Tin o Salmon

Here's my lunch. Salmon, lettuce, capers, celery, dill, EVOO, lemon juice, cracked pepper. I can't believe I used to just eat the salmon straight out of the tin for lunch. These quick few additions are so worth it. Happy lunching

What to do with a few chick peas

  Hummus, just google it.  Don't need tahini

How to empty the fridge

Pinwheels 

Made a B& E pie. This is what I do with the leftover ready rolled sheet. Step 1- empty fridge in semi organised way onto pastry, I used whole grain mustard, tomato, capsicum, onion and bacon. Sometimes I use onion marmalade, spring onion, ham or salami... Step 2 roll, slice, lay slices on cooking paper, Then cook high heat 10 minutes. Next step- try to save some for lunch boxes- very difficult.

Very old Rice Pud recipe

Baked Rice Pudding - Recipe from Nana Mary Moore aged 100
Serves 4
* 1 Litre Milk
* 1/2 Cup Rice
* 2 Tbs. Brown Sugar
* 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla Essence

Preheat oven.

Add all ingredients to a baking dish and place in the middle of a 150C/300F oven. Bake for 2 hours.

Special Occasion Milk

Someone's Aunty Heather's Cheeseball

Aunty Heather cheese ball

250g cream cheese (1 tub)
1 cup grated cheese
2 Tablespoon finely chopped onions (or spring onions)
2 Tablespoon finely chopped parsley
2 Tablespoon finely chopped gherkins
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoon tomato sauce
1 dash tabasco sauce (optional)
1/4 cup finely chopped nuts

Soften cream cheese, stir in cheese, onion, parsley, Gherkins.
Mix in sauces.
Roll into ball (quite a sticky mixture)
Chill 1/2 hr
Roll in nuts
Refrigerate

Quiches and Date and Walnut Loaf

Grandma's Bottomless Quiche
Beat 4eggs, 2 cups milk, S&P. Add 2cups grated cheese (tasty is tastiest). Stir in 1/2cup bran flakes (baking bran not breakfast cereal) and 3/4cup flour. Weird mix but okay.

Add whatever you got on hand - onion, courgettes, ham, bacon, toms, mushies, leek, salmon, tuna, asparagus, corn, spinach. Bake Mod oven til set and lightly brown on top. About 25mins.

Roast Vege Quiche

Leftover roast veges- I used potatoes, red onion, and capsicum

Feta

Bacon or ham (optional)

Handful of grated tasty cheese

Cherry Tomatoes

6 eggs (depending on the size of dish being used, you only want just enough liqud to come up to veges)

Cream or milk

S&P

Savoury Short ready rolled pastry

I blind baked the pastry first with tinfoil and rice or about 8 minutes.

Then added veges and some fresh thyme sprigs on top.

Whisk together the eggs and cream and S&P

Bake for about 20 minutes on 190C keep an eye on the mixture to see if it is cooked.  Leave to set for about 20 minutes before serving.

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We deserved a cooked lunch after prepping the front garden ready for river stones and plants.  

It's now all finished

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We also had Date and Walnut Loaf which was delicous

2 Cups plain flour and 3tsps BP instead of SR Flour

Tip- leave the date and butter mixture to cool to luke warm before adding flour. 

Cobb Picnic Loaf

Picnic Loaf, slice off top and pick out the middle of a cobb loaf, spread with cottage cheese and chutney. Layer a jar of roasted veges (eggplant, red peppers...), champagne ham grated cheese and cooked kumara sliced in discs. Put top back on, wrap tight with glad wrap and chill overnight with something heavy on top. Slice in wedges- surprisingly delicious. I hate kumara and cottage cheese so thats saying something

Copy Cat Tank Wrap

I have this for lunch twice a week. It's my Copycat 'Tank' Lemon and Herb Wrap . I love their food and juices and managed to come up with a pretty tasty version. If I do say so myself. 
Lemon and Herb Wrap
Wholemeal Tortilla Wrap
Lettuce- mixed leaves are nicer, but I only had iceberg this time 
100g Cold Chicken breast (I cheat with packet chicken- pretty good)
Small cold potato cubed (save one from dinner night before)
1T Pine Nuts
1T Grated Parmeson (I use packet stuff and keep in freezer)
1tsp Mrs Dash Lemon Pepper (trust me on this one- from New World)
Squeeze of lemon
1 T Basil Pesto (make it runny with EVOO if its a thick one)
1tsp Poppy Seeds (optional)
Mix it all up, put wrap on gladwrap then dump it all on the wrap, roll it up and wrap with gladwrap.

Claire's Best Chicken

Crockpot Cashew Chicken
with Slaw
Make some 2 min noodles. I used the ones that have all the little seasoning and sauce packets in it. Drain some of the water and spoon some sauce from the crock pot through. I added a bit of the seasoning and tasted until I liked it. You want enough so there is a bit of dressing through the coleslaw. Let it cool a little before mixing through coleslaw. For the coleslaw I used cabbage, carrot, capsicum, courgette, spring onion and sesame seeds. I also sprinkled some crispy onion on top from the noodles.

Potato Soup

Dished this up for St Patrick's Day (a day early, ain't got time tomorrow). I've made Leek and Potato soup before that was bland. This time I roasted too many potatoes the night before cut up very small. Sweated leek, celery and onion in lots of butter for about 15 minutes in stock pot, addedchicken stock and 2/3 potatoes. Simmered for 30 minutes. Blended, added the remaining potatoes. Dished up with crunchy bacon, tasty cheese and chives. Tasted beautiful- like a loaded jacket potato. Even my 6 year old boy polished his off. Can't wait for lunch tomorrow (soup always tastes better reheated).

Good Old Fashioned Boiled Mince

There has to be a better sounding name. Perhaps we will call it Savoury Mince. It might not sound very Master Chef but it's a good nourishing winter staple. Beautiful on toast the next day or with some flaky pastry and sprinkle of cheese - ta da Kiwi favourite mince and cheese pie. But best of all yours will be be the best "Ladies a plate please" if you make little flaky pastry savouries with their lids just popping up like gentlemen tipping their top hats. So for Boiled, oops I mean Savoury Mince and sorry measurements are not too accurate, it's one of those things you just wing it. 
In a pot cover 500gms mince with water. Add 1 or 2 onions finely chopped, white or red(depending on size and your family preference). Add diced or grated carrot. Season with S&P. Bring to the boil, (sorry it will look and smell a little 'grey' at this stage) I like to stir and break up mince so no lumps. Lower heat to simmer for 20ish mins. Sometime during that time I add a good splash or 2 of tomato sauce, a slug of worcesteshire and a teaspoon-ish of one of the Mites (Mar or Vege). Continue to simmer, At this stage I add maybe 1/2cup frozen peas, make sure it comes back to simmer. Now the secret ingredient - a packet of Maggi Oxtail Soup. (you know the dry stuff like onion soup for dip) Just stir that through for colour and flavour, this will also thicken a little. Then take off the heat and sprinkle in maybe 2 tblsp of flour to thicken. You can adjust this if it still seems a little runny. Careful with the flour, too much and it will be 'claggy' and not very appetising. Return to the heat for 4-5minutes to cook the flour and voila delicious Savoury Mince.
You can add any veges really. Froz Mixed, grated courgette, corn, whatever you think your family will. Add frozen veges towards end of cooking. Anything you want to hide, cut up small and add at beginning it will go stealth in the boiling process.