leek, asparagus and spinach risotto

Brown chopped onion with some crushed garlic in olive oil, add arborio rice and leek pieces and fry for a few mins. Add some chicken stock... stir.... repeat this step as many times as you need to while the stock is absorbed and the rice is cooking...... add asparagus at some stage (close to when the rice is almost cooked). Once the rice is cooked, turn the stove off, add baby spinach, stir until the leaves are wilted, serve with some baby rocket and parmesan cheese !

Scallops with cous cous salad

Seared scallops with cous cous salad made from left over roast vegetables of asparagus, spinach, red onions and beetroot.

crayfish and scallops.... its a hard life

Our good friend Jess is what you call a merman.... a keen diver who we are lucky to have has a flatmate because after a crappy monday in the office, he whips up a feast of crayfish and the biggest scallops you have ever seen -which of course was all caught by the merman himself ! He boiled the crayfish just perfectly and the scallops lightly friend in butter and crushed garlic. I feel very spoilt tonight :)

Thai Chicken Salad With All the Goody Greens

Roast garlic, beetroot and potatoes... steamed broccoli and asparagus... fresh spinach, avocado tossed together and topped with grilled free range chicken and crispy noodles.. oh and a light sweet thai chilli dressing with coriander... so healthy and delicious!

bbq chicken, bacon pizza with feta

Chicken, bacon, caramelized onion, feta, parmesan cheese make for a delicious pizza on a lazy sunday!

Sunday Breaky

YUM !

Pumpkin and Spinach Risotto

Aborio rice pan fried with garlic, onions and butter, slowly add in chicken stock... meanwhile in a new pot boil pumpkin cubes till soft. Drain the water when soft and add into the pan with the risotto. Stir until pumkin pieces fall apart. when the risotto is cooked turn off at the stobe and add in baby spinach , toss till the spinach becomes wilted. Serve with some grilled chicken and parmesan cheese.

Lamb rack

Lamb racks seasoned with garlic, herbs, paprika, salt and pepper and seared in the pan ... into the oven for 10-15 mins to cook through, in the meantime pumpkin, kumara and potato cubes pan fried with garlic and Moroccan seasoning until cooked. Served with some steamed green beans.

meatballs

Beef mince meatballs made with egg, herbs, salt and pepper, onion and garlic... on a bed of pasta with tomato and spinach sauce, topped with basil and parmesan 

pumkin, kumara, prosciutto, caramelized onion, cream cheese and basil pizza!

Butter the bases wit tomato paste and add dashes of caramelized onion. Pan fry mini cubes of kumara and pumkin with some rosemary and olive oil until soft and place on pizza base. Next add baby spinach then prosciutto slices. Lastly cubes of cream cheese (AMAZING ! ) and in the oven for 10-15 mins. If you like basil, add the basil leaves just before you tuck in ! 

Roast Lamb Leg with Moroccan crust

Lamb leg coated in Moroccan crumbs, in the oven for 35 mins at 180 degrees, served on a potato mash and steamed beans . 

honey soy chilli chicken with vegies

Chicken thighs in the oven for 45 mins with soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, chilli.... courgette, capsicum added in the last 20 mins..... on a bed of brown rice, steamed broccoli and beans!

Lamb Shanks

Ingredients for the shank pot:
3 Lamb Shanks (a shank per person but just add more for more guests)
5 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
1 cup red wine
2 cups beef stock
6 tablespoons tomato paste
1 large stick of celery roughly diced
1 large onion roughly diced
4 tablespoons of oil
1 tablespoon of Rosemary leaves(fresh is better but dried works well)
1 tablespoon of Thyme leaves(fresh is better but dried works well)

Side dishes:

Baby Carrots

Green Beans

Broccoli

Directions:
Preheat oven to 180°C

Place oil in pan and heat until med-high. Brown lamb shanks on all sides quickly, remove using tongs and add to your casserole dish.

I use a heavy cast iron dish but you can use a regular deep-ish oven dish,

I then fry onion and celery pieces, add garlic cloves for a few minuets, then tip into iron dish.

Add the wine, beef stock, tomato paste and herbs into the casserole dish and roll the shanks over a few times, add salt and pepper. Cover and place in the oven for 2 hours approx, meat should be tender and almost falling off the bone!

I check my dish every half hour and turn the shanks over to even out moisture, taste to check seasoning.
I served mine on a bed of mash, baby carrots tossed in butter (pre cook the carrot) and steamed green beans and broccoli.

This is a hearty, tasty meal and I am very pleased with my first attempt! xo

feta stuffed chicken wrapped with pancetta on a bed of spinach risotto

I know I always make risotto.... but its one of my favourites and so well suited to this chilly weather! I stuff chicken breasts with Danish feta... creamy and delicious !  Wrap pancetta around the breasts , in the oven with a few garlic pieces. In the oven for 20 mins.... meanwhile I toss the arborio rice in the pan with some butter and red onions.... slowly pour in chicken stock ... repeat.. repeat.. you know the drill.... when the rice is cooked add in chopped baby spinach, stir and turn stove off, spinach doesn't need long to cook so there should be enough heat already in the pan to do the job. Serve and enjoy.. OOooo if you have some pancetta left after the breasts have been wrapped, chop into small pieces and cripsy these up to sprinkle on the top once the risotto is dished up xx

Tacos

Messy to eat, tasty to eat, tacos are one of my favourite meals. I use chicken instead of beef mince...I find it less fatty and jalapeños are a must !

Sunday lunch

 After a productive day of cleaning and gymming I decided that a delicious lunch was well deserved, a no fuss, nice and easy sandwich. Ciabatta with Moroccan chicken breast pieces, bacon, baby spinach and avocado.

I also made a open wholemeal pita version using the same ingredients for the ladies who are carb concious !

chicken breast stuffed with spinach, ricotta and wrapped with prosciutto

Slice chicken breasts in half and open -rub garlic on the inside, stuff with baby spinach and ricotta , fold over and close breast and wrap slices of prosciutto. In the oven for 25 mins, served on some risoni and a tomato based sauce drizzled on top xx

My adapted version of Jamie Oliver's "Jools's favourite beef stew" (just for Bridge)

As the chilly weather is creeping up on us , I thought this meal would be the perfect way to end the week .. it also meant that we could have some for lunch the following day ! Casseroles, stews are never the prettiest meals to eat but they sure are tasty and hearty. But what really bought this recipe to my attention was the previous day my friend Bridge told me how she accidently bought the wrong cut of beef for her stir fry and the beef she had used was in fact casserole meat, so this is just for her... next time she accidently buys the wrong cut of beef she can put it to good use by following this recipe.  This recipe is from one of  my Jamie Oliver books but you can also get it on line http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/jools-s-favourite-beef-stew. I was a bit naughty and didn't stick to the exact recipe.... I didn't use sage leaves, instead used broken up sage seasoning and served it with mash potatoes instead of having the potatoes in the stew. I found that though I began the cooking process to the exact recipe , I infact needed to add extra beef stock and red wine over the 4 hr period. After 4 hrs of patiently waiting for the meat pieces to soften to the point they broke apart at a stab, she was ready  to serve! Served on a soft, creamy mash with sage and butter, side of steamed beans and broccoli... she really was the perfect way to end the week xx