Belinda Moore

This was shared by another homeschooling mama on Liberated Learning awhile ago.  I’ve adapted the recipe to suit us.  Served it tonight with rice, steamed choko and pumpkin and corn on the cob.  A sprinkle of grated cheddar on the lentils, parmesan for some.  Delish!  This served 9 of us, plus 2 meals for the Dad to take to work this week, and another couple of serves into the freezer.  So those of you who don’t need a dozen or more serves could of course make half (or freeze most of it for later).  This would be great with pasta, as a pie filling, as a topping for jacket potatoes or served with mashed potato and steamed vegies.  A very versatile dish, so a good one to freeze.

3 cloves of giant Russian garlic, chopped finely

2 brown onions, diced

2 cups red lentils, rinsed

3 cups water with 1 tbspn Vegetable stock powder (Massel)

2 heaped tbsn tomato paste

3 x 400g tins diced tomatoes

400g mushrooms, sliced

1 tsp dried Tuscan herbs

fresh ground black pepper

olive oil

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft.  Put all ingredients into slow cooker.  Stir.  Cook on high for a couple of hours, checking that the lentils are softening.  When lentils are the right texture, turn to low.

I took this recipe and adjusted it. I adjusted it a bit much and we have leftovers, which we’ll have as a rice bake for lunch tomorrow. The amounts below are for 12 serves of risotto, with side vegetables.

1 whole small Jap pumpkin (homegrown), cubed in 2cm pieces
1 medium brown onion, diced
2L+ boiling water with 1.5 tblspn Massell Chicken-style stock powder
4 cups white rice
1/2 tsp dried Italian herbs (too rainy to get to the garden!)
Dice onion and pumpkin, saute in a large, heavy-based pot in a little olive oil until golden and softening. Add the rice and stir for approximately 1 minute. Add about 1L of the water with stock powder added. Stir until absorbed.

Add remaining water and half-cover pot over medium heat so rice absorbs water, stirring often. Have extra water at hand to keep risotto moist and stop it sticking to the base of the pot.

When risotto is soft and creamy, add some freshly ground pepper.

Serve with some steamed green vegies and grated cheese. Mmmmmmmmm comfort food!

For Libby, here’s my Asian Omelette instructions (not really a recipe!), inspired by a recipe on Simple Savings. This was enough for the seven of us (hubby was at work)…

5 cakes of plain two-minute-style noodles
6 eggs (homegrown for us)
garam marsala, chili or preferred seasoning
a little Massel chicken-style stock powder

Cook noodles as per packet directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Beat eggs with spices and stock powder. Add noodles to egg mix and combine.

Heat a little oil in a heavy-based frypan. Add enough of the mix to cover the base of the pan. As it’s frying, push around the edges so a nice firm ‘cake’ is forming. Once the cake is golden on the bottom, fold in half, omelette-style. Fry a little longer, then flip to fry the other side if you’re not sure it’s done through…

Remove from pan and continue until all the mix is done.

We cut our omlettes in half as we used a large cast iron frypan. We served them with some plain boiled basmati rice and frozen peas, tamari and some chilli and garlic sauce. Very simple, cheap and filling!

1.5kg potatoes, peeled and diced
400g plain flour, plus a little extra

Place potato pieces in cold water and bring to the boil over high heat. Cook for approximately 25 minutes or until just tender. Drain well and mash well. Season to taste with salt. Allow to cool slightly.

Add flour to potatoes and use your hands to knead briefly until a soft dough forms. If mixture is still sticky, add a little more flour. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface.

Break dough into six pieces. Using your hands, roll a piece out to form a log about 2cm wide. Using a lightly floured knife, cut each log into 1.5cm long pieces. Repeat with remaining five lumps of dough.

Press each ball of gnocchi with a lightly floured fork to form marks which help the sauce cling to cooked gnocchi.

Bring a very large saucepan of water to the boil. Add 1/4 of the gnocchi. As they cook, gnocchi will rise to the surface of the water (quite quickly, don’t go away!). Continue cooking gnocchi at the surface for only 10 seconds then remove with a large slotted spoon and drain well. Repeat with remaining gnocchi. Serve immediately, tossed together with your favourite sauce and some grated cheddar and/or parmesan.

