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.