Snapper Pie

300g of any left-over white fish (cooked)

2 cups of chopped vegetables (use frozen for quick and easy)

1 celery stalk chopped finely

1 teaspoon of caraway seeds

1 large onion chopped

2 to 3 cups of milk

1 heaped tablespoon of white flour

1 cup of grated tasty cheese

1 teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest

salt and pepper to your taste

2 sheets of puff pastry

Butter

Take a large knob of butter and cook onion gently for 5 minutes, you don’t want any browning.  Add caraway seeds and flour to this mix and stir until combined, start adding your milk stirring slowly with wooden spoon until a smooth sauce, throw in your fish, vegetables and cheese and stir well and place in pie dish (greased) lined with your puff pastry that you have taken a knife to prick all over base.  Top with another sheet of the pastry, pinching the edges tight and use a pastry brush to glaze with milk before putting into 180 degree oven for around 40 minutes – once its nice and browned all over its done!

Whole baked Snapper

1 large whole snapper

2 lemons

2 red chilli (long) (deseeded)

1 inch ginger (peeled)

3 cloves of garlic

Olive oil and butter

Salt & pepper

Vegetables of your choice for baking under the fish, I used sweet potato and chat potatoes, chop them smaller than I have, they probably needed another 5 minutes.

Cut 3 slits into the top of your fish.  Use a whole lemon in cavity of fish – poke that in.   slice up finely the garlic, ginger and chilli and push into slits of fish and the rest on the top of the fish, place your fish on top of the vegetables and pop some butter on top (and poke some in cavity) and splash on some olive oil, cover with foil tightly and bake in 180 degree oven for 45 minutes.  Take foil off for last 20 minutes to crisp up skin.

The fish I had was huge so I used the left overs in a fish pie.

Raw nutty/seed slice (gluten, sugar, diary and egg free)

• 1/2 cups sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup desiccated coconut
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup pitted dates
• 1 heaped tablespoon coconut oil melted
• 1 heaped tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or paste

Place seeds, almonds and dates in food processor, using the pulse button – press on and off until combined and almonds are no longer whole.  Then add all other ingredients and pulse again until it forms a dough like consistency.  Line a dish with baking paper or ‘go between’ film and press firmly.  Freeze until set and then remove your paper and slice – keep in refrigerator until serving.

Gluten, sugar, diary and egg free

Spicy Sausage with Chicken

Chicken legs – as many as you need – working on the basis of 2 each

2 spicy sausages – I use Chorizo – cut chunky (use more depending on how much chicken you end up with – see note above)

1 lemon cut into quarters

150g of pitted olives

4 cloves of garlic – no need to peel

hard vegetable of your choice – I used 2 carrots as I had lots

Thyme leaves

olive oil

Place everything in a casserole dish – sprinkle chicken with dried thyme leaves – or fresh laid out on top – drizzle with olive oil.  Put in pre-heated oven at 200 degrees for 20 minutes and then reduce heat to 170 degrees for 40 minutes.

Enjoy – maybe you can get a photo of it cooked before teenagers devour it all!

 

 

Fish Crepes

 

Crepe:

• 1 cup plain flour
• 2 cups milk
• 3 eggs
• olive oil cooking spray

Filling

• 4 white fish fillets (from frozen ok – just thaw first)
• Butter
• Plain flour
• Milk (approximately 2 cups)
• Cheddar cheese grated – 1 cup
• 1/2 bunch of fresh dill

Crepe:

Sift flour into a bowl. Whisk milk and eggs together in a jug. Add milk mixture to flour. Whisk until well combined.  Spray a medium, non-stick frying pan with oil. Heat over medium heat. Pour 2 1/2 tablespoons batter into pan. Swirl to cover base. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until light golden. Turn over and cook for 1 minute. Transfer to a plate. Cover to keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter.

Filling:

Make white sauce by taking 1 tablespoon of butter, melt in pan over low heat and then add 1 heaped tablespoon of plain flour and stir with wooden spoon until combined, start adding milk slowly and stir vigorously to stop lumps (or use whisk if you prefer), keep slowly adding the milk – once you have a nice consistency; not too thin or thick, add your cheese to melt and then add your fish and put a lid on to steam the fish in the sauce mixture.  Once the the fish is steamed break it up with a couple of works and add half a bunch of shopped dill.

