Butternut Pumpkin, Kumara & Carrot Soup

Creamy Butternut Pumpkin, Kumara & Carrot Soup

I’m not usually a soup person, but I love this one. I make it a lot during winter and the whole family loves it.

It’s really quick and easy, but the best thing about it is its pretty versatile and forgiving. As long as you have your main starch vegetables in there, you can really add whatever other veggies you have in your fridge that need using. It’s really yum if you add potatoes too. You can also change up the soup mix flavour. The only reason I add soup mix is for the protein and nutrition from the lentils, barley etc,

The other great thing about this is it’s a dairy free creamy soup, which are hard to come by. I love that it’s a smooth and creamy soup, so you do need a stick blender for this recipe.

So here you go!

Ingredients

• 1/2 butternut pumpkin

• 2 carrots, peeled

• 1 medium kumara

• 1 medium onion

• 1 cup soup mix
  (I use a Country style soup mix that is a blend of split peas, barley, lentils & seasoning)

• 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  (I love the little stock pots, works out more cost effective)

• 2 tsp Moroccon seasoning (optional)

• 2 tsp salt

• 1 cup coconut cream

Method

1. Chop all your vegetables and place into large saucepan

2. Make up stock if you’re making from cubes or pots and add to main pot along with soup mix & seasoning

3. Cook on a low temperature for 1 hr minimum. You want all the veggies and lentils, barley etc to be completely soft and falling apart.

4. Once cooked, blend with a stick blender and taste for seasoning.

5. Once mostly blended, add in your coconut cream and mix through

6. Serve with a little bit of extra coconut cream on top and some pumpkin seeds if you’d like some crunch.

Slow Cooked Honey, Butter & Garlic Chicken

This is simply put, the best way to eat chicken. Big claim, I know, but just try it and let me know if you agree. I am also partial to fried chicken, but seeing as I don’t know how to make that and this is much healthier, I’m running with my claims!

This recipe is super easy and the chicken comes out so tender, juicy & full of flavour.
I love big flavour pay offs for not a lot of effort!

The trick here is to you use chicken thigh, so you’re getting more of that dark meat that will go nice and tender. The prep will only take about 10 minutes, which includes making a rub for the chicken, and a butter, garlic, honey & soy sauce that the chicken will cook in. Then the chicken is cooking in the slow cooker for the day and you can get on with your day.

Our favourite way to eat this chicken is kind of shredded / cut up with a side of green veggies, roast potatoes & coleslaw with the extra sauce poured over the top. The coleslaw cuts through the richness which is why a fresh element works so well. You can also keep it whole, but it can be challenging sometimes as it’s so tender it literally falls apart!
Also great however you use your shredded meat. Night two we often use for quesadillas.

Slow Cooked Honey, butter & Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:
4-6 boneless /skinless chicken breast
(recipe also works with bone in chicken which is often cheaper)

The Sauce:
1/2 cup butter or butter alternative (we use olivani)
1/2 cup runny honey or creamed honey
2 TBS rice wine vinegar
2 TBS soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon mined garlic

The Rub:
1 tsp each smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder & salt
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 TBS oil

Method:

1. Place all sauce ingredients into a pot and heat. Once simmering, take off heat.

2. While the above is heating on the stove, mix all rub ingredients together and rub onto chicken

3. Sear chicken (optional). If you have time & want to lock in those flavours, sear the chicken quickly on high heat for 5 mins. I only do this about half the time I’m making this!

4. Place chicken into slow cooker and pour sauce over the top

5. Cook on low for 6-8 hrs or high for 4hrs

6. When the chicken is finished cooking, I often take out the remaining liquid and reduce on the stove top for about 10 mins to reduce down and thicken up a bit. Just skim off the fat layer first and then serve with he chicken for extra moisture.

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork

DROOL! This is the absolute favourite meat dish in our house, with the beef brisket being a close second… which isn’t surprising as it’s virtually the same recipe with a few tweaks. I decided to publish this one separately so that you can find it if you’re looking for a winning Pork dish.

The recipe is a winner in summer or winter, or if you have guests coming over. We love to pop on buns to make burgers with coleslaw and some roast potatoes. It’s also really cost effective and versatile. It lasts us several nights and we use for burgers as mentioned above but also quesadillas and pulled pork pie.

