Mega Meal Prep: Moroccan Spice Chickpea Bowls

Hello!  Welcome to the last mega meal prep blog in the series.

I am finishing up on a really flexible, really delicious (if not really spicy) dish, that can be served any number of ways.

For this one, we simply prepped the chickpea section as per the below instructions & then did everything else to order.  You can serve anything with it at all, but we have suggested one really yummy option for you here.

Enjoy!

Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Bowl | Serves 12

Ingredients to meal prep ahead of time:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 brown onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp chilli powder
2 tsp tumeric
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp sea salt
Cinnamon & cayenne pepper to taste
4 cans chickpeas
4 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes

Ingredients to serve later:
Cucumbers
Couscous
Mint, parsley, coriander
Yoghurt or hummus
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Toasted pita wedges

Method:
Step one: heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.
Step two: add the onion; sauté until soft.
Step three: add the garlic, spices, salt, and chickpeas – stir until very fragrant, then add the tomatoes (undrained) and simmer for 20 minutes
Step four: cool before portioning & freeze

With the above ingredients, you would then need to cook the couscous, chop the cucumbers & herbs before arranging all of the ingredients in a bowl to eat.

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That's it!

Another meal prepping series over.  We are anticipating August for the next big cook so watch this space.

Also check out our NEW meal prepping venture - Shitload of Food.

With so many people asking us to help them do what we do, we thought the best way to do that would be to start a little business - so definitely keep your eye out for that as we start to roll that out.

In the meantime, you can follow us on socials to keep updated!
Facebook @shitloadoffood
Insta @shitloadof_food
Twitter @shitloadofood
Pintrest

See you soon!
Hx

Mega Meal Prep: Chicken Spring Rolls

Hellooo!

I hope you all had a great week.

We're getting close to the end of the recipes for this meal prep series!  Today, we tackle how to make your own spring rolls.

We opted to make quite large chicken spring rolls this time, which are perfect as a lunch, but you can go for any filling & size you like when you make these.

This is definitely one to get creative with your fillings - there are so many great spring rolls recipes out there.

Chicken Spring Rolls | Makes 24

Ingredients
2 tbsp. crushed garlic
4 tsp. minced fresh ginger
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 tbsp. olive oil
1kg chicken mince
2 cup finely shredded green cabbage
4 spring onions
2 cups enoki mushrooms
4 tbsp. hoisin sauce
24 square spring roll wrappers

Method

Step one: put the garlic & ginger in the sesame & olive oils in large fry pan & cook over set a medium ­low heat.
Step two: add the chicken mince to the pan & fully cook. Add the mushrooms to the pan & cook until just wilted.
Step three: remove the pan from the heat & drain out any liquid. Stir in the green cabbage, spring onions & hoisin sauce until thoroughly combined. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl & let it cool.
Step four: this is where we assemble the spring rolls!  We found it easiest to take one spring roll pastry sheet at a time, keeping the others under a damp tea towel to stop them drying out.
Place 3 to 4 tablespoons of the chicken mixture in the centre of the pastry. Fold the 2 opposite corners into the middle, then roll the wrapper around the mixture.. Wet the last corner before finishing the roll, so the corner seals the spring roll shut.
Step five: freeze the spring rolls at this stage & then cook (either in an oven or deep fryer) when you are ready to eat them!

If you're like me, a visual of what you are supposed to do is sometimes helpful - writing the assembly of these spring rolls was hard!  We tackled video for the first time with this one - hopefully this helps!

Little pro tip: we actually weighed our spring rolls out, so they were all the same size.  Obviously, not required, but super helpful when portioning out meals.  For guidance, ours were 65 - 75g each.

How do we feel about video instructions? :)

See you next week!
Hx

Mega Meal Prep: Mongolian Beef

Hellooo!

Today we turn our attention to a new recipe - Mongolian Beef.

For this one, we made the decision to try out the fast slow cooker, made by Breville.  I do not regret this decision!  Gorgeous, tender beef in a delicious sauce, in under 1 hour - yes please!

I don't appear to have a photo of this dish, so here's a picture of our meal prep at the end haha.

