HOW I FED MY FAMILY OF 4 BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND DINNER AND DESSERT FOR $100 FOR A WEEK & WALLET WATCHING WEDNE$DAY LINK UP

For today's Wallet Watching Wedne$day link up I thought I would challenge myself to feed my family of 4 for $100 for the week. This included breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and some sweet treats. Albeit one of my children is only 7 months old but it can be surprising how much food he can shovel in. That and my husband alone eats for a family of 4. It was a little harder than expected as I like to eat well (not boring) and we also like to eat hot lunches. I originally wanted to try and feed everyone for $50 and then that increased to $75 but the reality hit when I started the shop and the idea spending so little was not going to be achievable, maybe a follow up post with this minimal budget will need to take place. Come along with me on my week journey stating tomorrow, discovering that it is possible to spend less than $15 a day on 4 people for 3 main meals and a couple of sweet treats.

The menu plan looks like this.

• THURSDAY

BREAKFAST: Toast
LUNCH: Meat and Veg Pasties
DINNER: Chorizo and Capsicum Pasta

• FRIDAY

BREAKFAST: Oats
LUNCH: Spinach Tort
DINNER: Beef Pie

• SATURDAY

BREAKFAST: Toast
LUNCH: Potato and Leek Soup
DINNER: Chili Con Carne

• SUNDAY

BREAKFAST: Pancakes
LUNCH: Spaghetti Fritatta
DINNER: Sausage Rolls

• MONDAY

BREAKFAST: Toast
LUNCH: Savoury Muffins
DINNER: Cottage Pie

• TUESDAY

BREAKFAST: Oats
LUNCH: Pumpkin and Feta Scrolls
DINNER: Meatballs

• WEDNESDAY

BREAKFAST: Toast
LUNCH: Spinach and Feta Muffins
DINNER: Pumpkin Risotto

SWEET TREATS: Oat and Choc Chip Dairy and Egg Free Cookies
                               Choc chip muffins

SHOPPING LIST

Grocery Store: 

Homebrand Brown Sugar 1kg $2.89

Hombrand Cooking Chocolate Chip Dark Bits 250g $1.65

Homebrand Plain Flour 2kg $1.88

Homebrand Self Raising flour 2kg $1.88

Homebrand Rolled Oats Traditional 750g x2 $2.98

Homebrand Spaghetti 500g x2 $0.91

Homebrand White Long Rice 1kg $1.99

Homebrand 3 Bean Mix 400g x2 $1.70

Homebrand Diced Tomatoes 400g x8 $6.88

Homebrand Caged Eggs 12 pack 700g $3.66

Homebrand Sunflower Oil 750ml $2.90

Homebrand Tomato Paste 500g $1.39

Homebrand Butter 250g $1.42

F Mayer Soft Feta 500g $3.74

Homebrand Tasty Cheese 500g $4.99

Homebrand Sour Cream 300ml $1.32

Homebrand Full Cream Milk 2L x2 $4.00

Homebrand Puff Pastry 1kg $3.21

Homebrand Frozen Peas 1kg $2.19

Logan Farm Spinach Portions 500g $2.59

Australian Beef Chuck 500g $6.00

Mince Beef Regular 1.5kg $10.49

Chorizo 200g $2.15

Homebrand Arborio Rice 1kg $3.20

Green Grocer:

Potatoes Brushed 5kg $1.99

Leeks x2 $3.00

Chili Bullhorn Red 0.585kg $2.92

Jurgens Rye Bread x2 $5.00

Carrot 1kg $1.75

Onion 1kg $1.49

Corn 4 Cob Pre-Packed $2.99

Banana 1.47kg $4.40

TOTAL $99.55 

What I haven't bought and will use from my pantry: Pumpkin and Garlic from my garden. Salt and Spices. And homemade stock from my freezer. 

How much does your family spend at the grocery store a week?

TO LINK UP:

Follow the host's blog grace in the little things and home sweet kitchen garden

Like grace in the little things and home sweet kitchen & garden. on Facebook

Share the love and read some of the other great tips on how to save money.

