Who doesn’t love pizza? What better way to enjoy an easy pizza snack than as a scroll!  Super simple dough base that you can top with whatever takes your fancy at the time, fantastic for lunch box snacks or just to have when the hunger bugs are biting.  Let us know what your favourite toppings are for making these, we like the classic Hawaiian, jalapenos supreme or my personal favourite, tandoori chicken with crumbled feta!

Pizza Scrolls

Basic Dough Recipe

2c Self raising flour

1 tbsp caster sugar

60g butter

2/3c milk

1. Combine flour and sugar in a large bowl, add chopped butter and rub in until mix resembles a fine crumb.
2. Add milk and work with a table knife until dough combines together.  Tip onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth.
3. Roll out to make a 30cm x 40cm piece of dough and top with your favourite toppings (see below).  Once topped, roll from long edge, keeping the roll nice and tight and firm.  Slice into 12 equal slices, and place cut side up on baking tray.
4. Bake in oven at 180C for 30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
5. These can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for a couple of days or can be frozen for up to three months.

Toppings – These are our favourites, but any combination you like;

1. Tomato sauce, mozarella cheese, ham/bacon and crushed pineapple
2. Tomato relish, mozarella, tandoori chicken, crumbled feta
3. BBQ pizzza sauce, mozarella, pepperoni, ham/bacon, chorizo, olives, jalapenos

So I made these bad boys a few nights ago, and its taken me until now to get to post them! Super easy to whip up, these little fish cakes are sure to please a crowd, perfect as an entree or an appetiser.  With a good hint of lemongrass and a kick of chilli, dip them in the salty, sweet cucumber dipping sauce and its a match made in heaven.

Prep time 20 minutes, cooking time 10 minutes, makes 15 fish cakes.

Thai Fish Cakes

600g white fish fillets – I use Hoki

1 clove garlic

2 kaffir lime leaves, centre vein removed and finely sliced

1 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh coriander

1 tbsp fish sauce

3 tsp red curry paste

Pinch salt

5-6 green beans, finely chopped

Peanut oil for shallow frying

1/4c white sugar

1/4c lime juice

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 lebanese cucumber, seeds removed and finely chopped

1 small birds eye chilli, finely chopped

1. Place fish and garlic in food processor and blend until finely chopped, then add kaffir, coriander, fish sauce, curry paste and salt.  Blend until just combined.  Place into bowl and add chopped beans.
2. Form mixture into 15 even sized balls and with wet hands flatten to make 6cm patties, then place on plate ready for cooking.
3. Dipping sauce – Place sugar, lime and fish into small saucepan and cook over low heat until sugar dissolves, remove from heat and add cucumber and chilli, then cool.
4. Heat oil in large frying pan over high heat, then cook patties in batches for 2-3 minutes each side or until cooked through.  Remove from pan once cooked and drain on paper towel.  Cook remaining patties in batches until all are done.
5. Arrange fish cakes on serving platter with dipping sauce, and a small Asian style salad if desired.

Pork cutlets are great at the best of times, but add a sticky, sweet cider glaze and you’ll have your guests talking for weeks to come!  Seen here served with a side of sweet potato mash, steamed broccolini and apple and onion jam, you can serve it with whatever sides you like!

Cider Glazed Pork Cutlets

Prep time ~ 5 minutes, cooking time ~ 30 mins, Serves 4

4 pork loin cutlets

Salt

Pepper

2 tbsp butter

3 cloves

1/3c Apple Cider Vinegar

2c Apple Cider (I used Somersby Apple)

1 tsp Dijon Mustard

1. Melt butter in large heavy based frying pan.  Season cutlets on both sides with salt and pepper.
2. Once butter begins to froth in pan, add the pork cutlets, cooking 5-7 minutes each side until golden brown.  Remove from pan and cover to keep warm.
3. Add garlic to cutlet pan, and stir for 30 seconds until fragrent, before adding the cider vinegar, stir well, scraping up any browned juices from the bottom of the pan.
4. Add apple cider and dijon mustard, and bring to the boil.  Cook until sauce becomes thick and glossy (this can take up to ten minutes depending on the size of your pan)
5. Once sauce has thickened, return the pork cutlets to the pan, to warm back through, cooking a further 1-2 minutes each side.  Spoon glaze over cutlets as they are cooking.
6. Serve with your favourite vegetables and a serve of Apple & Onion Jam – recipe can be found HERE

You know, I’m not going to lie – it happens to the best of us, there’s days where you just really cant be bothered with getting too creative and when you have grumbles coming from all corners of the house because they’re hungry, getting something on the table ASAP is your top priority!  This is a really simple, tasty stir-fry, which I kind of refer to as a bit of a “cheating” meal when it comes to cooking it (its not by any means unhealthy though!).  Also, if you want to make everything from scratch, you can do that too, just takes a bit longer to prep the veg!

Easy Pork Stir-Fry

Prep time ~15 minutes, Cook time ~ 15 minutes Serves 4-6 people

6 large Pork Spare Ribs, cut short ways, into 0.5-1cm batons

1 large onion, cut into thin wedges

1 tbsp crushed garlic

1 tbsp peanut oil

1 tsp sesame oil (optional)

850g bag Birds Eye Frozen Oriental Veg (or any other variety that you like)

1 sachet Maggi Sweet & Sticky Pork Sauce (you can find it with the other meal bases)

1 pack Thin Hokkien Noodles (cooked as per packet instructions)

1/4c Oyster and Sweet Chilli sauces

1. Heat your oils in a large wok until hot, add onion and garlic, cooking until onion just starts to soften.
2. Add pork pieces, and cook, stirring until browned all over.
3. Get your noodles soaking, before adding the veggies and sauces to your wok and stirring thoroughly.
4. Continue cooking until veggies are hot, and sauce has thickened slightly, then add drained noodles to wok and stir.
5. Serve immediately with a nice cold beer or a cider.

This would be one of my husband Alex’s favourite pasta dishes, as we call it, Car-banana!  Who doesn’t love those gorgeous tendrils of carbohydrates, bathed in shiny, creamy eggs and piled high with crispy, salty bacon.  Did someone say bacon? OOOOH BACON. Then there’s the lashing of fresh shaved parmesan, herbs and just to add a little bit more grown up bang, a sprinkle of fresh birds eye chili!

Spaghetti Carbonara

Prep time ~15 minutes, Cook time ~ 10 minutes – Total 25 minutes. Serves 6

500g Fresh spaghetti or linguine

Rock salt

12 rashes bacon (just the streaky bit, keep the eye for breakfast!), sliced in to 1cm batons

8 large eggs or 10 medium eggs, beaten lightly

1c grated parmesan cheese

2 tbsp fresh chopped basil

4 birds eye chili, finely sliced (seeds out if you dont like it too hot, or left out if you like it tame)

Fresh ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, season generously with rock salt, and cook pasta to direction as per packet – I find with fresh pasta, if you start the pasta just as you start cooking the bacon, it times quite nicely.  Drain the pasta, reserving approx 1/2c of the cooking water
2. Drop the bacon into a just warm pan, then turn the heat up and cook for approx 8 minutes until its nice and crispy and has produced a bit of oil.  Add the cooked spaghetti and reserved water and stir.
3. Add the beaten eggs, parmesan and a generous sprinkle of black pepper and toss to coat then continue cooking for a further 2 minutes – its REALLY important to keep the pasta moving at this point or you’ll end up with scrambled eggs and bacon.
4. Once the sauce is nice and creamy, add the basil, and chili, and serve with some extra shaved parmesan.

ENJOY!

~LC

Original recipe from Taste, however I added a couple of little extras to boost the yum factor.  These went down magnificently, even the fussier family members licked their plate clean!

Moroccan Lamb Shanks

2 tbsp good quality olive oil

4 lamb shanks

3 chorizo sausages, quartered lengthways and diced, fried and then drain on paper towel

2 red onions, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tbsp Harissa Spice mix

425g can crushed tomatoes – I try and use Australian grown where I can

1c beef stock

400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

400g sweet potato, peeled and diced in 1cm cubes

1c polenta

1 litre chicken stock

30g butter

1. Preheat oven to 150°C. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add lamb shanks. Cook, turning, for 5 minutes or until browned. Transfer to an ovenproof dish.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion, garlic, spice mix and remaining oil to frying pan. Cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes or until soft. Add tomatoes and beef stock. Bring to the boil. Pour over lamb. Cover dish tightly with aluminium foilPlace lamb in oven. Cook for 3 1/2 hours. Stir in chickpeas, chorizo and sweet potato. Cover and return to oven. Cook for a further 1 1/2 hours or until lamb is tender. Remove from oven. Season with salt and pepper..
3. Meanwhile, bring stock to the boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add polenta in a thin, steady stream, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring, for 10 to 15 minutes or until mixture comes to the boil. Remove from heat. Stir in butter. Spoon polenta onto plates. Top with lamb shanks. Spoon over sauce.

This is one of the first things my mum let me make, which speaks for itself.  The original recipe comes from the wonderful world of The Women’s Weekly.  Its dead easy, very tasty, loaded with healthy goodness.

Beef & Pasta Bake

4 tsp good quality olive oil

2 large onions, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic crushed (or 3 teaspoons of garlic from a jar)

4 rashes of bacon, finely diced

3 small carrots, finely diced

3 stalks celery, finely diced

500g button mushrooms, sliced

1kg beef mince

2 x 400g cans condensed tomato soup

2/3c tomato paste

2 tbsp tomato sauce

2 tsp dried oregano

500g spiral pasta (I prefer the high fibre pasta, but any is fine)

2 cups grated cheese

1/2c grated or shaved parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius
2. Heat the oil in a large pan; cook the onion, garlic, bacon, carrot and celery, stirring, until the carrot is just tender.  Add mushrooms and cook a further 2 minutes.
3. Add mince, and cook, stirring until mince has browned, breaking up any lumps.
4. Add soup, tomato paste, sauce, and oregano; then simmer, covered for 15 minutes or until mix has thickened.  Season to taste.
5. Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until just cooked, drain then add to beef mix.
6. Place into a large retangular baking dish, then top with cheeses.  Bake in oven for 15 minutes until top is golden brown.