Based on this recipe, Brit made this a couple of weeks ago and it’s delicious! Here’s our version:

6 sheets Mountain Bread
1 tbspn olive oil
1 red onion, diced
1 red capsicum, diced
2 zucchini, grated
pinch chili powder
400g tin diced tomatoes
400g tin corn kernels, drained
400g tin red kidney beans, rinsed & drained
salt & pepper to taste
salsa
1 cup grated tasty cheese

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Heat oil in frypan, saute onion, capsicum & zucchini. Cook for 3 minutes. Add chilli powder and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add tomato, corn, beans, salt & pepper. Stir & simmer briefly then remove from heat.

Greast a large baking dish. Place 1/4 cup filling on a piece of mountain bread. Roll up and place in dish (seam side down). Repeat with remaining bread and filling.

Spoon salsa over enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 15 minutes and serve immediately with side salad.

I made this last week, based on this recipe. Here’s my version:

• 2 tbspn light olive oil
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tbs curry powder (could have used more)
• 600g potatoes, peeled, cut into 1.5cm pieces
• whole large cauliflower, cut into small florets
• 3 cups water + 1 tbspn Massel’s Vegetable stock powder
• 2 cups tomato puree
• 1 cup natural yoghurt
• 1 tbspn cornflour
• 2 cups frozen peas
• Jasmine rice, to serve
• Yoghurt, extra, to serve

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute or until aromatic. Add the curry powder, potato and cauliflower, and stir until well combined.

Add the water, stock and tomato puree to the pan and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until the potato is tender.

Combine the yoghurt and cornflour in a small bowl. Gradually add to the potato mixture, stirring constantly until well combined. Add the peas and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 2 minutes or until the peas are tender and the mixture is heated through.

Spoon rice among serving bowls and top with the curry mixture. Serve with extra yoghurt.

This is so yummy and reminds me of the Weis Bar ice-creams.  My neighbour gave me this recipe.

1 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups water

3 cups mango pulp

2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice

300ml thickened cream

Combine water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until dissolved into a syrup.  Boil for about 5 minutes.  Let cool.  Process mangoes in a blender, add syrup and lemon/lime juice.

Divide mango mix into two.  Pour one half into a tray (plastic square biscuit container or similar).  Freeze.

Keep the other half of the mix in the fridge until the first lot is frozen.  When it’s set, add the cream to the second half and pour this mix over the frozen half.

Freeze until set, then cut into squares as you want it.  Store in freezer.

Another Simple Savings gem!

Syrup:

2 cups water

2 cups brown sugar (I used rapadura)

2 tbspn butter

1 tsp vanilla

dash of salt

Dumplings:

1 1/4 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbspn butter

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup milk

You will need a saucepan with a good lid in which to cook this dessert.  Begin by combining all of the items listed for the syrup in the saucepan.  Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.  While it is heating, combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.  Cut in the butter, until the mixture resembles very coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle the sugar over the flour mixture and blend briefly.  Stir in the milk, making a soft dough.  Pinch off marble sized pieces of the dough and drop them into the gently boiling brown sugar syrup.  Fill the entire pan with these small dough balls.  When you have used up all of the dough, place the lid on the pot.  Simmer the mixture over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, without peeking.  The dumplings will steam while they cook and if you peek they will fall and become soggy, not fluffy.

After cooking, serve the dumplings with some of their cooking syrup and some ice-cream, cream or custard.  Very sweet!  This recipe serves 6-8.

This one’s another Simple Savings favourite. Well, my version of course!
750g butter

1.5kg raw sugar

6 eggs

2kg wholemeal flour + baking powder (half a teaspoon per cup of flour)

3 tsp vanilla extract

Melt butter and let cool.  Mix in all ingredients, starting with 1.5kg of flour and adding more if the dough is too oily or wet.  Mix it with your hands unless you have a large food processor.

Form dough into balls the size of a 10c or 20c coin.  Put on baking tray.  Bake at 225 degrees C for 15 minutes.  If you like softer biscuits, cook for a shorter time.