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork

I use a 2-2.5kg bone in pork shoulder for this recipe

Incredients for the Rub
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp smoked paprika powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
3/4 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp salt

Ingredients for the BBQ Sauce
2 garlic cloves , minced
1/2 cup / 125 ml apple cider vinegar
1 small jar plain pasta sauce or passata
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp EACH of onion powder, mustard powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Method:

1. Prepare your rub ingredients in a small bowl by mixing together, then rub on the meat. If you have time, leave for 30+ mins to soak in, but I rarely do this.

2. Combine BBQ Sauce ingredients in a slow cooker. Mix then add the pork and squish it in if needed

3. Slow cook for 8-10 hrs on low, or around 5hrs on high if you’re shorter on time. Honestly the longer the better!

4. Once cooked, remove the meat onto a tray or board ready to ‘pull’, just make sure you remove the top layer of fat first, and any bones. To do this, get two forks and just start going at it to rip up the meat.

5. Pour liquid in slow cooker into a saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium high heat and reduce until it thickens to a syrup consistency (it thickens more as it cools). Usually around 10 mins. I often skim off the fat before serving.

6. Your pulled pork is ready to serve and store. Even better the next day for leftovers.

Best Beef Brisket Recipe Ever!

It’s about time I started sharing my slow cooker recipes, because they are staples in our house that we live on year round. This recipe is so amazing that my 13yr old son has dubbed it his favourite dinner. I originally found the recipe on a website called RecipeTinEats. Her original recipe has a few more steps than me, because I’m all about simplification. The ingredients are much the same though (although I lowered the sugar), so credit to her for this deliciousness!
She likes to add a few steps at the end which includes grilling & glazing the the finished beef in the oven a few times, but I find it’s delicious without those extra steps. The one step I wouldn’t miss at the end is taking out the liquid to make a sauce. The sauce is liquid gold, we like to pour it over the meat at the end (even though it’s already succulent) and on our vegetables… really anything in sight, it’s that good.

The recipe is a winner in summer or winter, or if you have guests coming over. We love to pop on buns to make burgers with coleslaw and some roast potatoes. So good!

The other great thing about this recipe is that beef brisket is a reasonable cut of meat, it’s not expensive, just takes slow cooking to make it good.

So here we go, enjoy!

Best Beef Brisket Recipe Ever!

Incredients for the Rub
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp smoked paprika powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
3/4 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp salt

Ingredients for the BBQ Sauce
2 garlic cloves , minced
1/2 cup / 125 ml apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups / 375 ml ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp EACH black pepper, onion powder, mustard powder
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Alternate: If I don’t have tomato sauce I actually just use pasta sauce. It turns out just as good and actually lowers the sugar content as well.

Method:

1. Prepare your rub ingredients in a small bowl by mixing together, then rub on the meat. If you have time, leave for 30+ mins to soak in, but I rarely do this.

2. Combine BBQ Sauce ingredients in a slow cooker. Mix then add the brisket and squish it in if needed

3. Slow cook for 8-10 hrs on low, or around 5hrs on high if you’re shorter on time. Just keep an eye on it as the sauce can start to burn if you leave it in too long

4. Once cooked, remove the meat onto a tray or board ready to slice. If you’re wanting more of a ‘pulled’ brisket, I would just get two forks and break up the meat that way

5. Pour liquid in slow cooker into a saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium high heat and reduce until it thickens to a syrup consistency (it thickens more as it cools). Usually around 10 mins. I often skim off the fat before serving.

6. Your brisket is ready to serve and store. Even better the next day for leftovers.

Mums Meatloaf

Meatloaf is one of my favourite dinners. It takes me back to being a kid on the farm when my Mum would make it. So yummy and comforting. This is my Mum’s old recipe that she’s been making for years, and now so have I!

The great thing about this recipe is it’s also super versatile, just use whatever veggies you have on hand. The other hack is to make mini meatloaves and freeze. Either make in muffin tins and top with bacon, or shape into a cylinder shape and wrap in bacon to cook, and then pop in the freezer and pull them out when needed.

Enjoy!

Meatloaf

Ingredients

500g beef mince
* or combine 250g lamb & 250g pork for different taste
1 onion – finely chopped
2 carrots – grated
1 Zucchini – grated
½ Red Capsicum – finely chopped
¾ cup breadcrumbs
2 Tbs BBQ Sauce
2 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp garlic
Mixed herbs
Salt & Pepper to taste

Note: This meatloaf recipe is quite moist.  To make firm / easy to slice meatloaf, add more breadcrumbs and remove 2nd egg.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Line a 9cm x 19cm loaf pan with non-stick baking paper.

2. Use clean hands to combine mince, onion, carrot, zucchini, capsicum, breadcrumbs, herbs, egg, BBQ Sauce and garlic.  Add salt & pepper to taste.

3. Press the mixture into the loaf pan and smooth the surface. Brush on a thin layer of BBQ sauce.  Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes.

4. Remove the foil and bake for 30 minutes or until the juices run clear when pierced with a skewer. Drain off the liquid. Rest in the pan for 5 minutes before serving.

Moroccan Spiced Cauliflower Salad

I’m a crazy for cauliflower kind of girl. I love it steamed, roasted, pan fried, riced, mashed… you name it, I’m all over it. Last summer I wanted to create a Cauliflower salad that used Cauliflower rice because since cutting back on carbs, I missed having couscous or rice in a salad. I also love Moroccan flavours so decided to combine the two. This is an easy and cost effective salad that is easy to throw together and it looks great on a bed of spinach or greens. Perfect if you need to take a plate or for a dinner at your place.

This recipe was featured in Issue 4 of Mood Magazine. Enjoy!

Moroccan Spiced Cauliflower Salad

Moroccan Spiced Cauliflower Salad & Quick and Easy Raw Salad

1 head of cauliflower

2 tsp olive oil

1 + ½ tsp ground coriander

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp paprika

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

Zest of 1 lemon

5 tbsp dried fruits ( I used dried cranberries + apricots)

4 tbsp nuts (I used chopped almonds + pine nuts)

Pomegranate seeds, coriander and mint to serve

1. Cut cauli roughly into florets and place into blender

2. Pulse until the cauliflower takes on a couscous like appearance.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and add the couscous, allow to cook for 5 to 7 minutes stirring frequently.

4. Transfer the couscous to a large bowl and set aside to cool.

5. Once cooled add the spices, lemon zest, dried fruits and nuts.

6. Add finely chopped herbs 

7. Stir well and season

8. Top with pomegranate seeds, fresh mint and drizzle of tahini & lemon dressing

Meal Prep Ideas: Roast Vegetable Salad with Chicken, Nut & Seed Chocolate Bark, Bliss Balls & Chia Jam

This week I extended meal prep to an hour and a half. And did 4 meals for lunches plus our treats for the fridge as well. We love bliss balls around here for snacks and lunchboxes, and I also decided to experiment and make a nutty chocolate bark full of goodness. It turned out amazing!

First up -

Roast Vege Salad with Chicken Breast & Lemon Mustard Dressing
Makes 4 meals

3 x chicken breasts
1/4 pumpkin
1 kumara
1 red onion
2 zucchini
2 x coloured capsicum (I used red and yellow - eat the rainbow!)
Corn kernals
1/2 bag baby spinach

To make the salad, chop all veges in similar size and line roasting tray in a single layer. Toss olive oil through veges and season. Bake for roughly 25 mins.

For the chicken, bake as preferred - I like to coat chicken breast with dukkah! Bake for 30 mins.

Once vegetables have cooled, toss through corn and spinach. Places equal amounts in your Tupperware and slice chicken evenly to place on top.

For lemon dressing, combine:

Juice of 1 lemon
1TBS whole grain stone mustard
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS mayonnaise

Mix with a fork for a minute or until comes together.

Drizzle over salad before storing in fridge for up to 5 days, or freezer for 2 months

Chia Jam

Chia jam is one of the quickest and easiest things you can do to make a small change in your diet to reduce sugar for your family. Ditch sugar laden jams for this recipe which just uses natural sugars of the berries or fruit. This week I used plums from our orchard that had been boiled down, but raspberry is a firm fave in our house.

1.5 cups berries
1-2 cup chia seeds
*maple if sweetener needed

Heat berrris on stovetop in a pot until broken down, use a masher to squash them! Once heated, add your chia seeds and maple (if using), stir and place into a jar. Store in fridge to set. Keeps for up to a week.

Nut & Seed Chocolate Bark!

This delicious chocolate deserved a post all of it’s own, CLICK HERE.

Cacao Crunch Bliss Balls

This week I totally cheated and got a bliss ball mix from Clean Mixes. The wholesome co also have some great prep mixed blends you can buy. If you’re short on time these mixes are fab.

These are the Cacao Crunch flavour and I added in extra pumpkin seeds plus some crushed almond and buckwheat. Wherever possible I add extra bits and pieces that up the nutritional content of foods.

