Banana & Cranberry Nut Muffins - no flour, no added sugar.

These muffins are really good - naturally with no flour, they are a little more dense than regular muffins, but very filling.

I use frozen bananas because, once defrosted, they are already the correct consistency and require no mashing. I keep bananas in my freezer all the time - once defrosted, cut one end with a sharp knife and you can squeeze the flesh out like a tube of toothpaste. If you don't have frozen bananas then by all means use fresh but they will take a lot of mashing - a blender would probably be the best solution.

Ingredients

4 frozen bananas, defrosted at room temperature
4 eggs
1/2 cup of almond butter (or substitute peanut butter)
2 tablespoons of coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup of coconut flour
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
2 teaspoons of cinnamon power
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of crushed pecans (walnuts or almonds will work also)
1 cup of loosely chopped dried cranberries

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (for a handy conversion chart click here)

Line a muffin tin with paper cups

Thoroughly mix the bananas with the almond butter
add the melted (cooled) coconut oil and vanilla essence and stir in
beat the eggs add and blend well

In a separate bowl:

Sift the coconut flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking power, baking soda and salt
(I sift these not because they need aerating, but they frequently have lumps that do not mix well)
stir to combine




Add these dry ingredients to your banana, egg, almond butter mixture and fold in

finally, add the crushed nuts and cranberries and mix in



fill the muffin cups evenly and top each muffin with half a pecan or other nut - bake for 30 minutes.

These muffins freeze well, and are best served warm - defrost and warm in a microwave for 15 seconds.

Roasted Whole Cauliflower

Ingredients:

1 whole cauliflower
1 cup of heavy whipping cream (or natural yogurt)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 lime (zest and juice)
2 tablespoons of chili powder
1 tablespoon of cumin
2 whole cloves crushed
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
small bunch of parsley chopped to garnish

optional: panko crumbs and grated parmesan cheese

Method:

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F

clean the cauliflower
remove the leaves and the stalk but keep whole

whip the cream until stiff
add the other ingredients except for the parsley
mix well

place the cauliflower upside down in the cream mixture
using hands (I use disposable rubber gloves) and /or a brush cover the head evenly with the cream mixture


Place the coated cauliflower upright in an oven proof dish

if using panko and /or grated cheese, sprinkle over the top of the cauliflower

bake in the oven for 40 minutes


sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley to garnish







Serve by itself, or as a side with just about anything you can think of.

Larry's Bean Soup

This recipe can be adjusted to fit individual tastes.

Any single bean or legume can be used, such as Pinto, Kidney, Lima, Mung, Split Pea. Or make your own mixture.

For the purposes of this recipe I used a 15-16 dried bean medley available in the “Bean” aisle of HEB, our local grocery store. It is a combination of various beans. Feeds 8-12 and ready in 8 hours by crock pot (high) or 6 hours stove top.



Measurements are not precise and should be adjusted to taste. Start with smaller quantities as you can always add more.

You will need a 4-8 quart pot to prepare this in. I used a 4 quart crock pot which was almost to small.

Main Ingredients
1lb bag of dried beans
½ to 1 cup chopped onions
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon paprika
¼  teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 cloves of garlic (crushed) or garlic powder to taste
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 can of Rotel  tomatoes

If you do not want pure vegetarian add
1 lb of cubed beef steak, ham, ham hocks (bacon will work as well)

Adjust ingredients you fit your taste. I have intentionally left out salt and we prefer to add this ourselves

Ingredients (optional and definitely to taste)

1 small can of tomato paste
½ to 1 cup diced green or red bell pepper (use both if you like bell peppers)
½ to ¾ cup ketchup or BBQ sauce (to taste, start with a little)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 bottle of beer
7 Jalapenos to taste (fresh or canned)
1 teaspoon lime, lemon or apple cider vinegar if you want to cut back the sweet.

Method:

Wash beans with cold water and cover with 2-3 inches of water. They need to soak overnight (8-12 hours). I do this in the container I am cooking them in. I use the water they soaked in but some prefer to discard that and replace with fresh water.

