Gourmet on a Shoestring

Makes approx. 25 squares

I received this recipe from a friend and modified it slightly – I have lowered the sugar content hugely so the resulting muesli ‘bars’ are sweet enough but won’t send the kids over the edge!

Note: for the dried berries I used a pre-packaged mix of  cranberries, blueberries, and cherries from the supermarket, and handful of goji berries and sultanas, but if you are on a real budget you can simply use just sultanas.

Ingredients

• 30g Butter
• shredded coconut 125g
• dried berries and sultanas 250g
• rolled oats 90g
• whole almonds 200g
• sunflower seeds 125g
• wheat germ/oat bran 80g
• brown sugar 100g
• honey 100ml
• vanilla extract 1 teaspoon
• ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C and line a 23 cm square tin with baking paper.
2. On a baking tray combine oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, and wheat germ. Bake until toasted and fragrant, 5-10 mins at 180.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine coconut, cherries, blueberries and set aside.
4. Add hot oat mixture to the fruit mixture and stir till combined.
5. In saucepan over medium heat melt butter, add sugar, honey, vanilla and cinnamon. Stir till sugar dissolves, bring to boil then remove from heat and pour over fruit mixture.
6. Using a large spoon gently stir together until well combined.
7. Scoop the mixture into tin, and using a spoon firmly press making compact and even layer.
8. Let set in pan for 10 mins or until cool. Invert onto cutting board, lift off tin and cut into squares.

These will keep for over a week in an airtight container in the cupboard. Great for snacks or lunch boxes!

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Ingredients

• 1 large bag of washed Baby Spinach or Mixed Dark Lettuce leaves
• 2–3 rashers cooked Bacon cut into strips, or cooked Chicken (optional)
• 1 Avocado, sliced into chunks
• 1 Mango, sliced into small cubes
• ½ Cucumber, sliced
• ½ cup chopped Walnuts

  Dressing

• 2 tbspn Olive Oil
• 1 tspn Lemon juice
• 2 tspn Lime juice
• 1 tspn whole seed Mustard
• Pepper to taste (optional)

On a flat serving platter, arrange spinach and layer meat, avocado, mango and walnuts on top. Pour dressing over salad just before serving. It is de-licious!

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Prep and Cooking time: 60 mins Serves 6

This lasagne is very hearty yet also very fresh and light (low fat too!). You will eat your heart out and won’t leave the table feeling heavy. Delicious! To save money with this one, you can get the Ricotta from the deli, buy the Coles brand lasagne sheets, and grab whichever pasta sauce is on special.

Ingredients

400g minced Chicken
1 Red Capsicum, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Red Chilli, finely chopped (very mild)
440g can Red Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
575g jar Tomato-based Pasta Sauce
400g can Crushed Tomatoes
375g fresh Lasagne sheets
375g Ricotta Cheese
½ cup Tasty Cheese, grated

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2. Heat a big non-stick fry pan to high and add chicken. Break clumps up with a wooden spoon as you brown chicken.
3. Add capsicum, chilli, beans, pasta sauce and tomatoes, and stir to combine.
4. Grease lasagne dish with a small amount of olive oil (use a brush or spray). Cut pasta to size and place a layer on the bottom of the dish, then alternate sauce and pasta layers, finishing with a pasta layer (you should fit 5 or 6 layers).
5. Spread ricotta over the pasta and sprinkle with grated cheese.
6. Bake for 30mins or until cheese starts to brown slightly. Stand for 5 minutes, then serve with green salad.

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Cooking time: 40 mins Serves 6

This recipe is one of my all-time biggest hits on the dinner table, and it used to be one of the only things I knew how to cook in my university days (thanks to my ex Greg!). It is a sure fire winner with anyone NOT on a diet (although dieters are usually happy to make an exception in this case). It is also one of my easiest and quickest recipes – I’m not usually one to buy pre-made sauces, but this pesto really makes this amazing and it would take you hours to make it yourself. You will never go to Fasta Pasta again!
(If you can’t find Leggo’s Sundried Tomato Pesto,  substitute with another concentrated red pesto.)

Ingredients

500g packet of fettuccine
400g chicken breast
¼ cup sliced kalamata olives
¼ cup sliced semi-dried tomatos
1 cup thickened cream (add more if you want more sauce)
1 jar of Leggo’s Sundried Tomato Pesto

Method

1. Chop the chicken into bite-sized cubes, and drain olives and semi-dried tomatos.
2. Bring your biggest pot full of salted water to a rapid boil, then add fettuccine and stir to ensure they don’t stick together.
3. Add chicken to a very hot pan with a dash of olive oil, and cook until just browned.
4. Add jar of pesto and let sizzle for a minute, then add the olives, tomatos and cream.
5. Cover and let it simmer on very low for 5 minutes, or until ready to serve.
6. Drain pasta and serve into bowls with a few big spoonfuls of sauce on top – this sauce is very rich so you don’t need much!

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Prep and Cooking time: 6o min Serves 6

This Thai soup recipe, from my neighbor Irene, is AMAZING! It’s beautiful Thai flavours make a party in your mouth. Although there are a lot of ingredients, it’s very easy to make – once the prep is done, you can sit back and relax while it cooks. Serve it at dinner parties!

Ingredients

• 400ml Coconut Cream (CC Milk for those on a diet)
• 3 tablespoons yellow (or red) Thai Curry Paste
• 350ml Fish Stock (Fish Stock Cubes are cheaper)
• 3 tablespoons Fish Sauce
• 2 tablespoons Caster Sugar
• 3 Lemongrass stalks, cut into thirds and bruised
• ½ teaspoon Turmeric
• 1kg Pumpkin, peeled and cut into large bite sized chunks
• 500g Fish (any type)
• 400g peeled raw Prawns (cheap bags in the frozen section at Coles)
• 3-4 small bunches of Bok Choy, roughly chopped
• 1 bunch Coriander, chopped
• Juice of ½-1 lime, to taste
• 2 cups Basmati Rice

Method

1. Begin cooking the rice (it doesn’t need to still be hot at serving time).
2. In a large pot, combine curry paste and small amount of coconut cream and fry to release aroma, whisk with wooden spoon until frothy.
3. Add rest of CC cream, fish stock, fish sauce, lemongrass, sugar, and turmeric. Bring to boil.
4. Add pumpkin to pot and cook at a fast simmer with the lid on, until tender.
5. Add seafood to pot and boil for 3-4 minutes.
6. Add bok choy and lime juice, and boil until bok choy is wilted. Pumpkin should now have made the soup thick and creamy.
7. To serve, place a ladel full of rice in the bottom of each deep bowl, then add a generous amount of soup and sprinkle coriander on top.

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