Pesto Genovese

1 large bunch of basil, leaves only, washed and dried
3 medium cloves of garlic

1 small handful of raw pine nuts

3/4 cup parmesan - loosely packed and freshly grated

a few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

Start chopping the garlic along with about 1/3 of the basil leaves. Once this is loosely chopped add more basil, chop some more, add the rest of the basil, chop some more. I scrape and chop, gather and chop. At this point the basil and garlic should be a very fine mince. Add about half the pine nuts, chop. Add the rest of the pine nuts, chop. Add half of the Parmesan, chop. Add the rest of the Parmesan, and chop. In the end you want a chop so fine that you can press all the ingredients into a basil "cake" - see the photo up above. Transfer the pesto "cake" to a small bowl (not much bigger than the cake). Cover with a bit of olive oil, it doesn't take much, just a few tablespoons.

You can set this aside or place it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. Just before serving give the pesto a quick stir to incorporate some of the oil into the basil.

Cottage Pie

2 tbs olive oil

2 medium onions - chopped

2 cloves garlic - crushed

500gr minced beef

1 medium tomato

1 cube beef stock

bunch of carrots, green beans & corn

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 200 C. Heat the oil in pan, add onions, garlic and minced beef, stir cook until mince is browned. Add carrots, peas, corn, puree, stock, salt and pepper - simmer covered for about 20 minutes or until the carrots are tender. While this is cooking, boil the potatoes and mash with butter and cheese. Spoon minced mixture into an oven-proof dish. Top with potato-cheese mash. Bake the cottage pie uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until cooked through and golden brown on top.

Meatball In Mushroom Sauce

Meatball:
1 kg ground beef
2 eggs
a bit of flour
Salt and pepper lightly
Mix all the ingredients together and shape into balls (roll in the palm of your hand) then cook in olive oil.

Sauce:
150 gr of thinly sliced mushrooms
1 cup of milk
15 gr of butter
1 heaped tbsp of flour
olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat oil and melt the butter in it. Add the mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms are soft and dark in color. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside. Add the flour and pour in the milk. Mix the ingredients together, stirring continuously. Return the pan to a medium heat and cook the sauce, stirring constantly until it thickens. Season it with salt and pepper and continue to cook for another 5 - 8 minutes.

Pour souce on top of meatballs, serve with spaghetti or french fries.

Orange Rosemary Roasted Chicken

3 skinless, bone-in chicken breast halves, each 6 ounces

3 skinless, bone-in chicken legs with thigh pieces, each 8 ounces
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 teaspoons fresh rosemary (minced) or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup orange juice

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Lightly coat a baking pan with cooking spray.

Rub each piece of chicken with garlic. Dab fingers in oil and rub with oil and sprinkle with rosemary and pepper.

Place the chicken pieces in the baking dish. Pour the orange juice over the chicken. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Using tongs, turn the chicken and return to the oven until browned, about 10 to 15 minutes longer. Baste the chicken with the orange juice from the pan as needed to prevent it from drying out.

Chicken Tomatoes

ingredients:
1 tbs olive oil

1 ounce chicken pieces

1 medium onion

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 tbs oregano

few shallots

few garlic

Heat oil in a heavy nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and sauté until browned on all sides. Transfer chicken to a platter and keep warm.

Add onion, shallots, garlic to skillet and sauté three minutes. Stir in tomatoes and stock and simmer five minutes or until tomatoes are tender.

Return chicken to skillet. Add oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover skillet. Reduce heat to low and simmer until chicken is tender.

Pan-Seared Salmon With Italian Salsa

2 salmon fillets

• 3/4 teaspoon salt
  1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  4 tablespoons olive

Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper. Cook 2 fillets in 2 Tbsp. hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until fish flakes with a fork. Top fish with salsa.

salsa ingredients:

1 can black beans, drained
1 can shoe peg corn, drained1 can black eyed peas, drained2 cans rotel tomatoes

3 green onions, diced
1 large bottle kraft Zesty Italian Dressing

Drain first 3 ingredients, mix all together and chill overnight.