Lastly leave a comment on the blogs that you visit.

HOW DO YOU SAVE? WALLET WATCHING WEDNESDAY LINK UP!

Here at Home Sweet Kitchen & Garden, we are a single income family. I stay at home with the 2 boys while my hubby goes to work 5-6 days a week. Over the last few years I have noticed a massive rise in living costs, fuel is more than double what it was when I first started driving nearly 10 years ago. Utility bills are double what they were a couple of years ago, food prices are continually rising (and becoming more and more processed). 

For our family to continue to living the lifestyle we are and to make progress on our renovations we need to live frugally at times.We are joining up with grace in the little things to share our money saving tips on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month and would love it if you could join us and link up your tips too. 

Saving money from the kitchen to the garden, our wardrobe to our homes, link up during wallet watching Wedne$day. The next link up is on the 11/6/14 at 12 pm AEST.

 

TO LINK UP:

Follow the host's blog grace in the little things and home sweet kitchen garden

Like grace in the little things and home sweet kitchen & garden. on Facebook

Share the love and read some of the other great tips on how to save money.

Lastly leave a comment on the blogs that you visit.

STEAMED PORK BUNS AND SWEET PORK DUMPLINGS

I had a hankering for pork dumplings last night, as I was putting together my failsafe recipe tipping in my rice wine I noticed an interesting smell and on further inspection found that it was full of mould - can rice wine do this? I didn't think so! Lucky for those pregnancy hormones making my smell super sensitive otherwise I think it would have gone unnoticed (since I tipped it in soy sauce and couldn't see that it was black when it should be very light brown)!

So it was back to the drawing board and I created this beauty instead. I felt like dumplings but knew that they wouldn't filly hubby up. I remembered seeing a Jamie Oliver segment last week and he made pork buns, so I thought I would give them a go as well and they were delicious! I even had one for breakfast and am tempted to make them again for dinner tonight (that's a big statement!!)

PORK BUN DOUGH

4 cups plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tbs dried yeast
3 tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
1 C warm water

Combine most of the water, dried yeast and sugar in a bowl and allow to activate. You will know when this is happening when it starts to foam. Mix into the plain four, baking powder and salt adding more water as necessary until a smooth dough is reached, kneading for 5 minutes. Coat in oil and place in a bowl sitting in another bowl of warm water covered with a clean tea towel for 1 - 2 hours until doubled in size



WONTON WRAPPERS

2 C plain flour
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup water

Beat the egg, water and salt together and mix into the flour until a smooth dough is reached, knead for 5 minutes until smooth and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

FILLING

500 grams lean pork mince
2 cups very finely chopped chinese cabbage
1/2 red onion very finely chopped
2 tbs vinegar
3 tbs sugar
1 tbs soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs sesame oil
2 cm piece ginger grated

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

ASSEMBLY DUMPLINGS

Roll out wonton dough very thin, I used my pasta machine and got the dough down to setting 1. It is possible to do by hand but really who can be bothered? Cut into 4-5 cm strips and place a teaspoon of filling and fold into a dumpling shape. Steam for 15 minutes.

Rolled out dough

Place a teaspoon of mixture on strips of the wonton wrapper

Fold in half

Fold the top over

Bring the corners together

And again of the other side, to make an eye.

Waiting, ready to be steamed.

Delicious!

ASSEMBLY PORK BUNS

Punch dough down and divide into 8. Flatten the dough in your hand until the size of a teacup saucer. Place 2 tablespoons of filling in the center and fold into a circular shape. Place on a greased piece of greaseproof paper and allow to sit for 30 minutes. Place in a steamer and steam for 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into 8 portions and flatten to a tea cup saucer size.

Add a couple of tablespoons of pork mixture

Fold the top and the bottom together.

Pinch together the sides.

Bring each corner together of the diagonal to form a circle.

Place on an oiled piece of greaseproof paper. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Steam for 20 minutes.

So yummy!

