Tuesday 26 February 2013

Turkey Cranberry Melts

Turkey cranberry melts on turkish bread
These are great for lunches -
just throw them in the sandwich press and you're done!

The last time I did a survey on facebook there was a tie between mid-week meals with mince (which I popped up my beef pastie recipe for) and lunch ideas. So this week I thought I'd bring you Turkey Cranberry Melts - which is an easy lunch idea that will taste just as good as if you grabbed it at your local cafe.

This is also great for sneaking in an extra vegetable into your families diet ;)

 

Turkey cranberry melts

Makes 4

On your next shopping list grab:

50g of baby spinach
150g of shaved turkey breast
4 slices of your choice of cheese - swiss is amazing with this just as an hint!
1 turkish bread
Mayo
Cranberry sauce

Simply cut the turkish bread in half and spread as much mayo as you would like on the bottom. Arrange the baby spinach on top of the mayo, followed by your turkey breast and cheese. Next spread some cranberry sauce on the top half of the turkish bread. Add your two halves together and cut your turkish bread into three or four depending on the length of the bread (and how big you would like your lunch!)

You can also mix this up with a little bit of ham or bacon, and other salad items - pretty much make it what YOU want to eat! You can also mix it up with chicken and avo (just take out the cranberry of course).

Once lunch time comes around simply zap the melt in the mircrowave for around 40 secs before finishing it off in the sandwich press. You don't have to use the microwave but I just find that this way the spinach cooks a little better, and you don't have to have it in the press as long as well - leaving you with more a soft melt than a really, really toasty one.

Enjoy!
Steph xo

P.S. Just had this for lunch today - awesome.

Saturday 23 February 2013

Beef Stir-fry with Homemade Satay Sauce

Satay Beef sauce for stirfrys
This satay sauce can have a bit of a kick or mild.

 
I always thought satay sauce was like most tasty asian sauces that used things that I would need to go and buy just for the occassion (especially since my house is more stocked like an Italian household). After looking into a few different recipes, trying to find one that didn't use special ingredients I threw together my own which is super easy to make. It can also be made as spicy or mild as you like!
 

Satay Sauce

1 small onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic (finely diced or minced) or 1 heaped tsp of minced garlic
1 small chilli (roughly chopped) or 1 tsp hot chilli flakes - or add only a sprinkle if you have kiddies!
1/2 cup peanut butter, your choice of crunchy or smooth
1 cup water
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp lemon zest (optional)
2 tsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
Splash of balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs canola oil or chilli oil


Beef Stir-fry

Serves 4 with rice or egg noodles
Your choice of vegetables to stirfry
1 small green capscium
400g beef, thinly sliced
1 small onion or 1/2 medium onion, cut into strips

In a small pot or pan add your oil, onion and fresh chilli, frying until onion is transparent. Add your garlic (and chilli flakes) until you can smell the aroma of the garlic, and then remove from the heat. Now add everything else into the pan - your peanut butter, water, lemon juice, zest, brown sugar, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar. Now mix everything together - and I know right now you are probably looking at this thinking it looks curdled and so, so wrong - but I promise that is normal at this stage. I promise it will go smooth and turn out perfect!

Easy homemade satay sauceAdd your sauce pan back to a low to medium heat, stirring it slowly as you bring it to the boil and it thickens. Once smooth and thick remove from the heat and put aside.

Now - onto your stir fry. In a large pan or wok add a little bit of oil and your onion and meat, adding in your veggies and capsicum once the onion starts to change colour. If you are like my other half and don't like crispy capsicum just add it in with your onions. Once the beef is cooked and the veggies are done to your liking, pour your satay sauce into the pan and let it cook for a couple of minutes, stirring so the sauce coats everything.

Enjoy!
Steph xo

Sunday 17 February 2013

Sticky Carbonara Sauce



Over the years I have slowly created this carbonara recipe. The best part is it's a sticky carbonara sauce - not a pasta sitting in a bowl of cream like some carbonara recipes are.

