Posts tagged dinner

Eat with your eyes (and get food in your eyebrows, on your lap and in your hair)

September 13, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, Fish, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged , , , , , , ,

One of my kids has always been a grotty little thing. A bit like a walking diary – remnants of the day gather in layers on their clothing and are smudged in stripes around their head (and my house). I can see layers of morning tea underneath the milk from 2.30 and the after dinner biscuit adds a decorative element to finish the day. The fingers have permanent texta stains and I have, more than once remembered Pig Pen and wondered if we’re related.

Dirt is apparently good for kids, which might explain why this child is very healthy. But at dinner I’ve been driven to the point of total frustration and have now had to instigate two new rules.

1. If there is cutlery set out, then we MUST at least TRY to use it before we start picking through dinner with our fingers. And;

2. NO TONGUES at the table. I DO NOT want to see your tongue at any stage. We do not lick our gnocci clean. We do not lick the seasoning off baked vegies. Our tongue stays in our mouths at all times and if at all humanly possible we try to keep our mouths closed while we chew.

Of course, it’s a bit of an uphill battle, but one I feel the need to revisit every time someone else’s child has been here and displayed stunningly good manners. Recently a little friend came over. She sat still all dinnertime. When her plate was clean (and there was NOTHING on the floor around her) she brought her empty bowl to me in the kitchen, unprompted. I was so shocked, I forgot to say ‘thank you’.

I like to think that my kids can turn it on when they’re visiting elsewhere, but I’m not sure.

Some nights I have the strength to tackle lessons in etiquette and correct usage of utensils. But other nights, if my mummy-patience is more than a little frayed, I just make these salmon bites and avoid the flashpoint entirely.

Salmon bites recipes smuggles zucchini

See, they\’re mouth sized, in the hope that your child can play \’fit the shape\’.

Salmon & zucchini bites

Don’t worry about this mix being quite ‘wet’. Rolling the balls in flour gives them a nice crunchy coating and ensures that the inside stays nice and moist.

185g can pink salmon, drained
2 tbsp chives, finely chopped
1 zucchini, grated (you can peel the skin off first, if your kids are absolutely green-phobic)
1 egg, lighten whisked
Pepper
1/4 cup plain flour
2 tbsp canola oil, for cooking
Lemon wedges, to serve

Combine all of the ingredients except the flour in a large mixing bowl.

Squeeze into gold ball sized patties. Toss in the flour and coat evenly.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry the patties in the oil for 3-4 minutes each side until golden.

Remove and drain on paper towel.

Sprinkled with lemon juice and serve as a snack or place in a wrap with salad and light mayonaise.

MAKES 10

Toddler Recipes: What (and how) to feed fussy eaters

Advice on how to get your toddler eating a wide variety of vegetables with 26 clever recipes that smuggle the healthy ingredients in.

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Because there’s more to life than slaving in the kitchen

September 7, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, Vegetarian, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

For someone with a devotion to feeding my family healthy food, I have a strangely mixed relationship with the kitchen. I am not a chef. I am a care-giver. I think, like me, most parents have times when it feels like they are trapped in the kitchen, trying to conceive and prepare tasty things that their kiddies will eat with the minimum of fuss.

Perhaps my devotion to Vegie Smuggling recipes is actually laziness-based. Parenting is exhausting and I really like to clock off at the end of the day. I love to feed them, bath them, and pop them into bed, with a clean conscience about their nutritional welfare. Because then what I really love is to sit with my hunky husband, a BIG glass of wine and a variation of whatever meal I whipped up earlier.

So a basic necessity for all VS recipes is that everyone will enjoy them. At the very least, they need to be super-easy to adapt for adult palettes. Because there is more to life than being in the kitchen all night, and I just won’t cook and clean for the kids and then again later in the night for the adults. This recipe is a great example of how with the addition of a few extra ingredients (add them after you’ve served the kid’s meals) you can take a kid friendly meal into the realm of adult gourmet.

