News Years Eve Carbonara

Ok, over the years I have truly made this my own. It's more a boscaiola but we still call it carbonara! We have been cooking it every New Years Eve for about ten years, it's time to note down the recipe.

Ingredients

1 packet of fettuccine (approx 450g)

2 cups sliced bacon (1.5 packets of bacon from our local butcher, Darryls Gourmet Butchery)

Handful of mushrooms sliced

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/4 cup dry white wine (then you can also drink a glass while cooking!)

4 eggs

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1/4 cup thickened cream

Freshly ground black pepper

Sprinkling of fresh parsley

Directions

1. Put a large pan of water on to boil for the pasta. 
2.  In another large pan that will fit the pasta later, heat some olive oil and fry the clove of garlic for 30sec, then add the mushrooms and saute until cooked. Place to one side.
3. Add more oil to the pan and cook the bacon until crispy but not crunchy. Pour over the white wine and let it bubble away so that, after a few minutes, you have a small amount of salty winey syrup left. Take the pan off the heat.
4. In a bowl, beat together the eggs, Parmesan, cream, and pepper. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, but since you want it kept al-dente start checking it 2 minutes before end of the recommended cooking time.
5. When the pasta is done, remove approximately 1/2 cup of the pasta water before draining. Put the pan with the bacon back on the heat and add the drained pasta and cooked mushrooms, tossing well to coat with the syrupy bacon. Take the pan off the heat again and add the eggs and cheese mixture, swiftly tossing everything to mix. Thin with pasta water, if needed. Grind over some more pepper and add the parsley to serve.

 

 

Adapted from: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/spaghetti-alla-carbonara-recipe-1946499

 

Slow Cooker Macaroni Cheese - Healthier for Kids!

 Lately my kids announced they love macaroni cheese!  I will say you can make this as healthy as you like, it all depends on what you know about your kids and their food boundaries. For instance you could use wholemeal pasta, I used low-fat grated cheese, and you could leave the butter out if you like. My kids like broccoli so I could add a bit of that, but not all kids like 'green bits' - one thing I can assure you of is this recipe works and is a great starting point for you to add your own twist to sneak in your veggies!

INGREDIENTS
200g elbow pasta
2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup milk
1/3 cup flour
3/4 carrot, grated
1/8 of a cauliflower, roughly chopped
200g low-fat grated cheese
20g butter
salt

METHOD
- Grate carrot, chop cauliflower
- Place with all dry ingredients in slow cooker, combine with a spoon or your hands
- Add stock, milk and butter
- Place slow cooker on high, stir after 45min, then cook another 45min (1.5 hours total)
Done!

Adapted from: https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/slow-cooker-mac-n-cheese/65d6abef-df34-4d4b-9385-a921f7fc1746

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Nachos Topping!

Our old babysitter Sal is vegetarian and she visited us from Melbourne for Mothers Day 2019. We wanted a yummy snack for her as soon as she stepped off the plane and by all accounts this hit the spot! I love this recipe because it's a 'dump recipe' - no need to pre-fry or cook any ingredients, just pile them into the slow cooker and leave overnight. It's sneaky healthy too, depending on how the topping is served. I love a bowl of the mixture with just a sprinkling of cheese and some corn chips and avocado on the side. Cheap! Perfect!

INGREDIENTS
- 1 x small red onion
- 2 x cloves of garlic
- 1/2 red capsicum, chopped
- 1/2 green capsicum, chopped
- 1 cob of corn, kernels removed (or 3/4 cup frozen corn)
- 2 x tins chopped tomatoes
- 1 x tin of kidney beans, drained
- 1 x tin of black beans, drained
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- Mexican or Taco seasoning to taste (I actually use 2 tbsp as I want the kids to not complain about 'spicy')
- Salt and pepper to taste

To serve (all optional):
- Corn chips
- Cheese
- Squeeze of line
- Avocado
- Chopped coriander


METHOD
- Place all ingredients in slow cooker and place on low
- I leave it cooking overnight (say 8pm-7am), in the morning it will look almost blackened on top but once you mix it up again it is a beautiful rich mixture.
- Serve on top of corn chips with toppings as desired!

