Roasted Chicken and Chorizo

This Roasted Chicken and Chorizo is really quick and easy - pretty much grab all the ingredients, stick them in a roasting tray and bung in the oven.

I did have a missing ingredient though - I couldn't get any sprigs of fresh oregano, so that was left out. I was planning on sprinkling on a bit of dried oregano, but it wasn't until I was putting everything in the baking tray that I realised I didn't have any of that either!

The end result was lovely though, and there was so much of it we had leftovers! I had even done half the amount of chicken (since there are only two adults here and the boys don't eat huge amounts....yet).

Lemon Yoghurt Cake

This Lemon Yoghurt Cake was so easy to make, no electric mixer necessary! Which meant that Josh was able to help with all of the cake making process, and he really loves to bake with me! Its a little messier than if I was doing it on my own, but he has fun, so that's the main thing!

I don't have a ring tin, so used a springform tin instead, and the cake needed cooking a little longer than the recipe suggested - i am guessing because of the different tin.

The icing was so easy to make, and icing the cake while it is still hot sets the icing hard. The icing is really delicious, tangy, and almost lemonade like in flavour. The cake itself is so soft, and I will definitely be making it again! I am even planning on doing one for Ethan's first birthday party next week!

Lime and Lemongrass Chicken

I used a few new ingredients for this dish - lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, neither of which I have ever used before. I don't usually do a lot of Asian cooking, but this Lime and Lemongrass Chicken was very easy to do, most of the hard work was done by the little food processor in chopping up the spice paste. The smell of the ingredients as they were cooking was lovely, and the chicken turned out perfectly cooked. I served the dish with a side of steamed rice (which i steamed with the leftover lemongrass and a kaffir lime leaf for extra flavour) and some blanched snow peas. It was a delicious dinner!

Lemon Pudding

The last lemon pudding I made required gelatin - quite amazingly, this one didn't and it still ended up thick! Very clever!

I had a small carton of cream and needed to use it up, so thought this Lemon pudding would be the perfect way to do that. It was very rich, but yummy! I only made a half batch, so I also halved the amount of lemon. However we do like tangy desserts in this house, so next time I would be tempted to double the amount of lemon - I have no idea if that will affect the outcome of the pudding or not, so don't quote me on that!

Prawn Fried Rice

I have never been very good at making fried rice, but this one was so easy, and had lots of flavour. We don't eat seafood very often in our house, because the boys are too young for shellfish (well Josh could probably have some now, but I doubt he would eat it!), so it was quite nice to have prawns for a change. I had some bolognaise sauce in the freezer, so i made the fried rice just for Steve and I, and Josh and Ethan had pasta.

I must admit though, I am a bit of a chili scaredy-cat - so i did scrape out the seeds. It still had just a little hint of chili, just enough for my liking. I will definitely be doing this one again, and even with a different protein, chicken would be lovely.

Speedy Roasted Chicken and Chips

Tonight we had the Speedy Roasted Chicken and Chips. The "speedy" part of it is in the cooking of the chicken, which I had to butterfly. It was the first time I have ever done that before, and unfortunately we don't have a pair of kitchen scissors, so I had to use a knife! It made it a bit fiddly, but I got the same end result. The chips were lovely with the flavoured oil brushed on them. Definitely much better than getting takeout chicken and chips! Plus we have leftover for some delicious chicken sandwiches tomorrow!

Buttermilk Panna Cotta

I was a bit concerned about trying this recipe, because I haven't had much luck with gelatin in the past. It either doesn't set, or has lumps of gelatin through the finished product. I was pleasantly surprised when i checked the dessert after 3 hours and it had set perfectly! I was even more pleased when we ate it for dessert tonight and there weren't any lumps - well not in mine anyway! So the Buttermilk Panna Cotta was lovely, creamy and delicious. And the passionfruit drizzled on top made it even better! I will definitely be making this one again.

Potato and Blue Cheese Frittata

I am usually not a huge fan of frittatas, because it seems to me to be just like having an omlette, and something that should be eaten at breakfast. But this Potato and Blue Cheese Frittata sounded like it might be promising. The finished product was lovely, with the salty blue cheese giving it heaps of flavour. I ended up serving the frittata with a little salad as well, but some steamed vegetables would have been great too.

Blood Orange Granita

Being the middle of winter and getting some of the coldest nights we have had so far at the moment (4 degrees, which might not be cold to some but it is in Perth!), an icy granita might seem like a strange dessert to make. But we have got a 5 year old blood orange tree in our back garden, and this year it has an abundance of fruit! The oranges are starting to fall off, so rather than waste them we decided to pick some off yesterday. We got a huge bagful, and there are still so many left on there!

So, needing to find something to do with all these oranges, I decided to give the Blood Orange Granita a go. They are pretty juicy oranges, although the redness hasn't developed as much as it should, so the end product isn't as red as the Donna Hay version. It did taste lovely fantastic though - very zingy, and I am definitely planning on doing it again! And will also be trying it with other citrus fruits, and any other suitable flavours. Roll on summer!

