Recipes

A family standard but surprisingly something I didn’t make very often until we moved to Australia. Since we arrived I made it once for mum and dad and they loved it so much it’s now on weekly rotation. I try to “add in” as many veggies to dishes like this as I can. It helps to bulk it out, add flavour, texture, fibre and micronutrients too.

Serves 6
INGREDIENTS
1 teaspoon rapeseed oil
1 onion, diced
2 celery sticks, finely chopped (optional)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
500g beef and pork mince
1 carrot, grated
1 tin chopped tomatoes (400g)
1 x veg stock cube
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
125 ml red wine
½ cup red lentils
Lasagne sheets
2 teaspoons butter
50g/ or 1/3 cup plain flour
150ml milk
100g cheddar cheese (grated) plus extra for the top
salt and black pepper

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180C
Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat and add the onion, celery and garlic. Gently fry until soft and translucent (about 5-7 minutes).
Add the mince and grated carrot. Break the mince up with a wooden spoon and stir to combine with the other ingredients.
Once the mince has browned add the tinned tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce, red wine and red lentils. Dissolve the vegetable stock cube in 150mls of boiling water and add that to the pan too. Season with black pepper.
Bring to the boil then simmer for 30 minutes.

While that is simmering make the cheese sauce.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a low heat.
Once melted add the flour and mix until it forms a paste. It may go into lumps which is fine, these will dissolve when the milk is added.
Whisk in the milk and keep whisking until all the lumps have dissolved and it starts to thicken. You may need to add a little bit more milk if it gets very thick.
Add half the grated cheese and stir until melted.

Assembly
Place a tiny amount of the mixture mix on the very bottom of the dish, this is so the bottom layer of the lasagne cooks. The mixture shouldn’t even cover the bottom of the dish.
Then place a single layer of lasagne sheets on the bottom, break them with your hand if you need to, it’s always a bit like a jigsaw!
Place a layer of the met mixture over the lasagne sheets until they are fully covered. Cover the mixture with a layer of cheese sauce.
Layer over the lasagne sheets ensuring they are not over lapping.
Then repeat the layering again.
You should finish the lasagne with either a layer of sheets on top or a small layer of the meat mixture, it doesn’t matter which one it will just depend on how thick you have made the layers. Top this with any remaining cheese sauce and then two handfuls of grated cheese.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, until golden brown and bubbling.
Serve with a side of greens such as broccoli, sautéed spinach or bok choi.

These are a simple way to get extra veg into your diet and also make pancakes green which the kids just love. Spinach doesn’t have a really offensive flavour which means it’s the perfect ingredient for colouring! These will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 days and can also be frozen.

Makes 16 small pancakes
INGREDIENTS
175g self raising flour⠀
175ml milk⠀
1 egg⠀
1 handful of spinach

METHOD
Boil the kettle.
Place the spinach in a colander or sieve and pour the boiled water over it until it wilts.
Place the spinach in a blender/nutribullet and blend to smooth (ish) consistency, don’t worry if there are still small lumps these wont be obvious in the pancakes themselves.
Whisk the flour, milk and egg together.
Add the spinach and stir until it’s green and well mixed.
Oil a large frying pan. I use a pastry brush to spread the oil evenly over the pan.
Use a dessertspoon to place small spoonfuls of the mixture in the pan.
Once the pancakes have small bubbles forming on the surface flip them over and cook on the other side.
Serve as a stack with layers of grated cheese in between, topped with chopped cherry tomatoes and a sprinkling of black pepper.

Due to popular demand. And endless sunshine. It’s an easy one

INGREDIENTS

1 scoop vanilla protein (whey or vegan)
Ice
150ml milk of your choice
Water
Coffee

METHOD
Boil the kettle
Melt 1 teaspoon of coffee with a dash of water
Put all ingredients into a blender
Blend

I’m always asked about protein shakes. Yes they are a healthy part of our diet and can be a convenient way to get protein in. Here’s a quick recipe. This one works best with a fruit flavoured powder.

INGREDIENTS

Ice
Water
1 scoop banana whey
Handful of spinach
2 pineapple rings
Semi skimmed milk

METHOD
Blend

A true Australian staple as a kid. Hot or cold. At a BBQ or in your lunch box. Keeps in the fridge for 3 days.

INGREDIENTS
400g Zucchini / Courgette for those in the U.K. (about 2 medium ones)
5 free range eggs
100g of bacon pieces or sliced ham
1 Onion
150g Self raising flour
120g Cheddar cheese
60ml veg oil

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 170C.
Line a pan with baking paper (roughly 20cm x 30cm. Many roasting trays are about this size).
Finely chop the onion and grated the zucchini and cheese.
Whisk the eggs in a large bowl.
Add the flour and stir until combined.
Mix in the remaining ingredients and season with black pepper.
Pour into baking tray and cook for around 30mins.
A butter knife should come out clean when checking if cooked and it should be lightly brown on top.
Once cooled cut into bars. Serve cold, it’s much better and less gooey.

A family classic passed down from my nanna, to mum and now to me and my sister.

INGREDIENTS
1 large onion
1 small apple
1 teaspoon salted butter or margarine
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon plain flour
1 cup (250ml) water
1 desertspoon strawberry jam
1 dessertspoon chutney
1 dessertspoon tomato ketchup
1 teaspoon sugar
handful sultanans
8 sausages of any flavour (i used half pork and half beef)

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Roughly chop the onion and apple, discarding the core.
Add the butter/margarine, onion and apple to a pan on a medium heat and cook stirring occasionally until brown. If you have a pan that is oven proof then use that (as this will go in the oven later).
While that’s cooking on the hob, cook your sausages under the grill or in the oven.
Mix the curry powder and flour with a dash of water to a smooth paste.
Add this, the water, jam, chutney, tomato ketchup, sugar and sultanas to the pan once the onions and apple have browned.
Turn the heat down to low, stir until combined and after 2 minutes turn off.
Once the sausages are cooked, slice them into circles and add to the mixture. Stir to combine.
Place the mixture in a baking dish (or use the pan you have from the beginning if it’s oven proof) in the oven for 20 minutes until bubbling.
Serve with mashed potato or rice.
TIP: When making mash I leave the skin on as it adds extra fibre and just deal with it being a little lumpy.