Family Favourite: Easy One-Pot Jambalaya

Oddly enough, I came across this post in my drafts folder – it was one I started writing three years ago and I recently rediscovered this family favourite recipe. This easy jambalaya used to be on regular rotation on our family dinner menu and then we suddenly stopped making it. On reflection, I think this coincided with the time we got food poisoning from chorizo (from a different dish) and we both went off it for a couple of years!

I have been making this jambalaya for so long, I have no idea where the original recipe came from. Over the years, it’s evolved as I’ve made various tweaks, amendments and additions, and will probably continue to.

We love to serve ours with a fried egg on top (in fact, I consider this mandatory), and it’s one of our favourite comfort food meals. If you have children, be sure to read the tips at the end for making it more family-friendly.  Continue reading →

Family-friendly meal: Cheesy Porcupine Meatballs

My family has eaten a LOT of meatballs lately, as I’ve made this recipe over and over to test out the ingredients. Luckily, they love it! My mother reminded me a while ago that she used to make these when I was a child, which prompted me to have a go at making them (with hidden vegetables, of course). My kids stick their forks into them whole and eat them like lollipops.

Although the meatballs take a little preparation, the dish is quite easy to cook. The meatballs cook in the sauce, so there’s no standing over the cook-top trying to ‘brown the meatballs on all sides’. I’m notoriously bad at frying meatballs, and usually end up with meat-cubes.

This dish also has a bolognese-style flavour, so if the kids love bolognese (and the adults, because who doesn’t?), but you want something a little different or less pasta-heavy, this might be a good one to try. The Thermomix recipe is also below the regular recipe. Continue reading →

A winter dessert (or breakfast!): Pear, Ginger and Macadamia Crumble Pots

Come winter, I’m a bit of a crumble fiend. Especially with dollop cream. In the past, I couldn’t often be bothered to make it, because I found the process of rubbing butter into flour too involved and messy. I have this irrational idea that if I have to get the flour out of the pantry, it’s all going to be too much effort.

An earlier round of the IQS program introduced an apple crumble which used a combination of almond meal and oats in the topping, and it has revolutionised my crumble-making. Plus, the addition of oats makes it breakfast-friendly, in my book. 😉 Rani from You Totally Got This also uses this topping in her baked apple crumble – check it out, it’s an easy and delicious family sized dessert.

These pear, ginger and macadamia crumble pots use no added sweetener at all – I feel that pears are sweet enough already. They are simple and quick to make, requiring very few ingredients. I opt for individual servings so I don’t over-indulge. (That’s a lie: it’s actually so my husband doesn’t eat more than his fair share!) Plus, you could double the recipe and make a couple of extra pots, to store in the fridge for breakfast. Continue reading →