Revisiting the Past

The other night hubby was working late, it was 5pm and I had nothing thought out for dinner. The natives (my children) were getting restless, their tummies were rumbling and the clock was ticking. I must have opened the fridge and cupboard doors five or six times looking aimlessly at the contents of each. I felt like I finally understood Mother Hubbard’s dilemma.

Finally, like a lightening bolt, inspiration hit and I was on a mission. I remembered the Salmon Casserole, from my childhood, I had cooked years ago that sadly never became a family favourite. I thought it a perfect opportunity to revisit this recipe and perhaps save the night. Much to my surprise when my three children discovered what we were having for dinner they all sang out, “Yay, we haven’t had this for years. We love this salmon casserole. Mum why haven’t you made it for us?”

The anticipation for dinner was extraordinary. I didn’t realise that this was something they liked. I guess when I made it they were all too little to really tell me how much they enjoyed it. Once dinner hit the table it was gobbled up and the discussion surrounded the casserole and how it definitely fell on the ‘family favourite’ list. That being said it is a recipe that must be shared through thefamilyroom. It is now, and I guess always was, tried and true, it’s extremely healthy and budget conscious and best of all you can make it your own.

Salmon Casserole (or Tuna whatever your preference)

Preheat Oven: 350 (Gas 175)
Cooking Time: 1 hour (there abouts)
Pan Size: Medium Casserole
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked salmon (tuna) or 14 oz tin, drained
2 cups coarse bread crumbs (I use whole wheat or whole wheat crackers – whatever you have available will work)
2 T finely chopped onions (I’m a little more generous here)
2 T chopped green or red pepper or both
½ tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
2 T ketchup (approx. maybe a squeeze more)

Method:
Mix together lightly the first six ingredients. Beat eggs slightly and stir in milk and ketchup; add to salmon mixture and mix lightly. Turn into baking dish and bake.

** You can easily make this recipe your own by adding other vegetables to it. It’s a great healthy alternative that tastes great. I serve it with a side salad and a vegetable; let the kids add a little extra squeeze of ketchup and dinner is served.

Enjoy!
Susan

Spaghetti with cherry tomatoes

As newly-weds, my husband and I found this recipe in a magazine almost 20 years ago, but it still features regularly at our dinner table today. We love the gutsy flavours and simple preparation. Occasionally, we’ve been known to throw in a bunch of baby spinach leaves or dress it up with pancetta instead of bacon, but mostly we come back to the original tried and true.

We’ve long since lost the magazine clipping of the recipe, so the amounts stated below are guess-timates. Don’t be concerned though, add each ingredient to taste and enjoy the variety!

2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbs oil
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
300g bacon, diced
3 punnets cherry tomatoes, halved
Handful of parsley, chopped
Spaghetti

Serves 4

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add enough spaghetti for four people. Cook according to the packet instructions.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok over a medium heat. Add the garlic and fry for a few seconds.

3. Add the bacon and chilli flakes. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the bacon is slighlty browned but still soft.

4. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes until they have softened slighlty, but still retain their shape.

5. Add the parsley and stir through.

6. Drain the spaghetti. If your frying pan is big enough, add it to the tomato mixture and stir through. If not, simply heap the spaghetti into pasta bowls and top with the tomatoes.

Serve with a green salad or simply with crusty bread to mop up the sweet tomato juices.

Enjoy!
Deborah

Sunny Days, Barbeques, Food Ideas and Fun!!!!!!!

Hey all here are a few thoughts for meals for this weekend. The weather is supposed to be nice so I thought a few BBQ ideas would be fun. These are so easy so go for it. And remember your grocery lists are included so simply copy, paste, print and away you go.

Garlic & Lime Chicken
All you do is marinate chicken breasts in Garlic & either freshly squeezed lime or lime juice (whatever you have on hand). Marinate them for about 30 minutes and then pop them on the BBQ.

