Gourmet Chorizo Sausage and Ground Beef Sliders

Watching Masterchef Junior has definitely got to be one of my happy places. I mean not only is Gordon Ramsay absolutely darling in it, the kids are just adorable. The are so incredibly talented and most of them are so sweet, kind and supportive of each other, there's none of that vindictive, cocky, spitefulness which I suppose gets amazing ratings with most other reality TV shows. It just gives me the warm fuzzies. On the episode I watched they were making burgers and the next thing I knew I am day dreaming about succulent, juicy, flavour so full it smacks you in the face burgers!

Sunday lunch is a complicated thing in our household. Because we only really get back at 1:30pm from church everyone is starving so whatever we eat really needs to be pre-prepared. 

Countdown do some amazing gourmet sausages in the butchery section. They have variants like Italian Pork, Chorizo, Beef and cheese and they go on special quite often. This week I believe they are on special for $4.50 for a pack of 6 which is such a bargain! I remember seeing this ages ago I think on Jamie Oliver 15 min meals where he removed sausages from their skin to make meatballs, and I thought it was genius! I really wanted to go with some latino flavours and have patties that packed a punch. 

I premade the patties the night before, shaped them and wrapped them in gladwrap so when I got home all I had to do was chuck them in the fry pan to sear off and into the oven to finish cooking. I served my patties on cheese slider rolls with onion jam and a thin slice of cheese with a coriander pesto dressed slaw on the side! It was pretty magical I'm not going to lie. This recipe does pack a bit of heat, so if your little ones aren't into spicy I would just not add the chili. 

Chorizo and Ground Beef Patties

500g mince beef

6 Gourmet Chorizo Sausages skins removed 

1 Chili 

1 egg

1 onion

3 cloves of garlic

1 T of brown sugar

1 capsicum

2 T of cumin

1 T smoked paprika

Salt and pepper 

1. Place your mince and sausage in a bowl 

2. In a food processor blitz chili, egg, onion, garlic, brown sugar and capsicum (really you can hand chop these but I mean why?) 

3. Add this to the meat mix with your cumin, smoked paprika and salt and pepper

4. Form into patties. I got 12 slider sized patties which were about the size of my palm 

5. Sear off in a pan to seal it so the juices don't come out

6. Put in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 12-15 mins till the juices run clear! 

7. Serve however you like with whatever you like! 

Coconut Panna Cotta with Charred Mango

We just had such an amazing weekend with our friends The Reynolds. We have this on-going tradition where whenever we have a meal together, I always make something bizarre. Once it was Vietnamese Coffee Jelly or as Dan called it Jello-fee, another time it was my tofu cheesecake, which was awesome FYI! But anyway this time I decided to stick to a known favourite and not make them my food guinea pigs! 

Like I mentioned in my Rice Cooker Cheesecake post, I love having go-to no-fail desserts I can just whip up and this recipe is definitely one of them. I literally make it so often, I don't even refer to a recipe anymore, so I can't actually remember where I got it from, I think it may be a countdown one? Anyway lovely husband who is not a big dessert fan, is not a fan of this one normally, funny because he always seems to eat it anyway? But with the addition of Charred Mango, I think I might just have a convert! 

Being a coconut panna cotta there's various things you can serve it with. I've done lychees, palm sugar toffee sauce and toasted coconut, lime and mint. Feel free to use whatever you have on hand or is seasonal! 

You totally have to excuse my unmolding skills in the photo as my friends were making me laugh and JJ was screaming for me to feed him so I had to rush them out of their ramekins, normally they come out pretty perfectly! 

Coconut Panna Cotta with Charred Mango

400ml can of coconut cream

250ml Cream
1/2 cup of white sugar
2 teaspoons of gelatin powder dissolved in 2T of hot water

2x Ripe Mangoes Diced
25g Butter
2T Brown sugar


1. Add Coconut cream, Cream and sugar to a pot and bring to the boil stirring, to dissolve the sugar
2. Dissolve gelatin in hot water
3. Once Cream mixture has come to the boil, add gelatin whisking continuously
4. Pour into ramekins (I normally get about 6 very full ones or 8 which are 2/3s filled) 
5. Place in fridge till set 
6. To remove from the ramekins, sit on the benchtop for about 10 mins and then slowly run a very flexible small rubber spatula around the edge

