Minestrone

This recipe can serve 4-6 but to keep the calories down you would probably want to stretch it to 6 by adding more water with the stock cubes. If you want to reduce the calorie count you may want to look for the lowest calorie bacon and four bean mix.

I usually use green cabbage but I thought that I would try red cabbage this time. But it coloured the soup and had a different flavour so I would recommend sticking to green cabbage..

4 rashers of bacon, diced
1 brown onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 carrots, chopped
2 zucchini, chopped
1/2 small cabbage, shredded
1 tin diced tomatoes
1 tin four bean mix, drained and rinsed
1 tin Cannellini beans (white beans), drained and rinsed
1L beef stock
1 cup dried pasta (spirals or shells)
cracked black pepper
grated Parmesan cheese to serve

Heat oil in a deep saucepan. Cook bacon, onion and garlic until onion is soft.
Add carrot, zucchini and cabbage. Stir well and cook for 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes, four bean mix, cannellini beans and beef stock and stir well.
Add pasta and crack some black pepper over the top and simmer until pasta is cooked.
Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Total: 1767 cal / 7380 kj

Per Serve (if serving 6): 294 cal / 1230 kj

Pesto Pasta Salad

This quick and easy salad is a great accompaniment to BBQ meat. I made this tonight to go with my Beef Rissoles but there is plenty left over for lunch tomorrow. Adjust the amount of vegetables and pesto to suit your taste and what you have in the fridge.



Preparation Time 20 minutes
Cooking Time 10 minutes

150g green beans, topped, cut into 5cm lengths
150g snow peas, sliced diagonally
100g broccoli, separated into small florets
375g dried small penne pasta
250g (1 punnet) cherry tomatoes, halved
1 zucchini, thinly sliced crossways
100g red capsicum, thickly diced
3-4 Tbs basil pesto

Cook beans, snow peas and broccoli in a saucepan of salted boiling water for 2 minutes or until tender crisp. Use slotted spoon to remove from pan and refresh under cold running water. Bring water back to the boil. Cook pasta in boiling water following packet directions or until al dente. Drain and rinse well under cold water. Drain well. Place in a large serving bowl.

Stir pesto through pasta. Add the beans, snow peas, broccoli, tomatoes and zucchini to the pasta and toss gently until well combined.

Serves 4

Steamed greens with toasted almonds

2 Tbs flaked almonds
12 spears asparagus
250g broccoli, broken into florets
2 zucchini, chopped into 4cm lengths
150g baby beans
100g sugar snap peas
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Heat a small non-stick frying pan over medium heat . Add almonds and toss for 5 minutes or until lightly toasted. Set aside.
Place asparagus in a steamer and steam for 3 minutes. Add broccoli, zucchini, beans and peas and steam for a further 5 minutes, oruntil all vegetables are tender. Transfer to a bowl and toss gently with oil and balsamic vinegar.
Scatter with almonds and serve immediately.

Serves 4 as a side dish

Source: The CSIRO wellbeing diet

School lunch ideas

Are your children heading back to school soon? Give their lunch box a healthy make-over, select a combination of foods containing carbohydrates, calcium, vegetables, fruit and proteins.

Here are four healthy lunches to get you started:

Tuna rolls: Split wholemeal rolls and spread with mayonnaise, then fill with canned tuna, corn kernels and semi-dried tomatoes. Pack with popcorn, dried apricots and a carton of yoghurt.

Pita sandwiches: Halve pita pockets, spread with pesto and fill with slices of roasted or barbecued chicken, brocconcini, watercress or lettuce and grilled zucchini. Add a small container of fruits in natural juices, grape tomatoes and almonds or walnuts.

Roll ups: Place lavash bread on a sheet of baking paper. Spread with hummus, then top with grated carrot, sliced cheese and avocado. Roll up tightly, using paper as a guide. Cut into thirds. Pack with a small mandarin, a bunch of grapes and a few miniature cheese wedges.

Frittata: Make a frittata, starting with 6 whisked eggs. Add cooked sliced potatoes, cherry tomatoes, cheese and herbs, or canned salmon or tuna. (Frittatas are a great way to use up leftover vegies.) Add mixture to a hot frying pan and cook over medium heat until 3/4 cooked, then transfer to a hot grill and cook for
a further 5 minutes or until browned. Cool. Serve, cut into slices, with sticks of cucumber and carrot, along with a bottle of water, a muesli bar and an apple.

