Cooking Fresh Food - breaking the jar/can/bottle habit...

Hey everyone!!

Great thread :) I've only managed to read a few pages but I am soooo keen on getting away from the packet/jar stuff as the budget is tight and all that stuff is real expensive (as you all must know) Plus with my little girl eating the same dinner as us, I would love to limit all the additives and stuff that she eats. So I am going to subcribe to this thread to get some good ideas!!

I've got a few things that I bought at the shop today that I just KNOW I could do from scratch but dont know where to start... and I even have the recipe on how much there were...

1 - Butter chicken 485g $3.19
2 - Thai Green Curry 160g $2.56
3 - Teriyaki Sesame sauce 160g $2.56

I normally just follow the instruction with these!! And I make all three with chicken so if you can suggest a different meat then that would be great! (Keep in mind that DH doesnt like pork!)

Looking forward to figuring out how to do these :D

veronica i willpost my butter chicken recipe later, its soooo easy and soooooo tasty

Teriyaki Sesame Sauce:

1 tsp sugar
2/3 cup japanese soy sauce
2/3 cup mirin
2 tsp sesame oil
1tbsp sesame seeds

I always associate terriyaki with fish for some reason, so I generally get some fillet of fish, either a white variety (I buy from the fishermen here on the bay.... so depends on what they have caught) or I buy salmon at the fish markets... Marinate for 10 minutes either side and then drain & pan fry or grill for 4 minutes both sides (do not overcook!!)

In a small sauce pan add the marinade and cook on a medium heat until it thickens.

I stir fry some green veges in a bit of oil & garlic and then pop them on the side of the fish and serve it with rice.

Netix - it will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge, but I tend to cut it into 2-3" blocks and just keep one on the fridge, and the rest in the freezer - that way you can just cut off what you need without worrying about it spoiling.

LL80 - The recipes would be good, does your DH fly out of Toowoomba? I flew in there earlier this year...but it took me three days to fly home when the weather turned into this...Piccy

Thai Green Curry

The first thing to make is a green curry paste, it's worth making in decent sized batches then keeping in the freezer until you want to use it.

* 15 large fresh green hot chilies
* 3 shallots, sliced
* 9 cloves garlic
* 1 tsp finely sliced fresh galangal
* 1 tbsp sliced fresh lemon grass
* 9 tsp finely sliced kaffir lime rind
* 1 tsp chopped coriander root
* 5 white peppercorns
* 1 tbsp roasted coriander seeds
* 1 tsp roasted cumin seeds
* 1 tsp sea salt
* 1 tsp shrimp paste

Preparation

1. Combine coriander seeds, cumin and peppercorn in a mortar, pound well. Transfer to a bowl and put aside.
2. Pound hot chilies and salt together well. Add the remaining ingredients except shrimp paste, pound until mixed well.
3. Add the cumin mixture and shrimp paste, continue pounding until smooth and fine.

This will keep for about a week in the fridge, or a year in the freezer.

Now for the curry itself...this recipe uses beef, but you can use chicken or fish - I'll quite often grab a handful of the marinara mix from the fishmonger (salmon, mussels, calamari, etc) to use in this kind of dish. If you are using fish, then don't add it until the end of the cooking process as it overcooks easily.

* 400 grams beef
* 3 tbsp green curry paste (see above or use prepared curry paste)
* 2 1/2 cups coconut milk
* 5 small fresh Thai eggplants, quartered (or substitute your choice of veggie - strips of capsicum, carrot, small cherry tomatoes and even lychee work well - kids like the sweetness of the lychee in the curry)
* 2-3 fresh red spur chilies, sliced diagonally
* 2 kaffir lime leaves, torn
* 1/4 cup sweet basil leaf (optional)
* 1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
* 1 1/2 tsp palm sugar
* 1 tbsp cooking oil (not olive oil, but corn, safflower or peanut oil)
* Sweet basil leaves and red chili slices for garnish

1. Slice the beef into thin pieces, about about 1/3" (3 cm) thick.
2. Saute the green curry paste in oil over medium heat until fragrant, reduce the heat, gradually add 1 1/2 cups of the coconut milk a little at a time, stir until a film of green oil surfaces.
3. Add the beef and kaffir lime leaves, continue cooking for 3 minutes until fragrant and the beef is cooked through. Transfer to a pot, place over medium heat and cook until boiling. Add the remaining coconut milk, season with palm sugar and fish sauce. When the mixture returns to the boil add the eggplants. Cook until the eggplants are done, sprinkle sweet basil leaves and red chilies over, then turn off the heat.
4. Arrange on a serving dish and garnish with sweet basil leaves and red chilies before serving.