1. Dice Mangoes
2. Melt butter and sugar in a hot saucepan
3. Once this mixture is frothing add your mango and keep the heat on high so that the sauce reduces around the mango. 
4. I like to keep the mango in the pan till it is just started to blacken 

One Blender Peanut Satay Sauce

We are big fans of the old Satay Sauce in this house. Being from Singapore, I grew up with the real thing. Road side satay smoking on hot coals, the delectable scent is unmistakable! So when I came to New Zealand and ate these so called pre-marinated satay kebabs which were really just glorified peanut butter and soy sauce, it was a bit of a shock to the system. Thankfully my mum introduced me to Yeo's Satay Sauce, a Singaporean made sauce which is the closest to authentic Satay Sauce as I've been able to find in a jar. Problem. It is like $5.79 a jar at Pak n Save!

I got it in my head the other day I needed charred steak with satay sauce so I looked up a few recipes but in the end just ended up slightly adapting a recipe I found from The Spruce . So if you want the original recipe feel free to check them out. 

Like all good Thai sauces the sauce has to be a perfect balance of  the 4 S's Sweet, Spicy, Sour and Salty. However all our palette's are different so what may be perfect for me may not be for you. So use this recipe as a guide and then add little by little to adjust until you find your perfect balance. 

One Blender Peanut Satay Sauce

1 cup of dry roasted  unsalted peanuts* 

1/3 cup water

3 cloves of garlic chopped
2T fish sauce 

1/2 tsp Ketchup Manis (Sweet Dark Soy) 

2 tsp Sesame Oil 

50g Palm Sugar grated 

1 thumb size seedless Tamarind 

1 green chilli 

1/2 can of coconut cream 

1. Roast peanuts off in the oven until golden**

2. Place all the ingredients in the blender and blitz until you reach your desired consistency. I prefer it smooth than chunky 

3. Find your perfect balance

Sweeter- More Palm Sugar

Spicier- More Chilli or dried chilli flakes 

Sourer- More Tamarind

Saltier- More Fish Sauce 

*I bought a bag for skinless, blanched peanuts for about $3. This should last me about three portions of the Sauce I think

** I just put them in the oven while my cupcakes were baking to save power 

The thing I love about this recipe is that it is deliciously authentic, easy to make but also versatile. You can use it as a dipping sauce, marinade, curry base. I used half this portion to top over charred rump steak (which I overcooked) so the sauce really saved it! The other half I cooked up with thinly sliced rump on a a low heat till all the liquid had evaporated and it just left a satay type crust on the meat. This then went a satay beef and caramelized onion pizza, which was dinner tonight! One rump steak ($9) and one portion of sauce (approx $3) = 2 dinners! Will be sharing the pizza recipe tomorrow! 

Easter- Keeping the main thing the main thing

The other day we were driving down the road and Miss Shyra Beth sees some interesting looking people at the traffic lights and pipes up "Look at that those weirdos."You may laugh, and in perfect honesty so did I. However it really got me to thinking what sort of person I am raising. My job has gone from cuddling, feeding and changing to moulding a little human life. You know what? That thought TERRIFIES me. It terrified me when I was pregnant and even more so now when she pulls lines like that out of no where. What do I want to teach my children? What am I teaching them without meaning to teach them with my own behaviour, pre-conceptions, language and mentalities?

Even more than that, being Christian parents, Easter has caused us to stop and evaluate how we are passing on our faith to our kids. I've been feeling really challenged by the concept of bringing up our kids to be "in the world but not of it." But where is it that we draw the line? How do we find a happy medium? As young children who are not yet able to fully comprehend things I don't want our kids association of Christianity to be one of depravity. I don't want them growing up without a Christmas tree because it derives from a pagan tradition, nor do I want them to be the only ones at school who didn't get easter eggs because we went to church on Sunday.

At our church conference NZ & Beyond one of the speakers used this line- "It keeps the main thing, the main thing." I think in a world where Christmas is about Santa, Easter is about chocolate and Anzac about biscuits, the happy medium we think we have found is where we keep the main thing the main thing. Easter Sunday is about Jesus. It is about celebrating the Risen King with our family and Church family and thanking him for his ultimate sacrifice. So on Easter Sunday we went to church as a family and then at home we read her the easter story and showed her an animated version on youtube.