If using meat, brown in a skillet. The size of the meat cubes depends upon taste. I like smaller pieces others may prefer larger pieces. You do not need to fully cook the beef, just get the outside brown to seal. You can substitute any meat or leave it out altogether. One of our favorites is to use cooked brisket from Smoky BBQ house in Leander. It saves the time and mess of browning. The same goes for cooked ham, smoked ham hocks etc..

Combine all of your ingredients into the pot and cover with water. I usually start with water and add beer as it cooks. The more water you use the soupier it will be. ½ to 1 inch covered cooking is my preference. If you put too much water you can boil it off.

Bring to a rapid boil if on the stove top and then high simmer (very low boil) till beans are soft (4-6 hours on stove top). 1-2 hours into the cooking remove any floating grease from the pot with a spoon). Stir frequently. If using a crock pot put on high for 8 hours.

Serve with a side of chopped raw sweet onions and fresh or pickled jalapenos for a crunch and extra kick.

This recipe is absolutely the best the next day, in fact I recommend making it the day before and let stand overnight in the refrigerator. It refrigerates and freezes well.

My Christmas Menu

For some time now my son has been asking me to document my Christmas dinner, so this year I decided to do that. My Christmas dinner evolved, starting with dinner at Granny's house. ( See Chapter 1 of Peeling The Onion for a full description of what that was like). I never knew how the food was cooked as my grandmother hired a cook for that and besides I was too young to care, but later on, when Christmas at Granny's stopped and my mother took over, I learnt a lot helping her. Over the years I have put my own slant on how I prepare and cook, and even what I prepare and cook.

I do always have the traditional Irish boiling bacon and roast, stuffed turkey. Now that I am living in Texas I order my bacon well in advance from Food Ireland and it arrives frozen, there is a lot of ham here, but that is not the same. I also order Irish rashers for breakfast on Christmas morning. We have a traditional 'fry up' on Christmas morning, less traditional is the fact that we use paper plates and plastic knives and forks for breakfast - anything to minimize the cleanup is a good idea.

A very important part of the preparation is to soak the bacon in cold water for about 2 days before Christmas, this water is changed at least once every 24 hours, more is better. This minimizes the salt content.

The menu is:

Turkey broth

• Roast Stuffed Turkey & boiled Bacon
• Brussels Sprouts (cooked in the water with the bacon)
• Carrots sauteed with onion & parsley ( I like to add a couple of shallots but that is optional)
• Belgian Endive (I grew up knowing this as Chicory) sauteed
• Roasted potatoes

Traditionally in Ireland we had plum pudding & brandy sauce for dessert, but I no longer do that because almost no one I currently feed likes it and it is a huge amount of time to prepare and cook. This year we have a choice of either apple pie or berry pie with ice cream and / or whipped cream.
I like to finish off with an Irish coffee.

So, how do I prepare and cook all of this? Well, a tradition my mother started was to prepare as much as possible on Christmas Eve, minimizing the work to be done on Christmas Day.

Christmas Eve:

What can we do the day before? Remember at least two days before we started soaking the bacon and changing the water regularly. Everything can be cooked on Christmas Day, but the more you can prepare the day before, the more time you have to play those boardgames Santa brought the kids, or table tennis, or trains.. or Super Flight Deck and Barbie Dolls and Stretch Armstrong.

Chicory:

Also known as Belgian Endive, is not easy to get in Texas so I keep an eye out for it coming up to Christmas and as soon as I see some I buy it and cook and freeze it. Naturally it is better if it is freshly cooked, but it does OK being frozen and that is better than none at all. Chicory is an acquired taste - it is the dandelion family along with Radicchio, so I am sure you can imagine, it is bitter. Braising it in butter reduces much of the bitterness however.

To prepare it, cut the end of the stalk off, remove any damaged outer leaves, slice from stalk to tip into quarters and wash. Then melt butter over a gentle heat, more is better - but how much depends on how much Chicory you managed to get and how much you like butter. Toss the chicory in the melted butter over the heat add a pinch of salt and a small amount of water, cover and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes stirring occasionally. If you were lucky enough to get this just before Christmas, then cook it on Christmas Eve and it will heat up nicely the next day in the microwave. Otherwise freeze it and heat up in the microwave from frozen.

