Yellow Thai-ish Chicken and Vegetable Curry.

Ingredients

• 400g chicken thighs $7.75
• 500g pumpkin $1.24
• 1/2 small cauliflower $2.19
• Bunch of coriander $2.45
• 3 Shallots $1.50
• Knob of ginger $0.80
• Sweet potato $1.41
• 1 stalk lemon grass $1.98
• 2 green chillies $0.65
• tsp coriander seeds $0.25
  
• tsp cumin seeds $0.25
  
• tsp ground turmeric $0.50
  
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon $0.05
• 2 cloves garlic $0.50
  
• Coconut cream 400ml $2.19
• 2 Roti $2.00
  Total $24.71
  

Method

1. Dice pumpkin, and sweet potato, par boil until nearly tender.
2. Break cauliflower up into florets
3. Grind spices
4. Roughly chop shallots, lemon grass, chilli, garlic toss in blender with spices and process until it forms a paste.
   
   
5. Slice chicken up into strips and fry in a deep pan with a little oil.
6. When brown remove from pan and toss in paste and fry until it smells nice.
7. Pour in the coconut milk and stir.
8. Dump in chicken and vegetables and stir until everything is hot.
9. Chop up coriander and stir through curry. Season with salt or fish sauce if you like.
   
10. Serve with roti to sop up the juices.

Time to cook: 40 minutes
Family Verdict: Vegies were a little firm, would have been better if they were softer. Wife ate the lot, 4 year old liked the curry wrapped up in roti and the 2 year old just ate whatever I stuck in his mouth. All in all a success.

Spiced Sausage Rolls

Ingredients

• 500g lamb mince $7.00
• 3 sheets puff pastry $4.89
• 3 carrots $0.75
• 1/2 cabbage $1.20
• 3 spring onionds $0.50
• Bunch of mint $2.45
• 2 cloves of garlic $0.50
• Mayo $1.00
• 1 egg $0.50
  
• Dips: (didn't use much so not full price)
  hummus $1.00
  spring onion $1.00
  tzaziki $1.00
  
• Spices: $2.00 (*shrug*)
  hot paprika 1tsp
  tumeric 1/2 tsp
  cinnamon 1/2 tsp
  nutmeg 1/2 tsp
  allspice 1/2 tsp
  ginger 1/2 tsp
  cummin 1/2 tsp
  coriander 1/2 tsp
  Total $23.79
  

Method

1. Toast and grind whole spices.
   
   
2. Make a coleslaw, I used the food processor then clean it out
3. Process mint, lamb, garlic, 1 carrot (2 others were for the slaw) until finely minced.
4. Roll into logs and place onto pastry, I cut each sheet in half so I ended up with 6. Roll up pastry and brush with egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
   
5. Bake in oven for 15-20 @ 200c
6. Serve with slaw and an assortment of dips.
   

Time to prepare: A suprising 50 minutes
Family Contentedness: 2 year consumed everything in sight and was spotted removing the pastry from the meat so he could get at just that, 4 year old consumed with a minimum of whining, albeit slathered with tomato sauce, with a little wheedling he ate the slaw too. Wife came looking for more.
Inspiration: Lifted lock stock and barrel from the pages of the sept 2008 delicious magazine.

Pad Thai Lie

Not an authentic pad thai, hence the name, but tasty and quick none the less.
Ingredients

• 400g free range chicken thighs $7.20
• 1 capsicum $0.75
• 1 head brocolli $1.80
• 50g chopped peanuts $1.00
• 100g beanshoots $1.50
• 1 bunch coriander $2.45
• Rice noodles 400g $2.99
• 2 cloves garlic $0.50 (did end up using it)
  
• 1 stick celery $0.40
• 1/2 jar pad thai paste $2.45 (I used asia at home brand, seems to be free of numbered ingredients and actually consists of the stuff I'd use to make the sauce albeit with a lot more sugar)
  
• 8 snow peas $1.20
  Total $22.24
  

Method

1. Slice up all the veg into smallish bits, I like to cut on the bias to give more surface area to collect sauce and char.
2. Soak noodles in hot water to separate
3. Slice chicken thighs into strips.
4. Chop coarsely the coriander
   
   
5. In batches stir fry the chicken until 95% cooked, remove from heat and keep warm
6. In batches stir fry the veg, except bean shoots, until tender.
7. Add chicken back to pan (all at once) and stir in sauce.
8. Add veg back to pan and add more sauce.
9. When chicken is done, add noodles and mix.
10. When noodles are hot, remove from heat and stir through bean shoots and peanuts
    

Time to cook: 15 minutes
Family happiness: 4 year old eats chicken, noodles and veg avoiding the bean shoots; 2 year old won't feed himself with this but happily eats when fed (BTW 2 year olds don't really chew their food so bean shoots tend to trigger the gag reflex when they try and swallow); wife gobbles and comes looking for more.