Slow Cooker Baked Beans

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups of beans, soaked overnight
• 1 x clove garlic, crushed
• 125g panetta, chopped somewhere between finely and roughly
• 1 Spanish onion, peeled and chopped

• 100g grainy mustard (1/2 jar)
• 1 can of tomatoes
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 500-600ml chicken stock
• 1 x 15ml tablespoon cider vinegar
• Salt to taste

METHOD 

1. Soak the beans in plenty of water for 24 hours.
2. Once the beans are soaked, drain and rinse them and put aside. 
3. Heat the oil in a large pan with a lid.
4. Fry the chopped pancetta briskly in the hot oil and, after about 5 minutes, turn down the heat and add the chopped onion. Cook alongside the pancetta for about another 5 minutes. 
5. Add the mustard, tomatoes, sugar and stock, stirring everything together well. Stir in the rinsed beans. 
6. Bring to the boil and let it bubble for a few minutes. Put a lid on the pan and transfer to the slowcooker on low for 6-8 hours.
   
   
   Adapted from: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1059800/Boston-baked-beans.htmlhttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1059800/Boston-baked-beans.html
    

Food Processor Cakes

I don't have a Kitchen aid and have no plans to buy one soon. I did however, get a food processor last Christmas and now that birthday season is upon me I'm trying to use it to make some fuss-free and tasty cake! The recipe below works beautifully!

FOOD PROCESSOR POUND CAKE

Ingredients

• 250g butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups SR flour
• 4 large eggs
• A few drops of vanilla

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
2. Grease and line 20cm round cake tin
3. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla until pale; scraping down the sides of the food processor bowl occasionally. 
4. Add eggs one at a time, with a table spoon of the flour each time if you are worried about curdling.
5. Fold in flour
6. Pour into tin, bake for approx 40min (I start testing at 30min to see how the cake is going).

Adapted from: https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2012/04/10/food-processor-pound-cakes/

Fire Soup for Coughs and Colds!

INGREDIENTS

2 inch fresh ginger
1 inch fresh turmeric
3 large cloves garlic
Handful of fresh coriander
2 spring onions, sliced (both white and green bits)
1 red chilli, seeds removed
1 litre chicken stock
400g (1 tin) coconut milk
lemon juice
2 tsp honey
2 Tbspns fish sauce (optional)
2 Tbspns olive oil
Salt
1 chicken cooked chicken breast, shredded or sliced (or leftover bbq chicken)
200g rice noodles or noodles of your choice (optional)
Bok choy, chopped (optional)
Extra sliced spring onions and coriander for garnish (optional)

METHOD

1.  Mince garlic, finely grate ginger and turmeric, finely chop coriander and chilli, slice spring onions, mix together in a bowl with olive oil.
2. Heat another tablespoon of oil in large saucepan and add half of the mixture and saute for 30sec, add stock and simmer for 10min.
3. Add coconut milk, lemon juice, honey, fish sauce, salt to taste, simmer another 10 mins.
4. Add cooked chicken and simmer until warmed through.
5. (Optional) Add rice noodles, bok choy, simmer 3min
6. Add remaining minced herbs, garlic, ginger & turmeric mixture, and stir through, simmer 3min.
7. Pour into bowls, and garnish with extra spring onions and coriander if desired.

Adapted from: https://www.quirkycooking.com.au/2009/07/coconut-lemon-chicken-soup/

Ostro: Pear and Date Cake with Maple Buttercream

 INGREDIENTS

100g pitted dates, roughly chopped

1/2 bicarb soda

60ml boiling water

100g unsalted butter, chopped

125g (2/3 cup, lightly packed) brown sugar

2 eggs

100ml extra virgin olive oil

150g plain yoghurt

finely grated zest of one lemon

200g (1 1/3 cups) self-raising flour

1 heaped teaspoon ground ginger

1 pears (about 400g total), peeled, cored and roughly chopped

maple syrup for drizzling

50g unsalted butter, softened

90g (3/4 cup) icing sugar, sifted

1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup

METHOD 

- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

- Grease a 24cm loaf tin with butter and line with baking paper

- Mix the dates in a small bowl and sprinkle with bicarb. Cover with the water and allow to stand for 10min (do not throw the water away!)

- Cream butter and sugar til pale and fluffy

- Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition

- Mix in olive oil, lemon zest, yoghurt, dates and water

- Stir in flour and ginger until just combined

- Gently stir in pear and spoon batter into tin

- Bake for 45-50min or until skewer comes out clean

- leave to cool in tin for a few minutes then turn out on to a rack to cool completely

- For the maple buttercream, beat the butter an icing sugar together until pale and fluffy (if using a kitchen aid or similar, for 4-10min or until icing mix does not taste grainy)

- Spread the buttercream over the cake and drizzle a little maple syrup over the top to finish.

I would recommend you purchase the Ostro cookbook to show your support! http://www.julia-ostro.com/cookbook/