Beef and onion pull apart

I’ve been attempting to buy less and use all of what I buy. I guess we are usually better than the average person at this, but I always feel bad when I have to throw any food out. If we are going to eat meat I would hate to think that it is going to waste, and I know how much effort goes into growing vegetables and I hate wasting my own home grown ones, so why would I waste others. But I also want to east tasty meals too, and save money! It has been forcing me to get more creative. I had leftover beef from the stew mentioned in the post below. I was going to make a pie but I’m not a fan of gravy in the powder form and I wasn’t about to go out and buy anything to make it. So I looked at what I had that could possibly make a dish… meat, onions, left over filo pastry, but I was thinking that it would be a bit dry, so maybe adding eggs and cream would help. I was very unsure about the combination, but hoped for the best. And it turned out great, in Rob’s words “You’ll have to make this again…soon… very soon… this week”?

Based roughly on this recipe:
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/25977/caramelised+onion+and+prosciutto+pull+apart+pies

Ingredients:

Left over stewed meat
2 Onions
brown sugar
balsamic vinegar
Filo Pastry
Butter
3 eggs
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp cream
Chopped fresh rosemary

Thinly slice onions cook until translucent. Add a small amount of brown sugar and balsamic and cook for a further 15 minutes or until very soft and brown. This is a long process but worth it. For further info google caramalised onions.

Chop filo pastry roughly into 10-15cm squares
Brush each layer with butter and stack to make a start shape. Use about 7 or so layers
Make as many as you need to file the size of dish you have. I made five. Make into cup shape in put in dish.

Fill each cup shape with leftover stewed meet (veg is good too) top with onions.

Whisk salt, pepper, eggs, milk and cream and spoon over meat. it will just be a small amount in each to keep it moist. brush remaining butter over pastry.

sprinkle with finely chopped rosemary.

Cook until eggs are set.

Read Full Post »

Bread and Butter Pudding

5 slices of bread (I used country split)
butter
4-5 eggs
3 or more tbs thick cream
400ml milk
vanilla bean paste
brown sugar to your desired taste
2tsp custard powder

Butter bread and slice in 1/2.
Lay out on baking dish
beat all other ingredients together.
Pour over bread and press down lightly with a fork to make sure all bread is soaked in the custard mix.
sprinkle with additional sugar (brown or caster)
Baked until cooked through.

Read Full Post »

Chicken and Bacon Quiche

This is another recipe from my cupboard clean out.

Filo pastry
Butter
Left over roast chicken
Bacon
Spring onion
Cream
Milk
Eggs

Layer pie dish with filo pastry brushed with butter between layers.
Layer roast chicken, bacon and spring onion in pie dish, season.
Whisk cream eggs and a dash of milk, pour over mixture.
Bake until firm.

Read Full Post »

Chicken with mushrooms

Chicken thighs
Mushrooms
Garlic
White wine
Spring onion
Parsley
Cream
Milk
Flour

Read Full Post »

Chicken bake and chicken noodle soup – one roast chicken two different meals

One roast chicken two different meals!

Chicken Bake
Roast chicken – I just by this from the chicken shop
Jar of Chicken Tonight – Golden Honey Mustard
Potatoes – cooked and mashed, with milk/cream/butter whatever you like…
Cheese

Pick all the meat of the chicken and put into an oven proof bowl. – keep the bones (don’t throw this away) and set aside about 1/4 cup of the meat.

Mix the chicken tonight through the main portion of the chicken

top with mashed potato and cheese

bake until warmed through and cheese has melted.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken carcass from previous recipe (no stuffing)
1/4 cup of shredded chicken from previous recipe
onion cut into 1/2 or 1/4
celery washed and broken to fit in saucepan
spaghetti or similar pasta
vegetable stock or salt and pepper
Parsley

in a large saucepan add: the chicken carcass, onion and celery
boil for as long as you want.. atleast 30 mins.
strain through fine sieve into another saucepan

to the strained broth add the chopped parsley, spaghetti broken into pieces, remaining shredded chicken and the stock powder to taste.
simmer until pasta is tender.

Read Full Post »

Chocolate Cherry Trifle

This is the lazy version of Nigella Lawsons Chocolate Cherry Trifle

1 Large chocolate sponge roll
Jam – any sort will do
tinned/frozen/fresh cherries or berries
Cherry wine – I LOVE this stuff
Custard – good quality or make your own. I made mine with Custard powder, milk, cream, brown sugar and a mixture of Lindt drinking chocolate and flake. Yummo.

Slice sponge roll and spread with jam and layer in large dish (I use a glass bowl as its nice to see all the layers).
Layer with selected fruit.
Pour over cherry wine, amount of your choice 😉
top with custard and smashed up flake.
Serve with cream.

Read Full Post »

Cheats Chocolate Mousse

Whip cream with cocoa and icing sugar/sugar/fruit sugar (this is what I’m using at the moment). Done! it’s seriously good. naughty. but good.
Chop some strawberries, put them in a red wine glass and top with this mousse. Looks fancy. takes minutes!

Read Full Post »

Caramel Sauce

Once again it has been a long long time since I have made an entry. Life has just been so busy and there hasn’t been much time for cooking or posting!

I made this sauce weeks ago, I can’t remember what prompted us to make it. Probably just weekend munchies.

1 tbs butter
1/2 cup of caster sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
water
vanilla essence
cream / ice cream

melt butter in sauce pan, add sugar and a little water.
simmer until mixture is getting thick almost like toffee.
remove from heat. add vanilla extract. and cream or ice cream about two heaps spoons or 1/2 cup.
I used ice cream as I don’t usually have cream and it worked really well! Serve poured over ice cream and bananas…

Read Full Post »

garlic chicken in puff pastry

Rob came home with a chicken on Sunday night. a roast chicken that is…. I had some left over puff pastry from making a custard slice so I decided I had better not let it go to waste!

So I mixed together:
a little cream
shredded chicken
lots of garlic (out of the jar) I was feeling lazy.

I cut the pastry into 4 squares.

Heaped the chicken onto two of the squares. layered on Camembert and some prosciutto. Added the other squares on the top of the parcels. press the pastry together around the edges and baked until golden. yummo.

Read Full Post »