Pork Chops in Creamy Tomato Sauce

What I am loving about regularly cooking for several people…
(who will eat anything, well almost everything,) on a daily basis...
It gives me a chance to try out some of the many recipes I read everyday
So much inspiration, most, really so so simple and so so tasty
Just perfect

Recently staying with my Hawkes Bay Hosts, I came across this on the Better Recipes Site, submitted by Rachel Popa

Pork Chops in Creamy Tomato Sauce... of course, as usual, I often make some changes to make the recipe my own
Usually to add some extra flavour
This time I added Onions...Everything tastes better with Onions
Plus I used Passata instead of canned tomato sauce recommended by the recipe writer
And for extra seasoning some Vegeta Powdered stock.
Thumbs up from the hosts

Ingredients:

4 Pork Chops
2 teaspoons Garlic powder
Sea Salt and Black Pepper
1 tablespoon Olive oil
1 onion thinly sliced
1 cup Tomato Passata
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup hot water with 1 tsp Vegeta dissolved
1/4 cup basil chopped

Directions:
First, preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
Trim excess fat off the pork chops
Place the fat in a cold pan and slowly raise heat to medium and render it
Perfect for browning the chops

Sprinkle pork chops in garlic powder
Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Brown in the fat over medium heat… for about two or three minutes on each side.
Set aside
Add olive oil to pan and add onions

Lightly sauté till translucent
Meanwhile mix Passata, Cream and hot water with powdered Vegeta

Add to onions in the pan
Cook for about 2-3 minutes
Add chopped Basil

Place the pork chops in a baking dish, and pour onion sauce over pork chops..

Bake covered in the oven for 30-45 minutes or until pork chops are cooked through.
Tear some basil leaves over the top

Serve with Mashed Potato and other vegetable of choice… we had Brussel Sprouts and Cauliflower

Delicious
NB: Mary used the leftover sauce mixed with some fried bacon to smother some pasta
Waste not want Not, Another Dinner...always a winner

Best Leftover Lamb Roast Dish

My Friend and Host Mary had bought a rather large leg of lamb
It was to feed 5 of us but obviously… it could have fed probably 8-10
So even before we had leftovers, I did a search for a way to use them up
Of course there is always Shepherds pie BUT we wanted something different
Epicurious had a recipe that inspired me. I made a few changes
So so simple and so so tasty
Beautiful flavoured rice
Cant get much better than that, I reckon

Not only did we have lamb but also gravy and mint sauce leftover, so perfect
AND there was still lamb for a sandwich the next day

To serve 4
Heat oven to 175C
Grease a casserole dish with butter

3 Tablespoons butter
2 medium onions peeled and thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups leftover Lamb
1 cup of leftover gravy including 1/2 cup mint sauce
1 1/2 cups of stock (I used powdered stock in water
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 cups basmati rice
1/4 cup chopped parley
Extra parsley for garnish

Saute onions in butter until soft and delicately browned
Add rice
Stir and cook for about 5 minutes till rice is almost toasted

 
Mix together gravy, mint sauce and stock and parsley
Add to pan
Stir well
Add leftover lamb and parsley

Bring to boil and turn into Casserole dish

Into oven and bake for about 30-40 minutes when rice is cooked and has absorbed most of the liquid
Check at 25 minutes to make sure it not drying out

Garnish with extra chopped parsley and serve

Orange, Ginger and Pinapple Marmalade - Using the Oranges

Our Lucy has an amazing Orange Tree
We have oranges loads of them
I have been trying to find ways of using them

Of course I juiced some
after a few days as the juice took on, a not off, but stronger taste. I decided to make some syrup
which is beautiful over ice cream

Haven’t got quantities but it was about 1/3 sugar 2/3 squeezed orange juice

I had an unsuccessful try at making orange crisps
They certainly didn’t look like Martha Stewarts and the skin was very bitter

So I persevered and finally found a recipe for Orange Marmalade,
which also had Crystallised Ginger and Crushed Pineapple 
On a website called Susan Can Cook
Thank you Susan I am very proud of it
So to make this Marmalade
My oranges were odd sizes so I ended up with about 3 cups of peeled oranges
I used a special sugar designed Jams not sure if it made any difference

This should make 4 medium size jars
e.g peanut butter size

So :You need
Zest and segments of 5 large oranges
4 cups water
2 x 400 gms crushed pineapple in juice
Heaping 1/3 cup crystallised ginger, diced small
Juice of one lemon
1 Kg Sugar

Thoroughly clean jars and lids
Make little circles of Baking paper to line the lids
While the marmalade is cooking place the jars in a heated oven 160C to help sterilize and so they won't crack when you add the very hot jam
Place several saucers in the freezer.

Peel the zest from the oranges and chop
Remove the white pith and discard

And segment the oranges
Place the zest and the diced ginger in a heavy bottomed sauce pan with 4 cups of water.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.

Place orange segments, pineapple and juice and lemon juice in a large heavy bottomed stock pot. Add the simmered zest, ginger and the poaching liquid to the fruit. 
Add the sugar.