Halloumi, Asparagus & Avocado Salad

This week I went over to my friend Annalee’s house to teach her this amazingly delicious and super easy recipe. Annalee is a makeup artist & vlogger from New Plymouth, her kitchen is honestly heaven! It makes me so excited to build our house and my dream kitchen! Asparagus is still in season, and so is avocado - and I’m pretty sure halloumi is Annalee’s favourite food, so, match made in heaven!

Halloumi, Asparagus & Avocado Salad

1 small block halloumi cheese
1 bunch asparagus
1 avocado
1 bag spinach
2 free range eggs
Cherry tomatoes
1/2 red onion

Heat a pan over medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil and 1 heaped tsp butter, when heated, add in slices of halloumi cut approx 1/2 cm thick. Pan fry until browned on each side - watch while it cooks as it will burn easily.

Add a little more oil and butter to the pan in order to pan fry your asparagus. Fry for approx 3-4 minutes. Should be nice and crunchy. Season well.

Hard boil your eggs in boiling water for 10 mins and then put in cold water to cool.

Once everything is cooked, lay a bed of spinach in a bowl and then add in all of your other ingredients on top.

For the dressing mix together:
Juice from half a lemon
3-4 TBS olive oil
1 TBS wholegrain mustard
1/2 TBS mayonnaise if you want to make it creamy

Meal Prep Ideas: Dukkah Crusted Chicken

Crunchy, crispy chicken paired with stir fried veges for the win! Super easy & filling. What’s not to love? You can mix it up with any veg that you love.

Shopping List to make 6 x lunches or dinners:

1 x jar dukkah
3 x large free range chicken breasts
2 x zuchini’s
2 x red capsicum
1 x red onion
2 x purple kumara
1/2 pumpkin
1 head broccoli
1 can corn kernals
Fresh baby spinach

Staples:
Olive oil, butter or olivani (if dairy free) plus seasoning

Prep:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees & line a baking tray with baking paper

2. Prepare your chicken by slicing through the middle to make two x chicken steaks

3. Place your dukkah on a plate and crust your chicken with it, set aside

4. Roughly chop your kumara and pumpkin into 2cm cubes, place on a tray and bake in the oven for 25 minutes

5. While the root vegetables are roasting, prepare your remaining veges to be stir fried. You can opt to just roast everything if you want to save time.
   I stir fry the brocoli, onion, capsicum and zuchini.

6. Heat a drizzle of oil in a pan and stir fry your remaining vegetables (start with capsicum and onion, add the zuchini when the others are almost done). Set aside when done.

7. Heat a little more oil in your pan, and brown the chicken for 2 minutes each side

8. Once browned and sealed, place your chicken on an oven tray, they will need cooking for approx 10-12 minutes

9. In your lunch containers, place some roast veges in the bottom, plus some of the stir fry veges. Add some fresh corn, spinach and lastly your cooked chicken.

Meal Prep Ideas: Wild Salmon, Asparagus & Broccoli Bowls

Fresh, in season, simple and delicious. This is very easy and quick to prep.

For the Salmon

Shopping List:

3 fillets of salmon from the deli that will easily cut in half. Choose NZ deli salmon if you can, should be around $30 a kilo.
1 bag Israeli couscous (can be swapped out for rice or quinoa)
1 bunch asparagus
1 head broccoli
Fresh baby spinach
1 x lemon

Staples:
Olive oil, butter or olivani (if dairy free) plus seasoning

Prep:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees & line a baking tray with baking paper

2. Dab your salmon with a paper towel to reduce moisture and drizzle with olive oil & season with salt and pepper. Cook in the over for 10-12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the salmon. It is done when it starts to flake and is no longer opaque inside.

3. Cook your couscous per the instructions, once boiling, cooks for roughly 7 mins.

4. Roughly chop your asparagus and broccoli

5. In a pan, heat a drizzle of oil with roughly 1 TBS of butter or olivani (the oil will stop the butter from burning), once getting hot, add your asparagus and brocoli.
   Pan fry for 5 minutes or until reached preferred tenderness

6. When the couscous is finished cooking, season well with salt and pepper, add some zest of a lemon and add a squeeze lemon juice as well to add flavour.

7. When everything is done, add your lemon couscous, spinach, green veges, salmon & a wedge of lemon into containers and store in fridge for up to a week.
   