Bear, so you only cure a small piece at a time, that's what you mean isn't it? Aside from pastas, what else can you use it in?

I had a look through all my cookbooks, including a reprint of Edwardian recipes, but I only had a recipe for ox tongue something. Not sure you wanted that....

I usually buy a whole pork belly, then break it into three 8-10" pieces so they will stack one on top of another in my curing box - then cure all the meat at once and freeze the cured meat that I'm not ready to use over the next week or so. Sometimes I will also cure some pork loin to make rashers of bacon.

I add it to all sorts of things - lots of sauce bases in casseroles and stews, cut into slices for use in quiches and as the weather gets warmer we tend to make warm salads with it. Once you have tried the flavour of it then you'll discover that it adds a little punch to all sort of dishes.

Try dressing some mixed leaves with a whole grain mustard vinaigrette, then tossing through some little chunks of fried bacon and top with a poached egg - makes for a great light lunch dish.

Thank you Bear. I actually had another question for you (unrelated to curing).... Now what was it....? Nup, no idea :doh:. Sorry about that.

I am after the following recipes

• Tuna pasta bake

• Macaroni cheese stove top (quick)

• Sour cream and chives pasta sauce

• Mushroom bolognaise sauce

I found this sour cream and chive chicken recipe.

Sour Cream And Chive Chicken Recipe
COATING

2 c. fresh bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cracked pepper
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/2 c. butter
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 lbs. frying chicken cut into 8 pieces
3 med. onions, cut in half

SAUCE

1 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1 c. dairy sour cream
1/4 tsp. cracked pepper
1/4 Tbsp. Milk
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives

Heat oven to 350?F. Combine all coating ingredients except butter. Dip chicken in melted butter; coat with crumb mixture. Reserve remaining crumbs and butter. In 13x9" baking pan place chicken; add onions. Sprinkle remaining crumbs over onions. Drizzle with remaining butter. Bake, basting occasionally for 60-70 min. Remove chicken to platter; keep warm. To make sauce, scrape baking pan, pour pan drippings into sauce pan. Stir in flour. Cook over med. high heat, stirring occasionally, until bubbly. Reduce to med. heat, stir in sour cream and pepper. Continue cooking stirring occasionally, until heated through. If needed ass milk to get desired consistency. Serve sauce over chicken and onions. Sprinkle with chives.


Just need to convert over to grams and celcius. Sounds okay.

:bump:

Just made a super easy zucchini bread (sweet) if anyone wants as zucchini are in abundance and in season:

3 cups finely grated zucchini
1 cup white sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
3 cups wholemeal self-raising flour (can be white if you like)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup pureed sweet potato (this is an added extra, but if you don't use it, you may need something like milk to moisten the cake)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp vanilla paste (can be vanilla essence or 1/2 vanilla bean pod)

I just chuck it all together in the mixer and let it go for a minute or two and then put into 2 bread tins that are greased. Into the preheated oven at 180 until cooked through... around 50 minutes.

Hmmm never thought of zucchini in a bread before. I like making fried zucchini sticks in breadcrumbs, I bought 2 the other day just for this purpose. I am sure I will have an abundance of zucchini in a matter of months with all the seedlings I just planted and I will give this recipe a go.

I used to make chocolate and beetroot muffins - there's loads of veggies you can used to make sweeter treats ;)

Does a beetroot and chocolate muffin count towards one's 5-a-day though? Lol

Bx

I don't see why not....

I've heard of using tomato sauce in chocolate cake (which isn't much of a vege serving is it?!), and another recipe that uses potato in chocolate cake. THat's jsut odd, but its closer to the serving of vegetable we need! Any excuse to eat choccie cake.

:sick: Not going to happen here :lol:

Little Miss you don't taste the beetroot at all, it just binds the mixture and adds moisture. Also it's boiled beetroot, not pickled! ;)

Bx

I've used beetroot to colour pink cupcakes before! & in the icing. DH said he could taste it, but the girls ate them up.

