Beef Rissoles

Beef Rissoles

 

Tonight I had a 'mystery box challenge' (for all my readers who are not masterchef fans, that means I had to create a meal with a specific set of ingredients- namely- what I had in the house!). I had some mince de-frosted- so I did a quick search for beef rissoles and this Curtis Stone recipe came up. They're quick, easy, pretty healthy and pretty tasty (although a little on the dry side- which I personally don't mind and actually prefer to greasy and fatty- but some people might not. It could be cause I used a really lean mince though- so maybe if you try it with a fattier mince it will be more moist).

Curtis serves his with a grilled potato and spinach salad- but seeing as I had none of those ingedients in the house I served mine with a simple garden salad to make a balanced mid-week meal with minimal fuss!

Time Taken?: 20 minutes

2 year old friendly?: Actually surprisingly my little one didn't take to them- but he's never been a mince/ meat ball fan. It doesn't mean he might not eat it another time though! There is no reason for toddlers not to like this- especially with a bit of tomato sauce if they're into that!

INGREDIENTS
500g beef mince
1/2 small brown onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh thyme (I didn't have fresh so I used dry thyme, which turned out fine)
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 large egg

METHOD
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl
Mix together well with fingers
Roll into 8 equal sized balls and then squash into 1cm thick rissoles
Heat a BBQ or grill pan to medium-high heat
Brush the rissoles with a bit of olive oil and cook them for 6-8 minutes each side or until cooked through.
Remove from heat and rest for 3 mins before serving

Low-fat Bannana Bread

Low-fat Banana Bread

 

Okay so this one does not fit the dinner criteria, but it does fit the 'quick and easy' criteria, and being low fat it's a healthier version of banana bread than the ones you can buy at the shops- so I am putting it on here! I am not much of a baker, so if I can do it, you can do it. And it really is quick- so quick that I usually decide to make this on the fly- usually when I find I have 2 over-ripe bananas left in the fruit bowl. It uses ingredients most people already have in the house too so no pre-planning required! My type of baking!

Time taken?: About 10 minutes to put together and 20-25 minutes in the oven

2 year old friendly?: Absolutely! My little one LOVES this! He has it for breaky for a few mornings after I make it.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups self raising flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp reduced fat butter or margarine (I use nuttelex)
1/2 cup sugar (castor or regular)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup skim milk
2 over-ripe bananas, mashed

METHOD
Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees c.
Coat a small loaf tin with cooking spray
Combine flour and cinnamon in a bowl. Rub in butter with fingertips until fine and crumbly
Stir in sugar, egg, banana and milk
Transfer to loaf tin and bake for 20 mins or until golden and cooked through.

 

Aunty Maria's Rescue Recipe: 'Dressed' Chicken

Aunty Maria's Rescue Recipe: 'Dressed' Chicken

 

This one is a RESCUE RECIPE because it rescued us from take-away. The story goes like this- my son is sick at the moment, and when I went to pick him up from my Mum's on my way home from work he had a high fever and I wanted to wait for the medication to kick in before taking him home. Well the medication took a good 1.5 hours to work it's magic- meaning by the time i left Mums it was VERY late, on a work night, and too late for the chicken I had planned to make for dinner that night to marinate. Just when I was about to give up and order chinese, my aunty, who was at Mum's at the time, gave me this very quick easy chicken recipe. I called it "dressed" chicken because instead of marinating it, you kind of dress it like a salad after it's cooked to give it flavour. What she didn't give me was mesurements- so you'll have to guess like I did I am afraid! Can't really do wrong with it though.

Time Taken?: 20 mins- including chicken chopping time. Might take less if you cook the chicken on a BBQ or more if you cook it in a small pan thus having to cook it in batches.

2 year old friendly?: Don't know- as above child was sick and decided he just wanted rice crackers for dinner.

INGREDIENTS
500g chicken breast (I cut them into thin fingers so that they'd cook quickly)
Olive oil
Balsamic Vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon parsely
Salt and pepper

METHOD
Heat a griddle pan or BBQ or grill on high heat
Cook the chicken breast until cooked through and preferably a little browned on the outside (without being overcooked)
Meanwhile, coat the bottom of medium dish that has a lid in olive oil. Add a good glug of balsamic vinegar, the garlic and the parsely and combine using a fork.
Add the cooked chicken to the dish, turning to coat well in the dressing, and put the lid on.
Leave to stand for 5 minutes.
Serve chicken with the remaining dressing spooned over the top.

I served mine with rice and salad- but you could serve it with potato, pasta, steamed vegies, anything really!