We might be getting better at documenting our cooking, but we are still not 100%!

Mongolian Beef | serves 12

Ingredients
2kg flank steak
¾ cup corn starch
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 tsp crushed garlic
2 cups soy sauce
2 cups water
2 cups brown sugar
3 cup grated carrots

Method
Step one: cut flank steak into thin strips. Coat steak in corn starch.
Step two: add olive oil, minced garlic, soy sauce, water, brown sugar & carrots to slow cooker. Stir ingredients. Add coated flank steak & stir again until coated in the sauce.
Step three: cook for high 2-3 hours or on low 4-5 hours until beef is tender.

This recipe is for a slow cooker; if you want to give the fast slow cooker a try, follow the same steps as above, but put the ingredients in the fast slow cooker & set to the correct setting as per the instructions.  The cycle goes for about 45 minutes, plus 10 minutes to depressurise at the end.

Serve over rice with spring onions - so good!
Hx

Mega Meal Prep: Beef Ragu

Hellooo!

This Sunday, we turn to an old faithful: our beef ragu.

I don't even use a recipe for this one anymore - definitely one of my intuitive cooks, where I just kinda add whatever feels right.

This is such a rich beef dish, so good for a warm, hearty meal.

It actually interests me how Tara & I eat this one.

I see it as an Italian dish & serve with pasta, parmesan & garlic bread.

Tara eats hers with rice.

Works both ways & is so yummy!

This photo actually doesn't do the ragu justice - it is in the pot bottom left... which is a 16L pot.  That's not a normal size pot to have lying around the house hahaha.

Ragu | Serves 32… ish

Ingredients
4kg chuck steak, cut into cubes
Olive oil
Rosemary & thyme
4 brown onions
16 garlic cloves
8 carrots
6 celery sticks
1 bottle red wine
12 cans chopped tomatoes
1L beef stock
1 tsp salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method
Step one: heat oil in your large pot of choice.  Add in the onions & garlic.
Step two: add in the steak & brown
Step three: use the wine to deglaze the pan, then add in all other ingredients
Step four: bring to the boil, then reduce heat to the lowest option & leave to simmer for 8 - 12 hours (the longer the better).  Be sure to stir occasionally.

This is definitely a recipe to put on at the start of the day & leave to develop for as long as possible.  Which is actually a great tip for any rich. tomato based sauce :)

Which do you prefer for this recipe - pasta or rice?
Hx

Mega Meal Prep: Tortellini Two Ways

Hellooo!

How are you guys doing?

This week, you are being treated to 2 different recipes in 1!

We have used fresh tortellini in meal prep recipes before & it has worked quite well, so we thought we would do 2 recipes using this time around.

One thing I will say before I begin.  The flavours of these recipes are great, but we made a critical error in cooking the pasta too much before freezing them.

The texture when we reheat these dishes is all wrong (Mack doesn't like them at all because of the texture & Tim has taken to frying the pasta off to make them less soggy haha).  I think we either need to not add the pasta until we serve, or throw the pasta in & immediately take the dish off the heat to cool so the pasta doesn't overcook.

Regardless, these two recipes have delicious flavours - enjoy!

RECIPE 1

Tortellini Primavera | Serves 16

Ingredients
8 cups filled tortellini (we used beef this time)
4 zucchini, diced
4 yellow squash, diced
4 cup of diced carrots
2 broccoli head, cut into pieces
2 large jars pasta sauce (yes we cheated for this one)
4 cups water
8 tablespoons dried basil & thyme

Method

Step one: add all ingredients except pasta to a pot.
Step two: cover & cook over medium heat for 20 minutes or until veggies are soft. Stir occasionally.
Step three: add the tortellini to the pot & take immediately off the heat.

To serve, defrost & heat, then sprinkle with parmesan.  Also tastes great with a salad or garlic bread.


