Cauliflower, Cheese & Chive Soup

30g butter
1 large leek, chopped
1 medium cauliflower, in florets
2 & 1/2 cups milk
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2T chives, chopped

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan.  Add the leek and stir over a medium heat for about 3 minutes, or until soft. 
2. Add the cauliflower, milk and stock to the leeks.  Bring to the boil and then reduce he heat.  Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender.  Set aside to cool slightly.
3. Use a hand blender to blend the soup until smooth. 
4. Stir the cheese through the soup.  If it has cooled down too much, return to the heat but do not allow to boil.
5. Add the chives and salt and pepper if you feel it needs it and serve immediately.

Serves 4

Beef Fillet with Creamy Mustard Sauce

2Tbs oil
4 rib eye steaks
2 rashers bacon
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 shallots, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
3/4 cup cream
1Tbs mustard (use any you like)
2Tbs cornflour
Vegetables to accompany.  I like steamed new potatoes and something green, like asparagus or broccoli, with this dish.

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a frying pan and cook as desired.  Once cooked, put aside and keep warm. 
2. Add the second tablespoon of oil to the pan along with the bacon, mushrooms, shallots and garlic.  Cook for about 2 minutes.
3. Combine the cream, mustard and cornfour before adding to the pan.  Brin to the boil, stirring as it heats.
4. Serve the sauce over the steaks with the vegetables.

Serves 4


We use one of those health grills for most of our meat cooking so we don't do step one.  Instead we put the meat on at around the same time as starting the sauce prep and find that it's meduim rare by the time we're finished.

Quick & Easy Family Lasagne using Philadelphia Cream Cheese

500g beef mince
500g jar of prepared spaghetti sauce
250g block Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
250g packet of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed
1 cup shredded parmesan plus an extra 1/4 cup for sprinkling on the top
1/2 cup milk
12 sheets lasagne (instant or fresh)

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
2. Brown the beef in a pan and add the spaghetti sauce.  Simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Beat the cream cheese, spinach, milk and cup of parmesan together wiht an electric mixer until combined.
4. Pour 1/3 of the meat mixture into the base of a rectangular ovenproof dish that has been greased.  Top with lasagne sheets and 1/3 of the spinach mixture.
5. Continue layering until all meat and spinach mixture have been used.  Sprinkle the top with the extra parmesan.
6. Cover dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes if using instant pasta or 20 minutes if using fresh pasta.
7. Remove foil and bake for a further 15 minutes or until the top of golden.

Will feed 4-6 people.

The best accompaniment to this dish is a crisp, fresh salad to balance out the rich flavour of the hot lasagne.

Risotto with Bacon and Mushrooms

2Tbs olive oil
30g butter
1 large onion, chopped
4 rashers bacon, sliced
2 cups arborio rice
4 cups chicken stock, simmering on the stovetop
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
chopped parsley
ground black pepper

1. Heat the oil and butter in a heavy based large saucepan or deep frying pan.
2. Add the onion and bacon and cook for about 3 minutes so that onions are transluscent.
3. Stir in the arborio rice and make sure that all grains are coated in the oil/butter.  Continue stirring over a medium heat for about 5 minutes.
4. Add the wine and simmer until all liquid is absorbed.
5. Add one cup of stock and allow it to be absorbed into the rice before adding anymore.  Be sure to keep stirring throughout this process.
6. After adding the first cup of stock, add the mushrooms.
7. Continue adding one cup of stock at a time, waiting for each cup to be absorbed into the rice before continuing.
8. Once all stock has been added, adjust consistency by adding a little more stock or some water if needed.
9. Once all liquid has been absorbed, remove the pan from the heat and add the cheese, parsley and pepper.  Stir through and serve.

Serves 4-6

Lemon Cake

This is my mum's recipe and everytime I make it, I think of her.


250g butter
250g castor sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
4 eggs
zest of one lemon
1 & 1/2 Tbs lemon juice plus extra for icing
250g SR flour
2Tbs cornflour
pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until light in colour and looking creamy.
3. Gradually add all other ingredients, except icing sugar, and beat until well aerated.  (I usually do one egg followed by some flour, another egg etc.  Then I put the other ingredients in.)
4. Grease a rectangular cake tin and line the bottom with greaseproof paper. 
5. Pour mixture into cake tin and cook for one hour or until golden brown on top  and cooked through.
6. Let the cake sit in the tin until cooled and then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
7. Combine the extra lemon juice and the icing sugar to a thick consistency.
8. Ice cake while still a little warm to allow the icing to melt in slightly.

Shepherd's Pie

Traditional, yet easy and yum!  Will feed four people, more if you accompany it with vegetables or a salad.


4 medium potatoes
2Tbs butter
1/2 cup cream
1Tbs oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2Tbs mild mustard
500g beef mince
1 carrot, grated
1 swede, grated
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1Tbs parsley, chopped
1 cup water
1Tbs cornflour
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2tsp beef stock powder
1/2 cup grated cheese (either mozarella or tasty)

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius.
2. Peel and quarter the potatoes and cook until soft.  Drain, mash and add the butter and cream. 
3. Heat oil in a pan and cook the onion ovea medium heat for a couple of minutes before adding the mustard and mince.
4. Fully brown the mince before adding the vegetables and parsley.  Cook for a further couple of minutes.
5. Combine the water, cornflour, tomato sauce and stock powder before adding to the meat and vegetable mixture.
6. Bring to the boil while stirring.  Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for a couple of minutes.
7. Place the meat mixture into the bottom of a large casserole dish or any deep ovenproof dish.  Spoon the potato over the top and smooth out so that the top is even.
8. Sprinkle the top of the potato with cheese and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden.

Serves 4 - 6

Getting Started

I recently found myself looking at all of the recipes I've randomly collected over the past fifteen years.  Although I had the intention of trying them all out, many have never made it from the page to the plate and flicking through them made my mouth water.  So I've made a pact with myself to start cooking these recipes to see which ones my family like and which will never again be cooked in my kitchen.  The result has been lots of fun and has meant that each night I have a new dish to look forward to cooking. 

With each new recipe that I either loved or disliked came my need to discuss the meal I'd prepared and eaten.  Enter this blog.  My opportunity to cook, then review and discuss the foods I'm cooking so that I can share my experiences with anyone who is interested.  So, if you're interested, join me as we start cooking!