Serve with boiled rice and a very simple green salad (cos lettuce, red onion, cucumber, grape tomatoes)

Grocery List:
6 chicken breasts
Fresh garlic or minced prepared garlic
Rice (if you don’t already have some)
Lettuce (cos lettuce – you want something crunchy)
Red onion
Cucumber
Grape tomatoes


Tim’s Grilled Vegetable and Pasta Salad
Ingredients
1 Red pepper (Capsicum) sliced lengthwise & deseeded
1 Green pepper (Capsicum) sliced lengthwise & deseeded
1 Red onion peeled & halved
1 Zucchini (Courgette) halved lengthwise
2 Roma tomatoes halved lengthwise
2/3 cup Kalamata olives
200g salami chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese
4 cloves of garlic pressed
1 lemon
2 cups rigatoni pasta
3 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried coriander (optional)
Olive oil
2 handfuls chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
Salt & pepper

Method
1. Pre-grilling marinade: Mix juice of half lemon, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 3 pressed cloves garlic, 1 tspn oregano, coriander (optional), 1/4 tspn salt and fresh ground pepper. This is the pre-grilling marinade.
2. Toss and coat peppers, onion, zucchini, and roma tomatoes in marinade and let stand.
Grill vegetables in oven at 175 degrees for 35-40 minutes or on BBQ until slightly browned but still firm. (Alternatively stir fry)
3. Refrigerate vegetables to cool then slice peppers, cut zucchini and onion into bite size pieces,
Cook rigatoni al dente & strain under cold running water to cool. Refrigerate.
4. Dressing: Mix juice of half lemon, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 pressed clove garlic, 2 tsp oregano, salt & pepper to taste.
5. To assemble toss cooled pasta in dressing, then add grilled vegetables and chopped parsley and gently toss to coat with dressing. Add salami, olives and feta cheese.
6. Serve on platter garnished with chopped parsley! Enjoy!

Grocery List:
1 Red pepper (Capsicum)
1 Green pepper (Capsicum)
1 Red onion
1 Zucchini
2 Roma tomatoes (they’re the egg shaped tomatoes)
Kalamata olives (the black ones)
200g salami chopped
Feta cheese
Garlic
1 lemon
2 cups rigatoni pasta
Dried coriander (optional and I haven’t included the dried oregano because most of us have it in out cupboard)
Fresh flat leaf parsley


A Desert Idea for the Family
The Sundae Stack:
Ice Cream
Strawberries
Raspberries
Sponge Cake
Chocolate Sauce
Cream
Nuts if there are no allergies if allergies crush up some Oreos or chocolate chip cookies.

Choose your own fillings and layer your sundae dish (or water glass if you don’t have sundae dishes) with all the toppings. To add a bit of fun do it at the table (put all the toppings in the middle of the table and go for it) when your finished your masterpiece swap it with the person on your left. This just adds a bit of joy and makes it funny.......be careful there could be tears. Have fun!

BILL GRANGERS CARAMEL CHICKEN

After many requests I have decided to post this recipe. I can’t take any credit for finding it however indulging in it and enjoying every bite I can!!! This recipe was found by our resident chef (aka Domestic Goddess Samantha Cosatto) and it’s origins are from the one and only Bill Granger. We have a few favorites at the family room and Jamie and Bill are two of our tops!

The recipe is for CARAMEL CHICKEN and it is simply delish. Remember ALL the recipes we give you are tried and tested and have passed all palette testing within thefamiyroom (meaning hubby, children and guests.......).

Here we go:
8 Chicken thigh fillets, skinless chopped in half
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 red onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, sliced
freshly ground black pepper
60ml (1/4 cup) dark soy sauce
115g (1/2 cup) brown sugar
60ml (1/4 cup) fish sauce

METHOD:
Place the chicken and oil in a large bowl and toss to combine. Heat a large frying pan over a high heat until hot. Add the chicken, in two batches, and cook for 2 minutes on one side until lightly brown, turn and cook for another minute. Remove from the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and add a little extra oil if needed. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Return the chicken to the pan, sprinkle liberally with black pepper, add the soy sauce and stir to combine. Cover the pan, reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Increase the heat to high, add the sugar and stir to combine. Cook uncovered for 3 to 4 minutes, for until the sauce is rich, dark and syrupy. Add the fish sauce and stir to combine. Place in a serving dish and serve with steamed rice and green vegetables.

Serve with Steamed Rice and Green Veggies

Green Veggies:

You can either steam these or lightly stir fry in a tablespoon of oil and garlic – either way tastes great.
Be adventurous with your veggies there is more to life than green beans, frozen peas and iceberg lettuce.


