Spaghetti Bolognese

I love low prep cooking if you hadn't guessed, which is partly why I make this dish most weeks.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 jars of Passata
2 Carrots
1 Capsicum
2-4 frozen serves of baby spinach
3 tablespoons of Mixed Italian herbs
15 Sun dried tomatoes
3 tablespoons of Olives
2/3 of a bunch of Spring onions (green tops only for low FODMAP)
Optional: 3 - 6 stalks of parsley

750g beef/lamb mince
Garlic infused olive oil
(If FODMAPs aren't an issue substitute for 2 cloves of garlic and blend in with the spring onion. Fry the mince in normal olive oil.)
Cheese

Spaghetti Squash/Pasta/Konjac

Method:

Blend spring onion and parsley (+/- garlic) for 20 seconds, speed 8, sharp blade.

Peel, wash and roughly chop the carrot.

Wash and cut out the head/stem of the capsicum.

Blend the carrot and capsicum speed 8, 15 seconds, sharp blade.

Add baby spinach, sundried tomato, olives and Italian herbs.

Cook on speed 2, reverse/ blunt blade/sharp blade (if you're like me and cannot be stuffed changing blades), for 20 minutes temp 90°.

Fry mince with olive oil and set aside.

Mix it into your sauce by hand

If you are making pasta I set it up and the put it on in the last ten minutes, so it doesn't stick or go gluggy.

Spaghetti Squash Method:
If you are using spaghetti squash keep in mind that cooking times can vary greatly. Depending on the size of it, cooking times have been from 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours.

Cut spaghetti squash in half, with the cut side facing down on the oven tray. Put into an oven set to 180°. Set a timer and check it in an hour. If it is soft on the outside when you press down with little resistance, it is cooked. If not, give it another 15-20 minutes before checking again. If it needs longer still put it back in until you hit the total time of 1 hour, 30 minutes.

Once it is cooked shred it with a fork so you get lovely strings.

If you go with the Konjac just follow the instructions on the packet and serve immediately.

Serve the spaghetti squash hot, and your sauce and of course cheese!

Enjoy!

Chicken Curry

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
Dash of Macadamia Nut Oil
3 cloves of garlic
3 tins of coconut milk
3 carrots
1/2 bunch of kale
1 brown onion
1/2 bunch of spring onion
1 capsicum
2 small zuccini

1 broccoli head
1/2 cauliflower
Additional dried garlic, curry, tumeric - to taste

Method:

Chop and cook the chicken in a wok or huge frying pan.

After a few minutes add the onion and 1 tin of coconut milk.

Blitz the garlic and add.

Blitz the carrot, broccoli and cauliflower in a blender until they are fairly small chunks, but not tiny, add them, stir in a bit.

Blitz kale and add.

Add another tin of coconut milk.

Add other herbs and spices.

Blitz capsicum, and zuccini and add (if you wanted more veg then you could add eggplant and/or mushroom here - especially if you want a vegan version.)

Stir in final tin of coconut milk.

Cook for a few more minutes, and then it should be done.  (taste test - curry amounts vary on the strength of the curry and the stomach of the person eating it.)

This can easily be vegan, just skip the chicken, and it should still be just as delicious.

Shepherd's Pie

One of my favourite recipes is Shepherd's pie.  The normal version has potato and butter and milk and nasty things I can't eat, but this version is amazing and contains none of those things.  You can make this using leftovers or you can make it from scratch.

Ingredients:
500gm of mince - preferably lamb
1 onion (finely chopped if using stove, not if using a kitchen aid)
Half a cauliflower
Approx 2.5 kg of other veggies (carrots, peas, beans, cabbage - green or purple, zucchini, eggplant, spinach, broccoli,pumpkin etc.)
Organ veggie gravy
Gluten free beef stock (I use Massels)
Cheese, soy cheese or a nut based replacement cheese

Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees

Keeping cauliflower separate, cook vegetables on the stove by either boiling or steaming for approx 15-20 minutes until soft.