And on Easter Monday, Shyra-Beth had her first wee Easter egg hunt. Shyra-Beth having access to multiple pieces of chocolate is not a concept I'm ready to handle. Thanks to her lovely Aunty Hannah who is always spoiling her, we hid these adorable Smiggle Animal Eraser eggs around the garden. The bright colours made it easy for her to find, and once we coaxed her into finding the first one she was all go with her pink wagon (another present from Aunty Hannah) At the end she got her first Easter egg, which Grandma dropped off for her before they went away. Shyra absolutely loved all the bright colours and the animals she found inside her eggs, it was cause for endless entertainment and on Monday night, when I went to make sure her duvet was on properly I found half the erases in her bed! Such a fun activity but we still got to keep the main thing the main thing! 

He Is Risen! 

Rice cooker cheesecake

I'm a lover of baked cheesecake. Like actually if you ever want to bribe me, cheesecake is the way to go. So when I saw this video make its rounds on facebook I was utterly intrigued so I started reading up different blogs where people had tried this recipe. From this research I came to the conclusion that this recipe would render the amazing sticky, dense texture of of baked cheesecake without the fear of overcooking and having it sink, crack and go dry (sounds just like my skin during pregnancy). so I just had to try it for myself! 

Being of Indian descent one does not normally leave my house without being fed, and as we are all about the spontaneous hangs (after the toddler is in bed) I'm always after quick dessert recipes with ingredients I can always have on hand. So I adapted the recipe I found, by using more long life/shelf stable items. That way if I ever have surprise guests round for dessert or afternoon tea all I have to do is pull out my mixer! From what I tasted it didn't seem like these changes affected the integrity of this cake at all! 

FYI- Foil wrapped original Philadelphia Cream cheese has a shelf life of 3-4 weeks! Defo one you can easily keep on hand. 

Ricecooker Cheesecake

200g cream cheese
2 eggs
200ml UHT cream
2 T lemon juice (I used bottled)
100g sugar
40g flour sifted

1. Take the cream cheese out of the fridge about 15 mins before using or just soften lightly in the microwave
2. Cut into cubes and put in the mixer, mixing at a medium speed
3. Add eggs, sugar and lemon juice
4. Increase to a High speed and mix until mixture is smooth and has no lumps. You may have to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a spatula once or twice during this process
5. Add cream
6. Slowly add your flour, this was where I started getting lumps so I decided to do step 7, however if your mixture is smooth, feel free to miss this step
7. Strain your mixture into your rice cooker tin
8. Go through 1-3 rice cycles until the cake looks cooked* 
9. Let it cool in the pan for about 30 mins and then run a rubber spatula right around the sides and slightly under the cake if your spatula is bendy enough. This should allow you to flip it out with no trouble!

*Now this is where it differs from cooker to cooker and blog to blog.I have a ninja rice cooker that cooks brown rice, porridge, steams or cooks rice super fast. I put it on a normal white rice cycle, but ended up doing it three times (around 40 mins) You will know when the cake is done because your skewer comes out with sticky bits of the cake on it, not sloppy batter, it doesn't wobble when you shake the pan and it is starting to come away from the sides of the rice pan- which shows the crust is formed

Cheaters White Chocolate Ganache

50ml UHT cream
1/2 cup of white chocolate buttons

1. Place half the buttons and the cream into a ramekin and microwave for 30 seconds
2. Give it a good stir/whisk with a fork and then add additional buttons and whisk till you get a lovely smooth consistency

Also I'm fully aware I totally need to up my photo game with these recipes! 

3 Chicken Breasts = 2x lunches and 2x dinners

I'mmm back!


So I was pretty terrible at this last time and kinda gave up, so my aim this time is to post at least once a week. Mumma of two, wife of one. I feel like this is doable.

Hands up if you are on a budget???

That would be a big fat yes from us! At the moment we only have to feed two adults and a fussy toddler. Hats off to the mums who feed tribes of six or more on a daily basis!

3 chicken breasts stretching out to 4 meals. Yes I know what you all are thinking. But seriously I did it, last week!

