Turkey Burgers

I love turkey mince. T hates it. I cook, so I win. We had home made turkey burgers the other night. I was super proud of my effort, I thought the burgers were delicious.
The mince was mixed with mustard, tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, an egg, chopped parsley, salt and pepper (I think I might have added something else too but I can't remember what).
Once the patties were cooked I put them between pieces of bread with a little garlic, cheese, tomato, beetroot (I love beetroot), lettuce, avocado and cranberry sauce.

I even had a burger for lunch the next day. There are advantages when T doesn't enjoy his dinner!

Hoisin Chicken Stirfry

Dinner on Monday was nice and easy, just how I like to start the week. I bought some hoisin marinated chicken skewers, removed the chicken from the sticks and fried it. I then stir fried some frozen vegies, mixed through the chicken, a little extra hoisin and served it over basmati rice. Dinner in a flash!

Rocket & Walnut Penne

I've seen an ad on TV for a very simplistic pasta dish lately and I thought I'd give it a go (or something like it). I cooked up some penne and the other ingredients were just stirred through.
Lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, chilli sauce, salt and pepper were whisked together and poured over the pasta. Rocket, toasted walnuts and parmesan were mixed through too.
I think it was nice; fresh and light. Something different.

Stuffed Chicken Breast with Vegies (including brussel sprouts!)

I haven't eaten brussel sprouts in many, many years but considering their cheap price and high nutritional content I decided to give them a go. The sprouts were drizzled with butter and wholegrain mustard. I also fried some onion and tomato, boiled some corn on the cob and stuffed a chicken breast. The stuffing for the chicken was ricotta cheese, lemon zest, a tiny bit of yoghurt and some oregano. It was a really nice meal and the brussel sprouts were actually pretty enjoyable!

Chicken Filo and Cous Cous

I bought some discounted cheese and spinach chicken filos yesterday so that's what T had for dinner. I wanted a quick side dish so chopped up some zucchini, tomato, capsicum and spring onion to stir through a packet of cous cous. It was served with some chopped lettuce.

I didn't want to deprive T of the filos so I had something else. My dinner was a small tin of chicken mixed through the cous cous.

Poached Chicken and Asparagus Spaghetti

Another Friday arrives and again I am asked to cook a pasta dish. A trend is emerging....I knew I needed to visit the supermarket so I did a quick internet search for a low fat, easy pasta recipe using spaghetti and chicken. I settled on this one because I just happen to have many of the ingredients already, things I don't usually have handy.

Poached chicken & asparagus spaghetti

• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups white wine (I used sauvignon blanc)
• 1 leek, cut into quarters lengthways
• 1 lemon, cut into thin slices
• fresh continental parsley sprigs
• 3 chicken breast fillets
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 2 tbs chives
• 400g dried thin spaghetti pasta
• 1 bunch asparagus, halved diagonally
• 1 1/2 cups frozen peas
• Shaved parmesan, to serve

1. Combine the stock, wine, leek, lemon and parsley in a large frying pan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. Add the chicken and reduce heat to low. Cook for 10 minutes. Set aside for 30 minutes to develop the flavours. Remove the chicken to a clean work surface and coarsely shred.
2. Strain the poaching liquid through a fine sieve over a jug. Discard the leek, lemon and parsley. Return the liquid to the pan over high heat and bring to the boil. Boil for 25-30 minutes or until reduced to 80ml (1/3 cup). Cool for 5 minutes. Stir in the ricotta and chives. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large saucepan. Add the asparagus and peas in the last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain. Return to pan.
4. Add the chicken and ricotta mixture to the pasta and toss until well combined. Divide among serving bowls. Top with parmesan to serve.

I had to make a few small changes from the original recipe but I had high expectations because I would never normally put in such a lot of time to create a pasta dish. This was also the first time I have EVER used wine in cooking. Neither T or I drink wine but we happen to have a small collection of wine bottles in the house (they are all gifts which we are yet to re-gift). I decided to follow the recipe and include the wine, I was interested to see the results.

After all the time (+1 hour, rather than the 15mins I usually spend making pasta) and effort I was really unhappy with the final result. Alas, it was my own fault, I must have cooked too much pasta because there wasn't enough sauce to add sufficient flavour to the spaghetti. The chicken was also a little bit dry. Oh well.

Carrot & Cumin Soup

Carrot & Cumin Soup

I found the original recipe after a google search.

• 1 onion, chopped
• 6 medium carrots, chopped 
• olive oil
• +1 tsp cumin seeds
• pinch chilli flakes or powder
• ~600ml vegetable stock
• coriander, chopped

Fry the onion in a little oil until it softens. Add the cumin and chilli and cook for a minute then add the carrot and stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for until the carrot is very soft, then whizz in a blender. Add some more stock or water if the soup is too thick and reheat if you need to. Spoon into bowls, stir through the coriander and season well. Add a spoonful of crème fraîche to each bowl to serve, if you like.