The Start Menu » Evening Meals

Butter Chicken

admin — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 07:22:57 +0000

This one is from a friend of mine who has worked at several Indian restaurants
Step One

3 TSP Oil
2kgs Tomatoes
1 TSP Garlic
1 TSP Ginger

Instructions

Place tomatoes, garlic, ginger, water into a pan
simmer for an hour or until the skin falls off the tomatoes.
Puree the mixture in a blender,
strain into a bowl

Step Two

500gms Chicken
1 tsp Garham Masala
11⁄2 tsp Ginger
11⁄2 tsp Garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1 TSP Kasori methi Red Colour
3 TSP Unsweetened Yogurt

Instructions

Tandori Chicken:

Put everything but the chicken in a bowl,
mix together until mixed together nicely,
add chicken to the mix, making sure to cover the chicken well with the mixture.
Once chicken is covered with the mixture, place in an over tray and bake in the oven until cooked

Step Three

1⁄2 TSP Garham Masala
50gms Butter
1 Pinch of Mace
11⁄2 tsp Cardamom Powder
11⁄2 tsp Coriander Power
Chili Powder to taste
500mls Cream

Instructions

Place everything but, butter and cream into a pot
simmer and reduce till nice and thick
add cream, butter and chicken and simmer until chicken is cooked.
Serve

Quick easy Pesto Pasta with or without chicken

admin — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 07:58:27 +0000

Ingredients

Chicken Breasts (optional)
1500gm packet pasta
2T Finely chopped basil
1 Cup blueberries
Any vegetables, eggplant, beans, etc you want
2 T crushed/chopped fine Garlic oil Sprinkle of cheese (parmesan works best)

Instructions

Cook pasta
Mix Equal amounts of basil and garlic with oil. I find food processor is great here!
Put mixture with the pasta, feel free to add more/less depending on taste.
Add any vegetables into it here if you have any. Sliced eggplant is great, as is carrot, zucchini, mushrooms etc
Sprinkle cheese over the top
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes whilst you brown/cook the chicken.
Brown/cook Chicken in a frying pan. You can slice it or leave it whole.
Stir the Blueberries into the pasta
Serve with chicken on the side, or mixed in if you sliced it (up to you!)

Spicy Lemon Pepper Pasta with Broccoli

admin — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 08:29:22 +0000

Found at this lovely website with wonderful creations http://veganyumyum.com/2008/01/spicy-lemon-pepper-pasta-with-broccoli/ . Worth checking out if you ever get the time.

Ingredients

Dried Fettucini, enough for one
2 tsp Olive Oil
1 1/2 Cups Fresh Broccoli Florets
1/4 Cup Sliced Sundried Tomatoes (oil packed)
1/2 tsp Hot Red Pepper Flakes
1 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice, or more to taste
1-2 Pinches Kosher Salt
Black Pepper, Lemon Zest to taste

Instructions

Cook the Pasta in well-salted water
Chop the broccoli florets in to small pieces (about the size of a nickel).
Slice the sundried tomatoes.
When pasta is nearly finished cooking, heat a wok over medium-high heat until it’s quite hot.
Add oil and broccoli and toss to coat, adding more oil a little at a time if needed.
After 1-2 minutes, add tomatoes and pepper flakes.
Let cook undisturbed for another two minutes, then toss.
Repeat this process until broccoli and tomatoes have some color on them, and the broccoli is bright green and becoming tender.
Drain pasta very well and add to the wok, adding just enough oil to coat the pasta (if needed).
Add lemon juice and salt and taste, adjusting if necessary.
Plate and grind fresh black pepper over the top, adding lemon zest if desired.
Serve immediately

This also makes a nice room-temperature pasta salad, so it’d be great for picnics, work lunches, or potlucks.

Mushrooms in a tangy sauce

admin — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 08:34:52 +0000

Ingredients

2 cups button Mushrooms (feel free to try others)
1 T Soy Sauce
1T Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup Cream

Instructions

slice mushrooms
Lightly sauté mushrooms in tiny bit of butter
squirt equal amounts of soy and balsamic vinegar (i use approx 1T of each)
Let it simmer and reduce (to get rid of some water)
Add in cream and again let it reduce until thick, then serve.

Alter the amounts of soy and balsamic to taste.

Spinach & Cheese bites

admin — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:33:32 +0000

Summary: Years ago a recipe book by Peg Bracken titled I Hate To Cook Book introduced budding home cooks to the secret shortcuts most cooks use but don’t tell. Among many gems was the suggestion that if the presentation looks posh, guests will decide the dish is posh. “Knee-deep in baby brown orchids” was her recommendation for serving a dish that was basically canned tuna and macaroni cheese. Spinach and cheese pie is today’s version of Bracken’s dish; bake it in a big old pie dish, but cut it into perfect little squares, set them over scattered salad leaves casually arranged on a large white plate and wait for the compliments. Add orchids if available. Or gild the lily by placing a caper berry on each square.