We’ve happily made many concessions to be a family, but eating boring food and being a kitchen slave just isn’t among them.

Ravioli with orange sauce

Serve the kids this, then add a few little extras and VOILA, a tasty grown-up meal.

Ravioli with orange sauce

This sauce can be made in advance and stored in the fridge. At the end of the day, cook your pasta (home-made if you’re a saint or store-bought if you’re like the rest of us) and toss through the sauce and other ingredients.

1½ red capsicums, deseeded, cut into large chunks
¼ cup cottage cheese (or ricotta)
1 tbsp sun-dried tomato slices in oil
600g packet beef ravioli
125g can corn kernels, drained
1 punnet cherry
tomatoes, halved
TO SERVE (all optional, to suit different family members) basil leaves, olives, toasted pine nuts, parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper.

Preheat grill to high. Pop the capsicum under the grill skin-side up and leave until black and charred. Don’t be shy about it – the blacker the skin, the more easily it will peel off. Remove and cover with a tea towel for 10 minutes, then peel skin off and discard.

Chop capsicum flesh roughly and place in a stick blender. Blitz until smooth. Add cottage cheese and sun-dried tomato and blend until smooth.

Cook pasta according to packet directions, then drain and return to the saucepan. Poor the sauce and vegies on top and toss to combine. Scatter with basil.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

real-healthy-families

Like this recipe? Check out my cookbooks to find a bunch more meals that your family will love.

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What the kids eat in… Mexico

August 24, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, Fish, Vegie smuggling techniques, What the kids eat in... · Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Rest assured Victorians, I’m not talking about you, but that colourful, warm territory to the south of that big scary country (the bossy one that cruises the world picking fights with little countries, pushing freedom and the right to eat donuts for breakfast, get morbidly obese then craned out of our house by emergency services). The territory of Dora and Frida Kahlo, where there’s a fantastic cuisine that stars in the Vegie Smuggling atlas. It’s healthy, with lots of legumes and salad, often served snugly in tortillas that hide the worst of the healthy stuff and leave the kids seduced by cheese and guacamole.

This Australian/Mexican quesadilla recipe warms my heart for many reasons – 1. It’s quick to make. 2. It’s fun to eat. 3. You can pretty much keep everything you need long term in the pantry, which makes it a perfect last minute/after work meal.

Another factor which makes it a VS winner is that it can be easily adapted to suit various members of the family which means you can get everyone eating the same meal with a minimum of fuss (add chillis or bottled jalapenos, leave out the coriander or add extra cheese).

Here’s a tip – the first time you make it, the flipping can be a bit nerve wracking. Mini tortillas make it much more manageable.

Tuna quesadillas

Dora eats these tuna quesadillas, and so should you!

Tuna Quesadillas

185g can tuna in springwater
185g can tuna in olive oil
125g can corn kernels, drained
2 green onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander
125g can four bean mix, rinsed, drained
¼ red capsicum, deseeded, finely diced
Black pepper
1 cup grated cheddar or mozzarella
10 ready-made tortillas

Drain the tuna in springwater and place in a mixing bowl. Add the undrained tin of tuna in olive oil and the rest of the ingredients except for the tortillas. Mix until combined.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat.

Carefully separate the tortillas (heat for a few seconds in the microwave if they are sticking). Place one on a chopping board, cover generously with the tuna mix and top with another tortilla.

Slide the tortilla sandwich carefully into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Using a spatula, ease out of the pan onto a large plate, hold the top with your hand and flip over. Carefully place back in the pan to cook for 3-4 minutes on the other side until the tortillas are crisp and the cheese is melted. Repeat with remaining mix and tortillas.
MAKES 5

 

real-healthy-families

Like this recipe? Check out my cookbooks to find a bunch more meals that your family will love.

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The best way to smuggle… tomatoes

August 18, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, Red meat, The best way to smuggle..., Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Over on the Vegie Smugglers facebook page (yes, that’s a blatant, go and ‘like’ it advert), I’ve had a request for solutions to an ongoing tomato battle.