TURKISH BEEF AND SILVERBEET PIDES

There has been an exhaustion that has wrapped around me, and it's not just caused by pregnancy. Renovating and trying to keep up with a toddler is wearing me down as I have reached my third trimester. The passion and motivation to cook over the last few weeks has dwindled, as too has my energy. Dinners have become boring and mundane as I quickly slap a few things together in desperation to have something ready in time for dinner. Food is sustenance, and without it's quality present I have felt the impact.  So meal planning has come into play so there are no excuses for this dreary mumma come late afternoon. I know what is for dinner and I have all the ingredients on hand. I know a lot of people cook this way, but I have always been a cook on a whim sorta gal. I like to cook to the weather, and to what we feel like for dinner and not be confined to the constraints of a meal plan. But alas times are changing, as my energy is being redirected elsewhere, my thoughts less focused on food, and time being a precious commodity.

I love middle eastern food, it is one of my favourite cuisines, along with south east asian. The spices in middle eastern cooking, the soft braised meats, the meats that are barbequed over a wood fire, beautiful breads and all the fresh accompaniments encased by it's general simpleness YUM! This is my recipe for pides. There are two fillings here, a turkish beef and cheese and a silver beet and feta and this recipe makes 8 of each.

FOR THE BREAD:

500 mls milk
120 grams butter
3 tablespoons sugar
14 grams dried yeast
1350 grams plain flour
1 egg

Combine milk and butter in a small saucepan and bring to blood temperature and allow butter to melt. In 250 mls of warm water stir in sugar and and yeast and allow to activate over 5 or so minutes. You will know when activation occurs when the yeast starts to foam. Combine yeast and milk mixtures and add to flour and knead to combine. Leave in a warm spot for about an hour, until the dough has doubled in size.

BEEF AND CHEESE FILLING

30 mls olive oil
650 grams chuck steak in 1 cm cubes
1 large onion finely diced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 large red capsicum finely diced
1 heaped tablespoon tomato paste
2 tsp paprika
2 tablespoons fresh marjoram
1 dried chili seeds removed and crumbled
400 gram can of diced tomatoes
300 grams tasty cheese grated

Fry beef in oil until well browned, remove from pan. Add onion, garlic and capsicum and saute for 5 minutes until softened. Add tomato paste and paprika and toast for a couple of minutes. Add tomatoes and 100 mls of water, marjoram and chili and return beef to the pan. Simmer for 1 hour until beef is soft and tender and sauce has reduced and thickened. Season well and set aside.

SILVERBEET AND FETA FILLING

1200 grams of silverbeet
2 tbs olive oil
1 onion finely diced
4 garlic cloves minced
60 grams golden raisins (or regular sultanas if you do not have access to these)
200 grams danish feta (you could you the regular type, but I like how this almost melts into the silverbeet)

Trim and wash the silverbeet, leaving the steam in the leaf part and allowing a couple of centimeters of steam on each leaf. Finely shred the silverbeet. In a large pot, saute onions and garlic until soft and add raisins and cook for a couple of minutes. Add silverbeet and cover stirring occasionally, allow to cook for 10 minutes. Fold in the crumbled feta and leave to one side.

ASSEMBLY

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Divide dough into 16 pieces. With the egg make an egg wash by beating egg with a splash of water. Roll out on a lightly floured surface until approximately 15 x 25 centimeters.

FOR THE BEEF PIDE

Add a handful of grated cheese to the middle and bottom and then on top a couple of tablespoons of the beef filling, leaving a couple of centimeters of dough all around. Pleat the edges around the filling and transfer onto a greased tray. Brush the dough with egg wash and bake for around 20 minutes or until dark golden.

FOR THE SILVERBEET PIDE

Add a couple of tablespoons of silverbeet mixture to the middle of the dough, leaving a couple of centimeters of dough all around. Pleast the edges around the filling and transfer onto a greased tray. Brush the dough with egg wash and bake for around 20 minutes or until dark golden.