I use sweet potato in choc chip biscuits, cakes ... nearly everything sweet I do to add a moisture/creamy substance. Even our pancakes have sweet potato in them. I've used broccoli puree in our french toast before ;) syrup hides things well

You are all just scaring me now :o :tmi: :p

LMS - you've obviously not heard of the book "deliciously decceptive" - it's ways to hide vegies in fun food for kids. if you google "cauliflower conspiracy" it has similar ideas...

Yes Deceptively Delicious and the Cauliflower Conspiracy have inspired me to help get vege's into Matilda. Its worked so well, she eats more without hiding now than she ever did before.

I can't say I have heard of those. I am lucky that Noah enjoys his veggies, maybe not the asparagus in last nights dinner but he likes other green veg. It probably won't last though and I will need those resources :lol: Actually come to think of it he didn't eat the eggplant or hot chips either :S I thought it looked pretty good myself and ate nearly the whole lot. I put photos in my blog.

mumstheword, I just made a quick stovetop mac and cheese from the taste website that was delish. Here's the recipe.

Best-ever Macaroni Cheese

Preparation Time

10 minutes
Cooking Time

20 minutes
Ingredients (serves 4)

* 400g macaroni
* 1 1/2 cups (300ml) cream
* 3/4 cup (185ml) milk
* 1 1/4 cup grated tasty cheese
* 1/2 cup grated parmesan
* salt and ground black pepper
* 1/3 cup dried breadcrumbs
* extra 1/2 cup grated tasty cheese
* ground paprika, to serve

Method

1. Preheat grill to high and grease a large baking dish. Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water according to packet instructions or until al dente. Drain and keep warm.
2. In the same saucepan, place the cream and milk over medium heat. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, then stir in the cheeses and add a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Stir over medium-low heat until cheese has melted, then return the pasta to the pan.
3. Toss to coat the pasta in the sauce, then transfer to the greased baking dish. Sprinkle the pasta with breadcrumbs, extra cheese and a sprinkle of paprika. Place under the hot grill and cook for 2 minutes or until topping is golden and crispy.

:bump: So who is still trying to break the habit? I reckon this thread should be a sticky. And it needs a little bit of updating too...

I am after a couple of recipes....

The Maggi 'Cook in the Pot' Chow Mein Mince and Mediterranean Meatballs.

Basically, what seasonings do you put in your home made chow mein, and any suggestions on creating a similar sauce to the one for the meatballs. For the meatball sauce (for the packet), you add a tin of tomatoes, water and onion. But the sauce thickens a bit, and I would have a bit of trouble copying it. None of my recipes are very similar.

Since our budget is tighter now, I am using mince a lot more, but don't want to be limited to bolognese type things (which is as far as my mince knowledge goes without raiding my books, and they don't seem to have anything comparable). That, and the two boys love chow mein and the meatballs, so I need to make them yummy! Thank you!!!

i use mince to make stir fry with!! tastes yummy!

my bro makes an awesome mince stirfry with noodles and veg - no idea what he puts in it though! DH makes fantastic chow mein - but again, no idea what he uses! i love that the men in my life enjoy cooking!

Netix - Cornflour is good for thickening sauces, try that ;)

I use heaps of mince too, I often make them into hamburgers and bolognese is a staple food here - we eat it at least twice a week

I'll try the cornflour... Thanks.

I don't think I have ever thought of using mince in stir fry.. :think: I make a pretty good stir fry, but it just seems so different to 'chow mein'. Maybe its just me... :rolleyes:

Something else I'm going to have to get out of using from a jar, is mayonnaise. Since the Man is now taking his sandwiches to work, we use it a lot more than we used to, so at least homemade stuff without all the preservatives of the bought stuff won't go off before I get the chance to use it. Pretty sure I have a recipe for that, or at least I have seen on BB too.

Kylie Kwong has a recipe for mince in a stirfry. It is called Mongolian beef and I made it a week ago. Very yummy and actually easy if you have the ingredients ready:

For the marinade –
2 tablespoons rice wine
1 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornflour
1 tablespoon ginger, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, finely diced
? teaspoon sesame oil

600g good quality beef mince

1 head Chinese cabbage, finely shredded
2 teaspoons sea salt

50 mls vegetable oil
2 tablespoons rice wine
2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon Oyster sauce
1 teaspoon malt vinegar
? teaspoon Sesame oil
1 small carrot, peeled and finely sliced
1 small red pepper, finely sliced
1 bunch spring onions, finely sliced

To serve -
Steamed rice
Sliced red chilies

METHOD:
Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a large bowl.
Add in the beef and leave to marinate in fridge for 30 minutes.

