Four Bean Soup with Barley & Lentils

I found this recipe on Taste.com.au ...the best recipe website!
I added red lentils and salt & pepper, swapped the parsley for basil because I love basil and we happen to have a big pot of it in the garden.

Picture from Taste.com
But I'm sure mine looks just as good!



Get This (serves 4)

• 1 tb olive oil
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
• 1 carrot, roughly chopped
• 3 thyme sprigs
• 1/2 cup (105g) pearl barley
• 1/3 cup red lentils
• 2 cups (500ml) salt-reduced vegetable stock
• 2 x 400g cans four-bean mix, rinsed, drained
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• salt & pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

Do This

1. Heat the oil in a large, deep saucepan over low heat. Add the onion, garlic, celery, carrot and thyme, and cook, stirring, for 8-10 minutes until onion is soft. Add the barley and stir to coat in the onion mixture. Add the vegetable stock and 1 litre (4 cups) water, then bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes or until barley is slightly tender.
2. Add the beans, lentils and tomato, and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Bring back to a simmer and cook for a further 15 minutes or until barley and lentils are soft. Serve in bowls sprinkled with basil.

Sausage Pasta Bake

Or as my husband likes to call this dish, bubble & squeak.

This is what I do with left over sausages from dinner the night before...

• Chop 2 or 3 left over sausages into bite size pieces and fry with some onion & bacon
• Cook enough pasta to feed the number you need
• Throw a handful of red lentils into the pasta while it's cooking
• Combine sausage mixture, cooked pasta and lentils, a can of tomatoes, some fresh or dried herbs, salt & pepper, a tablespoon of dijon mustard and 2 tablespoons of sour cream into a baking dish.
• Sprinkle with a small amount of grated cheese
• Bake in a moderate oven until golden and bubbly

Not my photo, but it does look a lot like this.

Chicken, Mushroom & Peas Pasta Bake

Yet another variation of the pasta bake...

Get This -

200g dried macaroni (or other short pasta)
1 chicken breast, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
100g button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup bechamel sauce
2/3 cup tasty cheese, grated
1/3 cup parmesan, grated

Do This -

• Cook pasta following instructions on the pack.
• Add small amount of oil to a frypan, cook chicken, onion mushrooms until chicken is browned and onion and mushrooms are soft.
• Combine pasta, chicken mixture, bechamel sauce, 2/3 of the cheeses and peas in an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese on the top and bake in a moderate oven for 20mins, or until golden.

Ham & Pea Frittata

image from Taste.com

(serves 4) 

Get This -

4 eggs

1/3 cream
1/4 grated parmesan
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup frozen peas
80g shaved leg ham, chopped

Do This -

1. Preheat oven to 190C/170C fan-forced. Grease a 6cm-deep, 19cm square cake pan or flan dish or muffin pan for individual frittatas. Grease tray/pans. 
2. Mix ingredients together in a large jug. Pour into pan/s. 
3. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden and set. 
4. Stand frittatas in pan for 2 to 5 minutes before serving.

Meatless Pasta Bake

The other meatless meal we had was a version of a pasta bake that I have made and love.
This one -  Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake.

I followed the recipe but instead of adding chicken I added red lentils and a few other things...


This is not my photo either, but again, it looked pretty much like this.

Serves 4

Get This -

250g dried macaroni pasta
100g baby spinach leaves
300ml light thickened cream
3/4 cup semi-dried tomatoes
1/2 punnet cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
1 tablespoon capers
1/3 cup red lentils

1/2 small block fetta

1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Do This -

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Lightly grease a 5cm-deep, 20cm x 28cm (base), 8-cup capacity baking dish.
2. Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling, salted water for 10 minutes or until tender.
3. Cook lentils in boiling water until tender.
4. Drain pasta and lentils and return to saucepan. Add spinach, cream, dried tomatoes, tomatoes, capers, fetta and 1 cup parmesan. Toss until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Spoon mixture into prepared dish. Top with mozzarella and remaining parmesan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. Spoon pasta bake onto serving plates. Serve.

Meatless Burritos

We are attempting to eat less meat by having a couple of meat free dinners a week.
So last week I tweaked a couple of favourite dinners into meat free versions.

The first one was burritos which we have usually once a week with chicken or mince.

Last week I made them this way...

Not my photo but they looked kind of like this

Get This -

Burrito kit
can four (or five from Aldi) beans
tomatoes
onion
lettuce
cheese
sour cream or plain yogurt

Do This -

Fry chopped onion and tomatoes in small amount of oil
Add drained beans
Stir in sachet of burrito mix with water
Heat burrito wraps as per directions on the box
Roll up bean mix, cheese, salad, sauce and sour cream.

We didn't even miss the meat!

Mini Lime Meringue Pies

Still trying to use up the limes from our tree, I came up with this idea.

I filled store bought mini pie cases with

the lemon filling (which I changed to lime) from Liz's recipe -

Beat 2 eggs & mix with a tin of condensed milk and the juice from 2 limes.

Bake in 180C oven for 10 - 15 mins.

Top with meringue -

Use an electric beater to beat 2 egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually add 1/2 cup (115g) caster sugar beating until sugar has dissolved and mixture is glossy. Roughly spread over top of lime filling. Bake for 3-5 minutes.


Makes 24 mini pies.

Lime Cordial

We have a lime tree in our backyard that is absolutely loaded with fruit.

So I decided to have a go at this...it is really good!

You could do the same with lemons.

(Google image)

Get This:

• 8 large limes
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup cold water

Do This:
• Squeeze the juice from the limes and set aside.
• Keep the peels of 2 of the limes, and place in a pot along with the sugar and water.
• Bring it to a boil, stirring constantly and then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, just stirring now and again.
• Remove from heat, add the reserved lime juice and bring back to the boil briefly, whilst stirring.
• Allow to cool and then strain into a bottle or jug. Refrigerate.
• Dilute with water or soda water before serving according to taste.

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.

Beef & Vegetable Stew

This beef and vegetable stew is easy to make and great for a cold winter night.

(serves 4)

Get This -

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
800g beef chuck steak, trimmed, cubed
2 large carrots, peeled, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/3 cup red wine
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 x 410g cans diced tomatoes
2 cups beef stock

Do This -

Place beef, flour, salt & pepper in a zip lock bag.  Shake until well coated.

Heat oil in large pot. Add onion. Cook, stirring, for 4 minutes or until onion has softened. Add garlic. Cook for 1 minute. Add beef. Cook for 5 minutes or until browned.

Add carrot, celery , parsley and potato. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add wine. Bring to the boil. Add tomato paste, tomato and beef stock. Bring to the boil. Cover with lid. Reduce heat to low. Cook for 3 hours.

Serve with crusty bread or dumplings.