Spiced lamb racks

1 Tbs fennel seeds

1 tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp black peppercorns

1/3 cup greek style natural yoghurt

4 x 4 cutlet french trimmed lamb chops

Pound spices in p&m until ground.  Combine with yoghurt.

Season lamb racks with salt and coat with yoghurt mixture.  Chill for at least 2 hours (or overnight).

Prehead oven to 200 C.  Heat oil in a large frypan and seal the lamb for 2 minutes each side.

Bake in oven for 10 minutes for medium.

Allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Serve with a crisp salad.

Delicious and really easy beer bread...recipe by Winsome

3 cups SR flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
450mL beer
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 200C. Grease and line a loaf tin.

Mix together flour, sugar, salt. Slowly add beer. Mix together gently, being careful not to overmix.

Pour into loaf tin then sprinkle over cheese then sunflower seeds. Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until the base sounds hollow when tapped.

Enjoy!!!! We are having it tonight with carrot soup.

It's in the bag!

I have been cooking lots of chicken in a bag lately...the flavours are so delicious and the best thing is that the chicken stays nice and moist. Try these simple recipes out:

Rogan josh in the bag
Combine 1 clove garlic, 1 red chilli, 1/2 an onion and 1 Tb grated ginger.
Add 1 tin whole tomatoes and 1/3 jar rogan josh curry paste. Stir until combined.
Add 500g diced chicken thighs. Rub the mixture into the chicken.

Tip the whole mix into a parcel made with baking paper.

Put on a baking tray and bake for 30 minutes at 180 Celcius.
Serve with boiled rice, chutney and pappadums.

Greek chicken in the bag
Combine 500g chicken breasts, 20 pitted kalamata olives, a handful of oregano, 2 cloves garlic, 2 Tb olive oil and rind of 1 lemon in a large bowl. Cover with glad wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to develop the flavours.

Divide the 1 bunch english spinach, 16 cherry tomatoes, 100g feta and the chicken mixture among four 50cm lengths of non-stick baking paper. Fold long sides over to enclose filling and tuck short ends under the parcels to secure.

Place parcels in a large metal steaming pan or bamboo steamer over a saucepan or wok of simmering water. Steam, covered, for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Divide the parcels among plates and serve immediately. Alternatively, bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes.

Netty's Easy Peasy Scones

1 small tub (300 ml) whipping cream
3 cups SR flour
pinch salt

Fold the flour and salt through the cream.

Gently flatten mixture into around 3/4 inch batter.

Cut scones with round glass.

Put on tray dusted with flour. Arrange scones so they will be touching when they expand (this ensures they are soft and not all dry on the outside).

Bake in hot oven (200C) until golden (should be around 15 mins).

Enjoy with jam and cream. I love a good rasberry jam. Mmm

Grublover comment
My aunt Netty made these for my family when enjoying gracetown on the Australia Day weekend. They are great for weekends away because you don't need many ingredients or jazzy tools.
Jazz them up by adding extra flavours.
Some ideas:
- savoury: add fetta and spinach
- sweet: add raisins

Pork Chops with gnocchi and creamy sauce

2 pork chops, bash with mallet in bag to make thin
Fry in oil - 5 mins each side
Cook gnocchi
Take chops out

Pour into pan hot pan glassful cider
1 Tb grain mustard
Slosh in some cream (around 1/2 cup)
Stir - ends up being thin white sauce. don't have to cook for long.
Spoon sauce over chops

put gnocchi in pan with remaining sauce, stir and serve with pork chops

Linguine with mushrooms, thyme, lemon

100g mushrooms sliced
pour into bowl with 2 Tb olive oil
crush 1 clove garlic
zest and juice of small lemon
salt and pepper
thyme a few sprigs stripped
mush around

take 1 cup water out of pasta and set aside

drain pasta
pour into bowl and toss
pour hot water over top, toss more
generous amount parmesan grated over top
rip parsley over top

