This pumpkin soup will be a family favourite winter warmer. So easy to make, plus when pumpkins are in season, this is a great way to feed the family – just add some crusty bread and you have a really easy meal.
Ingredients
- pumpkin – peeled and seeds removed
- onion
- garlic
- salt
- vegetable or chicken stock
Directions
Cut the vegetables and place in a baking pan, drizzle with olive oil and salt. Roast until tender and golden. With the garlic, I just chopped off the head and leave it all fully intact (skin and all – this stops it drying out during baking).
Squeeze the garlic head to remove the flesh. Add all ingredients into a food processor or blender and puree, adding stock as required to get to desired consistency.
A word of caution! Be really careful when blending hot food as it can create a vacuum seal and a build up of pressure could leave you with a huge huge mess (including the ceiling). To reduce this risk, I use cold stock which will reduce the temperature of the vegetables when pureeing.
Spring Rolls
Looking for a really easy way to make Spring Rolls? This recipe will have you wanting more! So easy to make, delicious, and filling – cook them up as a snack or freeze them for later.
Ingredients:
- 500g pork mince
- small finely chopped cabbage
- 2 onions finely chopped
- 4 small grated carrots
- 3t crushed fresh ginger
- 1 packet vermicelli rice noodles (250g)
- 2 packets of spring roll pastry (20 sheets in each packet)
- Green ends of a bunch of shallots
- 2t garlic powder
Finely chop all ingredients and place in large mixing bowl. I had some spare cabbage leftover and it was only a small amount – believe me when I say chopped cabbage goes further than you think!
Soften the noodles by pouring boiling water over them and let them sit for a few minutes, then strain.
Mix in the ginger and garlic powder, add the pork mince. Add the noodles and using a pair of clean scissors, snip the noodles into short lengths as you mix them through.
Open the packet of pastry, and very gently pull back the corner of the first sheet. Position the pastry so that it is in a diamond position to you (you are going to roll away from you from the corner of the pastry). Spoon a generous tablespoon of the mixture onto the pastry.
Pull the corner of the pastry over the mixture and tuck in underneath on the far side so that you are forming a roll. Fold one side of the pastry over so that it encloses the end of the roll, and repeat for the other side as well.
Roll the pastry up firmly, and using a small bowl of water, dip your fingers into the water and wet the far corner of the pastry – this is so that when you get to the end it will stick and hold the roll in place.
To cook – heat some oil in a pan and fry until golden.
To freeze – store in air tight container in the freezer – I suggest that if you are freezing a large quantity that you separate the layers with grease proof paper so they are easier to separate when you want to use them.
Zucchini Fritters
These zucchini fritters are an easy and quick snack!
What a great weekend lunch to make – zucchini fritters! My meat-loving family
Ingredients:
- 4 zucchini
- 2 eggs
- 1C grated parmesan
- 1 corn cob
- garlic
- salt and pepper
Using a damp, clean Chux wipe (or
Grate the zucchini over the damp cloth 
Gather up the edges of the cloth 
twist the top of the cloth and squeeze out excess liquid 
Squeeze until you can’t get any more liquid out 
You’ll see that the volume has reduced
Grate the parmesan or similar cheese finely. Add grated cheese, corn kernels, eggs, garlic, salt and pepper to the bowl.
Grate the cheese over the cloth 
Cut the corn from the cob and remove garlic from skin 
Add all ingredients to bowl 
Mix well
Heat up some oil in a pan, we use peanut oil. Drop spoonfuls of mixture into the hot oil and cook until golden. Remove from pan and place on paper towel to drain excess oil.
Don’t over crowd in the pan 
Flip gently to avoid breaking
That’s it!! Tucker time 🙂
Served with sweet chilli sauce
Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Almonds
Brussel sprouts – you either love them or hate them! Once upon a time they were my pet hate, and I think mum knew that!
Fast forward a few years (ok, a lot of years) and I’ve created a recipe with brussel sprouts that even hubby will eat (he’s a steak and potatoes man!).
Ingredients:
- 500g Brussel sprouts
- 3-4 rashes of bacon
- 1 onion
- 1/4 sliced almonds
- garlic
- olive oil
Method:
Slice up the onion and bacon – heat up a fry pan and start cooking these up in some olive oil, add garlic. While the onion and bacon is cooking, chop off the tough bit at the end of the Brussel sprout, cut them in half and quickly cook them in the microwave for a couple of minutes just to start the cooking process (if you don’t use a microwave, you can par-boil them).
Add to the pan. Top with sliced almonds and serve immediately.
Green Beans with Tomato Sauce – A Quick Side Dish
This green beans recipe is really quick and easy to make, and is delicious too…. great substitute if you are having a roast and don’t have time to make gravy….serve with chicken schnitzel, steak, sausages….anything really.
I remember my grandmother “top and tailing” green beans and us as kids eating them raw – I still enjoy eating them raw, and as a family we love this easy dish.
Ingredients:
- handful (or 2 or 3) of fresh green beans, washed and topped and tailed, cut to desired length
- half a small tin of tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons of garlic
- 2 tablespoons butter
- chilli if desired (use Dave’s Chilli)
Wash, top and tail the beans and cut to length. Put in saucepan with all other ingredients. Swirl some water into the tomato paste tin to get the rest of the paste out, add to pan.
