Easy Butter Chicken

This recipe is from Taste.com.au

Serves 4

From Taste.com.au

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1/2 cup Greek yogurt

2 garlic cloves, crushed

3cm piece ginger, peeled, finely grated

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon garam masala

1/4 teaspoon chilli powder

600g chicken thigh fillets, trimmed, cut into 3cm pieces

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

20g butter

1 brown onion, halved, thickly sliced

410g can tomato puree

1/2 cup Massel chicken style liquid stock

1/2 cup thickened cream

Basmati rice, to serve

Coriander leaves, to serve

Do This -

1. Place yogurt, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, garam masala and chilli powder in a glass or ceramic dish. Add chicken. Stir to coat. Cover. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. Heat oil and butter in a heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes or until softened. Add chicken mixture to pan. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until chicken just starts to change colour. Add tomato puree and stock. Cover. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until chicken is tender and mixture has thickened slightly.
3. Stir in cream. Simmer for a further 5 minutes or until heated through. Serve with steamed rice and coriander leaves.

Nasi kuning (yellow rice)

8 Servings

From Taste.com.au

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2 teaspoons peanut oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
440g (2 cups) medium-grain rice, rinsed
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
400ml can coconut milk
500ml (2 cups) water or chicken or vegetable stock
1 teaspoon Garam Masala
1 lemon grass stem, broken & bruised or 1 teaspoon crushed lemon grass


Do This -

1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook onion, stirring, for 3 minutes or until golden. Stir in rice and turmeric.
2. Stir in coconut milk, stock, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, bay leaves and lemon grass. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until rice is tender. Set aside, covered, for 5 minutes to steam.

Easy Fried Rice

Image from Taste.com.au

Serves 2


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1 cup cooked and cooled white long grain rice
2 eggs
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 bacon rashers, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 shallot, trimmed, finely sliced
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus extra to serve
1 teaspoon fish sauce


Do This -

1. Using a whisk, lightly beat eggs in a small bowl. Heat oil in non-stick wok or large frying pan over medium heat. Add eggs. Swirl over base to form an omelette. Cook 2 minutes. Turn over. Cook 2 minutes until set. Transfer to a chopping board. Set aside to cool slightly. Cut into short strips.
2. Add bacon to wok. Cook 4 minutes until light golden. Add carrot. Stir fry 1 minute. Add shallots, peas and rice. Cook, stirring, 3-4 minutes. Add egg, soy sauce and fish sauce. Stir until heated through. Serve immediately.

(This recipe was found at Taste.com.au)

4 Ingredients - Olive Chicken Koftas with Olive Tapenade

4 Ingredients - Garlic Prawns

Indian-style Kedgeree

From Taste.com.au

Serves 4

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1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice

30g butter

1 medium brown onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tablespoon medium curry powder

200g smoked trout fillets, flaked

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander leaves

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

4 hard-boiled eggs, quartered

Do This -

1. Cook rice following packet directions. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Spread rice over prepared tray. Cool. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours.
2. Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onion. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until onion has softened. Add garlic and curry powder. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant.
3. Add rice, trout, coriander and parsley. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until heated through. Divide between bowls. Top with egg. Serve.

Options for next time - use prawns instead of smoked trout, add 1 large red chilli, serve with lemon wedges as well as boiled eggs.


Recipe from Taste.com.au

Leftover Sausage Chilli

I had some leftover sausages from dinner last night and I was going to make my Sausage Pasta Bake for dinner tonight. But I just didn't feel like pasta. I'm trying to cut down on carbs. And I know rice is carbs too, but I always feel better after eating rice than I do after eating pasta...don't know why...

So I made this instead.


Serves 4

Get This -

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium brown onion, chopped
• 1 medium red capsicum, chopped
• 1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthways, chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• 1 beef stock cube
• 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
• small jar of hot salsa (or mild if you prefer)
• can diced tomatoes
• can four bean mix, drained, rinsed
• 4 cooked thick beef sausages, thinly sliced
• Fresh coriander leaves, sour cream, avocado and steamed rice, to serve

Do This -

1. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion, capsicum and zucchini. Cook, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are just tender. Add ground cumin, ground coriander and oregano. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant.
2. Stir in tomatoes, salsa and stock cube. Bring to a simmer. Add corn, beans and sausages. Simmer for 7 to 10 minutes or until sausages are heated through. Top with coriander, sour cream and avocado. Serve with rice.

Beef & Vegetable Korma

This curry is a perfect winter warmer, and so simple! All you need is time to let it simmer.

Serves 4

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1 tablespoon olive oil

600g diced beef

1/2 jar korma paste (I used Patak's)

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, peeled, chopped

2 zucchinis, chopped

150g cauliflower, cut into small florets

3/4 cup (200g) Greek-style natural yogurt

1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh coriander

Steamed rice, to serve

Cooked pappadums or naan bread, to serve

Do This -

1. Heat half the oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add half the beef and cook stirring 1-2 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with remaining oil and beef.
2. Add onions to the pan and saute until lightly browned.
3. Return the beef to the pan and add the korma paste, vegetables and 1/2 cup (90g) of the yogurt. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for 2 or more hours.
4. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the chopped coriander and stir the remaining coriander through the curry. Spoon the curry onto the rice and sprinkle with the remaining coriander. Serve with the remaining yogurt and pappadums or naan.

