Tag Archives: vegetables

Roasted Vegetable Soup

09 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by in Soup and stews

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This soup is so easy and delicious!

Here is what you need:

1 Potato (Peeled)
1 Carrot (Peeled)
1 Red Pepper
1 Onion
Olive Oil
Chicken Broth
Marscapone Cheese
Salt & Pepper

Preheat your oven to 400F degrees (about 200C).

Simply chop the vegetables into big chunks and place on a baking sheet.
Generously drizzle olive oil over all of your vegetables. Sprinkle Salt and Pepper as well.
Roast for about 40 minutes. I would start checking on them after 30 minutes.

Roasted Vegetables

Discard any burnt areas and throw them in a blender with about a 1/2 cup of chicken broth.
Blend and add a 1/4 cup of Marscapone Cheese.

This is when you decide on what consistency you want. Add more chicken broth if necessary.

Roasted Vegetable Soup

Enjoy!
Joy

Sweet and Sour Chicken

02 Sunday Oct 2011

Posted by in Chicken, Simple meals

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I’m hooked on Masterchef Australia at the moment and this sweet and sour was inspired by their sweet and sour pork. What’s great with sweet and sour sauce is that you can use any meat, prawns or just have it with vegetables and your meal will be ready in 15 minutes! I love sweet and sour takeaway but never knew exactly what was used to make it. What surprised me is  how simple it is and that it’s made with ingredients that can be found in any kitchen, that’s ketchup and vinegar! Now the quantities I’m going to tell you to use are a guideline as it really all comes down to taste and also how much sweet and sour sauce you want.

What you need:

Two chicken breasts – cut in small pieces
3 tbsp of ketchup
2 tbsp vinegar (any type is fine)
A small tin of pineapple (if you have fresh pineapple all the better)
Chilli flakes (if you like the heat)
1 large pepper (the colour of your choice) – cut in small chunks
Half an onion – sliced
1 clove of garlic – chopped
40g of finely sliced ginger

Rice or noodles

In a frying pan or wok fry your onions on a medium heat until they look soft and add in you chicken until it starts browning, then add in your pepper, pineapple (keep the juice to one side), garlic, ginger and chilli. Stir all the ingredients together and then add in your ketchup, pineapple juice and vinegar. Cook all the ingredients for about 5 minutes. Taste and add in more vinegar or ketchup depending on taste.

I used rice noodles which are super easy to make as all you need to do is place them in a bowl and pour over some boiling water and they are ready within seconds.

Serve up your sweet and sour chicken on top of your noodles or rice and there you have it -dinner in 15 minutes!

Enjoy 🙂

If you use fresh pineapple then you can caramelise it with a bit of sugar and also add in a bit of pineapple juice.

P.S I’ve just made Masterchef’s cheesecake but with a twist – it’s in the fridge so fingers crossed!

Mel

Anyone Tired of Pasta?

08 Friday Apr 2011

Posted by in Meals in one

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Most people think I am nuts when I say that I really do not care for pasta, but it’s true. If I am going to mix a protein or vegetable with something, I prefer rice.  However, if I’m cooking without meat but want more protein in my meal, I will use Quinoa instead. It only takes about 10-15 minutes to make and has 8 grams of protein per cup! It  also has 5 grams of fiber. The thing with Quinoa is that once it is cooked, you have to add something to it or it can be dry. Below is my go-to recipe when I need to use up some vegetables or just want to cook something meat free.

What you will need:

Quinoa (Red or Traditional)
Olive oil
Your favorite spaghetti sauce
Onion
Garlic
Bell Pepper (any color)
Mushrooms
Tomato
Any fresh herb (I’ve used parsley, basil or even rosemary is nice)
Parmesan cheese

Once you have cooked your quinoa, add a little olive oil right away and give it a good stir. Then add your favorite spaghetti sauce. Add however much you want. If you add too little, the quinoa will seem dry.

Then, saute your veggies in the order listed above. The last thing you want to add is your fresh herb or herbs. Combine your veggies with your Quinoa and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

If you have time and want to to add another layer of flavor, you can saute your onion, add the garlic and then add your mushrooms. Let these veggies cook for a few minutes and then add a splash of red or white wine. You will need to let these cook down which will take about 5 minutes. Then you can add your bell pepper and tomato. You can substitute zucchini or asparagus for any of the veggies listed.

Joy