Saturday 15 June 2013

Winter Is Coming - Part II

Okay, I know 'Winter is Coming - Part II' makes no sense, since A) it's already winter and B) winter doesn't have a 'part II' of coming, it's either here or it's not. 



But lately, I've been experimenting with a few more winter warmers and I felt like they needed to be shared. Unfortunately, this week's recipes are slightly more expensive than the ones I generally put up, but trust me, they're properly worth it! 

As I've mentioned in past posts, I try to make my chicken stretch further by only using 1 breast per meal and bulking the dish up with more veggies. You guys are perfectly welcome to use more chicken, or mess around with the recipes as much as you like. That's what I love about cooking; taking a recipe, adapting it to suit yourself better and creating something different!

Now I love a good curry, especially in winter. They warm you up all over and make the house smell incredible! This is possibly my favourite curry discovery ever, and it gives me an excuse to use up that Tandoori paste I've had sitting in my fridge since post one! I've pictured it with my homemade naan bread which is an excellent addition, but takes a little more effort and time. If you'd like the recipe, please comment below or Facebook me :)


Easy, Creamy Butter Chicken
Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend 1 large serving each.
Cooking Time: 30 - 40 minutes plus a few hours marinating time.
Total Cost: $6.35


Ingredients:
- 1 large(ish) chicken breast, cut into cubes ($2.75 - $11.10 for 4 breasts)
- 1 generous tbsp Tandoori paste (roughly $1 - $5 for a jar and you'll use about one fifth)
- 1/2 brown onion, diced (35c)
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped finely (15c)
- 1 tin condensed tomato soup ($1.35)
- 1/2 small bottle (roughly 300mL) light cream (65c - $1.30 for a bottle)
- 1 teaspoon garam masala (Indian spice mix - less than 5c)
- 1 cup rice, cooked with 2 cups boiling water in the microwave for 10 minutes (virtually nothing- $2.60/kg)

Method:
1. Marinate chicken cubes in Tandoori paste for as long as possible, it can be anywhere between an hour or overnight if you're super-organised.
2. Gently fry onion and garlic in a splash of oil until there's that yummy smell coming from the pan, then add the chicken and fry until sealed*.
3. Pour in tomato soup and cream.
4. Stir in spice and bring to a gentle simmer. Keep simmering for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
5. Serve over cooked rice with naan bread.

*'Cooking until 'sealed' is basically cooking until the chicken is white on the outside, but still pink on the inside. 

Of course, winter usually means someone getting sick and passing it to everyone they have contact with, including you. This recipe is loaded with cold-kicking ingredients garlic, ginger and chilli. Although fresh ginger is quite expensive, minced or ground ginger can be fairly reasonable. Minced is best for this dish, but ground will work fine :)


Ginger Chilli Chicken
Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend for 1 large serving each.
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Total Cost: $5.60


Ingredients:
- 1 large(ish) chicken breast, cut into cubes ($2.75 - $11.10 for 4 breasts)
- 1/2 brown onion, diced (35c)
- 2 large cloves garlic, chopped finely (15c)
- 1 tbsp minced ginger (60c - $2.50 for a small jar and you'll use a little less than a quarter)
- 3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce (20c - $2 for 700mL)
- 1 cup chicken stock (30c)
- 1 carrot, sliced in circles (30c)
- Small handful snow peas (80c)
- 1 chilli, finely chopped (free from my pot plant)
- Sprinkle flour (less than 5c)
- Salt and pepper, to taste (less than 5c)
- 1 cup rice, cooked with 2 cups boiling water in the microwave for 10 minutes (virtually nothing- $2.60/kg)

Method:
1. Gently fry the onion, garlic and chilli in a splash of oil until onion is soft.
2. Add chicken and stir-fry until white all the way through.
3. Stir in stock, chilli sauce and ginger. Bring to a gentle simmer and sprinkle in a little flour (1-2 tablespoons should do it).
4. Stir over a medium heat until sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add carrot and snow peas.
6. Stir for 5 - 10 more minutes until veggies soften slightly and serve over rice.