Then take 1 crepe and add a spoonful of the mixture and then roll up your crepe, repeat until you have used all your crepes, try and keep back a little sauce to smooth over the top and top with a little left over cheese.  Into the oven for 15 minutes at 180 degrees celcius until just crisp on top. Enjoy.

Pumpkin & Date Scones

• Self-raising flour, to dust
• 3 1/2 cups self-raising flour
• Pinch of ground cinnamon
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• 30g butter, chopped
•  2 tablespoons brown sugar
•  1 cup (150g) chopped dates
•  1 1/2 cups (375ml) milk
•  1 cup steamed and mashed butternut pumpkin

 

Preheat oven to 230 degrees celcius.  Lightly dust a large oven tray with flour.  Place flour, cinnamon and nutmeg into a large bowl and stir with a fork to lighten. Add the butter and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and dates and stir to combine.

 

Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture. Pour in milk mixed with the pumpkin and use a butter knife in a cutting action to stir until a soft but sticky dough forms.

 

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead until dough just comes together. Use your fingertips to gently pat the dough into a 2cm-thick disc.  If its too wet throw on some more flour.

 

Use a 5cm-diameter pastry cutter dipped in flour to cut out scones. Arrange on the prepared tray. Gently brush the top of each scone, dust with flour.

 

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden and scones sound hollow when gently tapped. Serve straight out of the oven with butter!

Spiced Tomato & Lentil Soup

1 large onion finely diced

20g butter

800g tinned tomatoes

400g tinned brown lentils (drained)

handful of curry leaves

1 heaped tablespoon of your favourite curry paste (I use Korma)

3 dried chillies

700mls chicken stock (I use homemade) – see Lemons by Lisa for receipe

Fry off your onions in butter on medium heat, add all other ingredients to large stock pot and cook on slow for 20 to 30 min.  Remove dried chillies on serving.

Serve with a spoon of natural yoghurt or some sour cream.

(serves at least 4 and is approximately 180 calories per serve – without cream)

Mexican eggs and beans

• 2 large chopped onions
• 800g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 2 chopped capsicums (bell peppers)
• 400g tin of kidney beans
• 1 packet of mexican seasoning
• 5 eggs
• 1/2 cup of tasty cheese grated

Cook the onions and capsicum in a little olive oil until soft on medium heat, add mexican seasoning mix, tinned tomatoes and kidney beans, add a can of water and then simmer for 20 minutes until everything is soft.  Make a well in the beans and break an egg into the bean mix – this recipe fed my family of 5 with an egg each, keep making wells and adding eggs until you have enough eggs in there to serve.  Cook with lid on pan until eggs set – add cheese (and if you like put under a hot grill for a few minutes to crisp up the cheese) and serve with rice, sour cream and chopped fresh coriander.

Speedy One Pan Chicken

What you need:

• 1 kilo chicken thigh fillets (off the bone – or on) (skinless)
• 3 crushed cloves of garlic (or a heaped tsp out of the jar)
• 2 tsp smokey paprika
• 4 large thin skinned potatoes or 8 new potatoes
• 2 carrots (chopped)
• 2 sticks of celery (chopped)
• 3 handfuls of stir fry mixed vegetables (something with lots of cabbage)
• handful of cherry tomatoes
• handful of mixed olives (I used the chilli blend)

The only time involved in this one is in the oven – prep takes 5 minutes!

Steam your potatoes for 5 minutes (which have been cut into large chunks) (don’t bother peeling).  In the bottom of a large casserole dish line it with your stir fry vege mix top with chicken pieces, top chicken with sprinkled paprika and garlic, throw over your chopped celery and carrots and potatoes, drizzle some olive oil over everything and in the oven at 200 degrees for 1/2 hour, throw on the olives and cherry tomatoes and give it 10 more minutes and serve, its lovely with garlic bread.

Ham & Egg cups

3 sheets of puff pastry

12 eggs

200g chopped ham

1 cup of mexican blend grated cheese

olive oil spray for greasing or use paper cups

Once sheets of puff pastry are thawed use a large glass to cut a round shape to fit in your large 12 hole muffin pan.   Lightly oil muffin pan so avoid sticking or use paper cups to line.  Gently stretch out your puff pastry to cover whole of muffin hole in tin and then line with some shredded ham – break an egg over the top and place some more ham on top of each one and top with a sprinkling of cheese.  Bake in 200 degree oven for around 20 minutes or until eggs are set.