To make life easy for you and to take the headache out of meal planning we have included a shopping list for this meal (we will do this for all of our meal recipes). All you need to do is simply cut, paste, print and away you go to the shops armed with everything you need for a healthy, substantial meal that will make you look like a total legend at home.


Grocery List:
8 Chicken thighs
1 red onion
1 bulb of garlic
Dark soy sauce (if you’ve run out)
Fish sauce (this is a great ingredient to have on hand – it’s becoming more and more popular so don’t hesitate to buy. It keeps in the fridge for sometime).
Broccoli (Chinese or normal – Chinese is the long skinny one)
Snow peas
Baby Bok Choy

Enjoy and remember to share this with friends......everything tastes better when it’s shared :)

Susan xoxo

Fifteen Christmas Salad

Okay friends I HAVE to share this recipe with you. It comes from my Jamie Oliver experience and I've made it twice now for guests and it's simply amazing and so easy to make.

Have a go and let me know what you think about it. Remember, it's super easy to make and it looks fantastic.

FIFTEEN CHRISTMAS SALAD - it's called the Christmas salad but don't limit it's appearance to December....it's to good!

INGREDIENTS:

4 x 100g/ 3.5oz balls of buffalo mozzarella
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon
4 peaches, peeled and sliced into 1.5 inch thick discs
2 handfuls of rocket, washed and dried
1 treviso or radicchio, roughly torn, washed and dried
A small bunch of fresh mint, leaves picked
1 x lemon oil dressing recipe (see below to make)
4 slices speck (smoked prosciutto)
A small handful of freshly shaved parmesan cheese
Aged balsamic vinegar

for the lemon dressing

3.5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
10 tablespoons best-quality extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

METHOD:

(okay I've slightly modified this because I couldn't get everything he suggested and I did it slightly more rustic you could say!)

Jamie suggests using individual salad plates - feel free to do this or make it as a large salad to pass around. If you make it as the ‘passing salad’ then make sure you have two dishes - a prep dish and a serving dish. This keeps everything looking nice.

Here we go.....

Tear the balls of mozzarella into rough chunks (about 4 chunks/ball)
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and grate over lemon zest (be generous with the lemon zest)

Add your fruit - don't be limited by peaches, they aren't in season here right now so I used strawberries the first time and kiwi fruit the second and both were equally as pleasing. Be creative.

Take your washed rocket and treviso or radicchio (if you have it) and mix. I didn't have treviso or radicchio (couldn't find it) so I used fresh English spinach and again it was perfect. Mix it up with the mozzarella and fruit. Add your mint leaves and speck as well (tear the speck don’t be friendly, you want it to look a little rough).

In a separate bowl make the dressing and mix well. Make sure you taste it to make sure it's nice - always do a taste test with dressing and keep playing until you get it right.

Now comes the fun part. Pour the dressing on and get your finger in and do a little dance. Use your fingers to gently get the dressing throughout the salad - you want it on the fruit, the speck , the mozzarella....you want it throughout but be careful not to 'bruise' your leaves. Be gentle.

Serve with shaved parmesan and a drizzle of aged balsamic (if you don't have aged balsamic just balsamic will do).

Serve immediately. Enjoy it's REALLY tasty.

Next time I make it I will take a photo and share it looks fantastic.


Susan

Prosciutto & Pea Risotto

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
50g/2oz butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
400g/14oz risotto rice
150ml/5oz white wine
1.5 litres/2½ pints hot chicken stock
450g/1lb frozen peas
6-8 slices prosciutto chopped into bite size pieces
25g/1oz grated parmesan cheese
handful fresh parsley, roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper


Method:
1. Sauté onion & garlic in olive oil & half the butter till slightly brown over medium high heat.

2. Add the rice and fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring continually.

3. Add the white wine and reduce the heat to medium low. Stirring continually.

4. Once the wine is absorbed add the stock one ladleful at a time. Stir the rice slowly until the stock is absorbed. Continue adding ladles of stock and stirring the rice until stock is absorbed. Rice should begin to have a creamy texture.

5. Before adding the last several ladles of stock add the peas and prosciutto.

6. Once all stock is absorbed add remaining butter and and cheese and blend gently
into rice. Season with salt & pepper.

7. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.