Cuppa-Soups are so lovely in winter, especially yummy homemade varieties. There are tons of combinations you can work with, but this one is a particular favourite of mine. I left mine chunky, but you're welcome to use a handheld mixer or processor to puree it into a smoother soup. I also apologise for the picture, but it was rather difficult to work with the crappy lighting. Just trust me when I say it's good :)

Homemade Cuppa-Soup - Corn and Potato
Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend for 3 days worth of lunch.
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Total Cost: $4.40 or $5.40 with bacon


Ingredients:
- 1 tin corn ($1)
- 1/2 brown onion, diced (35c)
- 2 medium potatoes, diced into tiny chunks ($1)
- 2 tablespoons butter (10c - be generous!)
- 1L, or 4 cups, chicken stock ($1.20)
- 1/2 small bottle (roughly 300mL) light cream (65c - $1.30 for a bottle)
- Sprinkle flour (less than 5c)
- 2 rashers bacon, optional ($1 - $5/500g)
- Salt and pepper, to taste (less than 5c)

Method:
1. Over a low heat, melt butter in a large saucepan and fry the onion, garlic and bacon (if you're using it) until fragrant, which is a fancy word for 'smells nice'.
2. Add tinned corn and potato chunks.
3. Sprinkle in flour (1 - 2 tablespoons should do it) and stir until everything is coated.
4. Pour in stock and bring to a gentle simmer.
5. Simmer for 10 minutes or until potato is soft.
6. Stir in cream, season to taste and enjoy on a cold day - morning or evening!

And last, but not least; dessert! A classic crumble is cheap, flexible and practically impossible to get wrong. I used tinned apricots in this recipe, but apples, pears, peaches, strawberries or any other fruit you can get your little hands on will work. I also served my crumble with ice-cream, but regular cream and/or custard is equally good. Enjoy!


Apricot Crumble
Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend 1 large serving each
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Total Cost: $3.35


Ingredients:
- 1 400g tin apricots ($1.65)
- 1 cup flour (30c - $1.85/2kg)
- 1/2 cup butter (90c - $4.70/kg)
- 1/2 cup sugar (20c - $1.66/kg)
- Sprinkle cinnamon (less than 5c)
- Ice-cream (25c - $2 per 2L)

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 180C.
2. Drain tinned apricots and place in the bottom of a cake tin. Stir through a little cinnamon.
3. In a small bowl, mix the butter and flour together with your fingertips until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
4. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the top of the fruit and top with sugar.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until sugar has caramelised slightly. 
6. Serve hot with ice-cream. Or cream. Or custard. Or anything yummy :)


Good luck in the kitchen guys! I'll be back sometime next week with more tasty meal ideas, and hopefully they'll be cheaper than this weeks :P

Also, if you have any ideas or suggestions, please leave a comment below or contact me on Facebook or Twitter. I'd love to hear from you :)

Lots of love,
(broke) Masterchef Mel

Wednesday 5 June 2013

Procrastibaking

Over the last 13-and-a-bit years of my experience in education, I've perfected procrastinating to a fine art.

The instant those good ole' exams roll out, I'm suddenly exceedingly interested in the lamest Facebook statuses and thoroughly determined to re-arrange my entire desk/room/apartment. Lately, I've discovered a very enjoyable, if fattening, form of procrastinating that I believe is (slightly) more beneficial than flicking through countless albums of cats. Don't get me wrong, I love a cute cat picture as much as any other red-blooded human, but these sugary snacks will keep you going through those all-nighters we love to pull.

Let's start with a favourite of my mum's. My mum has this wonderful way of cooking things - toss ingredients in a bowl, mix a little and throw in oven. And thus was born, the greatest banana bread of all time!


Mum's Best Banana Bread
Makes: 10 thick slices or 20-odd of the little squares pictured
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Total Cost: $3.75


Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour (35c - $1.85/2kg)
- 1 cup brown or caster sugar (40c - $1.66/kg)
- 1 cup dessicated coconut (75c - $3/kg)
- 270mL (a little over 1 cup) coconut cream (roughly 55c - 90c/400mL can)
- 2 eggs (60c)
- 2 bananas, mashed ($1.05)
- 1 teaspoon imitation vanilla* (less than 5c)

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C.
2. Mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl, pour into a greased cake/loaf tin.
3. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.



*Note: You can feel free to use proper vanilla essence, I've bought imitation because it's about $2-something compared to the $5-something it costs real vanilla essence.


This next recipe is a touch on the exxy side, compared to my other recipes, but too delicious to resist. In fact, I had to give half the batch to a friend to stop myself gaining about 5 more kgs.


Choc-Honeycomb Brownies
 Makes: About 10-15, depending on how much batter you eat!
Cooking Time: 1 hour (don't let that deter you - it's all baking time!)
Total Cost: $7.90

Ingredients:
- 1 cup plain flour (30c - $1.85/2kg)
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder (70c - $2.10/kg)
- 1 cup caster sugar (40c - $1.66/kg)
- 3/4 cup butter ($1.50 - $4.70/kg)
- 1 packet cooking chocolate ($2.30)
- 3 eggs (90c)
- 1 packet honeycomb pieces, roughly chopped ($1.80)

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 180C.
2. Combine flour, cocoa and sugar.
3. Melt chocolate and butter together, pour onto dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Add most of the honeycomb pieces, reserving about 1/4 and stir.
5. Pour into a greased cake tin, top with remaining honeycomb and bake for 45 minutes or until cooked.
6. Leave to set for 10 minutes before serving.


