Healthy Nachos

I have fond memories of eating nachos when I was younger but they are not something I would happily eat these days. Corn chips, piles of cheese and lashings of sour cream aren't exactly friendly to a girls hips. So I made it my mission to create a low fat version of nachos. I knew they wouldn't be as delicious, but nor would I feel so guilty when eating them.
I toasted pita bread instead using corn chips, had low fat sour cream, a sprinkling of cheese, guacamole, chunky salsa and chilli beans. I used a little Mexican seasoning and a jar of salsa, which I added to, but pretty much the rest was from scratch. I am rather happy with my effort.

And there was just enough left over for lunch. Perfect! Although they were low fat, I have to say I was totally impressed (and so was T).

Honey Soy Tofu Stir-fry

Tonight's dinner was quick and easy, tasty and healthy, cheap and satisfying. Awesome!
The honey soy tofu was pre marinated (it cost $4 for 200g) and I bought the fresh stir-fry vegies at a reduced price ($2.70 for 600g). I added a few extra splashes of soy sauce and a little extra honey. The tasty bits were served on top of some 2 Minute noodles.

Chocolate Weet-Bix Slice

It was my turn to take morning tea to work on Tuesday so I decided to make a chocolate Weet-Bix slice. I stopped by the local milk-bar to pick up some icing sugar and cocoa but as my luck would have it, they didn't stock cocoa! Arrgh! I rushed home and turned to my trusty search engine for an alternative. Milo was a suggestion and thankfully I had a large tin of that in the cupboard. I knew the Milo would be a poor substitute but I had no other option. So, in the recipe below I used Milo instead of the cocoa and a greater quantity than suggested. While the slice wasn't a blow-your-mind delicious, it was nice (but would have been better with cocoa).

Chocolate Weet-Bix Slice 
Ingredients

• 12 Weet-Bix, finely crushed
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 200g butter, melted
• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• chocolate icing sugar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 18cm x 28cm (base) slice pan. Line base and sides with baking paper, allowing 3cm overhang on all sides.
2. Combine Weet-Bix, cocoa powder (Milo), sugar, butter, coconut and egg in a bowl. Press mixture over base of prepared pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until firm to touch.
3. Meanwhile, make icing according to packet instructions. Using a hot knife, spread icing over base. Set aside for 2 hours or until firm. Cut into squares. Serve.

I also made my regular muesli slice (with a little more sugar than usual).

Delicious Gluten-free Biscuits

This is a favourite biscuit recipe of mine. I especially love the texture, because the recipe calls for rice flour rather than standard flour. The original recipe uses nuts but I add a variety of dried fruits too, or you could add choc chips. It is a pretty flexible recipe.

• 125g unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 firmly packed cup (100g) brown sugar
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbs natural yoghurt
• 1 cup (150g) rice flour
• 1 cup (150g) unsalted mixed nuts with sultanas, roughly chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
2. Using electric beaters, cream butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and thick. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat to combine. Fold in yoghurt, flour and nut mix. Roll slightly rounded tablespoons of the mixture, flatten and place on trays. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes or until golden. Cool on trays for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool. Keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Lentil Burgers

Mmmm mm! I love these Lentil Patties from Sanitarium. I always have them stored in the freezer as a standby quick, nutritious meal.

Sometimes I serve them in bread rolls, sometimes between lightly toasted pieces of bread. They are always a winner!

Quick Chicken Pie

Last night I made a quick and easy chicken pie. I found the recipe in one of my 4 Ingredients cook books and had been looking forward to giving it a go for some time.
The success of this recipe, I think, depends greatly on the quality of the chicken soup used. My pie was nice but I think it could have been more impressive if I used a different brand of soup.

Quick Chicken Pie

1 can of condensed chicken soup
1 cup cooked chicken pieces
~500g frozen vegies, defrosted
2 sheets of puff pastry

Mix soup, chicken and vegetables together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Grease pie tin and line with one sheet of pastry. Pour in pie filling. Top pie with the other pastry sheet and seal the lid by pressing it down with a fork. Cut two slits in the lid and brush with butter. Cook in a 180 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

Jacket Potatoes

Last night's dinner was a simple but satisfying meal of baked/jacket potatoes. The spuds were wrapped in foil and cooked in the oven until soft. I then topped them with what ever I could find in the fridge, that included:

• mozzarella cheese
• sour cream
• baked beans
• tomato
• onion
• red cabbage and green leaves
• spring onion
• salt and pepper

Fruit Bun with Cream Cheese, Sultana Mix and Carrot

For the most part of a week I have had no taste. None! For someone who loves her food this has been a major bummer!!
My taste is now starting to return so I made myself a light lunch that I have been waiting to make for a while.
I used a toasted a hot cross bun and then spread on some cream cheese. I then drizzled on honey, added a mixture of sultanas, broken up walnuts and sunflower seeds and topped it off with grated carrot.

While the flavour was muted (my sense of taste is yet to return completely), it was quite nice. The textures were great too, the only problem was that all the 'bits' kept falling off the hot cross buns. I will absolutely be making this again soon. Maybe on fruit toast next time.

Quick Dinner-Chicken Parma and Chips

Not too pretty, nor very interesting but dinner was tasty. Chicken parma, chips and a side of cheesy vegetables.

Lamb Shanks

Some time back I was in the supermarket and saw a deal I couldn't ignore. For about $12 (I can't remember the exact price) I bought 2 frozen, microwavable lamb shanks and a 1kg packet of mashed potato. T is not always a fan of lamb but he raved about this meal.
The lamb was cooked in the microwave for less than 20 minutes, the mashed potato was surprisingly delicious and the chick peas were the perfect accompaniment to lamb. Oh, and I can't forget the gravy!

I was very impressed.