"Cheats" Satay Sauce

To be honest the first time I made this version of satay sauce I was very sceptical. Why? Because satay sauce is a favourite in our house which is full of harsh critics especially Alexandria. She loves this chinese version of satay sauce that I make.

Unlike the household favourite this recipe doesn't involve any cooking and is literally made in minutes. This low point sauce is incredibly easy to make and tastes perfect - smooth in texture, a little spice while being somewhat creamy.

I have to say this quick sauce went down a treat served with lamb kofta and salad wraps with my little princess stating "I hope there is some sauce left for my lunch tomorrow!"

"Cheats" Satay Sauce

(recipe sourced from Symply To Good To Be True 5)

Serves: 6

Points per serve: 1.5

2 1/2 tablespoons light peanut butter

1/2 cup 97% fat free mayonnaise

1 teaspoon red curry paste

1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce

In a small mixing bowl combine all ingredients, mix until well combined.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Garlic and Coriander Prawns

The second part of our Asian Tasting Feast was prepared by Alex. Unlike Oliver, Alex doesn't like scallops but LOVES prawns!! And she definitely loves Garlic Prawns. So as a twist she decided to add coriander, which I have say to say made them delicious.

This dish was really easy to prepare and cook so making it an excellent entrée for any meal, not just an asian feast. Alex decided to serve these in little bowls with 3 prawns in each. I guess she didn't want anyone to miss out as they were very yummy!!

Garlic and Coriander Prawns

Serves: 4

Points per serve: 1.5

12 large green prawns, shelled but tails intact

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 teaspoons crushed garlic

3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh corinader

salt

freshly ground black pepper

Rinse and dry prawns. In a large bowl place all ingredients, mix well, cover and allow to marinade for at least 30 minutes for flavours to develop.

Heat a frying pan over high heat and add the prawn mixture. Stirfry prawns for 3 - 4 minutes or until pink in colour and liquid has reduced slightly.

Serve immediately.

(Click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Pesto and Chilli Oysters ~ Oysters with Vodka Salsa

On a whim I purchased some oysters Saturday afternoon as a treat for Noel, who loves them, as he was working all day on Saturday. He had requested steak for dinner but for a starter I thought these would be a nice surprise for him.

He loves eating Oysters with Vietnamese Dressing and would have that every single time - I however like to try different styles of dressings/toppings as I am not such a huge fan and only tend to eat a few anyways.

With a mission to find some different dressings and reading through lots of recipes I ended up just making these two toppings up and to my surprise they were quite nice and enjoyed by us both.

The chilli oil I used is homemade (I will have to blog as I am about to make some new batches) but you can purchased chilli infused oil at some supermarkets and deli's.

Left: Pesto and Chilli Oysters ~ Right: Oysters with Vodka Salsa

Pesto and Chilli Oysters

Serves: 2
Points per serve: 3

6 natural oysters in shells
3 teaspoons basil pesto (premade)
3 teaspoons chilli oil
dried chilli flakes (if desired)

Remove oysters from shells, rinse and drain. Return to shells and place shells onto a patty pan tray.

Preheat grill to high.

Place 1/2 teapsoon of pesto on to each oyster. Drizzle with 1/2 teapsoon chilli oil and sprinkle with chilli flakes.

Place under grill and cook for 2 - 3 minutes or until oil is sizzling.

Remove from grill, allow to cool slightly and serve.

Oysters with Vodka Salsa

Serves: 2
Points per serve: 1.5

6 natural oysters in shells
1/2 tomato, finely diced
1 spring onion, finely sliced
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 tablespoons vodka
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Remove oysters from shells, rinse and drain. Return to shells.

In a bowl combine tomato, spring onion, coriander, lime juice and vodka. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Allow to stand for 1 hour for flavours to fuse.

Top each oyster with salsa mixture and serve.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Lanttulaatikko (Swede/Rutabaga Casserole)

Lanttlaatikko is a dish that I grew up eating! Not daily but when ever we visited friends of my family who we emigrated to Australia with and our families kept in contact. My family emigrated from Wales and other families, who shared our ship journey and became our friends came from Finland, Sweden and England. There were three families and we still are in contact with them today 36 years later.

When we went to their house we were treated to all the traditional Finnish and Swedish dishes but of course when they came to ours they were introduced to many Welsh and British delights. I have to admit that when faced with roll-mops, herrings and other Scandanavian delicacies I always looked for the Lanttlaatikko or that funny dish that tastes nice!

Lanttlaatikko is traditionally made for the Finnish Christmas Feast and is one of those "must" serve dishes. In fact it is made for any celebration, normally served hot with meat of some sort such as ham, pork, turkey, etc., and I just love it!

Here in Australia the Rutabaga is known as Swede, a vegetable I feel is under rated and overlooked quite often. I have to be honest and say I only buy them to put in a stew or to sometimes make another childhood favourite, Swede and Mashed Potato.

Of course I have changed a few ingredients to reduce the fat content of the dish but it was very nice and got great reviews from everyone having lunch today. We had it with Roast Pork and the very first mouthful brought bake some really good memories of visiting our friends.

Lanttulaatikko (Swede/Rutabaga Casserole)
(recipe adapted from Food From Finland)

Serves: 12
Points per serve: 1.5

4 medium swedes/rutabaga (approx 8 cups)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup reduced fat cream
1 tablespoon golden syrup
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons reduced fat butter
cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Peel and dice swede. In a large saucepan place swede. Fill with enough water to cover the swede, add 1 teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the swede is soft. Drain the swede and set aside to cool a little.

In another bowl, soak the bread crumbs in the cream for a few minutes. Stir in the golden syrup, nutmeg, salt and lightly beaten eggs and mix well.

In a food processor blend swede until smooth. Add the breadcrumb mixture and mix thoroughly.
Spray a casserole dish or baking dish with cooking spray and transfer the swede mixture to the casserole. Using a fork or spoon, pattern the casserole top as desired.

Spray top with cooking spray and bake uncovered for 1 hour, or until the top is lightly browned. Serve hot.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Mince Pies

I have to apologize for neglect as I have just been caught up in the Festive Season and all it's happenings. I did start this post before the jolly man came to visit but honestly haven't had a chance to sit down at the computer until now. Needless to say I am hoping that your Christmas definitely was jolly and now I am going to play catch up with things that we have cooked.

I am not going to boast that this is one of my christmas delights although I wish I could! These lovely Christmas Mince Pies were made by my Mam. This recipe for the pastry especially is one that she has been making for years and these mince pies definitely get requested every year by family and friends. The fact that the filling is just shop bought mince mixture doesn't even get noticed.

Mince Pies
(recipe courtesy of my Mam)
makes 4 dozen
points per serve: 2 (made with regular butter)
points per serve: 1.5 (made with reduced fat butter)

2 1/4 cups plain flour
3/4 cup Self Raising flour.
pinch salt
185 grams butter or Ultra Light Spreadable (70% reduced fat)
1 cup icing sugar
2 egg yolks
a few drops of vanilla
approx. 1/4 cup water
large jar of Robertsons Fruit Mince
icing sugar, for dusting

In a large bowl mix flour, salt and butter until crumbly and resembling breadcrumbs. Add sifted icing sugar, mixing through. Add egg yolks, vanilla and enough water to mix to a smooth dough.

Knead lightly & chill one hour before use.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Once chilled roll out half of the pastry on a flour board and using a 2 1/2 inch pastry cutter, cut out 48 rounds for the pie bottom. Place into greased rounded patty pans and fill with fruit mince.
Roll out remainder of pastry and cut into 48 rounds using a 2 inch pastry cutter. Place on top of mince filled pastry bottoms. Glaze with water and cook for 20 - 25 minutes or until tops are golden.

Remove from oven and allow to cool. Dust with icing sugar.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Pork, Pear and Fennel Sausage Rolls

This recipe was inspired by this month's Royal Foodie Joust at the Leftover Queen Forum. The ingredients for this month's challenge decided by last month's winners, Joanne and Adam of Inspired Taste, are Pear, Ginger and Fennel. What an amazing combination!!! These ingredients could mean either a sweet or a savoury dishes and of course, with a bit of though, the potential was endless.

We however went savoury and came up with Pork, Pear and Fennel Sausage Rolls. With freshly grated ginger, grated pear and of course ground fennel as part of the challenge mixed with some other grated vegetables, pork mince and sausage mince the flavour was intense but not overpowering, even Miss Alex who detests sausage rolls ate two large ones for dinner tonight.

Pork, Pear and Fennel Sausage Rolls

Makes: 24 large or 72 small

Points per serve: large 4.5 or small 1.5

6 sheets frozen reduced fat puff pastry, 25cm x 25cm

500 grams pork mince

500 grams sausage mince

3 pears, peeled and grated

1 onion, finely diced

2 carrots, grated

1 large zucchini, grated

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1 teapsoon crushed garlic

1 1/2 tablespoons ground fennel

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup plain flour

2 eggs, beaten

cooking spray

2 tablespoons fennel seed, for garnish

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius.

Remove pastry from freezer and allow to come to room temperature. Cut each sheet in half to make two rectangles.

In a large bowl combine pork mince, sausage mince, pears, carrots, zucchini, ginger, garlic, ground fennel, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix really well using hands.

Cover baking trays with foil or baking paper. Spray each tray with cooking spray.

Sprinkle board and hands with flour. Divide mixture into 10 pieces. Roll each piece into a sausage the length of the pastry. Take one piece of pastry and place one length of sausage mixture in the middle of on the pastry. Brush either side with beaten egg. Roll to enclose. Cut into desired lengths (cut into two for large or into six for small) and place on prepared trays. Continue until all pastry and mixture is used. Coat with remaining beaten egg and sprinkle with fennel seeds, if using.

Place in oven and cook for 25 - 40 minutes until cooked through and pastry is golden.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Oysters with Champagne and Wasabi

As our oyster festival continued in our house tonight I decided that one at least had to have champagne as an ingredient purely because they say that foods such as oysters are the food of lovers. And in my opinion lovers like champagne too...

Go easy on the wasabi unless you and your partner really like it.. a dot is definitely enough.

Oysters with Champagne and Wasabi

Serves: 4
Points per serve: 2.5
250 ml champagne or sparkling white wine
12 natural oysters, in the half shell
1/4 red capsicum, very thinly sliced and halved

wasabi to taste

Clean and rinse oysters and shells. Place oysters back into shells. Fill shells with champagne. Top with a few capsicum slices and a dot of wasabi paste.

Chill until serving.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Oysters with Ginger, Garlic and Chilli

These oysters are one of Noel's flavour bursts and they surely packed a kick! Fresh ginger and garlic are always quite strong which was the intensity that Noel was after coupled with a hint of Kaffir Lime was very unique but it was the after taste of the chilli was the hidden surprise.

Oysters with Ginger, Garlic and Chilli

Serves: 4

Points per serve: 1.5

12 natural oysters, in the half shell

2" piece of ginger, peeled and chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

4 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon chilli oil

Preheat grill.

Place oysters on an oven proof plate or a patty tin.

Top each oyster with ginger, garlic and lime leaves. Place approx 1/3 teaspoon of chilli oil on each oyster.

Place under the grill and cook for 3 - 5 minutes or until topping is starting to brown.

Serve immediately.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)