Serve immediately and these are perfect by themselves for a tasty lunch or dinner. The leftovers are going in my husbands lunch box Monday morning. They would pair up beautifully with some hummus or tzatziki, and a lovely salad of cucumber and carrot ribbons mixed with mint and coriander leaves and a zingy lemon dressing.

Silverbeet and Beef Pide

Silverbeet Pide

ROASTED TOMATO SOUP

I have had great success in growing tomatoes this year. I still have many many more to pick. Yesterday I made two batches of stock (one chicken on beef) which I am very happy with as this morning I saw that they gelled which is a very good sign. So last night I decided that I would use some of that stock and make tomato soup.

One days harvest

INGREDIENTS
8 large beef steak tomatoes
2 tsp chopped fresh tarragon (1 tsp reserved)
1 tsp chopped fresh marjoram
1 head of garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 cups chicken stock (or veggie if you prefer)
2 onions chopped\
2 tsp butter
sour cream to serve (optional)
crusty bread to serve (optional but highly recommended)

Cut tomatoes in half and sprinkle with olive oil, salt, pepper, tarragon and the cloves of garlic still in their paper skin. Roast in a moderate oven for 40 minutes to an hour. When the tomatoes are getting close slowly sweat off the onion in a little butter until soft add remaining tarragon and marjoram and stock and bring to boil. Remove tomatoes from oven and when cool enough to handle remove garlic from skin and add all ingredients to stock mixture. Blend with a stick mixer or blender and serve with a drizzle of olive oil a dollop of sour cream and some extra black pepper and some crusty bread.

MEATBALLS IN A TOMATO ESSENCE

This is one of my husbands favorite way to eat our home grown tomatoes. It is a very easy and simple dish to prepare but does involve some cooking time.

INGREDIENTS
1 Kg Tomatoes preferable home grown
500 g mince beef preferable grass fed and premium
optional extras:
Tagliatelle
Sharpe cheese shaved

Dice the tomatoes and cook them very slowly over a very low heat with a little olive oil until juices run and evaporate. Preferably for an hour to an hour and a half. Roll mince beef into balls and fry off until sealed and colored  add to reduced tomatoes. Either serve as is with a salad and crusty bread or over tagliatelle and shaved cheese. The flavor from the tomatoes is insane!

slow cooking the tomatoes

Cooking the meatballs

Cooking the meatballs in the tomato essence

Dinner anyone?

A FEW TO FEED SO SPAGHETTI ALLA PUTTANESCA IT IS

I thought I would start this post by telling you how much I HATE HATE HATE furry disgusting salty dried fish things that people call anchovies. But I bought a jar of them a few weeks back to make this dish. Everyone else who came to dinner that night also weren't anchovy fans, some of them hated them as much as I do! But in this......mmmmmmmmmmm....you can;t taste then or feel there texture. This is a delicious dish which is easy to make, great on the wallet and very tasty! This is from Jamie Oliver's 30 minute meals. I have re-written the recipe because he does a few things at once and I'm only giving you the recipe for Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca. I served this with garlic bread and a green salad.

INGREDIENTS

500 g spaghetti
200 g tuna in oil
30 g anchovies in oil
2 clove garlic diced
1 tbs capers
1-2 fresh red chilies diced
hand full pitted black olives
pinch of cinnamon
salt and pepper
2 tins of diced tomatoes
Handful of fresh parsley
1 lemon

Put water onto boil for pasta. Pour some of the oil from the tuna into a hot pan add garlic, anchovies and capers and fry for a few minutes breaking up the anchovies so there are no lumps left (very important to do this especially if you don't like them). Add chilies and chopped parsley stalks. Chops the parsley leaves and put to one side. When garlic mix is starting to get some color add the tuna and break it up. Then add the olives, cinnamon, pepper and tomatoes. Simmer and taste for seasoning and adjust. Add the juice of one lemon and the parsley leaves and then add the drained pasta and toss. Serve.

ROASTED PUMPKIN RISOTTO

No recipe yesterday as we had freshly caught snapper at a friends house! I haven't made this in years. Recently I bought 5 kg of arborio rice and need to use it up, so I thought I would revisit this recipe. it's so so easy to make and is budget friendly!

INGREDIENTS

2 C risotto rice like arborio
1 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil + 2 tbs olive oil
500 g pumpkin chopped
4 onions slices
1 bulb garlic skin removed
1 C white wine
600 ml chicken stock
1/4 C sour cream and extra to serve
1/4 C Parmesan grated
1/4 C tasty cheese grated
seasoning to taste

Put pumpkin, onion and garlic on roasting tray and season with salt and pepper, drizzle 2 tbs olive oil over and place in preheated oven at 180 C for 30 minutes until tender and slightly colored. When cooked place in large jug with stock and puree with stick mixer. Place butter and oil in large saucepan when hot add rice and toss to coat until it turns translucent. Add wine and stir until all absorbed. Add pumpkin puree and stir continuously  when it started to really bubble and spit put the lid on and turn to low and cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. If too thick add some hot water and stir until ready. Risotto should run  on the place and not be gluggy. Check to see if rice is cooked. It should have some bite to it and not be mushy. When cooked add cheeses and Parmesan and sour cream, check seasoning and season to taste. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and cracked pepper.

CHORIZO AND ROASTED CAPSICUM PASTA SAUCE

Wow what a busy week is has been! not much action in the kitchen! After the pizza post, my husband worked a double shift so left overs it was for me. The next day was my birthday.; We usually go out to a nice restaurant but I was feeling very run down and exhausted. I just felt like deep friend prawns, tom yum soup, a boost juice smoothie and a cheesecake so my lovely husband ran around for over an hour to pick up all my goodies! Hopefully we get to go out to that nice restaurant sometime this week. On Saturday we went camping and on Sunday we had dinner with some friends. On tonight's menu is an easy pasta dish with chorizo and roasted capsicum in the sauce. Chorizo is a Spanish sausage and is one of my favorites. This is easy and budget friendly!

INGREDIENTS

1 packet pasta of choice I like to use penne
2 chorizos sliced
3 capsicums roasted on the stove, skin removed and slices
2 cans crushed tomatoes
salt and pepper

Put a large pan of water on to heat. Place capsicums on gas stove or under griller to blacken skins.

While the capsicums are roasting Start to fry the chorizo until oil starts to run. Drain. Remove skin from capsicums de-seed and slice. Add chorizo and capsicum, tomatoes and seasoning to pan bring to boil and simmer until pasta is cooked. when pasta water comes to the boil add pasta and cook until al dente. Serve

PIZZA NIGHT

Tonight I'm making pizza! Pretty simple but it's what I felt like eating.

Dough

1 kg plain flour
1 tbs sugar
1 tbs salt
1 tbs yeast
1 cup warm water and more if needed.

mix all ingredients until a dough is formed. Leave in a warm place to rest for a couple of hours until it is well risen.

Sauce

2 cans tomatoes
2 onions roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves

Saute onion and garlic until soft add tomatoes and reduce for 30 minutes until a nice thick sauce forms. Puree until smooth, season.

Toppings

Completely up to you. Today i felt like ham and pineapple and cheese.



I also felt like Ham, Salami, capsicum, pineapple mushrooms and capsicum cheese.



Other options are a bolognaise sauce base with roasted zucchini, pumpkin and capsicum topped with cheese

Roasted mediterranean vegetables with feta cheese.

Seafood like prawns, scallops with a white sauce.

chicken with homemade barbecue sauce, ham and pineapple and cheese

tandoori chicken with a tandoori sauce base, capsicum, onion mushrooms and cheese

potato and herbs

garlic butter

the possibilities are endless...whats your favorite topping?