It's quick and easy, and it's just the best throw-together meal when I don't know what else to make.


Sticky Bacon Carbonara Pasta

Creates 4 - 5 Mr Steph sized serves

The sauce in this recipe is to coat the pasta, and not have it sitting in sauce like some other recipes. If you would like more sauce, double the below recipe.

What you will need:

300ml of thickened cream / 150ml of thickened cream and 150ml of sour cream
1 egg yolk
¼ onion, finely diced
1 tsp of parsley or basil (your choice)
1 tsp of chives (optional)

1/4 cup of a cheddar or strong cheddar cheese
5-6 large shortcut pieces of bacon
1 packet of fettuccine pasta

For chicken and bacon carbonara add 1 small chicken breast or two thighs, cut into strips.

The first thing I do is get my pasta done – because this sauce doesn't take long! So put on your pot of water and bring it to the boil. Once boiling add in a little bit of salt, followed by your packet of pasta. Now that the pasta is cooking, you can get started on your sauce.

In a small jug whisk up your egg yolk and cream, then add in your selection of herbs and a little bit of pepper. Saute your onions in a little bit of oil (about 1 Tbsp) with your bacon and chicken. Once the chicken is cooked turn down your pan to a simmer. Wait a couple of minutes for the pan to cool down to the lower temperature before adding in your cream mixture and stirring it through your bacon and chicken.

Allow your sauce to simmer, stirring occasionally, until your sauce thickens and turns a yellowy cream colour. Finally add the cheese to your sauce, followed by your drained pasta. Fold the pasta through your sauce and serve, sprinkling parmesan cheese over the top.

Enjoy!
Steph xo



Saturday 2 February 2013

Cheesy french toast with cheats tomato relish

Cheesy french toast with cheats tomato relish
The best start to the weekend.

This recipe is super easy that it will probably become a weekend breakfast favourite. Usually in our house I want something different to the other half, so I often do this french toast recipe while cooking something else - so if you have busy morning this is good also!

Cheesy french toast

Makes 4 pieces

4 thick slices of your choice of bread (I used simple block loaf)
150ml cream*
1 jumbo sized egg (or two large)
1/4 cup of grated cheese
1 tsp parmesan cheese
Shaved or shredded ham (optional)
3 small tomatoes, topped and cut in half.
1 dsp of raw/white sugar
 Fresh garlic chives and parsley / mixed dried mixed herbs (as little or a lot, depending on what you like)
Pepper
 

In a small jug beat your egg and then mix in the cream, followed by the parmesan cheese, herbs and pepper. Add a little bit of oil to a large frying pan over a medium to low heat. Pour a quarter of the  egg mixture into a plate with a little bit of depth or a container - whatever you use it just needs to fit your piece of bread evenly on the bottom. When the large pan is hot enough coat your bread in the egg mixture, pressing it down slightly to coat it well before flipping it to coat the opposite side. Pop the bread into the pan and add a little bit of ham on top. Continue with the rest of the bread.

In a small pan over medium heat (or even in the large pan if enough room) add in your tomatoes, sprinkling with the sugar and a little bit of salt, pepper and mixed herbs.

Once one side of your bread is golden, flip the bread to cook the opposite side. Sprinkle the tops of the bread with a little bit of cheese. Turn your tomatoes also.

As soon as your tomatoes are cooked through mash them slightly in the pan, allowing some of the juices to cook out. I also try to take any any pieces of the tomato core that are a little too hard. Then your relish is done.

Your french toast will be ready once the cheese is melted, but also check the bottom to make sure it doesn't need a little bit longer.

Serve your french toast cheese side up, with the relish on the side.

Enjoy!
Steph xo

*I like using cream instead of milk in the mixture so that the bread doesn't soak up too much liquid and become soggy, but I've also done half and half when I am low on cream just making sure not too leave it in the mixture too long.