Coconut Date Balls

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup (220g) white sugar
• 1 cup (155g) chopped dates
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 20g butter
• 3 cups rice bubbles
• 1 cup (90g) dessicated coconut

Method:

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the eggs, sugar and dates. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Mix in the rice bubbles. Butter hands and roll the mixture into walnut-sized balls. Roll the balls in coconut. Serve

Rice Bubble Biscuits

Ingredients:
• 115g butter
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 large cup self raising flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1 ½ cups rice bubbles

Method:

1. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, flour and salt
2. Mix in rice bubbles
3. Place spoonfuls on greased baking tray.
4. Cook until golden brown on 180 deg.

Chocolate Rice Bubble Slice

Ingredients

• 3 Mars Bars or cherry ripe bars, broken into pieces
• 90g butter
• 3 cups rice bubbles
• 250g milk chocolate

Method

1. Place Mars Bars and butter in a microwave safe bowl and cook on Medium (50%) for 3 minutes, stirring after every minute, until melted and well combined.
2. Place rice bubbles in a large bowl and pour in the chocolate mixture. Mix well to combine and press into a baking paper lined 18 x 28cm slab tin. Refrigerate until firm.
3. Place chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and cook on medium (50%) for 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until melted.
4. Spread chocolate evenly over rice bubble mixture and refrigerate to set.
5. Turn out of tray and cut into pieces.
6. Refrigerate in an airtight container.

Nachos

Ingredients (serves 4)
• 4 large wholemeal pita bread (or 2 wholemeal Lebanese bread)
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 red capsicum, seeded, sliced
• 400g can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 long red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons salt-reduced tomato paste
• salt and cracked black pepper
• 1 cup (120g) low-fat grated Tasty cheese
• 3 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped coriander
• 2 avocadoes, mashed
• 1/2 cup (120g) low-fat sour cream

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Tear the pita bread into large pieces and place on a baking tray. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until crisp. Remove and set aside.
2. Heat a saucepan over medium heat and spray with oil spray. Add the onion and capsicum and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the kidney beans, cumin, chilli, tomato paste and 1/2 cup (125ml) water. Simmer for 5 minutes or until most of the liquid has reduced. Remove from the heat.
3. Spread the pita pieces on a large heatproof serving plate. Top with the kidney bean mix, then sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for 5 minutes or until cheese has melted.
4. Meanwhile mix the chopped tomatoes with the coriander and set aside.
5. Serve the nachos topped with tomato and coriander, mashed avocado and sour cream. Serve immediately.

Indian Chicken Curry

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 6 x 150g single chicken breast fillets
• 1 brown onion, cut into thin wedges
• 1/4 cup Pataks Balti curry paste
• 1 cup reduced-salt chicken stock
• 400g can diced tomatoes
• 500g kumara (orange sweet potato), peeled, cut into 2cm pieces
• 200g green beans, topped, halved
• 1 1/2 cups basmati rice, cooked, to serve

Method

1. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes each side or until browned. Slice.
2. Heat remaining oil in frying pan over medium heat. Add onion. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add curry paste. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add stock, tomatoes and kumara. Cover. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes.
3. Add chicken to frying pan. Cover. Cook for 5 minutes. Add beans. Cook, covered, for a further 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Serve with rice.

Banana Damper/Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 cups white or wholemeal Self Raising Flour
• 2 tsp Lowans instant dried yeast
• 3 bananas (half mashed, half chopped)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
• 380 ml luke warm water
• spray oil
  

Method:

1. Using a standard size loaf tin, spray oil around the inside of loaf tin, then set aside.
2. Sieve flour into a large bowl. Add yeast, bananas and honey. Add the water and mix all together.
3. Tip mixture into the loaf tin - it will rise quite a lot, especially in middle - so try to make mixture flat or even concaved at centre.
4. Cover whole thing with a clean tea-towel and put aside in a warm spot for about 15 minutes, whilst the oven heats up...
5. Heat oven to 190 degrees C, then insert loaf tin and cook for 30 minutes.

Tips:

• Loaf can be eaten hot or cold. If you wish to freeze it: wait until the loaf is cold then slice before freezing - it is then easy to take out 1 or 2 slices as needed at a later date.
  

Savoury Damper/Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 cups white or wholemeal Self Raising Flour
• 2 tsp Lowans instant dried yeast
• 380 ml luke warm water
• handful of grated cheese for top of loaf
• spray oil

Additional ingredients - dependant on what type of damper you want to make...

• Mixed herbs
• Dried garlic
• Dried onions
• Bacon bits
• Sun-dried tomato pesto
• Grated cheese
• Pitted olives finely chopped
• Sun dried tomatoes finely chopped
• Fresh onion and/or garlic finely chopped
• Linseed seeds
• Sunflower seeds
• Poppy seeds

Method:

1. Using a standard size loaf tin, spray oli around the inside of loaf tin, then set aside.
2. Sieve flour into a large bowl. Add yeast and add any ot the additional ingredients (i.e. mixed herbs, bacon bits, chopped olives etc.) Add the water and mix all together.
3. Tip mixture into the loaf tin - it will rise quite a lot, especially in middle - so try to make mixture flat or even concaved at centre.
4. Sprinkle top of loaf with grated cheese.
5. Cover whole thing with a clean tea-towel and put aside in a warm spot for about 15 minutes, whilst the oven heats up...
6. Heat oven to 190 degrees C, then insert loaf tin and cook for 30 minutes.

Tips:

• Loaf can be eaten hot or cold. If you wish to freeze it: wait until the loaf is cold then slice before freezing - it is then easy to take out 1 or 2 slices as needed at a later date.
  

Beef Rougaille (Beef in spicy tomato sauce)

Ingredients:

• 1 kg cubed meat (2cm cubes)
  
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 425 grams canned finely crushed tomatoes + some tomato paste
• 2 red chiliies sliced (adjust quantity to your preference)
• 1 sprig thyme
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
• 1 tablespoon crushed ginger
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup hot water
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Method:

1. Season meat cuves with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well together.
2. In a deep saucepan over medium heat, heat up 3 tbs of vegetable oil. Add the crushed garlic, ginger, finely chopped onion and thyme sprig. Stir fry until onion becomes transparent and cooked. Add the crushed tomatoes, sliced red chillies and stir well together. COver and simmer over medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes or until the tomatoes are cooked and the sauce well blended. Stir at intervals to prevent the sauce from burning. Add some hot water if necessary to maintain the sauce in a liquid state.
3. Add the meat cubes and stir well into the tomato sauce. Add 1 cup hot water and mix well. Cover and increase heat until simmering again, then reduce to medium and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the sauce thickens and the the meat is cooked through. Do not overcook.
4. Remove the thyme sprig. Finely chop the parsley and add to the rougaille. Mix well together. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.
5. Serve with rice or bread.

Tips/Alternatives:

• We used sausages as a cheaper option - lamb is also very goodto use!
• We added diced eggfruit as we had plenty of these.
• Served with savoury damper bread recipe.