Sugar biscuits are super-simples, cheap and taste delicious with a nice cup of tea. I've spiced mine with cinnamon, but I've heard ground ginger works equally well for a gingerbread-type flavour. Likewise, cocoa powder would make lovely chocolately biscuits. Feel free to experiment with flavours and find one you like :)


Cinnamon Sugar Biscuits
Makes: About 18, again depending on how much dough you eat!
Cooking Time: 10 minutes prep time + 15 minutes per batch baking time.
Total Cost: $2.80


Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter, softened ($1.85)
- 1/2 cup caster sugar (20c)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (less than 5c)
- 1 teaspoon imitation vanilla (less than 5c)
- 1 1/2 cups flour (45c)
- Tiny pinch of salt (less than 5c)
- Extra cinnamon for coating (about 15c worth - you need quite a bit!)

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 180C.
2. Mix butter, vanilla and sugar together until light and fluffy. This is easiest if you have a hand mixer, but I did it by hand with a fork and it's not that hard.
3. Stir in the cinnamon, salt and flour.

4. When you've got a firm dough (you may need to get your hands dirty mixing the dough together with your fingertips), roll the dough into small balls and coat in cinnamon. They should look like the picture below:


5. Place on a greased baking tray and bake for 15 minutes or until light brown.


My best friend moved out of home a year earlier than me and has been absolutely wonderful in providing me with a few of her own tried-and-tested student recipes. I'm told this is perfect when told to 'bring a plate' (I've just kept it for myself as a study-snack) and to quote, 'is almost too good to share'. Enjoy guys :)

Couscous Slice
Makes: 8 thick slices, as pictured.
Cooking Time: About 1 hour
Total Cost: $4.65

Ingredients:

Base
- 1 1/4 cup couscous ($1.05 - $1.75/500g)
- 700g tomato pasta sauce ($1.20)
- 1/2 sweet potato, chopped into small pieces (60c)
- 3 eggs (90c)
- 1/2 cup grated tasty cheese (roughly 50c)
- Pinch mixed herbs (less than 5c)
- Sprinkle pepper (less than 5c)

Dressing
- 1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil (less than 5c)
- 1 tablespoon vinegar (less than 5c)
- 1 tablespoon honey (less than 5c)
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped (15c)
- 1 finely chopped chilli (free from my pot plant)
- Chopped parsley or mint (free from my pot plant)

Method:
1. Boil sweet potato and puree with the pasta sauce.
2. Add the couscous and leave for 20 minutes for the couscous to soak up all the sauce. Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 180C.
3. Mix in the eggs, cheese and spices.
4. Press into a cake or loaf tin and bake for about 40 minutes or until firm.
5. While the slice is baking, fry the garlic and chilli gently in a small saucepan with a splash of oil until garlic begins to brown.
6. Mix in the remaining ingredients in the saucepan and stir together over a low heat.
7. When the slice is baked, drizzle the dressing over the top and voila! - Couscous Slice!


Well, that's all I got for the minute (and probably the next week since I just pumped out 2 posts in 48 hours.) But if you're look for something else to sink study time into, check out Socially Awkward First Year for a ridiculously addictive and properly informative read.


Sugar and Kisses,
(broke) Masterchef Mel

Monday 3 June 2013

Winter Is Coming

Well, technically, winter is already upon us but having a post titled 'Winter Is Already Upon Us' is far less cool than the famous Stark words.

Anyway, winter is properly here and it's pretty bloody cold. This is exactly the right time of year for A) Fluffy warm socks and B) Yummy winter warmer recipes. So I've compiled four of my favourites so far. Enjoy!


Minestrone is a typical winter warmer, perfect served with crusty bread on a cold evening after uni or work. This version was re-invented to be cheaper and souper easy! (Sorry guys!)


