be done with and start over fresh! It has not been my year... Anyway Fall is my most fav time of year?!?! Why? The leaves change colours, the weather gets cooler, LOTS of things to do with apples! Apple cider, apple donuts, apple cheese fritters and so on! Not to mention the gorgeous decorations for fall! I love it! Unfortunately i will not be decorating this year... I do have some good news to share i supose! I PASSED my US Citizenship test! Woohoo! I have not had my ceremony yet though i will have pictures when that happens! So it has been pretty busy around here lately though! We had our first family camping trip! I will post about that but lets just say the tent was NOT water proof and we sorta had a few soggy days! 


We have been catching up and spending time with friends and family! Lochlan played soccer this season and Hubby helped coach the team so we have been busy with that also! We planned for a bonfire with friends and family but the rain seems to like to fall on our parade...lol first camping...then the bonfire! BUT we had a great time (inside) either way! I have been busy cooking like crazy YES i have been taking photos! I am ready to take the plunge back into bloggy land! 
Although i have about 30 posts that i have started (up loaded pics to each post and jotted down the ingredients to said recipes!) but i just havent had the get up n go to finish them off and publish them! 

In between all of this stuff i have been doing lots of researching concerning what to and what not to put into mine and my families bodies food wise! I have also decided that this is the FIRST year since arriving in the US that we will NOT be par taking in getting flu shots this year! I am proud to annouce this! I am taking a natural route to staying healthy for what part of the flu season we will be around for! Also i have to admit the only chemical medicine wise that i am currently taking is benadryl and thats only when my psoriasis is driving me crazy! Im using all organic and natural lotions and soaps to help sooth my skin also and i have to admit i am shocked at how well i am doing! I also think trying to be stress free helps too! I have rid my pantry of some of the nasty things i use to use! Like white flour, white sugar, vegetable oil, shortening(YUCK)! and store baught meats! I will get into more of why the overhaul in the next few posts. Doing this has not made our budget change much at all really it can be done and done on an everyday budget!

Now onto this most delish soup! I grew up HATING butternut squash soup... I HATED it.... it was awful in my eyes... but as i got older my taste buds have most definately changed! I must admit foods i absolutely hated growing up have now become foods i enjoy! I guess my taste buds grew up :P lol Anyway you can find a different version of the same style soup here.

What i used!
1 medium sized butternut squash
3 sweet potato squash(click link to see what these beauties look like)
1 teaspoon of ginger powder
2 Tablespoons of garlic powder
2 cups of chicken stock
1 can of coconut milk (i used light coconut milk)
1 Tablespoon of dried cilantro
1 Tablespoon of dried parsley
1 teaspoon of salt
Olive Oil
Preheat the oven to 350

What i did!
First i washed all of my squashes as they were frommy garden and kinda muddy LOL. then i peeled them and sliced them in chunks! Placed them in a large ziplock baggie. Once the bag was full i added enough olive oil to caot these lovely pieces! Then i added the ginger, garlic and salt, tossed it all around then emptyed out the entire contents of the baggie into a large glass baking dish! I placed it in the preheated oven and checked on them every once in a while. When the squash was tender enough to smash it with spoon i knew it was done! (sorry no exact time i was busy doing other things) i smashed the squash with a fork made sure it was nice and smooth. In the pot on the stove i poured in the chicken stock, dried cilantro and parsely, bringin the stock up to bubbling then turning it to a simmer i slowly started adding the coconut milk making sure it wasnt to hot when added as you dont want the coconut milk to curdle. Once the liquids ahd simmered a good 15mins i then added in the smashed squash bringin up the temp slowly once everything was good and hot i turned off the burned and placed the lid on and let it sit a good 10mins. After 10mins i used my hand held blender and wizzed it threw the soup to make it thick and creamy! 



I served this DELISH soup with garlic naan! The boys absolutely LOVED it! How do i know? They didnt have much to say other then mmmmm's and yummmms! And they ate dinner quickly! It was definately a hit!


So i have some pictures of recipes to come! I can not wait to share some of the things i have been up to!


Quick and easy Beef, CousCous and BokChoy 


Super simple left over Potatos, Chicken, Homemade Salsa Melt!


Best ChocChip Cookies EVA!


Nourishing Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup


Baked Apple Cheese Muffins


The BEST ever oven fried chicken you will ever have!
(you know its GOOD when you can take a bite out of it cold and its STILL crunchy!)


Mouth watering Pulled Bbq Beef


Homemade Buns!

Friday, August 13, 2010

Chili Done My Way!


Ok i know its NOT Chili weather.... BUT once in a while a nice bowl of chili goes along way!
I was digging around in my chest freezer and came across some lovely chunks of stewing beef, ground lamb and ground turkey just enough of each kind not to make a full meal out of them, SO chilli it was! I laid them out the night prior to the long slow simmering, I dug around in my pantry and found 4 different kinds of dried beans (ChicPeas, White Northen, Kidney and Black Eyed Peas) I soaked about 1 cup of each in a deep bowl with water all the way to the top and then i added a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. I soaked them over night, rinsed them the next morning felt how tender they were and realised i needed them to cook a little longer.
So now for the whole recipe i spose!

Slow Cooked 3 Meat 4 Bean Chili

1 pound of ground lamb
1 pound of ground turkey
1 pound of stewing beef
1 large onion (chopped and diced)
4 fresh red chillies (roughly chopped)
3 Tablespoons of fresh minced garlic
2 cups of homemade chicken stock
sea salt
1 Tablespoon of chipotle powder
ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon of cumin
1 Tablespoon of garlic powder
2 Tablespoons of homemixed Taco seasoning
2 cups of diced tomatoes with their juices still
2 cups of tomato juice
1 cup of chic peas (dryed)
1 cup of white northen beans (dryed)
1 cup of kidney beans (dryed)
1 cup of black eyed peas (dryed)
1 cup of liquid from the beans
and for garnishing
dash of lime juice
sour cream
grated cheese

I know seems like alot doesnt it! But we eat on it for a day or so and then i reinvent it :) and add cream cheese to it and pour it over tortilla chips some grated cheese and nachos it is!
Or mix it with cream cheese and a lil sour cream and turn it into a delish dip!