8. Rice should be creamy with a slight bite. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve with a smile!

©The Family Room 2006

Grilled Vegetable and Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
1 Red pepper (Capsicum) sliced lengthwise & deseeded
1 Green pepper (Capsicum) sliced lengthwise & deseeded
1 Red onion peeled & halved
1 Zucchini (Courgette) halved lengthwise
2 Roma tomatoes halved lengthwise
2/3 cup Kalamata olives
200g salami chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese
4 cloves of garlic pressed
1 lemon
2 cups rigatoni pasta
3 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried coriander (optional)
Olive oil
2 handfuls chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
Salt & pepper


Method:
1. Pre-grilling marinade: Mix juice of half lemon, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 3 pressed cloves garlic, 1 tspn oregano, coriander (optional), 1/4 tspn salt and fresh ground pepper. This is the pre-grilling marinade.

2. Toss and coat peppers, onion, zucchini, and roma tomatoes in marinade and let stand.
Grill vegetables in oven at 175 degrees for 35-40 minutes or on BBQ until slightly browned but still firm. (Alternatively stir fry)

3. Refrigerate vegetables to cool then slice peppers, cut zucchini and onion into bite size pieces,
Cook rigatoni al dente & strain under cold running water to cool. Refrigerate.

4. Dressing: Mix juice of half lemon, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 pressed clove garlic, 2 tsp oregano, salt & pepper to taste.

5. To assemble toss cooled pasta in dressing, then add grilled vegetables and chopped parsley and gently toss to coat with dressing. Add salami, olives and feta cheese.

6. Serve on platter garnished with chopped parsley! Enjoy!

©The Family Room 2006

Pasta for Four

Hey again so here I am ready to share our PASTA MAKING NIGHT with you.

What can I say.... There were four of us involved in the fun - CJ, my 5 year old son, my 18 month old and myself. Now you need to know that none of us are great PASTA lovers. We don't eat a lot of Pasta at home, actually I didn’t eat much pasta at all growing up so I never really got into making it as an adult. The only pasta I ate as a child was our famous Canadian Macaroni and Cheese (with ketchup of course. I still love it but that's probably as far as I go with Pasta). I occasionally cook it for the children if I need a quick meal during a busy week.

I know many of you enjoy your pasta so I thought it would be an interesting little project for us to report on. Plus I was hugely inspired by Jamie Oliver and the 15 minutes it took him to make fresh pasta from scratch with sauce. Amazing!

I can report that we had a lot of fun making it. My son had a ball with the dough, kneading and winding it through the machine. It did take us a little longer than the 15 minutes Mr. Oliver dazzled us with. We were slightly slowed down by my 18 month old wanting to take part - she was however partially satisfied with the raw pasta we gave her during the process. From start to consumption it took us........are you ready.......40 minutes! Now that’s not bad for the first time with interruptions.

I can't say that any of us have become instant pasta lovers but I must say that there is a definite difference between fresh pasta and store bought packaged pasta. We are all in agreement that the fresh is definitely worth the effort. I can't even really say effort because it was rather effortless. I'm not quite sure why anyone would buy pasta after having a go making it. Jamie Oliver was right, it's easy, it's fun to make, the family can get involved and you can make it however you want you just need to be a little creative.

Here's the recipe we used:

Ingredients
3 cups of all purpose flour
1 cup water
1 egg
1 Tbsp salt

Method
Mix it together
Once it's fully mixed put it on a floured surface and knead it well
Put in the pasta maker and start to wind. Make sure you keep the pasta maker and pasta well floured so it doesn't stick to the machine or together. Keep putting through the machine as per the instructions and desired pasta.


Sauce
2 cloves of Garlic
1 chopped red onion (red is really good but use brown if that's all you have)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 can chopped tomatoes
Chopped basil leaves
Cook only until heated

Cooking
Put the pasta in boiling, slightly salted water and cook for approximately 5 minutes (watch it you don't want to over cook). Drain and pour sauce over pasta and mix through serve in individual bowls. Shave fresh parmesan cheese over each bowl and ENJOY.


(PS – don’t be afraid to add something to it – try ravioli with some interesting filling. It may seem like a big job but trust us it isn’t....just have a go)

©The Family Room 2006