Souper-Easy Minestrone
Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend (also with no leftovers, it's that good!)
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Total Cost: $4.05 or $6.05 with bacon


Ingredients:
- 1 carrot, diced (30c)
- 1/2 zucchini, diced (35c)
- 1/2 brown onion, diced (35c)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (15c)
- 1/2 cup pasta, any will do (40c)
- 1 tin diced tomatoes (70c)
- 4 cups beef stock ($1.20)
- Pinch mixed herbs (less than 5c)
- Sprinkle pepper (less than 5c)
- 4 bacon rashers, fat removed - optional ($2 - $5/500g)
- Crusty bread, to serve (50c - $1.50 for a french bread stick)

Method:
1. Heat a splash of oil in a large saucepan and stir in all vegetables (plus the bacon if you're cooking with it.)
2. When you've got your lovely garlic and onion smell coming from the pan, then add tinned tomatoes and stock.
3. Bring to the boil, add the pasta and turn down the heat until the soup is simmering. Stir in the herbs and pepper.
4. When the pasta is cooked, remove from the heat and serve with buttered crusty bread.

This next one is another of my 'throw everything you've got left in your cupboard' creations. It fed both of us with one serve leftover, but you can easily bulk it up to feed more by adding beans, chicken, potatoes, eggplant, beef strips, carrots, broccoli, last night's leftover roast or absolutely anything else you desire/have rolling around the bottom of your fridge.


Spicy Vegetable Stew (Vegan)
Feeds; Myself and Hungry Boyfriend with leftovers for lunch
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Total Cost: $3.55


Ingredients:
- 500g pumpkin, chopped into small chunks ($1.65)
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped finely (15c)
- 1/2 zucchini, diced (35c)
- 1/2 red capsicum, diced (25c)
- 1 tin diced tomatoes (70c)
- Generous sprinkle cumin, paprika and chilli powder (less than 5c each)
- Small handful mint leaves, chopped (free from my pot plants)
- 1 cup vegetable stock (30c)

Method:
1. Heat a splash of oil in a large saucepan and stir in vegetables, except tinned tomatoes, until you've got a lovely garlic smell coming from the pan.
2. Sprinkle in the spices and stir for a few minutes.
3. Stir in tinned tomatoes and stock.
4. Simmer for 15 minutes or until stock has reduced and pumpkin is soft.
5. Serve hot.

Pasta and rice are typical student staples, but become quite boring after a while. A pasta or rice bake will help mix things up a little, experiment a little with different sauces and fillings. This next one will probably work well with a pasta bake as well.


Chicken and Corn Rice Bake
Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend (with no leftovers!)
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Total Cost: $4.85


Ingredients:
- 1 chicken breast, cut into small cubes ($2.75 - $11.10/4 breasts
- 1 can creamed corn ($1)
- 4 thick slices bread, cut into small cubes (20c - $1/loaf)
- 1/2 brown onion, diced (35c)
- 2 garlic cloves (15c)
- Handful grated cheese (20c) plus a little extra (10c maybe?)
- Pinch chopped thyme (free from my pot plant)
- Salt and pepper (less than 5c)
- 1 cup rice (bugger all - $2.60/kg)

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C and cook rice with 2 cups boiling water for 10 minutes in the microwave.
2. With a little oil, gently fry the onion and garlic until there's that lovely small coming from the pan.
3. Add the chicken and cook until white through.
4. Combine the cooked rice with all the other ingredients in a mixing bowl, reserving the extra cheese. Stir through to thoroughly combine.
5. Pour into a baking dish and top with the extra cheese.
6. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese has melted and dig in.

And now for dessert! I've been neglecting sweets so far throughout my blog, but this is too good not too share. Rice pudding can be complicated, but this is completely easy. Just make sure to keep half an eye on it and check/stir it every 10(ish) minutes.


Creamy Chocolate Rice Pudding
Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend 1 serve each
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Total Cost: 95c (can you believe it!)


Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup aborio (risotto) rice (20c - $3/kg)
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder (less than 5c)
- 2 cups light milk (50c - $1/L)
- Splash imitation vanilla essence (less than 5c)
- Approx half of a 1/4 cup of caster sugar* (approx 15c - $2.66/kg)

Method:
1. Whisk cocoa powder, sugar, milk and vanilla together.
2. Place rice in a small saucepan and pour milk mixture into the saucepan.
3. Slowly bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and leave, stirring occasionally (like, every 10 mins) for 45 minutes or until rice is soft.

*Note: I think this is technically 1/8 of a cup but it's easier to communicate 'half of a 1/4 cup'. You get what I mean, right? Right? Also, if a sort of 'skin' forms over the top of the mixture, that's fine - just gently stir it back in and it will disappear :)


So throw on your old comfy trackie pants, your warm socks and these tasty winter warmers (which are all for under $5!).

Good luck in the kitchen!
Lots of love,
(broke) Masterchef Mel