RECIPE 2

Garlic, Chicken & Veggie Pasta | Serves 16

Ingredients
Olive oil
1.5kg chicken breast, diced
8 carrots, sliced
4 zucchini, sliced
4 yellow squash, sliced
6 cups kale, chopped (*note: we totally forgot to put this into ours!)
8 cloves garlic, crushed
600g pasta (we used filled tortellini)
Oregano, salt, pepper

Method

Step one: heat a pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat.
Step two: add in diced chicken breast, followed salt, pepper & oregano. Cook until no longer pink. Remove chicken from pan.
Step three: add carrots & sauté for 2-3 minutes until tender.
Step four: add in zucchini & yellow squash, & sauté until they become slightly translucent.
Step five: add in the kale & some more olive oil, salt & pepper.  Sauté until kale begins to wilt then add the garlic.
Step six: put the tortellini & chicken into the pan & mix.

We added a splash of chicken stock into this one for a bit more sauce.

This one also is great served with garlic bread.

Which one is your favourite?
Hx

Mega Meal Prep: Vegan Chilli

Hellooo!

Another week, another meal prep recipe.

This week, we head to a vegan recipe I found when I was meal prepping for my then pregnant sister last year.  It's healthy, it's delicious, it's vegan... & if you add as much chilli as we did, it's really spicy!

This one is so good to eat in so many different ways.

Use it as a nacho mix.  Wrap it up to make a burrito.  Top with avocado & sour cream & eat it as a burrito bowl.  You can also top it with chicken if you don't want to have a vegan meal.  Super flexible!

And these are just the options I have tried so far.

Vegan Chilli | Serves 12

Ingredients
2 cup quinoa, uncooked
2 cans black beans
2 cans whole kernel corn
2 large cans crushed tomatoes
2 large sweet potato, peeled & diced
4 cups vegetable stock
1 large red onion, finely diced
6 tablespoons chilli powder
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika

Method
Step one: place all the ingredients in a slow cooker & give it a good stir.
Step two: cover and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6 - 8 hours (until quinoa & sweet potatoes are cooked).

Optional toppings to serve this one with include:
Fresh coriander
Greek yoghurt
Avocado
Sour cream
Chicken
Paprika

How do you eat yours?

See you next week.
Hx

Mega Meal Prep: Chicken & Chorizo Risotto

Hellooo!

Another beautiful Sunday morning, another crazy meal prep day recipe!

This week, we have another delight for your oven.

Tara found this recipe on Pintrest; original is here.

Aside from doubling the recipe to make more of it, I actually followed this one almost to the letter.  I wasn't sure how much I trusted the oven to cook a risotto nicely; usually a risotto needs a lot of love & a lot of stirring.

But this works!  & it's really yummy!

Oven Baked Chicken & Chorizo Risotto | Serves 12

Ingredients
4 teaspoons olive oil
1kg chicken thigh fillets, cut into chunks
4 chorizo sausages, sliced
2 large onions, finely chopped
3 cups Arborio rice
6 cloves garlic, crushed
750g Napoletana Sauce
6 cups chicken stock
2 cups white wine
ground black pepper
2 cups frozen peas
200g marinated char-grilled capsicum, cut into strips
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve

Method

Step one: heat oil in a large flameproof casserole dish (we cooked in a frypan & added to 2 casserole dishes) over a high heat. Add chicken & brown.  Remove chicken.

Step two: add chorizo to pan. Cook, then remove.  Add onion & cook until translucent, then add the rice & garlic.

Step three: stir in the sauce, stock, wine, seasoning, chicken & chorizo, then bring to the boil.

Step four: transfer to a casserole dish (if you weren't already cooking in one) then cover & bake for 15 minutes.

Step five: stir, then bake for 10 minutes more

Step six: Stir again, adding in the peas & capsicum, then bake for 5 minutes (*note: we did not add the capsicum here; we topped with this later, because Mack doesn't like them).

Step seven: allow to cool, then stir through parmesan to finish

Another absolutely delicious meal to come home to!

Until next week.

Hx

Mega Meal Prep: Chicken & Mushroom Rice

Hellooo!

Welcome back to another meal prep blog.  I hope you're all going well!

This week, we head to a recipe we discovered recently on Pintrest.  We were looking for something we could make in the oven, as well as something we had never made before.

This is the original post can be found here.

I took this recipe, doubled it... & then totally ignored the steps to freeze the ingredients before baking to order haha.

Here is how we did it.

First, we mixed white rice with black rice, along with all of the spices.

We topped this with the veggies.

Lay the chicken thighs on top of the rice & veggie base.

Rub the marinade on the chicken.

After that, pour the stock over everything & bake!

Oven Baked Chicken & Mushroom Rice | Serves 12

Ingredients
1 chopped onion
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 stalks celery, chopped
1kg chicken thighs (about 8 large)
1 cup marinade (I used 2 tbsp Dijon mustard mixed with olive oil & garlic)
4 cups brown rice
1 cup black rice (wild rice also works)
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoons dried thyme
1 litre low-sodium chicken broth (note I did not double this ingredient!)
Salt & pepper

Method

Step one: mix the rice & spices together in an oven safe tray

Step two: spread the onions, celery & mushrooms out over the rice

Step three: arrange the chicken on top of the base, then spread your marinade over the chicken.  Season.

Step four: pour the stock over everything.  I actually didn't double the original recipe on the stock to 2 litres out of necessity... because my oven tray wasn't big enough haha.  But it actually didn't need it.

Step five: cover with foil & bake in the oven at 180 degrees for about one hour.

Step six: uncover the dish & return to the oven for a further 30 - 45 minutes, until the rice is soft, the liquid is absorbed & the chicken is cooked.

Step seven: leave to cool fully before portioning

This one is so delicious - definitely one of my favourites from this round of prepping!

See you next week!

Hx

Mega Meal Prep: Slow Cooker Butter Chicken

Hellooo!

Happy Sunday :)

The first recipe is our butter chicken recipe.

We have made this one before, but not for a while.  I think the last time we made butter chicken, we incorrectly 'doubled' the recipe & the sauce to chicken ratio was all out haha.  I'm not sure where we got this recipe from... I imagine we found it on Pintrest.

We cooked this one in Tara's slow cooker.  It's one that you can pop on the stove, so it's really great for browning meats first.

This is the only picture I have of it... haha.  Even though I don't have a finished pic, this still looks delicious.

Slow Cooker Butter Chicken | Serves 16

Ingredients

· 80g butter
· 4 tablespoons (80ml) vegetable oil
· 8 large skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
· 2 onion, diced
· 6 cloves garlic, minced
· 4 teaspoons curry powder
· 2 tablespoon Indian curry paste
· 4 teaspoons tandoori masala
· 2 teaspoon garam masala
· 280g tomato paste
· 30 green cardamom pods
· 2 x 400ml tin coconut milk
· 2 cup plain yoghurt
· salt to taste

Method

Step One: Melt the butter & vegetable oil in a large frypan (or in your stove safe slow cooker) over medium heat. 

Step two: Stir in the chicken, onion & garlic. Cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent.

Step three: Stir in the curry powder, curry paste, tandoori masala, garam masala & tomato paste until no lumps of tomato paste remain. 

Step four: Pour into a slow cooker & stir in the cardamom pods, coconut milk & yoghurt. Season to taste with salt.
Step five: Cook on high 4 to 6 hours, or on low 6 to 8 hours

Step six: Put your slow cooker back on the stove (or transfer into a pan) to reduce the sauce to your desired consistency.  This is a new step we added because the sauce just wasn't thickening up in the slow cooker

Step seven: remove the cardamon pods before portioning

*Pro Tip: tie your cardamon pods to string so that they are easy to remove at the end!

We serve ours with rice & naan bread - give it a try, you won't regret it!

Hx

Mega Meal Prep: An Intro

Hellooo!

How is everyone going?

Last year, you might remember the giant meal prepping Tara & I did?  If not, check out the blog here.  Essentially, for the last 3 years, Tara & I have meal prepped together, to save time & money, whilst also ensuring we eat a healthy meal for lunch or dinner each day.  Even when Tara moved to Melbourne, we still kept it up!  Which is insane, I know.  But it is so good!

Our last cooking day was in January of this year so, yep, that's right, another meal prepping series is coming your way.

This cook was actually the biggest one to date!

