Thai Chicken Salad

This is a great kiwi version of Thai for those who only just like Thai (like me).

Chicken marinade

1/4 C oil
1 Tb rice vinegar
1/4 C sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
Fresh coriander leaves chopped
1 lime, juiced
salt and pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts sliced into pieces
Leave for as long as 4 hours. I only had time for about 1 hour. And the chicken was super tender.

The Salad Dressing

1/4 C rice vinegar
1/4 C sweet thai chili sauce (although I am a sooky and I only added 1/2 this so adjust to your taste)
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper

Salad

Red cabbage sliced finely
Celery sliced finely
Grated carrot
More coriander leaves chopped
Cucumber chopped into small pieces
Capsicum sliced thinly then cut into small pieces
Mango chopped ( I used tinned because its out of season)
Spring onion sliced thickly
Snow pea shoots

Dress the salad with the salad dressing and put onto serving plates

Cook the chicken in a hot frying pan

Leave to cool slightly

Slice and place on top of salad

Drizzle with peanut sauce (I used de Siam Peanut and Coconut Satay Sauce)

You can make your own peanut sauce just google recipes, I split the last one I made and wasted my last bit of peanut butter. Let me know in the comments below if you have a fail proof delicous not too thick peanut sauce please and thank you.

You can also add cashews or peanuts, crispy fried noodles and a wedge of lime

You can also add thai basil and/or mint leaves to the salad too.

Cooking Bucket List

Savoury Pinwheel Scones (they won't be as good as Nana's but I can try)
A teacher aide at school brought in a batch for us while I was acting principal for a day.  I worked in the staffroom a metre away from the basket of warm scones tempting me with their delicious aroma.  They had chow chow, cream cheese, onion etc on them.

http://www.allysongofton.co.nz/recipe/Relish-and-bacon-pinwheel-scones/?r=3278

http://www.nzwomansweekly.co.nz/food/recipes/savoury-pinwheel-scones/

Cheesecake
Never made one, baked or otherwise.

Fondant iced cake (Mack or Fin will get a special birthday cake one day)

Cooked salmon (tasted some kind of salmon bake in white sauce on a conference,  I was a wee bit dubious but starving and there was no other option so I served myself a hefty portion, sat on the ground outside in the sun- as you do on a conference and was very pleasantly surprised- hunger is the best seasoning.

Preserve something

Wontons from scratch

Cauliflower pizza

Homemade Stock Winter 2014

Piece of cake ={D

French Onion Soup with cheesy bread

I remember making this in 3rd form, haven't had it since.

Chicken Noodle Soup Winter 2014

Nailed this! Made it twice this winter with homemade chicken stock from a rotisserie chicken.  Very happy with the results

Should have written down the recipe because I mashed together what I found on Google and went by feel, I mean taste.  They both had a buttery quality which made them decadent without any butter in sight.  

BBQ Meatloaf

How good does this look!! BBQ meatloaf.  It is delicous.  The BBQ sauce has an odd assortment of ingredients that you just have to trust like lemon juice, coffee....
Thank you Claire for this recipe.

The Facebook Group NZ Mummies in the Kitchen has brought us back together after all these years and we now have our families and share a love of cooking.
                       

                          

• 500gm sausage meat
• 500gm mince
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 onions
• 2 tsp curry powder
• salt
• pepper
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 water

• Sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup worchester sauce
• 2 tsp vinegar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp instant coffee
• 30gms butter
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

1. Combine all ingredients till well mixed and smooth.
2. With wet hands shape into a loaf in oven dish.
3. Cook for 30 mins at about 180c.
4. Pour over sauce and cook for another 45 mins, basting frequently

Sauce
Combine all ingredients, bring to boil, simmer for 5 mins.

Halloween Gingerbread Men

We don't celebrate Halloween as a family.... well maybe the consumer in us as been tempted over the years and finally we have given in.

I love that Fin used his dress up book to find a no cost costume...


We had about 15 kids come trick or treating they were all teenagers with masks and stuff bought from the warehouse.

Food in a Minute Ginger Bread Men Recipe

 

I went as far as halloween themed nails.  Daddy went all out and went to work as the joker.

We had Hells Pizza for tea with Eyeballs in Blood (Tropical Fizzy with lychees stuffed with grapes)

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

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.

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.