Layered Mexican Beef Casserole

	Grease a baking dish.
	In a large frypan brown 1kg beef with sliced onion, garlic, green capsicum and jalapeno (if using) until the beef is no longer pink; drain any fat then return to pan and add in seasoning, kidney beans and cumin.
	Bring the  beef mixture to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20-25 minutes stirring occasionally, then season with salt and lots of black pepper.
	Arrange 3 corn tortillas in the bottom of the baking dish, cutting as needed to cover bottom of the dish.
	Spread 1/4 cup salsa sauce over the tortillas in the baking dish.
	Cover the sauce with 1/3 of the cooked beef mixture, then shredded cheese.
	Repeat the layers twice but omitting the final cheese layer on top.
	Drizzle any remaining salsa on top.
	Cover bake in a 180c oven for 25 minutes.
	Uncover and sprinkle with more cheese (any amount desired) then return to oven and bake for another 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
	Let stand 10-15 minutes before slicing.
	Top with sour cream and/or tomatoes, green onions and crushed tortilla chips if desired.

Southern Fried Chicken

I have found this is a really easy way to make tasty chicken.

Start with chicken pieces

Coat in butter milk

Dredge in some flour mixed with seasonings of your choice, I used cayenne pepper, slat, cajun spice mix.

Now shallow fry until golden and crispy

Remove from oil and place in a low oven until ready.

Beef Hotpot

Take 1 kilo of diced beef and brown
Dice 2 onions and saute
Dice 2 green capsicum sauté
Slice 3 carrots

Combine all ingredients in a casserole dish and add 2 cups of beef stock

Cover with a layer of thinly sliced potato

Place a lid on the casserole and oven bake at 180c for 1.5 hours

Remove the lid and cook for a further 30 minutes

Eggplant Casserole

Start by slicing the eggplant thinly spray with olive oil and brown in oven.

In a saucepan cut 2 brown onions into slices add a little olive oil
Top with 8 tomatoes cut into quarters
Sprinkle with diced basil and sliced garlic
Simmer for 30-40 minutes

Heat the oven and butter a casserole dish

Layer the eggplant with the tomato sauce in alternating layers

Top with cheese and brown

Pork Ribs

Take some ribs cut into individual ribs.

Marinate in:

Ketchup
Honey
Soy Sauce
Chilli sauce
Liquid smoke
Marinate for at least 12 hours

To cook wrap in foil, place in a roasting pan on a trivet with water beneath. Cook for 2 hours on 180c.

Vegetable Bake

One of the nicest things for vegetarians and non vegetarians is a nice baked selection of baked vegetables.
Cut into 2cm pieces the following vegetables
1 kumara
1 butternut squash
4 potatoes
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
Salt and pepper generously and liberally sprinkle with olive oil
Oven bake at 180c for at least 1 hour
Add diced fetta about 20mins before serving.
Serve with mushroom and baby spinach wilted in a little olive oil

The Top Ten

In this mornings Sydney Morning Herald "Jill Dupleix nominates 10 dishes to take you through life. "If you can cook these recipes well, you can cook anything,'' "

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/cuisine/the-10-recipes-everyone-should-know-20120709-21qqo.html#ixzz20BEzj6to

Her list is as follows, 

Ma po beancurd

Minestrone soup

A great roast chicken

Creamy potato gratin

The classic omelet

Tarte tartin

Salt and pepper squid

Osso buco

Molten chocolate pudding

The perfect risotto

For each dish she says what you can learn from cooking it and of course gives the recipe.

My list would include:

Roasting a chicken

Roasting a piece of beef

The perfect scrambled eggs

A quality risotto

Cooking a steak to a nominated level of doneness

Baking a sponge cake

Making dhal

Making a curry paste from scratch

Ribs

Baked potato

Kohlrabi and Lentil braise

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• This recipe comes from the Sydney Morning Herald a new vegetable for me. 
• For the lentils
• 1 celery heart
• 1 carrot
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 onion
• 5cm leek stem
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 1 sprig thyme
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 250g lentils, washed
• 100ml tomato passata
• Salt and pepper
• For the kohlrabi
• 2 kohlrabi
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Reserved finely chopped vegetables
• 500g canned tomatoes
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper

Method

For the lentils

Place vegetables, rosemary and thyme in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

Heat olive oil in a braising pan and lightly fry half the vegetables.