Last time, we made 312 portions of food - so 78 days worth of food for 4 people... which actually fed Mack & I for 6 months (factoring in eating out, takeaway, camping & other days we were out of the house).  I literally didn't cook between March & September 2018!

This time...  well... perhaps we went a little overboard...  Haha.  We made 93 days worth of food for 4 people.  That's 372 portions of food.  If we were cooking for 1, we would not have to cook for more than 1 year.  Outrageous!!!

This cook almost found max capacity of my freezer!

Now, last time, I went through how the weekend looked for us & our processes, so I'm not going to talk about that again, because we have a pretty good routine & we did it basically the same again!

Below is the list I curated last time, of the things we have learnt from our time meal prepping:

- set timers for each of your slow cookers!
- use ziplock bags (or vacuum bags) where possible to save space in the freezer
- clean as you go
- make some kind of plan at the beginning of the day of what order you will make the recipes in
- have labels ready to go for the Tupperware/bags - you think you will remember what everything is, but I promise you you won't always be able to tell what it is once it's frozen.
- MAKE SURE YOU ACTUALLY EAT FOOD!

What is interesting to me is that, this time, we didn't set timers & we didn't have a plan at the start of the day of what to do first.  But everything went super smoothly.  I can only put this down to experience!  Tara & I have such a great rhythm when we meal prep together & I think a lot of the processes are second nature now.  That being said, I would still recommend doing these things haha.

A few new things for this time around.

1. Why on earth were we spending money buying label tape for a label maker when we could have been using a roll of masking tape & a Sharpie this whole time.  Seriously.  Haha.

2. I curated our shopping list on a Google doc for Tara to take shopping before our weekend began (when we go to Melbourne, she shops, when we cook in Sydney, I do it).  Turns out a consolidated list is much easier than 16 different recipes & adding things up on the fly.  Who knew.  #amateurs hahaha

3. We dabbled in the idea of filming our cooking days.  Now.  I am no video editor.  But I do think that vlogging our meal prepping & starting a YouTube channel could be a thing for us.  We filmed a couple of things this time around just to test the water... I didn't hate it, but we definitely need practice haha.  Also... this was our tripod...

4. A fast slow cooker (Choice review) is a game changer.  I bought one of these for Mack's parents for Christmas last year & I borrowed it for the weekend.  So impressed.  We whipped up some Mongolian beef in one hour. ONE.  A recipe that took upwards of 4 hours to make previously.  I am aware that pressure cooking is different & results in different food qualities than slow cooking, but the difference with this was so minimal, I don't think it matters at all.

So.

What did we make this time around?

We made 16 different recipes.

Some of them we have made before, some were new to us.  I have linked the ones you have seen before below; the rest will follow, every week Sunday 9am (AEST) :)

Lamb Rogan Josh
Butter chicken
Mongolian beef
Vegan chilli
Minestrone soup (note: we put the pasta in before freezing this time... it might have been a mistake)
Chicken & mushroom rice
Chicken & chorizo risotto
Roast veggie bowls
Chicken spring rolls
Garlic, chicken & veggie pasta
Tortellini primavera
Beef ragu
Moroccan spiced chickpea bowl
Chicken schnitzel (was also supposed to be veal but I forgot to add veal to the shopping list...)
Marinated chickens
Pulled pork
Apple pie bites (such a delicious snack!)

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And that's it!  Welcome to another little insight into the crazy that is our meal prepping system.

Before I go.

Something that comes up every time we cook like this is people asking us to teach them how to do it.  I love that.  But I think that is hard to grasp just how much of a system we have in place.  This isn't normal cooking, it's a lifestyle.  One which I love to share with other people because it literally changed my life.

This outrageous cook sparked a conversation of just how we would like to share our prepping world with everyone.

We have narrowed it down to a few things (that's not really narrowing it down is it...):

- a YouTube channel (which I already talked about)

- A meal prepping app (there are already lots of these, but none do what we do...)

- A website (this is probably the pre-cursor to an app if I'm honest, based on the tech skills Tara & I have)

- Sessions & workshops (wouldn't it be cool if we could make a business doing this?)

