Chicken Fettuccine Carbonara

Recipe By: Pippa
Serving Size: 4

Summary:
Great recipe from Donna Hay, though the chicken and mushrooms are our family's own addition.

Ingredients:
400 grams Fettuccine
200 grams chicken breast, cut into thin strips
6 rashers bacon, cut into thin strips
3 green onions, sliced
10 button mushrooms, thickly sliced
4 egg yolks*
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup parmesan
sea salt and cracked pepper
2 tbl chopped flat leaf parsley

Directions:
1. Cook the pasta until al dente. Keep warm. Must be kept warm as the heat from the pasta will cook the egg in the sauce.

2. While the pasta is cooking, heat a frying pan over medium heat. Cook the chicken, bacon, mushrooms and green onions for 3-4 minutes until bacon is crisp and golden.

3. Place egg yolks, cream, parmesan, salt and pepper in bowl and whisk well to combine.

4. Toss the egg mixture through the hot pasta, coating well, then toss with bacon mixture and parsley and serve immediately.

Notes:
It pays to reserve a little pasta water, as this sauce can tend to be a bit thick. If needed, add just a couple of tablespoons at a time to the "sauced" pasta before adding the bacon mix until you get a consistency you like.

*Save your egg whites! Crack into a small takeaway container or zip-lick bag. Label with the number of egg whites and pop in the freezer. Next time you need egg whites, just defrost and away you go!

{WORKING MUM TIMESAVER TIP}: You can purchase your chicken, bacon and mushrooms already sliced. This will save a few precious minutes of prep time.  

Tandoori Butter Chicken

Serving Size: 4

Summary:
I first tried this when Meg made it for our cooking club. It was so delicious I had to get the recipe. The original recipe comes from taste.com.au, I have added the baby spinach to introduce some greens for a more balanced meal.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon Welly Boot Extra Virgin Olive Oil
500 g chicken thigh, cubed
3 tablespoons Tandoori paste
1 tablespoon tomato paste
375m l can lite evaporated milk
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cornflour
15 g butter
150g Baby Spinach, washed and drained
Steamed rice to serve

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a frying pan (with a lid), add chicken and cook for 5-8 minutes or until nicely browned. Add Tandoori paste and tomato paste and stir until chicken is coated.

2. Combine the evaporated milk, sugar and cornflour and pour over chicken, mixing well. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened. Add butter and stir until melted.

3. Turn off the heat. Tip in the baby spinach and pop the lid on the pan. Allow to stand for 5 minutes. The residual heat from the pan should be enough to slightly wilt the spinach.

4. Stir through the spinach, garnish with flaked almonds. Serve with steamed basmati rice.

Notes:
The best tandoori paste I have found (and the one that Meg turned me on to) is "Maharaja's Choice" brand available from Coles. Sharwoods is also pretty nice :)

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This is a pretty family friendly recipe. But you can adjust the heat by adding more or less Tandoori paste. eg 1 tablespoon = mild, 2 tablespoons = medium, 3tablespoons = hot (for little kiddies anyway). Our kids like to mix in some plain yoghurt to turn the heat down if needed.

{WORKING MUM TIMESAVER TIPS}:

• Ask your butcher to dice the chicken thigh for you when you purchase it.
• Some supermarkets (such as Woolworths) have pre-cooked rice in their ready meals section.
• Try the pouches of microwaveable rice (such as Uncle Ben's or Sunrice). They cook in 90 seconds! 

Grandma Smith's Hai Tai Minh

A good old fashioned one-pot family meal. Super quick and super healthy.

This does loosely resemble a meal that my grandmother used to make but this is, dare I say, a little more modern and colourful. The smell of an open tin of curry powder always transports me back to my grandmother's kitchen

Recipe By: Pippa
Prep: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serving Size: 6

Ingredients:
1/4 cabbage, shredded
250 g beans, sliced
2 carrots, diced
2 sticks celery, chopped
4 spring onion, sliced
500 g chicken or mince
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons rice, uncooked
1 packet chicken noodle soup (try to get salt reduced)
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 cups water
Salt & pepper, to taste
Welly Boot Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions:
1. Heat a little olive oil in a pan over a medium high heat. Brown the mince for 5-10. Season with a little salt and pepper.

2. Add the garlic, spring onion and uncooked rice and stir through until just fragrant (30 seconds to a minute). Add the rest of the vegetables then pour over the combined water, soup mix and curry powder.