Ingredients

1 envelope of bunched spinach
250g cottage cheese 2 cups of grated cheese; cheddar and parmesan are ideal but add any ends of cheese to the mix
3 eggs, lightly whisked
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp finely chopped parsley

Instructions

Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
Lightly oil a large baking tin (approx 18cm x 28cm).
Wash the spinach thoroughly ensuring no grit remains.
Chop stalks into tiny pieces, tear leaves into rough pieces and put everything into a saucepan over high heat.
There should be enough water on the leaves to steam-cook them.
Remove and drain as soon as the leaves wilt.
Leave to cool while you mix all other ingredients in a bowl.
Add spinach and mix again.
Bake in the hot oven for 25-30 minutes. The top should be golden brown and the pie a bit wobbly in the middle.
Remove and cool to warm – or cold – cut into small squares and serve.

Diet type: Vegetarian

Meal type: cocktail

Thanks to @elpie for this one

Vegetarian Shish Kebabs

admin — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:13:06 +0000

Ingredients: (These are all optional, try your own favs and give me more ideas by all means!)

Mushrooms
Onions
Zucchini
Capsicum
Carrot
Garlic
Chunky Sweet Potato
Diced Pineapple (can)
Sweet Chilli Sauce

Instructions:

Pre-cook anything requiring longer cooking time (ie Sweet Potato)
Chop all items chunky sizes
Put them onto the kebab stick.
Keep the juice from the pineapple chunks, mix in a good portion of the sweet chilli sauce (depending how you like it).
Put kebabs in a bowl or similar then pour sauce over the kebabs.

You can also add lime in here or any other flavours you may want to the sauce, even a few herbs and spices would go down well. As for the ingredients they are just an idea, you can add as many as you want however you want.

Cook on BBQ or in the oven for about 15 minutes at a medium heat.

Cooking time (duration): 10min

Diet type: Vegetarian

Diet (other): Reduced fat

Number of servings: As many as you need

Meal type: lunch, dinner,BBQ

Vegetarian pie – aka Spinache Pie

admin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:42:45 +0000

A great pie recipe for anyone wanting a tasty, nice-looking, meat-free meal. It’s really called, “Spinach Pie” but I’ve renamed my recipe to acknowledge the people on Twitter to whom I promised the recipe (This one is from Lynne)

Ingredients:

1 large bunch silverbeet or spinach (leaves only)
4 large zucchini (a.k.a. courgette)
2 medium-sized onions
500 grams grated cheese
11 sheets filo pastry
butter
handful of sesame seeds

Method:

Wash spinach (or silverbeet) leaves well.
Soak in sink of hot water until just softened (don’t let them get too soft).
Drain well and blot dry with a tea towel.
Slice zucchini and onions into thickish slices.
Fry in a small amount of butter until almost cooked.
Place 3 sheets of filo pastry in a greased baking dish.
Spread the zucchini and onion mixture on top of the pastry.
Spread all the cheese on top of the zucchini and onion mixture.
Pile the spinach or silverbeet leaves on top of the cheese.
Top the dish by placing 2 sheets of filo pastry over the filling and tucking it down the sides (inside the dish!)
Brush melted butter over the pastry.
Repeat another two times until the top has 6 sheets of filo in total.
Add a single sheet of filo pastry, brush with butter, then add the last sheet on top.
Finish off by brushing the surface with melted butter and sprinkling sesame seeds across the top.

Cooking Time:
Bake in a hot oven for approximately 15 minutes or until the pastry has turned golden brown.

Serves 4 – 6 people.

Note: Using the same quantity of pastry, 750 gram cheese and doubling the silverbeet, zucchini and onion this makes a good lunch dish for 12 people.
Enjoy!

Jonos Lunch (quick easy pasta)

admin — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:58:44 +0000

Summary: This recipe originates as something derived from my boss ‘jono’ who used to bring in pasta for lunch most days. This is a quick easy recipe the kids love to eat both hot and cold. It goes along side most other dishes, and is easily customizable.

Ingredients

1 Packet of Pasta (500gm packet)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes (440gm)
1 Tablespoon of sugar (optional)
1 teaspoon Cumin
1/2 cup Grated cheese/Parmesan

Instructions

Cook the packet of pasta boiling it.
When cooked, mix in the can of chopped tomatoes, sugar, and cumin.
Sprinkle cheese over the top.
Microwave for 3-5 minutes until heated through, and cheese is melted.

This meal is primarily pasta with a vague tomato/cheese/herb taste.

Also tastes great with Chilli if you like it hot, and/or Meatballs or chunks of meat,

The sugar isn’t needed if you use pre-flavoured tomatoes of any kind.

Cooking time (duration): 2

Diet type: Vegetarian

Diet (other): Reduced fat

Number of servings (yield): 4

Meal type: lunch

My rating: 4.0 stars