I think all of them are awesome ideas.  They all just require a lot of time & energy & patience to set up.  So keep your eyes peeled for some of these ventures!

In the meantime, Sunday 9am, Sydney time.  Recipes from this year's first meal prep.

See you there!

Hx

Travel Tassie: Local Food

On this particular roadtrip, we aimed to use our new camp oven and jaffle iron as much as possible.  When we were on our way to Uluru, especially because it was raining so much, we found we ate out a lot, and this time we wanted to cook on our campfire as much as possible.

We actually managed this most evenings, either making easy ham and cheese or tomato and cheese jaffles, or getting out all of our cooking gear and making a delicious chilli, or chicken drumsticks in a tomato broth.  As first times go for cooking outdoors, I think we did quite well.

If you are travelling Tassie and you are looking to do the same, there was a fabulous wholesale meat place in Longford, which is up near Launceston.  We got so much food for only $50!  Definitely have an idea of the dishes you want to make when you go in, and also make sure you have a way to keep it cold and fresh (we have an esky with ice, and then a fridge-freezer, that we usually have set to freeze).  Grocery wise, we then used the local supermarket for veggies, fruits and dry goods.

Oh, and pack Tupperware!  It will make cooking and storing food so much easier (we always had leftovers after every meal we cooked) :)

I am such a foodie, though, that I can't resist giving some of the local places a try!  I love that in Tassie, the food is not Australian made, it is Tasmanian made.  Everything is just so local and fresh and delicious.

Here are a few of the yummy places we discovered along the way.

Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm, Elizabeth Town
This was one of the first places we stopped upon arrival in Tassie, where we enjoyed a raspberry inspired breakfast.   I had scones, Mack had French toast, and we both had raspberry coffees.  Coffee with raspberry was a little weird haha, but the food was so yum.  Who doesn't love a breakfast by the fire first thing in the morning!

The Bean Barrow, Lilydale
The first night we stayed at Lilydale Reserve, and the next morning we headed into Lilydale in search of coffee.  We drove past this place on the way into town.  The lady that runs this place moved from Queensland to Tassie (fairly recently I believe), and whilst she was busy building the cafe in the front room of her house, she was running the coffee cart on the front porch.  She was so lovely and friendly, and the coffee was delicious.  Highly recommend.

Pyengana Dairy, Pyengana
The cheeses here are so good!  We were always coming here for this, but we also ended up staying here for lunch, as the Pub in a Paddock (with Priscilla the Pig) was closed that week.  For lunch, I had a cheese board with a Tassie cider; Mack had a chicken burger also with Tassie cider. Definitely worth a visit to taste amazing cheese, even if you don't stay for long.

Iron House Brewery, Four Mile Creek
It might have only been 10am when we stopped in at this brewery, but when you're on holiday, anything goes right?  This brewery does beers, wines, gins and vodkas (and by now, I think they will have a whisky as well).  As far as beers go, they were pretty good!  We ended up buying a grape vodka, because it had a cool art deco bottle, and also tasted amazing.

Freycinet Marine Farm, Coles Bay
This stop is an absolute must.  Even if you are on a tight budget, splurge a little here.  We ordered a mixed half dozen oysters, and then a serve of mussels in a chilli sauce.  SO. Good.  Such beautiful fresh seafood.  Even Mack loved it here, and oysters isn't really his thing.

Hazards Brewing, Mobile Van
The morning we headed to Wineglass Bay to do the walk to the lookout, we were on the hunt for coffee through Coles Bay.  This Van was just setting up in a rest area nearby so we got coffee from here.  You can follow her Facebook page here, to find out where she is going to be.  Such delicious coffee, and some yummy snacks as well.

Cascade Brewery, Hobart
We didn't do the tour here, but we did stop for what was essentially a liquid lunch with a side of nachos!  The bar tender was lovely, and so knowledgeable.  Food was delicious.  Beer was delicious.  All round lovely lunch.

Lark Distillery, Hobart
If whisky is your thing, then you can't miss the Lark Distillery.  We did 1 tasting paddle between the 2 of us, which was $28.  The bar tenders were lovely, the whisky is sensational and the bar has a great atmosphere as well.  We ended up buying a little bottle for us to take home.

