Five simple, delicious recipes for hearty family meals that help to cope with rising prices.
1. CHOKO AND CARROT SOUP
● 4 chokoes
● 2 potatoes
● 2 carrots
● 2 onions
● 2 tablespoons rice
● salt, pepper
● 1¼ liters (5 cups) water
● 3 chicken stock cubes
● 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Peel vegetables, chop coarsely, place in pan with rice, salt and water, cover, bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer covered 1 hour. Puree, about a cup at a time, in blender until smooth or push through sieve. Return to pan, add crumbled stock cubes, add pepper, reheat, stir in parsley. Serves 6.
NOTE: Any leftover vegetables: peas, cauliflower, etc., can be added to soup with the chokoes.
2. CURRIED BEEF PUFFS
● 500g packaged puff pastry
● 500g minced steak
● 1 onion
● 1 tablespoon curry powder
● 1 egg yolk
● 30g butter or substitute
● 2 teaspoons paprika
● 1 green pepper
● 2 tablespoons tomato paste
Peel and chop onion, fry lightly in melted butter, add steak, brown well; pour off surplus fat. Add chopped pepper, curry powder, paprika, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Allow filling to cool slightly. Roll out pastry thinly, cut into eight 15cm (6in) squares, place filling in the center of each square, brush edges with beaten egg yolk, fold in sides so that meat filling is completely enclosed, brush tops with egg yolk. Bake in hot oven 10 minutes, reduce heat to moderately hot, cook further 5 to 10 minutes. Serves 4.
3. STEAK AND POTATO CROQUETTES
● 500g minced steak
● 1 egg
● ¼ cup packaged dry breadcrumbs
● 1 onion
● 1 tablespoon tomato sauce
● 2 teaspoons soy sauce
● 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
● salt, pepper
● 2 tablespoons butter or substitute
● 750g potatoes
● 2 tablespoons butter or substitute, extra
● ½ cup fruit chutney
● flour
● 1 egg, extra
● 2 tablespoons milk
● packaged dry breadcrumbs, extra
● oil for shallow frying
Combine steak, egg, breadcrumbs, peeled and finely chopped onion with tomato sauce, soy sauce, and Worcester sauce, salt, pepper, mix well. Shape mixture into 8 croquettes. Heat butter in frying pan, add coquettes, cook until well browned and cooked through. Remove from pan, drain and cool. Peel potatoes, chop roughly, cook in boiling salted water until tender, drain, add extra butter, mash well, allow to become cold. Spread 2 teaspoons of chutney over each croquette, mould approximately 2 tablespoons of potato around each one and refrigerate 30 minutes. Coat croquettes with flour, dip in combined beaten extra egg and milk, coat well with extra breadcrumbs. Heat oil in pan, add croquettes, fry until golden brown. Makes 8.
4. CHICKEN WITH TOMATOES
● 1.5kg chicken
● 3 tomatoes
● ¾ cup water
● 1 chicken stock cube
● 30g butter or substitute
● ½ cup water, extra
● 2 potatoes
● 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
● 60g bacon pieces
● salt, pepper.
Cut tops off tomatoes, cut tomatoes into quarters and place them in cavity of chicken. Put chicken in baking dish with water and crumbled stock cube. Dot butter over chicken and bake it in moderately hot oven 30 minutes, basting occasionally; reduce heat to moderate, add extra water, peeled and chopped potatoes and chopped bacon. Bake further 1 hour or until chicken is cooked and potatoes are tender. Brush chicken frequently with pan drippings during cooking. Remove tomatoes from cavity, stir into sauce with chopped parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Serves 4.
5. GARLIC LEMON LAMB CHOPS
● 4 lamb chump chops
● 2 tablespoons lemon juice
● 2 teaspoons curry powder
● 1 teaspoon salt
● 1 teaspoon paprika
● 1 clove garlic
● 1 tablespoon oil
● 30g butter or substitute
Combine chops, lemon juice, curry powder, salt, paprika, crushed garlic and oil in basin, mix well, cover, refrigerate 1 hour. Heat butter in pan, add chops, cook quickly on both sides until golden brown, reduce heat, cook until tender. Serves 4.
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