Ratatouille

My Dad will be so proud of me. I think I have the spelling right this time. There's Ratoutille, and Ratatouille and my way Rat-a-two-ee. Having spent most of the afternoon looking to see how to spell it, I finally got to make it just in time for dinner tonight. Just as well it's quick and easy.

We don't like eggplant, so didn't put any in. This is not traditional, but it's my way.

You will need....

A splash of good E.V.O.O.

1 tablesp. Butter.

1 Onion.

1 each of red, green and yellow Capsicum.

1 orange banana Capsicum.

2 Zucchini.

3 Roma or egg Tomatoes.

6 gloves Garlic.

3 Garlic shoots. (Optional)

1 tablesp. Sugar.

Cracked Pepper.

Prepare the vegetables in to large bite size pieces. Dice the garlic. Put the E.V.O.O. and butter into a fry pan and heat. Stir the oil and add the onion, cook for a few minutes only and then start adding the remaining vegetables, remembering to stir so nothing catches and burns. Lastly, add the garlic and tomatoes. You really want these just softened not going mushy with over cooking. Now, my secret ingredients, the sugar. Sprinkle over the Ratatouille with the cracked pepper. Stir, and you are ready to eat.

I served ours tonight with trimmed Pork chops with an apple and onion topping, and new potatoes with butter and parsley. Very tasty indeed.

Good old favorite.

I think this would have to be the most cooked dish around the world, and I know it's a big hit in my house. But I am really interested to know how you do yours.

Is it a traditional recipe that you have always used or is it something that has evolved through time?

What am I talking about?

Why, SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE of course.

I think the most important thing with this recipe, is to use as many fresh ingreds as possible. And I always make sure I can.

Okay, what did I use?

500 gms lean beef mince

1 diced onion

2 tablesps of mixed Italian herbs

A good dollop of Tomato Paste

1 tin diced Tomatoes

Garlic (lots)

About a cup of diced Capsicum

1 jar of Passata Rustica (crushed Toms)

1 teasp of sugar
1 glass of red wine

Spaghetti

Olive oil

Hot water

Parmigiano Reggiano (grated)

Dry fry the beef mince and then add the diced onion. Next, just start adding all other ingreds.

Stir and simmer for at least half an hour then let stand for as long as poss.

When you are ready to eat, put on a pot of water to boil and add a good slurp of the olive oil. WHY? So the spaghetti does not stick together. When it's AL Dante, drain water off and toss in a knob of butter, stir and place in dishes. Place the sauce on top and serve with Garlic bread and sliced Zucchini.

I am not a lover of red wine (Hubby is) love it in cooking but much prefer to have a crisp white wine with my meal.

NOW, please tell me how you do your's. Does it differ from mine? Do tell.

Is that a QUICHE? Yes IMPOSSIBLE QUICHE

I am hopeless at making pastry, have been all my life. I do use the frozen pastry now and then, when making pies. With this Quiche, the flour sinks to the bottom and forms a sort of pastry. And is so quick and easy.

I will give you the basic recipe first and then some variations.



Basic recipe.



4 large Eggs.

1 tblsp softened Butter.

2/3 cup S.R. Flour.

1 1/2 cups Milk.

1 cup grated Cheese.

1 small diced Onion.

1 grated Zucchini.

Now the add ons.

1 cup of cooked and diced chicken,

or Ham, or bacon, and Salmon is nice too.

Vegies, Capsicum, Carrot, sun dried Tomatoes,

or Asparagus.

Method.

Grease a Pie or Quiche tray with some butter.

Oven at 180c/350f.

Place all ingreds into a container with a tight lid.

What? Did I hear you say?

Yes, and then shake like there's no tomorrow.

Take off lid and place contents into the Quiche

dish. Place some sliced tomato on the top and put

into the oven for 35-45 mins.


This will rise a little and is delish warm from

the oven or served cold with a nice crisp

green salad.

This one here is Asparagus and Chicken. A firm favorite in my house.
Please, give it a go, you will not be disappointed.

Spicey Mac Cheese (I did it my way)

WOW. Never again will I make Mac cheese the old way. Thanks to Food Gawker and more importantly The Pioneer Woman (Picture 327) I have found a far more exciting recipe with a kick all of it's own. But credit goes to you first P.W.

I had no cream so used sour cream, added peas and medium heat chilli (fresh) as I can't get the tinned sort she used by El Paso.






Here's what I did......







Cook around 3 cups of pasta in the normal way. While that is cooking, grate a cup of cheddar cheese, dice 1 onion, 1 capsicum, from the freezer get a handful

of baby peas and another handful of

sweet corn.





Now, in butter, fry the onion 'til sort,

add the capsicum, peas, corn and chilli.


Drain off the pasta, once cooked and toss

into veg mix and stir well.

Add the sour cream and stir then add the

grated cheese. Stir again. It's now ready.



Enjoy.














I served ours with a lovely steak cooked in garlic butter and had it with honey wholegrain mustard, and the SPICEY MAC CHEESE of course.

