The week that was

1. Chicken and mushroom ravioli with cherry tomatoes, broccoli and basil pesto.
2. Scrambled eggs with tomato, mushroom and parsley.
3. Ham, salad and hommus sandwich on wholemeal bread.
4. Watermelon

We have been trying to eat healthy this week and so far we are doing pretty well - but eating healthy definitely comes at a price! The cost of groceries is so expensive at the moment it is quite depressing. Oh well, at least the watermelon makes me feel better - so sweet and juicy at the moment, yum!

Again if you want any recipes let me know and I'll post them up.

What was the food highlight of your week?

ETA a recipe...

Ravioli with Pesto and Broccoli (from Healthy Food Guide - October 2009)
Serves 4

3 cups broccoli florets
400 g chicken and mushroom ravioli
3 tbsp basil pesto
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
green salad, to serve

1. Cook broccoli in boiling water for 2 minutes. Add ravioli. Cook following packed directions. Drain and return to pan.
2. Stir in pesto and oil. Add tomatoes and toss. Serve with salad.

Chicken and Mushroom Stew

Chicken and Mushroom Stew

Serves 4

1 tbs olive oil

700g chicken thighs, chopped into 3cm cubes

4 bacon rashers, coarsely chopped

200g mushrooms, quartered

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/4 cup plain flour

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 cup white wine

2 tsp thyme

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

300g risoni

1 1/2 cups frozen peas

10g butter

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden, transfer to a plate. Add the bacon, mushrooms and garlic to the pan, and cook until the mushroom is tender. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Gradually add in the stock and wine and cook until the mixture thickens. Add the chicken and thyme, simmer for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Stir in half the parsley and season.

Meanwhile cook the risoni, in the last 2 minutes add the peas. Drain, return to the pan and stir in the butter and remaining parsley.

Serve the chicken stew on top of the risoni and pea mixture.

Soup and Ragout

Well it is an extremely cold week here in Adelaide - so I think more yummy winter recipes are required. So this week has seen me cooking a very tasty chicken and corn soup, and an excellent mushroom and tomato ragout.

Chicken and Corn Soup

Serves 4

2 cups water

1 chicken stock cube

1 tsp ginger, grated

1 onion, chopped

4 parsley sprigs

4 chicken thighs

410g can of creamed corn

1 tsp extra ginger, grated

1 tbsp cornflour

1 tbsp water

100g double smoked ham, sliced

2 green shallots, chopped

Combine the water, chicken stock, ginger, onion, parsley and chicken in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil and then simmer covered for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is just tender. Strain the stock and put the chicken aside (throw out the onion/ginger/parsley or put in your compost).

Return the stock to the saucepan and add the creamed corn and extra ginger. Bring this to the boil and then add the cornflour (blended with the 1 tbsp of water). Stir constantly until the soup boils and thickens.

Chop the chicken, add the chicken, ham and shallots to the soup. Heat through before serving.

Mushroom and Tomato Ragout

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

500g mushrooms, halved or quartered depending on size

800g can of crushed tomatoes

1 cup water

2/3 cup rissoni

1/2 cup basil leaves, roughly chopped

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium to high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is soft. Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are tender.

Add crushed tomatoes, water and rissoni and simmer for 15 minutes or until the rissoni is al dente. Stir in the basil and season to tasted. Voila!!