Bruny Island Cheese Company, Great Bay 
Cheese and beer all in the same place - what more could you ask for.  We only stayed here for a coffee, but we did also sample all of their cheeses and buy some delicious sourdough bread.  You can also try their beer tasting paddle, and I think they have a cafe menu as well.  If you join their cheese club, you can get exclusive cheese related offers straight to your inbox.

Willie Smiths, Huon Valley
The cider here was so yummy!  We had the tasting paddle, alongside a really amazing charcuterie board.  High recommend doing this!  Lunch by the fire on a cold winter's day.  We also had some hot cider when we went to Dark Mofo a couple of days later - it was so great hot or cold :)

Hamer's Hotel, Strahan
Sometimes you just need a beer and a pub schnitzel, so that is exactly what we did in Strahan.  Pub food with a view over the river - couldn't ask for more.

Coffee Shack, Strahan
Such a simple cafe, with yummy coffee and basic snacks (think muffins and toasted sandwiches).  I would much prefer a small local business over a big chain cafe, so if you are ever in Strahan, this place does a great coffee!

Beach Hut, Boat Harbour Beach
I am actually not sure the name of this cafe!  We only came here for a snack (afternoon lamingtons with local cider) but all of the food was homemade and just looked so delicious.

Reliquaire, La Trobe
This toy store will blow your mind!  They have a cafe at the back that does coffee and other drinks, and then light snacks.  It was nice for a chilled out morning tea.  The snacks were all of the raw vegan variety, but they were actually quite delicious.

We also ate at the Cherry Shed on our way back to the ferry.  I didn't take any photos, but it was so yummy, and well worth a visit.

If you are visiting Tassie, I would pop these little eateries on your list!
Hx

Meal Prep: Extreme Edition - Slow Cooker Sweet Potato & Cauliflower Stew

This is a recipe that will be a wild card when we around to eating it - I'm not sure that Mack is going to love it.  But when we were making it, it really smelled and looked delicious.  Only time will tell.

For now, here's the recipe!

And yes - we definitely pushed the friendship on the capacity of the slow cooker.  You aren't actually meant to do this so I would stir a little more often if you do!  This is a 5 litre slow cooker, so next time I would either half the recipe, or use a 7 litre instead :).

Slow Cooker Sweet Potato & Cauliflower Stew     |      Portions: 20
Ingredients
- 4 cups red lentils (soaked overnight)
- 2 tsp. coconut oil
- 3 tbsp. minced ginger
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- half of a large head of cauliflower, roughly chopped (about 4 cups)
- 1 large sweet potato, chopped
- 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 tsp. chilli flakes
- 2 cans coconut milk
- 2 cans chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp. curry powder
- 2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. black mustard seeds
- 1 tsp. tumeric
- salt & pepper
- 1.5 litres vegetable broth

Method
Step 1: add all ingredients to to slowcooker
Step 2: cook on high for 3 hours, stirring regularly. (set a timer!)
Step 3: cool before portioning

If you are going to eat it straight away, I would go for some crusty bread.

This one, like all of my slow cooker recipes, is so super easy!

And that's a wrap on Meal Prep: Extreme Edition!  I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have.

There will be a little break whilst I roadtrip Tasmania now, and then I will dig out some more meal prep recipes that we have  made previously and share those too.

See you in July! :)
Hx

Meal Prep: Extreme Edition - Slow Cooker Lamb Rogan Josh

It has taken me a long time to really get into Indian food.  I am totally useless when it comes to chillis and spice, so I pretty much ate naan bread, and that was it.

Over the last couple of years, Mack has managed to order it in a few times, with me eating butter chicken almost exclusively (I have a great recipe for that too, but we'll get to that another time), along with my standard naans.  Up until recently.  When we ventured into Rogan Josh territory - and I loved it!

This recipe is a fusion of 2 recipes we found online, and it is SO delicious.  I really don't know how authentic it is because... well... I'm not Indian.  But it's yummy, and that is all that matters as far as I'm concerned!

