Bean Salad

Salad ingredients:
2 c green beans
1 can mixed beans, drained
1 can chick peas, drained
1 red pepper. diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 red onion, finely diced (raw or lightly fried)

Dressing ingredients:
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c water
1/4 c wine vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
1 t salt

Method:

1. Lightly cook green beans, approximately 2 minutes once boiling. Drain and place in bowl.
2. Drain and rinse mixed beans and chick peas, add to bowl. 
3. Dice red and green peppers, add to bowl.
4. Peel and finely dice red onion. If desired fry for 2-3 minutes, add to bowl.
5. Mix together dressing ingredients in separate bowl or jar. Mix or shake well to combine.
6. Drizzle dressing over the salad.
7. Cover and refrigerate.
8. This salad is best made 24 hours in advance. 

Slow Cooker Mince Stew

This mince stew is simple and delicious as-is, but it is also great as a base recipe to which you can add your favourite herbs and spices. You could also add some chopped carrot, leek, mushroom, etc. Serve with rice or mash. Leftovers are nice to use to make pies.

Ingredients

Serves: 4

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 600g minced beef
• 125ml water
• 1 teaspoon stock granules
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• sprig of thyme

Preparation method

Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 4 hours

1.

Heat oil in frying pan. Brown the onion and the garlic for 5-10 minutes over low heat, then place in the slow cooker.

2.

Turn the heat up and brown the mince in the frying pan.

3.

Add the rest of the ingredients and transfer to the slow cooker.

4.

Cook on High for 2 hours then turn down to Low for 2 more hours or longer.

Alternatives:

Works with a can of diced tomatoes instead of beef stock and water. Also added diced potatoes, carrots and mushrooms.

Slow Cooker Corned Beef & Vegetables

Ingredients:
7 - 8 medium potatoes, scrubbed and cut in half
2 - 3 carrots, scrubbed and cut into pieces
1 - 2 onions, peeled and halved
1 piece corned beef
1/8 t pepper
1/2 c water
1 T worcestershire sauce
1 T cornflour
2 T cold water

Method:
1. Place potatoes, carrots and onion into slow cooker.
2. Rinse corned beef and place in slow cooker.
3. Sprinkle pepper over ingredients.
4. Mix 1/2 c water with Worcestershire sauce, pour over beef and vegetables.
5. Cover and cook on low for 8 - 9 hours or until beef and vegetables are tender.
6. Remove beef and vegetables from slow cooker, cover to keep warm.
7. Pour juices from slow cooker into saucepan, heat to boiling.
8. Mix cornflour with cold water to form smooth paste, stir into juices.
9. Cook sauce, stirring constantly, until sauce has thickened.
10. Serve sauce with beef and vegetables.

TIPS:
Try serving with your favourite green vegetable.
Use a combination of half potato and half kumara.

Simple Soy Glazed Chicken - Slow Cooker

INGREDIENTS:
2 T sweet chilli sauce
1 T sesame oil
1/4 c soy sauce
1 small or 1/2 large lemon, juice
3 T brown sugar
4 chicken quarters (or similar)
2 T cornflour
2 - 3 T sherry or cold water

METHOD:
1.  Measure sweet chilli sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, lemon juice and brown sugar straight into slow cooker. Mix.
2.  Place chicken pieces into slow cooker making sure to coat well in the glaze.
3.  Cook on high for 4 hours. After about 2 hours, stir mixture to ensure chicken is well coated in glaze.
4.  At the end of cooking time, mix 2T cornflour with sherry or cold water to form a smooth paste. Add to slow cooker, stir and allow to thicken.

This is a quick, easy and tasty slow cooked chicken recipe. No browning required and very few dishes! We served with Balsalmic Roasted Vegetable Salad and Broccoli. A delicious dinner on the night the AB's brought home the cup!

Spaghetti with Leeks, Peas & Pesto

Add some veg to pasta and pesto for a cheap, healthy springtime dinner.


Serves 2
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Vegetarian, low fat, healthy


Ingredients:
175 g spaghetti
140 g frozen peas
1 T olive oil
2 large trimmed leeks (about 250 g), thinly sliced
1 T basil pesto
freshly grated Parmesan (or vegetarian alternative) to serve, optional


Method:

1. Cook the spaghetti according to pack instructions, adding the peas for the final 2 mins. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan, add the leeks, then gently cook for about 5 mins until softened. Stir in the pesto and 3 tbsp of the pasta cooking water, then simmer for a few mins.
2. Drain the pasta and peas, then add to the frying pan, tossing everything together. Divide between 2 warm bowls and sprinkle with a little grated Parmesan, if using.

PER SERVING

447 kcalories, protein 18g, carbohydrate 75g, fat 10 g, saturated fat 2g, fibre 9g, sugar 8g, salt 0.11 g

Chicken & Bacon Casserole - Slow cooker

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 chicken portions
2 rashers smoked bacon, diced
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery sticks, diced
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons tomato puree
2-3 teaspoons dried mixed herbs

Method

1. Heat oil in large frying pan, brown chicken portions (I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts). Once browned place chicken in slow cooker.
2. Add bacon, onion, garlic, carrot and celery to fry pan. Fry for about 4 minutes.
3. Sift flour into frying pan. Add tomato puree and dried mixed herbs. Gradually add chicken stock, stirring after each addition. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously.
4. Once the mixture is boiling add to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Try serving with potatoes and your favourite green vegetable.
Try adding other vegetables of your choice to the casserole mixture. I used about 1 cup of diced pumpkin.

Serves 4

Chicken Laksa

Serves: 4 - 6 people
Preparation time: 15 minutes or less

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons chicken laksa paste
500 ml chicken stock
2 x 400 ml cans coconut milk
2 chicken breasts, sliced
1 red capsicum, diced
2 x 50 g cans baby corn
100 g snow peas
1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
2 T coriander leaves, finely chopped
steamed rice or noodles

Method:

1. Combine laksa paste, chicken stock and coconut milk in a pan. Bring to the boil.
2. Add the chicken, capsicum, corn and snow peas. Stir to combine.
3. Simmer for 3 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
4. Add lime juice and coriander, stir to combine.
5. Divide rice or noodles into bowls. 
6. Add laksa including juices into bowls. 

Note:
To make the dish hotter, add 1 extra tablespoon of laksa paste. To make the dish milder reduce the laksa paste by one tablespoon.
We made this recipe using green thai curry paste instead of laksa paste.
Half the quantities of ingredients for a meal for two.