Raw tomatoes can be tricky and I’ll tackle them later. Let’s start with cooked tomatoes, which are a little friendlier to kid’s tastebuds. A recipe that works well is The best-ever vegetarian lasagne. But really, if you think of cooked tomatoes, bolognaise is the dish that springs to mind. The classic Italian dish is SO popular, that people make fun of it. But let’s remember that it’s a cliché for a reason. A million families across Australia wouldn’t cook it every Tuesday night if it wasn’t a ‘bums on seats till the bowl is empty’ winner.

Alas, Claire on Facebook admitted to supermarket-jar-dependence. Easy to understand. But not nearly as tasty (or healthy) as home-made.

My suggestion is to get the menfolk onto it. There’s something about being king of the kitchen and brewing a big pot of meat that seems to appeal to them. Get them cooking up a double batch this weekend and freeze lovely kid-sized portions. Then you’ll have a quick and healthy meal ready to rock whenever you need it. Most households have a bolognaise recipe that they swear by – this is my husband’s fine work. There are a lot of ingredients, but please don’t be deterred, give it a try and marvel at how good bolognaise can be.

Adam's bolognaise

Me Tarzan! This my meat (with red stuff).



Adam’s bolognaise sauce

3 tbsp olive oil
500g veal mince
500g pork mince
1 large brown onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large carrot, peeled, grated
½ red capsicum, deseeded, finely diced
1 large zucchini, grated
1 tbsp chopped basil
¼ cup chopped parsley
400g can chopped tomatoes
700ml passata (bottled tomato puree found in the supermarket near the Italian pasta sauces)
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp tomato sauce
½ cup red wine (optional, but recommended)
1 cup mushrooms, finely diced
1 bay leaf
Salt & black pepper

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the veal mince and brown, breaking up lumps as you go. Remove from pan and set aside. Do the same with the pork mince using another tbsp of olive oil. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add remaining olive oil and cook the onion gently over medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and carrot and stir for 1 minute. Add the capsicum and zucchini and stir constantly for 3 minutes. Throw in the herbs for 30 seconds then add the canned tomatoes. Stir that through then add half the passata and cook until the sauce bubbles.

Add the veal mince, then the rest of the passata and the pork mince. Stir well then add the tomato paste, tomato sauce and red wine. Stir through the mushrooms, add the bay leaf and season to taste. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally (simmer for up to an hour if you have time).

Serve sauce with fettuccine topped with parmesan and herbs.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 6 KIDS

KIDS ALSO LOVE IT when you serve this sauce scooped into cooked large pasta shells. No effort or fuss, they just pop them straight in – vegies and all.

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Try, try and very trying

August 9, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, Fish, News, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Apparently repetition works really well with children. Perhaps that’s the reason why I have to stand there and say “put your shoes on” multiple times – and with increasing volume – every single time we need to get ready to leave the house. But does repetition really work with food? We are told, often, to offer the kids an ingredient 6-10 times and eventually they will try it.

You can read all about food repetition at the ABC online, Better Health VIC,  Westmead Hospital, School Canteens, Sixty second parent, Jackie French, PGR network, Australian bananas, Yoplait and Bubhub.

Zzzzzzzzzz. Sorry! Still with me? Yep, that’s right. 10 examples of people telling you how long to persevere in your quest to get the children eating their greens. Are they for real? Who, in their right minds, is masochistic enough to suffer the cruelties of dinner refusal 10 times?

When I hear “I don’t like it” for the first time, I will deal with it in an understanding way. I will revisit the recipe and adjust it in a way I think will be preferred the next time I cook it. The second time, I cross my fingers and if there is an outright refusal this time, then I’m done! Safe to say that that recipe will not get cooked again.

Try not to be too discouraged when this happens. While some recipes might not be right for your family, it doesn’t mean you have to skip an ingredient entirely. Switch to another recipe that smuggles the same target vegie and try that. Mushrooms might be rejected in a The best ever vegetarian lasagne but they might be devoured in Vegie slice.

I think the feed them 10 times advice is one of those myths like brushing your hair 100 times will make it shinier and using certain beauty products night and day for 3 months will make you more beautiful. NO ONE can keep up the commitment, so the myth is never really tested.

Anyhow, let’s save you all the trouble and just give you a recipe for this tuna pasta bake that gets devoured first time every time (and it cleverly disguises corn, zucchini and capsicum).

Tuna pasta bake recipe hiding corn, zucchini, carrot and capsicum

Aim for a hole in one with this tuna pasta bake recipe


Lulu’s favourite tuna pasta bake

Don’t skip the step of infusing the milk – it’s the crucial taste factor.

1 small brown onion, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
10 black peppercorns
Small bunch herbs of your choice (parsley, thyme, rosemary)
3 cups milk
250g dried wholemeal pasta spirals
60g unsalted butter
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Splash of white wine (optional)
425g can tuna in springwater, drained
125g can corn kernels, drained
1 zucchini, grated
1 carrot, peeled, grated
½ red capsicum, deseeded, finely diced
1 cup grated cheese
2 tbsp breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 180C.

Combine the onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, herbs and milk in a saucepan. Bring to the boil. Remove from heat immediately and leave to cool.

Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling water according to packet directions. Drain and set aside.

Pour the infused milk through a sieve into a jug (discard onion and herbs).

In a saucepan (non-stick is good), melt the butter over low-medium heat. Add the flour and use a wooden spoon to stir for 1 minute until bubbling. Gradually add the infused milk and keep stirring the whole time to avoid lumps. Bring to the boil and thicken until the sauce sticks to the spoon (about the consistency of custard). Remove from the heat and mix in the mustard and wine (if using).

In a large bowl, mix the pasta, tuna and vegies together with the sauce. Spoon into a baking dish and top with the cheese and breadcrumbs.

Bake for 25 minutes until bubbling and golden. Serve topped with parsley sprigs.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 4 KIDS

FOR THE ADULTS Kids can eat this on its own but adults like a nice leaf salad and – if you’re not carb-phobic – crusty bread (and white wine).

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Potato détente

August 2, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, News, Vegetarian, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

At the risk of trivialising and being flippant about the Anzac legend and the atrocities of World War I, dinner time at my house does on occasion have me contemplating the war strategies faced by the German leaders of the time. Just as things calm down on one front, another opens up and just as the French are learning to sit still and eat their peas, the Russians start screaming “I don’t want anything mushy”.

What I’m clumsily saying is that the food and vegetable fight is fought on two battlefronts at my house. There’s the flavour battle, which is one I’m winning, thanks to my ever-growing stockpile of smuggling recipes. But then there’s the texture war. While Corporal Meat-and-Potatoes refuses mush or any soft food, Lieutenant Fruitarian fights anything too chewy or requiring too much utensil work and I struggle to find a happy balance.

Unlike the mums on the homefront in 1914, I do have a few mod cons working to my advantage, the freezer being a particularly useful one. Whilst I refuse to cook two dinners in one night, I do have to make textural concessions. I can get them eating the same piece of protein (ok, yes, perhaps it is just sausages), but potatoes for Mr Meat-and-Potatoes are best served chopped into chunks, tossed in oil and baked for 25 minutes and Miss Fruitarian gets a serve of this mash.

To avoid daily inconvenience, make a huge quantity of this recipe. Freeze large spoonfuls on oven trays and when solid, transfer to freezer bags for easy storage.

End the war with a stockpile of mash in the freezer.

Vegie Mash

1 carrot, peeled, diced
1 swede, peeled, diced
4 potatoes, peeled, diced
1 zucchini, grated (peel first if your child is scared of green bits)
1 cup grated cheese
¼ cup milk
Olive oil
Salt & black pepper

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the carrot and swede and boil for 5 minutes. Add the potato and boil for 10-15 minutes more. Use a fork to test that the vegies are cooked enough to mash easily. Drain.

Meanwhile, place the zucchini in a microwave-proof dish, cover and zap on high for 1 minute. Drain any excess water.

Mash the carrot, swede and potato for as long as you need to get the texture your kids will enjoy. Stir in the cheese and zucchini – the cheese should melt nicely. Add the milk and olive oil as needed to get a nice creamy texture. Season to taste.

On a good parenting day, serve this with fish fillets baked in lemon juice and herbs. On a bad day, add drained canned tuna. On a terrible day, serve with an enticing dollop of tomato sauce and peas.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 4 KIDS AS A SIDE DISH

FREEZING & DEFROSTING INSTRUCTIONS
Scoop separate portions onto an oven tray, cover with a large freezer bag and freeze for a couple of hours. Once frozen, snap them off the tray and store in a freezer bag back in the freezer. Squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible. Use within 1 month. Reheat in the microwave, stirring every minute until steaming hot.

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I could have eaten Kermit…

July 21, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, Red meat · Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

G’day. I’ve been out in the bush. Super tops out there in the real Australia. Lots of drivin’, visitin’ stuff and good wholesome country fare…

Well actually the driving bit is true, about 1000 kms which in a country this size is nothing, but with two kids under 6 in the back it can be a challenge. I didn’t quite reach the stage of needing to place a wooden spoon on the dashboard, but it did get close. The travelling CDs I’d made worked quite well at keeping them entertained. I’ve been training the kid’s ears at the same time as I’ve been training their pallettes. They like everything from Steve Aoki to the Beach Boys. Although most of the time is spent clarifying song lyrics. “No mate, he’s actually singing ‘message in a bottle’, not ‘message in a bottom’ and, no, Johnny Cash walks the line, not a lion.

And visiting stuff, well lordy, did we what! We rode bikes at a zoo, saw model trains, visited massive adventure playgrounds and slipped into quite a few wineries for mummy and daddy’s sanity. And we spent a full day at a farm field day, learning about straw bale houses, composting, fencing systems and butchering entire animals. It was GREAT! Super-good fun for us city slickers.

But the good wholesome country fare… well, some good, some great, some bad. But SO much meat. Out and about it’s all meat with chips, or meat with potatoes, or meat with pastry. Obviously my little Mr Meat and Potatoes was pretty thrilled with the whole arrangement, but me? I would have killed for something green to munch on.

Perhaps getting roadside kiosks and bakeries to love lettuce is asking too much, but what about next time they whip up a meat and bread option, they try these little rissoles? Just so that we can sneak a few vitamins in while we’re devouring half a sheep.

Rissoles with yummy stuff smuggled inside!

Come home to these when you realise the grass isn\’t always greener.


Spicy lamb & bean rissoles

1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, diced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 cloves garlic, crushed
2 slices multigrain bread
400g can four bean mix, rinsed, drained
1 carrot, peeled, roughly chopped
500g lamb mince
1 egg
2 tbsp vegetable oil, for frying

To serve
Flatbread or burger buns
Cream cheese
Tomato chutney
Cucumber, sliced
Lettuce

Dig out the big food processor to make this recipe quick and easy.

Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes until softened. Add the cumin, coriander and garlic and fry another minute. Set aside.

Blitz the bread in the food processor into breadcrumbs. Remove and set aside.

Add the four bean mix and carrot to the food processor and whizz well. Add the onion mixture and lamb and blitz. Add the egg and breadcrumbs and blitz further until combined.

Use wet hands to form 5-6cm rissoles (warning – remove the processor blade before you handle the mixture!). Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Cook the rissoles for 4-5 minutes each side until cooked through.

Spread flatbread with cream cheese and chutney. Top with rissoles, cucumber and lettuce.

MAKES 16 RISSOLES

Toddler Recipes: What (and how) to feed fussy eaters

Advice on how to get your toddler eating a wide variety of vegetables with 26 clever recipes that smuggle the healthy ingredients in.