Nigella's Green Chicken Curry in a Hurry

heat vege oil in a wok. add garlic and ginger.
snip in 2 spring onions
add 2 Tb green curry paste
add 1kg chicken thighs and let cook
add coconut milk 1 jar
add some stock
add fish sauce 1 Tb
add frozen soya beans, peas (ok frozen)
fresh coriander chopped
add beans
squeeze lime over the top

Lamb Fillet

Serves 2

200g (one fillet) lamb fillet

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon cumin

1 small tub low fat yoghurt

1 x 400g can chick peas, drained

1/2 red onion, sliced finely

2 tomatoes (or 10-15 cherry tomatoes), chopped into cubes

1/2 large cucumber, chopped into cubes

1 lemon

1 clove garlic

handful fresh mint

Mix the coriander and cumin with half of the yoghurt and rub into the meat. Leave to marinate for 1 hour and go for a walk or a swim!

To make the salad combine the chick peas, onion, tomato and cucumber. It is good to chop all of these ingredients around the same size or a little larger than the chick peas (except the onion which should be sliced finely). Squeeze a lemon over the top of the salad and rip the mint up into it. Season and toss to combine.

Crush the garlic clove into the yoghurt, add a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of cumin for flavour.

Take the fillet and cook on a very hot grill pan (you can use the flat or the grill side, but the pan must be really hot. you don't want it to stew). Cook for around 3-4 minutes each side.

Take the meat off and let it rest for 5 minutes. Slice the meat and serve with a dollop of yoghurt and some salad. The meat should be tender and pink in the centre.

Grublover comment

This is such an easy, cheap, low-fat and delicious meal. Winner all round. Last night I got home, raced to the butcher and bought the lamb for just $12 and then whipped this up using things in the cupboard. It tasted delicious. Make sure you have a nice hot grill pan to cook it on, and the bbq would be even better.

Haslett’s Banana Bread

4 oz butter
4 oz caster sugar
8 oz SR flour
3 overripe bananas, mashed (the blacker, the better)
vanilla essence
3 eggs
approx 8 Tb milk
Optional: sultanas, apple, walnut, lemon

Cream butter and sugar.

Add eggs, banana, flour.

Add milk to right consistency - wet, but not runny.

Add goodies - sultanas, apple, walnut, squeeze lemon.

Bake 180 degrees for 40 minutes.

Easy peasy spaghetti wtih lemon, chilli, garlic and rocket

Serves 4

750g fresh spaghetti, linguini or fettucini
3-4 Tb olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 Tb baby capers
1.5 tsp dried chilli flakes or 3 fresh red chillies, seeded and sliced (alter to taste)
2 tsp finely grated lemon rind
3 Tb lemon juice
3-4 cups roughly torn rocket leaves (or basil)
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
cracked black pepper

Cook spaghetti in a saucepan of rapidly boiling water until it is al dente.
While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a large pan over high heat. Add the garlic and capers and saute for 1 minute.
Add chillies, lemon rind and juice and cook for another minute.
Drain pasta and add it to the pan with rocket and parmesan. Toss to combine and serve with a generous sprinkling of black peppper and a glass of wine.

Grublovers comment
Danny and I make this all the time. Whenever we don’t know what to make and we don’t want to go shopping, this is the answer. You can tailor it to your ingredients on hand - substitute spinach for the rocket, add anchovies, capers, olives. You can also add some spicy sausage e.g. chorizo, if you feel like some meat. Use your imagination and come up with any fantastic dish. As long as you have that basic oil, chilli and garlic combination it will be a winner.
I like to use a full flavoured olive oil - like Jingili of Western Australia.