3. Reduce heat, and simmer uncovered for 20-30 minutes or until the rice is tender.

{WORKING MUM TIMESAVER TIP}:

Substitute all the veges for a 400g packet of prepared stir fry veges from the fruit and veg section of the supermarket. They cost about $5 but you will save precious minutes of prep time. You could also use frozen vegetables

Mashed Potato Master Class

Personally I think the humble mashed potato is one of the most underrated side dishes going around. When done properly, they add such a lot of flavour (and dare I say pleasure) to many dishes. Mash is also a perfect carrier for gravies and sauces. Mmmmm, mouth is watering judt think about it :)

The sad fact of the matter is that many of us do a pretty poor job of it. Hand on heart I have been one of the worst offenders serving up watery, tasteless, lumpy mush. But I have seen the error of my ways and I am on a mission to rid the dinner tables of the world of boring, icky mash.

Let me share with you some tips I have gathered to make irresistible mash.

1. Pick the Right Spud

It really does matter which variety of potato you use. Basically you are looking for a spud that has These days I like to use Cream Delight from Woolworths.

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If in doubt, check the signs/packaging, this usually gives you a clue.

2. No Cutting

Cutting the potatoes before boiling them allows the flavour to escape into the cooking water (which gets poured down the sink). Also the potatoes will absorb a lot of water rendering them fairly flavourless. So, they do take a little longer to cook but the extra flavour is worth it. If you are in a hurry try the baby size (if you can get them) as they are smaller and will cook faster.

3. Just Cooked

Boil your potatoes until they are just cooked i.e. When a knife is inserted into the potato, they should slide off without breaking apart.

4. Ricing, Not Mashing

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I like to use a ricer. This fantastic little piece of kitchen gadgetry forces the cooked potato through little holes at the bottom giving you a smooth evenly textured consistency (in other words NO LUMPS). You can pick one up from a kitchen store for around $30. I would use mine at least once a week. My favourite thing about using the ricer is NO PEELING! That's right, just put the whole cooked spud in, push it through and the skin is left behind, just like magic!

5. Butter Is Not Evil

(Or fat = flavour). OK so it's not the healthiest mantra going around, but butter definitely makes it better. The more the better and as Peter Russell Clarke told us in the 80's "It's only Natural". Hey, if it's good enough for the French, it's good enough for me. And if you are not eating mash every night, then there's no harm right??? Enough justification? For a health conscious alternative see my variations below.

6. Cold Butter, Warm Milk

Enough said? Butter straight from the fridge creates a little steam to make things all light and fluffy. A little warm milk helps everything stick together. Adjust the quantities to suit your own tastes. Some people like a stiff consistency while others like a smoother "not quite a soup" thickness. Just a

7. Now Beat it!

Take your wooden spoon and BEAT IT. Take out all the days frustrations and beat the living daylights out of those spuds. Light, creamy, fluffy mash will ensue. I promise :)

Alternatively, place the potatoes in the bowl of an electric mixer with  the paddle attachment fitted. Beat in the butter and milk on a low speed until combined. Increase to high speed for a few minutes until creamy.

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Perfect Mashed Potato

Ingredients:

• 1kg cream delight potatoes, unpeeled
• 100g unsalted butter, chopped
• 200 ml milk, hot
• salt
• freshly cracked black pepper

Directions:

1. Place the whole potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with cold water. Cover and bring to the boil over high heat. Remove the lid, reduce heat to medium-high. Boil, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender when tested with a skewer.

2. Drain the water from the pan using a colander. Use a potato ricer to mash the potatoes back into the pan. Add the butter and milk and mix with a wooden spoon until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Serve piping hot.

(Serves 4 as a side)

Cooks tip: To heat milk, pour into a microwave-safe jug or cup. Heat, uncovered, for 1-2 minutes on HIGH power or until hot. Variations: Parmesan Mash - Add 50g finely grated parmesan cheese with the butter and milk Olive Oil Mash - Replace the butter with 1/3 cup Welly Boot Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Mustard & Sour Cream Mash - add 1/3 cup sour cream and 1 tbs Dijon mustard with the butter and milk Feta & Oregano Mash - Stir 100g crumbled feta, grated rind 1 lemon and 3 tsp dried oregano into the mash after the butter and milk have been mixed in. Download Printable Version