Makes over 150 biscuits.  Freeze well.
* Add carob or choc chips, nuts, coconut, sultanas or other (diced) dried fruit, oats, rice bubbles, etc.  You can also add cocoa powder to this mix to make a chocolate bikkie.

Part 1

1/3 cup raw sugar

2 tbspn butter

1 egg

1 cup SR flour (I use plain + half a tsp baking powder)

1 tbspn instant coffee (dissolved)

1 1/2 tbspn cocoa

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Part 2

1/3 cup raw sugar (or less)

1 tsp coffee

1 tblspn cocoa

Part 3

1 1/4 cups boiling water

Cream butter & sugar, add egg. Add all remaining ingredients for Part 1 and mix well. Pour into a large greased casserole dish. Mix Part 2 ingredients and sprinkle over pudding evenly. Pour the boiling water onto this gently. Bake at 180 degrees C for 35 minutes. Serve hot, with or without cream or ice-cream. Nice chilled too!

1 cup chopped dates

1 cup boiling water

1 tsp bi-carb soda

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg, beaten

1 cup raw sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup oil

1/2 cup chopped nuts

Pour water over dates, add bicarb & set aside to cool. Beat egg, add sugar, vanilla and oil. Combine sifted flour, salt and nuts. Add date/water mix to this, alternately with egg mix until all combined. Bake at 180 degrees C for 40 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.

*This week I doubled this recipe, used half dry goji berries and for the nuts I used sunflower seeds. It freezes well and is very tasty.

2 cups SR Flour

3 tbspn carob powder

1/2 cup raw sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/4 cups water

1/3 cup oil

1 tbspn cider vinegar

2 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 180 degrees C. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine liquid, add to dry ingredients and beat well. Bake in a lined (or oiled & floured) tin for 35 minutes. Stand for 5 minutes before turning out. Ice and decorate as desired.

If cooking this as muffins, it makes 12 large ones and takes 25 minutes to bake. Do not beat mixutre for a long time, or muffins won’t rise well.

I’ve made potato bake in the slow cooker before, but this time I used a onion white sauce.

Peel enough potatoes to 3/4 fill your slow cooker. Slice 1/2 to 1cm thick and boil or steam until just tender. Drain and rinse well.

Peel and slice two large brown onions and some garlic (because I put it in almost everything). Saute these in a little olive oil until translucent. Then proceed as per Creamy Mushroom Sauce.

500ml milk

3 tsp Massel vegetable stock powder

2 tablespoons cornflour

200ml milk (again)

300ml cream

pepper

Pour 500ml milk over cooked onion. Bring to the boil. Mix the stock powder and cornflour into the 200ml milk. Add slowly whilst stirring. Sauce should thicken. Pour in cream and continue to stir as it continues to thicken. Stir through a generous amount of fresh ground black pepper.

Oil slow cooker dish. Add a layer of cooked potato slices. Pour over some creamy onion sauce. Sprinkle with grated cheddar. Continue, finishing with a generous sprinkle of cheese.

Cook on high for approximately 2 hours. Serve with loads of steamed vegetables or a lovely big salad.

Saute 2 red onions, 4 large cloves of garlic and 1/2 a red capsicum until softened.  Add 2/3 cup tomato paste and approximately 350ml tomato puree.  Then add a couple of teaspoons of stock powder, some ground black pepper, two tins of cannellini beans (or pre-cooked equivilant) and simmer further.  Toward the end of cooking, add some chopped fresh parsley.

Delicious served hot over pasta with some grated cheese.

This recipe is based on our favourite Creamy Mushroom Sauce, which a few of my regular readers have tried and loved too.

600g broccoli, cut into small florets

500ml milk

3 tsp Massel vegetable stock powder

2 tablespoons cornflour

200ml milk (again)

300ml cream

pepper

Steam broccoli florets in medium to large saucepan. When soft, drain and set aside. Rinse the saucepan.

Pour 500ml milk into the saucepan and bring to the boil. Mix the stock powder and cornflour into the 200ml milk. Add slowly whilst stirring. Sauce should thicken. Pour in cream and continue to stir as it continues to thicken. Add broccoli and stir through a generous amount of fresh ground black pepper.

We had this over pasta, but you could also serve with rice or other vegetables.