Jive Potatoes

ingredients:
2 medium potatoes
1 small onion thinly sliced
1 small red or green bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 small cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon seasoning (rosemary, thyme, oregano)
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon juice

Cut 2 pieces of aluminum foil to about 12x15-in then set aside.

Cut potatoes into slices about 1/16-in. thick.
Toss potatoes with onion, bell pepper, garlic, oil and seasonings. Distribute mixture evenly between the 2 pieces of foil. Drizzle with lemon juice. Wrap each securely, but loosely to form a flat package. Place, seam side up, on baking sheets.

Bake in 450ºF. oven about 20 minutes until potatoes are tender.

Mozzarella Eggplant

1 eggplant
1 large mozzarella cheese
olive oil
tomato sauce
grated cheese

In a frying pan, fry sliced eggplant on both sides in olive oil. Then drain slices on paper towels.

Next, in a baking dish, put in some olive oil and some sauce, then the eggplant and the Mozzarella cheese which has been cut into squares.

Layer the cheese and eggplant. Use tomato sauce after each layer. On the top use grated cheese. Place in oven for 3/4 of an hour or until finished.

Terong Balado

ingredients:
200g aubergine sliced
2 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 tomato finely ground into paste
1 cup water

paste:
3 garlic cloves
5 shallots
1 tsp sugar
4 red chilies
salt to taste

Steam aubergine cuts in a steamer until tender. Grind spice paste ingredients in a mortar or blender into coarse paste.

Saute spice paste in a wok until fragrant. Add tomato paste. Stir fry for 5 minutes. Add aubergine and water. Stir to combine. Cover with the lid. Let it simmer until the liquid almost fully evaporates. Serve Hot.

Bubur Ayam

ingredients:
1/2 rice bowl measure of rice (rinsed and soaked in water for 15 minutes)
1 leg of chicken
3 cm ginger (slice as thin as you can)
4 shallots (slice thin)
1.5 litre chicken stock

seasoning:
salt to taste
white pepper powder to taste
2 teaspoon soya sauce
few drops of sesame oil in the serving bowl

Bring chicken stock to boil. Add leg of chicken and allow to cook until just done. Don’t over cook the chicken or the meat will become tough. Remove leg of chicken and set aside to cool. Shred the meat with finger tips.

Place rice in pot. Add chicken stock and bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer and stir occasionally until rice grains are cooked (puffed up or broken). Switch off heat and close lid and allow to stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, fry the shallots till golden brown and set aside the fried shallots.

Reheat porridge and add some water whilst stirring. Bring to boil until you get a smooth consistency. Add light soya sauce and salt to taste.

Pour onto serving bowls, top up with white pepper powder, sesame oil, some shredded chicken, ginger, spring onions and fried shallots. Serve hot.

Spaghetti Bolognaise

500g beef
300g Prego Spaghetti Sauce
1 medium size tomato
1/2 medium capsicum (sliced)
1 large chopped onion
Half a bulb of chopped garlic
2-3 tablespoon of olive oil

Heat up the olive oil in a cooking pot. Add in the chopped garlic and onion. Stir and allow the aroma to float up. Then, add in beef. Stir and cook until three quarter cooked. Pour in the Prego spaghetti sauce. Simmer the sauce with beef for 15-20 minutes. Add in the sliced tomato and capsicum and continue simmering for 10 minutes.

Pasta Aglio Olio

1 pound dry pasta
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbs garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbs parsley, finely chopped
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
salt

Cook pasta.

Put the olive oil and the garlic in a large skillet over a medium heat. When the garlic begins to change color add the parsley, red pepper flakes, and salt, stir well and remove from heat.

When the pasta is cooked, return the skillet to a low heat. Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet. Toss until the pasta is well coated with sauce.

Tagliatelle Ai Funghi

1 lb tagliatelle pasta
1/2 ounces porcini mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic
Parsley
Virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Clean the porcini mushrooms well, wash them and slice them.

