Category Archives: Dinner

Dinner, Guest Recipe, Slow Cooker

Guest Recipe – Moroccan Beef Casserole – Slow Cooker

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Welcome to the ‘Fellow Foodie – Traveller‘ series, a collection of recipes from travellers we’ve met on the road.

The Granges are seasoned travellers having explored our wondrous country several times, so when it comes to dinner at the end of a very long drive, Moroccan Beef Casserole is ready, piping hot and on the plate as soon as the car stops, but how!?

Michele Grange said their secret to achieving this seemingly impossible feat of having a hot casserole ready – without the use of power on the drive – is her thermal cooker.

“We made this Moroccan Beef Casserole in our Thermos Outdoor Thermal Cooker before we hit the road from Daly Waters to Devils Marbles,” she said.

Michele & Chris Grange at Devils Marbels

“The Thermal cooker is really interesting – it’s like a big thermos with a stainless steel inner,” she said.

“You prepare and cook in the pot and then pop that with its lid inside the thermos and it cooks while you drive,” she said.

“It’s like a slow cooker but without electricity,” she said.

“We had it in the back of the car, but you can sit it in the van too,” she said.

“We were able to share an incredible meal with our friends travelling with us, on a trip we’ve dreamt of sharing with them for many years.”

“We had a 500km drive so having dinner ready for us at the other end was such a relief, she said.

“The meat was extremely tender when we took it out that night at the end of a long day!”

Michele said it was the family trip ‘2011 Across the Top’ from Wollongong to Broome and back, with their three children, that inspired them to hit the road again – but this time with their friends.

“We always wanted to share the experience with friends and hence we’ve recently completed ‘Broome n Back ’22’ – BnB ’22,” she said.

“Joined by the Markhams and the Blays, we had four months on the road in our fabulous Titanium Hardcore caravan, and would do it all again in a heartbeat.”

Moroccan Beef Casserole Recipe – Thermal Cooker / Slow Cooker

From Michele Grange
Original recipe from taste.com.au

Rating: 1 out of 5.

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 750g chuck casserole steak, cut into 4cm pieces
  • 1 brown onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp ginger, finely grated
  • 1 cinnamon stick or quill
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp turmeric
  • 400g can crushed tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup (125ml) beef stock
  • 1/3 cup (55g) currants
  • 1kg sweet potato, peeled, cut into 4cm pieces
  • 75g fetta, crumbled
  • 2 tbsp flaked almonds, toasted
  • Coriander leaves, to serve
  • Lime wedges, to serve
  • Lebanese bread, to serve

Method

  • Heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Cook one-third of the beef, turning, for 3 mins or until browned all over. Transfer to the bowl of a slow cooker. Repeat with remaining beef.
  • Add the onion, ginger, cinnamon, cumin, tumeric, tomato, stock, currants and sweet potato to the beef in the slow cooker.
  • Cook on HIGH for 4 hours, or on LOW for 6 hours, or until beef is very tender.
  • Spoon the beef mixture into serving bowls. Sprinkle with fetta, almonds and coriander. Serve with lime wedges and Lebanese bread.

Do you have a recipe you’d like to feature in the ‘Fellow Foodie – Traveller’ series? Get in touch with us here.

Dinner, Lunch, Paleo, Primal, Stove Top

Herby Veggie Fritters with Chicken & Bok Choy

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Five days into an incredible 21-Day Primal Lifestyle Reset following a Primal diet — raw, minimally processed foods, such as fruits, vegetables, certain oils, and dairy products — I was ready for our veggies to come to life and be something more than steamed, roasted, or stir fried.

I asked hubby, “the fritter master”, to cook our dinner vegetables as fritters, sticking to the cleanse diet using foods that in the past could be obtained by hunting and gathering.

He did all that and more whipping up this new recipe packed with oodles of herby personality! The secret ingredient is the sesame seeds in the fritters creating a unique savoury flavour with a light crunch.

You could simplify the meal by paring the fritters with just the chicken, or leave out the chicken and pair with the Bok Choy, (or you fav greens), to create a meat free night.

These fritters can be eaten at any time of the day, as a snack, or for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Herby Veggie Fritters with Chicken & Bok Choy

Ingredients (Serves 4)

Rating: 1 out of 5.
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of crushed garlic
  • 1 large chicken breast, sliced into strips
  • 1/2 lemon, squeezed
  • 2 bunches Bok Choy, ends removed, pulled apart

Fritters

  • 1 carrot, grated
  • 1 large potato, grated
  • 1/2 a large sweet potato, grated
  • 1 cup almond meal
  • 2 pinches Sesame seeds
  • Dry spices, a pinch of each:
    • Paprika
    • Rosemary
    • Oregano
    • Coriander
    • Rock salt
    • Cumin
    • Black pepper

Method

Fritters

  • Combine the grated carrot, potato, and sweet potato in a bowl and squeeze excess juice out over sink or across paper towel.
  • Add almond meal and fritter spices and mix well.
  • Take a handful of the mixture and squeeze into a ball, then flatten into a thin, round patty shape.
  • Add a tablespoon of oil to a pan and cook fritters on MEDIUM/LOW for 5 minutes or until lightly brown, turning once. Don’t worry if they break apart, it tastes just as good in pieces!

Cook the Chicken

  • Once half the patties are cooked, start the chicken in a second pan by adding the crushed garlic and some cracked black pepper. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Continue cooking patties at the same time as the chicken.
  • Set pan to HIGH, toss chicken around to sear on both sides.
  • Reduce heat to MEDIUM/LOW and drop in a teaspoon of water, cover to steam to keep the moisture in and make chicken succulent. Once the water has evaporated, remove lid, stir and finish cooking.