Bring to a boil. Boil until marmalade reaches gel stage -
Stir every so often to make sure it doesn't catch
This will take 30-40 minutes.

To test set, pull one of the saucers out of the freezer and scoop a teaspoon of the marmalade onto it. Allow to cool.
If it mounds or makes wrinkles when you push it, it is done.

Remove from heat.
Stir for 2-3 minutes to distribute fruit.
Carefully ladle into hot prepared jars.
Wipe rims and top with lids and rings.

This should make 4 medium size jars
e.g peanut butter
Look At That

Just toasted a crumpet
Butter melting all over it
Topped with MY Marmalade
It was delicious
Well!!! I'm a very proud person

The Best Gluten Free Banana Cake-So Light and Moist

I have just made a gluten free banana cake
It is superb, I’m so impressed 
It’s light and moist. Yummo
My experience with Gluten Free, is not always great but this recipe...Wow

Perfect for lunch. Soup of course as it is a ghastly day here in Auckland

One of my Granddaughters is not good with wheat. 
We usually bake with Spelt flour.
I'd run out and its not easy to find so, instead, I bought Edmonds Gluten Free Self Raising Flour 
On the packet there is a recipe for Banana cake
In the fruit bowl , there were some well ripened bananas
So I thought I'd whip one up

What a find, I will definitely make this again
Its a one pot wonder as well
Delightful
 

125g butter cubed
3/4 Cup brown sugar firmly packed 
1 tsp vanilla
1 Cup mashed bananas (2 large ripe bananas)
1 egg , lightly beaten 
2 1/2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 Edmonds Gluten Free self raising flour 
 
Pre-heat oven to 170C conventional...150C fan
Grease and line a 20cm square tin

Put butter, sugar and vanilla into a medium saucepan
Stir over moderate heat till melted
Remove from heat 

Stir bananas into mix
Add egg, flour and milk

Pour mixture into prepared cake tin, smooth surface
Bake for 30 minutes or until skewer inserted comes out clean
Cool in tin for 10 minutes

I iced it with an orange butter icing 
1 Cup icing sugar
2 Large tablespoons butter
Zest of a medium orange and juice of half of it

Mix the butter and Icing sugar then 
add juice till you get a spreading consistency

Ice your cake, you wont be disappointed

Almost Instant Chicken Soup - Lunch for One - Waste Not Want Not

I can never throw away any chicken bones or scraps. It makes the best stock and such a good base for so many things
So in the fridge, was a lovely jelly like jar of stock, complete with some chicken fat, good for that extra flavour

My mission... to turn this lovely stock into a almost instant lunch for one,
For that extra seasoning, I added some Vegeta Powdered Stock
Such a good product
So
Slosh of olive oil
Take 1 onion peeled and sliced
1 red pepper, de-seeded and rough chopped
1 stick celery finely sliced
1/2 small carrot grated
1 tablespoon chopped red chili
1 teaspoon grated ginger
2 teaspoons Vegeta 
2 cups chicken Stock
2 teaspoons coconut sugar
juice of 1/2 small lemon or lime

Into a saucepan add olive oil over med heat
Add onions saute till softened a little 3-4 months
Add pepper, celery, carrot, chili and grate the ginger into the mix
when the vege soften add the Vegeta Stock powder

Stir
Add Chicken Stock...Bring to boil 
Simmer

Not for long though
5-7 minutes will be enough
Add the coconut sugar and the lemon or lime juice, just to balance the flavour

Lunch is served
Delicious and healthy whats more
If you have some coriander, (I didn't)...a few sprigs would be a welcome addition

Pesto Noodles with Beef and Olives - A Treat for The Gluten Free

Some members of the Family are temporarily removing Grains and Carbs from their diet to try and clear up small medical problem.
No worries for me...as, due to a good friend, I have access to Paleo Cookbooks
Paleo - Perfect for GF People
So last night we had this Pesto Pasta as they called it...I say noodles because it is not Pasta as we know it
Nevertheless it is delicious
I have this fab little tool that I purchased just so I can make vege noodles

Works wonders with courgettes

So this dish has these courgette noodles tossed with Pesto 

Then added to tasty Fried Mince, and Onions, seasoned with Olives and some Garlic powder

Was so, so popular with the family

You need

2 cups fresh basil

1 clove garlic
1/3 cup Pinenuts
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

2 tab butter

1 med onion peeled and diced
1 kg minced beef
S&P
1 tsp garlic powder
8-10 stoned black olives chopped 
Olive oil
9 med courgettes turned into noodles 

Make the pesto
Place basil, garlic and Pine nuts in food processor
Process
Drizzle in lemon juice, olive oil
Add salt to pesto to taste
Set aside

In a pan add a splash of olive oil

sauté courgette noodles till just soft

Toss the pesto through the courgettes

Drain noodles, if they are a bit wet 

Could be a bit over-powering

Meanwhile

Heat butter in large skillet
Add onion, sauté until soft
Add beef to pan
Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder

Continue to sauté until beef in fully cooked

Add courgettes to mince with the olives

Serve with a smattering of coriander leaves

Delicious