Birthday Salad

Handful of cos lettuce
Handful of roquette
One pear sliced
Crumbled/cubed blue cheese
Caramelised pecans (put a dessert spoon of sugar and a cup of pecans in a dry saucepan – when sugar starts to melt give the pecans a toss – leave for about a minute on the heat and then allow to cool)
Avocado
Your favourite version of a classic French dressing

Jill would add smoked chicken (shredded) if this was a meal rather than a side salad. Smoked chickens can be bought from any good supermarket. They are usually in an airtight packet and the meat can just be cut off the bone).

The salad is pretty versatile – you could add spinach or basil or cucumber as well if you like however I like to keep it looking very green (no carrot, tomatoes or red capsicum).

Grublover comment
Jessica made me this delicious salad for my birthday yesterday. The caramelised pecans are a winner - so sweet, going perfectly with the bite of the blue cheese. Yum!

Lamb backstrap

Last night I wanted something quick and easy to go with some simple roast veges.

Lamb backstrap was the perfect solution. I bought enough for two (one long strip) for about $14, rubbed it with some salt, rosemary, garlic and olive oil, heated up the pan and fried it for about 5 minutes each side.

I then sliced the lamb and served it with the veges and a salsa made from apple, red onion, garlic and lemon juice.

Delicious.

The meat itself is really tender and delicious - and can be cooked in so many different ways.

Grilled Veges

Grilled veges are a great way to beat hunger pains - especially in the winter months when you are craving something warm, comforting and delicious.

I like to heat up my Le Creusset griddle pan, slice some eggplant, zucchini, tomato and all of those other meaty vegetables, brush them with a yummy olive oil and grill them until they are soft and marked by the charcoal stains of the pan.
Mmmmmmmmm! So delicious and really good for you.

Serve with freshly ground seasalt and some cracked pepper, and even some chopped fresh herbs.

Grublover comment
This is a fabulous snack, or side dish, especially if you are watching your weight.
Most vegetables have little or no fat - my favourites - eggplant, zucchini and tomato are all virtually fat free. Use your imagination and use other veges like squash or fennel, and pour some capers over the top to sizzle with the veges for some extra flavour.
You won't need a lot of oil but it's worth it for that extra flavour.

How good is Steak!!

Steak is such a simple and scrummy meal and there is 1000 ways you can jazz it up so it is better than restaurant quality.

Here is what I did last night after buying a porterhouse on the way home and using whatever was lying around...

Brush 1 teaspoon of olive oil into the steak and rub in some tuscan seasoning (you can make your own tuscan seasoning by chopping some rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper, or just use the Masterfoods one) and chilli flakes if you like it hot.

Heat a griddle pan (the ones with the lines) and put the steak on. Slice some tomatoes and whack those on too. Add some capers and a few marinated olives. Pour a splash of worschestire sauce over the top and enjoy the beautiful aromas.

In the meantime cook some veges in boiling water - last night I had some asparagus - I like to cook asparagus al dente - make sure it's still crunchy and bright green.

Cook steak to your liking, remove from heat and rest.

Place tomato, capers and olive mixture on steak, serve with the veges.

Grublover comment
This is the easiest meal and is ready in less than 10 minutes. Hassle free and tastes absolutely delicious.

The pic is of my Le Creusset griddle pan - one of my favourite items in the kitchen. It is also fantastic for cooking healthy grilled veges!

Middle Eastern Lamb on Chickpea and Tomato Salad

Serves 4

4 x 150g lamb backstrap fillets
2 cups low fat Natural Yoghurt
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 x 400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 green capsicum, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup mint leaves, torn
1/4 cup oil-free Italian Salad Dressing
1 clove garlic, crushed

Marinate lamb fillets in a combination of 1 cup yoghurt, 1 tsp cumin and coriander for minimum of 1 hour.

Combine chickpeas, capsicum, tomatoes, onion, mint and dressing in a bowl.

Stir together 1 cup yoghurt, garlic and 1 tsp cumin in a bowl.

Pan-fry lamb fillets in a non-stick pan over medium heat or until cooked through.

Place salad onto four serving plates and top with sliced lamb fillets. Finish with a generous dollop of yoghurt.

Grublover comment
This is similar to Jess' moroccan chicken and is equally simple and delicious, but uses one of my favourite meats, the lovely lamb.

You could also try serving this dish with couscous - see Jess' Cheat Moroccan Chicken.

Jess’ Cheat Moroccan Chicken

This is Jess...but not the moroccan chicken

Serves 4

Masterfoods spice mix
Juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic, crushed
chilli flakes (optional)
cumin (optional)
2 tsp olive oil
4 chicken thighs
2 cups low-fat natural yoghurt to serve

Couscous
2 cups couscous
1/2 cup sultanas
5 spring onions, chopped
1 cup chicken stock
30 pistachios or other nuts (pine nuts are good)
1 capsicum, chopped
coriander to serve

Mix the spice mix with the lemon juice, garlic, chilli flakes, cumin and oil.

Coat the chicken in it and marinate for as long as you can.

Cook the chicken: barbeque or bake in the oven for 30 minutes (baste regularly with the sauce if baking.

Mix some cumin, cumin seeds, lemon juice and garlic into the yoghurt. Set aside and when ready, serve with the chicken.

For the cous cous, pour the boiling stock over the couscous and let rest. Fluff with a fork and stir through the capsicum, spring onion, nuts, sultanas and herbs.

Garnish with coriander and serve with some couscous and a dollop of yoghurt.

Grublover comment
Make a big serve and it is good for lunch the next day cold. I also like pouring the juices from chicken the pan over my couscous.

You could also serve this dish with the chick pea salad in the recipe for Middle-Eastern Lamb!

Mustard-stuffed chicken

Serves 4

125g ball reduced fat mozzarella , torn into small pieces
50g strong reduced fat cheddar, grated
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
4 skinless boneless chicken breast fillets
8 lean middle bacon rashers

Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C.

Mix the cheeses and mustard together.

Cut a slit into the side of each chicken breast, then stuff with the mustard mixture.

Wrap each stuffed chicken breast with 2 bacon rashers - not too tightly, but enough to hold the chicken together.

Season, place on a baking sheet and roast for 20-25 mins.

Sticky Chicken Drumsticks #2

Serves 4

4 Tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tsp finely-grated fresh root ginger
2 tsp soy sauce
zest 1 lime
8 skinless chicken drumsticks

Mix together the chilli sauce, ginger, soy sauce and lime zest. Pour over the chicken drumsticks and leave to marinate for as long as you can (put them in the fridge if marinating for any longer than 30 mins).

Place the drumsticks in a shallow baking tray, shaking off any excess marinade.

Roast for 20 mins, then pour over the leftover marinade and cook for 5 mins more until sticky and browned.

Serve with steamed rice and asian greens.

Lemon-spiced chicken with chickpeas

Serves 4

1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 onion , halved and thinly sliced
4 skinless chicken breasts , cut into chunks
1 cinnamon stick , broken in half
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
zest and juice 1 lemon
400g can chickpeas , drained
200ml chicken stock
250g bag spinach

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then fry the onion gently for 5 mins.

Turn up the heat and add the chicken, frying for about 3 mins until golden.

Stir in the spices and lemon zest, fry for 1 more min, then tip in the chickpeas and stock. Put the lid on and simmer for 5 mins.

Season to taste, then tip in spinach and re-cover. Leave to wilt for 2 mins, then stir through.

Squeeze over the lemon juice just before serving.

Shredded thai chicken salad

Serves 2

4 tbsp Thai fish sauce
2 limes , juiced
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 small red onion , halved and finely sliced
2 cooked skinless chicken breasts , shredded
½ small white cabbage , shredded
2 large carrot , shredded
2 red chillies , shredded
a small bunch mint , roughly chopped

Combine the fish sauce, lime juice and sugar then put in a bowl with the onions.

Toss and leave for 10 minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix together.