Reserve other half for braised kohlrabi (below).

Keep frying and stirring vegetables for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.

Add lentils and passata and cover with water.

Simmer until lentils are soft. Add more water if necessary.

Once cooked, season with salt and pepper.

For the kohlrabi

Peel kohlrabis and slice flesh into 5mm-thick bite-size pieces.

Heat olive oil and gently fry chopped vegetables and kohlrabi for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.

Mash tomatoes with a fork and add, with liquid, to vegetables with a few good pinches of salt.

Simmer until sauce has reduced and thickened, stirring occasionally.

To serve, mix together with lentils and parsley.

Season to taste.

Oven Baked Chicken Risotto

I normally make my risotto on the stove top but I will need it for another dish so lets try baking the risotto.

Heat the oven to 180c and place a 4ltr casserole dish to heat.

On the stove top heat 50 gms of butter and 2tbs olive oil
Saute one fin
ely diced onion until translucent
Add 1.5 cups aborio rice
Stir until translucent
Stir through a handful of baby spinach leaves and semi dried tomatoes
Add cooked diced chicken (if uncooked add before you add the rice)
Add 1litre chicken stock and bring to a simmer stirring often

Place in casserole dish cover and place in oven for 15 minutes
Remove and stir cook for a further 15 minutes or until rice is cooked and stock evaporates

If too dry and uncooked add more stock, if too moist and cooked remove lid and stir regularly.

Stir through cheese of your choice and serve.

Slow Cooker Turkey Legs

• Ingredients
• 2 turkey legs
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, butter or a combination
• 1 onion
• 2 carrots
• 2 stalks celery
• 2 cloves garlic, or more
• 1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced (or 4 oz. canned)
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary (or use another herb if preferred)
• 1/2 cup dry wine

Method

• Slice carrots, mushrooms and celery about 3/8 inch thick. Chop onion. Mince garlic. Remove skin from turkey legs: starting at the top (big) end, pull down and cut at base of leg bone.
• In a heavy skillet, heat oil or butter. Salt and pepper legs and brown over medium heat in hot fat.
• Remove browned meat to slow cooker; add vegetables and rosemary to skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, for several minutes. Add wine and stir to get up any browned bits in the pan. Pour over meat, cover and cook : on High-about 3 hours; on Low- 6 to 8 hours.
• Good served with mashed potatoes, rice, noodles, etc.

Spicy Cauliflower Nibbles

Combine milk, powdered or crushed garlic and flour to make a paste

Coat cauliflower florets in this paste
Oven bake at 200c for for 20mins

Whilst its baking mix up your hot sauce with a little melted butter
For the hot sauce any mix for Buffalo Wings etc would do

Drizzle over the florets and bake for a further 5-10 minutes

Serve with either a blue cheese dip or Cupie mayonnaise

I served this with rice and dahl

Vegetable Braise

Sauté 2 brown onions thinly sliced in olive oil and butter
Finely cut into small cubes and add
1 kumara
1/2 pumpkin
2 parsnips

2 tsp ground cumin
2tsp ground coriander
salt and pepper

Stir until all is coated and fragrant
Add 3 cups vegetable stock
Simmer until well cooked

Add a generous handful of baby spinach
2 tins of chick peas
Serve on a bed of cous cous

Eggplant with Pasta

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• 1 medium sized eggplant
• 60ml olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tin (400g) peeled tomatoes, drained (juice reserved) and chopped
• Handful of grape tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon red wine (optional)

Fry the onion garlic and eggplant, add in the other ingredients and stir through cooked pasta