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Monday, June 16, 2014

Simple Macaroni And Cheese

Macaroni and Cheese.  There aren't many people who aren't fans of this delicious comfort food.  What you might not know is that making your own homemade macaroni and cheese takes about the same amount of time as making it from a box.  This recipe is a very simple homemade version with a lot of great flavour.

Because I love a bit of sour tang and spice - I've added a bit of horseradish cream to my macaroni and cheese.  If you're not a fan of horseradish or you want a more traditional macaroni and cheese - just leave it out.


Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

50g butter
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon horseradish cream
2 cups shredded cheddar
salt & pepper to taste
500g macaroni pasta

Instructions

Cook the pasta according to the instructions and drain well.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.  Whisk in the 2tbsp flour until it forms a smooth paste.  I like to add pepper now - but you can add it at any time.  Continue cooking for one minute, whisking constantly.

Slowly add the milk.  If you add it too quickly the flour will turn into lumps within the milk. If you add it too slowly you'll scald your milk.  What we want to do do here is turn that butter and flour paste into a creamy sauce known as a white sauce.  Stir constantly but slowly.

Add in the horseradish cream (or not, if you don't like it).

Bring the sauce just barely to a boil and turn it down to simmer.  Add your cheese in several parts, stirring until melted after each addition.

When all of the cheese is melted and the sauce is hot - remove from heat and add the pasta, blending completely.   Add salt and pepper a bit at a time until the flavour is right for you.  I'm a big fan of pepper so I probably added nearly 2tsp - but that might be too much for most, sane people. >.>

Serve hot and enjoy!

Potato and Leek Soup

It's winter! While it's been unseasonably warm (thanks, Global Warming), it's starting to feel half-frigid now.  Time for some hearty dishes to fight the winter chill!

So today I thought I would make an Australian favourite - Potato and Leek soup.   It's so easy my three year old Xander could probably make it. If he could read and use knives (don't let your three year old use knives, yo).


Potato and Leek Soup

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oliveoil
2 large leeks, sliced (white part only)
4 garlic cloves, smashed with a hammer like the son of a bitch who cut you off in traffic today.  That's it, get it out (but only in your mind, don't assault people - it's not great for long-term survival)
1kg potatoes - wash, peel, chop
2 litres chicken stock
Salt, pepper, sour cream (to serve)

Instructifications

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the leeks and garlic - stirring for 3 minutes until softened.

Add the potatoes.  Cook, stirring for 5 minutes.

Pour in the chicken stock, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the potato is very soft.  Remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes.  No seriously.  If you try to blend freshly boiled soup you'll get burning death all over you.

If you have a stick blender, blend the entire pot of soup at once.  If not, blend in small batches until smooth.  Season to taste.  Serve with fresh ground pepper, a dollop of sour cream and a crusty bread.


Thursday, June 12, 2014

Braided Chili Loaf

Braided and stuffed loaves are something that I only recently came across - but now that I've made one, I think that I might be in love.  It's too easy.  I only photographed the part where we work the dough - as the rest is pretty self-explanatory.

At its basest - this is just a loaf of bread stuffed with a very basic chili con carne.



Braided Chili Loaf

Ingredients

Bread:

7g active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

500g beef mince
1 medium onion, diced
1 can kidney beans
3/4 cup water
3tbsp chili seasoning
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water.

Add butter, sugar, salt, one of the eggs and 1 1/2 cups flour - combine until smooth.

Add enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough.  Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic - about 6-8 minutes.

Place in a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat it.  Cover the bowl with a cloth and place in a warm area to rise until doubled.  This will take approximately 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in a large frying pan - cook the beef, onion and garlic over medium/high heat until meat is no longer pink - drain.

Add the chili seasoning and stir continuously for one minute.

Stir in the beans and water and bring to a boil (If you have enough water to justify it.  If my pan is really hot when I add the water, it basically de-glazes the spices off of the pan and turns into a thick sauce within seconds.). Simmer until thickened.

When the dough has risen - punch it down and knead it until elastic and smooth again - about 2 minutes.


Preheat your oven to 175C (350F)

Place your dough on top of a sheet of wax paper NOW.  You'll notice that in my pictures I did not do this until the end and it was a pain in the ass. Don't make my mistake, people.

Using a rolling pin - roll the dough out until it is a rectangle roughly 16 inches x 10 inches.


You can see that mine is a bit on the long side - this is fine.


You want to leave about 2 inches on either side of your filling to make your strips.  I can tend to underestimate this sort of thing badly - so I lightly scored the dough with a paring knife all the way around.


