Menu Plan Tuesday... hmmm

I seem to be channeling the culinary energy of Brazen at the moment. I couldn't find the inspiration to post my menu plan yesterday, and it's very loose, even today.
Chicken Laksa
Toad in the Hole
Spinach and Mushroom Quiche
Lamb Chops, Sweet Potato Mash and Green Beans
Thai Beef Salad

Happy Tuesday!

Menu Plan Monday - September 15

I am incredibly proud of myself. I just made beef enchiladas, including the tortillas! I've made tortillas before, but it usually isn't very successful. These ones turned out exactly right. So I'm sitting here very full, and very chuffed.
For the rest of the week:
Fijian Lentil Soup
Curry Night with pita bread (I figure I should keep going on the bread making while it's working)
Fish Laksa
Sausages with green beans and chickpeas

Happy Monday!

Fish Pie again

I posted about Fish Pie a while ago, but I was being lazy and didn't post pictures or a proper recipe. Last week I made it again, slightly differently, and I managed to take pictures AND pay attention. It's a lovely recipe, because the quantities are entirely dependent on what is hanging around in my fridge.
I thought it would be a nice addition to the Savoury Pies event hosted by Ivy.
Individual Fish Pies
2 fillets of King George Whiting (or any firm white fish), chopped
1 Cup Frozen peas, defrosted
1 Cup broccoli shoots, finely chopped
1/2 Cup spinach, chopped
1 tsp dried dill
juice of half a lemon
2 Tbs softened butter
2 Tbs plain flour
1 1/2 Cups milk
1 sheet frozen pastry
Leave the pastry out to soften. Divide the fish, vegetables, dill and lemon juice between four individual ramekins. Doesn't it look healthy already?
Season with pepper. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. When its bubbling, add the flour and stir until it starts to brown. Then gradually add the milk and whisk over a low heat until you have a thickened white sauce (slightly more thickened than just-coats-the-edge-of-a-spoon). Pour the sauce over the fish and vegetables. Top each pie with pastry, trimming the edges and poking with a knife to make some air holes.
Bake at 180 degrees Celsius, or until the pastry is browned and puffed.

Try to take a picture before your husband eats the lot!

Menu Plan Monday - September 8

I got so excited about the pancakes, I nearly forgot the menu plan! This week is pretty busy, so I'm using a lot of leftovers, and the crockpot:
Baked eggs with hollandaise sauce
Carolina Crockpot Barbecue (I promise to explain this later in the week)
Baked Potatoes with Chili con carne
Fish parcels with celeriac mash
Dinner out with Angela.

Happy Monday!

Hay Hay it's Apple Pancakes

I love breakfast food. I would happily subsist on Bircher Muesli, eggs and hash browns, and I can't imagine life without pancakes and maple syrup. I always knew I could top them with interesting things, but it wasn't until I went away on holiday that I realised you could actually add fruit to the batter. I fell in love with banana pancakes.
For HHDD #22, I wanted to try something a little different. This morning I made apple pancakes for the first time. I was really impressed! Wholemeal Apple Pancakes
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup plain wholemeal flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder, sifted
3 Tbsp caster sugar
1 eggs
1 cup (375 ml) milk
75 g butter, melted
pinch of salt
One apple, cored and grated.
Mix together the dry ingredients, add the rest, add the milk, eggs and butter and whisk until smooth. You may have to add more milk to get a pouring consistency. Stir in the grated apple. Melt some butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Pour 1/2 cups of the mixture into the pan, flipping when bubbles rise to the surface. Serve with maple syrup.

Chorizo Broccoli Quiche

Our friend Chaz is a chef. Each week he has to invent a new flavour of quiche for the restaurant where he works.. I give him a lot of suggestions, and mostly he laughs.Chorizo Broccoli Quiche
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
1 chorizo sausage, thinly sliced
2 cups broccoli, finely chopped
4 eggs
3/4 Cup of milk
1/2 Cup grated cheese
Preheat the oven to 180. Leave the puff pastry on the bench to defrost. When it's soft, use the pastry to line a pie dish (or a shallow casserole dish). Put the broccoli in the dish, with the chorizo on top. Sprinkle the cheese over everything. Whisk together the eggs and milk, season to taste (you don't need much salt with the chorizo), then pour into the dish. You may need to press down the filling so it all gets covered. Cook in the oven until set and slightly browned on top.

Soup, glorious soup

I like soup. I've realised that if I take soup for lunch, it's a good thing for my weight. It fills me up, is chock full of vegetables, and generally low in fats and simple carbs. Cheap, tasty, healthy, filling. So I made a big batch of vegetable stock from my new Women's Weekly cookbook.
6 Litres is a lot of stock.
I froze a lot. Some got turned into beetroot risotto (Steve at work said 'who did you kill to make that?'). Some got turned into Carrot and Coriander soup. The last bit got made into Spicy Spinach and Chickpea soup. Steve said, 'Oh yuck! You've blended kermit!'
So just in case you want to pack your freezer with nutritious lunches (or gross-out your workmates) I'm posting my recipe for spinach soup. Yummy, healthy and entertaining.
Spicy Spinach Chickpea Soup
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 chopped green onions
1 tsp whole coriander seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp chilli flakes
2 Cups vegetable stock
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 Cups packed chopped fresh spinach
Fry onions, garlic and coriander in a saucepan, until the onion is translucent. Add the tumeric, cumin and chilli, then half the veggie stock to deglaze the pan. Add the rest of the stock and the spinach, and cook until just wilted. Remove the pan from the heat and use a stick blender to puree the soup. Gently reheat (to much heat will cause it to lose that kermit colour!). Add the chickpeas and stir until heated through.

Menuplan Monday - September 1

Good grief, it's September already. And Father's day on Sunday! I did a lot of cooking yesterday so this week would go a bit smoother. There is one big batch of chili in the fridge, and quiche ready for future nibbling. Here's the list:
Fish Pie
Chili wraps
Chorizo and Broccoli Quiche
Fresh tomato pasta
Roast chicken

Happy Monday! Happy September!