Comments (2) »

The best way to smuggle… spinach

June 29, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, The best way to smuggle..., Vegetarian · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

In just the same way that a vegie, is a veggie, is a vege – you can get chard, silverbeet and the true English spinach and they can generally be interchangeable in most recipes. All are in season during the winter months and contain huge amounts of vitamins C, K, iron and nearly every mineral known to man.

So which spinach to use? Generally any of them can be used in recipes (except for salads, where the light English or baby spinach leaves are best), they’ll just need different preparations.

Frozen spinach just needs to be thawed (the microwave works ok for this) and the excess moisture squeezed out. The thick leaves of fresh chard and silverbeet need to be dunked in boiling water for a minute or two then drained and chopped. English spinach can just be chopped and chucked in.

For this recipe, I like to buy a bunch of fresh silverbeet and do the blanching thing. It does add 10 minutes to your prep time, but gives a really fantastic flavour that the kids will love. If the green flecks are going to cause grief for you, use a blender and pulp the spinach and it will hide in the recipe more easily.

I find though, that the amount of cheese in this bechamel-free lasagne overcomes any vegetable obstacles.

The best-ever vegetarian lasagna

This meal hides spinach, carrot, mushrooms and broccoli and I'm not exaggerating when I say that it IS the best ever!

The best-ever vegetarian lasagne

Ingredients
Cooking spray

Tomato sauce
800g can chopped tomatoes
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ cup sliced black olives (optional)
2 cups finely diced vegies (try broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms and carrot)
2 tsp dried Italian herbs
Salt & black pepper

Spinach layer
250g grated mozzarella
300g cottage cheese
150g other cheese of your choice (crumbled feta, grated cheddar, grated parmesan)
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 egg, lightly whisked
1 bunch silverbeet, blanched and chopped or a frozen 200g box of spinach, thawed, with the excess liquid squeezed out

500g box instant lasagne sheets
Handful grated cheese, for topping

Preheat oven to 180C. Spray a 5-litre lasagne dish with cooking spray.
For the tomato sauce, place all the ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the initial crunch is taken out of the vegies and onion. Everything gets baked later, so avoid overcooking at this stage.

For the spinach layer, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Use your hands to get everything mixed through well.

Now you’re ready to begin layering. This is the order: enough tomato sauce to cover the bottom of the dish, then pasta (break sheets to cover entire layer), half the spinach, pasta, half the remaining tomato sauce, pasta, rest of the spinach, pasta, rest of the tomato sauce. Did you keep up?

Top with a little more grated cheese and bake for 45 minutes or until golden and YUM.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 4 KIDS

FREEZING & DEFROSTING
Wrap slices of lasagne in two layers of plastic wrap. Freeze on oven trays to maintain its shape and then transfer to freezer bags. Stores well for 3 months. Reheat by thawing in the fridge for 24-36 hours before microwaving until steaming hot throughout.

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Tired parents and stuffing vegetables into vuvuzela

June 21, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, News, Vegetarian · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

World cup fever has gripped the household and since we’re not sipping mint tea in Morocco or frappes in the Greek Isles, the hours are proving challenging. First game starts at 9.30pm and goes through till morning. Shame the kids aren’t joining in the fun, but keeping strictly to their sun-up to sun-down regime, Australian time.

Getting the right atmosphere for the fun though is proving much easier with it occurring to us that we have our very own vuvuzela here at home in the guise of a 3 year-old boy who manages to make incessant noise without the use of many words (except poo, poo-head and idiot). The noise starts up right from the tweet of the earliest birds. The occasional lull is just long enough for a sigh of relief before the blasting starts up once more all the way till bedtime.

Lucky he’s cute and lucky he’s funny. And looking on the bright side, we’ve got a little African souvenir without needing our passports.