This recipe is another throw everything in in the slow cooker and let the magic happen.

Slow Cooker Lamb Rogan Josh     |     Portions: 12
Ingredients:
- 1kg lamb shoulder, diced
- 2 brown onions, finally diced
- 8 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp. ginger, peeled and grated (or, if you're like me, the jar of already minced ginger works)
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4 bay leaves
- 6 - 10 cardamon pods, crushed
- 2 tsp. chilli powder
- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
- 3 tsp. ground cumin
- 5 tsp. dried coriander
- 3 tsp. paprika
- 2 tsp. tumeric
- 3 tsp. garam masala
- 2 tsp. white sugar
- 4 fresh tomatoes, diced
- 1 can diced or whole tomatoes
- 600ml beef stock
- salt, pepper, vegetable oil

Method:
Step 1: heat vegetable oil and brown the lamb over a medium heat
Step 2: add all ingredients to the slow cooker, and cook on high for 3 hours (set a timer!)
Step 3: remove cinnamon sticks and bay leaves before serving or portioning

SO easy!

You would then serve this with steamed white rice, a spoonful of plain Greek yoghurt (not the vanilla flavour... we made that mistake once haha) and, of course, some naans!

You can make your own naans fairly easily (the supermarket ones are terrible), but once I have made this little delight, I use Menulog to order naans from my local Indian restaurant.  And yes they have a minimum spend of $30... which is like 10 or 12 naans breads. Haha!  Good job they freeze well as well!

Until next week.
Hx

Meal Prep: Extreme Edition - Tortellini Sausage Stew

Another recipe in the mix that doesn't involve a slow cooker!

This one we found on Pintrest (I think) on one of our very first cooking days, and we had forgotten about until now.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Tortellini Sausage Stew     |     Portions: 12

Ingredients

- 1 kg Italian sausage

- 2 brown onion, diced

- 6 cloves garlic, minced

- 2 cans diced/whole tomatoes

- 1 litre vegetable stock

- 600g fresh tortellini (we used a roast veggie filling)

- 4 cups baby spinach

- Salt & pepper

Method

Step 1: Saute the onions in a large pan until soft

Step 2: remove the skin from the sausages and crumble the mince into the pan, and cook with garlic until the sausage is browned

Step 3: Stir in the tomatoes, stock and seasoning, and bring to the boil, and then reduce to the lowest heat and simmer for 45 minutes

Step 4: Add the tortellini and spinach, and cook until the pasta is cooked

Step 5: cool before portioning, or serve immediately with parmesan

Usually, I would say always cook the pasta fresh when you are ready to eat, but this dish freezes really well.

Join me next week for my version of lamb rogan josh.

Hx

Meal Prep: Extreme Edition - Chicken Soup

I went to a wedding in January, and the wedding favour was a recipe book with the couple's family favourites and the stories behind them.  Probably the most amazing favour I have ever seen at a wedding - so beautiful.  Anyway.

This soup was in there, and it is so delicious.  Enjoy!

Jess & Josh's Chicken Soup     |     Portions: 20

Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 brown onions, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
- 2 whole chickens
- 4 celery sticks, sliced
- 8 carrots, sliced
- 1 cup peas
- 2 litres water
- Chilli flakes, salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp. soy sauce

Method
Step 1: Heat the oil in a large soup pan, and cook onion, garlic and ginger until soft
Step 2: Add celery, carrots & chicken cover entirely with water
Step 3: Bring to the boil, and then turn it down to the lowest heat and simmer for an hour.  Skim the surface occasionally as it simmers
Step 4: Leave to cool overnight
Step 5: Remove and discard the fat from the liquid, and then de-bone the chicken, shredding it into small pieces
Step 6: Bring the stock to the boil, then simmer with the peas and chicken for a couple of minutes
Step 7: Remove from heat, stir through soy sauce and seasoning and leave to cool

We portioned this into 400g portions, and then to reheat, I put it in a pot with half a cup of water and brought it to the boil.. I then simply served with toast.

That's it!

Join me next Wednesday for a tortellini sausage stew.
Hx