A tight buget means a lot of creative cooking.... Turkey Balls Casserole!

Packet of 500g turkey mince reduced in the supermarket to $3.59
One egg
Pre-packaged breadcrumbs - not measured, just poured
Lemon & Pepper seasoning
Mixed together in a bowl, form into meatballs.....brown in a frypan with a tot of oil....

Pour over the browned balls, one can of Condensed Cream of Chicken soup. Add a cup of frozen mixed vegetables, fill the now empty can 3/4 of water and add. Smoosh around a bit so that the gellateanous soup breaks down a bit...

Bring to boil, cover, reduce to a low simmer - simmer for 30 min, stirring occasionally....
Serve with creamy mashed potatoes.....
(remember to take a photo to post to blog.....!)
yum!

Budget beater - Chilli

Love those comfort foods when it's a cold night, there's not much in the cupboard (the day before payday), and you are feeling in a creative mood.
Grab some frozen mince from the freezer, a can of tomatoes (chopped, diced or whole doesn't really matter, it all smoodges down to one flavour), chopped onion, a can of red kidney beans (rinsed), and a pinch of chilli powder.Of course, I tend to go overboard with the chilli - I really gotta remember that less is more, and not to put more than 1/2 teaspoon of powder in. Most of the family couldn't quite finish this as I measure chilli by the handful, not spoon...
I'm the worst person to ask to 'season to taste'-as I love my food hot. I'm having the leftover chilli in jaffles for lunch today - and tomorrow. What is left is all mine, although John finished his serve, he just didn't want any more. Even with adding Sour Cream to his serve, Martin gave up half way....Harry struggled, not liking spicy food, but managed a good half. giving the rest to the dog (who incidentally, loved it!)

YUM !!! - Chicken / Bacon - Sugar and Spice !!!

Combining Chicken and Bacon and spices- served up with potato gems and gravy made from the baking tray...this is a new family favourite....

I finally remembered to take a photo before eating!!

Not for anything truly spectacular, but it was a really nice and tasty hearty Roast Lamb.

It was a small roast, but like all other successful roasts, I cooked it in the CrockPot first. It went into the oven for the last 40min to brown. The roast spuds are par-boiled before putting in the pre-heated baking dish with a smidge of oil. The vegies are just generic packet vegies, but they add a bit of colour to our Sunday Lunch!

The gravy was special enough to serve in a gravy boat - please note: Anchor Hocking restaurant ware - circa 1960. The plates are vintage too - NZ dish detergent safe stoneware. Pre-dishwasher era.

What can be achieved with little....

Gotta love those cans of soup.
During the week, as is often the case recently - had to come up with something nourishing for the family of 4. I had 6 sausages, which by themselves do not stretch very far.
Flung them into a casserole dish - poured in a can of Campbells condensed mushroom soup. Baked for 45 minutes (stirred once or twice) and dished up over mashed potatoes.
Very quick - little preparation - fully satisfying.

Now on alternate mondays, I need to come up with a casserole that can be crocked during the day or started by the boys when they get home from school. Going to try crocking this same thing, but with Cream of Chicken soup. I'll add a wee bit of corn kernels too - but serve it over rice.
I'll try to remember to take photos of our meals - I really think a blog needs photos.

until next we meet....

White Choc Honeycomb mudcake

This is a much requested recipe from the Aussie contingent on 123.
Ingredients:

• 25og butter, chopped
• 180g white chocolate, roughly chopped
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/4 cups caster sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 3/4 cups plain flour, sifted
• 1/2 cup self raising flour, sifted
• 2 x 50g violet crumble bars, chopped

Topping:

• 180g white chocolate, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup thickened cream

Method:

Grease and line 22cm cake tin (2 layers of baking paper)

Place butter, chocolate, milk, sugar & vanilla into a saucepan and stir over gentle heat until blended and smooth. Set aside for 25 minutes until cooled. Pre-heat oven to 160c/140c fan forced.

Whisk eggs & flours into chocolate mixture. Fold in half the violet crumble. Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake for 1hour 45minutes to 2hours - until browned and a skewer comes out with crumbs clinging. (cover cake losely with foil if over-browning during cooking). Cool in pan

Topping:

Place chocolate & cream in microwave proof bowl - microwave on high for 1minute, stirring halfway through until smooth. Set aside for 15 minutes until cool. Whisk gently to thicken and spread over cake top. Sprinkle remaining Violet crumble - cut and serve!

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I have it on good authority that this also works well as cupcakes...

Welcome to my kitchen

The title of the blog?
Well - every kitchen has a set of drawers - the top one holds the cutlery, the next one down holds all the gadgets, scissors, tongs, matches, twist ties (well mine does), and the third drawer down is generally where I find all the scraps of paper with a favourite recipe on it. Or it WAS until I started putting them all in a scrap-book or written in an exercise book. (Incidentally, the exercise book stays beside the microwave and after 22 years has only about a dozen recipes in it)
So much of my cooking is routine, occasionally I follow a recipe and this blog is put together to record my good bits and the bad...
If I can have a stitching journal - then I might as well have a cooking journal.
I cannot promise photos on this one, I'm too busy eating to stand with a camera and take photos of what I prepare, but you never know....
Come along with me on the journey....................