Stir fry with prawns 3

The prawns were extremely sparse tonight and I added strips of cooked scrambled eggs. I've got the flavour right though, so we're on the right track.

Midnight Spaghetti 6 (with a twist...)

I added to our classic recipe tonight about 200g of tinned tuna in oil (with the oil), fresh tomatoes (quartered or eigthed) and fresh basil. It cooked up a treat! (Nat wasn't eating with us because of work etc. so I was spared any bad feedback)

If making it again I would add a squeeze of lemon juice just to finish it off. Yum!

Beef porterhouse steak with creamy mushroom sauce 2

Nat made this tonight so I'm not sure the recipe he used but it was GOOD. I heart creamy mushroom sauce. (Peas and corn included in our dinner too, not pictured)

Tomato and Cheese "Risotto"

My sister Erika's recipe. More or less. Over Christmas she made this for the big family gathering. My nephew said "Dad, when I throw up, it looks like this". But he still ate it and liked it (I think...?).

Tomato and Cheese "Risotto"

Oil

2 slices middle bacon (I actually use shaved ham. WAY cheaper!)

1 onion, chopped

50g butter

2 1/2 cups rice

1 400g (ish) can tomatoes

4 cups water

salt

pepper

chilli powder

1 cup (or more) grated cheese (like Edam)

Cook onion and bacon/ham in oil. Add butter. When melted add rice and stir while cooking for a few minutes. Add tomatoes, water and seasonings and cook, stirring occasionally until rice is tender. Stir in cheese until melted.

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Did I leave anything out Erika? Is that even right? That's what I did the other night when I made it anyway. Is that what you do?

Also, it's named "Risotto" because I'm sure that it's not cooked right to be a risotto, but that's what I call it.

Burritos 6

I felt like burritos this morning. I got mince out of the freezer. We had taco sauce which was unusual for us. And avocado. This was going to be great. When I came to making it I cooked up the mince, then realised I didn't have anything else that we normally stuff burritos with other than the taco sauce and avocado. SO a little different tonight, I added plenty of corn to the mince mixture, and chopped up some capsicum (really small so that the kids would eat it) and that was us! Sour cream, mince with corn, cheese, capsicum, avocado, taco sauce.

Tuna Casserole

250g penne or other dried pasta

5 eggs

200g tinned tuna in oil (or thereabouts, whatever you've got will do. I forgot to check the can for weight and now it's out of the house)

1 cup corn kernels (from frozen, canned or fresh)

1/3-1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 capful Paul Newman's balsamic vinaigrette

Boil your pasta and eggs. Slice the eggs and add everything to a bowl and stir to mix. Add a crumb topping and gill if you'd like, or eat warm or cold as a pasta salad.

Crumb topping

2 pieces bread

Salt

Lemon pepper seasoning

Whizz bread in a blender and add seasonings to taste. Spoon pasta salad into ovenproof dish and sprinkle over top. Grill until golden.

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As you can see my crumb topping got a little bit darker than "golden". I thought this was SUPER good, the kids liked it pretty well, and Nat ate it but didn't like it because he doesn't like tuna or eggs (generally). So it was a success I think! I definitely liked it enough to make it again, and it was really quick and easy.

Tasty Sausages with Polenta Chips

My first time cooking polenta! It thought it was alright, but it was also my first time eating it so I'm not sure if I missed the mark or not.

Tasty sausages (finally!)

8 sausages (sliced diagonally into 4)

2 onions (sliced into wedges)

4 mushrooms (sliced in half. Feel free to use more)

2 tomatoes (sliced in half. Feel free to use more)

Good splash olive oil

Generous drizzle worcestershire sauce

salt

pepper

Combine everthing in a roasting pan and mix with your hand to make sure everything is coated nicely. Bake at 200 degress Celcius for 20 minutes or until cooked.

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Polenta chips

2 cups polenta

4-5 cups water

salt

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

pinch thyme

Boil water and gradually pour in polenta, constantly stirring. Stir as it cooks until it is done (tender, also a spoon should stand up in the middle). Add more water if you think you need to. It should be sort of porridgy when it's done, but not too wet, so don't add too much water. Stir in the cheese and thyme. Spread out flat on greaseproof paper on a baking tray/in a brownie tin/other flat tin and refrigerate overnight to set OR cover and put in freezer for 20 minutes. Remove from freezer and turn out onto a baking tray (it should just fall right out of tin without help). Slice into chip shapes, spread out on the tray and grill until beginning to brown, 15-20 minutes.

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I loved the sausages, they were a bit dry because in my hurry I turned the oven off and left them in there rather than taking them out, but the flavour was good. I wasn't too hot on the polenta, but I liked it well enough. It's good to have another option for a side dish. Maybe polenta is just not my thing. I only cooked/had it because it was passed on to me from a friend moving overseas emptying out her cupboards. Still. It was ok.