Please, go and see the Pioneer Woman. Her photo's on the recipe are just beautiful and so well explained too.

Beef and root vegie Stew served with dumplings.

Very cold here today so have been rearranging my cook books and cooking this lovely tasty stew. I used Brisket and an assortment of root vegies, broccoli, pumpkin and green beans. But you could use any veg you liked.

Ingreds.

1 kilo diced Brisket.

1 large onion.

Beef stock.

Peeled and sliced Carrot,

Sweet Potato, Turnip,

Swede.

Broccoli and Green Beans.

1 Tomato. (chopped)

Small amount of Pumpkin.

2 Garlic pieces, diced.

Water.

1 tablespoon Sugar. (yes, you will be surprised at the difference it makes)

Method.

I used my pressure cooker to hasten the cooking time here. But you could use a normal large saucepan.

Place beef, onions, garlic, stock and some water into the pan. When this is cooked, add all other ingreds and cook slowly, for around an hour stirring now and then.

When you are happy with the texture

and the taste, make the dumplings and put into the stew.

I cheated here a bit and used a packet mix.

But was ready to serve 20 minutes later.

All served up and ready to eat.

Chicken (Catchya) Cacciatore

Why CATCHYA?

My friends will tell you I am the worlds worst speller. And this name has just stuck for this dish. Thank God for spell check on here.

You will need......

2 skinless Chicken breasts.

1 Onion.

1 tin chopped Tomato's.

2 tblesp Tomato puree.

2 teasp minced Garlic.

1 tblesp mixed Herbs.

1 Capsicum. Deseeded and diced.

1 cup of Water.

Cornflour.

Method.

Cut chicken into smallish pieces, slice onion, and place into a casserole dish along with all other ingreds except cornflour. Now give this a good stir to mix all together. Put lid on casserole dish and put into an oven, 180c for around an hour.

Check to see if chicken is cooked through. If at this stage, it looks a little thin, use the cornflour with a little water to thicken. Place back in the oven for a further 10 minutes.

While this is doing, cook your pasta. I used spaghetti and put Sour Cream and Horseradish sauce through it, once it was cooked.

Place spaghetti in to a dish and put the Chicken Catchya on top. Dress with Parsley.

*Note*

Yes I know Cacciatore normally has olives through it, but we don't like them. Add them if you wish. Enjoy.

COTTAGE PIE.

Heart and belly warming. True comfort food.

1 kl Beef mince.

2 sliced med onions.

2 beef stock cubes.

A little water.

Mixed vegies of your choice.

(I used sweet corn, capsicum, carrots and green beans)

500grs Sweet potato.

2 kls normal white Potato.

Method.

Peel and cut into small pieces, the potato. Cook both separately. Mash with a little butter and keep seperate.

Chop the onion and put into large frypan with beef mince, stock cubes and a little water. Stir and cook.

When the mince is cooked, drain off any juice and put into large casserole dish.

Prepare the vegies and lay on top of the mince.

Then lay the mash potato on top of that. Use one type at a time. I put the white potato around the edges and the sweet in the middle.

Top that bread crumbs, mixed herbs and grated cheese. Or, just leave with the potato's.

Then in the oven to warm. 5 mins before you want to serve, turn the oven up high to get a nice crispy effect on top.

And you will end up with this.

Next time I use two different colours in the potato's, I shall have a go at piping it on, into a better pattern.

But this was done very quickly, as I needed to feed the family NOW.

Mexican Chilli, corn chips, avocado and sour cream.

Once again, a very simple dish that doesn't take long to prepare, but oh so tasty.

Ingreds.

500gms lean Beef mince.

1 large Onion. (diced small)

1 tin chopped Tomato's.

2 tblsp Tomato paste.

1 med. heat red Chilli. (adjust to own taste)

1 tbsp chilli paste.

Method.

Dry fry the mince and onion together, then add all other ingreds and stir well. Keep on a low heat for around 20 mins. Turn off heat and just let it sit and take in all the flavours.

Reheat when you are ready to serve, (You might have to add a little water if it becomes to dry) place corn chips in a dish (I used cheese and avocado corn chips mixed), place the chilli mince on top of corn chips and serve with sour cream and mashed avocado.

Bubble and Squeak with a double yolker

We keep chickens, not many, 3 to be exact, but that is enough for us. The girls give us 2-3 eggs a day. This was the first double yolker to come from them, which I had on top of my Bubble and Squeak tonight for dinner.

Ingreds.

1/2 a cabbage.

4 large potato's.

1 good sized piece of sweet potato.

1 large onion.

1 tin of corned beef.

Method.

Slice cabbage into small bits and cook in mirowave.

Peel all potato's, boil on stove 'til cooked.

When cooked, mash potato's with a little butter.

Fry sliced onion in a little fat.

When almost cooked, add cabbage, potato's and corn beef, turn and mix, turn and mix, until well combined. Let it get some brown crunchy bits in it.

Fry eggs in seperate pan and serve on top of BUBBLE and SQUEAK.