JERK CHICKEN

Its been a few days, and they have been cooking free. Monday night my husband celebrated a mates birthday and i stayed home with an unwell little man, so i just ate leftovers. Yesterday Melbourne's annual event Melbourne Cup meant that I spend the day celebrating (sitting outside with the spit going and enjoying great company and food) to later watch 'the race that stops the nation' or at least Melbourne at 3pm. We stayed on and stuffed ourselves some more with leftovers, so that meant another kitchen free day. Today has been pretty busy, and i didn't really feel like cooking. So i opened up Jamie Oliver's 30 minute meals and found a quick and easy recipe, that I whipped up quite quickly! Of course I changed the recipe around a little to suit our tastes and what we had in the pantry.

INGREDIENTS

2 chicken breasts
1 tbs honey
a few sprigs fresh rosemary
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 corn cobs
1 cinnamon stick
250g rice (I used red rice)
600ml chicken stock
1 tin red kidney beans
Marinade:
1 small onion
small bunch fresh thyme
2 fresh bay leaves
big pinch ground cloves
big pinch ground nutmeg
big pinch allspice
6 tbs brandy
6 tbs white balsamic vinegar
1 tbs honey
1/2 dried chili
4 cloves garlic

Boil the kettle, set oven to 200 C put a large frying pan on high, put a large saucepan on high.

Cut chicken through the middle but leave it attached at the top. drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper on both side. Place in hot pan.

Put corn in saucepan with 1 tsp salt and cover with boiling water.

Put all marinades ingredients in food processor and whizz up. Pour in bottom of small baking dish and place chicken on top, skin side up. Drizzle honey on top and place fresh rosemary on top put in oven.

Drain corn and put in the frying pan used for chicken and blister all over until slightly charred. Remove when ready.

Put cinnamon, rice, stock and beans in pan used for corn and bring to boil, cover and simmer for 12 minutes turn off and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Serve

If I had more time I would have made more veggies, but I wasn't in the mood for thinking too hard so just followed the recipe, minus the original salad that i couldn't be bothered making. The flavours in the chicken were sensational! The rice was ok but suited the chicken dish well. Plain rice would be just as great.

CRUMBED CHICKEN

These are so easy and yummy to make with a slight asian flavour!

INGREDIENTS

2 chicken breasts
2 cups bread crumbs
2 heaped tsp chinese five spice
2 heaped tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt
pepper
2 tbs sesame seeds
plain flour to coat
4 eggs beaten
oil to shallow fry

Slice the chicken thinly  put flour in a bowl, beaten eggs in another with spices, sesame seeds, salt and pepper. Coat each piece in flour then egg then crumbs in egg and the crumbs again. Shallow fry on medium to high heat for a couple of minutes on each side or until golden brown. Serve with salad or steamed vegetables.

the broccolini and baby potatoes are from my garden (unfortunately the peas are just flowering and not podding at the moment)

ENCHILADAS

These are so easy to make, so very tasty and easy on the hip pocket!

INGREDIENTS
1 portion homemade taco seasoning
2 chicken breasts in strips
500ml chicken stock
2 cans crushed tomatoes
tortillas (this makes around 6)
grated cheese around 150 g

Fry chicken until golden in a little olive oil, add seasoning and toast for a couple of minutes, add stock and one can of tomatoes, simmer for 30 minutes or until sauce is reduced and thick. Spoon 1/2 cup of mixture onto each tortilla shell and roll up and place on baking sheet. top with the other can of crushed tomatoes and grated cheese and bake at 160C for 20 minutes.

OVEN BAKED MEATBALLS

These are very easy to make and are also budget friendly. and sorry in advance about the photos - it was quite dark when I took them.

INGREDIENTS:
Sauce:
2 medium onions chopped
3 garlic cloves crushed
1 tbs brown sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tins 400g tomatoes
1 L chicken stock
1 L water
Balls:
500g premium mince beef
1 1/2 C rice
salt and pepper

Sweat onion and garlic and brown sugar off in a little olive oil, until caramelized  this should take 5-10 minutes on low heat. Add tomatoes, stock and water. Simmer for 30 minutes.

In the meantime preheat oven to 150C. Combine meatball ingredients and roll into small golf balls. Puree sauce and pour over meatballs and bake for 1 hour.

