Curry Kumara Puffs - More Freezer Fare! {Leftover Makeovers}

"Snacks!" demanded two crazy wee boys. "Snacks!!!" they yelled again. It was actually time for lunch, but they never yell for lunch. Snack. Snack. Snack! Always a snack. And in my head, I hear "Milk! Milk for the morning cake!" Ugh. Too many kids books!

For these two little men, food is something that must be consumed at all times. There is always a cracker stashed somewhere in the house. Raisins find their way out of books and into their mouths if they are denied a fourth helping of dates. I know they are growing boys (growing like mushrooms according to our 90 year old neighbour) but the consumption levels are incredible. "Astounding!" said the Gruffalo.

I hate throwing away food, and luckily most days there is little that goes to waste. But once in the while, there is a bit of leftover curry or bolognese or roasted potatoes. They get thrown in the fridge or the freezer for tomorrow's lunch for me or... A leftover makeover! (Que the cheezy music and the fancy intro.)

So. Seriously. Veggie Korma. What to do, what to do... Pasties. Pies. Puffs. Samosas. Call them what you want. Well, this version, we call them Curry Kumara Puffs. There was maybe about a half-cup to a cup of korma left over from the night before. So, hello kumara!

We baked a couple kumara (or you can use regular sweet potato, or not sweet potato) for an hour and then let them cool down. You could peel and cook them in a pot I guess, but baking them is a nice "leave it and play with the boys" way of cooking. Once they are cooled, take off the skins and mash them all together with your leftover korma.

While this was tasty on its own, don't eat it all!

Next, roll out some shortcut pastry. You can use the store bought stuff, which I did here, or you can easily make your own. Roll it out until you have a nice thickness, about 5mm or so. Then using a bowl or a big cup that is about 10-12 cm in diameter, trace or press through the pastry to make your circles. Keep doing this and then re-rolling until you've used all of you pastry. 

Now - fill it! I used about a tablespoon and a half in each pastry circle, but use your best judgement with the amount the leftovers you have. Plop it on one half of the pastry and then with a wet finger, dampen the edges of the circles. Carefully fold over and press the edges together. I used a fork to make some silly edges as you can see, but they barely ended up noticable once they were cooked. 

Brush them with some beaten egg and put them into a preheated oven, 200C for about 25 minutes or so. 

Pretty awesome. I put them in the freezer on the baking tray after they cooled a bit. After they were nicely frozen, I then put them into a freezer bag. The boys love them. I love them. Before I go to bed, I take a few out of the freezer, leave them in the fridge and after we get back from an outing before lunch, I put them under the grill for about 15 minutes to warm them through. 

Pretty damn tasty. But I'm a sure for carbs and fluffy crispy pastry!

xx

Big Batch Cooking... What took me so long?!

Honestly! What the hell!?

I have spent the last few months looking up all these big batch recipes online and wanting to join up on some cooking groups and such... But I was going about it all wrong!

Early last week, I decided to do a triple batch of the old standby tuna casserole recipe. Yes, those are peas in there, old standby recipe thank you to my dad. After no extra energy wasted I had three dinners in the time it took to do one. I popped one in the fridge for later and the other two in the freezer. 

Last night was the moment of truth. I took out one the freezer meals to thaw in the fridge overnight, and had pretty much the whole afternoon naptime to myself. Tidy up, vacuum, dishes, and finally sit down to finish up some crocheting. I'm such a nana, I know. 

Dinner time came, put the thawed meal into the oven, made a quick salad and that was it. Brilliant! Too easy!

I know a lot of people do this and have been doing this for ages, but it was such a lovely break for me to have. And I was all concerned about trying all these new recipes, when really, it was taking something I know how to make in my sleep and just making it bigger, doubled or triple, maybe even quadrupled! Wooooooo!

I have a strange suspicion that I made start secretly saving for a deep freezer in my piggy bank... Just saying...

Happy Weekend!!!

xx

It's almost baking season.. Apricot & Orange Muffins

This week has been a bit chilly here in old Welly. A brutal reminder of the upcoming winter. We've had to bust out a bit of the winter gear and merino pyjamas. Cold southerlies, rain, chapped lips, and heaters on... Time to start baking.

A couple of weeks ago, I came across a very simple, easy baking cookbook from the library. I was drawn to one recipe in particular, it included two of the boys' favourite snacks, apricots and orange. There was no losing with this one.

The recipe is only altered slightly from the book, as those hungry boys love chewing and eating oranges. Peels and all! The original recipe only calls for the zest of one orange, instead I used two for that extra bite they love.

