RICOTTA FILLED BAKED PEARS

I have to admit, I have never loved pears. NEVER! They would have been the last fruit that I chose to eat when I was younger.

I have now learnt to love pears. LOVE!

Not the way that nature intended for us to love them, but a love all the same.

My way is a little more indulgent and involves red wine (think poached pears) or flake chocolate (think sprinkles of flake chocolate over ricotta filled baked pears)....YES this is the recipe that I am going to share.

This recipe is quick to prepare and is a delicious way to get the family to eat a piece of fruit. 

Ingredients (serves 4-8)

4 large firm pears, halved
1 cup of of ricotta cheese
1/2 cup of walnuts, chopped
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon (this is a lot so you can always reduce this quantity to taste)

Serving options - honey, grated dark chocolate, Cadbury flake chocolate

Methods

Preheat the oven to 180° and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Scoop out the seeds of the pears, leaving a small hole that can be stuffed with the ricotta mixture.
Combine the ricotta, walnuts and cinnamon.
Spoon the ricotta mixture into the pear hollows.
Place on the baking tray and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the pears are tender.

You can serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of honey. If you want to be more indulgent and use this as a dessert, grate dark chocolate or sprinkle flake chocolate over the pear and serve on its own or with a scoop of ice-cream.

I will leave that one up to you!

FROZEN MANGO & STRAWBERRY YOGHURT CUPS

These frozen yoghurt cups are the perfect summer snack - the kids will love them! 

Ingredients

1 large mango (or two small mangos)

300g of Greek, plain or vanilla yoghurt (my favourite is Chobani Greek yoghurt)

1 tablespoon of honey

approximately 4 large strawberries, thinly sliced

you will also need some (preferably reusable) plastic or paper cups and some paddle pop sticks

Method                                                                                          

Blend mango, yoghurt and honey until all ingredients have been blended to an even consistency.

Line the bottom and sides of the cup with the sliced strawberries (approximately one strawberry per cup).

Pour 100g of the mango/yoghurt mixture into each cup.

Place in the freezer until frozen (cover each with a piece of foil).

Tip

You can try any fruit and yoghurt blend! Next week I might try yoghurt, mashed banana and cinnamon.

Enjoy!

The MuffQuin - Made with Love from Leftovers

Yes you read right, this post is about a little snack that was dubbed the muffQuin by my good friend Nancy. This snack was born when I had some leftover quinoa and vegetables at the end of the week.

As a child I was always aware of the environment and encouraged my family to recycle.  As I have grown and matured I have adapted these traits to my eats. I always look for opportunities to use leftovers from meals or produce that will soon perish. It often means that left over roasted veggies are made into slices or omelettes, or older vegetables are made into soups or thrown into those always interesting “one pots.”

When I had some leftover quinoa and sautéed sweet potato and kale I knew I could do something a little more interesting than add it to my salad (although this is a good option too).

Lets start with how I made the sautéed sweet potato and kale because this dish is enough to write about in itself. This dish is a great side to any meal and adds a good punch of nutrients with a great taste to say the least.

Sautéed sweet potato and kale

Ingredients

Approximately 2 tablespoons of cooking oil (type as you desire)

1 medium to large sweet potato, peeled and cut into small cubes

1 handful of kale, leaves cut from stems and roughly chopped 

1 teaspoon of chilli flakes

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

¼ of a teaspoon of paprika

1/2 of a teaspoon of cumin

1/2 of a teaspoon of ground coriander seeds

Method

Heat oil in a pan over medium to high heat.

Add sweet potato and sauté for 4-5 minutes or until almost tender, stirring frequently.

Add chilli, garlic, cumin and ground coriander, a dash of water and stir through sweet potato for a couple of minutes.

Add kale and continue to stir frequently for ~5 minutes or until the kale starts to shrink.

I served this with a lamb roast, green beans and a quinoa salad.

With the left overs I made these MuffQuins…

Ingredients - Makes 6 MuffQuins

1 cup of sweet potato and kale mixture (although I am sure you could use any leftover roasted veggies or tinned corn and with some spices).

1 cup of cooked quinoa

2 eggs

¼ cup of grated cheddar cheese

Cracked pepper to season

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Whisk eggs in a large bowl.

Add quinoa, vegetables, cheese and season with pepper.

Lightly grease muffin moulds.

Evenly distribute mixture into 6 muffin moulds.

Cook for approximately 30-40 minutes.

These are tasty, nutrient dense snacks with approximately 5g of protein, 10g of carbohydrate and 365 kilojoules (87 calories).

 Bon Appetit

Leftover Roasted Veggie Slice

Starting the week with some roasted veggies always sets us up for a week of nourishing eats. If you plan to cook your traditional Sunday roast or enjoy roasted veggies with a lovely lean protein source, why not cook extra for the week ahead?

Left over roasted vegetables can be very versatile.

Toss them with some fresh herbs, lemon, olive oil, legumes or grains for a lunchtime salad, add them to a toasted sandwich with a scrape of pesto and a crumble of feta, mix with eggs for an omelette or frittata, or in this case, make a lovely, tasty veggie slice.

This veggie slice is so simple and quick to prepare and  can be enjoyed as a snack or as a light meal with some salad or extra vegetables.

How to roast the veggies

My favourite vegetables to roast are pumpkin, red capsicum, eggplant, zucchini, red onion and squash. When roasting these vegetables I usually preheat the oven to 200 degrees, cut up the pumpkin, red capsicum (nice and chunky) and eggplant (cubed) and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary (depending on what I am preparing).

After about 20 minutes of these vegetables in the oven I add the zucchini, squash and red onion (drizzle some extra olive oil if required) and roast for another 20 minutes or until cooked through. If the vegetables are packed in tightly they can end up soft and a little soggy. For this veggie slice that really doesn’t matter.

 How to make the veggie slice

This recipe makes 4 light meal servings of slice, however you can cut it up in smaller pieces for a lovely nourishing snack.

Ingredients

3 cups of already roasted vegetables – for example pumpkin, zucchini, eggplant, squash and red capsicum (however use what ever your palates desire or what ever is leftover)

½ cup of pitted kalamata olives if desired (to add a salty flavour)

½ cup of wholemeal self-raising flour

4 eggs

¼ cup of fresh herbs such as parsley (if you haven’t roasted the vegetables with rosemary)

¼ cup of grated cheddar cheese

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

2. Place roasted veggies and herbs in a large bowl.

3. Toss flour through vegetables.

4. Whisk eggs in a separate bowl then add to the vegetables and flour.

5. Mix all ingredients together and season with pepper.

6. Line a shallow baking dish with baking paper.

7. Pour the ingredients evenly into the baking dish.

8. Bake in the oven for approximately 30 minutes or until set.

9. Cut into 4 light meal serve sizes or smaller snack sizes

Bon Appetit