This weeks prep also included
* roasting a mix of kumara, red onion & beetroot to add to salads for dinners or lunches
* Pita chips for Aiden’s lunch box (cut up wholegrain pita bread, drizzle with oil, season and
bake for 6 minutes
* blueberry chia jam

Kumara & Pumpkin Superfood Salad

We are coming into salad season (YAY) and I am so excited to start upping my salad game! While we wait for summer to fully arrive, my absolute fave Spring salad mixes winter roast veg, with some fresh summer greens and salad veg coming into season.

Nothing beats this delicious combo of warm roasted vegetables with spinach, tomato, avocado and pumpkin seeds for some crunch. I almost always add a free range poached egg, it adds a great creaminess.

Roast the following at 180 degrees for 25-30 mins in olive oil or coconut oil, turning every 10 mins:Then

1 cup diced kumara 
1 cup diced pumpkin 
1 red onion 
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, roasted in the last 10 mins

Then In a bowl combine;
1 cup spinach 
Handful cherry tomatoes 
Dressing of choice (I used a creamy avocado dressing)
1/2 an Avocado 
Feta cheese

Add your roast veges & pumpkin seeds to the salad and top with a poached egg if desired. 
You can easily add a protein like chicken or beef to this too. 

Enjoy!

Delicious spring salad featuring roast veg!

Roast veggies with pumpkin seeds

Roasted Moroccan Chickpea, Cabbage & Broccoli Salad

Hot summer days mean salads for dinner in our house, and I admit, I'm not the most original in my salads usually (green salad anyone?), so I have been experimenting with new salads over the past month and this is one of my new faves.

This salad is simple, refreshing & tasty.  You can change up the flavour by mixing through whatever salad dressing you think will go with it (would be lovely with a creamy dressing) or I have popped a basic recipe for a lemon dressing that I really like.My advice would be to not add the dressing until you are serving, as the chopped salad stays fresh in the fridge for 3 days without the dressing. Just add dressing as you serve.

Make it is easy, and just two steps - quick chopping of the raw ingredients, and roasting up the crunchy stuff  in the oven.

Chickpea, Cabbage & Broccoli Salad

Ingredients

For the oven:
1 cup chickpeas
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1 TBS Moroccan seasoning

For the main salad:
1/2 Red cabbage finely chopped
1 x head Broccoli finely chopped
1 x Carrot grated
1/2 avocado
Fresh baby spinach leaves

First, prepare the chickpeas and almonds. If using canned chickpeas, drain and dry with a paper towel. In a bowl, toss in olive oil and mix through the morroccan seasoning.
Place the chickpeas on a lined baking try and add the almonds. Bake for 15-20 mins at 180 degrees.

Next place the salad ingredients in a bowl for serving.  You can use any dressing you fancy or have handy, I make the following and it's super yum, simple and quick.
Mix up the following in a bowl; extra virgin olive oil, whole grain mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper

Top your salad with the roasted chickpeas and almonds, and enjoy!

Egg & Vege Slice

We have a few staples in our house that have been around for donkeys years. We all have them, reliable family favourites that you make time and again. One of our favourites is Egg Slice. I started making it when I was pregnant as freezer meals as it freezes so perfectly and you can pack so much into it. Even when I make it now I usually double up and freeze one for when I can't be bothered to cook!  The vegetable content is dependant on whatever is in my fridge at the time, you can switch out any veggies for your family faves.  Usually added to the below I would have capsicum/peppers and zucchini as well.

You will get better taste if you use free range eggs. We are lucky to have 5 chickens on our property who lay the most amazing eggs, Aiden likes to go and collect the eggs before I make it and he often helps as it's a very quick and easy recipe.  It should take no more than 45 mins including the 30 min bake time.

As I'm trying to stay away from higher carbs, I decided to try making it with almond flour instead of plain white flour and low and behold, it was BETTER than the original. WIN!  I wrote down the winning recipe straight after dinner, here it is!

Really yummy served with avocado or fresh tomatoes, or side green salad.

Egg & Vegetable Slice

6-8 free range eggs
1/4 cup oil

Roughly 2 cups chopped veggies of any variety.
I used:
1/2 cup Brocoli
1/2 cup Cauli flower
1 grated carrot
1/2 tin corn kernals (no sugar added)
1/2 onion
1/2 cup almond flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
salt and pepper to season

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius, line your dish with baking paper (no mess after!)

2. Whisk together wet ingredients

3. Combine veges with dry ingredients

4. Mix wet ingredients into dry, stir well

5. Pour into prepared dish and bake for 30 mins

Enjoy!