Cook the Bok Choy

  • Remove the chicken and set aside.
  • Add a dash of olive oil back into the same pan.
  • Drop Bok choy into the pan, add pepper and squeeze the lemon, set to HIGH tossing quickly for a few minutes with tongs or until it starts to wilt.

Serve the Bok Choy first, topped with the fritters and chicken.

Dinner, Lunch, Pressure Cooker, Stove Top

Greek Chicken Bowl with Tzatziki

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This light, healthy and flavoursome meal is great for lunch or dinner.

Homemade tzatziki is so simple and moorish but if you’re time poor simply pick up a tzatziki dip, pre-made from the shop.

Greek Chicken Bowl with Tzatziki

Rating: 1 out of 5.

Ingredients (serves 4)

Greek Chicken

  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons of Masterfoods Lemon, Herb, & Garlic Spice Blend (pic below)
  • 1 large chicken breast, cut into 2cm pieces
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice for pan to steam

Salad

  • 1/2 red onion, diced well
  • 1.5 cups Quinoa
  • 1/2 punnet cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 1/2 Cucumber, diced
  • 1/4 block fetta
  • Handful of walnuts, chopped
  • Optional: 6 pitted kalamata olives, diced

Tzatziki

  • 250g Greek yoghurt
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped mint
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  • Add 1.5 quinoa to pressure cooker with 3 cups of water. Select RICE and cook for 5 minutes.
  • Add chicken to pan and drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil, stir to coat chicken.
  • Sprinkle the spice blend one teaspoon at a time whilst stirring. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Cook on MEDIUM for 5 minutes stirring until brown.
  • Add lemon juice and cover to steam for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Make the tzatziki by combining all ingredients in a bowl, stir and taste adjusting with more lemon or salt, pepper or garlic.
  • Add cooked quinoa to large bowl and add all salad ingredients. Stir and season of required. Serve by placing salad on bottom, then chicken and drizzle with tzatziki .
Air Fry, Dinner, Oven, Quick Meals

Sticky Texan BBQ Niblets with Salad & Veggie Rice

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Great food doesn’t need to cost the earth, nor be complicated.

This light meal is as cheap as chips, and so simple, you can throw it together with your eyes closed.

We usually make our marinades from scratch, but as we’re travelling Australia full-time cooking in a caravan, this isn’t always the case. Let’s be honest, sometimes we can’t be bothered.

We picked up this affordable and tasty marinade from Woolworths and it came up trumps! So long as you have some salad and rice on hand, all you need is some chicken and the marinade.

In fact, you don’t need the rice, we added it as our 3 and 5 year old aren’t too keen on salad just yet, so we needed to bolster the meal and give them some vegetables too.

Sticky Texan BBQ Niblets with Salad & Veggie Rice

Rating: 1 out of 5.

Ingredients (serves 4)

Please note: this meal contains nuts.

Method

  • Chicken:
    • Place chicken into container and cover with 1/2 the marinade, place in fridge for minimum 30 minutes – the longer the better.
    • Add chicken to baking tray and cook in air fryer on 200 degrees for 15 minutes, rotate, then cook for another 15 minutes.
    • If using an oven, cook at 180 degrees for 35-40 minutes, turning half way. Keep an eye on them, as cooking time varies depending upon size of niblets and ovens. You don’t want them to burn.
  • Rice
    • Put rice on as per packet instructions.
    • Just before serving, cook beans in microwave as per instructions on bag, and mix in with cooked rice.
  • Salad
    • Combine all salad ingredients in a bowl, drizzle with oil and vinegar, and toss.
  • Place remaining marinade in small saucepan and heat on LOW. Spoon over chicken whilst in the pan before serving.
  • Serve niblets with salad and cooked rice mix, drizzling extra heated marinade over rice if desired.
Dinner, Satay

Nuts About You Peanut Satay Chicken & Potatoes

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Just when you think there isn’t anything better than chicken swimming in peanut satay sauce, we’ve discovered there is… potatoes in peanut satay sauce!

We’ve tried many versions of peanut satay and hubby’s version definitely takes the cake!

The kids are always asking for it and it’s easy to over indulge, so be warned.

Nuts About You Peanut Satay Chicken & Potatoes

Rating: 1 out of 5.

Ingredients (serves 4)

Please note: this meal contains nuts.

  • 1 tablespoon peanut oil
  • 800g chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
  • 4 large potatoes, cut into 2cm pieces
  • Large head of broccoli, cut into small pieces
  • Peanut satay sauce:
    • 200ml coconut cream
    • 1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce
    • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
    • 2 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
    • Optional: 1/2 cup crushed peanuts – if you like it crunchy

Method

  • Potatoes:
    • Air fry potatoes on 200 degrees for 25 minutes (turning half way), until brown and crispy. Times may vary so keep an eye on them.
    • If using fan-forced oven, coat potatoes with oil and salt then cook at 180 degrees for 40-45 minutes, turning half way through.
  • Chicken:
    • Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil to a fry pan, add the chicken, and season with salt and pepper.
    • Cook on HIGH stirring constantly until brown.
    • Reduce heat to LOW and cover pan with lid for another 5 minutes to keep the moisture in and make chicken succulent.
  • Broccoli:
    • In a saucepan/steamer, boil water then add the broccoli and cook for 5 minutes, testing with a fork to see if it is cooked through.
  • Peanut satay sauce:
    • Whilst chicken and potatoes are cooking prepare the sauce by adding all ingredients into a small saucepan and heat on LOW until sauce thickens and is smooth.
  • To serve, drizzle satay sauce over chicken, potatoes and broccoli.