So Apricot Chicken is definitely a family slow cooker fav in this household. Normally I do it with a bone in cut such as thighs or drumsticks but on Tuesday, pre-tongue tie release, both babies were pretty full on, it was raining hard and I couldn't be bothered going down to the laundry shack where our deep freeze is to grab drumsticks so instead I just chucked 3 frozen chicken breasts into the slow cooker with all the other apricot chicken things and we left the house. When we got home my first thought was, why does this house not smell like apricot chicken. Yup, I forgot to turn the slow cooker on at the wall! Anyway thankfully we had easily defrostable food in the freezer and seeing as I had put the chicken in frozen it had barely defrosted all day anyway so I simply just let it cook.

These are the four meals we got out of the Apricot Chicken

Lunch #1- Apricot Chicken Sandwiches with Ploughman's Pumpkin bread, Lisas Jalapeno and Lime hummus and cucumber (PS. If you haven't tried this Pumpkin bread.. you need to! Its savoury tones are just perfect on ones palette) 

Dinner #1- Apricot Chicken and capsicum stuffed tortillas

Lunch #2- Apricot Chicken Pot Pie with cheaters chicken filling

Dinner #2- Apricot Chicken Pie with cheaters chicken filling and mixed veges

Yes I know we had pies twice, but seriously that filling was unbelievable!

PS. Sorry about the lack of photos as these were quick meals, generally made mid-appeasing a toddler and rocking a bouncer with my foot, photos weren't really a priority! 

Apricot Chicken

3x Chicken Breasts
2x Cans of Apricots
2x Sachets of Maggi French Onion Soup
4x Onions

1. Cut the onions into rings and place in the base of your slow cooker till it is entirely covered
2. Place the chicken breasts on top of the onions
3. Pour Apricots and the soup mix into the bowl and give it a good stir *
4. Pour the soup mix and apricots over the chicken breasts and cook on high for 3-4 hours or until the chicken pulls apart easily with a fork
5. Pull apart the chicken and mix well with the oniony/apricot liquid
6. Cook on high for another hour until the chicken has absorbed a lot of the liquid and the apricots are almost fully broken down
7. Remove from the slow cooker put in a sealed container let it cool for 20 mins put it in the fridge. You can divide it up here and put it in different containers if you wish.

*Normally I only put half the amount of liquid in with a bone-in cut, since I won't be getting much moisture from the breasts I used all the apricot liquid

Stuffed Tortillas

I don't like calling this dish quesadillas as there is nothing mexican about this apart from the fact I'm using tortillas. This is a total go-to dish in our family because the toddler loves it, and you can put just about any filling in there as long as you have cheese and sauce to bind it together! Tortillas/wraps are so versatile to keep in the pantry just make sure you store them in a ziplock bag to keep them fresh! 

1 cup Apricot Chicken
8 Tortillas
2 Carrots grated
1 cup grated cheese
1 capsicum diced

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celcius on fan grill
2. Spread 2 T of shredded chicken across 4 Tortillas
3. Top with carrot, capsicum and cheese and place the other tortilla on top
4. Grill for 4 mins on the first side and 2 mins on the other side

Eat!

Apricot Chicken Pie

Josiah lovesss my cheese sauce, like actually loves. So I don't actually use a recipe to make it anymore but the recipe I did learn to make it from is the Edmonds one, linked below. The recipe recommends 1 cup of warm milk, but as you want a firm-ish pie filling I would start with half a cup and add more if necessary, go by what it looks like. The key to a smooth sauce is always keep whisking! Also if you are feeding a family of four adults I would totally pair this with mash potato or a potato salad to make the pies go further 

Aprprox 2 cups Apricot Chicken or whatever is left
4 sheets of rolled out Puff Pastry
Edmonds Cheese Sauce
1 Capsicum Diced


1. Put Apricot chicken on a strainer and drain some of the excess liquid. You don't want it incredibly dry, but you don't want your pie filling runny either
2. Make cheese sauce
3. Add your cheese sauce to your chicken and capsicum slowly, until you achieve your desired consistency. You are wanting something that resembles a creamy dip. 
4. Ehh presto! Put in your puff pastry any- way you choose! 

a// Place filling in ramekins and place the pastry over the top for a pot pie
b// Cut pastry into four squares place the filling in the middle of one square and put another square on top, with a few horizontal slits- See photo below. That's what I did but you want to be sure your pastry is sealed really well, using a fork works best
c// Line a pie dish with pastry, fill it and place more pastry on top

5. Egg wash the pastry and bake in a fan forced oven at 180 degrees Celsius until golden and flaky