If you have a Bellini, Thermomix or Thermochef, etc. you can cook the mince and onion in that on speed 3, heat 90 - 100, with a good dash of water and oil each, for 20 minutes.  After about ten minutes add gravy and 2 teaspoons of stock.  You can add other flavourings if you like such as garlic, rosemary, or whatever herbs suit your fancy.  So easy as it cooks it for you and you don't have to worry about stirring.

On the stove method: cook mince in a pot on a lowish heat with a small dash of oil and/or water. Once it has browned a little, add the herbs, etc and onion.  When it is fully cooked add gravy stirring continuously until it has thickened, and then take off the heat.

Assemble veggies into your oven dish in layers.  I usually put chunky stuff at the bottom, but really veggies can go in any order or even mixed through except your cauliflower.

Add mince with gravy on top of veggies.

Mash the cauliflower well and add a dash of olive oil to it for texture.  You can add salt and pepper to it also or leave that out if you're keeping the salt low.

Add the cauliflower mash to the top and smooth over.

(If you want to freeze it unmade this is the best point to do so)

Put your cheese or fake cheese on, and zip in the oven.

If everything is already hot it will only take a few minutes, but if you have prepared ahead and then stored in the fridge or freezer then it will take 40 minutes in the oven from defrosted.  Just check it has heated all the way through.

Delish!

Semi-Dried Tomato and Olive Dip

This is another favourite.  I love this stuff, and once you make it, I'm sure you will also love it.  Even my friend who doesn't like olives thinks this is great!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup high quality pitted olives  (You can buy non pitted and pit yourself if you prefer.)
1/4 cup semi-dried tomatoes

Method:
Blend with stick mixer or in a blender.
Check it's not poisonous and tastes okay.  ;)
Make more, because you ate it lots before the guests came...

Avocado Dip

This is one of my favourite recipes and very quick and easy:

Ingredients:

One ripe large avocado
One fresh spring Onion
Freshly ground salt and pepper to taste.

Method:

Mash the avocado with a fork, or you can blend it with a stick mixer if you prefer.
Finely chop the spring onion, again this can be pulverised by a stick mixer.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with crackers, veggie stick or whatever you so desire.  The only issue with this is that is disappears so quickly...  ;)

Quinoa and Chia Seed Porridge

This is my standard breakfast, quinoa and chia seed porridge.  It's very yummy, warm, quick to make and just plain fabulous.

I have several variations, so if you're wanting to try it different ways, be brave - it's better with variations!

For one person:
In a bowl place:
1/4 cup rolled quinoa
1 Tablespoon chia seed
1 cup of milk of choice (I like almond milk and coconut milk) or 3/4 cup of water.
Good teaspoon of cinnamon
Fruit to sweeten (1 handful of sultanas, or 1 mashed banana or 1 mashed pear, or stewed apple, etc.) Alternatively you could use honey, agave, stevia or another sweetener.

I prepare that the night before, and leave it in the fridge to soak, as it tastes better this way.

The next morning I pull it out the fridge, and pour it into a small pot. Mix it around well so everything is evenly distributed, and if it's completely absorbed the liquid add a little more so it's slightly runny.

Put it on a very low heat, and check it regularly, but it will probably take around 7 minutes to heat up.  DO NOT raise the temperature to make it happen faster.  (I usually use this time to clean the kitchen or do some other job, as it will take a few minutes...)  Once it has heated it will start bubbling a little.  Stir it gently, to make sure it doesn't stick.  This may take another 2-3 minutes.  (You don't need to stir constantly, give it a stir, leave it for a sec, come back give it another stir...)  Once it's a nice porridge consistency, you're done!  Take it off the heat and pour into a bowl to eat.  Yummy, yummy.  Just beware - it's hot.

Variations:
Chuck in a handful of nuts at step 1- almonds or walnuts are nice.

1 Tablespoon of coconut at step 1

You could add 2 teaspoons of Cacao powder for a nice chocolate flavour instead of the cinnamon, but you would want to think carefully about what fruit you matched with it (banana might be nice) and it may need extra sweetener to take off the bitter edge.