Heat a bit of olive oil in a saucepan with 2 cloves of garlic, sliced or chopped fine, and add the mushrooms. Let them cook over a low fire, adding a bit of salt and pepper, and if necessary adding a spoonful or two of hot water.

Boil the pasta in plenty of boiling water, drain it when tender and mix it with the sauce. Add more olive oil if necessary, place on a platter and garnish with chopped parsley.

Quick Mashed Potato

8 medium size russet potatoes (cut into quarters)
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
salt and pepper to taste
parsley

Place potatoes and enough water to cover in large pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for approximately 15 to 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain potatoes well. Place potatoes back in pot and add milk, butter, salt and pepper. Mash using hand-held masher until smooth. Sprinkle parsley on top and serve hot.

Steak & Onion Parcels

4 pieces of rump or topside steak
2 tea spoon oregano
1 large onion (sliced)
1 large tomato (sliced)
4 tablespoons of water
1 packet french onion soup
sprinkling of crushed peppercorns

Make 4 squares of aluminium foil using it double. Place one steak on each square, sprinkle with onion soup mix and top with onions, tomatoes and seasonings.
Add a tablespoon of water to each parcel, seal and barbecue for 20 minutes and serve.

Tomato Beef Casserole

Preheat oven to 150 C
Cook three cups egg noodles as directed on package.

Cook half pound lean ground beef with one large chopped onion until beef is no longer pink.

Stir in:
1 can low-sodium, low-fat tomato soup
1 can creamed corn
1 finely chopped large red bell pepper
2 tsp McCormick Salt-free Garlic & Herb Seasoning
Fresh ground pepper
Cooked egg noodles

Pour into greased 2-quart casserole and bake, uncovered, 20-30 minutes.

Southern Chili

2 tea spoon oil
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large can tomatoes, (28 ounces)
1 can small red beans, with liquid
1/2 tea spoon ground cumin
1 tea spoon chili powder
1/2 tea spoon salt
1/8 tea spoon pepper

In a Dutch oven or large saucepan brown ground beef with onions in hot oil.
Add garlic the last few minutes. Drain off excess fat.
Add remaining ingredients: bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1,5 to 2 hours. Serve it hot!

Crispy Fried Chicken

2 chickens, cut up (2-3 lb)
3 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
juice of 1 medium lemon
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon pepper
oil
2 tablespoons water

Place chicken pieces in a large bowl: add 3 teaspoons of salt, lemon juice and enough water to cover chicken. Refrigerate overnight: drain thoroughly.

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine flour, paprika, pepper and remaining salt.

Toss chicken pieces in flour mixture: shake off excess. Heat about 1/2-inch of oil in a large skillet. When hot, carefully add chicken and brown lightly on all sides, about 20 minutes. Reduce heat.

Add water, cover and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Uncover and cook until chicken is crisp, about 10 minutes and serve!

Pepes

200 g mushroom
6 shallots
2 cloves garlic
1 leek
2 sprigs parsley
1 table spoon shrimp paste
1 chili sliced
1 tomato
salt to taste
banana leaves (or aluminium foil)
Pound or grind the salt, the chili, the garlic, the tomato and the shallots fine into a paste.
Slice the leek and the parsley fine and mix it with the paste. Coat the mushroom with the mixture and wrap it in banana leaves.

Grill the mushroom slowly above a charcoal fire (or bake) for 15-20 minutes and serve! Oh, you can also use tofu as mushroom alternative.

Steamed Eggplant In Garlic & Chilli

2 table spoon light soy souce
1 table spoon rice vinegar
1 clove crushed garlic
1 table spoon caster sugar
1 small handful chopped coriander
1/2 small red chili (finely sliced)

Slice 1 eggplant (about 500 g) into thin, round slices and place on a heatproof plate.
Place plate in a steamer, cover with lid and steam eggplant for 15 minutes.
Pour over sauce and steam for another 5 minutes.
Serve sprinkled with chili and coriander.
Serve!