ITALIAN HAM AND BEAN SOUP

After 2 day of weather over 30 Degrees celsius in Melbourne's spring, we now have a miserable rainy cold day! I thought I would make a soup, and as we ate at a friends house last night, I blew my diet completely (with a double dessert and drinks!) This soup is low calorie and filling and only has 307 calories per serve! Great for lunch too.

INGREDIENTS:

400g dried pinto beans soaked overnight in cold water.
2 sprigs rosemary
2 bay leaves
500g ham bone (find these in the deli, they are the bone end from the ham off the bone, don't be tempted to use bacon bones they taste like dog bones)
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
1 young celery stalk with leaves finely chopped
1 carrot finely chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
750mls chicken stock
750 mls water

Drain soaked beans and give them a wash. Place in a heavy based saucepan with ham bone, rosemary and bay leaves. Add enough cold water to cover bean and about 4 cm extra above. Simmer over low heat for 40 minutes. Drain and when cool enough chop meat from ham bone and reserve.

Place oil in a large frying pan on medium heat, cook onions, until soft, add celery and cook for another 2 minutes then add carrots and cook for another 2 minutes then add chopped meat and cook for another 2 minutes. Season add tomatoes and stock, and drained beans and cook for 20 minutes. If soup is too thin remove 1 cup and puree and if too thick add some more water. Check seasoning and serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

INDIAN CARROT SALAD WITH WHOLEMEAL FLAT BREAD

I made this recipe a couple of years ago, but tonight have added some twists to suit what I had in the house/garden. This is the original recipe.

This is my version.

INGREDIENTS
600g premium mince beef
3 tsp garam masala
1 tsp sea salt
500g carrots
2 tbs sesame seeds
small bunch fresh parsley
DRESSING
1 tsp ground cumin
1 small red onion finely sliced
1 1/2 tsp white balsamic vinegar
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Fry mince until crispy and add garam masala and salt.

Grate carrots (you're supposed to shave with a vegetable peeler but i couldn't be bothered - the end result though is texturally fantastic). Add onions and parsley and carrots in a bowl. Mix all dressing ingredients together and pour over salad. Serve with flatbread.

WHOLEMEAL FLAT BREAD INGREDIENTS

2 C wholemeal flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp dried yeast
1/2 C warm water or more until you get a smooth dough.

Combine all ingredients and mix until you get a smooth dough. Allow to rise for 2 hours. Divide into 6 and roll until very thin. In a dry frying pan and medium to low heat cook for a couple of minutes on each side until you get some colour.

SHEPHERD'S PIE

I'm trying to forever change my menu and try and endeavour to NEVER cook the same thing twice! Yep thats right! No wonder I'm often baffled as to what to cook for dinner! So I was thinking for the next month (and maybe more) I will post the recipe of what I am cooking for dinner!

So tonight it is shepherd's pie (or is it cottage pie I never know the difference?) with homegrown carrots!



INGREDIENTS

500g premium mince beef
4 medium carrots diced or grated
1 onion diced
4 cloves of garlic crushed
750ml homemade stock I used a dark chicken because that's what i had just made but you can definitely used beef! (if you can't make your own buy the liquid stuff *please please read the ingredient list* and please please not the *insert rude word here* cubes/powder with all the artificial flavours colours preservatives and God only knows what else!!!!)
pepper to taste
mash potato (or a combination of potato and sweet potato or any other veggie you like)
grated cheese to top around 50-100g



Sweat off the onion and garlic and carrot until soft and try not to colour too much.



Remove from pan. Fry mince meat breaking it up as much as you can. Season with pepper only (as the stock will reduce and can be quite salty. Taste at the end to see if you need more salt.)



Add the stock and reduce down until you have a nice gravy (should take 30 - 45 mins)





While stock is reducing start boiling the potatoes  to make the mash.

I left the skin on the baby potatoes that I mashed.

 I needed to add a couple of pinches of salt to the reduced stock and mince mix. Place in the bottom of a baking dish.

Top with the mash and grated cheese.

Place under the broiler until golden brown. It should take 5-10 minutes.