Place your filling in the centre of your dough.  If you want to - you can sprinkle with cheese at this point.  I chose to leave my loaf cheese-free but it will be gooey and delicious with cheese.

Start to cut diagonal slices in the dough on the sides - leaving a large wedge at each end.


On the other side - cut even slices - matching the first set.


To finish the cuts, change direction and mirror your slices.


Now to "braid" your loaf.  First - fold over the ends of the dough.


Starting with one side, begin to fold over the strips.  First one...


Then another...


Continue until you reach the middle.  Lay one of the middle pieces over the other and then tuck under gently.


Now finish your "braiding".  Mine is very messy.  I could have done it prettier but I'm more about function - not about presentation.  Xander and Simon couldn't care less how pretty their food is.  They're just going to shove it into their faces no matter how fucked up it looks - as long as it TASTES delicious. *sigh* No class.



Transfer your loaf into a baking dish.  I actually don't have a single cookie sheet - believe it or not - so I used a casserole dish. :P


Whooops - almost forgot my egg wash! Beat the second egg in a small bowl and brush it over your bread. I also sprinkled on some sesame seeds because I fucking love them.  No other reason.


Bake at 175C (350F) for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top.


Remove to a wire rack and allow 10 minutes for cooling before slicing and serving.  Enjoy!

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Easy Avocado Cutting

Avocados are delicious but cutting them up kind of grosses me out and is fiddly - especially if they're overripe - like mine were.

Here's my trick for cutting up avocados with minimal mess.

Start with half an avocado still in the skin.


Insert the knife and cut it into sections.


Turn the avocado 90 degrees and cut it again.


Now scoop out your cut up avocado with a spoon.


And voilĂ .  No muss, no fuss.  Chopped up avocado!


Now to go put some lotion on my hands - because boy do they look terrible and dry!!

Taco Salad

This is a pretty darn good taco salad if I do say so myself.  It's not really pretty though...

Looks: Dude, what did you kill and why is its mangled corpse in this bowl?!
Tastes: ...wait, who fucking cares? Kill another and give me its sweet, ugly fleshes.

It's -yummy-.  It could do with a dressing.  I'm going to work on a creamy chipotle dressing to pair with it - but it works pretty well without a dressing.  I usually make my own (totally nommable) taco seasoning but I was full of le sloth and just used a seasoning packet.



Basic Taco Salad

Makes 6-8 servings (It would probably make 8 if my eyes were huge and my stomach huger. Shut up.  Huger is a word.  I made it just now.)

1 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
500g beef mince (about 1lb)
1 sachet taco seasoning
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans kidney beans
100g (3.5oz) plain tortilla chips, crumbled
150g (5oz) grated tasty (cheddar) cheese
3 small avocados, sliced up

In a pan over medium heat, brown the ground beef, breaking it up as you go.  Drain off any excess oil.

Stir through taco seasoning and onion powder.  Add kidney beans and tomatoes - heat through.  If adding the tomatoes left this watery - reduce slightly.  You want a nice, thick mix.  Remove from heat and leave to cool.

Meanwhile, toss the tortilla chips, cheese, avocados and lettuce together in a large bowl.  

When the meat mix is cool - add to the rest of the salad and toss well.   Do not add the meat mix while hot.  It will wilt the lettuce, making it soggy and will melt the cheese - which only sounds awesome until you try to eat your soggy lettuce and lukewarm half-melted cheese salad.  You'll be regretting it then.

Curry Spice Red Lentil Burgers

I was a bit skeptical when I saw the original recipe for these red lentil burgers.  I didn't see them turning out as spicy as I like or as healthy as I require. Being the kitchen daredevil that I am, I threw the recipe out and made it up as I went along. 

The result was super yummy!  Now...I like my spices - so I added A LOT of curry powder.  With 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper there was only the tiniest hint of spiciness - and I'm not tolerant of spicy foods at all.
  


Curry Spice Red Lentil Burgers

Makes 12 yummy patties

1 1/2 cup dry red lentils
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large brown onion, chopped finely
3 medium carrots, peeled and grated
5 cloves garlic, minced (I'm a garlic nut - so mileage may vary here)
1 tablespoon curry powder (If you're not a fan of cumin, reduce this by at least half.  I fucking love it.)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons fresh coriander
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon salt (may need more, may need less - depends on taste)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup plain yoghurt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Bread rolls or hamburger buns
1 red capsicum, thinly sliced

Fill a large saucepan with cold water and the lentils.  Put over high heat until it comes to a boil.  Uncover, turn down and simmer for 10 minutes or until the lentils are very, very tender.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until tender and brown.

