Penang Chicken Curry

should serve 4 - 6

Ingredients

1 tbsp Red Curry Paste
2 tsp Fish Sauce
2 tbsp peanut butter
800g chicken (preferably breast) cut into strips
400g light coconut milk
2 tbsp brown sugar
300g broccoli
300g green beans
3 carrots
2 cups rice
2 green capsicum (optional)

Method

1. Put 2 cups of rice in rice cooker with 4 cups water. Switch on to cook.

2. Heat wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat, the second highest setting. Put a tbsp olive oil in the wok.

3.  Add 1 tbsp red curry paste and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add chicken and stir in. Add the coconut milk and stir for two minutes. Make sure you don't let the coconut milk boil.

4. Add fish sauce, sugar and peanut butter. Stir until smooth and then leave to simmer until chicken is cooked through (about 5 minutes but could be more).

5. Cook broccoli, beans, carrots and capsicum in a steamer until tender and ready to eat.

6. Put rice in each bowl, top with curry and vegetables. Enjoy :)

Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls

These are great because you can really get creative with fillings. I've included the standard fillings I usually use in this recipe.

Ingredients

• 300g chicken stripped (You could also use prawns)
• 2 grated carrots
• 2 handfuls of salad leaves (I grow Mizuna in my garden so I use that)
• 1 handful mint (optional)
• 2 cucumbers thinly sliced
• 2 red capsicums thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp Hoi Sin sauce or Sweet Chilli Sauce for serving
• 1 packet Rice Paper sheets

Method

1. Slice, grate and prepare all your ingredients ready to assemble rolls.
2. Follow the instructions on the packet of rice paper sheets to soften the rice paper.
3. Laying rice paper flat once softened, place a small amount of chicken, carrot, cucumber, capsicum and salad leaves in the center of the roll.
4. To fold, pull one side of the rice paper across and lay flat over the filling. Then fold in the top and bottom of the roll. To seal shut, roll the rest across the rice paper until all is rolled together. This website has great instructions and pictures on how to handle and wrap rice paper rolls.
5. Serve with dipping sauce of your choice and enjoy.

A standard serving is between 4 to 8 rice paper rolls. This recipe should make you 16 rolls.

Slow Cooked Beef Stew

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 400g diced beef
• 400g green beans
• 400g potato
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 carrot
• 1 onion
• 2 tsp beef stock powder
• 5 cups water
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• 2 tsp minced garlic

Method

1. Peel and chop the potatoes into large cubes. Top and tail the green beans and cut in half. Slice the celery, carrot and onion.
2. Add the vegetables with the diced beef into the slow cooker.
3. Mix the beef stock powder with the water according to instructions on the packet. Once mixed, add the stock to the slow cooker.
4. Add garlic and mustard and stir, mixing ingredients together.
5. Set on low for 6 hours, or high or 3 hours.
6. Serve with bread if you like. This recipe freezes well.

Baked Risotto with Bacon and Peas

This one is adapted from Donna Hay's The Instant Cook

Serves 4


Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 strips bacon, chopped
• 2 leeks, sliced
• 5 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• ¾ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 bunch of spinach
• 300g pumpkin
• 100g feta cheese
• Sea salt and cracked black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 390-degrees F
2. Heat a frying pan over high heat. Add the oil, bacon, leeks and thyme
3. Cook for 5 minutes or until the leeks are lightly browned
4. Spoon the mixture into a 10-cup capacity ovenproof dish.
5. Add the rice, pumpkin and stock and stir.
6. Cover tightly with foil, and bake for 30 minutes.
7. Add the peas, re-cover, and cook for a further 10 minutes 
8. Remove the risotto from the oven; add the parmesan, spinach, salt and pepper and stir for 4 minutes or until the risotto has thickened. Crumble the feta over the top
9. To serve, place the risotto in bowls.

Often I will omit the peas if I am including spinach.

Honey Soy Chicken Wings

This is a recipe adapted from Taste.com.au - an easy one to make because I have most of these things in my cupboard already, and just happened to acquire a kilo of chicken wings from my Po!

Ingredients 

• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1.5kg chicken wings

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. 
2. In a microwave safe bowl, mix the honey, soy sauce, ginger, sesame seeds and garlic. Microwave on HIGH for 20 seconds to melt honey, then set aside for 2 minutes to cool. 
3. Place chicken wings in a ceramic baking dish, and pour over some of the sauce evenly. Turn the chicken wings to make sure all sides are coated. 
4. Bake for 50 minutes. Halfway through cooking, turn and baste the chicken wings with the remaining sauce. Bake until cooked through and browned. 

Serving Suggestion: Serve with fried rice, or salad

Banana Bread

Adapted from Margaret Fulton's Encyclopedia of Food and Cookery. 

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas well mashed

2 eggs well beaten

2 cups self raising flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C 

2. Mix bananas and eggs in a bowl

3. Sift in flour, sugar, salt and baking powder

4. Mix well

5. Put into a loaf tin and bake for 1 hour. Remove from pan to a wire rack

6. Serve either warm or cool

Grilled Lamb Chops with Pumpkin and Beans

Ingredients

• 600g pumpkin
• 240g green beans
• 4 lamb chops (400g)
• 100g low fat feta cheese
• 20g pine nuts

Method

1. Chop pumpkin into pieces and place in the oven at 180 degrees C to roast until tender (roughly half an hour).
2. Season the lamb chops with pepper and cook in a non stick pan over a medium high heat until it is cooked to your liking.
3. Steam the beans until they are tender and ready to eat.
4. Once the lamb has finished cooking, give the pine nuts a quick toasting in the pan. Be careful not to let them burn.
5. Serve lamb chop with pumpkin, green beans, pine nuts and crumble the low fat feta over the dish.