Soap your dry beans the night before make sure its a big enough bowl for the beans to soak in add a couple spoonfuls of apple cider vinegar to the beans and water.
Before starting your chili check the beans if still not tender enough add the drained beans to a pot cover with water add some seal salt and bring to a boil, check beans occasionally while preparing the chili if tender enough remove from heat and leave them in the water, remember you will need some of this liquid for your chili!

In a large pot heat up a little olive oil, when hot toss in your diced onions, minced garlic and your roughly chopped red chillies.
Saute the mixture for a few mins (if it starts to stick and burn add some of your stock) next you will want to toss your ground turkey and ground lamb into the mix and brown it. Once the ground meat is browned add the chunks of stew beef let it seal on all sides (the chunks of meat change colour) add and coat all the ground meat and chunks of beef with the chipotle, garlic powder, pinch of salt, cumin, taco seasoning and black pepper let simmer for a few minutes then add the rest of your stock, diced tomatoes and juice. Once all added bring the pot of yummies to a slow boil then turn it down to low. You will slow cook the pot for about 1-2 hours stirring occasionally. After about 2 hours your going to want to add your drained beans to the pot, stir them in depending how much your chili has cooked down depends on whether or not you will use the alotted amount of bean liquid. At this stage my chili is good and thick and i need the 1 cup of liquid :) i let this cook on the lowest setting for hours but sometimes my boys cant wait and dig in right away which is fine as it is technically good and cooked! When ready to eat i always serve it up with a spoonful of sourcream some tasty grated cheese and a squeeze of lime juice!

Really this chili ive found the longer it cooks the better the flavours!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Local Summer Veggies and Local Merlot Simmered Beef


Ah yes who doesnt LOVE summer goodies! I have been cooking up a storm lately and my boys couldnt be happier!

The beef i used here is from my local butchers shop and it was lovely and tender!
The veggies are from our local farmers market! Fresh patty pan squash, green beans and red skin new potatoes!

Nothing fancy when it came to these veggies i steamed them in my double boiler pots i checked how tender each lot of veggies were and when almost done i removed them and placed them in a dish where they continued to finish cooking while the other veggies steamed.

The simple sauce i made was just melted homemade butter and a couple of tablespoonfuls of sweet soy sauce mixed toegether right before serving i drizzeled it over the steamed veggies! It was a delish way to get my boys to eat these veggies!
The beef was cooked with home grown onions from my adopted americans mothers garden and before i go on i must add that boy were they hot! The minute i cut the top off the onion my eyes watered straight away! Anyway i used 2 small brown onins sliced them up threw in 4 cloves of home grown garlic i used a tablespoon of homemade butter to saute the onion and garlic in. Once they had cooked down i added the beef chunks and browned them. After that i added half a cup of homemade chicken stock to the pan placed the lid of and let it simmer for about 15mins, after that i added about half a cup of locally made merlot to the meat added a pinch of sea salt about 1 teaspoon of fresh cracked black pepper and 1/2 a teaspoon of celery salt i placed the lid on the pan and let it simmer for about half an hour. This was extremely tasty!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

SourDough Muffins! YUM!


Sorry for my MIA i have been busy cooking and trying new recipes and spending time with my boys :)

Ok so this is not a new recipe per say but i never make these babies the same way!
So i have a jar that lives in my fridge and every few days i bring said jar out and let it get to room temp then i feed it :) and that jar sits on my counter top with cheese cloth over it so it can grow! What am i talking about? I am talking about SourDough Starter! So the day i came about this recipe i was looking at my 2 full jars of sourdough starter that i NEEDED to do something with! So i began searching what i could do with this stuff (other then crackers, pancakes and breads) and i came across a recipe for Strawberry SourDough Muffins, i cant not find exactly where i found the recipe but i really was NOT impressed with it..... It required WAY to much sugar, baking soda, eggs and salt!
So after looking threw my other muffin recipes i came up with this extremely easy and totally tasty recipe!
Now i will warn you all these can be VERY addicting! One will NOT be enough!
Pictured here in the post are 5 different varieties of this muffin recipe!

1. Strawberry, Black Berry and Dark Chocolate Chip
2. Strawberry, Mulberry, Blackberry and Black Raspberry
3. Vanilla and Mango
4. Black Raspberry and Dark Chocolate Chip
5. Mango and Strawberry
Play with this recipe i encourage it! I am starting to play with savory flavors! These make great GREAT quick grab breakfasts or lovely afternoon snacks for the kiddies!


Now for the Recipe!

SourDough Strawberry Muffins
1 cup of sourdough starter
2 cups of flour (white/wheat)
1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup of sucanat
1 egg
3/4 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup of milk
1 + 1/2 Tbsp of Vanilla extract
1 + 1/2 cup of diced strawberries(or any other fruit)

Preheat over at 375 degrees. Mix everything but the diced strawberries in a large mixing bowl until combined. Then fold in the strawberries. Pour into greased muffin tins. Bake 35mins or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in tins for a couple of muffins b4 removing and placing on a wire rack took cool completely! Makes 24 small muffins.

You can add many different fruits as i have already mention to this batter! They are divine! Cream cheese is also lovely smeared on them! Enjoy!