Add 2/3 of the garlic and the carrots and cook until the carrots soften.  Stir in the curry powder and cayenne pepper and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant.  Remove from heat.

Mix in the breadcrumbs, eggs, salt and pepper until combined.  (The salt will vary on your taste.  Go ahead and add it a little at a time, tasting as you go - the raw mix is yum anyway and your risk of food borne illness from eating raw eggs is minimal if they are fresh.  Mine were laid today!)

Form the mix into twelve 1/4 cup burgers.

Heat another 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium heat.  Cook the lentils for 3 minutes each side or until set and medium brown (they will blacken pretty quickly if you leave them for too long).

Meanwhile, combine the yoghurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, coriander and salt to taste in a small bowl.

Serve the lentil burgers on a bun with a dollop of sour cream and a few slices of red capsicum (or your veggie of choice - or no veggies - whatever).

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Cheesy Beef Casserole

While wildly unhealthy - this extremely simple casserole is also painfully delicious and extremely easy to make.  The original that it was based on referred to it as the Husband Casserole or Mansserole because it was "so easy a man could do it".  Because I think that's a bunch of sexist bullshit - I opted for calling my altered recipe the Cheesy Beef Casserole.

Cheesy Beef Casserole

500g beef mince (or about 1lb)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 brown onion, diced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
800ml tomato puree
1 carton cream cheese
1 carton (about 300ml) sour cream
2 cups grated tasty cheese
500g pasta
olive oil

Preheat your oven to 175C (350F).  Heat a bit of olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium/high heat.

Add garlic and onion and cook, stirring frequently, until tender and browned.

Add beef mince and cook until browned. Drain off the excess oil (unless you're into that sort of thing).

Add salt, pepper and tomato puree to to the beef.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until excess liquid has boiled off.  Meanwhile, cook and drain your pasta of choice.

Mix the sour cream and the cream cheese together in a small bowl.  It's far easier to do this if you nuke the cream cheese in 15 second intervals until soft.

Layer the noodles, sour cream mixture and meat mixture twice along the bottom of the pan.  Sprinkle with shredded tasty cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Makes 6-8 servings

Plain White Bread

It took me years to get my bread recipe right.  I still have loaves that turn out completely dense or crumbly sometimes.  These days, I know how to fix those problems (usually caused by sloth on my part) and I get it right again the next time.  But I wanted to share this recipe with you because it's great for saving money and being a massive show-off. Nothing says, "I'm a wildly sexy cook." like baking the perfect loaf of bread. Except for nudity.  Nudity also works.

Note: This recipe is extremely simplistic - however, there are many additional tips that should be noted. They can be found in my separate post: Bread Baking Tips



Plain White Bread

500 grams plain flour
7g dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
375ml warm water
Extra water for brushing
Topping of choice (seeds, oats, blah, blah, blah)

First, get your ingredients together.  I don't normally put everything in separate containers all fancy-like but it seemed appropriate for this. :P  Usually I'm too concerned with dirtying too many dishes.



Place the flour, yeast and salt  in a large bowl and combine.


Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm water.  Stir until it comes together into a rough ball.



 Time to get your hands dirty! Sprinkle flour onto your counter and dump the dough unceremoniously into the middle of the whole mess.  Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic.

Time to turn 90 degrees!

Too lumpy and inconsistent! More kneading!
 Shape the dough into a ball.  Oil the inside of a bowl (I just use spray olive oil for quickness).  Place the dough into the bowl and roll it around a bit with your hand to coat it.
AW YEAH.  THIS IS IT.
Cover the bowl with a lightly damp tea towel (kitchen towel) and place it in a warm area free of draughts to proof.  Leave it here until it has doubled in size.
My rising location of choice. Across the room from the fire.

Once it has doubled, punch the dough down.  Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead again for a few minutes until once more smooth and elastic. (I was hoping to get a photo of the doubled dough but one of my chickens tore a claw off right before I pulled the dough out.  I was on the phone with my husband telling him what first-aid items to bring home and punched down the dough on auto pilot)

Preheat your oven to 200C (395F) right about now.

Shape the dough into a loaf.  (or whatever you're making - rolls, pullaparts, etc).  Place into an oiled loaf pan (or other pan of choice).




Brush the dough lightly with oil and stand in a warm, draught-free place for about 30 minutes or until it has risen above the edge of the pan slightly.  



Brush the dough very lightly with water and dust with your coating of choice (I often use sesame seeds).  Bake in a pre-heated oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.  Turn the baked loaf out onto a wire rack immediately and allow to cool.

A finished loaf! The top deflated slightly when I brushed it with water.
An explanation on this can be found in my separate post Bread Baking Tips.

Makes one large loaf, two small loaves or 8 bread rolls.

Bread Baking Tips

These tips are related to my recipe post: Plain White Bread

Please note that I am NOT a professional baker - these are just based on my experiences and limited research in bread making.  I'm happy to hear suggestions or comments - but please don't get all troll-ey as though I'm claiming I know everything.  I don't.  I will, however, continue to update this as I continue to learn.

TIPS

Water temperature: The PERFECT water temperature for baking bread is 105-110F.  If you're a nerd like me, go crazy with a multimeter and get it absolutely spot on.  Since I'm lazy and disorganized and frequently can't even find my multimeter, I just put my wrist under the tap.  When it's comfortably warm, it's good.

Non-metal bowl/spoon:  Many recipes will stress the importance of using wooden spoons to mix your ingredients.  They insist that metal bowls/spoons cause the yeast in the dough to die - but I can't actually find any real science behind this.  It seems to be mostly anecdotal.  That said, I refrain from using metal bowls or spoons anyway - just in case.

Yeast storage: I've tried storing my yeast everywhere from a shelf in the kitchen to a cabinet to my refrigerator to the freezer.  I get my best results when I store my yeast in a cool, dark place.  I don't recommend buying huge tubs of dry yeast.  I buy whatever I can use in 3 months.  It becomes less potent over time.

Kneading method: For those unfamiliar with kneading dough - the easiest way is: Press down with heels of hands, fold toward you.  Press down with heels of hands, fold toward you.  Press down with heels of hands, fold toward you.  When it gets stupid wide, rotate 90 degrees.  Repeat until finished.

Importance of kneading: It takes somewhere between 10 and 25 minutes to knead a single loaf of bread.  Yup.  That's a long time.  I'm always tempted to stop after about 4 minutes with a "Eh, good enough" - but that will cause problems such as heavy, dense bread and crumbly loaves.  If you knead your bread properly it will be airy and fluffy.  In my experience, 90% of bread baking problems are caused by improper kneading.  Okay I made that statistic up.  But it's got to be way up there.  Kneading distributes the yeast evenly throughout he bread and develops the gluten - you want gluten (unless you don't -in which case this recipe is totes useless to you, why are you even looking at it?)

Smooth and elastic dough: If you form your dough into a ball, it should be a nice, smooth ball free of prominent lumps, bumps, pits and dimples.  If you pull a bit of your dough, it should stretch, not immediately break off the ball.  If you poke the ball of dough, it should bounce back.  This is important.  Smooth and elastic dough is a sign that you have kneaded your dough enough and it is ready for proofing.

Proper oiling/covering of rising dough: If you don't cover your dough, it may not stay warm enough to properly rise.  If you don't oil it correctly, it may form a gross crust on the top that will seriously affect your final texture.  Keep it moist and warm.

Proofing: Proofing dough is basically letting it rise.  If it's summer, I use my microwave because it's a convenient little box that contains warmth and moisture.  If it's winter, I put bowls of rising bread dough in my living room (the only heated room in my house) within 3 or 4 metres of the fire.  Some people will caution against having the bread in a place that's too warm.  If you're not uncomfortable in the area where the dough is rising, you're probably fine.  It should take somewhere between 45-60 minutes for a ball of dough to double in size.  If it takes significantly less time - it is in an area that is too warm (this will result in yeasty tasting bread). If it is in an area that is too cold, it will be dense and inconsistent in texture.

If you proof your dough for too long, you will end up with overproofing problems.  This happens if the dough has been rising for too long and the yeast has run out of steam.  The bread will deflate slightly before you can get it to the oven and will not re-rise upon baking.  This is probably fine but your bread may be denser than you'd like.  To salvage overproofed bread, try re-kneading and reproofing it.  Or just do what I do and bake it as it is.

Punching: I'm not joking.  Kick that dough's ass.  Think of the dough as your douchebag ex and beat it utterly senseless.  Punching dough releases excess carbon dioxide and reduces unpleasant yeasty flavours.

Bread doneness: Take the bread out of the oven and slide it out of the pan.  Turn it over and tap on the bottom like you're lightly knocking on a door.  If it sounds hollow, it's done.  If it doesn't, put it back into the pan and back into the oven.  Try not to burn yourself in the process.  Hot bread will produce hot steam.

Bread storage: I was once like you.  I stored my bread in plastic bags.  What did I get? Mouldy bread really quickly.  The best way to store a fresh loaf of bread (as long as you're intending to eat it soonish) is on your counter atop a cutting board.  Right out in the open.  Once you cut of a slice, turn the bread cut-side down onto the board.  Your bread will stay good this way for 2-3 days.  We have no problems going through a loaf of bread in this amount of time. If you find that your cut end goes stale, cover it in aluminium foil.  If you really just can't go through a loaf of bread that quickly - the refrigerator is the place to turn. However, while refrigerated bread will stay mould-free for longer, it goes stale more quickly at lower temperatures.

Freezing: I can't be bothered to literally bake a new loaf of bread every 2-3 days and so will bake as many as 12 loaves in one day.  To freeze your loaf of bread: Let it cool to room temperature, wrap in foil and then wrap in plastic.  The best way to thaw is simply to remove the loaf, unwrap it and place it on the counter.  This will take about half a day but will give you the best result. Thawing in the oven or the microwave will make chewier, staler bread but will be much faster.

Brushing before baking: Some people brush their bread with something (water, oil, milk, egg white) before baking it either to allow a topping to stick or to give it a glossy finish).  When doing this, you must be very gentle with the brush or it is possible to deflate your loaf.    If your loaf deflates and does not re-inflate, that is a sign that the dough has been over-proofed (you let it rise for too long).   A good way of judging a dough's readiness  is by pressing a gentle dimple into the surface of the bread.  If it bounces back quickly it needs more time to rise.  If it fills in slowly - it is ready to be baked.  If it does not fill in at all, you have overproofed your dough.  You can still bake it and eat it but you may have some texture problems.  It is also possible to re-knead overproofed dough to salvage it into a normal loaf - but I'm lazy and rarely do this.

Monday, June 9, 2014

ANZAC Biscuits

I'd never heard of ANZAC biscuits until I moved to Australia.  For that matter, I'd never heard of ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corp).  Thanks, American education! :P  Once I'd had them, I fell in love.  I'm a fan of all oats-based cookies biscuits.  If you are too, these could be a yummy snack - and kids love them!

ANZAC Biscuits

2 cups plain flour
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup coconut
250g butter
4 tablespoons golden syrup (for my American friends, dark corn syrup, molassas, karo and honey will all do the trick but will all provide slightly different results - personally, I'd go dark corn syrup)
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon baking soda

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Melt butter, golden syrup and water in a saucepan until hot but NOT boiling.  Sprinkle the baking soda into the pan and let the mix expand.

Stir the golden syrup mix into the dry ingredients.  Mix thoroughly.

Place walnut sized balls onto a tray lined with wax paper and bake at 175C (350F) for 15-20 minutes.  Biscuits are done when lightly browned.  They will harden when cooled.

Chicken Stroganoff



In my effort to create meal plans that were affordable, efficient and kid-friendly, I decided to make a chicken stroganoff from the frozen chicken in my freezer and the neverending supply of bacon in our refrigerator from Simon's Man Diet.  Stroganoff is always stupid-delicious but this was so good, I had to restrain myself from licking my plate - because I'm super classy and super classy ladies don't lick their plates. ....unless no one is looking, then go for it.

Chicken Stroganoff

2 chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 slices bacon, diced
1 large brown onion, diced
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 garlic cloves, minced
300g sour cream
2 tablespoons plain flour
cooked pasta

Cook the bacon in a large frying pan over medium heat until crisp.  Remove the bacon from the pan (leaving the drippings) and set aside.

Add the onion and the chicken to the bacon drippings and sautĂ© until onion is tender and chicken is cooked through. Add the bacon, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic and stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Combine the sour cream and the flour, stirring until smooth.  Add the sour cream mixture to the pan and bring back to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Serve over pasta.  

Beet Fritters



These were a huge hit with the adults in the house but it took a lot of coaxing to get Xander to eat them - probably because this was his first experience with beets. He said that he liked the taste but seemed to dislike trying to get them onto his fork more than anything else.  Simon and I, however, LOVED them. They make a great side dish or a nice, light snack and reheat well.

Beet Fritters

3 cups of peeled and grated beets
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup soft breadcrumbs
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspon pepper
Oil 
Sour Cream

Combine beets, onion, breadcrumbs, eggs, ginger, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Test to see if patties can be made from the mix - if it is too dry, add more egg. If it is too wet, add more bread crumbs or beets.

Shape into patties and set aside. I like mine thin because the edges are lovely and crispy when cooked. 

Heat up a large, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat until hot. Cook each patty 4-5 minutes on each side or until done. They blacken really quickly but it doesn't affect the taste. 

Serve with a dollop of sour cream on each.

Makes 8 large fritters or 16 thin fritters.