Ho Hum

Not much has been happening at this end of the world. I had some girlfriends, with all their kids, round for a few drinks Friday afternoon but apart from that it was a fairly quiet weekend. Hubby and I both went into work for a couple of hours on Sunday. We split the kids, #1 took his bike and went to ride around Dad's workshop while #2 was kept occupied on the couch in my office by a Hi-5 DVD.

We've had heaps of rain over the past week or so and a few good light displays during the night. It hasn't rained all day long but we've had a couple of good long showers each day and some bucketing rain each night. Last night's thunderstorm was fairly impressive - the rain was really heavy, the lightning was impressive and the thunder was LOUD! There's a storm brewing quite a bit further up the coast. It might turn into a cyclone towards the end of the week but then again... who said the weather was predictable? We had another low further down the coast and quite a way out to sea that was forecast to turn into a cyclone by about today but it has disappeared into nothingness. Hubby's not impressed but I'm quite relieved. Besides the fact that I just don't like the darn things, I don't have time for a cyclone right now. I have meetings organised, work trips planned, play-dates set and have also been scheduled in to listen to reading on Tuesday mornings in #1's classroom.

Well, the kids are asleep and I have reading for work to do so I'd better get on with it. I'm aiming to appear as though I know what I'm doing AND what I'm talking about at Wednesday morning's meeting. It's kind of a big ask but I'll give it a go :)

Rather Itchy...

but nothing more to report from the lemon flavoured lamb last night.

I'm very pleased but definitely not going to tempt fate by trying any of the other 'off limits' foods in the near future.

Three In A Row!

I am loving myself sick at the moment (Mmmm, having a Kath and Kim moment there LOL). I have been super organised this week and, even though it kind of fell in heap today, have managed to make decent, interesting meals - both lunches and dinners.

I was doing okay and had tonight's dinner planned, then I forgot to take the meat out of the freezer! But, a new recipe book I am falling a little more in love with each day, the defrost setting on my fabbo microwave and a hubby who happily cooked it all on the barbie and we had a great dinner. I am seriously loving this book - I walked in the door at 5.45pm, sent Hubby and the kids to cool down in the pool and we were eating before 6.30. Gotta love that! This recipe uses lemon, and although my body doesn't generally cope well with lemon I decided to give it a try - it's only a tiny bit of lemon and it gets cooked so I'm reeeeaaallllly hoping that I'll not be waking up covered in hives. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Lemon and Oregano Lamb

delicious. 5 Nights A Week by Valli Little

600g (about 8) lean lamb fillets (I used lamb steaks)

Finely grated rind and juice of 1/2 a small lemon

2 tablespoon roughly chopped oregano leaves

1 teaspoon honey

2 teaspoons olive oil

Combine the lamb, lemon rind and juice, oregano, honey and olive oil in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Make salad (the recipe book included a salad to make but we just had a quick garden salad)

Heat a lightly oiled chargrill pan over high heat until just smoking. Add the lamb fillets (in batches if necessary) and cook for 3 minutes each side for medium, or until cooked to your liking.

Remove the fillets from the pan, cover with foil and rest for 4 mintures. Slice the lamb thinly and serve with a salad and lemon wedges.

Like I said, I used lamb steaks so I didn't slice them up or anything fancy. Hubby cooked them on the barbie and then we plunked 'em on a plate. They were delicious.

Mid-Week Dinner

I'm undecided about this one - it was all pretty easy to put together and the kids liked it but... I think it needed less sauce so I'd probably use about two-thirds of the ricotta and cream in the recipe.

Cheesy spaghetti with bacon and peas

delicious. 5 Nights A Week by Valli Little

500g spaghetti

1 cup (120g) frozen peas

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 rashers of bacon, cut into strips

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

250g smooth ricotta

300ml pure (thin) cream

1 cup grated parmesan, plus extra shaved parmesan to serve

2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley (oops, forgot to add this)

Cook the spaghetti in a large saucepan on boiling salted water according to the packet instructions. Add the peas to the pasta for the last 2 minutes of cooking time, then drain both well and return to the sacepan.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a deep frypan ovver a medium heat, add the bacon and cook, stirring, until it starts to crisp. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Drain off some of the fat. Add the ricotta and cream to the bacon and stir over a low heat until combined and warmed through. Remove from the heat and add to the pasta with the grated parmesan and parsley. Toss to combine and season to taste.

Serve with extra shaved parmesan and extra black pepper.

PS: Is anyone else having Blogger issues at the moment? I can't get the spellcheck to work and the formatting has gone a bit mental.

And She Cooks!

Yeah, I know. It's been a while since a cooking post so I thought I'd best get myself sorted and cook something blog-worthy. This was tonight's dinner - everyone liked it, Hubby raved, the kids didn't complain and I thought it was okay. For my taste it had a bit too much fish sauce, I'd use half next time. Oh, and Mum? If you're reading this... this is from the Christmas present you gave me. See, I am using it!

Caramelised Chicken Cutlets

Kitchen: favourite recipes and advice from the AWW Test Kitchen

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

4 chicken thigh cutlets (800g), skin on

1 medium red onion, sliced thinly

3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly (I used the stuff from a jar)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce (I used light)

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh coriander

1. Preheat oven to 200C.

2. Heat oil in large frying pan; cook chicken, both sides, until browned. Place chicken in a single layer in baking idish. Roast chicken, uncovered, in oven, about 25 minutes or until cooked through.

3.Meanwhile, heat same pan: cook onion and garlic, stirring, until onion softens. Add sugar and sauces; cook, stirring, 3 minutes. Return chicken to pan with coriander; turn chicken to coat mixture.