Note - you can add any vegetables you have or like to this curry.

Thai-Style Curry

This recipe is like a choose your own adventure story book.

You choose the type of curry.
You choose as many or as few vegetables as you like
You choose the meat or tofu...and come up with your own special thai-style curry.

Serves 4

 Get This -

• 2 tbsps thai red, green or yellow curry paste
• 400ml coconut milk
• 2 tbsps fish sauce
• 2 tbsps brown sugar
• 1 tbsp lime juice or 1 kaffir lime leaf finely shredded
• 400g - 500g diced chicken, pork, lamb, or prawns peeled and deveined. Or 300g tofu, diced and lightly fried
• fresh coriander
• 4 cups jasmine rice (cooked)

Choose your vegetables -

• small can bamboo shoots (drained and rinsed)
• small can water chestnuts (drained and rinsed)
• 125g baby corn spears, halved diagonally
• snow peas or snow pea sprouts
• capsicum
• carrots
• broccoli
• cauliflower
• shallots or onions
• beans or sugar snap peas
• zucchini

Do This -

1. In a wok or large saucepan, over medium high heat, combine coconut milk and curry paste, heat and stir constantly until the majority of the paste has dissolved. 2. And fish sauce, brown sugar and lime, stir until dissolved. 3. Add meat or tofu and vegetables, stir gently until well incorporated. 4. Let simmer for 10 - 20 minutes until meat and vegetables are cooked through. 5. Serve over rice or noodles and top with coriander or your favourite herbs.

Rice Cakes

Tonight I had some left over cooked rice.
I'd usually make fried rice with it, but I did that 2 nights ago, so I went looking for something else.
I found a recipe on Taste.com.au for rice cakes that used smoked chicken. But I didn't have any chicken so I substituted bacon and added some sour cream to make sure they wouldn't be too dry.

They were really tasty! A bit like mini quiches, but without flour, which is always good for me!

Makes 12

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1 - 1 1/2 cups cooked basmati rice
4 bacon short cut rashers, diced
2 tablespoons semi-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/3 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup grated cheese
1/3 cup grated parmesan
1 tablespoon sour cream
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup basil leaves, finely shredded
3 eggs, lightly beaten
salt and pepper

Do This -

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease a 12 hold muffin pan.
2. Fry the bacon until cooked, then leave to cool.
3. Place rice, bacon, dried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cheese, parmesan, onions, basil, eggs, salf and pepper into a large bowl. Mix well to combine.
4. Spoon mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cakes are firm to the touch and light golden. Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Run a flat-edged knife around edges of cakes. Turn onto a wire rack.
5. Serve with salad. Tonight's salad was coral lettuce, cherry tomatoes, red onion, capsicum, lebanese cucumber, fetta and avacado dressed with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

These would also be great lunch box idea.

Madras Beef Curry

I do love curries.
And this one is a winner.
So easy and so yum.


Just for a change, this is actually my image.
Yes, it's my dinner that I'm eating right now! :)

Serves 2

Get This -

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 400g gravy beef, trimmed, cut into 3cm cubes
• 1/2 large brown onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled, grated
• 1/4 cup madras curry paste
• 3 cardamom pods, bruised
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 400g can diced tomatoes
• 1 large potato, peeled, cut into 3cm cubes
• salt & pepper
• 1 stalk spring onions, chopped
• Steamed basmati rice, to serve

Do This -

1. Heat half the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook beef, in batches, for 5 to 6 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Heat remaining oil in dish. Add onion, garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until onion has softened. Add curry paste and cardamom. Cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Return beef to dish. Add stock, tomatoes and potato. Season with salt & pepper. Cover. Bring to the boil.
3. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 2-3 hours or until beef is tender. Remove and discard cardamom pods. Serve with rice and top with plain yogurt or raita and spring onions.

Creamy chicken & mushrooms

Serves 4

Get This -

1 1/2 tbs olive oil
500g chicken thigh fillets
Salt & freshly ground pepper
400g flat mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup (250ml) chicken stock
1 cup (250ml) pouring cream
1 tbs dijon mustard
1 cup frozen peas
rice to serve

Do This -

Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add to pan with mushrooms and garlic.  Stir until chicken is lightly browned.


Stir in stock, cream and mustard. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until sauce reduces and thickens slightly.

Meanwhile, cook rice following packet directions.

Add frozen peas to the chicken.  Simmer until peas are heated through.

Serve over rice.

Chicken Stroganoff

This makes a nice change from beef stroganoff.  It's not the easiest thing on this blog, but it's certainly not difficult...I don't do difficult!

2 serves

Get this -

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large chicken breast fillet, cut into strips
1 small brown onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
100g mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup sour cream
steamed rice and chopped chives to serve

Do this -

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil to high heat.
• Add chicken & stir until it has changed colour and is lightly browned.
• Remove chicken & reduce heat to medium.
• Heat remaining oil, add onion, garlic & mushrooms.
• Cook for 5 mins or until onion has softened.
• Add paprika.  Stir until fragrant, about 1 min.
• Add Worcestershire sauce and stock and simmer 2-3 mins until slightly reduced.
• Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream, season with salt &pepper.
• Return chicken, place back over medium-low heat until chicken is cooked through.
• Serve with steamed rice and chopped chives.