Our parenting regime has slackened somewhat in our sleep-deprived state and dinnner-time has shifted to the rug in front of the TV. On the menu? These little bean and vegetable balls are fun to eat, get popped straight into the mouth and don’t make too much mess.

Vegie dots

Bring silence to the noisiest vuvuzela with this vegie dot recipe


Vegie dots

400g can four-bean mix, rinsed, drained
1 cup mashed potato or pumpkin (or a mix of the two)
1 carrot, peeled, grated
1 zucchini, grated
2 spring onions, finely diced
Sprinkle of garlic granules or 1 clove garlic, crushed
1 egg, lightly whisked
½ tsp dried Italian herbs (optional)
Salt & black pepper
Dry wholemeal breadcrumbs
Canola oil cooking spray

Preheat oven to 200C. Line an oven tray with baking paper.

Place the four-bean mix in a mixing bowl and mash using a fork or masher. Add all the remaining ingredients except for the breadcrumbs and cooking spray and mix thoroughly (hands work best for this job).

Roll bite-sized portions into balls, toss in the breadcrumbs until coated evenly and place on the baking tray.

Spray balls lightly with cooking spray and bake for 15 minutes. Remove tray, gently roll balls over, lightly spray again and return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes until golden.

Place a bowl of your desired dip in the centre of a plate (tzatziki, hummus or even tomato sauce), surround with the vegie dots, crudites, breadsticks and cheese.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS AS A SIDE DISH.

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Taste and nutrition the two most important cooking factors for ‘mom’

June 17, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, News, Red meat · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Deep in the internet’s bowels you can find statistics to back up just about any argument or theory. Babycenter.com has collected a bizarre range of survey results on a huge range of parenting subjects. Access them here. There’s facts about everything from brands of breast pumps to life insurance policies, but of course it’s the nutrition and food topics that pique my interest.

One survey asked 4000 moms to rate the importance of several factors when cooking for their families. The two most important factors were taste and nutrition. Yay! Congratulations to all of you mums who don’t want to compromise on flavour, even when faced with fussy feeders.

Another interesting result was that 51% of mothers were prepared to cook two dinners each night just to keep the peace. I understand how this situation evolves, but I just refuse to do it! I try to make all my recipes healthy and packed with vegetables, so we feel good about feeding them to the kids but with the addition of a couple of ingredients, the adults can enjoy a delicious meal too.

A good example is these lamb meatballs – the feta makes them very more-ish and they can be adapted to suit everyone. Plus, they cook in the oven, avoiding a big revolting mess, because cleaning up more than I have to is also something I refuse to do.

Lastly from the surveys, 39% of mothers find going online to be the most peaceful part of their day…

Lamb and feta meatballs

Don\’t cook two dinners, these lamb & feta meatballs will please everyone.

Lamb & feta meatballs with pasta salad

Both the cooked meatballs and salad can be kept in the fridge for up to two days

Meatballs
500g lamb mince
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 egg, whisked
2 tbsp chopped parsley, basil or oregano
100g feta, crumbled
1 carrot, peeled, grated
1 small zucchini, grated
Canola oil cooking spray

Pasta salad
200g wholemeal pasta spirals
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 vine tomato, finely diced (or ½ punnet cherry tomatoes, halved)
½ cup basil leaves, chopped (optional but recommended)

Preheat oven to 200C. Line a large oven tray with baking paper.

For the meatballs, combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Use your hands to mix well, then roll into bite-sized balls and place on an oven tray. Spray meatballs lightly with cooking spray and bake for 10 minutes. Use tongs to carefully turn over, spray with more cooking spray and bake for another 5-10 minutes until cooked through.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling water according to packet directions, then drain. While still warm, toss through the remaining ingredients.
Serve the pasta in bowls, topped with meatballs. Sprinkle with basil leaves.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

FOR THE ADULTS Add extra ingredients to the pasta salad. Try olives, chopped anchovies, spinach leaves, toasted pine nuts and dried chilli.

 

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Like this recipe? Check out my cookbooks to find a bunch more meals that your family will love.

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