Lemon and Thyme Pork Steaks

10 Pork steaks, salt and peppered
1 medium Onion, finely chopped
2 cloves Garlic, crushed
2 Green peppers, finely chopped
10 Okra sliced diagonally length ways in half
1 tsp chicken stock
3/4 cup water
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper
thyme dried, 1/2 tsp
5g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tomato chopped in large chunks
4 tbsp spring onion, finely chopped
1 leaf of green shiso herb (optional)

Saute onion and garlic in pan with olive oil for 2-3 mins. Added green pepper and Okra and stir. Sprinkle over chicken stock powder and add water. Squeeze lemon into the pan and add thyme. Bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 mins. Add the tomato and remove from heat.
Meanwhile, in a separate pan, fry pork steaks in a little oil until slightly brown on both sides. Do in batches. Add the steaks to the pan of vegetables, and simmer for 3-4 mins, or until steaks are done. Do not boil vigorously or the steaks will go tough.
Serve vegetables on a plate, top with shiso leaf, then place the pork on top of that. Ladle the tomato and soup mixture and pour over the steaks. Sprinkle with spring onion.

Renee's Potato Salad

6 medium potatoes with skin on
6 small precooked sausages
6 gherkins or Dill pickles, sliced
3 tbsp gherkin juice
4 boiled eggs, sliced
3 tbsps mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
Handful of cherry tomatoes

Cook potatoes whole in the microwave with the skin on (6-10 mins). Cut into 2cm chunks.
Boil sausages, and slice into chunks.
In a bowl place all ingredients and pour gherkin juice over and mix. Add salt and pepper. Add mayonnaise and fold in together. Top with remaining egg and tomatoes.

Yoghurt and Pineapple Mousse

Here's the recipe for the cheesecake-looking mousse pie I made for Erinn's birthday posted on my Times to Remember blog: Erinn's Birthday Pie

Base:
1 pkt of coconut sable biscuits
1 pkt of soft plain cookies
2 tbsp butter, melted

Crush biscuits in blender. Pour over melted butter. Blend well. Press into a high sided pie dish. Refrigerate.

Filling:
300g tub of cottage cheese
1/2 cup condensed milk
200g plain yoghurt
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
10g gelatin
1/4 cup boiled water

Put the cottage cheese in the blender and blend until smooth. Add condensed milk and yoghurt and blend again. Pour mixture in bowl with pineapple and fold together. Add gelatin to the boiling water and stir until dissolved. Add to mixture and stir well. Pour over the biscuit base and refrigerate until set.

Adapted from the low fat recipe by Annette Sym. I totally recommend her recipe books, not only for low fat recipes, but also because they taste so good and have great ideas!!
Symply Too Good to be True, 1,2,3 and 4. Check out her website:
Symply too Good to be True

Spicy meatballs with Gnocchi

Meatballs:
1\2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
500g mince
1 egg
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp coriander (fresh or dried)
1 tsp dried cumin
1 tsp basil
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Fry onions and garlic in olive oil until soft. Cool and mix with other ingredients. Knead with the palm of your hand, turning over many times to make it a smooth paste. Roll into small balls and place on an oven tray lined with wax paper. Bake at 220 degrees Celsius for 10-12 minutes.

Main dish:

1 onion, sliced
3 green or coloured peppers, sliced in strips
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 of a pumpkin, peeled and chopped in small cubes
1 tomato peeled and chopped (optional, I do this when I have a surplus of tomatoes that need to be used up)
1 can of stewed tomatoes, or diced tomatoes (If using 4 or 5 fresh tomatoes, omit)
1 tsp of chicken stock (try to use one without msg)
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp curry powder
salt and pepper
1 pkt (500g) prepared Gnocchi

Saute onion, garlic and green pepper in 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the pumpkin and coat with oil. Add the chopped tomato and/or can of stewed tomatoes. Season with chicken stock, 1 tsp cumin, 2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp coriander, 1 tsp curry powder, salt and pepper. Add water to cover the vegetables and bring to the boil. Add meatballs when done and simmer together.
While simmering, bring a large pot of water to the boil and add the Gnocchi. Boil until they float to the top (usually around 2-3 minutes), then drain. Mix in with the meatball mixture. I usually simmer it down so it becomes a little pasty, but if you like it more soupy remove from heat sooner.
Serve with sour cream if desired.

Double Chocolate Muffins

I don't know if you have heard, but Japan has had a butter shortage! My husband found a block of butter finally...after 3 weeks! (But only one per customer!) So this is what I did with it....
These were so yummy! Moist and delicious. My kids and their friends raved about these muffins. I haven't had much success with chocolate muffins before...they always end up dry, but these are just perfect. This is one of Alison Holst's Recipes from her book 'Marvellous Muffins'. I highly recommend this book....all of my favourite muffin recipes come from here. She has worked these out to perfection! Here is the book to buy on Amazon:
Alison Holst's Marvellous Muffins

Ingredients: (New Zealand uses 250ml cups)
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda (Newbies: NOT baking powder)
1 cup caster sugar (I used ordinary Japanese red label sugar because caster is hard to find)
1/4 cup cocoa

100 grams butter
1 egg
1 cup yoghurt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Sift dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
Melt the butter. (I do this in the microwave) Add the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth. (I usually beat the egg first, adding the cold ingredients and melted butter last).
Add the combined liquids to the dry ingredients and fold together until the flour is dampened, but not smooth. (Never over mix!) I add choc chips and fold in.
Divide evenly between 12 medium sized greased muffin pans .

Sprinkle with choc chips if desired before baking. (YES!)
Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 12 mins. (It took 16 mins in my gas fan forced oven).
Leave to stand in pans for 3 minutes before removing and cooling on a wire rack.
Yum yum yum!! Serve with whipped cream...of course!

Baked Chicken and Rice

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 stalk broccoli, chopped
6 chicken breasts sliced in half lengthwise
3/4 cup uncooked rice
1 can Campbell's mushroom soup
1 cup water
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp pepper
salt

Saute onion, peppers and broccoli in olive oil. In a 2L casserole dish combine vegetables, soup, water, rice, half of the paprika and pepper. Rub salt and pepper into the chicken and place on top of casserole. Sprinkle the remaining paprika.
Cover and bake at 190 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and rice is tender.

Spiced Chicken

600g skinless chicken breasts, cut in large chunks
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, sliced with the grain
1 red pepper, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
5 Okra or asparagus, halved
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp crushed ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp turmeric
2 tsp dried coriander
2 tsps paprika
1 tsp cumin
pinch of chilli powder
2 tsp chicken stock powder
4 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup low fat milk

Saute chicken in olive oil. Add onion and other vegetables, garlic and ginger, until the chicken pieces are nearly cooked. Add all the spices and stock powder. Add tomato paste and stir. Slowly add milk to pan until thickened.

Taco Pie

1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion chopped
500g mince
2 chopped green/red peppers
1/4 cup frozen green peas
350g tomato puree
1/2 cup water
1 beef stock cube
1 tsp oregano
3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1/2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper
1/2 cup 75g) self-raising flour
1/2 cup (85g) polenta (corn grits)
3/4 cup (180ml) milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup (90g) grated cheddar cheese

Heat 1 tbsp in olive oil. Add onion and cook until soft. Add mince and brown. Stir in tomato puree, water, stock cube, oregano and two types of chilli, paprika, salt and pepper. Simmer covered, stirring occasionally until thickened.
In a bowl, sift flour and stir in polenta. Add combined milk, remaining oil and egg. Beat until smooth. Move meat to an oven proof dish, and pour topping on top. Cook in oven at 180 degree Celsius for about 15 minutes, sprinkle cheese and cook a further 5 minutes until cheese has melted. Sprinkle with paprika.

Meat Loaf in Blankets

This meatloaf is great to serve when you have guests. The original recipe calls for quail eggs, but I never stick to recipes and just use what is in the fridge! The picture above has hen's eggs cut in half.

Ingredients:

800g beef mince
1 large onion
1/4 cup of chopped green pepper (or any other vegetable)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1-2 tbsp milk
1 egg
Salt and pepper
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp salad oil
8 boiled quail eggs or 4 boiled hen's eggs, peeled
8 strips of bacon

Fry onion in a pan with olive oil. Set aside to cool. Soak breadcrumbs in a few tablespoons of milk. Mix the mince, salt, onion, breadcrumbs, egg, pepper, nutmeg and other vegetables in a large bowl. Knead well.

In a pound cake shaped tin or dish, line the bacon so the sides hang over the edge, making sure the bacon covers the whole of the bottom of the tin overlapping as you lay it. Push in half of the meat mixture and lay the eggs in a row along the centre. Cover with remaining meat mixture and pat down with your hand. Fold the edges of the bacon over the top and press into place. Cover in aluminium foil, and bake at 220 degrees Celsius for 40-45 minutes. Poke with a toothpick to see if ready, if the juices run clear it is ready. (The colour of the bacon often gets transferred to the meat to make the meat look red and uncooked, so just checking the colour of the meat will not give you a good indication of whether it is ready or not. ) Cool for a bit before turning out on a board and slicing.

Thick Carrot Soup

A comforting winter dish. This can be a puree or a soup depending on how much water you choose to add to the finished product.
Ingredients:
4 large carrots
1 tbsp chicken stock powder
40 g butter
Salt and pepper

Peel and chop carrots and boil until soft. Let cool in water. (I never do that, by the way, as I am always in a hurry! Not good for the blender....). Pour into a blender with the soup stock and blend. Do this in 2 or 3 batches until all the carrot is mashed. Return to the pot, and add butter and salt and pepper and heat until the butter is melted. Delicious!