To make these awesome zesty muffins...

Crispy Tofu Teriyaki - Meatless Monday and Naptime Cooking!

A couple years ago, I came across this recipe from the lovely Pip @ Meet Me at Mike's. The first time I made it, it was love. It's still in regular rotation on the menu planner, but has gone through so many incarnations.

This is our latest version! With crispy tofu and udon noodles! Super yummy! As per usual, making a stir fry in our house means whatever veggies are in the fridge and garden are fair game! And of course, a lot of the recipe can be done when the kiddos are napping. Chop the veggies, cook the tofu, whisk up the sauce.. This makes actually cooking dinner with two little men under your feet quite a bit easier.

First things first. Crispy tofu. I've been trying to get this right for years! When I was vegan, back in my early 20's, my best friend and I would have this amazing crispy tofu and broccoli take away from our favourite Chinese restaurant at least once a week. The tofu was the perfect amount of crispy and still soft in the middle... *droooool* anyway! this is the closest I've got to that! and it's only taken 15 years!

So anyway... To make this lovely (boy-loved) dish...

Dirty Rice - Naptime Cooking

I love Dirty Rice! It's a great back up recipe to have the wings. There are so many weeks that we will have heaps of random leftover veggies, that by the end of the week when I do my shopping, I pick up a small bit of chicken livers and it's sorted!

Yeah, I know. Chicken. Livers. Well, that's what makes it all so dirty!

Seriously though. It's an easy as recipe that I start prepping when the boys are hopefully napping.

This is the original recipe here. 

• 1 1/2 cup long-grain rice
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 300g pork mince
• 300g chicken livers
• 3 slices of bacon, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1-3 jalapeños, chopped
• 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning 
• 2 green onions, chopped

Most of the time you can wing it, add whatever veggies are on hand. I've added carrots, leeks instead of celery, mushrooms, capsicum, and a lot of hot sauce. I've used bacon, not used bacon - you get the idea. A handy thing that Jacob is great at doing (yes one of the MANY things) is stashing away hot chilli peppers in the freezer. And speaking of freezing - dirty rice freezes quite well!

You can find the method to the madness (aka the how-to) here. Just adjust it depending on your veg and meat. 

And yes, don't forget the hot sauce!!

x

Naptime Cooking - Wild Pork Enchiladas

Some days, being a Stay-at-home-Mum is not much different than being a project mananger. You plan your day based on what available time and resources you have. Somedays it's the only way to get through it!

I'll admit it, I love it when the boys are napping! Ahhhh quiet... Ahh the serenity... And then about 5 minutes later, it's a mad rush for me to eat lunch, tidy up quickly and get dinner started, or at least some prep done. (Unless, of course, Jacob is keen to cook, which has been a lot lately! Thank you, dear!)

I have a handful of go-to recipes that I use. I tend to change it up here and there, but the basics remain the same. This is one of my favourites because of how flexible it is...

• About 1 tsp (or to taste) of each of the following : Cumin, coriander, dried chilli flakes, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper
• 1 can of tomatoes, chopped or whole, whatever is available
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 400 grams wild pork mince
• 1 1/2 cups of grated cheese
• 6 tortillas (store bought is totally cool. I struggle to make my own tortillas most weeks)

In a mortar and pestle, bash all together until mostly crushed and combined.

Put all the spices and the tomatoes into a pot, stir and simmer through. Once it starts to cook through a bit, add more spice if you like. I usually add a bit more chilli... We like it hot!

While the sauce is simmering, get the meat on!

For this instance, I used about 400g of wild pork mince. I usually use about 350g of chicken thigh cut into small bite sized bits, but you can use whatever you have available. For a vegetarian option, black or refried beans are awesome!

Cook the onions in a well oiled pan until they begin to soften. Add the mince and brown off. If the meat has too much grease, drain on a paper towel and pop back into the pan then add half of the sauce.

Let the flavours combine and then take off the heat.

At this point, I divide the meat in the pan into 6 even portions. Now fill up those tortillas. I add a little bit of cheese to each before I roll them up and pop them into the baking dish.

When all 6 are rolled and in the dish, cover with the remaining sauce and cover the rest of the cheese.

So now it's ready to go. When this goes in the fridge for later, there is that moment of pride, you know the one - oh thank goodness I accomplished something today moment...

Anyway, pop this in the oven for about 20-25 minutes at 180C. Let stand for a few minutes before dishing out, top with some avocado, sour cream, and jalapeños and dig in!