Eggplant, pumpkin & zucchini curry

Preparation Time
10 - 15 minutes

Cooking Time
25 minutes

2 tsp vegetable oil
1 medium brown onion, cut into wedges
3 tsp Madras Indian curry paste (medium hot)
450g (about 4 large) baby eggplant, halved, cut into thick chunks
450g medium zucchini, halved, cut into thick chunks
500g Jap pumpkin, deseeded, peeled, cut into chunks
1 x 140ml can coconut milk {Ayam brand)
250mls (1 cup) vegetable stock
3 tsp brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander
Salt & ground black pepper, to taste
300g (1 1/2 cups) Basmati rice

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until slightly golden. Add the curry paste and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Add the eggplant, zucchini and pumpkin and toss until well coated in the paste. Add the coconut milk and stock, stir to combine and bring to the boil over high heat.

Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer for a further 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly and the vegetables are just cooked. Stir in the brown sugar and coriander and season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook the rice in large saucepan of salted boiling water, according to packet directions, until just tender. Drain.

Serve the vegetable curry with the rice

Notes
Leftovers: use curry paste in vegetable or meat curries. Use stock in soups or casseroles. Use rice to make pilaf. Use coriander in pesto.

For the kids: mild vegie curry - reduce the curry paste to 1 tsp.

Roasted Vegetable and Couscous Salad

1/2 butternut pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into 2cm pieces
Olive oil spray
1/2 Eggplant, cut into 2cm cubes
2 zucchinis, cut into 2cm pieces
3/4 cup couscous
1/2 red onion, finely sliced
1/2 red capsicum sliced
150 g baby rocket leaves, baby spinach or mixed lettuce

Dressing:
1 clove garlic
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon honey

Pre heat oven to 250 degrees c
Place pumpkin pieces in a deep baking tray and spray lightly with olive oil spray. Bake for 10 minutes then add the eggplant, zucchini and capsicum (also sprayed lightly with olive oil). Roast for a further 20 minutes or until cooked. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Cook couscous according to instructions on packet.
To make the dressing place all the ingredients in an air tight jar and shake until combined.
Once couscous is cooked, loosen with a fork until light and fluffy and place in a large salad bowl. Add the roast vegetables, onion, mixed lettuce leaves, avocado and cherry tomatoes. Mix the dressing through the salad and serve. Enjoy!

Serves 4

Per Serve:
801kj
192cal
11.7g Carbs
4.2g Protein
13g Total Fat
1.5g Sat Fat
5.6g Fibre

Ratatouille Polenta Bake

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 medium red capsicum, coarsely chopped (1 cup)
1 small unpeeled eggplant, (1 pound), diced (2 cups)
1 medium zucchini, diced (1 cup)
2 rashers bacon, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tin chopped tomatoes, undrained
1 serving Creamy Polenta (see below)

Heat oven to 190ºC. Spray a large frying pan with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Cook onion, bacon and capsicum in skillet 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in eggplant, zucchini, salt and pepper. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender. Stir in tomatoes, reduce heat to low & cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spray rectangular baking dish, 11x7x1 1/2 inches, with cooking spray. Spread polenta out evenly, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese & spoon vegetable mixture evenly over top.

Cover and bake 30 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and parsley. Bake uncovered about 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.


Creamy Polenta
6 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups finely ground corn meal
2 cloves garlic - minced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
1/3 cup chopped chives
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter or margarine

Add the water and salt to a large stock pot.
Bring the water to a boil.
Turn the heat down to low and slowly whisk in the corn meal.
Stir in the garlic and thyme, and cook the polenta until thick and
creamy, approximately 5 minutes.
Remove the stock pot from the heat source and immediately stir in the
chives, mozzarella, Parmesan and butter.
Pour the polenta into a large serving dish.
Sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese and a few chives on top of the
polenta before serving.

Swordfish Steaks with warm Zucchini & Olive Salad

4 x 200g swordfish steaks
2 Tbs olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
lemon wedges

Salad
2 tsp olive oil
2 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 red (Spanish) onion, finely sliced
12 kalamata olives
1 Tbs baby capers
3 small zucchini (corgette), thickly sliced
1/2 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley

To make the salad, combine oil, lemon juice, onion, olives and capers in a bowl.
Steam zucchini until tender but not mushy. Transfer immediately to onion mixture and toss to coat.Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Brush swordfish steaks with oil and pan fry for 2 minutes each side.
Toss parsley through zucchini salad and spoon over serving plates. Top with swordfish and season with pepper.
Serve with a wedge of lemon.
Serves 4 for dinner

Source: The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet

Chicken Pasta Bake

2 cups dried pasta (shells, penne etc)
¼ cup olive oil
4 (approx 460g) chicken thigh fillets
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
3 rashers bacon, chopped
2 medium zucchini, chopped
440g tin tomato soup
1/3 cup sour cream
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 180°C.
Cook pasta in a large saucepan of rapidly boiling water with a little oil added until just tender. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, slice chicken breasts into long strips then cut into cubes.
Heat oil in a heavy-based pan and cook chicken quickly over high heat until browned, but not cooked through. Drain on a paper towel and set aside.
Reheat oil in pan and add onion, carrot and bacon. Stir over medium heat for 10 minutes.
Add zucchini and soup. Bring to the boil and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Combine pasta, chicken, tomato mixture and sour cream. Season to taste.
Spread into a casserole dish and top with grated cheese.
Bake at 180°C for 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
Serve with a tossed garden salad.

Serves: 4

Source: Family Circle Chicken Recipes

NOTE:
This is a bit time consuming because of all the chopping but is definitely worth it. It also reheats well in the microwave if you have leftovers.

Wild Mushroom Lasagne

I first made this in 2002 and it was delicious and reheated the leftovers today and it was still great. I couldn't find dried Porcini mushrooms so I used dried Shitake mushrooms instead and the taste was amazing. Will definitely be making this again and will search for porcini next time just to see how much it changes the flavour. It is fairly time consuming so allow plenty of prep time or make the day before.

Mushroom filling3 cups water
2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms (about 1 cup)
2 pounds fresh white mushrooms/button mushrooms
2 large zucchini (about 1 pound)
1 large onion
3 garlic cloves
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons Sherry
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Sauce1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
5 cups whole milk
4 1/2 ounces freshly grated Parmesan (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
eighteen 7- by 3 1/2-inch sheets dry no-boil lasagne (about 1 pound)
1/2 pound freshly grated mozzarella (about 2 cups)
1 1/2 ounces freshly grated Parmesan (about 1/2 cup)

Make filling:In a small saucepan bring water to a boil and remove pan from heat. Stir in porcini. Soak porcini 20 minutes. Lift out porcini, squeezing out excess liquid, and reserve soaking liquid. In a sieve rinse porcini to remove any grit and pat dry. Chop porcini and transfer to a large bowl. Simmer reserved soaking liquid until reduced to about 1/4 cup. Pour liquid through a sieve lined with a dampened paper towel into bowl with porcini.

Quarter white mushrooms and in a food processor pulse in 3 batches until finely chopped. Cut zucchini into 1/4-inch dice. Chop onion and mince garlic. In a 12-inch heavy skillet heat 1 tablespoon butter over moderate heat until foam subsides and cook one third white mushrooms with 2 tablespoons Sherry, stirring, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated and they begin to brown. Add mushroom mixture to porcini. Cook remaining mushrooms in 2 batches in butter with remaining Sherry in same manner and add to porcini mixture. In skillet cook zucchini in 1 tablespoon butter until tender and stir into porcini mixture. In skillet cook onion in remaining tablespoon butter, stirring, until softened. Stir in garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir onion into mushroom mixture until combined. Filling may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.

Make sauce:In a 3-quart heavy saucepan melt butter over moderately low heat and whisk in flour. Cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes and whisk in milk. Bring sauce to a boil, whisking constantly, and simmer, whisking occasionally, 3 minutes. Stir in Parmesan, mustard, and salt. Remove pan from heat and cover surface of sauce with wax paper. Sauce may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring sauce to room temperature before proceeding.

Preheat oven to 375°F. and butter a 13 x 9-inch (3-quart) baking dish.

Assemble lasagne:Spread 1 1/4 cups sauce in baking dish and cover with 3 pasta sheets, making sure they don't touch each other. Spread one third filling over pasta sheets in dish and top with 3 more pasta sheets, gently pressing down layers to remove air pockets. Top pasta sheets with one third mozzarella. Continue layering in same manner with sauce, pasta sheets, filling, and mozzarella, ending with mozzarella (dish will be filled to rim). Spread remaining sauce over top and sprinkle with Parmesan. On a foil-lined large baking sheet bake lasagne in middle of oven until bubbling and golden, about 45 minutes. Let lasagne stand 20 minutes. Lasagne may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring lasagne to room temperature and reheat before serving.

Serves 6.

Source: Gourmet March 1999

Zucchini Slice

A traditional slice that's good hot or cold. You can add garlic and/or herbs for extra flavour.

1 tbsp butter
1 onion, diced
2 rashers bacon, rind removed and chopped
3 large zucchini (about 400g in total), trimmed and grated
60g pecorino cheese, grated
60g parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup self-raising flour
4 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Melt the butter in a pan and gently cook the onion until it softens and becomes translucent. Add the bacon and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove and cool.
In a large bowl combine the bacon mixture, zucchini, cheeses and flour. Add the eggs and season to taste.
Grease a shallow tin or dish, such as a quiche dish, spoon in the mixture and bake for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned and spongy to touch.
Serves 4-6.

Serve with a glass of: semillon or light chardonnay.

TIP - Grated zucchini is a good, crunchy addition to salads, or can be lightly sauteed in olive oil and garlic as a side dish.