Jessie's Favourite Winter Meals
These cold wintery nights have set in for the next few months... What if I said to you, you could walk into your house after a long day at work and have a scrumptious meal prepared by your nanny - an added bonus; you will have no dishes to clean up. You could sit back, relax and enjoy your dinner – Everything tastes better when you don't have to cook it yourself!
Carbonara Pasta
Ingredients: - 2 tbsp olive oil - 1 packet of pasta - 1 250ml cream - 2 tbsp crushed garlic - 1 finally chopped onion - 8-10 rations short cut bacon (chopped into chunks)
Method: Bring water to a boil in a saucepan – cook pasta In a separate pan, place: oil, onion, garlic & Bacon. Cook until brown. Then add cream and simmer on low. Once pasta is cooked, drain and add to the sauce. Mix through thoroughly.
Slow Cooked Lamb Casserole
Ingredients: - 1 1/2 kgs diced lamb
- 1 cup vegetable stock (liquid)
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 bunch spring onion sliced
- 2 potato large quartered
- 2 carrot large quartered
- 500 g frozen peas and corn
- 425 g can condensed tomato soup
- 425 g Italian-style canned diced tomato
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 3 garlic clove crushed
- 1 tsp pepper *to taste
- 1 tsp oregano *to taste
Method: Dust lamb with plain flour and add sauces to slow cooker. Add lamb and all other ingredients. Cook on low heat for 8-10 hours. Serve with Sweet mash potato.
Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients: - 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 leek, white part only, finely sliced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1kg peeled pumpkin, diced
- 1 large potato, peeled, diced - 1L chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup (125ml) thin cream
Method:
Heat oil in a large saucepan over low heat, add onion and leek and cook for 2-3 minutes, until softened but not coloured. Add garlic and spices and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add pumpkin, potato and stock and bring to the boil. Turn heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then blend in batches.
Return soup to pan, stir through cream and reheat gently. Season and add a little more nutmeg if desired.
Spinach and Ricotta Canelloni
Ingredients: - Pack of fresh lasagna sheets - 250g frozen chopped spinach - 500g Ricotta - Pepper (to taste) - Salt (to taste) - Passata sauce (Tomato pasta sauce) - Grated Cheese
Method: Boil spinach until smooth – drain. In a mixing bowl place the Ricotta, Spinach, pepper, salt. Mix until combine. Lay out lasagna sheets, place mixture in the centre and roll into long cylinders. Do not overfill the rolls. Place in a dish. Cover all rolls with Passata sauce. Spread cheese generously and evenly on top. Place in Oven for 20-30 mins.
Butter Chicken
Ingredients: - 2 tbsp Patak's Butter Chicken Curry Paste
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 250g chicken, diced
- 1/3 cup of water
- 3 tbsp of cream
Method:
In medium size pan, gently heat oil, butter and chicken. Fry gently until browned.
Add Patak's curry paste and fry for another 2 minutes.
Add water and cream and simmer gently for 15 minutes until cooked. Add more water if necessary. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with hot rice or naan bread.
HAPPY COOKING!
- Jessie x