Baked Pumpkin and Sage Risotto

The Baked Pumpkin and Sage Risotto we had for dinner tonight was cooked by my husband Steve. It doesn't look too much like the picture in the cook book, there are missing sage leaves - we have a few herbs growing in the garden, and the sage looks a little bit sorry for itself, not many leaves and the ones that it does have are teeny tiny! There were enough to cook in the dish, but not to garnish it with. The dish was lovely in the end, although we did need to alter the cooking time slightly, which may have been because of the shape of the dish we used. But the end result still turned out great and the kids loved it!

Grilled Feta Greek Salad

This Grilled Feta Greek Salad was very tasty. Unfortunately the cheese didn't brown as it should have, I was cooking it in the pan with the greek patties i served with the salad, so it doesn't look as good as the Donna Hay version, but it tasted pretty nice! The feta cheese had a different texture once it was grilled, taking on the same texture as grilled haloumi. It was salty and delicious! The salad dressing was lovely too. It was a shame I burned the roof of my mouth on piece of pizza at lunch today, and had trouble eating my dinner because of it!

Pea and Ham Soup

So the start of a new month, and I think I am quite happy with the number of dishes I cooked in the first month. This recipe was actually made in June but I hadn't got round to posting it yet!

This pea and ham soup was so quick and easy to make, and its something that can be made really quickly on a cold winters day. The mint made it taste really fresh, and the use of the crispy proscuitto gave it an extra salty kick. It also has a lovely vibrant colour (the photo doesn't do it justice - it looked a different colour in real life, honest!!!) because it doesn't need to be cooked for a long time like most soups.

Coconut French Toast

This Coconut French Toast is like French toast on steroids! The outside is nice and crisp and the coconut gives it an unexpected flavour. The melted chocolate gives an extra little kick as well. The thick cut bread means that it stays nice and soft on the inside. Delicious for breakfast, morning or afternoon tea! Sort of like donuts with a difference! I will definitely be making this one again!

Bacon and Lentil Soup

We went out for lunch and then a movie yesterday (without kids!), so by the time we got home it was time to make a start on dinner. I had bought a nice big loaf of wide tin bread the day before, so I decided to make the bacon and lentil soup. It was so easy and fast to make - hardly any chopping, and only 20 minutes to simmer, so we still managed to get dinner on at normal time. The lentils in the soup make it very filling and substantial enough for dinner.

Baked Passionfruit Custards

Tonight for dinner we had two Donna Hay dishes, the Spice Roasted Ribs that we had last week for our main and the Baked Passionfruit Custards for dessert. I wanted to make something this afternoon that didn't have very many ingredients and was quick to bake. It was really easy to do, and the passionfruit made it that little bit tart, cutting down on the richness of the cream.

Baked Whole Lemon Pudding

I have been eying off the Baked Whole Lemon Pudding in the cookbook for a week or so now, not sure whether to give it a go yet, mainly because I don't have a food processor. The closest I have to a processor is a little version of one that came with my stick mixer. It definitely doesn't do as good a job as a food processor. So I did as best I could and ended up having to sieve the lemon mixture to get the remaining lumps out. Whether or not it tastes exactly the same as Donna Hay's version, I don't know. But whatever happened, it tasted fantastic! I will be doing this dessert again that's for sure!

Oh and I have decided it might be worthwhile investing in a food processor!

Greek Inspired Lamb Meatballs

Whenever we have any kind of flatbread in our house, we say that we are having "circles" for dinner. This came about because when josh was first learning his shapes, he decided to call them circles (as they rightly are!) and ever since that day the name has stuck. So tonight, he was quite excited to see we were having circles! These were a bit different to the ones we normally have - usually we have mexican tortillas - fajitas or soft tacos. The Greek inspired lamb meatballs had heaps of flavour, and the feta cheese melted nicely for a little something extra! We will definitely be doing this one again.

Seared Beef with Garlic White Beans

This is not the first time I have cooked Seared Beef with Garlic White Beans. Its great to do when you don't have much time for peeling and boiling potatoes, or even if you have run out of potatoes! White beans (also known as cannelini beans) can be kept in the cupboard for such times, ready to make a tasty meal.

Cheat's Chocolate Eclairs

The Cheat's Chocolate Eclairs have to be the cutest little things I have made! They are pretty easy to do which is a bonus. No complicated choux pastry to be made, which I have never tried and am sure if I did it would be a complete disaster! These little eclairs look great, and would be a fantastic little dessert to be made ahead of time for a dinner party, afternoon tea, morning tea...pretty much anything where something sweet is required!

Quince Lamb with Blue Cheese Polenta

This was another first time ingredient for me today! I have never cooked with polenta before...actually I don't think I have even tasted it before. So I thought I would give it a go. I did have a guess when I bought it though - I do my grocery shopping online, and because the shop I use only had one listing for polenta, I wasn't sure if it was the instant kind. unfortunately for me, it wasn't! I can tell you, i will go a little bit more out of my way to find instant polenta next time! At least I got a bit of arm exercise with all that continuous stirring - 25 minutes worth of it!

Anyway, I digress! The Quince Lamb with Blue Cheese Polenta was a hit! The quince gave it a nice sweet taste, but the blue cheese with the polenta helped tone down the sweetness a bit. It was quite delicious!

Easy Vegetable Soup

This Easy Vegetable Soup is a great little soup to make with winter vegetables. And pretty easy to do, since most of it just requires the use of a grate, and no need to cook for ages. Also the added bonus - not requiring a blender, it means less difficult appliances to wash up afterwards! I know i would rather wash a grater than a blender! The soup was quite tasty, considering how easy it is to make. Great to make for a warm lunch on a cool winters day or for a quick dinner with some nice crusty bread. Or even for an entree.

Spice Roasted Ribs

Well today I cooked something I have never bought or cooked before - pork spare ribs! And I have to say, thanks to Donna Hay's recipe for Spice Roasted Ribs it was an easy and delicious experience! The smell of the spices and sugar caramelising on the ribs as they cooked brought back memories of one of my favourite restaurants - one we don't go to anymore because the one on our side of town closed down (much to my dismay!). It was so similar to the ribs I could never refuse at Lonestar Steakhouse. While they were cooking, all I could think of was the bucket of unshelled peanuts they used to give you, and it was customary to throw the shell over your shoulder onto the floor as you ate them! And the music would start up and all the staff would stop what they were doing, come out and start bootscooting around the tables! It was a fun restaurant. Maybe one of these days we might have to venture to the Dark Side (only joking!!!) and take the boys there.

So, this was tonight's dinner. It was delicious, and one I will definitely be doing again!

Gourmet Beef Burger

The main for tonight's dinner was the Gourmet Beef Burger. I did end up having to substitute a few ingredients due to the sleeping arrangement of my boys - usually they nap at the same time so once they are done we can go and do whatever errands need doing. Today however, the bub decided that he didn't want to sleep while his big brother did, so I didn't get out to the shop for the ingredients I needed until 4pm. I needed to get back as quick as possible, so just went to the little shop near us. Unfortunately there wasn't any pancetta or onion relish, so I went with bacon and decided to caramalise the onions with some balsamic vinegar instead. It turned out pretty well! Maybe next time I will be a bit more organised!

Standby Chocolate Brownies

For the dessert portion of tonight's three course meal, I decided to make the standby chocolate brownies. A good thing about this recipe is that there is no need to use an electric mixer, so it is something i can do while the kids are in bed. It is relatively quick to prepare and cook as well, and with simple ingredients, its something that can be made whenever you have the need for something chocolatey and rich.

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Tonight I am planning on doing a three course dinner - as part of another challenge I am taking part in at the moment. So I decided to get the first course made early in the day and chose to make the delicious Roasted Pumpkin Soup. I have tried this recipe before and loved it. The part I like the most is that i don't need to peel or cut up the pumpkin - I am always a little bit terrified of cutting my finger off when peeling and cutting pumpkin! The pumpkin just roasts with the onion in the oven, and smells lovely as it does so!

Once the pumpkin and onion is blended, and the other ingredients added, it results in a lovely sweet soup, and its hard to stop at just one serve!

Chocolate and cinnamon wontons

I had a spare 20 minutes yesterday afternoon, so I started having a flick through Fast, Fresh, Simple, to see if there was something I could quickly rustle up. I just happened to have all the ingredients for the chocolate and cinnamon wontons. It sounded like a lovely little treat for a Saturday afternoon, so I set about making them. Lovely, crunchy little pockets filled with soft melting chocolate, dusted with cinnamon sugar. So easy, and a lovely little snack to have with a lovely freshly made espresso.

Welcome!

Hello, and thank you for reading my blog! I am about to embark on a cooking adventure - working my way through Donna Hay's newest cookbook, Fast, Fresh, Simple. I decided to try this because I noticed I was cooking the same things over and over, and not being very adventurous. This cookbook seemed like the perfect way for me to attempt new dishes, whilst being able to use everyday fresh or packaged ingredients that I can find at the supermarket. And also, having two young boys, I wanted recipes that are quick and uncomplicated - at the end of the day I don't have a lot of time to be fiddling about and fussing over dinner.

I have been watching the series airing on Foxtel's Lifestyle Food channel, and true to Donna Hay's style, she makes everything look so easy and I am hoping for the same experience! I have already tried a few of the recipes from the cookbook, inspired by the TV series. All have been a success, and while my plating skills are nowhere near as good, I am hoping that over the course of this experiment it will improve! And I am hoping that I will also find some new staple recipes that the whole family will love, and have fun along the way!

So as Donna would say, what could be better than that?