Re: Budgeting........
 

Lol Dorothy - if you choose to try it, it's already in the MFP database as 'Lynne's special homemade soup - carrot and lentil' (something like that!)

1kg carrots - diced finely
150g red lentils
150g green lentils
large onion - diced finely
3-4 shortcut rashers of bacon** - diced finely
Litre of chicken stock**
Chilli, garlic and herbs to taste (I used rosemary which was lovely. I love rosemary and carrots though :D)
Salt/pepper if you really, really, need them.

Set Cooker to saute, timer 10 mins, allow to warm for a minute. Add a very small amount of oil, chuck in onions and bacon until onions are softened. Add chilli and garlic, stir for a bit until all well mixed together.
Add lentils (I didn't pre-soak but I did wash them thoroughly) and rosemary/herbs of choice.
Give it all a good stir - timer should be down to about 1-2mins by now, so add the stock. I also added another cup of water. Let the timer count down (not very vital, just make sure the stock is at a reasonable temperature)
Give it a good crack of black pepper, put the lid on and pressure cook on a medium pressure for around 20 minutes.
I had intended to blend it after it was cooked, but the consistency was really nice so I just left it. I didn't have to add any salt (even though I choose the lower salt stock) but if you want to, just add a little. If it's a bit thick for your taste then it's easy enough to add a bit more water too.


**I added bacon because I love that porky lentil taste. It isn't particularly necessary. Vegetable stock could also be substituted for the chicken stock if you wanted to make it vegetarian.

The above made 6 servings of around 350cals - these were servings in a good sized noodle bowl. The entire pot works out at about 2100 cals.

Gosh, I could just eat another bowl of it after writing all that!

Re: Budgeting........
 

I'm thinking of requesting one of those for Mothers' Day - how sad am I?!

Could somebody post the paprika chicken recipe, please. Have a freezer full of chicken......

Re: Budgeting........
 

Emmmm.. add the carrots at the same time as the lentils :)

It was a deliberate error..

Re: Budgeting........
 

Sounds delicious, thank you.

I thought it was just because I was bit hungover I couldn't see where to add carrots :lol:

Re: Budgeting........
 

Paprika Chicken

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, diced
2 vine ripened tomatoes, skinned and diced (personally, I just use a tin of chopped tomatoes)
1/2 red or green capsicum, diced (personally, I put one of each in and just slice them)
1.5tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika (personally I subscribe to 'you can't have too much paprika' and put way more than this in!)
1/2 cup (125ml) chicken stock
1/2 cup light sour cream
salt and pepper to taste.

Method
Saute setting:
1. Press FUNCTION button then select SAUTE.
2. Enter 15 minutes TIME
3. Press Start/Cancel and allow 3 minutes for bowl to heat. Heat oil, saute onions, tomatoes and capsicum for about 8 minutes until tender (if using a tinned toms, don't add them until you add the stock) Add paprika and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add chicken pieces and turn over to coat with onion mixture, stirring constantly. Continue cooking for 4 minutes. Add chicken stock and stir well. Secure lid.

Pressure cook setting:
4. Press FUNCTION button then select PRESSURE COOK
5. Enter 25 minutes TIME
6. Pressure release valve is turned to PRESSURE and Pressure control dial is turned to MEDIUM.
7. Press Start/Cancel button.
8. Once timer is "0" and 5 beeps sound, release PRESSURE.
9. Open lid. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in sour cream just before serving (I just dollop this in the middle of the served portion)

Its lovely with rice and crusty bread :)

Re: Budgeting........
 

If you go into this page and click on 'get the instruction booklet' the pdf file will load and all recipes are in there, paprika chicken on page 41
http://www.breville.com.au/cooking/t...ow-cooker.html

Re: Budgeting........
 

.......bah.


It is worth looking through the recipes, there's some nice ones.

Re: Budgeting........
 

@ Dreamy: Thanks!

@ Penny: Thanks, too!

Re: Budgeting........
 

Sorry! Your post wasn't up when I pressed 'submit'. You are much kinder than I am writing all that down!!

Re: Budgeting........
 

havent got all my recent bills to hand BUT I do a food shop once a fortnight (on pay day) and my bill is never above $200. Not because I want it to be but because I can't afford for it to be higher. We sit down as a family (me and 2 teenagers) and plan meals for the next 14 days, I buy what is on the list and no more. It p***** me off that i cant buy all the yummy stuff but we eat well and we eat healthy home cooked fresh produce. Only stuff i buy other than that is fresh milk and bread couple of times a week. :thumbdown: Gee i hate being skint!:(

Re: Budgeting........
 

It stinks I know, but don't miss out on using cheap fresh seasonal veggies and fruit: Monday morning is often a good time to go the the local food hall like Harris Farm Markets as there are often trays of veggies that were not sold on Sunday- I got a tray of corn cobs, tomatoes and rhubarb for $3. That went a long way- made a rhubarb crumble and some jam, had the cobs on the side of a chicken dish and the tomatoes went to make chutney. I often bulk buy bananas that are bruised and going cheap- great for banana bread and smoothies too. So they didn't fit on my list of things to get, but I substituted them. Get to know when the local shops reduce their meat and bread too.

Re: Budgeting........
 

We are coming into our third week of our budget, and the only person whinging is my husband:lol: Myself and the kids havent noticed any different, i honestly wish i had taken hold of the finances years ago.....all women take note:lol:

Its definately all about organisation!! and planning.




But I do want one of those fast/slow cooker things.

Re: Budgeting........
 

:thumbsup:

Is he doing as he is told though with regards to not having the usual amount to spend?

:lol: