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

Tuscan Style Salad

Recipe By: Jamie Oliver
Serving Size: 4
Yield: 4 -6 (as a side dish)

Summary:
Delicious summer salad that is almost a whole meal on it's own. Just add some barbecued/grilled meat, chicken or fish and you're done.

The original recipe (from Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals) is actually made with jarred red peppers, but on one occasion I had run out and so substituted with some olives. You could actually use a combination of both olives and peppers for a super flavour kick.


Ingredients:
1/2 ciabatta loaf, (or other loaf)
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
a few sprigs oregano or rosemary
1 tablespoon small capers
2 anchovy fillet
a small bunch of fresh basil
10 Welly Boot table Olives, pitted
1 clove garlic
4 vines of cherry tomatoes, red and yellow preferably
3 large tomatoes
red wine vinegar
parmesan cheese, to cheese
Seasonings
Welly Boot Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Freshly cracked black pepper

Directions:
1. Tear the ciabatta into 2cm pieces. Put into a roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil and toss with the fennel seeds, a few sprigs oregano or rosemary and a pinch of salt. Mix so bread is coated then put under a high grill for 10 minutes or until golden.

2. Roughly chop together the capers and anchovies with most of the basil leaves and the olives.

3. Crush over the garlic clove. Add all of the tomatoes, roughly chopped. Put into a large bowl with a splash of red wine vinegar, a good drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

4. Add the ciabatta then toss and squeeze the whole mixture together with your hands.

5. Top with the rest of the basil leaves and finely grated parmesan to serve.

{TIP} A great way to use up leftover bread bread. I have used ciabatta, baguettes, french sticks any nice loaf of bread really. It can be a couple of days old too!

Nachos Supreme!

Don't be scared! I know it looks like a lot of ingredients, but if you are a keen cook, you will have quite a bit of this in your fridge/pantry already.  See my timesaver tips below for some speedy ideas.

Believe me, your family will thank you. This has got to be our family favourite. If I am ever at a loss for dinner ideas (and doesn't that happen to all of us?) and I ask the family for ideas, NACHOS is always the answer. 


Ingredients:
For the Tortilla Chips
8 mini flour tortillas, cut into eighths
Welly Boot Extra Virgin Olive Oil, spray*
For the Sauce
1 brown onion, medium sized, finely diced
500 grams extra lean beef mince
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon chilli powder
1 tablespoon tomato paste
125 grams supersweet corn kernals, can
½ cup salt reduced beef stock
For the Salsa
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ long red chilli, deseeded, finely chopped
5 vine ripened tomatoes, deseeded, finely chopped
juice of one lime
1 handful coriander, roughly chopped
For the Guacamole
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ long red chilli, deseeded, finely chopped
1 spring onion, finely sliced
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
juice of one lime
2 avocado, large
Seasonings
sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper
Welly Boot Extra Virgin Olive Oil
For Serving
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
lite sour cream

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200℃. Place all salsa ingredients in a bowl, season with a pinch of salt and a splash of extra virgin olive oil, mix well and allow flavours to infuse to at room temperature.

2. Line a large shallow baking tray with baking paper. Place tortilla pieces in baking tray, spritz with extra virgin olive oil spray, sprinkle with a little sea salt, toss to coat and pop in the oven for 10 minutes or until just golden. Remove from the oven, they will crisp up as they cool.

3. Heat a little extra virgin olive oil in a large frypan over a medium/high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened. Add the beef mince and garlic to the pan. Cook until well browned and all juices have been absorbed. Break up any lumps with your spoon/spatula as you go. Season with a little salt and pepper. Add paprika, oregano, cumin, thyme and chilli, cook stirring until fragrant (around 30 seconds). Add tomato paste and combine well. Add the whole can of corn (liquid and all!). Add stock, reduce heat and simmer until all liquid has been absorbed.

4. While the sauce is simmering, to another bowl add garlic, chilli, spring onion, cumin and lime juice. Mix well. Halve and de-seed the avocado and scoop the flesh into the bowl and roughly mash with a fork, mixing with the other ingredients. Season with a little salt and pepper.

5. Serving Remove the sauce from the heat and divide between four serving bowls and add a handful of chips to each bowl. Top with grated cheddar, then layer with salsa, guacamole and sour cream. Dig in!

(Serves 4)

{COOK'S TIPS} •Adjust the heat to suit your family’s taste buds, by increasing or decreasing the amount of fresh and powdered chilli. •Allow mince to come to room temperature before cooking. This reduces the amount of lumps to break up in the pan. •Beef mince can be substituted with chicken mince, or halve the amount of meat and add a can of drained and rinsed kidney beans for an even healthier alternative. {image credit} *Oil spray pumps can be purchased from your local kitchen store and are a great way to use less oil in your cooking. Just decant your favourite oil into the spray bottle and away you go! {WORKING MUM'S TIMESAVER TIPS} •Substitute homemade tortilla chips for store bought corn chips. Plain, no added salt are best as they don’t overpower the other flavours in the meal. •Make your mexi-spice mix up in bulk ahead of time. Mix together 3 tbs Paprika, 3 tsp Dried Oregano, 1 ½ tsp Cumin, 1 ½ tsp Thyme and ¾ tsp Chilli powder and store in an airtight container. Use 2 tbs of the premade mix when the recipe calls to add the spices. •Make the meat mixture up to three days ahead. Refrigerate in an airtight container. Warm through before serving.

Chicken Ceasar Salad

This recipe is adapted from the Donna Hay Modern Classics version of Ceaser Salad. I have reduced the amount of bread and bacon and the addition of chicken and a poached egg, although not entirely original, is by me :) Serve either for lunch or light dinner.

Ingredients:

6-8 chicken tenderloins
4 rashers bacon
2 baby cos lettuce
4 eggs
sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper
¼ cup parmesan, shaved
Croutons
½ baguette, thinly sliced (20 sliced)
Welly Boot Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ clove garlic
Dressing
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 anchovy fillet, roughly chopped
¼ cup parmesan, finely grated
½ cup Welly Boot Extra Virgin Olive Oil, (medium or delicate)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F). Put a medium sized saucepan ¾ full of water on a medium/high heat. Heat the barbecue OR place a large frypan on a medium/high heat.

2. Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Grill on the barbecue or in a hot frying pan for 5 minutes each side. Remove to a plate, cover with foil and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, to make the croutons. Place the baguette slices on a baking tray, brush with the olive oil and bake for 10 minutes or until crisp and golden. Rub each slice with the cut garlic and set aside.

4. Place the bacon on a baking tray and cook under a hot grill (broiler) until crisp. When cooled, tear into large pieces. Trim the lettuce leaves, reserving the smaller inner leaves and roughly chopping the larger ones.

5. When the water in the saucepan boils, reduce heat so that it is only gently bubbling. Poach eggs using these instructions. Set aside until ready to serve.

{Poachies available from Woolworths}

6. To make the dressing, process the egg yolk, mustard, garlic, lemon juice, anchovies and parmesan in a food processor until combined. With the motor running, gradually add the oil in a thin stream and process until smooth and creamy.

To serve, toss together the lettuce, two-thirds of the dressing, the bacon, croutons, salt and pepper. Heap into four individual serving bowls. Spoon over the remaining dressing and top with sliced chicken, a poached egg each and the shaved parmesan. (Serves 4)

{WORKING MUM TIMESAVER TIP}: Use a good quality store bought ceaser dressing (Paul Newman's is quite nice).
But do try making your own. It doesn't take too long, and freshly made really does taste best. 

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