Put the cabbage and salt into another bowl and mix well to combine.
Leave to stand for 15 minutes then rinse under cold water and drain.
Squeeze out any excess liquid with your hands.

Meanwhile steam the rice.

Now when you are ready
Heat 2 tbs of the oil in a wok until the surface starts to shimmer slightly.
Add half of the marinated beef and stir fry for 30 seconds, breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon.
Remove from the wok with a slotted spoon and set to one side.
Add the remaining oil to the wok and cook the remaining beef for 30 seconds before returning the reserved beef to the pan.

Add in the rice wine, hoisin and oyster sauce, vinegar and sesame oil and
cook for a further 30 seconds.
Toss in the cabbage, carrot and pepper and stir-fry for a further minute.
Stir through the spring onions, reserving a few for garnish and remove from the heat.

I was doing so well making everything from scratch until about a month ago, I am just so exhausted that I don't have the energy to do it all any more. I said to Juz this week that carcinogens are back on the menu until this pregnancy is over. He was happy with that as now he can help make dinner on occasion without poisoning us :lol: Hmmm that didn't make much sense did it? :lol:

I made Jamie Olivers Mince Wellington last week, it was a great success, if anyone is interested in the recipe let me know, it also uses mince.

LOL Sarah, don't fret hon sometimes you do need to take the easier root. What sort of things have you been cooking? There might be corners you can cut whilst still being able to eat from scratch. I cut lots of corners at times but still don't cook from jar or packet.

Sorry LMS, but your post was funny....

:

---

carcinogens are back on the menu until this pregnancy is over

---

It all made perfect sense to me, don't worry about that.


:lol::lol: carcinogens....

I know that's not really funny, but ya gotta laugh at something!

Oh yeah, what's the mince wellington Cai?

Hmmm what did I make prior to getting to tired? My own pasta, bread, sauces, the whole lot really. I was doing really well when I got going. I am still making my own pasta (tomato) sauce but not the pasta, I have started buying some of my bread but still make my own french baguettes to make garlic bread. We bought heaps of pasta packets and 2 minute noodles and frozen chips, packaged soups etc just to make some quick convenience dinners. I will still make my own nuggets and schnitzels because that isn't too hard to whip up. I just wish I had made a bunch to freeze before I wore myself out. :rolleyes: I stocked up on tomatoes in tins so I might make a big batch of pasta sauce and one of chilli, easy enough to pop in the slow cooker then package to freeze.

Glad you liked the carcinogens comment Netix. They taste oh so good but I have had a comeback of headaches and funnily enough Noah started throwing more tanties.

How long does home-made mayonnaise keep?

I would say as long as the egg is meant to last :s I know the mayo I buy only lasts a few months which is short term for a store bought item.

Am loving this thread. My DP and I were talking about this not too long ago, and both saying that we need to make more effort in the kitchen. Will contribute with more posts when I can :)

yes please cai,

katie rabbit great recipe thanks!!

Thanks, :), a jar of the store bought stuff only lasts me a couple of weeks (maybe three?) because we just use so much of it. Economics wise, store bought is probably cheaper though. Hopefully not, and I can work it out!

I promise I'll post the wellington recipe soon! I thought I already did but I must have been dreaming LOL!

Eeeks, just googled the mayo thing and it said a week! That is a mega short time, just buy Miracle Whip, it is oh so yummy :lol:

ETA, it is up to a week but found this as well...

After making the mayonnaise, stir some whey into the it and let it sit out overnight. The whey ferments the mixture, which means it will keep much longer. I do this with all of my homemade mayo, so that I don’t have to worry about consuming it within a limited time frame.

Eeek, yes! So far I have just been buying Praise traditional (that's what the Man bought to start with) and refilling the squeezy bottle (after giving it a wash so that it doesn't turn feral!). I think its between about $3 or $4 a jar. Must get some tomorrow!

Thanks Cai, I thought maybe you had forgotten!;)

:bump: