20

UPDATE: This competition is now closed.

Slow cookers are amazing.

This soup made itself while I went out all day with my Mum to Mathilda’s Market (baby stuff) and shopped up a storm.

I simply rummaged around in the fridge and freezer, chucked everything into the slow cooker, put the lid on and then came home to the intoxicating smell of homemade chicken soup.

I was lucky enough to receive this slow cooker as a gift from Lorraine at Beyond the Square Communications so that I could trial the new range of McCormick Food slow cooker recipe bases.

I tried the Moroccan Lamb Casserole and it turned out beautifully, but my photos came out terribly, so I couldn’t bear to post them here.

The good news is that it’s got me hooked with experimenting with my own slow cooker recipes (hence this chicken soup!) but I’ve got 6 packs of slow cooker bases left and I thought I’d give them away to you!

I tend to forget that not everyone likes to make up their own recipes and most people love pre-mixed recipe bases to take the guess work and hassle out of making dinner. That’s why I’m giving one lucky reader the chance to win the six packs.

Click the button below to view the competition entry details and get the chicken soup recipe.

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16

Autumn is here, enjoy the produce.

This is another recipe I created for Morning Copy‘s lovely client Butcherman using their delicious meat!

As we edge into Autumn the weather starts to cool and a whole new range of seasonal produce becomes available; pumpkins, mushrooms, pears, pomegranates, truffles, pistachio nuts, fennel, parsnip and celeriac – just to name a few.

Meat has seasons too and normally you’d associate Spring with lamb, but there’s new season lamb around right now that’s simply wonderful.

I’ve kept this dish seasonal by using pumpkin and mushrooms. I especially love mashing other vegetables with potato, such as pumpkin or cauliflower, because it’s an easy way to increase your daily veggie intake – oh, and it tastes great too!

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9

Summer greens with fresh tomato sauce

It’s the last month of Summer in Australia and as someone who loves to eat seasonally, I (literally) push to grab the last of the crisp green beans and shiny zucchinis at the farmers market.

I really get a buzz out of selecting what I deem the best vegetables from what’s available. I think it’s got something to do with having mini-obsessions with cleanliness and perfectionism.

Note: if you see me at the market, run! I’m obviously slightly nutty.

I really love greens simply steamed or quickly stir fried with lots of black pepper and drizzled with grassy olive oil or nutty sesame oil. Although this recipe is for those who like to eat their greens with a sauce.

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17

Celebrate Australia Day with some uniquely Aussie ‘Roo’ meat!

Tomorrow, on January 26th, our beautiful country turns the ripe old age of 222!

For my international readers who aren’t sure what Australia Day is, let me quickly explain.  Australia Day is a national public holiday to celebrate the First Landing in 1788 when Captain Arthur Phillip commandeered the First Fleet of eleven convict ships from Great Britain.

It’s also known as ‘Invasion Day’ because many native Aborigines were killed by the British arrivals. If you look up official Australia Day history websites, there’s a distinct lack of information about that brutality.

On a happier note…

Australians love to celebrate with a BBQ at home, the beach or a park. Remember, it’s Summer time here Down Under! The best part is that we get a day off work.

There’s nothing more Aussie than kangaroos (except maybe koalas!) and kangaroo meat is one of the leanest and protein-rich meats available. It’s super juicy if you don’t overcook it and it’s really cheap to buy in Oz. I’ve made these even more ‘Aussie’ by using green and yellow capsicums (peppers).

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12

These were perfect for dunking into gravy on Christmas Day…

Although you can enjoy them anytime (no gravy required!).

This recipe is based on a Donna Hay recipe I found in the 2009 Christmas edition. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you’ll know I haven’t had much luck with old Donna’s recipes before – remember the chocolate self saucing pudding disaster?

However, I have to applaud her and her team this time because these worked out perfectly! Luckily, as it was the first time I’d made them and they were for our Christmas dinner.

I used gluten free flour so my lovely mother-in-law could enjoy them and they were absolutely delicious when used to mop up gravy. A great alternative to stuffing or bread rolls.

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13

Sorry it’s been so long between posts!

I’ve been very cheeky recently on Twitter and Facebook by posting:

Hi, my name is Christie and it’s been 10 days since my last blog post #bloggersanonymous

If you’ve got a blog (or any social media account), do you ever feel guilty for letting real life get in the way of your digital life?

I do, but then again it’s very important to have a good balance, and we all know that our lives aren’t going to end if we mark all as read in our RSS reader. In fact, I find it lifts a weight off my shoulders – I feel less stressed having a clean inbox and I can get on with my day.

Anyway, I’ll stop waffling and get onto today’s recipe…

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