Carrots:

I used a little over half a pound of carrots - I always buy organic when I can get them - half an onion, three shallots (optional) and half a bunch of parsley.

• top and tail, peel and thinly slice the carrots
• peel and chop the onion into small chunks
• peel and slice the shallots
• remove the stalks from the parsley
• melt butter over a slow heat - I used about 2 ounces of butter for 10 ounces of chopped carrots
• toss the sliced carrots in the butter and then add the onion, shallots and parsley and a pinch of salt
• stir and allow to saute for a few minutes
• add half a cup of water and cover 
• reduce the heat and simmer for approximately 15 minutes
• place in a microwave safe serving dish and when cool store in the refrigerator
• this will microwave in a few minutes before dinner next day

Soup: 

Ingredients:
turkey giblets, neck and wing tips
chicken broth
carrots (I used six medium sized)
large onion
chopped parsley
chopped baby spinach leaves - optional but I love spinach and if chopped well, non spinach lovers don't even notice
salt and pepper



When my kids were growing up I used to make my own chicken broth. We normally had a roast chicken on Sunday, so coming up to Christmas I would boil the carcass in a little water and strain and freeze the broth. Nowadays I just use packaged broth.



Place the giblets, neck, wing tips, peeled and chopped carrots and onions in a pot with chicken broth and chopped parsley and spinach if using. Add salt and pepper and bring to a boil, turn down and simmer for about an hour. Let cool and store in the refrigerator.

Stuffing:

I use french bread for this, and how much depends on how big your turkey is.  For a 10 pound turkey I used a full loaf. Normally I buy the bread about 3 days before Christmas and leave it out to slightly harden. Then I chop it into chunks and put it in my food processor, in no time I have breadcrumbs. It may look like a whole lot, but they will shrink down.

So, Ingredients for the stuffing:

• Breadcrumbs - these have got to be fresh not those awful things sold in packages for deep frying!
• Half a large onion finely chopped
• One shallot finely chopped (optional - notice a trend here?)
• bunch of parsley finely chopped
• two teaspoons of mixed herbs
• 1 teaspoons of paprika
• half teaspoon of garlic powder
• 4 eggs
• salt and pepper

Method:

mix the garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper with the breadcrumbs, add the onion, shallot and parsley and mix well then.... and here I have to mention that a critical piece of equipment in my kitchen has always been surgical gloves. I use them for any task that is messy and in particular for handling foul... so then don your surgical gloves (these you will throw away after each use) add 4 beaten eggs and using your surgically gloved hands mix well.


Sit your turkey in a pan because you are going to stuff the neck. don't stuff the body of the turkey, there are a number of schools of thought on this, some say it is dangerous to stuff the body. The juices from the uncooked turkey.. OK the blood ... drips into the stuffing in the body of the turkey and may or may not get fully cooked. Also, I like to be able to slice the stuffing rather than spoon it out of the body cavity. So, sit your turkey comfortably in a pan. You may need to trim some fat from inside the neck but be careful not to pierce the skin.

I found the easiest way to stuff the turkey is to make balls of the stuffing and wad them down into the neck cavity. When it is finally completely full, use wooden tooth picks to hold the skin in place while cooking. My mother  used to use a large darning needle and thread, but it was so hard to find the thread to remove it after cooking that I found toothpicks to be a much easier way to do this.


Place the cleaned, stuffed turkey in a turkey bag and put it in the refrigerator. By now the refrigerator is getting pretty well stuffed.

Both the potatoes and the sprouts can be cleaned and prepared the day before, but should not be cooked in advance. If preparing them the day before, then place in a covered container in cold water overnight. It isn't necessary to put them in the already stuffed refrigerator, though it is preferable. They can stand on the stove overnight in cold water - covered of course.

Potatoes:

Peel, wash and par boil them - for about 15 minutes, until almost done, strain and they are ready to place in the oven about 30 minutes before dinner. Make that 40 minutes if you like them crispy, which my husband does.

Back in the days before oven bags for cooking a turkey, we placed the potatoes around the turkey to cook, however they will get crispier if they are in a tray on their own, so I usually add a mixture of butter and oil to a baking tray and place the par boiled potatoes in this to cook.

A 10 pound turkey takes about 4 hours to cook at 325 degrees, roasting potatoes really requires a much hotter over, more like 425 degrees, so I normally add the potatoes about 10 minutes before the turkey is ready, 10 minutes later I take the turkey out and turn the oven up to 450 degrees. The potatoes will cook while the turkey rests.

Bacon & Sprouts:

Prepare the sprouts by removing any damaged outer leaves, trip the stalk and cut an X into the stalk - this ensures a more even cooking of leaves and stalk.

Change the water one more time on the bacon and bring to the boil. Ideally you want to boil the bacon for 30 minutes per pound, adding the sprouts to the water approximately 30 minutes before cooking finishes. My piece of bacon is almost 4 pounds so it will take two hours to cook.

I used to bake pies from scratch, now I buy them frozen - they are perfectly fine and there is really no need to show off after the dinner I just prepared.

I have found it helps to set out a timetable of when to do what, particularly on Christmas Day, in order to 1. Not forget anything and 2. Have it all ready at the same time.

Time table:

Christmas Day:

5 hours before dinner:
Heat the over

4.5 hours before dinner
Place turkey in the over
set the table

2 hours before dinner
bring bacon to a boil then simmer

1 hour before dinner
bring soup to a boil and allow to simmer
place potatoes in the over

10 minutes later remove turkey
add the sprouts to the bacon water
heat the carrots and chicory in the microwave
turn the potatoes
make gravy if required (I don't like it so I use Bisto - instant gravy)

30 minutes later
remove the potatoes and add the pies to the oven

ready to serve:
strain the sprouts
remove the giblets, neck and wing tips from the soup (grosses a lot of people out)
taste the soup and season if required
carve the bacon and turkey and serve

The Christmas Crackers are also from Food Ireland.

Merry Christmas!!!

After that, if you have room, whip the cream and serve pie and cream and or ice cream

Finally! an Irish coffee for the chef (and anyone else) with the remainder of the cream.

Healthier banana nut muffins

.. OK, slightly healthier.

I freeze bananas when they are starting to get over ripe, and then use them to make banana nut muffins - works really well, if you let them defrost at room temperature first, then remove the top, you can squeeze them out like toothpaste, no mashing required.

4 frozen bananas defrosted
one third of a cup of melted Fleischmann's With Olive Oil
1 cup of Splenda brown sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
half teaspoon of ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
half cup of wholemeal flour
quarter cup of flax meal
quarter cup of qia (Nature's Path Qi'a: Chia Buckwheat and Hemp Cereal, Cranberry Vanilla - really good)
quarter cup of oatmeal
quarter cup of chopped pecan nuts
quarter cup of chopped dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

lightly grease a muffin pan with olive oil spray wiped with paper towel

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients except the flour.
Add the flour, mix until combined
pour into a muffin pan and bake for 30 minutes

Leftovers

So, my daughter challenged me to create a meal out of left overs.  How? she said, 'You have always been so good at making magical meals out of leftovers' and naturally I saw that as a challenge.

What was left over?

Some sausages - (a little charred) French sausages, sort of like the sausages known as Italian in the US, quite nice, not greasy, spicy and meaty, left from the French barbecue, a little bit of duck from that barbecue and also beef and lamb from same event.

I poked around in her fridge and found a huge bag of my most favorite Chicory (Belgian Endive) almost all of which were way far gone, but two ears were still good. Beautiful sweet French onions, really they were more like shallots which I love, and new potatoes, lots of them.


So, I cleaned and chopped the two ears of chicory, about 10 small onions, and 10 potatoes (peeled of course). I heated some oil in a skillet and added mixed herbs, cumin and a lot of curry powder and some salt and pepper.

Once this mixture was good and hot I added the chopped potatoes (if you are lucky enough to have a granddaughter, allow her to help with the copping), onions and chicory and sauteed them 'til they started to brown constantly stirring. Then I added the chopped barbecued meats and a cup .. actually a mug of red wine (if in doubt, add red wine) a mug of water, and allow the wine to cook, taste and then make your daughter taste, discuss and agree to add a small carton of tomato paste and a small carton of cream. Stir well, bring back to the boil and taste again - perfect! cover and let simmer.

Simmer for 20 minutes then turn off the heat and let sit till ready to eat. It will continue to cook for at least another hour.  So, then get your daughter to cook some rice, reheat the leftovers and serve, preferably with some (lots of) cheap, good French wine.

My grandson (the skinny one) had a double serving so I know he liked it :) - it was good.

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

If you like mushrooms, which I do, you will like these.

3 Portobello Mushrooms
1 tomato finely chopped
1 tomatillo finely chopped
1 tablespoon of finely chopped sweet onion
1 teaspoon of finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon of finely chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon of mustard (I use Dijon)
salt & pepper
two tablespoons of grated cheese

ready for the oven

preheat oven to 425 degrees F
mix the chopped tomato, tomatillo, onion, parsley & cilantro with half the cheese
add the salt & pepper and mustard and mix well
remove the stalk from the mushrooms
fill with the mixed veggies
sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top of the mushrooms
Place mushrooms in a baking tin lined with foil
cook for 15 minutes

ready to eat

that's it!

Beef & Vegetables in Red Wine

Some would call this beef stew, and in fact, that is what I called it when serving it to my husband and his mother, sounded down home and acceptable, wrong.

Whatever you call it, I like it and it is equally good  as a winter chow down mid week, or a weekend dinner with guests.  Be warned, the turnip does make the overall flavor slightly sweet, if that is not to your taste, leave it out or substitute it with another vegetable, such as broccoli or squash.

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds beef  cut in cubes
2 leeks
3 large carrots
6 medium sized potatoes
1 yellow squash
1 turnip
2 cups of chopped cauliflower
1 large onion
6 large mushrooms
2 stalks of celery
fresh parsley chopped
5 cloves garlic crushed
half a small cabbage
quarter cup of olive oil
three quarters bottle of wine
quarter cup of corn starch
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 sachets / cubes of beef stock
salt & pepper

Method:

Chop all the vegetables to approximately the same size
Mix the corn starch, paprika, cumin and chili powder, salt and pepper in a ziploc bag
put the cubed beef in the bag and shake till the meat is coated
heat the oil in a large skillet
add crushed garlic
add the onions and mushrooms
remove onions and mushrooms when cooked but not browned
add the meat to the skillet and brown
add onions and mushrooms and stir
add the vegetables
add the red wine
dissolve beef stock in half a pint of water and add
stir well and bring to a boil
reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes
reduce heat and continue to cook for 2 hours.

Ready to cook

Banana Nut Bread

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas masahed, or 3 frozen defrosted bananas
half a cup of crushed pecan or walnuts
one third of a cup of melted butter
1 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
one and half cups of all purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

lightly grease a muffin pan with olive oil spray wiped with paper towel

ready for the oven

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients except the flour.
Add the flour, mix until combined
pour into a muffin pan and bake for 30 minutes
test with a sharp knife, if it comes out clean it is done.

cool on a wire rack.  These freeze well.

ready to eat

Apple Sauce with a Kick!

It is customary to eat apple sauce with pork, or goose, or any other fatty meat, the principle is that the acidity of the apples will help in the digestion of the fat. I don't actually like sweet and sour, so I came up with this fiery apply sauce as an alternative - and to be honest it was born of a abhorrence of waste, what to do with my bowl of tired apples?  And while I am at it, what about all those packets of soy sauce in the pantry, we always get way more than we need when we have Chinese take out.

This apple sauce goes really well with grilled pork chops or roast pork loin.

What you need:





1 pound of chopped apples (they don't have to be tired)
1 clove of garlic
One third teaspoon turmeric
One quarter teaspoon cayenne pepper (less if you don't like too much heat)
One third teaspoon lemon herb mix
1 teaspoon splenda brown sugar (or two teaspoons raw brown sugar)
1 teaspoons butter (I use Fleischmann's olive oil spread)
1 sachet of soy sauce  = 1 tablespoon
1 cup white wine

Method:

melt the butter
add crushed garlic and brown sugar
stir
add chopped apples, turmeric, cayenne, lemon herb
stir well
add wine & soy sauce
bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes
turn down and simmer for 15 minutes
bring back to a boil and boil for 5 minutes to reduce the liquid
blend
makes approximately 1 cup of fiery apple sauce
use or freeze

ready for the freezer

Chili a la Aideen

OK, before I start, believe me, this is NOT a Texas Chili - I have been making this chili since my kids were very young back in Ireland.  It is developed and changed according to what ingredients were available to me, depending on what country I happened to be cooking it in.  But it is basically the same as when I first dreamed it.

One of the things that is consistent in my cooking, wherever possible, is lots of vegetables - one of my sons would not eat vegetables for love or money.  I managed to feed them to him by blending them into an otherwise mainly meat based dish, such as chili, curry or shepherds pie.  So, as a result this chili recipe contains probably as much, or more vegetables than meat.  Suits me.

Feel free to substitute any vegetables you prefer.  I have used cauliflower and potatoes and I do recommend where possible, use organic veggies - the taste is so much better, but also, assuming you can be sure they are organic, they are so much better for you.  

Also, experiment with the seasonings according to what is available to you.  For instance, if you can't find the packets of McCormick's seasoning, just increase the amount of paprika, chili powder, comino and crushed red pepper flakes.  Don't forget to google if you happen to live somewhere other than the US to find what is a comparable seasoning in your part of the world.  For instance, comino is known as cumin in Europe.

This recipe is designed to be frozen.  I love to cook, but I do prefer to cook when I feel creative and have the time, no pressure.  So I plan ahead, cook in volumn and freeze.  

This particular recipe will make 18 to 20 servings.  As I have a 3 adult family, I freeze in 3 person containers and this lasts us a very long time.  It does actually improve with freezing, the flavors blend together... or something - just believe me, it tastes better.

garlic - 8 cloves crushed
onions -1 large sweet / 1 pound
mushrooms  - 8 oz / 10 medium size
shallots - 6 large /1 pound
2 and half pounds roma tomatoes peeled and diced
broccoli - half cup
carrots - 6 medium / 1 pound
squash - zuccini & yellow
red bell pepper - half
breen bell pepper - half
fresh parsley - chopped

2 x 14 oz cans chopped peeled tomato
3 x 15 oz cans dark red kidney beans
1 x 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 x 6 oz can tomato paste

ground bison or lean beef - 1 pound  
lean beef - 2 pounds finely diced

paprika - 3 tbs
chili powder - 3 tbs
comino - 1 tbs
Mrs Dash southwest chipotle seasoning - 1 tbs
4 cubes / sachets of beef stock ( I use sodium free Herb Ox by Hormel)
3 pks McCormick original Chili mix
crushed red pepper flakes - 1 tbs
three quartersof a bottle red wine

salt & pepper to taste ( I know, I hate when I see that, but seriously, taste and add what you think it needs always remembering, your guests can add, they can't take away).

Bring a pan of water to the boil reduce heat so that the water remains hot but doesn't simmer
pierce tomatoes with point of sharp knife and dump three at a time into the water
as the skin around the cuts starts to peel back, remove and the peel should come off easily - caution they will be very hot


chop the carrots, broccoli, squash and peppers, half the shallots and half the mushrooms and puree using the red wine or beef broth to help (I strongly recommend the red wine, it adds a wonderful flavor and the alcohol does cook off).  If you don't have a blender, cook till soft and mash well.
finely dice the onion and the rest of the mushrooms and shallots
heat half a cup of olive oil in large skillet 
add crushed garlic and diced onion, shallots and mushrooms
cook but do not allow to brown
remove from skillet leaving just enough oil to brown the meat
add the meat and brown
add chilli powder, paprika, mrs dash, comino and pepper flakes and beef stock
allow to blend over low heat

add puree veggies and cooked onions, mushrooms and shallots and diced peeled tomatoes
bring to a simmer for 10 minutes, stirring

add the canned foods
stir and bring back to a simmer
add the McCormick chili mix and stir well
finally add the chopped fresh parsley
bring to a boil 
cover and cook over a low heat for 1 hour

If you plan to serve immediately, cook for a further hour otherwise allow to cool then decante into freezer containers according to the size that best suits you.

When serving, can be reheated over a stove, but a microwave is definitely much easier.  

Serve with grated cheese, finely chopped raw, sweet onions, finely chopped Jalapeño, crackers or chips.

Zucchini Bread

Zucchini Bread  -  one of my favorites

ready to go in the oven

Preparation time about 30 minutes.  That includes gathering the ingredients, weighing, measuring, cutting, chopping or shredding as required.

Cooking time:  about 55 minutes

* Freezes really well.

Ingredients:

2 eggs, beaten
1 cup  brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups grated fresh zucchini
2⁄3 (two thirds) cup melted olive oil spread  (substitute butter if desired)
2 teaspoons baking soda
a pinch salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1⁄2 (half)  teaspoon nutmeg
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans 
1 cup dried cranberries 

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).  
Prepare pans by wiping with paper towel and a spray of olive oil.
I use loaf pans, or a muffin pan depending on my mood. 

In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, eggs, and vanilla and melted olive oil spread. 
Stir in the grated zucchini..

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt and add a small amount at a time stirring.
Sprinkle in the cinnamon and nutmeg over the batter and mix. 
Crush the nuts and chop the cranberries
Fold into the mixture.

Put the batter into your baking pan of choice. 
If using a muffin pan, check after 30 minutes, otherwise check at 50 minutes.
Insert a sharp knife, or a wooden pick if it comes out clean, your bread is done

Cool on a wire tray and freeze what you won't consume within 3 or 4 days.

good enough to eat!

Panko Chicken

(or fish - when I do fish I use striped pengasius)

Both my husband and my mother in law love fried chicken and fried fish.  I do not, and more than that, I don't consider it healthy, so I came up with a way to compromise.   I can eat this, and they say it tastes just as good as fried.

Serve with any vegetable of your choice, I use sweet potato 'fries' - also cooked in the oven
The following quantites are more than enough for the three of us, but we do not eat huge servings, you will have to figure out what suits your family size and appetite.

ready to eat

2 breasts of chicken
half cup of corn starch
half teaspoon of cayenne pepper
half teaspoon of chili powder
half teaspoon of ground cumin
half teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of paprika
salt
2 eggs (or you can use egg beaters)
4 oz panko bread crumbs - I have tried many brands and find Kikkomon to be the best

two gallon plastic ziploc bags

mix the seasonings and corn starch together in a plastic ziploc - shake well, this will barely flavor your chicken so don't worry that it will be spicey.  If you want spicey you will need to add a lot more.

beat the eggs well and pour into the other plastic ziploc
cut your chicken / fish into 'tenders'
2 medium sized chicken breasts (or two medium sized filets of fish)  = about 8 tenders

cut into tenders

line an oven proof pan / cookie tray with foil, I use non stick foil, but ordinary foil will do - just wipe it with a piece of paper towel and a spray of olive oil

preheat your oven to 425 F

put your chicken into the bag containing the corn starch and seasonings seal and shake  until all the meat is evenly coated
remove chicken and shake off excess

egg bath next

put chicken into the bag containing the egg and seal and shake
ensure that all the meat has been coated in the egg
pour panko onto a plate and roll the meat in the panko, patting in breadcrumbs so they are well coated.
Place on the foil covered pan and let sit for 30 minutes

ready for the oven

Place in center of oven and cook for 10 minutes on each side.  Do check to make sure your chicken is fully cooked, if your tenders are too thick they may need more time.