Lamb roulade with carrots, brocollini and lime cous-cous

Ingredients

• 400g lamb backstrap $12.00
• Bunch of baby carrots $1.95
• Bunch of brocollini $2.45
• Sprig of basil $0.50
• 100g marinated roast capsicum $1.20
• 10 mini mozarella balls $2.00
• 100g Couscous $1.75
• 1 * Lime $0.75
• 2 * garlic cloves $1.20
  Total $23.80
  

Method

1. Remove zest from lime and mix with instant cous-cous.
   
2. Slice carrots in half length ways, and the brocollini into bits on the bias.
3. Chop the garlic finely.
4. Cut each backstrap in two length ways and beat with a meat mallet until they are roughly the same thickness. Season them well.
5. Lay basil, then capsicum, then mozarella slices on the backstrap.
   
   
6. Roll and secure with something (I used satay sticks)
   
7. Heat up two pans and put in a little oil. Chuck the carrots and brocollini into one.
8. Place the lamb into the other, cook on both sides for about 3 minutes.
9. Toss the carrots and brocollini after they have had some time to carmelise.
10. Toss about 1/4 cup of water into the veg pan and cover both pans. (to steam the veg and roast the lamb).
11. Cover the cous-cous with boiling water.
12. Wait five minutes then remove the lids from the pans and fluff up the cous-cous.
13. Plate up and eat.

Time to prepare: About 20 minutes
Audience happiness factor: 4 year old, 1 thumb up; 2 year old 2 thumbs up, wife 1 thumbs up (not a fan of the cous cous)

Chicken "Quesadillas"

Ingredients (sorry forgot to photograph before preping)

• 1 * Large roast free range chicken 10.40
• 15 * Tortillas 2.95
• 1 bunch coriander 2.45
  
• 300g colby cheese 3.45
  
• 1 corn cob 0.50
• 1 carrot 0.50
  
• 1 half head cabbage 1.95
  
• 2 sticks celery 0.45
• 1 egg 0.50
  
• 100ml canola Oil 1.00
  
• 1 tsp dijon mustard 0.25
  Total $24.40

Method

1. Make mayo in normal way, whisk yolk and oil together slowly, whisk the mustard in early.
2. Chop carrot, cabbage and celery and mix together with mayo
3. Remove kernels from corn cob, finely chop coriander leaves and mix.
4. Shred chicken and mix with corn
5. Dump in enough cheese to make a nice mixture.
   
   
6. To cook, lay a tortilla on a sandwich grill cover with chicken cheese mixture and some slaw, then lay another tortilla on top and toast.
7. For the little ones just cover half the tortilla with the chicken/slaw mix and fold over.
   

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: length of meal, I cook at the table.

5 C Risotto (chicken, corn, chorizo, capsicum, coriander)

Ingredients

• 400g free range chicken thighs $7.60
• 2 Chorizo $3.80
• 200g Arborio rice $1.20
• 2l Veal stock home made $4.20
• 1 White onion $0.40
  
• 6 baby capsicum $2.00 (on special)
• 120g can sweetcorn kernels $0.65
• Bunch coriander $2.45
• 2 cloves garlic $0.50
  
• Salt and Pepper $0.05
  Total $22.20
  
  

Method

1. Chop, dice and slice all ingredients as appropriate. The coriander roots are the best bit so chop them as well
   
   
2. Stick the stock in a pot and get it to a gentle simmer.
   
3. Fry the chorizo and chicken in a little olive oil, then remove from pan. Don't discard the oil it will have been flavoured nicely by the chorizo.
   
4. Saute the onion, garlic, coriander roots and capsicum until the capsicum and onion is soft.
   
5. Add the rice to the oil and stir until it is well coated.
6. When it's nice and hot, add ladles of the stock to the rice and stir like heck.
7. When the rice squishes nicely between your fingers add back the meat and then the coriander tops.
8. Season the dish
   
9. If you have some in the fridge grate some parmesan cheese into the hot rice and stir.